The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 5, 1931, Page 1

( PER ie Tae HAG UN THe U: 1S 0 Be He USA (Section of the Communist International), WORKERS OF THE WORLD,’ _UNITE! Vol. VII, No. 214 Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879 aie NEW YORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1931 CITY EDITION a Price 3 Cents Call for United Action For the Freedom of Tom Mooney and All Other Class War Prisoners THE WORKERS! Tom Mooney, buried alive for fifteen years in a Cali- fornia cell upon a ghastly frame-up by the boss class of America, has appealed for action. Mooney says: “Let the appeal be the spark which will start an unparal- leled conflagration—agitation that will rouse the masses to demand my unconditional pardon and the release of all class war prisoners.” The International Labor Defense calls for immediate ac- tion by the workers and toiling farmers in a nation-wide campaign for the immediate unconditional release of Mooney and Billings, for the freedom of the 34 Harlan miners being tried upon the frame-up charge of murder, for the release of the nine innocent Negro’ boys framed up and sentenced to death on false charges at Scottsboro, Alabama; the Impe- rial Valley prisoners sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for organizing and leading a strike of farm workers in Cali- fornia, the Centralia prisoners already 11 years in jail, and hundreds of other fellow workers languishing in the prisons of capitalism because of loyal service to the workers’ cause throughout’ the capitalist world. The International Labor Defense calls upon all workers and toiling farmers, upon the locals of the American Federa- tion of Labor, the trade unions affiliated with the Trade Union Unity League, the rank and file members of the Amal- gamated Clothing Workers, and other independent unions, the Communist Party, the working class members of the So- cialist Party, working class fraternal organizations and work- ers’ clubs—to join in United Front Conferences called by the International Labor Defense for the release of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings, the Harlan miners and Scottsboro Negro boys, Imperial Valley strike leaders and other class war prisoners. Now is the time for action. The release of our fellow work- ers, the martyrs of the working class, rests in the hands of the working masses. The official leaders of the A. F. of L. have been still further exposed by Mooney himself as sabo- tagers and betrayers of the efforts for his liberation. They cannot be counted on for the struggle for Mooney’s release. “To long have we been deceived by slick promises,” says Tom Mooney: in his call. The working class, which through its demonstrations prevented the hanging of Mooney in 1917, can open the doors for the freedom of our militant fel- low fighter and the hundreds of prisoners, the Harlan min- ers, J. B. McNamara and M. A. Schmidt, in prison so many Years as°2result of labor struggles, and fellow fighters in the terror dungeons of other counrties—Poland, Jugo-Slavia, Italy, India, China, etc, Workers and toiling farmers: Enter the united front con- ferences called by the International Labor Defense. Arrange mass demonstrations, adopt resolutions calling for the re- lease of Mooney and the class war prisoners a mighty mobili- zation against police terror and persecution of striking work- ers, against lynching and persecution of Negro workers and share-croppers, against deportation and terror against for- eign-born workers, against the wage-cutting offensive in the shops, against the capitalist program of starvation of the unemployed, against the preparations for imperialist war and the efforts to drown the Soviet Union in blood by a war of intervention. Into the fight, workers and toiling farmers—workers, Negro and white, native and foreign born, workers of the A. F. of L. unions and revolutionary unions, workers irre- spective of Party affiliation! Create one powerful front against the boss class for the freedom of Mooney and Bill- ings and the other class war prisoners! The fight for Mooney is the fight against capitalist terror, hunger and starvation! Hands Off Chile! wae we can by no means credit all the capitalist press dispatches from Chile, the Associated Press especially’ being deliberately dis- torted, nevertheless certain general conclusions may be drawn and these are definitely encouraging to the Communist and anti-imperialist move- ment. The Chilean working class movement has always been painfully iso- lated from the world movement and even today the Communist Party of Chile has for years been unable to communicate directly with the South American Secretariat of the Communist International across the Andes in Argentina. Much of the weakness of the whole movement is traceable to this isolation. Prior to 1927 the Communist Party of Chile was numerically strong and had six representatives in parliament, although the Party as a whole was quite confused and full of opportunist elements. The Chilean Labor | Federation embracing the entire organized trade union movement was definitely revolutionary and supported the Communist Party and followed in a somewhat ideological way the principles of the Red International of Labor Unions. With military dictatorship established by the seizure of government by the fascist, General Ibanez in 1927 there came an era of massacre and oppression