The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 4, 1928, Page 2

an, Py Aa laisse as ge ee DAILY AILY. WORKER: NEW.) YORK. FORK, WEDNESDAY, _ “arnt 4, 1928 “Save. the-Union Forces Ready to Lead Strike of 100,000 Illinois Miners FIGHT AGAINST SPEED UP “DAILY’S” SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE IN BOSTON TERRITORY BRKLYN, QUEENS WAGE CUTS AND SEPARATE TERMS: “Extend Illinois Strike” | Committee Demands SPRINGFIELD, Ii, Save-the-Union forces in Tilt rapidly taking charge of the I iene the mine of th 12 fight to sa’ Under instruction: burgh conference just adj ourned progressive forces of this 4 have begun an active advance the front of the min tle. One hundred thousand union great Pitts- th copies of the following circular have been dis- tributed to the Illinois miners: ILLINOIS COAL Strike Against W Down Tools April Fi SAVE THE UNION MINERS When our tempora pires April first, the erators demand a wa Jacksonville scale to day work and a tonnage The operators are dete only to cut wages but to di inois ‘e cut agreement ex below the .00 a day for te of 84c union and establish the “open shop.” We must counter this threat with a| "2 complete strike. Down Tools April Every Illinois Mine! There must First—Str cept on the basis of the Jacksonville * scale and a national the central competitive field. No Separate Agreements. bankrupt official machine, with settlement for dis- | trict or individual operators are fa-| tal to our union and should not i] retognized! Loading machines and mechanical | devices have already en introduced | into the Illinois mines, throwing more miners out of work break down the wage standard. tion of loading machines. W. uphold union conditions! and helping to We must fight for the full tonnag: bs rate and accept no wage reductio We must take control of the ope We have been betrayed by the dis- trict temporary agreement, just about to expire. which is The operators. | with the assistance of Lewis and|the past The DAILY WORKER, | campaign to bat- be no settlement ex-} Dozens of subscriptions continue to arrive at the office of sent in by the Boston district as its share in the big national drive to add 10,000 new readers to the paper by the first of May. Under the leadership of Elsie Pultur, the district DAILY R agent in eastern Massachusetts, s making big forward strides in the campaign. WORKE Boston I 3esides the usual subscription work Reconciles Opposites Joe Nadal, above, is the youngest member of the American Association the Advancement of Science. recommendation to the ” seems to be that he sees conflict between and religious superstitution. ~ JOBLESS VETERAN science: VICTIM OF HUNGER Separate agreements, signed by the| “| the e must | iyJealth Commissioner Harris’s sani- | Worker Coll apses In W. I. R. Food Kitchen Allen Hunter. 43, a homeless and jobless Canadian war veteran, yester- day collapsed at the free soup kitchen maintained by the Workers Interna- tional Relief, .27 E. 4th St. as a re- sult of expesure and cold when ‘he, in company with others, was forced into. street Friday night following jtary “flophouse edict.” Hunter, who is an automobile body varnisher, worked in New York for three years until about three Fishwick, put that over, hoping that | months ago when he found himself when the Pennsylvania-Ohio strike was lost they would smash our union in this district and Jacksonville scale. wipe out the Despite this tem-| Bowerv lodging houses were unsani- | without employment. Last Friday when Commissioner Harris issued the order that the porary agreement most of ovr men/tary, Hunter and other jobless men have been facing starvation. and Fishwick say, “There many miners.” is unemployment everywhere. all many find work. Five-day Week. We must fight for the day. five-day week and d: work! The district and local are toc We say NO. There| Sunday. Thc | the effects of the cold and the ex- problem is to organize industry so} posure. settlement policy of Lewis and Fishwick is en tirely responsible for of the operators. to destroy our union. erators are now preparing to about wage cuts and destroy union here, in Pennsylvan the operators seve clared the “open shop,” While lice and starvation. We condemn this _polic: Lewir must go! Fishwi and the ‘rest of these bankrupt o: s must go! The| Pennsylvania and Ohio miners is our fight! We demand a naii strike to s th mand the ganized m #@ powerful m est leadership! rrogance This policy helps the op- brin our