The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 5, 1931, Page 3

Ps vi ER, NEW YORK URL AY, DECEMBER 5, 1931 cage Phree WORKERS’ CORRESPONDENCE. VETERAN URGES SUPPORT OF HUNGER MARCH —PINCHOT RELIEF PLAN PROVES FAKE— ™ PREACHER FLOGS NEGROES—LETTERS FROM THE SHOPS, MILLS, MINES AND BREADLINES PINCHOT RELIEF PLAN PROVES TO BE MOVE TO FOOL THE WORKERS ‘Workers Must Walk Mile to Register, But Find Only Six Jobs Open Coverdale Citizens Committee Asks Miners to Work for $2 per Day (By a Worker Correspondent) FINLEYVILLE, Pa.—When Governor Pinchot annou®ced his “Road Program” for taking the farmers out of the mud many °f the jobless workers rejoiced over the “opportunity to work.” But where will they get it? Let us ‘examine the Pinchot plan and see how it is working. The governor. says.that as much of the work as possible will be done by hand so as to employ a greater number of men. The writer applied for a job at Gastonville along with several thers. “AMERICAN CAN (0. DIVIDENDS RISE AS WAGES DROP Workers Compelled To Work Longer Hours; Overtime Pay Cut (By 8 Worker Correspondent) BRONX, N. Y¥.—The American Can Company( the largest tin can manu- facturer in this country is no excep- tion when it comes.to cut overhead, for the benefit of the parasitic stock holders. The new plant in Jersey City, originally employed about, 2,300 workers, and when the economic crisis ‘began to be noticeable the American Can Company inagurated a wholesale campaign of lay offs, which is still being carried ont. Now, there are ap- proximately about 900 workers on the payroll. The workers on the job, the so called fortunate ones, are now compelled to do moré work besides working: longer hours without over- time. Dividends Increase The department heads kid the workers by telling them that the com- pany is losing money and that the workers must produce more and more; yet last week the financial page Company declared a regular dividend declaration column, the American Can Company declared a regular divident of one dollar and one dollar extra, for the following quarter; which proves that the American Can Com- pany is still squeezing profits out of the workers. : The “Canco”is a camouflaged com- pany workers’ club; used by the com- pany to keep the workérs minds off bettering their-working conditions, by staging throughout the year various entertainments tmder the supervision of the departmeht heads. Before and after every affair, the head slave driver gathers all of his slaves on the «top floor (which is a company res- taurant) to tell.thern-how fortunate they are to have their own organiz- ation that fosters good fellowship amongst them...He completes his _ speech by telling thé workers to go back to respective jobs with newly instilled vim and vigor. Workers in Building Trades Must Build Up Unity for: Struggle Dear Comrades: In the building “trades industry, there is occurring an important: in- cident which is another example of the bosses’ arid ‘labor fakers’ methods Of dividing the workers. ‘The plasterets have been accepting , for some time wages below the union ' scale, because of the scarcity of jobs. Now, within the union. itself there is » division of workers, Italians against \the “Whites” or Americans, The “Whites” demand that the contractor put one-half “Whites” and one-half Italians on every job, so that the ‘foreign-born Italians: should not get the greater proportion ‘of the jobs ™» available. In this conflict, it is in- teresting to note that the leaders of the union support the “Whites.” ‘This shows the importance of bring- ing to these workers the necessity of New York. ¥ We were told to go to Washington and register for © work there. We asked fhe boss what chances there was for work after we registered and he told us he did not know. He said we might get three days if we were lucky. The most any- one gets on this job is three days. Job Employs Six Men. We then went to look at the job which should employ 60 men, and found that six were doing all the work., The job was highly mecha- nized, which proves that Pinchot is a downright liar. ‘Now if a worker is broke and has no shoes on his feet it will be impos- sible for him to go to the place of registration. It would be easy for the workers to be registered in the com- munity in which they live. But this would be too easy for the workers. And Pinchot knew when he put up his prison camps he would have such a rush of the unemployed that it would be