which horrified all Latin-American labor. Be- | cause of the confusion and opportunist unpreparedness existing within the Communist movement, the organizational possibilities of the Com- munist Party and the Chilean Labor Federation was destroyed. But in the face of wholesale slaughter of strikers, especially in the nitrate mines and the deportation of hundreds to the penal islands a thousand miles off the, coast, the masses still retained their loyalty toward the Communists. Thanez tried to strangle the revolutionary unions by a typical fascist, class collaboration organization of government by supervised “worker- employer” organization which the “socialist” trade union international at Amsterdam hastened to hail with great joy. Ibanez, while playing a seemingly “impartial” role between the rival imperialisms of British and United States, clearly favored the Yankees, perhaps because it paid better. Because of this it became “suddenly easy” to settle the age-old conflict with Peru over Tacna-Arica and it was still easier for American imperialist interests to get immensely valuable con- cessions, the most spectacular being the dominating role in the nitrate cartel formed in March under the lead of the Guggenheim interests. However, the expectation of American imperialism that Ibanez could by fascist terror forever and without limitation continue to guarantee its robbery of the Chilean masses, was unfounded. The misery of the work- | ers had already last winter broken through the crust of terror and vast | unemployed demo: tions under the auspices of the Communist Party indicated a rising of mass activity. Not bécause there was any essential differences, outside perhaps of a Jeaning toward British imperialism, did the bourgeois clique who took advantage of the mass discontent that broke further in July, overthrow (CONTINUED ON PAG ETY™* BOSSES IN CHILE, WALL ST. FEAR WORKERS WILL ESTABLISH SOVIET RULE Prepare Blood Bath By Arming Bourgeois Scum; US. Government Sending Warships Try To Mislead Sailors By Agreeing to Demands “Th Principle”; Boss Press Lies Much secrecy shrouds the so-called “peace agreement on principlé” which Rear Admiral Eduardo Yon Shroeder, the cabinet’s representa- tive, is supposed to have made with Chilean sailors who mutined. So far, according to the latest United Press cable from Santiago, not all the sailors have capitulated. “The ministry of marine reported, how- ever,” says the United Press, “that efforts to prolong the uprising were under way. A radio message from the naval air base at Quintero, near Valparaiso, was intercepted, disclosing that the air base had joined the movement and appealed to the sailors to continue resistance against the cabinet.” Meanwhile the Communist forces are growing. “The Communist Party,” says the United Press, “has gained enormously as a result of business depression, unemployment and the political unrest of the last few days.” The capitalist forces are arming all the white guard elements who swear to uphold capitalism. “American and other foreign residents,” says another cable, “arranged tonight for armed patrols as a precaution against disorders threatened by the Chilean naval mutiny and revolutionary agi-. tation among workers.” Even after the so-called settlement was made, the United Press was forced to report that: “The entire navy remained in control of the mutiny leaders and the vessels which left Talcuhuano base yesterday were under- stood to be nearing Coquimbo to join the leaders of the uprising.” . NEW YORK.—Confusing reports on the outcome of the Chilean uprising are filling the capitalist newspapers. Most of the cables to the capitalist news agencies vaguely state that an “agreement” has been reached with the sailors “in principle” complying with their demands, but other news indicates a spread of the uprising and especially the form- ation of white-guard bands, armed by the government in an effort to wipe out the revolutionary uprising in a sea of blood, aided by the American imperialist armed forces. A United News Flash! TWO MORE HARLAN MINERS INDICTED BULLETIN, PINEVILLE, Ky., Sept. 4.—Jones and Hightower, secre- tary and president respectively of the Evarts UMWA were indicted yesterday for perjury. Jones is to stay in jail until he can arrange a $15,000 bond on a murder charge. The per- jury charge refers to a statement made in an affidavit to disqualify Judge Jones. A $5,000 peace bond was added. Hundreds went to Tennessee Wednesday for the funeral of Baldwin and Moore, killed by deputies several days ago, while standing in front of the Harlan relief kitchen, Battered cars were used and collections were taken up in the camps PUSH RELIEF DRIVE AND DEMAND MOONEY RELEASE AT STARLIGHT MEET, MON. | AT HUGE MEET From Mooney For Striking Demand Amnesty | Relief SHARPEN POLISH. JAIL TERROR Political Prisoners in Hunger Strike The Warsaw Gazette of August 21 reports the following: “The new prison regulations under which political prisoners are placed on the same level as the criminal prisoners was introduced in all War- saw jails yesterday. “All of the privileges which had previously been granted the political prisoners were completely abolished. “The introduction of the new pri- son regulations was answered by the political prisoners who are serving terms in the Warsaw jails by a uni- ted protest demonstration. The po- litical prisoners in the ‘Pawiak’ jail have started a hunger