The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 18, 1928, Page 2

ae Se Se THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1928 Unions, a Mighty Force in Soviet Russia, New Rank and File Report Shows DELEGATES LAUD RISING TIDE OF , WORKER FREEDOM Emphasize War Danger in Europe (Continued from Page One) in government, industry and in every day life by the workers of the Soviet Union than by the workers in America, Workers In America and in thre: a ae ers’ orga ened with ex government by i brutalities, s decisions i: unions to a pr place, the del to discover t public “the tr: force. . .They plans for new ind that funds be set safety. Bac the Commissariat of Health, the Com missariat of Labor and the who ole power of the et government. Again we learn: no lock- outs, police clubbi le court or injunctions a t+ the worker «Workers are not blacklisted for striking, but the management or trade union officials are disciplined. . .A shakeup in management generally fol- lows in plants where strikes have occurred.” Workers All-Powerful. Summing up this phase of thei report we find the conclusi “Throughout Russia, in all industries and cities visited, we felt the strength and the power of the workers. In the factories, trade unions, clubs, and schools we found the workers advance. ing toward a happier and richer work- ers’ state. Organized labor is build- ing Russia and holds the key to the future.” No less were the delegates surprised fat the evidence of the part ed by the workers in their trade unions, of the democracy within these unions and more than these of the large pro- portion of the union members who were engaged in executive and admin- istrative activities in these organiza- tions. Tn one factory, the Amo Automobile Works, the delegates were astonished to discover that “95 per cent of the members attended the 46 meetings held during the year. . .one quarter of all union members participated in executive and administrative activity. an ineredible figure judged by Amer. iean union standards. . .” American workers will no doubt be interested to hear that “there are no high paid labor officials in the Sov iet Union. In fact none of them, even Tomsky, makes more than 225 rouble (about $112) per month. All of then from top to bottom, seemed to us t¢ be highly energetic and devotec— real leaders of labor in close touch at all times with the rank and file of the union. . .” Trade Union Democracy. “Here is democracy indeed!” ex- claim the delegates. The democracy of work, assignin bs to every work- er, organizing activity that reaches the sweeper of floors and demands that the red director himself, manager of the works, function also as a union- ist. It is democracy that gives short shrift to the bureaucrat, that pushes aside the self-seeker. It is an effec- tive democracy, a mighty ted on all s and demand r health and unions ar sensitive to ~vish- | the f TRACTION ae BATTLE DATLY AGAINST GREAT ODDS The life of nearly 40,000 Greater New York traction workers is a daily struggle under the most difficult and nerve racking conditions. Working for the | most part underground, always by dim artificial lighi, constantly under the strain of having to maintain schedule in spite of the recurring hold-ups in transit, | always under the drive of foremen, inspectors, company spies and what not, these workers toil from nine to twelve hours daily, fifty to eighty-four hours per week. There are no vacations. Most of them labor se ven days a week, 365 days a year, no holidays and no rest days. Pay is lower than on any similar railroad in the country. Always there is the fearful grind of the surging crowds which make the traction workers’ existence almost a hell on earth. Pictures above show crowds about to enter subways for the underground mill. The traction workers are unorganized. A company union on both the I. R. T. and the B.-M. T. stifles all freedom. On Jan. 23rd a hearing is to take place for the purpose of permanently imposing an n injune on over their heads. Only a strike can free these workers. The following letter was received »y The DAILY WORKER from the strike committee of Local 5 of the Joint Board of the Cap and Millinery Workers Union of Chicago in refer- ence to a news item, printed in the issue of January 10; iS “Editor, DAILY WORKER: “At a meeting of the strike com- mittee of Local 5, Cloth Hat, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union, held January 12, our attention was drawn tc a news item in your paper of January 10 concerning our present lockout strike. “You quote Brother Zaritsky as speaking as follows at the conference with the manufacturers: ployers wanted piece work, why didn’t they arbitrate the question?’ And you say that he justified the bosses in the lockout. The “WORKER” Replies. “Our commitiee, which was pre- sent at the conference wishes, there- fore, to inform you of the incorrect- ness of the above quotation. We be- lieve your paper was misinformed.” Editor’s note:—A perusal of the news item in question shows that the strike committee is in error when it states that The DAILY WORKER }quoted a statement made by Zaritsky at a conference. The news item reads: “Max Zaritsky publicly said, “Worker” Draws Criticism and Prints Its Answer ‘If the em-| ‘If the employers wanted piece work why didn’t they arbitrate the ques- tion?’ That this statement was made by Zaritsky to reporters when he was interviewed after the conference with the bosses, is the well founded infor- mation of The DAILY WORKER. The same was said in a spirit friendly to Zaritsky in the January 10 issue of the Daily News Record. Lockout Justified. Furthermore, Zaritsky’s justifica- tion of the lockout of the Chicago} capmakers is shown by the manner | in which Zaritsky openly advocated | piece work at a recent membership} | meeting of the New York Capmakers |Union in Beethoven Hall. Zaritsky at another time proposed the instal- lation of the piece work system to the executive board of the Chicago Local 5. The day after the unani- mous refusal of the executive board | * of Local 5 to consider this proposal, | Percy Ginsberg, formerly a union mr ficial and now manager of the cap bosses association, presented the piece work demand of the bosses which led to the lockout. Most important of all, however, Zaritsky knowingly made the disput- ed statement to the press in spite of the fact that the strike committee of Local 5 had been carrying on a bitter struggle aganst this demand since December 1. Expose Nosovitsky and Horthy Ambassador (Continued from Page One) offices in New York, and shows on the face of it that the Hungarian lega- tion had promised to pay $100,000 for | the services of the spy, Nosovitsky, who no: only worked under the direc- | tion of the Kron agency but was also} in direct touch with the Hungarian embassy Horthy Spy System. The Hungarian daily, the Ej in its issue of today will point out} that 2 short time ago Henenyi, the Hungarian William J. Burns, who heads the semi-official s: agency | maintained by Horthy, sted that} the white terror maintained an elab- | orat oy system in every country in the world and particularly praised the system at work in the United States. | It has long been known that the Kron agency was acting in behalf of | Hungarian government even | es of every element of the rank and | against persons in the United States. file, because the newest or most un- skilled union member ev-ry pos- sible opportunity to bring his influ ence to bear on union policy a: tactics.” Other sections of the report deal with the cooperative organizations in| the Soviet. Union, Health and Safety, Workers’ Education, International Re-| lations, the Housing Campaign and | the Basic Industries. Free Rent. The section on housing should be New York City worke A sentence or two may be quoted: “In contrast to the American worker who must Spend a fourth to a third of his in- come on rent, the Russian worker in| most major industrial districts pay nothing for rent, heat, light or gas. Elsewhere rents are based on 5 to 10 per cent of the workers’ wages.” Unemployment insurance, vacations with pay, amusement and recreation provisions, medical attention, educa-| tional activities, sports and numerous other provisions for the enrichment of the workers’ life comprise prominent sections of the report. tions emphasized that “Russia is the only country in the world where the government considers it. . essential to account for its actions to the work- | ers,” for its relations with other countries. “We fcund the desire for world solidarity of labor very strong among the Russian workers.” The report emphasizes, however, the de- termination of the Russian proletariat to resist to the end any aggression on the part of imperialist powers. War Danger. “Tt is difficult for American work- ers, still in local problema. | ternational Publishers, New York. meticacmenrre Ret tO enero mo = 3 | publis | This agency works hand in hand with the white guard paper. ian Nepszava, of New York, which 2s most malevolent lies in de- |fense of the white terror. The pr ist the Nepszava by the Typo- | graphical Union. Many More Documents the Hungar-} Kron agency was even used to | ect strikebreakers during a strike | In addition to the Kron letter to! | Nosovitsky there are a large number | of other documents, some of a most particularly instructive, especially to|fantastie nature, showing how the, |forgery mill tried to involve workers’ Fox Starts Tour For the Daily Worker Sam Fox has left New Yorl: on a tour of the New Jersey cities--New- lark, Elizabeth, New Brunswick, | Plainfield. Stelton, Passaic and Pat- |terson in the interests of The DAILY | | WORKER. All members of the Work- | ers (Communist) Party are asked to jgive him the fullest cooperation. | Soldiers Seize Plane PRAGUE, Jan. 17.—-Mistreatment jby their officers is said to have driven two Czecho-Slovak aviation | students to seize an old airplane and attempt an escape to the Soviet | Union. The men are reported to have overpowered their officers and locked feos in a small room while they | secured the plane. Just Off the Press To Supervise Murders Maj. Gen. Johr. A. Lejeune, com- mandant of the U. S. marine corp$, who has left for Nicaragua, to “look over the Seas, Boe va ‘fn FORCE LATINS TO YIELD ELECTIONS: (Continued prom Page One) entire network of American and re- actionary Nicardguan officials. Attacked In Chamber. The bill providing for the Ameri-+ ean dictatorship met a momentary -| setback last week when the opposition in the Chamber of Deputies attacked it on the grounds that foreigners can- not hold office in Nicaragua. A sub- stitute measure was then drawn up by -the Opposition and reported to aj Committee. The Chamber the report. The Opposition is de- manding that ‘the power to make electoral arrangements be delegated to the Chamber instead of the Amer- ican adminisirator. Unconfirmed reports state that the Opposition contains groups who are said to “have had enough” of the Diaz regime. * * Kill, Wound Nationalists. Lieutenant ‘Mendez, a Nationalist commander, was killed and a private in the National forces badly wounded in a recent skirmish with a marine patrol, The arrival of re-enforcements has emboldened the marine officers who are again sending the men out to skirmish with the Liberal troops. Further American re-enforcements are expected within the next few days. accepted | Hocking Valley GLOUCESTER, Ohio, Jan. 17.