impossible to take care of them and his plan would thus stand exposed. All the workers are now laughing at Pinchot’s fake gesture. Another Plan. ‘The Bethel Township citizens have a better plan to fool the workers. They have organized self-righteous committees and are asking the strik- ing miners of Coverdale to work for $2 per day, when they know that no self-respecting worker will work and starve at the same time. This com- mittee is headed by business men, bankers and preachers. They say workers should put money in the bank, pay taxes and give to the church—all out of the lousy $2 per day. I am an old republican, but I changed my politics. The National Hunger March, that is the kind of political action that the workers must support if they want to defeat the starvation policies of the bosses. Let’s all get behind this great march to Washington. Force the rich to pay us unemployment insurance if they can’t give us jobs. Organize and force them to pay us a living wage while we are wo-xing. 1000 TEACHERS JOBLESS IN ORE. Call Meetings to. Take Up Organization (By a Worker Correspondent) SEATTLE, Wash.—At a forum of the Portland Unemployed Council, a school teacher asked if there were any other teachers present. Five workers answered him. Three of them were employed and two unemployed. Two of the employed teachers are being paid by warrant and one stated that his county would not be able to pay the teachers next month, The others are afraid of the same thing hap- pening to them. One thousand teach- ers are unemployed in Orgeon, it was reported. The workers decided to call a meeting of their fellow teach- ers and discuss organization along working-class lines. A, Washington school teacher sent word that she is wearing last year’s clothing and actually starving in an attempt to feed the starving farm children in her class with her meagre pay and also buying warm underwear for them. Other teachers state that they are doing the same thing in their classes. We are sure that the teachers will find that if they start to organize and join the working-class parents in struggle for joint demands tha they will overcome a lot of these miserable conditions, Thugs Slug Hungry Worker at Chicago Soup Kitchen \ OHICAGO.—1 have.applied to the Charities here in Chicago and 4s result was issued a card en- ; Itling me to bed: in a flop house f food at a, bread line. The flop- is very crowded and each man Is given only one:blanket. ‘The cots are narrow and hard,, .We are forced to He with one else's feet in our face—avery unpleasat experience, » If you've ever tried it, . The food is of a poor grade and tasteless, and you are compelled to at what they give you or go hungry. On one occasion at the soup kitchen, \t 31st and Indiana Ave., where the sok reigns supreme with a large a-worker was subjected brutal treatment, Some of the slop. The cook reached over and clubbed him over the head with the spoon. When he protested, a couple of toughs jumped him and a squad of cossacks stood about him with drawn guns, while four toughs proceeded to beat up this half starved worker. y The mayor of this city says: “There is relief for those who come to the charities peacefully and jails for agitators.” Do we send for being herded like cattle and forced to ac- cept this flop house slop, or are we going to organize, employed and un- employed, and fight for immediate winter relief? Our answer is: “We must support the' National Hunger March and carry on the struggle for unemployment insurance.” J ON TO WASHINGTON AGAINST WAR AND HUNGER! VET URGES WORKERS, By HOWARD LANGFORD. (A disabled veteran who received three citations for bravery in France.) Fifteen years: have passed since the bloody “war fo end all wars” ended. with thousands in ihe trenches in Manchuria. Armistice War is on! War against the Chinese masses! day this year was celebrated Battles are being fought; thousands are being killed as Japan loots China and paves the way for the long planned attack of the imperialists against the land where the workers rule—the Soviet Union. The success of the Five Year Plan compared with the failure of capitalism irks the capitalists, frightens them. The socialization of industry, the success of planned economy and the continuous rising of the living and cultural level of the Russian workers compared with the horrible conditions in capitalist countries makes the bosses desperate. They hope through war to crush the Soviet Union and solve the