The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 20, 1928, Page 6

Page Six THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20. 1 Published by National Daily Worker Ass’n., Inc., Daily, Except Sunday Union Square, New York Stuyvesar ROBERT MINOR WM. F. DUNNE Editor . Assistant Editor SUBSCRIPTION RATES: * By Mail (in New York only)! $4.50 six mos. $2.50 three mos. By Mail (outside of New York): $3.50 six mos. $2.00 three mos. $8 a year $6 a year Address and all checks to The Daily Worker, 26-28 Union Square, New York, N. Y. We Accept the Challenge, Mr. Green! Following the meeting of the executive council of the American Federation of Labor, preceding the opening of the New Orleans convention, William Green made two an- nouncements regarding policy and prospects for the coming year. 9. That the convention will decide to wage a drive to organize the unorganized workers in the basic industries of the country under the slogan “double the membership of the American Federation of Labor in one year.” 2. That there can be no compromise with the Communists “Who seek the destruction cf the organized labor movement and would substitute therefore class war and class hatred. Since it is well known that the Communists are organizing the unorganized (and the A. F. of L. bureaucracy is not), the two planks of the platform as enunciated by Green may seem to be contradictory. But a close examina- tion of the facts will show that Green’s words do not mean what they pretend to mean, and that when this is understood the two planks cited above are very closely related! Why is Green suddenly concerned about the unorganized? The answer is to be sought in the singular achievements of the Communists in mobiliz- ing, organizing and leading practically every important labor struggle that has occured in this country during the past few years. In these struggles where the A. F. of L. bureau- cracy invariably deserted to the enemy while the Communists led the fight, thousands upon thousands of workers have come to un- derstand ‘the real character of the leadership of the American Federation of Labor as an instrument of capitalist reaction. It has be- come increasingly difficult for the re- actionary labor leaders to play their tradi- tional role of betrayers of strikes, because, for one reason, out of the struggles of the past few years there have grown new unions, free of the domination of the A. F. of L. bureaucracy. The achievements of the striking workers under Communist ledaership impel A. F. of L. leaders now to issue the slogan to organize the unorganized. But it is only words. The very function of the reactionary leaders as open guardians of capitalism forbids them to or- ganize the workers in the basic industries. For years this reactionary and treacherous leadership has never failed to serve the em- ployers of labor the apostles of the scab shop. Their principal function has been to stifle any movement of the masses in the great basic industries of the country toward or- ganization and struggle against the trust- dominated industries. Now that a new, mili- tant, revolutionary force has developed out of the very conditions of American capitalism and is leading masses of workers against wage-cuts, the speed-up, and all other char- acteristics that fall under the general cate- gory of “rationalization,” the American Fede- ration of Labor officials are called upon to make some sort of gesture toward the work- ers in the basic industries. The A. F. of L. bureaucracy knows that any real movement to organize the unorganized must bga move- ment against them. The ory reason that Green & Co. propose such an organizational drive is in order to be able to act as scabs against the new independent unions that are beginning to thrive under Communist leader- ship. They will not organize any workers in the big industries for a struggle for better conditions, but will step in, with the full ap- proval of the employers, wherever the work- ers begin to. resist their oppressors in an organized manner, and will create strike- breaking groups of scabs under the protection of the police, the courts, the militia, the cos- sacks, the company gunmen and other de- fenders of what Green and his cohorts call “democracy.” Green & Co. are opposed to the ¢ war of the workers against the capitalists, but they openly support the class war of the capi- talists against the workers. In their customary dishonest manner the officialdom of the A. F. of L. accuses the Communists of seeking the destruction of the Jabor movement. With the modesty so char- acteristic of them, these leaders claim that they, themselves, are the labor movement. When they are under fire for their treachery and their selling out of the working class to the capitalist class, they then howl that the labor movement is being attacked, when directly the opposite is the case. The most effective way to fight to defend’ the labor movement is to destroy the Greens, the Wolls, the Lewises and all their ilk. It is precisely the officialdom of the A. F. of L. and its supporters at the head of the yellow socialist party in this country that constitutes the greatest menace to the work- ing class, for they are the direct agents of the igperialists whose job it is to deceive the a ah and the spokesman of dollar imperialism, workers and keep them defenseless and at the mercy of their class enemies. In reply to Green we sa; ‘There can be no compromise with you and your associated flunkeys of capitalism who have done every- thing in your