The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 15, 1927, Page 3

THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15. Growth of Chinese Unions The lockout of 30,000 miners in February declared by the Kaylan mine owners, which ended unsuce fully, and the August strike of 24,000 practically unorganized women work- ers of thirty silk weaving enterpris- ers in Shanghai, were the largest disputes in 1926. The chief reasons for the strike was the demand for increased wages and the protest against the mass dismissal of labor union workers. The unsuccess of the majority of strikes in the territory occupied by the counter-revolutionary generals was due not only to the ruthless suppression of any move- ment among the workers by the au- thorities, but also to the organiza- tional weakness of the young Chinese labor movement and the difficulties | of leading the under- ground, Working-day and Wages. We have already stated that one of the chief reasons for the strike movement was the dissatisfaction with low wages and other labor con- ditions. And in reality the conditions of labor of the Chinese workers are appalling. The working-day is usually not under 12 hours. There are enter- prises where the working-day con- tinues for 14 hours, while in the silk industry a 15 hour working-day is observed. Furthermore it must be noted here child labor is absolutely the same as for the grown-ups. The wages are so niggardly that fight from they cannot support even a half starv-| For example in Shang-| : i | : f hai the worker’s daily wage equals|gress in 1924, approximately 200,000 | °*S of the trade union movement are/are endeavoring to increase. numer-| 22-30 cents (a cent is a hundreth part| workers were represented, at the Sec- | endeavoring to make a new approach | ically active workers of the unions. ing existence. of a Chinese dollar, which equals one rouble). Only ata few cotton spin- ning factories arid other enterprises do wages reach 50-55 cents a day. that the day-length of} {nese Labor Unions entered the All-| |Chinese Federation of Labor Unions ‘and inaugurated at the Second All- Chinese Workers’ Conference held in ‘May 1925, which is affiliated to the RL Doth The larggst and strongest tradeq union organizations affiliated to the | Federation are the Shanghai Council jot Labor Unions (150,000), Hunan | Council of Labor Unions (170,000), |Huandun Council of Workers’ Dele- | gates (170,000), the Hupeh Council of |Labor Unions (70,000), which was |formed with the approach of the na- | tional armies, the Hongkong Council | |of Labor Unions which so successfully | ‘led the Hongkong general strike, the} All-Chinese Union of Sailors (50,000) | and the Railwaymen’s Union (68,000), } | The last two unions are the only ones jin China organized in industrial fed- erations on a national scale. Despite the fact that many differ- ent branches of Chinese industry are} still living through an embryonic! stage, we are now definitely on the) jeve of the formation of new all-China} | industrial unions, which began to or- |ganize themselves in the early part of 1926 on the industrial principles of | the minets, and will embrace textile| | workers, workers of heavy industry,| |printers, dockers and postal-telegraph | employees. | The great growth of the labor move- |ment in China can be readily seen by| |comparing the numbers of organized} workers, who delegated their repre-| sentatives to the all-China Labor Con-| gress.. At the first Labor Union Con-} jond Congress 1925, approximately | | 500,000 at the third All-China Con-! |gress delegaes represented already | {more than a million organized work-| SENORA CALLES’ FUNERAL | First pictures from Mexico City of the funeral of Senora Natalia Chacon de Elias Calles, the Mexican | president's wife, who died in a Los Angeles hospital. Arrow points to President Calles, watching the coffin. tricts we observe an incredible strike! Union workers have fully noted the! Workers Defy Spain’s movement and mass enrollment of| defects in the present situation of the the workers in the unions. The unions’ labor movement and the problems that! are growing, are widening, and hun-|have to be coped with. They are en-! dreds of thousands of workers are al-|deavoring—corresponding with the ready organized in them. With the | widening labor movement-—to create lessons of the past and utilising the|new ranks of trade union workers. By| favorable political situation, the lead-|carrying out educational work they to the work of organization. Previ-|They are endeavoring to build up m ously they were forced to limit them-| work connecting the locals with the selves chiefly to building up an ap-|leading centres, paratus, The small waves of political The creation of strong unions in the |enthusiasm usually did not permit the| present stage of the Chinese reyolu- 1. W. A. Issues Appeal For Chinese Wounded : . *y In Liberation Fight CHICAGO, June.