The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 24, 1928, Page 3

THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1923. DEMAND WARSHIP First Strike Agains ORDERS REVOKED (This the seventh of the series of articles on “Automobile—Symbol of The Medern Slavery.” Previous ar- ticles have discussed the scope of . . the industry, the giant combina- Communists Leading | tions, the driving forces to war, the, Protest iwalth conditions in the various plants. Tomorrow's article will deal BERLIN, Aug. 23.—Demands that | With the question of “Who Will Or- the social democratic government of | 84nize the Auto Workers?”). Chancellor Mueller revoke its ar- Sas mament program initiated with the Dy BEN LIFSCHITZ order for the building of a new cruiser at Kiel, are sweeping over, the German working class and find- ing expression in hundreds of meet- ings and demonstrations of which the largest took place in Berlin yesterday. | Cities as widely separated as Col- ogne, Breslau and Leipzig have also) held similar meteings. In Berlin a crowded gathering de- manded that the social democrats cease their apologies together with the program for armament construc- tion and revoke the orders for the Kiel cruiser. The demand, which was put in the form of a resolution, was passed fy a huge majority, Similar resolutions were carried in other meetings thruout the coun- try. The Communist Party, which is leading the German working class in its protest against the war danger implied in the building of the cruiser is also pointing out the political capital the reactionary parties hope to make out of the issue. The re-| ectionaries are secretly pleased with | the social democratic action as is| evidenced by President Hindenburg’s | | oil. The strike in Flint, Michigan was one of those department walkouts to which we have referred in the last article as a manifestation of the re- sistance the workers in the Auto-| mobile Industry are beginning to! show. 4 The strike broke out in the Oil] Sanding Department of the Fisher Body Corporation in Flint, Mich. The Fisher Body Corporation took advantage of the change in the} Buick model to cut down the earn-| ings of the oil sanders. In spite of the fact that there is added work on the 1929 Buick, the company insisted that the oil sanders do this work for the same prices they received for the 1928 model. Extreme Abuses. The men working in the Oil Sand- ing Department have to stand all day long in an inch or more of They are soaked externally and internally with this same oil which is extremely detrimental to the! health of the men, causing boils and| sores all over their body. This con- stant source of irritation and poison is the cause of much heart and stomach trouble and obliges many of the men to obey the doctor’s or- ders and quit. The only response to the -com- | the oil sanders. DISCUSS INDIAN refusal to permit a referendum. At plaints of the men was a demand by | the same time they are eager to the management that.the men try drive the social democrats from of- again to make up their regular earn- fice and the cruiser issue offers them| ings by speeding it up a little bit the easiest way. |more. Finally, being convinced that | So widespread is the ‘eeling| they would receive no consideration among the German workers igainst, from the company, the men went the cruiser construction that it is| out on strike Thursday, July 5th. believed the social democrats will| Elect Strike Committee, Present be unable much longer to ignore the | Demands. growing protest movement. That evening the strikers sent a committee to Detroit for the purpose of obtaining the assistance of the | Auto Workers Union. With the help | of the organizer of the Auto Work- fers Union, Philip Raymond, the strikers formulated a set of demands | Picketing Committee. The Strike Red Congress Holds | Committee was instructed to present |the demands of the strikers to the company at once. The demands * lof the strikers were as follows: 37th Session | 1. A 26 cent raise on coach and 3 : reams | coupe jobs. Continued from Page One | 2. A 10 cent raise on roof rail the Second Congress theses and/ panels and drip-melding panels. build up strong Communist Parties! 3, A better grinding compound in the colonies which can fulfill|instead of the oil furnished, and their tasks in the bourgeois dem-| more sandpaper. ocratic period,” he concluded. | 4, Hot water for washing. ; Losovsky Speaks. 