The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 2, 1927, Page 4

“When asked to sign a statement made to the police she marked aut THE DAILY WORKER Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. 1118 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ill. Phone Monroe 4712 SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in Chicago only): By mali (outside of Chicago): | $8.00 per year $4.50 six months | $6.00 per year $3.50 six months | $2.50 three months $2.00 three months | | ————<—$$$———— Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER, 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chloago, Ill, —— J, LOUIS ENGDAHL WILLIAM F. DUNNE BERT MILLER .... Editors Business Manager 0A SE SR EE EER Sc EET Bntered as second-class mail September 21, 1923, at the post-office at Chih cago, IIL, under the act of March 3, 1879. <i 290 ‘Advertising rates on application “Er: ”? ele ° How Woll “Fights” the Furriers’ Union The methods by which the war on militant unionism is being conducted are in keeping with its purposes. No better example of the complete absence of anything savoring of working class integrity can be had than the manner in which of- | ficialdom of the American Federation of Labor in general and Vice- | Président Woll in particular has made war upon the capable and courageous leadership of the Furriers’ Union in New York. The executive council of the A. F. of L. without any charges being preferred and in strict violation of the regular procedure of the trade union movement, appointed a committee headed by Woll to “investigate” the eighteen weeks’ strike by which the Furriers established the 40-hour week. No member or officer of the New York Furriers’ Union was made a member of the committee which, in addition to Woll, con- sisted of labor officials whose relations with Tammany Hall are a scandal among decent union men. The investigation of the committee was made in secret altho the officials of the union demanded public hearings. ‘The findings of the committee have never been furnished the union. Vice-President Woll, in the i,eanwhile, at public meetings and in the capitalist press, is systematically slandering the Furriers’ Union, but he has not the courage to meet these officials on the plat- form. The findings of the handpicked committee will not be made public until after the meeting of the A. F. of L. executive council on Feb. 11. Until then Woll evidently intends to continue his attacks without informing the union of what it is accused. Tuesday night the Furriers’ Joint Board held a mass meeting | of the membership and invited Woll to attend, hear the report of Ben Gold and take issue with it if he wished. . Woll did not appear. | But the next day his usnal denunciation of the union appeared | in the New York Times. In the history of the labor movement, with the exception of the | five-year persecution of Alex Howat by the Lewis machine, there is | no parallel to this slimy, secretive and typically jesuitical attempt } to destroy a union which has earned the enmity of the bosses and their’'agents by its ability to fight and win. Woll typifies imperialism’s labor agents. Products of American Civilization | Alma Runuzzio, the latest of Chicago’s “bandit queens” to be captured, alleged to be the “brains” of a gang of five youths who had held up and robbed a number of people, is 20 years old and cannot | read or write. an X and said: “T can’t write. I never was to school a day in my life.” The “leader” being of this level of intelligence, we can form a fairly accurate estimate of the mentality of the followers. 4 Yet these are the kind of elements pictured by the capi press and the police as “master minds.” Where does the blame lie for such criminals and their crimes? Well, who runs this country? But it will not be the lords of industry and finance, their apologists and agents who will be hung or sent to prison. It will be the young men and women with the brains of children whose bodies dangling from the gallows or immured in the penitentiary, will be testimony to the efliciency of the American machinery of law and order. By the way, we are willing to make a small wager that the bandit queen and her faithful followers can be aroused to fury over the pro- grees made by the Communist Party in undermining our American institutions and the spread of red doctrines in our publie schools. Those more materially fortunate ones of the same level of intelligence who are editors of capiialist papers, detectives and bankers are greatly concerned ovre such developments. 100 per cent Americans think alike. talist Chemists for Government and Bootleg Trust in Battle to Make the Stuff So You Can’t Drink It and Then Drinkable WASHINGTON.