The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 14, 1929, Page 4

DECEMBER 14, 19zy. ae coer ' IE rer ET et perpen A TTR TS «DAILY WORKER NEW YORK, SATURDAY, Miners Demand Removal of Troops from Mine Fields; Disarm the Gunmen! | =e Miners Demand Release of Thompson, Voyzey and All the Arrested Coal Miners i FIGHT AGAINST TREACHERY IS _|LABOR DEFENSE JUMPS INTO _ PART OF FISHT AGAINST BOSS | ILLINOIS: ASKS WORKERS AID | Wino 3 Jrests of others are repeatedly tak- ins | Ilinois NMU President) jo viace. ‘These attacks must be ites, fight against the Na- tional Miners Union. John L, Lewis | Jailed for Militancy | Workers Relief Fed These Miners Children in the Last Strike —e By BILL GEBERT , HE coal miners in Illinois, the| Trotzh PS ae | fought. most advanced section of them, are breaking away from the company JiM.W. of A. and building the revo- iationary class union, the National Miners Union. They are building their union in the present growing crisis in the industry, with the in- creased capitalist rationalization, mechanized form of production, and daily increasing speed up and un- employment. Miners are building the National Miners Union despite the concentrated attack of the coal operators, their governments, police, courts, and labor unions. The deadliest enemies of the min- ers are the capitalist lieutenants of the working class, the Lewis mach- ine, and the Fishwick and Farring- ton machine, through which the bos- supports John J. Watt financially. The “United Mine Workers Journal’ prints attacks against the N.M.U.; so does the “Illinois Miner”; so does the “Industrial Solidarity”; so does the “Weekly People,” and it is in- teresting to know that the material for these papers are taken from the counter-revolutionary sheet of the Trotzkyite Cannon, the “Militant.” This is no ident. The N.M.U. is the only force in the field that actually carries on the struggle against the coal operators. Against this advanced force of the miners, all these elements are united. “The Weekly People” prints a whole page of attacks and calumnies Be — Freeman Thompson, old-time | militant, led march on Kincaid and was placed under military ar- rest. Just released, Miners Answer Fascist Council | (Continued from Page Three) The Workers International Relief is calling on all workers to rush funds to its national office, 949 Broadway, New York City, to furnish food, clothes, and fuel for such as these. The International Labor Defense, already in the field, fighting against |these growing attacks, calls on | workers the land over to rally in | defense of the Illinois mine strikers, | supporting them in their struggle to jorganize and build the National | Miners’ Union, to picket the mines, | to secure the shorter work-day and | increased wages. Freed Miner Accorsi. Building the defense of the Illi- nois coal miners’ struggles, spread- jing to other states, goes hand in |hand with the fight to liberate the seven Gastonia strikers and organ- |izers and for the organization of the textile industry; it links up in- | evitably with the growing drive now | against the National Miners Union|of all troops from the coal fields 1 Pennsylvania Miners Relief, and the National Miners Relief, which fed the miners in the last strike and the Communist Party. It says;must be raised. - as i A rowned with triumph for the re- Ki have dissolved, and have their places taken now by the Workers International Relief. Stave 3 j ses carry out their program of cap- talist rationalization. This must be clearly understood by every iner and leading miners must not speak of them as simply thieves, crooks, and parasites, as their role is much bigger than only living at the expense of the workers. They} are the bosses’ servants because they still influence some sections of the miners, particularly the most priv- iledged section of the miners. Therefore in the struggle against) the coal operators our main attack) must be concentrated on the labor fakers and their policy of class col- laboration, and putting over capital- ist rationalization in the mines. Role of National Miners Union It is necessary to clearly under- stand the role of the National Min- ers Union in this situation. The Na- tional Miners Union is organized on a class basis, is organized for a class struggle, and must fight against every opportunist, as they are sup- porting the capitalist program. The National Miners Union today is a broad mass organization. It has in its ranks more than 10,000 men, and its influence is much broader. We can safely say that at least one half of the miners in Illinois