The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 3, 1929, Page 6

me sok =p a” ~~ 2 a Page Six ‘ ARY 3, 1929 1 DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JANU oo THE HAND OF FASCISM _ : Initiation Fee Is Juicy Source of . Wad & aily S25 Wor Central Organ of the Workers (Communist) Party Published by National Daily Worker Publishing » Inc, ,D Except Sunday, at 26-28 Y. Telephone, ddress “Daiwork” ROBERT MINOR WM. F. DUNNE istant Editor Balbo Is Welcomed By Fellow- Murderers A super-criminal comes to New York. Italo Balbo, representative of organized murder, spokesman for Fascismo; Italo Balbo, once a pauper, now a millionaire through the lucrative profession of murdering thousands of Italian workers for the benefit of Itahan and international bankers and trust mag- nates; Italo Balbo, his hands dripping with the blood of Della Maggior tone Sozzi, Matteoti, Zamboni and Minzoni—comes to town today. This man whose only distinction is that of a super-assassin legalized by counter-revo- lution, will be welcomed to the City of New York. He will be welcomed by Mayor Walker, by Police Commissioner Whalen, and by the “liberal” socialist-republican Fiorello La Guardia. There are many foolish persons who will be surprised that a super-murderer is wel- comed by the “popular” mayor, the ‘ hand” police commissioner and the “liberal” congressman. No need to be surprised. Balbo will be welcomed by his own kind. What is the difference between the capi- talist “democracy” represented by Walker, Whalen and La Guardia, and the fascist dic- tatorship represented by Balbo? It is only the difference of a mask. Behind the mask, Mayor Walker, Police Commissioner Whalen and Congressman La Guardia represent the same bloody system of exploitation, violence and murder that Mr. Balbo, the fascist murderer represents. That is why they welcome Balbo. Is American capitalism so “pure” as to turn up its nose at Mussolini’s crimes? No, American capitalism has committed just as many (and more!) and as bloody crimes and acts of violence as fascism ever committed in the same time. The diffeyence is in circumstances. Ameri- can capitalism murders Saccos and Vanzettis under cover of lies and court-room cere- se ouies instead of with the bloody dagger in wed = SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By Mai in New York only): $4.50 six mos. $2.50 three mos. By Mail (outside of New York): $6 a year $3.50 six mos. $2.00 three mos. Address and mail all checks to The Daily Worker, 26-28 Union Square, New York, N. Y. $8 a year the back in the dead of night. But this is only because American capitalism is so sit- uated that it can still afford, for the time being, to go through these hypocritical form- ulas to befuddle the brains of backward work- ers, while fascismo—for Italian capitalism— is so situated that it has to discard the mask. American capitalism is today committing all of the crimes that can be laid to fascism. Today in Nicaragua American imperialist agents are murdering Nicaraguan workers and peasants with all of the cruelty and pur- and of Balbo. If the blood of Della Maggiora, Gastone Sozzi, and Matteoti, among thou- sands of others, drip from the hands of Mussolini’s men, the blood of tens of thou- | sands of Chinese workers and peasants flows from the hands of the representatives of American capitalism which welcome them. The blood of Sacco and Vanzetti will meet and mingle with the blood of thousands of Italian workers, when Walker shakes hands with Balbo. American capitalism welcomes _ Italian fascism because both are organized crime— one with the mask, the other without. But the American working class does not welcome Italo Balbo, Mussolini's bloody butcher. The workers in this country, Italian-born and native, workers of what- ever origin—to the extent that they have even the slightest love of their own class and understanding of its great revolutionary mission—know that only with the overthrow of all that is represented by Balbo and Walker, Whalen and La Guardia, can the world be freed for the working class. In welcoming Balbo, the murderer, Ameri- can capitalism welcomes its own kind. But in the name of the working class of this country, and of Italy, as well ag of all countries, we say, Down with Balbo! Down with the foul representatives of the worst capitalist tyranny on earth, American im- perialism, who welcome the murderer because they recognize in him their brother—by the sign of the stiletto dripping with the blood | of workers. The Struggle Against Imperialist War and the Tasks of the Communists (Note.—This is the tenth instal- ment of the thesis of the 6th Con- sibility of disarmament and abolish-] | Yesent an alliance for the suppres- pose that are found in the crimes of Mussolini | gress of the Communist Internation- al, entitled “The Struggle Against Imperialist War and the Tasks of the Communists.”