The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 27, 1927, Page 2

rage Two > “BIG FOUR” DROWNS AGENTS IN SOFT SOAP MAY 27, 1927 THE DAILY WORKER. 'Browder Brands Wall Street Menace in China (Continued from Page One) soldier was set free by verdict of the jury. | (Continued from Page One) | Crime of Coal Guards |Governor Fisher’ Hides | have escaped unhurt when a “squeeze” or cave -within a shaft of | the Kingston colliery of the Glen Al- a Smee '|Pilsudski, Tyrant of Poland, Gags Press by New Government Ukase The left Wing in the Garment Unions By MARGARET LARKIN The peculiar structure of the International Ladies’ Garment | Workers, the method of administration and the erying evil of the * * * Reports of the American consulate , of which this is the fifth, deals =— | neo series of ten articles, « a - 4 here show that Chinese exports to the|} | Wee ningAlY jae eae gs sulaherin ae grees Maaasan the | otten torough system are reviewed in today’s installment of the | with the exploitation of the industrial insurance agent and| United States from the Yangtze Val-|| ™u2zling ie Polish press is || vit bra he raileond | Official review of recent stru ‘ e left wit methods to combat the evils of weekly payment life inswrance,|ley this year are normal, with in-|| ®¢¢omplished by the latest ukase i fies ily piel sane ‘heal - . pila meagan in baad wis we eae | t to ” 2 Bt . poh ; of Dictator Pilusdki, This order }/ bridge over the Susquehanna River | trades wnions. . ee | Uihws series ts the result of numerous requests to publicize the de- “SHANGHAT, May ” Pek by | makes it a crime to criticize public || three quarters of a mile from the ‘3 - i the loss}. nilon. te unablaste Dees te. | EEE ths Minticle and fraud to whteh Tha GaORE te eublecd th te ~ 6 atlas “i e ant officials and violation is made pun- || mine to settle. It was not believed | (Continued from Last Issue), renee of song, two Beige the ie with volicyholde : Page (seagate ishable by fines and prison terms || that any of the miners at work in The Union. SE eeecn ate te oe common with the policyholder. gan of Nationalist armies sweeping|| ot trom three monthe to fine || other shafts at the time were dnjured sas Local unions are entitled to delegates Acts 's on from Hankow toward Peking. Wakees een “Il Caves are-sdwaye ihdtested betore: |ustte International Ladies’ Garment | according to the following scale of Article V. Feng Yu-hsiang is striking at Mar- Workers’ Union is affiliated with the membership: By CHARLES Y ALE HARRISON. “It seems to us that the best thought of the age has fixed upon insurance as the solvent f societ time, when, instead of one in every five, four in every five shall be in- sured in industrial mutual insurance companies; and in the development of these companies along welfare lines one may look to the time when the people shall take of themselves through life insurance ... a mutual service of co-operat among such a large proportion of the population that it may be led the New § ism!’ Capitalist Hokum The above is from a booklet issued by the Metropolitan Life addressed to its twe -odd thousand field work- ers. It is the sort of nonsense which emanates from headquarters from time to time in the hopes that in some occult manner the field worker will realize, that, in spite of low wages and harsh working conditions he is helping to bring on the economic mil- lenium as conceived by the publicity agents of the “Big Four.” The average agent for the four in- For Wage Slaves Featuring: CZARDOM OR DEMOCRACY IN THE UNIONS? 3y Eugene Lyons IN THE JUNE ISSUE of the NEW MASSES Other articles by JOSEPH FREEMAN SCOTT NEARING MAX EASTMAN ROBERT DUNN CHAS. W. WOOD JIM TULLY and others. Ss. \. Drawings by * HUGO GELLERT ART YOUNG WM. GROPPER WANDA GAG JAN MATULKA WM. SIEGEL and others. 25 CENTS A COPY ON ALL NEWSSTANDS Special Trial Sub for five months $1.00 THE NEW MASSES 39 Union Square New York Enclosed mos. sub. 2RESOnIe oro ==—=5 ion picture the Hi Give Us Our Kitchenettes, ||| kitehenettes for use instead of for for most of the economic ills of | pea Sane dustrial life insurance companie ker indeed, ¢ arnings are le: ed by the semi-s worker in the factory or mill. What he lacks in pay, the compan- ies try to make up for in tickling his susceptibility to flattery. Medals and honor pins are awarded him for} years “of faithful service” or for high} standards of insurance production. In illed spite of the bits of bronze and nickel which a few proudly wear the average | weekly wage is not over $35. stem under which the indus- trial insurance agent works makes it impossible for him to be absolutely honest with his policyholders. If the agent is overwhelmed by a surge of} honesty