The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 16, 1931, Page 4

Pub 4 py the Comprod Publishing Co., Inc Page Four 18th Street, New York « N. Y. Telephone Algon rt e Address and mail al] checks to tne Daily Worker, 59 East 13th Street, New York. N.Y, HUNGER MARCHES By L. AMTER tate capitols re- e development of ance, and and organiza- ally Albany, starting ively, and among in th country, e ready not mployment in- loyed workers e filled with raordinary. The understood the not surprise them. es, it was clear that nal work had to be done plan of march had to ; the route had to be Jay-overs be measured sion had to be made for food as done by two comrades— ‘s International Relief, and Trade Union Unity League. the route mapping out for lodging and food, d unemployed councils response for food and lodging for the ) on the way to Trenton and Al- ble. In some places Workers ‘coups were set up. In no contacts previous to the workers were inti- de secretly for food at helping to supply the for the marchers to put up rs. On both marches, is were formed, the demonstrating in their respec- towns for unemployment relief, but also preparing the workers of the city for the reception of ‘the marchers as they passed through. The march was one succession of enthusiasm. The Albany march starting from New York City, departed from Union Square, marching up Broad- way to 42nd Street, through the heart of the city. There the men boarded trucks, which were pro- vided for the long country stretches, and then proceeded on the way to Albany. Everywhere, beginning with New York,-the marchers were the recipients of cheers.and ovations. Further along the road—Yonkers—where the state cos- sacks began to interfere, the workers of the towns were intimidated. The marchers were not allowed to get out of the trucks, once they par- ticipated in the mass meeting arranged by the Workers Ex-Servicemen’s League in Yonkers, The state troopers forced them to keep going along the road, despite the fact that they had a per- mit to hold meetings in several places. But what does a state trooper care about a permit? What does he care about the-fact that he has no authority in a city or town, but only along the highway? He has a gun in his pocket, a long baton in his hand, and that is the LAW! Neverthele: along the route, meetings were held in the cities, before factories, in the squares. Everywhere the workers greeted the marchers on their entrance to the city, accompanied them through the city, to the meeting place. Every- where, they gathered round the marchers, asking questions, telling them about conditions in the factories of their towns, the unemployment situ- ation, etc, At night, it was difficult to send them away, they continued to speak and ask questions. | and the ‘sehutt | ing that their representatives be heard. This was | that many of them will not forget. | panied by thé workers of Albany When the marchers arrived in Albany, meeting the detachment that came from the west from Buffalo and other cities, the reception by the Albany workers was inspiring. Marching through the city with banners and placards, and accom- they went to the hall arranged for their organization, prior to going to the State Capitol. The battle in the State Capitol at Albany was a brave battle. The strategy of the committee approaching the State Assembly had been worked out, and the marchers, some in the gallery of the Assembly, others in the street to hold a meet- ing before the capitol, were prepared. When the three spokesmen, one after the other, were denied the floor and thrown out of the capitol, the men in thé\gallery began the fight, demand- a fight that showed that the Hunger/Marchers, starved as some of them were (18 of them took sick at Yonkers, where they had the first meal, because their stomachs were not used to food), are a determined group. Although they had to deal with husky, burly state troopers with their heavy long sticks, and they, the march had no weapons, they delivered blows to the cossacks, All the fighting, as the marching, was done in an or- ganized manner. When retreating out of the as- sembly, chamber, the marchers reorganized their forces, marched down the stairs—and then some of the marchers, enraged, wanted to return to the assembly chamber to give the troopers an- other drubbing. But better counsel prevailed, and the marchers, accompanied by thousands of Albarfy workers, returned to the hall and held a meeting. The next day they returned to their homes in trucks, debarking at the towns from which they came as the trucks passed through, to hold meetings in these towns. Arriving in New York City on March 4, the night of the Ruthenberg Memorial meeting, the marchers went to the meeting in disciplined ranks, and were received with an ovation, Many of them spoke—and there it was announced that of the more than 180 who went from New York City