The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 31, 1931, Page 1

STILUAS muct oF & SOCIALIST AS You Dail Central Orga 4 EN, al (Section of the Communist International) tered as secon: ew York, Vol. VIII. No. 209 at jaxs matter at the Post Office under the act of March 3, 1879 <=» NEW YORK, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 1931_ The Crisis Deepens---J obits SLASH WAGES Increase---and Capitalists Refuse Real Relief IN spite of all lies to the contrary, even the official U. S. Government Paes of the so-called “Employment” Service, admitted Saturday that employment fell off in July. On Friday, the government had already admitted that wage cuts were spreading. The very fact that now, in August, the capitalist demagogues are already confessing that the winter will bring unheard of suffering to the workers, is a confession that all their palaver about a “recovery” are false. One has only to look at facts to see that the crisis is deepening. The N. Y. Post of August 29, runs such headlines as the following: “Stagnant Trade”—“Steel Mills’ Production Dwindles, Wage Cuts Ex- pected”—“Auto Industry in Weak Condition”—and, along with all this and much more, the “optimistic” statement that—‘Normal Level of Employ- ment Is Seen by 1933.” So workers must realize that the crisis is still deepening; and that the best capitalists can offer them is the hope that by two years from now there might be better employment! But now, today, tomorrow and in the visible future, unemployment is increasing! What is the attitude of the capitalists and their government toward this unanswercble fact? It is the attitude of refusal to do one damned thing to provide the relief really necessary to prevent mass starvation, misery and death among the workers; but a refusal concealed behind a thousand and one varieties of hypocritical “relief plans’—not one of which is even intended to do more than to “prevent revolution”, as an occasional frankness on the part of some capitalists admits. Foremost among these hypocritical “plans” is, of course, the Hoover “Gifford Commission”, set up deliberately to prevent relief, particularly anything in the line of Unemployment Insurance, But the past week has seen competition in demagogy by the Democrats, Governor Roosevelt of New York having taken the headlines away from Hoover with a noisy boast of providing $20,000,000 “for unemployment relief” throughout the state, An examination of this “wonderful” scheme quickly shows its hy- pocrisy. “As much of the money as can be used to employ persons on public works”, that is to say--the $20,000,000 will go as much as possible, to grafting contractors. And how far even this will go can be seen by the statement of the N. Y. City director of the Free Employment Agency, that there are 1,000,000 jobless in New York City alone! More: “No money must. be turned over to any beneficiary except in payment for work’—comes back as a boomerang to the liars ¢ out “forced labor” in the Soviet Union, to remind: workers that capitclsm stands with one leg on forced labor and the other on forced starvation! Workers must now prepare to battle for bread, for the lives of them- selves and their loved ones. They have no other way out but struggle— struggle for a lump sum in cash for Winter Relief, for immediate emer- gency relief and for Unemployment Insurance. A Communist Newspaper in the West We extend our most hearty encouragement to the efforts of our com- rades in the West who are organizing the establishment of a weekly working class organ—THE WESTERN WORKER. Such a paper is sorely needed. The workers in the cities and the farm laborers are showing increased signs of militancy. The spontaneous strikes in the agricultural fields and the organized strikes amongst the cannery workers, laundrymen, seamen, etc., involving thousands of Filipino, Chi- nese, Mexican, and white toilers, shows the possibilities of revolutionary organization. From Denver to the coast the movement amongst the un- employed spread even more rapidly than in many Eastern cities. Large numbers of workers are looking to the revolutionary unions and the Com- munist Party for leadership. Our Party is at this moment engaged in considerable activity; the struggle to build the movement of the unem- ployed for relief and insurance; the campaign to organize the agricultural, cannery and other workers against wage cuts; the fight against the police terror in Portland, Los Angeles and Oakland; the drive to repeal the Criminal Syndicalist Laws; the struggle against imperialist war prepara- tions; all these campaigns would be greatly strengthened if our Party