The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 14, 1927, Page 4

Page Four THE DAILY WORKER, NE has W YORK, SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1927 THE DAILY WORKER | Published by tie DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. Daily, Except Sunday 83 First Street, New York, N. Y. ptt de ool Bal aM Lak SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in New York only): By mail (outside of New York): 68.00 per year $4.50 six months $6.00 per year $2.50 three months $2.00 three months Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER, 33 First Street, New York, N. Y. J. LOUIS ENGDAHL WILLIAM F, DUNNE i = iditors BERT MILLER ss Manager Entered as second-class rail at the post-office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Advertising rates on application. Phone, Orchard 1680 —_—. >. * Sacco and Vanzetti Still in Shadow of Electric Chair Facts in possession of The DAILY WORKER reveal a sneak- ing, under-handed attempt of those involved in the original frame- up against Sacco and Vanzetti to place before Governor Fuller of Massachusetts a mass of additional manufactured “evidence” against these victims of the vengeance of murderous agents of the United States department of justice and the open shoppers of that st: These culprits are known to be piling perjury upon perjury in order to prevent an investigation that, if con ducted properly, would expose their own villainy and place them in the pillory. While the friends of Saeco and Vanzetti and those liberal elements that protest at what they consider a blemish upon their sacred institutions of democracy, right and justice, are heralding to the world the rabid vindictiveness of Judge Thayer, the story of the perjured testimony and all the details of the frame-up that placed Sacco and Vanzetti in the shadow of the electric chair, the identical scoundrels who aided in the frame-up are steadily concocting new and more loathsome perjury in order to induce Governor Fuller to refuse to sanction an investigation. It is typical of liberalism to always seek to find in events in which they participate justification for their stupid faith in capi- talist institutions. They imagine that Governor Fuller, one of the wealthiest men in the state of Massachusetts, a millionaire | director of the great‘Packard Motor Company, will see eye to eye with them and become as incensed over the astounding revela- tions regarding the attempt to railroad to the death chair these two Italian workers as they themselves have become. They do not perceive the fact that Fuller is likely to be more susceptible to the poison perjury of those who plotted the murder of Sacco and Vanzetti than to the facts brought forth in defense of the victims of class justice. The working class and its advanced section that first brought to the light of day the monstrous crime against these two work- ers and that held back thé hand of the assassin for these seven years must not be lulled into a falsé sense of security because of talk of an investigation. Furthermore, even though an in- vestigation is ordered, we must always remember that powerful murderous influences will be set in motion to thwart a real in- vestigation and endeavor to use a fraudulent investigation to} whitewash those who conspired against these men. Great Sacco and Vanzetti conferences should be arranged thru- out the country and preparations made for a national conference that will have as its aim the mobilization of the masses to see that these victims of capitalism are not only saved from the elec- tric chair but that they are returned to their places in the labor movement. Only the workers can adequately defend the members of their class victimized by the capitalist courts. First Results of the Fascist Labor Bill-a 10% Wage Cut Class co-operation in Italy works for all practical purposes as it does in the United States; the difference being in its method of application. In the United States the official labor bureau- eracy enters into agreements with the employers and bludgeons the workers into accepting wage cuts. In Italy the fascist state enforces wage cuts against the workers through the use of its coercive force: the police, the army and other instruments of the fascist terror. A ten per cent wage cut enforced upon all workers in Italian industry is the first result of Mussolini’s “charter of labor,” re- cently promulgated. The personal organ of the fascist tyrant, the Popolo Di Roma, declares that “representatives of the work- ers wilt demonstrate their patriotism by consenting to the request of their employers for a ten per cent wage cut.” These “repre- sentatives,” needless to- state, are part of the fascist state ap- paratus whose job it is to stifle all attempts at class action on the part of the Italian workers and