The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 31, 1928, Page 5

FORDISM EDUCATION, id é A NEW MONSTROSITY By PHYLLIS FENIGSTON. | I en profitable for large-scale pro- ducers to buy up the raw materials and all the incidental processes of production, Large manufacturers work their own mines for fuel, build their own railroads and steamships, and buy up natural resources to der velop their own water power. Henry Ford has extended this process and gone into the production of his own “human” material, The new method; has been installed in the educational | plants at Highland Park and Ford- | son. It consists in taking the raw) material—American Youth—putting it thru the Ford factory process, the most efficient in the world, and pres-| to, there appears the “Lizzyot,” the| robot made in the Lizzie tradition—| the future worker in the Ford fac-} tory, to replace the overworked, speeded up, prematurely aged helpers who have been thrown out on the waste pile as wreckage. Jerome K, Davis, a liberal apolo- gist, who in the June “Atlantic Monthly” is very enthusiastic about the experiment, seriously hails Ford as a pioneer educator who may extend his “revolutionary” methods to educa- tion. The man who said “history is bunk”—who thinks “one good way to hinder progress is to fill a man’s head with the learning of the past,” who has the utmost contempt for higher ducation, because “while you are por- ing over books, you are not up and doing”—is looked upon by this Yale professor as a pioneer in the revolu- tionizing of education. Ford has established in his univer- sity, a trade school. About half of thoge enrolled are sons of widows, and 10 per cent aré orphans.” The ex- ploitation of handicapped children who have little or no adult protec- tion, is by no means a new capitalist trick. Over a hundred years ago it «vasa common practice for the early industrialists in England to hire whole orphanages, and work the chil- dren under unspeakable conditions for more than 16 hours a day. At Ford’s trade school, boys between the ages of 12 and 18 receive $7.20 a week, a hot lunch and $2 a month which must bé banked until the course is finished, to encourage thrift. The instruction is confined to mechanical subjects and such scientific training as is neces- sary in the production and perfection | of terrestrial and aerial tin Lizzies.' ‘Two-thirds of the pupil’s time is spent in the shop, thé other third in the ‘which Ford chooses to produce. ‘blind to the fact that the Ford plant, nor does he draw the very obvious conclusions of Ford’s motives in train- N modern manufacture it has prov- jing experts for his own purposes of] profit-making, But a young worker from Detroit, acquainted with the sit- uation, writes me, “The attitude of the workers and of some of the facul- ty is that this school means nothing less than child labor, and the train- ing of a few loyal executives.” There is nothing very new in the idea of combining school with prac- oan % 2 2 “ tical work in factories. Antioch and other colleges have been doing this for many years, In every progressive school the shop has been introduced as a part of the educational process. The whole Russian educational sys- | tem has discarded the old form of dry book-learning, and has merged theor- etical learning with practical appli- cations to all the problems of life and society. It is strange that Davis should see a revolutionary method of education in a simple course in me- chanics and ignore utterly the vicious- ness of Ford’s system which focuses an unhealthy and unnatural attention upon one individual capitalist and his interests, to the exclusion of the wel- fare of these youths whose lives are only incidentally and temporarily connected with his. What a power this titan of indus: try hi that his colossal fortune throws gfich a glamour over his every thought and deed, that educators, journalists and interviewers lose all sense of proportion, that they go to consult him and seriously quote his opinions on theory, education, life and labor! Jerome Davis, charmed by Ford’s entertaining him in the fac- tory where children were doing the square dance with thousands of mov- ing machines and workers all around, could. not see that Ford’s school pro- ducts will be “Lizzyots,” moron mon- strosities of agility and skill, suited only for the turning out of more and more speedily-built automobiles, air- planes, or any other saat es e is normally engaging about 200,000 workers, is a social enterprise run by a huge body of functionaries and bosses who are indispensable even if they are cogs in the great machine. He can only see what