The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 11, 1927, Page 1

HANDS OFF CHINA! STOP ATTACK ON THE SOVIET UNION! THE DAILY WORKER FIGHTS: FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THD UNORGANIZED \ FOR THE 40-HOUR WEEK MALE A oticrtbentne ste Boketcks ea RE A LABOR PARTY Vol. IV. No. 101. Current Events By T. J. O’FLAnERTY, ——————— OW that the Snyder murder case | Frauds Mark End of Passaic Campaign is off the front pages of our moralistic capitalist press the victims of the Mississippi flood may get a little publicity. It is certain now that | are getting more than publicity, red getting it in the neck. As the} editorial in yesterday’s DAILY | WORKER pointed out, that interna- tional ghoul, Herbert Hoover, is down | there in the interests of the gigantic | hawk shops known as banks to fas- ten a loan around the necks of the| poor homeless and helpless flood refugees that will keep their noses to the grindstone for the rest of trie lives. * * * HIS is the man, touted as the “trouble man” of the Coolidge ad- ni nistration, who used the money of the government relief organization in| Hungary to crush the workers’ and | peasants’ revolution in that country. Again in Russia he sent in an army | of stoolpigeons in the garb of sav- fors to help the counter revoluticn- ists do their best to wreck the de- veloping Soviet government. Instead of digging into the United States | treasury for money to aid the unfor- | tunate people along the path of the) Mississippi overflow, Hoover has | called the bankers together and showed them how they can make more profits out of the misery of the sufferers. . * * HE government that can spend} millions without the flicker of an eyebrow on military expeditions to/ subjugate Nicaragua and blow Chi- nese citizens into smithereens can do nothing better for the victims of the Mississippi flood than to pull off a public panhandling scheme for the | glory of the professional panhandlers | and bless the bankers in their schemes | to transmute misery into . profits. This callous attitude is typical of the | capitalist system and all its votaries | who put the making of profits above | all other considerations. * * * ITH. the conviction of the two murderers of the artist Snyder, several sobsisters, philosophers, Play- | wrights and authors will be obliged | to advertise for extra work. Out of | the muck of testimony that cluttered the pages of the capitalist press for weeks two facts stand out clearly. One is that those two 100 per cent Americans—thoroly average Amer- | ieans—killed another typical Amer- ican for his insurance. They took a chante on the chair for the considera- tion of_the face of the policy—$96,- 000. The other fact is that out of the thousands of words dragged out | of both culprits on the witness stand nothing indicated that either of the two ever read a book of any kind, not to mention a book that would meet with the disapproval of a Bos- ton policeman. * * * HY the murderers been addicted | to literary fare such as Elmer) Gantry, An American Tragedy or The DAILY WORKER, this tendency would be blamed for their fall from the straight and very narrow path| they had hitherto trod and might | have been successfully used by their lawyers in pleading for their acquit- tal.. But they had no such luck, Ac- cording to all indications they are tabloid patrons and the lawyers would not spoil good pictorial publicity by hitting at its source. Yet The DAILY WORKER is charged with sending | obscene matter thru the mails while the average capitalist newspaper makes a living at the game with im- punity. A ROME news dispatch informs us that the Vatican has sent out instructions to all catholic bishops urging them to keep a weather eye peeled for salacious literature. Since the “holy father” has not time to peruse all immoral literature—no doubt much to the pious fraud’s re- gret—he delegates part of the pleas- \ ant task to the bishops. We wonder the old testament comes under the n! Thousands of catholic youths * * os stone to Rabelais and Boccacio. * * * O CE upon a time a friend of mine Awent to a priest to confess his “sins.” He attended a_ rationalist meeting and purchased a copy of the “Age of Reason.” He was shocked by its contents, nevertheless intrigued and he read it from cover to cover. Still his conscience smote him and he felt that he needed relief. He told the priest of his deviation. The holy man frowned and branded Tom Paine’s splendid contribution to men- tal emancipation from superstition | as a thing of evil. But my friend, being of an inquisitive nature wanted to know if the priest the book and was answered in the affirmative. Of course the priest read the “bad” books in order to be in a position to (Continued on Page Three) SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In New York, by mail, $8.00 per year. Entered as second- s matter Outside New York, by mail, $6.00 per year. at the Post Officé at New York, N, NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 1927 THE DAILY WORKER y., under the act of March 3, 187 Published Daily CHINESE PROTEST BOMBARDMENT — BY U.S. AND BRITISH WARSHIPS | Civilians Killed in Unprovoked Shelling: Suspect | Chiang Truce With War Lords SHANGHAI, May 10.