The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 9, 1928, Page 4

Page Four THE DAILY WORKER, EW YORK, MONDAY, JU y 9, 1928 Blacklist, Police Terror, Low Wages and Long Hours Rule Lives OF Taxi Drivers YELLOW TAXICAB DRIVER PICTURES SCAB CONDITIONS Wor kers Ready For Action (By Taxi Correspondent.) Says I am a driver in the Yellow Cat Corporation and I want to say that there has been a good deal sentment in ers of this cc y because of the mpossibility of making a livin; driving for b firm Yellow s get 40 cent commission on the dollar viding they driver worl eent anc per cent. Drivers working f independent fle rate of 40 pe Ce owners get a flat Under Thumb of Police. There are in this city 60,000 t drivers and the of each one is under the thumb of the police de-| partment. Licenses are revoked and} suspended at the will of Police Com | missioner Warren or his subordin-| — ates Taxi driver bulldozed and overworked as other worker: are. The taxi driver is a piece| worker. At the end of the week (which often means seven days) of nagging by passengers the long hours, police and company inspectors, driver is lucky to have made $ All the money that a driver takes in is not clear. If he is arrested and fined for speeding—and the na- ture of his work compels him to] speed—he has to pay his own fines The general public is not aware f the struggle of the taxi driver in order to make a living. In the win- *er time, after hours of driving in sear zero weather, the strain cou-| nled with the cold, becomes unbear- drivers suffer from stipation, frozen feet and sther difficulties. Newspaper stor-| ‘as favorable to the taxi drivers are “ot mentioned by the daily press | They fail to mention that as many *s eleven taxi drivers were mur-|! dered in the past five years, by pas-| engers who hire the drivers’ cab | erder him into a side street, steal ‘is day’s “bookin and cab and then give him the “works.” Some Life. Taxi drivers are ced by police| regulations to accept any call ‘riyey 1s never that he is not ee a drunken and abusive cus-| mer or perhaps a criminal. The} iver must post a police, criminal | ‘Mdentification card in his cab, giving | ‘ig name and number and photo-| craph so that he can easily be re | orted by any passenger—or framec | sure 1p. If the driver should lose this card | “scnd many times they are stolen| ‘rom their frames in the cab, he forfeits his right to earn a living| ‘or a period ranging anywhere from| ‘ive dajs to 2 months and some | imes he his license revoked... | Taxi drivers want the licensing| department made independent of apie control. At the present time iy patrolman can act as inspector and demand his bit of graft on pain of reporting a driver for a petty or imagined offence. To be reported means license sus- nension or revokation and inability | to earn a living for the time, so pe drivers give the cop a ride and slip something soothing into his hands. | Individual cab owners have three organizations, the Amalgamated Broad Street, and the Independent Taxi Owners’ Association. These organizations take into their ranks driver owners and furnish legal aid insurance; but there is no union of| taxi drivers. The lot of the taxi driver is a rd one and the only remedy ios| Mrganization along trade union} Mines. SORRY TIMER.” | drivers His Life Always in the Hands of Others By a rece nt palit g of Panna Compensation Commi. e, taxicab dri 8s are not entitled to compensation for injuries, r was injured and is now out of work but he has not the of other workers to collect for his losses. The taxi bosses’ organiz the Greater City Taxi Owne ssociation, has boasted that it was theatigh its efforts that this vicious decision of Commis- sioner Lane was put through. The Tammany Hall political machine is connected directly with the bosses and their organ TAXI FLEETERS USE ILLEGAL BLACKLIST An organized conspiracy on the part of the big fleeters under the domination of the Yellow Taxi Corporation to force out thousands of drivers from the industry among other means by the maintenance of a secret blacklist has been uncovered