lo- cally had a paper to help lead, organize and unify, these and other activi- ties which must be undertaken, : THE WESTERN WORKER would be a great help to the DAILY WORKER. Because of natural difficulties the DAILY does not arrive in the West in sufficient time to be of maximum possible use in the imme- diate day to day struggles. A Communist newspaper is an organizer as well as an educator. In order to serve these purposes best the organ must. deal concretely and thoroughly with each situation. Because of the broad- ening struggles throughout the country it is sometimes very difficult for the DAILY WORKER to thoroughly examine every struggle in each locality. Yet this is very necessary for by this means the ideological and organizational level of the masses within and outside the revolutionary organizations, is raised to a higher level. és For all these reasons the WESTERN WORKER is very necessary. We urge every comrade and sympathizer who can help either with shop news, technical, or editorial work, and finances immediately communi- cate with the WESTERN WORKER CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, 15 Fourth St., San Francisco, Cal. In order to guarantee the existence of the paper after it is started $3,000 is needed before the first issue is gotten out. Revolutionary workers and sympathizers will not need much urging to make them get behind the drive to put this new weapon in the hand of our movement. NTWU Mobilizes Workers to Combat UTW Sellout Plans Passaic Holds Conference to Organize Relief For Heroic Silk Strikers iy unorganized shops. This will be dis- tributed in leaflet form to all work- ers, making clear the prepared sell- PATERSON, N. J.—Aug. 30.—The critical situation created by the ob- viously prepared sell-out by the A. ¥. of L. at its Thursday night meet- ing, where a low price offer was re- jected, but full power given the Strike Committee of the Uiited Textile Workers to continue negotiations, which means a sell-out only slightly higher tian the low ‘price rejected, is being met by the National Textile Workers Union and United Front General Strike Committee by ener- getic and thorough measures. The activity planned between now and the end of the week are all directed at exposing the planned sellout, and bringing about rank and file unity based on the shops. A resolution on the A. F. of L. Maneuver has been prepared and is being circulated throughout all the shops, NTWU and UTW, as well as REMEMBER ! Solidarity Day for Miners Relief, September 7th, at , Starlight Park! Se out, and explaining how only unity in the shops can defeat this maneu- ver. Street meetings at all hours of the day and in all parts of the city will be conducted to clarify the is- sues. A large open air demonstra- tion with prominent speakers, known to the Paterson workers from pre- vious struggles, will bring the ques- tion of unity in the shops clearly pe- fore all the workers, The climax in this intensive activity will be a city- wide conference of delegates elected from shops, UTW, NTWU, and, un- organized shops, from the unem- ployed, from fraternal organizations, language meetings, settled shops and shops back either on fake settlements’ or without settlements, where the is- sues will be explained, and where concrete plans will be made to bring about unity on the picket lines, unity in settling the shops, united front shop committees, united action to prevent discrimination against mem- bers of the NTWU and active strik- (C’ NTINUED ON PAGE TWO) TO INCREASE BOSS PROFITS All Workers to Be Hit, Capitalist Press Admits In R.R. and Steel Soon Green Defends U. S. Steel Pay Cut NEW YORK.—Wage-cuts for all workers and a general smashing at- tack against the standard of living of the workers to increase the prof- its of the bosses, the stock and bond- holders, is the way out of the crisis, according to Annalist, one of the foremost organs of the Wall Street bosses, in its latest issue of Aug. 28. Coming at a time when the other capitalist papers declare wage-cuts must come in the steel industry and other industries, when Green tries to cover up the drive of the United States Steel Corporation in its pay slashing drive, this statement is significant in showing an increased drive against the entire American working class by the bosses, trans- ferring heavier burdens of the crisis on the workers The Annalist de- cla.res: “Whether we like it or not a re- duction in labor costs appears to be the only avenue left by which anything permanent can be ac- complished . . , for the purpose of restoring confidence in the rial- roads. . . . Recognition, of this fact, not only as it affects the railroads, but many other indus- tries as well, would go a long way toward eliminating one of the greatest obstacles of a revival in basie industrial activities, -Need for action of this kind is all the Mere preco’ng bzoxuse OF the enor- mous surplus cf short-term funds aweiting profiiable long-term in- ‘CONTION PD ON PAGE THREE) READY 10 STRIKE Provisiora! Strike Committee Is Elected At Saturday Meeting NEW YORK.