The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 21, 1927, Page 6

pats 8 TTR = Seer _earammepaamewene Page Six THE DAILY Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. Daily, Except Sunday 83 First Street, New York, N. Y. SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in New York only): By mail (outside of New York): $8.00 per year $4.50 six months $6.00 per year $3.50 six months $2.50 three months $2.00 three months Phone, Orchard 1680 | THE DAILY WORKER, 33 First Street, New York, N. Y. J. LOUIS ENGDAHL } WILLIAM F. DUNNE { BERT MILLER. see | Address all mail and make out checks to | Entered as second-class mail at the post-office at New York, N. Y., under) the act of March 8, 1879, | Ee) Advertising rates on application. | SS Rents and Housing—A Permanent Problem Under Capitalism. f Periodically the capitalist press refers to “the rent crisis” in| New York city. : : ee The impression created thereby, that the housing situation becomes bad only occasionally, is 100 per cent wrong. The hous- ing situation is bad for the New York working class year in and} year out. But it is only when certain sections of the middle class | begin to feel the pinch that the press pays any great amount of attention to it. : | Legislation “regulating” rents and housing conditions was | enacted during the period when the war-boom increased the city population with great speed and rents shot skyward. But so far as any broad and efficient application of this legislation, in itself ssly inadequate, is concerned, no one can say truthfully that | the pressure of high rents and the menace of miserable living con-| ditions has been lifted from any considerable section of the/ working class. : The housing schemes which came into being coincident with | the regulative legislation themselves served the purposes of the | real estate sharks very well by boosting land prices and con-| sequently rents. | The struggle in Albany, which is to decide whether the reg- ulative legislation is to be allowed to expire, appears as a conflict arising out of conditions peculiar to New York. Actually, housing conditions in New York are no better and no worse than in other congested centers. A tour thru the working class distriets of Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, etc., will convince any- one that the question of decent housing for workers and their families is a national one. | Under capitalism huge sections of the working class are con-| demned to live in mean and degrading surroundings. Those who | do the most necessary work in modern civilized society live under | the worst conditions. | But we need not wait for the abolition of capitalism to begin to remedy this evil. Here is a popular issue around which power-| ful forces can be gathered. It is necessary, however, that there} be a common program and that its demand be apportioned among} the various sub-divisions of government—municipal, state and} national. It ia symptomatic of the anarchy of modern capitalist society | that billions of dollars are spent on hard-surfaced roads while} great sections of working class live in crowded tenements which are worse than the hovel of a backward peasant. | The housing situation can be handled efficiently only if there is built up a purposeful and well-organized movement whose pro- gram and demands the legislators will be afraid to neglect. It must be a united front movement which will spread terror in the ranks of the landlords, real estate speculators and the horde of parasites which prey on the need for shelter of the masses. In the meantime the demand for decent housing and minimum rents should be a first point on the order of business of all trade unions, working class fraternal societies, co-operatives, etc. But! this demand can become effective only when these same organiza-| tion form the foundation of a powerful labor party. Only by such methods can the rulers of America—and of | New York—be forced to take seriously the demand of the work- ing class that it be relieved of rents which cut down its standard | of living and housing conditions which spread disease and degen- eration in its ranks. It is to be noted that in the Soviet Union workers pay only * 814 to 10 per cent of their wages for rent and that the Soviet gov- ernment and the city and provincial governments are in direct charge of all problems of housing. Get Another Subscriber for Your DAILY WORKER. FASCISM IN LITHUANIA FOUGHT BY LABOR DEFENSE IN NEW YORK; THIRTY IN DANGER Fascism in Lithuania continues its