he soon learns that fair-deal- ing works to his economic disadvan- tage. The increase of his collection debit through additions of new policies is | one of the large factors upon which depend the amount of his special sal- ary. And as he is continually being fined for lapsed business he finds him- | self in the position of a man who is| bailing out a sinking boat. He must bail faster in order to keep afloat. Increases Field of Graft The system compels the agent, if |he is to retain his job, not only to | write new policies (which under the | present economic order is sometimes a justifiable act) but he must replace the lapsed policies with new ones be- | |for he receives a dollar in salary for | his work, When one remembers that last year | the “Big Four” lapsed over six mil- | lion industrial policies the bailing pro- |cess must be a fast one to earn a |living at it. Must Pay ’Til Death. Thess fear of a lapsed policy causes the agent to lie and misrepresent the true facts regarding the proposed lapsed policy. For examples, policies lissued prior to 1907 with most vom- panies have no cash surrender value. | The policy must be paid on until} death . The holder of such a policy, and there are millions of them in force, cannot receive a dollar of his deposits back irrespective of the des- | perate straits in which he might find himself, In reply to questions regard- {ing the advisability of maintaining |such a policy in force the agent im-| ‘variably replies in the affirmative. In other cases when an industrial | |policy hes been in force for but a few | y information that J shal Chang Tso-lin’s flank from the west while Gen. Tang Cheng-chi with) Hankow the his against south, army 18 northerners rolling from up the Chiang Kai-shek professes to have} pan is preparing) to throw down Marshall Chang Tso- lin and replace him as Governor of Manchuria with his chief of staff, Gen. Yang Yu-tin, a schoolmate of Chiang Kai-shek in the Japanese military academy. Commemorate Shanghai Massacre. Huge anti-British demonstrations! will be held in cities, towns and vil- lages thruout the Yangtse Valley May 30th to commemorate the notor- ious Shanghai massacre which oc- curred two years ago, when British troops shot down peaceful and un-} armed Chinese demonstrators in the streets of Shanghai. Demonstrations} are scheduled to be held at Swatow, Canton, Shameen, Kiukiang and Han-| kow. Butler Returns To Shanghai. | PEKING, May 26.—General Smed-} ley Butler, in command of the U. S.| marines in China, left today for Shanghai. Representatives Haven, MacGrady,} and Thurston arrived here today, and/ Senators Wheeler and Goff are ex-) pected next week. pa . Chiang-British Alliance. | SHANGHAI, May 26—On_ the} strength of a secret agreement bey tween Chiang Kai-shek’s authorities and thes Municipal Council a large number of native and Indian Nation- alists have been arrested in the rag ese settlement. The trial of the Hindu revolution-} aries arrested by Chiang’s police will be heard in the‘ British court behind | closed doors. | Hear Lion Roar—Tent Falls PHILADELPHIA, May 26.—Most| House of Commons will tonight ratify | of the main tent of the “101 Ranch” cireus here was blown down late to- day by a sudden wind and rain storm, The utmost excitement prevailed as the cries of the lions and elephants arose above the crash ing tents. It has not been determined whether anyone was injured or the amount‘of the damage . Take British Rum Schooner WASHINGTON, May 26. — The British schooner “Carrie L. Hirtle” has been captured by the coast about nine miles off Moose Peak light, Department of Justice announced to- of the collaps- Critics of the government or its officials, under the new ruling, will not be permitted to prove their ac- cusations, and the court is permit- ted to pass sentence without trial on simple. motion of the public prosecutor, U.S.S.R. Delegate Calls Tory Charges False (Continued from Page One) win of illegal activity in Britain by the Soviet Union. “Everything has been sacrificed in the interest of party struggles in Great Britain.” said the Rosengoltz statement. “With full consciousness of the seriousness of the present moment the United Soviet Republics which have always pursued a policy of peace now lay full responsibility for all the consequences of the rupture between Russia and Great Britain on the pres- ent government of Great Britain.” Regarding Premier _Baldwin’s charge that M. Borodin, Russian ad- viser to the Hankow government, was under Moscow instructions, M. Rosen- goltz said that the telegram upon | which this charge was based bore “all signs of invention, particularly the constructions of phrases and the terms used and reference to