economic crisis of capitalism. The diplomats are busy. Confer-. ences are being held. The wires and cables’are kept hot. They talk “peace” yet they talk in secret. They talk disarmament, yet build more war- ships. They make agreements and keep these agreements secret. The reason is easy to guess—the Diplomast of Capitalist Nations Hold Confer- ences and Talk Not of Peace, But Wat. ¥ Public opinion is being worked up for this war. The press, the pulpit, the schools are all doing their bit for the master class, The Pacific Coast has just witnessed the most gigantic air and naval maneuvers in history. The chemical and war industries are the only ones that are working over- time. Still they told us that the last war would end all wars. They told us that we fought for democracy and human- ity. How humane is a system that permits 12,000,000 jobless workers and their families to starve while the warehouses are bulging with the necessities of life? They told us soldiers that nothing would be too good for us—yet the heroes of the Argonne and St. Mihael wear rags PENNSYLVANIA WORKERS MARCHING Scenes from the Fayette County Hunger March in Pennsylvania, one of the preliminary {marches pre- ceeding the great march on Washington. the payment of wages. We must fight for unemployment insurance in full. We must support the Na- tional Hunger March to Washington. Fight against the eviction of jobless workers, for free electricity and gas. Unemployed workers, join and fight and beg crumbs in the bread lines. Twenty thousand veterans are unem- ployed in California alone. Veterans, jobless and employed workers—we must fight against this enslavement of the American work- ingclass. We must demand work and and immediate payment of the bonus with the Unemployed Councils. Vet- erans, join the only outfit that fights for the heroes of yesterday — the Workers’ Ex-servicemen's League. On to Washington Against® War and Hunger! AGED COUPLE IS DENIED RELIEF FROM CHARITY Mass Support For The Hunger March Dec. 7 Will Win Relief (By a Worker Correspondent) PITTSBURGH.—Mr. X has heart trouble, is 68 years old and is unable to work. Mrs. X is 67 years old and isn’t able to work on account of her illness, She has been fl since the death of her son. This old couple was refused aid from our wonderful charity organiza- tion. A report of the action of the charities came to the office of the Unemployed Council to the office of the Mayor to learn that the mayor’ only draws his pay, that he is on a committee of five, but that the other four run the city. These four, how- eyer, could not be seen: The committee then went to the office of the county official (Mr. Beasly). He refused even to talk at first, but after some good strong facts were brought out he took the name and the address of the old couple and pretnised to help, which proved to be @ lie. The old couple got no help from the city. ‘The nnemp!oyed must mobiliz2 and force these fakets to feed these work- ers ani many more like. therm that are starving amidst plenty. Get into the Unemployed Councils and sup- 'port the National Hunger March To Washington and demand that the government pay unemployment insur- ance to the jobless out of the funds previously used for war preparations. MOST MINERS IN MINN. JOBLESS $7 A Week Top Pay for Those Working By a Miner » CROSBY, Minn.— Hardly nobody works around here any more. All the mines that worked are closed down entirely except 3 mines, The two Inland Steel mines have only about 140 men. We are going to start work- ing 2 days a week on Monday. One Pickands Mather Co. mine started working 2 days a week about a month ago. Firty men work in that mine. In the whole Cuyuna Range only 190 men work and they are all working |.2 days a week. The wages were. cut twice in the Inland Steel Co. mines. If miners don’t work on contract underground they get $3.50 a day. ‘We have had the National Miners Union local established here. Now is the time that we must get all the miners organized into it as everyone is beginning. to see that only by or- ganizing will we able to bring back better conditions. Most of the former miners are now unemployed. Boy Scouts Get Funds from Community Fund (By a Worker Correspondent) JAMESTOWN, N, ¥. —“he Com- munity Chest drive for $93,115 has forced the workers here’ to sacrifice $37,355 of their meagre wages. A great amount of this fund is paid to the executives of the various or- A Soldier and A Leaflet (By a Worker Correspondent) NEW YORK.