racranned the Jacksonville scale and are now try- ing to completely smash the unior with the help of injunctions, state po-| ade arrangements with the admit- fight A national rank and file conference to save the union has been call d to convene at Pittsburgh, Pa., April 1st. This conference is of vital imyort ance. Every local union should be represented. We urge you to elect delegates. Organize Save-the-l Jay. The Illinois coal Save-the-Union conference ville, February 12th. delegates from all over the stat tended and resolved to fight wage cuts and to Save-the- They established a District “mittee. Extend Illinois Strike. miners of the state fighting brothers in and Ohio! the Pittsburgh National Union Conference! miners held in Belle- Rank and file} No. . M. W. of A. Save-the-Union Com- _ Committees in your locals without de- 12 Our District No. 12 Save-the- Union / Committee now calls upon all coa’ of Illinois. to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Pennsylvania Send your delegates tc Save-the Don’t be intimidated by the reac- = tionary officials—take control your union! We urge the for a national agreement. of miners of Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and other dis- tricts that have temporary agree- ments to also strike on April first| 5 _ Strike against wage cuts, against Lewis | were forced to tr night. » the streets all This continued Saturday and Yesterday he began to feel y he complained to a : at the Workers Relief Soup Kitchen i vy ill. Immedi- he collapsed. He was told to report to the office ef the Workers International Relief jat One Union Suar Dr. Huber ann, 1150 Fifth Ave., New .| York hospital, |lief Association. jand find t | Seeretary on- | tio sent for who, after exam- ining Hunter, wrote the following tatement for an official of the Re- It read: Allen Hunter he is suffering from ute bronchitis and cevrical adenitis, urhakiy brought on by exposure d malnutrition, Dr. Mann then “T have examined Mr. ting physician for Hunter’s entry. into the general ward at the New 8 W. 16th St., where Hunter was finally taken. In commenting upon this, the first al esult of Commissioner sanitary flophouse order. Zmerson, assistant National of the Workers Interna- al Relief, said, “I think it is dis- eful that the wealthy city of w York makes no provision for homeless hungry men. Commissioner Uarri action last Fri | however much he may was actuated by the desire to protect public health, was an inhuman and arbitrary act. Certainly, the least that the city could do during this {period of acute and widespread un- employment would be to maintain decent public shelters and free soup kitchens.” Ship Workers Strike ANTWERP, (By Mail). — Two thousand ship repairers have gone out on strike here for an eight-hour day and a wage increase. They are receiving the support of the dock rkers. a lowering of the Jacksonville scale, against arbitration. A national strike for a national set- tlement. Down tools April first! Strike to |save the union! SAVE THE UNION COMMITTEE. District No. 12, U. M. W. of A. Joseph Angelo, Secretary, 431 N. Wesley St., Springfield, Il). Support the Coal Digger financially and otherwise. Read it. Order bundle lots for your local union members. Send your orders to 526 Federai St., N. S. Pittsburgh, Pa, cr ,|tion to replace Albert Weisbord, who for any reason, special attention is being given by the Boston workers to the free distribution of The DAILY among scores of shops, factories and union halls. dozens of new readers to the paper in this way and results have justified the expectations. the territory around which is never remitted ANTHRACITE NOW READY 10 JOIN BIG COAL STRIKE, Progressive Forces to} Prepare Way (Continued from Page One) nan has shown that he will in good time support Lewi At the present moment after the great success of the progressive conference there are only two forces, those of Lewis and those of the rank and file under t leadership of ‘the Tri-district; -the-Union Comittee. will not long permit Brennan to continue his present policy of sup- i Lewis indirectly, it is be- * * * Miners Denounce Lewis. PITTSTON, April 38. — Denunci- ation of the Lewis machine, Cappel- ini, Enoch Williams and others of the district 1 board took place’ at a meeting of delegates of 67 locals in the district at Union Hall. Demands for an immediate decision on the guestion of a special convention were passed. The attack against the Lewis ma- chine officials in