— Leave it to the coal operators—they know what is good for them. They | know what to offer and when to offer jit. They know the situation of the union, the attitude of the officialdom, and believe—or believed—that all they had to do was make an offer, after the men have been 10 months on strike, and the men would accept Well, the men turned down the proposition—all except the stool- | pigeons, some of whom, although not jopenly supporting the proposition, | nevertheless sponsor a “modification” of the scale. The “Association.” What do the Hocking Valley coal operators offer? We quote the fol- lowing: | “It is hereby proposed that an as- | sociation of the miners and operators }of the Hocking and Sunday Creek | Valleys and the Crooksville district jof Ohio be formed for their mutual | benefit and protection. That the name lof the association shall be Hocking |Mutual Minirtg Association. . .That all coal operators and coal miners of the Hocking and Sunday Creek Val- leys and the Crooksville district are eligible for membership in this asso- ciation; that the entrance fee for coal miner members of the association shall be fifty cents each and for the coal operator members the entrance fee shall be a sum equal to the combined | amount of his employes’ membership entrance fee. . .” Combined Board. A board consisting of four miners and of four operators shall be elected. “A ballot of the board shall con- sist of a unit vote for the operator | members and a unit vote for the miner members. . .” In case of a deadlock, the eight members shall “ask the judge of the |district court of the United State= for the southern district of Ohio Eastern Division to appoint a master, who shall be entirely disinterested. . - Rules to govern the conduct of the hearing shall be made by the master and his decisions upon the point in controversy shall be final and bind- ing upon all parties. . .” “All employes seeking employment |at mines operated by operator mem- bers of this association shall, within thirty days, for the time of their employment, become members of this | association by the payment of the Miners Will Not Agree to Company Union entrance fee. . .There shall be no other association of operators or labor unions recognized in the Hocking and Sunday Creek Valleys and Crooks- ville district and this association shall not affiliate itself with any other or- ganization. . .” The following plan is to be adopted for determining the wage scale: Wage Cut. “Both miner and operator members of this association recognizing that our past system of scale making is out of date, and realizing that our markets have been taken by other dis- tricts hereby pledge ourselves to the adoption of the following basis for arriving at future wage scales. . . in order that the mines therein may be operated continuously and without strikes, in order that we may at all times, be in position to attain otr fair share of the markets which were for- merly served by these districts. . . “Rach item of the basic wage scale hereinbelow set forth shall be in- creased or decreased by the same per- centage that the average selling price for the district exceeds or falls below $2 per ton, and this new rate of wages which is promulgated shall become effective and paid for the next period of three months, . .” Then follows the scale, with wages for inside day labor ranging from $3 to $5, outside labor from $2.75 to $5.25, pick mining $0.85 per ton, etc. This. proposal is an open attempt to destroy the union, and to organize the men into a company union. The men would have to sever their connec- tion with the United Mine Workers of America, and join the “association.’ The miner members and the operator members would vote as a unit—which would mean either surrender of the miners, or submission to a “master,” who would establish the rules and whose decisions would be final and binding. No strikes would be toler- ated, hence the miners would be ham- strung. The scale would be “competi- tive,” which means that every three months the board would meet, com- pare prices with those in the non- union fields, and regulate wages ac- cordingly. What influence would the board have on the non-union fields? The influence of the operators, who would reduce the scale in West Virginia and Tennessee, and then demand a “com- petitive” scale to meet that. A vicious circle, with nothing at the bottom. *|form the American workers of what The section on International Rela-! organizations in the United States, which will be published in the near future. to realize how real the war danger jis for Russia and for all Europe.” | but the Russian workers, the report | states, “know that the power of la- bor in all lands, and particularly in| Rritain and America, can prevent) war.” The report concludes with the statement that members of the dele- gation will make every effort to “in- we have found here in trede union achievement and we shall strive to establish real international solidar- | ity of labor to include the American and Russian and all other organized workers. Members of the rank and file dele- gation include Wm. Watkins, chair- man and member of the Switchmen’s Union of North America, Peter Jen- sen, a member of the Machinists’ Union, FP. Cush, of the Steel Work- ers, Romese of the Mine Workers and some fifieen others, The booklet is published by the In- of the First American Rank and File Labor Delegation to Soviet Russia Price 25c. Wire your orders for Lenin Memorial Meetings. WORKERS LIBRARY PUB- LISHERS, 89 East 125 St. NEW YORK. » Injunctions. 