today are under the influence | The N.M.U. is built on the class | struggle basis. It unites every miner| American legionaires, old union offi- | | the N.M.U. is first of all concen- | ites, all that the coal operators and Lewis| Picketing of the state capital by do know that the Communists are|miners and their families should be | leading the N.M.U., but that the/considered just as necessary as the Communists are keeping that fact| picketing of scab mines. from the miners. | The demand for the unconstitu- Communists Are Driving Force | tional release of Thompson, Voy ey | What is the Trade Union? The/and all other arrested miners’ lead- | Trade Union is a mass organization ers should be the center of wide agi- | to which every worker can belong. | tation. | The disarming of the gunmen, | who is ready to fight against the|cials and other fascist elements is | coal operators, their government and|a demand that must be popularized. j the fakers, The N.M.U, does not! Such demands are basic in all work- | limit itself to the Communists. It/ing class struggles in this period. | would be foolish, as that would nar-| ‘The question of allies outside of row down the Union. The Union'those workers who are not members | would not be fulfilling its duty or|o¢ put who are close to the National its aims, The Communists in the| Miners Union, must be giv | tsa om ion, must be given the N.M.U, are the driving force. They! most serious consideration. Import- | are the vanguard of the miners, and| ant forces like the 18,000 Kentucky | their influence is growing, and it) iners who, although still nomin- | is no wonder that the attack against | a11y members of and still to some é = xtent under the influence of the trated against the Communists. bed . 7 | z * old Lewis UMWA, have voted for The government, the coal operat-|_ strike.to enforce the 1917 wage the saw ela da anne) | sailable, must be used to destroy the en ees “+ | struggle with all possible speed. £ them know very well that ee : by attacking the Communists they| .At the same time the experiences | are fighting against the only force °f this important class battle, all | under whose leadership the N.M.U./0f Which strengthen the position of can taarch forward. the NMU and make its program of | LW.W. Offers Wage Cut militant struggle politically unas-| WOMEN IN THE MINE STRIKE By ANNA DAMON. The splendid response of the miners in Southern Illinois to the call of the National Miners’ Union to strike the mines is proof that they are wide awake to the fact that only’ through a militant uncom- promising fight under the leader- ship of the National Miners’ Union can they win better conditions for themselves and their famili This on has been taught them by the bosses and the A. F, of L. by the Lewis, Farrington, Fishwick fakers, who have sold out their interests time and again to the bosses. Keenly aware of the kind of a battle the miners will have to put up, their wives have joined them and are taking their place side by side with the striking miners. On the first day they led the picket heroic women to help fight the joint forces of labor reaction. and the police, jmaking light of the difficulties by |by overthrowing the present capial- ist system and establishing a gov- ernment of the workers and farmers siting the wives of the |like that of Soviet Russia can the miners not yet on strike to help | workers receive what justly belongs ting an example on the picket lines. They can help spréad the strike by awaken the class feeling in them |to them for their work, that in this and prove to them that only through | country as well as all over the} a solid front of the miners can they |world the only political party that | beat off the attacks of the bosses, |fights for the interests of the work- jcan they hope to win better condi-j;ing class is the Communist Party, | ns for themselves and their fam- | that in all the struggles of the work- | ers the Communist Party leads the |fight against the bosses to improve | { a | The wives of the miners on strike | the conditions of the workers, to|the state and over into Kentucky. must become organizers for the} wipe the bosses of the face of this | ii ilies. > Must Organize. George Volzey, old time mili- tant fighter in the miners’ ranks, is at the head of the N.M.U. ad; ministration in Illinois district. He is in jail now for leading the Told the sheriff if they turn him loose he will lead another demon- stration tomorrow. Cea The International Labor Defense \has issued the following manifesto in the Illinois strike situation: The International