—The government's battle against the bootleg trust today STRIKING BOX MAKERS gave promise of developing into ASK FOOD AND MONEY; HOW YOU CAN HELP “chemical warfare.” Treasury chemists were busy trying The striking Paper Box Makers of New York are appealing for food or to devise formulae for denaturing al- money with which to buy it. This cohol which not only will make the product undrinkable, but which will protect the lives of the thirsty whose simple belief in the bootlegger is com- | Federation of Labor officialdom dis- | |in the labor movement, A, F. of L, of- | miserable failure, as in the struggle | which had throttled all rank and file | the parable to their attitude toward Santa Claus. On the other hand the bootleg cor- poration chemists were just as busy studying methods by which the gaso- ine flavoring and wood alcohol poison- Ing may be removed to convert the Mquor, by the magic wave of the hand which puts on labels, to any of the once well known pre-war brands, The trust apparently had the edge. Against the treasury’s chemists, averaging probably less than $5,000 an- nually, the new industry has a formidable array of chemical engineers with salaries many times those paid by the government and with plenty of capital to conduct ‘their scientific in- quests. The bootleg trust, with well-equip- ped laboratories, has so far succeeded in removing the denaturants from every industrial alcohol devised by the government. The treasury has ordered prohibition chemists to seek formulae for “fool appeal is addressed not only to our readers in New York, but to their sympathizers everywhere, Food is required to run the kitch- en which has been opened and to be sent in bundles to the homes, Food will keep them on the picket line and help them to win their just de- mands, ‘ Contributions of food and money may be sent to the United Council of Workingclass Housewives, Room 237, 80 East 11th Street, New York City, —— the present law wood alcohol is the basic denaturant, but if the public persists in drinking denatured alcohol treasury officials sai@ that possibly it will be necessary to recommend to congress that the poison be removed. Non-poisonous industrial alcohol, however, admittedly would reduce the effectiveness of prohibition enforce- ment, unless a denaturant can be dis- Artlole IX. By WILLIAM F. DUNNE. | OR some time, beginning exactly at | the moment when the American covered that the only real opposition to American entry into the war came from the left wing of the socialist party which made up the great ma- jority of the Communist Party later, there has been an approach on the part of the socialist bureaucracy and the ruling group of the A. F, of L, was marked first by the cessation of opposition by socialist party members, who were at the same time officials of needle trades unions, to the A. F. of L, machine. Opposition candidates of the socialist type, and backed by the needle trades and Jew- ish trade union bloc, were no longer nominated in A, F. of L, conventions. Then came the expulsion policy against the Communists, in which so- clalist or former socialist union of- ficials joined heartily and, as in the International Ladies’ Garment Work- ers’ Union, took the initiative, The Amalgamated Clothing Workers’ of- ficials, to which anything savoring of A. F. of Liism had been anathema hitherto, also instituted the expulsion policy. HEN the demand for recognition of Soviet Russia became an issue ficialdom found their most valuable allies in two places—among socialist trade union leaders and among the most hard-boiled section of the capi- talist class. It was socialist union of- ficials who mouthed the most outra- geous slanders of Soviet Russia, its workers’ and peasants’ government and the Communists. This united front of trade union and socialist reaction knit very closely the bond between the two, HE socialists, in their attack on the Communists, at first got only sym- pathetic support from the A. F. of L. officials, Without something more than this their attack resulted in a in the New York section of the union early last year. The A. F, of L. gave little if any organizational support to President Sigman and his henchmen on the joint board. The struggle ended with the defeat of the socialist party leadership (in which can be included all the elements supported by the Dally Forward, whether actually members of the so- cialist party or not). Then came the struggle in the fur- riers’ union, which, likewise, ended in defeat of the Forward elements, 'N both of these struggles the basic issue was worker-employer co-oper- ation versus a policy of struggle, the abolition of gangsterism in the unions expression and. amalgamation of all unions in the industry. There had been a number of strug- gles in the Amalgamated, but in this union the issues were less clear be- cause of the split between President Hillman and the Forward gang, and left wing never attained the strength it has in the other needle trade unions, UT the failure of the right wing to crush the rank and file opposi- tion in the furriers and the I. L. G. (Continued from page 1) is now released from that threat and numbers of nationalist troops which have been quartered in various places in western Hupeh, notably at Ichang, are now available for operations else- where. The spread of the nationalist civil administration thruout the prov- ince is now proceeding