The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 29, 1927, Page 6

THE DAILY WORKER Published by the DA WORKER PUBLISHING CO. Daily, Except Sunday 83 First Street, New York, N. Y. ‘able Address. Phone, Orchard 1680 | Daiwork” SUBSCRIPTION RATES e By Mail (in New York only): By Mail (outside of New oYrk): | 68.00 per year $4.50 six months $6.00 per year $3.50 six months | $2.50 three months. $2.00 three months. | u Pgs enters eee eee eee ee Address and mail out checks to | WORKER, 33 First Street, New York, N. Y. THE DAILY ROBERT MI M. F. DUNNE Coolidge has refused to do anything that would tend to help | the striking coal miners and figuratively speaking has spit in the | faces of John L. Lewis and officials of the American Federation | of Labor who appealed to him. The coal barons make no effort-to hide their glee. A dispatch | from Pittsburgh to the New York Times, dated Nov. 27, says | “|. the operators, jubilant, declared they had anti ipated | such a decision and also that peace, consequently, was NOT in sight.” (Our emphasis.) The coal barons interpret the position o1 Coolidge correctly. | He has said to them that they can proceed with their war on the union by any and all means, that any interference will be for the benefit of the coal barons. Crowding closely on the wires the dispatch quoted above comes another stating that a damage suit for $1,000,000 is to be filed by the coal companies of western Pennsylvania against the United Mine Workers of America. The coal barons demand that the union pay the costs of the campaign of terror staged by the coal and iron police against the miners and their families. Prepa- rations for the damage suit began immediately after the state supreme court legalized evictions. According to union officials, evictions are taking place faster than the union can build barracks to house the victims. Winter is here and food, clothing, shoes and money are needed. | Misery stalks in the mining camps of Pennsylvania and Ohio. | What are we to say of.union officials who met in an emer- | gency conference in Pittsburgh on Nov. 14 and adopted a policy | whose main point was an appeal to President Coolidge? | Did they believe that Coolidge, the errand boy of Andrew | Mellon, the multi-millionaire who dominates the state of Pennsyl- vania in much the same way that Rockefeller dominates Colorado, would do anything to help the miners? If they believed this they are fools who should not be trusted with the fate of the labor movement. If they knew that Coolidge would do nothing but aid the coal barons, they committed a crime against the striking miners and their families, and against the labor movement, by creating hope , which would be shattered and by strengthening faith in a Wall, Street tool which is demoralizing. Coolidge and the courts are even against charity for the, strikers. Coolidge, like the coal barons, wants starvation to do its | work and Pennsylvania courts have said that relief of any sort for | the strikers is illegal. | Coolidge, the federal and state courts with their injunctions, | the coal. and iron police with their guns and blackjacks, the coal | barons with their allies in Wall Street are tightening the noose | about the necks of the United Mine Workers and its members and | their families. With coldblooded calculation the coal barons watch winter | ) take its toll, they weigh with watchful eyes every ounce of food | that goes into the sums in the relief funds, they send their cossacks out to harass the hungry miners. The governor of Pennsylvania is a stockholder in coal com- | panies and an attorney for coal companies. He is the head and) front of the drive against the union in Pennsylvania just as Cool- idge is its head nationally. "If the official leadership of the labor movement is not con-| vinced by this time that the government in all its branches is car- | rying out the program of the coal barons, then it is too incompe- | tent and ignorant to guide the struggle. | If it knows that the government is the instrument of the coal “barons and the rest of the capitalist class, then labor officialdom | is aiding the war on the miners’ union and the rest of the labor | movement by discouraging mass violations of injunctions, failing | to organize such a movement, by advocacy of the support of can- didates on the tickets of the capitalist parties and by continuing its fight on the militant section of the union membership. | Rank and file miners who demanded a militant policy were | thrown out of the Pittsburgh conference. The labor officials | wanted to be respectable at Pittsburgh. They were going to see the President, don’t you see? ‘ They have seen the president. The president has spoken. Even John L. Lewis, a-member of the republican national commit- | tee who supported Coolidge in the last election, could get no com-| fort from his liege lord. Official labor leaders have the same choice to make they have ways had—they can fight or surrender. But. past experience teaches that any fighting that will be done will be carried on by | the militant workers whom officialdom has been trying to drive | out of the labor movement. . | The drive for miners’ relief must go forward. [ass violation | of injunctions must be organized, organization campaigns in the | non-union fields must be started and a labor party established for | the 1928 elections. The whole labor movement must be organized for the struggle