The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 12, 1931, Page 4

Page Four DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1931 The Terror Must Be By BORIS ISRAEL. Alarlan County, Ky. is owned by coal operators.| Before this year there | were about 16,000 miners working for these owners: the Mellon-Kenvir, the | Peabody-Insull, the U. S. Steel, the Edison and other interests. Mining is the sole source of food, clothing, and shelter for the main part of the pop- | ulation of this southern Kentucky | mountain country. Within the past | year this population has decreased | somewhat. [Some miners hi out on the roads, trying to escape starvation. Starvation is a real} thing in Harlan . . . for the workers, that is. It is a word vaguely ! the operators and their throughout the country. But it has | settled with a strangle hold upon th men, women and children who pro- duce the coal which the operators sell. It has crept into the shacks which cluster in bleak rows about the mine shafts, and is regularly an- mounced by the “pay statements” which are issued to show the men how much the company allows them to earn...or more often—how much they still owe to their em- ployers. There have been other population decreases, too. Straggling little pro- cessions to the small graveyards at- test to the victory of flux (a disease brought on—mainly among children, by lack of proper diet); and the re- volvers and machine guns of “mine guard” thugs, and deputy sherriffs have disposed of more miners. It is | impossible to know how many miners have gone this way. An ambulance | driver told of thirteen men whom he earried away from the scene of one of the clashes this spring. Sheriff John Henry Blair is very jovial about it all and thinks it a huge joke. The Harlan County Coal Operators Asso- ciation doesn’t even know of any trouble. “Why, everything is all right here. The mines are working all they want to. We're getting along fine if these outsiders would quit spreading damnable lies. . ” The “authori- ties”, then, are not a very good} source of information. | The miners, once they know you are not another stool pigeon, tell other stories. And when a hollow cheeked miner tells you of two days a week work, nights spent cleaning out rock and building props in the mines so as to be able to get the coal out the next day (all this is “dead| work”, and is not paid for), meals congitting of boiled weeds and grass, one child dead from starvation, him- self, his wife, their remaining child sléepirig on the bare wood floor be- cause he cannot afford a single bed or-even' a bale of straw... when 2 large bodied but somewhat haggard miner tells you these things with 2 slow burning in his eyes: they can- mot be disbelieved. And his woman, standing in the doorway, her entire wasted body speaking in hopeless tones as she nods her head, is some- what of a contrast to the stout, jo- | vial sheriff who laughs about these things as he sends his men out of the ‘office with high powered rifles and machine guns. There is a reason for these guns, for the imported deputy sheriffs (again, it is impossible to know the exact number, the sheriff will tell you it’s none of your damned busi- ness . . . but somewhat more than 2 | hundred imported and domestic men (the local ones with the unhidden | reputations of being “bad men” and thugs) “have been deputized. The miners have been attempting to or- ganize. They are organizing. They | are organizing now to struggle for | better conditions, for living wages, for elimination of the various strat- | agems the companies now use to get | back what pay they haven't already cheated the miners out of. An habit- ual trick is the use of fixed scales in Harlan! Stopped! and the ba: ig of a miners’ check- weighman to see that the men get fair weight—and the company stores here the mi are forced to buy dif they to keep their jobs) are expert at figuring prices from 40 to 60 per cent higher than other places. So far two newspaper men have t in Harlan. Bruce Craw- ford was ambushed. Those that know the situation in Harlan have no doubt as to the ambushers. But this is not ated t. I was the second They shot me in day- light. I the men, They were | deputy sheriffs. They told me that I had been a too many questions. | Simply: I got to know too much. I was too insistent about finding out | the facts. I was too determined to get tot basic so s. All this was % politic. After ral subversive HELP THE MINERS WIN THEIR STRIKE, RUSH YOUR CONTRIBUTION warnings, a deputy told me that “if I were you I wouldn't let the sun set | on me in Harlan County.” Fifteen | minutes later I was hustled into a} car by three deputy sheriffs, taken | out of town, questioned and accused, | and told to get out and not to show | my face again. Three shots at me} were just