5. No victimization. " Losovsky declared that the new J the afternoon the committee re- factor since the adoption of Lenin’s|‘urned and reported the results to resolution at the Second"Congress is | ‘he asembled strikers. They reportes that since then’ the proletariat ap-| ‘hat the company insisted that the ; P- men return to work and try to earn peared as an independent force IN| their usual pay at the old rate. If numerous colonies. This fact is con- | ; digs this were found impossible, then the nected with certain industrial devel- | comane Sonisett to adjust the opments, he said. It would be false, | wages, The men unanimously re- however, to adopt a de-colonization | fused to depend on further promises theory from this fact. It was also | from, the Fisher Body Ce: voration false, he said, that colonies are the| and voted to continue the strike un- only sources of raw material and | til their demands were granted. food for the motherlands. Such an} Strike Holds Up New 1929 Model assumption would make it difficult} By Tyesday the strike had seri- to set forth the slogan of the dic-|ously held up production through- tatorship of the proletariat and|out the whole plant. peasantry because this slogan as- | Motor Company was held up by the sumes a certain stage in industrial | lack of bodies. Many workers, both development. Some comrades, he| in the Fisher body plant and the said, particularly the Latin Amer-| Buick Motor Company -were sent) icans, wrongly fear that the slogan | home because of the tie-up in the of the bourgeois democratic revolu- | Production. ‘i tantnt | Meetings were held in the after- tion diminishes the role of the pro- noon opposite the Fisher Body plant. | During the week a large meeting ‘was held of about 800 workers in letariat and the Communist Party. Leninism demands, however, that t the | partments of the Fisher Body Cor- | poration, which were ready to come jout on strike in support of the oil sanders and also to gain their own demands. These representatives agreed that their departments would leome out on Monday. To prevent the further growth of organization among the workers, the company voluntarily gave its vet sanders an increase of 25 cents per body. Others Walk Out. At two o’clock that afternoon a large group of metal finishers walked off the! job. They “stated their determination to support the demands of the oil sanders. That evening a committee, elected by the metal finishers, in a meeting with the strike committee agreed to the plan of going on the job the next morning for the purpose of bring- ing the rest of the men in their de- partment out on strike, unless the company acceded to the demands of Intense the company countered this move by guaranteeing all the men $1 an hour whether there was work for them to do or not. A majority of the metal finishers also failed to realize the necessity of ‘supporting the efforts of the oil sanders. By this time it had become obvious that without support from the other departments the oil sanders could no longer pre- vent the company from slowly but surely reaching the point of normal production. At a meeting of the strikers that evening, the strike was called off. Proof of Solidarity. In an interview between the writer and Mr. Frank McGrogan, the leader of the strike, he stated that to his | knowledge this strike was one of the best illustrations from the point of view of the solidarity of the workers in that department that ever took place in the Fisher body plant. It @w the first time that over one hundred and eighty work- ers, mostly Americans, struck against the increasing speed-up sys- tem being introduced into the | Fisher body and in all the other | plants in the automobile industry. | In order to understand the signifi- cance of this strike, we must know that there was no union or any other organized group within that shop. | That this walkout was simply a | sporadic outburst on the part of the |workers. which expresses the ac- cumulated resentment, dissatisfac- tion and the growing spread of re- volt which is continually, slowly but surely, growing among the auto- mobile workers. | Shortcomings of the Strike. shows that we are still in the first stages of the rude awakening of class consciousness among the auto- mobile workers. In the interview with Frank McGrogan, he stated, |“Well, the Company treated me | pretty fair for about three years, but last year this wage-slashing campaign started and now suddenly they come along with another wage- cut of about $7 a week. This was more than any of us could stand.” CORRUPT UNION OFFICIALS SUED | CHICAGO, Aug. 28—Following | revelations of corruption and extor- The Buick|tion on the part of union officials | of Painters’ District Council 14, the | Department of Justice probably in} connection with certain open shop | employers taking advantage of the situation, yesterday filed a suit in equity against officers and business agents of the council, charging a conspiracy in restraint of trade. Twenty local painters’ unions and their recording secretaries, all of It should be noted that McGrogan showed real ‘qualities of leadership. Taking his sentiments as typical of those expressed by other workers, we have to realize that the level of| class consciousness is yet quite low among the workers in the automobile industry. However, even some of our lead- | ing comrades in the Detroit district underestimated this strike believing, as one of. our comrades expressed | S LESSONS BUENOS AYRES Speed-Up in Fisher Plarit TAXI DRIVERS Police Forced to End Workers m Berlin, Leipzig, Cologne Protest Social Democratic Cruis CROWDED MEETS THE FLINT STRIKE AND IT Training WIN WALK-OUT Cruising Regulations BUENOS AYR Aug. 23.