non-ex- istent bodies.” One “incriminating document,” al- | leged to have been found in the posses- | sion of Robert Koling, carrier of dip- lomatic mail, was from the secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union of e USSR and “contained instruc- tions” that papers and periodicals should henceforth be sent to the Inter- national Seamen’s Club at 26 South St., New York, instead of to Wangerin in Chicago. The International Sea- men’s Club receives magazines and other periodicals from all over the world. With practical certainty that the | the cabinet decision for rupture, it is } understood that the Soviet embassy | staff plans to leave London on Sun- | day. # Right Laborites Yellow. LONDON, May 26,—The British | cabinet’s decision to break trade and | diplomatic relatiens with Soviet Union | Was made a question of confidence in the House of Commons this afternoon, | by Sir Austen Chambeflain, Tory for- eign minister. The debate on the cab- \inet’s action opened at 4 o’clock this guard | afternoon before a packed chamber.| your work.—N. ©., Cuba. : } J | Little opposition to the Tory mo-! ° * * Maine, charged with rum-running, the | tion developed in the House of Com-| Workmen's Circle For the Defense. | | mons, despite the indignation of the months or so and the insured feels|day. The vessel and cargo are to be| labor movement, because the weak that he would like a change to a pol-| delivered into the custody of the Col-| conciliatory position taken by the iey embodying less murderous rates,|lector of Customs at Portsmouth, ! right wing of the Labor Party, which | self-interest dictates to the agent that | such a policy must not be lapsed. In the light of such conditions his position is not an enviable one. He! must do the company’s bidding or get | Four cases of choice liquors consigned | out. And get out he does; so much| so that that yearly labor turnover! Maine. Expect Wave of College Suicides DARTMOUTH, Mass., May 26.— to residents of Princeton, N. J., Wash- ington, Pa., and Aurora, N. Y., seized | abandoned its intention to move a vote | of censure for fear “championing the | cause of Bolshevism.” | Clynes Motion. | The Labor motion which John R. |Clynes moved, in place of Ramsay | | ¥ with the “Big Four” is over 50%, an| here today by federal agents may be | M&¢Donald, was carefully worded as unusually high rate. Many Fail | The abolition of the “lapse and} charge” system will, of course, relieve | the agent of the embarrassing role he now plays as scapegoat for the in- surance plunderbund. | How is this possible in the face of | the organized opposition on the part} | of these billion dollar corporations? First the insuring public must be | acquainted with the fact that their | “mutual” companies are perpetuating ja system whereby the defrauding of | the public must continue indefinitely. | Second the agents themselves must | organize into protective ‘unions and| | carry on a militant fight against the/| exploitation of their members and the | defrauding of the public. When the forty million policyhold- jers realize that the fight is not only |for better wages and working con- | ditions for the agent but is being waged also for lower rates and for a really co-operative control of the busi- ness, it will not be long before the | inoculation “takes.” Big realty men from the Real Es- | tate Board almost kneeled in suppli- cation to Mayor Walker yesterday in |an effort to get permission to have | decoration in their new apartment- hotels. Professional Patriots This New Exposure of the Personalities and Methods in Exploiting Patriotism $1.50 cioth vound erences DAILY WORKER PUB. CO. 33 First St., New York I OOO ESO IO } the key to a source of liquor supply |for Princeton college students and) official Washington, federal agents aid. Demand Conference on Sacco and Vanzetti (Continued from Page One) |placed in by Fuller’s flat refusal to name a formal commission, sent a letter to the governor today express- ing its deep regret at his decision and reiterating its desire for public an- nouncements of the progress Of the secret investiagtion. The governor himself continued busy at the state house quizzing wit- nesses, jurors and experts in the case, Five more jurors were questioned yes- terday, making a total of six so far. They stood pat on their verdict. William Brenner, of Chelease, a witness, told Fuller that/he was work- ing in the Rice & Hutchins shoe fac- tory at South Braintree at the time of the payroll murder for which Sac- co and Vanzetti were framed. He was at a shop window directly overlooking the bandit car but was unable to iden- tify any of the participants, although perjured witnesses for the state tes- tified that they had been able to identify the criminals with ease from much greater distances. Plan Branting Meeting. William J. Callahan, formerly of defense counsel, William G. Thomp- son, chief of defense counsel and Her- bert B. Ehrmann his associate, were closeted with the governor. Plans are being made for a public meeting for Georg Branting, the no- ted Swedish labor attorney who will arive in New York Friday and in Bos- ton Sunday to investigate the case for Seandinavian labor. The defense committee has asked for Faneuil Hall, * * *. anks Oppose Parade. MILF YRD, Mass., May 26.