their playful way of em-| phasizing the ultimatum. I got one| in the leg. All this is not important | except in relation to other things. It won’t hurt me to get a shot in| my leg. But what about those) people living at all times under this | terror. What about those men who live constantly under the very real} shadow of sudden raids and shoot- | | ings from carloads of heavily armed | hugs. What about men who have been taken in the middle of the night | in a mysterious car (which bears sheriff Blair’: personal license plates), handcuffed to a tree and seaten until hug ts swelled out on his back—then run out of the state followed by a spoke to a Negro miner, of @ local union, to whom happened. What about tinued reasing ter more miners ha T left. secretary this thing this con- g r? Three been killed since I don’t know how many have and i been arrested, beaten wounded. I saw Governor Flem B. Sampson up, raided, of Kentucky. He mumbled something | about an investigation. It was lu- dicrous. Men being killed, shot down by those forces of the only “law and order” Harlan County knows (that of the operators, for the opreators, by their hired thugs under the sher- iffs)—and the Governor tells me, “Such things don’t happen in this counti Maybe. But they are And something must be A Superintendent Admits That Miners Get $1.73 a Day By HARVEY O'CONNOR (Federated Press.) AVELLA, Pa—“No, the strike ein’t over. Guess itll never be over.” “That's what Walter Smorag, sec- retary of the National Miners’ Union Yocal at Avella, told the Federated | Press. Then he explained. “It's this way. The boys stay out | as long as they can. Then eviction is threatened. Or they say, ‘Let’s give | it another chance.’ Then they go down into the mine and work a week | or two. But when they get their pay, they get nothing. The company has taken out for this and that and everything. | “No cash. ‘Oh, hell, what's the use,’ the boys say. ‘If we're going to starve let's starve above ground. We don’t have to go into the mine to do that.’ “That's the way it is. A bunch over at the Leach Farm asked the super for work. “All right,’ he said, ‘go to it. You know where the mine is.’ So these men worked two weeks and then they asked for their pay. “‘Pay, echoed the super. ‘Why, you guys said you wanted to work. ‘Well, you got a chance to, didn’t you?’ And they didn’t get paid, either. “But take it now in mines that do pay. Over here at the P. & W. they have an agreement with the United Mine Workers of America. That calls for 45 cents a ton. Actually they get 27 to 33 cents a ton. Some | oe the boys protested to the super. ‘The hell you say, answered the super. ‘We ain’t got no agreement with you guys. Our agreement is with the U.M.W.A’ “Or take the Duquesne mine in this town. The super himself says that the men are averaging $1.73 2 day.” “For eight hours?” the F. P. corre- spondent asked. “Eight to ten hours. If a guy quits after eight hours, the boss says, ‘What, you through already? Your Place cleaned up O.K.? Then he goes down to take a look. Chances are that miner will be laid off and the fellow who puts in ten hours will keep his job.” “Hell, I worked 17 hours at a stretch last February at the Waverly Mine,” breaks in another miner. “If there’s an 8-hour law for miners in Pennsy, we ain’t never heard of it.” “Well, that the way it is,” summed up Smorag. “Can you see now why the strike’s still on and will be on more or less permanently? Why should we risk our lives and breathe the bad air of them mines for 20 to 30 cents a ton or $1.73 a day? And remember you can only get in two or three days a week at the most. Figure trying to live on $5 or $6 a week and work. We can't.” “But we ain't going to starve, be- low ground or above,” chipped in ane other miner. “There's no sense to starving in the midst of plenty. The big boys have got theirs. We're go- ing to get ours.” volley of shots? I} TODAY Sen agaa (Top Right) In every mining camp there are hungry children like these whose fathers are strik- ing against hunger. (Top Left) A family living in a tent colony at Coverdale, Pa. In this territory the miners have been carrying on a hard-fought battle against the Mellon-owned miners. (Bottom) These evicted miners live in tent colonies. One of the mest powerful weapons that the mine bosses have; since they own the land and shacks the miners live in, is wholesale evictions. The company gunmen just throw the furniture out on the road. To combat this the Penn.-Ohio Strik- ing Miners Relief Committee is supplying tents and calls on you to do your share by contributing now. Farmers Rally tor a United Fight on Evictions | By E. R. BLOOR. | We find so much has happened in | our agricultural. district within a per- jod of ton days, it is difficult to re- | | late it all in one article.’ In Grand} Forks we held a big meeting in the Public Library Auditorium of unem- |ployed workers and farmers. The | “Daily Worker” is the real organizer of this town, as the members there, of the Party unit and the Unem- ployed Council ,use it everywhere, | selling it on the streets, ete. In one | restaurant owned by a comrade, it is left for sale on the counter, and it is plastered on the windows every | morning. This restaurant is a meet- ing place of comrades wandering from east to west. Here we saw | marine workers from Duluth and New | Orleans; miners and farmers who had come to the Red River Valley for the harvest time. From Grand Fork we came to Fred- erick, South Dakota, Saturday, Sept. 5th. This is the town where the petty, business men hire boy scouts to de- luge our speakers and children’s dem- onstrations with eggs, fire hose, etc. On Saturday evening the members of the United Farmers League had | invited Mother Ella Reeve Bloor to | speak under their auspices. The League is very strong in this county, as Many evictions have been planned for the near future. Farmers have been notified that new “renters” have been secured \anl they must move out at once. The farmers notify tha League members and a real mass or- | ganization of farmers is on the job, alert. and ready to fight to keep those threatened with eviction on their land. Farmers Rally to Prevent Eviction | Here is a typical case, that of a |man (born on the farm he now lives on) with his wife and six little chil- dren. His father homesteaded the | Place, he has received his notice of | eviction, The United Farmers League | héld a mass meeting right on the |farm, secured about seventy new members of the League, and mobil- ized all their forces ready for action when the threatened day of eviction arriyes. This case has aroused the countryside, and the meeting held in Frederick by Mother Bloor was look- ed forward to by the entire neigh- borhood. The meeting was held on the ground in front of the Frederick Co-operative Oil Station, one of the farmers acting as chairman, Com-~- rade Bloor outlined the special condi- the Northwest, where the Northwest- ern Insurance and Loan Association having bought from the banks the notes, mortgages, loans, etc., held by them against the poor farmers, know- ing as they do that in the present crisis, these loans cannot be paid and that the small banks will collect the money received by the farmers on his cattle and crops first. The bank- ers already have in their hands most of the checks received by the farmers for their hogs and crops. Insurance Company Prepares Eviction Figures T Figures, usually so very dry and unpoetical, are live, inspiring mile- stones in’ the steady march to the success of the Five-Year Plan of the Soviet Union— 518 new factories— 1014 new tractor stations. On the billboards, in the daily papers, in the magazines, on the silver screen, over the radio. 518 new factories—1014 ew tractor stations. And immedi- ately following a chart with ever jchanging figures. Another factory | launched into production. Three new tractor stations opened. Two new factories start their wheels turning. New tractor stations finished in such and such a district. And so on— day by day. Everyone knows the latest figure. Even the children tell the glad news to their playmates. Figures coming out of the Soviet Union this year show the workers in | the capitalist countries what the So- viet worker has against and is gain- ing under 2 workers’ and farmers’ | government. While wages are stead- jily on the decline in America, Eng- land and Germany glance at these figures coming out of the Tomsky Metal Works in the Soviet Union: Wages from the first quarter (three months) in 1930 to April 1931 have increased 20 per cent and are on the increase steadily. Further figures from the Tomsky Metal Works give the American work- er something else to think about. One million five hundred thousand rubles will be spent in 1931 for pro- tection of labor, 400,000 rubles for baths and laundries, 1,000,000 rubles for factory kitchens and dining rooms, 1,500,000 rubles for improve- ment of medical clinics, hospitals for women and motor ambulances, 1,500,- 000 rubles for a palace of culture, tions now affecting the farmers of ‘Two more capitalist politicians were forced te admit during the past week that the Soviet Union is unquestion- ably a success and one of them was also forced to admit that the capi- talist propaganda about dumping dur- ing the past year was a complete lie from beginning to end. Representative Rainey (democrat) of Illinois after travelling more than 7,000 miles throughout the Soviet Union during the month that he spent there, said, according to the New York Times of Sunday, that the “country’s revolutionary system was the greatest experiment