—Editor.) ee eee IV. The Proletariat’s Attitude To- wards the Question of Disarmament | and the Fight against, Pacifis 58. Imperialism at ‘the pres time encounters serious obstacles in its ideological and organizational Preparations for new imp! counter-revolutionary wars, vi instinctive hostility to war aroused among the broad masses of the population, particularly among the workers, the peasants and the work- ing women, since the last world war. For that reason, imperialism is compelled to make its preparations | for war under the cloak of pacifism. At the same time, pacifism is ac- quiring a new objective significance as the ideology and the instrument in ;world imperialism’s struggle against the progressing world revo- lution and its stronghold, the U. S. S. R. Fake Peace Conferences, Herein lie the objective signifi- cance and the fundamental aim of the disarmament proposals and con- ferences initiated by the imperialist states, and particularly of the “work” of the League of Nations in this sphere: the discussions on “se- curity”; the proposal to establish arbitration courts; the pacts for the “outlawry of war,” etc. The purpose of all these pacifist schemes, treaties, and conferences are: (a) to camouflage imperialist armaments; (b) to enable certain great powers to maneuver against each other for the purpose of secur-| ing, by treaties, a reduction in their rivals’ armaments, while at the seme time to increase their own military power; (c) to enable the @reat powers to reach temporary agreements guaranteeing their dom- imation over the weak and oppressed countries; (d) to carry out ideolo- gical and political mobilization against the Soviet Union under the cloak of pacifist slogans, or direct preparation for war. For this reason, to fight against armament swindle and pacifism is one of the fundamental tasks in the Struggle against imperialist war at the present time. A. The Social Democratic Disarma- nt Program and Leninism. 59. The principal instrument in imperialist disarmament farce is ing war without overthrowing im- perialism. Among the social demo- crats there are two tendencies on the question of disarmament, both jof which however, are tendencies of bourgeois pacifism. Kautsky on “Abolition” of War. One of these tendencies, the herald of which Kaut: became al- ready in 1911, “discovers” non- existent objective forces of capital- m, which are alleged to be operat- ing in the direction of disarmament and the abolition of war.. This ten- dency represents the policy of co- operating with the “Left” bour- geoisie for the purpose of limiting armaments, concluding internation- |al agreements between the imper- jialists for preventing, or altogether “outlawing,” war, ete. Already in 1916 Lenin described | this tendency as “absolutely bour- geois pacifism.” In 1914-1918 these | views comprised the ideology of the “Centre”; but when the world war came to an end and the imperialist governments began to resort to paci: |fist maneuvers it became the policy of the leaders of the 2nd Interna- tional, This policy is supported by the right wing as well as by the majority of the “Left” social demo- | crats. It is presented as the policy |of “realistic” pacifism, but it in no | way differs from the policy of the imperialist bourgeoisie. “Civilized” Capitalism. With this policy is associated the | “organized capitalism” theory, ac- | cording to which, capitalism, in the | present imperialist stage, itself de- | Velops the objective factors for |abolishing war from the realm of. | the “civilized world,” ete. It is also associated with the theory of “ultra- \imperialism,” of imperialist “alli- }ances,” “pacts,” and international | cartels as a means for removing im- | perialist antagonisms, As a matter of fact, imperialism Ib, ie no tendency whatever to- | Wards the abolition of war. On the jcontrary, all the facts which the | “realistic” pacifists enumerate for | the purpose of lulling the masses, | are symptoms of the preparations of imperialist war on the largest | possible scale, of wars in which, not individual states, but whole groups |of allied states, will be involved | against each other, A United States of Europe or a United States of the World is a uto- pian dream under the capitalist sys- tem. But even if such could be es- | | | revolutionary slogan. sion of the proletarian revolution and of the national liberation move- ments of colonial peoples. All the tendencies within this main tenden- | cy (for example the Pan-European ; Movement) are out and out reac- tionary. Oppose Arming Workers. 60. The adherents to the second| tendency come out as “radical,” or “revolutionary” pacifists, and de- mand complete disarmament, not only of the bourgeoisie but also of the proletariat, i. e., they reject the slogan of arming the proletariat. At the time of the imperialist | war, this slogan was adopted by a number of revolutionary interna- | tionalists, who found no other way | of expressing their honest desires to jabolish militarism, It was not a | revolutionary slogan, however, for |it failed to take into account, or ;completely rejected, the necessity |for arming the proletariat and for | civil war; objectively, it was an ex- pression of the desperation of the | petty bourgeoisie. | | Lenin’s criticism of this slogan, day, and must be employed even | ore sharply today, notwithstand- ing the fact that the number of | those who support this slogan is now |extremely insignificant. The Octo- ber Revolution has proved to every honest revolutionary the absolute necessity for arming the proletariat. To substitute the slogan of disarm- jing the proletariat for the slogan of arm the proletariat can serve at the present time only as a counter- For that rea- son the Communists must take great pains to explain the true position to those workers who sympathize with the slogan of disarming, particular- ly in the smaller countrigs, and to fight as strenuously as possible against the “Left” leaders who ad- vocate it, “Arbitration” of War. This applies also to the theory that international guarantees and “arbitration courts” can abolish war. Such institutions are merely soap- bubbles, which burst at the very first serious conflict, or else serve as instruments in the hands of the more