on the march, 56 of the best had joined the Communist Party. The march to Trenton was equally effective. In some of the places, Carteret, for instance, the entire town turned out for the march, and ac- companied the marchers far outside the limits of the town, insisting upon meetings. Everywhere the same reception. When arriving in Trenton, a splendid group of the Trenton jobless met them and marched with them to the hall that had been prepared. Similarly to the march to Albany, the march was preceded by leaflets, an- nouncing the coming of the marchers. Along the route, leaflets were distributed, telling the workers the aim of the march. and Labor Unity large quantities. At Trenton, the committee of the marchers did not succeed in getting to the floor of the As- sembly, being outmaneuvered by the sly politi- cians, who did not dare to let the committee speak, While the committee was detained in a side room, practically under arrést, the workers demonstrated before the Capitol, remaining there for several hours. ‘The Hunger Marches made a tremendous im- pression upon the workers of the towns through which they passed. The workers clamor for or- and literature were sold in Unity League to organize them. The workers showed everywhere that they are ready to fight for the Workers Unemployment Insurance Bill and for immediate relief. In our next article, we shall deal with some organizational aspects of the march. The Socialist Party in Action By O. EVERETT. Y Gute to its historic role that it will be called upon to perform to save the capitalist system from destruction by the working class, the so- | cialist party is already beginning its venomous work. This work will be increased in accordance to the increasing resistance of the workers to the attacks of the capitalist class. One can under- stand that and the estimation of the S. P. by our Central Committee as well as the need to carry on a relentless struggle against the third capitalist party when one witnesses it in ac- tion.« Its growing importance to the capitalist Class can be seen readily in the pre: and unemplo. nt. «Particularly is it true in those places where cose the S. P. has any strength and especially where they are in control of the administration or where they have representatives in the legis- lature. This policy of servility to the bosses and betrayal of the workers can be clearly seen in Pennsylvania. On January 6 the socialist rep- resentative in the state legislature of Penna. in- troduced a bill on Unemployment Insurance. The bill itself at first glance seems to be almost revolutionary, Amongst other things it contains such demands at $12.00 to $25.00 a week for un- employed workers. It also contains a provision that workers should not be forced to act as strikebreakers and to accepting lower wages. But on a thorough examination one finds that there is provision which states that no worker is to receive unemployment insurance unless he can prove that he was not at fault when he lost his job. Also that the committee which is of course to be nominated by the government is to investigate first. These two provisions and most important of all that this bill is to come up in the next meeting of the legislature which is next year are the only “drawbacks”. On April 8th the bill was given a hearing by the house committee on pensions and gratuities. Mr. Hoopes had brought with him as supporters of the measure six speakers. All of those in- cluding two ladies and Jim Maurer, who himself was a member of the legislature and a pro- fessor of some research institute, carried on their speeches in a most academic manner. But all thru the speeches you could notice one thing and that was that they were afraid that if the workers were left to starve something would happen to the capitalist system. In fact Jim ‘Maurer who was the main speaker said as much as that in so many words. Upon the conclusion of his speech the chair- man asked whether there were any opponents to the bill who would like to speak against it. The representatives of the Unemployed Council of Bhiladelphia got to ask for the floor, Not in opposition to Unemployment Insurance but to the provisions in the bill. The chairman asked him whether he is opposed to the bill and when he would not come outright with that he is ‘opposed to it after some bickering he was cut off and the hearing Was adjourned, Now & is i heath a | | | | \ | my opinion that we should have come out open- ly stating our position and why that bill was no good and why we opposed it. As it is how- ever we will have to expose the fake bill and the fake move of the socialist party on Unem- ployment Insurance by other means. Why is this a fake move on the part of the S. P.? The following will prove that and it will also prove that we must not be overwhelmed by Parliamentary trickery in being afraid to come out openly against such a bill. I