The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 30, 1928, Page 1

al mal ae TAE DAILY WORKER YIGH Pak DAILY WORKER FIGHTS: | FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNORGANIZED FOR THY 40-HOUR WE FOR A LABOR PARTY K T 7 Vol. V. No. 76. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In New York, by mall, $8.00 per year. Outside New York, by mail, $6.00 per year. E DAILY Entered an second-class matter ut the Post Office at New York, EW Y mig. FINAL CITY EDITION N. ¥., under the act of March 3, 1879. 5 Published doit Sunday by The National Daily Worke ° ORK, FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1928 PANIAALGe. ALesbistioms;less/ AE wuee Aleeegs New Tork Ny ¥: Price 3 Cents NATION-WIDE COAL LOCKOUT DECLARED APRIL 1; BIG MINERS’ CONFERENCE PREPARES T0 MEET ATTACK PREPARE DEFENSE OF DAILY WORKER IN $50,000 ACTION Basis of Libel Suit Is; Revealed Active preparations are now being made for the defense of The DAILY WORKER in the new $50,000 libel suit filed it against it by Adolph Les- sig, accused of heing a labor spy at the time he was presumably an “act- ive” member of the Associated Silk Workers Union of Paterson. The facts upon this action is based were contained in a news story print- ed by the paper in its issue of March £1, 1927. In sthe summons that has been served off The DAILY WORKER the account is described by Lessig’s attorneys as “false and defamatory,” and the $50,000 is demanded as a balm to soothe his outraged feelings. The original expose of Lessig was made by Col. Casimir Pilenus Palmer, a former Scotland Yard man, and on the general staff.of the U. S. naval ; intelligence, who, for reasons of his ywn, conducted in an investigation in- to Lessig’s affairs. The article published by The DAILY} WORKER to which Lessig objects is as follows: “LESSIG SPY ON PATERSON LABOR, TURNS MERCHANT. BOSSES’ STOOL-PIGEON FOR 14 YEARS. “PATERSON, March 30.—Adolph Lessig, former Paterson silk workers’ 1, International Auxiliary Co., labor spy corporation, has gone into business. (Continued on ee See Two) TENANTS IN N. Y. BATTLE RENTHOGS Gov. Smith’s Pretenses, Are Exposed (Special To The DAILY WORKER.) ALBANY, March 29.—The Emer- gency Rent Law passed in 1920 to prevent landlords from throwing ten- ants out on the streets again came up for final hearing in the state leg- islature in Albany yesterday. Re- publican leaders are making political capital of the fact that the gover- nor’s State Housing Commission, ap- pointed by him reports there is no longer a shortage of apartments, therefore no emergency exists. The report, however, admits that 700,000 families in the lowest wage group would be affected if the law | is not passed and have put it up to Al. Smith to decide whether some- thing should be done to prevent these from being evicted at one time, a sit- uation that might cause some em- barrassment even to the republican and democratic parties during a pres- idential year. Smith’s Maneuver. Smith’s grand stand play in call- ing the hearing was to fool the ten- ant voters of New York into believ- ing he is not likely to be swayed by the demands of the landlords, real estate sharks and taxpayers’ associa- tions, which the report favors. The landlords are organized to wipe (Continued on Page Two) BRITISH POLICE KILL 3 IN INDIA Shoot Into Meeting of 20,000 Workers LONDON, March 29.—Three stri. - ers were killed when British troops fired into a demonstration of more than 20,000 striking workérs at Ba- mungami near Calcutta, according to reports received here. Many were wounded, The shooting is reported to have aroused a storm of protest thruout Calcutta and a sympathy strike is reported likely. Unrest has been spreading rapidly thruout India since the arrival of the Simon commission, when one worker was killed and a number wounded Sephari on Page Three} Delegates to Mine Meet 1n Need of Fare PITTSBURGH, March 29.—Hun- dreds of delegates from all sections of both the organized and unorgan- ized mine fields will attend the na- tional miners’ Save-the-Union Con- ference at Pittsburgh Sunday if only the expense ‘of railroad fare will be provided. This became clear from an an- nouncement issued at the head- quarters of the committee 526 Fede- ral St., N. S. today. “It would be more than a calamity to the labor movement if this his- toric conference should be held up due to the inability of the delegates to pay their way to Pittsburgh,” the statement declares: “All those who understand the meaning of events, all those who have sacri- ficed for the trade union movement and desire to see it rebuilt must make a supreme effort at this mo- ment. Send funds immediately, by special delivery, or wire to the headquarters of the committee.” BIG PROFITS FOR NATIONAL BISCUIT Workers in Plant Slave for $12 Wage The last financial Eire: to the nolders of the. asian any, which in New York has many plants throughout the city, most of which are concentrated in ‘sev- Ave. and 16th and 17th sts., shows a ‘total investment of over $100,000,000, while the net profits for 1927 alone are over $16,000,000, a profit of over 116 per cent. The baking business is one of the hes re Ameriean industries. The king industry employes 160,000 lens and the estimated investment, is $600,000,000. The National Biscuit | Company is one of the largest in the industry and is adding to