—The selectmen\ have voted unanimously not to perrait Italian societies friendly to Sacco and Vanzetti to hold a par- ade here on June 12. Sacco is a for- mer resident of the town. | follows: | “That having heard the statement | of the Prime Minister, this House is | of the opinion that the termination of the trade agreement with Russia, and the severance of diplomatic relations, would have serious international con- | Sequences and close a promising ave nue to the restoration of trade and |industry, and is, therefore, a policy to which the country ought not to be committed until a report of a select committee, based upon the examina- tion of all relevant doctments, and full enquiry into the facts, has been submitted to the House.” Ramsay MacDonald refrained from participating in the debate. The vote is expected at 11 o’clock tonight. ' The Old Bunk. In moving a vote of confidence Aus- ten Chamberlain, Tory Foreign Min- ister, rehashed all of the hoary charg- es “that the Soviet Union has carried on political propaganda in Great Brit- ain.” The recent “Hands Off China” demonstration before the British om- bassy was regarded by the Foreign Minister as a “Soviet plot!” The reverse of the British in the Far East were also attributed by Chamberlain to the Soviet Union. * * * USSR Denies War Move. MOSCOW, May 26.—No unusual military activity is visible here, de- spite rumors published abroad that Russia is placing herself on a war footing. Official comment on Riga dispatches that the Russian Army and Navy have been ordered to make war prepara- tions is limited to the word, “non- sense,” Premier Baldwin's speech announe- ing the cabinet decision for a break with Russia is published here today for the first time, “History will show which is the stronger, the nerves of the English lords or the workers and peasants of Russia,” commented Pravada. SACCO and VANZETTI SHALL NOT DIE! |hand by bulging wf the ground and other signs, and only where union regulations are violated and the em- | ph 's maintain a reign of terror, | will men work in such dangerous spots. The union has agreements with the coal companies in the anthracite, | but the operators have been system- | atically violating’ such portions of | them as they wish, without adequate | retaliation because of the extreme conservatism of Rinaldo Cappellini, President of District No. 1, U.M.W. Towa Operator Gets Injunction. CENTERVILLE, Ia., May 26 (FP). —The Barrett Co., operating soft coal mines near Centerville, has obtained jan injunction against the United |Mine Workers, forbidding the union from interfering with anyone wish- ing to work for Barrett at the 1917) seale. The operators in Iowa have | taken some steps in organizing a scab union known as the Brotherhood of Miners which accepts the 1917 rate. Iowa miners, like others in the junion, are permitted to work during | the suspension that began April 1 if the employer will pay the 1924 Jack- |sonville scale. A number of outlying | fields in the country are doing so and |a few mines in the central competi- tive field (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Western Pennsylvania). Union head- quarters at Indianapolis report that the suspension is “proceeding nor-/ | mally,” | Needle Trade Defense The big reception that the workers |of New York are preparing in honor | of the recently released prisoners ‘will be held tonight at the Star Casino, 107th Street and Park Avenue. All the released fuyriers with their families will be present. Chas. Wol- fish, the Cloakmaker who has served four months in jail, will be there to greet his many friends. A great crowd is expected to come to demon- strate their solidarity with the men | who were released and those who are | | still behind prison bars, | | * * . | From a Guilty Conscience. | The following letter was received from Cuba: Dear Brothers: It hurts me very much that I .cannot, due to the economic situation, collect very much money for your work. I there- fore send you $4.00 that I have raised jand hope that you will succeed in} Don’t get frightened. The National Office of the Workmen’s Circle did not yet