power to destroy the labor movement of this country. Against you and the class you serve and in spite of you we will instill class hatred into the masses so that they may be able effectively to wage the class struggle until capitalism and all its labor lieutenants have been destroyed.” The unorganized will be organized, but Mr. Green’s gang of straw-bosses will never do it. “American Ideals and Intentions” With unanimity the entire American capi- talist press, both republican and democratic, sings. paens of praise to the Coolidge Armis- tice Day speech. The most unrestrained praise comes from the organs of the great banking house, the spokesmen of the loan- mongers and war-makers in New York. Join- ing in the chorus are the publications from the great steel centers, the organs of the munitions manufacturers, the chemical in- the motor industry. Leading these gers of pacifist phrases to conceal preparations for imperialist butchery is the republican organ of Wall Street, the New York Herald ‘Tribune. Says that paper: “The president’s speech, notable for its vigor and plain speaking, will have multi- tudinous echoes here and abroad. It was in the highest sense opportune. It will clear the air and make for a better appreciation of American ideals and intentions. It cannot but aid greatly in giving our relations with Europe a more realistic background. We are satisfied that its plain speaking will dispel many persistent and harmful illusions and re- sult in friendlier international feeling and far better comprehension of the attitude and poli- cies of the United States.” Certainly, already, less than a week after its utterance, there have been numerous echoes of the Coolidge speech on Armistice Day. In the United States the echoes have been repetitions with variations of the sophistry of the Herald-Tribune. There have also been echoes on the stock exchange us potential war bonds in basic industries soared to unprecedented heights in a wild frenzy of speculating on the impending imperialist war. Surely the capitalist press and the steck exchange reacted correctly to Cool- idge’s expression of “American ideals and in- tentions.” Likewise from abroad there have been echoes of the Coolidge speech which indicate that Europe also understands the full import of the Armistice Day interpretation of America’s exalted ideals and intentions. Cer- tainly the imperialist statesmen of Europe were not slow in registering the fact that “our relations” -with them have been placed publicly in a “more realistic background,” to quote the words of the Herald-Tribune. So realistic is the reaction of European spokesmen of the capitalist countries that those who have been advocating a bloc of European nations against the arrogant United States imperialism are being listened to as never before. It is a reflection of the attitude of the European capitalist powers that the Paris press is almost unanimous in resenting the speech as that of a glorified pawn-broker who wants to regulate the household affairs of his financially distressed customers. That analogy indicates the loath- ing which yankee imperialism, the “Uncle Shylock” of the world, is held. The part of the Coolidge speech that most arouses the official and semi-official government press of France is the reference to the reluctance of the ruling class of this country to advance more loans to Europe until a revision of arma- ments treaties has been consummated. The desperate condition of the French frane only adds to the fury of “Heroic allies” of Uncle Shylock in the late war. The most pronounced “echo” from abroad came from the British Isles, which indicated that the Baldwin government fully under- stood the attempt of Coolidge to arrive at “friendlier international reiations” by de- nouncing the British proposals regarding cruiser building as an attempt to limit that class of combat vessels in which the United States is superior and to augment that class in which Britain has a distinct advantage. This blast against the tory outfit in Britain as created so much havoc in the ranks of the government and so encouraged the spuri- ous labor and liberal opposition that Premier Baldwin was forced pubjicly to announce the liquidation of the Anglo-French naval agree- ment concluded last September on the eve of the signing of the Kellogg pact in Paris. In face of fire frgm the opposition in Britain’ | Baldwin had to retreat to save, if only tem- porarily, his political neck, The speech of Coolidge, occurring as it did immediately after the landslide that \ } “DO YOUR STUFF, HERBIE!” By A. G. RICHMAN If anyone is so innocent as to think that the A. F. of L, conven- | tion, in session now in New Orleans, | will do any thing constructive, he is |referred to the 1927 convention. |The decisions of last year indicate |fully, though probably modestly, in |comparison with the performance they will put on this year, what will be done. We have therefore iewed the high spots of last year’s convention as an_ introduc- |tion to the carnival of betrayal now |about to open. The 47th convention of the American Federation of Labor took |place during the first two weeks of October, 1927, in Los Angeles. The previous record of reaction which has made the A. F. of L. notorious throughout the world was far sur- passed in the degenerate revel into which the convention developed. ‘The bureaucrats there not only ex- |pelled Communists, but also had |radicals and Communists arrested, jand threatened the latter with |years of imprisonment. A priest