The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 18, 1930, Page 3

_DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, JU Y 18, 1930 Page Three E, assembled representatives of 157 branches of the Workmen’s Circle and Independent Vorkmen’s Circle, declare solemnly, before the entire working class of America and the world proletariat, that the time has come and the conditions are ripe for the building of a sep- arate proletarian fraternal order which is to follow the line of the class struggle and to inite those thousands of workers who can bear no longer the yoke of the existing fra- ue ternal orders whose sole aim it is to keep the se workers away from struggle and to aid the dad hoses, the cat On October 11, 12 and 18, 1929, a conference els of the left wing branches of the Workmen’s for Circle was held in New York, The conference to ideclared that the “time has come when every- ow fone who is in earnest about the interests of 2p- the working class, and who wishes to struggle in- against the bosses and their influence, must ls shake the dust of the Workmen’s Circle off to his feet.” a The conference also pointed out the reasons why it was no more possible for class conscious vorkers to remain in the Workmen’s Circle. The Workmen's Circle,” said the conference, “which was established under the flying banner of the class struggle, which had written in its | program the abolition of the capitalist system, and which therefore gained the love and respect. of broad masses of workers in the United States, has in the last few years been trans- formed into a boss agency serving the interests of capitalism.” The October conference therefore appealed to all left wing and progressive members who are seriously concerned with the interests of the working class to leave the Workmen’s Cir- cle. “It is our unanimous decision,” said the conference, “that we must leave the Workmen’s Cirele if we wish to remain loyal to the work- ing class.” The conference was confronted with a great problem as to where to go. There were opinions current to the effect that it was necessary im- mediately to establish a left wing fraterna] or- der. There prevailed, however, a different opin- ion to the effect that it was necessary and pos- sible to join the Independent Workmen’s Circle. The conference proclaimed this in a manifesto u the following words: “It would be possible for us to form our own new workers’ order which would be what such an organization ought to be. We have realized, however, that there is ® possibility for us to transfer ourselves into another order, which in the last years has followed a course diametrically opposed to the course of the Workmen's Circle and which, we hope, may become a real home for the left and progressive wing which is leaving the Workmen’s Circle.” “We speak of the Independent Work- men’s Circle.” Conference Decides to Leave Workmen’s Circle The conference then stated that, “in the last even or eight years the Independent Work- nen’s Circle, especially after the New York convention of 1923, began to move ever closer to the class conscious section of the working class.” The conference therefore issued the following slogans: “Leave the Workmen's Circle!” “Join the Independent Workmen’s Circle!” “Help build the Independent Workmen’s Cirele!”, Immediately after the October conference, as soon as its decisions became known, a telegram arrived from the National Executive Committee of the Independent Workmen’s Circle which said: “With open arms outstretched we stand wafting for the thousands of members who, at the conference, decided to join our Order.” The telegram rejoiced over the fact that “at last the time has come when the Jewish workers begin to recognize the Independent Workmen’s Circle,” and it asserts that “with your coming we will b. able to build up a strong order to serve the interests of the working ji Ht With bright spirits and high hopes the Octo- ber conference, through its elected executive committee, went to work. In a few weeks, from seven to eight thousand members left the Work- men’s Circle. Thousands of other members of the Workmen’s Circle were ready to form the second line in leaving the Workmen's Circle. Thousands of class conscious, courageous and energetic Jewish workers were ready to trans- fer to the Independent Workmen's Circle, their proletarian devotion, their readiness to build the order and to turn it into an instrument of the glass struggle. It was in the interests of the ‘ish workers and of the working class as & whole that the Independent Workmen's Circle should grow. It was in the interests of the Independent Workmen's Circle as an organiza- tion that it should accept the former members of the Workmen’s Circle and thus become transformed into a real power. An amalagama- tion of the left wing elements of the Workmen’s Circle would have only been of benefit to the working class. Nobody would have been the loser except the bosses with their servants who look with hatred and fright upon every step of the working class and who are intent on breaking its unity and its struggle. A new spirit, an unusual animation began to be