have ment- joned above that that bill will not come up in the house until the next session of the legis- lature, if it comes up at all,since the local news- papers come out’ openly stating that it will be shelved by the committee. The socialists knew that, they also know that a bill for unemploy- | ment insurance can only be passed not through the speeches of politicians in the legislature even if. we had some Communist members there; but the organized mass pressure of the workers, both employed and unemployed, under militant leadership, backing workers’ rep- resentatives in the legislature. Such a leader- ship cannot and will not be given by the S, P, It can only be given by the Communist Party and the Revolutionary Trade Unions affiliated to the Trade Union Unity League, This action then is only taken by the S. P. in order to ap- pear before the workers as the champion of their cause in order to betray them later, This is so especially when one can see the socialist party in Reading where they are in control of the city administration. They are evicting workers just as it is done in other cities in the state, Even the “relief? which was forced out of them through the mass activities of the ‘Unemployed Council of Reading is now being cut off, ' such actions of the socialist party make it more incumbent upon the Communist Party and the Revolutionary Trade Unions to intensify ‘our * fight against the traitorous third eapitalist party. They must be exposed to the utmost. ‘This double policy of “championing” the cause of the workers in the parliaments and suppressing the workers wherever they are in control must be | AGGreSS sseccoceseeee taken more seriously than ever before. We can- not consider the socialist party as a party which | City ....scsceccessceee takes part in the elections only, The socialist party has entered actively upon the same road as its brother parties in Europe, namely, that of saving capitalism for the bosses, Daily Workers | By mail everywhere: One year * ‘its et Mavhatian and Bronx, New vin tiv Kure ths $1 38- in one vear {| | PARTY LIFE Conducted by the Organization Department of the Central Committee, Communist Party, U.S.A. | Irresponsibility of Some Party | rallies, mass organizations, forums, etc. ganization—and it is the task of the Trade Union | Speakers By N. R. (Chicago) INE of the big shortcomings in our work: is a lack of responsibility on the part of Party members. This shows itself in connection with getting speakers for our mass meetings, election In Chi- | cago we have scores of meetings every week and | this means we need many speakers. Most com- rades who are called on .to speak are naturally busy with all sorts of work for the movenient. But too often this work serves as an excuse for an unwillingness to speak to the masses. We have comrades who after they promise to speak at a meeting become “sick” a day or a few hours before the meeting and they depend on God or somebody else to take care of the meeting. Of course, workers come to the mect- ing and are turned away. Another case. A comrade is assigned to speak at a Forum on “building the Revolutionary Trade Unions” where | we are making contacts with men working in | the Northwestern R.R. shops. He doesn’t show. up because he couldn’t find out where the Forum was located so he decided to stay home. It was too hard for him to phone the District Office to find out! More than 30 workers showed up and the Forum was called off. This is more than lack of responsibility. It is criminal work inside the Party which cannot be tolerated. ‘Then we have the case of one comrade active in Trade Union work who simply would feel in- sulted if asked to speak at an election rally, etc. I don’t want to go into the content of some of the speeches but even among leading com- rades in the section, it seems from the speeches that these comrades don’t even read the Daily or some of the District Outlines and Facts for Speakers. It is no wonder they speak endlessly on the Chinese Revolution at an election rally and say very little about the bosses’ candidates, and the local issue, let alone the Communist Party program which has appeared in pamphlet form. Comrades who show irresponsibility when called on to speak surely can not be depended on to do other Party work, “A Bolshevik considers it his first duty and a great opportunity to speak to masses of workers, to win them for revolu- tionary struggle, to organize them. Workers! Join the Party of Your Class!. Communist Party U. 8, A. P. O. Box 87 Station D, New York City. Please send me more information on the Com- munist Party. Name eens Bate -.ccecceeee +Mail this to the Central Office, Communist In view of that we must utilize all means at | Party, P. O. Box 87 Station D, New York City. our disposal to destroy the illusions among the workers that the socialist party can do some- thing for them. The best