The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 14, 1929, Page 1

THE DAILY WORKER FIGHTS For a Workers-Farmers Government To Organize the Unorganized Against Imperialist War For the 40-Hour Week aily Entered as nccond-clanu matter at the Post Office at New York, N. ¥. under the aet of M. FINAL CITY EDITION Vol. VI., No. 136 Published daily except Sunday by The Comprodaily Publishing Company, Inc., 26-28 Union Square, New York City, N. Y. Outsia SUBSCRIPTION R/ NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, AU GUST 14 REFUSE SOPHIE MELVIN FLOOR TO SPEAK FOR FELLOW DEFENDANTS; DOWN REQUEST OF RANK AND FILE | Forced by Textile Workers’ Drive, Gaston Mill Bosses Reduce Hours From 60 to 55 | Reply to Cable From Russian Textile Workers Sent by Southern District of N.T.W.U. | WILL EXPOSE THROW A BONE TO UTW BETRAYERS BY LISTON M. OAK RALEIGH, N. C., Aug. 13— Sophie Melvin, one of the Gastonia defendants charged with murder, was refused the floor today at the State Federation of Labor Conven- tion in session at the House of Rep- | resentatives here. The American Federation of Labor bureaucracy succeeded today in tabling the mo- tion made by a rank and file dele- gate, that Melvin be given the floor to appeal for the support of the In- ternational Labor Defense campaign to mobilize the American workers | i} for the support of the defense. | Riding roughshod over the indig- Smant protests of many of the dele- gates who expressed their desire to | hear Melvin, the steamroller mach- inery worked fast, tabling the mo- tion and substituting a resolution asking the State to give a “fair trial.” Even the local capitalist papers report that the majority of the delegates were disappointed and indignant, and that many say they will make a motion to reconsider, and invite Melvin to speak. The defense organization and Na- tional Textile Workers Union im- mediately made arrangements to | hold a mass meeting at the county | courthouse tomorrow evening, where Melvin, Juliet Stuart Poyntz, Dewey | Martin and C. W. Saylor will speak | to the convention delegates and the | workers of Raleigh, appealing for support to the defense which in reality is a trial of the workers’ | (right to organize into unions for | struggle, to strike, and defend them- | |selves when attacked. The A. F. of L. and United Tex- | tile Workers bureaucrats will be ex- posed by the speakers. The Eliza- bethtown sellout which Kelly and McGrady hail as “the greatest vic- tory for organized labor in the his- tory of the South” will be shown as proof of the treachery of the UTW officialdom. The desertion of the strikers at Ware Shoals will be exposed as part of the general program of betrayals in the class struggle of the UTW. The significance of the Charlotte conference to initiate a general movement of struggle in the South will be emphasized. A resolution on the defense of the 23 arrested textile workers has been mimeographed and will be distrib- uted together with a statement from the NTW to all delegates. Organ- izers of the NTW will demand the floor tomorrow at the convention. D. B. Scoggins of the Typograph- ical union of Winston-Salem made the motion at the session today to give Melvin an opportunity to pre- sent the case of her fellow-defend- ants. It was opposed on the ground that the “AFL has spent millions of dollars fighting Communism, and the officialdom would censure the ronvention for allowing a Commun- st to speak.” The convention is divided sharply into two groups, one of the typical fat boys of the AFL bureaucracy, complacent and hard boiled, and the other of rank and file delegates from skilled crafts. Whenever the rank and file delegates denounce the c: italist press or make any progressive proposals, the chairman, T. A. Wil- son, president of the State Federa- tion, turns to the capitalist press representatives, apologizes for the statement made, and commends the capitalist press for being very fair ‘to labor, and condemns the progres- sive recommendations. Speeches of Winslow, McGrady, Kelly and other officials are full of sentimental appeals to “enlightened employers” for higher wages as the means of slleviating unrest and pre- venting the growth of Communism, and securing efficiency. They all fees the co-operation of bosses |pnd workers as the means to secure dustrial peace. The orientation of the whole con- vention is toward appealing to the capitalists, especially the mill own- ers, to help them organize for mu- tual benefit (meaning benefit of bosses and bureaucratic official- dom). They will attempt to