The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 27, 1931, Page 4

rubiished by the Comprodaily Publishing Co., Yae, @ally except Sunda ¥. Telephone Algonquin 7956-7, Cable Address and mail all checks to the Daily Worker, 50 East 13th Street, New York, N. ¥. Page Four 13th Street, New York City. N. t 60 East AIWORK.” Daily, 2 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By mail everywhere? One year, $6; six months, $3; two months, $1 éxcepting Betonens ot Manhattan and Bronx, New York Ctly, Foreign: one year, Worker |»... $8- six months, $4.50. Racketeering--A Capitalist Govern- ment Institution x By I. AMTER. ILL THONPS the ex-mayor of Chicago, B failed of reelection, and no doubt if he has had not been so clever, his relation to Al Capone wn up the corruption of the re- machine in Chicago and its very close to the underground. Jimmie Walker is r of New York, and the charges that n hurled at his Tammany Hall machine all measure the graft and cor- i part not only of the Tammany Hall machine, but part of the entire capitalist system, so that it has become a fixed institution n. nknowing worker it may appear that there may be good and honest capitalist poli- ticians, and dishonest men, and that the removal 1e latter will give the people honest admin- ‘That is not only the attitude of many wor but the excuse of Jimmie Walker and of Norman Thomas. “Bad men in office” today are supposed to be the cause of maladministra- tion of office, and therefore the republicans and the socialists in New York City, working through t airs Committee,” headed by two s, John Haynes Holmes and Rabbi Ste- ng to heaven about the of is 5. ers, ion in City Hall Is there graft and corruption in City Hall? Mayor Walker denies it, although he made feeble, well covered pretences of investigating the sit- uation. His investigations resulted in nothing, for a real investigation would have shown the | rotten corruption of the entire Tammany Hall nine, as the ruling machine of Wall Street finance capital in New York City. Can there be an honest capitalist administra- tion? To answer this question, one must ask whether honesty is possible under capitalism? Not only honesty as the worker understands it, but honesty according to the capitalist “moral code.” Capitalism is based upon private proper- ty, and competition. Out of this grows the spirit of greed, based upon the motto “get rich.” In getting rich, the private property owner cannot consider the method employed, but necessarily resorts to any channel that will bring him to the goal. This results in unscrupulousness, greed, pillage and plunder. of the worst plunder, murder, corrup- tion and resort to all kinds of crime. Rocke- feller, Morgan, Gould, Vanderbilt, Astor, Harri- man—all of them have built their fortunes on this foundation—robbery of the Indians, steal- ing of land and its resources, corruption of public Officials, etc. This is the history of the country of capitalism. Or let us look at the stock exchanges—a recog- nized institution ef capitalism. Is this a so- called “honest” method of acquiring fortunes— and of losing them ? This is gambling éxalted to an “honest” profession. That this has be- come the method by which men are judged; let us but look at the men who have built America, the engineers, technicians and the millions of workers who actually have participated in the building of the country, and we find that they | are “respected” and “stand high in the com- munity” not in proportion to what they have accomplished, but to what they have amassed in fortunes for themselves. Gould did not build railways—he merely furnished the money by | dubious and openly corrupt means for the pay of the men who did the building. That this spirit and practice goes over into public institutions is natural. How otherwise does one explain that men in high position ac- cept public office with relatively lower salaries? “Public spirit,” as they call tt? Nothing of the kind. Public office is the easiest form of graft. What is the lobby in Washington for, repre- senting the billions of American capital and the various interests in the country? What are the lobbies in every state capitol for, fighting for their special interests? What are most of the U.S, senators and congressmen, but representa- tives of the corporations and trusts, to protect and further their interests? How else are they nominated and elected but as representatives and agents of the dominant groups, whom they Tepresent in public office? How else then can istory of the great American fortunes is | one explain their accepting office, except that in office they will continue the practice of capi- talism generally—the practice of corruption .and graft—the racketeering that is part of the capi- talist system? Let us but look at the oil scandals of the Hard- ing administration, with half of the cabinet in- volved, and the other half, with Coolidge and Hoover, shielded. Look at the Kelly charges of the defrauding of the U. S. government of forty billion dollars of oil lands in