way of doing that is to engage the Unemployed and Employed work- ers in a mass struggle for Unemployment In- surance and Immediate Relief and the whole program of the revolutionary movement. We must not be cowed by some capitalist politicians into a position where we couldn’t come out open- ly against that fake bill on Unemployment In- surance of the socialist party. "the imine” Huner Atareh tn the state Angly, ~ Pennsylvania must be organized to mobilize thousands of workers around the issue of Un- employment Insurance and immediate reliet. Our Stay over in Reading must also be used to open the eyes of the workers there to the true nature of the socialist party as the | y of the bosses, But above all we must arouse the whole party to the realization that the socialist party is: a serious danger and eonduct our fight accord~ eee menaetinn Menge od The Scottsboro Lynch Verdict — By TOM JOHNSON. EGAL lynching on a mass scale in Alabama is to reach new heights if the plans of the State to burn eight young Negro workers in the electric chair July 10 go through. In addition the State will try to send a ninth Negro youth, Roy Wright, 14, to his death with them. These nine Negro hoys, only one older than 20 years, have been convicted in the Scottsboro circuit court of “forcefully ravaging and debas- ing” two white girls who were their fellow pas- sengers on a freight train in Northern Alabama. The verdict of the all-white jury of local business men and farmers was returned in a tense at- mosphere of Jynch law and violence with a men- acing crowd of 10,000 white mountaineers willing. through the strets of the little village of Scotts- hore, This determination of the white ruling class of Alabama to burn these nine Negro boys in the electric chair is not motivated by any desire to protect the virtue of “white womanhood.” In a period of sharpest crisis, with armed warfare between the oppressed croppers and the despotic white landlords smoldering on the countryside, with hundreds of thousands of half-starved Ne- gro workers tramping the streets of the towns and daily growing more desperate and with a revolutionary force new to the South, the Com- munist Party at work crystallizing and organizing for action this revolutionary ferment, the white bourgeoisie finds it necessary to fling in the face of the oppressed Negro people the charred bodies of nine young workers as a warning that the lynch law of the white bourgeoisie still reigns supreme, It is a grim reminder that the ruling .class will sink to any depths of brutality and bloody repression to maintain its oppressive rule and to smash any revolt against this rule. By this act the white bourgeoisie serves notice to the masses of Negro toilers, now stirring rest- lessly and groping as yet blindly for a way out from their poverty super-exploitation: “Take warning! Accept stervation and semi-slavery as your inevitable lot, for the first signs of revolt against our rule will be met with the bloody fist of ruling class violence.” The attempt of the white bourgeoisie by means of mass murder, to stem the advance of Negro toilers, with the Negro proletariat marching at the head, must and will fall to the ground. This attempt at legal lynching will react as the great- est impetus to the development of a powerful revolutionary national movement of the Negro masses in the South. On the bloody stage at Scottsboro the white bourgeoisie has unwittingly dramatized in the sharpest and most vivid colors the whole system of national oppression which has as its aim the subjection of a whole nation, millions strong, to the unbridled exploitation of the white rulers, To the most backward Negro toiler it is clear that no “justice’—even of the doubtful variety “enjoyed” by the white workers under the rule of capitalism, could be expected by those nine Negro boys in the Jim Crow capitalist court of Scottsboro, It is clear to all that as long as the Negro is denied every political right, as long pS a whole nation is denied the most elementary “democratic rights,” “Scottsboro justice,” that is lynch-law justice with the full support and active cooperation of all courts and state organs of the white bourgeoisie, will be the order of the day. Further, this trial reveals to all who care to see that lynch law is not the product of “irre- sponsible actions by uneducated and degenerated whites” which can be removed by educational methods, as is consistently maintained by the white liberals of the South and their the Negro reformists, but that it is an essential part of this whole system of national oppression on which are based the super-profits of the Southern industrialists and landlords. From these plain facts the Negro toilers will draw the proper conclusions. They will realize that it is impossible to fight lynch law, whether it be of the legal or extra-tegal variety, by itself. ‘They will learn that to