through the efforts of The DAILY WORKER with the assistance of a number of hackmen. Documentary evidence, part of which is herewith produced, is now in the poss nm of the DAILY WORKER showing that the Greater City Taxi Owners’ Association, Inc., of 1841 Broadway, a bosses’ anti-union, labor-hating organization is now sending out regularly a blacklist of names of taxi drivers whom for one reason or another the bosses are seeking to drive from the trade. Thousands of names of “undesirables” are now on this list, it has been learned. Additions are made each month. | In most cases these are drivers who either refuse to be speeded up or “assert themselves” against the bosses. The letter below sent to one of the members of the association enclosed ur ran mio @ sion= wen wi ion, |the June list on which are printed over one hundred new names whom the fleeter is instructed, indirectly of course, not to employ. Same Gang The Greater City Taxi Owners’ Association is dominated by the Yel- Taxi Corporation, a Morgan-controlled, open-shop concern which is connected with the Tammany Hall machine and its police force York City. h Deputy police commissioner Nelson Ruttenberg, “Taxi Czar,” mmany henchman has used the power of his office to suspend for little cause or none at all, in conjunction with the same scheme, it is believed. The Tammany controlled police force keeps cab- drivers other than those of the Yellow Cab Corporation off Fifth Avenue and other desirable cruising streets and localities. Scores of drivers have had their licenses revoked for no greater “crime” than that of asserting their rights in the face of some Tammany Hall cop. A copy of the letter containing the bosses blacklist is printed below: low * Greater City Taxi Owners Ass’n, Inc. 1841 BROADWAY New York, N. Y. June 22, 1928. * * Mr. O. Blume, 31 East 133rd St., New York City. Dear Sir: You will find enclosed Drivers List for the month of 4une, which you should add to the names heretofore furnished you. Please be advised that the Directors have decided that on and after July 1st, 1928, it will not be neces- sary to collect dues at the rate of 50c. per car per month, but all members are requested to pay up their past dues to June 30th, immediately as the treasury of the Association is in need of funds to meet current obligations. You may hear certain false rumors that the Asso- ciation is about to disband, but this is absolutely not the case, and the work will be carried on as hereto- fore. Please continue to send in your chauffeurs’ reports, and you may expect to hear some definite news with regard to the Compensation Law affecting taxicab operators using Association Day Cards very shortly. | | Very truly yours, GREATER CITY TAX? PLUMBERS BOSS UNION MEMBER (By @ Worker Correspondent) Mr. Adolph Grobstein operates a shop on B. 138th St., Bronx. He does mostly new building work, vith little jobbing and alteration ~ork thrown in. His partner, Mr. Benchey Davis, is a member of the ‘Mumbers Local 463 of Manhattan and the Bronx. A nartner who is a member of a} ‘amhers’ local and a partner to a plumbing firm is known as.a ‘si. m irtner.” According to the ‘aws of Local 463 no boss may be-| long to the union or work on a job. This is not the first time that! such charges were made. In the past there were other charges sim- ar to the one that was brought up at the meeting of Local 463. The +fficials »romised to make an in. tization but none was ever made. IT know of two more instances | “where partners of firms are mem- bers of Local 463. Mr. Moe Derin the Manson plumbing company 1267 Theriot Ave., Bronx, is one. ease was brought up at the eting but nothing was ever done, other one is Mr. Abraham of Commodore Lge company, 1113 E. 112th 8t., we ere ary funy Pea such cases. bers %’ Local 463, demand a OWNERS’ ASSQCIATION, INC. M. H. Lowitt, Secretary. Workers | Party Drive Is On (Continued from Page Ont) {the {the time limit for filing signature: more ye This promises to be a| has expired, it is expected that th’ | bitter campaign. The spoils of! Workers and exploited farmers » joffice are well worth fighting for.