The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 22, 1929, Page 1

GASTONIA VERDICT ALLS i IL SENTENCES! THE DAILY WORKER FIGHTS For a Workers-Farmers Government To Organize the Unorganized Against Imperialist War For the 40-Hour Week Batered as sec: Worker s matter at the ost Office at New York, N. Y., ander the act of March 8, 1879, FINAL CITY EDITION Vol. VI, No. 195 Published daily except Sunday by Company. tnc.. 26-28 Onion Square. Comprodaily Publishing New York City, N. ¥. >a NEW YORK, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1929 Outside New York, by mail. $6.00 ver yea! The capitalist class has spoken in the courtroom at Charlotte, and its verdict is that seven workers shall die a death in the convict hells of North twerity years. lingering) and horrible Carolina, with sentences as high as No class conscious worker, and certainly no Communist, is sur- prised at this vengeful verdict of capitalist. society, orn in blood and terror and doomed to die in terror and blood as it strikes savagely with fang and claw in hopeless effort to stop the advance of the working class to power and freedom. The Communists saw clearly w hat a swarm of nit-wits denied, that | the government, and the courts as a part of that government, is an instrument of class oppression, that the capitalist class—thwarte] from murdering the worker-defendants on the night of June 7—was bound to have its fill of blood in hope of checking, though it can never stop, the southern workers and their Communist leadership, from effective organization and struggle against the mill hells with their death- dealing speed of the “stretch out,” their limitless hours at such “coolie” wages that starvation, pellagra and tuberculosis take their toll of all ages and sexes, black and white. From the beginning, Commun ists had no illusions, knowing that abstractipns such as “justice,” “equality before the (capitalist) law,” “a fair trial” and all such nonsense are deceptions, purposely designed to hide class vengeance behind sw! et and empty words, the easier to weaken the class defense of the workers. Time and again, when addle-pated liberals, ever anxious to grovel at appearances, eager always tc hang all hopes on some hypocritical judge or other sleek and scoundrelly servant of tM capitalist class, up- braided us for our stern words of had to repeat so that no worker fight is CLASS AGAINST CL warning, have we, the Communists, could be misled, that the Gastonia SS! The Communists from the start pictured Judge Barnhill as an executioner for the capitalist class—as he has proven to be. by legal hocus pocus, and while outside the courtroom the mobs of besses were encouraged to lynch and beat and kill, within the courtroom the gros The jury farce was staged, with evidence ig- nored and the bloodhounds of darkest reaction unleashed, with appeals directed to a jury of property owners steeped in superstition, against the twin devils of atheism and revolution. Evidence? It did not count! May and the pickets shot down at Marion! in the case of Wells, Saylor and Lell! ®o more than it counted for Ella No more than it counted These, too, are all victims of class justice of American capitalism, sacrifices in the struggle which will never cease until the working class is the ruling class. The southern textile workers went on with the struggle, gathering | theit forces at the Charlotte conference, even in the shadow of the capi- talist court, and they will continue their struggle until that court and its verdict is swept aside by the organized power of American workers. This verdict is not the first against revolutionary labor, nor will it be the last, and while rallying all forces in demand for release of the present victims, American workers must prepare for further attacks. If the southern mill barons think to stop organization of their wage slaves by the Marion murders and the Charlotte verdict—if they imagine this ends matters, if they think that’ workers—North and South—are now going to stand helpless before their mobs and not defend them- selves, they ate utterly mistaken! Gentlemen of the capitalist court, the workers of America and of the world do not accept your verdict and will tear it up and throw it in your faces as they march onward! On with the fight—class against class! Broaden the struggle and unite all workers, mill by mill and shop by shop! Demand the release of the seven victims of the capitalist court! Arouse all forces for a strike that will hurl back the verdict in the | 5, the industrial districts of east- face of the bosses and their courts! Build shop committees in ever: the National Textile Workers’ U: textile mill over the land, united in m! Demand the release of the mill workers from long hours, low wages, unemployment, from the hellish speed-up! and assassins! And defend your organization and your lives from destroyers Organize all workers, everywhere, in the