The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 27, 1930, Page 4

Published by the Comprodatly Publishing Co., Inc., New York City, N. ¥. Address and mail all checks to the Dally Worker, 50 East 13th Street, New York, N. Ys Page Four 13th Street, Telephone Algonquin 7956-7. Cable: daily, except Sunday, at 50 East “DAIWORK." By mail arywherg: One year, of Manhattan. and Bronx, SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $6; six months, $3; two months, $1; New York City, Foreign: One year, excepting Boroughs $8; six months,’ $4.50. = en = sy After the Marine “Strike” in Philadelphia By BR. B. HUDSON IN the early part of October the Marine Work- ers’ Industria! Union called a strike of long~- shoremen in the Port of Philadelphia. This strike failed because there was no organizational basis for it; no committees of action; no strike vote was taken, no kers involved in the strike commitiee or the preparations for the strike; and because the local organizers attempted to apply the strategy and tactics of the I.W.W. to the situation. In July, as a result of past mistakes, a prgoram of action was worked out calling for a campaign on the expiration of the tember, For three months and against a ied on. the work was to develop a strike 1 L.A. agreer of September Intensi: additional’ forces were drawn into the port. Because of the past agitation and the fact that the agreement was being renewed ers demanded that immediate action, the org strike, be taken. While there was no organizational response to the work, and no committees of action were es- tablished, a certain disatisfaction was evident amongst the longshoremen. The bosses and the L.L.A. did not know if the workers would strike against a renewal of the agreement. Probably due to our agitation, the Jongshoremen did not receive a direct wage cut. When the strike was called and our organiza- tional weakness was exposed, the bosses and the I.L.A. immediately took the offensive against the MW.LU. The morning after the strike was called the Union held an open air meeting. About 2,000 Jongshoremen attended the meeting. Fifteen policemen were there. Baker, the organizer of the LL.A. was at the meeting and attempted to get the soap box but failed. After the meeting the M.W.L.U. organizers, 10 or 12 of them, left in an organized group. Baker, shouted provoca- tive remarks against the Union. He had a well organized bunch of gangsters who attacked the organizers from the rear, bricks and bottles were thrown at them. The police did not interfere. Thousands of longshoremen followed the organ- izers who retreated under a barrage of bricks and bottles from the hands of these gangsters. Groups of gangsters were waiting in all of the alleys in the vicinity of the M.W.LU. hall. When our organizational weakness had been exposed the bosses determined to take advantage of situation and attempt to drive the union off the waterfront, The gangsters at the strategic points and the cooperation of the police proved that everything had been well planned and or- ganized. And to all appearances they were suc- cessful because the organizers weer forced to leave without, obtaining the support of the long- shoremen. For several days and nights the M.W.LU. hail was picketed by gangsters to in- timidate the members and organizers. It soon became apparent that the bosses were not only taking the offensive against the M.W. 1.U. but also against- the longshoremen’s living conditions and wages, During the past month the following indirect wage cuts have been re- ported and verified. 1. MacGees Stevedoring firm in Richmond have announced that they would not pay 85 cents an hour for dock men but would only pay 50 cents an hour. 2. On Monday, November 3, Murphy and Cooks Stevedores hired five gangs of men. At noon three gangs were layed off and 50 cents non- union men were hired in their place. 3. The stevedoring firm of Miley’s announced that they were only going to hire 50-cent car gang men, This aroused considerable resentment amongst the longshoremen, but the company continued using these men. However, when the M.W.1.U. issued a leaflet exposing this and the fact that the LL.A. would not prevent the wage-cut and calling upon the workers to take action themselves, the company discontinued this temporarily. This incident proves that the Union still has influence on the waterfront and that the bosses fear its power. In all of these incidents the I-L.A. has abso- lutely refused to take any action. The men have appealed to the officials and they have been ignored. On pier five a campaign of terror has been undertaken by the bosses to uproot the Union. ‘Twelve workers have been fired. The dock is flooded with stool pigeons. Police have patrolled the dock for a month. After terrorizing the workers, the bosses immediatel ybegan to worsen their conditions. During the past month on this pier new machinery has been introduced that displaces 34 workers, The amount of men