strength- (Continued on Page Five) i | | seription, and shoes to the W.LR. STEM MILITANCY | (Special to the Daily Worker.) | GASTONIA, N. C., Aug. 13.! —Announcement of a “volun- tary” reduction in hours from| |30 to 55 per week, without a cut in wages is hailed in the Southern press as great “gen-| erosity” on the part of the Gaston | County mill owners which makes the| “siren song” for organization and} struggle for better conditions and| wages superfluous. At the National| | Textile Workers Union, organizers |said that this move is a direct result lof the union’s struggle, and at the) | same time a futile effort to stem the! |tide of militancy by throwing the workers a bone. | “What the mill owners and the press generally are hailing as a vol- untary reduction in hours in Gas- ton County combed yarn mills,” said | Hugo Oehler, southern district or-| ganizer of the National Textile) Workers Union, today, “is the re-| sult of the intensive activities of our | organization in the Gaston area and | Gastonia Colony. Is|| In Need of Clothes; W.LR. Asks for Help| | Clothes are badly needed in the tent colony near Gastonia, accord- ing to Caroline Drew, relief rep- resentative in the South. The Workers International Relief| | urges workers everywhere to send bundles of clothes’of every de- store at 418 Brook Ave.. New York City, in care of Louis Baum. Baum, who manages the store, announces that a truck wil) call for bundles if they cannot be sent direct. A cleaning establishment is also operated under Baum’s supervision, which not only mends and cleans garments before they are sent South, but also does ex- pert cleaning and dyeing for pa- trons, to cover the expenses of operating the store. All sympathizers are urged to patronize the store. Garments are | | called for and delivered. —$—_______¢ throughout the South generally for the last six months. The mill own- ers dare not reduce wages and for the first time in the center of the cotton textile industry in the South a reduction of work hours per week, in order to curtail production be- cause of the market prices, has not been accompanied by a reduction in wages. “There has been no increase in| the wages of the mill workers. The} strenuous efforts made to create this impression shows that the mill own-| ers know that under the leadership | of the N, T. W. U. the mill work- ers are preparing demands for a substantial increase in wages and for the eight-hour day. Increase Stretchout. “The reduction in hours from 60 to 55 per week per week is already being used to increase the stretch- out. Workers will be required not only to produce as much as before, but to produce more in 55 hours than they did in 60 hours. “In the last six months, and par- ticularly since the raid on our union headquarters in Gastonia on the (Continued on Page Five) MEET TO HEAR OF BUILDING FAKERS Who is H. H. Broach? Is he serving or betraying the interests of the electrical workers? What is the Building Trades Coun- cil? Is it serving or betraying the interests of the building trades workers? These and many. other questions will be raised and discussed at the ) mass meeting of building trades workers to be held this Friday (Continued on Page Five) Hague Reparations Fight Registers Danger of War The terrific “diplomatic” struggle at the Hague confer- ence indicates the danger of another world war. Snowden, the agent of the British imperialists, is fighting against the Young reparations plan, an instrument of yankee imperial- ism. It is the first open break with Britain, a break that the Communist press of the world said was inevitably com- ing. When we first pointed to the developing antagonisms between these two powers we were attacked by the capital- ists and all their Jabor reformist and social democratic agents as utopians, who slander the peace-loving nations and their statesmen. The Hague conflict proves that we were correct and our enemies, by talking pacifism, were in reality deceiving the masses. We now declare that the Hague conference indicates that the inevitable imperialist war is close at hand. We have been publishing facts that prove our estimate correct. We have many more facts that will soon be published so that our readers will know all the international complications involyed in the Hague conflict, the role of the proposed international labor bank, the question of the division of ions, the part played by the social democrats of Gernia: » ~~ainst the social democrats of England. ALL THESE FACTS WILL BE LAID BARE IN THE DAILY, PROVIDED THE DAILY IS PERMITTED