The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 9, 1928, Page 2

\ ~The ranks of millions of unemployed are daily increasing as Needle Trade Workers Urged to Fight React “miserable conditi ste propose a program Page Two THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, MONDAY, APRIL 9, 1928 Cece Two THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK: MONDAY) APR 9 1008 SPECIAL TWO-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION TO THE DAILY WORKER FOR ONE DOLLAR IS OFFERED Let every worker, DAILY WORKER agent, Party member, A two months costs one dollar! This opportunity, on jean worker can possibly afford to m within the purchasing power of tho Thousands of coal miners are on subscription to The DAILY WORKER now e which no militant Amer- brings the workers’ press nds of workers. e been laid off. or GALL IS ISSUED BY EDUCATIONAL | LEAGUE LEADERS New Offensive to Start Against Bureaucrats rs | the the | Calling the rieedle countr in all parts of the of coming convent of two largest needle fr unions as a starting point fre which to renew their offensi ary policies of the nat of these two or; tional Committee rection the tional League ha which follo To All Needio Tra “In the berinning 0 ventions of the most i in the needle trades that of the Ar Workers end the Inte Garment W The: are events of great imnort only to the work in the r of s Workers! May, two con- unions, but to all the needle tredes workers. The ne eo of the Needle Tra tion, T. U. E. L., desires to call attention of th » the present g@ in the unions and for the solu- tion of the difficult proble con- fronting the thousands of workers. | Struggle for Workers. “The past two heve been vears of great struggle for the needle trades workers. They have been years during, which the workers, under the | left wine leadership, have carried thru | some of the most militant and spec- | tacular strikes, such as the strikes of | the fur workers and the cloakmakers. | which in spite of the sabotage and) shameful betravals on the part of the | veactionary officials have registered | imanstantieains for the workers, viz., the 40-hour week, increases in wages, nnd other important concessions. The ntrikes of the cloakmakers and the furciers have shown that the needle trades workers, under proper leader- ship, are ready to fieht for the im- vrevement of conditions. They have demonstrated that thru the mass mo- hilization of the workers the injunc- tion. menace can be reduced to impo- tence. “The needle trades workers have thru their militancy repudiated the policy of class collaboration, thus pav- ine the way for the r nt struz- gles of the workers in the other needle trades. It is for this reason that the bureaucracy in conjunction with the hese>s and all the react of the country have launc av attecl: on the needle trodes unions, needle trades situation pre years pullifvine the gains ¢ and converting the org: virtual comrany un: “What is the si n today? What| are the proble confronting the two] eonventions Vv h are to take place this coming May? capitalism overproduces. workers are laid off in all branches of industry, as American In these circumstances even the sub- scription to their militant class organ, which is dearer to the workers than food itself, becomes an impossibility, The DAILY WORKER knows that a subscription to the paper means hardship for the workers and, in view of the wide- spread suffering, the workers’ press has lowered its subscription " Cal Was Not at Home f Dr. hobo, J. Eads shown How, millionaire above with Sylvia Diner, delegate from the conference of 200 unemployed “hoboes,” found that the white house spokesman was not at home when they called recently, But they met the white Refusal of the un- employed men to join in the mass movement of the unemployed has resulted in their failure to make house bounéer, substantial gains. —S———————eeeeeeee———————————Ee——————— begin an open war against the left wing. Mobilize Workers. “As against these treacheries and this poliey of surrender to the em- tloyers the left wing in the needle trades unions under the leadership of the National Committee has been wag- ing a heroic struggle in defense of the workers’ interests, and has mobil- ized the workers to resist the com- bined attacks of the employers and bureaucracy. The left wing during the last two years has proven that it is the only constructive force for the building and strengthening of the unions as a powerful instrument for the improvement of conditions. Today under the powerful blows of the work- ers the cliques everywhere are dis- integrating and iosing their hold on the unions. “The coming conventions of the I. L. G. W. U. and the Amalgamated will mark a critical period in the his- tory of the needle trade unions. They will have to decide whether to con- tinue the policy of class collaboration which means surrender to the bosses, whether to continue the policy of ex- pulsion, ‘discrimination and persecu- tion which will spell the annihilation of the needle trades unions and the whether the conventions will repudiate have brought ruin and devastation, and unite the workers for the pur- pose of rebuilding the organizations. the policies of the bureaucracy