The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 27, 1929, Page 4

Page Four PARTY RECRUITING DRIVE Workers arty Recruiting Women For the OLGA GOLD. BY HE ais. class battles in thi capi talism. Intensifi radic- tions of capitalist ecor ed by increased exploitation of the working Ss and by the contraction of markets both within and without the U. The race of imperialist pow for the re ation of profits, through a re butior rkets brings a Com- rees to the war near. TI onalization and The simplificz nen to becon especially in tion proc s in gener ceautiber of women workers increa: nerease between 1910 and 1920 ent in the of women worke nd y and 408 per illusty the ion of ces W jcularly justry, munitic i result of the 1 war numbe eel indust atomol the es years p> in- last nino the ec een as great n Women In Next War. | n workers are the most underpaid sec t he working longest | h The average wage | women is two-thirds that of the In the coming imperialist war n in any previous wars part of the working | As a result of inte’ ied exploitation, the ‘American working class is becoming more and more discontented resulting in the broad radi- illed and unskilled. ywhere are to be seen sporadic strug- @les against capitalist rationalization, speed- up, long hours. In all these struggles, women are playing an important part, in some cases even taking the lead. Ella May Wiggins was an outstandin~ example. The biscuit workers | in Kansas City, and needle trades in New | York, textile workers in Ludlow, Mass. In | general, the working women display great | militancy, and determination to fight against rationalization. The American ruling class is fully aware of the part working cl women will play in the coming impe: , in the fierce.class bat- tle of the working class. Therefore, the ac- tivities of their bourgeois, patriotic, pacifist, feminist, .m tic, social reform: women’s orgat ig broadened to deceive and w and tions are be: n over many millions of work- ing women, aiming to divert the growing re- sistance and radicalization of these workers and to use them as willing tools in the next imperialist war. s of the ruling class to h and ise influence over the working women, they have the direct aid and a: sistance of the A. F. of L., ., also the Women’s Trade Union League, the latter, which is a tool of the A. F. of L., being one of the most reactionary of women’s organizations. Never v the activity of bourgeois wom- en’s organizations ‘so intense and directly | aimed into the shops as today. They are ap- | plying ali and ni of a ejudi women’s or¢ capits inculcated in New Jersey the reformist at 26-28 Union “DAIWORK." w York, N. ¥. Daily 32 Central Organ of the Communist Party of the ie: Sie Worker Ry Mail (in New York City only By Mail (outstde of New York Ci SURSCRIPTIAN RATES $8.00 n year; $ atte f the ting a movement for the de- hour for women workers, an existing law, thus law whi is suppo: to be ying to n the idence of working women and posing as friends of labor. Against Underestimation of Task. The Pz prior to the Communist Interna- tional .Address, pursuing the Lovestone oppor- tunist line, seriously underestimated the im- portance of working women and winning them for the revolutionary class struggle and for our Party. Women’s work was usually dis- missed in a superficial mann had a petty bourgeois rather nist conception of the The Party than a Commu- organization of women. In reviewi women ng the social composition of our : in the New York District, n comparison with the general unsatis- factory iti 1 it very bad, espe- mber even compo: n, we fi al Seetions 7 and 8, where it is predominan housewives. We scarcely find a wo! ove mentioned sec- h are numerous important tions such as radio, laun- and others which er nen. T! only in- he ¢ » failure of these sections to reach the industrial out the th World Congress ECCI, with the all opportunist and nfluences, the Party leader- a whole is making ser- e for the struggles fa the Party ‘to a ma: arty in America, capable of lead- American workers under the banner of Communism to its final victory. In this new real ea id down h P om. our ranks of m of the to prepa to build ious efforts ing Communist ing the us orientation of our Party, the winning of the women worl omes an important pha of our da The winning of m of we part of our fight in winning the maj of the working class. Working Women Are Unorganized. nust bear in mind that when we speak zation of ee unorganized as f the Party, that women xploited section of these zed ma: nerefore in the present recruiting membership drive, we must concen- rate on factories to reach the fighting work- ing women in the basic industries. We must broaden out our sphere of fraternal women’s tions. We must build the “Working and make appearance possible ecially concentrate on which shamefully ne- must reach the We unorgar Women monthly, New glected by our district. its must we was so We Jersey triply exploited Negro women, who are enter- g industry even to a greater extent than even white women workers. Women’s work must not be considered as work only for the women comrades or a “feminist job,” but must become the work and the Communist task of every Party member. politicalization of the women members of our Party must be in- te of rais- neral gent ical level of our Party. in the sections and units must Functioning women’s