the automo- bile genius himself denies, that Ford is a benefactor and philanthropist, investing over a million dollars “to purchase school buildings for children and to train their bodies as well as their brains.” class-room. Due to Ford’s prejudices —or interests—none of the elements of a common high school education are included in the curriculum. So that, after three years of “education,” | the products emerge highly skilled young mechanics, trained exactly to The people who write about Ford are not so honest. In a disgustingly toadying volume by Louis Lochner, picturesquely misnamed “Henry Ford, America’s Don Quixote” this writer charitably explains Ford’s antagonism to organized labor thus: “Because he yep descriptions of the fight of the world labor movement on sev- eral fronts are found in the April is- sue of “The Labor Defender,” organ of International Labor Defense. The remnants of their organization and thé details of the murders of progres- sive leaders, are given in stirring ar- ticles by T. J. O’Flaherty and Stapley Dziengielewski. The latter, chairman of the “Save-The-Unior “Committee” of Distritts'T, 7 and 9, is a simple and straightforward account of the chronic evil in the anthracite region, — the contract system, supported by Rinaldo Cappelini, reactionary president of of America. Dziengielewski warhs of the new murder frame-up being perfected against Sam Bonita, Adam Moleski, and Steve Mendola and urges the workers whose memories still burn at the assassination of Sacco and Van- zetti to come to the immediate defense of the three coal miners. O’Flnherty’s article, “Pennsylvania Tabor Under the Iron Heel” describes the activities of the notorious coal and iron police in Mellon’s money dynasty. In a crisp, incisive style, O'Flaherty describes the reign of persecution un- leashed in the strike regions and urges workers everywhere to come to the aid of the miners who are waging a struggle to preserve American trade urfonism. Scott Nearing writes on “The Ter- vor Against the Left in the Chinese Revolution,” and Boleslaw K. Gebert on “Trying to Assassinate a Whole struggle of the miners to save the} District 1 of the United Mine Workers | Miners’ Struggle Featured in April “Labor Defender” A TOOL | People in Poland.” Nearing traces |the development of the Kuomintang from 1924 when, under the guidance }of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, it advocated co- cperation with the Soviet Union, ad- mission of Communists, and a drive for the organization of the peasants and workers, until 1927, wken right wing elements segured control of the machinery of the organization and wrecked their vergeance on their mil- _itant opponents. It may be eonserv- jatively estimated, writes Nearing, that |Letween February 1927 and March 3928 more than 20,000 workers and | peasants were executed by the con- servatives who have now secured com- plete possession of the Kuomintang. Ma chtman, editor of the pub- lication, writes on the fifth antivers- |ary of the International Red Aid, the article being illustrated with photo- |eraphs of the activity of sections in England, China, Belgium, Germany and the Soviet Union. One of the most valuable features of “The Labor Defender” are the un- lusual photographs which each issue contains. The Ixsbor press in this country is not as yet taking full ad- vantage of the propagandist possibil- lities of striking pictures in illustrat- ling the day to day struggle of the | workers everywhere. It is verily a case of glass houses, | but it is unfortunate that the editor | cf “The Labor Defender” permits such |a large number of avoidable technical errors, faulty proof-reading for the |mest part, to find its way into the magazine. —S. G. Maxim Gorky, (Conclusion) By SHACHNO EPSTEIN. Translated from the Yiddish by A. B. MAGIL 1h was the October revolution that tore the sphinx from the face of Russia. And Gorky, the old Bolshe- vik, the intimate friend of Lenin, failed to sense immediately the im- port of the October revolution. It seemed somehow to confuse him—him who had been the herald of storm in Russian literature: He cursed the October revolution and blessed it, slandered and defended it in the same breath. With his soul divided against itself, he sought peace in reminis- cences of the past, first about Tol- stoy and later about his own life—in the “Autobiographical Tales” and “My Universities.” In these reminis- cences are revealed the great man and the great soul seeking always the truth and the meaning of life. No one has caught the essence of the personality of Tolstoy, with all its exalted contradictions, as has Gorky. Out