felt among the broad strata of the fraterna) orders. Great was the joy particularly of the left in the Independent, Their order was bound to grow! They were not going to be an insig nificant provinicial organization any longer! They would not lead any more a sleepy indif- ferent existence, the way they had been leading all these years. They would become stronger compared with the backward, degraded and ut- terly corrupted elements who still occupied TO THE MEMBERS AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE WORKMEN’S CIRCLE, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE INDEPENDENT WORKMEN’S CIRCLE leading positions side by side with the left wing in the Independent and who still exercise con- siderable influence over the organization! The Betrayal by the Leaders of the Independent W. C. When the conference had convened in Octo- ber, it had no high opinion about the so-called centrists and the right wing in the Independent Workmen's Circle. It knew that they were a backward element devoid of initiative or cour- age. It knew that their left phrases, their ac- quiescing in resolutions endorsing the left move- ment were neither honest nor earnestly meant. Still, the conference believed that the interests of the organization as such, the will to strengthen the Independent Workmen's Circle, the will to become an important component part of the labor movement, would force these ele- ments to carry out the pledges solemnly made before the entire working class; to open wide the doors of the Independent Workmen’s Circle before all those who left the Workmen’s Circle, It soon became obvious that the conference had erred. It had not taken into account the lengths to which a combination of the right clique of the Independent Workmen’s Circle with the damagers from the Jewish Daily For- ward and the Workmen's Circle bureaucrats can go in trying to break the labor movement. They knew that, for years and years, there had ex- isted an enmity between the Workmen’s Circle and the Independent Workmen’s Circley and al- though it knew perfectly well that when it is necessary to fight against the left wing move- ment, the right wing of all groups and cliques may form a united front, so that a union of the right wing leadership of the Workmen's Circle and the Independent Workmen’s Circle was not at all impossible; still it had in mind that, should only one part of the workers who left the Workmen's Circle join the Independent Workmen's Circle, these elements, combined with the left wing membership of the Independ- ent, would soon form a power that would make to nought all the machinations of the traitors. The conference had not foreseen into what an abyss of swindle, betrayal and meanness the bureaucrats of the right clique can sink when it is necessary to put stones in the path of the class struggle of the working masses. The clique of the Independent soon began to put obstacles in the way of new members and new branches joining the Independent. When they saw that, in spite of everything, the work- ers were storming the gates of the Order and that it was almost impossible to halt their march, the right bureaucrats attempted to seize the national office by force, compelling the Board of Appeals to take over the functions of the Nationa] Executive Committee, When this trick failed, they turned to those who always protect and father the right cliques, They ap- pealed to the capitalist courts. The Injunction The injunction, and the machinations con- nected with the court hearings, are one of the blackest pages in the history of the betrayal of working class interests. No lie was too shame- ful, no slander too hideous, no bribery too low for the clique which applied all this under the direct leadership of its former foe that had suddenly become their advisor and friend—the Jewish Daily Forward and the Workmen’s Cir- cle. Their plan was to demoralize the thousands of members who had left the Workmen's Circle. Their outlook was to drag out the hearings in- definitely, to create uneasiness and uncertainty, to split the forces of the progressive and left wing elements that waited to be admitted into the Independent, They thus hoped to evade the left danger. In order to take the matter out of the eapi- talist courts, in order to put the question squarely before the members of the Independ- ent, the executive committee of the left and progressive members of the Workmen’s Circle decided to agree to a compromise. It yielded to the demand of the right wingers of the In- dependent Workmen’s Circle concerning a spe- cial emergency convention with a specific agenda—a convention which was against the statutes of the order, which, however, was agreed to under one definite condition officially recognized by the courts, namely, that all mem- bers whose applications were already in the hands of the national office of the Independent should be immediately admitted into the Order without further trouble, Emergency Convention With this agreement the left wingers came to the emergency convention. It was for the sake of this specific point—admitting all the applicants without further obstacles—that