—The following incident is still news, although it hap- pened’on January 19, 1927, and was never reported. } Scene: Union Square. Occasion: A “patriotic defense demonstra- tion.” Time: Nightfall. “Enemy” planes circle over the Square. Search- lights “discover” them. Gaping crowds move slowly about the Square. Soldiers are distributing leaflets “JOIN THE ARMY!” They do a poor recruiting business. A soldier hands a leaflet to a worker. The worker returns the compliment, and hands him one too. Worker: All right, I'll read yours, you read mine. Fair. exchange, eh? (The man in uniform takes the leaflet from the worker—a Lenin Memorial Leaflet, glances at it, becomes engrossed in it, With one hand he holds it up the better to read. With the other he absently proffers the militarist leaflets to the passing crowds. A wide-awake working girl saunters along. She notes with a smile his absent-minded right hand, and recognizes what he is reading from his left). Working Girl: ‘No, not that one! Give me the anti-militarist one— the one you are reading. ? Soldier: What? eh? ... (Grows suddenly conscious of the con- tradiction he presents, and at the same moment draws the leaflet to him. He presses it closely to his brass-buttons.) Aw, go on, ye can’t have this. It’s the only one I’ve got! Omaha Cereal Mill Slave Den, Says Worker (By a Worker Correspondent) a few months and get 40 cents where OMAHA, Neb.—Here are some of | others have been there years working the rotten conditions that the work- | for 35 and 3714 cents per hour. Be- ers in the cereal mill located at 26th | cause they stool on their fellow work- and Center Sts. Omaha, have to | ers. work under. This mill produces all If a worker gets crippled he can’t Kinds of food froin hominy to corn get compensation unless he is off from fakes and employs at present about) work a full two weeks. One man 50 years of age got sick and was off ees ore ee ee two months. He is now on the job 4 ys |but the work is killing him by de- for lunch. The men are not allowed | -ces¢ in addition he can’t satisfy the to go home even if they live in the hi ked there ten years. adjoining block td the factory. The |P* He bas wor aah wages run from 30.to 40 cents an hour. The ones that go to the boss with everything they hear get 40c, Some men have been on the job Workers, organize your mill com- mittee of the Trade Union Unity League. In this way you can defeat the boss. Organize and strike, Dreiser Tells Truth About Kentucky, Says An Old Coal Miner (By a Worker Correspondent) NEW YORK.— Everything Dreiser says about the conditions in the Ken- tucky. mine fields is the real truth. If one had worked in the Harlan County mines as I did he would be able to agree with every word of Drigser's report on the barbarism that exists in Kentucky. : Those who rule Harlan County are the worst of all inal gendarmes. |More Layoffs and Wage-Slashing in Jamestown Plants (By a Worker Correspondent) JAMESTOWN, N. Y.— Mass lay-offs continue here with greater intensification, On November 14 the Watson Metal Manufacturing Co. layed off 85 men for an indefinite per- iod.» The Large Art-Metal Construc- tion Co. and the Tillison Furn Co. followed suit by firing more workers. ‘Wage cuts are also the order of the day. The Premier Furn Co. cut wages Harlan County has been a place of 10 to 16 per cent. Lundell & Eckberg HUNGRY MOTHER ABANDONED BABE; JAILED IN CAL. Yet Capitalists Say Communism Breaks Up the Home (By a Worker Correspondent) SAN DIEGO, Cal—Mrs. Ploghoft, aged 20, mother of a two weeks old baby, was arrested here for child abandonment. She was thrown in jail and subjected to a long grilling, which weakened her so that she had to be sent to the county hos- pital. * Mrs. Ploghoft told the arresting officers that she was out of work and had neither money or food for her baby and decided to leave it on the doorstep of people whom she believed were relations of her husband, Although the mother and the baby were in the same hospital, hospital authorities did not permit a reunion, pointing out that under the circum- stances they must determine if it is legally permissable for the mother to see the child. This is a good example of how the murdering capitalist system works— how it breaks up the house. In the Soviet Union, which is pointed to with such great horror by the cap- italists and their lackeys, everyone has a job and the women get the same pay as the man.’ In the Soviet Union women get a two months vaca- tion with full pay before the birth of the child and a two months vacation after childbirth with full pay. Along- side of the Soviet factories are nur- series where the working mothers can leave their babies. The mothers are also allowed time off during the day to feed the children. What a con- trast there-is between the two sys- tems, RELIEF DENIED BY RED CROSS Brings Forced Labor To Las Vegas FLORIDA CLERGYMAN Came Into Possession mansion. barn a whipping post. several occasions I could hear a noise in the barn like some one thrashing @ balky, kicking mule. Upon closer examination I found that it was not a mule that was being whipped but aman. A large Negro weighing about 250 pounds was lashing. a smaller one of about 140 pounds, while the preacher was looking on well pleased. I found these whippings occurred about three times a week to the glory of the landlord, the preacher. At Barton, Fia., there are four trees which are pointed out as landmarks where 4s many Negroes were burned and hanged. On all occasions of lynchings down here where pictures were taken the most prominent front pew Christians could always be seen in the foreground, « If a white woman wants wo get a little notoriety in this country all they have to do is to holler rape and point at a Negro. This helps to keep the color distinction a permanent issue. The bosses will do anything to keep the white and Negro workers divided so they cannot organize to fight against the miserable conditions that confront them both. Forward Hunger Marchers +++ By JAMES RENNIE. (Member of Buffalo Unemployed Council.) Onward, forward, join the Hunger Marchers; Hold the banner of the workers high. Give us Wages! We don’t want your charity! Swell your voices till they reach the sky. To the White Honse: that’s our destination; Our demands to congress we will give. Down with capitalism! @ workers’ nation, | Then we all will have a chance to Hive. | Build White and colored, foreign-born and native, Forward all as one to win the Fight! Tell the bosses we will abolish slavery — Communism is the cause that’s right! Bosses Admit Over 241,000 Unemployed In Philadelphia, Pa. Philadelphia, Pa. Dear Sir: I would like to make’ a correction, in a news story appearing in the Daily Worker on Nov. 24. Whereas you said Philadelphia had 150,000 workers out of jobs the boss class admits 241,000. ; The Philadelphia Daily News of Nov. 25 states that there are three times more workers out of work in Philadelphia than the entire popula- tion of Harrisburg. HAD NEGRO WORKERS FLOGGED IN STABLE Watched Brutal Lashing of Negro Workers at Whipping Post with Sadist Glee of Vast Property by Transporting Prostitutes (By a Worker Correspondent) I once lived in Parish, Florida, in the rear of a preacher’s t was in the year of 1915. preacher’s barn from my house and see in the ce®ter. of the I could look into the The preacher was a large land owner and I was‘informed that he came into possession of this vast property by hauling Negro women from the city to a railroad camp where -they sold themselves as prostitutes. wife made to the workers on the railroad job. Now let’s go back to the barn. On@ He also sold booze which his terrorism for ages. The coal operat- ors have always been against outsid- ers coming into the coal fields. They want married men with families, so when they get in they can’t get out. Metal Co, cut wages 10 per cent. These Bre. not the first wage-cuts, however; there have been three and even four “plus the increased speed- up. HOMELESS} A’wotkingclass family from the middle-west. They were evicted from their home and forced to live in the highways, The whole belongings of ganizations. The Boy Scout Master received $3,500 from the chest, this family are packed in the baby carriage to the left, Mr. Hoover 4 states that the unemployed are adequately taken care of, (By = Worker Correspondent) Here’s for a good strong Hunger LAS VEGAS, Nev.—Although the job- | March to Washingtori to voice the de- less army of Las Vegas reaches the | mands of the millions of jobless all figure of 3,000 and the town has a| Over the country. The only way we population of 5,000, there are regis-| will get elther relief or unemploy- tered in the Las Vegas employment | ment insurance is for all the work- office, 27,000 applications for jobs on / ers to organize into one gigantic mass the dam. protest against hunger. This figure will tell you what a —WORKER. large amount of suffering and starva- tion there must be in this section. (And you must remember that most of these 27,000 have wives and chil- dren.). , If an unemployed worker goes to the Red Cross, which has newly ar- rived on the scene, the conversation is usually as follows: (By a Worker Correspondent) “You look strong and able to work.”