—The toll of lives snuffed out by American and British warships is mounting rapidly. Imperialist warships, when hit by stray rifle bullets as they | were “patrolling the Yangtse,” have bombarded peaceful villages | along the river. Although no accurate estimates have been made | of the damage done by the bombardments, it is understood the| | brought their main batteries into action. The Chinese press is full of reports and of protests against bombard- ments in the vicinity of Nanking and | Chinkiang. According to native news- | | papers two American: vessels poured | more than a hundred shells into the| | village of Namensha, last Monday, ten miles from Kiangying, destroy- | | ing thirty houses and killing and/ | wounding a number of civilians. | Score MacMurray. | | There is a good deal of dissatisfac- | | tion among missionaries here with the | attitude of John V. A. MacMurray, | | American minister to China, who has | allied himself with the British die-| hards and who is understood to fa-| vor an ultimatum to the Nationalist | government. American missionaries | ,at Peking are reported to have pro- | |tested to the state department and | demanded MacMurray’s recall. Rights Arrest Labor Leaders. CANTON, May 10.—The right wing | here is continuing its persecution of | } left and labor leaders. A number of. jlabor leaders were arrested yester- | day and charged with plotting against the right wing administration at Can- ton. Workers’ and peasants’ unions con- | tinue to control many towns and vil- lages in this vicinity, however. * * * Chiang Truce With War Lords. SHANGHAI, May 10.—Dr. C. C. | Wu, notorious “running dog of the | imperialists” has left for Nanking | where he will act as minister of for- \eign affairs in the government that Chiang Kai-shek is attempting to form. The virtual cessation of hostilities with the northerners across the river | indicate that Chiang Kia-shek is either short of ammunition or has | made peace with Sun Chuan-fang, | Sokwes war lord. ‘Plumbers Helpers Negotiating With Boss for $9.00 Day | The Plumbers’ Helpers’ Association | was negotiating yesterday with Ed- ward A. Weiss, a contractor of 395 | Broadway, Astoria, Queens, for a full union contract with $9 a day and the 40-hour week, President C. E. Miller announced yesterday. ITNegro Girls on Strike With White Drivers in Harlem Laundry Walkout Twenty-two white laundry driv- ers and about 50 Negro laundry girls are continuing their strike against the North American Laun- dry in Harlem. The drivers, who have been averaging 60 hours a week with $40-43 on commissions, struck first. The Negro girls loyally walked out with them. Nine strikers have already been arrested for picketing. Organizer Max Brody of Local 810 has been released under $500 bail: KELLOGG RUSHES MORE MARINES TO CRUSH NICARAGUA Sacasa Rejects “Peace”; Labor Fears U. S. WASHINGTON, May 10,—An ad- airplanes is to be sent at once to Nicaragua to “aid the pacification” Wilbur announced late yesterday af- ternoon. The dispatch of the new contingent \is in keeping with the frank and brutal threat of Colonel Stimson, rep- | resentative of President Coolidge, to juse the whole force of the United States to crush the liberals and place Diaz in power. American force in the little Latin- American republic will be increased to 3,000 and the airplane force to 15. Twelve American warships are in Nicaraguan waters. C8 Sacasa Denies Peace. PUERTO CABEZAZ, May 10. — loss of lives has been heavy since the imperialist vessels often | seale. ditional force of 800 marines and 9} | of the country, Secretary of the Navy | With the additional marines the | The four pickets arrested Monday were fined $5 each in court yester- | | day due to the failure of counsel for the defense to appear. President Mil- ler asked to be allowed to plead for | | the strikers, but was barred. A general meeting of all building trades workers has been called by the association for Friday evening at Ace Hall, 182 Claremont Ave., Williams- burgh. 