which Must Fight Or Surrender. “The very existence of the needle trades unions depends on the final decisions of these issues. The workers are confronted with a situation where I. L. G. W. U8 Convention. “In the Internstional Ladi ment Wor * TInion the interna’ war, launc y ucracy six teen months aco. lon. Thi eivil war ve racterized by the most ery and be- Wvayals on the of the reaction- y center the the mem- ury bureaucracy. In ev union has been wea bership dards workers decrensed underm are of Thousands ed. jected hours. low wages and sweat-shop con- ditions. Amalgamated Convention. “The Amalgamated Clothing Work- ers, which at one time the van- guard of the needle trades unions be- cause of its militancy. has now been reduced to a stronghold of reaction. The militancy which characterized the early days of the Amalramated has been definitely abandoned in favor of a class collaboration policy through which the employers are enabled to introduce the speed-up system, stan- dards of production, piece-work, re- organizations, etc. Internally the or- ganization is dominated by a most} reactionary machine} ruthless and which rules with an iron hand. This yeactionary class collaboration policy toward the employers is accompanied by a ruthless war against the militant Dementia who comprise the backbone of the organization and who resent the slave driving in the shops. “The breakdown of union conditions in the Internationa! Ladies’ Garment Workers, the Furriers’ Union and the Amalgamated has also affected the conditions of the cap and millinery workers. The reactionary officialdom is maneuvering with the employers to up the 40-hour week and rees- lish piece-work. To carry through this policy of surrender to the em- d the bureaucracy of the cap millinery workers has to b} they have to choose between the pol- icy of fight or surrender. The work- ers of the I. L. G. W. U. and the Amalgamated throughout the entire union stan- country must mobilize their forces and | take up the struggle with renewed t» the most vigor. Elect delegates who will come | s of slavery, long to the convention to repudiate the} policies of the reactionary bureau- eraey and prepare the unions to meet the challenge of the bosses and their substitution of company unionism; or | © 100 MORE BARBER BOSSES SIGN UP WITH STRIKERS Individual Settlements Demanded by Union The demand of the striking Brook- lyn Local 918 of the Journeymen Barbers’ Union that the bosses sign idual contracts with the organ- ization and leave their employers’ association, was met with by 100 j more boss barbers, bringing the total of settlements made in the 7-day strike up to 650. Barely 200 barber shops have thus far failed to come |to terms with the union. | In signing the agreements the em- |ployers agreed to return to the old {wage of $35 a week, rescinding the | $5 wage cut which caused the strike. | The members of the Journeymen | Barbers’ International, about 60,000 workers, are using the Brooklyn barbers’ strike as an example to fol- |low in fighting the wage slashing |campaign of barber bosses’ associa- tions all over the country. They de- mand of their leadership an imme- diate campaign to answer the bosses’ wage cuts with an «attempt to break up all bosses’ associations. One of the methods used by these “Master Barbers’ Associations” is to threaten bombings and other meth- cds of terrorism to keep their mem- bers from settling individually with the union, The Brooklyn barber bosses, however, are signing up des- pite threats of terrorism. agents in a struggle for the amalga- mation of the needle trades unions. “Workers! Fight for these de- mands: One powerful union in the needle industry. Organization of the unorganized, The 40-hour week. The unemployment fund, paid by the em- ployers and managed by the union. The reinstatement of the expelled. The democratization of the unions. Against company unionism, against class collaboration policies. Abolition of the piece-work system, standards of production and other speed-up methods. “(Signed) NATIONAL TRADES COMMITTEE.” 300,000 TO GET MAY DAY ‘DAILY’ Organized and unorganized work- | lers in every trade will be reached when 200,000 copies of the special May Day edition of The DAILY WORKER |} are distributed throughout the coun- | try. A large proportion of this special tion will go to the striking miners}} where plans are already under way for the wide dissemination of the on- ly newspaper in the English language that consistently fights on the side of the workers. The special edition will contain 32 pages, in which many features of interest to every worker will be pre- |sented. Worker correspondents and abor journalists throughout the coun- ry are now being mobilized to make this May Day issue of The DAILY WORKER the greatest that has ever appeared. Every unit of the Workers (Com- | munist) Party should send in greet-/ ings at once, and every Party mem-| ber and sympathizer should have his or her name on the May Day Honor) Roll. Plans for the distribution of the special edition should also be) NEEDLE { | | on Sie rates to one dollar for two months. This reduction has not been effected without hardship to the paper which is itself fighting for existence