| LONG BRANCH, N. J.—The unem- | “You bet.” Ployed at Long Branch, N. J., were “Why don’t you go somewhere else| called out to be registered, as part and look for work?” of the program of the city to make , What answers can the workers give| the workers believe that the bosses these fakers? The Red Cross is turn-! intended to give them relief. ing them away left and right while] The men stood in line for hours, those that do get a little relief must} hungry, with nothing in their stom- chop wood or do other forced labor.}achs, hoping that they might get a Consequently the unemployed work-| job through registering. A Negro ers are getting very bitter about the| woman, o well known resident of | Red Cross and are calling it the Red | Long Branch, came by and noticing (Starvation) Cross. The revolution | the crowd asked what it was all about. ary sentiment is growing here by| After she was given a little informa- leaps and bounds. tion by the men in the line she went away and returned with a good sized box of cakes which she passed out Soviet “Forced Labor”—Bedacht’ | among the men as far os they would veries in pamphlet form at 10 cents | go. She returned to the bake shop per copy. Read it—Spread it! and with more which were BILLIONS BURNT UP YEARLY IN WAR MANEUVERS Ex-Soldier Tells of U. S. Government’s War Preparations (By An Ex-Soldier) NEW YORK—I was in the Coast Artillery Corps. I was.stationed at Fort Hancock, N. J., for a short time. My company fired the twelye inch guns twice while I was there, Each time ten shots were, fired, Each shot cost $500. That.means that $10,000 were burnt up. Another com- pany fired the twelve inch disappear- ing gun ten times, which means an- other $5,000 went up in smoke. ‘Thousands of dollafs ‘thore was spent on ammunition firing the othe: smaller guns: anti-airetaft,’smali ar- tillery, rifles, etc. I would estimate that about $60,000 was sepnt on am- munition alone duringtthe {ew short weeks that I was stationéd ‘fh Han- cock. - A This, however, is oply,.one Coast Artillery fort. The government ¢dmits that it spends a billion dollars; a year on the army and navy does not include the Naval’and Army Militia, National Guard, etc. eve if the real s t were k would find that the’ government spends two billion a year on jts huge military machine. Which all reminds us of the fol- lowing poem, “To A Nine. Inch Gun,” which we read recently ‘in a little book: Whether your shell hits the target or not ‘ Your cost is five hundred dollars a shot. You think of noise and flame and power, We feed you a hundred barrels of flour Each time you roar. Your flame is fed With twenty thousand loaves of bread. a Silence! A million hungry men Seek bread to fill their mouths again, NY. PLANT PAYS $8.75 PER WEEK Superintendent Draws $1,000 Per Month (By a Worker Correspondent) NEW YOK.—I am working in a factory where the men average about $2.50 per day. Before the depres- sion became so bad they laid off every one they could and now we are required to take off two days every week, and our Saturday afternoon 4s counted out also. ci So we are making $875 per week. But here is the irony of that economy. The superintendent, who is out playing golf over half the time leaving the work to his underpaid foreman draws down $1000 per month while his son is assistant superinten- dent getting $450 per ixjonth. and his desk is vacant from Friday noon until Tuesday morning. Lgrettl Jim Crow Lunch Room Bg Negro Woman’s Jobless “Aid Passed out to the ‘Kwho got none the first time. She attempted to have a@ nearby lunch serve coffee to the hungry men? The lunch room proprietor refused to serve the coffee because he said he never served Negroes. One Negro worker in the line re- marked that before the winter was over, the lunch room manwould be lad to serve anyone. \°. In registering the unemployed here the workers are asked to give their history from the cig the his- tory of their wives, ey were before marriage, etc.) “he workers all are talking about this registery and are wondering whas<tue. history & man’s wife has to do with get- & Job or unemployment relief,