Colorado—charges, which were “investigated” by the same depart- ment against which the charges were preferred and rejected! Look at the war material sup- plied the government during the World War, not only not meeting specifications, but, show- ing the worst form of graft,.and exposing the soldiers at the front not only to the danger of death but of the worst kinds of disease. What was done? Nothing, for the government was too deeply involved in this matter. One could go on endlessly, but the above suffices. Capitalist government is but a reflection ef the corruption and graft that pervades all capi- talist society, which is based upon private prop- erty, with the goal for each man and woman “get rich”—no matter by what means! Perhaps the best example of this corruption in the Tammany Hall machine is that of Dis- trict Attorney Crain. This noble gentleman is the representative of “law and order” in the city of New York, a man who is supposed to embody all the fine principles of capitalism, who in his | solemn manner and conduct’ is supposed to rep- resent the highest qualities of the defender of the purity of the present system. This is the man who was especially brought to the court to prevent the Unemployed Delegation of March 6th of last year from getting bail—to prevent the representatives of the hungry unemployed from | returning to the outside world to continue the work of organizing the unemployed workers in the demand for unemployment insurance. This is “law and order”—and for a while it persisted. But this same district attorney is now accused of having known of 160 rackets and of not ob- | taining indictments in even ten cases!” And whether even these ten were prosecuted we do not know! One hundred and sixty rackets—and what part did the district attorney play in‘all of them? What, was his graft? How much did he get out of this capitalist plunder—whether plun- der of the capitalists themselves or of those who plunder the capitalists in the same manner, like the underworld, the fascist leaders of the A. F. of L. unions of the millinery, music, building, barber, needle, food, etc, trades? How much tribute did District Attorney Crain get from each of these rackets, is the question? If 160 rackets are known—how about the many that ostensibly are not yet known? How about the innumerable injunctions under Paragraph 600 | and otherwise? What is the graft in giving pro- tection to the bosses and keeping the workers from striking and picketing for decent “con- ditions? ‘ Why do we select Crain for the first examina- tion? Because his is one’of the: most ‘striking cases, with which Walker is connected. If Crain | is part of the racket, what is the part of the | entire Tammany Hall machine? What is the | Part of Mayor Walker? What are the connec- tions of the entire Tammany Hall machine with the underworld and racketeers of the American Federation of Labor?’ What is this graft and corruption that permeates every department not only of the capitalist administration of the cities, states and the country, but of capitalism itself? It is the capitalist “moral code”—get rich, cover your steps, share your booty with the public officials—“keep in good” with the gang. for when there is a proper understanding and peace, then the fleecing of the workers can con- tinue without interference! This is going on in every American city. what is taking place in New York at the present time and some of the corruption is being laid _ bare, | | ‘ | In the next article we shall deal with further | features of the graft scandal. Daily Worker Leads Fight for May Day By B. D. AMIS. T= capitalist class is making broad attacks on the living standards of the workers. It musters together all the forces of the State to poison the minds of the workers with deceit and lies. he poverty of the Negro workers and Southern poor farmers is nearing its limits be- cause of unemployment, starvation, lynching and deportations hang over the heads of mil- ons, The working masses look to the reyolu- tionary organizations to give leadership and devise new plans for a counter attack against the increasing terror of the boss bloss, ‘The fast growing militancy of the workers and farmers, the increasing unity of Negro and white toilers has met with a new, savage and brutal attack of the capitalist bosses, The legal lynch- ings of the nine Negro youths in Scottsboro is an answer of the Southern landlords and capi- talists to the growing spirit of resistance and unity among the Negro and white masses. ‘To meet this new wave of terror, the Negro and white toiling masses turn to those avenues of revolutionary leadership which give them an out- Jet of struggle, which cannot be found in the Negro press nor the capitalist press, nor in or= ganizations whose leaders are allied with the reactionary press policy, The leader and organizer of the struggle to fight against the increased terror of the native and foreign-born, the Negro and white workers, is the only English working class daily, the Daily Worker, It is a powerful weapon