deliver them bound and gagged into the hands of the employers. The reason for the vicious slash in the already inadequate wages of the Italian workers whose leaders have been hounded, imprisoned, exiled or murdered by Mussolini’s armed hooligans is the desire of the Italian industrialists to compete on the world markets with the products of the lowest paid laborers of the world. This motive is admitted by the fascist grand council which announces that “the new wage contracts (?) permit busi- ness an ample margin of time to adjust itself to the new financial situation and the difficulties of international competition.” Thus state-imposed class collaboration in Italy works pre- cisely the same as the sort of class collaboration enforced against the workers in the United States by the Greens, Wolls, and other apostles of “mutual aid” between capital and labor. In Italy the leaders of labor had first to be crushed by the state before the fascist regime could be imposed. In the United States our own gallant labor leaders at the head of the official bureaucracy con- duct themselves in the manner of fascists, thereby making un- necessary an open fascist government. The wage cut in Italy is only the beginning of a series, that must inevitably bring about such widespread misery among the workers that they will realise that revolution is the only way out. And just as the workers in Italy must fight fascism as repre- sented by the Mussolini regime there, so in this country the fight against fascism at present must be conducted for the most part within the ranks of the labor movement against the would-be Mussolinis who use terror against the membership to maintain their jobs as agents of the capitalists. 98.50 six months of | weighed down with oppression. : | membered the mate telling me that | Sided. f the telegraphist had three chums,‘a|0Ver with Lieutenant Brasov. | junior officer, the a (Continued From Last Issue). The Rough Road “We'll get him anyway, that Bra- He left, carrying away the secret | Sov, if he hid in hell, We'll get him, his thoughts, and I remained | T re-| tant quarter- | | master and the machinist, whom he | also suspected. They did not express | | themselves politically and were al- | ways efficient in the performance of | their duty. Suddenly a thought struck the beast.” Out in the corridor the noise sub- I decided that all must be I was puzzled to see the sailors standing by the left door begin a whispered conversation with the machinists, who quickly ran off. Two sailors left the remaining group and moved out into the corridor. Each sank down |me: each of these three had in turn| 0M one knee, holding his rifle in po- | some friends and so on, and this was | their organization! | This | firmed. I was in my cabin, composing a suspicion was shortly con- code telegram to let the admiral know | that all was well with us. Friday about seven o'clock evening. I had not slept for several nights and my nerves were on edge. Suddenly I heard shots and stamping of feet, then a piercing shriek. “It’s begun!” For some reason I spoke aloud and dashed out of my cabin, I was aay surrounded by sailors armed With rifles, who searched me hurriedly and conducted me to the mess-room, I noticed that the rifle stand in the officers’ corri- dor was empty. It was whole crew was armed. in the} This meant that the} sition, rushed into the mess-room and, gasp- | ing for breath, called hurriedly to the | sailors, “Everything's ready. is going to begin.” A large number of sailors had {gathered at the left door. Their jnoise ceased and they cranned their |neclts, peering into the corridor. I | did not know what it meant but there | was something in this strained wait- ing. Suddenly the silence was shattered by the sound of breaking glass. A second later the corridor resounded, with a human scream, mingled with the hissing sound of escaping steam. | The sailors stirred, glanced about. “Brasov’s getting it good and hot.” Now the play | Sprawling | “There’s a steam bath for you!” jon the floor with a broken head,|. From further bits of conversation | directly in our path, was the first officer, Ismaelov, a pool of his blood | Spreading on the linoleum and shining jin the electric light. ‘I was obliged | to step over the convulsed body of my dying assistant, and as I did so, my heart sank within me as if I were committing a heinous crime. Spattering shots sounded on the upper deck, each ending a life. On entering the mess-room I found several officers, two doctors and the priest already assembled there. A | watch was set over us. | . . * It was all done with incredible swiftness. New officers, engineers |and junior officers were constantly being brought in. Then the machin- | ists began ‘to appear, some of them | dragging the chief engineer who, for- getting his dignity, fell