The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 1, 1926, Page 6

" rage Six ‘ THE DARLY WORKER Organization of the Unorganized and-Work in the Trade Unions 4113 W. Washington Bivd., Chicago, 01 Phone Monrog 47128 SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in Chicago only): By mail (outside of Chicago): $8.00 per year $4.50 six months | $6.00 per year $3.50 six months 50 three months | $2.00 three months Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER, 1113 W. Washington Blvd,, Chicago, Ill, J. LOUIS —— | ..Business Manager at the post-office at Chi- 1879. BERT MI LLER Entered as second-class mail September 21, 192 cago, Ill, under the act of March : Lavire ip Tateo Oa abpemion (Dee in regard to the opportunities > 290 libel kabenal tyne! secon coi | for developing the revolutionary move- | ment-and building the Workers (Com- | |munist) Party made in the previous A Lawyer Speaks | articles, shows clearly that the great- jest opportunity for Communist work Charles S. Whiteman, president of the American Bar Associa-|in the present period of imperialist : | devel d “capitali tion and former governor of the Empire State, urged the appoint: | ° Bp Beata, rea nent of judges in an address delivered before the Illinois Bar} skined and unskilled workers in the Association. ighly developed machine industry, 4 in y Ps | “The most favorable basis for ap- in modern times lawyers play the part of the roving knight | proach and contact, with’ these. work: errant of feudalism, as the chief protectors of private property.|ers is thru the program of struggle * : for higher wages and better workin Legal acumen and verspicacity have, however, taken the place of oat ae winning ich mich pe the cruder battle ax and lance, while the necessary dirty work of]}mands thru organization of these physical compulsion is done by hired servants—the police. Consid-| workers. This makes the work of or- ering the important part the legal profession plays as the chief oe Hn OES ee . » : . | 0! e r 8ks 0: he party a spokesman and apologists for modern capitalism, one must attach the See ps $ : dne signiticance to the statement of the president of the Bar| ‘he importance of the work among Association jthe unorganized in relation to. the The plea for the abolition of the election of judges made by |Communist work to make the tage Mr. Whitman indieates a definite trend in the political thought rd pa ce ao latan. eons America’s ruling class.. Tt indicates that the present linritations of i Sle capitalist democracy, great as they are, are still not sufficient to effectively check the growing power of the American working class. The contradictions within society are so intense that capita st statesmen are now proposing to withdraw even that little “form without substance” of democracy which they have reluctantly yielded Mr. Whitman speaks with admiration of the federal govern- ment, where “We've done very well so far with judges named for life, answerable to no one so long as their conduct is good. Never was there a better body in the world than the United States Supreme Court and this can be carried down jnto the lower federal courts.” Speaking in the same strain Chief Justice Clyde E. Stone, of the Illinois Supreme Court said, “No court should lend itself toa violation of the law or a refusal to enforce it as it exists, in order to apease public sentiment.” Here we find clearly expressed the political philosophy of the ruling class of this country, its firm determination to enforce and extend its dictatorship and its utter contempt for the will of the of the workers. Under these circumstances labor must | mas: ie The fight for the freedom of Sacco and against the use of the injunctions in labor disputes will not be won by appeals to the fairness of the courts, no matter how convincing the evidence or how strong the tide of public Sentiment. The capitalist class cares not a fig for either. It will be won solely thru the pressure of labor’s own political power and strength. capitalism prepares to tighten still further its fetters about the working class, let us- mobilize more energetically labor’s political might to break them. The Lesson of Ware, Mass. J | Aguin we are reminded of the transformation taking place in New England. The textilemills of Ware, Mass., have shut down to remove to the South nearer the sources of raw material and cheap unorganized labor. The 1,500 textile workers are thus left without employment. This is but one of many such removals during ihe last dozen years. has not yet been brought home to the workers of that region. The official labor movement of New England concerns itself chietiy with the welfare of the skilled organized workers, the build- ing trades and the like. The fact remains that the dumping of thousands of unemployed workers in the textile industry and the shoe industry (which is similarly affected) on. the labor market as a result of the steady shifting of industry from New England to the South, will inevitably affect the skilled workers of that section of the country. The building industry, which depends