bloody persecutions against the work- ing class. After the murder of four Communists, the fascists have marked thirty further victims for murder. According to the latest news 8 persons in Schaelen, 8 persons in Koyna, 6 persons in Memel and 6 persons in Pon- | wesh were delivered to the field courts. The fascist movement celebrates | the conquest of power by forming heaps of dead; streams of workers’ blood | bless the holy churches of Lithuania. | ~ A WF Cruel Murdering. |New York section, appeals to the The murders are organized in the | whole world, on behalf of its mem- most cruel manner. It is to annihilate | bers to prevent the crimes and the the best fighters of the Lithuanian |¢ld blooded murder against many proletariat. | people by the insane fascist gangs of Thirty human lives appeal to hu-| Lithuania, We must stop the hang- manity and demand help and support! ;men by joining in the protest of mil- med by death! It is lions of workers the world over. Trade par eta Peer a: possible in | unionists are urged to raise the ques- order to save them from their hang- | tion in their locals. Resolutions of man. protest must be sent to the Lithuanian With shameful cowardice the gov- ambassador at Washington. ernment has ordered the murder of | Come to Bazaar. — four Communists within the last few| The persecution carries in its wake days. Our appeal to save them has untold misery for the dependents of been too late and could not prevent | arrested workers. To help minimize the execution of the death sentences. |that misery there will be a special We must hurry to save those who are | Lithuanian booth at the I. L. D. Ba- Still alive. Proletarian solidarity ap-|zaar in Star Casino, 107th street and is to the workers of the world; the | Park avenue on March 10 to 13. The ing of simplest humanity appeals | proceeds of this booth will be imme- all honest people to raise their diately sent to Lithuania for the alle- Tolan immediately and loudly in or-|viation of the starvation and migery. Down with Lithuanian White /Ter- Help in the fight by at ling Jer to save thirty people whose lives | ~e threat jror! WORKER | trial relations.” | within the province of a mutual bene- | THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1927 The stale old argument against “t will have. But the workers and farm Benefit Racket | By ROBERT W. DUNN (Federated Press.) Nearly a thousand corporations in | the United States have experimented | with mutual benefit associations | which the Metropolitan Life Insu- | rance Co, describes 2# one of the} “fifteen roads to good will in indus- | The other fifteen | include house organs, lunch rooms, pensions, group insurance. A mutual benefit association is de- fined by the National Industrial Con- ference Board as “an organization of employes within an industrial estab- lishment, formed for the purpose of providing protection for its members in case of sickness, accident, or death.” Functions similar to those performed by Workmen’s Circles among Jewish workers are said to be fit association, only the benefits are | confined t6 the workers in a single | industrial establishment. The mutual benefit association must not be confused with the com- pany union, as it has nothing to do} with shop grievances, employe rep- THE THIRD RAIL hird terms” ers will think of a lot more.. cy NO a] THIRD TERM PRECEDENT ESTABLISHED BY WASHINGTON is the best anti-Coolidge weapon his democratic party opponents workers; that mutual benefit associa- tions are helpful in conveying ideas | to workers which “would be very hard to put over in any other way.” Most companies reporting are non-union. Although most mutual benefit as- | sociations have nothing to do with| collective bargaining, one of two ex- | ceptions may be found. The Em- | ployes’ Mutual Benefit Association of | the West Kentucky Coal Co. may be | regarded as a company union, for it | holds an “exclusive labor contract with the company.” This non-union | coal concern’s association is described | in a company handbook as “an inde- | pendent co-operative fraternity,” of- | fering “opportunities that no other | organization offers,” and striving “at | all times to promote contentment.” | A few mutual benefit associations | have been organized to cover work- ers employed by more than one con- | cern, and specifically for union- | | | must be maintained through various | | outings, banquets, field days, excur- for members and administration ex- perises paid by the company, the spirit and interest of the workers sions, dances