used to work a ship has been cut down from 134 to 100. Along the waterfront their has been a general worsening of conditions, introductions of speed- up—and indirect wage cuts during the past month. And much of this worsening of condi- tions has been done by compsnies which for- merly were considered “good companies” by the longshoremen, These good companies have had to use 50-cent men in order to compete with the “bad companies” which have been using 50-cent. men for months. Immediately after the strike, the longshore- men were very much intimidated. To speak to them was to victimize them. They feared to enter the hall on account of stool pigeons. But there was not a reaction feainst the Union. The rank and file did no unite to drive the M.W.LU. off the waterfront. They were passive, and the fact that they did not respond to the strike call proves that they did not understand our program anc we had failed to involve them. But the facts of the past month have proven to them that our exposure of the I.L.A. was cor- rect and that our policy of “strike against wage cuts and against the renewal of the agreement” was correct, although the Union did not have the organizational basis for calling the strike. As one of them remarked “When the LL. A, gangsters threw bricks at you, they also were throwing 50-cent pieces at us, because the bosses are using more 50-cent men ever yday.” With the indreased worsening of conditions the longshoremen are losing their intimidation and fear. They do not come to the hall but they do stop the organizers and inform them of what is happening. They are taking more in- terest in the M.W.LU. and its Progress because they are beginning to feel that the Union is fighting for their interests. Every day the objective conditions are be- coming more favorable for establishing the M.W. LU. on the waterfronts. The Union must take advantage of these favorable conditions for or- ganizational work and for developing struggle by the correct application of the T.U.U.L. and R.LL.U. policies. Most of the mistakes we have made in the past have been due to the fact that we did not carry out the correct line as laid down by the T.U.U.L. Immediately after the strike many of the or- Sanizers, many of whom were ex-I.W.W.'s, doubted that there would be an immediate offen- sive by the bosses against the workers conditions, and that even if this happened the workers would have no confidence and would not respond to the MW.LU. Many of the mistakes of the Union have been due to the fact that the lead- ership has been composed mostly of former LW.W.'s. These men were drawn into the movement primarily because the Union was mak- ing progress and they saw possifilities of action. They brought with them their former ideology and have always resisted the program of the T.U.U.L, because they felt that their past ex- perience had taught the correct methods of organization and of conducting strikes. But the mistakes of the past have proven to this element the correctness of the T.U.U.L.’s program, and expensive as the lessons were, the M.W.LU. now has a leadership that understands, believes in and is willing to apply correctly the program of the T.U.U.L. and the M.W.L.U. The leadership of the Union must be strength- ened by constant self criticism and analysis of past experiences, This has not been done in the past. There really has been no development of the leadership by reviewing the progress and mistakes of the Union. This is proven by the fact that there never has been any discussion in the National Buro of the strike conducted in New Orleans by the M.W.LU. And although a Buro meeting was held re- cently, the strike in Philadelphia, why it was called, why the workers failed to respond and what were the effects, were not even mentioned. How is the Union to progress if it does not ad- mit its mistakes, analyze and thoroughly expose them? At the future Buro meetings this must change. And at the forthcoming National Committee meeting a relentless survey of the activities of the Union for the past six months must be made and upon the basis of the past activities of the Union and their results, a concrete program of action must be formulated that will enable the Union to consciously and successfully entrench itself amongst the exploited seamen and long- shoremen and lead them in struggle against the bosses. Right Opportunists. Were Hope of Sabotagers in Soviet Union . (This is the third of a series of articles show- ing who the sabotagers and counter revolution- ists were, who are now on trial in the Soviet Union. Previous articles told of the origin of the so-called “Working Peasants Party” of Kondra- tiev, and what its connections were with the im- perialist. war makers abroad.) eiy®. br. 0 MOSCOW, U.S.S.R. (By Mail).