the district followed the reading of a letter from John L. Lewis, addressed to Frank Sobers, seeretary of the general grievance committee, in which Lewis declared that “a special district convention has never been acted upon.” The mat- ter is not within the jurisdiction of the International Union, Lewis said in the letter, and suggests that the miners wait for Cappelini to call such a convention. Brennan Criticized. The Brennan forces have been criti- cized for seeking help from Lewis in the first place. At a recent meet- ing of their forces a letter was sent to Lewis asking him to intercede in the affairs of the district. Miners | are indignant that their cause should be referred to Lewis, the arch traitor of the union. Any group which will deal with Lewis is to be questioned, the miners here say. 1 MeGarry Is Dangerous. A further indication of the danger- ous policy now being pursued by the Brennan forces was given in the speech by Frank McGarry, one of the Brennan spokesmen and chairman of | local 1703. McGarry launched a veiled |° attack on the Bonita-Moleski-Mend- ola Defense Committee. He reported that he had collected $1125 for the defense of the three miners although he has not been authorized to collect any such funds outside the regular defense committee channels. The question is being raised as to why MeGarry does not turn the money over to the official committee and as to how he intends to use the money. No committee or acounting board has been elected to supervise either the income or expenditure of these moneys which McGarry is receiving. Climbs Another Rung James Starr, vice-President of the United Textile Workers of America has been appointed by, the general executive board of the U. T. W. as secretary-treasurer of the union, to fill the place left vacant by the death of Sara A. Conboy. Starr was organizer of the Pas- saic local of the union, having re- ceived his appointment to that posi- i was too militant for the reactionary bureaucracy. WOMEN OF ALL AGES TOIL. WASHINGTON, April 3—Seventy- five per cent of the 2,000,000 women in industry are between the ages of 20 and 44, according to Mary Ander- son, director, Women’s Bureau, United States department of labor. Railway Clerks Expect) Meager Wage Increase CHICAGO, April 3.—Railway clerks on the Chicago Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific have everything in shape for a two cents hourly raise and are waiting for President Scandrett of the recently reorganized road to re- turn from a honeymoon to sign it. On the Monon the maintenance of way union has signed an improved schedule of working rules after a re- cent gain of $5 to $10 a month in wages. The min-}- Understanding that The DAILY WORKER “Builders Clubs” are the basic organizations for stimulating and extending the subscription activities, Elsie Pultur is devoting a great deal of time to strengthening old “Builders Clubs” and forming new In Oil Campaign Deal Wilbur W. of the Democratic national commit- tee in 1924. He made a pact with the Republican campaign treasurer, to suppress the amounts of contribu- Marsh was treasurer tioxs ta the party chests, it is char, ‘ged. CONFERENCE ACTS ON MINE PLANS Delegates Discuss All Questions (Continued from Page Cre) policy’ of the Lewis machine had forced them to organize independent unions they said, but the Colorado miners would support and join a na- tional movement of miners tomorrow, the uelegates declared. The Colorado strike made little gains due to the fact that the movement was almost in complete isolation from the national movement. Free Imprisoned Miners. The conference passed unanimous resolutions to wage a countrywide campaign for the freedom of the Zieg- Pittston, Bonita - Moleski - Mendola, Mooney and Billings and to fight all persecutions of progressive miners and other workers who are the vic- tims of either‘ the union bureaucrats: or government officials. Endorsement was voted of the strik- ers children’s clubs now being formed. John Foley, aged 12, representative of | these groups spoke at the meeting and received an ovation while a delega- tion of miners’ children sang in the gallery. The conference instructed the na- tional committee to study the problem of machine work in the industry and issue a statement of program on the problem. Minerich Reports. Anthony Minerich, one of the lead- ing progressives in the union, in re- porting to the conference from the committee on organizing of the un- organized, announced