The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 14, 1931, Page 4

sage Four ' ©. MIN (Shanghai), years ago, for the first time in the his- of colonial revolutions, the Soviet Mag sted in Canton. The working class of under the leadership of the heroic Com- t Party of China, took up the armed fight ~ the eamp of counter-revolution, against of the bourgeoisie and land owners wported by world imperialism. The Canton srcietariat planted the Soviet flag, and set up the power of the workers, the peasants, and the oor population of the town. After the whole of the Kuomintang had gone wer to the camp of reaction, there swept over China a wave of revolts of the workers and ts, who wished to maintain their achleye- 's and to prevent the defeat of the revolu~ situation in Canton became increas- In reply to the vhite terror workers went on strike and organ d ass meetir and demonstrations in de se of the Red ‘Trade Unions and the Com Party. This movement met with a live 8 of the poor urban . from the ‘The of the provinces of Kwantung rose and out the agrarian d of the working cl tor the ap: and work was carried POUR i ory mn. The m from the artisans and soldiers. revol the began to Ww were organized d fense corp: 1 {he army et was Hui, the the Canton § cre: Fa hreat of Chan dicta 3 Canton, to disarm tt Regiment accelerated the of December 11, 1 It, the Canton © revolutionary sol Fleyen ne night 0 For three days without interrup: cn tho fight was waged aga the white d who by the Eng’ Ameri- ecn and nats. Three days of un- ‘ encmy, who was being who wes ipported by cruisers ted by the bitized forces of Caniton prole' he town and repelled the as- the streets of of the enema. But the ring of hostile c 2 d ever more tightly. On Decem- h tained possession of the a) d an led white terror set in. on took r for the Canton Com- Gatites Commune wes fight of lusion of the time, it t olutionar: upsu: t the same time oa and higher stage; { the the Soviet phase r2volution.” «VI Col s of the Cc hole of the subsequent course of he working class and the peas- showed that the Canton Co: new page in the history of the of the colonial countries. new 1 1927, the Canton Commune je The rei ion celebrated its e counter-revolutionary power prom- cd to bring about the unification of the coun- to destroy the rule of the imperialists, to rove the position of the working class and peasantry. Four years have passed. Not cne of the hypocritical and high-sounding prom- ises made by the Kucmintang has been fulfilled. On the contrary, under the rule of the bloc of the bourgeoisie and the land owners, China has arrived at the edge of the abyss. Instead of the unification of the country we see China torn pI | Telephone ALgonquin 4-1956. into separate parts, each dominated by a clique of generals acting in the interests of the impe- Tialist robbers. These cliques of generals are continually at war with each other and often only carry out the direct orders of their im- perialist “friends.” Instead of the promised des- truction of the rule of the imperialist forces in China, the Kuomintang helps to consolidate the positions of world imperialism, The Kuomintang promised to improye the | position of tNe working-class and the peasantry; instead, however, it has condemned millions and millions of the working population to starvation. ‘The blood disaster this year is a direct result of the rule of the Kuomintang, which embeazied millions of dollars which were squeezed out of the people for the maintenance of the irrigation system and the dykes. Robbery of the working- class, millions of unemployed, unnumbered mil- lions starving, children bought and seld—these are the “achievements” of the Kuomintang. tee eer ‘The Canton Oommune for the first time unfurled the Soviet flag over China. In the four years that have elapsed since this historieal event the Soviet movement has made tremendous pro- sress. Hundreds of districts with millions of inhabitants are today under the power of the Soviets. The slogans of the Canton Commune, ‘Rice for the workers, land for the peasants, the eight-hour day” are teday realized in one-sixth of China proper. The anti-imperialist and agra- rian revolution, which is advancing from victory to victory under the hegemony of the proletariat, has adopted the fh form of the state Soviet system. Confiscation of the land of the land- lords, the usurers, the gentry etc., and its dis- tribution among the land workers, coolies, mem- bers of the Red Army, the poor and middle pea- sants is no longer a mere slogan but a practical reality in the Soviet districts. Introduction of the eight-hour day and social insurance, radical improvements of the position of the worker and peasants—that is the policy of the Soviets in China. It is not without reason that the prestige of the Soviet power in China is increasing. ‘The Canton Commune created the first troops of the Red Guard. Under the leadership of the Communist