decide to support the defense. It will rather support the Sigman gang in its attempt to break the unions, but not the cloakmakers and furriers who are victims of this \fight. The rank and file members | however, are supporting the cloak- | makers and furriers, Branch 155 of | Toledo Ohio is the latest to be heard from. They had an affair at which $17.00 was collected for the im- prisoned cloakmakers and furriers and sent to the office of the Joint Defense Committee. . * A Fine Example. Max Samal of Los Angeles writes hat he is sending $10.00 for a booklet and calls on all others who have re- ceived booklets to immediately follow his example. * . ° Canada On the Order. Mr. Sam Anshel writes as follows: T am sending you $5.00 for coupons, I do so because I know that you are in need of money immediately. will try my best to sell the other coupons. * * * “Atta Boy” The following letter was received. “I am sending you $50.00 for five booklets. I did not yet sell all the coupons but I know that you are in need of money and,I am therefore sending you the entire amount. A. Liptzin, Baltimore, Maryland. * Send in Your Money. many delegates to the New York T American Federation of Labor. Its members are workers on women’s elothing—cloaks, suits, dresses, white goods, embroidery, and so on. The total membership in the United States and Canada is about 70,000. In New York City, the industry is well organized, there being about 50,000 members in the New York Joint Board, of which about 85,000 are members of the four “Left Wing” locals, now expelled. In every locality where there are two or more local unions engaged in various branches of the same trade, a Joint Board is established under the constitution of the union. The chief functions of the Joint Board are to attend to complaints of members against employers, to supervise and control the union shops, to organize non-union shops, to conclude agree- ments with the employers, and to work for the general welfare of the members. The Joint Board has a right to fix the minimum dues and assessments to be paid by the work- ers to their locals, and the amount that local shall pay toward the up- keep of the Joint Board. The New York Joint Board is com- posed of thirteen locals. They are organized on a craft basis—cloak op- erators, cloak.finishers, pressers, cut- ters, dressmakers, button hole mak- ers, each have a separate local. The cemands of the trade cause the lo- cals to vary greatly in size. There are many more operators needed in the industry than button hole mak- ers, for instance. Consequently the Operators’ Local 2 has more than 12,- 000 members, while the button hole makers’ Local 64 has less than one hundred. The Joint Board and its compon- ent locals carry on a tremendous amount of activity in the interests of the workers. Their yearly expen- ditures in normal times amount to nearly a million dollars, and in time of strike, The strike of 1921, which lasted eight weeks, cost the union $1,046,531. The stoppage of 1924, which lasted of- ficially for two weeks, in which few arrests were made and picketing was | unnecessary, cost half a million dol- lars. In the first twenty weeks of strike, in 1926, for which official re- ports were approved by the General Strike Committee, $2,794,000 was spent, half of which went for strike benefit. Needle trades strikes in New York | City are necessarily costly because of the character of the industry. Mass picketing against the thousands of shops involved must be carried on. The use of the injunction by the em- ployers causes hundreds of arrests. Halls must be rented for the all-day meetings of the workers. Strike bene- | fit must be paid, The union there- | fore prepares for ‘possible strikes by collecting a “war chest” of a million dollars or more, with which to fight for better wages and working con- ditions for its members. The government of the’ Interna- tional Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, as set up by its curiously old- fashioned constitution, is briefly as | follows: Local unions elect annually by di-| rect vote of the membership, a Presi- dent, Vice-President, Financial-Rec- ording Secretary, and members of the Executive Board of the local. The Joint Board is composed of delegates elected from each member loe: Formerly representation was equal, the several little locals of ‘less than one hundred members sending as Joint Board as locals of 12,000 mem- bers. In the convention of 1925, how- ever, the Left Wing demanded, and succeeded in obtaining, a revision of the constitution, which allows repre- sentation more nearly proportional to the size of the locals in the New York Joint Board. Poard itself. When the Joint Board became