of the ages and that it was unquestionably a huge success.” He was, further, “most optimistic as to Russia’s fu- ture.” ‘The same estimate was made by the Marquis of Lothian, a liberal minister of the new national govern- ment. in England. Speaking at the Liberal Summer School at Cam- bridge, England, he said that the Soviet Union “is in some ways the most gigantic and heroic experiment ever tried in human history. Some of its underlying ideas are going to 300,000 rubles for a school building transform the whole world. The'no- tion that private property should function for everybody and not merely for those who own it is, in my view, a winning idea.” It is an idea that is winning the working masses of the ;entire world, who see its success in the Soviet Union. While they still talk of “experi- ments,” the estimate that they them- selves give of it shows that it is not an “experiment,” but the inevitable | success of the reconstruction of so- ciety by the revolutionary working masses. The very success that these capitalist politicians report about the Soviet Union must be viewed to- gether with the capitalist estimates of the deep-going crisis that covers the entire capitalist world. The chaos of capitalism and the upsurge of the masses in th capitalist coun- tries against it sharpens the antag- onism of the imperialists to the Sov- iet Union. It is in the success of the Soviet Union that the masses of the world can see the possibilities of so- cial welfare under the dictatorship of \ the proletariat, hat Speak Out Loud and 350,000 rubles for a workers club. And all this in addition to the al- ready existing benefits including rest |homes, free medical attention, chil- dren’s nursery. States also—ever changing figures. Four, six, eight, ten twelve million unemployed. Five, ten, twenty, fifty banks closed down in the state of Tilinois. Three unemployed workers die of “unknown” causes. (This is |the adjective that hides the word | starvation). A thousand, three, six, nine thousand children going to school without breakfast—going with- out lunches. Eighteen thousand Chi- cago teachers without pay. Two thou- sand men laid off and so on. The figures of the inevitable crisis that accompanies capitalism. For capi- talism there is only one way out— war! And foremost—war aaginst the US.S.R.—war against the socialist fatherland of the working class that has completely solved its unemploy- ment problem in the fact of the ever worsening conditions of the capital- ist countries; war against the work- ers and peasants government under which the conditions of work, the de- velopment of culture, of health, of a full life of enjoyment of all the prod- ucts of his toil stand in bold chal- lenging contrast against the ever worsening conditions of the workers in the capitalist countries. Capi- talism fears the growth ‘of the Five- Year Plan—the growth of the Soviet Union and well it might. The work- ing class of the capitalist countries see in the Soviet Union the beacon jaight that is to show them the way out of the capitalist crisis—the only permanent way out. All power to the Five-Year Plan! All power to the working class of the world! During the past year the capital- ist press has used the charge of “dumping” as one of the most wide- spread weapons of propaganda for the attack on the Soviet Union. Rep- resentative Rainey points out that the success of the Five-Year Plan will not mean “dumping,” because the increased production will be used for the improvement of the living standards of the workers and peas- ants who have produced these goods, Rainey stated this without qualifica- tion as follows: “There is a mistaken theory that if Russia successfully carries out the Five-Year Plan she will flood the world market and become a dangerous competitor, particularly of the United States. When: the Russians start producing more than can be absorbed they intend to work far more leisurely, producing only the amount actually needed, which is their ultimate aim.” He points out, further, that what the Soviet Union has sold on the world markets has been sold not be~ There are figures in the United | The Northwestern Insurance Asso- ciation (and many other big insur- ance companies) is now preparing to foreclose and evict the older resid- ents on the farm and induce an en- titely new set of renters to come to | live on the farms, so they, the in- surance companies, will have com- plete control of their products, and eliminate the small banker entirely. To this end Mother Bloor pointed out the fact that throughout the en- tire county the farmhouses have been seul Bo painted up by a corps of carpent and painters, hired di- rectly by the Northwestern Insur- ance Company, and that “field men” were kept busy “looking over” the farms everywhere, selecting the most likely