strike. The police in the surrounding police. dis- ®Press cable from Buenos Aires, Ar- gentina, sent after reports of “agree- ment”. with the mutineers, says: “A telephone message from San- tiago tonight said that the threat of Communism in Chile was increas- ing at such a pace that the estab- lishment of a Soviet republic in that country had become a strong possibility. This followed press dispatches di- rect from the Chilean capital which indicated that Communist groups were continuing the uprising, de- spite the government’s announced settlement with one section of the mutinous navy at Coquimbo.” That the Communist forces are growing, rallying thousands of work- ers and peasants behind the de- mands of the establishment of a So- viet Republic, is admitted by all the capitalist newspapers. It is for this reason that Rear Admiral Schroeder, acting on behalf of the government {CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) tricts were held in readiness in order to quell whatever street demonstra- tions might occur.” 300,000 Join Political Strike in Spain; Troops Kill Workers MADRID.—A general strike is on in Barcelona, Spain, which in many instances has reached the propor- tions of civil war. The entire city is tied up, with over 300,000 mem- bers of the syndicalist unions re- ported to be participating in the strike. Thousands of soldiers have been brought into the city by the Social- ist-Republican rulers to shoot down workers. Many casualties already are reported. Machine guns are stra- tegically placed throughout the city in an effort to terrify the workers. Armored cars are patrolling the streets. In some parts of the city, the workers set up barricades, and from latest reports the government troops hda not attempted to storm the barricades, ‘The walkout, according to capital- ist press dispatches, is a political mass strike called against the wishes of ‘the reformist-Socialist leaders. The strikers demand the ousting of Governor Anguera de Sojo because Young Worker, Job- less, Tries Suicide NEW YORK, Sept. 4. — William Schneider, an unemployed elevator operator of 324 East 95 St., attempt- ed to commit suicide py jumping from the roof of the house in which he lived. He landed in the rear yard, five stories below, and was re- moved to City Hospital in a serious condition, suffering from a fractured skull and internal injuries, he would not release workingclass political prisoners, Another demand is that all political prisoners be re- leased. The Socialist-Republican rulers fear the strike will spread to the proportions of a revolution to overthrow the regime of the Social- ist-Republicans and the rich-land- owners who at present rule in Spain. PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Sept. 4.— Booing derisively their officials, one thousand hosiery workers cheered. to the echo a call by William Z, Foster for struggle against any wage cutting agreement the American Federation of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers misleaders may seek to conclude with the bosses, at a mass meeting held last night in the Kensington mill section under the auspices of the National Textile Workers Union, Edith Berkman, organizer for the National Textile Workers Union, be- fore the packed throng of hosiery workers, exposed the scheme of the A.F.F.F.H.W. misleaders to force a 30 to 50 per cent average wage cut upon the unionized workers and to worsen conditions to the level of the unor- ganized mills. Warning the workers that though the wage cutting proposals were vot- ed down at.the special convention of for gasoline. Bosses Try to Stop Mass Demand for Miners’ Release 50 Cases to Come Up In Fall In Washington County Mine Strike Area WASHINGTON, Pa., Sépt. 4— While the former coal operators’ at- torney, Judge Cummins, continues ‘#» railroad miners to jail for picketing, his fellows, the fascist gangs of the operators visit the hall owners of Washington in the effort ot smash the preparations for a great defense conference here Sunday, Sept. 6. The conference was called by the National Miners Union and the In- ternational Labor Defense and is a high point in the growirig mass cam- paign in Washington County for re- lease of all the miners. The conference was arranged for DEPOSITORS TO DEMONSTRATE AT CITY HALL, 12:30 Demand “Payment of U. S. Bank 1k_Depositors of the Bank of “Unite States will be held at City Hall today at 12:30 under the auspices of the U; Depositors Committee of 25, Bank of U. S. The following demands will be made for the payment of 100 per cent of deposits; the state should re- imburse depositors; srfiall depositors to be paid first and in full; for the prosecution of the Board of Direc- tors; for the prosecution of the Banking Department; for the attach- ment of all the property of the Board of Directors and for the assessment of the stockholders with 25 million dollars. The International Workers Order has issued a call upon its members to participate in this demonstration to demand full payment to the small depositors. The Needle Trades Work- ers Industrial Union also calls upon its members and sympathizers to join in this demonstration. Not only the depositors of the Bank of the United States, but all depositors of closed banks which make a total of 550,000 and their dependants, totalling about one-third of the population of New Yor kare urged to rally in large num- bers in their fight against the bank- ers, Dies of Starvation; Lost in Bank Crash BENTON, IIL, Sept. 3.