| least in thirty states will be able t The political lackeys of capitalism| mark the official ballot under the are vying with each other in their|names of Foster and Gitlow. | willingness to serve the imperalists | Need Funds, ars jand incidentally profit individually! The raising of funds to enabl |from the service. | the Workers (Communist) Part; + Hordes of highly paid speakers| wage an aggressive widespread car | will sing the praises of the leadina| | candidates on both tickets. Those, “workers” in addition to getting | | pald for their services hope to be | further remunerated by official sine- paign is now the most pressir | problem confronting the party ar the most important duty for ever: Communist and Communist sym pathizer. euros in the event hteir candidate is victorious. This is the incentive to labor under capitalism! Launch Drive. The Workers (Communist) Party | is also limbering up for the greatest | | campaign ¢ ever undertaken by it dur-| ing the nine years of its existence Poor in financial resources hut rich jin courage, enthusiasm, devotion | and the spirit of self-sacrifice, the prospect for putting the Party on the map is exceedingly bright. Already the necessary number of signatures have been filed to place the party on the ballot in seven states. This is an excellent show- jing, gpnsidering that in 1924 the | Com! nist candidates were on the rough iivestigation, CASSELL, | ballot if fourteen states only. When| good start in the campaign work, t With a camvaign fund of $100 000, tons of Communist literatu can be printed and distributed, an: the revolutionary program of the Communist Party, which ells fo the overthrow of the capitalist sys tem and the establishment of + Workers’ and Farmers’ Government brought to the attention of the ev ploited producers in the United States, in field and factory. As a first step in the drive te raise the $100,000 Communist Party Election Campaign Fund. a cam: paign assessment stamp of 50 cents to be bought by every party mem- her, has heen ordered to be issued This assessment is depended upon t* bring in enough funds to make ¢ | thing is yet to come. DRIVER INJURED AS PRIVATE CAR CRASHES TAXICAB New Rulin “Prevents| Compensation | (By Taxi Correspondent.) This will give you an idea what} we taxicab drivers are up ae | Last Thursday about 4:15 p. m. taxicab was struck by, a pri ivate | Buick touring ear at 47th St. and| |6th Ave. The two men passengers | |of the cab and the driver were | tossed about and injured. The of-| ficer on the beat nearly got his and} the cab was a pretty mess. Then it was found that the driver} of the Buick had no current chauf. feur’s license and was driving his car on a license which expired June 30, 1928. For this serious offense he merely got a summons from the| cop for “not having a license,” ever | though he had disobeyed an officer's «| signal and had overrun a red light | Another Story. Now if a cab driver had done this| he would have been asked to drive | to the nearest police station where| he would have been put in the coop for “reckless driving” in addition to the charges mentioned above. He} would have had his credentials) “lifted” and after a trial in the| traffic court he would have been chased to the Hack Bureau to meet “Czar” Ruttenberg who runs_ this industry for Tammany Hall and the Yellow Taxi Corporation. Why does the taxi driver meet} with so much discrimination by the| police and the courts. The answer} is simple. He is unorganized. Organize. There is only one way to beat this game and solve the hundreds of problems which are facing us drivers: trade union organization Three are plenty of freak organiza tions in our trade now, but the real Let’s get to- gether in one, big, powerful trade union of all the drivers. Will some of you who read these lines, write to me about this in care of The DAILY WORKER, the only paper which will give us drivers a real | break. “MACK.” DRIVER EXPOSES EDITOR BROWN Shows Taxi | Editor Is, Tool of Tammany (By Taxi Correspondent.) There are tricks in all trades but I guess the