Party and the Communist Interna- tional they have become the powerful Red Army of the workers and peasants, numbering hun- dreds and thousands, the army of the Chinese revolution which has defeated three expeditions sent by Chiang Kai-chek. One of the most im- portant reasons for these successes of the Red Army is the self-sacriticing support afforded them by the masses, the fact that the working masses of China regard the Red Army as their army, the army of the revolution. Four years have passed since the Canton Com- mune unfurled the flag of the Soviets. Thece four years have shown that there is only one way open to the working masses—the way of the Soviets, of the Canton Commune. The Communist Party of China, which has overcome the “right” and “left” opportunists, is consolidating the Soviets and the Red Army, | carrying out the agrarian revolution and rousing ever fresh masses to the fight, stands under the leadership of the Comintern, at the head of the anti-imperialist and agrarian revolution which is now proceeding under the hegemony of the proletariat. It is the duty of the international proletariat to come to the aid of the Chinese revolution. Supported by the workers of all countries, the Soviet movement in China, of which the Canton Commune was the beginning, will achieve com- plete victory. The Case of Comrade Owens NE night in May, 1931, Comrade Edgar Owens, one of our oldest fighters, stepped eut of a coffee shop on the skidway in San Vrancisco an2 made his way towards the flop house he was in the habi tof patronizing. The streets were wet and greasy and the odors of hot dogs and stale onions filled the atmos- phere, The roar of a passing truck drowned cry as a pair of Red Squad policemen soreng from an alleyway and dragged him into it, His friends found a bundle of bloody rags ecyering seme human limbs which were twisted into grotesque positions. With sobs of anger he was carried to a home nearby and a doctor was called. The doctor said that there was a fighting chance to save Comrade Owens’ life, but that ligaments and nerves in the limbs hud been so severely lascerated that death would probably be more merciful. Some hours later Owens recovered consciousness and the fight for life began. The case was brought to the attention of the Soviet Government which, with its usual con- sideration to the tolling masses, offered to provide hospitalization and medical attention for Comrade Owens, provided that he was sent to Moscow. A collection was taken up and the paralyzed man was carried to the train and cheered on his way, We will now let Comrade Owens continue the story: his Pt Sek Pyatigorsk, C. KAB, Sanatorium 3, Cottage 35, October 12, 1931. Dear Comrade:— I have been in the Sanatorium at Pyatigorsk since Oct. 1, taking the baths here. We are located in the northern. Caucasus, some one thousand miles or more southeast of Moscow. It is beautiful here, formerly the stamping grounds of the aristocracy and the nobility, now converted into a health resort for the workers of this mighty country. These lovely villas and palaces now serve the workers as rest homes and sanatoria. The mineral water district covers an area of thirty or thirty-five miles in diam- eter, and in this area nature has concentrated a multitade of mineral springs, both hot and cold, for drinking and bathing purposes. ‘There is a lake of medical mud about fifteen miles from yatigorsk, and this mud ts piped to the vari ous rotid baths in the district. I am getting mud baths two successive days and then a sulphur bath, and this is repeated during the treatment, which, In my case, will take a month or a month and @ half. I am baking no medicine, at this time, which surely floes meet with my approval, for I tao ‘i he F Pabtiéhed by the Comprodaily Publishing Cc., Ine, dafly except Sunday, at 60 Haat #b St., New York City, N. Y. b A@dress and mail ail ch Cable to the Daily Werkér, 60 Wast 16th Street, Now York, N. ¥. The Canton Commune--A Beacon Light in the Fight for the Soviets enough while I was in the Kremlin Hospital | in Moscow, for the two months that I was there, to float a battleship. The doctors here express the opinion that I will show considerable im- provement by the time they get through with me. ‘The trip down here from Moscow was through Jovely country. It was level. prairie land, and almost treeless, and reminded me of Kansas and Nebraska. Practically all the farms have been collectivized, and we passed numerous tractor and farm implements stations. Machinery not in use was parked orderly and mostly covered or under a shed and gave every indication of being well taken care of. We passed the gigantic tractor plant at Karkhov and the farm imple- ment factory at Rostov, and they appeared larger than anything I have ever. saw in America.. And the new cities that have been erected for the workers who will operate these factories. made me mighty proud of what my class is: doing over here. Every