The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 10, 1931, Page 4

jtublishea by the « Auzus' letters of Thomas and E two I: “quite d eurt in. For one thing on the ve ould wa letters which the “ he finale of the rming little intervention Hill suit was briefly de- and more fully ex- o the New Leader. scribed plaine This was th of the case upon h in all hould have been to go behind es from a com- ges for public | During the indictment 1 phra ‘itten pi tion. absence even weeks of the stood unanswered aid and comfort to o! and liberal be One of the “technic: stated that the unlawfully and by force of arms seized possession of the plain- tiffs’ oil 1 whom Hill tled to the pos It is, then, “technical” matter that Hillquit unde: rove in an American cap- italist court that the workers’ revolution robbed the poor Cza: s of their hard-earned oi and that these lands are st he lawful of the Czarists. At the same time the s1 filed Hillquit declared that it had “no pol significance.” phra The Communist press, particularly the Daily Worker and the Mo. heit, lost no tine in takin: i “technical” inter’ svit and up its true chara y and sion to the int oil-magnate, Soviet government “st their “lawful” owners. Hillquit won his suit in an American “ of justice” it would have the effect of a legal and “moral” justification for armed intervention against the Soviet Union. Once the “wrongful- ness” and the “unlawfuln of the naticnaliza- tion of the oil industry by the Soviet governmen:t was established, it would de but logical that the unlawfully seized propecties of the Czarist oil robbers must be recovered by armed interven- tion, since those “wrongful” Soviets would not return the oil fields voluntarily, 9 also claims tha the e oil lands from explained that if y only the oil fields; does not the same * apply to the factories and estates, banks and railroads that the workers revolution zed entirely “without the consent of the own- ers thereof”? The Com words, that Hi “political program bands to soak the Ru AY workers and peasants, witn the gracious aid and Cooperation of the imperialist intervention armies, including the American. St press vvinted out, in er embodied the very ired” the White in the blood of its Our exposure of the intervention nature of the Hillquit oil suit aroused the indignation of the Sreat masses of workers who are in sympathy with the Soviet Union. The “socialist” party became frightened. The more practical “social- i Norman Thomas, among them, realized that something had to be done at once to coun- terect the ure of the true nature ot the Hillquit oi] suit. There was nothing else left for them to do but meke a show of opposition to Hillquit's intervention move. Norman Thomas defends his action Hillquit matter on the ground that it was who first started writes: in the not he the public discussion. He “My letter in the New Leader did not origt- nate but followed public disc: on of this case. It followed Comrade Hillquit’s own pub- Ke statement that the case had no political significance to which I replied quoting sen- tences from the complaint which he had filed for his clients, which complaint was a public document already quoted in the press,” The reverend gentleman merely “forgot” to add that the “public discussion of this case” originated in the Daily Worker and the Morn- ing Freiheit and that Hillquit’s complaint on be- half of the Czarist oil crew was quoted in the | Communist press and not in capitalist papers. Under these circumstances reverend Thomas | simply had to bestir himself in: rder to save the “socialist” party from the truth. Listen to this: “I was by no means alone in the party in be- Heving . .. that prompt action was necessary to avert a dangerous misconception of the party’s position.” With due Christian humility Thomas pats himself on the back for having accomplished the salvation of the socialist party: “I do not need to apologize either to Com- rad? Hillquit or to the party. He even more Uncover Starvation and Misery Phe ecnitalist press, the agents of the ruling class, has been publishing less and less news about | unemployment. tt hides the starvation of the unemployed workers’ families. We must constantly expos? the miserable treatment of families of the unemployed by the city governments and charity institutions. We must uncover all cases of starvation, un- dernourishment, sickness. We must pu® lish these cases in our press, in the Daily Worker, in Labor Unity, tell them at all workers’ meetings. Un- employed Councils should publish bulletins to inform all workers of the starvation and misery of the unemployed, | against hunger. ered from a po- hich I have escay it may we not suggest that It strikes us that his party has been quite S anti-Soviet intervention and Thomas pretend that good. Thomas says too scon? nor on with most socialists, I