—Pointing out the suffering that wounded Na- tionalist troops are compelled to undergo because of the inadequate medical facilities, the International Workers’ Aid, 1553 West Madison street, has igsued an appeal for funds to the friends of the Chinese liberation movement. “On the battlefields of China,” the appeal says, “thousands of wounded and dying soldiers of the Revolutionary army are suffering untold agony that can be relieved with medical supply, clothing, food. Millions of workers, peasants and students, their wives are in dire |] want of food.” | The appeal urges American workers and farmers to contribute as much as they possibly can for the relief of Nationalist wounded. Contributions should be sent to the offices of the International Work- ers’ Aid, Chicago, nn} French Ace Falls -| LE BOURGET AERODROME France, June 14.—Captain Pelletier Doisy, famous French airman, had a | miraculous escape frotn death today, when with Captain Gonin he crashed 2,000 Out on Strike |‘: kilometres from the Le Bourget Lub peg Aerodrome, after taking off for a long MADRID, June 14.—Two thousand | distance flight in an attempt to create workers will defy the labor-smashing|a new world record. They were i Miniature Mussolini; |dietatorship of Primo de Rivera|the air only four minutes. The pl vhen they will walk out on strike! burned. against the Spanish Company for POR OIAY sr MEET Naval Constructions at Fervel in pro- British Anthor Dead test against the municipal income mn ABnee ree | tax. LONDON, June 14.—Jerome K While de Riv has taken no ac-|Jerome, noted author and humorist, This is no better in other regions. | ers enrolled in 699 unions; the fourth In Hankow, for example, laborers re-| Congress represented almost 3 million ceive on the average 5 Chinese dollars | workers. per month, Qualified workers in the| Perspectives and Problems of the printeries earn an average of 16 Chi-| Labor Movement. nese dollars 2 month. This-~at attime| These resolutions, which at the mo- kow the living minimum! ment of their acceptance were partly y of five is 27 Chinese dol-| of a declarative character and rather | formation of local organizations which | tion, together with the agrarian ques- |would firmly bind the apparatus to/tion, is the fundamental problem. The the masses. It was for this reason/correct solving of this question will |that the reaction found it compara-|immeasurably influence the tempo and tively easy to smash and disorganize the very character of the revolutionary the labor movement. {development in China. The creation of locals with inter-| |years that workers have dared to| tion as yet, it is understood that he will use every means of crushing the strike. This is the first time in four defy the iron rule of Spain’s minia-! | ture Mussolini. | died today in the Norhampton Gen- eral Hospital after a prolonged ill- ness, BUY THE DAILY WORKER AT THE NEWSSTANDS REPUBLICANS WIN BiG VICTORY IN IRISH ELECTIONS |Labor Makes Heavy | Gains; Gav’t Loses DUBLIN, June 14.—The resulf of the 152 seats contested in here indie j cate t party has: } met winning lonly 36 w : 3 F pa i neck w | the gov with signs that }it will farther ahead @& | the re’ ontinue to pour in, § The h Labor Party made heayy gains and rumors of an alliance be tween 0 | the organi treaty governn Should the unable to find for a coalition governme | will be faced with the necessity for iopting some practical policy. Hane lies his weakne: > went to the country on the platform of willing ness to participate in parliament, provided his party were not obligh ted to take the oath of allegiance to the king. Official Sinn Fein Beaten. The official Sinn Fein party fram {which DeValera seceded went forward on a straight platform of refusing to participate in the Dail Eireann under any condition. It was almogt wiped out of existence, its leader Mary MacSwiney, failing of election in her own native city. The voters were in a “moderate” mood, tho from the point of view of the labor mové= ment the MacSwiney wing of the Re publican movement is as disinterested in the cause of labor as in the De- Valera or moderate wing. vages the rail- s in the most A highly-skilled railwayman on the average earns 2 Chinese dollars per day, while on the Peking-Mukden railroad some ma- chinists receive even as high as 150 Chinese dol. per month. But these cases are exceedingly rare in the beg- garly living of the Chinese workers. The Labor Movement. Exclusive of a few numerically small reformist organizations, such as the Canton General Workers’ Union in the form of good intentions, at the mediary links connecting them with present time with