The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 23, 1927, Page 6

' Page Six THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1927 THE DAILY WORKER Published by the NATIONAL DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING ASS'N, Inc. Daily, Except Sunday 83 First Street, New York, N. Y. Cable Address: SUBSCRIPTION RATES By Mail (in New York only): $8.00 per year $4.50 six months $2.50 three months. Phone, Orchard 1680 “Daiwork” $6.00 per year $3,50 six months $2.00 three months. rest and mail out checks to ORKER, 83 First Street, New York, N. Y. ROBERT MINOR WM. F. DUNNE br t New York, N. ¥., under the is The Official Reason for Lindbergh’s Latin American Flight “Maintaining American Prestige” Airplanes in war are used not only for dropping bombs but for locati enemy positions and mappifig out the lines of ad- vance for attacking forces. ; The efficiency of airplanes as weapons of offense against peoples the Wall Street government wants to conquer and rob has been shown in Nicaragu i dered N ans, men, women and children, has been piled up by heroic aviators who drop high explosives on defenseless vil- lages and on rebels armed only with rifles. Agu The more important task of mapping ‘out the lines of further conquest has been given to Colonel Lindbergh, the smiling young man who has saved Wall Street millions of dollars in publicity expense by popularising military aviation. The New York Evening Post has published the following semi-official dispatch: Washington. Dec. 20.—There is more behind the ex- tension of Colonel Charles Lindbergh’s flight from Mexico City southward into Central America than appears upon the surface, it has been learned from official sources. The dispatch then goes on to relate the activities of a German aviator who has established airplane lines in South America and quotes from the Coolidge message to congress as follows: “We are particularly solicitous to have the United States take a leading | part in this development.” The dispatch continues: President Coolidge has seen what aviation means to the countries of Central and South America... .Colonel Lindbergh ig his dmonstrating agent and incidentally the advance eagle of probable scores of American eagles who in the course of the next few years will be flying over Central America main- taining American prestige... . So here it is—not in a nutshell but in the cockpit of Lind- bergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis.” The “good will ambassador,” as we have contended, is noth- ing more or less than a Wall Street agent whose non-violent spy- ing mission in Central America, now greeted by the cheers of peoples who do not know the future, will be followed by military expeditions whose airplane bombs, hurling Latin-American work- ers h now greet Lindbergh and will maintain “American pres- indbergh’s trip is further preparation for imperialist con- in Latin America and a Latin-American anti-imperialist upported by the American workers and farmers, must be ver to it. que bioe, the ans Industrial Depression---Unemployment--Wage Cuts--- - The Prosperity Myth Fades The Amoskeag Mills, one of the largest textile concerns in New England, has announced a 10 per cent cut in wages effective December 24. This follows similar cuts in Maine textile mills affecting some 35,000 workers. 4 We have remarked before that the wage cuts in textiles are harbingers of a decline not only in the textile industry but in all industry. The Annalist, the weekly economic publication of the New York Times, in its issue for December 16, states editorially that the November business index approaches the indexes for June and July 1924, when it was generally recognized that there was a decided shrinkage in business.” The Annalist continues: “There is no particular gain in try- ing to close one’s eyes to large and significant business facts. It is the part of business wisdom to admit the fact of a present recession of considerable magnitude and the necessity of relying upon something more substantial than hope by way of a remedy.” (Our emphasis.) The Annalist, its job being to furnish accurate information to capitalists for profit making purposes, becomes impatient with professional optimists whose estimates and advice, if believed and followed, easily could result in the loss of a lot of loot and the creation of a deep crisis which the more skilled section of the rul- ing class advisers sees coming and desires to avoid. The Annalist speaks sharply—for the very good reason that it concludes correctly that only sharp speaking fits the case and also because it is speaking of and to office-holders who are servants of big capital. It rebukes even such powerful and prom- inent office holding capitalists as Andrew Mellon, secretary of the treasury. The Annalist says: “Another source of confusion is the ‘prosperity talk’ which emanates in ever-increasing volume from persons and organiza- tions who for political and other reasons desire the continuance of a high rate of business activity... A recent example may be found in the Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury... .” The Annalist concludes that iron and steel production is now between 15 and 20 per cent below normal, that this indicates the general trend of production and that the optimists are mis- representing the facts. The general business index for November is 92.1 as against 96.4 for October. Automobile production is down to 40.1, pig iron production has dropped to 84.7, steel ingot production to 80.6. The combined average is held up by high indexes in cotton consumption, boot and shoe production and electrie power pro- duction. In June-July, 1924, the business index fell to approximately 87. In iron and steel the combined index figure was 82.6 for November of this year and if we include automobile production and freight car loadings, the index drops to 73.5. ~ Automobile production is at the lowest point . year of great depression. | Pio These figures shovw{ conclusively that © rtions\n the United St i that we are o. ince 1921—a By Mail (outside of New York): , and an impressive total of mur-| and farmers to their death, will take the place of the cheers ; | | | Hark the herald angels sing, Oil is most important thing Peace on earth and mercy mild More of oil or I'll get wild | | IIL. Lenin on Oppositions. |(OMRADE Zinoviev also tried to |% prove that Lenin was at all times |in favor of discussion and referred to ‘the discussion on programs prior to |and during the Tenth Congress. But (he forgot what Lenin said in the same resolution about dissolving all |groupings, about not permitting any opposition whatsoever in the future, }and that Lenin considered it imper- | missable to turn our Party into a “de- |bating society.” | Lenin furthermore stated that we had allowed ourselves too much of a luxury in the discussion at the Tenth Congress, and that it had been a great Jerror. He also said that a definite {end must be put to Oppositions. IV. Anti-Soviet Elements. Meee we come to the question as to |4% why it was necessary for Comrade Menzhinsky to make statement on the white guards, with whom some of the “workers” in Trotsky’s illegal anti- Party printing press are connected. This is in the first place necessary |in order to refute the falsehoods | spread by the Opposition on this ques- tion. They assure everyone that the whole case is pure invention, in order to besmirch the Opposition, but the facts given by Comrade Menzhinsky leave no doubt that a section of the collaborators “on Trotsky’s illegal press was connected with counter- revolutionary elements. The report was also necessary in order to denounce the false state- ments in the Berlin organ of the rene- gade Maslow. This dirty rag slanders the Union of Socialist Soviet Repub- lies and imparts state secrets to the bourgeoisie. It does this by printing fragments from the evidence of the This is a continuation of Stalin’s answer to the speeches of Zinoviev and Trotzky already printed by The DAILY WORK- ER: Trotzky last Wednesday; Zinoviev Tuesday, white guards arrested in connection with the illegal printing press. Masloy evidently could only have received this information from Trot- sky, Zinoviey and Smilga who were acquainted with this evidénce on the Central Control Commission. Al- though it was forbidden for the time being to take copies, they evidently tried to send it to Maslov. But to give out such information for publication means forewarning certain white guards whom the Bol- sheviks intended arresting. Is such a thing permissible for Communists? And after Maslov, with the help of Trotsky and Zinoviev, had printed for general consumption fragments from the evidence of the arrested people, were we not bound to report the real facts to the Plenum of the Central Committee and Central Control Com- mission? Hence the necessity for Menzhinsky’s report, This report in no way accuses the Opposition of having organized a military conspiracy. We never have. We accuse the Opposition, in the first place, of organizing an illegal printing press, and, secondly, of mak- ing an alliance, in doing so, with bour- geois intellectuals some of whom were in contact with counter-revolutionary plotters. -Thirdly, in calling in bour- geois intellectuals for its anti-Party work, the Opposition against its own jobs ‘scarcer. working class must meet the problem of mass unemployment which has been shoved into the background by the so-called per- manence of American prosperity. The drive on the unions and the living standards of the work- ing class has already gained great impetus. vicious and affect more workers as the industria] decline makes It will become more The official leadership of the labor movement has made no preparations to deal with the problem of unemployment any more than they have prepared to meet the open shop offensive which accompanies it. Therefore the militant section of the labor move- ment-—the organized left wing—has the task of organizing the unemployed workers, keeping them in contact with the unions, or- ganizing relief, carrying on in the meantime.the agitation for city, state and federal unemployment compensation and preventing the army of jobless workers being used to beat down the wages and working conditions of the entire working class. . The bubble of “American prosperity” has not been completely exploded yet but the sharp needle of industrial depression is about to puncture it and then another theory of labor officialdom will likewise explode—the theory that the more the workers produce the higher their incomes are. Industrial depression is here and the Greens and Wolls will be called upon’soon to explain how “union-management co-opera- tion” will feed hungry wotkers. ‘ 4 Stalin Answers Opposition ‘ Speech Made Before the Soviet Union Communist Party Executive will became involved with what we may call “The Third Force.” : The Opposition got linked up with anti-Soviet elements who were en- deavoring to use its fractional work for their own ends. This confirms the forecast of this made by Lenin at the Tenth Congress. V. How Opposition “Prepares.” pee Comrade Zinoviev and Trotsky let off a lot of steam here about our preparing for the Oongress by means of repressions. They seem to have completely missed the fact that more than a month prior to the Congress the Plenum of the Central Committee de- cided on an open discussion and that an uninterrupted discussion has been |continuing in all Party organizations for already three or four months. Furthermore, the verbatim reports and decisions of all Plenums during the last six months on all questions of internal and foreign policy have been thoroughly discussed. Whose fault if the Party organiza- tions have not supported the Opposi- tion in these discussions? Meanwhile, the Opposition prepares for the Congress with illegal printing presses and meetings, by giving false information about the Party to the imperialists of all countries, by disor- ganizing and splitting our Party! And when the Party takes decisive steps against the disorganizers and split- ters, even to the extent of expelling them, the Opposition yaps about “re- pression.” Why, in 1922 Lenin wanted to expel from the Central Committee Comrade Shliapnikov, not for organizing anti- Party printing presses or an alliance with bourgeois intellectuals, but merely because Shliapnikov criticized a decision of the Supreme Economic Council at a Party meeting. We have only to compare Lenin’s attitude with what the Party is now jdoing to the Opposition and you will realize what leniency We have shown to the disorganizers and. splitters. In 1917 Lenin several times pro- posed expelling Kameneff and Zino- vievy from the Party merely for criti- cizing an unpublished Party decision in a semi-bourgeois paper. Yet how many secret decisions of the Central Committee is the Opposition now {publishing in Maslov'’s counter-revo- |lutionary anti-Soviet paper in Berlin? We have shown endless patience, |comrades, but this cannot go on for- lever, As to the talk about arrests and expulsions from the Party, we will go on arresting disorganizers who con- duct CB. ah work, | At the ‘last Plenum I was accused of too soft an attitude towards Trot- sky and Zinoviey. But after all we have witnessed these last three months, and after the Opposition has broken its “special” promise made last August to liquidate its fraction, there is no room left for softness, VI. Leninism To Trotskyism. OMRADE Zinoviev talked about the “errors” in Party policy during the last two years and the “correctness” of the Opposition policy. Now I would like to say a few words to ex- plain the reason of the bankruptcy of the Opposition policy ahd the correct- ness of our Party’s policy during the last two years. The main cause of the bankruptcy of the Opposition is that it has al- ways tried to replace Leninism by Trotskyism. The Opposition cannot “explain away” its failures by mere personal factors, such as the roughness of Stalin or stubbornness of Bukharin and Rykov. % In 1904, 1917, and on many other occasions Trotsky has suffered severe defeat at the hands of Lenin’s party, including the incidents of 1918 on the question of the Brest peace, and in 1921 on the trade union question, when Trotsky made “grandiose” sal- jlies against Lenin and his Party. They all ended in Trotsky’s defeat. But could this be put down to the jroughness of Stalin? In fact, he was not even secretary at the time. It is obvious that Trotsky’s fight against the Leninist party has muck deeper historical roots, that it is a continuation of the struggle conduct- ed by the Party against Trotskyism under Lenin’s leadership ever since 1904. + Our Party has been born and bred in stormy revolutionary events. It is just for this reason that it is free of jempty hero worship for leaders. Plekhanov was at one time the most popular man in the Party. He was, in fact, the founder of the Party, and his popularity could not be compared jwath that of Trotsky or Zinoviev, but |the Party nevertheless turned away from him immediately he forsook Marxism and became an opportunist. Is it surprising, then, that such “great” people as Trotsky and Zino- viev find themselves at the tail of the Party once they have begun to for- sake Leninism? But the clearest proof of the oppor- tunist degeneration of the Opposition, it voted against the Jubilee Manifesto |of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets. While the entire work- ing class of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics and the foremost workers of all countries have met this manifesto with exultation and ap- |plauded the idea of the seven-hour working day. The Opposition votes against it in common chorus with bourgeois and Menshevik critics. | (To Be Continued.) Xmas Spirit Hits Bow- ery in Subtle Guise ' of Pauperism By EDWARD J. BRUEN. The Christmas spirit has hit the Bowery? Maybe you can’t see it when look- ing at the cosmos of the old street from a viewpoint of a worker who knows his proper place in the sunlight of self-respect. The fact is that the spirit has ar- rived through the channels of the same old capitalism that pauperizes, and then issues alms through alleged religious sources. Work Sucker Lists. The mission officials, no matter whether they call themselves super- intendents, secretaries, captains or what, have been working their old “sucker lists” to the limit, and to |help out they have been and are throwing those who come to them for salvation and food, a bed here, a meal there or a cast-off garment some- where else. And the poor suckers at the receiving end are supposed to be overcome with gratitude, or else he decried as ungrateful. It’s the old game of getting the workers weakened physically for want of food, and then they are ready to work for any price to get away from the mean, fawning, hypocritical group of grafters into which they have fallen. Afternoon Teas. At this writing one of the missioys “along the stem” is specializing in afternoon teas for the derelicts. Two hours is consumed in this manner, committees of sucker capitalist repre- sentatives—male and female—sitting on the platform and reminding each other of “how lovely it is.” Another mission is broadcasting the story of its “redeemed seuis” every week for the satisfaction of the peo- plé ur‘own who are paying their good money to ‘redeem ’em. Still another mission is giving out a more generous share of meal tic- kets—10 cents a meal—and making sure that the fact reaches a sympa- thetic newspaper every evening. All this stuff helps b ing in the “dough” to the missioners, and as long as their allies, the death-dealing drink shops remain on the job, all’s fair for capitalism along the old Bowery. If you want further infor- mation pay a visit to any of the so- called labor agencies “on the stem.” Young and, vigorous men are ship- ping out toeall sort of railroad and similar jobs at wages that should shame their manhood, even if they have had a substantial dose of Bowery booze and salvation. Cheap wages, poison booze, salva- tion, charity, pauperism,—the Christ- mas spirit? SCIENTISTS GATHER. WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 22.— About 2,000 scientists will convene for the Christmas session of the Amer- ican Association for the Advancement “Science, from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31, Nashyille, Tern, te aS of its bankruptcy and decline is that | Spy Continues Plot in Union Further light on the efforts of A. R. MacDonald, Inc., “industrial en- gineers,” to “prove” that JLonis Frances Budenz, editor of Labor Age, is a “Red” is contained in a letter which has just come to the hands of The DAILY WORKER. This letter is one of a series, one of which appeared in yesterday’s DAILY WORKER, written by labor spy, MacDonald, to Gustave Geiges, president of the American Federation of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers affiliated to the United Textile Work- ers of America. Would Discredit Budenz. The purpose of all these letters, two of which have already been pub- lished in The DAILY WORKER, is to “show up” Budenz, now organizing for the Full Fashioned Union in,In- dianapolis, as a “subversive radical,” and distract attention from MacDcn- ald’s union-smashing activities. In the following letter MacDomid attacks Budenz from another angle. Through Robert Dunn, a frequent contributor to Labor Age and the au- thor of “Company Unions” for which Budenz wrote an introduction a few months ago, the “engineer” attempts to show that Budenz is scarlet. The full letter follows: November 15, 1927. Mr. Gustave Geiges, president, American Federation of Full Fash- ioned Hosiery Wkrs.’ Union. 2530 N. Fourth St., Philadelphia, Pa. Dear Sir: Inasmuch as you may not be study- ing radical activities quite as closely as the officials of this organization, we believe it to be our duty to ad- vise you that should you care to ob- tain a copy of the “Daily Worker,” November 14, 1927, you will find an article on “International Labor De- fense”—conference held in New York last week, . According to The DAILY WORK- ER, before the “International De- fense” conference adjourned, they elected a new National Committee, and on this committee you will find the following individuals: 1, William Z. Foster. 2. Robert W. Dunn. 8. Albert Weisbord. 4. Max Bedacht. 5. Benjamin Gitlow. 6. 7. . Robert Minor. . Earl Browder, 8. James P. Cannon (Secy. Inter- national Labor Defense). 9. William F. Dunn. Mr. Robert W. Dunn, co-worker and close dssociate of Louis Francis Budenz, editor of the Labor Age, must be proud of the position he occupies in this particular organization so closely allied to the leading radicals in America, all of whom are members of the Central Executive Committee of the American Workers’ Communist Party! Considering the facts already sub- mitted, could it be possible that Bu- denz might have an ulterior motive in assisting your union in organizing the hosiery workers in the different plants? The American Workers (Communist) Party officially en- dorses the International Labor De- fense. In fact, a leading Communist, J. P. Cannon, is executive secretary of the International Labor Defense. A fine combination! May we take this occasion to in- form you (which we neglected to do in our communication of November 7) that we forwarded a copy (and it is our intention to adopt this same procedure with respect to all of our communications with you touching upon these subjects of common inter- est to the labor unions) of the com- munication submitted to you under date of November 7th to President Green of the American Federation of Labor, and President McMahon of the United Textile Workers of America. Very truly yours, (Signed) A. R. MacDONALD, Inc. President, P. S.—“If you play with fire, you must” .. . what was the od adage? MacDonald, hoping to scare Mr. Geiges, picked out certain member: of the International Labor Defens who are known to be Communists, He failed to mention other membexs of the board who might not hve alarmed the Fyll Fashioned Hosj ery head. Had he chosen to he might also have mentioned as members on the National Executive Committee of the I. L. D. such liberals as Upton Sinclair, Prof. Robert Morss Lovett, Clarence Darrow, Edward C. Went- worth, Alice Stone Blackwell, Rev. Robert Whittaker, Prof. H. W. L, Dana, Jessica Henderson, Rev. David R. Williams, Prof, Ellen Hayes of Wellesley and Andrew T, McNamara, But this would have ruined his argu- ment that the I. L. D. is 100 per cent “made in Moscow.” . Aids Green. William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor and Thomas F, MacMahon, president of the United Textile Workers of Amer- ica, who are referred to in the letter, have been receiving frequent com- munications from MacDonald in his efforts to assist them in their “war on radicals.” The letter of Nov. 7tn referred to above is the letter printed in The DAILY WORKER of Nov. 18, 1927, MacMahon has been in confer- ence with ,MacDonald in company with Ralph Easley, secretary of the National Civic Federation, as pointed out in yesterday’s DAILY WORKER. MacMahon certainly wants no “Reds” in his union, His record is clear on that matter, =~