the committee of the left members agreed to the agenda of the emergency convention — an agenda which, in itself, is a blot oa the record | of any workers’ organization, The convention was not only to elect a new executive commit- tee but also to decide upon a special amend- ment to the constitution of the Independent to e effect that the national convention was pro- hibited from endorsing any workers’ party or workers’ paper and was generally not allowed to establish relations with the labor movement. It was very difficult for the left wing to agree to such an agenda. The committee, how- ever, yielded on this point for the sole purpose of taking the case out of the courts and putting the question before the branches. Events proved that even then the left wing had not realized how mean and criminal the so-called “left” and “progressives” can be when they surrender to the old betrayers of the labor movement—the Forward Socialists, and the fat Workmen's Circle bureaucrats. The emergency convention took place on Januaty the 12th. Thanks to an open betrayal «! five delegates who voted contrary to the instructions of their branches, the capitalist amendmert to the con- stitution was adopted and a black national ex- ecutive committee was elected. Having thus fortified their position, the right wingers de- cided entirely to close the doors of the Inde- pendent for all those who had left the Work- men’s Circle, Today the following branches find themselves outside of the Independent Workmen's Circle: Forty, in New York; Seven, in Chicago; Six, in Philadelphia, and a number of branches in the state of California, in Detroit, Trenton, Rochester, Hartford, Plainfield, Erie, Stamford, Newark, Atlanta, Miami, Chattanooga, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Youngstown, Cleveland, Toledo, St. Paul, Sioux City, Rock Highland, Kansas City, Omaha, Milwaukee, Columbus, THE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ ORDER 'HE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ ORDER started its official existence on April 3, 1930, when the preliminary charter was issued. On June 19, 1930, the International Workers Order received a permanent charter, and since July 1, it has functioned as a fraternal insurance organization. Beginning with the latter date, the national office is responsible for sick and death benefits of members who paid in for the months of May and June. Every worker must become a member of the International Workers’ Order. The International Workers’ Order is a fra- tenal organization. It provides its membership with sick benefit, with medica! aid during sick- ness and with other means of mutual aid that can be obtained under the existing system. At the same time, however, the International Workers’ Order looks upon itself as upon a section of the working class and is intimately connected with all the workers’ struggles, It seeks to be a section of the proletarian class- front, The International Workers’ Order is not a political party. Nevertheless, it is most actively interested in the struggle of the working class against capitalism. It therefore supports every proletarian action which mobilizes the working class in its struggle for its class interests. The International Workers’ Order is not an economic organization, Its direct task is insur- ance work for its members. Nevertheless, it is vitally interested in the economic struggles of the working class and it supports those workers’ organizations and workers’ struggles which aim at improving the situation of the workers and at freeing the working class, in the long run, from capitalist rule, The International Workers’ Order is a fra- ternal organization for sick and death benefit. Nevertheless, it cares for the cultural in- terests of its members, The Nationa! Executive Committee of the International Workers’ Order is now busy on a program of a ramified cultural activity among its members and branches, The Order will presently organ- ize a cooperative publishing house. It is mak- ing preparations for the publication of a month- ly magazine. It is preparing outlines for lec- tures on social topics. It is preparing a cor- respondence course in various subjects. In the course of the winter the Order will arrange a number of lecture tours, The Order is in touch with the Jewish workers’ schools, with the aim of transforming them into an important prole- tarian cultural factor in the life of the workers and in their struggles. The International Workers’ Order is decisive- ly opposed to all the labor betrayers, the com- pany union leaders, the socialists who have be- trayed Socialism, the labor fakers who help capitalism suppress the working masses, The International Workers’ Order is a friend of the only proletarian republic, the Soviet Union, where the workers are building Socialism. There is room in the International Workers’ Order for every worker who recognizes the necessity for the working class to defend its interests against capitalism. The International Workers’ Order admits workers of all languages, of every national origin. Branches of the International Workers’ Order may conduct their