chiefly upon local demand, is already on the downgrade. he forced to follow to an ever-increasing degree. The entire labor movement of New England will suffer the consequences of its lack of foresight and preparedness. The New York Times offers a sorry consolation to these workers. The “back-to-thefarm” movement is held forth as a pana- cea, The New England farmer has already shared in the general agricultural crisis. The prospect of future unemployment and shrinking home markets offers little guarantee of any improvement. The development of small manufacturing concerns and the em- ployment of skilled labor on articles of luxury is the next offering of the Times’ economic expert. To give the impression that New iugland can now. build up a new group of industries of this kind jo compete with Japan, Germany and France. who are specialists in these fields and whg have the advantage of better access to cheaper labor than even the South can boast of, is to propose to the workers of New England that they descend one step lower in the seale of the world’s labor. This is the future which capitalism holds out to the workers of New England. It is for them to say whether they will meekly accept it, or whether they will bestir themselves to action. The chief task before the workers of the New England states is that of organization into powerful trade unions to meet the coming onslaughts of the employers. The prospect of a coming period of unemployment, which would make it more difficult to carry out this task, makes it necessary that labor take up at once the question of building a political weapon as well—a labor party, that will serve as a powerful right arm in the struggles of these workers against the employers, that will raise the ery of unemploy- ment relief when it is needed and go even further for the socializa- tion of the industries of New England as a remedy for the present inereasing chaos, Ware, Mass., should offer food for much thought. 4 eR n io place no faith or hope for justice in the capitalist courts. | Vanzetti, and the fight} As} Yet the significance of the change going on, Other industries will | By C. E, RUTHENBERG, Gen. Sec’y. Workers (Communist) Party. (Editorial Note: This is the third of a series of articles on the discussions and resolution of the meeting of the central committee of the Workers (Communist) Party announced in The DAILY if WORKER a few days ago.) frpae summary of the discussions | and resolutions of the central com- the | the last convention of the party which declares: “The condition existing in the United States, so far as the trade unions are concerned, is to a con- siderable dégree, parallel to the con- ditions which existed in Great Britain a quarter of a cenrury ago. There, too, a highly reactionary trade union bureaucracy wag in con- trol of the trade unions and opposed all progressive measures in the struggle against the employers. It Was only the advent of “new union- ism” which came into existence thru the organization of the great ; Masses of previously unorganized workers that the trade unions chang- | ed their policy and the labor party was formed and industrial unionism developed. “The organization of millions of workers in such industries as the steel industry, the rubber industry, the automobile industry will’ bring into the American trade union move- ment, new and more militant spirit and will greatly increase the in- fluence of our party and aid mater- ‘THE B | The following study of the Brit- | ish empire was written by Comrade Roy while the Imperial Conference in London was still going on. It will, however, be noted that Roy’s analysis of the conflicting interests at work in the British empire is substantiated by the results of the empire meet. Roy correctly pre- dicts in this article the setting up | of the loose federation that has come to pass. The information he offers here with reference to South Atrica and Canada explains the stand of these two countries in the conference and in a large measure accounts for the retreat of the home government that the new charter represents. Roy is a well- known leader of the Indian libera- | jally in achieving our end of win- resolution on trade union work of | Bs Md WORKER te OA ToS |tion, the shop nucleus must endeavor to establish contact with the more | militant workers outside of the party ning the organized masses for the revolutionary Communist struggle.” The organization of the Passaic |in the shop and endeavor to form a | present situation of capitalist prosper- |workers and their entry into the | shop committee. In large industries |American Federation of Labor thru |this shop committee must extend it- | affiliation to the United Textile Work- | self by organizing similar committees jers, thus creating a strong left wing |in all departments of the industry. | within the 2 orgdnization, is a} The creation of such a skeleton or- ‘concrete example of the working out | ‘of the policy formulated in the above / quotation from the convention resolu- tion, N Ppa | How to Carry on the; Work of Organ- izing the Unorganized, the unorganized