against injunctions. The attack on the United Mine Workers is only the beginning of a drive against the organizations and living standards of the American working class in which the government plays its historical role of instrument of the capitalist class. It may only be a coincidence but politicians in the borough of Queens went to the sewers for their graft. A borough official | testified that Queens was paying for sewer pipe, one, two, three, and even four times as much as other boroughs. We always had | a suspicion that capitalist politics was a smelly business. | / * Now that they have captured the city of Reading, Pennsyl- | vania, the socialists have come out’ man-fashion and confessed | that they are not socialists at all but capitalist officials. This confession should lift a heavy load off the chests of the few re- lieve that the leaders of the so- to the er | 8} of false teeth, Bjornson insinuation. in the room. anv DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1927 “YOU CAN’T VOTE, As our YER TOO IGNORANT” Second Installment. Ricing, pausing, lighting cigaret buti under his nose, McFee wandered among the group, hearing them talk- ing international affairs: —Should the I. W. W. affiliate with the Red Trade Union International? Straus said: “The Red Trade Union International, I tell you, is nothing but the industrial section of the Commun- ist International and the Russian Communist Party.” “Sure; they want to liquidate the W. W.,” Taliferro said. “Cut out the international - stuff,” McFee said. “You’re in America. |John Wobbly is in jail and we’re here | to get him out. That’s our job. Who’s going to be chairman tonight?” “Bjornson—” “Bjornson?” Yea? McFee was standing smiling, lips parting amiably, eyes hardening. Holding this expression, he looked longest at Bjornson. Sitting down McFee said: “Did all you fellow work- ers notice the new teeth? I think Fellow Worker Bjornson must have struck pay-dirt.”, “That’s why we made him chair- man—on account of those teeth,” Ed- mond said. “They certainly do im- prove a man’s looks all right.” “Yes sir,” MeFee said, “he must have connected somewhere.” Edmond remarked that tooth ache s painful, important, making men angry, discouraged. Poison, he said, should not be allowed to drain, jteeth to bowels, Meat must be chewed: “In primitive times men died or|y were killed off in the struggle for sues stopped developing,” he said. “Tooth ache in those days indicated fatal physical senility. The human race has got hospitals and clinies and furnaces and roofs now.. We've got dentists ytoo. Men can live easier after middle age now, if they’ve got the where-with-all. But stiffs like us have a hell of a time getting tooth picks, let alone gold fillings and in- Jay and such .modern improvements.” “I’ve seen the time when there sn’t anything to get caught in my h to pick out,” Larson said. The stiff,” Edmond said, “is just like that guy they dug up a while wi te back. What is it they call him now? You know don’t you MeFee?—some kind of man. They found his bones—, He was almost missing link.” McKee asked: “—you mean Nean- derthal Man?” “—-sure,” Edmond said. “That's it—Fellow Worker Neanderthal. The stiff is just like Fellow Worker Neanderthal when it comes to dent- ists. There weren’t any then and there might just as well not be any now as far as the stiff is concerned.” Tyler said: “Yes, and let me tell you something. I know a lot of stiffs that have got a lot more than that in common with guy. You'll find more missing links on toma box car than those pick and shovel explorers will ever dig up.” Conscious of his own excellent set ought he noted an under-eurrent sarcasm, He asked this Neanderthal { The False Teeth — A Story of the L W. W. artist pictures the disfranchisement of the Negro voters in the southern states. By Jacob Bureck Oe somewhat challengingly: “What’s all this conversation about anyhow?” “It’s about teeth, fellow worker,” Taliferro said. “I don’t know what it’s all about aside from that | though.” Bjornson’s face reddened. Frown- jing he asked: “Say, for Jesus Christ’s |sake! Can’t a fellow get a neW set lof teeth without being kidded about 1it2” | “They certainly are beautiful jteeth,"—Mcfee smiling, looking at | Bjornson. “T can’t think of any rea- | SO] |for an I. W. W. meeting though. And ‘looking at the other side of the ques- tion,—just how would an I. W. W. [secretary get them anyhow, consid- |ering his salary? How about it, fel- low worker?” | “What are you getting at?”— | Bjornson rising, his arms stiffening as his sides, hands clenching. | “Dm getting at this: Bjornson is {not going to be chairman tonight.” “What do you mean I’m not go- ing to be chairman?” “Where did you get the teeth?” —McFee leaning forward smiling |again in the same baffling, contra- |dictory way that was like a threat. | “It’s none of your god damned | business where I got these teeth.” | “Tell us where you got them or |1’'ll tell you where you got them in a | way you won't like.” | “You will? What do you mean |you’ll tell?” | “Neyer mind. What are you going | | | | jexistence when bones and body tis-|to do?” Silently the two faced each other momentarily. Then Bjornson said: “Why, Miss Atwood paid for them, if that’s what you’re driving at. | What of it?” “Where does she get her money? Where does the money come from?” “How in hell do I know where it comes from?” “you mean that? And you're secretary of this I. W. W. hall? And you expect to be chairman of the meeting tonight? Are you sure you | don’t know?” “Why, yes; I know. It comes from property she inherited from her fa- ther, What of it?” | “And you’re a member of the I. |W. W.? ‘The working class and the capitalist elass can have nothing in common.’ ~Did you ever hear that sentence before? Did you ever read the preamble of the I, W. W.?”—Mc- Fee’s index finger tapping the palm of his other hand. *_* © Bjornson had become thoroughly angry. For many weeks since his election as secretary of the hall he had worked from 12 to 15 or even 18 hours a day for the organization. The membership had grown. Efforts to raise money for the General Defense Committee for use in the important I. W. W. trials just ahead had been successful. Tonight’s mass meeting with Haywood as speaker was to be (es climax of a strenuous period. — n for getting all dolled up like that ; | tion on details of defense and organ- ization work. With his enthusiasm thus frustrated unexpectedly in a way that was not entirely clear to him he became metamorphosed into a purely physical force. Me- Fee still stood motionless looking at him. Bjornson thought of all the work he had done conscientiously and well for the I. W. W. Rage jclouded his mind, blurring his eyes. | Quickly he reached backward and sidewise, clutching the rounded top of a chair’s back, starting an upward swing, poised on the ball of his right foot. His face was convulsed. “You son of—” he started ex- claiming. Then Tyler’s hand shot forward. Tyler grabbed one of the chair’s rungs checking the swing, Bjornson’s strength lifting Tyler out of his seat. Tyler’s face was thrust near Bjorn- son’s. Everyone was standing. Talk- ing rapidly, looking hard at Bjorn- son, Tyler asked: “Are you a mem- ber of the I. W. W.? Is this the I. W. W. hall?) What are you trying to do, bring the police up here? What’s the idea, swinging chairs around here! Sit down.” Bjornson dropped down in a chair, the others sitting down one by one, watchfully. “Christ almighty! Why should I sit here and let McFee call me a fink?” Larson said: “Whatever he called you, you're acting the part of a damned fool now.” “Miss Atwood is old enough to be my mother,” Bjornson said. He was breathing hard. He added: “And she’s straight with the I. W. W.” “Where does the money come from?”—MeFee leaning forward eae index finger tapping. air. “ ““The working class and the capi- talist class can have nothing in com- mon.’ Think it over, fellow worker. And there’s still another angle. The General Defense Committee needs tunds. It’s one matter when the I. W. W. as an organization takes money from bourgeois sources, don’t forget, and it’s another matter when an individual member takes it. What would happen if the word got around that I. W. W. secretaries were using their jobs to get money for their per- sonal use? What would happen, fel- low worker? Where would we get bail money then? Where would the General Defense Committee get funds for the expenses of the trials if that story got around?” Bjornson sat silent, sullen. Then McKee asked: “How are your books?—in good shape?” Bjornson began looking darkly at the other faces. All but McFea were looking at the floor inserutably. Mc- Fee was looking at him. “Christ!” Bjornson said. getting up. And then: “Christ!” again. “This is dirty, god damned dirty. I’m through. Good bye!” mans Snatching his cap from a > wall, I By STIRLING BOWEN The men in the room listened to the pounding of his footsteps on the stairs, They heard the door at te bottom of the stairs open. They heard it close again and knew Bjornson had gone into the street. They sensed too that he would not be back that night, perhaps not even the next day. Straus began laughing. The others joined, McFee laughing also, hoarse- ness wheezing, ringing in his chest. “Well, let’s get this settled,” Mc- Fee said. “It’s getting late. Why not make Edmond chairman?” “What’s the matter with you being chairman yourself?” Edmond asked McFee. “T’ve got to see a certain character in Cleveland. I understand he’s going to move in there tomorrow. I’ve got to get out tonight.” “[’d just as soon,” Edmond said. “All right, you’re chairman,”— Taliferrd going to the door, looking downstairs a minute, coming back into the room. “Haywood ought to be here any minute now,” McFee said. Torrey wanted to know if Bjorn- son would be at the meeting: Taliferro said: “Jesus he was mad. No; he won’t show up at all. He’s got, the keys to the hall here too. Somebody will have to sleep here tonight. He won’t be back.” Straus would stay all night in the hall. He had his overcoat. Another coat was hanging in the closet. Tyler would stay too. . Straus asked McFee: “What’s your slant on Bjornson anyhow Jimmie?” McFee~ began laughing. again, hoarseness wheezing through his teeth. : “Seriously, what’s your slant? Think he’s dangerous?” “He’s young,” McFee said. learn.” Edmond said: “Sure he’s all right. But he’s young, as you say. “He'll be all right,” Taliferro said. “We've watched him on the funds here. He’s fearless too. He'll be a good man someday. But say, how did you learn about the teeth, Jim- mie?” “She happened to tell me. She wanted to buy me some new tecth too,” Everyone laughed loud. “Man!” Strauss said. “Did yow see the look on his face? Miss Atwood is all right though Jim. Of course your position is well taken and cor- rect but she really is straight with the