politicians in this game have learned more than their share. On April 30, 1928, the great “champion” of the taxicab drivers Mr. H. A. Innes Brown, editor of; the “Taxi Weekly,” announced that! he would form a new Hackmen’s Political Party. In the May 7 edi- tion of his paper Brown announced editorially that “the Taxi Weekly is backing the Hackmen’s Politicat Party because it believes that it is only by. political activity that any progress and prosperity can be brought to the rank and file of the industry under present conditions.” First Attempt. Well, we can all look back and remember the “Square Deal Auto League” which came out in 1925 with the announced purpose of “a square deal” for the hackmen pro- vided they supported “Our Jimmy,” meaning the light-footed, light- headed, Tammany Hall, cake-eater The “Square Deal” outfit was head- ed-by Philip J. O’Brien, a one-time president of the Amalgamated Taxi Association. O’Brien was ousted from this office by the membership for good reasons. An active campaign was carried on among the taxi drivers. Officer were maintained in the Times Square district at 48rd St. and Broadway. The votes of the hack- men were swung for “our” Jimmy ‘ut after election it was discovered hat “our” Jimmy forgot “u Did he drivers get the square deal as ver promise. Well, you know what he chicken got! And how! Tammany Blessings. Here are some of the “blessings” vhich have come down from the “ammany heaven to the hackmen: trieter police control, increasing olice oppression and discrimination oninst drivers, “Czar” Nelson Rut- nberg. and badges that fall apart sanensions, increasing revocations * licenses and greater and greater ‘tfioulties in making a living. So when Mr. Brown talks to us hont the benefits of his new poli ‘onl party, we ask him: What pro: “ons oF prosperity did the rank an? ‘a receive when we took a dose 0° ‘Itieal activity as per the dose of oc” Brown the last time? Als: hat assurance have we when wo ike another shot of his “dope” tha’ ‘e won't find ourselves after elec: | fon out in the cold again. What), 4 Brown’s program for solving low vages, discrimination, the blacklist” Tust whom is Brown planning te support in the election? Let Mr 3rown answer these questions. Short time, instead of tying Geor- ‘ia mill workers to their jobs, has ‘osulted in Mf to 20 per cent increase ‘” labor turri ver, say astonished and sonplussed \ against POLICE TERROR RULES TAXIMEN WITH IRON HAND Tammany “Shown As Tool of Big Fleeters (By Taxi Correspondent.) Some time ago new traffic laws | were introduced in the city and since | 4, ‘Taxi Weekly, | then the lot of the taxi driver has} become even worse than it was be-| fore. Accomding to the new regulations | issued by the | parking is prohibited on Fifth Ave police department below 59th Street from 5 p. m. to 7 p.m. During the-1926 I. R. T emergency regulations pro-| ited parking from 4 to 7 p. m But due to objections from the Fifth Avenue Merchants’ Associa- tion a change was made, resulting in the “No Parking” rule beginning | | one hour later every day. No Relief. The new regulations will not and has not relieved traffic on that ave- nue, as the heavy traffic begins about 8 p. m. At that hour all the brokers start on their way home after a “hard” day’s work on the floors of the stock exchange in Wall Street. Pierce Arrows, Rolls Royces, Packards and other high priced cars are parked at the curb on Fifth Ave., while their owners are shopping or having tea at the club, making the task of the taxi | driver one which is a strain on his | nervous system. Another difficulty which they must face is the Fifth Ave. buses According to the franchise issued tc the Fifth Avenue-Coach Corporation no more than two (2) buses are to be permitted on the avenue in one block. Yet 12 and 14 buses are often seen crowded together in onc block. Always Blamed. Whenever a difficulty: arises the taxi driver is the “fall guy” for he is the one who is always wrong all attempts being made to satisfy the Fifth Ave. Coach Company or the Fifth Ave. Merchants’ Associa- tion, All at the expense of the