The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 15, 1931, Page 1

es TO) bABY Kalow | Your Caspers Because YOu Ace ARC A MINISTER — BUT You Don =r KNow | RY LONE oe My | WORKING CLASS OF Lawyers Ann Denrisrs awn) The Saciatist KeTTue Canis The Sociauist” Pot On Dai Central Org (Section of the Communist International) OF WORKERS THE WOR UNITE! DB, = Vol. VIII, No. 196 Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at New York, N. ¥., under the act of March 3, 1879 rw NEW YORK, SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1931 CITY EDITION Price 3 Cents Se MINERS ADOPT NEW TACTICS IN Yes, Plough Under ---But Capitalism Not Cotton! R the past two years the Communist press throughout the world has been calling attention to the fact that. the capitalists have resorted to such “stabilization” measures as dumping meat in the ocean, using wheat for fuel in the Northwest, destroying food and rubber crops, etc. Some mouths ago California capitalists staged a sham battle—with “surplus” eggs as missiles. Thousands of crates of eggs were destroyed at a time when millions of school children were suffering from malnutri- tion and workers were dying from starvation. More recently the Cali- fornia capitalists have ordered the uprooting of peach trees in order to decrease the peach crop. All this destruction goes on while millions starve. Now comes the government with a demand for further destruction. Hoover’s Farm Board yesterday told the cotton growers they must plough under one-third of their cotton crop in order to increase the price of cotton: by decreasing the quantity. Like other farmers, the’ cotton growers have been hard hit by the economic crisis. Cotton’ has suffered tremendous declines in prices, and when it'became evident that this year’s crop would be large, the price of cotton collapsed below the cost of production. This means increased misery and slavery for the Negro and white workers employed on the cotton plantations, and to the small, independent grower. Already the rich land owners are passing along the full burden of the decline in prices to the croppers, as was demonstrated in Camp Hill, Alabama, where the land owners cut off the food supplies of Negro croppers in an effort to force them to abandon their share of the crops before the cotton picking season came around. All that capitalism can offer is a destruction of the cotton, and the further impoverishment. of the croppers and small farmers. All that this mad, insane’ system can offer is a destruction of food stuffs and raw material while millions starve and go in rags! Because there is too much food, people must starve! Because there is too much cloth people must go naked and in rags! This is the criminal, destructive system which the capitalists and their social-fascist lackeys seek to perpetuate at the expense of the suffering toilers! In the United States all the conditions affecting the lives of millions of people are controlled and owned by a parasitic class of capitalist robbers. In the Soviet Union.the means of production, the factories, mills, farms, etc., are owned by the toiling masses. In the United States goods are produced for the profit of their capitalist’ owners, regardless of ‘the néeds of the masses. In the Soviet Union goods are produced for the use and welfare of the workers. ‘The fact that in the United States, the capitalist robbers have @ monopoly stranglehold on the necessities of life, on the factories and land necessary for producing them, enables the bankers and speculators to dump food into the ocean, to destroy crops, etc. in the effort to keep up their profits by bolstering up prices—in face of the fact that over 10,000,000 workers are’ jobless and hungry. In the Soviet Union, where the workers are the owners, every effort is made to increase production in order to constantly improve the conditions of life of the masses. Every surplus of goods is wel- eomed as a means of further raising the standard of living of the whole population. ‘The Farm’ Board’s proposal is. not only destructive but utterly fan- aestic and impractical. There is no way of carrying out its plan of Saving the farmers destroy one-third of their cotton. The individual farmer will certainly not destroy any of his own cotton no matter how much he may approve of having the other fellow destroy his, The plan has already aroused wide opposition. The members of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange have characterized it’as “silly,” “impractical,” and “uneconomic.” These gentlemen, of course, have no consideration for the misery involved to the cotton workers. They are simply