Labor Defense | greets the courageous strike strug- gle launched by militant coal min- ers of southern Illinois, that is rapidly spreading to all sections of It is the first decisive answer from |National Miners’ Union, and under | earth end to establish a Proletarian | the ranks of labor to the hunger re- th leadership _ through iaries give full help and co- only way to win the strike is that this will be a tough fight, a fight to a finish, it will require day- their | Dictatorship. through a solidified fighting front | Helps Fellow-Workers! In all jin and day-out work. The more ac-|your stéuggles you will need The | Workers in the South, seven of whom gime promised by the “No Strike!” | fascist decree of the Hoover confer- ences in Washington, in the midst eration to the strike leaders. The | pgs . | chy way to. Win the sivike ois WEECKS! Daily Worker ot the crashing stock peices sn Wall : Street, in which the officials of the You Win Your American Federation of Labor par- of the miners and their wives. The oe |wives of the miners must realize | Battles! You Need It! ticipated and to which they gave lines; in the front rows came these | their approval. Just as it battles with the textile have been sentenced to 117 years in miners in a march on Coella mine. | lease of Salvatore Accorsi; with the ci demand for the liberation of Charles |Guynn, coal miner, and several others condemned to long prison jterms in the courts of Belmont | County, Ohio, controlled by the steel mill and mine owners; it is part of |the fight against the criminal syn- | dicalist laws now being used in 35 |states to smash workers’ organiza- ‘tions already in cxistence and to | prevent the organization of the un- organized. “Illinois!” like “Gas- |tonia!” becomes a new battle cry j of struggle. | Unity of Negro and white work- ers in the Illinois coal fields must develop stronger than ever out of this new challenge of militant work- ers to the growing fascist tyranny. 'No discrimination against Negro workers in building the National Miners’ Union. Unity with the | Negro workers of Haiti against the Wall Street imperialist war. ing to send Stephen Graham, or- \ganizer of the Ipternationai Labor {Defense in Norfolk, Virginia, to many years’ imprisonment, because |he dared speak to an audience of | Negro and white workers. Solidar- lity of Negro and white coal mine Today, the employing class is try- # of the National Miners Union, The tive ones will have to draw in the | Daily Worker. It fights side by| | This is not the first time that : : 4 ‘ a Ag ~~ {less active ones into the struggle, | side with y i |prison, just as it mobilized the} ae ‘ " Seliee) ri women have| marched to the front in ei *\side with you and for you. It ex-| ki _|of all !ator to this ruling class at- pendently everyday struggles of the we are fully equipped to take care Stoneism in the coal fields. |picket ines.” ‘Tn'the ‘clase battles. of [ooo day there must be a 100 per | noses the bosses and all fake “labor | Whole Soe Claes nan uccess tack. : cy ome 3 ; : H aral| 0 . i i e | fully cheated the electric chair in * aed tae > Sapien. 2 cea volume - business Sty is se Party Leads. _ [recent years women workers and ee ae Se Ee aetaaee leaders” who are a part of the boss | aa ts ntute of’ Penosyivania’ fi What Must Be Done. lead independently the struggles of| for the saccree cf the bie monber,| Con Oreo aed be eat thay {Wives of workers have shown their | <siengidly begun must continue. {se Ft Shows how the state and | +9 attempted burning to death of| In order to render the utmost aid | | tors, the Lewis, Fishwick and Fars| in its manifesto to the miners has| Party itself is the vitalizing force |? ,°e,07 the men workers. | Jon a struggle against the traitors; | workers’ teationh yauiirally toi] 28 wie ne ane) Uebor (Dafetas) onal Labos Detenee ane Sane tington machines. By this the N.M.| not a word to say about capitalist |in the Illinois battle. Our Plenum |¢ou"p, ve, Tecent, class struggles /an those elements that show pas- |help defend wou when the bosses, | tlists for the struggle in defense|en its own forces. Its membership | | U, will not only win the confidence rationalization, unemployment Not len ea ae sh ea aT. cua, {fought by the Industrial Unions | icity in the strike, From the very |e s cok foe ee the bosses | oe the striking coal miners of| must be increased immediately to of the broader mass of miners, but | ‘ ieee eee eae eee a 988 aeuinst the bosses and the A,r oF |try to break your strikes by throw- | minois, beaten and jailed by the|at least 50,000 