The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 7, 1931, Page 4

i Pobiiskea by the Comprodany Publisning Co., mo., cary except sucday, at BU wase 18th Street, New York City, N. Y. Telephone Algonquin 7956-7, Cable: “DAIWORK” Address and mail all checks to the Daily Worker, 50 East 15th Street, New York, N. ¥. Page Four Dail Contra orker Bary USA —_— - By mall everywhere: One year, SUBSCRIPTION RATER: ~~~ — $6; six months. $3; two months, $1; excepting Boroughs i ot Manhattan and Bronx, New York Ctly. Foreign: one vear. $8- six months, $4.50. Racketeering-—-A Capitalist Government Institution By I. AMTER. ci F District Attorney Crain is the most typical example of capitalist government racketeer- ing, and one of the most typical cases that have been exposed in New York in recent times, his is not the only case. Mayor Walker, driven by exposures more than a year ago, pretended to “investigate” the cases of judges and others who were accused of cor- ruption. Peculiarly none of these judges has yet gone to jail—why? Because these men know too much and refuse to be the goats for others’ complicity. They refuse to be made the pawn in this graft scramble, and therefore, when the noise is not too loud, the cases are “adjusted,” “dropped,” or otherwise disposed of. And yet e self-same judges, who have sen- tenced workers to long terms in jail and the penitentiary, who go into righteous indignation against a worker who steals a loaf of bread ora bottle of milk to feed his child—these judges who sentence the unemployed and their leaders to jail for fighting for working class demands, who have ‘ant workers from the picket line to jail for ting for decent working con- ditions—these judges ain on the bench as specimens of Am ” Why is this? Becau S ve left well pay- ing professions to become judges, have to find sing their incomes. Why should be the property only of the capi- Vhy should those in public office, who rivate property not share in this As part of the capitalist system and of vate property, these the racket, and get their re not removed, not sent to jail, merely shows the depths to which this racket has gone—and the full exposure of it would show the workers what a rotten system they are living unde’ Therefore the j remain on the bench, sentencing more workers to jail! Therefore, they sit on the bench, issuing more injunctions against the workers! Therefore they sit on the bench, and walk into a side room to settle disputes of a wealt capitalist disputant. Thus a Harry Thaw and a Peter Ward may commit murder and escape kind of penalty. This is the “equal justice” of capitalism toward the capital- ists who slip and pay for their slips in cold cash to the judges, and toward the workers who, ex- Ploited and robbed, have to pay the penalty to the capit: boss in suffering, misery, jail and even death But this is part of the racket and racket- eering mac Now it has descended in its exposure to the lower cogs of the machine—to the police and the underworld. Police Commis- sioner Mulrooney has ousted 400 men from the vice squad, because of the vicious crimes of the police in preying on women, accusing them of graft? the machine of protecting p! judges are pa share. That the only | } capitalist crime, framing them up and getting gaft for their release. This is a petty form of graft, but has resulted in the banking of hun- dreds of thousands of dollars in the name of these men. Speakeasies, gambling joints, houses. of prostitution all under the protection of the police; which means plenty of graft! Speak- | easies, supply of narcotics and dope to prisoners in the penitentiaries by guards and policemen, which means more graft! Pettier—but these same police and their higher-ups are those who beat up, club and mercilessly torture the.militant unemployed and employed workers who fight for the working class. They are the ones who pro- tect capitalism from the starving millions of this country! They therefore demand and. take their, share in the booty—the graft and corruption— they are part of the racketeering system, which is a capitalist government institution. And Mayor Walker sits at the top, no longer smiling, no Jonger cracking jokes about the un- employed! Mayor Walker goes off to California in supreme indifference to the whole situation, knowing full well that if. the others drive him too far, he, the head of the Tammany Hall ma- chine in the city of New York, can expose not only his fellow-accomplices, but the entire capi- talist brood, whom he represents in the city government, Behind Tammany Hall stands the whole finance edifice of Wall Street, the Rocke- fellers, Morgans, Kahns, Whitneys and others. A full exposure of Tammany