predominantly Left Wing, after the convention of 1925, it’ re- The Joint Defense Committee calls on all other workers to follow the example of those workers who under- stand the importance of immediately sending in the money that they have on hand. The Joint Defense Com- mittee needs all the money that was collected for tickets, Roll Call Certifi- cate Booklets, Honor’ Roll Lists and Coupon Booklets. Send it in im- mediately. * * # Office Workers Send $90.00 The office workers of the Furrier Joint Board at a meeting of their shop committee took up the matter of the, imprisoned cloakmakers and furriers. They decided to give full support to these valiant fighters and immediately raised $90.00 which has been received at the office of the Joint Defense and Relief Committee. “The Octopus” Is Dead. PHILADELPHIA, May 26.—Henry E, Huntington, 77, California railroad magnate, died in the Lankenau Hos- vised its constitution to allow. direct election of the manager, Louis Hy- man, the present of the Joint Board, is thus the to hold that position by vote of'the majority of all the members in New York. The officers of the International— President, General Secretary-Treas- urer, and 15 Vice-Presidents, who comprise the General Executive Board, are elected at the biennial con- vention. The “Rotten Borough” System. The representation of locals to the convention, which elects the Interna- tional officers, carries on general business, revises the constitution, and as the highest body of the union, has long been a'source of it dissatisfaction to the membership, It is around this point that many inter- nal struggles, including this present struggle, have been fought. The constitution provides that a lo- cal union may be established by the International with seven members, ois here today following an opera- tion. ; Bipasha additional hundreds of | thousands of dollars must be spent. | The manager of the Joint Board | was "formerly elected by the Joint 7 to 200. members, 2 delegates. 200 to 500 members, 3 delegates. 500 to 1,000 members, 4 delegates. 1,000 to 5,000 members, 4 delegates for first 1,000 and 1 for each addi- tional 1,000. 5,000 to 11,000 members, 8 dele-~ gates for first 5,000 and 1 for each additional 2,000. 11,000 or more members, 11 dele- gates for first 11,000 and 1 for each additional 5,000. Such a system, originally designed to protect the small locals, has in actual practice militated against the large ones. Local 22 and Local 2, each with 12,000 members, are en- titled to one delegate for every thou- sand members, whereas a local of seven members is entitled to one dele- gate for every three and one-half members. Since locals only need three month’s existence prior to con- vention to entitle them to represen- tation, the result of the system has heen that every convention has been controlled by a host of little locals, organized just prior to the conven- tion, who can and do consistently out- vote the great mass of the member- ship whenever the Administration policies are challenged. In the con- vention of 1925, for instance, Morris Sigman was elected as president of the International by the votes of a majority of the delegates, although Louis Hyman was supported by the New York, Boston and Chicago dele- gates and delegates from other cities, representing seventy per cent of the membership. The Left Wing has championed the demand of the membership for the abolition of this “Rotten Borough” system for years, and as will be shown later, this issue is at the very heart of the present dispute. (To Be Continued). Frigidaire Cool in Workers’ Treatment ; All the workers in the service de- partment of Frigidaire (subsidiary of General Motors) are on salary. This only flatters to deceive, however, as the obligation of other firms to pay overtime is evaded. Tf one had to work extra hours once a week, it wouldn’t be so bad, but the nature of the job sometimes necessitates overtime three or four days a week. Not content with this demand on the workers’ time, Frigidare en- croaches still farther by asking at- tendance at their night school. The idea is to make the worker efficient in the workers’ time. Dollar Diplomacy A Study in American Imperialism By Scott Nearing and f Joseph Freeman We have been fortunate in securing a limited number of the paper edition of this splendid work (selling for $2.50 in cloth). We will fill all orders as received at 50 cents Other Books by Nearifig THE BRITISH STRIKE ( (Cloth) +50 OOIAL VO~ (in Collaboration) — ae THE LAW OF 8 LUTION whens CIVILIZATION GOING : (Cloth): RUSSIA TURNS BAST —.10 GLIMPSES OF SOVIET RUSSIA — 10 BR LABOR Ss FOR rowEn sna WORLD LABOR UNITY —106 THE DAILY WORKER PUB. CO. 33 First St. New York ET se