—One hundred and fifty unholsterers rallied at an en- thusiastie meeting of the Furniture Worers Industrial Union Saturday night at the downtown Worers Cen- ter and after a long discusison on the conditions of the workers in the furniture industry in New York City. the misery and slavery of piece work and the long hours and starvation wages decided to issue a strike call fo all the furniture workers of New York City. A rank and file strike committee of 40 workers from the shops was elected and given the authority by the workers present to issue the strike call. Demands were worked out including week work, against piece work, the eight hour day and five day week, $1.00 an hour minim- um wage, equal division of work (no discrimination), control of the job and recognition of the Furniture Workers Industrial Union. and the shop committees. Eighty-four dollars was collected |. at the meeting for the strike fund dult organizations and clubs of New York held a United Front Conference and the provisional committee issued @ call to all the upholsterers to stand ready to strike. The Furnfture Workers Industrial Union calls all furniture workers to come to the Brooklyn strike head- quarters, 427 Lorimer St., Monday morning to take the final steps in preparation for strike. EVES STAND! Kentucky Lawyer to Defend Miners | at Trial Relief Is Very Urgent) Thugs Destroy Striker Gardens PINEVILLE, Ky., Aug. 30.—Frank- lin, Reynolds of Mount Sterling, Ken- tucky, an Associate of Clarence Dar- row in the Scopes trial, will repre- sent the arrested miners and the International Labor Defense at the urgent request of the defendants who object to the I.W.W.’s efforts to destroy the defense by exclusion of International Labor Defense attor- neys. epee aa HARLAN, Ky., Aug. 29.—Delegates from Tennessee, Virginia and Ken- tucky met Sunday in a District Com- mittee meeting of the National Min- ers’ Union. Big strides in the union’s development were reported, and re- quests for hundreds additional appli- cation cards, mebership books and stamps as well as new charters were made, While the meeting was going on, the caravan of deputized thugs in automobiles with machine guns aorker 364 Delegates at WIR Meet Vote to Push Relief for Miners THESE CHILDREN NEED BREAD AND .SHOES NOT CROCODILE TEARS! . bi “We approach all problems of childhood with affection,’ Herbert Hoover said to the American Child Health Conference. “Their's is the province of joy and good humor. They are the most wholesome part of the race ... we live a life of appre- hension as to what their opinion may be of us... we envy them the freshness of adventure and ¢~— discovery of life; we mourn over the disappointments they will meet. . - cheerless! homes produces morbid minds. Our growth of town life mounted in the rear for quick action were chasing up and down the hills hunting for the meeting. “we are holding our local union meetincs regularly with very good attendance,” the local secretary writes, “We are working hard build- ing our union so we can really strike all this country hereabouts and stop this crowd that is terrorizing the people here, and make the operators come across.” ‘ a Tae} Thugs Destroy Strikers’ Garden HARLAN, K~., Aug. 29.—The dep- utized thugs raided the home of Kimbler, active National Miners Union member, drove his family out -f Harlan and destroyed his garden. One thousand five hundred tomato ;olants were torn up by the “law” | (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE) iN. Y. State Labor Federation Attacks Jobless Insurance SYRACUSE, N. Y., Aug. 30.