directors 1 ed. Closer coordination between the vari departments mus tablish ach section must select predominantly employ women on. Wherever we have con- ate the building of women shop 1 to draw them into Party nuclei. The development of periodical women’: delegate conferences must be considered as integral part of the Party membership drive. Let bership tories, ten-fold the women mem- ty, let this come from fac- ete. us incre: of the hop: Lovestone’s True Cha HAGELIAS. } 1 schemes and efforts of the group of Lovestone & and the National Textile All the infern counter-revolutionary Co. to split our Par Workers’ Union in New Bedford have been met with Bolshevik iron determination and have been defeaied The two counter- , Dawson and Pires, who revolutionary revolutionary were at the he union and fo their anti-worl he union, our new sor have been also exposed of the onists—— Ng ass. “encmics Love counter-revolutionist leader, who in Cleve during the period of the mew. UL. mave i etions to | his deveneicte the Pariy lera ay the union from the revclu . a petty- bourzeois restimates the revolutionsry 1 influence of the Commrn’ national and of our ile workers of Ni | his count Commun 43.hext 12° , New York © ed, Send me | ant to Join the Commu | more information. Mike unders nist Party. | come the agent of American imper! exposing himself to the workers in his every- | | working class the real issues involved and to racter the he second issue of “The Revolutionary Age,” writes: “In New Bedford, the ganization is threatened. the union, only 400 (instead of the usual 2,000) ned out to hear Foster’s report.” Listen to this: “Foster’s proposals were re- jeeted overwhelmingly.” What are the facts? of all, in spite of ‘our organizational weaknesses, and our many mistakes in the different phases of our work, sinee the expulsion of the Lovestoneites from our Party and their removal from the very life of the or- At the meeting of leadership of the union, our Party and the N. T. W. U. in New Bedford have grown stronger. The ideological level of the Party members has been raised considerably. The local meetings of the union have been more lively and more members attend ‘their local meetings now than ever before. In the last four er five weeks more new members have been coming into the union than in the pre- vious two months. Our Party has gained con- sid y in influence and prestige among the le workers in New Bedford since and be- cause of our open fight against the right wing and votten elements. The general membership meeting of the union, which was the first’ general member- ship meeting since the strike, and was called for al purposes (one day’s notice only) s attended by 1,033 members. The enthus- of the workers reached the highest level when the local secretary of the union, Com- Je Mendes, introduced Comrade Foster, the general seerétary of the T. U. U. L., who spoke on Gastonia and the general situation of the workers. I gave a report on the removal of the Lovestoneites from the union and on the Right danger. The vote endorsing ‘the re- moval of’ Dawson and Pires was unanimous, It is interesting to note that the renegade Pix who was present at the meeting, did not e the guts to take the floor. *The above quoted paragraph of Lovestone proves definitely the degenerated and true character of the Lovestoneites, who, like the capitalist writers, are using the lowest dirty methods in order to confuse ani mislead hon- est workers. Lovestone, who, under the mask of “Communism” and “Leninism” chose to be- ism, is day activities. Our job is to make it easier for him to expose himself, to bring before the THE ¢ GIANT <A geen Be ckiiy Whee By Wea ester? Reg h waeas The Army of Unemployed Must Be Organized to Fight! Mass Unemployment Develops By ALEX. G. RICHMAN. ‘OR the mass of the workers there has been no prosperity during the past few years— only low wages, speed-up, unemployment’ and part time, insecurity of job, joblessness after 40, etc. Developments during the past few months indicate that the number of unemploy- ed will mount to the millions this winter. A ready, according to Senator Couzens, there are over 3,000,000 out of work, and the great in- crease in unemployment has by no means reach- ed full momentum as yet. In November, unemployment increased 3. per cent, and payrolls decreased 6.8 per cent. The latter are far more significant, since they show that both wage slashes and part time are far greater than the decrease in employment. These percentages, which are based upon ave) five millions workers in manufacturing, min ing, public utilities, tradesand public serviec are probably much below the actual figure: since the government bureaus reporting then the U, S. Employment Service and the Burea of Employment Statistics, are known for their twisting and under-estimation of such data (The figure of 5,000,000 unemployed would Be nearer the truth.—Editor). This report admits a decrease of aint vorkers in manufacturing alone of 186,000 in November, and the real movement is undoubt- edly far greater. The indexes for the past two months in vari- ous branches of manufacturing were as fol- lows: Unemployment Rayrolls . Noy. Oct. Decline Noy Oct. Decline General index... 94.8 98.3 3.5 Automobiles 85.7 103.7 Tron and steel .... 96.6 99.5 Textile and dothing * 98.2 Leather ....-.... 