— Taxi drivers of this city who have been on strike for several days yes- terday won a complete victory when While Commander Richard B flight to the Antarctic it occ boy scout would be good publicity the Young Imperialist Crop éd to someone The next morning| it, that this “was the old usual de-' the police suspended the regulations partment walkout.” .__| to which the men objected. Our comrades did not fully realize) The regulations, recently intro- that the conditions in the automobile ‘ . ; acca shone tardies ea and parking in many sections of the sharpened into a larger struggle be-/°!'¥" Hg a ech that they cause the rationalization process in| WU Sear 7 eee eer the automobile industry does not | Such pat Nh oe only result in a cut of wages but| The strike of the men whic! |produces instability and job in- Quickly followed tht publication of mecurity)for’ the worker: the new ordinance, was virtyally one Changing Conditions: hundred per cent, the entire taxi in- The automobile industry is be-|@UStTy in the city being tied up. coming more seasonal, the ever-|7h¢ firm front of the strikers |changing styles of cars are giving |ecered a city authorities to sus- \the employers more and mere of an|Pend the regulations and taxi serv- | opportunity to speed up production| ie Was resumed this morning. and get more work out in a given| ——— time. Therefore the average unem-| |ployment time among the auto-| mobile workers is becoming greater. | We must bear in mind that as long| |as the worker is sure of his weekly} earnings, more or less commensurate | with his standard of living, he will} not be so ready to resist. But when} this base of security is taken away) from him, and this is not only in Gen- | |eral Motors but also in Fords, then under the pressure of conditions, he | | will resist. We therefore must view Chin: jean rise One | eve) department walkout as a)... ~' fd A, manifestation of a changing frame| fighting, political organization of | of mind among the automobile work-|!#bor—the Workers (Communist) Gather in Streets De- spite Police ers, and we must try to broaden| Party: " and extend this resistance. | Urges Fight For Mooney. “The workers in the United The second shértcoming in the, : | Flint strike was that there were no, States will do the same to the czars general demands to draw into the|°f Massachusetts that the Russian the strike the workers of the other| Workers did to the czars of the Rus- sent for Byrd to look over and ch bourgeois ideal. —— Byrd was planning his imperialist that to take along a stunt. So a group of scouts were oose the one who best typified the Here he is with Commander Byrd. MURDOCH SPEAKS IN FALL RIVER Flays Uniformed Thug Brutality Continued from Page One tack on Chief of Police Feeney and his gang of uniformed thugs, term- ing them “Black and Tans,” the dirty dogs who “went out to shoot down their brothers and sisters for money in the struggle for Irish freedom. any of the Black and Tans shipped out to the United States when the Irish workers finally re- |fused to tolerate their presence, and, from the vicious brutality of the |Fall River police assaults on the strikers here, it is likely that some of them got on the Fall River police force. If that is not so, then the brood here is the same,” he de- clared, After congratulating the workers kere on the splendid fight against an inhuman police terror, Murdoch ended by calling for mass represen- tation of Fall River textile workers It is true that the Flint strike| the proletariat play a leading role | the Labor Temple under the auspices in the bourgeois democratic revolu- | tions. of the Auto Workers Union. On Saturday, the 14th of July, a This fact, Losovsky continued, meeting was held with Yrepresenta- and the character of the Bolshevist tives from several of the other de- slogan of the dictatorship of the) proletariat and peasantry must be made clearer in the theses. It is theoretically correct that the prole- tariat may temporarily support the colonial bourgeoisie and even make agreements with it but it is