Hall (democratic), as of Thompson's regime in Chicago (republi- can) would show a mass of rot that would re- veal to the working class the cesspool that is called capitalism and disclose its methods of corruption and racketeering. ‘Thompson and Walker may pretend to make war @n racketeers and racketeering, but this is dishonest. -Mulrooney may discharge 400 vice Squad men, but this is dishonest, for these men are part of the entire system of racketeering. Only by sweeping away the entire system of capitalism can the cesspool be cleaned out. “Good men” will not change the situation. Capitalist “honest politicians” do not exist. Capi- talist “politics is rotten,” is the old saying and has a basis in fact, because capitalism is rotten and those who administer the affairs of capi- talism are poisoned with the same rottenness. This permeates the entire system of adminis- tration and justice; it even penetrates the work- | ing class, which following the methods and prac- tices of the bosses, try the same methods on a smaller -scale. There is. no difference between the rich criminal and the poor criminal in motive—but the penalty meted out by capitalist courts is dependent on capitalist connections, in- fluence, etc. Why this campaign has been started against Walker and his administration, why these scan- dals have been uncovered just at this time— when they have been known for a long time, will be dealt with in the following article. Allentown Silk Workers Strike Against Wage-Cut By MAC HARRIS. THE silk industry affords a good example of the economic decay of capitalist operation. Competition amongst individual silk operators has led to the utilization of additional ration- alization methods within the industry. These rationalization methods are best\examplified in the present wage cuts, lengthened hours and speed-up methods practiced upon the workers. These methods in turn have played havoc with the living standards of the workers. The dimin- ished purchasing power of the average worker, brought about by the existing economic crisis of capitalism, has produced a situation where there is no circulation of silk goods, thereby adding further stagnancy to the market. The silk industry being a luxury industry, the work- ers, diminished purchasing power is further reflected by the fact that the worker cannot af- ford any luxury and must utilize his meagre earnings to obtain the bare necessities of life. It is this situation which has led the silk opera- tors to speak of “stabilization of industry.” What they mean by this “stabilization” is best fore- seen by the prevailing situation in the silk in- dustry of Allentown. Approximately 40 mills employing 7,000 workers are located in this silk industrial center. The wages of the more skilled workers, in the so- called “prosperity period,” were anywhere from $50 to $100 per week. Unskilled labor or learners would receive from $18 to $30 per week. Now we have a situation where continuous wage slash- es have reduced the earning power of the work- ers to the following conditions: expert weavers receive $12 per week for common cloth and $22 n crepe, and at the same time are forced to operate from four to six looms. Within the past two years wages have been cut from 25 to over 50 per cent. Part time work and the enu- merated conditions, imposed by the ‘silk oper- ators have produced a situation where the most skilled workers are earning an average of $12 to 415 per week. . Another Cut ‘The Majestic Mill, employing 200 workers, cir- culated a notice two weeks ago that the wages of the weavers would be cut sixteen and two- thirds per cent. The workers immediately re- sponded with a walk-out. The mill then tried to shift its work to the Maxwell Mill. The work- ers of this mill immediately showed their solidar- ity by striking against the attempt of the mill owners to force them to scab. on their fellow workers. This strike was also against a recent 12. per cent wage cut. Strike sentiment immediately spread to other mills where the workers had received wage cuts, ‘The next to follow were the Sontag Mill, with 200 walking out, Greenleaf Silk, where a 5 per cent cut had been instituted with an additional one-half to three-quarters of a cent added; Highgrade Mill with one and one-quarter cent cut, 240 workers going out, and the Lova Silk Mill Corp. The workers of the Adelaide Silk . Co. annex (largest mill in town) received wages ranging from $14 for common cloth and. $22 for crepe, handling from four to six looms; 225 workers walked out of this mill. At the present writing there are approximately 13 mills on strike, involving a total of 2,000 workers. Senti- ment is rapidly spreading amongst the rank and