The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 15, 1931, Page 4

‘ , i! Page Four 5 a by the Comprodaily Publishing Co., Inc., daily except Sunday, eet, New York City, N. ‘we Address and mail all checks to the Daily Worker, 50 Hast 13th Street, New York, N, ¥. 956 Y. Telephone Algonquin ORGANIZE THE STRUGGLE AGAINST DEPORTATIONS LYNCHINGS bosses government. rkers, not only foreign @ as well, de- ets and meeting were still not lions of workers all through the task is next to broaden and better or- on the Na- ruggle for Defense, of tions month for or- lynch- s. All through conferences of organiza- April we sha tions in every city, in every mining town all ugh the Unit tes. ‘Th conferences ize wide masses for May Day s of the foreign born class generally, ive a full picture i class. merely to enumerate the re the attacks upon the for- + th working class, 73, for the unity to divide the Negro the white workers. Mass., in order to break down d by the National Textile ‘kers government ordered the arrest of tarted depor n procedure against even though two of them were born in this of Akron. es manufactured intended to spit on several ¢ airship now being built in order to disable the Zeppelin.” aimed to lay the basis for a ion drive against the foreign 1d an even sharper attack against the unist. workers, since Kassay is @ sympa- r of fhe Communist Party. Louis Bebries, editor of the Hungarian work- paper “Uj Elore,” is under deportation pro- cedure at the request of the Fish Congressional for no other reason than that he state the aims of the Communist nting for relief for the unemployed, for Negro Rights, for the defense of the Soviet Union, ete. Serio, an Italian revolutionary worker, who came to this country as a political refugee, is to be turned over to the hangmen of Mussolini for his fig against fascism, if we will not be able to stop this action of the bosses’ govern- ment The, leaders of the oriental workers in this country, like Li and Wing, Chinese, and Ken- motsu, Japanese workers, have been ordered to be deported by the government. In Portland, Oregon, 12 immigrant workers had been taken in a raid on the Workers Cen- ter Hall and 13 others against whom deporta~- tion procedure could not be started, were also arrested charged with “Criminal Syndicalism.” Together with the Federal government, local organs for the persecution of foreign born are being set up in the different cities, like the Criminal Alien Bureau in New York City, where one of the most corrupt city governments, which shields the underworld and is part of it, rounds up the foreign born workers under the pretext of “fighting gangsterism.” n worker nmittee ‘PARTY LIFE Developing Local Forces By CLARA HOLDEN (South Carolina) NE of our main tasks is to develop local for- ces, so the workers of any given locality will be able to become organizers and also assume leadership in the coming demonstrations, strug- gles and strikes. Out of the many strikes we have led, we should now have hundreds of re- liable, militant leaders. We have failed badly— look at Passaic, New Bedford and Gastonia, and the little we have to show in the way of devel- oped workers and leaders. There has seemingly been a lack of confidence in the ability of the workers to assume strike leadership, and also to assume responsibility in the every-day ,build- ing up of our unions, Unemployed Councils and other organizations, Tm times of strife, certain “leaders” stand out. But there are many ways in which completely “raw” workers can quickly be drawn into leader- ship, during the building of our organizations. I find that workers assume leadership if it is just taken for grifnted that that is their job, In establishing locals of the National Textile Work- ers Union, or organizing Unemployed Councils, I explain at the yery first meeting that they must elect a chairman, recording secretary and any other necessary officials, explaining the job of each. It is a good policy to have a different chairman elected at each meeting, to draw as many as possible into assuming this responsi- bility. I have never yet known any group of workers to refuse these responsibilities—and they always do a pretty good job. In the course of meetings, it is good to have “5 many committees as possible elected, to do certain jobs, no matter how trivial they seem, and, as many different workers put on these committees, who will later report back. For instance, to find out the date of a City Council e, and Berkman, leaders of the | Ohio, | month | The persecution of the foreign born goes hand | in hand with lynching of Negroes and jailing | of native born workers. The flogging of Hurst | and Coder, militant workers in Dallas, Texas; | the sentence of 42 years imprisonment of the