TO SURVIVE THE NEXT FEW DAYS. At such a time, when the most elaborate, complicated and underhanded war conspiracies are going on behind the scenes at the Hague, it is imperative, if we are to wage an effective fight against war, that the class-conscious workers understand all the forces making for war. Only the Daily Worker can furnish this information; only the Daily can wive the masses that indispensable guidance in such a strug- gle. You, who have for years relied upon the Daily as a guide to action, know what it meant to you when the Daily did not appear ONE DAY because of financial difficulties. But mul- tiply that one day by all the days that are immediately ahead and ask yourselves what you would do without the Daily in this period! ° Such a thought will impel you to rally to the support of YOUR paper. The situation is now such that heroic mea- sures are required to save the Daily. The fate of the Daily rests with YOU. Rush funds at once to the Daily Worker, 26 Union Square, New York City. GREAT GASTONIA'SACCO MEET TO DRIVE LAUNCHED SCOREGASTONIA Big Mass Campaign Aug. 24-Sept.2 | The gigantic mobilization of 100,- | 000,000 workers, men, women and! children of America, to save the Gas- | N. Y. Workers to Rally August 22 The biggest Sacco-Vanzetti dem- onstration since the execution of the CITY COUNCIL; 3 SHOT BY POLICE Attempt Stop Jitneys | To Run Scab \ Busses | Shots, Gas Bombe Fly |Riled Carmen Rush | Seabs, Stop Cars | NEW ORLEANS, La., Aug. 13.—} |Thousands of infuriated striking! learmen and sympathizers attacked the city council today after it re- fused to act upon a petition signed by 50,000 demanding that the coun-/ cil revoke the ordinance clearing | away jitneys from the streets tol make way for the operation of a bus line by the New Orleans Pub- lie Service Corporation, owner of the street car line, and the breaking of the strike, Danny Young, 50-year-old strik- | jing motorman and two others were | shot when police fired into the dem-| tear lonstrators and threw {bombs into their midst. When Acting Mayor Walmsley adjourned the council immediately after refusing to take up the peti-| tion, women and men accused them | of openly using their power to carry out the will of the corporation which owns not only the car lines, but al- most the whole town, to break the strike when the attempt to rally scabs had failed to accomplish this. The council members and mayor shik from the aroused strikers, some of whom set upon them with | |fists until the police rushed to their | defense, viciously attacking the} | strikers. The militant strikers stormed the |few street cars in operation, and lafter being repulsed by the police| once, made a second attempt to/ ‘rush the city hall. Shouts, booing, fists flying, gun shots and the hurl- ing of tear gas bombs stirred the leity hall region. Impromptu pa- rades were attacked and broken up by heavy police guards rallied from every precinct of the city. | The carmen’s strike in New Or- leans has assumed the form of a revolt against the A. F. of L., which is attempting to collaborate with the operators and is unable to quell. The strikers are determined to fight strike-breaking attempts, no matter what quarters they issue from. gas | 2 8 WHITE GUARDISTS FIGHT RED ARMY AT THREE POINTS’ SSTRIKERS ATTACK FOSTER TO SPEAK EADY TO INVADE U.S, AT TEL. MEET HERE AUGUST 20 orm New Marine Union at Big Confab August 17-18 Back Cleveland Meet Expect Railroad Men| 1. Atlantic Coast Conference to be held in New York Aug. 17-18 will form industrial union of ma- { rine transport workers and choose delegates to the Trade Union Unity Convention in Cleveland, Aug. 31-Sept. 2. 2. Several hundred delegates, representing thousands of organ- ized and unorganized workers of New York, New Jersey and vicin- ity, are expected to participate in the Second Metropolitan Area Conference in preparation for the Cleveland meeting. The confer- ence will be held next Tuesday evening, Aug. 20, in Irving Plaza Hall, 15th St. and Irving Place. William Z. Foster, national secre- tary of the Trade Union Educa- tional League will be the prin- cipal speaker. * at Cleveland Meet | * * | Foster at N. Y. Meet. William Z. Foster, national sec- retary of the Trade Union Educa- tional League, will be the principal speaker at the Second Metropolitan Area Conference in preparation for the Cleveland convention, to be held | here next Tuesday evening, Aug. (Continued on Page Two) | CALL COMMUNIST COUNTY RALLIES Meet Sept. 8 to Talk Flection Issues A widespread drive to expose both capitalist parties and their petty- bourgeois socialist party allies, fur- ther endorsement of the Communist Party platform in the municipal elections, and discussion on the po- litical issues of the campaign — these are some of the tasks to be| Nee TORTURE SOVIET CITIZENS; — CHINESE STRIKE SPREADING - Report Two Thousand Soviet Citizens Deported In Last Two Day Strike Wave Sweeps Thru China; Total Out in Shanghai Jumpss From 13,000 to 28,000 BULLETIN. MOSCOW, Aug. 13.