industries. It will require careful The work in the fleld of organiza- be i ersistent tion of the unorgatiized must isd asses carried on by the pailty in two wa | First, thru direct work in the shops (and factories for organization of the | unorganized workers and second, thru \stimulation of the existing trade un- \jons to take up the work and ca |on the campaign for ‘the organization | of the unorganized, | | work is undertaken in earnest with'a party can develop scor on the basis of its present strength in the unorganized industries, ae te, The Work in the Trade Unions to Organize the Unorganized. Simultaneously with the work of the |_/The reorganization of the party on the basis of the shop nuclei has given us the instrument for direct contaci | with the Workers In. thé factories thru which we \gair initiate the campaigi |for organization of ‘the unorganized | workers, » The ‘party ndw has direct contact with the worker between two and three hundred factories thruout the | carrying on this work, Resolutions | country. It is already publishing shop | supporting the program for organiza- ition of the unorganized can be intro- duced in the trade union bodies, all nust, thru its trade un nitiate campaigns thru the trade un- ons for organization of the unorgan- lued. * There is a broad field of activity in | papers in some twenty-five to thirty | of these factories. : | While the shop nucleus is a political junit of the party, and must carry on}to the convention of the American | the work in support of all 6f the party | Wederation of Labor. The party trade’ |‘ campaigns in the factory, it is a par- | union fractions should carry on the ticularly strong weapon gf our party in the work of organization of the un-| organization of the unorganized and \organized. |for conduct of campaigns to achieve | \It is the task of every shop nucleus which exists in an industry in which | by the district councils, the central the workers are not organized to be-/labor bodies, state federations of la- ‘gin systematic agitation for organiza- | bor thru the conventions of the inter- | tion as part of their work, This agita- | national unions and carry the struggle |tion must be based upon the experi-|to the A. F. of L. convention, | ences and grievances of the workers cde naiinbes jin the factories, thru taking up the | Favorable Opportunities for Organ- | demands for higher wages, the griev-: ization of the Unorganized. | ances of the workers in regard to their; During the period of the world war, | working conditions, that a movement | the American Federation of Labor in- | for organization can be developed. }eveased its membership to four mil- The first step toward organization is lion. It was possible to organize large | the crystallization ofthe demands of masses of the workers during the | organization of the workers. The fact | systematic form. All of the United | that there is general employment is | front campaigns of the party on issues | encouraging the workers t6 make new |in the workers’ interests have their jdemands and to enter into struggle | basis in the trade unions. These cam- ganization in the unorganized indus-|for these demands. The boasts about | paigns cannot take on greater volume try, which in the moment when the | the great profits of the capitalists are | unless the organized forces of the workers’ grievances reach a boiling |stirring the demand point, can call a strike and during | standard of life among the workers jand thus, the ability of the party to the strike, organize the mass of the | who are producing these profits. workers into a union, must be under- | |taken by the party shop nuclei in all/talist prosperity that the. movement | ed. |for the organization of the unorgan- | {ized can make headway: work on the part of the shop nuclei |movement as a whole ‘has ‘not taken achievements of the party in this field o carry out this program but if the |advantage of the situation thus far: are illustrated by’ the. broad Save the | Valuable time has been lost in devel-' Union campaign which has developed {determination to secure results, the | oping the movement for organization. in the United Mine Workers of Amer- of “Passaics” | By taking up this movement energeti- | the party can greatly extend its in-|of the American Federation of Labor. | fluence among the workers and at the | The present policies and leadership of | same time build the party. / Work Among the Unorganized varty nuclei in the fatcories, the party | fractions, | | union movement for the militant class country, The jthe way from the local trade unions , struggle to have committees fér the | however, emphatically points out that ‘this end, set up by the local unions, | vl organize in order to achieve these | Further work to convince the party [ { demands, |of-the importance, of the work in the While not to the same degree, the | trade unions is necessary and together { with this the development of the trade ‘ ity presents a similar opportunity for | unton fractions in the party in a more f for a higher | party in the trade unions are increased \draw