shops, mills, mines and ' railways, to make a united protest, to make the demands for release of the victims of this and other fascist attacks the effective verdict of policy of the T.U.U.L. described, No illusions about “justice”! the working class! trials in higher courts”! No trust in other than Communist leadership! No faith in appeals | ity , other than the appeal to the toiling masses! Class against class and |the new militant trade union center, | on with the fight! No delusions of “fair Life Stories of 7 Convicted Show Why Bosses Hated Them These are the Gastonia strikers and organizers the mill bosses se- lected for punishment that is as se- vere as the death penalty. Their record shows why they were par- ticularly hated. * * * Fred Beal. Fred Beal was born in Lawrence, Mass., in 1896, and at the age of 14 went to work in a textile mill in Lawrence, as a bobbin boy at a wage of $4.48 for a 56 hour week. He was an active striker in the great Law- rence textile strike of 1912. He was drafted into the army and during the Lawrence strike in 1919 joined the picket line in uniform. He was a leader in the Lawrence strike of 922, joined the Socialist Party dur- ing the strike, and after it was over became a member of the executive board of the One Big Union and sec- retary of the Socialist Party local. In 1923 Beal took-a leading part in the Dover, New Hampshire, strike. _. When he was arrested 5,000 work- ers picketed the jail and the militia _ dispersed the Avorkers with threaten- ing machine guns. At this time he became interested in the Sacco-Venzettii case. He soon lost faith in the Social Party and joined the Communist arty. After becoming secretary of the One Big Union he organized the Lawrence United Front Committee in 1925, In 1926 Beal played a leading role in the New Bedford strike, Beal was arrested seven times during the 4 1strggle and spent one month in jail with Murdock, also a leading or- ganizer of the Textile Mill Commit- tee. * In September, 1928, Beal took part in the formation of th> National Textile Workers’ Union, being elect- |ed on its executive committee. He was made the Southern District or- ganizer and started his work in Charlotte in December, 1928. He or- ganized a local of the union in Gas- tonia an dthe membership voted the historic strike when union members were fired from the Loray mill. He was the leading spirit in the hard- fought strike. * Clarence Miller. Clarence Miller was born in New York City in 1905. He early became acquainted with Socialist literature |and was a member of the Young People’s Socialist League. He has worked in an iron foundry, in a cigarette factory, ship yard, as a cement mixer, silk worker, and plumber’s helper. Miller was active in the Paterson silk strike in 1924, was a youth organizer in the Pas- saic strike and of the United Front Committee of Textile Workers in Connecticut. He was president of the American Association of Plumbers’ Helpers, which he led in organizing and which had 4,000 members in New York City. He has been a member of the Na- tional Executive Committee of the <n Sahtigued on Pope Three) e * * ’ Price 3 Cents | WEST FRANKFORT, IIl., Union. strong. This epochal movement of them. Join in Body. The first mine in Franklin County to join in a body, sent a representative to the sub- \district office of the left wing union in West Frankfort Friday for a |charter. Liocal rank and file organ- izers are signing up by the hun- ‘Belleville and Staunton T.UULC Counties Solid, Joining MEETING OF OIL _ National Miners Union. |Movement Spreading Rapidly Thru Franklin’ County, Formerly Backbone of U.M.W.A. Illinois Miners Unload Coal Operators’ Tools|A,F.L. Betrays Strike from Leadership; Demand N.M.U. Charters Oct. 21.—Thousands upon thou- sands of miners are coming over bodily to the National Miners’ Belleville and Staunton sub-districts, heart of the southern Illinois coal fields, practically one hundred per centjhas called a mass meeting for next | the most militant section of the miners in America to wipe out the fakers and reorganize them- selves as a part of the militant National Miners’ Union has| swept even through Franklin County, last stand and formerly |The meeting will take up the qu the backbone of the machine, and considered impregnable by tion of one FOSTER REPORTS AFL CONVENTION dreds to help knit together the| Illinois district of the National Min-| ers’ Union which promises to be a} leading factor in the militant union) which is a prominent affiliation of| (Continued on Page Three) | FOSTER REPORTS AT PHILA. MEET 800 Workers Hear T.U. | | U. L. Report ‘in a convention report by William | ' Z. Foster, general secretary of the Between 700 and 800 Philadelphia | Trade Union Unity League, at Irv-| | workers attended the mass meeting |ing Plaza Hall, Irving Pl. and 15th AT MEET FRIDAY T. U. U. L. Secretary to Expose Betrayals Plotting new treasons against the working