against the Wall Street forces that are endeavoring to crush it, must aid the paper with their subscriptions. celebration should make the sale of the special two month sub- scriptions its most important business, The Where Hell Is Camouflaged by Henry Ford 4 Every May Day dollar subscription drive. workers until the First of May. If reader of, and sympathizer with the paper, get behind the one Workers everywhere should take ad- vantage of this unusual opportunity. Get your two months’ sub- seription to The DAILY WORKER. The offer only holds good you have a subscription already, send one to a worker who has not. Above is a bird’s eye view of Twin Branch, West Va., Hen- ry Ford’s “mod- el” coal town where the fliv- ver tsar pays high for the lives of the at workers who are forced to sell themselves to quick death in this pretty- looking hell. Ford's famous speed-up is in its most brutal form in Twin Branch. UNION SQUARE IS. RED SQUARE NOW Campaign On to Raise Funds for New Center (Continued from Page One) new building will unify Communist xctivity in this stronghold of the world’s greatest capitalism and give new impetus to every phase of our activity.” Campaign Is On. Weinstone urged that all members of the Workers (Communist) Party should not only give as much as they can for the Workers Center but should obtain donations from friends and sympathizers. The campaign must start immediately. he said, as the $30,- (00 is to be raised by the end of the month. Later in the month a ban- guet will be held in the new building, te which Werkers Party members and militant workers will be invited. Other speakers at the meeting were Alexander Trachtenberg, chairman of the board of directors of the Work- ers Center; Ben Lifshitz, secretary of the Jewish Buro, Workers Party; Robert Minor, editor of The DAILY WORKER, and Joseph Brodsky, treasurer of the new center. They discussed the financial details of the cd out its significante to the revolu- ticnary movement. Quotas Assigned. The speeches were followed by dis- cussion from the floor, after which support of the drive for $30,000 was unanimously voted by the member- ship. Bert Miller acted as chairman of the meeting. Many Workers Party units have al- ready begun activity to fulfill their ouctas as quickly as possible, The quotas assigned are as follows: Section 1, $2,800; Section 2, $2,500; Section 3, $2,500; Section 4, $2,000; Section 5, $2,800, Section 6, $1,000; Section 7, $1,000; Brownsville, $500; Long Island City, $500; Yonker, $400; Hempstead, $100; Hicksville, $100; Katonah, $50; New Rochelle, $100; |Portchester, $100; Staten Island, $50; Jamaica, $50; Bayonne, $100; Cliff- side, $59: Elizabeth, $200; Jersey City, $150; Linden, $50; Newark, $200; Pas- saic, $109; Paterson, $200; Perth Am- boy, $50; and West New York, $50. All money collected will be turned in at once to the district office, 108 ‘made immediately. E. 14th St. ALL PARIS WALKS ON MAY FIRST Workers in French Capital Celebrate Their Historic Holiday | PARIS, ‘April 8.—The streets of |Paris on May 1 are always empty. No |taxis or buses are to be seen. The drivers are well organized and will not allow the transportation com- ‘to infringe one iota on their historic right of celebrating May ist. But’ in 1925 was a year of terrible |depression in France, and the em- | ployers thought they could break down jonce and for all the old tradition of jquitting work May Ist. Trying to jtake advantage of the great unem- |ployment at that time, the misery and weakened resistance of the work- ers due to the inflation of the franc, they gave out the order to the drivers to report for work as usual. May 1, 1925, however, the streets of Paris were empty. The men took their usual holiday. May 2 when the drivers showed up for work they were denied access to their machines unless they would sign a pledge never again to lay off on May Day. A strike was the answer. But the workers weren’t going to let a golden opportunity slip by. While they were striking in protest, they decided they might as weil strike for some substantial gain. Half a year before, the company had agreed to an adjustment in pay to compen- sate for the swift rise in the cost of living which was continuing steadily. But it had never been put into effe Several meetings a day were held and on Sunday a monster meeti attended by all the strikers sympathizers in the red suburbs. It was a lesson to the company. Expecting to find the men submissive, their ultimatum acted as a boomer-' ang and they found themselves face to face with a strike which promised to wring from the company conces- sions which, if peace had been main- street cars to and from their meet- ings, by showing their employee cards. Even the weather was against the company. It rained hard every day. contributing to the inconvenience of he Parisians, who do most of their travelling on the buses, to such an extent that public clamor required a settlement of the strike as quickly as possible. After three rainy days the strike was finally settled. It was a victory for the strikers. They got the ad- justment in wages and the men were reinstated. They demanded and got pay during their idle time. But most important of all they secured