am to Morris Hillquit for the service he to the wit wing from the As matters now stand. suit from which withdrawn can about th quit has wisely e with the united soci: tion in the 1ensely important situation which con- ts us here in America And Hillquit chimes in with sweet harmony that “The subject has become purely academic ince I hi decided to withdraw from it. I fully agree with Comrade Thomas as to the need of united and energetic socialist action. It is with this object in view and not in any spirit of personal rancor that I close this quite distasteful discussion.” To which we may add with the proper in- tonation: Oh, yeah? Has Hillquit’s oil suit and the “socialis rty’s intervention policy really become “pure! academic”? Well, not for us. And we'll see to it that this Czarist oil suit is not relegated to the dust bins of academic liter- ature. We appr e the eagerness of the ‘‘so- cialist” party to remove from sight this tell-tale oil-suit. Just now on the eve of the election campaign it would be more than embarrassing to the “socialist” campaigners to keep this issue alive. And just now it is tremendously impor- tant for us that the masses of workers see the “socialist” party in its true light, in its utter interventionist nakedness. rT, we cannot repeat it too often, this inter- vention program is not the personal program of Morris Hillquit. It is the program of the Amer- ican socialist party and of the Second Interna- Hillquit’s “socialist” critics, including n Thomas, agree with him in principle. Thomas is strong for compensating the capital- ists whose properties are nationalized. He makes a strong plea for this principle in his book, “America’s Way Out. The Cazarist capitalists have not been compensated by the workers’ revo- lution for their seized and nationalized proper- ties, and this constitutes an “injustice” accord- ing to the cherished compensation theory of Norman Thomas. Hi!lquit’s effort to racover the properties of the Czarist oil-bandits is fully in keeping with Thomcs’ “philosophy” on the sub- ject. Hillquit’s intervention program is also the program of moving spirits of the Second International. Abramovich occupies exactly the same position, and the Second International blessed Abramovich on his mission to help the former .Czarist capitalists of the “Industrial Party,” in partnership with the imperialist Gen- eral Staffs, accomplish their plans for an armed intervention in the Soviet Union for the pur- pose of recovering these very oil-lands that Hill- quit is complaining to the capitalist courts about. During the trial of the Mensfevik in- tervention band in Moscow the American so- cialist party openly and vehemently sided with the interventionists. The leaders of the Amer- ican socialist party have been raising funds and are continuing to raise funds to help Abramo- vich, the Mensheviks and the Second Interna- tional carry out their counter-revolutionary ac- tivities of sabotage and intervention against the workers’ fatherland. For Hillquit and Thomas it is important to stop playing med and unite for common action “in the immensely important situation which confronts us here in America.” The personal struggle for leadership in the “socialist” party will not deter the two interventionists from common action to meet the present situation in America, which is just as important for the American “socialists” as the world situation is important for the Second International. This situation, indeed, calls for “united socialist ac- tion” to save capitalism from revolution. Here in the United States it is the mission of the “socialist” party to direct the growing unrest among the masses of workers along the “safe” channels of petty-bourgeois reforms, along the channels of loyalty to the political and economic -nstitutions of capitalism. This is the mission of . the “socialist” party, this is also its program in the coming elections. This is the mission of the “socialist” labor-fascists and racketeers in the company unions. Hillquit's oil suit is not a closed issue and not an “academic” question. It is one of the vital issues of the present campaign that confronts the workers. The issue must be kept alive, and we'll see to it that it is. The workers must be made to see that to vote for “socialist” candi- dates means voting for intervention against the Soviet Union, voting for the triumph of capital- ism over socialism, for the victory of the imper- jalist world over the socialist fatherland of the world proletariat . Hillquit’s intervention policy is of a piece with the policy of the “socialists” in the unions, in all the struggles of the workers It is a policy of attacking the workers’ standards of living, a policy of aiding and promoting wage cuts, of smashing or be- | traying the strikes of the exploited against star- vation conditions, of