activities in whatever language they find best suited to the work of promoting the international unity of the work- ing class. In its insurance work the International Work- ers Order has at the outset introduced the scientific system known as National Fraternal Congress Rates, where every member pays ac- cording to his age. Below.is a table showing the monthly pay- ments for the sick benefit fund on sums rang- ing from $150 to $2,000. The International Workers’ Order pays bene- fit in accordance with the sum to which every member subscribes during his doctor’s examina- tion. The weekly rates are $3.50, $7.00, $10.00, and $15.00. The Order also pays a consumption benefit of $15.00 weekly. In the United States, the richest country in the world, the country ** the most developed capitalism, there is no social insurance for the workers. It is the task of the working class to fight for social insurance, against unemployment, for sickness insurance and old age insurance. The Interna- tional Workers’ Order will help in these struggles. It is the duty of every worker to join the organization which, besides sickness insurance and death insurance as well as other means of mutual aid, helps the working class in support- ing its struggle for its class interests. Fill out the application printed belo, and send it into the national office and you will be admitted to one of the 160 branches already existing throughout the country. PROPOSAL CARD INTERNATIONAL WORKERS ORDER, Inc. 32 Union Square, New York, N.Y. Fill in this card and hand it to the Branch Secretary NOME ..cccccecvecscccecs eet e ee neeee seeeeeeere Age seeeeeee Address ....seee teeeeeeee teers POeeeree eee, COeeeeeeerer es Occupation sence seccerenes UMlOmt cocceceerseree a Male ....csscceccsecceecssseces ++. Female Peeeneeceres Married? ...... nena Paid $.....- Coeeeee FOR. .006 Month Proposed by .....++++ Peerer reer eerie eeeeee Br. No. seeeee International Workers Order S.C MONTHLY PAYMENTS FOR ye 250 $500 $1000 $2000 DEATH BENEFIT INSURANCE CEO a SS B38 $18 §$ .29 $58 $1.15 $2.30 Class 4 ae ai alae Bé 19) BL 621.28 246 Age $180 $250 $500 $1000 #2000 Pe ee a 18 $.07 $11 $21 $ 42 § 84 ee gk kL S08 a a oO OR jee tela’ | Mae Yee Re rei | Rane ean’ Weer Cee 69 37) «44 8B 1.76 8.52 Le ow OB ae ee 60 29 148 95 1.90 3.80 a aie aimee: ae ae 61 37 «.b2 1.03 206 «4.12 Le | Aa RN st aa 62 41 66 112 228 4.46 or ae ae a OS 68 44 «(61 «121242 48d Ry same Na Wii? age 64 48 66 132 264 5.28 Deon Sa 65 52 «72 14d 2.87 (74 MOT Aa 66 57 «679 «157 818 6.26 28 «07 12 23 45 90 67 GL 86 171 3.42 6,84 TE? ae Re tae a4 68 68 94 187 3.74 7.48 30.08 as 24 AT 94 69 .74 1,02 2.04 4.08 8.16 PE OIA | as peli ae ARI 7 81 112 224 448 8.96 Boa0R. ee ee ae 8 ey erase: =n 83° 08 1B 25498 be adaud Cuartatowing’ costament fae Mamas Evie ies} ie 7 sick and consumption benefits: Gb 108> ER Aa ee TUOe Option A: No sick benefit; only con- 87. 00 1d OT A 1.08 ption AM: nefit, 38 4.09) «614.8 ‘ #7 cents. menth 39 09 1d 89 HRT OWanbeit addons Weak lek benefit x i K 4 h cents @ mon 41 110 ‘16 «(32 68—siL'26 Option O: $5 a week consumption bene- | Galina bates: Maree 1 aa i) Lh dbl adell Mal fp A ATs ff Ge ee ee a * a ti: 15 ke ee er rr re at 48 18 (88887 fe th tor slek benefits are 49 14 284611 included alt other paymenta to” the 50 15 .24 48 96 1.92 National office, such as the Education- 51.16 26 51 «1022.04 al Fund, Organization Fund, Adminis- 52 17 27 54 1.08 216 Srptegn Pens monthly magazine and ‘ d ‘ ; ‘ allo enditures. ) PARTICIPATE IN AU Cincinnati, and many other c¢ the National Executive C ) pendent Workmen’s Circle refused to admit the above branches, buit it has begun to apply the old tactics of the Workmen’s Circle: individual rembers and entire branches are being thrown out of the order or transformed into members at large. Speaking of the Workingmen’s Circle, | the October convention declared: “the Work- | men’s Circle was sinking lower and lower un- til it finally buried itself in a hideous morass.” This is now true not only of the Workmen’s Circle, but also of the leadership of the Inde- pendent Workmen’s Circle. The downfall of the Independent has taken place under the leadership of that same reac- tionary power, the Jewish Daily Forward, which is also responsible for the degradation of the Workmen’s Circle, and which was characterized | by the October conference in the following vords: “It [the Forward] has sunk to the low- est degree of shame and degradation. It has become the evil spirit of the labor movement, This evil spirit it has spread over the Work- men's Circle, transforming it into a place where there reign the interests of the bosses, the ideas of the bosses, and the sentiments of the bosses.” This spirit has now been spread also over the Independent Workmen’s Circle. United Front Against All Betrayers And now not only the former members of the Workmen’s Circle as well as the left and progressive members who have not yet quit the Workmen's Circle, but also the left and pro- gressives of the Independent Workmen’s Cir- cle, who cannot and will not separate them- selves from the sound creative forces of the working class, are confronted