village has its workers’ club and the buildings float the Red Flag. Here the flag is the symbol of workers’ rule. In America they put you in prison if you display it as a symbol of workers’ aspirations. Kremlin Hospital assigned “Marguerita” to ac- company me to Pyatigorsk. She made me go to bed early at night and kept me lying down most of the day. It is the custom here to carry a tea kettle and your staple food when traveling. But at each station there is a host of food ven- dors selling a vast amount of foodstuffs. Mar- guerita would be among the first to leave the train at the stations when we stopped and when she returned she would be loaded down with a kettle of hot water and foodstuffs abundant in quantity and variety. I never tasted such roast chicken. Then the young lady would cut a couple of thick slices of bread and fill a plate with victuals and then say, “Kushat,” which means eat. ‘They haye an idea over here’ that if you don’t eat whenever opportunity presents itself that you should be subject to observation. When I would protest against the endless stuffing, her eyes would take on a steely glint and she would begin rolling up her sleeves, and she was fully able to administer great gobs of foree and vio- lence. She spoke no English and my Russian is abomination in the ears of the native sons and daughters, but we got along famously. I have 4 Russo-English and Anglo-Russian dictionary, and by resorting to these and making faces and waving arms ve managed to communicate all right. Food here is simple and ebundant. ‘The bread is the best I have ever tasted. Tell Nick T can now understand the Caucasian enthusiasm for bread. 1 have never tasted its equal, and shall miss Hi when 1 leave Cavkas. ' EDGAR OWNES. “DAIWORK.” By mail everywhere: One year, of Manhattan and Bronx, New York City. FORCED LABOR ON A MISSISSIPPI RIVER LEVEE PROJECT By CYRIL BRIGGS brazenly open as to force themselves upon the reluctant attention of the A. F. of L. fascist leadership have been uncovered in the Mississippi River levee project, a United States government undertaking. The brutal conditions imposed upon Negro and white workers on this govern- ment flood control job are described in a report to William Green as “slavery in its most hide- ous form.” Green, anxious as ever to cover up the crimes of the bosses and their government against the working class, has not released the report for publication. The capitalist press admits, how- ever, that the report charges that gross brutal- ity, including floggings and beatings with pistol butts, prevails in the labor camps along the levee. Negro workers, as usual, receive the full venom of the slave drivers’ hate and are singled out for the most savage and revolting torture and persecution. The inhuman 12-hour day is the regular working day on this government project. And often the men are forced to work 18 hours a day at the most heart-rending toil, with no pay for overtime. The unskilled labor- ers are paid the starvation wage of 75 cents a day. The skilled workers fare a little better, with $2 a day; $4.50 and $12 a week; these are the magnificent rewards for a week of life-rend- ing toil in capitalist America! Nor do most of the workers actually receive these “rewards.” Commissary trading is obligatory. Charges for food are exorbitant. Arbitrary reductions for supplies are made from the wages of the men. A United Press dispatch from Gulfport admits: “From the pay of laborers, arbitrary reduc- tions of $4.50 a man for a week’s commissary supplies are made whether the supplies are drawn or not, as well as tent rental of $1 a week and cook hire of 50 cents a week, the report said.” The laborer who draws only $4.50 for a week’s work is in debt at the end of the week. More than 4,000 Negro and white workers are said to be affected. ’ Further admissions of the brutal treatment of these workers are contained in an Associated Press dispatch: “News that a Federation of Labor investiga- tor was going to report conditions of in- credible brutality and use of lash and pistol on Negro laborers held in virtual peonage by contractors on the big government flood con- trol job set in motion a War Department in- vestigation.”, Green has buried the report, but some of its findings have found their way into print. The A. F. of L., with its usual tender sdlicitude for the protection of the Wall Street dictatorship, has already exonerated the government. The re- port places the blame on the general contrac- tors. And now the War Department will pro- ceed in a fake investigation to whitewash the contractors. ‘In the end, it will be proved, at least to the satisfaction of the fat-bellied bosses and A. F. of L. leaders, that the workers fhem- selves are responsible for the frightful condi- tions on this government flood contro! job. At the same time that the A. F. of L. was forced into this half-hearted and reluctant in- vestigation, the full facts of which