its holdings at a rapid rate so that it is one of the few baking companies who monopol- ize the baking industry. In 1927 the National Biscuit Com- pany not inly provided additional ca- pacity in many of its plants and bought,more land upon which it erect- ed buildings, but also went more deep- ly into the bread baking business. Through its subsidiary, the National Biscuit Company added more than a dozen bakeries in as many cities to its holdings. Workers Conditions the Same. According to many of the workers at the Ninth Ave. plant, the increased (Continued on Page Two) FREIHEIT JUBILEE TOMORROW EVE, To Present Spectacle of Class Struggle The spectacle “Red, Yellow and Black” to be presented at the Jewish Daily Freiheit sixth anniversary cele- bration at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night at 8 o’clock will have many features, On a stage in the center tf the Garden the workers in the audience will see the East S‘de, the Salvation Army, workers, bosses, Bolsheviks, the revolution, strikes, gangsters and police. The right wing of the labor move- ment will be typified in the “Forward, Backward Dance,” while the militant left wing will be portrayed by. “The pega Flag Bearer of the Strug- gle.” Other numbers include Sergey Ra- domsky, tenor, in a selection of new songs from the Soviet inion, and a symphony orchestra. French Finance WASHINGTON, March 29,—Sec- retary of the Treasury Mellon ex- pects France to restore the gold stan- dard soon after the coming French elections, and France may request heavy credits from the Federal Re- serve Bank at the time of the chanes, 4 jeral square blocks bounded by Ninth , \ | | DEMOCRAT PARTY USED OFFICES TO Both Parties Exposed in Senate WASHINGTON, March 29.—While the utmost secrecy was attending the taking of an oil conspiracy statement from former Secretary of the In- terior Aibert B. Fall at his El Paso home, Sen. Robinson was showing in the senate here today that the demo- cratic party is twin to the republican government positions for oil graft. Robinson charges that the entire cil graft conspiracy originated with} President Wilson’s democratic cabinet | members and democratic party or-| ganizers and supporters. All members of the Setican | party, including Sen. Nye, chairman) of the Teapot Dome investigating | committee, are afraid of what Fall,! reported dying, may say. His deposi- | tion is to be used in the conspiracy | trial of Harry F Sinclair, oil mag-| nate, scheduled to begin April 4. No’ reporters will be admitted to the sick | room when the statement is made and no portion of it will be made public until the trial. Precautions , zi -have_been_taken........ Is heap y The trial, moreover, may never be held. If it is begun it may never be terminated. The case against Fall,’ who was to have been tried jointly (Continued on Page Two) SHIPSTEAD IS PUT OVER FOR SENATE Nomination Fought by Militant Farmers By BERTRAM D. WOLFE. ST. PAUL, March 29.—Shipstead was put across by the Sharkey-Mc- Ewen machine Tuesday night as the senatorial candidate for the Farmer- Labor Party, before the convention closed, after an hour debate in which he was exposed as a “traitor to the Farmer-Labor Party” and after a vote against him of more than one- third of the delegates present. The decisive battle of the conven- tion occurred after C. R. Hedlund, of the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- gineers, made the report of the min- ority committee recommending the | rejection of the Shipstead nomination | and proposing the nomination of William F. Watkins, of the Switch- men’s, Union, Local 206. Charge Disloyalty. The minority report charged Ship- stead with disloyalty, self-seeking, aiding the republicans to organize 2 senate betrayal of the platform of the Farmer-Labor Party, betrayal of the interests of the workers and poor farmers, consistent efforts to sell the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party to the republicans and complete unfit- ness to represent a class party of workers and poor farmers. The right wing machine which had never lost control of the proceedings, having previously carried all fights (Continued on Page Two) NEARING, THOMAS DEBATE TONIGHT Scott Nearing, writer and teacher, and Norman Thomas, socialist, will debate at 8:15 tonight on “Commun- ism vs, Socialism in America” at the Community Church, Park Ave. and 84th St. The debate is under the aus- pices of the “New Masses.” Nearing has recently returned from a world tour, which included an extended stay in China, Soviet Russia and western Europe. Thomas has in the past been a candidate for various offices on the socialist ticket. Roger Baldwin of the Civil Liberties Union will be chair- FURTHER GRAFT Picket Lines Like These Will Beat Bosses! | | Oil Graft Began mn During Wilson Reign; on; Fall Protected ILLINOIS OPERATORS LAUNCH NEW DRIVE: SOUTHERN COAL + BARONS JOIN NATIONAL WAR: E 100,000 Miners Locked Out in cked Out in District 12; 20,000 ‘ Barred in Other Fields { 'Save-The-Union Committees of Districts 18, me 25 Call for General Strike SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 29.