—At the bidding of the phrase-monger Governor Roosevelt, and under instructions of Tammany Hall, it opposes any form of unemploy- ment insurance and backs the fake unemployment relief program of Governor Roosevelt. Last year at its convention, un- der pressure of the workers, the New York A. F. of L. convention gave lip-sérvice agreement to a vague form of unemployment in- surance. This year, to help the unendingly imposes ‘such problems as mfilk and food supplies, for we have shifted these children from a diet of ten thousand years’ standing—” Here’s a problem of childhood that Hoover's government, and Pinchot's state police and deputies have met on picket lines, with clubs and bullets and tear gas bombs. These children are hungry, and they arrest men, ~and children who collect re- lief. The Red Cross refused even a penny’s worth of milk. Herbert Hoover need not spend another moment wondering about that the miners’ children think of him. The answer his government gave them when thousands of chil- dren went in huge hunger marches to officials for relief, when federal agents held the Pittsburgh relief secretary for deportation. because he helped collect relief, when the Chil- dren’s tag day was viciously attacked and thirty children arrested—those children have a very decided opinion. This most “wholesome part of the race,” whose “reshness of adven- ture and discovery of life” Hoover so envies, are waking every morning to discover hunger, a gnawing hun- ger, to discover rough treatment on picket lines (special trained dogs are brought by the deputies to terrorize the children) and warned that their relief kitchen, where at least three meals a week are served, will be closed if the picket lines continue. - The desolate company. shacks, and frame barracks, and tents in a rainstorm are far from cheerful, but they produce something else beside “morbidness”— real militancy, a de- termination to fight and fight, in the face of terror, arrests, hunger, Tammany fakers along they re- voked this stand declaring it was a “socidlistic” measure. evictions, marching on picket lines barefooted until feet bleed, a mili- (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE? San Francisco Hunger March Demands Relief from the City Mayor and Supervisors Run Away from Crowd of Nearly 4,000 Unemployed (Special to the Daily Worker) SAN FRANCISCO, Calif, — Six hundred workers marched in a hun- ger march from Third and Howard Sts. to the city hall, Three thous- and more workers awaited the marchers at city hall plaza and for the delegaion of fifty that presented the demands of the unemployed to the city authorities. The Mayor and the Board of Su- the New York State Federation of Labor changed its stand on un- employment insurance declaring ‘Lynch 2 Negro Workers for Self-Defense in Slave Camp BLOUNTSTOWN, Fila., Aug. 30.— Two more colored workers were lynched last night in the growing terror of the Southern boss lynchers against the Negro masses. The two latest victims are Richard Smoge and his son, Charley. Slaving in a turpentine camp, they had dared to defend themselves against the attacks of a forest ranger by the name of Frazier Williams who with other thugs were used to terrorize the workers. The ranger ‘ad attempted to beat up the older ‘an, and his son had gone to his [:escue, Together they disarmed the s ranger. In the fight which followed the ranger was injured and had to be sent to the hosyital. ‘The two workers were thrown into jail for daring habit a white man. Last Friday they were released on bond. As usual, the courts and the prison authorities worked hand in hand with the lynchers and the two workers were let out of jail at the moment most convenient for the mob which, incited by the boss press, has gathered to punish them for daring to defend themselves against (CONTINUED UN PAGE THREE)” pervsiors ran away before the del- egation arrived. The chief of police and some politician were left in charge to notify the delegation that the unemployment question would be taken up September 14. The Unemployed Council and the Prepare Big Demonstration The Unemployed Council and the Trade Union Unity League are im- mediately making preparations to rally the 80,000 unemployed workers here to hold the biggest demonstra- tion ever seen in the city. The Unemployed Council has de- cided to call upon all workers in San Francisco to begin immediate pre- parations in the neighborhood to come out in masses September 14. New Zealand Jobless. Drafted Into Peonage ‘ WELLINGTON, New Zealand, — Unmarried male workers who are unemployed will be drafted for road and land construction work. ‘The workers will receive food and shelter and “pocket money” only, which means virtual peonage. ‘The Public Works Department will supervise these camps, ; 500 STRIKERS AT PUTNAM MEET REPULSE POLICE Force Release of Jim aid, NTWU Head As Police Arrest Him PUTNAM, Conn. (by mail).