opened the convention, |and was followed by senators, gov- lernors, cabinet members, ete—all jthat President Green could obtain. Campaign Against Communists. hostility to the working class from | the first statement by the executive | council to the press, guaranteeing |that no Communists would be per- | mitted to participate in the conven- |tion. All the welcoming speeches |praised the bureaucracy as the | greatest enemy of radicalism. The |Los Angeles “Evening Express” | wrote of the aristocrats: “... they are not such foes of the open-shop |as they would like to make out.” | Comrade Schneiderman, a delegate from the Los Angeles Bookkeepers’ jand Office Workers’ Union, who |was expelled from the convention, was examined by Vice-President Woll and Secretary Morrison, ‘the |epecial committee appointed by the lexecutive council, Detective Hynes, |head of the police “Red” squad, was present with them. On Morrison’s desk were documents seized by the | police in these raids. Throughout |the convention Hynes was in con- | stant conversation with the leaders lof the A. F. of L., who pointed out to him all the progressives and rad- icals in the gallery. Green and other delegates went sight-seeing through Southern Cali- fornia in pclice autos, driven by uniformed police chauffeurs, A resolution calling for the with- drawal of troops from China and Nicaragua, which had somehow the agents of capitalist imperialism | The atmosphere was charged with | | ———————SS— By Feed Ellis se To Sell Out Mexican Labor on Immigration; ,passed the extremely reactionary New York State Federation of La- Lor, was unanimously . repudiated. The fact that this was also a repu- diation cf the policy adopted by the July congress of the Pan-American Federation of Labor made no dif- ference. A mild resolution favor- ing Philippine independence was adopted, but no practical steps taken to carry it out. A resolution on “Hands off China,” referred from the hotel and restaurant work- ers’ convention, was “accidentally” left cut of the proceedingss, A. F. of L. and State Department. The relations of the A. F. of L.| to Amsterdam correspond pretty much to those between the U. S. State Department and the League) of Nations. In both cases observers are sent to mold policy and to unite against revolutionary organizations. Various A. F. of L. unions such as the machinists, coal miners, etc., have been allowed to affiliate with Amsterdam, but the correspondence between Green and Oudegeest was | referred to the convention without recommendation. The Monroe Doctrine of Labor} has been forced down the throats of Latin American labor in order to divorce them from the rest of the world labor movement, It guaran- tees to eliminate any open or “co- vert” interference by other labor movements with the A. F. of L. monopoly over the western hemis- phere. The attempts to create a Pan-American international were for the purpose of harnessing the masses to the chariot of Wall Street imperialism, Woll had been ap- pointed to the Pan-American Com- mercial Conference by the Depart- ment of Labor together with a num- ber of big bankers interested in Latin American investments. Frey, another of Green's lieutenants, had been appointed by him a represen- tative to the Geneva Economic Con- ference, in order to help depress the standard of living of the European masses. Frey approved of the ra- tionalization of European industry in his report to the Executive Coun- cil. He was enthusiastic about | Balfour’s advocacy of class collabo- |ration, and attacked the Soviet Union representatives who fought against this rationalization policy. The A. F. of L. has been exert- ing continual pressure on the Mex- iean Federation of Labor (CROM), the State. Dep’t Watchdog just as the State Department has upon the Mexican government. There was a fight in the convention on the question of Mexican immi- gration. The Executive Council wanted the CROM and the Mexican government to voluntarily limit emigration. The opposition wanted the congress to apply the quota law, but. the machine won by a vote of 135 to 32, This was the only ques- tion upon which’ there was any real disagreement, and here the opposi- tion was even more reactionary than the administration. Green spoke of international difficulties, saying that a quota for Canada would follow one for Mexico, thus encouraging the Canadian indepen- dence movement. Also there were 140,000 Canadians in the A. F. of L., and would sueh a policy be wise? The bureaucrats have been working hand in hand with the most reac- tionary labor-baiting, Red-hunting elements in congress, who favored a limitation of 25,000 annually from each country to the U. S. They unanimously voted to approve the prohibitifh of Asiatic immigration. to Hawaii, fearing that they would then come to the U. §. Labor Policy of the Bureaucracy. The fundamental task of a labor movement in a country where Jess than one-tenth of the workers are organized would seem to be the or- ganization of the unorganized, The | Workers (Communist) Party, thru its factory nucleus in Ford’s, had been able.to gain 15,000 readers for its factory paper. Yet the numer- ous A. F, of L. organizers in De- troit were completely unable to or- ganize any of the auto factories in the city, despite the decision of the 1926 convention to organize the auto industry. The Executive Council re- ported to the convention. that tva conferences had been held at’ head- quarters, but the net result of the year’s work was that “we are not in a position to report in