on his knees and begged in a whining tone: “Comrades, spare me, make me a stoker, I’ll stand watch for two.” He tore his chevrons off himself. The machinists threw him off with laughter and he fell into a corner like a dead weight. Raising himself on | his elbow, he crouched against the | wall, moaning piteously, | Men were Swarming all over the |ship in movements, at first sight, of | confusion, but really excellently or- | ganized, The number of prisoners in- | creased. Somewhere deep in the hold | shots sounded dully and almost at the same time the head electrician, Golo- |vin, wearing a sailor's uniform, dashed into the mess-room. His face was covered with blood and I barely recognized him, “Save me, sir, save me,” he wailed | desperately, rushing at me. I backed away from him and ex- claimed sharply, “Leave me alone!” Sailors appeared in the doorway. Golovin ran to a leather divan and fell on it with his head jammed into a corner and the lower part of his body raised as if to receive blows. One of | the sailors, with a coarse jest, buried | his bayonet under his spine. An ani- mal-like roar shook the splendid walls jof the mess-room and ceased abruptly. Slowly Golovin raised his twitching face and tried to look about with eyes straining out of their soc- kets. A hoarse rattle, like the grunt- ing of a pig, sounded in his chest. We recoiled in horror and froze in position. The sailors, however, on finishing with the electrician, spoke calmly, as though apologizing for their act. “Wanted to destroy the dynamo, the bastard.” “He’s sly, that one. What could we do in the dark and all the scoundrels scuttling away like rats? Whom could we catch then?” Both were calmly wiping perspira- tion from their faces, They went out, leaving the dead body on the divan, and we all looked at each other in surprise, as though seeing for the first time. The priest moved his lips in soundless prayer, concealing a large and splendid silver cross in the folds of his robe, as if fearing it would attract some misfortune to him. The boatswain, Soloveikin, began to blow his nose violently as if he had sud- denly caught a bad cold. I noticed that each tried to place himself behind another, so that we were all crowded at the end of the room, We had hardly recovered when the corridor of the officers’ quarters re- sounded to shots, curses, shots and stamping of feet; some struggle must be going on there. An instant later, a groaning sailor was carried th and placed gently on the table. The assis- tant quartermaster took chargé, “First aid, doctors!” Both doctors seemed glad, rushed to the wounded man and began to un- dress him, getting in each other's way. The man was shot through the chest and was dying, even as he tried to steel his glazing eyes. “Lieutenant Brasov treated him to this; the viper locks himself in his cabin and shoots with a revolver, Shot one man already, right in the head.” Another sailor muttered through his teeth: , { I gathered what was happening. It appeared that it had been impossible to get Lieutenant Brasov out of his cabin. He kept up a continual firing through the door and no member of the crew wished to risk his life further. They led the hose through from the machines, broke the skylight of the cabin and let in tne hot steam. The screams changed into an ani- mal-like roar, so terrible that I felt the hair rising on my scalp. I thought with horror of what was hap- pening in that fatal cabin. The steam was rushing in with great force, scalding the body unbearably. Lieutenant Brasov immediately lost his head with the suddenness of it. Perhaps his eyes had burst. Blind, he was flinging himself from one end of the tiny room to the other, stum- bling against obstacles, falling and rising again, beating his head against the walls. Sometimes he was silent for a moment, then again came that inhuman bellowing. And the room was becoming hotter. He was cooking in it as meat boils in a pot. The skin was coming off his face, his hands, and still life throbbed painfully with- in him. The prisoners crouched together, pale and helpless. When the last groan had died, the sailors entered the cabin. Brasov was a boiled corpse. They carried him to the upper deck and threw him overboard. The ship was how “completely in the hands of the revolutionists. (To Be Continued). Let’s Fight On! Join The Workers Party! In the loss of Comrade Ruthen- berg the Workers (Communist) Par- ty has lost its foremost leader and the American working class its staunchest fighter. This loss can only be overcome by many militant work. ers joining the Party that he built. Fill out the application below and mail it, Become a member of the Workers (Communist) Party and carry forward the work of Comrade Ruthenberg. I want to become a member of the Workers (Communist) Party. Name Address Come PN sd