The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 2, 1927, Page 2

THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, THURSDAY UNION OF AGENTS WOULD STOP THE’ Comes: eszrers ‘BROPHY PROVES BY FIGURES THAT FRAUD INVOLVED IN LAPSE CHARGE This series of ten articles, of which this is the ninth, deals| with the exploitation of the industrial insurance agent and} methods to combat the evils of weekly payment life insurance. | This series is the result of numerous requests to publicize the de-| tails of the swindle and fraud to which the agent ts subject in| common with the policyholder. By CHARLES Y ALE HARRISON ARTICLE IX As long as the industrial insurance worke ganized, just so long will the colossal fraud of weekly payment life insurance go on. As long a of paying wages exists just so long will the agent have to work} hand in glove with the looting di The first demand of an agent’s union must call} for the abolition of theftimen” System. For by means of this method of wage payment are the evils of the fraud perpetuated. The excuse offered by the officials of the “Big Four” in maintaining this system (which costs the industrial agent upward of million dollars a dear in wage deductions) is that it is a lapse deterrent. In the face of this misleading ex- ense the “Big Four” last year lapsed over 6 million policies for nearly 1% billions of weekly payment life in- surance. Obviously the! “lapsd and charge” system is not all that it is cracked up to be as a lapse preven- ter. Why They Lapse. The real causes of lapses are the excessively high premium rates and the unusually harsh policy conditions. It is safe to assume that a vast per- centage of embryonic policyholders take out their life insurance with the intention of maintaining the protec- tion until maturity or death, Under the stress of “dynamite” sales meth- ods sometimes the amount applied for is greater than the insured can pos- sible pay for, but the majority of cases are sincere applications. Why, then, do we fipd that only half of all weekly business written remains in force at the end of the first year? It is because this form of petty lar- ceny insurance is sold under false representations. It is because the purchaser is led to believe something which is very far from the truth. It is because the rosy picture painted by the agent-artist can never, under nt conditions, be realized by the Cash In. this better than the of the “Big Four.” They from past experience that the rage life of an industrial policy is less than three years. They know that 1 per cent of all terminated pol- are matured endowments. They now that the prospect who insures imself under any plan has only 10} chances in a hundred of cashing in on his policy either by death or matur- ity. This being the case, and business being what it is, the wisest plan, in their estimation, is not only to pen-| alize the policyholder for his poverty but to blackjack the agent as well. Haley Fiske Says: Let us examine in the light of of- ficial statistics the truth of the state-| ment that due to the high cost of} maintaining industrial insurance in force the “charge” system must be preserved. Haley Fiske, the arch-apologist for | weekly premium life insurance, speak- | ing on the subject of lapses says: | “Lapses DO constitute a most unfor- tunate feature of the business, a fea- ture, however. . .which character- | tent fighter in the cause of the eman- | bor. s the “lapse and charge” method rectors of tthe “Big Four”. Th view of the fact that 80 per cent ‘of all industrial policies lapse before they mature either as claims or me | turities, and, thet commissions are only paid on policies which terminate | as claims and maturities, the “Bi Four” oniy pay for 10 per cent of the business written each year, | In this respect they differ from the | “ordinary” compantes who pay for all policies’ placed, irrespective of how! long they remain in force. No Medical Fees. Again, industrial risks are not | medically examined on policies under | $1,000 and as the average weekly pay- ment policy is for a lesser amount than $500 comparatively few medical fees are paid. In the Metropolitan report as submitted to the N. Y. In-| |surance Department, industrial fees | |were less than half of that expended in the “ordinary” department. The figures are $735,252.95 in the indus- | trial