and other measures for building esprit de corps and the “big family spirit.” Some corporations using the mu- tual benefit association device are the American Book Co., the American Sugar Refining Co., American Tele- phone and Telegraph, Borden’s Farm roducts Co., General Chemical Co., Merganthaler Linotype Co., Auto- strop Safety Razor Co., Morse Dry & Suit Co., Edison Co., N. Y. Rail- ways Co., Susquehanna Silk Mills, U. S. Rubber Co., and U. 8. Steel Corp. A few of the corporations using a | mutual benefit association, in addi- tion to a company union, are Wheel- ing Steel Corp.; Westinghouse Elec- tric & Manufacturing Co., Washburn- CHAPTER XXI THE HONEYMOON I Bunny was looking for a site for the labor college. It, was a much pleasanter job than seeking oil lands; you could give some atten- tion to the view, the woods and the hills, and other things you really cared about; also it wasn’t such a gamble, because you could really find out about the water sup- ply, and have a chemical analysis of the soil. It meant taking long rides in the country; and since Rachel was to one of the bosses, it was good for her to go along. They had time to talk—and a lot to talk about, since they were going to take charge of a bunch of young radicals, boys and girls of all ages —twenty-four hours a day. They had looked at a couple of places, and there was another far- ther from the city, and Bunny re- marked, “If we go to that, we'll be late getting home.” Rachel an- swered, “If it’s too late, we can go to some hotel, and finish up in the morning.” Said Bunny, “That would start the gossips.” But Ra- chel was not afraid of gossips, so she declared, They drove to the new site. It was near the village called Mount Hope, in a little valley, with the plowed land running up the slopes of half a dozen hills. It was early November, and the rains had fallen and the new grain had sprouted, and there were lovely curving sur- faces ‘that might have been the muscles of great giants lying prone —giants with skins of the softest bright green velvet. There were orchards, and artesian water with a pumping plant, and a little ranch-house—the people had ap- parently gone to town, so the visi- tors, would wander about and look at everything, and make a find— a regular airdrome of a barn, gor- geous with revolutionary red paint! “Oh, Bunny, here’s our meeting place, all ready made! We have only to put a floor in and we can have a dance the opening night!” Imagine Rachel thinking about dancing! They climbed one of the slopes, and here was a park, with dark live oaks and pale grey sycamores, and a carpet of new grass under foot. The valley opened out to the west, and the sun had just gone down, in a sky of flaming gold; the quail were giving their last calls, and deep down in Bunny’s heart was an ache of loneliness— | | | | | 4 } | | Crosby Co., Standard Oil of Indiana, | breaking. An example is the Ameri- | Swift & Co., Pullman Co, (The por- {can Plan Plumbers’ and Steamfitters’ ifthe |Mutual Benefit Association of San | ters’ union has found a benefit asso- Francisco, organized recently under | ©!@tion and employe representation |inspiration of the San Francisco In- | Plan equally enslaving); Proctor & jin managing and contzolling” the *he International Labér Defense, the Bazaar. Z - “Your Unionto Te Today | dustrial Association, coast open shop association. Join Or Out You Go. | Althou#h membership in practi- | cally afl mutual benefit associations | is voluntary, the methods of ap-| proaching the new employe are so} Employers, writing to the National | well polished, that a refusal is almost | Industrial Conference Board, report|unknown. Once a practical “closed | that the mutual benefit association | shop” is obtained the dues are often | “has taken the place with the men | deducted by means of a checking sys- of the union;” that it is a “real aid | tem. With such autematic arrangements resentation or “industrial demo- premics west | eracy.” It is a welfare device, en- | couraged by American employers in- cidentally, to obtain company loyal- ty, inerease production, reduce ab- senteeism and labor turnover. Takes Place of Union. PIECE WOR get a job. But the® there is her ITTLE did Nancy realize that| brother, Tom. He works in a union tightening the machine belt wculé | place and makes out pretty good, If not bring her wae up, hit make it| it weren’t for him they'd all go out more difficuit to finish the day peace- | begging. fully. Tightening belts on power Tom, the Celibate. machines makes the thread