—Miss Dorca Russell, 70, died’ at her home here last night without medical attention. Physicians stated today that death resulted from starvation. She lost money through two bank failures here. Foster, Berkman and Pace Expose Sell Out Of A. F. of L. the AF-F.F.H.W. how in session by a yote of 32 to 26, the hosiery mis- leaders have not given up the idea of ramming it through, Foster point- ed out the role of the social fascists officials in putting over wage cut- ting, speed up program of the em- ployers in Philadelphia as in all sec- tions of the country and throughout the world. Sitting in the hall, the officials of the American Fedration of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers, Alex McKeown, Emil Rieve, William Smith and John Edelman did not attempt to carry out their disruptive intentions when they. saw. the spirit | of-the workers, Millers Hall. The owner of the hall has been terrorized to point of re- fusing to. grant it now, and has in- stead turned it over to a hastily or- ganized meeting of the local capital- ist politicians. The miners are now looking for another hall either in Washington or a near-by town, and the conference will be held. Court adjourned for this term to- day (Sept. 3) leaving some fifty cases still to come to trial. They will not come into court now until the fall term, several months away. As court adjourned, the case of Adam Getto, Joseph Getto, and Mike Taras was going to the jury. Tomor- row (Sept. 4) a special session of court will hear the verdict. The jury in the case of Peter Ugrin and John Balch, came in today and brought the usual verdict of “guilty.” Sentence in this case and in the cases of the others previously con- victed (except Krumble’s case) will not be passed until arguments for a new trial-are heard, at the next ses- sion of court. Bail is now being fixed on all these cases. Getto testified that when the Ells- worth picKet line met the barricaded |. | deputies. at the borough line he was told “You can’t parade through this borough.” “We're not going to parade, we're goifig to walk through fifteen feet (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) Aged Jobless Worker Commits Suicide in Stamford, Conn. STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 3.—Al- bert W. Selwyn, 68 years of age, who has been out of work for some time and who was facing eviction from his home, committed suicide yester- day by inhaling illuminating gas. Due to unemploymnt he was unable to pay his rent and was looking for another house for fear of being evic- ted. When his wife went out to look for rooms this morning he gave her all the money he had left—eleven cents, Start Drive | To Free| Class War Prisoners A personal message from Tom who hag already served 15] years in San Quentin penitentiary on a frame-up charge will be brought to the “Solidarity Festival” to be held| on Monday at Starlight Park, 177th| St. and West Farms Rd., by Frank Spector, just released from the same} prison. Spector served 13 months in San Quentin after being sentenced to| serve 3 to 42 years as a result of his activity in preparation for-the agri- cultural strike of the Imperial Val- Mooney, (CONTINUED ON PA TWO) INTENSIFY DRIVE FOR SIGNATURES FOR RED BALLOT Call For Volunteers For “Labor Day” NEW YORK.—The intensified ac- tivity in all parts of the city this week-end to collect signatures must prove the turning point in assuring the necessary amount of signatures to enable the Communist Party to place its candidates on the ballot. But the danger line will not be cros- sed unless all workers sympathizers of the Party, members of fraternal organizations and unions give some time each day to the collection of the maximum number of signatures. The Party must advance into ter- ritory where Communist candidates have never been. run before. In Yonkers petitions are being circul- ated for a partial city ticket. In the Boro of Richmond, in the Ist Assem- bly District candidates will be run. In the 7th Congressional District in Brooklyn a Congressional candidate is being run and thruout the city additional aldermanic, districts will be added to bring the Communist Party as the leader of struggle be- fore new sections of the working class. The collection of signatures at top speed this week and should enable the Party to pass the danger point and then to go forward with the maximum energy and support of all working class organizations to realie thez full plan of the Commun- ist Party, District 2, in the present election struggle, Scottsboro Mother Scores ‘Traitorous NAACP Leaders KANSAS CITY, Sept. 4—Speaking at a monster mass meteing here last night, Mrs. Viola Montgomery, moth- er of one of the nine Scottsboro boys facing legal lynching in Alabama, bitterly attacked the disruptive tac- tics of the misleaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 1,000 Hosiery Workers Cheer Foster Calling for Fight Against Wage Cuts r Foster pointed out that the deep wage cut that the officials are trying to palm off as of one year’s durance only, was a permanent one. The vaunted stabilization of the industry that the Musteites and “progressives” officials have been trying to accom- plish at the expense of the workers was the basis of the 1930 wage cut agreement as it is of the present sellout scheme of Rieve, McKeown and Co., Foster declared. “There is no