file workers for a general strike throughout the industry. The present strike situation is an expression of the militancy of the workers. It is an answer to maintain their enormous profits at further re- | duction of the living standards of the workers, | but there are a number of factors which the | strikers must take into consideration if the strike | is to be conducted to a successful conclusion. | It is especially necessary for the strikers to take cognizance of the methods of the UTW who assumed leadership of the present situation un- der the guidance of McDonald, Hoffman and Co. To best understand the role of these gentle- men it is necessary to examine their policies and past records. They have openly advocated upon numerous occasions ‘the arbitration of strikes. Arbitration, as they endeavor to make the workers under- | stand, is an impartial settling of a strike where two are appointed to represent the interests of the workers, two representing the manufacturers’ interests, and the fifth person whom the work- ers are told is “impartial.” This “impartial” in- dividual usually sides with the manufacturers, with the result that the workers suffer a wage cut or total loss of all demands presented in the strike. To do this in an open manner would mean that the workers would clearly see and understand the true role of these agents of the bosses within the ranks of the working class. The art of selling out the interests of the workers must therefore be carried out in a much more clever manner. The workers are told to return to work pending these fake arbitration methods. Usually they-are given-a cut- which may not total the amount of the original cut. This is then interpreted as a “victory” for the workers by the fakers. Elect Rank and File Committee! ‘The Allentown silk strikers should be on guard against all fake arbitration methods which may arise in the present situation. No negotiations must be carried on with the manufacturers un- ess @arried through a broad rank and file strike committee elected by the workers. All deci- sions pertaining to the strike must be in the hands of the committee and fully approved by all the strikers. At the present writing, no ¢on- crete. demands have been worked out, These demands must immediately be worked otit by the elected rank and file strike committee and presented to all the strikers for full approval. Spread the Strike! SPRING DANCE Party Life Conducted by the Organization Department of the Central Committee, Communist Party, U.S.A. “Shortage of Forces” By M. SILVER (Philadelphia) 4 bene issue of shortage of forces is often used as a cloak to cover up unwillingness to carry through Party tasks. ‘This was very well illustrated at a section com- mittee meeting of Section 9, Philadelphia. The Section Org. secretary acting as organizer be- cause of the organizer’s illness, instead of bring- ing proposals to his committee on how to carry out the tasks decided upon by the last section convention had spent the greater portion of the meeting in an attempt to convince the commit- tee of the impossibility to carry on any work with the forces available. “We don’t have enough comrades!” “The com- rades are not competent enough to carry on the work.” “The district must assign more comrades to our section, if it expects us to carry through any work.” All of these excuses were used at that meeting instead of tackling each problem in the best way under the circumstances. Comrades have a conception that if you or- ganize a unit of new Party members, you must import a minimum of a half a dozen comrades if we expect that unit to function. Since the reorganization of the units into smaller bodies, a number of comrades cannot make peace with the situation. They still want comrades on the role to spare. And in many cases as in units 203 and 301 the meetings are spent in convincing one another that it’s no use—we have no one to work with. Comrades will have to get used to being sent out in small towns where they will have to or- writing to the district about the fact that they haye no forces to work with. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Question—What are a few of the best refer- ence books on-socialism for a high school stu- dent?