—The tense atmosphere surrounding the im- perialists against the Soviet Union through Manchuria was redoubled tonight by an official announcement of three attacks by white Rus- sians, supported by Chinese, on Soviet outposts on the Manchurian border. The attacks were all repulsed. Several Soviet soldiers were killed and a number wounded, it was said. The announcement said there also had been several other casualties at various places since the break of relations with China, The atacks resulted from attempts of the white Russian forces to cross the border into Siberia, the announcement said. »One clash was near the mouth of the Sungari River, on the northe eastern frontier, not far from Habarovsk. Another was near Blago- veschensk, on the Amur River in the north. A third was at Lake Khanki. The number of casualties was not definitely reported. MOSCOW, U.S. S. R., Aug. 13.—Organization of a special Far Eastern Red Army was announced today, Vasili Konstan- tinovich Blucher being appointed to the commandership of all the forces of the Soviet government in the Far East. His force will be known as the “Special Far Eastern Army.” Blucher is one of the foremost Soviet military leaders. He rose from a VENEZUELA FAILS Ukrainian military district, Backs Revolt Against was placed in command of all So- viet forces in the Far East, in an U.S. Puppet (Special to the Daily Worker.) ~~? order dated August 6. Blucher is familiar with stern Siberia and with Chinese troops which are massed on the border. During the civil war he commanded | all Red troops in East Siberia and { became wat minister of the Far-| Eastern republic which later joined the" Sewet Union, PORT OF SPAIN (Trinidad), He joined the czarist army at the | ang 13.A seditious movement outbreak of the world war, and rap- "© ; ‘ idly rose to a high position through against the Gomez-Perez dictator- a brilliant series of accompli ship of Venezuela, under the reac- ments. His reputation today is sec- | tionary leadership of General Roman ond only to that of General Bu- u Delgado Chalbeaud, former admiral denny in the U. S. S. R. "Armouncement of the creation of |°f the Venezuelan fleet and ex-sup- the Special Army followed close Porter of the present regime, failed upon reports that white Russian to materialize when an invasion forces continue to mobilize on the | planned to take effect at Cumana Manchurian frontier where they are! (a nital of the State of Sucre, was maintained by the Nanking go x ed by government forces last ernment, acting for the imperial- ist powers. pupae avers The “extremely grave” situation The “Directorio” of this movement is composed of the most v: | 1 | attempted | American working class, began yes- |terday by the pooled forces of the tonia prisoners, a program the ex- tent of which has never before been in the history of the International Labor Defense and the Workers International Relicf, and endorsed by the National Textile Workers Union. Instructions were issued to dis- trict functionaries of the 1LD and WIR throughout the land to mobil- ize the masses for a new drive which Jopening of another great class war|ai Labor ‘Defense and Communist begins Aug. 24, few days before the trial opens, and will continue until | Sept. 2. ‘ Great stress was laid on the in- fect their ideological education con- cerning the issues involved, and to center this mass movement in large |N.C. The Sacco-Vanzetti memorial | could not be discovered because of united fronts in the various cities. Financial and organizational gains were stressed as of primary import- | ance. The enlarged committee consists (Continued on Page Five) Cancel Section Meets; Units Meet This Week| To Discuss the Thesis The District Committee Secretar- iat of the Communist Party reminds all New York comrades that the section membership meetings origi- nally scheduled for tonight have been called off in order to allow |units to meet this week for discus- sion of the thesis of the Tenth Ple- num, Nuclei whose regular meet- ing night is Wednesday are in- structed to convene tonight as usual. The Secretariat states that in