of brief descriptive bits and casual comments there arises in all its greatness this figure with its far-reaching prophetic gaze and fatal nearsightedness. Tolstoy’s imposing spiritual stature stirs Gorky, but Tol- stoyism itself leaves him cold; not this is the truth and the meaning of life that he seeks. And what are this truth and this meaning? There was a time when Gorky found.them in the struggle the toiling masses for a new world. In his reminiscences he tells how he arrived at this’ view. tangle of his doubts remains, until— absorbing himself in the past and the life and thoughts But still the’ seeking to give a faithful picture of | of Russia’s | a Colossus in the World of Literature jof the social traitors show clearly where he stands. | Despite his sixty years, Gorky is still fresh and full of creative energy. And we can expect from him great sociological works that will describe the life of the new, liberated Russia. A Vital Novel by a Promising New American Writer |THE GREAT BEAR. By LestétCo- hen. Boni & Liveright. $2.50. Reviewed by WALT CARMON. ess is the second novel of a young writer whose first book “Sweep- ings,” ran into nine or ten editions and regarding which the critics in- sisted on making comparison with Theodore Dreiser. “Sweepings” is really a powerful novel. A _ well- written story of the building of a great fortune in a Chicago depart- ment store and the consequent de- terioration of a whole family under the corrosion of wealth. “The Great Bear” is a story of Thane Pardway, gambling brother of the close-fisted Pardway of “Sweep- lings” and the Chicago department store fortune. “Thane Pardway was a rake, a lecher, and a lusty, wench- ing man. But he was no seducer, no despoiler of innocence. For many jyears it was his boast that he had never ahd anything to do with a good |woman. Anarchist that he was in the business and social worlds, there were curious streaks of conventionality in good-fellows. In the realms of that free-masonry of sports, unfortunates, \hope-fiends and good-natured fools THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 1928 Page Five THE SOCIALIST PRESS: By WILLIAM Z. FOSTER ITHthe drift of the s ist party | to the right, the socialist pr |both party and trade union, {greatly degenerated. The pro-war iV he group of socialists who quit the par- | ity, including John Spargo, Chester M. ‘Wright, William English Walling, et al., have sunk into contemptible apolo- gists for every reactionary practice of the dominant A. F. of L. of. Idom. The socialist press as a whole is but little better. Such papers as the Mil- |waukee Leader are only a few shades )more radical than Hearst’s sheets. The party press has abandoned its 'whole program of opposition to the |A. F, of L. machine. It now fights lagainst amalgamation; it accepts the \“new wage policy” of the A. F. of L. jand the entire scheme of worker-em- ployer cooperation; it is enthusiastic for trade union capitalism; it follows the lead generally of the A. F. of L. reactionaries in the everyday life of the movement. vocacy of the labor party and nation- Except for a mild ad- | OF REACTION Wh | | if ( di { WILLIAM Z. FOSTER. |(As he appeared during the great Steel Strike of 1919.) | the cent of all that is reactionary in the Jewish labor movement. The Forward is the backbone of the Outline of World Knowledge by One o Is Ignorant | THE OUTLINE OF MAN’S KNOWL- EDGE. By Clement Wood. Lewis Copeland Co. $5.00. Reviewed by HARRY FREEMAN ot kes book holds the latest fruits of | man’s researches in every impor- |tant expedition after truth; together |with the relationships between these facts.” This is how Clem Wood jreviews the “Outline of Man’s Knowl- jedge” by Clement Wood in a preface |to the book. | “The material,” continues Clement | Wood, “has been gathered in a life~ |time of study—this author’s lifetime; lit represents the thinking achieve- ments of the human race. This book is not a fragmentary outline, but @ |complete systematization of all of jman’s knowledge, with a logical |framework in which every fact can be \promptly placed, available for imme |diate use in a moment of need.” | * * | It is with great temerity that this |reviewer ventures to disagree with so eminent a critic of Clement Wood's work as Clement Wood, nevertheless alization of the basic industries, to- |decatient socialist party in New York. |he feels compelled to do so. gether with a clinging to certain radi- cal phraseology and a s edalling on patriotism, the socialist press in ‘many instances is hardly to be dis- tinguished from that of the ultra-| reactionaries. It is saturated with