attacking and demoralizing the unemployed in their struggle for adequate relief and unemployment insurance. While doing lip-seryice to the “principle” of unemployment insurance, the “‘socialists” fight every attempt of the unemployed to obtain it. The “socialists” support the fake charity schemes of Hoover and Roosevelt and make common cause with the capitalists in placing the entire burden of the capitalist crisis upon ‘the workers. This is the mission of the social-fascists in England, where the Labor Party helps the “na- government put through its starvation tional” program by a sl is calculated to how of sham “opposition” that ‘cep the betrayed masses from revolutionary uggle against the starvation program, The same mission inspires the poli- cies of the German “socialists” in supporting the starvation decrees of the fascist Bruening gov- ernment. The role of social-fascism is the same the world over, and its intervention program against the proletarian socialist republic, the Soviet Union, is also the same. Hillquit’s oil suit is a characteristic expression of this policy, and so far as the revolutionary workers are con. cerned the issue is by no means closed. aul Ceatral Ongange tee orker frumist Party U.S.A. BU IVLION RATES: By mal. everywhere: One year, $6; six months, $3; two months, $1; of Manhattan and Bronx, New York City. Foreign: one year, excepting Boroughs $8; six months, $4.50. | | | By WRONSKI 'HE two year struggle and fight continually led by political prisoners in fascist Poland for their prison rights and privileges, conquered previously by long hunger strikes, are developing a new exceptionally furious character. Brutal attacks of the faccist authorities are all an- swered with a double strength of solidarity of jall class political prisoners. Due to the teamen- | dous development of revolutionary class sttuggle and the great influence of the Communist Party of Poland, and her leadership among the wide working maégsés, thé attack’ upon political pris- oners’ rights, their health and life has been get- ting more furious than ever. With a full knowl- edge of war preparations against the Soviet Union, the fascist government enforces a white terror, an action which shall kill physically and morally all revolutionists, Prison rules and statutes administrated in the year 1929 by the prison department, and which the fascist government tries to carry out, will equalize political prisoners’ rights with the crim- | inals; an act that will terrorize the strongest vanguard of the revolutionary proletariat and easantry kept in prison by the fascist govern- ment. To have an idea of the situation of the political prisoners in fascist Poland, I am stat- ing herewith a few facts. Warsaw. In all three prisons in Warsaw, the prison wards are kicking and hitting the workers, peasants and soldiers. If they protest, calling | out “Do not hit”, and protest by not accepting any food, the prison authorities give orders to beat us worse. Prisoner Comrade Rutkowski, at the Pawiak prison was severely kicked and beat- By PEDRO MORALES |AVANA, Sept. 2—The Cuban government through its Secretary of the Interior, Zubi- zarreta, has informed the strikers that if they do not accept the company’s terms, the goyern- ment would see that the street cars start. run- ning. The strike has been on for a month. After a futile attempt to run the cars for two weeks, with aid of the government, with police, and dicks, protecting the strike-breakers and with one or two on each car, to give the appear- ance that the public was riding the cars, after Zubizarretta had recruited prostitutes to ride on the cars to encourage women to use the cars, the Havana Electric Railway Co. withdrew its ser- vice, and for two weeks the company has run only one car a day, in order to preserve its fran- chise. The strike is a success. The workers of the city and the petty bourgeoisie use the busses and automobiles. The strike received the sym- pathy of the entire working class and éf the petty bourgeoisie. Trade unions, and storekeepers provide relief for the strikers, The original offer of the company to cut wages an average of 5 cents an hour brought on the strike, Now this Yankee Imperialist concern offers the men 35 per cent of the income from fares (a few days ago it offered 33 1-2 per cent) which means an average of 25 cents an hour. However it guarantees a minimum of only 22 cents an hour, This offer was rejected by a mem- bership strike meeting of 2,000 men, Zubizarreta summoned the strike leaders the next day, and informed them that the government was deter- mined to settle the strike and start the street car service. Zubizarreta said, “I find the propo- sition of the company to be reasonable, since it is a solution at this time for the general eco- nomic crisis, and although the terms are not what the workers