that he himself had been expelled the night before from the union. “But Lewis will never make a scab of me,” Minerich declared. “Lewis can no longer expel us, for we have expelled him. Lewis uses his influ- ence to evict miners, but the-time has come for his own’ complete’ eviction.” Minerich referred to the election promise-of Lewis that he would serve the miners in the future as in the past... “We understand-now what that means,” he declared. We-say, “Never again; Lewis must go!” Endorse “Coal Digger.” “The Coal Digger,” the progressive paner ofthe mine was endorsed, The final report of the credential committee showed nearly twelve hun- dred delegates in attendance. Com- mittee and delegation. meetings con- tinued all through the night. The hall was decorated with banners and signs, “Save-the-Union,” “Organize the Unorganized,” “Lewis must go,” ete, * * * Action Features Conference. , By HOLLACE RANSDELL. PITTSBURGH, April 3 (FP).—As strike flamed, out along a. 1,500-mile front trom central Pennsylvania to Glove Workers ‘Fight Wage Cut; Farmers Aid MARION, Ind., April 8.—The 250 workers of the U, S. Glove Co. of this city, striking against a 22 per cent wage cut, have been receiving food from farmers in the vicinity. The workers, members of the International Glove Workers Union, have been out since late in January. The workers in the plant were sun- jected to a vicious speed-up system, according to officials of the Union. Women who sew gloves average only The scab shops of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois at Danville are show- ing interest in reunionization. They went haywire after the 1922 national shopmen’s strike, a ' i $15 a week of 50 hours and the men cutters receive only $22 a week. The officials of the company re+ fused to meet a mediator of the U, 8, Devartment of Labor. It is hoped to attract ler Miners, the imprisoned miners in | units. WORKER subscription District 1. -Not -only Boston but. ‘BORO HEAD QUITS; \ 1S UNDER FIRE IN SEWER SCANDAL Connolly “Tnvolved In| Graft Expose spiracy and graft in the $29,500,000 | Queens scandal, Maurice E. Connolly, has resigned the presidency of the borough. Connolly’s action is believed to have! been precipitated by the passage of a law by the New York state legisla- witnesses who escape to other states \to avoid giving testimony. A “Reform Candidate.” The law was aimed at a large num- ber of Queens politicians and aa contractors who fled immediatel, after the details of the graft scandal | became public. Conspicuous among these is John M. Phillips, known as the “czar of the sewer ring.” Connolly has held office since 1911. He was elected on a “reform” pro-| gram. He was powerful enough on| several occasions to defy the author- ity of Tammany Hall. Smith, Walker Not Sorry. Since he is a democrat and nominal- ly at least an ally of Gov. Smith and Mayor Walker, those two officials did not feel expedient to press any pro- secution against Connolly.. An of- ficial investigation was allowed to drag. But owing to Connolly’s tend- ency toward independence and to his own strength in his district Smith and |Walker are not saddened at his sur- render of office under charges. Connolly’s resignation while under investigation by a Tammany Hall ap- \pointee also give the democratic party an appearance of purity at a time when Gov. Smith is seeking the nom- ination for president. | the southwest, more than 1,000 coal diggers meeting in Pittsburgh an- alyzed the plight of the United Mine Workers and adopted a program which | would restore its former prestige and | power. From every important coal region came delegates: 142 “from Greene, | Somerset, Westmoreland and Fayette counties, in southwest Pennsylvania, embracing the coke regions, all unor- ganized; 96 from Illinois; 91 from) vicinity. Overdevelopment of the coal indus- try and faulty poljcies of President John L, Lewis were blamed for the gressive program. Never in the 88 years of its work has the union been former centra] Pennsylvania miners’ president, in his report for the na- tional committee. Lewis the Destroyer. “Mr. Lewis came to the union at| the peak of its power, and after years of his lordship, it is falling into ruin,” he declared. Dunean MeDonald, former president | ef the I!inois Mine Workers, unable to be present, sent greetings to “the | conference. “Hearty congratulations | on effort to start a real rank and file movement to save the union,” he wired. McDonald. like the