The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 1, 1928, Page 2

THE DATLY WORKER, EW YORK, FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 1928 Illinois Miners Begin Real Work of Strengthening Rank and File Union VOYZEY, Cf COFFEY, ‘ARRESTS SWELL TEXTILE MILL PICKE the Textile jof over 1,000 in the South end and a SLINGER ISSUE GENERAL APPEAL Organization to Fight For Standards We Moecinl 10 the Dols BELLEVILLE taking over of the United Mine W trict 12, following th tion of the treacherot wick machine of file, was announce circular letter sent ¢ in the district call unite behind the paying dues to t old chine and to build the organization. The letter signed by Dan H. Slin newly elected secretary Yr over the signature of George Voyzey corrupt mi president, and Luke Coffey, vice- president of the union, follows in part: | General Circular. To the officers and members of all local unions, District No. 12, United| Mine Workers of America. GREETINGS: At a special convention held at Belleville, Ill., May 19th and 20th, the offices of Fishwick, president; Sneed vice-president; Nesbit, secretary-| treasurer, and, ail board members| were declared vacant, and new offi- cers elected temporarily, until such time as an election may be held. You should send your dues which} will be 50 (fifty) cents per month, to Dan H. Slinger, secretary-treasur- er, Illinois Section, U. M. W. of A., 128A West Main St., Belleville, Tl. Brothers! The time has now ar- rived when we must take a deter- mined stand to take control of our organization. At the present time temporary! agreements are being signed at a large reduction in wages thru the in- troduction of labor-saving machine devices. Men are now receiving $8.04 for loading coal on conveyors which means a cut in the tonnage rate of at least 50 per cent. Appeals to All. Thousands of miners who helped to| wild the U. M. W. of A. now find hemselvyes thrown out and expelled ‘vem the organization they helped to iid thru many years of cacrifice. “s are appealing to the oldei miners f our union to take action now before it is too late. A year has passed and gone. We find that the mine workers are in a weaker position to combat} the operators in their open-shop drive than ever before, and for this failure to prepare we must hold Lewis and Fishwick responsible. They must be driven out of the United Mine Work-, ers—and control placed in the hands of the rank and file—if we are to re- tain our organization. The way to proceed is to quit paying dues and assessments to those who have de- stroyed our organization. As I write to you word comes from the Ohio Rank and File Convention that they have thrown all of the old officials out and elected new ones to take their place. Forty local unions represented by three hundred dele- gates have again demonstrated their ability to run the U. M. W. of A. for their best interests. “CENTER” DANCE TOMORROW NIGHT To Award “Red Banner | at Big Affair (Continued from page one) the Soviet Union, will be one of the chief artists on the program. He will be assisted by his two gifted children both talented mus . Another dis- tinguished artist will he L. Newell, harpist and soloist with the Capitol| Theatre Symphony Orchestra. The concert i about 10 o'clock xpected to end at general Fe “All Workers Center collection lists, whether filled or unfilled, to- gether with all contributions must be turned in to the Center, 26-28 Union Square, not later than to- morrow evening. All pledges must also be completely paid up by that time. “W. W. WEINSTON, “Secretary, Workers Center.” ——— SSS EEE EE dancing will begin to the musie of a jazz orchestra. Tickets for tomorrow night’s affair should be bought immediately as ac- commodations are limited to 600, it ‘was announced. They are 50 cents in advance and 75 cents at the door and are on sale at the Workers Center, the Workers Bookshop, 26-28 Union Square; United Workers Cooperative, 2700 Bronx Park East; and Unity Cooperative, 1800 Seventh Ave. rank and file} The results eine. the Speberttiye adopted policy of wholesale arrests inaugurat- ed by the police authorities in the New Bedford strike area, where 000 textile worker: e ending the 1 k of their fight against a wage cut, are d ed by the leader of the New Bedford Textile William T. Murdc h, lowing communication received ee, day. he attempt ad terror the New B of the police to ord Textile W | The picture shows Professor Hu; |ing opened and run by sc as they arrived in the United States. followed his plane, the Bremen, whose flight across tre Atlantic guaran- | teed the serviceability of his product for the militarists in the next war. Union (affiliated with TING LINE, SAYS MURDOCH Mills Committees) has only succeeded | picket of about 400 at the Nonquit in drawing more and more workers|and Whitman in the North, y and to build |hundreds of workers singing Solidari- Pre- ty and “Ramboya,” into picket line activ: up the morale of the militants, vious to th rests there were never more than 200 on any picket line, aft- er being due to the fact that many work- ers could not be convinced that there was any great danger of the mills be+ "he answer of the wor others on urday was a picket line go Junkers, at right, and his family The German plane manufacturer Bandits Take $200, 000 from “Swell” Party [NDIANAPOLIS, Ind, May 31.