The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 11, 1928, Page 1

a res — THE DAILY WORKER FIGHTS: FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNORGANIZED FOR THE 40-HOUR WEEK FOR A LABOR PARTY Vol. V. No. 35. PUPILS S THE SCRIPTION RATES: Im New York, PENDED FOR DISTRIBUTING SCHOOL LEAFLETS Three Children Had Been Arrested Wednesday; Principal Orders Ouster Young Pioneers Denounce Action; Pledge Fight for Reinstatement The three Pioneers who were arrested while distributing leaflets before Public School 109, Brownsville, Wednesday, were indefinitely suspended. from the school when detectives called on the principal yesterday. The leaflets issued by the Young Pioneers of America informed the childyen, of a protest meeting held by their par- ents last Saturday and called them to a mass meeting to organize to fight against the miserable conditions in the school. Police took Sam Kess- ler, 15, Joe Grossman, 14, and George Cohen, 14, members of the Pioneer organization, to the station house and after confiscating their leaflets allowed them to go home. In the meantime, dei pite police intervention a successful meeting was held. Yesterday, however, police detec- tives visited the principal of Public School 109, which the three children attend, and told him of the arrest. He immediately ordered the children dropped from their classes at once and told them that they were to at- tend the school no longer. There was no legal ground whatso- ever for this expulsion and the Young Pioneers of America have issued a statement saying that they will fight the school authorities for the im- mediate reinstatement of their com- rades. SENATE PROBE OF MINES PROBABLE All Committee Members Favor Inquiry WASHINGTON, Feb. 10.—A sen- ate investigation of conditions in the soft coal fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio and other central eastern states was virtually assured today, when Chair- man Watson (R) of the Interstate Commerce Committee revealed that virtually all members of the commit- tee favor an inquiry. = Hee ees WASHINGTON, Feb. 10.—Evidence that a conspiracy exists among the railroads and coal companies to crush union labor will be presented to the senate if an investigation into the mine situation is ordered, is the in- formation before the Senate Inter- state Commerce Committee today. ae See | PITTSBURGH, Pa., Feb. 10.—The Pittsburgh Terminal. Coal Corpora- Mine Child’s Shoe | i A seven year old miner’s daugh- ter came to the miners’ relief sta- tion at New Kensington, Pa., wear- ing these shoes thru miles of snow with weather at zero. Those who have shoes they can donate to the striking miners should send them, also money, to the _Pennsylvania- Ohio Miners’ Relief Committee, 611 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa., or 799 Broadway, New York City. ARGENTINE LEADS ATTACK ON U. SA Intervention Now Vital Outside New York, by mail, $6.00 per year. Entered as secoud-ciaes maior by mail, $8.00 per yenr. CHALLENGE SMITH HEARING; DEMAND IMMEDIATE RELIEF Labor Officials Oppose Program of Jobless Nearly one thousand unemployed workers recently organized into the New York Council for the Unem- ployed, demonstrated yesterday after- noon before the headquarters of the Labor Department, 124 East 28th St., in protest against a “survey” being conducted by Industrial Commissioner James A. Hamilton, which the N, Y. Council charged yesterday is being undertaken merely for the purpose of advancing Al. Smith’s political ambi- tions. A committee representing the coun- cil as well as a representative of the Workers (Communist) Party, H. M. Wicks, were refused admission into the conference in spite of the fact that the hearing was. announced as public, and notwithstanding a state- ment by Commissioner Hamilton that other representatives had been in- vited. The marchers carried signs de- manding “Bread or Work,” “Food, Not Figures,” “Surveys Do Not Pay Rent.” A second attempt was made to enter the conference. Police at- tendants had a typewritten list of all those who were to be admitted. Others were excluded. Finally po- lice reserves were called to check the increasing crowd. At least 40 per cent of the workers ~ (Continued on Page Seven) + 1) WORKERS ARE BURNED TO DEATH Charred Bodies Taken From Oil Plant . EVERETT, Mass., Feb. 10.—Twen- ty charred and flaming bodies of workers were brought from the blaz- ing plant of the Beacon Oil Company late today, after explosion and fire had wrecked the plant. Ambulances had carried from 50 to 76 seriously injured to hospitals, Flames swept from the oil plant to that of the New England Gas Com- NEW YORK, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1928 LY WORKER. + 4uy eve Office at New York, N. ¥.. umder the act of March 3, 1579, Published dally except Sunday by The National Daily Worker Publishing Association, Inc. 23 First Street, New York. N. ¥. quesne Coal and Coke Co. organized power of the coal corporations. of members of the United Mine Workers of America outside the shack-like barracks in which they are forced to live with their families aS a result of mass evictions from