Kista cika aie Union Affiliation...........seeeeee Mail this application to the Work- ew| derground. But the revolutionary spirit inculcated by! with their “Pravda,” ook Oar, Pete Rag bag the “Pravda” into the masses of workers, continued to! their organ, Workers Party, 1113 W. Washington Blv., Chicago, Ill. Distribute the Ruthenberg pam- phlet, “The Workers’ (Communist) Party, What it Stands For and Why Workers Should Join.” This Ruthen- berg pamphlet will be the basic pam- phlet thruout the Ruthenberg Drive. Every Party Nucleus must collect 50 cents from every member and will receive 20 pamphlets for every mem- ber to sell or distribute. Nuclei in the New York District will get their pamphlets from the Dis- trict office—108 East 14th St. Nuclei outside of the New York District write to The DAILY WORK- ER publishing Co, 33 East First Street, New York City, or to the National Office, Workers Party, 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, ll. Ben Gold to Address Hungarian Workers Ben Gold will address a meeting of the Hungarian Needle Trades Club, Wednesday May 18th, o'clock at the Hungarian peer ingarian speake: inent Hu rs will address the meeting. SACCO and VANZETTI SHALL NOT DIE! also In a short time a dirty stoker | By 0. FALK. | ORKERS, owners and governments have long given | up feeling the faintest interest in the International Labor Office of the League of Nations and its meetings. The eight years during which this institution on which international reformism lqid such glowing hopes have proven beyond doubt its essential insignificance. Only the reformist press, the Amsterdam International and its national sections, and the Christian trade unions con- tinue to appeal to it and to consider that anything what- ever can be achieved through its agency, What on earth has the Office been doing for these eight years? It adopted 27 Conventions, the importance of which grew less and less every time. The first Inter- national Labor Conference adopted conventions on the eight-hour day, night work for women and children, the minimum age at which children might be employed in industry. The two subsequent ones also passed resolu- tions not entirely devoid of significance, although con- siderably less important than the foregoing ones. The next'four conferences failed to produce a single Convention, contending themselves with mere recom- mendations involving no obligations whatsoever and | trivialities not worth mentioning. Even the first-men- tioned resolutions came to a very sad end. That on the eight-hour day, which Albert Thomas, the Director of the Labor Office, called the touchstone of the Interna- tional Labor Office’s work, was ratified only by coun- tries out of the 56 belonging to the International Labor Office, three others ratifying it conditionally, while of those ratifying it, the eight-hour day was as a matter of fact not observed. The same fate attended all the other conventions of the slightest significance. Colorless and Featureless, The 35th and last session of the Administrative Coun- cil of the International Labor Office was as colorless and featureless as all its foregoing meetings. Its agenda was cluttered up with trivial, insignificant questions, The only one of the slightest importance was the ques- tion of the eight-hour day for seamen. The way in which the question was presented was in itself not very promising. The session had to decide whether the ques- tion should be placed before a Special Labor Conference in 1928, At the foregoing session this was decided in the affirmative, and this was regardéd by the reformist trade unions as a great victory. Final confirmation was, however, to be given at the 35th session. This time the whole show went smash. By the united efforts of em- ployers’ and government representatives the conference was postponed till 1929. Special efforts were made in this case by the British government, whose representa- tive is the leader of the most reactionary group at the session. Had His Own Way. For the British government and British shipowners the shortening of. the seamen’s day is particularly dis- advantageous. Remarkable to relate he got his own way in spite of the fact that the united, front between the employers and the governments was for once broken by the zealous efforts of the French employers’ repre- sentatives to get the eight-hour day for seamen accepted as soon as possible. This benevolence is to be explained The International Labour Office by the fact that the French seamen have managed to wring out the eight-hour day; and, unable to abolish it in their own country, the employers are eager that it should at least be adopted in other countries too, in order that they should not suffer too severely from competition, But the proposal ended in a fiasco. Reproached Employers, This was