ones for future operation. Farmers Stop Attempt to Smash Meeting Right in the midst of the meeting, a troop of the Boy Scouts of Fred- erick and Aberdeen, hoodlums of the worst type, arrived on the scene, screaming, yelling catcalls, etc., trying to intimidate the speaker, who asked them to come right up and tell their “argument.” Of course they had no “reason” in their hooting’ mob, and when they rushed to the fire house to get the fire hose, a tremendous “guard” of farmer's sons by sheer force held on to the hose cert, and prevented the gangsters from getting the hose to deluge Mother Bloor, who was still holding the fort, going right on with the meting. When the gang- sters of this lawless mob found they couldn’t break up the meting, they resorted to sniping after the meeting. When the chairman was driving off in his car, the ringleader of the mob sneaked alongside and gave him a smashing blow. Of course, he jumped out and the “guards” of the United Farmers League also joined together and routed those who had: planned further attacks. : Will Meet Again Mother Bloor announced another meeting for next Saturday evening. Many new members were secured for the United Farmers League, and the entire town is awakened to the fact that ignorance and mob rule cannot prevail in Frederick, that the | intelligent farmers and workers will go on with their program of organ- ized action against the injustice and tyranny of the present capitalist sys- tem. 4 Even Politicians Admit the Success of the U.S.S.R. cause they wanted to sell it, but be- cause certain of the capitalist pow- ers, like the United States, refused to grant them credits. The Soviet Union would prefer to use them for the masses, but the policy of the capitalists has prevented this and has forced them to sell in order to pay for foreign goods. Rainey states that: “They have no desire to flood the world markets, but we are forcing them to do so because they must produce and sell large quan- tities to raise the money to pay their bills. If we recognized them and extended credits this would not happen because they could easily absorb what they are now forced to throw on the market. Their present goal is a two-day working week when the saturation point is reached.” ‘This shows conclusively that the propaganda of the capitalists, par- ticularly in the United States, was not but a complete fabrication used prepare the attack on the Soviet Union. A Farm Commune the Samara Region By PETERS. As collectivization in the villare goes on at a tremendous rate manv peasants take a further step towards socialism by joining farm Communes. “The 12th of October” was organized in 1929 on this date. At that time 275 individual peasant households joined it. Since then the Commune has grown to 360 households, em- bracing a population of 1,464 people. Out of this 330 are men and 369 women able to work. The-others are either children or old people that are not able to work. These, of course, are taken care of by the Commune. The total property value of the Com- mune is 103,000 rubles. Special “at- tention is paid to the question’ of meat, etc. There are 479 milk cows and 513 young cattle, 1,365 sheep, 115 pigs, 475 working horses, and 72 colts. The Commune has-its own dairy and poultry farm,. New big stables, siles, etc., are being built. Under the banner of socialist: com- petition and shock work the farm is overfulfilling its plan. While the yield of the farm was 33,000 centners of grain the government received of this 23,000 centners (this.‘is more than any other farm gave in the district). It is interesting to note that the women are among the best shock workers and 55 per cent of the spring sowing campaign was carried out by them. Ninety per cent.of the women work in the fields while the other 10 per cent carry on work in the dining rooms, children’s creeches and so on. Nine creeches have been - organized, embracing 245 children. This makes it possible for the mothers to work in the fields and at the same time guarantees the welfare,of the chil- dren. For the cultural work there has been established 6 Red Corners and many small libraries. They also have radios and in the fields they have special wagons that carry liter- ature to the workers which gives them a chance to read during din- ner breaks. All the children are embraced in schools and at’ present there is nobody illiterate under 45 years of age, which must be looked upon as a great achievement when we take into consideration the per- centage of illiterate among ‘the Rus: ‘ian peasants during the days || \Szarism. The members of the C aune have left their old religious rerstition behind them and thanks to that able to carry on + ‘building of socialism with a gri enthusiasm, Like in every village where i collectivization has taken place hard struggle had to be wag ‘against the remnants of capitali in the village, the kulaks and t Commune also had to wage a strv gle against them. Not less than kulak households have been liq dated. The kualks have tried to « stroy the machinery and burn i harvest, but the Commune has be successful in combatting them. A very interesting point to note connection with the Commune the national composition of { members. 