destroy this infamous ‘institution of the white bourgeoisie, the whole system of national oppression must be. destroyed ‘and the Negro masses. must win the uncondi- tional right to govern themselves as they, seé fit ow! Don’t You Know May First Is Child Health Day?” excepti s Boroughs six months, $4.50. By BURCK. butlp a | and of every white worker in that whole section of the outnumber the whites. But it is not enough that the Negro masses draw these conclusions. With this legal mass |murder as a starting point there must be deyel- | oped the broadest possible mass movement for equal rights for Negroes, including the right ot the Negro toilers*to govern themselves as they see fit, and against the rule of the white bour- geoisie which denies every democratic right to the Negro people, ‘This struggle must not become the fight of the Negroes alone. It musi be- come the common cause of, every Negro toiler well. Around the issue of this trial there must be built up a fight- | ing united front of the oppressed Negro masses | and the revolutionary white proletariat and | croppers, against the oppressive rule of the white bourgeoisie. ‘The Communist Party in the South will organ- ize and will lead into the struggle this fighting united front. The Communist Party has raised the fighting slogans of: Stop the legal lynching of nine Negro work- ing class boys! These boys are innocent; demand their im- mediate release! Demand a new trial before a jury composed of workers, at least half to be Negroes, to ex- pose this frame-up! Equal rights of Negroes in all courts! The National Guard is a tool of the land owners and capitalists! An armed volunteer guard of Negro and white workers to defend the prisoners against these lynchers! Landlords are inciting the starving white tenant-farmers and share-croppers to lynch Negroes; the landlords and capitalists and net the Negroes, are starving the tenant-farmers, both white and black, Demand immediate cash relief for starving farmers and unemployed workers—Negroes and | whites equally! | Down with peonage, Jim-Crowism and per- | secution of the Negro people! For full equality! _ For a fighting alliance of the oppressed Ne- gro people and the oppressed white workers and tenant farmers! Demand the confiscation of the land from the landlords for the Negro and white tenants and croppers! Negroes can never get “justice” in the courts of the white capitalists and landlords! Demand the right of self-determination for the Negro people—the right of a Negro state in the Black Belt! Stop the lynching of nine Negro working class boys! Death to lynchers! South where they International Pamphlets Issue First History of May First ‘The publication, by International Pamphlets, 199 Broadway, New York, of Comrade Alexander ‘Trachtenberg’s “The History of May Day,” for the first timeymakes available in English a com- plete record of this traditional working class celebration. Like all others of the volumes in the International Pamphlets Series, the little book, while brief and popular, is at the same time complete and accurate. This is No. 14 in the series, having been preceeded by “Youth in Industry.” Comrade Trachtenberg deals with the struggle for a shorter work day, which began with the 8-hour day movement and is indissolubly bound up with the First of May as a day of working class political action and demonstra- tion.. He shows the complete course of the battle for a shorter work day, starting with the introduction of the factory system in this country and definitely formulated more than forty years ago, This pamphlet 1s particularly important be-~ cause May First as a working class holiday is the outgrowth of the struggle in this country, “The Paris decision (to adopt May First),” says Comrade Trachtenberg, “was influenced by a 4ecision made at Chicago five years earlier by, | Relation of the Worker: | emphasi Recfmta Mexican Storks Being busy reading capitalist press reports about those horrible Soviets, where “loose morals” are supposed to be rife, we overlooked something, and are thankful to a Frisco reader sending us a Clipping from the magazine “Time” of February 16, this year. In it, we find a series of pertinent or, perhaps, impertinent, letters to the magazine “Time,” be- cause, in its issue of Jan. 26,1931; it had printed the following: “Born to Plutarco E. Calles, 52... and Senora Calles (Leonora Lilorente), 28, @ son. Senor Calles married Senorita Liorente last August.” To the above item, published, we repeat, on Jan. 26, 1931, one inquirer merely enumerates: “August, September, October, November, Decem= ber, January—????” Another asks: “Is this a mistake or are things different in Mexico?” To another who wants to be sure, “Time” repeats that the Calles “were married August 2, 1930.” To another who asks if births occur “only - five months after,” “Time” replied: “In the U. S., there is no record