these organized _ masses into It is now, during this period of capi- |common struggle with ftself broaden- The importance of the work in the The labor | trade unions and the opportunities for ica, The United Mine Workers of cally and taking the leadership in it, | America is the proletarian backbone the union are resulting in its disinte- |gration, The program of the Save the Union bloc must be put into effect. Workers. ; The loss of the United Mine Workers Ag pointed out in the resolution of jor its being weakened so that it will the last convention, the .work of or-|be ineffective in its struggle against ganizing the unorganized is of the ut-|the coal barons, would be a blow to most importance in witining the trade ‘the whole labor movement. of ° this fight to save the struggle against capitalism. The work- miners’ union therefore, becomes of ers who come into the organized labor | the greatest importance to the whole movement from the great machine in- |!abor movement. {dustry will be ‘a source of new! By proving that it stands for thosd strength for the left wing in its strug: | Policies which strengthen and build | gle for a militant class struggle policy jthe organized labor movement, thru by organized labor. liepsreing the Save the Union move- he central committee resolution, |ment in the United Mine Workers of America, the party is winning new in- lthere must be no let-ip in the work | fluence and increasing its prestige lin the existing trade unions because | among the miners and its work in this of the throwing of the party energy | field will ultimately crystallize in the |into the work of organizing the unor- | form of new strength for the party. | ganized. There are hundreds of similar op- The party thus far has brought far | portunities for the party to take the too little of its strength to bear in the |Jeadersbip in to strengthen the labor trade unions. All of the campaigns | movement. The party can only take of the party to emphasize the need of |full advantage of these opportunities |the struggle to win the organized [if its members are in the unions and j workers in the trade unions have re-| organized into fractions, carrying on ‘sulted in approximately 50 per cent of ja campaign to build a broad left wing ‘the party membership becoming mem-;movement which will fight to make | bers of the trade unions, and probably the trade unions the organs of militant less than half of these members ac-j|class struggle in the workers’ inter- |tually carry on systematic work in | ests. ee | the workers thru agitation in the fac- |torles. Where shop ,papers are pub- | lished by the party,nuclei, these pa- j bers must make thig.their first task. |The development of a-greater number period of the war when the labor ‘power of the workers was in demand. | | their unions. There is, therefore, still the need of The work in the field of organization lof the unorganized and the work in The capitalists needed the workers’ | energetic steps to have the party mem- the organized labor movement stil! | services and consequently the position | bers who are eligible for trade union stand in. the forefront of the party \of the workers was strengthened. The | membership to join a union, At least | tasks, The need of the present situa- {of shop papers is one. of the steps | high rate at which industry was run-|90 per cent of the party membership (tion is greater mobilization of the | necessary to strengthen the campaign | ning encouraged the workers to make jis eligible for union membership and | party strength for this work in order | for organization of the unorganized, this | Follow! t ee * } Decides to Retreat. 5 at view of the acutengss of the situa- |* tion the British government decided |to beat a timely retreat as the best strategy. Three impertant dominion | delegations (Canada, South Africa and | Ireland) came to the conference deter- | mined to raise the constitutional ques- |tion and the question of international |status. The delegates are fully sup- | ported by public opinion at home. | Hertzog, who bore arms against the | British during the Boer. war and who \even after reconciliation with Britain stood for an independent § rican republic, comple’ (loyalist South African | in the last eleetion head of the government. Ever since he came to power Hertzog has repeat- | edly put forward the separatist pro- | greater demands for increased wages |should become members of a trade to take advantage of the opportunities | governor general because their imperial orientation. The con- servative party, behind which stand | the financial interests closely connect- ed with London banks, has been van- quished at the polls. The liberal progressive combination, led by King. came to power with the following pro- gram: 1, Canada is de facto inde- pendent, but de jure still subordinated to the sixty-year-old British-North America act passed by the British par- liament. This state of affairs must be changed. 2. Canadian parliament should have the same sovereign right to manage domestic and foreign affairs as the British parliament. 