powerful imperialist robbers. There is only one point on which both social democratic tendencies can agree on questions of disarma- ment and pacifism, and that is, thi the principal obstacle to disarma- tablished, they would inevitably be! lal democracy, which sows among | es illusions about the pos- reactionary, because they would rep-' ment are the countries where “there is no democracy,” i. e., the dictator- expressed in 1916, holds good to this | | ship of the proletariat in the U. S. |S. R. |B. The Soviet Disarmament Pro- posals, 61. Already in the theses of the VIII Plenum of the E. C. C. I. em- phasis was laid on the point, that |take up an altogether different posi- | tion in principle towards the Soviet Union’s point of view on the ques- tion of disarmament from the posi- |tion it must take up. towards the | hypocritical proposals for disarma- ment advanced by the capitalist | states. In view of the exceptional importance of this question in the fight against pacifism, it must be very clearly presented and explained to the masses. Different From Socialist Panaceas. The proposals for general and complete disarmament submitted by the Soviet Government to the pre- paratory commission on disarma- ment called by the League of Na- tions in November, 1927, differ ra- \dicaliy in aim, sincerity and objec- tive significance from the phrases and schemes submitted by fhe im- perialists and their social democrati flunkeys. The aim of the Soviet proposals is not to spread pacifist illusions, but to destroy them; not to support capitalism by ignoring or toning down its shady sides, but to propa- gate the fundamental Marxian pos- tulate, that disarmament and the abolition of war are possible only with the fall of capitalism. USSR Sincerely Disarming. The Soviet Government called upon the imperialists who talk cyni- cally about disarming, actually to lisarm; it tore the pacifist masks from their faces. It goes without saying, that not a single Commu- |the international proletariat must | nist thought for a moment that the imperialists would accept the Soviet disarmament proposals. Nevertheless, the Soviet Govern- ment’s proposals were not hypocri- jtical, they were made in all. sin- cerity, because they in no way con- tradict the domestic and foreign policy of the workers’ government, | whereas, imperialist “disarmament” phrase-mongering contradicts the policy of bourgeois states—the pol- \icy of plunder and oppression. The Soviet Government represents the dictatorship of the proletariat in the \interests of the majority of the | population, who had been exploited |for centuries, The Soviet Govern- ment does not conduct\a policy of | plunder and oppression; its policy is |a peace policy, in the interests of |the international proletariat, Th2 Soviet Union’s proposals dif- fer from the bourgeois and social |democratie proposals also in their | objective significance. They do not | serve as a screen to conceal a policy |of aggression; they do not express the desperation of the petty bour- |geoisie; they express one of the | aims of socialism, which the revolu- | tionary proletariat will achieve after jit has achieved victory all over the | world, Socialists Use Trotskyism. 62. In their opposition to the Soviet disarmament proposals, the social democrats resorted to the most venomous means and utilized the slogans supplied to them by Trotskyism. They tried to discredit the disarmament proposals of the | Soviet Government in the eyes of the masses by declaring them to be |a “revision of Leninism,” a transi- | tion to “Thermidor,” ete. Enough |has been stated above to prove that this is despicable slander. After the Soviet proposals for complete disarmament were rejected the Soviet Delegation, in March, | 1928, submitted a second scheme, which provided for partial disarma- ‘ment and for a gradual reduction of {land and naval forces. This was not a concession to pacifism. On the contrary, it served to expose |more completely the attitude of the | Great Powers towards the small and oppressed nations. The Soviet Gov- |ernment’s position on the question of disarmament is a continuation of Lenin’s policy, and a consistent ap- | plication of his precepts. \C. The Proletariat’s Fight Against Pacifism. | 63. The workers in the Soviet Union, having defeated the bour- geoisie in civil war and having es- tablished: the dictatorship of the )Prolétariat in their country, may jadopt'a new method in their fight against pacifism—that venomous tool of imperialism—namely, to pro- pose general disarmament to the im- perialists. But the proletariat which jis still fighting for power in capi- talist states, cannot employ such a method, It would not be a revolutionary jact for the proletariat in these coun- tries to propose to, or demand, dis- armament from their bourgeoisie and their flunkeys; it would merely ;mean the substitution of the slogan of arm the proletariat by the slo- gan of disarm the proletariat; it would mean the rejection of civil war and of socialism. Hence, Communists must strenu- ously combat the wrong conclusions drawn from the Soviet Government’s disarmament proposals—conclusions which contradict the revolutionary sense of this program—and must jFathlessly. condemn such a deviation i ntheir own ranks, ji a Struggle Against Imperialist War and the Tasks of the Communists Agitate With USSR Proposals. 