the only really important question, Be- sides this the session considered its own budget which, despite the protests of the reformists present, bitterly reproaching the employers and governments with their stinginess and avarice, was decreased by 140,000 francs, | The other two questions attracting a certain amount | of attention were raised by the Italians—representatives \of the fascist government. The fascists showed great activity at this session, perhaps because they are just beginning to feel firm ground under their feet—this time there were no longer 2 representatives of Italian |labor organizations at the session and the reformists did not deny‘the powers of the fascist trade unions’ rep- |resentatives. The Italian reformists, as is well known, |have dissolved their class confederation and entered the service of the fascists. The “united” Italian trade union movement was represented this time by d’Arragon, jformer chairman of the National Confederation of La- j bor. The class General Confederation of Labor, revived | by the Italian workers, is not recognized by the govern- ment, and was therefore not represented at the session. Organization of Commission. | The fascists put forward the question of the orgahiza- tion of a special commission representing the interests of brain-workers. Altogether they display special anx- j iety in regard to this category of workers, hoping by |this means to get them on their side and isolate them from manual laborers. The session passed a resolution |on the setting up of such a commission, which still re- |quires the confirmation of the League of Nation’s | Council. Further the fascists tried to arrange through the La- bor Office an exchange of films showing conditions of social life in the countries belonging to the International Labor Office, The idea behind this proposal was so obvious that even Oudegest understood it: the fascists wanted to advertise fascism and its leader Mussolini abroad. Oudegest remembered in this connection that this sort of thing had been done by Wilhelm 2nd The fascist project was somehow or other defeated, Losing Its Only Merit. The remaining questions were quite devoid of interest, It is extremely characteristic that the report on the coal industry at which the International Labor Office has been working for two years was not ready for this ses- sion either: it had not been found possible to collect ma- terial in the most important industrial countries. This shows that the International Labor Office is losing its last and only merit—that it is even unable to gather ma- terial on the state of industry, which so far it has more or less done. Thus the session dragged out, colorless and feature- less, like all the other meetings. The International La- bor Office is gradually succumbing to cobwebs and rust. This can only be welcomed by the revolutionary working class—the less illusions the better, P (Fifteenth Anniversary of the “Pravda,” Central Organ of the C. P. S. U.) TH history of the “Pravda” is the history ‘of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The “Pravda” is a mass Bolshevik paper, which was created with the rise of the mass labor movement in Russia. The year 1912 marked a turning point in the labor movement. The Russian proletariat began ta raise its head again after the defeat suffered in the 1905 revolution. This turning point was expressed primarily in the growth of proletarian struggles in the form of strikes. The Lena strike which ended with a bloody massacre of the work- ers served as a signal for the working masses all over the country. The task of the working class party of that time was to link up the economic struggle of the workers with revolutionary political aims and to rouse the proletariat to a struggle for the overthrow of the monarchy, The “Pravda” played an exceptional role in the solution of this work, Fought Liquidators. Under conditions of severe police persecution, the Bol- shevik paper had to fight against Menshevik liquidators undermining the working class. It had to carry on a struggle for class education of the working masseg, for a revolutionary Marxian party, whose basis at that time could have been only the revolutionary underground or- ganization scoffed at by the Menshevik liquidators. The “Pravda” could perform its gigantic revolutionary work only with the support of the working masses. The working masses support their “Pravda” with unflagging devotion. This is the only possible way to explain the fact that the Tsarist government, although it was incessantly per- secuting the paper, could not definitely make up its mind to close it down once and for all. The autocracy bs afraid of the growing proletarian movement. Only the imperialist war helped the monarchy to avenge it- self. The war, which broke up the labor movement, which was