class while rejoicing in the ‘old, th American Federation of La- bor has just concluded its feast of class conciliation at its Toronto convention. What that conventian signified to the working class, and a revolution- ary appraisal of the policies blessed | by the A. F. of L. officialdom, will) be explained to New York workers WORKERS OCT, 24 Truckmen, Garagemen Chauffeurs, Pumpmen | and Others to Come 2 UYEARS " FIGHT ONLY STARTED; WORKERS RALLY TO ORGANIZE; SELF DEFENSE AGAIN IN NEXT MASSACRE ATTEMPT BY BOSSES National Textiie Workers Union Drive Wins Eight Hour Day in Mill at Homestead; Organizers, Unterrified, Continue Tours Will Plan Industrial 4 yyea1 Will Be Taken ard Fought Througii U.S. Supreme Court; Labor, Called to Protest Demonstration in Union Sq. New York | Union Organization | The Trade Union Unity League |Thursday night, 8 p. m., at Irving 'Plaza Hall, corner of Irving Plaza! land Fifteenth St., for oil truckmen, |pumpmen, garage workers, chauf- | feurs and filling station attendants. powerful ind union to include all workers in the industry. Vote To Continue Strike. At the Friday meeting at Royal@? Hall, 85 E. 4th Stl, N. Y. ficials of Teamsters’ Loca the oil strikers that “the union can} lo nothing for you, but if you still) want to fight, go ahead on your own | responsibility.” Despite this open) BULLET ‘A Gastonia mass protest meet will be held at City Hall Plaza, Philadelphia, this Friday night. J. Louis Engdahl, national secretary of the International Labor Defense, will be the principal speaker. The national office of the I.L.D. has wired to all dstricts calling for mass meetings in protest against the Gastonia case verdict and sentences. * * * CHARLOTTE, N. C., Oct. 21—The packed jury of land owning farmers, conservative, ial | white chauvinist, moved to tears by Solicitor Carpenter’s ranting oratory about their duty to |save “our glorious government” and “our noble mill owners,” and “our christian gentlemen on | the police force” from Communism, atheism and unionism, in a little over an hour today rought ina verdict of “guilty,” for the seven Gastonia textile strikers and union leaders. C., the of-| attention was paid to thg evidence whieh conclusively proved the defendants’ innocence of the 3 told| charge of second degree murder placed against them by the state. No The verdict was openly based on the prosecution’s arguments, which were a clear cut class war attack on the right of the workers to organize and strike and defend themselves. Judge Barnhill preceded the jury “deliberatins” with an 88-page typewritten “charge” jattempt to stab the strike in the | concerned largely with legal technicalities but opening the way for the verdict by calling on the jury to decide whether “reasonable” or “excessive force was used in expelling the clearly |back, the workers voted to continue | the struggle. The secretary of the} T.U.U.L. was thrown out by the gangsters of the officialdom Yor pro- | posing organizational steps such Me (Coatinued on Page Two) | | picts CAMPAIGN RALLY 1S GASTON MEET ‘Boro Park and 4 Others | to Protest Jailings Workers living in the Boro Park trespassing police raiders on the night of June 7. 20 YEAR SENTENCES. Barnhill followed the verdict by immediately imposing sentences as follows: is nor more than 20 years on the charge of murder, 5 to 7 years charge of assaulting Gilbert, deferred sentence on the third and Verdict of the Labor Jury in Gastonia Class War Case The Labor Jury Was Elected at the Cleveland | Convention of the Trade Union Unity League | Beal, Carter, Harrison and Miller, confinement to state prison not less than 17 years to run concurrently on the fourth charges. 2. McGinnis and McLaugh- lin, 12 to 15 years on the charge of assaulting Gilbert, deferred sentence on the third and fourth charges. 8. K. Y. Kendricks, 5 to 7 years on the charge of murder, 5 years on the charge of as- | Thursday, one of the Trade Union |St. at 8 p. m. Friday. | Unity League organization meetings) The mass meeting will be held un- ‘a series of which has been arranged | der the auspices of the New York organization of the League. In his! report, Foster will compare the pro- grams of the two organizations. long back from Toronto, he will ex- pose new betrayals bared at the con- vention and the necessity of com- bating these through vigorous ap- ern and middle western U. S. Wil- liam Z. Foster, general secretary of the T.U.U.L., who was the principal speaker at the Philadelphia meet- ing, stated to the Daily Worker yes- terday. At the mass meeting, new mem-| plication of the decisions of the bers were taken in, and the general | Cleveland convention of the T. U. Cag re |Foster said. He reported to it on | the success of the Cleveland Trade | Union Unity Convention, at which jthe T.U.U.L., was organized, and| |told of the drive-in the South, start-| jed by the Charlotte Southern Tex- IN 0 J § CITIE tile Workers