in the membership i . ree a word about the role of the fakers! strugel d wi that it has Sau : ee asa fast day it is to be a strike of the |ino yoy j ini 8 3 it will establish itself on a much | of the U.M.W. of A., not a word of Poem abin ee ‘aeculiy Yat the |L. fakers se spin better conditions | ole family against the rotten con- oe, you into sale Lear jheavily armed troops and imported | campaign now on, leading up to the more firm basis, and will be not only | the police and fascist persecution of s - for the workers in the mining, | ditions imposed upon them by the| Zhe Daily worker is the only | gunmen and thugs of the mine own-|Fourth National Conference, to be of an agitational character as it is!the militant miners, But it offers sb ieiaceneal Rey amos tr [Reedley textile, food and shoe in-|bosses and the A. F. of L. fakers. |WOHdNE. clas® daily paper in the jers and their government, |held in Pittsburgh, Pa., Dec. 29-31. 0 some extent at the present time.’ the coal operators a new Wage cut|by the struggle in the coal fields lustries the women workers fought A Political Struggle | United tates. You must read it, Save the Arrested Pickets. Its central organ, “The Labor De- oA : ee for the miners in Illinois. tobe Fe eke ya Mee together with the men Saas pag mrtg Nahe jsubseribe for it, circulate it in all | Already Freeman Thompson, or-| fender,” that helped blaze the way The Leadership of the N.M.U. It openly speaks that the LW.W.'now fighting proletavian material |their common enemy, the capitalist TEGO REL CR Ra eee all industries. It|ganizer of the National Miners’| for the “Gastonia” defense through To successfully carry on the in-| proposes “uniform and universal srom the Illinois battlefront into |°°*= satel bepoten res ie National jis the official organ of the Commu- | Union, has been seized by the troops | the Scuth, where no orgarizetions dependent struggles of the miners,| wage scale of $30.30 per week,” and ¢u party and its leadership, More| yw Other Battles, Lonely iociae He, ihe sivst step |nist Party of the United States, | and thrown into a military dungeon. of the International Labor Ti fense the N.M.U, must fight against all| it concentrates all its attacks against |ottoMion to the militant mood of [We eu, Temember the valiant | towards ANG tp eae of and you know that the Communist | His crime was leading strikers in a|had previously existed, must be | fakers and opportunists who, as the N.M.U. aeetien ein basic inductre Mobil. (SEht Put put by the wives of the lithe aha Hons rat Fale a He ad Party always fights for the work-! picket demonstration against the|made an instrument of greater Watt, the ex-president of the N.M./ Miners correctly say that the S.L. fee che at Party behind Aig en jminers in Pittsburgh and the tex- fae oon i ons 0 es miners and |ing class, | Peabody mines in Kincaid. The’ struggle in this titanic development in the South. They |the workers as a whole are never/ Address: The Daily Worker, 26| order for his arrest was given by|in the present period of growing U., propagate that the N.M.U. shall! P., the LW.W., and Watt have no eae ‘ je in Illi |tile workers * nt, not fight against the coal operators.| support among the miners. But there | ‘T00PS Of the class struggle im Wl" | fought shoulder, to shoulder with ee ee ie present capitalist | Union Square, New York, N. Y. |the mine owners’ superintendent.| class conflicts in the homeland of system. Speed-up, unemployment, |'Thus is seen the close cooperation’ the world’s leading imperialist pow- In other words, says‘ Watt, the|are some miners who are misled POs. Organize for struggle in every ‘their husbands and brothers in the ; ;: i se ¢ ; basic industry in the true Boishevik |,; icket lin vorseni vorkers’ iti aaa EES ree Meee g N.M.U. shall not lead the miners in| by them, and it is the duty of the| v mills and on the picket line.» Out) worsening of workers’ conditions |“ SUBSCRIPTION RATES | | of the employers and their capitalist er. It can do this only through the The I.W.W. in its manifesto to the | Sailable, must ze used to destroy the - 5 by strikers helps build the resistance N.M.U. locals must take up inde-| oa] miners, says: “Mr. Coal Miner, last vestiges of Trotsyism and Love- ARS ps bul. their struggles. The N.M.U. must! N.M.U. to fight and win over the ™2"mer- |they came in the front lines against |are the evils of capitalism, | ‘ ‘ ¢ 4 ‘ $ Sad ‘3 z, * * Fi ry tate. je ti th vhol rk fight against this and any other | miners from the influence of these! No separation of our perspective |the police and the hired gangsters! Not only must the wives of the Hest strd - a oe . ‘Guerra Voyzey, Illinois district aia SES ae eee ee brand of opportunism. opportunists, to win these miners for|0f struggle from the necessary or- jof the A. F. of L. |miners help in the present strike but |1 year .. . 