would want, still it shows the good intentions of the company to settle the strike. Furthermore, the offer has indicated a beginning of socialism” (my emphasis), P.M.); and he considered this as a “victory for the strikers.” In addition, he said that this time the government had left the strikers in liberty, and had given them protection. This protection is a lie, since the government has giyen the company Cuban Gov’t Threatens to Smash the Street Carmen’s Strike HILLQUIT W ANTS THE ISSUE! DON'T SAY I NEVER DID ANYTHING FOR YOU!” CLOSED White Terror in Fascist Poland Imperils 8000 Class ' War Prisoners | en up by one of the prison inspectors for not wanting to salute to his comment. The prison inspector pressed his hand against Comrade Rutkowski’s body, kicking him in the boné-joints of his feet. Wronki. (Hard labor prison.) Here the meals are scarce. Prisoners depending entirely upon prison meals are losing weight at the raté of seven pounds in a périod of from three to four weeks. Special exercises are strictly prohibited. A conversation while on a walk is considered as an “agitational speech”. The furious attack of the administration is going to such extremes that even books on scientific subjects are prohibited; an effort to break the solidarity of Communa (political prisoners’ Provisional Committee). For the purpose of provocation, the authorities class- ify political prisoners by their nationality. One prisoner from Wronki writes the conditions are unbearable. Appeals to higher authorities are ignored; high officials of the fascist, administra- tion listen to our complaints with irony and sarcasm. They impress upon us and make us understand that we cannot have any political prisoners’ rights, the right is—power. In many instances books, newspapers are confiscated. When we complain the authorities inspect our cells and give new categories of severe punish- ment. We are deprived of all things that have the slightest value for human existence and health. every protection to break the strike, but had failed. The argument that accepting a percent- age of the income was the beginning of social- ism is certainly refreshing. This tool of Ameri- can imperialism welcomes the “beginning of so- cialism.” In order to help put over this “begin- ning of socialism”, the police arrested four of the leaders of the movement against its acceptance, and despite the announcement that three of them had been released they are still in jail. On the one hand, jailing the militants; on the other, preaching the doctrine of “beginning of socialism.” There is vaceilation among some of the leaders of the strike. The prevailing practice of vaccilat- ing and reformist leaders is not to assume re- sponsibility, sec’:ing refuge in the formula: “We do everything the membership tells us to.” Under this mask, they remain silent. They do not sug- gest to the membership what to do. ‘They pre- tend to be mere servants of the rank and file, without taking the initiative themselves es lead- ers. However, several of the leaders spoke for the acceptance of the government's terms; their names—Eugenio Lopez, president of the Havana Electric Workers Union (shopmen), Joaquin Roman and Jose Sosa, Others like Cejas, ex- Plained the reasons given by the company, with- out attacking them, The leaders of the strikers, their organization being a part of the National Workers Confedera- tion of Cuba (Confederacion Nacional Obrera de Cuba), have, however, kept away from the confederation, and have not listened to the ad- vice of the Confederation. The Conferedation has addressed two leaflets to the strikers urging them to reject the company's proposition, and to carry on the struggle despite the threat of the government. The confederation will continue to issue leaflets to the rank and file, and organize Sroups among them in order to fight the propa- ganda of the company which is helped along by many of the strike leaders. Frank Steinhart, director of the company, fs now in the United States, seeking full support from the United States government. American workers can aid the strikers by a campaign of agitation. a By BURCK Grusiadz, In our prison the situation is grow- ing worse every day. When the fascist admin- istration failed to disorganize the political pris- oners’ Commune they then openly attacked our Political rights, One attack followed upon an- other, Sandomierz. We had defense trials of pris- oners for two months. Eyc-y prisoner fer two months was beaten up and then d:2¢ged on the floor. Due to the great solidarity of all the po- litical prisoners, the horrible physical attack could not break our rights. But we must not forget that.we will have to face a new attack, a better concentrated one and more severe. Sierads. The administration continually is- gues new attacks upon prisoners’ rights and their revolutionary