in the hands of the workers and can be best utilized by them to mobilize masses of workers to raise a thun- derous ery of dissatisfaction and discontent, to organize the masses, to carry on an energetic struggle against the terror of the oppressors, It calls upon the oppressed working class to build a gigantic mass movement under revolu- tionary leadership in order to take the streets which are systematically denied the workers, te demonstrate on May Day, and to carry on rs ® consistant and merciless struggle against the exploiters and oppressors, To bring about an extensive mobilization of the working masses for May Day, to strike great- er fear into the boss class, to break down all illusions held by the working masses of the “so- clalist” party and other would-be leaders of the workers, the conscious fighting weapon of all workers, the Daily Worker, must be distributed in the shops, in the factories, in the mines and on the farms. To build up greater. confidence among the Negro masses, to convince. them. that the leader in their struggles for. Negro rights and for the right of self-determination, and the leader to save the nine Scottsboro defendants who are on the verge of electrocution, to cement the unity of Negro and white workers, to assure Successful May Day demonstrations throughout. the country, the Daily Worker is the organ.that must reach these masses of unorganizer and oppressed people. 3 It speaks in a clear, plain, fearless voice. Tt the’ treicherous ‘moves of the Every worker must purchase and read the Daily Worker to obtain the information so neces- at noon time give these to the you atted fraternal meetings, distribute them. Talk to the workers about paper; get their ideas; have them write short, snappy stories about their wook, grievances and experiences in the shops, fields, mines. Syctematic and energetic work, carried on to its logical conchision, will win ‘and convince thousands of new workers, of the vitality and importance of their working class paper. Tt will win greater numbers to support and fight in the struggles of the workers and to demonstrate | workers who sign our nomination petitions and | develop them systematically and thus bring them and fight against their wretched conditions. wi, Save them, particularly names of workers who | nearer to our Party, hacaeTs RNR nae Ba iba § f But sometimes there is a | slip. Somebody is peeved; groups begin to strug- | gle for power, and an exposure is.made. That is | Get Together! Against Wage Cuts! For Unem ployment Insurance! We print in this issue of the by Dean William Pickens, Field he correctly says, are not to be white boys. whatever in the government of to imply such faith. believe that the masses of the elements of the working class, of capitalist class justice. . By William Pickens The “Massacre. of Gadsden!” That is what it will be called in the indifferent future, if the state death eight Negro boys on the os- tensible charge that they “assault- | ed” two white girls, but really out | of revenge because they licked the mischief out of a gang of white youths, People forget that the newspapers have not given us one word from these boys; that the “court” in Alabama was set to legally Iynch these youngsters; that the mob was there to see that the lynching was done either by the court or by themselves; that a@ great yell, like that of trium- phant savages, went up from the mob when the verdicts of the “ju- ries” indicated that the court was yielding to the mob pressure and would do the dirty work, These boys have had no trial — eight sent to the electric chair in three days. They have had no defense. They have seen no col- ored people, no attorneys of their people’s choosing, They have been convicted on the testimony of two hobo girls who were pals of the white youths whom they licked. ciation for Advancement of Colored People. the article after the first newspaper reports, some of which, as of Alabama proceeds to put to| WE'ReT BOTH, Daily Worker an article written Organizer of the National Asso- Mr. Pickens wrote trusted for the final facts. But the value of the article is not diminished by the later and more reliable news that the nine boys were not even in a fight with the Our opinion is that it would be a mistake to place any reliance Alabama, if Mr. Pickens means That’ governor is one of the ruling class of “White Supremacy” — capitalism. He is, indeed, the official head of the state machine which has railroaded these innocent boys through.a framed-up trial and condemned them to death. And, as for an “investigation” by the governor’s own machinery—we have SEEN that kind of investigation already, too often. In fact, the framed-up trial was exactly that kind of an “investigation.” We believe that we can rely no more on the cold-blooded, loaded-dice “justice” of landlord-and-capitalist-ruled Alabama. We Negro people, and the advanced both black and white, can rely only on their own MASS STRENGTH, putting pressure upon the heartless ruling class of Alabama, to save our boys from the foul