leaders of the Imperial Valley agricultural | Strike; the murder charge against 5 New Jer- sey textile workers; the lynching of 10 Negroes already this year, the legal lynching of 8 Negro youths at Scottsboro, Ala., the revival of the Michigan case against the leadership of the Communist Party; the clubbing and jailing of s of unemployed workers, picketers, 's, etc, shows the way to fascization in is country. In this situation we must also have our plan of action against the plan of action of the rul- ing class and supported by millions of foreign born, Negro and native white workers. In the month of A we must have in every city of the country, conferences, attended by delegates from societies of the foreign born workers, local unions, groups of shop workers, cultural organi- zations, unemployed councils, Negro mass or- ganizations, etc. At these conferences a definite stand shall be taken not only against the persecution of the. foreign born workers and Negroes, going on all through the country, but especially against those forms of persecution going on in these citiés. In those cities where the city conferences for the protection of foreign born were already held, the next task is to affiliate all organizations and to initiate such conferences in nearby cities and towns. The holding of the city conferences shall be the real start for a more organized and much broader struggle against deportation, against all forms of discrimination and against lynchings. Our struggle must reach the masses in the fac- ‘ies, shops, mills, mines, where discrimination tori against the foreign born and Negroes (low In this case | Conducted by the Organization Department of the Central Committee, Communist Party, U.S.A. wages, worse working conditions) is going on | and where there is a sper discriminatory lay off of foreign born worker Joint committees of action of foreign born, native white and Negro workers in the shops shall be created to lead a unified struggle ayainst discrimination in ‘nese shops and for affillation to the city com- mittees for the protection of foreign born. In every organization represented at the City Conferences or affiliated to the city committees | for the protection of foreign-born, a large group of members should be selected for active par- icipation in the day to day work of the com- mittee for the protection of foreign born. On every occasion, when the persecution of the foreign born workers demands demonstra- ticus and mass meetings, such demonstrations and mass meetings shall be held with the full cocptration of every organization affiliated to the City Committees or supporting the City | Committees. Protest resolutions and telegrams shall be proposed at such mass meetings to be sent to different Legislative bodies, State gover- nors, U. S. Department of Labor, etc., according to the case. Against local discrimination (ike refusal to hire non-citizens for public works, etc.) mass delegations shall be elected to present the de- mands of the organizations, affiliated or sup- porting the city committee for the protection of foreign born to the municipal government, back- ed up by mass demonstrations of the workers. All these organizations of workers who sup- port the committees for the protection of foreign born are called upon to also support the League | of Struggle for Negro Rights, the organization | fighting against lynching, Jim Crowism, segreg- | ation, etc., and supporting the struggle against | deportation and also the International Labor Defense, the defense organization of the workers. ‘The City conferences, mass meetings, the pub- lication of leaflets and other agitational material, protest demonstrations, the whole movement all through the month of April, shall be directed in such a way that the masses aroused for | struggle against deportations, lynchings and dis- crimination, shall participate in the great May 1st demonstrations, which will take a stand against the persecution of the foreign born, against the deportations and lynchings. On to the struggles for the protection of for- eign born! National Committee for Deportation of Foreign Born N. T. Nastas, Sec’y. the next meeting will report, and action taken on the basis of the report. In Greenville, about 30 different workers have been activized in a few weeks in this way. Committees have been elected to get the lowdown on the Red Cross; Others to get information on real estate sharks, so leaflets and attacks on them can be made, etc. etc. Being on these committees gives the workers a real feeling of responsibility for the organization, and it also helps develop them politically, and as speakers, One very shy worker in Greenville was on a committee to attend a certain “Help the Unemployed” racket, called by the