rapidly. Nationalists Control, Difficulties are found, naturally enough, in the traditional methods of old-style administration, but no posi- tive obstacles are being met. As everywhere else where the national- ists are in control, there is complete rapport between the populace and the civil and military administrators, The newly-appointed financial expert, named by the nationalist government to take charge of Hupeh financial measures and to straighten out the provincial finances and to bring them under central provincial control, un- der the direct supervision of the na- tionalist finarice officials, has assumed office. Hunan Province: Under the able direction of Tang Sheng-Chi, the commander of the eighth revolutionary army, the reor- ganization of this province under Kuo- mintang principles of civil administra- tion is proceeding with smoothness. General Tang recently issued a mani- festo to the people of the province, in which he outlined clearly the aims and purposes of the Kuomintang rule, em- phasizing the social-program designed to bring about better economic condi- tions, particularly among the peas- antry, The manifesto had a great ef- fect upon the population of the prov- ince and has helped materially in bringing about complete popular co- operation with the new Kuomintang offidials, See Viewpoint. In Hunan province there is every evidence of the true “nationalist covered rendering the product un-| proot” industrial alcohol—that is with she poison elements deleted. Under drinkable and impossible of eemoval | by redistillation, sense,” The people are thoroughly im- THE DAILY WORKER W,, together with the knowledge that amalgamation was becoming a popu- lar mass issue which would soon force something more than platonic expres- sions of endorsement, with the fur- ther certainty that the A, ©, W, of- ficlaidom would be unable ty dominate any amalgamated block because of the preponderance of left wing leadership, undoubtedly prompted the Hillman machine to enter into @ truce with the Forward and an alliance with A. f. of L, officialdom and officialdom in other needle trades and Jewish unions against the left wing. Hillman now proposes amalgamation with the I, L, G, W.—but without the left wing. L,Y Ut failure to aroule any real en- thusiasm in the methbership for the new two-year Ngw York agree- ment (it was voted for by only some- thing like 10 per centwofxthe member- ship, according to stagements of mem- bers present at the the possibility of a of the left wing in &. C. W. pos- sible and a united sive against the left wing in the laber movement desirable—especially in’ the needle trades, The offensive has been launched. Socialist party and A. F..of L. official- dom are fighting side by, side, as has been shown previously, | HE “Committee for ’ rvation of Trade Unions,” whose first act was to attempt to split the forces of labor supporting Sacco and Vanzetti, is an organization of delegates mostly from unions in which the officialdom is controlled by the Daily Forward. Abraham I, Shiplacoff, chairman of the comiflittee, is part of the Forward machine in the International Pocket- book Workers’ Union, The Hebrew Trades Council is controlled by the Forward and it-is the center of the newly-formed body. The Amalgamat- ed Clothing Workers officialdom is. development represented by Beckerman, manager | of the New York Joint Board. ke New Leader, official organ of the socialist party, is trying with might and main to become the official organ in English of the reactionary drive. In its issue’ for December 28 it had no less than eight news stories and articles directed against the left wing and the Communists, It accom- panies this truckling to the right wing of trade union officialdom with a front page appeal for funds, The national executive committee of the socialist party, meeting in New York last week, officially assured the needle trades officialdom of its sup- port. Its resolution on the subject, published in the New Leader, after making it plain that the N. E. C. will not oppose the present officialdom, or allow socialist party members to do so in the name of she party, goes on to state: We rejoice that the members of the needle trade unions have united in a campaign to save the unions from the influence that has brouyht: them to the brink of ruin. To the extent that socialist, party members can be of service this work we pledge their willing peration,.. * HAT the real policy of the socialist party is in con with its pro- fessed neutrality cam be seen by a comparison of the abgye with the fol- lowing statement wh is made in the first part of the N. C. resolution: The socialist party has always ed the new regime as the people of Kwangtun, where the nationalists have completely succeeded in making firm the popular foundations of their administration, Kiangsi Province: The complete elimination of Sun Chuan-fang and hig military forces from this province, thru the final cap- ture of Kiukiang and Nanchang early this month, paved the way for the as- | sumption of control by the nationalist civil