thinking of their own ‘pockets. The ‘reception given to the reactionary plan of the Farm Board, shows how hopeless is the illusion of subordinating the chaos and’anarchy of capitalist production to any kind of plan, even the most reactionary. The call of the government’s Farm Board to plough under one- third of the cotton crop is an act of criminal insanity characteristic of the entire capitalist system. This destruction of gigantic quantities of material and food, vegardless of the dire need of the millions of unemployed and their Gamilies, is the policy of the same capitalist class that is trying to insure its profits by attacking the standards of living of the working class by means of wholesale wage-cuts, mass terror and cold-blooded Genial of unemployment relief. : It is not the cotton that must be ploughed under, but this chaotic, brutally destructive capitalist system! It is not cotton and food-suffs that must be destroyed while millions are unemployed and starving and the children of workers are dying like flies before their eyes. What must be. destroyed is capitalism with its robbery and oppression of the white and Negro masses,. with its landlord monopoly of the land in the cotton belt, with its peonage and enslavement of the Negro nation, with itg mass unemployment, wage cufs, stretch out, starvation, etc. The workers and farmers, Negro and white, North and South, must unite for this task of uprooting capitalism and of replacing it with a workers’ and farmers’ government. Workers, Small Depositors, Fight for Your Savings! UR HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN THOUSAND depositors . lost their money in the Bank of United States which closed its doors on December 9, 1930, eight months ago, Of this total 410,000 are workers and small business people with an average deposit of less than $500. With their dependents, the actual number of people affected by this ‘rash numbers 1,250,000 or one-fifth of the population of New York. From the very day the bank closed, the capitalist press’carried stories that plans were being prepared for the re-opening of the bank, whereby 100 cents on the dollar would be paid to the depositors, while actually, behind closed doors, the banking department, which is chiefly responsible for the outrageous robbery, went ahead with the squandering of millions of dollars. a Tammany politicians, fearing the wrath of the people, have put tor~ ward one of their biggest swindlers as a so-called “defender” of the de~ ‘ wsitors. Max D. Steuer, chief criminal defender of Tammany grafters, ‘48 appointed by the city and state government as a special deputy at- torney to. investigate the cause of this swindle and to prosecute the bankers. 3 ’ Now after 8 months, none of the bankers: are {ri Jail, and millions of have been paid out by the banking department as preferred loans big bankers and not a cent was paid to the poor depositors. (POLICE CLUB | MASS RALLY IN DETROIT 4,000 Negro, White Workers Protest Chicago Massacre Prepare Aug. 22 Meet Put Evicted Worker’s Furniture Back DETROIT, Mich., Aug. 14—Four thousand Negro and white workers protested in a solidarity demonstra- tion at the City Hall against the Chicago massacre of four Negro workers, against the kidnapping of speakers at Grand Rapids and against the mass arrest of workers in Detroit in connection with the evic- tion struggles. A telegram of protest was sent to Cermak, mayor of Chi- cago. — At the end of the demonstration news came that a Negro family had | been evicted. Three thousand work- ers marched from the demonstration to the place and put back the fur~ niture. About 400 cops were rushed to the scene and they began to club the workers with nightsticks. The crowd fought back with sticks and bricks. Many workers and a few po- licemen are in the hospital injured. Eleven workers were arrested. The crowd attempted to storm the police station to release the prisoners but were beaten back by the cops, ‘This demonstration served as a pre- paratory rally for the August 22 dem- onstrations organized by the Inter- national Labor Defense. On Aug. 22 under the leadership ‘of the ILD’ the workers of the world will raise a mighty storm of protest for the re- lease of all political prisoners. The workers will commemorate the mur- der of Saco and Vanzetti four years ago by these mighty demonstrations. LONG BRANCH, N.J. ELECTION MEET To Meet Despite the | proskiyn, Terror of Police LONG BRANCH, L. I—in spite of the refusal of the city commissioners to grant a permit to the Communist Party to have an election campaign meeting here, the meeting will be held today at Morris and Chelsea Aves. at 8 p.m. Two thousand workers came down to the last election campaign meet- ing that was held July 30. The cossacks of Mayor Johns rode in without any warning, pushing their motorcycles into the crowd, beat up the speaker and arrested three workers, These workers were not even given a chance to secure a lawyer and they were railroaded to jail for 30 days. ‘The Communist Party of Long Branch calls upon all workers to come down hundreds strong to this meeting and demonstrate to fight against police. terror and for the right/of the workers to continue their unmolested by the police. Detroit Jobl Pincho DETROIT, Aug. 13.