politi- cally incorrect when the theses de- clare that the task of the Indian| proletariat is the formation of an, independent revolutionary working class movement and cleaning the revolutionary organizations from the | Swarajists. The theses contain) practically nothing about colonial reformism, he said. Situation in India. Neumann declared that Lenin’s) lesson of the avoidability of the represented the de-colonization the- ory. The Indian industry is not dominant but growing, he said. The theoretical error of the theses is the attempt to explain the present policy of the British monopolist cap- italism in India on the basis of the descripton of the period of industrial capitalism. The theses should have shown clearly the general law of! capitalist development according to which capital exports produce a ten- | dency to increase the speed of dev- elopment of industry in the colonies. Imperialism tends to foster the growth of industry, he said. The normal form of capital export is| investment in state loans, which! capitalist development stage in the, contributes to the Indian industry, path of the colonies to socialism) particularly in steel production, He must be stressed, The de-coloniza-| tion theory inevitably contradicts | Lenin’s standpoint, he said. “The. Indian proletariat must not con-| clude an alliance with the native bourgeiosie even temporarily be- cause the Swarajists will betray the struggle at the first opportunity. The old leadership of the Commun- ist Party of China, he said, made not only opportunist errors but even counter-revolutionary errors, for instance when it appealed for the suppression of the peasant “ex- cesses.” The present leadership of the Communist Party of China showed toleration towards the putch- ist tendencies in the beginning but e since has corrected its errors. oh Page Arnot of Britain declared wis ‘phat’ British delegation never| said. . Dutt declared that it was incor- the 80 | rect to say imperialism hinder; agowth of industry and it wa: incorrect to say that it foste: dustry. To a certain extent, he i; Brjtish imperialism hampers the growth of industry but having re- gard to the inevitable development, imperialism strives to bring Indian industry under its control. The Indian bourgeosie betrayed the na- tional revolution but is still a factor of contradiction towards British im- perialism, but is also a counter-rev- olutionary‘ fa@tor towards the pro- letariat. Recognition of the counter- revolutionary character of the Indian bourgeoisie must not prevent us from utilizing it in order to develop a mass revolution, Dutt concluded. a Sou | the Brotherhood of Painters, Deco- raters and Paperhangers of Amer- ica; Arthur W. Wallace, secretary- treasurer of the District Council and Frank L. Axelson, Joseph Ca- sey, George W. Cummings, Stephen J. Dempsey, Albert Green, W. E> Hertz, Charles W. Hanson, Harry Leubbe, Joseph C. Moenich, Roy Shields and George Tuckbreiter, all business agents of the district coun- cil, are named in the suit. Revelations last April disclosed that the ‘union officials worked to- gether with manufacturers to com- pel the purchase by retailers. of cer- tain makes of cabinets and other supplies, called strikes to enforce their demands and charged a pre- mium of $2 up per item, for per- mission to use articles other than those specified. At the time it was revealed that several millions of dollars had been extorted in this way by the union officials working | together with the employers. Fight Same Bosses, Say: Mill Strikers Continued from Page One murdered Sacco and Vanzetti was the same 28,000 textile strikers were fighting against in a struggle to regain a wage cut. Eli Keller, Jack Rubinstein and Fred E. Beale, uaion organizers and 11 year old John Lo- pez of the Young Pioneers, also spoke. Above the platform erected for the speakers hung two huge portraits of Sacco and Vanzetti framed in red and black cloth borders. Thruout the meeting the audience showed by its reaction to the speakers that it was deepl;) moved. related crafts. In the automobile in-| | dustry, as in all modern industries,| the production of the machine is divided into given units, each one (of these units being made up of a |group of operations. The produc- tion of the whole car cam be tied, up if we learn and know how to tie} up the correlated operations which| make up the component parts of the| | machine. | Broaden Demands. We must, therefore, issue such de-} | mands as will appeal to the work-! jers of the other crafts in the in- dustry so that strike will mean some- thing to them and encourage them to participate in order to maintain or improve their conditions. The third shortcoming of this strike was that the leadership of the