detail upon this campaign.” the metal trades department had passed a resolution to organize the aircraft factories, and the A. F. of L. convention voted to “organize” the southern textile workers, upon the plea of faker McMahon, of the United Textile Workers, who stated that there were over a million tex- tile workers in the south, “working 55 hours for practically no wages.” No practical steps were taken, how- ever, and the experience in organ- but one meaning. imperialist policy than even swept the republicans into power, can have It means that the election | of Hoover signalizes a new, more aggressive | ness and cynicism which has characterized | of the United that frightful- 'lentless struggle against American perialism and all its institutions. More than ever before the world situation imposes a mighty task upon the working class States. There must be a ‘re- im- The great The convention of the present administration. As far as it was directed toward Continental Europe, it is an open bid to alienate those countries from British influence and compel them to re- orientate themselves so that they may be allies of American imperialism in its fight against Britain. Briefly it means that Amer- ican foreign policy as it relates to Europe will be aggressively directed toward wrest- ing leadership of European reaction from the hands of Britain. In every way and on every front American imperialism is plunging headlong toward en- other world holocaust, with the greedy and avaricious ruling class of this country already in a state of hysteria at the pros- pects that its blood-beclouded vision perceives before it. ' _ basic industries of the country now manned by unorganized masses at the mercy of the bosses must be made the objective of in- tensive organizational drives. Powerful in- dustrial unions must be created that will be able to grip the very base of supplies for the war machine. ~ Couregeous, determined revolutionary workers in every section of the armed forces of the nation will be able to bring into con- sciousness the discontent and disillusion- ment and turn these into revolutionary fury against the war-mongers. Only revolutionary defiance can adequately answer the war screechings of the imperialist puppet, Coolidge, as he prepares to turn the office of president of the United States over to a more capable buicher, Herbert Hoover. “ Be fencer What A.F.L. Convention Does izing the auto workers, as well as the gain in membership during the year (8,441; the 1927 membership was 2,814,407), indicated how ser- iously these resolutions would be taken, Despite the race wars threatening even at the time of the convention, and the large number of lynchings of Negroes, the conven- tion refused to move an inch in the direction of organizing the hundreds of thousands of Negro workers in industry. Their attitude toward the problem was practically the same as that of the southern white slave- owners, Despite the fact that two of the most vicious injunctions in the his- tory of the labor movement had been handed down just before and during the convention, injunctions which outlawed strikes that would affect interstate commerce (and practically every product made in the country comes: within this cate- gory), the convention simply ex- pressed its regret and refused to take any action. The great strike of 200,000 coal miners was not even mentioned in the report of the Executive Council, nor was the Sacco-Vanzetti case. Green had promised the capitalist press repor- ters that this case would not be dis- cussed in the convention, and he kept his word. This betrayal of the two outstanding labor events of the year was to have been expected. In this atmosphere of trade union capitalism, class collaboration’! and jurisdictional quarrels, Before the convention opened, Green had stated that the 5-hour day was necessitated by increased production, but that it must be in- troduced very gradually “so the in- \dustries can accommodate themselves jto it” Here as elsewhere his first | interest was: always the welfare of the capitalists. It was Frey, how- ever, who introduced the outstand- |ing contribution of the convention— the new wage theory and the elimin- ation of strikes theory which may (be summed up in what the reac- | tionaries call “the higher strategy of labor.” The Executive Council re- |port advocated that strikes be abol- ished and that “facts” rather than force be resorted to. For this pur- pose research bureaus were to be developed so that labor could base \ity peaceful appeals to the employ- ers upon studies of production costs, profits, etc. eq During the last 28 years real wages had increased 5 per cent, whereas productivity had increased 50 per cent, . Frey's cure was “the social wage,” | which would depend upon the pros- |perity of the country. The danger of increased unemployment due to over-production would be met by the employers increasing wages, so that the purchasing power of the em- ployed, workers would be increased, and .thus work would be produced for the unemployed. This magic was the only solution of the bureau- eracy for the tremendous problems facing the workers and threatening to smash the entire labor movement of the country. One of the old stand- bys of the machine, Andy Furuseth of the Seamen’s Union, was so shock- ed out of his “hard-boiled” com- placency by the series of injunc- tions, that he warned the conven- tion that inevitably the unions were being driven to the point where they would become underground organi- zations. But the reactionaries blithe- ly went their way. Another brilliant idea whereby the bureaucrats would fool the capital- ists was recommended to the con- vention by the Executive Council re- port: In every city the unions were to organize “a special committee to be on the watch for new industries 4. . .