corruption. | It is the policy of the A. F. of L. bureaucracy, from Green downwards, to draw into its service wherever pos- |sible the slick socialist politicians and writers, The latter are all too willing a leading socialist journali ling violent criticism of craft union- Jism and all its works. |It is dictator of the reactionary union bureaucracy centering in and around the United Hebrew Trades. It bosses the national administrations of the needle unions, It is based upon sup- |port from Jewish business interests. |Its influence has always been exerted on the side of the conservative wing of the unions. It supported the old United Garment Workers’ fakers, and it long boycotted the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. For 10 years the \to serve as such lackeys to the reac- name of Hillman and Schlossberg | tion. A case in point is that of Oscar | were taboo in its columns. Only when | was always under the impression that Ameringer. For many years he was these surrendered to Cahan did the pierce was elected in 1852 (not 1854) , express-|A. C. W. become a bona-fide labor, and that Tschaikovsky and not Grieg union to the Daily Forward. In the But he has present great struggle in the needle| Judging from the results, what ‘Cle- |ment Wood did was to lift—not. ale ways very accurately—bits of infor- {mation from standard outlines of his- | tory, mathematics, chemistry, phy- sics, astronomy, biology, psychology, sociology, literature, painting, sculp- ture, architecture, religion, philoso- | phy, etc., shake them up in a hat and palm them off as a compendium of knowledge. The facts are not always accurate- ly lifted. This reviewer, so to speak, | wrote the Nut-Cracker Suite. The book is absolutely useless. It |made his peace with the reaction. He | trades this paper supports Sigman,| does not (as some outlines have done) |house organ of the notorious Frank | Farrington. Many and bitter were |the struggles of the Tlinois miners to |wrest their union from this autocrat, |who has since admitted being on the |payroll of the employers. And one of \the greatest of their obstacles was the Illinois Miner, which, edited by a “‘so- cialist’ and defending Farrington’s corruption, was sent into the homes of all the miners in the state. * * The New York Jewish Daily For- ward represents socialist labor jour- nalism at its worst. Founded in 1897, this paper, edited by A. Cahan, has for 30 years exerted a baneful influ- * tions of the Jewish workers. From the beginning its socialism was of the yellowest and its loyalty to party discipline of the weakest. It support- ed the Spanish-American and World Wars in spite of Party decisions to the contrary. It often endorses old party candidates. Its relations with employers are illicit and corruptive. | | ate enemy of the left wing and of all militancy among the workers. It is ————————S bling in the Chicago wheat pit. “The Great Bear” is in this period. Back of the wild, hectic life of Thane Pardway and his stock market and sex ventures and adventures, there is just a glimpse of the teeming life in this period of American growth. The control of banks, newspapers, wide- spread corruption and all the visible evils of a system of profit-making in the control of wheat are a part of this picture. | Here again, as in “Sweepings,” the robbery of the unorganized exploited farmer and his labor are not consid- jhim.” He “was Chicago’s prince of Jered. Here is a picture of only the | 1926, with lother side—the people who put wheat into the mouths of the nation—or took it out of their mouths on the ence upon the ideology and organiza- | ary bureaucrats with all its gigantic | resources and with the most unscrup- ulous means, The rise of the left wing Jewish daily Freiheit makes this needle trades fight a life and death affair for the Forward. The Forward, with its 135,000 cir- culation and vast income from adver- tisements, is a big capitalistic insti- tution. Its profits are enormous, a large share of which go to pay of- ficial salaries, Abe Cahan receives |$17,500 and exp :nses yearly; Vladeck |$15,000 per year. Advertising man- |agers like Schlesinger “earn” as much as $20,000 per year. On May 9th, 1926, the Freiheit published the fol- lowing analysis of the Forward Asso- |ciation stockholders: writers, agents, etc., employed by the Forward, 37 per jcent; manufacturers and business \insurance brokers and professionals, |20 per cent; labor leaders, 9 per cent; | workers, 3 per cent. * * * Repeatedly, in catering to the em- Since its birth it has been an inveter- |ployers, the Daily Forward has been | | guilty of strike-breaking activities. In |1918, when in the general strike in| jthe New York men’s clothing trade | the U. G. W. fakers, assisted by the | Forward, betrayed the strike, masses of workers violently demonstrated |against the paper, smashing the win- }dows in the Forward building. In 1916 the Forward supported Schles- | singer in trying to put across‘a fake ‘agreement in the cloakmakers’ strike. jResult: a violent demonstration | |against the Forward building, the re- | jection of the agreement, the contin- \uation of the strike, and the eventual | {securing of much better terms. | In the great strikes of the New} /York Furriers and Cloakmakers in| {| the very life of the unions | Jat stake, the Forward, under the | guise of a war against the left wing, | lopenly used its power and influence | jmen generally, 31 per cent; lawyers, | |became editor of the Illinois Miner, |Schachtman, and the other reaction-| interpret the development of human knowledge or indicate general tenden- cies in its development and it is so dully written that it can amuse no one but Clement Wood. | | Stalin’s Interview with the First American Trade Union Delegation American Imperialists stubbornly refuse to rec- ognize the Soviet Repub- lic. They conceal the truth of the Russian workers’ achievements. This pamphlet will be an eyaopener for all suit Ford’s needs, and trained only to teaut struggling millions, he perceives that \that are to be found in every large \gamble of ever greater profit. These|to drive the workers back to the Le ; think on his mechanical problems. ps est bts Bo is Tien Sahat his doubtings are without foundation. ‘city, he ruled by divine right of count- een their pode! and their |Shops. The Forward is a powerful | thinking American work- Professor Davis boasts about the way |. rd pug fan: tig ri di en i d Faith in the creative power of the |Jess dinners, drinks, loans and favors methods, are vivid in presentation. weapon in the hands of the employers | ers. geography is taught! It is “made ails to succeed,’ (Ford is quoted as| toiling masses returns to him and the |of all sorts.” * * * |against the demands of the needle | Seta i aA jsaying) ‘it is largely his own fault.’ pate ak a fe He veces ot therefore he has little use for organ- ganization: thiuout ‘the avortd? jized labor for ‘if people have the stuff ge b jin them they’ll succeed without band- Order from: WORKERS LIBRARY PUB- LISHERS, 39 East 125th St. New York City. workers for improved conditions and | a real union. j (From “Misleaders of Labor,” by) | William Z. Foster. Published by the ogy glial) ne a8 Into the life of this blustering! “The Great Bear” does not give one ie mm id egotist and prince of gamblers comes \the feel of the completeness of even “Artamanov’s Affairs” and “Klim Peale 3 ja devout, ‘ Ueda ities © Samgin’s Lite,” are patent testimony | virgin daughter of a former \“Sweepings. Both, however, are What about those places where Ford has no distributive agencies? | They’re not on the map! The stu-| dents are taught that nothing exists outside of Ford and his plants. What, kind of a conception of society and the world does the student get in such | a narrowed, limited sphere? “One of i the functions of the schools,” says Dewey, “is emancipation from local and temporary incidents of exper- ience, and the opening of intellectual | vistas unobscured by the accidents of experience or of: personal habit and predilection.” Ford’s schools can’t be) bothered with such highfalutin non- sense! His basic school ideals are: | “Cleanliness, safety, accuracy, speed and ingenuity.” * + The liberal Professor Davis is much impressed by the fact that Ford’s to- tal expenditure in this experiment of , a non-profit-making nature, mounts to over a million dollars. But he tells’ naively that “in the old days it used to cost thousands of dollars to paint | the machines in the school depart- ment, while today the boys put on all the surface coats, and handle pump repairs and all the smaller broken in- struments. Formerly badly worn tools were scrapped, but now the trade school repairs and rebuilds and turns back $50,000 worth of tools each month.” More brilliant boys have made discoveries resulting in econo- mies for the company, we are told, the most remarkable being an invention woth saved a pound of copper for each car, and $1,000 a day for Ford! | What the boy got out of this inven- tion, Professor Davis does not say,’ as ing themselves together to get what they want’.” The “socialist” Charles W. Wood also falls under the spell of this mo- dern Croesus in a recent magazine article about the Ford system. “The assembling line which I watched |seemed more like a modern dance... speeding up in the modern factory does not mean what those who read about it think it does, Workers on the modern machine do not work as fast as they used to work. (!) If you work for Ford however,” Wood admits, “he is a ruthless autocrat de- manding absolute obedience, and is shockingly inconsiderate of the other fellow’s feelings.” Criticisms of his business policies only amuse him, but the intimation that his factories turn the workers into mere automatons, gets on his nerves; “I don’t want to talk with you any more,” Ford said to Wood, in the last interview when Wood very timidly made this sug- gestion. 