— Ten masked bandits early today held up the Roadmoor Country Club and robbed 200 guests of jew- elry and currency valued at be- tween $150,000 and $200,000. The victims were prominent busi- ness and professiors.1 men of In- dianapolis and their out-of-town | guests, here to attend the auto race. The holiday festivities were in full swing when the bandits trooped in like a squad of well-trained soldiers. They were equipped with sub- machine guns, sawed-off shotguns | and revolvers. | The guests were ordered to. line | up against the wall. When a few of the men objected a volley of shots roared over their heads and they quickly fell in line. With the fashionably-gowned women and men in evening clothes . lined along two sides of the spa- cious ballroom, the bandit leader asked for their attention and gave the following orders: “Drop your money and jewels in the canvas bag that will be passed down the line.” While nine of the bandits stood *menacingly with firearms levelled, the tenth bandit went down the line with the canvas bag and took up the “collection.” Here and there a woman fainted, but nothing was al- lowed to interfere with the orderly progress of the robbery. With the collection completed, the men filed out in military manner, leaped into a large maroon-colored sedan and disappeared in the dark- ness. TAILORS BOSSES HAIL PIECE WORK (Continued from page one) deep antagonism among the union | membership against this system.” But the union leaders admit that the union membership is unreasonable, says the clothing bosses organ. | In agreement with the Beckerman | dictatorship in control of the work- ers’ organization, the employers’ spokesmen cynically declare, “by not agreeing to piece work, the workers plainly show that they have no vision.” The Socialist Jewish Daily For- ward, in reporting the sell-out, an- | nounces apologetically that piece} « |work will be granted only to the large and responsible firms.” Its col- umns also declare that the union will for piece work per- The statements of the leading man-} ufacturers in the past few days brand jthis as mere patter. The employers | ‘announce that the granting of piece} | work to a dozen, large manufacturers | | by no means settles their demands, | Only when the prices are agreeable} | will they be satisfied, they say. More jimportant than this, however, is the jalmost foregone conclusion that not | only large manufacturers will be per- mitted to adopt this system but al- | most the entire trade. It will no |doubt be conceded to the trade by Beckerman when he begins negotia- |tions for a renewal of the agreement |which expires June 30. Even if the original prices set by the union are favorablé, there is nothing to prevent the boss from low- ering prices as much as he desires, when the wages earned are judged by him as too high, the workers de- clare in discussion. This will lead to | visitor’s balcony were exposed. DISTRICT FIVE OUSTS OFFICIALS Rank and File Miners - Take.Control (Continued from page one) vention of the United Mine Workers of America and make a reality of the slogan “Lewis Must Go,” to change the prevailing policies, to provide for the organization of thousands of un- organized miners into one national union, to establish one agreement. Bridget Burma, a member of the Children’s Strike Club of Burgetts- town told the delegates, “The children want to add their voices with yours -” Charles Wilson who was sent here ‘by the National Children’s Com- mittee for Miners’ Relief to bring a thousand dollar donation for relief and promised the support of the chil- dren of New York in the great strug- gle the miners are waging, told the convention, “Our fathers are fighting the Sigmans in New Yoiv, just as you are fighting Lewis. We are going to help as much as we can.” The role of the young miners, and Negro miners were also stressed. Fred Gianizco of Wyano, a fraternal delegate from the newl): organized | field in Westmoreland county, told how the young miners led hundreds of men, women and children on picket lines. He described how 59 coal dig- gers, the larger number of who were between 16 and 20, who had been in the front ranks, served three and a half days in the jail. “They said they’d release us if we went back to work—release us without bail or bond,” he said, “but we said we'd rather rot in jail.” Negro Miners Active. Isaiah Hawkins, a Negro miner from Frederickstown declared that the Negro youth was discriminated against first in the schools and later in the mines. All the dirty work and slate picking falls to them, he said “Then they always try to use our boys as spies,” Hawkins bitterly said. “If our white union brothers treated them fair and square, they’d be with you, and fighting as well as the best of you.” Four company spies, seated in the “We hide,” Secretary “AN of our work is have nething to Myerscough said. done in the open.” “Go back to the operators and tell them that our people