mayor. When the chairman called on him for a report, he was very embarrassed but said a mouthful. He said: “There was nothing to it.” Next time he makes a report, or speaks, he will not say 5 words, but more likely a whole lot. It can also be taken for granted that the spokesmen of the committees will be the elected workers, not the full-time organizers. I have been on many committees in Greenville with workers and they have always been the spokes- men in talking to magistrates, city councilmen, or anyone else. Our policy is always understood and carried out if a meeting with the commit- tee is held before it goes into action. It surely is good training for them to speak in the name of thousands of workers and make demands on the city officials. When our Unemployed Coun- cil committee went to the City Council, two wo- men members, neither of whom had ever been in any labor organization in their lives, were elected by the workers to represent them, one to read our statement and demands, and the other to give a talk denouncing the stretch-out, low wages and mass starvation. Both took for granted, since they were elected that this was their job, and without any hesitation, went thru with it. . Cable: orker Dory USA. By mail everywh aie SUBSCRIPTION RATES: ——~ — : One year, $6; six months. $3; two months, $1; excepting Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, New York Ctiy. Foreign: one year, $8+ six months, $4.50. —— meme News Item: Gandhi Agrees to Wear Pants On Visit to King ASA _ By BURCK, Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Where have you been? I’ve been to London To Visit the Queen. Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, What did you There? I frightened a mouse Under her chair, as the Unemployed Council City Executive Com- mittee, should be made to feel a real respon- sibility to the membership. Workers who are unreliable and do not attend meetings should be removed from the committees. Members of the organization and members of the commit- tees should feel that the most capable and ad- vanced workers should be on the leading com- mittees—that they have a great responsibility, in that they plan and coordinate the work be- tween general meetings. It should be a specici honor and privilege to be on the leading com- mittees. However, they must never become is- olated from the general membership—their de~ cisions and actions must always be submitted to and endorsed by the members. They must real« ize that the strength of the organization de- pends not on them, but on the masses who elected them, and in whose name they function, It is very important at meetings, to draw as many workers as possible into discussions on the problems taken up; ask them for suggestions, criticisms, etc. In Greenville, at least 20 work- ers, white and Negro, take an active part in! the discussions at all our meetings, among them | always being several women, Women are particularly interested in problems of the home—food, clothing, fuel and rent, es- pecially when children are involved. Women can easily be activized and driven into leadership in the Unemployed Councils, where they can see something concrete in the demands for relief, against eviction, etc. In Greenville we have 12 women on the City Executive Committee of 34, several of whom are more active and militant than the men, There are many more women than men on our Brarich Executive Committees. From the very beginning, the workers should be made to feel that the organization is their | organization—that it is up to them to build it. In Greenville, probably 60 or 75 members of the Unemployed Council have taken pads of paper and signed up new members, The workers here also realize that it is up to them to help or- ganize the new neighborhood branches of the Unemployed Council, in the different parts of the city. It is obvious to them that one full- time organizer can’t do all the necessary work. At the last branch we organized, which was in a Negro section, 6 white and 1 Negro Unem- ployed Council member from two other branch- es, came to the meeting, spoke and helped es- | tablish the branch; four of them were put on the Branch Executive Committee of 11, It is especially important in the South, when white workers go to a Negro neighborhood, and help organize the Negro workers, In Greenville, we have just started. Our first outdoor meeting of the Unemployed Council was held March 2; our first indoor meting win our new headquarters on March 19. On March 30, when I left the city our secretary and several of the members (and by the way none of them Party members) said: “Even if no one comes in to take your place while you are gone, we will hold our regular mass meetings and Executive Committee meetings, When you get