making arrangements for the thesis discussion in accordance with the directions published by the District, there is to be no let-down in the conerete, everyday work in relation to the Party campaigns. During this week all units are to take up seriously and in detail the assign- }ments of every comrade for work in the Gastonia defense, T. U. E. L. conference and municipal election campaigns. All units of Section 2 are to meet at the Workers Center until fur- ther notice, bo obehit A | militant activities in behalf of their | York District of the Communist stitution of a broad national mass | movement among the workers, to ef- | two workingclass martyrs is being | planned this year in Union Square | at 5 p. m. on Thursday, Aug. 22,| the second anniversary of their legal | murder. The New Yorw District of | i Re | POLICE CLUB AT the International Labor Defense, | which is arranging the memorial | | Seven speakers at the Communist meeting, is making preparations to! party election rally at 138th St. and handle a crowd of many thousands.| Seventh Ave. were beaten up and The Sacco-Vanzetti memorial this | arrested last night when police tried year has peculiar significance in| to break the meeting. The seven are that it occurs on the eve of the | J. Louis Engdahl, of the Internation- trial in which workers are, like Sacco | candidate for president of the and Vanzetti, being threatened with | Borough of Manhattan, Harold Wil- the electric chair because of their|liams, Negro Director of the New class. On Aug. 26, the tria! of 23| Party, Leonard Pstterson, Solomon Gastonia strikers and strike leaders, | Harper and A. Ross of the Commun- members of the National Textile | ist Youth League, A. Ponkin and a Workers Union, starts in Charlotte, | member of the C.Y.L. whose identity will therefore be a mighty demon-|the surrounding police mob which (Continued on Page Five) i (Continued on Page Five) “THE AGE OF BLOOD!” Barbusse Tells Tales of Capitalist Crime “My hope is that these casual the unkonwn afflicted, to that great jottings, picked up here and there in| multitude unknown in life and death, our appalling present-day civiliza-|to the infinite affinity of the un- tion, may accustom a few readers to | known, to those martyrs whose mem- the strangeness of truth, and open ory is utterly blotted out, whe lie in the eyes of a public opinion, lulled | destruction and oblivion under- by childish legends, to the true pic- | ground, to tha: mult&udinous host ture of the Twentieth Century—a|that eyes may see but have not century that may be described as the | seen,” Age of Gold, of Steel, or of Jazz} “Daily” to Publish Book. Band, but above all, as the Age of| These graphic tales, based on the Blood!” personal experiences of Barbusse Thus Henri Barbusse, internation-|®%d on other authoritative scources ally famous French Communist | Will become accessible to every writer, speaks of the tales of cap-|American worker when the Daily italist war and horror that he has| Worker shortly begins publishing gathered together in his remarkable | them serially. In them burns the new book, “I Saw It Myself.” bes eee ie Eee ow wy, anted ? e capitalist class and of deep an Po Unione ear etee Dunifng: solidactty” witty all the. ex _The quotation is from his imP&s- | ploited and oppressed. They are re- Sioned | dedication entitled “Deo | volutionary documents of the first Ignoto.” He explains this title as! order, follows: Help the Daily Worker pay for the “The ancients dedicated their | exclusive American serial rights to works and deeds to the Unknown God—Deo Ignoto. I do not believe | in God, bu, I believe alas! in the Unknown. This book I dedicate to “I Saw It Myself” by sending in your contribution at once. And tell your shopmates and friends to watch for this unusual new feature, 4.2 r decided at county conferences in described Saturday by Leo Karak- Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx|han, acting foreign commissar, in on Sunday, Sept, 8. an interview with the United Press While the call sent by the cam-| correspondent was given additional and reactionary elements such erals Delgado Chalbeaud, Barabano, Francisece Linares paign committee of the Party asks|force by the developments today |‘ Pedro as Ariste’ language and fraternal organiza-|when \. B. Melnikoff, former So- Doroteo Flores, cte. A number of tions to send two delegates to the | viet consul at Harbin, Manchuria, | #ti-labor intellectuals, ex-mi r conference, an important feature of |reported that the white Russian|f the Gomez tyranny, as Doctor