approaching a revolutionary uprising, killed the “Pravda” as well. The party had to go entirely un- - Needle Trade Defense _ Fifteen Years of Struggle counteract the poison of national defense which the liquidators spread among the workers, Its Ideas Revealed. i The second year of war marked the embryonic rise of new mass proletarian struggles. Again economic strikes were converted into political, anti-monarchist and anti- militarist strikes. This was due to the work of the Bol- sheviks,;due to the former work of the “Pravda.” ‘The “Pravda” was not there, but the ideas which it advocated prevailed and guided the working class. The February revolution resurrected the “Pravda.” The militant voice calling for a proletarian revolution was again raised among the masses who loved their paper. The period between February and October (be- ginning with Lenin’s return to Russia) was a period of powerful growth of the “Pravda” and of its influence among the masses. Lenin took over the leadership in the paper. Never did the “Pravda” arouse the ire of the Bolshevik enemies to the extent that it did in those days of “democratic” liberties. The Kerensky government, following the example of the autocracy, never closed down the “Pravda,”—Keren- sky’s Junkers broke up the “Pravda” twice (once the office was broken up after the July events, and a second time the machinery was smashed on the eve of the October Revolution). But the dying bourgeoisie and their socialist lackeys could not throttle the proletarian revolution which the “Pravda” was advocating and or- ganizing. Pravda Triumphant. With the victory of the October Revolution, the “Pravda” became the organ of the party of the proleta- rian dictatorship. During the years of civil war, the “Pravda” was the best transmitting belt linking up the masses with the Party. The epoch of socialist construc. tion has arrived and again we see the “Pravda” in the same role of principal link between the Party and the masses, : . Throughout the period of struggle, the “Pravda” was &@ mass paper. It has continued to be so now. The working masses of the U. S. S. R. have grown together —I. PETROVITCH. SR, Lawrence to Join The “Pravda” is and will remain © | | | | 1 | | | | | The bazaar has grown to such large proportions that it occupies all the attending of every active worker with the result that today’s column will be devoted solely to letters re- ceived by the defense committee. Any one who’ wishes to know what is going on at the bazaar itself is welcome to come this afternoon and to the grand ball tonight. Toronto, Canada, Joint Defense Committee: Friends: I am glad to. send $5 to help free my fellow workers who have been thrown into jail for fight- ing for the union. I pledge myself not to rest until the whole frameup gang is destroyed. » I hope that’ my fellow workers will soon be free and in the meantime I expect to send you $6 shortly. If at 8/necessary, I will do my duty even Workers | with more enthusiasm and determina- 850 East 81st Street. Prom-|tion until my brothers are all free, Looking forward to a quick suc- cess, I am ns " ternally yours, Sam Aushel. A Letter From Detroit, Mich. Joint Defense Committee, National Protest poh hi ee I am sig vontind a ‘or $200 and I will send you . . more as soon as I get my accounts A tE ut yt hs alnSt EX@CULION ee money I > enclosing is part ‘ of the proceeds the tag day. I also have other money that I am go-|| LAWRENCE, Mass., May 13.—, ing to send either this afternoon or | 5S meeting to protest the comi tomorrow. The prospects are very |¢x¢cutions of Sacco and Vanzetti will good and I think that we will be able | he held in the Winter Garden, Friday to raise quite a bit of money. evening, May 27. ternally, tid ppd bpd be held under ben auspices ie \wrence Sacco Lena Rosenberg. vane hamgfapi sen com- aes posed of these 21 izations: From a Food Worker. Workmen's Circle, Branch 742, Joint Defense Committee. of Dear Friends: Enclosed please find a money order for $2 which is my answer to your letter of recent date. I am, sorry that I didn’t answer as soon as I received your letter, but it was simply because my pocket was not in a position te: do so, Also I want to tell you that your wonder- ful struggle is giving us in other trades inspiration to fight for better conditions, as you are doing. Yours very truly, Manuel Gonzalez, BUY THE DAILY WORKER Lawrence United Front Hebrew Ideal Association; Italy Lodge; Yugland Club. é Three branches of the International Labor Defense; Victor Emanuel So- ciety; Socialist Party (Italian); Franco-Belgian Club; Union of Italy. Workers (Communist) Party; Ger- man Gate he Society; Workers’ Cooperative ion; Sans Sancis Poet Bak x ive Bakery. ‘ Italian La Basilicata S¢ Ital- ian Citizens’ Club; Garibald! Jand Ukrainian Workers’ Association, \ ; | | } } i