—At a thass meeting of 500 textile strikers held at the corner of Church and Providence Streets police tried to break it up by arresting James Reid, national chairman of the National Textile Workers Union. Reine te More than 600 workers gathered on the vacant lot and listened to the N.T.W.U. organizers and local strike leaders analyze the strike situation. Police Arrest Reid When J, P.. Reid had spoken for over half an hour the police sergeant led his men into the crowd and pulled Reid from the platfrom. Immediately the workers swarmed in upoh the police and made a de- termined effort to free the speaker and it was only with great difficulty that the police finally placéd Reid in a taxi and taken to the police station. The vacant was immediately taken by Bill Siroka, who carried on the meeting without further interference from the police and finally led the mass of workers to the police station where Reid was released as the re- sult of the workers militancy and their refusal to leave until their leader was handed over. First Meet In Putnam When Reid was released he was escorted to the union headquarters by over 200 cheering singing workers. This was.the first open air meet- ing held in Putnam under union auspices and the attempt of the police to break it up was meant to prevent mass demonstrations in general. WENT TO WAR FOR RIGHT TO PICK GARBAGE Ketchikan, Alaska. Daily Worker: Try to beat this combination if you can in one paper, One article in the “Seattle Post Intelligencer” on Aug. 8 states that we must not forget the ex-service- men, Another reminds us that we went to war for the right to pick garbage on the garbage dumps. The third article tells us that the work- ers in the USSR are overcoming all obstructions placed against them by capitalism, C.A.S. Gifford Leads in Firing Men | Foster Greets Meeting WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! CITY EDITI Lay Plans to Build} Strong Organization for Relief 15 States, 102 Citiees! Send Delegates PITTSBURGH, Pa, Aug. 29--| Bringing real credentials in the} form of tons of food and large checks amounting to $1,900 for min- | ers’ relief, 364 Welegates from 15) states and 12 cities tances to the Workers’ International | Relief’s first national convention in| Pittsburgh today. Sitting in a hall vividly decorated with slogans painted in solidly blocked white letters on| red bunting, “Relief Based on Soli- darity, Not Charity!” and “Build the W. I. R. Into a Permanent Organ- ization!” the delegates planned al program and concrete steps for mak- ing the slogans actualities. In deed the Philadelphia delega-} tion reported that a real beginning | in this direction had already beeni made there. Permanent W. I. R. committees have been established in 12 American Federation of Labor lo- cals as a result of a joint conference held in that city of member organ- izations of the Penn-Ohio-W. Vir- ginia-Kentucky Striking Miners’ Re- lief Committee and the W. I. R. last Trade Union Unity League ns and fraternal organiza- tions have also done this. Another conference promising good results, had been held in Boston prior to the convention at which 40 delegates representing 20,000 workers . were present. Every delegate today from came long dis- all 102 cities stressed the tremendous possibilities and great strides already H made in the direction of building the W. I. R. into a broad, mass, perma-' nent, dues-paying organization, a powerful weapon in the hands of the working class. { The tw ooutstanding decisions of the convention call for an intensifi- cation of relief collection for the striking miners and building the W. I. R. on a solid foundation into a permanent relief organization ready; for all emergencies, | Important resolutions, outlining the concrete tasks of the Workers’ In- ternational Relief, the resolution on form and program, a special resolu- | tion on the campaign for miners’ relief, and resolutions demanding the release of all class-war prisoners, were passed unanimously. | The plan for permanent organiza- (CONTINUED OF PAGE SOLIDARITY DAY IS DRAWING NEAR. All Out to Starlight Park, September 8 Preparations for the big mass dem- onstration and festival for the relief | of he miners at Starlight Amusement Park, 177th St and West Farms Road, Monday, September 7 (Labor Day) are proceeding satisfactorily. Solidarity Day will be remembered as a day of pledging solidarity to the miners of Pennsylvania, West Vir- ginia, Ohio and Kentucky in their struggles against starvation and éf- forts to build a powerful mass union to defend their interests. In true festival spirit a variegated and colorfy” program throughout the day and / ight is promised. Music, pageants’ moving pictures, dancing, sports, bootn displays will be regular features. Prominent speakers includ- ing Wm. Z. Foster Wm. Weinstone and Frank Borich secretary of the National Miners Union will address the meetings. rRRER? and Women; Slashing Wages NEW YORK.