their company-owned homes, photograph was taken at Avella, Pa, The above miners are from Locals 2881 and 1355, evicted by Du- These Pennsylvania Miners Face Guns of Hired Thugs. | | Their militancy is growing, sie! These Pennsylvania miners are facing guns and hunger in their prolonged heroic strike against the This photograph shows a group The Thousands of dollars are needed from jail terms of five years each in In spite of the generosity and loy- alty with which the militant. Ameri- -can workers‘have been responding to the need of the DAILY WORKER for funds with which to meec the legal keep the three arrested men out of a federal jail, more contributions are urgently needed if the DAILY WORKER is to be saved and its edi- vors freed from prison. The expense of sending thousands of copies of the paper to Pennsyl- vania daily for free distribution & Must Rush Thousands of Dollars to Save “Daily” WANT QWN UNION immediately if the DAILY WORKER is to be saved and Wm. F. Dunne, Bert Miller and Alex, Bittelman kept federal penitentiaries. } among the striking minets, together ‘with the new costs: with which the | capitalists, thru their tools in the | United States courts are attempting expenses involved in the struggle to| to wreck The DAILY WORKER, can | only be met if contributions are rush- |ed to the paper immedia-ely. All party units and sympathetic or- |ganizations must make saving the | DAILY WORKER the first count on | heir agenda. Contributions should be rushed to the DAILY WORKER, 83 First Street, New York City. tion, one of the largest bituminous coal mining companies in the western Pennsylvania district is willing to meet the United Mine Workers of Issue at Havana HAVANA, Feb. 10.—By a vote of firemen of four cities were ordered ,Committee, to the hearing, District 2 out, lof the Workers Party, through Wm./| A worker of the Beacon Company |W. Weinstone, general organizer, sent said that the explosion occurred thru a letter of protest to Commissioner | Hamilton. taaterial was there ts - America to discuss a wage scale— but on its own terms. < The Pittsburgh Terminal Coa! Cor- poration will not renew the Jackson- yille scale agreement, nor will it agree to pay a stipulated amount over a period of years, it is said. This was revealed by G. F. Osler, vice-president of the coal corporation, in an interview today. Osler’s state- ment paves the way for a resumption of negotiations provided the United Mine Workers’ officials are willing to meet the terms. 4 DEAD, 35 CAUGHT IN A MINE BLAZE Smoke and Flame Shut Out All Hope TIMMENS, Ontario, Feb. 10.— Thirty-five miners will be burned to death if the flames which are sweep- thru the galleries of the Hollinger mine here reach them before the rescue parties. The miners are trapped by the fire and virtually no hope is held out for them. Four of. the miners were burned to death when the fire broke out on the 550-foot level, roaring thru the shafts and imprisoning the men be- hind a wall of stifling fumes and fire. Handicapped by the smoke and heat, rescue parties have made almost no progress in the work of saving the trapped workers. i . The company is blaming the fire on spontaneous combustion of material : slope. Why the 12 to 6, the first commission of the Pan-American Conference voted this afternoon against granting the Pan- American Union political jurisdiction under any conditions whatsoever. The United States voted with the major- ity. This removes the possibility that the union might be empowered to set- tle disputes between the various sig- natory nations. *. . * HAVANA, Feb. 10. — With the delegates from Argentina, Mexico and | Salvador holding that intervention in the affairs of another country is un- | justifiable, he subcommittee appoint- \ed by the Committee of International law remained deadlocked today. The United States, with a number of gov- ‘ernments strongly influenced by the United S.ates, is contenditig that in- tervention is in certain cases “justi- fiable.” Extract Tribute. According to the position of the Dr. Pueyrredon, who heads the Argentine delegation, a Government is in no way responsible for injury to. foreign lives and property in its territory during a revolu.ion. Thig position, it is point- (Continued on Page Three) Jay Lovestone Speaks at Open Forum Tomorrow Jay Lovestone, vxecutive secretary of the Workers (Communist) Party of America, will speak at the Work- ers’ School Forum, 108 E. 14th St., tomorrow night on “Prosperous America.” Lovestone, who last week reported at the full meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the Workérs Party, on. the economic and political situation in the U. S., as well as the problems -confronting the American workers today, will describe in de- tail the growing depression and un- employment, the crisis in the labor movement and growing imperialist a backfire of vapor in the transfer from one tank to another. Eye witnesses said that some of the bodies were burning torches when found. Active Cloak Pressers Meet Today at 1 p. m. Active members of the Cloak and Dress Pressers Local 35 are called to a meeting today at 1 o’clock. The