break! Mom is pretty worried about Tom. more readily, and machines must not} She says he ought to get married; be exploited if they are to,exist. They he has passed 28, Tom wont jisten; are not human beings ... They go | the support of the family comes first so far and no further. {to him. “Sam, bring me the oil can,” * Sam, | Tom had liked a girl once and they tighten the lower belt”—‘“Sam this broke off because she had wanted a and Sam that.” Nancy was “holler-| Jiamond engagemert ring Tom said ing” the whole day, furiously, to the | all he could give her was his love “all around” boy in the shop, She and companionship, She teft the ciry worked like a flitting devil the whole and married another guy, who boughx day and could not go over the $2.25) her a swell ring on installment, and point. |now she is back at the shop paying | it off, This week she had wanted to get All her friends are sort of classy ro Resi At ae ee pear | {and dance well, but not 8o with Tom. she better not think about such | He is pretty queer, reads most of the things, she said to herself. Pretty | time, dry books about unions, Just the same she likes him. He is so to li . peed ae pent vere S Daag My nice to her, lets her do as she wants Sie aie do if she had! % lmt always tries to talk union to ya e bitin Me beget Macels, her, What should she worry about; ni rs she ain’t so bad looking, and she'll eae with men for fifty COR Fat married soon, Just then she True, Nancy’s home ain’t so nice, |Snapped the gum between her teeth ” her old man has been out of work ‘bis if'to say, but maybe not .. . for six months now, he got sick on | Married Workers. the last job trying to lift a very) Only the other day she had taken heavy shipment of wire cloth and | special notice of most of her friends ruptured -himself, arid now he can't who were married and now back to WITHDRAW ALL U. S. WARSHIPS | Gamble; Phila. Rapid Transit (Mit- ten); International Harvester Co., Hooker Electro-Chemical Co., Good- year Tire and Rubber Co., Hamston Watch Co.; General Electric Co., Du- Pont de Nemours & Co., Davis Coal & Coke, Colorado Fuel and Iron, Bethlehem Steel. ‘the mutual benefit association of Pennsylvania R. R. employes, with'a membership of 17,000, not only writes insurance for workers, but encour- ages them to purchase stock in the PRS Re in the shop again. They had begun to talk the same kind of stuff as her brother Tom, They said there was a meetin’ tonight and an organizer is.coming. A Jot of girls now are complaining about picce-work. They say that in union shops they don’t work piece-work, Nancy couldn’t see how they were going to get a union. She thought unions were only for men. But, gee, couldn't’ they at least work week work. It ain’t no cinch to grind away like this day after day, and being afraid to go to the toilet or look at the clock for fear they’d lose time— and even then they ain't making a hell of a lot. She is only seventeen herself and has been stitching away for three years. How much longer can she go on at this rate? She might have to work like Flo after mar- riage .... 4 Ready to Strike. *. Going home that night she talked things over with the other girls. They were ready .. .In fact they thought they’d have trouble with Nancy. All night she hardly slept. She lay as if in a cold sweat, awal- ened every now and then by her own voice, Piece-work, be Four hundred girls picketed the following morning, carrying signs: “We Demand a Union and a Living Wage,” “Down with Piece-work,” NO. INTERVENTION IN MEXICO! HANDS OFF CHINA! because quail meant Dad, and those beautiful ‘hills of Paradise, and happiness he had dreamed in vain. Now it was Rachel dreaming. “Oh, Bunny, this is too lovely! It’s exactly what we want! Mount Hope College—we couldn’t have made up a better name!” Bunny laughed. “We don’t want to buy a name. We must take samples of the soil.” “How many acres did you say?” “Six hundred and forty, a little over a hundred in cultivation. That s more than we’ll be able to take care of for quite a while.” “And only sixty-eight thousand! That's a bargain!” Rachel had learned to think on Bunny’s im- perial’ scale, since she had been racing over the state in his fast car, inspecting millionaire play- grounds and real éstate promoters’ paradises, “The price is not bad,” said Bunny, “if we are sure about the soil and water.” “You could’ see the state of ‘the growing things, before it got dark,” “Maybe so, We'll come back in the morning, and have a talk with the ranchman, Perhaps he’s a ten- ant, and will