Green has buried in his office files, peonage conditions were also being exposed in New York state. Laborers on state construction jobs are reported forced to “live like peons and were treated. like coolies.” A Buffalo boss newspaper admits that the work- ers are paid under the prevailing labor scale, are forced to live in unsanjtary shacks, made to pay high prices for room and board and “were tempted to expend their wages on liquor and gambling.” Peonage conditions, widespread in the South, are not confined to that section, Whether in New York or in Mississippi, Capitalism 1s en- gaged in a brutal oppression and enslavement of the toiling masses. For the cruelly exploited white and Negro workers there is only one way out of capitalist robbery and oppression of the workers, and that way is by the revolutionary overthrow of the vicious cavitalist system and the establishment of wor and farmers’ gov~ ernments in every country. Join the Unemployed Councils and Build Block Committees In Your Neighborhoods { INDITIONS of slavery and forced labor so | SUBSCRIPTION RATES: -- Rally to the Defense ot the ~ Foreign-Born Workers Since this article was written the Michigan Alien Registration Law was declared unconstitu- tional as a result of mass pressure. At the. same time, however, President Hoover in his message to Congress, called for a law for the federal registration of foreign born workers. Further articles will deal with this more fully. Wee ee By S. HORWATT, N.Y. District Secretary Protection Foreign Born. T 72nd Congress opened for the first time in the history of the United States, under threats of powerful fists, wrath and the militancy of millions of unemployed workers, whose fate it is —either to starve helplessly in the gutters of our country or to be ready to fight for unem- ployed relief and unemployed insurance. For the first time in the history of the United States, Congress was called upon by the Presi- dent to outlaw the millions of foreign-born in the United States. It is an error to think that the United States is far from adopting the proposals against the foreign born. All indications prove that the Congress of 1932 will undoubtedly pave the way for complete persecution of the foreign born. But the attack upon the foreign born has prac- tically started. Even though the 722nd Con- gress has officially not taken up the different bills and recommendations, the government js already long ago practising all means and ways to persecute the foreign born, without any legal pretense whatever, even for a capitalistic form of government. But let us continue. From 1920 to 1930 deportation increases 600 per cent; 2,762 in 1920, 16,631 in 1930. This is just the beginning. Here is what the General Commissioner of Immigration stated in his an- nual report ending June, 1931: “The task of the housecleaning has practical- Jy just begun, to continue the work and do it thoroughly, is the big job ahead.” And these are not mere words. According to information for the year 1931, deportations will even exceed those of previous years by thous- Sands. But let no one be misled by the so- called upheaval aroused in government circles and the yellow press, that deportations are con- fined to foreign born criminals only. It so happens that the percentage of criminals de- ported has remarkably decreased and reaches only about 10 per cent. The background of this huge deportation Movement is the complicated machine of our modern society with which the capitalistic gov- ernment is incapable to handle, and therefore uses deportation as a cover. That this is true we do not have to look to the theories of the radicals. A no less faithful believer of capi- talistic democracy than Miss Jane Clark, tells us in her book, “Deportation of Aliens,” that the hunting against the foreign born is a result of “the need for finding someone to blame for the trouble, and the alien proved a likely pos- sibility.” In a more human language it simply means: “If you, American workers have no job, it is the fault of the foreign born. They take your job from you; they are responsible for all your sufferings, hunger, homelessness. They, the for- eign born workers, destroyed our prosperity.” And we must admit, to our regret, that these phrases had a considerable effect upon the minds of millions of workers. The government, on the other hand, hammers on this argument that carries with it three aims: (1) Throwing off the responsibility of the present depression; (2) di- verts the wrath of the masses that would other- wise point at capitalism, now points at the for- eign born; (3) tries to split up the unity of the working class in the struggle against wage cuts and unemployment insurance. Simultane+ ously with the hounding of foreign born a chau- vinistic lynching of Negré workers is carried on. ‘The more acute the struggle of the hungry millions is becoming, the more intense becomes the agitation against the foreign born, ‘To