department and $1,803,598.14 for |the “ordinary” division. If the claim put forward by the | “Big Four” officials that the “lapse | and charge” system prevents lapsing | | there might be some excuse for its} | maintenance, But this is a deliber- jate lie and is used as a club to keep | the field worker in line and further | enrich the officials and directors who | Profit thereby. | And as long as the agent remains | | unorganized the system will remain. | District Executive Lauds Fine Work of Late Louis Gitlow The death of Louis Gitlow, father of Ben Gitlow, is mourned in an offi- cial statement by the executive com: mittee of District 2, Workers (Com-| munist) Party. The statement reads: | In the death of Comrade Louis Git-} low, the Workers (Communist) Party has lost a loyal, devoted and persis- cipation of the workingclass, To many Comrade Louis Gitlow was known as the father of Benjamin} Gitlow, an outstanding leader of the| Party. But Comrade Louis Gitloy was not merely the father of Benjamin Gitlow. Comrade Gitlow leaves behind him nearly forty years of activity in the labor, Socialist and Communist has lent its support to the union-| < 4 where the voting was honestly carried on from 25 to 50 per cent of the | | smashing tactics of the Sigman-Woll-| 4 set z ae membership voted. Yet the grand total vote for the office of International \ |McGrady clique against the class 5 £& ‘i = 3 a 5 | President) reported by the international tellers for all bituminous districts } | conscious workers; be it therefore aa s 4 iy a 2 8 % FA iB | was 163,627 or more than ten thousand votes in excess of the 153.412 tax i | RESOLVED; that we protest most g a bial By ¥ y g BI FI | paying bituminous members reported in the International Secretary-Treas- vigorously against such action, and| a ee = Po Pay = a i> f= | urer’s report for the period ending December 1, 1926. decide to support the cloakmakers and Teal Gana ae I a ee ee This vote in excess of membership is made possible only by inflated re- |furriers in their fight against the} .~ 1 Ashland .. =, 187 0 187 0 187 0 © turns from non-union fields, blue-sky locals, and thos®” bona-fide locals in | traitors.” | 3177 Ashland Wg 178 0 173, «0178-8 O | which the votes were not honestly recorded. | ry . be MRR FO 1d $100.00 t 4098 Ashland 167 167 0 167 0 167 0 0} - Line Setot Het ete re tees] te ane S06 0 Re ei 8 yaleenteas Tet. aN se aa eta 4106 Ashland 171 py ee Re gaiet o 0 These are but a few instances of fraudulent rote-counting. The report | ioakarkketa att ye wan — 4139 Ashland 165 165 ny 165 0 165 0 0 lis rife with many more which can be detected upon the most superficial elind prison baie She do the Camis 4169 Ashland 173 178 0 178 0 173 0 Q | examination. A thorough going study of the report reveals many more and | ery of the Sigman and McGrady | 4170 Ashland 162 162 0 162 0 162 0 0, there are no doubt others’ more cleverly done that are not discernible miiess | clique. oe (Signed) Chotiner Youth | 4188 Ashland 155 155 0 155 0 155 0 0 | the figures reported are checked against those of the local unions. i} Branch 271, W.C. Resolution Com-| 4222 Ashland 16334 168% 0 163% 0 16815 0 0) It seems almost incomprehensible that such flagrant, glaring and whole- | mittee, M. Breiman, S. Platt, and A.| 4236 Ashland 164 1640 164 0 164 0 0 | sale vote stealing could take place in our union, bu! the facts are so evident Bookoff. rts 4 “| 4286 Ashland 178 178 0 178 0 178 0 0 that they are incontrovertible. I am constrained to believe that the failure Z * % m |4574 Ashland 161 161 0 161 0 161 0 0 to publish the tabulated report of the vote cast in the election of 1924, as HE eas | 4632 Ashland 157 157 0 157 0 157 0 0 required by the International constitution aided and gave encouragement to fi Iperaleerpee osama dr es Ie 172 172 «0 «172 «0 «172-9 such corrupt practices. i} W.C. which was held on Friday, M ria 4744 Ashland ANG. 100 0, OO Os Oe 8 The fact that the tabulated vote for the 1926 election was not issued | movement. He was one of the early! | members of the Socialist Labor Party | and helped to found thé Voice of La- When the Socialist Party . was formed, he was a charter member and was always to be found in the left wing of that Party. He helped to form the official left wing and when the split occurred in 1919 joined remains \unor- | | | | | L. J. Briggs, assistant