—The leaders of the “Working Peasants Party” fixed their hopes greatly on the riglft opportunist group in the Communist Party of the Soviet Onion, attempt- ‘ng to influence it to change the Party policy. Yhe Central Committee of the W.P.P, at- tempted to use the right Communists, the heads of Soviet institutions, to carry out their influence on the Soviet apparatus. ‘The information obtained in the investigation shows that in some cases they were able to util- ize right deviators at the head of Soviet organi- zations in order to carry out their policy in prac- tice. This was particularly the case in the land department, the financial department and the state planning department, Kondratiev stated in his affidavit that he never hid his political views from Sokolnikov, Theo- dorovich and some other prominent Communists, because they did not see any great divergencies between their views and his views on the main problems of current economic policy and the direction of the extension of agriculture. Suspicious Trustfulness. Tt can be seen from the statements of mem- bers of the Central Committee of the W.P.P. that some of the right deviators occupying prom- inent government posts, although they did not know of the existence of the W.P.P., well knew Kondratiev snd other members of the Central Committee of the W.P.P. personally, they knew. their political history and their present political views, and nevertheless they gave them unlim- ited confidence. Matters even went so far that Kondratiev received confidential material and documents from the Central Committee of the C.P.S.U, Kondratiev’s kulak party looked on the right group in the C.P.S.U. as a force which would drive events in the direction of carrying out the tasks in the programme of the W.P.P. Accord- ing to Kondratiev, in the struggle of the right elements against the Party, the W.P.P. regarded itself as a third force, which, in case of the victory of the policy of the right wingers, and the inevitable strengthening of the capitalist ele- ments as a result of this policy, could utilize the circumstances to seize power and form a gov- ernment of the W.P.P. with the participation to a certain extent of right-wing Communists. Kondratiev himself was doubtful that political events could remain at this level of development, but would probably go further, and the right Communists would be thrown overboard alto- gether. Therefore, the W.P.P, would be com- pelled to form a coalition government with cap- italist circles which were further to the right than they themselves. Still Further Right. The W-P.P. had its support also among the . According to Kondratiev's state- ment Sokolnikov told him that he considered Zinoviey and Kamenev to be men with right- wing convictions. Sokolnikov emphasized that when he was the Commissar of Finance and’ Kamenev #as the chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense, he was supported by Kam- “WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUMPKIN——” Some Facts about the Soviet Union By Labor Research Association. ‘HE worker who is bewildered by the current flood of vicious slander and abuse against the Soviet Union has but to turn to the Current History magazine for October. It would be dif- ficult to compile a set of statistics more effective in demolishing the picture painted by the New York Evening Post in its pitiful efforts to achieve @ “scoop.” The accuracy of the statements in the Current History article was verified by the Russian-American Chamber of Comerce. What are some of these statements? “The worker's wages have risen relatively and absolutely since the war. Real. wages in 1930 were 40 per cent higher; the benefits which the worker derives from social insurance legislation and social welfare provisions, are equivalent to a rise of 8 per cent in wages and living standards. “It is generally agreed that the workers in Russia now have plenty to eat” (bold face ours). Their dress is adequate and presentable. Some receive from their industries free fuel, free sup- ply of water, free electric light, free transporta- tion to and from work, free special working clothes, free medical and dental service. “If the worker's wife is employed in industry and becomes pregnant, she receives two months of rest and full pay before the birth of her child. After the child is born, she remains two weeks in the hospital, with competent nurses and phy- sicians at her disposal, all at the expense of the government. When she leaves the hospital, she receives a lump sum for the layette, and is gran- ted two more months of rest with full pay. For the following nine months she receives 25 per cent extra on her wages to cover the expense of child nursing. On returning to work, she finds creches for the baby and nurses to minister to her needs. In some factories there are special nurseries, now numbering thousands all over Russia, where children are taken care of while the mother works. During working hours mothers are given ten to fifteen minutes every three and a half hours to feed their babies.” Compare this state of affairs with the finding of Agnes de Lima, a competent social