982 Electrical machinery 1S LC RS eae Me 2) 4.2 130.6 Food and kindred prada +. 1014 2.6 106.0 Chemipales ... : i iccessrages< 100.9 104.4 106.9 Metal (exclud. ironand steel) . 93.4 91.1 102.3 Stone, clay and glass... 86.0 84.8. 88.9 Vehicles for land marae tion (includ. autos) ...., 85.9 94.7 8.8 88.8 100.77 11.9 Carriages and wagons Giaclad, railway car building and- - repairs) . 76.4 84.2 78 83.0 92.9 9.9 Of 66 industries listed by the government statements there were employment canvasses in November for 11, but the slaughtering and meat packing branch of the food group, where employment increased 1.6 and wages 0.6; paper and printing, where employment. increased 0.6. but payrolls dropped 0.6; pottery, where the number ‘¢mployed increased “L3, but payroll: Were 0.7 less; stamped and enameled ware, where 3.4 per cent more workers were employ- ed, but wages dropped 3.4 per cent; agricultural implements, where there were 4.8 per cent” more workers with 1.7 per cent: less: wages; electric railway car puilding and repairing, with 0.3 per cent more workers and 0.8 per cent less pay, and shipbuilding, where employ- ment was 3.9 per cent more and wages 4.1 per cent greater. We see, therefore, that in only two cases last month (slaughtering and shipbuilding) did both employment and wages increase, and in the former case it was negligable. This shows how universal was the dismissal of workers, and the increase in part time and wage cuts. The end of the harvesting season (indicated by a 33.6 pef cent drop. in workers in can- neries), of roadbuilding (due to winter), the let-up in building, and decreases in quarrying and non-nietallic mining, public utilities and hotels add’ greatly to the picture of unemploy- ment shown- by figures for manufacturing. Unemployment in wholesale trade was practi- cally stationary during the past month, and the increase of “4.9 per cent in employment in re- tail trade will come to end with the holidays. The reports of the two governmen agencies lie. cold-bloodedly, as usual, in their interpre- tation of the statistics issued, The U. S, Em- ployment Service says, “Movements now under way will have an encouraging effect on indus- try, which will mean an increase in the volume of employment. All signs are encouraging and better economic conditions should prevail in the immediate future.” Any. half-way accurate capitalist economic ised Buch ay the Aanalist, Tou: ou of Com: employment is decreasing. If we take the trade journal, “Automotive Industries” (which re- cently did its best to encourage the automobile trade as to say that since so many people lost money in the stock crash, more people should buy cars in installment), it now writes that bankers expect that the crash will set back the auto industry at least six months, And the head of Montgomery, Ward states that there’ will be no recovery until the end of 1930. We ‘shall go further into this at another time. * At the end ,of November Ford had fired about half of the 137,000 workers in his plants, with many of the rest on part time, and the others facing wage cuts, speed-up and dis- charge. His thirty plants were fully or partly shut down—ostensibly to prepare for a new model, but actually because his dealers were | greatly overstocked. Ford himself admitted hefore the Wall Street crisis that “American production had come to equal and surpass the people’s power to purchase”—that is, over- production of goods as well as of plant capacity was a fact, and the much discussed “satura- tion point” had been reached. Incomplete figures indicate that the number of unemployed in Detroit is over 100,000, in Philadelphia over 75,000, etc. In Detroit, for example, Ford and U, S. Rubber workers arc being forced to contribute to the “community chest” for philanthropic unemployment relict Since 1921 about 2,300,050 workers in ir dustry and agriculture have become disem ployed, and few of them absorbed by othe: industries. This has been due to rationalization of equipment, to discharge of middle-aged and old workers unable to keep the terrific pace, ete, Today A. F.-of L. bureaucrats in many in- dustries are giving up their laudations of pros- perity and admitting the existence of unem- ployment and its intensification. Yet Green continues to speak of “the abolition of unem- plovibent and ite eatablistisent ne an earning By MYRA PAGE. (Continued) Send in your orders now for “Souther Ce! tor Mills and Labor.” With its vivid portrayal of the conditions of the Southern textile worl ers, “Southern Cotton Mills and Labor” have a wide distribution. * * * The advent of the world war opened up new period of union struggles in the south In 1914 a strike broke out in an Atlanta cottor mill when some union men were fired. Of the 900 workers involved, one hundred and thirty were children under sixteen years of age, earning as low as twenty-two cents a weel Two-thrids were women, who were receiving considerably less than the men’s average w of $6.35 for over sixty hours labor. The pany immediately cut off food supplies at it store and evicted most of the strikers and their families. The union undertook to feed the strikers, and built a tent colony for shelter. After a year, the strike was declared lost and the union stated that all it could do was to pay transportation charges for workers seek- ing employment elsewhere. The strike typical of many that followed