bottom to the extent that the employers will try to bring down wages trough their agents it the workers do not resist this, We may see this in the coal fields where starvation at work has been forced on the miners. We may see this in Great Britain where MacDonald, the “socialist” is leading the capitalist offensive to further starve the Brit- ish workers,” Foster said in stressing ie aais (MONTESUED ON PAGE ETURA Pointing out that the NAACP mis- leaders have brazenly denied the boys and their parents their rights to say what kind of defense they shall have, Mrs. Montgomery called upon the Ne- gro and white workers present to sup- port the International Labor Defense. She declared that the ILD is the or- ganization chosen by all the boys and their parents to defend them. She told her audience that the parents and their boys have repeatedly told Walter White and other NAACP heads that they must cooperate with the ILD if they sincerely wished to be of service to the boys. This, she said, they had refused to do on the excuse that the ILD was a Commu- nist group. They had instead cooperated with the Alabama boss lynchers in trying to smash the mass defense movement, she said. Mrs, Montgomery was enthusiastic- ally received by the workers present, (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) Despondent Mother Murders Son, Then Commits Suicide CHICAGO, I, & Sept, 3, — Mrs. Helen Lynch killed her son Joseph, aged four, by chloroforming him on Sunday night and then leaped from | tional Relief, her room in the Clayton Hotel, 2026 North Clark St. She died of her in- Miners Urgent Final plans for the Solidarity Day | demonstration and festival have been | completed by the Workers Interna- under whose auspices this gigantic mass meeting of work- ers will be held. Enthusiastic indorsements of the | affair dre pouring in from clubs, fra< ternal organizations, auxiliaries and trade unions. The Trade Union Une ity League, speaking for all unions | under its militant leadérship, has exe pressed its solidartiy and has pledged its support in making the Solidarity Day demonstration arid festival the most successful of its kind ever held in New York. Open air meetings under the aus- pices of working class organizations are being held thruout.the city to explain the significance of Solidarity Day. Miners carrying large sand- wich signs are arousing wide inter- est. Twenty thousand workers are ex- pected to attend this great mobiliza- tion to denounce the class collabor- ative policies of the treacherous leadership of the A. F. of L., to pro- test against the vicious frame-up of Tom Mooney and to demand his im- mediate and unconditional release, along with all the other militants and political prisoners, On Solidarity Day the workers will come to Starlight Park to pledge their solidarity with the striking- starving coal miners and the textile workers who are carrying on a bit- ter fight against, their starvation conditions. Work _?. ‘ack and white, native and forei. “tom will raise their voices and “pledge solidarity with the international working ¢lass and redouble their determination to r-sist militantly against the wage- slashing, speed-up, starvation cam- paign of the bosses. The program begins at 1 p. m. with mass singing by the Ukrainian Chorus, soloists — vocal and- instru- mental, dancing, a recital by the Children’s orchestra, speeches, games and sports. At 7:30 in the indoor Coliseum there will be a huge mass meeting addressed by William Fostr, William Weinstone, Alfred Wagenknecht, Bill Duncan, a striking Harlan miner, and other prominent working class leaders. There will be a symphony orchestra of fifty to lead the mass singing. There will be artists — a Caucasian dancer, singers “of Soviet Folk Songs and then the great mass pagean “On To Victory,” portraying the conquering struggle of the pro- Jetariat against the forces of ex- ploitation, hunger, misery and slav- ery. A tremendous working, class program, carefully and ~ forcefully presented—such as we have never seen before in New York. RUSSIAN MUTUAL AID MEET HITS AT WHITEGUARDS NEW YORK. —The ninth: Canven- tion of the Russian National Mutual Aid Society opening this’ Saturday at Central Opera House will deal a blow to the white guard forces which in alliance of American imperialism are preparing intervention against the Soviet Union. Within a year since the last con- vention of the R. M. & S, three new white guard papers were established. White guard generals are admitted under the guise of “scientists” and are lecturing on military subjects be- fore the leaders of the “imperial army and navy"—@ counter-revolu- tionary organization composed of the remnants of the Czar's military forces which is preparing in close alliance with American imperialism intervention against the Soviet Union, The opening of the Convention of the Russian Mutual Aid Society: this Saturday night at Central Opera House, to which all workers are in- vited, will be a demonstration of soli- darity with the Soviet Union. Come and participate. Representatives of the Communist Party, the Trade juries Tuesday night in the hospital. |Union Unity League, the League of When questioned by the cops in the| Struggle for Negro Rights will ad- hospital she stated that she was|dress the meeting. A fine concert despondent because she could not get work to support her son and herself, | 25 cent id program is axranged, Admission: is Wil ad