Peabody Coal Co. at $25,000 a year. William Boyce, colored miner from’ Clinton, Ind., brought the convention to its feet with a rousing appeal for racial solidarity. “I can’t blame my colored, brothers who go scabbing,” he said. “I know how they are treated’ and how I am treated. When we all go down in the mines together, you can’t tell who’s black and who's white. Even the boss turns black. Solidarity of Workers. “What difference docs our color make when we’re workim? We all have to stand together as brothers in the union, or you'll have to expect our race to help break your strikes. At times like these you'll have to remem- ber we can get jobs where you fellows can’t.” The conference, after listening to Stanley Dziengielewski, voted unan- imously to rally to the defense of three anthracite miners held for the death of Frank Agati as a result of their fight on the contractor system. Tom Perry, among those expelled by Farrington and now employed in a Detroit auto factory, denounced the leadership of miners’ officials. Among other speakers were Pat Tooh»y, sec- retary of the conference, George Pap- cun cf Wilkes-Barre and William Smith of the coke fields, She promises that when the Massachusetts area is cov- ered with a network of “Clubs” the activity of The, DAILY such important industrial centers as Lawrence and Haverill, are being included in the new activity. The intensification of | the drive-in District 1 promises to-push the district far up to- | wards first place in the national subscription campaign. On the pretext that the New York) board of estimate refused to provide | him with $100,000 with which to de- | fend himself against charges of con- ture fixing a penalty of $100,000 for) Ohio, and 266 from Pittsburgh and} critical situation confronting the union | by John Brophy, in outlining the pro- | challenged as it is now, asserted the | Chairman | Watt, was ousted from the union by. Farrington, who later swung over to: work can “be doubled or tripled in all the-neighboring towns, including -- Foreed to Quit | $5. weekly, from $35 to $30. | barbe: | begin in a few days, it was announced BARBERS’ STRIKE SHUTS 1,000 SHOPS '2,500 Workers Fight $5 Wrege Reduction Almost 1,000 barber shops in Brooklyn and Queens were shut down when 2,500 members of the Journey- men Barbers Union yesterday went out on strike against a wage cut of The | strike was decided on by a vote of the Brooklyn Barbers Local at a meeting, Monday. night, at Brooklyn Labor Lyceum. Many bosses have applied to the union for settlement, according to of- ficials of the union. «The signing up of individual agreements with boss ‘'s applying for settlements will by the strike committee. The policy of the union is to refuse This is Maurice E. Connolly, for- mer president of the borough of , Queens, ‘whose resignation yester- | day was forced by Republican foes. He quit when extradition of the 10 witnesses wanted in the case against | him for $29,500,000 sewer graft was made ,osribve by state egal eecaas EXPOSE KU KLUX | KLAN TERRORISM. haan Crimes Include | | Murder, Arson PITTSBURGH, April 3.—The Ku Klux Klan committed almost every | | conceivable crime, according to the’ deposition of David C. Stephenson on file in Federal Court here teday. The deposition, sworn by Stephen- gon, a former head of the hooded or- der in Indiana, was made in the In- di State Penitentiary where he is serving a life sentence for the mur- | der of a woman. It was secured by Van A. Barrickman of Pittsburgh, who, as attorney for himself and four ‘ether Klaysmen, will use the deposi: tion in the fight to oust the three K’s from Pennsylvania. The gauntlet of crime ran by the Klan, according to the deposition, in- cludes crime, graft, murder, vice, | conspiracy, perjury, kidnaping and numerous others. i | The deposition, a 177-page decu- ment, lends many pages to a denun- ciation of Hiram W. Evans, Imperial Wizard of the Klan, who allegedly attempted to corrupt courts and State legislatures, hired a man to burn Catholic churches and __ schools; planned the murder of Capt. William Coburn, an attorney of Atlanta, Ga., for Coburn’s interference with the Klan; inciting ‘riots in which loss of life ogeurred. Numerous other citations of crime were laid against the Klan and its officers. The huge sum of $20,000,000 was collected from Klan_ members’ in Pennsylvania, the deposition averred. “Knows” Son-in-Law Clarence H. Mackay, president of \the Postal Telegraph Co., has