(which) are constantly devel- Misleaders in the American Labor Unions BY WILLIAM Z. FOSTER. The present head of the U. M. W. A. deserves to rank with John Mitchell as one of the most powerful and reactionary leaders in the his- tory of the Miners’ Union. He hails from Illinois. He came to power by the back-door route. He was a tech- nical worker for the union. His tool, the weak Frank J. Hayes, appointed him vice-president to fill the vacan- cy made by Hayes himself when he took White’s place as) president, Lewis then framed-up on Hayes. He kept him drunk and finally involved him in a compromising situation which forced Hayes to resign. Lewis automatically became president. It was almost a Borgian stratagem. Lewis, among his other doubtful connections, is a national figure in the republican party. Lewis’ regime is a curse to the miners. His first great treason to them was his failure to organize the miners during the years 1918 to 1921. At that time he was the real power in the union, not Hayes. Had he been so minded, he could have made the coal fields of America 100 |per cent unionized. Lewis refused to do this. He failed to solve the prob- lem of the non-union districts, and as a result these have rapidly spread until now non-union miners produce "0 per cent of all bituminous coal. These conditions are threatening the very life of the organization. oping, and it would be well if we had agents on the watch for these new opportunities of organization.” The report spoke of the growth of such new “mass” industries as mechanical refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. The ‘bureaucrats appealed to the employers instead of to the workers. They begged them to substitute A. F. of L. unions for their company unions, saying that, “There is noth- ing that the company union can do within a single company that a trade union cannot develop the machinery for doing, and accomplish more ef- ficiently. Union-management coop- eration. . .is much more funda- mental and effective than the employ er-representation plaps for coopera- tion with the management.” The convention decided to conduct a campaign for the repeal of the anti-trust laws, and of their Clayton amendment, was supposed to ren- der labor immune from legal suit, etc. Gompers had been instrumental in having these laws passed, but ever since their passage they have been used only against labor. The “N. Y. World” wrote that in its drive against the anti-trust laws, labor would “have the passive support of what is commonly called Wall Street.” This meant that Wall Street and the A. F. of L, would work to repeal the anti-trust laws, but that the anti-labor laws would not only not be repealed, but would even be extended and intensified. Resolu- tions were adopted to “work” against injunctions and the practice lof “yellow-dog” contracts. Trade Union Militarism. Further evidence of the A. F. of L.’s policy of simply being the “yes- boys” of the State Department is evident in their attitude and activi- ties on militarism. The metal trades department convention had adopted a resolution for the adequate upkeep of the army and pay and for per- manent naval and air bases at San Diego. The idea was supposed to be to reduce unemployment in the |metal trades. During the cpnven- |tion, Sarah Conboy, of the United Textile Workers, asked the delegates to use their influence for govern- | ment orders for more army uniforms, At the end of the convention Green introduced Summerall, chief of staff of the United States Army and one of the most active militarist propa- gandists in the country. During the previous year Green had been made civilian aid to the war department, a reward for his having helped to christen battleships and increase en- rollment in the Citizens’ Military Training Camps. Summerall spoke on preparedness and national de- fense, and characterized the A. F. of L. leaders as among the most pa- triotic men the country has ever known: “The aspirations of the A. F of L. are those of the good men ‘of industry. Indeed I have often been startled by the identity of sen- \timents expressed by President Green, and by those whom we some- times call captains of industry.” This 1927 convention showed bet- ter than ever before how the 4. F. of L. is working for the Wall Street government to undermine the mili- tancy of Latin-American labor, and how fully it is cooperating with im- perialism in return for being per- mitted to continue to exist. This is simply an extension of its domestic pelicies to the field of foreign poli- cies. It is aiding Amsterdam to foist upon the European workers the same efficiency schemes of class col- laboration (Americanization) which it is so successfully practising in the United States. We need only refer back to its work in the Geneva Economic Conference, among other by which the A. F. of L. is helping upon its loans. INCREASE BUDGET. LIMA, Peru, Nov. 19 (U.P).—An increase of more than 640,000 Peru- vian pounds in the national income of the country is foreshadowed in next year’s budget report which has been approved by the chamber of deputies. The national income was estimated at 12,450,636 pounds, betrayals. This is the subtle method | Wall Street to collect the interests a PO ERE TR