The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 11, 1928, Page 6

Page Six THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1928 THE DAILY WORKER | | Published by the NATIONAL DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING ASS'N, Inc. | Daily, Except Sunday $3 First Street, New York, N. Y. Phone, Orchard 1680 RATES. y Mail (outside of New York): 50 six months SUBSCRIPTIO New York only): months Assistant nd-class mail at the t New York, N. ¥., under; y n West Frankfort, Illinois, comes the harrowing story moval from the main shaft of the Industrial Coal Com- | 's. mine, the charred and maimed bodies of twenty-two coal | miners, victims of a gas explosion that could have been prevented | under conditions formerly enjoyed by members of the United Mine | Workers of America. Formerly when gas was discovered accumulating in a mine the workers were called out by the union officials until the danger had passed. The operators, placing profits above human life, always fought against this orecaution as an economic waste. In the separate agreements negotiated between the Illinois Miners’ Union and the Illinois Coal Operators’ Association last | fall, one of the tacit concessions, along with worse working condi- tions generally, was the abolition of the right of men to refuse to work in gas-infested mines. | Thus the slaughter of the miners in West Frankfort must be | laid directly at the door of the reactionary officials of District No. 12 of the United Mine Workers of America, and also at the door of the John L. Lewis machine which sanctions such agreements. To the crime of trying to aid the operators wreck the union must now be added the crime of murder of the membership compelled to work under conditions that are a constant menace to life. The membership of the miners’ union can avenge the deaths of their fellow-workers only by waging an unrelenting fight to smash the treacherous Lewis machine and place the union in the i | OWE” By Jacob Burck Tetra Ethyd Kills By NATHAN HONIG. (Continued from Last Issue.) A grievance which sets every honest Standard Oil employe’s teeth grinding is the delegate system. the workers in each department are allowed each April to elect from among themselves a delegate, for the purpose of presenting their griev- ances to the company superintendents, The delegate is paid 3c an hour extra. One worker and one official are sup- posed to count the vo.es. The laborer picked is bribed (he is fired other- wise), while the actual counting goes on behind closed doors, done by offi- cials. In this way the workers have never had an honest delegate. If the men grumble about condi- tions or wages, the delegate goes to the superintendent, and returning, ex- plains to the men the many advan- tages of working for Standard Oil, and the huge operating expenses, and the matter is dropped. The delegate is usually a stool-pigeon to boot. Other stool-pigeons are employed to wa.ch the men outside the plant. If the delegate makes himself valuable to Standard Oil, rapid promotion fol- lows. This has occurred in many cases. After each election the dele- gates elected are given a dinner in Newark. Even these company stool- pigeons have cheir kick; they used to get a chicken dinner; now they get only fish. A Substitute Boss. One delegate, a Socialist, is an in- teresting specimen. He boasts how strong he is for the working-class, but when the foreman is away he acts ag foreman. This is a peculiar thing for a man whom the men have “chosen” their representative to do. Incident- ally there are quite a few Socialist delegates at the works, and the com- pany knows it. Are they fired for be- ~© SIRY AND LEFT WINGS “= e4 trusts them. % ; The inhuman speed-up is the cause militarist features of the Company responsibilities, starting with the aside a fighting battalion for the|of many acciden.s due to the danger- ccs hands of the membership so it can wage an effective struggle YOUTH PROBLEMS against the greed and avarice of the mine owners. | Union have their influence on the} lowly tasks. enemy to win. . ‘ eats 5 | By JOHN WILLIAMSON, th ous work. The laborers handle pipes Illusion of Life Beyond Death Aids Imperialist War. -Mongers (Continued from Last Issue.) young worker and since the legiti-| f) attempts should’ be made for/Table 12.