the preparatory work is the drive forces in Manchuria still continue | Santos A. Dominici, formerly accred. to secure delegates from unorgan-|to assemble in great numbers near ited at Washington, are also mem- bers of this movement, whic’ ap- parently supported by the British oi] interests represented by the Royal Dutch Shell trust. General Antonio Aranguren, vice-president of one of (Continued on Page Five) Park, ized shops. the frontier, ready to invade Soviet The Manhattan conference will be | territory. held at the Workers Center, 26-28) The white Russians are com- Union Square. Those in Brooklyn|manded by General Bardzilovsky and the Bronx will be held at the and General Volodechko, he said. Brooklyn Workers Center, 56 Man- The Soviet press carries indig- |» hattan Ave., and the Bronx Work-j|nant headlines featuring Tokio and} ers Center 1380 Wilkins Ave., re- Shanghai dispatches reporting in- spectively. tense war preparations by China Part of Election Drive. and a reign of terror against So- The conferences form only part viet citizens in Manchuria. The of the Party drive to secure further|atmosphere of the capital, which endorsements to build campaign|had been quiet for several days, committees in workers’ organiza-|again was tense. tions for the support of the Party,| Reports state that at least 2,000 and to insure mass response to the Soviet citizens have been arrested appeal, stressed in the conference ,and thrown it.to jails and deported call, for contributions to the $25,-| within the last two days. 000 campaign fund, | Stories of groups of Soviet citi- In line with the general Commu- zens with bleeding faces marched nist program of a relentless fight | manacled through the streets of against the capitalist class and all|Manchurian towns are also current. | its agents, the conference will di-| Announcement that Nanking of- rect its fire especially on the so-|fers to negotiate the seizure of the cialist and “progressive” oppoitun-|Chinese Eastern Railroad has been ists who are even more dangerous rejected after the refusal of the to the workers’ interests than the (Continued on Page Five) parties of avowed capitalist reac- Pleasant Aug. 18 MONTHLY NEEDLE MEETING TONIGHT | ‘Shop Delegates Will Hear Reports Bay Sunday, The threatened fake “organiza. tion drive of the International Ladies Workers, company union of the man- ufacturers; the appointment of the Governcr’s Commission to further enslave the cloak worker: | h er menae the une tion. 7 : covering of Schlessinger's “supple dia self-styled a se aaive % ee | mum scale—these will be among the EWR ee the fore questions discussed at the monthly statement of the campaign | committee yesterday, Denouncing | Tammany police brutality against Shop Delegates Conference of the Needle Trades Workers Industrial THE USSR FLIERS the cafeteria, dress and shoe strik-| ae % ue ae ere = : 4 ers, the statement points out thi | Over 650 delegates representing tr ee pla aah ee La Guardia actively associated him-|350 working class organizations wre), self. with the employer's fight | met in Irving Plaza hall last night | ‘The Industrial Union calls upon diainkt the Workers: land voted the ‘presentation of a/#ll its members in all needle trades “Where was La Guardia during| number of trucks and tractors to ‘PPS to send their shop delegates these struggles?” the statement | the four Soviet flyers, who are | ‘° this conference. asks. “He had no word to say|making a 12,500 mile flight from! A number of important reports against police repression simply be-| Moscow to New York, to be part 0” the present situation in the needle cause he represents the capitalist|of the gigantic reception accorded ttades and the activity of the union parties of Wall St. the first emissaries of good will) Will be given at the conference. Fol- “His alleged liberalism was well|from the U. 8. S. R. upon their owing this a general discussion will expressed in the world war, when he | arrival here. take place on the present ta: of served as an officer in the aviation! The conference, called by the the Industrial Union, especially the corps, For his activities he was |Friends of the Soviet Union, fur- crg@nization drive am the dress- makers wl soon. Fifth Ave. busses will take you to the park from the sub, station, A twice decorated by Mussolini, mur-|ther decided to charter the Yankee dérer of thousands of Italian work- [soso which has a capacity of | ers. More recently he supported the | 80,000, for the welcoming ceremony, .x. (Continued on Page Five) (Continued on Page Five)