40 Bakers’ Pickets Jailed Since Strike Against Two Plants The strike of the 300 bakers of the Pechter Bakeries and the Messing Brothers bake shops is continuing, with spirited picketing every day. More than 40 pickets have been ar- rested to date, When brot before the magistrate court they have been dis- charged. ROUMANIAN LABOR An urgent request was received Scoring the open intervention of the United States niarines and branding the Stimson “peace” move as a de- vice to keep the United States pup- pet Diaz in power, Dr. Juan Sacasa said: (Continued on Page Two) Postpone Kushner’s Case Entire Week Hearing of the case against Mat- thew Kushner, arrested several weeks ago with Herman Moskowitz for dis- tributing “Hands Off China” leaflets, was postponed until May 17 when it came up yesterday in the 4th dis- trict police court, Moskowitz, found guilty, is now serving a six month sentence in the work house. His case will come up for appeal the same day that Kush- ner will be tried. They are active members of the Young Workers’ League. LEADER FACES DEATH AT HANDS OF COURT-MARTIAL here yesterday from the Communist Party of Roumania asking the workers of the United States to cable their protests against the court martial trial of Comrade Stefanov, Communist Party leader, which is taking place in Bucharest. the government using force and munists but it dissolved the convention of the independent trade unions by Not only is armed force. ‘ WATCHERS FOR LABOR EJECTED FROM PRECINCTS. Candidates of of Workers Tricked by Officials | PASSAIC, May 10.—The hottest city election in years took place to- | day in this city to the accompaniment | of fraud and corruption on a huge | In a deliberate effort to steal the | | victory from Albert Weisbord and his | |two associates on the labor ticket, | | watchers for the labor party were | thrown out of the polls although all | other candidates were allowed repre- ! sentation in the balloting and count- ing of the votes, | Assured by the city clerk that they jcould issue their own credentials to | watchers, and that election judges would honor these certificates, the la- {bor campaign committee proceeded | yesterday to enroll hundreds of | watchers. But at the eleventh hour | today when the watchers presented | themselves at the polls to perform) their duties, they were told that the | city attorney had reversed the clerk’s | opinion and that they were barred for legal reasons. Gross Discrimination. Protests to city authorities brought no remedy, although but one other | candidate had fulfilled the instruc- | tions handed down by the unexpected } om “ the eity aiterney... Watchers all candidates of the republi- fe and democratic machines were permitted in the polls. The campaign ended in a flare of | cireus stunts, with planes flying bands playing and all the hokuspokus of | election corruption on tap. Only the | three labor candidates, Weisbord, |Bamback and Smelkinson made any | effort to meet city issues intelligently | and seriously. Stress Race Issues. | Rumors flew thick and fast, with | racial issues stressed. In the Dundee section it was whispered that Weis- | bord and Preiskel, the commissioner | of public safety who fought the tex- | tile strike tooth and nail last year, were running on the same ticket. This | was supposed to swing labor votes to Preiskel. Five candidates, Cabell, Turner, | Johnson, Schachter and Walker were alleged in the gossip assiduously cir- culated, to be running on a Ku Klux | Klan ticket while Rubacky, a Polish | candidate, was alleged to have made a deal with Turner, the captain of detectives. All these candidates are seeking the five city commissionerships to be filled today. A 20 per cent vote for Weisbord and the labor ticket was confidently expected. Closes With Bang The labor campaign closed Monday evening with a blaze of excitement. Three large open air meetings were | addressed by Weisbord, Bambach, Syl- van A. Pollack, Emil Gardos, M.) Kushner, Louis A. Baum and several | local speakers. During the entire campaign the capitalist candidates tried to disturb and break up the working class ral- lies. On Monday night they were out in full force to create trouble. Continuous Uproar The meeting on Oak St. opposite the police station was in a continuous uproar as a result of the disruptive efforts of supporters of Abram Pres- kiel, assisted by policemen and de- tectives. At Hope and Monroe Sts., a truck with Preskiel banners circled around the meeting several times while Weis- bord was speaking, creating noise. Many other devices to terrorize the workers were used but to no avail, as the overwhelming majority of the audience supported the labor men. .* * Return Lists a rad campaign committee once Is for the immediate re- the contribution lists with a ran on hand. Many debts must be paid and the strengthening of the local movement be continued after the campaign. Return all lists to 27 Day- ton Ave., Passaic, N. J. violence against the Com-| Sacco and Vanzetti Shall Not Die! Aida Halted by Union When Newark Company Evades Labor Contract @ NEWARK, N. J., May 10.