the widening of the the leading organs—is the fundamen- | Kuomintang power over a tremendous | tal organizational problem facing the territory, can be and must be put into Chinese labor movement. But this is | effect. {not all, the miserable wages and the Now that the revolutionary armies astonishingly long working-day makes have occupied the centre of the Yang- imperative and of first importance— tze Valley, the centre of heavy indus- together with the political demands—| try in the Hunan province with its de-| the fundamental economic class de-| veloped mine industry, the proletariat) mands of the Chinese workers, These} have received a powerful ally in the| economic demands in the past, due to} | million peasants that have been drawn |many reasons, were often too much | | into the movement not only of Huan-| overshadowed by the purely political dun, but of Hupeh, Hunan and other|demands, To be able in a proper fash- Portuguest Flyer Safe RIO JANEIRO, June 14.—Major Sarmento Beires reached Vigia, Para, today after seven adventurous days, ‘having been forced down at sea on June 7, while flying from Para to Cayenne. | The Portuguese trans-oceanic flyer encountered a heavy storm while in flight, which damaged the left wing of his plane and forced him to alight on the surface of the sea, at 20.42 lati- tude north and 50.30 longitude west. Heavy seas pounded the plane from COMMUNE MEMBERS DONATE TO THE DAILY WORKER BEFORE DEPARTURE The following members of the one} Volkow | of the industrial communes which re-| Blozio cently left for Russia, decided to! Milus DeValera was greatly aided in his campaign by the money he sueceeded in collecting in the United States on his recent visit here. A Suggested Alliance. Should the Labor Party join with the DeValeraists and other groups that are hostile to the Treaty but believe in participating in parliament interesting developments may be ex- pected in Ireland. Under the leader- » 1.00 1.00 «. 1.00 + 1.00 (27,000) and the Canton Union of| provinces. For the first time a situa- Mechanics (7,500), with whom the} tion has arisen permitting Chinese Huandun Council of Workers’ Dele-| workers to set wide organizational gates is carrying on a_ successful| work afoot. And in reality, in Han- struggle, the great majority of Chi- | kow, Utchan, Tchancha and other dis- ~The Labor Movement of India — ARTICLE I. jnot find external markets. In the By BALABUSHEVITCH. \internal market (chiefly in Bombay Before speaking of the most im-|and Karatchi) unsuccessful competi- portant events in the Indian labor | tion was observed with South Afri- movement during 1926, it is necessary|can coal, which is of better quality if only briefly, to characterize the|and cheaper. As a result large re- position of the chief branches of in-|serves of unsold eoal gathered in In- dustry in India. * ‘dia, which held up the further devel- The condition of depression in the| opment of the coal industry. Recent- Indian cotton industry, which first/ly, however, in connection with the made itself felt as far back as 1923,| British miners’ strike, the position in has during the period under survey|the Indian coal industry improved finally and definitely become very: consicerabiy, as many ports on the marked. Many cotton factories in| Red Sea, which previously were co: Bombay were forced either to com- ed by Britain, placed large orders for pletely shut down operations, or to|Indian coal. These demands proved introduce a short -week not working |to be so large that they could not be at full capacity. The manufacturers,|fully satisfied owing to absence of not satisfied with the annulment of| transportation. the 3% per cent excise duty on In-| The demand of the Mine Owners’ dian manufactured gopds demanded| Federation on imposing high duties the protection of the Indian cotton in-|for South African coals has been re- dustry by introducing high import! jected by the Indian government. duties. This measure was to be di-| The Steel Industry. rected, mainly, against Japan, whose) ‘The validity of the “Act on Pro- products have been successfully com-' tection of Indian Steel Industry” ex- peting with Indian and British goods | pires i: March, 1927, At the present in the Indian markets, . _, | time the Indian tariff committee is The question of imposing duties is| investigating the position of the steel now being considered by a special industry in view of the demands of tariff committee set up to ascertain | the steel magnates, that the present the reasons for the depression, It i8| government policy should be contin- to be expected that the British-India| yeq by further setting up high im- government will not hasten to set up| pert duties on certain steels and iron high import duties on Japanese cot-| ware as well as