in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas. Wage increases, shortening of hours, elimination of child labor, and union recognition were usually the issues involved. In North Carolina over thirty thousand workers unionized and affili ated to the U. T. W., and another five thousand in South Carolina and Tennessee joined up. The I. W. W. also conducted some spontaneous strikes in North and South Carolina, but no permanent organization was established. A widespread reduction in southern hours of labor coincided with this drive, and a marked lessen- ing in the number of child laborers below four- teen years of age was also achieved. The strike which took place at this time at ees S. C., was termed by U. T. W. lead- s “the first, real, endorsed, legitimate strike ‘n "the south”*—a significant comment in view of the period of fifteen ye: in which the U. T. W. had held undisputed jurisdiction over the southern territory, and the large number of “unauthorized” strikes which had occurred there. However, due to Dixie mill hands’ en- thusiastic drive for unionism, the U. T. W. could claim in 1919, 45,000 dues-paying mem- bers in the carolinas, with 67 new southern locals. One of these locals was composed of Negro workers, pickers and dye-house laborers, who had been segregated along race and craft lines. The weaknesses inherent in the U. T. W.’s form of organization soon became apparent. By 1920 the nu=ber of southern locals had dropped to almost half, with correspondingly heavy losses in union membership. The de- pression of 1921 gave the mill owners an op- portunity for introducing wage cuts ranging from 35 to 65 per cent in all southern cotton mills. Southern textile union in various sections struck against these wage ‘cuts, but the U. T. W. suspended strike benefits during this period. In the face of company terrorism, injunctions, evictions, arrests, and cutting off of supplies, and with no effective support from organized labor, the workers were literally starved back into the mills. Only a few paper locals survived. The workers were thoroughly disillusioned with the U. T. W., an] tempora- rily too discouraged to continue their union efforts. However, an occasional effort was made, as that in Hendersonville, N. C., in 1927, where a six-week’s strike for higher wages and union recognition oceurred. But this s was lost and, another local of the U. T. V appeared before it was well started. Therefore when the National Textile Workers, an indus- trial, revolutionary union organized in the latter part of 1928, entered the southern field it found approximately 300,000 mill workers totally without organization. (This new union had developed out of a revolt of a large sec- com was dustry at a time when the head of his building trades department admits that unemployment is greater than. at any time since bad years before the world war, with the greatest in- crease to come in 1930, Further unemployment may be expected depression, to greatly increased rationalization due to the stimilus of the depression. The “Business Week” states of the steel trust (and this applies to all industries) that “it regards the present as a good time for the industry to modernize existing plants.” Data on railroads and other industries show the intensification of this tendency toward rationalization, re- sulting in a great increase in unemployment, part time, speed-up, etc. A word on the general economic situation will show the basis for expected growth in- unemployment. The Ahalist index of business activity for December shows a decrease of ten per cent from October (103.5 to 93.5)— the largest monthly drop in eleven years, with much more coming. Industries using iron and steel, cotton, rubber, an] automobiles, build- ing, railroad transportation, coal, zinc, copper, lead, ete., ete., show declines in November, and | these are going to decline still more in the | future months. As the depression develops into a crisis, rnemployment will develop with it, and to a greater degree. The Communist Party urges, in its program. the seven-hour day and five-day week, govern: ment relief controlled by the workers them selves, unemployment and other social surance, a fight against evictions for \>payment of rent, ete. It fights for the aboli tion of private employment exchanges, the abolition of the speed-up system, of vagrancy laws, and of child labor. By unity of employed ard unemployed, jovganization of the unorganized, by strug for higher wages, shorter hours and agai the speed-up, by the organization of counci unemployed and their unity into a jonal movement led by militant rank and filers, by the intensified struggle against the A. I’. of L. traitors and their allies the sociali and Musteites, Cannonites, Lovestonites, the strug: gle against unemployment must be made. The political implzations of this struggle—fight against Hoover's “fascist council,” against the war danger and the offensive against the Union of Socialist Soviet Republies end strag- gle for the program of the Trade Union Unity L the Comnniniot Party are to be in by 0 six month 50 six mont aside from that directly due to the economic | months thre t ronths. SOUTHERN COTTON MILLS AND LABOR file membership within » officialdom’s failure can textile workers and s for their rights, its sm and co-operation with against all militant ion, and its attacks on Communists and left-wingers within