25 per cent are Gr Russians, 25 per cent Ukrainis and 50 per cent Mordvas. We { here an example of how chauv ism has been done away with unc the dictatorship of the proletari During the days of czarism thi nationalities were antagonized agai each other. The Czarist governmc very cleverly utilized the tactics chauvvinism among the workers a peasants to separate them so it coi exploit the workers and peasa! more effectively. (The same mei od is used by the American bor geoisie in regards to white and Nb gro workers)” Today this belo to days gone by and we see in t 7) Commune three nationalities wor ing together without any frictic Working together to build Sociali © in the Soviet Union. Under leadership of the proletariat, Soc: ism is penetrating the Russian lage. The Russian peasants </ transfered from the ranks of t most backward strata into the m advanced farmers in the wor Their living conditions and cultu conditions are being improved evé day, while in the capitalist countr the farmers are more and mc being thrown out of their farms, a are living In misery. The Red F. is today waving over one-sixth of t world, Eventually it will wave c , the whole world. American Generals Hint c War Against the | U.S.S.R. KANSAS CITY, Mo—Recently the fascist leadership of the Veterans of Foreign Wars opened their encamp- ment here. General Hines, one of the chief fascist war mongers in America, opened the Encampment by telling the rank and file membership, the majority of whom are workers, that the Veterans’ Bureau, in which ,he has been actively engaged since the end of the last blood bath in Eu~- rope, would take care of all of the veterans this winter, getting most of He claimed that the United Sta had already scrapped the navy a were now starting on the army. ° know that recruiting hes been go! on with redoubled vigor, and t! more money was being spent in { United States than ever before armament, especially since the cri has brought the European situati to a critical position, especially Germany. We also. know that war-mongering fascist did not th it necessary to tell about the creased air forces in the Unit them jobs and those that will not: States, that outside of San Antor of jobs General sis about. Maybe he will get them the job of cutting a cord or two of for, the Salvation Army for a bowl of sloppy soup, or maybe he will have some heavy snow storms. this winter and the men will be able to get a job shoveling snow for a bowl of slop. aaah While the resolutions commit was out framing smoke-screen reso- lutions, such as restoring light wines and beer, a new referendum was taken on the 18th Amendment, so as to obliterate the true issue that is facing the working class, of which these ex-servicemen are a part, such as real unemployment relief, etc. Brigadier-General Henry J. Reilly, one of the most open-spoken fascist butchers, in the last war, told the Encampment in a roundabout way what kind of jobs the veterans would get. y In his speech the fascist butcher told the veterans that he for one was opposed to and would continué to oppose internationalism, and that he would fight it to the finish and that he was not going to be ruled by any Asiatics (meaning the Soviet | union). to mention, nor did the Kansas C Times, Star, or Journal Post think necessary to correct him. Now we might readily understa what General Hines meant when _ said that there would be jobs for _ ex-servicemen. ‘There will be jc stopping bullets. i The following morning, when th. men paraded to the tune of milite bands, we wondered could they vi: | alize their buddies who marched side them in the Spanish-Americ | War, the World War, could realize what they had fought N% Does not the rank and file memt remember the promises of capitali that when we got home we wot find the old job waiting, nothi would be too good for us? How w_ have they kept their promise in the fourteen years since the end of t)) . war? Yes, they kept the only prot] ise that capitalism is capable keeping, a grave yard bonus, so the ex-servicemen could _ borr, money and pay interest on that belonged to them origina! The veterans are waking up tot’ — schemes of the capitalist governme! and it is the duty of every Nucleus to take up the fight by ganizing Workers’ Ex-Serviceme’ Leagues, and especially should troit take notice, since the Ameri Legion national convention place there in the next few weeks. ¢