meeting will take place at the head- quarters of the Joint Board, 16 W. 21st St. After a report delivered by the officers of the local the meeting tion of future work. It was also announced at the head- quarters of the local at 10 E. 22nd St., that plans for the removal of Local 35 to new headquarters are com- pleted. Defense Meeting Called A general membership meeting of Local New York, International. Labor Defense, will be held Monday at 8 p. m. at Manhattan Lyceum, 66 E. 4th St. will discuss plans for the intensifica- | “On the basis of statements to the, effect that Governor Smith’s unem- ployment conference would hear vari- jous proposals to meet the serious sit- uation facing hundreds of thousands the state of New York, we decided to place concrete proposals before the committee conducting the hearings at the State Labor Department in New York. Our representative called at the office on 28th Street where the hearings were being held only to be told that specially selected organiza- tions and individuals had been in- vited and that we would not be heard. “This action on the part of the gov- ernor’s committee indicates not a de- ‘sire to solve the unemployed problem, but smacks of a deliberate attempt to evade the question and Atilize the misery and suffering of the unem- ‘ployed men, their wives and children jas a political football; an attempt to further the political aspirations of Governor Smith and Tammany Hall. The selection of a specially chosen list by Governor Smith brands the whole affair a fake. ' “Unemployment is a menace to the ‘whole labor movement as it aids the Smith Jobless Meet Fraud, Communist Statement Says Following the refusal of Industrial Commissioner, James A. Hamilton, in charge of Governor Al Smith’s so-called unemployment investigation to ‘admit the representative of the Workers (Communist) Party, H. M. Wicks, pany. Gas explosions were feared and member of the Central Executive employers to institute wholesale wage cuts and in general beat down the standard of living of the masses and impose upon those who still remain at work intolerable conditions bordering on slavery. Menace to Labor Movement. “We most emphatically protest against the exclusion of the spokes- man of the Workers (Communist) of workers in New York City and in| Party as an attempt to evade consid- eration of our unemployment pro- gram. “We also protest the exclusion of a number of duly accredited represen- tatives of labor unions and especially the representatives of the New York Council of the Unemployed Workers who are representing thousands of unemployed workers in New York City, who endeavored to appear at the hearings and present facts and the demands of the workers in their industries. Protest Exclusion of Jobless. “The ‘Workers (Communist) Party desired to attend. the hearing in or- der to present facts and our demands for relief of the unemployed as fol- lows: 1. Opening up of public works at full union wages. 2. Appropriation of a fund for public kitchens, this fund to be ad- ministered not by politicians but by (Continued on Page Seven) LOW WAGE RULES IN SOUTHLAND Boast “Low Cost’? and “Sturdy Anglo-Saxon Labor’’ in Ads BOSTON, Feb. 10.—In the latest issue of the “Textile World,” a weekly magazine devoted to the trade, the following significant advertise- ment, one among many of its kind, makes its ap- pearance. It says among other things: “Move your mill to Spartanburg, South Caro- It has good, low-cost labor! born labor of sturdy Anglo-Saxon stock is here in abundance. Cotton mill wages are 80 per cent lower here than in the north. In addition lina! / hours a week, Spartanburg. American- Spartanburg employes are used to working 55 giving full service for the time earned. There are no time restrictions here.” In addition to the above tempting offers the advertisement also pictures two stacks of silver dollars, one marked New England and the other The New England stack rises to dizzy heights and is marked, “Average Wage, $22.40 per week.” The Spartanburg stack is marked: “Average Wage, $18.87 per week.” NY SHOE WORKERS I. Miller Plant Holds ‘Wages Back About three weeks ago the I. Miller Shoe Co. in Long Island City an- nounced a wage cut of 10 cents a pair. In the meantime one morning two workers from the Workers (Commun- ist) Party gave out leaflets to the workers as they were coming into the shop. When the boss saw them he called the police station and had them taken to the station At 11 o’clock of the same day, the boss called a committee of the com- pany union into the office and in- formed them that the company would | not press the wage cut at that time. Same as Last Year. The boss tried the same trick last year when he called in the chairman of the company union to dictate the most favorable terms for himself and to find out how the men would take a 10 cent cut per pair. But even that strikebreaker of a chairman refused the cut. I. Miller has cut wages enough since by holding back from each man $50. He also forces the workers to make double the number of shoes that they used to make. The worst feature in the shop is the agreement on