taxi driver. While there is no city ordinance which prohibits taxi drivers from eruising on Fifth Ave. the Tam- many cops stationed on the avenue have for the past four years been handing out summonses to. taxi drivers so unfortunate as to be caught there. H. A. Innes Brown, the editor of “Taxi Weekly,” knows of these abuses, such as the discrimination against the taxi .driver on Fifth Ave. and the violation of the fran- chise issued by the city to the Fifth Ave, Bus Corporation, but not once has he raised his voice in protest these conditions. should Brown, self-styled “cham- pion” of the rights of the taxi driv- ers, raise his voice against the Fifth Avenue Coach Company? Brown's paper is the advertising medium of General Motors, of which it is said the Fifth Avenue coach is a sub- sidiary. Nearly every week the “Taxi Weekly” runs full page adds of the General Motors. The above enumerated regula- tions are carried over as part of the policy of Former Police Commis- sioner Enright, who served under Mayor John F, Hylan. Fake Campaign. When the present mayor, James J. Walker, was a candidate, his taxi friends in the industry carried on an extensive campaign among the taxi drivers, promising them “jus- tice” and a “square deal” if he war elected. They went so far as to or. ganize the “Sqquare Deal Taxi League.” And also to publish a small paper called “The Square Deal,” which called on the taxi driv ers to rally around “Our Jimmy.” As bad as Red Mike (referring te Hylan) was, our Jimmie is worse’ That’s what we get for voting for these Tammany fakers. But never again. N. MP, PALACE Ted Lewis and “His Musical Klowns”; Adele Rowland; Coram the British ventriloqtist; Marjorie White and Eddie Tierney; The Man- gean Troupe; Billy Reed and Lew Duthers, and the Mitkus. HIPPODROME Nitza Vernille; Norville Babtie and Gladys Lamb; Bud Harris and Van; Jack Hanley, and The Col- leanos. “Tho Grip of the Yukon.” starring Neil Hamilton and Doug'a Fairbanks, Jr, will be shown on the screen, E. F. ALBE Brooklyn premiere, Emil Jan- nings, in “The Street of Sin”; “The Devil’s Circus,” featuring Edna Mil! ler, Leo Raymond. and Bob Le Marre: Bekser and Balfour; Boyle A Dalla, Tha Vege- Tarry Inn “GRINE KRETCHME” BEST VEGETARIAN Foon MOPERN IMPROVEMENTS DIRECTIONS: Take ferries at 234 8t,, Christopher St, Barclay St. or Hiidson Tubes to Hoboken, Lacka- wanna Rnilroad to Berkeley Heights, N, J. BERKF! EY HEJGHTS NEW JERSE! Phone, Fanwood 7463 R 1. Why} Taxi Driver (Continued from Page One) charged as a captain, When the three thousand drivers the man that fought against th Brotherhood of Taxi Chsuffeur | which sought to ma‘e a settleme with the bosses of the Mogul cabs. Next we hear of him as editor « at 8 Columb Circle. The new union because ¢ the inefficiency of its officials ar | for other reasons had gone out « lexistence. But during the sumny af Jack Cohen. C af | Funeral Drivers Union, Local 643, | started a |taxi drive To help him he too! ‘under his wing a certain Jack Tru |haft, a Bronx taxi driver and friend of Brown’s. Birds of a Feather. | Cohen and Truhaft in their union j activities collected, it is said, as | much as $7,500 from the drivers a’ |S5 per head. The same lasted shout three or four months. No meetings | were held and no accounting war lever given as to what happened te the money. My own $5.00 is stil! there too! The next thing we find Truhaft jas circulation manager of the “T: Weekly” under Brown. You wil! still find him at the same job. Draw 1995 an your own conclusions. Space does not permit to give more recent history of Brown, his favoritism of and connections with the Yellow Taxi Corporation. Some other time. Just to end up with his trick pol- itical party. In the Taxi Weekly of April 26, 1926, which I have saved, we read a very interesting letter sent to Mayor Jimmie Walker, by H. A Innes Brown: Tammany Tool. “Sir: “During the democratic primaries in 1925, this paper supported you against Mayor Hylan, from the first | moment your name was mentioned until you obtained the nomination In the election a few months later it also