organization.” McFee’s laugh was wheezing again in gusts through his bared teeth. McFee was going, rolling a cigaret for smoking on the way. “see you before long again,” he said, “So-long Jimmie.” “If you see Bjornson, Jimmie, tell him to bring back the keys.” \ “Don’t let him bite you with those false te®th, Jimmie.” “If you see Miss Atwood, or what- ever her name is,” McFee said, turn- ing around in the doorway, “tell her to:help us put some teeth in the Gen- eral Defense.” Everyone laughed loud again. Fee went alone go “He'll Red Rays HERE is considerable food for amusement for the trained news- paper reader in the dispatches from London, Paris and Warsaw, which seek to belittle the importance of the Soviet notes to Warsaw and Kovno on the danger to the peace of Europe that would result from a war between the two countries. It is quite evident from the space given to the incident that the interference of Moscow on |the side of peace in the long-drawn- out dispute between Lithuania and Poland, is regarded very seriously by the imperialist powers and the overshadowing political question the continent of Europe today. * OLAND backed by France is wait- ing for a favorable opportunity to grab off Lithuania, having already taken Vilna with the sanction of the League of Nations. The Soviet Union warned Poland that such a step could not be ignoted by it and behind the polite tone of the note, one could feel the potential sock of the Red Army. A ae imperialist ~handits who will meet at Geneva in a few days to | stage a fake disarmament conference | will not have things as much their |own way as they would have if there | were no Soviet delegates present. The jallies, thru the peace of Versailles, stripped Germany to the skin as a military power, which makes it pos- sible for the Soviet Union and Ger- any to arrive at a common policy in eneva, tho their ultimate aims are far apart as the poles. * * * * + jas | ¥ ee will be interesting to hear the in+ dignant cries of the British and French delegates when Litvinoff throws his peace-bomb. In an effort to impair the effect of the Soviet pro- posals on the masses who fear War, $ | because they are the chief sufferers |from its ravages, the capitalist press agents are trying to create the im- pression that the Soviet proposals are not sincere, and only calculated to cause trouble in the ranks of the im- perialist puwers. The Soviet leaders know quite well that no siccre pro- posal for peace can come out of this lair of imperialist brigands, but the rejection of the Soviet proposals will help to expose the hypocrisy of the imperialists. * FZ addition to the problem of what té do with its gangsters, Chicago is now called on to solve another dedi- cate one, namely, the most appro- priate memorial to the memory of the O’Leary cow that kicked over the lantern which started the Chicago fire that destroyed the city in 1871. Those with a literary turn of mind favor a tablet, but the residents of the stockyards district favor the statue of a cow. We are for the tablet. If the mayor’s vandals carry out their intention of burning the public library, it will be something on the side of culture to have the his- tory of the O’Leary cow on a tablet of stone. Eee \ * * * AMES W. GERARD, one of Wall Street’s most servile ambassa- dorial stool-pigeons in Europe before Wilson stage-managed the country into the war on the side of the allies, has expressed his indignation because a Turkish ambassador is on his way to this country. Gerard is bewailing the alleged killing of 30,000 christian Armenians by the Turks. The truth of the matter is, that England used Armenia against the Turks in the same way she made use of “poor little Belgium” against the Germans. She also wanted Armenian oil and no doubt the flunkey Gerard has some interest of a more material nature than the alleged massacre of Chris- tians, in the Armenian question, * * E O FIMMEN, of Holland, formerly one of the two secretaries of the International Federation of Trade Unions, created a sensation at the War Danger Conference held in Lon- don recently, when he declared that the workers should declare a general strike against war. This statement aroused the pacifists to the point o¢ fury. Fimmen was advocating Yio. lence! But the labor leader was Suite right when he declared that it would be better that 100,000 workers togt their lives in a civil war, than that 10,000,000 should die in a bourgeois war. * * * MONG those who have reason to be thankful for having lived over Thanksgiving Day %s Colonel R. Forbes, former director of the United States Veterans’ Bureau and one of , Warren Gamalicl Harding’s favorite |pets. The colonel recently released |from the Leavenworth where he has been serving @ “Wo-year sentence imposed on him when convicted of defrauding the soldiers disabled as a result of the war, In addition to the two-year seme ten¢e, Forbes was handed a $10,000 fine, but he can avoid paying this sum by signing a pauper’s affidavit. * * * Pe colonel can now return to the .” world and take a peep at the hiding place where the loot he col~ lected during the reign of the “Ohio Gang” is cached. The colonel is the only member of the “Ohio Gang” ta have suffered imprisonment as a re< sult of his péculation. If he possessed the ability of A. B. Fall, to throw a fit of sickness he might still have hig sentence bedeviling his sleeping nours. hep! Jnpuy is; “A, ¢rook who dye penitentiary | }