put up # serious front on the whole situation, they look for so-called legal means in order to be abie to deport citizens as well as non-citizens and in order to terrorize, not only naturaliced citizens, but even American born (Lawrehee, Mass,). For this purpose there are two legisla- tive bodies working simultaneously in each state separately and also in the federal government, as a whole, As a characteristic cxample of how, the state legisuature works, we will cite the Michigan House Bill No. 520, that was proposed April, 1931, in Michigan. The bill is charac- teristic with its open fascistic emphasis. After a short introduction to this bill and its definition as to those who can be considered as eligible citizens (naturally all those who are in accord with their tactics and none others— S. H). It is followed by a declaration as to the reason for proposing such a bill and states that it is: “For the purpose of maintaining the economic and industrial welfare of the state. »+.” (Sec, 1, Bill 520.) This bill goes as far as to insure against anyone who has changed his views, even after he has been accepted as @ citizen of the state. Even then, if it is dis- covered that he has changed his views, he is subjected to deportation, The same bill, in section 4, continues: “Any person of foreign birth who entered the United States illegally, or who comes within the classification of ‘undesirable alien’ and is now within the confines of the state is hereby Just whom the bill refers to as “undesirables” is quite clear judging from the above mentioned Section 1 of the same bill. The bill also de- mands registration, photographing, etc. of each foreign born, This Michigan bill will now be submitted to the federal government. ‘The exact class character of this bill is brought to light in section 11, which demands that em- ployers should not employ foreign born workers, unless all necessary documents are turned over to the Safety Commissioner for inspection. For not complying with this law, there is a penalty to both employer and employee. The bill con- cludes with a warrant to manufacturers, that this bill does not exclude the right to import workers whenever necessary. (Read: To scab against strikers—S. H.) As far as New York is concerned, this is being executed indirectly. It is being accomplished through the so-called innocent police — “bu- reau to check up alien criminals,” who are sup- posed to hunt criminals, but somehow find their way to meeting rooms of workers. In this man- ner they make raids, terrorize workers and de- port those whom they think should be deported. The second job the “Bureau” carries out quite successfully, And last, we come to the federal bills. If we omit the Ashwell and Bliss bills, then the farth- est-reaching one would be the recommendations of President Hoover and Secretary of Labor Doak, who demand registration and deportation of the foreign born, and the proposals of the Fish committee, formulated in sections 4-5, and demands the revocation of citizenship of those workers, who participate’in the militant strug- gle of the American working class. But despite the fact that the recommendations of the Fish Committee have as yet not been officially accepted by Congress, they are never- theless being practised. For the past few months they have cancelled the citizenship of three work- ers in West Virginia, one worker in Seattle, Washington, and a number of workers are now threatened with the loss of their rights as citi- zenship in Lawrence, Mass., and in several other states. # Judging from the above, the attack on the for- eign born is in full swing. The same tactics are being applied by the government against the American workers, In this way the worker Grafgewitch was torn away from the strike front in Lawrence, Mass., and transferred to Ellis [stand and held there as every other “non- communicato.” In this case the government takes advantage of its immigration department, not only to terrorize the foreign born, but also the American worker. From the above facts it is quite clear that the anti-foreign born campaign is aimed at the American workers as strenuously as at the for- eign born. It is therefore important that the foreign. born workers should not only organize themselves in the struggle against this persecu- tion of the foreign born, but must also win the scr orb of the American and Negro workers as “cll, whese tIntevests are identical with those of ho foreign born and that is a united front ogcinst the capitalists in the struggle for unem- ployment insurance and a human living stand- ard for those who work. ‘The Committee for the Protection of Foreign ‘Born is now, organising conferenocd all-over, the 36; siz months, $8; two monty #1; excepting Boroughs Foreign: one year, $8; six months, $4.50. By ORGS Do Your Red Sparks Buying Early After much tofl and trouble, we've got darn thing off the press again. At least going on the press about the