3 And so Ford has virgin fields to work in. He can go about the coun- try gathering up as much raw mater- ial as he needs—for there are always plenty of widows’ sons and orphans to pick from—and turn out his most es- sential product, the “Lizzyot” by the thousands. And he will even be ex- tolled for his “revolutionary” meth: ods by liberal educators. that the desire to create the sociolog- ical novel still pursues Gorky. The new life has again stirred him and he has felt upon him the fructifying breath of the October revolution. “Artamanov’s Affairs” constitutes a summary of all of Gorky’s novels of the life of the past, such as “Foma Gordeyev,” “Three” and “The Town Okurov.” The Russian capitalist class, with all its national peculiar- ities, passes through a development of three generations from the first stages of its growth until its ultimate downfall, the story reaching its climax in the last years of the Octo- ber revolution. And in Gorky’s eyes there is no longer a curse hanging ever Mother Russia, but a blessing, the blessing of liberated toil, of the collective rebuilding of life upon new foundations. The historical significance of Gorky’s latest works is very great. With a broad sweep and growing mastery Gorky is fulfilling the social requirements of the present. From distant Italy, whose climate is es- sential for his weak lungs, Gorky follows every occurrence in the Soviet Union and evaluates the great work that is being fashioned there for all ef mankind. Gorky has found him- self again and is again serving with all his powers the proletarian reyolu- tion. His recent letters of greeting to the tenth anniversary of the Soviet Union and his reply to the calumnies Are you a “DAILY WORKER” worker daily? employe, who, eventually falling prey life and his major passion of gam- [thoroughly America of the recent to his lusting, plays a huge part in his jpast and both are well-written novels | 77de Union far above the junk of the day. Educational League, New York.) Tom hollow pi: candy, shaving cream. But we wai publisher. Your generous support to the work of the I. L. D. in behalf of Labor prisoners will be brought to their attention. We. want them to know the workers who have not Make your donation today on the blank adjoining. forgotten. Prison regulations make difficulties. EAR Friend, Comrade, FellgwswWorker: e-up, has already spent 12 years in prison. Jim Tully, noted novelist, who has seen him recently, writes: “Those years have eaten at the mind of Mooney, stooping his shoulders. Mooney, victim of a vicious They aces beneath his eyes.” Billings, Neil, Merrick, Barnett, Corbishley—a total of 42 innocent workers are spending years behind prison bars. The International Labor Defense helps to maintain their families. It sends each labor prisoner a monthly check for small comforts like tobacco, nt to do more, The iprisoners want books. Hundreds of books. We want you to help us. with us in the Labor movement these men were so busy fighting, organizing, they had but little time to read. Now they want books. Leavenworth and other prisons our courageous comrades tell us the books they want. We will not miss a single one of them if you will help us. THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR DEFENSE National Chairman, Gee from Tom National Secretary, de From San Quentin, Walla Walla, Books can be sent only by an established For the sake of economy and to avoid duplications we have arranged with a number of pyblishers to send their books chosen by our comrades in jail. have carved Defer I send enclose $ While the new April issue of the “Labor Defender,” the only labor pictorial for letters Mooney, Billings, Joe Neil, Merritt, Hillis, Roberts and others, SEND A BOOK zd Labor Prisoners I have not forgotten my courage- ous comrades behind prison bars. them my greetings and I for THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR DEFENSE 80 EAST Ir STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y.