murder in the electric chair to which they have been condemned. We are glad to have Mr. Pickens sttive for a united front which will build a mass movement to save these innocent victims An yet an apparently gullible and idiotic public seems to think |that there is some truth in the | charges against them. Iam a southerner, I have had to engage in such racial fights in the past. Let me reconstruct for bility, happened. Nine white youths were “hoboing” in a conve- nient empty and open freight car. Nine colored lads entered, or wanted to enter, the same car, also as hoboes. (You will notice that our newspapers, even in the north, refer to these colored chil- dren as “Negroes,” saying nothing about their being mere children, and leaving the impression on the ignorant public that they are men. That is part of the scheme to get them murdered without waking up public sympathy. As a matter of fact, they are all children in their early ‘teens, one being only fourteen and only one being above twenty.) But on with the story: The white hoboes wanted to deny equality to these young black hoboes. In the south where “jim crow” is the system, even a white hobo feels superior to a black one. They have you what, in all reasonable proba- | HUNGRY; BLL! UNEMPLOYED been taught that by the tem: even in jails black criminals are segregated, as if inferior to the white ones, Even the graveyards are segregated. The whites, who were stealing a ride, did not want to steal it in the same company with Negroes who meant to steal a ride, A fight ensued and the nine Ne- gro youths licked the nine white youths, all of whom were dressed in hobo clothes and overalls. But MR. PICKENS JOINS THE FIGHT two of the Whites turned out to | be girls, When the whites were all whipped, five having been chas- ed away and the other boys kay- oed, who in forty-eight states, be- ing asquainted/with the south and the small chance of self-defense | which colored people have to de- | fend themselves there, will ever believe that the colored lads then | tarried to “assault” the girls? They know that the boys whom they had chased from the scene would be back immediately with a mob to lynch them. The blacks doubtless made their get-away as fast as they could go. hardly get nine Negro boys in Alabama to do anything else ex- cept hurry away, after they had licked nine whites and had found two to be girls, unless the whole group of Negroes had just broken out of an insane asylum. Sex assault after such a strug- gle could hardly even be thought of, unless all nine were not only fools but hopeless degenerates. And that is not likely in a group of nine persons who were not carefully picked out of some asy- lum for the feeble-minded. Nevertheless the defeated white youths held the boss trump card. ‘Who would expect them to fail to use it? Two of their hobo crowd were girls and a cry of “rape” would bring all Alabama to their aid. The colored lads would be hunted to the death by every of- ficer and very idiot of the state. It is a great sting of disgrace to a southern white to be licked in any fight, fair or foul, by a black -— and here was an easy way to get even. They used it, To one who knows the possibilities of this pretext in the south, it is a wonder that it is not oftener used. It is used often enough. You could | | aimed at all men, and is then en- | uation must involve improvement “were not for the fourteenth and | hands. If the governor of Alabama is as wise as he is eminent, he will not send these homeless Negro children to their death until he has thoroughly investigated the whole affair through his own agents. All civilized people ev- ere should urge him to that Se, It should nov go unnoticed that the law which executes men for sex attack in the south, is only enforced against Negro men and boys, has never been enforced against a white man, although at least one hundred sex attacks are committed in that section by the whites against blacks, for every one that is attempted by blacks against whites. The law is a subterfuge to be used only against Negroes. If it fifteenth amendments, whieh for- bid (expressed) racial discrimina- tions by the states, the law would say “black men” or “Negroes,” instead of saying that men are to be executed for this offense. But because of these amendments, the law, in order to stand up constitu- tionally, must be written as if foreed only against colored men. That is one method of discrimi- nation which it is hard to com=.. bat — administrative discrimina- tion, Improvement in suck a sit- in morals and civilization — so- cial evolution, Colared lads in the. south are seldom the aggressors in these in- ter-racial fights; they cannot af- ford to be. Small wonder, then, that these colored boys in Ala- bama, finding themselves so hope- lessly trapped, become anti-social maniacs in jail, tore up their beds and bedding and everything else that would yield to their bare They yelled their futile and impotent curses against the white race and all its works, No wonder that they went mad with HATE — hate