Conference and the| ‘ ' TO MARK REVOLT section will demonstrate their sup- | | port of the Communist election pro- | jgram and protest against the sen-| ltencing of the seven Gastonia de-| \fendants to long jail terms at a mass meeting Thursday night at 8 o’clock, arranged by the Boro Park Workers Club, at the club’s headquarters, 1373 43rd St. | Leading figures in the struggles | (Continued on Page Two) | | CAMPAIGN TAG DAYS | SATURDAY AND SUNDAY! With the elections only two weeks | off, intensive efforts are being made | | saulting Gilbert, deferred sen- |tence on third and fourth |attack of the tools of mill owners, | |COMMUNIST ELECTION — {rrrciatea thugs and gunmen. [od during the long conflic. iy and We find, on the other hand, that | around Gastonia, in the role of fas- the governor of North Carolina, C,|cist gang leader and prosecutor. Max Gardner, himself a mill owner| The one outstanding fact ni the and exploiter of men, women and | case is that it was not a trial for children, is the leading figure in a/|conspiracy to murder, that resulted | conspiracy to destroy, through legal | in the death of Chief of Police Ader- terror and fascist violence, every at-|holt. It was one phase of the con- Southern Convention of the T.U.U.L. Organization Worked Out. |was held in addition to the mass meeting. At the T.U.U.L. meeting a district was formed, with an elected executive board, and a mem- bership campaign organized. The Philadelphia militants are organiz- ing local general leagues in all the surrounding industrial centers: Ches- ter, Wilmington, Baltimore, Trenton, Allentown, Easton, etc. Organizers will tour through these districts, calling local conferences to set up leagues in the metal, building trades, marine transport, railroad and other industries. partmental organization for all these industries was also worked out in Philadelphia, during Foster’s visit there. League Convention. The organization committee jereated at the meeting will call a big convention of local industrial leagues as soon as enough have been built up, certainly within the next few weeks, at present rate of pro- gress. Philadelphia local general league of the TUUL acts meanwhile, | temporarily, as a district head for |this work, A general headquarters where the Philadelphia offices of the new Continued on Page Three) CP Election Program in “Daily” Tomorrow The full text of the election pro- gram of the New York District of the Communist Party will be avail- able in Wednesday’s issue of the Daily Worker, A meeting of T.U.U.L. members | Central de-|s A preliminary list of meetings al- jready arranged in various cities | throughout the country to celebrate |the 12th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution is given below. Cities not listed should immediately follow out the detailed instructions on con- | ducting the celebrations sent to them ‘by the Party national. office, and | send in announcements to the Daily | Worker without delay. Be sure to give address, time of meeting and | speakers scheduled. Anniversary Meetings, District One, Boston, Nov, 1, m., speakers, " Juliet, Poyntz and others. Providence, R. I., Nov. 10, 2 p. m, Continued on Page Three) Stewart How is the Five-Year Plan of So- |cialist Construction in the Soviet Union working out? What does it |mean for American workers who to- |day are faced with wage cuts, speed- up, unemployment, capitalist terror and such monstrous legalized con- spiracies as the Gastonia case? These are questions that will be answered for. thousands of New York workers who are preparing to pay a mighty tribute to the Five- Year Plan at the big celebration of Scenic Auditorium, |by the Communist Party to reach | |the masses of New York workers. | As part of this campaign, special editions of the Daily Worker, the| {Morning Freiheit, and the other |Communist Press, as well as thou- sands of leaflets will be distributed. | To pay for the expense of these | special editions and leaflets, Tag Days have been arranged through- out New York City for Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers are wanted for these Tag Days which will rally the support of the New York work- ers for the Communsit election pro- gram. They should report for col- lection boxes at the various head- quarters of the Party and at the headquarters of the Jewish Work- ers Clubs. ‘12th Anniversary Celebration Is Also Election Mobilization Many of Demands of the Communist Platform Realized by Soviet Workers Under 5-Yr. Plan | the 12th anniversary of the Russian | Revolution, in Madisonu Square Gar- den Noy. 3. The celebration this year will also be the final mobilization rally of the Communist election campaign, and | “Vote Communist” will join with “Defend the Soviet Union” and | ‘Fight Against Imperialist War” as | the central slogans of the huge dem- | onstrations. | Here are a few facts that tell elo- | __. (Continued on Page Two) oe tempt