strike did not sufficiently try to ex- tend the strike to the other plants) of the Fisher body in Detroit, Cleve- land and other cities. We must remember that the pres- ent highly developed industries work on the basis of ever increasing pro- duction. These companies create enough subsidiaries to enable them to carry on production in case of} labor troubles. We therefore, find} that these large concerns always) have branches in other cities, under) their own name and aften under other names. | The strikers from the Fisher body| | plant of Flint, Michigan, should try | |to hold meetings at the Fisher body, plants of Detroit and to extend the} strike in the several Fisher body | plants of Detroit. Dramatize Struggle. Fourthly, the strike was not suffi- ciently dramatized in order to draw the attention both of the workers of the auto industry and all the other | workers to it. While making this criticism, we | must realize that our comrades were |very much handicapped because | |the future frame-up of militant at the coming convention of the Na- tional Textile Mill Committees, which will begin in New York Sep- tember 22. ‘ * 8 sian empire,” he said. He appealed for an intensification of the campaign to force the re- lease of Tom Mooney, Warren K. Billings, the victims of the Cen- tralia frame-up and all class-war prisoners thruout the world. Attacking both Gov. Smith and Herbert Hoover as equally pliable tools of Wall Street, Gitlow said that both candidates will sanction (Special to the Daily Worker) FALL RIVER, Mass., Aug. 23.— With the intention of providing themselves with excuses for arrests for “peace disturbance,” police here are constantly entering T. M. C. |headquarters with complaints about leaflet distribution and the gather- . -\ing of members outside the union frame-up of Sacco and Vanzetti. BAL The union intends to disre- The Sacco-Vanzetti murder, Git-| gard orders to halt the legal dis- low ningpbg was “part of the im-| tribution of circulars. perialist war preparations of Wall : i j Street to terrorize the workers 80 ae pict Nia loa ah ated that they would be submissive to/t, intimidate them with threats of the war designs of thé American’ deportation for strike activities. imperialists. \ .. |They also use browbeating tactics Before introducing Gitlow, the |jn an effort to get the parents to chairman revealed how John F. prevent their children from attend- Casey, head of the Boston License |jng children’s club meetings where Bureau, had ordered the hall closed, ‘strike songs are sung. These clubs intimidating the proprietor by|are being organized by the union. threatening to revoke his license. | He denounced the jailing of John; HORNELL, N. Y. Aug. 23— Porter, militant leader of ‘the New | Joseph Cornish, a laborer employed Bedford mill strikers, and appealed by the Huguec Silk Company, was to the workers to fight for the re- smothered to death when he fell fif- lease of all class-war prisoners by|teen feet into accumulated soot in joining the International Labor De-|a smokestack at the power plant of fense. the open-shop mill. workers as they sanctioned the 1928 The Presidential Election and The Workers By JAY LOVESTONE MINERS PREDICT NEW ERA AHEAD All Eyes Turn to Big Convention Continued from Page One men are on the job. ‘You bet we'll have delegates at the National Miners Convention next month!’ they write. ‘Just try and keep us away!’ “Ohio is conducting a series sub-district conferences. The first one opens in Bellai Others will follow in quick Bob f succession. Mutusek, Frank Sepich and Andy | § | Plechat;s are leading the work there, affiliating locals with the new union, getting dues cards in circula- tion. “It took a lot to knock some sense | into the heads of those who have followed Lewis’ lead like so many sheep all these years, while the U. M. W. of A. has gone to ruin. When the newspapers announced Lewis’ latest betrayal, the abandonment of the Jacksonville scale and instruc- tion to each district to beg what it could from the operators, Lewis’ supporters said that it was a lie, that the progressives had made up the story! “But when they heard the same story from Lewis’ office, they un- derstood at last. These boys are now joinng the great masses of miners who say that Lewis’ be- trayals are a thing of the past—a new day is dawning. September 9th will mark a new era for the miners of America!” 4 Pointing to the difficulties and ob- stacles ahead, mine leaders stressed | the great importance of securing the necessary funds to make the corfven- tion possible. Hundreds. of dele- gates who are preparing to journey to Pittsburgh have no carfare. Halls | must be rented. Printing must be paid for; postage means cash. “On the labor movement, on the | Progressive and left-wing forces in particular, rests the responsibility of making this important convention possible,” it was declared. “Help the miners build a real union!” | WASHINGTON, Aug, 23 (UP).