director, and Dr. Paul R. Heyl, chief of | the sound section of the Bureau of | Standards, Washington, are | shown with the first experimental | model of the earth inductor com- pass, which they developed, and which was used by Captain Charles A. Lindbergh on his trans-Atlantic flight. Needle Trade Defense Workmen’s Circle Reply. The following resolution adopted at Branch 271 W. C. | “We, the members of Branch 271) W.C. gathered at a regular meeting | was} {of our Branch on May 27th, at As-| toria Hall, have discussed the decision | of the 27th Annyal Convention of the} Workmen’s Circle and have decided as follows: WHEREAS, the National Executite Committee of the Workmen’s Circle has given to the Sigman Clique $10,-| 000 of the hard-earned money of our) members, which was collected for tie | Cloakmaker strikers, and WHEREAS, it is the duty of the| | Workmen’s Circle to help unions and} not to smash them, and WHEREAS, the Workmen’s Cirele| LEWIS STOLE MINERS’ UNION VOTE (Continned from Page One) jorganization. He held office a& district president of the central | | Pennsylvania miners for 10 years before running for international | | president on the “Save the Union” ticket last Fall. He was the | | leading exponent of nationalization and other progressive policies | |in the union for years and his 1926 campaign crystallized the op-| | position against the conservative methods of John L. Lewis. | “These irregularities,” continues’ Brophy’s letter, “are not a | few votes in seattered local unions, but the most casual glance re-| ». In fact! | the large amount of vote “fixing” that has been done leads me to| | believe that the men now occupying the offices of International | | President, Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer, were not really | | elected, and that the “Save the Union” candidates were duly | | elected the international officers of our union.” | follows: veals daring cases of vote padding in entire districts. . * * * To the Membership of the United Mine Workers of America. Greetings: For the information of all union coal miners, I am sending you the following appeal which I have sent to the International Executive Board. Letter to Board. International Executive Board United Mine Workers of América, Indianapolis, Ind. Dear Sirs and Brothers: After cateful deliberation in which I have considered solely the welfare | of our union, I am moved to addtess this comniunication to you and also to the membership of our organization. An examination of the tabulation of the votes cast at the last Interna- | tional election, Dec, 14, 1926, shows gross irregularities, self-evident frauds | and vote stealing to such a startling extent that I feel it my duty, not only to myself as a candidate for the office of International President, in that | clection, but te the United Mine Workers as an organization, to bring these matters before you for your attention and action. These irregularities are not a few votes in scattered local unions but the most casual glance reveals daring cases of vote padding in entire dis- tricts. Tens of thousands of votes have been added, subtracted or twisted about as best suited the desires or needs of the perpetrators: In fact the large amount of vote “fixing” that has been done leads me to believe that the men now occupying the offices of International President, Vice-President. and Secretary-Treasurer were not really elected and that the “Save the Union” candidates were duly elected the international officers of our union. Eastern Keutucky. In Distriet 30—Eastern Kentueky—which the first six months in 1926 paid taxes on one member and for the last six months paid no taxes what- ver, and which is without even the pretense of a strike. to ask for exonera- jon from tax-paying, there were reported cast 2,686%4 votes out of a total | of 2,686%2 members. The vote from the district as shown by the Tellers’ Report is as follows: His report is as | Malolo a Triumph of Engineering if Not of Navigation f Photo of the $7,000,000 passenger liner “Malolo,” designed for service between’San Francisco and Honolulu, being towed through New York harbor, Although having a large hole in the forward part of her hull and 4,000 tons of water in her hold, following a ramming off Nantucket light, Massachusetts, by the Norwegian freighter “Jacob Christensen,” the “Malolo” stayed afloat. Marine engineers say probably no other vessel could have stood the punishment sustain- » ed by this new pride of the American merchant marine and not have | gone to the bottom. Constructed at Philadelphia, the ‘‘Malolo” was making trial runs, with numerous officials aboard to observe the tests. | These are but a few cases cited out of many to illustrate the Kind of | vote inflation practiced. District 1 is the chief offender in this respect al- | though District 7 is a closelzeeond. The men of the anthradte know how few turn out to vote at interna- | tional elections. To ask them'to believe that these !ocal unions got out from | 80 to 100 per cent of the entire vote is absurd. Note Manipulation. | There was still another method of stealing votes which cannot be detected from the surface examination of the report. This took the form of man- ipulating the votes cast fro: one candidate to another or changing the number entirely. The following are a few examples from District 5, shi | ing how the tabulated vote differs from, the actual vote as given out | signed statements by officers or tellers of the locals: Actual Vote Yote Given in e, g Cas port 22 = i mie & ae s b St a a €. 2.8 F beeen Te Le SA See zi ee pe ss ae. OD eee ee eee 4238 N, Bessemer i 109 160 15 119 94 | 3900 Springdale 117 258° «117 200 | $715 Indianola 141 375 5 219, 136 | 3506 Russellton 166 491 8 281 158 5646 Renton ere) ne 7 102 189 18 167 89 lia chica enh watinldctalionih | Thus in just five locals Lewis was given 986 more votes than were cast | for him and I received 477 less than I was entitled to, thereby making the | total manipulation in favor of Lewis 1,468 votes. In most of the active tax paying locals in this district and many others izes all insurance. The methods of| the Communist Labor Party. He then compensating the field force have! worked for the Reread se of tlie Com- been so fixed as to PENALIZE) munist forces in America and ‘up to LAPSING and - encourage persist-| the date of his death was an active 18th, a collection was made which| amounted to $50.00. The branch | pledged itself to support the defense | committee as long as it will be} necessary.—(Signed) N. Kirsh, Finn. | Sec’y., S. Levine, Ree Sec’y. | ag * * * Here’s Another. | The Chenstochoer Branch of the! Jewish National Workers Alliance| celebrated its 10th Anniversary with | a Banquet on May 8th. The partici-| pants of the celebration did not for-| get the imprisoned Cloakmakérs and Furriers and made a collection which netted $50.00. The money was sent to the office of the Joint Defense Committee by Rubin Berger, Sec’y. * * * ence.” (Emphasis. mine). }| Communsst Anutyore and Theory. Marxian-Leniniat Con- ception and Inter: Phe | Tewth about Sevier j} Russie. In the New MAY ISSU ‘Toward Another Wave of Re- olutionary Struggle — by day Lovestone. The Brussels Congress Against Imperialism — By Manuel Gomez, The Civil War in the United States—By Karl Marx. The World Struggle for Rub- ber—By Leon Platt. And Other Features. member of the Workers (Communist) Party. Comrade Louis Gitlow died at his post. Only a short wile ago, when he was already ill, he dould be found every day until four o'clock in the morning working for the defense ba- zaar to help the cloakmakers and} furriers in their struggle. Comrade Louis Gitlow was one of the founders of and active workers in the Interna- tional Labor Defense. The Woman Again. The Women’s Council No. 8 of Lower Bronx had a banquet for the benefit of the imprisoned Cloak-/ jmakers and Furriers. It brought in| | $44.00 | * * West Bronx Is On The Map. i An affair was held in the head-| quarters of the West Bronx Workers Club on Friday night, May 27th. 8. | Liptin, one of the entertainers at the | * Even were this district active and really had that membership, it is incredible that out of 2 possible 2,68645 votes, every individual would vote and every one would vote for exactly the same candidates, . A Lewis Creature. Tt is interesting to note that the acting president of this paper district is on International Qrganizer. If he had shown the same zeal and secured the | . “ | same remarkable interest and solidarity on the part of the men in an effort | it would have been possible to bring the irregularities before the attention to organize the miners of Kentucky, as was displayed