administration, The work done thruout the southern portion of the province by the political section of the army, with its edutational litera- ture, has percolated thruout the prov- ince and the evidences of popular ap- proval of the natisaat regime came clearly in great po demonstra- tions when General Kai-shih, the nationalist comm: chief, en- tered Kiukiang. mew Kuomin- tang officials have n Office and already steps have bee& taken toward the consolidation and cgntralization of financial control, un the direct supervision of financial experts from the nationalist finance authorities, Fukien Province: The anti-nationalist troops are stead- ily being forced to geumb to the nationalist forces. There have been several of the Fukterl commanders, nominally owing alleZiance to Sun Chuan-fang, who have made terms with the nationalist leaders. Among these is General Chang Ngai, one of the most effective of the Fukien mili- tarists, whose submission hag been accepted on conditions fixed by the political council at Canton. As an example of the vicarious ef- fects of Kuomintang propaganda among the people, the fact is to be cited that even in Fukien sections not yet controlled by the nationalta tain reforms have been instituted as a last resort to stem the tide of pro- nationalist sentiment agong the peo- ple of the province, pregnated with the nationalist view- Kuangal Province: point. They have as heartily socept ) The general situation this. prow stings) made | 7; “The New Drive on Militant Trade been opposed to any capturing of the trade unions by political par- tles and TO ANY ATTEMPTS TO DIRECT AND CONTROL THE AF- FAIRS OF TRADE UNIONS BY OUTSIDE PARTIES, (Emphasis mine.) One statement negates the other. The position of the socialist party of- ficlaldom amounts to this: No struggle against the contro! of unions by any party except the Communist Party. HAT this is its actual policy is to ‘be discerned by the fact that its official organ chronicles approvingly denunciations of the Communists and left wing made to meetings under right wing control by such well-known Tammany Hall revolutionists as Mat- thew Woll, Hugh Frayne, New York organizer for the A, F. of L., and Joseph D, Ryan, president of Mayor Wayker’s labor club, the Central des and Labor Council of New York City. The program of the “Committee for Preservation of the Trade Unions,” dominated by the Jewish Daily For- ward and supported by the New Leader, is too long to quote in full, but one or two extracts will give a clear idea of the objective of this body. OINT 5 reads: To make a survey of the “inno- cents’ club” and camouflaged organ- izations formed by the Communists or the Communist Party thru which they have received funds ostensibly for the protection of the forelgn- born, the Negroes, the Filipinos, for release of political prisoners, for the protection of civil rights, etc., all of which are Intended to further the destructive work of American Com- munism. As in the case of Sacco and Van- zetti, the various movements men- tioned cannot be stripped of Commu- nist workers and sympathizers with- out either crippling or wrecking them, It 1g apparent that the socialist party leaders are quite willing to wreck these movements, all of them of vital importance to the labor movement as a whole, to get a crack at the Commu- nists. LL of the movements mentioned are non-partisan movements in which workers and liberal middle- class elements take part. The Com- munists may be and generally are the most active section, but that they con- trol them mechanically or can work in them for any other purpose than stimulating them, achieving immediate gains for the whole working class and thereby profiting as a revolutionary party from the generally improved militancy of the masses, is an idea that could originate only in a diseased brain, 'T is true, however, just because of the active part taken by Commu- nist workers, that most of these move- ments will die if the Communists are driven out or will become moribund and powerless, so empty of working- class vigor that the capitalists will have nothing to fear from them. Norman Thomas, who wants to fill the shoes of Eugene Debs, seems to have some misgivings as to the wis- dom of the red-baiting crusade launched by the socialist bureaucracy that has shoved him quietly into the background, to be fumigated since his contact with Communists in the Pas- saic strike—against the wishes of the high priests of socialism. HHOMAS likewise is not enthusiastic over the reactionary allies with which his le@fliers have made a pact for war on the will to struggle in the trade unions. In the December 25 issue of the New Leader Thomas, after doing obeisance at the shrines of Sigman and Hillquit and repeating the invocation against the Commu- nist devil, utters the following warn- ing: Nevertheless, no labor unions gen- erally nor socialist labor unionists particularly can afford to fight Com- munism by witch-hunting, by MAK- ING LOVE TO REACTION, or by a merely negative policy. In the long run THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT COMMUNISM WILL BE BY SETTING UP. STANDARDS OF HONOR, EFFICIENCY AND IDEAL. ISM WHICH WILL GIVE COMMU- ISTS NO JUST GROUNDS FOR CRITICISM. Above all, it will be necessary for the unions in thelr sphere and the socialist party In ite sphere TO DO BETTER SOME OF THE JOBS—like organizing the un- organized, and defending political prisoners and fighting against _impe- riallsm—WHICH THE COMMU- NISTS HAVE AT LEAST HAD THE ENERGY TO TRY TO DO. E can say to Norman Thomas that we have not the slightest objec- tion to being fought in the way he suggests, but principally because he believes that the present leadership of the trade union movement and the socialist party will some day. fight Communism this way is the reason he aids reaction by giving it at times— the present, for instance—a semi- respectable covering which prevents the imperialist lackey uniform being seen by unskilled working-class ob- servers. Thomas continues: It is with joy that one turns to Passalc. There the heroic struggle is resulting In victory. The settle- ments in the Botany Mills and a number of smaller organizations are all that could reasonably be expeot- ed from a local strike in the textile industry. It is a matter of public knowledge that Communists organized and led the Passaic strike, built up the relief machinery, fed the strikers, and that Communist union organizers and mem- bers still are the backbone of the struggle. But how does Thomas ex- plain that the same Matthew Woll, who denounced the Communists to President Coolidge last November for their activity in the Passaic strike, is now lionized by the socialist party press as @ savior of the labor move- ment? UT these are minor inconsist- encies of a socialist policy which is consistent as a whole and which brings them in organizations other than the trade unions into conflict with the class, interests of the work- ers. ¢ Z i In the words of Norman Thomas; the socialist bureaucracy is “making love to.reaction.” It is a neat phrase, delightfully descriptive and perfectly appropriate; ‘ I am indebted to Norman Thomas for this apt characterization and shall use it hereafter in referring to the socialist leaders, of course giving Thomas credit for it. (To be continued.) ince is completely satisfactory. Work- ers, peasants, students, merchants’ or- ganizations, are rapidly growing in strength and influence under national- {ist encouragement. The sentiment of |the people thruout the province is | wholeheartedly favorable toward the | new program. | Kweichow Province: | In this province, also, there has |been a repercussion from the action of Yang Sen, the Czechuan leader, in coming under the nationalist govern- ment’s banners. They have been re- lieved of the fear of a possible inva- sion by Czechuen forces and can now devote more attention to that portion of their border which faces Yunnan province, where avowedly anti-nation- alist militarists still hold control. The problems of reorganization of the provincial administration under Kuo- mintang principles and methods) are being carefully studied. Slowly the new system is being installed, to the satisfaction of the people, Kwangtung Province: Here, the home province of the na- tionalist forces for years, the reorgan- ization under the new provincial com- mission is rapidly going on, the avowed aim being to make Kwang- tung a real “model” province from which all other provinces under na- tionalist control may copy, The ban- dit suppression campaign is proceed- ing rapidly. While there are sporadic recrudescences of banditry in some remote sections, these are explainable by the great difficulties in the way of easy communication, Wherever troops can be easily mobilized, how- ever, banditry is rapidly being sup- pressed, Peasant Work in Kwangtun: Special attention is being paid by the provincial authorit: to bettering conditions among the peasantry. Three major projects are being worked out toward this end: (1) A wholesale plan for effecting a 25 per cent reduction in the rentals peasants pay for thetx land holdings; (2) the tlh & China Survey Shows Power of Cantonese creation of branches of the Central Bank, to be known as land banks or peasant banks, the purpose of which will be to help the peasants in financ- ing their crops easily, and generally in easing financial pressure among the lowly land workers, heretofore the victims of village usurers; (3) the establishment of local militia units, to be organized and financed by local administrations with the assistance of the merchants and town dwellers in the smaller communities for the bet- ter protection of these communities. New Organ of Labor Makes Militant Bow (By Federated Press) A new labor journal, “Labor, Unity,” is announced to begin publication in Chicago on Jan. 1. It will express progMssive trade union policies aud views and function as an open ferum for all left wing and progressive groupings in the American labor movement. . ee “Labor Unity” is to appear twice a month under the auspices of the La- bor Unity Publishing association, a