—Preparations for the exten- party when it comes to using high) ; i sion of the nation-wide lockout of the organized miners are in- dicated here in the announcement by the Illinois Coal Operators of a new attack on the union. Simultaneous with this news comes the report that the southwestern coal® Photo shows 64 Pennsylvania mine strikers releasea after being kept in jail for several days. They are part of a group of 150 which picketed the Maude mine at Treveskyn, Pa, A pitched battle began when a pick handle was thrown at the strikers from a truck in which a contingent of scabs were being taken from the mine MINERS NEED “DAILY”; SEND THEM FREE SUB ~ “Hundreds of free’subseriptions are being given by The DAILY WORKER to the striking miners in all the coal fields where strikes are now in progress. Nine hundred sixty free subscriptions to the paper haye been given to the eo miners in Ohio alone. Their Paper. The drain which this wholesale giv- \ing of free subscriptions has made upon the resources of The DAILY WORKER has greatly added to the overwhelming burdens which the United States government has already forced upen the paper thru fines, bail, and the heavy costs of litiga- tion. But the striking miners had to have their paper and The ‘DAILY’ has done it best to cope with the im- mediate need. At last the burden has become too excessive for the paper to shoulder alone. The time has come when the entire American working elass- must form a united front to see that the miners have The DAILY WORKER to aid them in their struggle against the coal barons. The striking miners must not be deprived of their militant English daily organ. Time and time- again the miners have testified that.-The DAILY WORKER is the only labor daily, that it is the only paper which has fought shoulder to shoulder with them in their daily struggles thruout the bitter year that their strike has lasted. United Front. The time has come when all the American workers must do their share in ensuring the striking miners the continuation of ‘their free subscrip- tions to their working class ‘DAILY.’ It is time for all the American work- ers to participate in the struggle which the miners have been courage- ously waging for a long year. Let every worker fill out the at- tached blank, and show his solidarity with the miners’ cause by sending them The DAILY WORKER. The delegates from mine fieids all over the United States will be present on April first at the Save-The-Union Conference in Pittsburgh. Let the miners’ delegates carry back to their fellow strikers in the mines the stir- ring slogan: “The American working (Continued on Page Two) * Labor Organizations Endorse May 1 Meet Militant labor organizations have quickly responded to the May First call sent out by District 2 of the Workers (Communist) Party, endorse- ments for the Madison Square Garden May First meeting have been sent by the Joint Board of the Cloak and Suit Makers Union; Locals 9 and 41 of the International Ladies’ Garment Work- ers’ Union; the United Workers Co- operative; Photographers Union Local 17830, and the Workers School. These organizations have assured the May First committee of every support in making the Madison Square Garden meeting a success, LOW PAY, SPEEDUP IN CLOTHES SHOP Women Worker Urges) Unionization (By a Woman Worker Correspondent) The National Bellas Hess Clothing Co., formerly the National Suit and Clothing Co., is a good example of! the way they exploit young girls and| i men who are kept quiet with prom- ises and comparatively decent factory conditions. In reality the pay and the hours are frightful. T am one of a lot of girls hired by this company to get out orders for the Easter rush. Every year ‘at this time they need a bunch of new hands te fill their big orders so they hire young girls at low wages for a few weeks and then Jay them off. This particular company likes to hire young American girls whom it thinks wil! take whatever is given them and won't make trouble by organizing or complaining about the low wages in the shop. Pay Low Wages. Fourteen dollars a week is what they start you at here. Imagine it! And you have to work from 8.30 in the morning until 6 o’clock at night on week days. Saturday we work from 8.30 a. m. until five p. m. Be- sides these hours we are given the “privilege” of three quarters of an hour to eat our lunches in the 23rd street automat. Most of the girls here earn 2 little more than $14 but as they are going to be laid off soon it will all go dur- ing the idle months anyhow. And they know it. There are several hundred girls em- (Continued on Page Two) HORTHY PROTEST BRINGS ARRESTS MONTREAL, March 29. — The secret visit to this city yesterday of Baron Pereyni, head of the Horthy white guard delegation now visiting the United States, was discovered by the workers here, who conducted a hostile demonstration when he spoke at the Hungarian Club. Entering the city incognito, the baron hurried to the. club yesterday | afternoon to deliver his address. While he was speaking several hun- dred workers carrying banners voiced vy Raia oe operators have followed suit and will cooperate in the campaign to de- stroy the United Mine Workers of America. Illinois Locked out. Coal mines of the entire state of Illinois will be shut down for an in- night, according to the declaration of the Illinois Coal Operators Associa- tion: Meeting in an executive ses- sion here, representatives of the leading operators of the state adopt- e4 a resolution refusing to continue operations undet the terms of the Jacksonville scale after. that