worker who investigated conditions in the woolen mills at Passaic, N. J.: “Three women told of witness- ing births of children in the mills, and several confessed to having worked up to the last day or two befere giving birth to their children. In families where children come quickly, the moth- ers return to their machines when babies are two or three months old. Several women ascribed the death or weakness of their children to the strain of heavy mill work during pregnancy, but asked with the cynical shrug so common among these workers, “What can we do?” Returing to the Russian article we read, in contrast: “Within thirteen years infant mortality in Russia has been reduced very considerably In 1911-13, 273 infants out of every 100 died. In 1924 only 21.7 out of every hundred died, and in 1926 the mortality dropped to 18.7 The Soviet. child is now physically superior to the child of the czarist regime. His weight has risen 10 per cent, his chest measurment has expanded 8 per cent and his height has grown 6 per cent.” “Education is now compulsory all over Russia. At the beginning of 1930 there were 12,000,000 children in the elementary schools of Soviet Russia, 50 per cent more than in pre- revolution days.” And while tens of thousands of American farmers are losing their heavily mortgaged farms, only to swell the ranks of the industrial unemployed, here’s what this capitalist maga- (ce eeeeneeeeee eneyv, but now he was not trusted by the C. 8.U. and it was impossible to carry out his line. When Kondratiev asked how it was that the right wing Sokolnikov was with Trotzkyism, it seems that the latter answered that this can be general political considerations. After the capitulation of the right wingers in November, 192, Kondratiev considered that the repudiation of his line by the right wingers was not genuine. Kondratiev states that the Central Committee of the W.P.P, considered that the right wingers would not lay down their arms. In support of this, in Kondratiev's opinion, were all those extravagances and distortions of the Party line in the yillages,. which were intended to strengthen the position of the right wingers in the Party and which increased the hopes of Kondratiev's party. Kondratiey bitterly con- cludes that all these hopes were shattered with the appearance of Stalin’s article in the name of the Central Committee of the Party, which rectified the party line and straightened out the situation in the villages. By CYRUS BRIGGS. Articlel 5 ( 'HE St. Louis convention of the League of Struggle for Negro Rights definitely placed before its membership and affiliated organiza- tions the essential immediate tasks in the strug~ gle against the white ruling class terrorism and oppression of the Negro masses and for uncondi- tional equal rights with all other nationalities. While the St. Louis convention decided upon @ loose form of organization of non-dues paying members and group affiliations, all branches of the League and all affiliated organizations will be expected to carry out these immediate tasks in their various fields of activity. Must Build Mass Organization. One of the most important of these tasks is the creation of an effective instrument of strug- gle “against the special persecutions and op- pressions of the Negro masses in the United States” and against the reformist: allies of the oppressing class within the Negro race: This must be achieved by building the League of Struggle for Negro Rights into a real mass or- ganization of Negro and white workers and poor farmers. In its manifesto to the workers, the convention pointed out: “Only through a militant struggle of the Negro masses under the leadership of the Negro work- ers in close alliance with the militant white workers can the Negro masses achieve liberation.” Must Rally White Masses for Negro Demands. And towards achieving this unity of white and Negro workers in the struggle for Negro rights, the convention gave the League a united leader- ship by electing white workers to its Executive Committee, among them William Z. Foster, Earl Browder, R. Baker and Clarence Hathaway—all well-known white workers and trusted leaders of the militant working-class movement in this country. The convention itself, with white work- ers from both the South and the North con- stituting almost one-third of its delegates was the first step of the League in this direction. The major task of the League of Struggle for Negro Rights is the rallying of the Negro and white masses to the fight against lynching and special oppression and in support of the demand for the right of self-determination for the Negro majorities in the “Black Belt’—state unity of the “Black Belt”—and confiscation of the land of the white plantation owners for the Negroes who work the land. Not only the-Negro masses and the northern white masses, but the white workers and poor farmers of the South must be won for this essential demand. This demand already exists in