of society and civilization, hate of their country, hate of the world in which they were born, hate of life and of the forces that gave them birth. I wonder if they even refrained from hating God! PARTY LIFE Conducted by the Organization Department of the Central Committee, Communist Party, U.S.A. How to Use the Daily Worker As a Lever for Recruiting By J. D. SPIEGEL. .. (Section 5, Chicago.) WANT to deal here with one or two phases of the election campaign conducted in our sec- tion, and the reason the organizational results were not what they should and could have been. On the whole the comrades in our section worked pretty hard in this campaign, collecting signa- tures, distributing leaflets, ig for mass meetings, auto parades, etc. In this work, how- ever, one could notice more emphasis being laid on the spontaneous and dramatic (so to speak) than on the daily routine little tasks which when done properly bring more lasting results for our Party. The work of calling meetings, parades, ete., although , Will not achieve what following up individual workers daily in a sys- tematic way can. At the beginning of our campaign, the units were instructed to copy all the names of the express sympathy to our Party and movement. ‘These workers were to be followed up with lit- erature, be called to our mectings, and generally be drawn to us. Most nuclei did not do this simple task, Why? Because they cither did not foresee the need of utilizing the names of these workers for further concentration, or else did not understand how contacts are made and followed up. One or two units, however, did copy some of the names off the petitions, but they either laid -them away and forgot about them, or when they did send out comrades to visit these workers, there was no system of how to go about this work, and therefore no results, particularly or- ganizational results, were gotten. Here for ex- ample is how one nucleus went about this work A comrade was given the names of some of the workers who expressed themselves favorably when signing the petitions, He was to visit them and bring a report to the next meeting. At the next meeting he brought back a “report” that “no use, these workers are not willing to join the Party” and that’s that! So of course, what is the use of visiting these workers? These are actual facts. We can readily see that with this approach to contacts, no results can be obtained, Still these workers who expressed themselves sympathetically cannot be dropped Just because they are not ready after a “visit” to join our Party. A way must be found to follow up and To bring to these workers our leaflets and occasional handbills advertising our affairs and meetings will certainly not do. A better way must be found—a way of reachiig these work- . ers and speaking to them daily-on issues that interest them, And from the experience of com- rades here and there in some units (although done in a haphazard and unsystematic way) still some lessons can be learned. These comrades “found” the Daily Worker and learned that our “Daily” can accomplish fine things; In coming to these contacts and later following them up, they first acquainted these workers with our paper and spokesman. And when bringing them the paper daily, the comrades did not just drop the D. W. in the mail-box but brought them into the house and suggested to the workers what ar- ticle they might find of interest that day, thus laying a basis for the worker to ask any ques- tions not clear to him when the comrade came the next evening, and in general discuss ques- tions not clear to the worker. At the end of the week, during which time the workers got the Daily free of charge, the workers were persuaded | to have the paper delivered to them for an- other week and at the end to pay as much as they could, In this manner, weekly routes for the Daily Worker were built up and at the same time these workers were kept in daily touch with. When bringing our leaflets and generally approaching such workexs, the results were of course entirely 9 Couzen of Ours enator James Couzens, Michigan republican, busting into print “warning the capitalists,” it’s our job, but he horns in, He says: “There is food for thought in the anti- pitalist system devised by Soviet Russia. it is significant that both the anti-capitalist nd capitalist systems now are running at full speed and that both can be observed in op- eration at the same time. Which of the two is the better is a matter of opinion. From my own experience, I much prefer private initia- tive, but I am about convinced we can’t rely on it any longer.” So there is “food for thought” in Soviet Russia Yep, and food for workers, too. But only “food for thought” in capitalist America. He “forgot’ that. Then he says that “both systems are running at full speed’—which is only half true. Capl- talism isn't doing so, otherwise why all the row? Also, it is decidedly not a “matter of opinion,” but @ matter of fact, as to which is “better.” ‘The Soviet is certainly better for workers, but rough- on-rats