pride. Trials are taken care of by prison authorities and police. For the smallest protest t ey’ beat us up. Half of the prisoners are seve: “ly sick, Siedlec. Here we are also denied all political prisoners’ rights. Our provisional committee has been abolished. Unable to divide food between us, many of the comrades: must depend just on prison board. They confiscated our library. Horrified feelings are among all prisoners. They are ready for a new fight and struggle, to a hunger strike. We are all physically exhausted. Lublin, After the bestial massacre of prisoners | in 1929, the authorities adopted a system of fu- rious attacks upon political prisoners. They are murdering and torturing prisoners in the pres- ence of prosecutor-attorneys, We prisoners are physically all exhaustea. On the east Bialo-Haussia (White Ukrainian) and East Ukrainian conditions are still worse. Grodno. The prison authorities do not accept food for prisoners, and in case they do, it is not delivered but consumed by them. Without extra food the prisoners are half starved. Some pris- oners were deprived of food for a whole month. Pinsk. A few months ago we had here a hun- ger strike because the administration would Place us together with criminal prisoners. Three hundred political prisoners went on a hunger strike at the world famous fascist “Hell” prison Luck. At the beginning of July, a seven day hun- ger strike took place at the Wilno prison. Hun- ger strikes are carried on by hundreds of politi- cal prisoners all over Poland, Ukrainia and East White Ukrainia. Thate at the Wilno prison are of great importanca*and significance in the struggle for the prisoners’ rights. What was the prisoner's situation at Wilno before the strike? For the smallest offense we were put in dark cells and deprived for months of writing letters or postcards. Last October we had a hunger strike. The prosecutor himself helped to torture and beat up woman prisoners. The administra- tion confiscated our food and divided it among the criminal prisoners. Woman political politi- cal prisoners were kept in the same cells with diseased criminal women. Janow. Bloody attacks and fights were car- ried on by the administration broke up the po- litical prisoners’ rights: The provisional commit- tee has been liquidatéd. Most of the prisoners are on prison board only, you may call it “Star- vation Board”, which reflects upon their health. The most important task’ of the working class of America 1s to form an international, united front in the struggle for political prisoners’ rights and their freedom. It is 2 duty of all workers of America to express an international solidarity of all political prisoners’ struggles. Struggling for the rights of Polish political prisoners, we are fighting for the rights and freedom of all po- litical prisoners of America. An international united front of all workers of America must pro- test against all fascist murders and other crimes “Labor” Day Demagogy ABOR DAY” has again been the occasion o capitalist propaganda on the part _of ite chief representatives in their efforts to mislead the masses. The addresses this year are of par ticular importance because of the crisis which is unprecedented in the history of capitalism and because of the stark winter that faces the working class. Matt Woll, vice president of the American Federation of Labor, used the occasion in order to continue the hypocritical lies common to the A. F. L. leaders in the attempt to divert the masses from militant struggle. This lieutenant of the capitalist class in the ranks of the work- ers showed his treachery in addressing on this “Labor Day” the “organized church of the land” from the pulpit of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. He spoke in the name of “organized labor,” that is, in the name of the organized treachery to the working class, the A. F. L. bureaucracy, He vomitted phrases about the horrors of the crisis for the workers and then added that “the old platitudes have lost their meaning” today. In other words the crisis makes it necessary for the fakers of the A. F. L. to use other phrases to deceive the masses than those they used on previous Labor Days. The only consolation that this hypocrite had to offer the millions of jobless was that if all of the bosses and the professionals would find a job each for the jobless not so many would be un- employed. This is the same hypocrisy that Hey- wood Broun, the “socialist,” shouted at the be- ginning of the crisis but since gave up as toe stupid for even him. Woll’s statement was in part ‘as follows: “If all who control work opportunities would contribute work hours, or jobs for the work- loss; if every householder would make a sacri« fice to provide work hours, such as repairs, changes, household service; and if every em- ployer and professional