group of militant and progressive trade unionists of various industries thruout the country, who will com- prise a ‘board of publication, with Earl R, Browder as editor. the leading policies which “Labor Unity” will advocate are the the organization of unorganized workers, amalgamation of craft un- ions, the formation of a Labor Party and trade union unity. It will up- hold aggressive unionism and oppose class collaboration, either by com- pany unions or “union-management co-operation,” and will stand for clean unionism and democratic controi of the unions by the membership, + The new journal will bo issuéd in etght pages, half newspaper size, at 376 W. Monroe etrest, Chicago. The eubs nm rate is @mnounced at “he (Copyright, 1926, by Upton. Sinclair.) , There were other guests, includ- ing Dr. Alonzo T. Cowper, D.D,, Ph.D., LL.D., than whom it was not possible to imagine a human being radiating more cordiality. He was delighted that Bunny had passed his examinations successfully, and cltarmed to have been able to oblige his father, and again delighted that Dad was pleased with his son's progress. When they were alone he ventured some playful remark about Bunny’s red measles, and was much distressed to learn that the patient had not yet recovered; he took occasion to question the young man—was it really true that the reds were making such alarming ‘ progress in Angel City? Dr, Cow- per wanted to talk about these shockings doctrines in the same Wa) that a small boy wanted to read a naughty, book, Bushy was not called into the conference between Old Pete and his father, but on the way home Dad told him about it. They were having the devil’s own time; buying a government was hot so simple a matter as they had thought. Every- body had» to have a “rake-off,” all the way down the line; by golly, the very office boy that brought you @ letter about the matter expected a ten-dollar bill! Bunny took the occasion to plea, why not get out of the thing, surely they had enough money. But Dad said they were in too deep, the thing had cost him personally nearly six hundred thou- sand dollars, and it was real money, and it had hurt. No, they would go thru with it, and when they had gotthe leases it would be all hunky- dory. Two troubles had arisen. The naval reserve lands had been under the control of the navy department, and it had been necessary to get them shifted to the control of Sec- retary Crisby. There had been a, question whether this could be done by executive decree, or did it re- quire an act of congress. ‘The of ficials were making a lot of delay, but of course it was just a hold-up, they wanted more money for this one and that. Old Pete had sent his son on to Washington to act as pay- master. The other difficulty was that some little oil company had got onto the Sunnyside tract—the one that Verne and Dad were to get —and had started drilling under an old lease. They would have to be ejected, and it must be done quietly, | they must fix matters up with the newspapers somehow, Verne want ed Dad to go up there and look the ground over, and maybe he and _ Bunny: might make a trip of it, Sunnyside. was going to be the world’s wonder of an Oil fleld—it would beat Paradise many times over, and when they had got it safely tucked away Dad would take @ good long rest. There’ was a telephone call: for Bunny—he was to call “long dis- tance” in a city a hundred milesqup the state. When he did so, there was a nurse in a hospital, with e message from Bertie; she wanted him to come to her, She was not in danger, and there was not use wor- rying.. the family, therefore she wished him to say nothing about the matter. Bunny of course jumped into his car and made all so His sister had been visiting Norman’s, a long way from this hos- pital. When he got there the attendants told him that Bertie had had an operation for appendicitis, and was doing well. He was taken up to her room, and there she lay, pale and “strangelooking, because he had never seen her without her colors, Everything about her was spotlessly -clean, a lacy white nightgown, and soft white pillows in which she- sunken—nun-like, and pathetic” lier gladness to see him. “Gee whiz, Bertie! How did this happen?" » “Tt came quite suddenly. It Dag pretty bad, but I’m all right 3 Everybody's been so good to me.” . Phere was'a.nurse in the room, . Bertie waited until she had out and closed the door, Then she ‘fixed her tired eyes on her brother and said: “We call it appendicitis, because thaf's the conventional thing, and what you'll have to tell Dad and Aunt Emma, But you might as well know the truth—I was going to have a baby.” “Oh, my God!” Bunny stared at her, aghast. . 7 “You needn't begin pages 8 you're no spring chicken, itd “Who is the man?” By) “Now, don’t start any melodrama. You know it might happen to amy- body.” q “Yes—but who was it, Bertie?” “I want you to & Pegiragean 4) at the beginning—it wasn't his I did it on purpose.” uct Bunny didn’t know wi make of that. “You might as well. tell me, Bertie.” y “Well, I want you to ‘beh 4 sacs OM: