The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 28, 1927, Page 6

ntgpecoycnsirenmeencn \ THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 28, 1927 HE D : . er ‘ ie Published by the NATIONAL DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING ASS'N, Inc. Daily, Except Sunday $3 First Street, New York, N. Y. Cable Address: ue SUBSCRIPTION RATES By Mail (in New York only): By Mail (outside of $8.00 per year $4.50 six months $6.00 per year 0 six months i 2.50 three months. $2.00 three months. i em | Y. Phone, Orchard 1680 “‘Daiwork New York): Address and m. THE DAILY WORKER, 33 1 out checks to i Street, New York ROBERT MINOR WM. F. DUNNE t New York, N. ¥. under | | | 21 Editor ie Assistant Editor Entered as second-class mail at the post-office the act of March 3, 187 A New Stage of Revolt in India After every excess of frightfulness against the working class and oppressed peoples, the imperialist powers always repeat the litany, which even they can no longer believe, that the revolution is crushed, that capitalism is eternal and that never again will any | force rise to threaten its power. Even the crushing of the revo- | lutionary forces at Canton is hailed as evidence of the undisputed triumph of imperialism in spite of the fact that not even that \ ruthless bloodletting could assure even the temporary triumph of imperialism in China. As the Chinese revolution, recovering from its momentary | defeat, prepares to launch a mightier drive against the imperial- ists and their native lackeys, the power of British imperialism is assailed by the All-India nationalist congress, which adopts a reso- lution to call a general strike accompanied by mass demonstrations when the British Statutory commission sets foot on Indian soil. | This move is especially significant inasmuch as the nationalist congress of India has heretofore been dominated by petty bour- geois elements that comprised a cringing, conciliatory, waver- ing right wing. | The resolution for a general strike is proof of the profound mass pressure against British imperialism that reflects itself even | in such a body as the nationalist congress. A left wing, more re- | sponsive to the liberation movement, now dominates the congress | in India. It is noteworthy that at the identical time the capitalist | world is triumphantly screeching that the influence of the Soviet | Union was wiped out of the colonial and semi-colonial world be- | ‘ cause of the reign of white terror at Canton the India nationalist | congress sends a request to Moscow inviting Madame Sun Yat-Sen | corps to aid the Chinese revolutionists. | So powerful is the leftward swing of the Indian nationalists that Gandhi, former leader of the mystical, religious, non-co-op- eration movement agrees to abide by the general strike resolution. This fact is historic, indicating the close of an epic for India; the | present stand of Gandhi indicates the collapse of Gandhiism, the i futile attempt to apply a slave religion, christianity, toa situation demanding revolutionary action. fhese events in the colonial and semi-colonial countries elo- y testify to the fact that Lenin was correct when he ana- the important revolutionary role of the oppressed peoples in ism, the final stage of capitalism. i—--s period of imperia Sens ‘4 is evident from the actions of the Indian nationalist con- gvess that there is a deep-going ferment among the seething masses of India, the very backbone of the British empire. It is : imevitable that the world-wide movement against imperialism will ‘ continue until not only in China and India, but in every country 4 that groans under capitalist tyranny there will be realized that accumulation of revolutionary energy, that concentration of force and that continuity of resistance that will scourge the imperialist bandits from the face of the earth. A Warning Signal for Mexico Press dispatches tell us that the Mexican chamber of deputies has passed the first reading of a bill presented by President Calles amending Articles XIV and XV of the Mexican oil land regula- tions. These articles were the particular thorns in the flesh of the yankee imperialists—the mineral, oil and land thieves—as they substituted fifty-year concessions for the doubtful claims to ownership acquired previous to the year 1917 through bribery and corruption of other Mexican administrations. The Wall Street groups held such retroactive legislation confiscatory and waged a bitter fight against it. As a matter of fact even the fifty-year concessions were inadequate. The imperialists should | have been summarily ousted from that country. But even that fifty-year concessions compromise was not satisfactory to the im- perialists. The greedy and avaricious plunderers from the United States demanded that their thievery be legalized and their claims made permanent. EY yore anaes arene ee tn ee For a long time the state department at Washington indulged in the most odious and vicious provocations against Mexico. The stupid and arrogant Coolidge-Kellogg policy was carried to ex- tremes by Ambassador Sheffield and only succeeded in consolidat- ing all anti-imperialist elements in support of the Cailes gov- ernment. tt am hes Dwight W. Morrow, luminary of the House of Morgan, was dispatched to Mexico as ambassador because his fellow imperial- ists were convinced that the present situation is favorable to bringing Calles into line with the policy of the loan-mongers and also of the land and oil thieves through the wiles of diplomatic | intrigue, backed by the unlimited financial power of Wail Street. This proposal of the government of Mexico to amend the ob- jectionable articles of the oil laws is only the latest of many indi- £03, cations that the Morrow game is working. It is a warning signal a: for Mexico. It signalizes the attempt to weaken the government of Mexico by trying to incite it to apostacy to the revolution and ize 1917 constitution by bringing it into the imperialist sphere iu developing a situation where the Calles regime will no longer le ale to depend for its support upon the masses but must rely oy ty on the armed intervention of the United States f jrces. | By’ yielding to the oyertures of Morrow the Calles govern- | to visit them and also adopts a resolution to organize an ambulance Is t abandons the role of organizer and leader of an anti-impe- list Latin American bloc that history has imposed upon it and the first step on the inclined plane of reaction. The Mexican masses, battle scarred from fighting in the series of revolutions ‘and counter-revolutions that have convulsed that country, must be alert to detect the first signs of govern- mental wavering and by mighty mass upheavals must compel the _ government to change its course and fight against the Morrows instead of yielding tothem. Any other action only paves the road x which they will be led in the chains of the most bestial and ious imperialism ever known to mankind. pare Sie, nov! p noe By Fred Ellis Unemployment is worse than at anytime since 1913 as the “prosperous” 1927 comes to a close. » Expulsion Explained. Party expelled Trot- v? They were ex- pelled because they were the organ- izers of the whole action of the oppo- sition, because they set as their aim the destruction of all norma! rela- tions in the Party, because they wish- ed to create a new form of aristo- eracy in the Party. But are we Bol- evists who rooted out the oid aris- toeracy, going to establish a new form of aristocracy in our own Par- ty? We expelled Trotsky and Zin- oviev because we have one law in the Party for all members, equal rights for all Party members. If the oppo- sition wishes to remain in the Party, then it must subordinate itself com- pletely and unambiguously to the will of the Party, to its laws and to its directions. If the opposition is not prepared to do this, then it must go. We will not create new laws giving the opposition special privileges (ap- plause). The opposition must disarm completely, both organizationally and ideologically. It must give up its anti- Bolshevist opinions openly and hon- estly before the whole world, it must condemn its own mistakes which were crimes against the Party. It must in- © | Speech Made Before the Soviet Union Communist Party Executive stalin Answers Opposition form the Party of the whereabouts of all its groups so that the Party can destroy them absolutely. Either it does that, or it does not, in which case it must leave the Party. And if it should do neither, then we will throw it out. (Cries of “correct” and pro- tracted applause.) Summary Given. To sum up, the following can be said about the period since the XIV Party Congress: S Firstly, we have worked for peace with the surrounding states, despite great difficulties and despite the pro- vocative actions of the bourgeois “Great Powers.” Secondly, we have consolidated the fraternization of the workers of te Soviet Union with the workers of the imperialist and colonial countries, de- pite great hindrances and despite the flood of lies of the corrupt bourgeois press. Thirdly, we have increased the au- thority of the proletarian dictator- ship in the eyes of the millions of toil- ers in all parts of the world. 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. Fourthly, as a party we have assist- ed the Comintern and its sections to consolidate their influence in all parts of the world. Fifthly, we have done everything possible that one land could do to de- velop and bring about the proletarian world revolution, Sixthly, we have developed our so- cialist industry, established a record tempo in its development and consoli- dated its hegemony over the whole of our national economic system. Seventhly, we have established a firm connection between our socialist industry and peasant agriculture. Eighthly, we have consolidated the alliance of the working class with the middle-peasants supported by the poor peasants. Ninthly, we have consolidated the dictatorship of the proletariat in our country, despite hostile internationa! encirclement and demonstrated to the workers of all countries that the pro- letariat is not only able to destroy capitalism but also to build up so- cialism. From all this there is only one log- ieal conclusion, and that is that we are on the right path, that the policy of our Party is correct. And from this a further conclusion results, and that is that along this path we shall inevitably arrive at the victory of socialism in our country and in all other countries. That of course does not mean that we shall encounter no difficulties, but we are not afraid of them, for we are Bol- sheviks stceled in the fires of the re- volution. We shall overcome these difficulties just as we have overcome ull our difficulties inthe past. For- ward for the victory of Communism in our country and in the whole world! (Storms of protracted applause. Ova- tions of the whole Party congress for Comrade Stalin.) A SUMMARY | What the Trotskyist Opposition in the Communist Party of the | Soviet Union Say About Themselves In the general extensive material on the work of the Moscow Party or-| ganization, exhibited at the exh on | of the Moscow Party Conference, this | summary occupies a very modest po- sition, but it is worth one’s while to linger at. Tt consists of 20 items showing! what Zinoviev and Kamenevy said] sgainst Trotsky, their present leader. | The summary so interesting that | we cannot refrain from presenting it in full. 1. Any factional struggle within the Party becomes a struggle for power. (Zinoviev’s speech at a meet- ing of active members of the Lenin- zrad Communist Party organization, December 1923). 2. Trotsky gives expression in our Party te everything that is not strict- jy Bolshevik. (Zmoviev, “Bolshevism versus Trotskyism,” Nov. 1924). 3. Trotskyism served in no other capacity but as a Menshevik agency. (Kameney.) 4. Trotskyism always charmed the intellectuals within and around the Party. (Kamenev, “Leninism versus yism.”) 5. A bad nut will not become good y being lightly gilded. 6. To substitute Leniniem for Trotskyism—such is the task which Trots! has undertaken. (Zinoviev, “Bolshevism versus Trotskyism.”) 7. We must see to it that Trotsky should abandon once and for all the idea of “saving” our Party, we must stop organizing regular “crises.” 8. All possible elements may ac- cept Trotsky as their own but not the Communist elements. (Kamenev, peech at the XIII Moscow Party Con- ference, 1925.) 9. We old Party members have | known Trotsky’s path for 20 years; it leads to the downfall of the revolu- tion. (Kamenevy, speech at the V Con- ‘erence of the Krassno Pressnya di: trict, Moscow, December 1924.) 10. It would be a crime against the Party not to be firm on the ques- tion of factions. (Kamenev, speech a a meeting of active Party. members of Moscow, December 1923.) \ wiseacres. 12. It is sometimes necessary to amputate affected parts of the body fo save the whole organism. (Kam- enev, concluding remarks at general meeting of the Zamoskvoretsky dis- trict, Moscow, Dec. 1923.) 13. Our Central Committee is a residue of the Party after 25 years of its existence. (Zinoviev, speech at meeting of nuclei executives in Len- ingrad, December 1923.) 14. We cannot stroke peopie on the head for making big mistakes. (Zin- oviev, concluding remarks at V1 Plen- um of the Executive Committee of the Communist International.) 15. We must call to order the dis- organizers who take advantage of the discussion in order to weaken and de- moralize our Party. (Kamenev, speech at a conference of the Kras- snaya Pressnya district, Moscow, Jan. 1924.) 16. A hundre? Chamberlains can- not do as much hurm as three of “our” (Zinoviev, “On the Neces- sity of Three Gugrantees,” 1925.) 17. This is not such criticism which could be useful to the Party. 18. You must await the congress in a disciplined manner as hefits Bol- sheviks and not run to the nuclei in order to undermine their confidence in the Central Committee. ° (Zinoviev, speech at a meeting of Moscow active Party members, Dec. 1923.) 19. The task of the Bolshevization is the complete liqnidation of Trot- skyism as a tendency within the Party. (Zinoviev, “Theses on the Bol- shevization of the Comintern Parties,” Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Communist International, 1925.) 20. We must not forget the de- cisions of the Tenth Congress. (Kam~- enev, “What May and What May Not Be Done,” Dec. 1923.) Zinoviev and Kamenev spoke well and did not write so badly, in their ime. SCHOOL FRATERNITY SUES. The recent decision of the New York City Board of Education, which »vohibits high school students from belonging to secret societies, will be 11. Let us swear to combat merci- lessly those who will attempt to un- dermine the unity of the Party. (Zin- oviev, “The New Lenin Enrollment and the New Chapter in the History of our Party,” 1924.) = tested in court when the Alpha Phi Pi, a national high school fraternity beings mandamus proceedings against this ruling. This was decided at a national convention of the latter or- ganization. ‘The Unholy Trinity in Traction ARTICLE IX. By ROBERT MITCHELL. The Interborough application for an injunction, one of the most unique documents in labor history, contains within its printed pages the record of all that has become vicious and en- slaving in the capitalist system of exploitation. The concluding summary of this discussion may perhaps best be de- voted to a picture from another angle of the whole scheme set up by the traction masters, the unholy trinity in traction. Non-Union Job. There are approximately 350 pages of sworn testimony in the printed appli- cation. Needless to say the printing itself was not done by a union shop. The traction masters have their “own” printing plants in which scab printers are forced to toil at wages no higher than those received by the other traction slaves. The several hundred affidavits which are contained are each sworn to before a separate notary public. The purpose of having the testimony recorded by these seeres of different notaries seems to be to avoid any pos- sible charge of collusion, The usual charge by a notary for witnessing an aifidavit is $5.00. History False. About one quarter of the document is taken up with a history of the ef- forts to unionize the Interborough, going back to 1905. Fér the most part this “history” is completely faise jor distarted. Yet the task of gather- ing material in its preparation must have cost many hundreds of dollars. Affidavits of Spies. Approximately the last half of the volume is devoted to the affidavits of which over one hundred are from company spies, company union dele- gates, “dollar-a-day-men,” spotters, ete, What are the main points of this tremendous effort? The document proves first of all that the company union of the Inter- borough, organized in 1916, to ward off the legitimate union of the work- ers, is an instrument intended and regularly used as the company’s most effective tool against the workers’ power. Evidence of this fact is abundantly found in the numerous affidavits of the activities of the company union delogates, the part Injunction, Yellow Dog Contract, Company Union they have played and the control they have exercised. It has been possible here to quote only a small portion of this evidence, but the testimony of such company henchmen as “Danny” Hol- land, Phil. Welch, Frank Hislop, Dan Readyoff, Thomas D. White, Abra- ham H. Getskin, Robert Spitzer, Man- uel Gomez, Samuel Rothman, Louis J. Linsky, and various others including the main gang in charge of the com- pany union, “Paddy” Connolly, Mangin, Grosso, La Salla and others—-the evidence of their sworn activities show only too clearly how false is the Interborough claim that the company union is an organization working for the benefit of the men. Spy System, Basis of Co. Union. The second main point revealed in the Interborough document is that the company union, born as it was under misrepresentation and violence, owes its existence to the spy system of which it is as a matter of fact an extension and outgrowth. The com- pany union has provided the frame- work within which the spy system has been able to develop and flourish to a record growth. The Strike Weapon, All Powerful. A whole method and tactic might be elaborated for fighting this reptile growth which might or might not work in practice. The traction work- ers have already learned, _ however, that the most powerful weapon at their command is the strike. This is |the tool which unquestionably they will have to employ as a final move. The history of company unions has shown that the only way to destroy them is to operate from within and “take them over” in the interests of the workers, or to destroy them from without by means of a strike. The first method is almost impossible in ease of the I. R. T. company union due to the intrenched spy system. The method of a strike will no doubt, be found the only available one. Coneretely this means, first to or- ganize as many as possible of the workers, but more important than this is the task of carrying on a struggle for a proper fighting policy, for strike preparations and for militant and hon- est leadership without which the trac- tion workers cannot now succeed. But in the end the movement of 40,000 exploited workers cannot be held. back and inevitably must come out victor- ious. a (The End) The Unytelding Kroger Spirit By WALT CARMON. B. H. Kroger was one of my em- ployers, From a small capital of $750 “by unyielding spirit,” the papers re- port, he has developed a business of $160,000,000 a year from 3,600 stores thruout the country. I worked in one of these stores in Detroit. I helped to make this fabulous yearly income for Mr. Kroger. I can swear to the truth of his own story in the press: H. B. Kroger’s success that has brought him millions was due entirely to his “unyielding spirit.” Because I “was raised in a grocery store” I got the job. I needed it. Henry Ford laid us off for some weeks too many that winter. For two weeks I was assistant manager at a salary of $25 a week. I learned again how many pounds of potatoes were in a peck. I learned the proper way to weigh sugar to assure no loss for Mr. Kroger. I listened to the manager. I learned a lot more by watching him do some things he did not tell me to do, In a few weeks I was the man- ager of a small Kroger Grocery Store that did $750 worth of business a week. Strange figure it seems now af- ter reading of Mr. Kroger’s success. That was the initial investment that |grew to a business bringing $160,- 000,000 a year from 3,600 stores. Kept Her Busy. I was the manager. I opened the doors at seven each morning and I closed them carefully against theft each evening at six. I made out the daily orders to the central office. I swept and mopped the floors. I open- ed cases and put the goods on the shelves in neat row after row. I filled bags of potatoes in pecks and half- pecks—and sometimes just a wee bit less. I jealously guarded each grain of sugar. I carefully watched the girl who was only a clerk in my store (I was the manager) at $15 a week and I kept her busy. Extra Work One Night. Every day the district manager came to the store. He was a dumpy, important sort of person. He per- sonified the “unyielding spirit” of Mr. Kroger who developed a business of $16,000,000 yearly in 3,600 stores thruout the country. The drivers who delivered goods from the warehouse vere no respectors of his person. “Mr, Kroger” they called after him in de- rision. He was not their district man- ager. He was my manager. He counselled a little more water to freshen the vegetables. He suggested I wash the prunes that got mouldy. “Oh, they’re alright. It’s this damnably damp weather we’re having.” He appeared in the store and watched me wait on the customers while I rushed around the counters to give “Kroger Serv- iee” to impatient women. He had the keys to the tape in the cash register which we could not open to read the totals. Each month he came to take stock of an evening for which we did not get paid and the total of which we also were not told. He brought word frem the office that the stock- taking “checked”—or he warned to be a bit more careful. Work the.Wife. The business grew to $900 a week. We sold more Kroger products. We made more steps each day. Some- times we did not close until seven. Saturdays the day began at seven and ended that evening at ten. The store had to be cleaned and the win- dow dressed and it was eleven before we dragged our weary bones to de- served rest. The district manager was not without appreciation. If the busi- ness went to a thousand a week we could have another clerk. “If your wife would like to earn $3 for help- ing out on Saturday. . .” Well, two could not live comfortably on a man- ager’s salary. The extra money would come handy. There was a little “graft.” Drivers from the warehouse would sell an oc- casional bag or box of groceries that they found accidentally superfluous in their wagon. But this graft went to the credit of the business, the total of which we were never certain was on the right side of the ledger. Your | job depended on the fact the store was “paying.” Every manager of the 3,600 stores thruout the country that were bringing in $16,000,000 a year was aware that his store had to pay. The spirit of Mr. Kroger was abso- lutely unyielding. The district man- ager had the spirit. a An Unyielding Spirit! I ate my lunch in the back rodm of the store between customers, Strange what thoughts will come tc a Kroger store manager: If the busi- ness grows to a thousand a week, we'll get another clerk. The district manager said there might be a raise in it. “Of course,” he counselled, “you’ve only been with us for a few months.” Saturday sure is hell. Six- teen hours of steady walking, reach- ing, stooping, listening to short tem- pers of a thousand customers. Your legs hurt, your arms are tired and your mind is a blank. Thank Christ tomorrow is Sunday. Strange what thoughts will come to a store man- ager’s mind... when he’s not too tired to think. : “With capital of less than $750,” the papers report, “B. H. Kroger started a business that has grown to a chain of more than 3,400 stores doing a business of more than $160,- Sane & Sneemapeanmeenst “Se ee 000,000 a year. The basis of his suc- - cess, revealed Mr. Kroger in his own account, was an unyielding spirit ” An unyielding spirit . . of course, it was! 3,600 store managers and at least 10,000 clerks will swear to that.