finally finally consented to acknowledge Irving Berlin, famous jazz song writer as his son-in-law, it was learned yesterday. Due to religious prejudice, Mackay has steadfastly re- fused to see either his daughter Ellin, or Berlin, since Clarence Mackay, their mazriage in Telegraph head 1926, CATHOLICS CAUGHT I MEXICO CITY, April 3. officials had evidence today that 68 , Catholic priests and laymen who were ‘arrested at Coyoacan were plotting against the Government. A meeting at Coyoacan was raided when three priests and 55 laymen were brought to police headquarters. MELLON TAX CUT "GIFT TO PLUTES WASHINGTON, April 3. — The “Little Fellow” was left out in the cold in the new tax reduction pro- pram presented to Congress today by Secretary Mellon. *There are approximately 2,500,000 persons reporting taxable incomes of below $10,000 annually, representing an aggregate income of about $10,- (00,000,000. Incomes exceeding $10,- (00 number 400,000. Mellon has provided for a rearrangement of the surtaxes on incomes from $10,000 to $100,000, with some reduction in the See vate... This will benefit about 300,000 taxpayers, with total incomes _of $8,090,000,000, Approximately 400,000 corpora: tions will be beneficiaries under the Mellon proposal. recognition to the Indenendent Master Barbers’ Association, and to ign up all employing barbers inde- | pendently, it was further stated. The reduction violated an agree- {ment with the union. The bosses had ivefused to mediate the dispute with the union, even after the State Labor ; Board had summoned them to a con- \ferenca, . Immediately upon the re- jfusal of the bosses to negotiate with j the union, the leadership began to lay plans for a struggle with the bosses ize the most opportune :ioment. Ac- cording to the applications for settle- ment received, it is believed a more | strategic moment could not have been chosen, due to the approaching Easter holidays. Despite the fact that the employers’ organization had drastically cut wages two months ago they made no move toward reducing the prices charged to the customers. BERRY SEEKS JOB OF GEN. DAWES DENVER, Colo., April 3.—Major George L. Berry, politician and presi- dent of the International Printing Pressmens and Assistants Union, has begun his campaign for another at- tempt to rise in the spoils organiza- tion of the democrats. Earle R. Hoage, president of the Colorado State Federation of Labor, has written a letter boosting Berry for the democratic nomination for vice-president. Workers here are wondering what Hoage has been promised in return for this support. Berry is more interested in the elections controlled by the democratic and republican parties than in elec- tions in his own union. He called off the last election in his union on the grounds there was no opposition. NEARLY 6,000,000 ARE UNENPLOYED Gov't’s Own Figures Show New Total Basing its findings on the figure of 1,870,050 which Secretary of Labor James J. Davis represented to be the total number of unemployed workers in the United States, the Labor Bureau, Inc., 2 W. 43rd St., now esti- mates the total number of unem- ployed at 5,796,920. Secretary Davis was attempting with his misrepresentation of the sit- uation to bolster the Coolidge pros- perity myth. The Labor Bureau shows that Davis’ figure represents not the number of unemployed but the shrink- age in jobs in industry since 1925, Shrinkage in 1923. The Labor Bureau recently esti- mated total unemploymeng at 4,000,- 000. The Labor Bureau has revised its unemployment figures upward on the basis of Secretary of Labor Davis’s report to the Senate. It suggests that shrinkage in employment really dated back to 1923, and that from 1923 to 1925 there was a shrinkage df 1,280,- 870 to be added to Secretary Davis "3 estimate. Farm Labor Shifts. The Labor Bureau then points out that also there was a shift of farm population to the cities estimated at 3,097,000 from 1924 to 1927 and in addition|a normal growth in popula- tion, 7,964,498 between 1923 and 1927, with an estimated 62 per cent of 4,940,000 of employment age. Granite Workers Strike CONCORD, N. H., April 3.—More ° than 100 granite quarry workers here went. out on strike when the employ- ers failed to reach an agreement with the Granite Cutters Union. vor demand a half holiday on Saturday. A turee year agreement calling for $9 a day, an increase of $1 and a five day. week went into effect yesterday in the large quarries at Milford and Manrhostar The ee