—List of 90 unions, accord- | thru which acids flow, which in the } oe K | mate trade union movement ignores|Central Labor Councils, or if that ing to industry, who had speedup spill on the workers, causing Bourgeois scientists, desperately striving to live down the Apprenticeship today, outside of this of course has no|fails a group of local unions, to call no apprenticeship qualifi- | S°Vere burns. Rubber gloves and revolutionary past. now devote most of their time endeavoring to get as pases Woee te Bs bi counter-action. Beste alan a i riage = eationa in 1026, meee Ley anaes Shae ally *, ry 7g a y v conditions an ‘oblems 0: eae - 7 refute their own achievements. Closely following upon the heels of jokes —etthor sitiiod vail “anbuibd es Rnoxts and the Labor Moverrent Sarees Building Trades 2 |often have the men coughing and the disgraceful spectacle of the American Association for the Ad- pair men or to turn out foremen and Factory sports is given much at- By cfiata, wooeial wubb inmnitiode Metals & Machinery . . 5 | gasping. 2 j vancement of Science meeting in Tennessee and abjuring the dis- | supervisors. Goren Sey ne see. Hes tly 28 |e oe aca talon exesdttee to: deal | Desmepnctation, 2, 31 “Ethyl Is Back.” 3 . * ‘ . AI . aft large factory exists that does not} Mining, oil lumber 4 : : a cussion of organic evolution so as not to offend the ignorant| Altho the trades union craft struc-|) oe ote form of athletics This |With the youth problems, PERE Pe The most dreaded hazard is the | fundamentalist legislators who placed upon the statute books of ae is sr roi ona ats se eet subordinates the young worker to! h) create sport and social organi- binding e ‘ coy ae pac aed in the at that state an anti-evolution law, comes the dean of the faculty of a reac var Aa GEE, eee influence of the boss, zations which are under jurisdiction! Cithing : Ara ai Mie seein. ae i the Columbia School of Medicine, Dr. Darrach, who proclaims at] ses, altho even that is disappearing, | wan times he H, Sen to shies for )of local unions. Textiles .. 5 ated abou: two years ago when about ' a meeting in memory of officers and students of the university |as I have shown above. In some of roa ee NED oy AMR ae Youth and the Left Wing. Food, liquor & tobacco . 4 |.0 workmen died in horrible agonies who had died during the year that: . these where the apprenticeship quali- flste on the ae ye tk Of the To the organized Left Wing the aes on & stone .. ; ut oer Jersey plant where experi- a “ * ‘a Sats, ‘ ne - . oodworkin; i: _ ‘The continued influence of those departed from this life, and i Heguee ae et ey are a wee lange -nlante Shave aneen sa teRhoe sar yous ee ae — aeert, ine pea Ss ; ad ene pore tet uals te ethyl oe we Fone did ee of bat eeu egies? nee iis 3 on pi oe ee py ae Brae Sho: heaped powe: kobe. Ge Bene Hes cheek Gait ts che ealouey ian | Mancina te 3: | thie giotom fuel were Gligeea eee Les, Nas been strong enoug. 0 remove for me any dou! as to some ‘ . reg rie *, *, . | ~~ form of life after death. Where it is or in what form I eare not. I | around the union and thus get Labor’ spelt sone since pee Jee pa oe eee Mie. : oe secre toa uae are a - j ‘ ; ereater economic security for those or the organize ing to win iseellaneous trades . shortened, by slowly inhaling it in the i pe et they continue to exist and that we can be influenced Sho Hol cuperanic, y This situation must be countered| the young worker. Where an older| ‘Total gb cere Thus, a university professor, an alleged scientist, endeavors to pervert science to religious purposes. If biologic science has proved anything it is that there is no such thing as life after death. This is a reality that few have ever had the courage openly to proclaim even though they were convinced of the truth. The late Ernst Haeckel routed those pseudo-scientists of his day who indulged in long debates regarding the dividing line between life and death, while his contemporary August Weismann formu- lated the answer thus comprehensively: “The real proof of death exists when that organized substance which has hitherto given rise to the phenomenon of life forever ceases to originate that phenomenon.” The present campaign against science on the part of the pee- wee university professors and alleged scientists reflects only the period of the decline of world capitalism. . All theories of evolu- tion are now being vitiated and frequently denied through at- tempts to reconcile science and religion because further social evolution dooms the ruling class of today. The Left Wing Policy The Left Wing must have a posi- tive attitude towards this question. It is not sufficient to hide our head in the sand and try and ignore the problem. Where apprenticeship still is a problem the Left Wing must © the demand for equal rights thin the unions for apprentices with journeymen and also try to in- srease the wage scale which is based ” a graduated system yearly. In those trades where it is artificial the Left Wing must eliminate these rem- nants of the nineteenth century, pointing out