of a premature child being born under six months and living.” A gent in Philadelphia, who says he can count from August to January on five fingers, is left unanswered on his question: “What type of storks are employed in Mexico?” And to Senor Calles himself, who protested that “Time” did not “state the pure truth, to the effect that my boy was born prematurely,” the magazine replies it merely stated facts, ad- | ding that -the report about the birth occurring during an earthquake was inaccurate, and gives the date exactly as 8:25 a.m., Jan. 25, 1931. Perhaps Dwight Morrow before returning to the U. S. to become U. S. Senator, arranged for the American speed-up system. Pie hi What Lenin Said “Should one under all circumstantes condemn a member of the Social Democratic Party (now the Communist Party—Jorge), for the declara- tion, ‘Socialism is my religion, as one would for the propagation of points of view which ecor- respond to that declaration? Oh, no. A devia- tion from Marx and therefore from Socialism is very definitely here, but the making of this de~ viation, its specific gravity, it were, can vary in different situations. “It is one thing when an agitator or someone coming before the masses speaks in this way, in orfier to be better understood, to draw interest into his subject-matter, to express his point of view more vividly in forms which are more ac- cessible to the undeveloped mass; it is quite an- other thing when a writer begins to propagate some god-construction, or ‘god-constructing’ So- cialism... Just as in the first case censure would only be captious cavilling or an uncalled for li- mitation of the freedom of the agitator, the freedom of the teacher's methods of work, so in the second cas?, censure by the Party is ne- | ‘Socialism a form of tran- religion to Socialism, but for the other alism to, religion.” -- Lenin, in. “The Paity to Religion.” (The is ours—Jorge). ee cessary and obligatory. The maxim, my religion’ is, for the one, ion fron from A Good Time Was Had By All We didn’t happen to be listening in Saturday, when WCBM was broadcasting from Baltimor but we have heard that stuff before, so we missed nothing. This is about the Third Annual Conference of the “Intercollegiate Liberal Conference,” held at the John Hopkins University at Baltimore, where among the list of “liberals” were the fol- lowing two social fascists: Jay Loyestone and Norman Thomas, \ i No doubt that this is according to the Love- stone ideas of the “united front.” Which re- ; minds us of the dilemma the renegades must. find themselves in. They are continually belly- aching because the Communist Party insists on making a united front with honest workers, and for action against capitalism, instead of making a united front with such counter-revolutionary “leaders” as themselves to “discuss” how to save | Capitalism, But, we wonder, when Loyestone expels Bertie Miller, and Cannon expels Algernon Weisbord, | whether these retiegades. are clamoring to get | into a “united front” with the renegades who expelled ‘em, and whether they are received with the same hearty welcome as all “honest” social fascists, such as Normie Thomas. There ought to be some rules me go by. . The Poor Things! From the demagogic “World-Telegram” of this village, we extract a tidbit from Augusta, Georgia, where on April 14, Rome C, Stephenson, president of the American Bankers’ Association, spoke in favor of wage cuts for the workers. To justify this point of view, we are told the fol- lowing: “He pointed out that both bank money and invested capital had already taken some ‘very serious cuts’ in the form of Idwered interest rates and reduced on omitted dividends.” How dreadful! Let us take, for example, the impoverished family of Henry Ford, composed of three hard working capitalists. The Ford family in 1929 took $80,000,000 in profits out. the hides of the Ford workers, but just look ho they. suffered during 1930! of $44,000,000 profits! And poor little Edsel crying for bread! Nothing to eat in the house but fried chicken, lobster, Waldorf salad and caviar! The shi threatening to evict the family from Dearborn Ah, it is enough to make one's heart bleed! How unfeeling are those unpatriotic Commu: nists who demand all the Fords be taxed to pa’ a lot of idle workers who really don’t want work, unemployment insurance! And to that they are going to demonstrate for it right out in the streets on May Day! delegates to a young American labor tion.” Besides the text, this pamphlet contains number of illustrations showing the day as on of struggle. “The History of May Day” con: tains material elsewhere unavailable. Is shoul be read by every worker and used particular! in Party Units as a basis for discussion of Ma; First. The pamphlet be ordered from Work: ers’ Library, Publ 50 E. 13th St N, Discounts on the 10 camh prias ere etneees quantity, orders, ar pees ) \