are standing to- gether solid,” Pat Toohey declared. By SCOTT NEARING. HEN economists say that the wealth of the United States is 400 billion dollars they include rail- roads, factories, monies, houses, theatres, autos, cattle, sheep, hogs, baled cotton, steel ingots, calico, shoes, These things have been pro- duced by labor, working upon nat- ural resources, using tools and ma- chinery. How about the people of the Unit- ed States? Economists do not count them as wealth. Before 1863 the 4,000,000 slaves in the southern part of the United States were counted as. wealth— they had a value of about 3,000 million dollars, It is not customary to value “free” people on that basis, a constant inhuman rush of each worker to produce more and more in order to catch up to his previous earn- ings, they say. Still, people cost money. Louis I. Dublin, statistician of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com- pany recently wrote a book “Health the first big demonstration, this | With a folk song of |the Portuguese, the police attempt to \frighten’ the workers had failed. “At the Page mill picket on Monday jafternoon the police, led by Sergeant McCarthy, pulled Manuel Bernado, a small boy: member of the Strikers’ |Children’s Club, off the picket line | rs to the ‘and then.when the boy returned at amongst the members arrest of Beal, Murdoch, and the five |the invitation of Murdoch, they took him away, in their machine to the IDLE TEXTILE MILLS ECHO TO STRIKE SONGS Daily Worker is Vital to Keep Men Singing: The walls of the New Bedford tex- tile mills are built like most New England textile mills of gray field- stone. Like the walls of a prison they stretch off for blocks, pierced by many windows. “Nearly every mill is surrounded by a high board or iron-spiked fence. The gates are padlocked for the machinery lies idle. There is no sound in the interiors of these blank building, for the starving men and the women who ordinarily keep the machines running and the profits mounting, are standing in picket lines before the gates.. “As they march they sing,” said Elsie Pultur, DAILY WORKER agent in District 1, wha was telling us the story in the business office of the paper. “And while their singing drives the police patrols frantic it is the most heartening thing in that New England town. Paper Encourages Strikers. “Tt is to this line of singing men and women and children that the progres- sive leaders of the New Bedford strike have been distributing The DAILY WORKER. It is The DAILY WORK- ER which all these days has been encouraging the textile pickets in their struggle. And it is the con- sciousness that The DAILY WORKER is fighting on their side which has helped to put spirit into the songs of these strikers. “But tho distribution is. invaluable, it is not permanent,” Elsie Pultur said. “It is subscriptions which must bring The DAILY WORKER to the striking textile workers day after day. Must Subscribe. “If The DAILY WORKER is to become a daily power in the lives of 30,000 textile strikers, it is necessary that the paper be subscribed to by hundreds of textile workers. It is necéssary for them to see the progress of their struggle, and the part which The DAILY WORKER is taking in their struggle be made apparent to all the textile strikers in the columns of their only English labor daily. “It is with the intention of pushing the drive for subscriptions to The DAILY WORKER that I am return- ing to New England,” Elsie Pultur declared. “The importance of the sit- uation in New Bedford cannot be overstated as the basis of a subscrip- tion drive. We are going to put the paper in New Bedford,” she con- cluded. Mooney Meet, Concert Tonight in Brownsville The demand for the immediate re- lease of Tom Mooney and Warren K. Billings will be made at a mass meet- ing and concert to be held at Browns- ville Labor Lyceum, 219 Sackman St., tonight under the auspices of the Brownsville branch of the Interna- tional Labor Defense. An attractive musical program will | ers, and Wealth” in which he estimates that in the United States a family with an. income of $60 a week spends about $10,000 in raising a boy from birth to age 18. * * * Y Bess figure includes actual money outlay. It allows nothing for the work or the time that the mother has devoted to the raising of the children, Dr, Dublin goes on: “The cost of bringing up a child may be looked upon as capital invested which will produce future returns.” How much? At age 18, a man who will work all his life as a skilled me-' chanie will produce over and above his keep, an average of about $29,000, what Dr. Dublin calls “the present worth of his net future earnings.” In other words, each man of 18 years, among skilled me- chanics should leave the world $29,000 richer as a result. station, at the same time making a great fuss around the line in an ef- fort to provoke the workers to resist. When Alphonse Lameiras called to the workers to maintain the line and keep order as usual he was immedi- ately arrested for ‘disturbing the peace’. “When the boy was taken away the police were immediately answer- | ad by the workers who had previously been