the union.) The response rs to the N, T. W. was im- mediate. {ill committees were formed in various plants throughout the Carolinas, and plans we made to extend organization throug he section, The union set forth its program of conerete demands, including ion to the stretch- ing-up systems, wage increases et at twenty dollars ve-day week, equal work, and elimination of all child early defined its policy as one and racial and international ore of lo- The readiness ition, eppe pay for equal abor. I of .class st labor solidarity. tablished. calsgwere quietly ¢ of southern mill hands to unionize and struggle for a better standard of living proved to be so great it the young union soon found its forces severely taxed to meet all the calls for organizational help which it received. The mill owners, learning of this union cam- iediately undertook to destroy it. ti ind union workmen were 1 out of their company dwel- lings. In Loray mill, at, Gastonia, N. C., the discharge of six men and women led to a trike, on April first, 1929, of its opproximately ) operatives. The bulk of these, both te and colored, joined the N, T. W., and proceeded to organize into a strong local. Im- me the company placed a wire around the mill and called in state troops. Mass picket ceful, were charged by police rests were made. Credit lines, although pe and troop: nd many c and the strikers and their families was cut of thre ned with eviction., The National Textile Wor and the Communist Party at once began to rally all their forces in support of” the strike. The Workers International Relief, organization, cooperated with ing a relief station where tic mpath the u food supp! e and clothing were sup- plied to strikers’ families. International La- bor Defense took over the legal defense of ar- rested workers, while the Daily Worker carried on the through its press. Meanwhile the company preceeded to evict strikers’ families and throw their belongings into the street. No ‘ation was shown to ill persons or preg- A tent colony was then built he W. I. R. and a playground for workers’ en wes established. Local union mem- xes and all ages, took an active s of work, Mill workers in agerly gave assistance, while or farmers contributed to relief sup- , an) militant labor throughout the country ad vallied to the Loray strikers’ sup- efforts to spread the strike itory were only partially suc- : the Loray revolt came before the ground for a widespread walkout in southern cotton mills had been fully prepared. masked mob, serving company interests, ed the relief station, throwing milk in- tended for strikers’ babies and other food sup- plies, into the street. The workers replied by organizing another relief station in the tent colony and placing an armed guard there to protect inst future outrages. Police activity became inensified, while local newspapers, un- der company direction, heaped abuse upon the Communist-led union and the local strikers. 43 were rumors of plans to lynch strike and to wreck union headquarters, e of company provocation and their own tradition for direct action, the strik- ers followed the sousel of union leadership od to paeieasperated into acts of con nant women all ph and refu violen: Some week8 of struggle and great hardship followed. Management imported work from outside, but when these recruits learned what was going on at Loray, they also prepared to strike. This made the company desperate. Following numerous threats, local attempted to force an entrance into the . and in the conflict between them and union guards which followed, a union or- ganizer and three policemen were wounded and Gastonia’s chief of police was killed. This gave Manville-Jenckes and Company the oppor- y for which they had been seeking—an excuse for climinating union leadership. Four score workers were arrested, and fifteen of them, including both national and local leaders, were indicted for murder. Among them were many who were not even in Gastonia on the night when the fighting occurred! Thus opens up another chapter in the frame-up against labor leaders who have dared to urge workers to revolt inst intolerable conditions. ( To Be Continued) “Give Industry Well Trained Youth” LPHIA, Pa. (By Mail).—Dorothy director of the Jewish Wel- recently told a group of “vo- ” at the Mastbaum School dle-aged worker is finding out ry 1 avou 40. Work them hard even if it kills them while they are young, is the bosses’ icy, she found, and when they get a little n, turn them out on the street to nsely was this capitalist charity profession- remedy for this situation? Did she pro- ose the shovier work day, to accomodate more the workers young .and old, or more wages and 1 peed-up, so they would not age so rapidly? Not according to the capitalist press report lecture. She proposed a typically snely.” She thinks that if capital- its fodder young, it is her duty to that it gets it young. “We must equip our young people to meet their new responsibilities,” she is reported as saying, and furthermore: The s ion is particularly acute in the poor families, of course, when the breadwinner is cast out of the industrial system, labeled as an ‘old man’ years before he has actually ceased to be of value as a worke “The working life of a man in i getting shorter, More and more r i of their j jobs. Nideae is to 4 elf, that the dead line in industry is © fl eed oo = eo ase os.