that instead of bring- ing greater security to the union it will finally bring ruin, as these young workers who are excluded will be used by the bosses later for scabs. of the best methods of winning the youth for the trade union movement would be the establishment of a co- ordinated labor sports movement, or- ganized and controlled by the trades The Left Wing must begin a movement to coordinate all the ex- isting union sports and athletic or- ganizations into one centralized or- ganization with their own leagues, referees and umpires, and competition matches. this coocdination of all the union teams should be gathered in ell the other workers’ sport organizations ex- isting and thus lay the basis for a national labo rsports organization of large dimensions. Unionization of Young Workers. The central problem for the Left by the trade union movement. One| worker will hesitate because of fam- ily obligations or conservatism of age, the young worker who has acquirea none of these traits as yet, will form a fighting section of the Left Wing. What is necessary is for the inher- ent rebelliousness to be coupled with the ideas and knowledge of the con- scious Left-Winger, so that he wili know why and what he is rebellious for and not just allow this spirit to Total “go to seed” or be cultivated in other ‘ieee Along with | channels. Left Wing Must Take Lead. The task of initiating the drive for] Metals & Machinery . unionization of young workers be-| Paper, printing & book longs to the Left Wing. At the same] binding ...............- settee 3 time the Left Wing workers musz| Table 15.—Lists of Int. Unions, by in- win the confidence of these young workers by championing their de- Table 13—List of Int. Unions where apprenticeship regu la- tions are referred to loca! unions by industries Building Trades Clothing .. Textiles Glass, clay & stone Miscellaneous Mfg. Miscellaneous trades . Table 14.—List of Int. Unions, by in- dustry, requiring 5 yr. apprenticeship 2 dustry, requiring 2, 3, and 4 yr. apprenticeship Other scientists, notable among them industrial chemists employed by -orporations, denied this, and their opinions prevailed. Ethyl gasoline ig now in extensive use, and years must elapse before the truth of its effects on the public health can be establish- ed. Four months ago a man was. killed outright by the gas in the Bay- onne Standard Oil Works; another was critically ill for three months, All the workers are dizzy from it, even at-home. “It hur.s my brain,” a worker told the DAILY WORKER re- porter. Since the worker was killed four months ago, gas masks have been introduced in the ethyl works. He Can Always Work. The company’s physician is Dr. Fer- enczi. When a man is hurt, he must report to the safety man who usually | bape Tas tifict "aoe cheng doa mands—considering them on an equal 2yr. 3yr. dyr. A ; i But the “scientific” talk about life after death is far more | Sead pf ae enane Jie yas ee Gn ie lle Recaeeiedeapine sem tp ecuce bulldog Gadestt< 21248 beaded pi : Sirah ee ee ss . * * ¥ » te ere m104 ers is the unionizat z ‘ . Pat. «oe ant? 1 sinister even than the general perversion or denial of evolution.| the slogan of all-inclusive unioniza- : other problems .are | Pate in the union affairs, giving them) Paper, aoa aa 1 : : he sends the injured worker right back It is a part of the general drive of the imperialists who want to | tion. linked together in this central task. |#" sicclogice! weapon to; guide. ther ee sec nCAOES Vee ee 3 to work, unless the injury is so seri- : herd human cannon fodder to the slaughter house of another war. Vocational Training Facing the trade union movement is aed A Themeeholantendens oe Puce 2 2 one aee Libs ye cannot Liga up, i ri i i 4 % i |this great mass of eleven million ‘oday, when the whole lency 7 ° *. or a member has been amputated. In | oaniea helps to Keep the bade pap wii with their lot upon Amongst & pore ee Lae ieeles Saikers, eligible for membership—|of the officialdom of the A. F. L. is} Leather ...........++ t ri many cases the injured man is given e Y promising them, in place of decent conditions on earth, Rbk AS i] 1915 the A. F. [,|Wersing in basic industries—tuil of|to drive out the Left Wing and sell} Glass, clay & stone . : : a hasty examination, and then turned as Paul LaFargue so aptly put it, pay checks on the bank of |hobby. Un ee ite . * | fighting ability and courage—and yet|out the workers to the bosses, this} Woodworking ... over .o an orderly, in whose care he | heaven. ae iciGhe atk Ri omny Sate, not 1 per cent. are members of trades| Problem becomes of central import- big acest * . : is thereafter. x The facts of science serve the working class by exploding all] ;trument of the bosses to undermine b ae ae ee yes ane sia te onlin Saeat contains Miscellaneous, ‘Mia. ed ior he pebitg redag egy 4 uae i 2 Bs Bhar h : rey i = not been chained down to the pas ‘i i r need We: 9 reas 2 e ARGATY ideas of life after death by proving that this existence is the all-| ‘he unions, Today the A. F. of L. they have grown up in an age of|the youth in their program or else| Misecllaneous trades .. 