—N. D, Detroit. Here are a few to start on: Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto. Frederick Engels, Socialism, Utopian and Sci- entific, and Principles of Communism, and Ori- gin of the Family. Karl Marx, Wage Labor and Capital. Max Beers, Life and Teachings of Karl Marx. George Plechanoff, Anarchism and Socialism. V. I, Lenin, The State and Revolution, and Imperialism. Joseph Stalin, Leninism. The Program of the Communist International. The Communist, our monthly magazine. G. T. Grinko, The Five-Year Plan of the So- viet Union. ‘There are numerous other pamphlets, such as Fighting Hunger, Race Hatred, and books which you can get as well as the above list from the Workers’ Library Publishers, Box 148, Station D, New (York City. In this connection we want to remind you that the Communist Party is the only party really fighting for socialism, the Socialist Party has betrayed the principles of socialism and is fight- ing for capitalism and against socialism, The necessary steps must be taken to bring out all departments in the mills where workers have already gone out on strike. The UTW of- reason the workers must immediately organize themselves for protection from any bodily harm that may come from the fascist’ methods utilized in strikes by the bosses. 4 The militant mood of the workers and thi spreading sentiment of the workers affords one of the best bases for attaining better conditions the silk operatcrs, who have sitemmpigd to. in the Snduvire ,. The ‘oukerr aust abt the, ! ap the bands of the Organize Unemployed Councils to Fight for Unemployment Relief. Organize the Employed Workers Into Fighting Unions. Mobilize the Employed and Unemployed for Common Strug- gles Under the Leadership of y. the Trade Union Unity League — wage cuts, The demands must be so worked out as to bring far better conditions as a result of the present struggle. What we have pointed out to the workers in this article are the policies and program of the National Textile Workers Union. It is only those policies and tactics which*can bring the present strike to a success- ful conclusion. It is also necessary to state that’ the strikers must beware of craft unionism as practiced by the UTW. This only tends to divide the workers and reduce their fighting power. Industrial unionism as advocated by the National Textile Workers Union is also an es- sential factor towards the carrying on of a suc- cessful struggle. Last but not least, a watchful eye must be kept upon the officials, and the carrying on of the strikeymust at all times be file Oren es a ganize Party units out of fresh elements without ‘| EW YORK.—William Gallacher, leader of the National Minority Movement of Great Brit- ain and participant in many of the great strikes of the past few years, has issued a call in sup- port of the Amnesty Campaign lead by the In- ternational Labor Defense for the immediate and unconditional release of all class war pris- oners now serving sentences in prisons in the United States. The statement issued by this militant leader of the British working class calls upon “every revolutionary fighter, in and out- side of America to give wholehearted support to the International Labor Defense in the present fight for the release of Tom Mooney and for the release of the splendid. men and women com- rades who have been sentenced by American capitalism.” Gallacher points out in his statement that the A. F. of L. betrayed Tom Mooney when an or- ganized attempt on a mass basis was made a number of years ago to free Mooney and Bill- ings from their long imprisonment in San Quen- tin. Gallacher states that “twelve years ago a mighty campaign for his release was developed, but the American Federation of Labor suc- | ceeded in side-tracking this campaign, and Mooney has had to pay a terrible price in the long years of continued imprisonment.” Gal- lacher is referring to the great Mooney conyen- tion held in Chicago in 1919 when 950 delegates present from labor organizations throughout the country voted overwhelmingly to call a general strike in behalf of Mooney and Billings. Later the A. F. of L., after an enormous sentiment had developed for this mass move, spiked the strike through its international officers threatening local unions and Central Labor Councils with expulsion, and finally promising that Mooney and Billings will be freed. William Gallacher, who is a courageous, mili- tant and outstanding labor leader in the mi- nority movement of the Trade Unions of Great Britain has lead this powerful force against the Social fascists in the labor movement of that country. In the textile and coal strikes of Great Britain the National Minority Movement was the leading militant power of those historical labor battles. Gallacher was in the United States in 1907 and leading up to the World War in 1914, and is well qualified to understand the struggles | | | | British Labor Leader Supports I. L. D. Amnesty Campaign of the workers in this country. He points out that “brutal clubbings, imprisonment and de- portations are utilized to the full by American capitalism supported by the yellow leaders of the A. F. of L. in the attempt