3, Canada should not be reduced to the status of a colony by the interference of the British governor general. These are very clear issues, and the tion movement and a careful stu-/ gram of Boer nationalism, The agi- | s0vernment of Mackenzie King is com dent of the British empire. * * By M. N. ROY. | .HE drama which is being enacted | behind closed’ doors in Downing {street could be characterized as a comedy had it not been so tragie for the British empire, It°is a comedy because of the hypocritical speeches made for publication. They are talk- ‘ing of imperial unity and loyalty to the crown while the conflict of inter- ests becomes ever sharper. Baldwin virtuously concluded his inaugural speech with a quotation from St. | Augustine: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things charity.” But the Boer general Hert- |zog, who lacks Anglo-Saxon polite- | ness, brusquely turned the tables and |demanded that the basis of the impe- |rial federation should be “liberty in essentials; unity where self-Interests |permit; charity—to none.” The if ankly separatist views of Hertzog |are shared, if not as openly, by Can- ada and Ireland. | Evidently inter-imperial relations |have become so critical that a deter- | mined effort must be made to find a modus vivendi, . In political and con- stitutional issues London seems to be prepared to make concessions, pro- |vided that economic supremacy re- |mains unimpaired, That is, if the do- |minions would sincerely accept the principle of imperial preference and effectively apply it in practice, their ‘demands as regards internal autonomy and international status could be re- Nictantly granted. Altho Chamber- lain’s long report on foreign affairg is not published, it is reported that he even did not raise the question of | ratification of the Locarno treaties by | the dominions, | cession. That is a great con- places the dominion gov- ide the jurisdiction of ign office, | ernmén the tation for a South African flag was the acute manifestation of the sepa- jTatist sentiment. A few days before the imperial conference met in Lon- don a great mass meeting was held in Johannesburg to celebr the “Afri- kaaner Day.” Four ministers of the Hertzog cabinet, incl the acting premier, were present. that meet- ing Malan (one of the ministers) de- clared that the gov it had de- cided unanimously to next year. Malan African press of def interests as against and declared that the pr by peoples overseas 4 tors are foreigners. Undoubtedly this de tration of nationalism was to mgthen the hand of Hertzog’ in the imperial con- the flag bill the South imperial interests 4s Was owned ‘that the edi- = ference. And Hertzod did not disap- point his followers ‘af home, Hoe took the first oppor’ to state his case, and in doing | not mince words. He deman “1, In prin- ciple, unrestricted 1 of action to each individual of the com- monwealth; 2. In consulta- tion with a view to: tive ace tion wherever possi oa This conception of! unity, if accepted, would reduce the empire to a sort of loose enter ly to drift apart under the pressure of economic interests, ~ Canada’s Pos IANADA has not with any friendlier mood, tenzie King may be a better d than the Boer general from il, but his diplomatic words- ounced on the background of form facts. He has swept the utry in the re- cent election, which fought with clear nationalist slo coun- try has supported him { to the authority of ernor g opponents who 4 jmitted to them. When King showed | reluctance to attend the imperial con- ference to press these vital constitu- tional issues, he was urged by the nationalist politicians, who wanted him to back up Hertzog in the con- ference, | Irish Problem, HEN there is Ireland. The Irish | delegate, Fitzgerald, expressed his intention to raise the questions of war and of the functions of the governor generals, His views are that the do- minions should not be considered to be technically or legally in a state of war simply by virtue of the fact that Britain was at war. The conference will have’ to sit much more than a month if such grave conflicts of interests are to be composed, But in this critical period of its economic existence British im- perialism can hardly afford to sharpen #he issues of inter-imperial relations by stubbornly opposing the points of view of the dominions or by insisting upon London's hegemony over foreign affairs, Diplomacy is considered to be the best way out of the crisis, But neither diplomacy nor conces- sions in questions of foreign relations would touch the background of thé conflicts. Rifts in the background of the relations between the dominions and the metropolis cause the discord in the political and constitutional su- perstructures, The basic relation is ‘the economic relation, , Britain is losing her economic, financial and political hegemony upon the countries which formally are, and will be for some time, still parts of the British empire. Capitalist Decline. apres growth of a separatist tendency in the dominions is closely con- nected with the decline of British talism. Jt is the cause th ect at the same time,, Ind