championed your cause...” (ete., ete.) In this week’s issue of the Taxi Weekly we see a big headline: “Hackman’s party may sway Smith’s election.” The plot thickens as they say in the movies. But you don’t have to be any smarter than a fool to see the ears of the demo- cratic donkey sticking out of this Brown-Tammany Hall scheme to turn over the votes of the taxi driv- ers to Al Smith, friend of the trac- tion gang. Here’s hoping The DAILY WORKER puts up a rea) fight for the cabmen. (Signed) “O’Ma.” S. Army from which he was dis |. went out, Brown is said to have beer | ampaign to organize thc | J DRAMA~ = Tovephsaeicetl the sioted: Wonwar t, in a recent of ian violia Theremin ressed Leon ex | invention acity and ergth of his bow ut there is no mitation on his instrument Another striking hing is its ever | sweep of ° the chromatic scale. There is no ab- solutely perfect fusion of note into note on any other instrument. As it stands now, the instrument is the raw material of mus What can be done with it remains to be seen Its future depends on what men of genius do with it. “T have practiced on it and played jon it. It is not easy to learn, There | are no rules or f You put your |hand in one position, If the sound is wrong, you change its position It is all empirical. As it stands to- | day, the musician mnst work out his | technique for himself.” Rudolph Ganz, another authority Jon music, and a talented musician |himself, expressed his opinion of Theremin’s demonstration in the following terms: “The striking feature for me is that is the first time that music has been extracted from something instead of being put into something and that there is nothing between Oo LUNA” The Heart of Coney Island | Battle of Chateau-Thierry 45 St., BOOTH T2238 Mats. Wednesday & 2:30 GRAND SI. FOLLIES CHANIN’S, W. of Broadway 46th St. Evenings at 8:25 Mats, Wed. & Sat. SCHWAB and MANDEL'S MUSICAL SMASH OOD NEW with GEO. OLSEN and HIS MUSIO w. BS turday, TIVT-A-|Free Circus, Con- | PAR WHIRL |certs and Dancing Lana's Great Swimming Pool of B'way 8:30 | talk on the | ” his! t by the] ‘no hors Exposes Trick ‘No Libation to Future of _ of the Bosses Theremin Invention’, Szigeti VIN ST. PETERSBURG’ Alexis Davor, who plays the role of the hero in the Sovkino master- film “The End of St. Petersburg,” at Hammerstein’s Theatre. (the human being and the music it- |self—no wood, no steel, no string. hair—and that the person- ality of the performer is more sen- sitively presented than on any ex- isting instrument. “Tt very intevesting Scientifically it is marvelous and J believe that it has a great future in music. It was surprising to me to find that it had no mechanical tone. It seemed to have soul.” Prof. Leon Theremin will demon- strate his principal of getting “Mu- sic from the Ether” at the Coney Island Stadium. The noted inven- tor of Soviet Russia will be the chief feature of the concert to be given this Saturday night. Tickets are now on sale at the Workers’ Cen- Aaa 26-28 Union Square. Film Arts Keith-Albee nae Presents CAMEO Now: BERS 42d & Bway | ——_ Premiere Thrilling Drama of Russia and REAL Paris “LOVES Of Jeanne Ney” A UFA Production Featuring Brigette Helm of “Metropolis” Directed by G. W. Pabst, director f oR RETS OF THE SOUL” Also Showing? ‘ Chas. Chaplin in “The Vagabond” intone Ge Eve. 8:30. Mats. |] Winter Garden ys. 80: Wat Greenwich Village Follies GREATEST OF ALL REVUES MERS PORAI y 6% In July the Banks Are Paying Half Yearly Dividends Transfer Your Savings to a Co-operative Wcrkers’ Finance Institution ny Subsidiary of the United Workers’ Co-operative Ass’n, | | dividends are being paid from the first day | of deposit on gold bonds in denominations | | of $100, $300, $500 and $1,000 secured by the | ‘second mortgage of the second block of | houses in the Co-operative Workers’ Colony. The GOLD BOND CAMPAICN Will Be Ended in July Subscribe Now, Don’t Be Left. Out! A | Consumers Finance Corp. Office: 69 — 5th Ave. New York, N. Y. TELEPHONE: ALGONQUIN 6900. Branch Office: 2700 Bronx Park East (Co-operative Workers’ Colony) TELEPHONE: OLINVILLE 894,