to beat back the grow- ing revolt of the work The International Labor Defense in conduct- ing the Amnesty Campaign for the immediate and unconditional release of the Imperial Valley prisoners serving sentences of up to 42 years, the Walla Walla prisoners in since 1919, the three Blawnox militants serving five years under the Flynn Anti-Sedition act of Pennsylvania, Tom Mooney and Billings and McNamara and the other 75 militants in jails and penitentiaries is cire ng tens of thousands of petitions throughout the country.A mass movement is being developed and planned on a large scale and many organizations are responding and affiliating themselyes in this move with the International Labor Defense. William Gallacher’s statement in full, reads: “The class war in America has demanded a heavy toll of the best fighters of the working class. Brutal beatings, imprisonment and deporta- tions are utilized to the full by American capi- talism supported by the yellow leaders of the American Federation of Labor in the attempt to beat back the growing revolt of the workers. Today, when the International Labor Defense is conducting a vigorous campaign for the release of the class war prisoners, it is good to know that a special drive is being made for the release of ‘Tom Mooney, fifteen years in the hell of San Quentin, but his courage has never flagged.” “Twelve years ago a mighty campaign for his release was developed, but the American Federa- tion of Labor succeeded in side-tracking this campaign, and Mooney has had to pay a terrible price in the long years of continued imprison- ment. “Every revolutionary fighter, in and outside of America, must give wholehearted support to the International Labor Defense in the present fight for the release of Tom Mooney and for the re- lease of the splendid men and women comrades who have been sentenced by American capital- ism.” WILLIAM GALLACHER. MASE WEDNESDAY, ADI at the point of death was driven to this bect ed from their home, Andrew Shusko who used to wrk at in the mill while working. moa aanency oF. the McClintic nd desperate attempte t family of 9, yt aod ‘THE EMPLOYERS, POLICE FROM TEAR wo EMPLOYED THIS 19 WEAT LIFE BLOOD 1! DO"'T STARVE, FIOHTL & The above is a fine example of a leaflet deal- ing with the problems arising in working class neighborhoods. The leaflet is neat, short, attractive and shows the local comrades take pains to put out a leaflet that the workers will really read. The ledflet takes a concrete case of a worker as the illustration of the suffering and desper- What A Leatlet Should Be DON'T STARVE V ORGANIZE Be Ficny l ARUEDY as TAA ASSN Wi & RL w @ K@ ome to th i AVE Urs. Mary Shusko ia now lying in the he result of hav. of des pera tion-. Seven moutha to feed, no place to get food, A few days ago he went to the e: Yarehell armed with a gun in a lest @ job or food and shelter for hia EESIDES DENYING HIM WORK OR POOD CALLED THE » ‘THREE TOWNS. AeigR seth GAS BOMEED, BTQ., 1 WAS FINALLY RKERS 3 UNEMPLOYED? JM UMEWLOYED WORKER GETS ATTZR PUTTING HIS NTO THE STEEL MILLS} DEMAND IMMEDI ‘BOSSES AND THE, STOP THE BVICTICNS OF UNEMPLOYED WORRERS 1 TEMAND THE IMMEDIATE UNCONDITIONAL RELSASE OR ANDREW SHUSKO 1 Aseusd by the Unemployed Council of the Metol Workers Industrial League and tine International Labor Diteuse, et Like THR L 227 Bpm- SOKOL HAL MELROSE & DUSS AVENUES, ANERIDOE, Sewickley Valley loapiter @ taken poison. She er husband out of wor, and her family evict» MeClintic Marshall loat his leg Loy = SURROUNDED BY Tio, ARRESTED. , ATE JOBLESS RELIEF FROM THE TR GOVERNMENT $ ation among the unemployed workers and calls on all workers to protest and organize. ‘The leaflet, however, fails to link up this case with the May Day demonstrations. Comrades in charge of this work should pay special attention to this sample and make seri- ous efforts to improve the quality of their leaflets, By JORGE ok A Yank From Yonkers “We haye, in the city of Yonkers, 125,000 in- habitants. About 3,000 are working part time, so that proves that the workers are not worked to death as the dirty reds would have you be- lieve. “If you want a job, all you have to do is to go to the city hall and register. The mayor has a half dozen of his personal friends to serve you. I know what I’m talking about, because I've been there. My number is 12,003. So you understand that all I have to do is wait till 12,002 get jobs, and I'll be next, Let the reds answer that one. “In this beautiful building we have & wonder- ful waiting room, known as the Board of Chart- ties, where workers can tell all their troubles to the motherly matron who, by the way, ex- ists miserably on a mere $4,000 a year salary. Would any