--Milionaire} Penn. Governor Calls Governor Pinchot of Pennsylvania, who reaps millions out of the toil and sweat and misery of the American workers, who orders the State Police to shoot down miners striking against hunger, yesterday made one of the most demagogic speeches ever de- livered, calling on the Federal gov- ernment to rescue capitalism by mak- ing*fake pretenses to “aid the unem- ployed.” Pinchot dined here with Mayor Murphy and “discussed” the unem- ployment situation, Mayor Murphy, recently acting with New York bank- ers and Henry Ford, out down unem~ ployment insurance at a time when| hundred workers and held a Pickets Clubbed in West Virginia: Over 200 Already Jailed WELLSBURG, West Va., Aug. 14.—Picket lines of the National Miners Union strikes at Colliers and Wellsburg Thursday morning, and picket lines of the rank and file strike, over which the U. M. W. A. claims jurisdiction, at Elm Grove the morning before, have been broken up with savage orutality, with tear gas and club- |>ing, and with arrests of over 200 | strikers. The picket lines were formed to stop the importation of scabs. Charges against those arrested are ‘Inciting to Riot” and other sharges—in great variety. TWO SIGNATURES A DAY IS DEMAND OF SECRETARIAT Warn Against Slack- ness in City Elec- tion Campaign The. District Secretariat has issued the following statement, sounding 2 warning against the slackness of the Party election campaign. The state- ment follows: “Two signatures 2 day from each Party member and sympathizer -of the Communist Party, and from all members in the mass organizations, unions, clubs, and fraternal organiza~ tions to place the Party on the bal~ lot is the goal set by the Communist Party, District 2. The date set to reach this goal is September 6. The Communist Party, District 2, sends this appeal to all workers to respond +, immediately to. this call in. order.to smash the conspiracy of the com-~ bined enemies of the working class, Democrat, Republican and Socialist, ‘the Capitalist parties, to place every obstacle in the way of preventing the Communist Party from making further inroads among the working class at this time in view of the des~ perate winter ahead. Go at once to your nearest station listed below: 142 E. 3d St., 301 W. 29th St, 19 W. 129th St. 569 Prospect Ave. Bronx; 136 15th St., Brooklyn; 61 Graham Ave, Brooklyn; 118 Bristol St, Sign up to collect a minimum of two signatures a day. The quota must be reached by September 6. Get other workers to collect three signa~ tures a day. Every worker a Red Col- lector and two signatures a day from each worker to go over the top. Get the Communist Party on the ballot in the municipal elections and deal a smashing defeat to all enemies of the revolutionary movement, DISTRICT SECRETARIAT Communist Party, Dist. 2. FIGHT ON HUNGER Struggle Goes onin New Forms Broadens to Other Coal Fields Ky. Coal Co. Gunmen Slug Negro NMU Organizers | Terror Is Unabated Strikers Write to the “Worker” From Jail HARLAN, Ky., Aug. 14. — Four mine company gunmen took Mc- Kinney Baldwin, Negro miner dele~ gate ‘to the Pittsburgh Nationa] United Front Conference. They tied him to a tree on Wednesday night and beat him: until they tore “his clothes off his back. They told him they would kill him if he returned. ‘The thugs used Sheriff John Brair’s automobile in doing the job, Bald- win was elected chairman of the Harlan National Miner’s Union kit- chen feeding starving families. An- other Negro mine union organizer was ciitically beaten and jailed. The terror against the miners continues unabated. ‘The International Labor Defense has been driven underground. The American Legion is mobilizing against the militant miners. A Message from Prison ‘The imprisoned Kentucky - striking miners have sent the Daily Workers the following message for transmis- sion to the workers everywhere: es ~~ ‘HARLAN COUNTY JAIL, Harlan Ky. Aug. 14—We swat like hell in this bosses’ jail. Every.day makes us hotter and more red. About fifty fworkers fight for life behind these bars. Cockroaches, rates, fleas, dirt and rotten grub givé us a break in this monotony and we wonder what is happening outside-and who is next. ‘Now the thugs are bringing more new arrivals, While Fred Jones, one of the dirtiest. thugs of the operators, to- gether with an army of murderers {CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) and the Communist League, with the co-operation of the Communist ‘Party. Striking Miners Open First Aid Station in Coverdale Coal Miners Must Have Relief To Fight On COVERDALE, Pa., Aug. 14.