64, The difference between the methods of combating pacifism em- ployed by the proletariat in the Soviet Union and those adopted by the working class in capitalist coun- |tries does not mean that there is a does it follow that Communists in capitalist countries must not make use of the Soviet Government’s dec- laration on disarmament in .carry- ing on agitation among the masses. On the contrary, the disarmament policy of the Soviet Government jmust be utilized for purpose of agi- tation much more energetically and |to a wider extent than has been |done hitherto. However, they must not be utilized as a pretext for ad- vancing similar demands in the capi- talist countries, but as a means: 1, for recruiting sympathizers for the Soviet Union—the champion of peace and socialism. 2. For utiliz- ing the results of the Soviet dis- armament policy and its exposure of the imperialists in the effort to eradicate all pacifist illusions and to carry on propaganda among the masses in support of the only way towards disarmament and abolition of war, viz., arming of the prole- tariat, overthrowing the bourgeoisie and establishing the proletarian dic- tatorship, (To be continued) 3 ENDURANCE FLIGHTS. Three attempts to set new endur- ance records for airplanes—one by a woman pilot—were in progress in the United States yesterday. Theodore EF. Smith, son of Cyrus T. Smith, first mayor of Brooklyn, left a net estate of $888,369 when he died, in his 3rd year, last April, |contradiction between the two; nor) “Labor” Graft By WILLIAM Z. FOSTER. Continued Initiation fees are often a source of rich graft, especially in the build- ing trades where such fees run from $50 to $800 and higher, and where there is little or no control exercised over the unions’ finances. Various ways are used to steal initiation fees. For example, Moretsky, a notorious crook official of the New York Milk Wagon Drivers, conceived the bright idea of collecting the regular $50 initiation fee and then turning only $25 in to the union, with the ex- planation that the applicant was an ex-service man and as such entitled to half the regular rate. Thus Mo- retsky and his cronies stole many thousands of dollars.. Other business agents vary the graft by first re- eting the applicants at the Exam- ing Boards and then taking them i in for a substantial private consid- eration. A skilled initiation fee grafter s Philip Zausner. Zausner, for years secretary of the New ict Council of Painters, an influential figure among New York socialist labor leaders. He opposed Brindell and was adver- tised all over the country by the socialist party as an honest leader in a thoroughly corrupt industry. But some months ago Zausner was exposed by rank and filers in his union. It was shown that he had grafted in every known form from both employers and workers. Initia- tion fees formed a large share of his illegitimate income. The audi- tors found that in the 19 months pe- riod 330 names of candidates had been accepted as members, yet not one was on the books as having paid his $75 initiation fee. This deal, only one of the many that Zausner put through, netted him and his cronies $24,750. In many cases he actually stole $150 for a single $75 was | initiation fee; that is, he would first pocket the whole $75 fee when it came in and then later charge off $75 on the books as having been re- turned to the new member. The publie accountants engaged to audit Zausner’s books thus reported on the case? Pe “We are now in a position to amend our original estimate that about $30,000 was mis-appropriated and say in its place that it may probably reach anywhere between $100,000 and $200,000 for the period of Zausner’s incumbency. Nothing was left undone by the officers to rob the treasury of the Council in j all sorts of manners and methods, and as the situation now stands the dignity and importance of the New York District Council 8 for the last few years is simply a huge joke.” The New York socialist press mili- tantly defended Zausner to the last, denouncing his accusers. He was finally defeated for re-election by a united font movement of the pro- gressive and left wing elements in the New York painters local unions. Many other socialist trade union | leaders have gone the way of Zaus- ner into corruption. The ingenuity of the labor fakers in robbing the workers knows no end. Wm A Hogan, former Interna- tional treasurer of the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and secretary of Local 3, included in his grafi- repertoire the pilfering of death benefits. Hogan got many members to go to his lawyer and name him as beneficiary in case of death. He was shown to have received the money when ‘several had died. His death benefit graft had other angles also: To raise the money for ‘these benefits each of the 4,000 members in the local was always assessed 50 cents in case of death, or a total of $2,000. Hogan was unable to ex- plain to the Lockwood Committee what became of the other $1,000 every time a $1,000 death claim was paid. Hogan’s clique was succeeded by the O’Hara crowd. To Be Continued JOBLESS, KILLS SELF. TRENTON, N. J., Jan, 1—Out of work for several months, Kontanty Russak, 41, a floor scraper, com- mitted suicide by applying a lighted match to his clothes. Not only is the Daily Worker gonna be five years old, but yours truly and a lot of other | workers will be the same. Five years ago we were all saps. Aj sap is a guy who slaves his he: off for his boss and says “Thank, you” for every kick he gets. But’ then the “Daily” was founded and that's when we really got born. So let’s all send ourselves birthday greetings by sending the Daily en appreisal filed yesterday in the 'Surrogate’s Court showed, Worker lots of donations to keep it going! ysis Me kerosene soaked 4 \