with the great task of freeing themselves both of the influ- ence of the black Workmen’s Circle clique and of the influence of the Independent clique. Our conference, representing the left ele- ments of both fraternal organizations, declares solemnly that the time is ripe to organize a new fraternal order for all those who follow the line of the class struggle. We have been patient. We have tried every possible means. We have gone far out of our way. We were ready to make compromises in order to unite all the left and progressive ele- ments of the fraternal orders, We realize now —and this is obvious to all the workers—that the Independent Workmen's Circle is no better than the Workmen’s Circle. Both are boss or- ders. Both serve capitalist interests. The October conference declared that the In- dependent Workmen’s Circle had “begun to move ever closer to the class-conscious section of the working class.” This remains true as far as the left and progressive majority of the Independent Workmen’s Circle is concerned. However, a crystalization has taken place in this order during the last few months, The left have become more class-conscious and more willing to struggle. The right have become more aggressive and have united with the Forward and with the Workmen’s Circle. The right are in control. The right have fortified themselves with an amendment making it im- possible for the order to serve the class strug- gle. The right have on their side the courts, the police, the whole capitalist state. The right will go to any length, even as far as breaking the order, to retain their domination. i.e. the power of the bosses over the organization. It is therefore absolutely necessary for the left and progressive members of the Independ- ent Workmen’s Circle to leave that organiza- tion and to unite with the former members of the Workmen’s Circle in a separate fraternal order. The situation is favorable. The revolutionary labor movement is growing. The struggles of the working* class are becoming more and more | stormy. Even the backward elements of the | working class begin to stir. When such a proletarian fraternal order is founded, it will be joined not only by seven to eight thousand former members of the Workmen’s Circle who have long shaken the dust of that organization off their feet, and not only by the progressive members of the Independent Workmen's Circle who cannot and will not carry the yoke of the black, but also by thousands upon thousands of workers who have so far stayed away from all fraternal orders, For all these elements we must build a new fraternal:order. Out of those elements there will be organized a powerful fraternal order whose aim it will be to serve the workers’ interests. We hereby agree to organize such an order, We appeal to all the workers to join the new order, The Program of the New Order (a) The Order must follow the line of the class struggle. Being an organization primarily devoted to mutual aid in the form of sickness, insurance and death insurance, the Order nev- ertheless does not confine itself to the narrow | limits of “benefits” and “cemetery,” but it lives | and works together with the fighting section of the working class. It declares itself to be an integral part of the proletarian class-front against capitalism, It declares that it is the task of the working class to overthrow the capitalist system and to build in its place a | Socialist system. It declares that the road to the Socialist system is the class struggle in all its phases, It is ready to go with the fight- ing workers in strikes, in the political move- ment, in all the struggles against capitalism. (b) The Order recognizes that, having its specific task, it nevertheless supports with its means and membership the struggles of all the economic and political organizations oi the working class that follow the line of the class struggle, Among those organizations, the Com- munist Party occupies the first place in the political field and the Trade Union Unity League in the economic field. The Order also LASS STRUGGLE IN FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS Text of Declaration Adopted at Conference of Left Wing and Progressive Branches of the Workmen’s Circle and Independent Workmen’s Circle, March 30, 1930 Not only has ! recognizes the importance of the work conduct ed by such auxiliary organizations as the In- ternational Labor Defense and the Workers’ In- ternational Relief, which help the victims of the class struggle. (c) The Order recognizes that the road to the liberation of the working class leads thru Sovietism. The Order declares that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics points the way for the working class of all the imperialist countries and for the oppressed masses of the colonial and semi-colonial countries. Together with all class-conscious workers the Order de- clares its readiness to defend the Soviet Union against the attacks of the in.perialist states, (d) The Order recognizes that the imperial- ist states, seeing the crisis of capitalism which is becoming ever deeper and broadex and which undermines capi-alist