—Yes- terday tthe first aid station opened in the Coverdale, Pa., tent colony. A corner of the relief kitchen was taken over, and disinfectant and bandaging, collected by local miners, make up the station’s first supplies. Already a representative from the state health department came to “investigate” and told the miners that the’ first aid supplies must be taken out of the kitchen and kept in a “special” place, “We'd like a special little tent for our first aid station of course,” Rudy Coates, who organized it says. “But until we get it we'll have to take sec- ond best. You know we haven’t much place under a roof to spare. So many families being evicted need tents.” ‘There are a terrific number of tub- erculosis cases all through the field, but this the First Aid cannot deal} with. Good food is necessary to cope with it. “Lots of folks who haven't shoes to wear, get cuts and bruises and unless it’s painted with a little merourochrome it means an infection and all kinds of trouble, That’s one thing we need @ lot of. “Then there are so many with bad! stomachs and headaches—we know that’s. from not getting enough food. ‘We're doing our best to get this first aid in shape and we need physics, headache medicines like aspirin, fodine and ‘mercurochrome, alcohol, and of course, bandages and adhesive tape. We'd sure appreciate it if you can help us get some of these things. “But,” he continued, “what we need most is'food. .Most of that sickness wouldn’t be if there was enough to eat. And I can tell you, we need a good strong stomach when we picket Miners leaving Pittsburgh for Seattle, Washington, to collect funds for the Pennsylvania-Ohio- West Virgina-Kentucky Striking Miners Relief Committee, to strengthen. the miners’ strike against starvation. with those yellow dogs after us! But everybody feels fine about having a fist aid station. We even got a mid- wife in our.colony. You know the company doctor here won’t come to see us when we're sick, The only doctor we get to see is the one the P-O relief has done for us in Pitts- burgh.” Today there are five patients, and they are all doing well, But more nourishment is needed—more relief. The P-O calls upon workers eevrywhere to send contributions so that more food can be sent into every strike camp. Send your con- tributions to Room 205, 611 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. Bank of U.S. Depositors to Demonstrate Today at 12:30 AH Out at City Hall to Demand State Guar- antee of Lost Deposits! NEW YORK.—Thousands of small depositors of the de- funct Bank of the United States are expected to demonstrate today at 12:30 p. m. before City Hall in a demand for a state guarantee of the recovery of their lost deposits and prosecu- tion and jailing of the bankers, officials and Tammany poli- ‘The workers making the trip will meet at 11 o'clock sharp this morn- HIT ELIZABETH JM CROWISM ing at the YOU office in the Workers NEW YORK.—Hundreds of New| port this demonstration and the fight York workers will travel to Elizabeth | against discrimination against Negro today to support Elizabeth workers | workers. in a demonstration against the jim- crow City swimming pool at Front Workers .Correspondenve is the and Livingstone Sts. backbone of the revolutionary press. The demonstration 1s called by the] Build your preas by writing for & League of Struggle for Negro Rights| about your day-to-day struggle. ess Demonstrate As t Feeds Them Phrases On Hoover to Act More Sternly unemployment is increasing, reception, They staged a demon.