for capitalists, such as Senator Couzens himself is. We are forced to write these remarks to warn workers against falling into the notion that such’ demagogs are “going Bolshevik.” He Says he is “about convinced” that “private ini- tiative” can’t be relied on. That don’t mean that he is going to apply for membership in the Communist Party. It does mean that we can expect him to come out for fascism as a “com- promise.” No Puzzle At All Every barnstorming Fish in the country is con: tinually trembling with indignation because the Communists of the Soviet Union say extremely impolite things about capitalism. And they—the Fish family—‘“view with alarm” the fact that the Soviet wants to trade with the United States. This the Fish regard as im- possible while the haughty Bolsheviks firmly refuse to be civil in their language and respect- ful of the “superiority” of capitalism, particu- larly the Fish part of it But American capitalism finds no difficulty in lying about the Soviet while seeking to sell it machinery. For example, Tifesday night the radio brought us the most godawful melodrama over WEAF from the National Broadcasting Company, with “Soviet spies, Cheka executions, sobbing widows and ravished maidens.” But that came along with a speech of James D. Mooney of the General Motors, also from the National Broadcasting Company, and over the same WEAF, plainly declaring that “none of the hysterical discussions of the Russian prob- Jem” had a lick of sense, And he coldly informed every fool who thinks that the Soviet just has to trade with the United States because, a‘cording to such fools, as “we” have “the besv” machinery and the Soviet can’t get along without us—that they are all wet, In fact he adds: “Nowhere I went, did I see machinery that could not be duplicated by European countries, and these European countries would be glad to sell to Russia if we should not.” Let the arrogant Fishes take due note that Bolsheviks are not at all humble petitioners at the gates of Uncle Sam. And any who get all excited and want to stop doing business because the “Russian Reds” are confoundedly rude to Secretary Stimson, just remember that American capitalism finds no contradiction in lying like a Fish against the Soviet, but just the same wants to sell it machinery. * el For Nature Worshippers Concerning the backwardness of village life as | it existed in India a century ago, Marx, writing on June 10, 1853, said: “These little communities were contaminated by distinction of caste and slavery, they sub- jugated man to external circumstances in- stead of elevating man to the sovereign of circumstances, they transformed a self-devel- oping social state into never changing natural destiny, and thus brought about a brutalizing worship of nature, exhibiting its degradation in the fact that man, the sovereign of nature, fell down on his knees in adoration of Kanu- man, the monkey, and Sabbala, the cow.” We were reminded, by this, of the comrade out in California, who some time ago became quite angry with us for caring more about starving workers than dogs in distress. It also remainds us of the “Be kind to animals week” in the midst of mass misery for workers on one hand, and luxury as usual for the capitalists on the other, P Still more, we are struck with the analogy between the ancient slave society described by Marx, where man worshipped the monkey, and the slave society of today, from which we get such things as the following in the day’s news: “London, April 7.—Dodo, a monkey, was buried in a coffin costing $200.” Again: The fortune of Ella Wendéll, New York multi-millionairess, was spent at the rate of $1,000 per day to keep up @ house on Fifth Avenue, because, explained Miss Wendel, “The dog must have a place to run about in.” different. re It’s true that to follow up each individual worker in this systematic way is a little harder than just paying him a visit and asking him to join up, but still, the very. immediate results aren’t always what counts, We must learn to work in an organized manner, step by step and not try to rush on all at once, Another example of obtaining results might be in place here. One nucleus after following up a number of workers whose names were copied from the petition lists in the territory of the North Western Car Shops in the manner above mentioned for a period of a few weeks and thus “fertilizing” that territory for further work, they decided to establish an open forum where these workers could get together once a week and after listening to our speakers, ask questions and dis- cuss subjects which are of interest to them, A regular attendance of 30 to 40 workers can now be seen at, this open forum every week, and some of these workers are now ready to join our Party. ‘ é What this shows concretely is.(1) that by using the Daily Worker as a lever, very good results can be gotten; and (2) that not by spontaneous and spectacular ways, but by daily little routine and concentrated asks our best organizational results can be obtained, air sae nt “ ‘