6.00 | president of the National Miners’} Build the International Labor De- It is necessary to show the miners| the class struggle against the coal|ganizational measures. | In the present strike the wives|they must become keenly aware of the fact that government, the coal| operators; it’s: necessary to expose| These are the lessons to date of |of the miners can and will play a|the political aspect of the class operators, Lewis, Fishwick, the Re-| all opportunists, servants of the| the class conflict in the Illinois coal |leading role. They can help win the | struggle. | publicans, Democrats, Socialists, S.| bosses. | fields. strike by encouraging the men, They must realize that it is only ¢ Union, has been thrown into the|fense, the shield of class conscious Buckner Jail, for leading the dem-| labor. onstration on the Coello mine in| Signed: International Labor De- Franklin County. Numerous ar- fense, J. Louis Engdahl, Sec’y. Soviet Union Miners Have Six-Hour Day, Five-Day Week, in Socially Owned Mines INTRODUCTION. In giving this account of the Five-Day Week in the Soviet Union, it must be noted that the plan of work spoken of refers to the whole working class, the miners of the Soviet Union have for years enjoyed the Six-Hour Day, while the general working class had the Hight- Hour Day up to November, 1927, when by decree of the Soviet gov- ernment the working day was decreased to Seven Hours, the Seven- Hour shift being installed as fast as the factories could adjust pro- duction needs to the Seven-Hour shift. In the past year, 450,000 more workers thus got the Seven-Hour Day, making a total of some million workers in general factory production already on the Seven- } Hour shaft. The miners, because of the underground confinement at work, the whole list of working conditions which make mining an unhealth- ful occupation, have the Six-Hour Day. In addition they are receiving a specially long, a double vacation with pay. While all workers get two weeks vacation each year with pay, miners get a whole month, ~ and thase who are sick or iniured at work /are given free medical - reatment, including trips to distant mountain and sea resorts, where ah the palaces seized by the workers’ revolution are turned into great |For 100 copies of any one issue of the paper For 1,000 copies .... |reaching social-economic reform is |form, what importance does it pos [8th). This means that instead of |being introduced. I refer to the |S for our count: industries, |800 working days (and even 288 | and what has it to offer the working |days as happened in some cases al- | Continuous Working Week. The| lass? In this article it will be our |ready mentioned), all plants will | lidea of this reform belongs to the | endeavour to give a brief reply to} work 360 days. This result is ob-| well-known Soviet economist, J. La-|these very pertinent questions. tained by doing away with the| eae {rin (who was also the first to broach| a the present time only a certain |Weekly day of rest when everybody | eee of transferring to the SeV-| number of our industrial plants at the same time took their day of en-hour working day), who submit- |work continuously throughout the rest, as well as by doing away with | | proved his suggestion in principle I pater canesice eerie Te nie number of the workers taking their | LUDWIG LANDY, WORKERS INTERNAT’L RELIEF | | 949 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N. Y. hoe instructed a Government to | dustry (production of oil), electric off-day in turns throughout the egin. practical preparations . 10 | power stations, and such public ser- whole week, the plant meanwhile | ! 