tell us the truth,” Not for nothing had Bunny spent his boyhood buying lands with his shrewd old father! Twilight veiled this valley of new dreams, and across the way the hills were purple shadows, Bunny said, “There’s just one thing wor- rying me about our plan now: I’m afraid there’s going to be a scan- dal.” ¢ “How do you mean?” “You and me being together all the time, and going off and being missing at night.” “Oh, Bunny, what nonsense!” “No, really, I’m’ worried. J tol; Peter Nagle we'd have to conform to bourgeois standards, and yo re beginning wrong. My Aunt Emma is a bourgeois standard, and she would never approve of this, anu neither would your mother. We ought to go and get married.” “Oh, Bunny!” She was staring at him, but it was too dark to re- veal any possible twinkle in his FROM NICARAGUA! | it was queer! } very proud of the Ve. Tracy e a girl while I was in high school, Don't Delay! A NEW NOVEL Upton Ginc air eyes. “Are you joking?” “Rachel,” he said, “will you take that much trouble to preserve the good name of: our institution?” He came a step nearer, and she stammered, “Bunny, you don’t— you don’t mean that!” “I don’t see any other way— really.” “Bunny—!” “Why not?” “Because—you don’t want to marry a Jewess!” “Good Lord!” “Don’t misunderstand me, I’m proud of my race. But all your friends would thing it was a mis- take.” “My friends, Rachel? Who the devil are my friends—except in the radical movement? And where would the radical movement be without the Jews?” “But, Bunny—your sister!” “My sister is not my friend. Neither did she ask me to pick out her husband.” Rachel stood, twisting her fin- gers together nervously. “Bunny, do you really—you aren’t just speaking on an impulse?” “Well, I suppose it’s an impulse. T seem to have to blurt it out. But it’s an impulse I’ve had a good many times.” “And you won't be sorry?” He laughed, “It depends upon your answer.” “Stop joking, please—you fright- en me. I can’t afford to let you make a mistake. It’s so dread- fully serious!’ “But why take it that way?” “T can’t ‘help it; you don’t know how 2 woman feels. I don’t want you tc do something out of a gen- erous impulse, and then you'd feel bound, and you wouldn’t be happy. You oughtnt te marry a girl out of the sweat-shops.” “Good God, Kachel, my father was a mule-driver.” “Yes, but» you’re Anglo-Saxon; away back somewhere your ances- tors weré proud of themselves. You ought to marry a tall, fair woman that will stay beautiful all her life, and look right in a drawing-room. Jewish women bear two or three children, and then they get fat, and you wouldn’t like me.” He burst out laughing. “I have attended the weddings of some of those tall, fair Anglo-Saxon wo- men; and the priest pronounces, very solemnly, ‘into this holy es- tate thé two persons now present come now to be joined.. If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined togeth- er, let him now speak, or else here- efter forever hold his peace.’” “Bunny,” she pleaded, “I’m try- ing to face the facts!’ “Well, dear if you must be solemn—it happens that I never loved a fair woman. The two I picked out to live with were dark, the same as you.. It must be na- ture’s effort to mix thirgs. sup~ pose you know about Vee Tracy?” Yea.” “Well, Vee had the looks all right, and she'll. keep them—she makes a business of it; But you see, it didn’t do me any good, she threw me over for a Roumanian prince.” “Why Bunny?” “Because I wouldn’t give up the radical movement.” “Oh, how I hated that woman!” There was a note of melodrama in Rachel’s usually serene voice, and Bunny was curious. “You did hate her?” “I could have choked her!” “Because she struck you?” “No! Because I knew she was -trving to take you out sf the move- ment, and £ thought for sure she would, She had everything I didn’t have.” Bunny was thinking—by golly, . Vee had known it— and he hadn’t! Oh, these women! Aloud he said, politely, “No, she , didn’t have quite everything.” : “TIL tell you—I’m so tired of being quarreled with. You can’t have any ivea—my whole life, since I began to think for myself, has been one wrangle with the people who love-l me, or thought they had a right to direct me. You can’t imagine what a sense of peace T get when 1 think of being with you; i’s like settling down into nice soft «ushions. I've hesitated about it, vecause of rourss I’m not ere and i didn’t know jf) von'd- take a man second hand—or third- hand it really is, because there was I'm telling you my drawbacks, balance your getting fat!” ¥ ~ (To Be Continued), *