— | Forecast tor Thursday and Frid \Eastern New York, increas |cloudiness followed by showers Fri- vay in south portion and late to vigkt or Friday in north porcion. gg last night, er Building LIBERAL PARTY PRESS LAMENTS FRENCH ARMIES s Military Power on Continent Fea LONDON —“The sacri-~ 1 Great. Britain gger than a conces- With these al” Manchester e acceptance by office of the point of view that reserve t ] d, alleged reign ied in the so-called Anglo-French It also pens the exact nature of is _yexing many nments today and upon the con- eign policy. leading attack under blow which the British mean to dis- the Guardian that a free hand is now given the French army on the continent. “France’s milita supremacy in Continental Europe is accepted,” the paper says, r formidable long ice army, her large conscript army and her vast trained reserves are alike to remain untouched in the disarmament plans.” It is understood that the London Daily Herald, organ of the ‘reform- | ists, which is following in the train of the liberal press, is planning to demand that the government pub- lish the full text of the naval agree- ment, since there is “reason to be- lieve that the real agreement is not confined to naval affairs.” Wall Street in New Filipino Rubber Grab Continued from Page One age to syndicates, has been the prin- cipal stumbling block to American exploitation of the rubber growing potentialities of the Philippine Is- lands. It is understood that the Fire- stone and a number of lesser Amer- ican rubber corporations have been actively interested in the proposed amendment of the land law and con- template an extension of the change as soon as this can be effected. Business circles are crediting the Stimson government with what is little short of a coup. The law will chiefly affect the island of Mindanao, the center of the rubber growing area. MILWAUKEE, Wis. Aug. 23 (UP).—Dissatisfied with a world championship marathon dance rec- ord of 946 1-2 hours, established at the bunion shuffle which ended here Mildred Ollenburg of Milwaukee and Tom Acquino of Chicago struggled on today trying to set a mark of 1,000 hours. Deposits made on or before the day of the month will draw interest from the Ist day of the month. Last Quarterly Dividend paid 1 on all amounts from $5.00 L/, | to $7,500.00, at the rate of (6) | Open Mondays (all day) until 7 P. M. Banking by Mail Society Accounts Accepted 20 cents | there was no Communist nucleus to | give direction and form the backbone | | The secretary of the Workers (Communist) Party analyzes the economic and political background for shop nucleus, but there was not even other organized group with connec-| | tions in other departments which could make possible the spreading of the struggle to the other depart-| ments and plants of the company. — ee ie (Tomorrow’s article will deal with perhaps the most important phase) of the study yet printed, the question | of “Who Will Organize the Auto Workers?”) | of the struggle.Not only was there no | i the presidential elections. a shop committee, a union or any| The role of the major parties in the campaign. The tasks facing the workers and what the Workers (Communist) Party means to them. WORKERS LIBRARY . PUBLISHERS 39 East 125th St., New ork City Printed over a background TT grams, shop papers, bulletins, PRICE: Quantity lots: 55 books for 125 for $100. 43 East 125th S' TWO COMMUNIST CAMPAIGNERS THE VOTE COMMUNIST STAMP Red Hammer and Sickle with the photographs of Foster and Gitlow tastefully worked In, ‘o be posted on envelopes, Book of eighty stamps, $1.00. Can be resold at 10¢ per page of eight stamps. National Election Campaign Committee WORKERS (COMMUNIST) PARTY Designed By Fred Ellis THE VOTE COMMUNIST BUTTON A beautiful arrangement of the photographs of Foster and Gitlow within a solid red shield, VOTE COMMUNIST stands out. Can be sold anywhere for a dime. PRICE: Se in lots up to 100. 4c in lots up to 1000. 8c in lots up_to 5000. 2c in lots of 5000 or over. formed by the letters, ete, pro- $50; 90 for $75; treet . NEW YORK, N. Y. | We Sell A. B. A. Travelers Certified Checks 8 Books on Sacco and Vanzetti The Cast of Sacco and Vanzetti By FELIX FRANKFURTER $1.00 Sacco and Vanzetti Cartoon-Book By FRED ELLIS 25 cents Sacco and Vanzetti: Labor’s Martyrs | By MAX SHACHTMAN The Sacco-Vanzetti 25 cents The Life and Death of Sacco and Vanzetti By EUGENE LYONS $1.50 Anthology of Verse 25 cents | ALL THE ABOVE CAN BE SECURED FROM || WORKERS LIBRARY PUBLISHERS 43 EAST 125th STREET, NEW YORK CITY