dictatorship, and seeing the great successes of the Five-Year Plan of Socialist construction in the Soviet Union and the growth of the revolutionary movements both in the imperialist and the colonial coun- tries, are preparing for war against each other and jointly against the Soviet Union. The Order recognizes as its duty to struggle against the war danger together with the entire work- ing class, (e) The Order recognizes that the capital- ists would long have been unable to withstand the attack of the broad working masses, were it not for the social-democrats and union bu- reaucrats who are nothing but agents of the bosses within the ranks of the workers and who strive to befog the consciousness of the workers, to weaken their energy, to demoralize their ranks and thus to keep them from fight- ing capitalism. The Order recognizes that every class-conscious worker Who is in earnest about the struggle against capitalism must fight, systematically and energetically, against the union bureaucrats and socialists who are turning more and more into social-fascists. (f) The Order recognizes that there is one realm where it ean develop a particularly fruitful activity—and that is in the realm of culture. The Order is aware of the fact that culture is a powerful weapon in the hands of the bourgeoisie to enslave the working masses, and that where the bourgeoisie, through its schogls, its press, its educational institutions for adults, and with the aid of the bourgeois intellectuals, pretends to “spread enlighten- ment among the masses,” it in reality spreads such information and influences the brains of the masses in such a manner as to make them obedient servants of the capitalist system. The Order therefore declares that it is its duty not only to develop its members culturally, but also to develop in a proletarian way, i. e. to give them a culture which will make their brains clearer, their will stronger, their ranks more united, which will mobilize ‘hem to struggle against the capitalist system and elevate them to the level of builders of a new society. The fraternal order, being to a degree only an aux- iliary organization of the class struggle, can and must utilize this favora!le position to help create proletarian culture, without which the class struggle cannot be sufficiently sue- cessful. The fraternal order must not only follow the line of the class struggle, but it must devote particular attention to educating its membership so that they may be prepared to conduct the struggle in every realm, In this respect the fraternal order is to follow a line which neither the Workmen’s Circle nor the Independent Workmen's Circle ever followed even at a time when they had not yet become hornets’ nests of betrayal. (g) The fraternal order must be built up not only of Jewish dMganizations but also of organizations speaking other languages. In other words, the Order must be an inter-lan- guage, international fraternal organization. There are in the United States large masses of workers belonging to fraternal organizations of other language groups; Hungarian, Finnish, Russian, Germaa, Ukrainian, Czecho-Slova| and other sick benefit societies and similar or- ganizations. 4 At present those organizations are isolated; some of them are weak; some suffer the yoke of a black fascist and clerical leadership. When the fraternal proletarian order is founded, all of them, entire organizations and minorities of organizations, will join the new Order. In this way a powerful center embracing scores of thousands of workers can be created within a short time. The line of the proletarian order is the line of uniting the broadest working masses, of freeing them from bourgeois domination, of freeing them from bourgeois influence, elevat- ing them to the level of the class struggle, strengthening their will, eluminating their way, letting them feel the power of organization and of international solidarity, incorporating them as a brotherly section into the great interna- tional struggle against exploitation and op- pression, In this spirit and with this belief we come mence building the new order, Workers! The time for building has come. You have suffered much. You have stood the severest test. You have remained faithful to the working class. You have not allowed your> self to be demoralized. You have stood firmly on the basis of the class struggle. Now the time has come to gather all the forces and at last to build up our fortress—a proletarian fra- | ternal order, Today the foundation is laid for the great building. We know that difficulties will not be lacking. We know that the enemy will try to interfere with our work. The enemy has many means at his disposal and he would not shrink before the worst crimes, Our strength, however, will be in our unity. New forces will come to the fore. New broad strata of the working class will join our Order. New life will begin to pulsate in our ranks, We shall ge into struggle. We shall march with our class. Long live the proletarian order! Long live the revolutionary class struggle! Forward to new work, new struggles, and new victories! GUST 1st DEMO NSTRATIONS!