person would find a way to add at least one more employe, and more in proportion to the size of his estab- lishment, then we would be able to teke care of our unemployment problem in a construc- tive, self-respecting way, instead of spending our resources in doles that weaken both giver and receiver.” The workers of the United States know that this is only the smoke screen for the real policy of the A. F. L. leaders in regards to unemploy- ment—wage cuts, speed-up and the stagger system. Woll pointed out particulaly that in this crisis the fakes in the A. F. L. were coopeating with the leaders of the churches throughout the country in the attempt to mislead the masses. “The coming winter,” said Woll, “will test our faith in each other.” The ¢ooperation of the churches and the A. F. L. leaders is already seen in the Gifford committee which has drawn the leaders of each group into its attack on the Jobless. Woll was ably seconded by one of the out- standing prophets of the capitalist class, Butler, the president of Columbia University. Butler, however, brought forth a more complete pro- gram of capitalist demagogy to mislead the workers. His program includes: “Provision for security against unemployment, the five-day week and rationalization of production to curtail the recurrence of depressions, revision of the Sherman anti-trust act and tariff reduction.” The main item in the program of Butler is the chief aim of the Gifford committee—the re- fusal to give unemployment insurance to the jobless. The main form of insurance must be some sort, not on a state basis, that the capi- talists themselves will select, says Butler. If there are some cases which cannot be brought into this form of insurance then the individual states must’ give some aid. There must be no federal unemployment insurance under any circumstances—this is the policy of the caxi- talist class. Butler emphasizes that in those cases where the individual states do inaugurate some sort of insurance it must not “degenerate into a ‘dole.’” In other words the insurance program must be designed to fool the workers not to give them any adequate relief. Butler also picked up the lead put down by one of his bosses last week—Otto Kahn, the banker. Kahn advised that the anti-trust laws be abolished. Butler carries this to its logical conclusion—the intensification of monopoly con- trol in the United States. He said that “what appears to be required is that the several great, basic industries of the nation should be so or- ganized in the interest of the general public as to control production within the limits of a proper balance with an expanding power of con- sumption.” He tries to fool the workers into believing that this increased trustification would mean a change in the chaos of the capitalist system, would mean less of the misery for the workers than capitalist exploitation now means for them. As the Daily Worker pointed out in connection with Kahn's speech, this increased trustification would mean in the future what it has meant in the past—greater oppression and exploitation, greater unemployment as inevitable in the lives of the workers under capitalism. He warned that “while unemployment was not a new phenomenon, the extent and severity of the present crisis were such as to constitute “a full and final test’ of the entire so-called capitalist system, a test to which it had never been sub- jected.” The working masses are learning that they must “challenge” the capitalist system in order to free themselves from all of the misery it brings with it. It is in view of this militant surge of the masses that Butler shouts end- lessly about organizing capitalism. Capitalism cannot be organized. Unemployment is inevi- table under this system of oppression and with it starvation and disease. Organized the work- ers can wring relief from the bosses now. Build the Unemployed Councils. Broaden and inten- sify the struggle for immediate relief and un- employment insurance, Fight against hunger. committed on our fellow prisoners. The united workers’ front, with power of a large campaign will weaken the plans of all the fascist govern- ments in their war preparations and readiness to attack the Soviet Union. Struggling with the white terror in the inter- est of political prisoners’ rights and freedom, we are struggling for the strength and power of the Communist Party of Poland as a vanguard of the Polish proletariat. We are struggling for the sog@#! revolution of Poland that will put an end @ the bourgecis police dictatorship and | the Moody Pilsudsii’s government, OT EEE ———— FIGHT STEADILY FOR RELIEF! Organize Unemployed Councils to Fight for Unemployment Relief. Organize the Employed Workers Into Fighting Uniows. Mobilize the Employed and Unemployed for Common Strug- gles Under the Leadership of (22 Trade Union Unity League