only watching the pickets com- ing over and joining the line, which was then led by the older sister of the boy who had been pulled off the Victims ot A merican Traseds of Exploitation line, who helped Murdoch lead the singing. “Later as the pickets marched back to the hall the police arrested Mur- doch and three others in another at- tempt at intimidation... . The an- swer of the New Bedford strikers to the latest action of the police will be more and better pickets, “The answer of the workers in oth- er centers to the attack must be to redouble their efforts to raise relief. The New Bedford workers are put- ting up a real fight for Labor. Let labor support them in their struggle.” ue Edward Cromwell has been liberated from a Connecticut jail. His wife had him arrested when he insisted on their having more children tho they could not support the four they have. The four living help keep themselves alive for folding elastics at 50 cents per gross. Cromwell makes as a job, but that is less and less frequent, a Nine others had died. much as $20 a week when he can get MOBILIZE FORCES FOR PARTY FUND. Launch Drive to Get $100,000 for Campaign (Continued from page one) the speakers to various parts of the district. “Towards the close of the campaign a “Red Special” will be chartered, a railroad train that will carry our two candidates to all the main cities. The “Red Special” will also stop at small- er cities and the candidates will speak from the rear platform. Seats on this train will be sold to Party mem- bers and sympathizers. “Our entire aim in this campaign will be to politicalize the raising of funds. We want to establish an in- separable connection in the ntinds of the.workers between contributing to this campaign fund and voting for the candidates of our Party, the only candidates that represent the inter- ests of the American workers.” HOOVER BEATEN IN PRIMARY CHARLESTON, W. Va., May 31.— Senator Guy D. Goff, favorite son candidate, and Goy. Al Smith of New York, apparently have won the re- publican and democratic preference vote in the West Virginia primary with three-fourths of the results tab- ulated. Out of 1,800 of the 2,306 precincts, Goff was today leading Secretary of Commerce Hoover by approximately 7,000 votes for the 19 delegates to the republican convention at Kansas City. Smith’s lead over Senator James A.| Reed of Missouri was approximately 6,500 in the same precincts for the 16 Democratic delegates. MEET CUTTERS MAKE GAIN. GALVESTON, Tex.—May 81.—A minimum wage of $35 is the first follow brief talks by prominent speak- jgain made by the recently organized local of meat cutters. HOW MUCH MONEY ARE PEOPLE WORTH? ‘Before ‘the Civil War the Slaves Were Worth Three 1 Billion Dr. Dublin then capitalizes this future earning power, allows half as much for the net worth of women as for the net worth of men, and reaches the conclusion that “the to- tal capital value of the present pop- ulation of the United States is about 1,500 billion dollars. * * * AM the tangible property (includ- ing real estate) in the United States is worth about 400 billion . dollars. The capitalized earning power of the population is about four times as great. By this application of modern ac- counting to the life of the American masses, Dr, Dublin has pointed out’ one vitally important factor for the workers of the U. S. A, When it comes to a show-down—eyen in money terms,—it is the working masses and not the property owned by the upper classes that is the real economic factor, Prof Says Kale fromPowerMen: Not“Unethical” WASHINGTON, May May “81. — Theo- dore J. Rayson, an associate professor at the University of Penn- sylvania, can see nothing “unethical” in receiving pay from the power trust lobby to speak against government ownership. Rayson so testifiea at the federal trade commission power inquiry . to- day. The professor teaches at the same institution fro which Sol Auerbach, 21-year-old instructor in philosophy, was recently fired. “Expressing him- self publicly on public questions” was the curious reason offered by the uni- versity authorities for his dismissal. Auerbach had given a talk on educa- tion in the Soviet Union following a visit with a student delegation. During the inquiry Rayson who has been on the regular payroll of power interests for propaganda talks against government ownership, attempted to explain his activities by declaring: “T am opposed to government own- ership and business and always shall be.” The University of Pennsylvania has not as yet dismissed Rayson. ‘DEFENSE PARLEY FOR MILL STRIKE Call Boston Conference to Fight Jailings (Continued from Page Qne) rested. The trial of the first group resulted in stiff jail sentences and heavy fines. Two women pickets— both mothers—received six months land fines. By order of the mill barons, the police are attempting to terrorize the strikers by all possible means. Additional victims are expected as the fight goes on. “The International Labor Defense has undertaken the defense of those arrested. All forces must be mobil- ized, or else we are not in a, position to carry on successfully the defense of New