time this does. We refer to No, 2, “Red Sparks” let, which has quite a lot more Sp: baliere, much better ones, than Pamphiet, af 3 ‘This No. 2 pamphlet is illustrated by. and the one he made of “Roosevelt's i functionaries’ occupational disease (taking self too seriously) and ingrowing deviations Fe 3 as mistaking capitalists as human beings). No. 2 will bring te light teeth that are “easy to whiten” and “hard to whiten.” Just Tub it in well. Sample copies at five and bundle orders at 25 per cent reduetion fifty or more should be sent to—Workers Publishers, Box 148, Stetion “D,” New Do your Red Sparks shopping early, as the tion is not a big ona, Butler Again Spills The Beans : We think that the Nobel Peaes Pring the wrong Butler. Why “Nicholas should have gotten it, we can’t figure ont must have been meant for Maj.-Generel ley D. Butler, of the “horse marines,” Who nak only “feeds his horse on corn and beans” beb spills the beans now and again. The loose-tongued General, whom we lash heard of as offering to parade in down the streets of Philadelphia to “help tas unemployed”—or was it making an offer to ka@ @ fascist regime to shoot down the unemployed? —has been up in the Duluth region speaking the Legion post; there. Among the beans spilled by the General this assembly, an account of which appeased the Duluth Herald, is the following: “The United States has ennexed more tase ritory in the last thirty years than any other nation on earth, yet has made more fess about not absorbing new territory.” Which is sort of interesting, coming from # guy who helped the “absorbing” process as am imperialist gunman. . Gs vl The “Socialists” Are Particular Quite a discussion is going on in the San Francisco capitalist press “letters to the editor” over the great gain made by the Communist Party in the local elections. All the Frisco grey~ beards are shaking over it and various smart boys are whetting their wits to “explain” how it came about that the Communists gained so much in comparison to the fake “socialists” who nom- inated a candidate with the moniker of Horr. Another “socialist” bearing the name of Wells, contributes to a local sheet @ letter trying to ex- Plain the comment of someone named White who had remarked upon the Communist gains rela- tive tothe “socialists.” Wells brushes White aside with the following: “The evidence which he did not produce is the fact that the socialist party is an Amer- ican organization and as such receives no cam- paign funds from Moscow.” Of course Moscow might have been pleased to learn that a lot of workers in San Francisco voted Communist instead of “socialist,” but only a nit-wit or “secret service revealer” could “re- veal” that Moscow was so hopped up about who should be mayor in Frisco as to send money that is much better used in building factories. The “socialists” are particular, however, about what town their funds come from. The only thing they are not particular about is what capi- talist furnishes them, Aid from Moscow would be—if it were received, and it wasn't—at Rast aid from workers. The “socialist” party prefers the financial aid of American bosses, cea alia A Hard Job For “Good Citizens” A Los Angeles worker writes us that been having a hard time to live up to Hoover's exhortation to “good citizens” that they “respect the brave police and hate criminals instead glorifying them.” “Well,” he writes, “‘a friend of mine fust through serving on a jury that convicted an Chief of Police for accepting bribes. “Yesterday, I saw two plain-clothes dicks into and soon emerge from a notorious dive— while actually around the corner two brave harness cops beat up a woman for street-walking and threw her into the squad car. It’s hard to to tell, unless they are uniformed, which are pri- vate thugs and which are hired by the city. he ae $202 they were kept on the run for an hour by the workers demonstrating for the release of Mooney, Billings and the Harlan miners the other day.” The point of Hoover's advice is, of course, that capitalism relies on the police to the capitalists against the workers—and thatthe workers who don’t like capitalism are “crim- inals.” Workers, however, have quite a different view of who the “criminals” are. 5 country. Here in New York a conference will be held Sunday, December 20, at Manhatten Lyceum. It is very important that every or- ganization should not only elect delegates to the conference, but should visit other organi- zations in their neighborhoods, acquaint nonclass conscious members of other organizations and dvaw them into the struggle for the defense of the foreign born, All those bills that we enu- merated above, have every opportunity to pass all legislative bodies, unless we put up a mighty hard struggle to prevent it. ‘The working class is hardest hit By these bills and therefore the ones that should be seriously interested inthe struggle, ‘The workers and only the works ean foree the sovegament a }