gation of the dominions m of agite-|and a higher standard of life and to) union, | which lie before us, capital. If it were possible to keep |up a constant and increasing flow of | | capital from. England to the domin- | ions on the most favorable conditions, relations would not be so pronounced. The dominions (with the exception of South Africa developed largely with capital and labor exported from Btit- ain. On the other hand, the large bulk of the raw materials produced in the dominions: found market in Eng- land, : Now both these basic relations be- tween the dominions and the mother country have changed. England is not able to supply the gtowing capital elsewhere on more favorable condi- tions. For example, no British cap- ital has penetrated deeply into Can- ada. At the same time, chronic in- dustrial depression has caused a shrinkage of market in Britain for the raw materials from the dominions. Since the Tatter are obliged to sell outside the empire, Consequently, the program’ of imperial preference in which British capitalism seeks a way out of the present crisis becomes un- realizable. . Britain Weak. PEAKING outside the conference hall Mackenzie King succinctly but clearly formulated the basic con- ditions for the relations between Can- ada and England iy these words: “We want capital. We 'would take it from | Britain; but if we cannot it here we must find it elsewhere.” In his opening speech Baldwin ¢#id not fail to touch this foundation of inter-Impe- rial relationship. He ‘endeavored to justify the present inability of London to supply the dominions with capital on favorable terms by reference to what the mother country had done in the past. He reminded the dominion representatives that down to the end of 1925 London had lent to the domin- ions £850,000,000. But he was con- strained to admit “the reduction in the wealth and accumulated savings of this country (Britain) resu®ing from the world war." When Baldwin re- ferred to the total investment of £850,000,000 (of which about £360,- 000,000 went to Canada) Mackenzie King must have taken a mental note of the £400,000,000 of American cap- ital invested in: Canada mostly since the war, ae Recently the South African trade commissioner in London stated that every year his country was sending more raw materials abroad; ‘Last year’s balance was £17,000,000. He i that South Africa must. , she 1s the process of rupture in inter-imperial | out of the empire, they must also buy | ‘IMPERIAL CONFERENCE of progressively independent of the me-} Similar difficulties underlie the’ ¢co- | tropolis, but increases their need for | nomic relations with all the dominions ‘which possess the autonomy to deter mine the direction of their trade and protect thelr industries by raising tar- \iff walls. These difficulties frustrate all the efforts to enforce the principle of imperial preference. And it is around this basie question of economic relations that the main battles of the conference will be fought. Preference, N_ his speech to the conference the |4+ president of the board of trade stat- jed that in the first half of the current year one-third of the British imports came from the empire and half of the exports went to the empire. This fact shows that imperial preference op- ‘erates against the interests of the do- minions and in favor of England. Brit- ish manufacturers gain by the prefer- ‘ential tariff, whereas the producers of raw materials and partly finished com- modities in the dominions lose. Con- sequently it is natural that the domin- jons possessing the autonomy to de- termine the direction of trade and in fiscal matters do not take kindly to | the scheme of imperial preference, Ar effective operation of the scheme may help out British capitalism, but all sentimental considerations of racial and language affinity taken together cannot induce the dominions to sacri- fice their economic interests on the al- tar of the empire, Then there is the question of em- pire settlement. Most of the domin- ions need labor. Britain is suffering from the incurable malady of unem- ployment. jons with the British unemployed? It is a very simple proposition on the face of it; but here also arise serious complications, At this time, when the ther from the control of metropolitan finance, emigratign of British workers means an irrecoverable loss of 80 much labor power for British capital- ism, ‘Their inability to export suf- ficient capital to the dominions makes the British bourgeoisie very re’ t to encourage emigration to the 4 jons. Thus the empire settlement scheme remains a paper scheme, } British Power Gone. © 'N spite of the frantic attempts to stabilize British capitalism on the basis of f-contained imperial unit, the process of disruption goes on, ‘The empire will continue still for some time as a loosely bound fede: or, rather, entente working in co-operation whenever and wherever possible with- out prejudice to self-interest. But the hegemony of Britain Is gone forever. This is being demonstrated in the im- Why not settle the domin- . dominions are drifting farther and far- | | |