5 e t. th tal vit , ete. All other or ie industrial plant e working | 4 pres. submitted to extensive DUBS | that Ganse wObE not aay Gaile year lasts the whole twelve months, | THREE RELIEF STORES IN STRIKE AREA. WE |discussion in the press, the trade| fie holidays, but also on cach week-|though every worker has his nor-| NEED MONEY FOR MEDICAL ATTENTION, WOM- EN, CHILDREN, MEN BEATEN UP BY SHERIFFS. In Soviet Russia a new and far-, What is the essence of this re- Revolution on November 7th and se junions, at workers’ meetings, ete. ly day of rest (Sundays over most |™al rest-day at fixed intervals, After: the whole of our working of the U.S. S. R., and Fridays in| But the length of the working | ee sanitariums for the use of all such workers. These privileges are also given to all workers’ families, wives and children, the cost of all being borne by the industry, If unemployed, miners and all other workers receive a compensation so that they and their families can live until a place is found. If any worker becomes an invalid and unable to work, whether from ordinary disease or accident, he receives a pension of from one-third to one-half of usual wages as long as he lives. In short, in the Soviet Union a worker is relieved of the mountain of worry that haunts him and his family in capitalist countries. In England, where the fake “labor” party promised the miners to restore the Seven-Hour Day they lost three years ago, the miners have just found that the “labor” party tricked them with a promise only to betray them after geting elected to government. And the miners’ leader, Cook, whose ideas are something like that of Alex Howat, was shown up after the election to-be just like Howat, who “figh the crooked union officials with words for a while, and then at a time when it counts, goes over to their side and takes the miners into new betrayals under the rotten old leadership, rather than strike out boldly for a new union and a real fight against the operators, Cook in England urged miners to vote for the “labor” party because it promised to restore the Seven-Hour Day. After the “labor” gov- ernment got in, it “proposed” that the operators agree to a Seven- and-a-Half Hour Day. The operators are refusing and are fighting to retain the Eight-Hour Day, which some of them have increased to as much as Nine Howrs, But Cook still goes along with the fakers— ' be has become a fake himselfl class public opinion had indicated ‘with a rare unanimity its endorse- ment of the reform and the advis- ability of carrying it into effect, a | special Government Commission was /set up to implement the “nepreryv- \ka” or “unbroken week,” as the con- |tinuous working week is already |called for short in Russia. The Com- |missjon, which included representa- | tives of the trade unions, hammered lout plans of technical arrangements for implementing the reform and jdrafted a law on the matter which was approved by the Government and promulgated on September 25th. It may be added that, on the initia- \tive of the workers themselves, the |continuous work was introduced in a number of plants some time prior to the actual passing of the law in question. But beginning from the present fiscal week, i.e., from Octo- ber, the whole country has been moving over to the new working week on a systematic scale, the Moslem districts). Out of the 365 days of the year production is carried on approximately on 300 days, and in the case of a nuriber of plants which stop work complete- ly during the annual vacation of their workers, for as a little as 288 days, Consequently, for one-sixth of the working year the machinery of our industrial plants stands idle, whereas its utilization during this idle period would do much consider- ably to increase production as a whole, The new reform means that all plants must work continuously the whole year round, barring five days of revolutionary holidays (January 22nd, which marks the anniversary of Lenin’s death and commemorates the memory of the victims .of the Winter Palace massacre on January 9th, Old Style, 1905; International Labor Day on May 1st and 2nd; and the Anniversary of the October week is now reduced. As a rule, | the five-day week has been intro- | duced by law—after four days’ work, one day’s rest.. Every day, | one-fifth of all the workers have | their off-day on which to rest. Out | of the 865 days in the year there must be excluded the five days of | revolutionary holidays which must | thus be left cut of account. There remain 360 days which make up 72 weeks. This means that each worker gets 72 instead of 62 “Sundays” in which to rest, This again, means that there is a considePable increase in the number of such rest days. Considering that in addition to Sun- | days there used to be 13 Church and revolutionary holidays, alto- | gether there were 65 days in the, year when no work was done, which under the five-day uninterrupted week works out at 72 plus 5 equals q7 rest-days, End of First Installment, RUSH RELIEF IMMEDIATELY. SEND REPRESENTA- TIVE TO FIELD. CORBISHLEY. The above telegram from the secretary of the Illinois District of the National Miners Union speaks for itself. RUSH FUNDS AT ONCE TO Workers International Relief 949 Broadway, Room 512 DS