once more their historic right of quitting work on the day set aside for the cele- bration of international solidarity, May First. Not only the Parisian workers, but workers all over the world, fight tained, might have been put off. Be- sides, that the men rode free on the hard to uphold the old tradition of downing tools the First of May. , acquisition of the building and point- | the New York section of the defense organization, “For more than a generation,” the appeal states, “May first has been recognized as the holiday of the working class throughout the world. Everywhere where workers are op- pressed this day has been the occa- sion for mass demonstrations, dem- onstrations which at times have been |red with the blood of the working class. “In the United States, the birth- place of the holiday of May 1, reac- tionary labor officials have desecrat- ed this great day and have tried to mike the workers forget its revolu- tionary significance. But the work- ers will not and must not forget. This year more than ever before it is nec- essary that May 1 be made the oc- easion for a demonstration on a huye seale of militant New York labor “It is the first May Day since the capitalist class showed its contempt -|for the mass power of the workers by the murdering of Sacco and Van- zetti. In the heart of every class jeonscious worker the names of Sacco land Vanzetti are burned deep and May first this year’must be made the occasion for a show of working class solidarity that shall be a fit- ting tribute to their memories and to all those who have suffered and are suffering today because of their loyalty to their class. “May first this year also comes at ja time when workers thruout” the jcountry are being ‘intimidated and attacked by the capitalist ecurts and when the life of our fighting prole- tarian organ, The DAILY WORKER is being threatered. We must show the capitalist class that we cannot he frightened so easily and that our spirit is unbroken. On May 1 the workers of this city must present a united front against their common enemies. The International Labor Defense, which has been in the fore- front of go many of the most des- rerate battles of the American work- ing class, cajls on all its members and all ther militant workers to make May 1 this year a real demon-! stration of the power of their class by attending the celebration in Madi- son Square Garden.” WORKERS WILL HONOR CLASS VICTIMS MAY 1 An appeal to all members of the International Labor Defense and all other militant wokers to support the May Day celebration at Madison Square Garden at 3 p. m. May 1, was issued yesterday by Rose Baron, secretary of ‘DAILY’ NEEDED TO ORGANIZE MINERS Workers Must Send Subs to Aid New Struggle Most of the delegates who attended the great Save-the-Union Conference in Pittsburgh have returned to their homes and are beginning to spread the message of the conference among the rank and file miners of their dis- tricts. In organizing the miners thru- out the country for the twofold strug- gle against the coal operators and the corrupt union leadership, The DAILY WORKER is certain to play an active part. The extent of this part will, how- ever, be determined by the readers of The DAILY WORKER. Most of the miners who before the strike were regular readers of the Daily and drew revolutionary inspiration from its columns: have been unable to renew their subscriptions because, unlike John L. Lewis and his fellow-fakers, they do not continue to draw salary while on strike. “Continue to Get Paper. The DAILY WORKER has, how- ever, continued to send the paper reg- ularly to these old subscribers, de- spite the fact that the loss of revenue has been a serious blow to the Daily in its present condition, But there are still thousands and hun- dreds of thousands of miners thru- out the country who are unacquainted with the only English language news- paper that fights on their side or who see the’ paper only irregularly. These thousands of miners are be- ing organized now for the greatest siruggle in the history of the United Mine Workers of America, a struggle which will decide the fate not only of the United Mine Workers of America, but of the entire American working- class. “Daily” Fights for Miner: Save the Miners’ Union has become (Continued on Page Three} sg fender, as the speaker. The first meetings will be held in New York City, where a series of them will be opened Wednesday at 8 p. m., at the Bohemian Hall, 347 E. 72nd St., under the auspices of the Harlem branch of the I. L. D. Another meeting will be held under the auspices of the Brownsville branch at the Brownsville Youth Center, 122 Osborn St., Brooklyn, next Sunday at 8 p.m. A number of other meetings ave being arranged in various parts of the city, Meetings All Over East. Meetings will follow in Bethlehem, Pa., April 19, then into the Pittsburgh territory, Canton, O., Apr. 24, Akron, 0., Toledo, Saturday, May 5; Detroit, May 6; Flint, Mich., May 7; Grand Rapids, May 8; Friday, May 11, Chi- cago, May 14, Waukegan, Ill. Other meetings will be held in the southern Illinois territory and in St. Louis, Jamestown, Erie, Buffalo, Toronto, Canada, Rochester, Utica, Troy. A OR DEFENSE OPENS INESE LECTURE TOUR ‘ Final. arrangements are completed for the opening of the national illus- trated lecture tour on the present struggle of the Chinese people for libera- tion to be held under the auspices of International Laber Defense, with Max Shachtman, editor of the Labor Deon hina. es never before shown in this country will be flashed on the ‘sereen, showing the conditions of the |Chinese people under the old feudal regime, the entry and dominance of the foreign imperialist powers, the uprising of the masses of workers and peasants, and the fight they have been carrying on for years. Espe- cially interesting are the pictures showing the hideous truelties prac- tiged by the reactionaries in their at- tempt to drown the Chinese revolution in its own blood. Dozens of original scenes will be shown. Jobless Man Sells His LOS ANGELES, Calif., (By Mail). —The wife and baby were starving, so the unemployed, penniless husband and father sold his shoes for thirty- five cents in order to feed them. This week in the New England field and a number of days in the Connecticut and New Jersey cities will follow. New Pictures Shown, The lecture will give a graphic pic- ture of the historic movement Ss is only one incident in many here. A young fellow walked into a shoe shop at 221 E, 5th St., near the “slave market,” recently. He had a good pair of shoes for sale. His price was dollar. Too high for the cobbler. Shoes to Feed Family' tion at Two Unions’ Conventions CITE GROWTH OF WORKERS SCHOOL AT ANNUAL DINNER \Faculty, Students, Meet to Discuss: Aims (Continued from Page One) tion Bureau, harmless appendage of ‘the A. F. of L.” National Training Students Present. The Workers School is the largest institution of its kind anywhere in the world outside the Soviet Union, Wolfe stated. Present at the banquet in addition to the faculty, were the 25 members of the National Training School who will soon complete a three-months’ course at the institution. Speaking for the group, Thomas Fleming of California, declared that the stu- dents at the conclusion of the course would return to their districts and active Party work. “We shall return to the day to day struggle with the bosses, and spread the influence of the Workers School and the message of the class war.” Jay Lovestone, executive secretary of the Workers (Communist) Party, spoke briefly of the functions of the school. “We do not have ‘red pro- fessors’ drawn from the middle class who act as instructors. The instruc- tors in this school are men engaged in daily, militant struggle. The Workers School does not award di- plomas ‘cr ‘leadership.’ Rather, & provides workers with better equip- ment with which to participate in the class war.” Others who spoke were Jack Stachel, organizational secretary of the Workers (Communist) Party: William W. Weinstone, secretary of District 2; Dr. J. Mindel, head of the Jewish Workers University; Juliet Stuart Poyntz, secretary of the wemen’s werk in the Party. and M. Levy, secretary of the Workers School student council. Messages were read from Scott Nearing and Arthur W. Calhoun, in- structors at the echool who were ‘in- able to he present. Alexander Trachtenberg acted as toastmaster. BISCUIT WORKERS FIGHT LAY-OFFS Conditions in the Plant Bring Talk of Action (Continued from Page One) their heads unless they speed up constantly. Reports from many of the workers indicate that they are driven at a high rate of speed in getting out the work while the number of workers is being ent down day by day without eutting down at all on production. The factory force is now at half of its former strength and the remain- ing workers are foreed to do the work of the full force. Workers who have slaved for the company as long as 15 years have not been spared in the lay-offs.” According to workers at the dough machines, Superintendent Quinn has increased the number of dough bar- rels at each machine on an average of from two to three more. In case the men get through five minutes early they are given another barre! of dough. This method is duplicated in every department, so that production is in- creased and fewer workers are used. The specd-up system has resulted in over-production, so that the National Riscuit Company is forced to close its plants from time to time. Many of the workers are talking of organizing into the Bakers’ Union, the Amalgamated Food Workers’ Union or the Machinists’ Union. They say that only through unions can they fight the bosses against the speed un. for better working condi- tions, higher pay and for a shorter work day to solve the problem of part time work ond lay-offs. Many of them are sending in letters to The DAILY WORKER telling about the miserable conditions at the nlants. They get The DAILY WORKER at ihe newsstands near the plant and when they are through reading it, Rs give it to their shop mates to read. The price went down to seventy-five cents, then to fifty cents. “No,” said the dealer, “I can’t get more than $1.50 myself so I'll give you thirty-five cents.” The offer was finally accepted. Out on the street his wife with the baby on her arm was waiting. In- stead of a dollar for a pair of seven dollar shoes the husband brought only thirty-five cents. Well, it meant food