Bedford strikers. All our members and friends must help and keep the strikers out of jail. “Your, organization is kindly re- quested to send two delegates to this conference, “All I, L. D. branches should send two delegates. each, one of them may be the Branch Secretary. “The time is short and the emerg- en¢y is great. Act immediately. Let your executive committee appoint the delegates if there is no time for full meeting of your organizations. Be sure to send two delegates without fail. “Send your contribution with your delegates. No contribution is too small nor too big. Act promptly and help to win the strike by keeping our brothers and rs out of jail.” Open Forum of Pressers Local 35 at 2 p.m. Today An open forum of Pressers’ Local 85 will be held this afternoon at 6 W. 21st St. at 2 o’clock, All mem- bers are urged to attend. MINERS OUST ALL LEWIS OFFICIALS IN DISTRICT ONE Militants Lead Fight Against Brennan (Special to The DAILY WORKER) SCRANTON, May 31.—Mine work- ers tof district 1, in the anthracite in special convention. here yesterday ousted the whole officialdom of the Lewis-Cappelini machine including all members of the district executive board. The maneuver by the Brennan and Harris forces was an attempt to save John Boylan, a member ,of the Dis- trict Executive Board of the first in- spection district and also Kmetz, member of the fourth inspection dis- trict. Brennan and Harris sought to form an alliance with them tho they have opposed the special district con- vention. and have continually voted and fought against the rank and file of district one. The opposition to this was led by Hogan and Stanley Ed- munds and the left wing forces within the convention. The resolution was referred back to the resolutions committee which brought in a compromise resolution conceding to the progressive forces within the convention and recommend- ing the removal and ousting of the entire Rinaldo Cappelini machine. To Elect New Officers. The election of the temporary of- ficers will take place on the first of June when the convention which ad- journed for the holiday May 30, will reconvene. The delegates at the con- vention and the membership of dis- trict one are warned to watch the convention and the leaders very close- ly, especially the Brennan-Harris forces who will do everything in their power to make an alliance with Lewis in order to betray the miners further. Another resolution of importance to the membership which was passed was the resolution that the appointive power of the district office and the district executive board shall be taken away and all organizers and field workers shall be elected by a referen- dum vote, Also the resolution that in ease Lewis fails to recognize the con- vention, the per-capita tax to the na- tional office shall be cut off until such a time as he does recognize the conyention. During the whole con- vention the rank and file representing the local unions exposed the methods used by Cappelini, coal operators and the individual contractors in suppress- ing the resentment of the rank and file against the wage cutting and the breaking of the contract by the coal operators. Expose Cappelini. It was pointed out that anything that was progressive or in the inter- ests of the rank and file, the Cappelini machine quelches. The left wing is trying to force the leaders of the convention to bring up the question of the Lewis machine and its dis- ruptive tactics before the convention and force the leaders of the so-called opposition, led by Harris and Bren- nan, to take a stand. So far the ma- chine of Harris and Brennan has been able to suppress any opinion on the question. There have also been sev- eral complaints by delegates of sev- eral resolutions being suppressed by the resolutions committee, GRAFTERS PLUNGE ON STOCK MARKET Tammany Henchmen in Big Deals (Continued from page one) income has been the object of con- siderable investigation, owns much more stock in the same corporation, Gannon in his earlier sworn state- ment had made no mention of any daalings in such stocks. In addition $4,800 worth of checks issued by him. during 1926 and 1927 could not be ac- counted for at all, when Ceaeel was on the stand last week. Wheeler, the man who pentecdy halped him to remember suggested that this sum represented th pur- chas price of the rest of the $tock. Gannon’s salary is entirely inadequate to cover the purchase of such large amounts of securities, the obvious in-. ference being that Gannon had se- cured the money from graft. * * * Graft Fund Grows. Graft of about. $25,000 during a short period of three months in one garage alone in the period preceeding the graft investigations, was dis- closed yesterday at the trial of Charles A. McGee, assistant general superintendent of the department, ‘and William J. Oswald, Bronx district superintendent, for grand larceny and forgery at Bronx County Court. This disclosure was made by Ben- jamin Stoaber, who with William J. Lougheed have pleaded guilty to grafting and are now state witnesses in the prosecution, Estimates of the total Tammany — Hall graft funds reach’ a figure of $200,000,000, | \