back, we expect to be able to report a lot of new mem- bers and the establishment of some new branches.”, Workers realize that because of the unbear- able conditions, bitter strikes and struggles are bound to develop, They realize it is up to them to prepare themselves for leadership of these struggles. They are ready to build up and as- sume leadership in the day to day jobs of our organizations. If we are to have mass organiza- tions, we cannot depend on a handful of hand- Picked outside organizers. To organize and suc- cessfully lead mass struggles we must depend on the workers. able to Exit Thompson- (Apologies to Mother Goose.) Enter Cermak By E, GARDOS. LECTION DAY is over and the capitalists are jubilant. A record breaking vote of 1,200,000 and a record-breaking majority of 200,000 for Tony Cermak, the candidate of the “Peepul’; both of “organized labor” and of the Association of Commerce, of the small tax-payers leagues and of the Big Businessmen Committee, of the Ladies’ Peace Societies and of the American Le- gion, “Prosperity comes back to Chicago” ex- claims a full page ad of the Tribune and there is a favorable reaction at the stock exchange. “Chicago has redeemed itself,” writes the social demagogue Wallace of the Daily News. “Foreign born workers helped to make our city, let us show that we are a real melting pot, by electing our first foreign born mayor.” Many misled workers. of Czecho-Slovak extraction, with the dagger of finger-printing and deportation over their head, feel proud as ever. Isn’t this a Horatio Alger story coming to life, how a mine boy—through hard work and sheer ability (of real estate speculation and graft) is a rich man today and the mayor of the second city of the U. S.? Isn’t democracy a great thing? exclaim the prostitutes of the press, pulpits and schools. Yes, bourgeois democracy, a “paradise for the rich—a trap and delusion for the poor.” And democracy is working fast. hours after the closing of the ballots, Cermak sits firmly in the saddle, 3,000 Thompson ap- pointees discharged and Col, A. A. Sprague, the big capitalist, in the office of Commissioner of Public Works, is checking up on all contracts. Cermak, before the picking of his new cabinet, decides on the immediate auditing of books, His post election statement is elaborating on the first | two main campaign planks, crime and taxation, but the third one—unemployment, entirely for- gotten. Expression of thanks to “our business men and great newspapers” but labor forgotten again by the one who called upon them, to “work for Cermak, he works for you.” And in the meantime preparations for a drastic “reorgan- ization” of the police department. The small bootleggers are cleaning up things, fearing a raid, while Capone sits with his six million a week business undisturbed. And the acting chief of police holds up the application of the Commu- nist Party for the May ist parade, because “we don’t know what the policy of the new commis- sioner will be.” Yes, democracy works very fast. Why Change in Mayor? Big Bill Thompson, a product of the old Lori- mer School of political leaders, the Tweed ring of Chicago, has outlived his usefulness. A big capitalist himself, surrounded by a group of cronies, who were in business for themselves first, he was not the ideal man for finance capi- tal, which since his first election in 1915, as- sumed undisputed control over the city. This of course does not mean that he did not sell him- self to the highest bidder. During the last year of his third and last administration, he delivered the $100,000,000 traction steal to Insull. His gang, relying upon a strong political machine, built upon money, upon the support of Al Ca- pone, the A. F, of L. leaders, and the Negro poli- ticians with the vest pocket wards, went a little too far. Spending money like “drunken sailors” they wasted, according to the Herald and Ex- aminer, $156,000,000 a year; built up an over- lapping system of boards and commissions with 48,000 job holders, who had only one ambition: to get rich quick, may the deluge come after- wards The tax rate has been raised over 20 per cent besides the increase in revaluation. With over $600,000,000 debts, the city has been facing bankruptcy in 1929. The bankers, led by Silas HH. Strawn, stepped in, gave a lift to the city, with definite conditions. These conditions were not held by Big Bull, who wanted to run the Forty-two years, but a good showman, as he is, he could not keep it up for ever. His antics against King George, his America First campaign, the Circus-Cowboy stunts could not fool all the people all the time. The world- wide publicity given to Al Capone, the latest ex- Posures of the unity of the government an gangsterdom were also too much to swallow. It