-| staged fn front of the hotel denounced stration at the Statler Hotel where| the murdee of miners by Pinchot’s Pinchot and Murphy dined sump-| state police, Later ‘workers tuously while talking about “poverty”| marched back to and “misery.” huge meeting was A few hours after it was known| ands of , workers ticians instrumental in robbing tens’ of thousands of workers and small business men of their life savings, A permit for the demonstration has been granted by Commissioner Mulrooney, extending from 12:30 to 3pm Expect Big Crowd. ‘The United Depositors Committee, leading the depositors’ movement to recover the full amount of their de- posits, announced that preparations for the demonstration were well completed lest night and that the @emonstration would be one of the biggest of its kind ever held, Eleventh hour attempts of the state banking department and Tam- many officials to head off the grow- ing mass movement of the small de~ positors were indicated in stories in the Morning Journal and the For- ward telling of promises of an early payment of 40 per cent of the lost deposits, While it has not been made public yet, it was learned by the Daily Worker that the “investiga~ tion” conducted by Broderick has netted lawyers, Tammany hangers- on and others than the depositors nearly $3,000,000 to date. ‘The International Workers Order, many members of which organiza- tion. are small depositors, has en~ dorsed the demonstration today and urged all worker depositors to sup~ the United Depostiors’ (conraromm ox P4on eve tee demands, zy Two members of the United De- positors Committee, Seitenberg and Brownstone, were arrested Thursday while . distributing . leaflets for the demonstration, despite the specific promise of the police department not to interfere in such distributions. Ali Witnesses of Attempt Break Up Meeting Needed ‘Workers who witnessed the at- tempt of the cop to break up the Workers Ex-Servicemen’s League meeting July 18, at 14th St. and Broadway should appear in court August 18, Tuesday, to prevent the frame-up of two workers. Com~ * All Out Sunday to the Daily Worker Picnic--Pleasant Bay Par H ie Move to Bridge Gap Between Strikers and Men Back Hold Joint Meetings Fight Isolation and Discrimination PITTSBURGH, Pa., Aug. 13—A plan for re-organization of the western Pennsylvania strike, amounting to a new tactics, is before Central Rank and File Strike Exec- utive boards of the National Miners Union” Pennsylvania and Ohio-West districts, and the sectional and local strike committee. It was proposed to the Central Renk and File Strike Com- mittee meeting here Wednesday by its Executive Commitiee which met earlier in the day, and formulated it in general terms. The strike committee heard the plan ex- plained in an hour-long speech by Frenk Borich, national secretary of the union, and spent its entire five- hour session, in discussion of the plan. Out of some twenty speakers, only two opposed it. The strike committee postponed final decision on the new tactics un- til after the consent of the Ohio and West Virginia strikers shall be se- cured at the joint meeting of the union for Pennsylvania and Ohio- West Virginia districts. This meeting will be held in Pittsburgh, Friday. Following this, the plan will come up for final action at a special meeting |Saturday at 12 noon, Pittsburgh, of the Central Rank and File Strike Committee, and also on the same day, at the district convention of the Na- tional Miners Union in Ohio. The new tactics are made necessary by the facts in carefully tabulated reports from the field which show that at present the state and oper- ators’ terror, arrests, evictions, threats of eviction, and starvation, have forced back to work 30,000 of the 40,000 miners who went on strike during the last week of May and first weeks of June. ‘The strike executive observes that the scheme of.the compenies now is to drive a deeper and deeper wedge between the more militant forces which remain on strike, and the masses which have been forced back, and that this policy, unless the strategy of the strike lesdership is now changed, will resllt In an isola- tion and blacklisting ott of the in- 'dustry of the most active unionists. Such isolation must be prevented, says the strike executive, not only to preserve union organization but to continue the strike struggle. The proposition of the strike executive is to bridge the gap between those masses forced back to work and the minority of miners who remain on strike, by shifting the emphasis in the strike demands from the district demands first adopted (55 cents < ton, payment for all dead work, de- livery to face of all supplies, recogs. nition of the NMU, etc.) to local de- mands which shall be the burning grievances of the men.now at work, end which shall be formulgted by the local strike committees and adopted ‘at mass meetings of the strikers and men at work in each mine. ‘The local demands: will necessarily Virginia (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) Labor Sports Union Picnic For Miner Relief on Aug. 23 ‘The worker-sportemen =r to the Spartakiade who are re~ turning to the United States to- k Wh ot.