—Be- cause the New York Opera Co. attempted to evade union regula- tions, the theatrical and stage employes’ union has called a strike at the Miners’ Theatre, tying up scheduled performances of Aida, Rigoletto and other operas. The curtain was rung down Sun- day evening on Aida at the end of the first act when the stage employes, acting under instruc- tions from their international of- ficials, walked off, refusing to shift scenes. RIGHT WINGERS DEFEAT EFFORT TO GET PEACE Pious Protestations Are Belied by Action While the convention of Cloth Cap, | Hat & Millinery Workers assembled at Beethoven Hall yesterday, falsely | protested that they wanted to see peace in the needle-trades of this city, they voted down the resolution call- | ing upon the general executive board to bring both factions of the Inter- nationil ‘Ladies’ “Garment Workers’ Union together and arrange a refer- endum of the membership. They also voted down a resolution condemning the for the disruptive policy it has been pursuing in the furriers’ union. Right wing delegates resorted to a bitter attack upon the “left wing,” but gave no reasons why they, who professed to have the interests of the workers at heart, should refuse to take steps to bring about a set- tlement of the cohtroversy in the ladies’ garment unions. “You all say that you are in favor of peace,” said Delegate I. Feingold. “I say it is hypotrisy to say you are |for peace and to oppose the resolu- tion instructing our representatives | to call both factions together. need not say which is right and which is wrong. We can simpy permit the membership to express its opinion.” Defeat Impossible. Some right wing delegates remark- | ed that the left wing is afraid it is about licked, to which Feingold re- plied: “Not only are we not licked, but | we never will be licked. The left wing has taken such deep ae in (Continued on ee Soa Fiv U.S. Oil Trust Beats British in Soviet Union Deal BERLIN, May 10.—The Standard Oil Company today won an important skirmish in the world wide fight for oil. Standard scored heavily against its greatest rival, the Royal Duteh | Shell, and demonstrated a lesson in) practical business to the European governments now theorizing about the best way to deal with the Soviet Union at the Geneva conference. The Standard’s victory consisted in signing a contract by which Standard grants the Soviet government oil trust, the “Acneft,” $3,000,000 credit for the construction of a pipe line from Baku to Batum. The contract provides further credits in the course of a year. Though the announcement does not state what Standard is to receive, European experts are confident that the contract signifies the first step in the achievement of the American company’s ambition to beat the Shell people in the Russian oil market. Both the Shell and Standard have sought for years to secure a mon- opoly of oil in Russia, but the Soviets have refused. Ivy Lee, Standard’s agent, is now in Moscow and is be- lieved to be responsible for the con- tract, + PUBLISHING CO,, American Federation of Labor! We) except Sunday by THE 33 First Street, New York, N. Y. BREAKING UNDER W | | | | | BOSTON, May 10.—Judge Sacco and Vanzetti, is insane. jmen as they follow intently the DAILY WORKE FINAL CITY EDITION i Price 3 Cents ==] JUDGE THAYER ON VERGE OF INSANITY HANGMAN OF SACCO AND VANZETTIIS EIGHT OF HIS GUILT Whereabouts Unknown as He Showers Demands On Governor Fuller Not to Intervene (Special To The DAILY WORKER.) Webster Thayer, persecutor of This is the conclusion being forced upon local newspaper official and personal life of the |notorious judge through the mazes of the world-famous case. In those legal circles wher | justice has been followed first e the course of Massachusetts with amazement and then with | indignation, a demand is being formulated that Governor Fuller |yemove Thayer from the bench t The astounding story of the | under the heavy burden of guilt | |judge is unknown, and has been for oat: He has dropped completely |from sight since his last appearance jin Dedham court. But in the past few weeks he has |been frantically rushing letters and cnet to Governor Fuller, pray- z “for God’s sake” not to intervene lin rhe case, begging that he be pro- |tected from exposure as the worst |fraud in the history of the Bay State | bench. Near Physical Collapse. Reporters who attended the last |Dedham session declared the judge |seemed near the point of physical | collapse. In a tremulous voice *he {read his prepared statement, his face |buried in the papers. His hands shook as if with palsy. He