by putting a premium ton products. This measure would) on articles manufactured in India. lead to a bitter tariff war between| here is not a shadow of doubt that Japan and India and in a considerable) the Jndian government will appease degree would aggravate Anglo-Japan-| the demands of the owners of the ese relations. Besides this, an influ-| cioe) industry. which in a great degree ential gronp of the Bengal bourgeoisie| works for, war pplies, while for the ion, to combine economic and political!1 o’clock in the afternoon until 7) | demands—is the second problem of | v’clock that night. Then a small boat tremendous importance facing the | with fishermen sighted the flyers and workers’ movement of China. At the | picked them up. They were seven i present moment, the Chinese Trade! days reathing inhabited land. The attempts of the employers to seve among the middle strata of lower the standard of life of the the population (Indian intelligentsia). working class naturally brought about’ And finally, in 1926 large numbers of | a series of stubborn strikes. We have the industrial proletariat were thrown! information on the strike movement) on the streets as a result of the de-| only for the first nine months of pression in the cotton industry and 1926, According to this information the difficulties experienced in the) \during January - September, 1926,' jute industry. Committees to study} |there were 103 strikes in India, 140,-|the ‘causes of unemployment have! | 879 workers participating with a loss! been set up in a few provinces (Bom- |of 842,557 working days. As could) bay and Madras). These committees |be expected the majority of the! give no concrete help to the unem- | strikes took place in the textile in-| ployed. | dustry (cotton and jute). During nine The Labor Movement. jmonths of 1926 there were 68 strikes) j : jwith 108,507 workers participating, During the period under surve \ (which formed approximately 70 per | existing unions have incfeased numer- | jeent of total number that struck in| ically and a large number of new) 1926). The greatest number of| Unions have been formed. The In-| strikes took place in the biggest tex-| ian trade union movement by thi tile industrial eenters—Bombay and end of 1926 was as follows: Altogeth |Caleutta, Generally it is necessary to|€" there were approximately 200 trade jnote, that an analysis of the strike|¥ions with 360 locals in India, with | movement during the last five years|# S@neral total of more than 300,000 shows the exceptional role of the In-;™embers or 10 per cent of the gen- ‘dian textile workers, who, through-| ¢l number of industrial workers lout, have been among the foremost| (considering enterprises where more | |to fight for improved living condi-|than 10 workers are engaged). The tions for the Indian proletariat. postal and telegraph workers are ov- The majority’ of the strikes during | @@nized better than any (50 per cent the period under survéy were due to/0'ganized). The railwaymen are or- the attack on wages (45 strikes out | $@nized 14.5 per cent and the workers lof 103) and also to dismissals and/ im the cotton industries 10.5 per cont. | | general decreases of workers engaged, The largest union organized numeri- fete. (28 strikes), jeally is the railwaymen’s union (100, As regards results achieved by the 900 members), then come the sailors’! strikes, we give the following figures; 224 dockers’ union (72,567 members), Of 103 strikes 7 were won outright | ‘¢xtile workers (45,000 members), and | by the workers, 8 compromises and Postal and telegraph workers (38,000 |83 strikes were lost. (In 1922 21 per| members), |cent of strikes ended successfully or| The metal workers are only 3 per As Breloogiin L. Gubarevich. . 1.00) Vasil Baranoff. 1.00 + 1.00 Nicholay Evanzoa os, 508, Meoduka + 1,00 NEW 1.00 | Felix Biolal. Ch, Zippin Simon Dugk BUY THE DAILY WORKER AT THE NEWSSTANDS make the following contributions to! Vingis ship of Thomas Johnson, the Irish The DAILY WORKER before their Lasevich 1.00; Labor Party is a mild affair, only }departure. These contributions were) Venslour 1.00; serving as a foil to the government made through the efforts of Max|Krivenos 1.00'in the Dail. It adds dignity to a | Hoffman, 2339 Prospect Ave., Bronx. | Bodonis A 1.00| government to have a respectable op- M. Hoffman... $1.00 | Piter Sepman... + 1.00! position. C, Jovanovich 1.00 | Sophia Mazeika... 1.00 The British government’s agents P. Netrebka 1.00 | Mike Yonoity..... 1.00; in Ireland are plainly showing” tieil™ A. Zemactis 30/Wm. Volchak... 