The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 29, 1927, Page 8

Youth and the Textile Industr The textile industry in the United States at the present time, is undér- going a partial crisis. Thisis due particularly to the introduction of the speed-up system and labor saving machinery, but it is even more due to the competition which is growing, especially with the German textile industry, which due to the introduc- tion of the Dawes plan has cut the standard of living of*the German workers to such an extent that it ean compete with Amrerican interests in America’s own home market in spite of our high protective tariff rates. The present crisis does not effect so much the profits and dividends of the stockholders as it does the standard of living of the textile workers. The mill owners utilize this opportunity to carry on a campaign to maintain and even raise the already high tariff as well as utilize it for a wage cutting campaign. Another interesting feature in the textile industry today is the develop- ment that is going on in the South. Cheap labor -supply of both white and colored workers, and nearness of the raw materials is helping the growth of the textile, especially of the cotton industry in the South. The Largest Industry The textile industry in this coun- try employes the largest number of workers. There are approximately one million workers employed in the textile industry. At least 40 per cent of these are child and youth laborers. Thirty-five to 40 per cent of the million workers are females. The percentage of female workers is probably a little higher amongst the youth, Geographically the textile industry is distributed as follows: Connecti- cut about 40,000 workers; Massachu- setts about 200,000 workers; New Jersey, 75,000. workers; New York, 90,000 workers, many of these are -up- state New York; Pennsylvania, 150,- 000, and the rest of the textile in- dustry is primarily in the South, Of the 610,000 textile workers in the. Kast there’ are 191,000 cotton workers, 141,000 woolen and worsted workers, 118,000 silk-.workers, 104,- 000 knit goods workers and 50,000 dyeing and finishing workers. Economcally the textile workers, especially the child and youth labor- ers are among the most exploited. Fight to ten dollars per week is not an unusual wage. On the other hand the profits of the mill owners in many cases reach to the 1,000 per cent. It must also be born in mind that the textile industry has a pro- tective tariff of an average rate as high as 75 percent, which helps to maintain these high profits. The introduction of the speed-up system taking the form of the in- troduction of new machinery, labor saving devices, increased number of looms per worker, etc., continually displaces large numbers of workers by youth, and child ‘laborers, and adds to the already large number of unemployed textile workers. Un- employment in the textile industry can be said to be almost chronic. This last is especially true in the New England states. The hours in the textile industry range from 48 to 60 and more hours per week. In some states the law provides for a shorter work day for the child laborers, but there are many ways by which the manufacturers beat the law. Wherever it is en- * ferced the work day is in no places less than eight hours for the child laborers. In some very few places the 44-hour week has been achieved, but this is very insignificant for the industry as a hole. At the present time in New England there is a tendency, as “shown in Salem, and Mannville, to introduce the 54-hour week instead of the 48-hour week that is prevailant in the New England mills. The sanitary conditions in the tex- tile industry are very bad though the technique and nature of the in- dustry permits better sanitary con- ditions. The death rate and indus- trial diseases in the textile industry are higher than in any other industry. Investigations by the Workers Health Bureau of the Passaic strikers dis- closed that the young textile workers _ especially are affected by tubercu- losis, % Workers Unorganized And Divided Of the one million workers in the industry not more than 50,000 are erganized and these are organized into several unions. The largest of these is the United Textile Workers having about 15,000 to 20,000 mem- bers including the new Passaic locals; the second largest is the Federated Textile Unions of America, a federa- tion of several loosely-connected na- tional bodies with a membership of about 10,000. Then comes the Asso- ciated Silk Workers of Paterson with a membership of about 2,000. The other independent organizations are the United Front Committees, Tex- tile Workers Clubs, etc. Some time ago the Progressive tex- tile workers had a conference in New York at which they decided on a program of work that is needed to By CLARENCE MILLER organize the textile industry. It was shown that only the progressives can force the present unions to start an organization drive in the industry as well as push forward amalgamation which is so important in this’ in- dustry. The progressives also realize that if we are to be successful in organ- izing the textile workers we must reach the young workers who form such a large section of the workers in the industry. The conference therefore decided on the following program: ‘ 1.—All progressive blocs within local textile unions. shall nominate upon their slate at least one youth Worker to local union executive boards and upon all union committees in order to carry out the program for organizing the large number of youth workers in the textile indus- try. 2. Local progressive committees shall try to draw in as many young workers from local unions, unorgan- ized mills, social clubs and sports organizations as is possible. 3.. A special. youth program shall be drawn up for each local committee and special committees shall be cre- ated to carry out this program to ‘organize the youth in the textile in- dustry. 4. <A youth and children’s section to be included in the progressive tex- tile publications to be prepared by a special editor under drection of the executive committee. This program should help to draw the young workers into the campaigns that are initiated by the progres- sives and it will help make the pro- gressives the champions of the in- terests of the young textile workers. Open Shoppers Endorse Right Wing Socialists By J ACK STACHEL The New York Commercial has now -merged with the Journal of Commerce and the combined paper was bought by Ridder Brothers, the owners of the New York Statts Zie- tung. The editor of the New York Commercial was the “Keyman Mar- vin” described by Robert Dunn in the Jan. 24 issue of The DAILY WORKER. With the merger of the two papers there passed out of existence the famous “Searchlight” which was edited by Mr. Marvin for the benefit of his “Keymen.” In this column there appeared daily re- prints dealing with Communist ac- tivity which Mr. Marvin peddled as great discoveries on his part, but which his readers might have gotten *by merely reading the DAILY WORKER.