the consciousness of the south- ern Negroes, but needs crystalization and expres- sion. In the past it has manifested itself in re- sentment even to this day over the broken prom- ises of the republican party and the northern i zine article has to say about the Soviet peasants: “The situation of the poor peasant is a vast im- provement over that of 1917. Just before the revolution 130,000,000 peasants, 85 per cent. of the Population, owned 343,469,000 acres of land, 65 per cent of the total area. And 150,000 nobles possessed 35 per cent of the country’s natural wealth. The landlords took from the peasants 450,000,000 rubles a year in rentals and 200,000,000 more in interest on. loans and morgages. In addition the toll amounted to 1,485,000,000 gold rubles a year, or 18 rubles per head of the pop- ulation, | “The October revolution redistributed 370,650, 000 acres Of land to the peasants. Now 96.5 per cent of the entire land area in the country be- longs to them. In addition they have at their disposal 32,123,000 acres of forest land. The peasants are relieved of rent, mortgage liabilities, Tasks Set by Convention ot League ot Struggle for Negro Rights usurious interest on loans, for the burden of tax- ation now falls entirely upon the shoulders of the middle and rich peasants, the kulaks.” In Soviet Russia, taxation has been reduced to,only 4 rubles a head, while in prosperous America more than twice that much is annually spent for armanents alone. “Soviet workers freeze on breadlines!” cries the Evening Post. “Stalin assassinated!” yells the Mirror. “Red rule collapsing!” shriek the Hearst papers. What is the answer of the Amer- ican workers? ‘Tell your shop mates the truth abouth the Soviet Union. Expose the lies of the capitalist and A. F. of L, press. Support the Friends of the Soviet Union, the beh iene that 1s building a firrm link of solidarity the workers of the United States and the US.S.R. By BURCK capitalists of “forty acres and a mule” for each “emancipated” slave. It has shown itself in the struggle of the Negro farmers (Elaine, Ark. etc.,) against the control of the bankers and planters and for the right to market their own products. By demanding confiscation of the land, the cen- vention sharply concretized the struggle for the right of self-determination and state unity of the “Black Belt” as the only solution of lynch- ing and Negro oppression. On this point, the convention declares in its manifesto: Land Monopoly Basis of Negro Oppression. “The so-called ‘proclamation of emancipation’ only signified a formal abolition of slavery with- out removing its real basis, the monopoly of the land by the plantation owners of the South—a monopoly they still enjoy after the civil war— with the connivance and support of the so-called friends of the Negroes, the northern capitalists.” Qther tasks laid down by the convention in- clude the organizing of mass violations of all jim-crow laws, forming of defense groups of white and Negro workers for resistance to the bosses lynching terror; organized mass pressure on the United States imperialists for the removal of their armed forces from the “Black Belt” as @ guarantee of the right of self-determination of its Negro minorities; militant struggle for full equality of Negroes with all other nationalities by demanding the abolition of all forms of dis- crimination, disfranchisement, anti-marriage laws, segregation, Jim-Crowism, etc., organiza- tion of the Negro agricultural workers; estab- lishment of a united trade union movement that shall include the Negro workers on a basis of complete equality with all other nationalities and the cementing of a real fraternal solidarity be- tween white and black workers in the struggle A Paterson Commissar One of the points of the discussion at our recent Plenum was on approaching the worke ers. One of the evils noted was that of acting like a drill sergeant in ordering and commande ing the workers, instead of acting like a human being, convincing others, making them see the point and working with them in the tasks of the whole class. We returned to the office, to find on our desk the following excerpts from an article sent in by a Paterson comrade about the conference there for the protection of the foreign-born, About which the correspondent said: “All workers’ organizations and shop commit- tees'are to send delegates to this conference.” Which sounds a bit too much like a Top Kick giving orders to a bunch of rookies, And if they don’t obey orders, we suppose there’ll be a complaint that “the workers are “conservative” or something. Added to this was the categoric order to the Daily that: “This release is to be published in your paper beginning Tuesday edition until and including Friday.” The full carrying out of which may be or may be not possible. Anyhow, we had our orders, too. About this, one of the staff correctly remarked that: “This guy evidently thinks the revolution has already occurred.” epee