1.00/ alarm over the results. Confronted Felix Yeng.. 1.00| James Jalkincuer with the possibil of the break with Russia, the difficulties in China and the Egyptian discontent—with | the ever-present danger of a flare-up }in India, Great Britain has no wish |to have the Irish thorn re-injected into her flank. YORK -- LENINGRAD ~MOSCOW The great experiments of the first Work- ers’ Republic—the beauty spots of old Russia, the achievements of young Russia —are waiting for you to visit on a special SIX WEEKS’ TRIP TO RUSSIA starting July 14 By steamer direct to Leningrad; then by \would definitely be against a tariff/time being this would not be a spe-|in compromise for the workers, in cent organized (about 10,000 me r with Tapa since they, having 8} oj} danger to British exports to In-| 19 per cent, in 1924 20 per cent, bers), miners .2 per cent (700 m . latge meta’ , rail to Moscow, seeing all nearby places in 1 Japan, and desire to preserve normal trading relations. The Jute Industry. Up to the present time the jute in- dustry has been one of the most fav- orable ‘and profitable in India. At the present , however, this has changed somewhat. A sharp dis- yerepancy was diseovered between the comparatively small reserves of raw- jute and the demands of the develop- ing jute industry. To this was added also the threat of losing some ex- ternal markets which up to the pres- ent time had been monopolized by the Indian jute industry, and which are now trying to free themselves from this high-costing dependency. In view of the foregoing circumstances the working week in the Bengal jute industry was shortened to 4-5 days, while a considerable number of Ben- gal textile workers were dismissed, Bad Coal Trade. The position of the Indian coal in- justry up to the present time cannot considered as be very bright. ‘or many reasons coal could trade turn-over with} dig, The Labor Movement of India. Very interesting to note, by the way, that as a result of rationaliza- tion of production, now being car- lried out at the large steel and iron works in Djepchedpure a large de- crease in the numbers engaged is ex- pected. Lowered Standard of Life for the ment. The difficulties experienced by the chief branches of Indian industry first of all affected the working class, at whose expense the Indian bour- geoisie endeavored to preserve the former level of their profits. The at- tack on wages was especially insis- tent and stubborn in the cotton and jute industries. In many cases de- spite the total absence of any lower- ing in the cost of living wages one way or another were considerably de- creased (chiefly in the jute industry of Bengal). The cost of living index for December, 1926, 3 in 1926, 157; 31 per cent, and for the first} bers), jute workers 1.3 per cent (4,000 Working Class and the Strike au in November 198%, 184. a {nine months of 1926 15 per cent). | 5 On Defensive. |members). In many branches of in- We see therefore that the struggle dustry, food products, glass, building, | of the Indian proletariat during the Clothing and wood working trades, | lcurrent year was chiefly one of de-|there are no unions organized what- fense and that in the majority of ¢ver. | cases the workers lost the strikes! (Lower percentage of ' strikes in comparison with previous tile workers during 1926 chiefly in the | | years.) | Bombay district, which suffered | Thisgwas due chiefly to the diffi-/ greatest from the depression, And/ ‘culties now being experienced by the so, for instance, a textile union arose |basie industries of India. Likewise in Bombay which in the short period jwe must keep in view the general of a few months reeruited more than jegnditions of the present state of the 10,000 members. Such a tempo for |Indian labor movement—its new! India is exceptional. During the past ‘growth, insufficient experience for) year much work has been done to or- the struggle, absence of a class lead,|ganize workers engaged in the ar-| the strength of a well organized An-| senals and ammunition and repairing glo-Indian hourgeoisie, ete. shops, and also to unite existing dock- Unemployment, ers’ unions. Much activity was ob- The past year brought no improve-|Served among the sailors (demand to ments in the position of the unem-|®bolish system of engaging men thru | ployed. As before there are colossal, gents) and the railwaymen, who numbers of agricultural workers who| @8ked that a committee be formed to, have employment only during a few) mv “ the position of workers on months ip the year, as previously the | the Stes cl Leen ees He ba cantina There was a considerable increase successful in the percentage of organized tex- | of interest and the sights of both cities. $575 IS THE ENTIRE COST of the tour, including all expenses for steamer and rail fares, meals, rooms, theatre tickets, sight-seeing trips, ete. A RARE OPPORTUNITY Seize it now by writing for further in- formation to the ‘ WORLD TOURISTS, Room 803 41 Union Square, New York City STUY. 7251. INC,