1 1 |Oil chases him back as soon as pos- in-all, that the millions slaughtered in war and in industry are|'eadership is a booster. This is in struggle—they can either become|they will be ignoring and casting) ‘Total .........s+.0++ {1 18 14:|aible. “A nurse id sent ardund to the annihilated. utterly, that after death they don’t know that they ever lived, that there is nowhere in “the beyond” either reward or punishthent for anything they ever did while on earth. Once these facts are realized it will be much more difficult to hurl batallions of humanity to death in defense of Wall Street. The realization on the part of the masses that this life is the only one they will ever live,—that after the individual ceases to exist, the future holds nothing for him,—will make them more deter- mined to fight to get what they are entitled to while alive, in- stead of placing their hopes in a non-existent hereafter. Industrial Slump Throws Million More Out of Jobs By LELAND OLDS, fewer wage carners than were on fac- Factory employment in the United | tory payrolis in November 1914 and States-in November reached the low-|4% fewer than in November 1921, est level ever recorded for that month | both of which were accounted periods Since the U. S. department of labor |0f severe depression, started its record in 1914. Compared] The textile and tobacco industries with November 1926 the number of |alone are withstanding the downward factory workers has been redaced by|tendency. All other. industries are about 500,000 while 1,186,000 wage|more or less seriously affected. In earners who had jobs in American| the iron and steel products group em- factories in November 1923 are eithen| ployment is down 10.9% compared out of work today or have been forced|with a year ago and the wage total into more or less parasitieal occupa-|is down 15%. The vehicle group, in- tions, |eluding automobiles and railroad roll- Factory employment, according to|ing stock, is down 9.8% in employ- the department, fell 1.9% between| ment and 10.1% in. wages; metal pro- October and November reaching a/|ducts other than ivon and steel down level of 6% below November 1926. It|9.8% in employment and 11.1% in is now 13% under November 1923/ wages and miscellaneous industries, and 25% under November 1917, the| including agricultural implements and highest November on record. As a|electrical apparatus, 9% in employ- matter of fact the figures show 8%% ment and 10.2% in wages, line with the general class collabora- tion policies of the burocrats. The present system of vocational train- ing does not have for its purpose a thororgh training of the young worker entering industry, in the theory and practice of the trade and industry but rather is a makeshift methed of turning out a “20th cen- tury mechanic” who will be able to work for less than the union scale. Boss-Union Schools The present vocational schools where the unions are interested are run on a joint Boss-Union basis. The Left Wing. must fight against the present system of vocational train- ing, advocating in contrast the “Work: School” method. As preliminary demand the Left Wing should propagate amongst the unions for the adoption of the idea that all existing vocational - training sehoo's, where the union is interested, should be under the complete con- trol of the union while the young workers attending such schools for three or four hours per day must receive full trade union rates at these schools from the bosses. Youth and Company Unionism While Company Unionism was on the increase up to 1923 we see a slowing down taking place the last couple of years. Company Unionism “Jourishes best in plants having large scale production (which plants gen- erally employ youth). Company Unionism is thus becoming a pro- hlem affecting the youth. The social, We |fighters in the class struggle or form the backbone of the American fascisti. How To Go At It. What is necessary is to present to the trade union movement the “HOW” to go about this task. Just as we approach the problem of women or Negro as special problems requiring an approach and methods somewhat different than the average so we must also view the task of organizing the youth as requiring a special ap- Once the local unions have been conyinced and a movement is under way, new methods will evolve out of experience and struggle. As preliminary steps,.we.view the following as concrete organizational measures which are necessary: a) on every TU Organization Com- mittee there should be a sub-commit- tee for handling ways and means of reaching the youth. b) in entering a struggle to union- ay ize the workers, dealing with wages, hours, health and social conditions, should be incor- porated in the program, for the young workers involved. ¢) on this basis. these special de- mands should be printed in special literature which has a different ap- proach than to the adult. d) the trade unions should take into consideration the wages of the young workers and make the neces- sary allowances in relation to initi- e) the young trade unionists should sport, competitive and many times | be encoutaged to assume local union special demands * * hearis and free Workers,, the real danger that makes the way open to your unexpected-cadaverous tions,—consists of various tentacles brutally enforced and known, such as, inevitable condi- The Labor Press--Worker Talks to His Shopmates B. A. V. BRUSOLA, HAVE been accustomed to hand The DAILY WORKER to the workers I meet on the way accidentally and special organizational | notice many of them glad to read it, except a few who refuse and brand it “Bolshevik and un-American.” am sorry for the American or any other workers who reject it blindly, pecause their brains, bodies are for so long a time unfor-|coal miners, their families and chil- tunately dominated and erroneously} dren that is taking place in the min- converted to half-tools and half-com-| ing industries in the different states; [modities by the magical means of the!and yet the many threatened trade American capitalist politico-economic| unions on today’s strikes—all are the theories and institutions that are en- tirely and attractvely decorated with e phrases like equality, speech, liberty and land of promise, etc. These and yet*many other sim- ilar decorations skillfully given voices and fluctuating propagandas by the|happily without your exploiters; but parasitical, alluring agents extending |the exploiters can not in any manner bait to hook you conscious workers, under the Stars and Stripes, behind the iron bars and into the reverential electric chair of the Statue of Liberty. [low wages, long hours, bad conditions of work; anti-union drive; company unions; spy system; strike-breaking system; frame-up system with its many cunning branches; all kinds of anti-union injunctions. All these, be- sides the rests, are the technicai schemes of the American exploiters. To reveal the truth, read the case of Sacco and Vanzetti; the case of Grec- co and Carillo; the killing of many evidences of the workers’ positive ex- ecutions by the American capitalist class. * * * American workers. You can live without you to feed them. Workers, who live only by working for mas- ters! Are you still going to refuse reading The DAILY WORKER? It is the only American working class daily paper in the U. S.; it has been founded and brought to the light of the American atmosphere by the na- tive workers with the idea of unfold- ing the means of showing the working masses how they may be freed. worker’s house, and urges the man to return, promising that light work only will be given him. After a few days of lying av home, the worker is pes- tered constantly by a representative of the company calling on him, The Stock Graft. | diamonds and so on, A leader in the technique of keep- ing the men cowed and _ satisfied, Standard Oil was one of the first to adopt the scheme of selling Company stock to iis employees. Small indeed is the amount allotted to each buyer, but it has in the past been enough to keep the men from dangerous wage and strike talk. “You men are now partners in the Standard Oilfan in- crease in wages will make your s.ock worth less” is the old story told the men. It is losing its charm, as the men begin to see they have been fooled, The dividends from their few shares of stock amount to nothing compared to a decent wage. “You can afford to buy sock on your wages, that proves you are paid a decent sum,” they have been told. The Standard Oil issues a weekly bulletin to each worker on Friday, and a house-organ, the “Lamp” every three months. Nothing concern- ing the worker’s problems of living A ten-year employee gets a little gold button for the muscle he has worn out to swell Standard Oil pro- fits; after twenty years he gets a gold bu.ton with a little diamond (you almost have tc use a microscope to see it); thirty years’ faithful serv- ice brings him a button with two tiny