damaged shoes. The workers have to remake them for nothing or pay the full price of the shoes. In the last department if five pairs of shoes are damaged in a week, the boss collects 50 cents from every man in the department. For seven pairs of damaged shoes he collects $1° from each man, There are 200 men in that department. Workers Want Union. No matter how much the boss watches, the workers will be organ- ized into a real union some day. The workers do not want the company union and I, Miller knows it. It is no wonder then that the leaf- lets frightened the boss so that now he makes every worker show his badge when he comes in every morn- ing. Some day the boss will wake up and find himself with a real union at his door. Some of the workers have al- ready joined the Associated Shoe and Slipper Workers’ Union, a progres- sive union led by bona fide progres- sive shoe workers. Young Workers League Annual Dance Tonight The names of two members of the Young Workers League, who have won scholarships to the National Training Course at the Workers’ school, will be announced at the an- nual dance of the League, to be held tonight at the New Harlem Casino, 116th St. and Lenox Ave. At least 1,000 workers are expected to attend the affair at which a num- ber of young militants in the miners’ struggle have been invited. There will also be a general reunion of all League leaders who have been out of the city engaging in field work, and who are in.New York now for the enlarged bureau meeting. “Stoller’s Syncopators” will furnish the music for dancing. NAL CITY EDITION Price 3 Cents REVEAL 4 BILLION NAVAL PROGRAM Unemployed Workers Demonstrate; Insist on Action TRUE FIGURES HAD BEEN SUPPRESSED PROTESTS FEARED | $800,000,000 Was Given | As Original Cost WASHINGTON, Feb. 10.—Finding it impossible or inadvisable to con- tinue its policy of censorship longer, the House nav rs committee to- day di ‘oolidge ad- minis 1 building program slated to begin next y would cost more than four billions of dollars in- stead, of $800,000,000 as heretofore reported. The official navy department esti- mate is $4,176,426,000, the committee disclosed after several members of the committee had walked out of the session in protest against further sup- pression of the news of the republican administration’s huge imperialistic war construction program. Secrecy Was Policy. Chairman butler continued to in- sist on secrecy, on the protext that the estimates must be further “studied.” Rep. McClintie (D., Okla.) left the room. Others followed. Some said they had~ all been enjoined to secrecy. “We may never publish them; we may tear them up,” one member of the committee is reported to have said, referring to the official navy estimates. Nicaragua War Cited. At previous hearings considerable confusion prevailed as to the probable cost of the program, due to the jug- gling of figures and facts by the ad- ministration’s key-men in the com- mittee. The official estimate of the program, for which construction is already authorized and under way, is now shown to be several times the amount originally announced to the public. Widespread protest from workers and liberal organizations against the waging of a war of invasion against Nicaragua is given as one of the jreasons for the administration’s hesi- tancy to make its military plans for the future known. ANTI-STRIKE LAW IS LOSING FAVOR Criticism Shows How Arbitration Works While the rank and file of labor and those of its representat who are concerned with its true interests are preparing to unite their forces in op- position to the anti-strike bill now being urged by the American Bar As- sociation, Julius Henry Cohen, chair- man of the cémmittee which is head- ing the move, continues to issue the regular daily ration of propaganda. Announcement ‘was made yesterday that “More Labor Groups Back Peace Plan.” = T! atement is known to to the charge by the DAILY WORKER that no _ local unions have thus far indicated their support of the proposed law. Upon investigation, it was learned that the Cloth, Hat, Cap and Millinery Work- ers’ Union which is stated to have come out in support of the measure, had only sent in a request for data. This union while under a right wing leadership which would not hesitate to deliver the organization to the employers under such a plan as © is proposed, has nevertheless, because it fears the anger of the rank and file, refrained from doing so. Workers recall the methods by which the railroads have handicapped labor through the Watson-Parker Law. Scores of roads have per- sistently violated the terms of the (Continued on Page Two) Concert and Dance for Daily Worker Tonight A concert and dance will be held tonight at the Workers Cooperative House, 2700. Bronx Park, E., by the Cooperative Unit, Workers (Commu- nist) Party. The program will include Chaim .° Kotylansky, concert singer; M. Tray-/ mor, concertino; Lillie Miner, altos” and Rea Mininberg, pianist. Mic! - Gold, co-director of the New Play-— wrights Theatre, will speak on “The Effects on the Machine Age on Liters ature.” The proceeds will be given to The DAILY WORKER. 4 i