gave a world-wide bad publicity to the city, driving business away, undermining confidence and jeopardizing the big world fair of 1933, the bootstrap Chicago capitalists want to get them- selyes out of the crisis and bring back prosper- ity. Things went too far and Thompson had to be discarded: And so it happened. The main opponent on the republican primar- ies, Judge Lyle, was too much smeared with oil of his former bed-fellow and he couldn't lick Big Bill, The Association of Commerce endorsed therefore A. J. Cermak, the boss of the Chicago Tammany Hall, a colorless, machine politician, without any particular abilities—but a good step- ping stone to get rid of Thompsonism. This meant the danger of the entire Cook County going democratic, but what is after all the dif- ference between the two parties? Following the primaries, after Mr. Cermak delivered his plat- form speech at the City Club, promising the kind of administration the bankers wanted, a “non- partisan” committee, representing the 59s of Chicago was organized for Cermak, which meant his election. The boss cracked the whip and the dogs fell in line. Durkin, Olander and other gangster leaders of the Chicago Federation of Labor organized their pro-Cermak Club, the dissident republican chiefs all jumped on the band-wagon, Epstein, Al Ca- pone’s attorney, spoke for Cermak, all news- papers, except the Hearst sheets, were full of eulogies for Cermak, full page ads, tons of liter- ature, thousands of endorsements. Big Bill was raving, he appealed to the “lowest prejudices” against the “Bohunk” while Tony calmly dis- cussed his issues; lower taxes, more. efficiency, better police, bring back business and thus elim~- inate unemployment, On the eve of the elec- tion, a raid on the City Hall, exposing City Sealer Seritella’s graft of low weights, which costs the housewives $75,000,000 loss a year, and this settled it. An ideal election weather, an ideal small bal- lot of two parties after the Communist Party had been_ruled off—and on April 8th Cermak occupied the City Hall while Big Bill retired broken hearted to his yacht-basin, worrying on how to spend during the rest of his life, his wealth of several million dollars amassed during the years of “public service.” What Cermak’s Election Means to the Workers. ‘The outcome of the election is the victory of Big Business. It means the consolidation of the dissident fractions of the republican party with the Tammany Hall of Chicago. A city govern- ment of the “most efficient and unselfish” peo- ple, under the actual leadership of Col. A. A. Sprague. Cermak, the democratic boss, states that he is going to draw in the best leaders of the other party into his cabinet. He is after the reorganization of the entire city adminis- tration, the saving of tens of millions for the “tax-payers”; and the “70,000” unemployed workers, depending on charities, he spoke of dur- ing the campaign are entirely forgotten. The “man with the heart” who used his grandchil- dren during the campaign to get votes, got what he was after, and the misery of the half a mil- lion unemployed with their starving children and \ grandchildren do not appeal any more to the ‘dear granddaddy.” He only listens to his mas- ter's voice, the editorials, speaking about his mission of saving Chicago, of the laurels that are By JORGE Pandora’s Box Her name wasn’t Pandora, however, but Vivian ' Gordon, and she was strangled to death in Feb- uary, and her body thrown into a New York park by someone interested in silencing her story of police graft. Oh, what a large-sized fuss the capitalist press made! The rabbis, and protestant preachers were, as usual, “shocked.” A tremendous hubbub arose at the revelation that policemen are mur- ) derers. | Now, dear reader, kindly point out to us what as been done about it! The cop Vivian Gordon | was going to squeal on is running around loose. | His name is Andrew J, McLaughlin. And | the big fuss raised by Police Commissioner Mul- | rooney, claiming that he had “got his man” by the arrest of a criminal named Stein, has been deflated by the failure of a grand jury to in- dict on the evidence Mulrooney said he had. It appears, indeed, that Mulrooney is merely try- ing to make this underworld character the fall | guy. Even if he is sent to the chair, that will | only prove that Mulrooney is a good framer. | And what about the “infallibility” of District | Attorney McLaughlin, whose “disregard for po- litical pull” was explained to all in the equally “infallible” World-Telegram? In fact the World-Telegram, which pranced all over the map demanding this and threaten- ing that, after a period of printing a box on the editorial page saying: “It is (so many) | days since Vivian Gordon was murdered,” under a big “WHY’-—has just let the matter drop. Did it find out why? But we, fools that we are, have a habit of hanging onto things. We have before us the February 28 issue of the World-Telegram. And we want to remind everybody that‘on page 2 of that paper, in an inconspicuous paragraph, it was said: “Memoranda in Miss Gordon’s safe deposit box indicate she was a close friend of Gaston B. Means, confidential aid to former Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty during the Hard- ing administration.” What do we make of that? Well, we make | a recollection that Gaston B. Means was once charged with murder of a wealthy woman, of strangling her if memory serves aright. And also we recall very distinctly that only a few months back this same Gaston B. Means was running an expensive office in New York for the Fish Committee, spending some pretty piece of money “investigating the Reds.” Likewise we remember that this same Gaston B. Means, on his hunt for “Red plots,” snooped around.a warehouse in Baltimore, as we recall, and finally called in Mr. J. Hamilton Fish him- self with a small army and a couple of five-ton trucks to “seize the evidence”—which turned out to be a crate of lettuce. And we wonder, dear reader, what the con- nection of J, Hamilton Fish with Gaston B. Means might have to do with the appalling si- lence that has fallen upon the bow-wows of the capitalist press in the case of the murder of Vivian Gordon, one of the gold-diggers of Hey- wood Broun’s upper underworld, * Done in Gold Secretary of Deportations, Mr. Doak, “insists upon paying dues” in a union. How, otherwise, could he maintain the pretense of being a uniom man? He has joined what is called a union, the National Federation of Federal Employes, which is, like the “wife” in the heart-throbbing ro- mances of the past generation, a union “in name ; only.” Not because the Federal Employes have no need for a real union, but because the leader- ship, composed of such Doaks as Doak, make of it a sort of organized prayer-meeting asking heaven to bless the administration, Anyhow, Doak has joined the union. And he rejected an honorary membership, as indeed he should since it lends no honor to the union. But the leadership mentioned above, in the ser- vile tradition also mentioned above, gave him a special membership card “done in gold.” We suggest that the “done in gold” letterings should say that “This is presented to Deporta- tion Doak by several lesser Doaks, in the name of workers who had nothing to say about it, several thousands of whom are about to lose their jobs, in recognition of his valuable service to capitalism.” spending agencies, to establish law and order by eliminating politics from the police department. ‘The fascization of the government is proceeding with 7 league boots. The World Fair Mayor is trying to make good. The son of the immigrant miners, this “self-made” product of sham, cor- rupt and decaying democracy, will outdo Big Bill the builder, the offspring of a wealthy, yankee family, in the attacks against the workers. Cannot Stop Growth of Communism. There is a bitter drop in the victory celebra- tion of the bosses and this is the protest vote for the Communist Party. Spitting their own con- stitution and statutes in the face, the Election Board and Judge Taylor decided that the only party of the working class, which complied with all legal requirements, shall not be on the ballot. ‘They did not want to have a red blot of Com- munist votes, increased many fold, before their victory drunk eyes. They had to take it in all right. The radio announcer, when reporting on the election returns, spilled the beans that the Communists got many votes, but they were not counted. The little red stickers, “I vote Com- munist” were eagerly grabbed by the workers al- though they knew that the votes wouldn't be registered. While the official returns only give us 127 votes, the Board had to admit that 6,000 ballots were pasted with Communist stickers. If they admit 6,000 which is five times the vote counted in the last November Congressional elec- tions, that means much more. The terror against the Communist Party will not separate us from the workers. On the contrary, every blow against our Party is being felt more and more by the workers, The McCormicks, Swifts, Sargents may jubilate over the victory of Tony, but their work- ers, who have to take one wage cut after the other, know who their friends are. They ruled our Party off the ballot on April 7th but they cannot stop tens of thousands of workers, under the leadership of the Communist Party and Trade Union Unity League, from demonstrating on May Ist, for the demands our election cam- paign fought for. Down tools on May Ist! workers, employed and unemployed, native