in the election, a 100 per cent union would have been realized in Kentucky long since. In District 31--West Virginia—there is but the thinnest concealment of the padding done. Considering that there was an average of only 377 tax- paying members shown for the last six months of the Secretary-Treasurer’s report and that there were reported cast 14,164 votes, it would appear that there were 13,787 men on strike in that district, that they were exonerated from paying taxes and that they all voted—everyone. It is a well known fact that there is no such number of strikers in District 31. In District 19—Tenneasee—where there were only 482 tax paying mem- | bers in the last half of 1926 there were 2,962 votes recorded for Lewis and been “plumped” ali the way down the line for the administration ticket, Blue Sky Locals. . In District 5—Pittsburgh District—nearly one-third of the locals listed are listed that an investigation will prove fraudulent. Many “blue sky” locals of District 2 have sent in votes after these locals have ceased to exist. In others irregularities in the vote appear. Wholesale padding was done on a large scale in the anthracite districts. Comrade Louis Gitlow leaves be-| affair, utilized the situation with an| Jt bas been common talk throughout the organization that this was the hind him his son, Benjamin Gitlow,| | and his wife, Mother Gitlow, who re- mains to carry on the work to which | he devoted his life, | ‘Brooklyn Workers Rally to Defense Of Sacco, Vanzetti| To rally the workers of Brooklyn| to the campaign to save the lives of | Sacco and Vanzetti, a large mass meeting will be held 2 p. m. at Ar-! cadia Hall, Halse? Street, near Broad- way. It is being arranged by the! Brooklyn Sacco-Vanzetti conference, The speakers will be Forrest Bai- ley, director, American Civil Liberties Union; Ludwig Lore, editor, Volkzeit- | ung; Carlo Tresea, editor, I! Martello; M. J, Olgin, editor, The Hammer; (selves which netted $3.50 and same | was sent into the office of the Joint \John Tartamella, manager, Barbers’ junion, local 913; Ray Ragozin, In- Subscribe! | ternational Labor Defense and Ar- |mando Borghi. Anthony Merlino, | vice-president of the International ;Journeyman’s Barbers’ Union will | preside. 'SACCO and VANZETTI. ISHALL NOT DIE! 25 Cents a Copy $2.00 a Year The COMMUNIST 1113: W. Washington Blvd. CHICAGO, ILL. nt at gue aitinnniiaai 27 rae e Spleen ge appeal for the imprisoned cloak- | makers and furriers which ne‘ted| $28.35. « * * Music and Literary Circle. Circle made a collection among them-| Defense Committee by Beatrice Kar», secretary of the Circle, Cappellini Helps : | Hudson Throw 8,000 | Coal Co. balaryed its order placing 10,000 miners back at work in Lucerne county today by another order si pending operations county, foreed into idleness. ference with President Rinaldo Cap- pellini of District 1, in which hours and conditions were discussed. The grievance committee of the Hudson Coal Co. has been at swordpoints with Cappellini for mouths. agreement between him and the com- pany will not help to smooth rel: tions, Th Is of the Must i a | vocate his own opinions and policies, I claim that he has no right in the face’ ¢ girls of the Music and Literary g g. a of the tabulated returns, to act as international President and, enfor. 5 = + tain 5 5 the miners’ union policies which the majority of those voting have di 4 7 Cs E OS he be tiercpunbenes ic ode oy a ems ae oe Re Se sacl Sid dG P| Bi 4 Pa | = Rook a | Because of these things I demand that an impartial investigation of the S.C 8S recent election returns be made by a committee of five mine workers, two 131 Old Forge ... 00 225 226 0 225 0 225 0 0 be named by Mr. Lewis; twe by me and these four to select a " 265 Dupont ... +1161 118431182 61181 SO duty tobe to conduct a th ‘h investigation of the entire e n, 8 400 Wanamie . +986 = 5200 8600 89000 tha to be done promptly. andes findings made known to the member 898 yrs oe 888 1 8880 888 OO gg soon as possible, mr om 900 Nanticoke pdm ree 4 aaa aera 7 Meas aa) £ y trust thet a sense of honesty and fair play will prom| Miners Out of Jobs 218 Scranton .. 706 4685 18 «660 6 (eae 4 ccleainamene to quick action in this patie: eS see ae 957 Glen Lyon 445, 425 0 425 0 425 40 0 Bretienally, SCRANTON, Pa., June 1—Hudson| 996 Wilkes-Barre 400. 