—Editor. ; *.* * The attack against the New York Joint Board of the Cloakmakers by the Sigman machine, has not only the backing of the entire burzaucracy of the American Federation of Labor, but the active support of the bosses in general and the open shoppers in particular. In this there is nothing startling. It is natural for the em- ployers to initiate, let alone support a drive against these inthe trade union movement that are opposed to the policies of class collaboration, and still, not only believe in the class struggle, but actually dare call strikes in the interests of the work- ers, and furthermore compel the em- ployers to make concessions. It was the left wing in the Furriers that first won the 40-hour week, followed by the New York Joint Board of the ILGWU after and in the midst of a betrayal of the interests of the tail- ors in New York by Beckerman and Hillman, when they even failed to put forward the demand for the 40- hour week. But the New York Commercial, one of the bitterest open shop papers in the country and at the same time a paper that can boast of more stool pigeons on its staff than any other paper in this country in a very in-- teresting and instructive editorial lays down the conditions of its sup- port to the labor bureacracy and also quite correctly lays down the “limits of the United Front.” “While the New York Commercial is an open shop paper in that it does not believe the principle of the closed shop is the best for wage earners, employers, or the general public, it is ready to join at all times with the American Federation of Lahor or any other organization or movement, no matter under what name it comes, that is ready to destroy Communism and Socialism in this country. . . We hope that when the activities of the American Federation of Labor Jhave run every Communist out. of ‘this country,.they will tutn their at- tention te an equally dangerous group, the Socialists and likewise give them a little ‘buggy ride.’” In the above quotation we have the policy of the bourgeoisie in all countries when they support the socialists. In the needle trades, where the struggle is against the left wing that stands for militant’ unionisn# the bosses are ready to support the Socialist Sigman in the struggle against the Communists and the left: wing, but as soon as the left wing is. defeated they demand a fight to a finish against the Social- ists. ‘We saw this on a larger scale when, with the votes of the Liberals, the bourgeoisie there, that they are capable of the same deeds that any genuine Fascist is, Sigman is trying to prove to the open shoppers that they can rely upon him. Again the Commercial says: “When the American Federation of Labor adopted a resolution in Detroit to organize the automobile trades, it — took a step that brought comfort to the Communists. Any attempts to enforce through a strike, the closed shop principle in the automobile in- dustry will be ‘meat’ for the Com- ‘munists because it will give them an excuse to cause rioting and violence. Moreover, if the American Federation of Labor believe they can prevent the Communists from injecting them- selves-into such a controversy they show a complete lack of knowledge of Communist tactics. Long before the resolution was presented to the American Federation of ,Labor to ‘close’ the automobile industry the Communists were active in forming their ‘centers’ in every automobile plant in this country, They are in the key positions. They have gained as their su the key men. They have laid their plans with care ind skill. They are n°w awaiting the - plete and absolute control of its man- agement. The above is an open bid to the A. F. of L. officialdom that they - the Labor Party in pangs Syst al- ‘aust refrain.from organizing work- lowed to take power. necessary for the, bourgeoisie in order that the Labor government headed by the Socialist MacDonald, j take up the struggle against the rev~ olutionary movement in Britian that was growing too rapidly, and against the revolutionary nationalist moves ment in India, As soon as the ae geoisie felt again that its position was secure, the Labor government was kicked out. The same role is played by every Socialist government on the Continent. But just as the So- ‘ets of Bulgaria have convinced ers. It is at the same time a threat. I is no 1 Fa i pr z 3 ? 3 & ze : Sy Es munist nuclei. It was a gesture that was never meant to be carried out, —— A ome It is up to the rank and file in the unions to compel the American Fed- eration of Labor to put the resolu- tion into effect. The New York Commercial is also correct when it warns the A. F. of L. that in the event of_a strike in the automobile industry the Com- munists will be there. Wherever there is a struggle in behalf of labor, particularly any attempt to organize the unorganized, the Communists, the left. wing, and all mhilitants in general are to be found the most active and self-sacrificing in the interests of the masses. The A. F. of L. officials on the other hand fear and shrink from the ‘organization of the un- organized because it means bringing ‘into the fold of the American Federa- tion of Labor large masses of un- skilled workers who are not receiving the benefits of American Imperial- ism and who will form together with the left wing among the workers already organized a powerful bloc that will wrest from the labor bureau- crats the control of the American labor movement and free it from its policies of class collaboration and lead it in the direction of bigger struggles against American capital- ism. The only guarantee against strikes, and against the organization of the unorganized is to clean out the Com- munists and the left wing. This is the’ meaning of the drive against the New York Board of the ILGWU. ‘This is the meaning of the investi- gation against the militant Furriers. This is the reason for the big elec- tion steal in the miners’ union. The New York Commercial gives its final warning to the A. F, of L. officialdom in the following words: “We join with the American Fed- eration of Labor in this fight so long , as its fight is-to destroy the common enemy (Communism—J. S.). When that has, been done we will again take issue with it in the matter of the open or closed shop.” (Continued on page 7)