date. At the same time all negotiations with the union were called off. Carrying out what is obviously a common program, operators of the southwestern field, according to a statement made at Kansas City, Mo., by W. L. A. Johnson, general execu- tive for the South Western Interstate Coal Operators’ Association, announc- ed that after Saturday night the terms of the Jacksonville agreement will no longer apply. The states of Kansas and Missouri are especially involved, This section is unionized to |a very small degree. The lockout, ac- cording to the operators’ statements, will involve only about 20,000 miners. It is known, however, that there has been worked out by the operators a concerted move to drive all union- ism from the coal fields. The aim is to deliver a country-wide blow and bring pressure against the miners now on strike in. the Pennsylvania and Ohio sections. Result of Lewis Treachery. ing under a separate agreement which | expires April 1. This district was taken out of the strike through the treacherous policy adopted by the Lewis-Fishwick machine. The oper- ators have used the Illinois coal fields to help break the Pennsylvania strike. After passing through the complete the task for which Lewis has paved the way. The new attack in the southern fields points to the national character of the lockout. This developmerit was predicted by the Save-the-Union Committee which to- pointing the way out of the miners’ difficulties, * ° . Open Shop War Extends. (Special To The DAILY WORKER.) KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 29.— Twenty thousand miners will down tools here as a result of the refusal sociation to renew agreements with the United Mine Workers. tion of war by the coal kings, John L. Lewis, president of the union, tters and has offered to sign up sepa- rate agreements wherever possible. Progressives Call Strike. The Save-the-Union Committees of Districts 13, 14 and 25 in Arkansas and Oklahoma are calling for a gen- eral strike to withstand the national | drive of the coal operators. of separate agreements. A number of companies are planning to start on an open shop basis immediately. A clash of pickets with forces of the operators resulted in the arrest of two union men. Ulinois Miners Rise. SPRINGFIELD, Il., Events in the mining regions of Illi- nois have been developing with re- markdble rapidity. All indications point to a general walkout of Dis- (Continued on ert Two) definite period on Saturday at mid-} The Illinois field has been operat- | winter*| months, the operators’ aim is now to | day issued a statement at Pittsburgh | of the Southwest coal operators as- | Notwithstanding the open declara- |; is | cringing before the attack of his mas-) , The | progressives are fighting the policy | MINERS ANSWER CONFERENCE CALL Many Districts Will Be Represented PITTSBURGH, March 29. — Re- sponse on a national scale to the call of the miners’ Save-the-Union Cont- | mittee for the Pittsburgh conference ;Was indicated here today in a state- ment issued at the headquarters of the committee, 526 Federal St., N. S. Organized and unorganized sections equally have responded by the selec- tion of delegates, the committee shows. In spite of the terrorism and gangster methods of the Lewis machine, the miners have not been intimidated. The statement follows: A Historic Event. “The great National Conference which will be held Sunday, in Pitts- burgh, Pa, under the auspices of the Save-the-Union Committee, will truly be the most important gathering held in recent years. The returned creden- tials show that every district, organ- | ized and unorganized, of any conse- }quence in America is sending dele- gates to the conference. The miners on a national scale have rallied to the call of the Save-the-Union Commit. . tee and the national conference bids fair to go down into history as the greatest and most significant of all labor gatherings. “Despite the terrorism, intimida- \ion, threats and bull-dozing of the |administration, carried out on a na~ tional scale, delegates have of~ | ficially been elected in all the im |portant districts of the union. Dis« | tricts 2 (Central and West. ern and Ohio) the }strike zone, all other districts |in the selection of delegates from @ Page Two) (Continued on NEGRO PROTEST MEETING TONIGHT Clarence Darrow, William Pickeng |field secretary of the National As sociation for the Advancement of Cole ored People, Robert Minor, editor of The DAILY WORKER, and A, Phil Randolph, will be the chief speake at the mass meeting to prot imination against six Negré | at New York University, toe |night at 8, at St. Marks M. E. Churely |St Nicholas Ave. and 188th St. | Richard B. Moore, secretary-of the | American Negro Labor Congress, will Dr. W. J. Robinson, Oscagz nd Miss Neely of New Yort y will als speak. “In view of the fact that repeated |attempts to induce the faculty of New Be k University to rescind its action against these students have failed of jany response, the Conference Against |Race Discrimination believes that on+ |ly with a mass movement against this action, awakening both Negroes and |w hites to the necessity of ridding this March 29.—|country of race discrimination, will such action be effective,” stated the commtitee in charge. The meeting is being held under the auspices of the Conference Against Race = Dasa. )