902 4° 8868 398° =e OO : ee 1157 Mocanaqua LAT 886 Oa a aT. 8 kee JOUN BROPHY. sn 1432 Ashley 576 24 S71 29 688 12 O merece’ “api meu » ~ 3495 Pitteton ++ 1000 926 68 926 59 «6926 «19 a7 my Rhy, ai rile a 1581. Exeter Boro ‘1150 1048 47-1047 «29 1037 30-~S 2, Abandon Bodies of — {Force Big Coal-Firms_ men pet om 4 ve ein 1ORR Valor pen) oshgetvanen Otte een aew | Ben ee eB Anthracite Miners} To Pay Tax Due City The switch came after secret con- DISTRICT NO. 7. a sey Reet ee emg ee 1488 Hazelton ... 208 «305 siOsi805—<“Ssti80 Ss ~—s | _ WILKES-BARRE, Pa., June 1—| SCRANTON, Pai, June 1.—City of- 1607 Eckley .. 401 2 401 °1 404 6 |The bodies of five union miners| ficials have employed three engineers 1527 Sheppton 210 0 210 0 910 0 | trapped in the Woodward mine blast| to force the Glen Alden and Scranton 1571 Tamaqua 1020 6 1019 6 1095 @ g have been abandoned, The decision| coal companies to pay taxes on all 1572 Lansford 700 «7 «9700 «7 ~«=©$00. «=~ Was reached by Glen Alden officials} their coal lands, The engineers are The new! 199g Beaver Meadow ..500 «=«500ssi«iDs—=i“aBOSsC«Ss«i | today’ When they declared that por-} surveying to discover untaxed coal 2033 Coaldale ..... 100 0 100 0 100 0 9 tions of the mine will be flooded in| reserves. “ + | 1521 Upper Lehigh . 27 Cio 247 «(0847 6. | 4n effort to subdue the subterranean ———$—__—— sds fire feeding on the coal. Read The Daily Worker Every Day, practice in some of the local unions in the anthracite region for years and it is high time that something be done about it. DISTRICT NO. 1. 0 | until nearly four months after January 15th, the final date specifically sct | by our constitution for the issuing of such report. is certainly significant. Why did John L. Lewis, who poses as a defender of the sanctity of the most | technical clauses of the constitution when the membership of good fighters | against the coal operators is involved, flagrantly violate the cogstitution in respect to the tabulated vote? The answer is clear—first, if the tabulated vote had been issued on time, | of the international convention, when the delegates in the interest of fair | play, would undoubtedly have ordered a complete investigation of the case. | Second, the constitution provides that the ballots should only be preserved for six months after the election and when the tabulated report was finaily | issued, there remained only one month in which to make an investigation. | Third, because Mr. Lewis knew that a strike would be in progress in the spring and that if the tabulated vote was delayed, the opposition might hesitate to expose such official corruption at a time when the union is | fighting. This issue cannot be postponed. Officers elected through corrupt prac. | tiees can command neither the solidarity nor support of the rank and file | 15 for myself. The inflated membership of many paper locals jn this dis- | which are so necessary to withstand the attacks of the operators. | triet, where the acting president is also an International Organizer, have. Honest Election Essential. Therefore, I am raising this issue, not because of personal feelings, but ‘because of the following considerations: | First, T believe in the absolute necessity of honest elections. ‘This is the as voting are dead locals which have no existence in fact. The votes from only means by which the rank and file can be assured of democratic control +| these locals can consist of nothing more substantial then the sending in of of the union. : | vote return sheet to the International. In this way several thousand votes | | tor | me as an individual, but for the “Save the Union” program. Feeling that | the majority of the miners yoted for that program, I would be delinquent in my duty if I did not make this protest as vigorous a possible. = | Third. Because our trion is passing through a crisis, It is facing the danger of demoralization and more encroachments by the operators, But I \ am firmly convinced that we have the strength and fighting spirit to with- “stand these encroachments provided we unify the ranks and worle consciously to put into effeet the platform upon which 1 ‘eI was elected. This | platform is our best means of maintaining our policy of no wage reductions, Fourth. While agreeing that Mr. Lewis has the right to hold and ad- Second. Those members of our union who yoted for me did not vote . Fd