never looked. at..Sacco.and. Vanzetti while, he condemned them to burn in the! electric chair on July 10 nor did he dare look up when Vanzetti upbraided him for his cruelty and utter lack of humanity. As soon as he was done with the bloody business, Thayer rushed to the phone. His voice quivering with fright, he attempted to reassure his) wife. “It’s all over now,” he ejacu- lated. “Everything’s all right.” , Whereabouts Unknown. Immediately thereafter Thayer dis- appeared. His whereabouts is un- known to his Worcester friends. | For an entire year the man who wrote his name in large and ugly let- ters over a sinister page of American labor history has been in practical With the exception of one small hearing, he has not been involved in any court proceeding. Last summer when asked to rule on the Madeiros motion, he practically (Contes: on Pore Five) | | retirement. because of mental unfitness. collapse of Judge Thayer’s mind imposed by his effort to murder two innocent men was told to a DAILY WORKER representative today by newspaper men close to the case. |. The whereabouts of the notorious; ~ A, GARFIELD HAYS ASKS REMOVAL OF WEBSTER THAYER One thousand Columbia students, meeting at the McMillin Theatre, Columbia University, voted unani- mously Monday evening to send a pe- tition to Gov. Fuller of Massachusetts asking him to appoint a commission to re-examine the entire case of Sac- co and Vanzetti. This followed close on the heels of the petition signed by 14 members of the Columbia Law Fatulty who earl- ier in the day sent an appeal to the | governor asking for an impartial re- | view of the case. Prof. Karl N. Llewellyn, of the Law Faculty, read the resolution which was adopted with enthusiasm by the entire audience. Celia Polizuk, secretary of the Sac- co-Vanzetti Students’ Committee, which called the meeting in conjunc- tion with the Social Problems Club and Students’ Council of N. Y., said: “The Sacco-Vanzetti Committee sprang up when the students heard * Saceo and Vanzeti had been found guilty. Our aim is to work for their freedom. We will work until tre prison doors swing open, and they are , free.” Arthur Garfield Hays, of ~ the American Civil Liberties Union, was vigorously. applauded when he said, “Although I am hopeful Gov. Fuller will pardon Sacco and Vanzetti, I will not think the job has been completed (Continued on Page Two) MILLIONS STOLEN BY “BIG FOUR” OFFICIALS CHARGED TO SALARIES PREVIOUS EVENTS OF The targets of this expose a articles. In spite of the Governor's have remained ‘silent. action. er te million mark. These are the official figures as submitted to Mr. Beha. During 1925 the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com- pany, the major limb of the “Big)| Four,” paid to its policyholders 177| million dollars in claims, maturities and dividends. Its management ex-| pense was 114 million dollars. Sixty- five cents to every dollar paid out. Costly “Management” The Prudential paid out 141 million dollars to its “mutual” customers and charged them 81 million dollars for running the show. Fifty-seven cents to the dollar. The John Hancock disbursed 35 million and charged 22 million to “necessary management expenses.” Sixty-five cents to the dollar, The Colonial Life Insurance Com- pany reported $1,634,635 as manage INSURANCE EXPOSE. re the Metropolitan, Prudential, John Hancock and the Colonial Life Insurance Companies. As a result of this series, which started on April 11th, Gov- ernor Smith ordered Superintendent of Insurance James A. Beha to conduct an inquiry into the charges as made in the Harrison Among the charges made are misuse of “mutual” funds, over- charging, fraud, graft and subor nation. action the “Big Four” officials The DAILY WORKER awaits Beha’s By CHARLES YALE HARRISON. If the forty million policyholders in the “Big Four” that for every dollar paid to them by Haley Fiske & Co., about 65c was used for “management expenses, the number of cash customers vane remain long at the forty knew ” it is very doubtfulift | nent expense while ite | total payments to policyholders were $1,164,708. A dollar and a half expenses for every dollar paid in claims, etc. This corporation should be denied the right to do business in the State of New York. The fact that Mr. Beha takes no action in the Colonial case leads one to believe that he has a motive in not doing so. Extortion Prevents Bankruptcy If any other business were run on the drunken sailor principles which guide the weekly premium life insur- ance business it would be bankrupt in a@ year. Included under the heading of man- agement expenses is anything from a $12 a week clerk's salary to $150,000 a year salary for one of the officials, (Continued on Page Two) it a ie a A