of the working class to create spiracy of the mill owners, their We, the labor jury, find the de-,a tool of the mill bosses to keep the | h fendants NOT GUILTY of con-|workers enslaved, has as his prin- | C1@t&es. spiracy to commit murder, cipal associates in the conspiracy | charged by the state. We find that/|legally to lynch theactive leaders of | the seven defendants and other|the strike or to shut thme up in members of the union residing in|prison where they would rot away the tent colony at Gastonia on the | their lives, such people as Judge M. night of June 7 fulfilled their duty|V. Barnhill, Solicitor Carpenter, to the working clas. by defending | Claude Hoey and a horde of speciai themselves against the murderous|lawyers of the Manville-Jenckes corporation. Carpenter, the pros- ng attorney, alternately appear- The defendants were given until January 15th next to file notice of appeal, and an appeal bond of $500 was set. Appearance bonds for Beal, Carter, Harrison and Miller were set at $5,000 each. That for McGinnis and McLaughlin was $2,500 and for Hendricks $2,000. Defense Motions Denied. Defense motions to set’ aside the verdict on the grounds that the weight of evidence was against it were featured by the assertion of Attorney J. D. McCall that a fair trial in North Carolina was impos- sible because of “inflammatory edi- a militant organization to fight|private gunmen and gangsters and against the horrible conditions pre-|their organized bands of fascist ter- vailing in the newly industrialized |rorists, and their state government, South. We find that Gardner, us-|to destroy the National Textile ing the whole power of the state as (Continued on Page Three) $25,000 TO BREAK (GROCERY, GLASS WINDOW STRIKE STRIKE SPREADS \ Union Cleaners Spill/ Food Workers Call for Boss Ass’n Plans Walkout ‘A $25,000 fund is being raised by| The strikers at the Royal Glass Co., Kent and No. 10th St., Brook- the Manhattan Window Cleaning | | Employers’ Protective Association |to smash the union which, through | its leadership of 2,000 window wash- ers in a general strike, is picketing | with such disastrous effects against | the boss association. The information was disclosed yesterday by Harry Feinstein, secre- tary of the Window Cleaners’ Pro- | tective Union leading the walkout. “The union leaders must be re- | moved by all possible methods,” it | was stated at a boss conference at | the McAlpin Hotel Saturday, Fein- | stein reports, However, contribu- tions to the strike-breaking, union- smashing fund were very meagre, | he added. , | Favorite possible methods to break the strike leadership have al- | ready been demonstrated by associa- | tion sluggers. The cleaners are (Continued on Page Two) \lyn, and of grocery firms of Austin- Nichols, Seeman Bros., R. C. Wil- liams, Francis Leggett and the Sun- Glo Sills have tied these places up. The officials of Teamsters Local 282 have issued reports that the Austin- Nichols firm has signed up for all demands, but this report is not yet | definitely confirmed. Michael Obermeier, organizer of) the Cafeteria Workers, Amalga-| mated Food Workers Union, stated today that the workers at the Blue Bird Diner, corner of Myrtle and Bushwick Aves., Brooklyn, have been called on strike due to the firing of a worker who refused to handle scab | goods delivered by an Austin Ni- |torials in the local papers.” Judge Barnhill took cognizance of {that argument by the flagrantly false statement that the only way |the papers had referred to the case was in favor of the defendants in discussing some of his rulings dur- | ing the trial. | Judge Barnhill said in his charge | to the jury: | “Even if the officers were tres- | passers, it was the duty of the oc- cupants of the premises first ot or- |der them to leave, and if they did not leave peaceably, then to use only such force as was reasonably and necessary to eject them. The use of excessive force would constitute |an assault upon the officers.” These requests to leave, ete., were evidently considered by Judge Barn- hill to be properly in order while the | police were firing point blank at the strikers with their pistols. | The workers o fthe South are al- | ready talking bitterly of the neces- sity demonstrated by the railroad- ing of thees defendants of a broad protest strike against the deliberate- ly unfair trial, the living death im- posed upon workers’ leaders by the mill bosses’ courts. Action must be taken immediately, they say, because Continued on Page Three) “LIBERTY OF THE ESS.” PRAGUE, (By Mail).—According to a report just received a further paper of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia, the “Volnost,” a chols truck last Friday. The place is now being pickete: This union | is carrying on an active organization | drive in the f oy gt six weeks. i weekly published in Nimburg and Reichenberg has been seized and its publication suspended for a period y