dirty red work for such small wages? “For workers who don't like the view from the City Hall, we have another wonderful place at the foot of Main St. They can park their cars there while waiting for their supplies, and enjoy the scenery. The Hudson River ripples smoothly past the sugar house which, by the way, has been shut down for six months. “Hop into your Rolls-Royce and drive over to Wells Ave., where a brand new suit of clothes is waiting for you to take it home. And if any- one is not well dressed, it’s his own fault. Now we have solved the problem of food, clothing and shelter in a few minutes—and the Russians want five years! We Americans can still show them what speed really means! “The dirty reds are clamoring for unemploy- ment insurance. Haven't we got all we need now? The Yonkers Railroad proved that, when they took off all the old men and made the young men do all the work. No old man will be worked to death in this country, Another one for the dirty reds to answer! “You can see what can be accomplished under the capitalist system. So what are you worry- ing about—J. J. E.” Buffalo Bulls How can anyone “insult” a cop? That ha Jong been a mystery. But, we are informed, that in Buffalo, on May Day, the following oc- curred: One of the cops stationed around Communist headquarters there, to spot any “inciting to riot,” saw with horrified eyes a worker, a Negro, spit on the sidewalk. Terrible, the government was in peril! So the worker was arrested. But it takes an illiterate cop to do higher mathematics and when the worker faced “His Honor” there was not one charge, but three! 1. Spitting on the sidewalk. 2. Resisting an officer. 3. ‘Insulting’ an officer. The last might have been a diplomatic interpretation for spitting in the cop’s right eye—and there seems to be no law forbidding spitting in a cop’s eye. Anyhow, since the worker had no money, he was fined $150! In New York City, another “incident” oc- curred which proves the “intelligence” of Mr. Mulrooney’s “finest.” Also an arrest case, only here a doctor, an optical doctor to be exact, was pinched for distributing May Day leaflets. That, in itself, is “news,” like the man who bit the dog. At the police station he was shoved around with a few cuss words for being a blankety- blank “Red,” until he produced his professional card, showing that he was a doctor. But the desk sergeant was not to be fooled. No doctor is supposed to be doing such “dirty work” as distributing leaflets. So they searched him. Ah, ha! What have we here? A pamphlet! And the sergeant stared at it. “Infantile Sick- ness.” . . . And the next words said something about “Communist.” . . . (We will let you into the secret that the pamphlet was Lenin's “In- fantile Sickness of ‘Left? Communism.”) ‘So the sergeant apologized to the doctor. The “medical textbook” was sufficient evidence. “All right, you can go, Doctor.” “You are free, Doc- tor.” eae i ie Something to Chew On Did you notice that the so-called “Pulitze. Award” for 1931 has about touched bottom of capitalist degeneracy and reaction? The “best” editorial goes to some country edi- tor of Nebraska who tries to set “the West” against “the East” of the so-called “United” States! The “best” reporter is oné who snooted around in a murder case!” The “best” cartoon was one against the Soviet Union! And the “best” foreign correspondent was none other © than Knickerbocker, whose articles in the N. Y. Evening Post about the Soviet Union were so false and hostile to the Soviet that Fish him-, self praised them! That is a literary record which ought to give the John Reed Clubs something to chew over. Incidentally, the New York John Reed Club is putting on a grand affair next Sunday. It has undertaken the job of referee in a debate be- tween A. J, Muste and Bill Foster. ‘This, brethern and sistern, ought to be one of those things which are supposed to “fill a long- felt want.” Frank Palmer of the Federated Press, who believes in “Peace on earth and to men, good will” and no hitting in the clinches, is chairman. The match takes place at the New Star Casino, 107th St. and Park Ave., Sun- day at 2 p.m. When it’s to end deponent say- eth not. We hope provision will be made for 8 shorthand report for the benefit of those in th: provinces. y + : Workers! Join the Party of Your r Class! Communist, Party 0. 8. A. P. O. Box 87 Station D. New York City ‘ Please send me more information munist Party. Name Address onthe Cum eo eer errr reer rer rer ryy nen eee neeeeeeeeees ’ seeeeeee CMY sesssseceeeeseeeeeeeees BUMLC sisseeeeeee QCCUPAHON \veverserevesressecrreres ABC covsew -Mail this to the Central Office, Communial. Party, F, O, Box 87 Btation 2, Naw Nous Glad