Well, It’s Over Life is just one damn Plenum after another. But this last one of our Central Committee was described by one of our astute leaders as the “deflation Plenum.” That is, “less high-falutin talk and more practical work.” Which is all to the good, and was the key-note of the affair, in spite of one or two discordant speeches of comrades who insisted on splitting hairs over which came first, the hen or the egg. One of the shining examples of this was a comrade, who perceived in the speech of another comratie, a terrific importance between tweedle- dum and tweedle-dee. So he made a speech about it, offering exhibits “A.” “B” and so on, to prove his point, using up thrity valuable min- utes or so to keep the Party from slipping on a theoretical banana peel, but had to wind up by saying that it had all been explained already in @ Daily Worker editorial weeks ago. Now why didn’t he say so at the beginning, in the first three minutes, and devote the rest, of this time to concrete tasks and methods of work? Hanged if we know, unless it be an ingrown desires to show that he’s smarter than anybody else—as distinguished from actually being smarter. If he was so, he would have used the time to outdo everybody on the issues of the Plenum—approach to workers, partial demands, concrete and planned work, ee, eek: Aimee’s Vacation After spending a lot of time, and a lot of money contributed by “true believers,” Aimee Semple McPherson is at last back in her own wickiup in the city of the Angels. But Aimee had a strenuous vacation. Taking a boat from the Pacific through the Cana? Zone, she darned near set both the Pacific and Atlantic afire with her “goings-on” at the night-clubs in the gay ports of Panama. We suppose she had to do something to cele- brate that left uppercut to the nose she gave her mother recently between sermons on “turn- ing the other cheek.” But it was quite upsetting to a flock of faithful “four square gospelites” who had intended to welcome her at a Panama port. She was travelling and cutting-up under an assumed name and didn’t want to be bothered —nor exposed. After that exposure her trip was spoiled and she came to New York. What she did here we don't know, but since for their common interests; and the waging of an incessant struggle against the domination of the Negro masses by the reformist Negro petty bourgeosie and against the social bearers of white chauvinism in the ranks of the working class; the American Federation of Labor and the “socialist” party. On this latter point, the con- vention in its manifesto pointed out: “In order to obtain the moral support of the masses of the white population in the brutal op- pression of the Negroes, the white ruling classes and the hirelings create false “race theories,” purporting to “prove” the natural inferiority of the Negro people. In this manner the Negroes’ color becomes a badge by which he is singled out as an object of. scorn and hatred. By bribing a section of white skilled workers with higher wages out of the huge profits—a large share of which comes from the special exploitation of the Negro workers—the capitalists succeed for a time in interesting this section in the support of a hundred percent white Americanism. This group under the leadership of the A. F. of L. bureaucrats, “socialist” party, Musteites, etc., betraying their class interests for monetary gains, align themselves with the ruling classes not only against the Negro workers alone but also against the great masses of unskilled, for- eign born and native workers. The bosses with the connivance of the labor fakers strike to keep these later unorganized. So their lot is little better than that of the Negroes.” she arrived back home in Los Angeles on a stretcher, and is reported to be “ill and in no condition to be interviewed,” we imagine she must have connected up with Judge Crater. That guy Crater seems to erupt continually, and make every girl he touches take to the hos- pital. He must be downright pisen! Workers! Join the Party of Your Class! Communist Party U. S. A. 43 East 125th Street, New York City. Please send me more information on the Com- munist Party. Name ...seceee City see State srsscescoes Occupation .....ssscesesseecceseress ABC coveee -Mail this to the Central Office, Communist Party, 43 East 125th St., New York, N. Y. Spread the Daily Worker mate to subscribe. T hereby pay $. Name «.sseee City . I work in . New York City. Readers, join the campaign for 60,000 circulation by sending your own subscription or renewal. Use the blank below. Daily Worker, 50 Wast 13th Street, New York City. Tear off and mail directly to the Daily Worker, 50 Hast 13th Street, NOTE: Print all Names and Addresses clearly to avoid error. Get the paper regularly. Get your shop- steeeeeeeeeeececeeeseesesesesees (Date.) -months subscription to the pda sults AUANDMN) 3 .Mioua bats sbumeGaNi en Vases Btate ..scecccccsessccscecsecenens » Industry, | By JORGE ne |