2. Company Unions, . Unemployment. 4, Persecution of the 5. War. Join the Workers (Communist) (Communist) Party 43 1. 125th St, N, ¥, C.) ADDRESS OCCUPATION If you are on strike or unem WITHOUT stamps until employed. month's dues.) Application for Membership in Workers pay initiation fee please check this box AS UNEMPLOYED AND STRIKERS ADMITTED INITIATION and receive dues exempt (Enclosed find $1.00 for initiation fee and one | Lenin-Ruthenberg Drive — From Lenin Memorial Day to Ruthenberg Memorial Day JOIN IN A REAL FIGHT AGAINST 1, Organization of the unorganized. 2. Miners’ Relief. 3. Recognition and Defense of the Soviet Union. 4. A Labor Party. A Workers’ and Farmers’ Govern- Foreign Born. ment, Fo JOIN A FIGHTING PARTY! Party of America (Fill out this blank and mail to Workers Party, FILL OUT THE SUB BLANK BELOW AND MAIL TO DAILY WORKER, 33 FIRST ST., NBW YORK. na aldigrehimpetiyetee itd 9h i eae 4 py NOMG i. Hive ses oc ciherby ha sets Ss dnbe chawees Address ....escceccdscsvcesecesscesesees City and State .....c.eccccseseees ployed” and ‘cannot GET YOUR SHOPMATES TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY WORKER! Read a Fighting Paper Subscribe to The Daily Worker Rates outside New York * $6.00 a year, 3.50 for 6 2,00 for 3 months On Sale on All New York Newsstands, 1 FOR In New York months,’ $8.00 per year ‘CHICAGO LABOR \ _ FEDERATION HITS INJUNCTION USE Need for Labor Party Is Pointed Out CHICAGO, Jan. 17. — The vital necessity of labor unions uniting to | defea: anti-labor injunctions by mass jviolation and by independent politi- cal actions was emphasized by many delegates speaking from the floor at the last meeting of the Chicago Fed- eration of Labor. The discussion oc- |eurred on a request by the capmakers junion to support its efforts in calling ‘a city wide conference of all labor or- ganizations to consider ways and }means to effectively combat the in, junction menace. Lockout Declared. Delegates J. B. Salzberg, represen- tavive of the Joint Board of the cap makers organzation, in bringing the request before the Federation briefly reviewed their conflict with the em- ployers. He stressed the fact that al- though an agreement had been obtain- ed, not to expire until 1929, the em- ployers had declared the lockout and secured an injunction, from the no- jtorious injunction judge Dennis E. Sullivan, restraining the union from any activities whatever, picke.ing or talking to scabs. He related the de- termination of the capmakers to fight and reported their plans to call a con- ference of labor organizations of the city. Increasing Menace. Delegate Arne Swabeck, represent- ing Painters Local 194, in speaking on the need of support to the cap- makers pointed to the increasing men- ace of anti-labor injunctions, citing the U. S. Supreme Court decision in the Bedford stone cut case, the in- junctions issued against the striking miners in Pennsylvania and now this last example in Chicago, all being dis- tinct efforts to smash the trade union movement. He reminded the delegates of the fact that this example happen- ed in Chicago despite the injunction limitation law which is supposed to be in operation and asserted that the past experiences of attempting to replace one judge with anocher from the old bosses parties had brought no better results. Delegate Swabeck further pointed to the action of the Chicago labor movement in defeating the Lan- dis award by a mass demonstration of more than 150,000 as a monument- al achievement and one worthy of be- ing followed by the labor movement now bringing out the masses of work- ers on ‘the picket line completely dis- regarding the injunction, and take the action necessary to smash this menace, Action Demanded. While some very unsuccessful ef- » |forts were made, following this speech, |to turn the tables the other way and launch an attack upon the militants, other delegates spoke; demanding real accion. Harry Winicke, representing the retail clerks, union, himself just out of prison after having served a 80 day term for violation of an in- junction, stated emphatically: “The only way to defeat the injunction is to violate it.” He added that he had just served one term and was willing to go again, but the labor movement must unite to stop the menace. Wear a Lenin Button Every militant worker, every Com- munist, should get his fellow-worker to wear this button! ' The price is: up to 25—10c per button. Over 25—T7c per button, Party organizations should order thru their district organizers. Other working class organizations order from the National Office, Workers Party, 43 East 125th St., New York City. Safe, 5 RS The button represents a beautiful picture of Lenin surrounded by a lively group of children. Around the whole scene are the words: - “Organ- ize the Children.” : Every workers’ child should wear this button and every working class parent should get this button for his children, These children’s buttons may be ordered from the Young Pioneers of America, 43 East 125th St., New York City. The prices are: Up to ten, 10c per button; orders of from 10 to 100, Te per button; orders of over 100, bc per button, SSE