—Walter S. Gifford, recently appointed by Hoover to head the latest unemployment commission to fight the unemployed, is shown to be a past master in the elimina- tion of jobs by a report of the In- terstate Commission just issued. Its summary of monthly reports of large telephone companies, of which Gifford’s American Telephone and Telegraph Co, is a key member, shows that in the first six months of 1931 the companies cut their “traffic expenses” 10.7% below the _ Jevel of the first six months of 1930, ve ALOE Ain CR IN: Wages are a big item in “traffic ex- penses.” Telephone operating reve- nues for the half year showed a decrease of only 1.6% under the first half of 1930, and the ratio of expen- ses to revenues dropped from 68.09 per cent to 66.59 per cent, so that profits actually increased in propor- tion to business done, At the same time government and other reports showed that there was a big increase in the number of un- employed with a decrease of avail- AQONTINUED ON P. NY GOVERNOR ISSUES FAKE ‘RELIEF’ PLAN Roosevelt Bill Is Demagogie Attempt to Fool Jobless Proposes Graft Fund Capitalist Parties Are United in Attack Governor Roosevelt has proposed a fer the relief of the unemployed w York state this winter which is one of the most demagogic at- tempts to deceive the working mass- a bill les that has yet been attempted in the present crisis. This attempt to deceive the masses on the part of Ri velt is a direct result of the pressure of the masses who have been mobilized for immediate relief and unemployment insurance by the Unemplpyed Councils, the Trade Union Unity L ie and the Com- munis: Party. It is the answer of the capitalist politicians to the grow- ing militancy of the unemployed and employed workers. Even the insig- nificant concession proposed by Roosevelt has been forced from the state by the struggle of the oppressed masses. The relief measure provides for we appropriation of $20,000,000 for relief this coming winter. There are at the present time 1,600,000 jobless work- ers in the state. This would mean an appropriation of $12.50 for each un- employed worker. Even taking the false figures of the state and city administrations as a basis, the ap- propriation is revealed as nothing but a wretched pittance for the job- liess. In his speech Roosevelt ad- mitted that there would be 1,000,000 jobless this winter in the state. This would mean $20 per jobless worker for the entire stark winter out of (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE) LOOT STRUGGLE IN ACW TAKES A SHARPENED TURN Hillman With Police Aid Ousts Orlofsky Into the Street ~- NEW YORK.—Hillman’s threat to get Orlofsky, manager of Local 4, cutters, in order to have undisputed ‘control of the graft revenue of the ACW company union was made good Saturday when police together with Hillman officials broke into the of- fices of the cutters local, ripped open the premises and bodily ousted Or- lofsky upon the sidewalk. Searching the offices feverishly, Hillman supporters and the police failed to find the books, vouchers, receipts showing the amount of loot Orlofsky had connected for himself and his clique instead of passing it 'on to Hillman. Orlofsky and Mechlin, his aide, returned with their lawyer Markow- itz and locked themselves in as de facto evidence of their official status, Markowitz appealed to Mulrooney to have the police aid Orlofsky. Mul- rooney with an eye for Tammany ine terests said he was neutral and sent several dicks along with Markowitz to maintain “neutrality” in the cut- ters offices, Hillman Forces Mobilized Two mass meetings of cutters fol- lowed later that day as both cliques mobilized their forces for fight for the company union booty. Hillman’s meeting at Webster Hall elected a triumvirate as supervisors over the Jocal until such time as he would call for elections. The trio are Hillman henchmen and vicious against the left wing. Beckerman for the Orlofsky group, speaking in Beethoven Hall to the cutters he could rally, said that Hill- man had agreed with the Manufao- turers Exchange to slash cutters’ wages as soon as he was in controt. Beckerman openly stated both cliques would restore to gangster warfare with police as aides in fighting for control of the local and the maintenance of an inner racket- eering group. Knee pants makers will meet to- day at 1 p.m. at Clinton Hall in an effort to stop the trade to take up a fight against piece work that Hill- man is trying to introduce in the shops. All knee pants wrokers are urged to be at this meeting. A meéting of rank and file work- ers of the Amalgamated will be held today at 7:30 pm. at 83 East 10th St. to prepare mobilize tailors and cutters for a mass meeting .of left