The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 23, 1932, Page 3

| DAILY WORKER, WORKERS’ CORRESPONDENCE.- A. F. OF L. SHOE UNION RECRUITS BREAK UP el Organizer Paul ‘D’Artorm Now Assisting Bosses to Put over Wage-Cut Shoe and Leather Workers Industrial Union Active Driving Fakers From Field (By a Worker PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—The Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union, which has been acting almost a decade, is still on the job and at its old tricks. Old age effects this prostitute organization; the older it gets the more degenerate it becomes. Its exploits are well known to every shoe center. There is not a single shoe worker who does not know that this so-called union is the handiest tool in the! hands of the bosses whenever the workers rebel against the rotten conditions imposed upon RELIEF STOPPED; MASS PRESSURE BRINGS IT BACK Jnemployed Branch of West Allis, Forces Bosses to Act (By a Worker Correspondent) WEST ALLIS, Wis.—A worker, John Berkovich, father of a family of five and active member of the Unemployed Council, had been cut off the relief list because he collected funds for the National Hunger March in Washington, D. C. He was also arrested and the funds col- lected ($5) was taken away and to this day has not been returned. ‘The case is pending in court still unsettled. The Unemployed Branch of West Allis took to fight this case | and forced Manager Dolany of the relief station to put him back on the relief list. His rent has not been paid for the last eight months. On the day his case was taken up they were to turn off his gas. The action of the branch prevented it. Another case of George Paradise was taken up and won. He has a family of nine, one girl working re~ ceiving twelve dollars a week and the Department of Outdoor Relief expected her to support the family with her salary. His provisions were cut in half. hey also refused to pay his rent, gas and electric bills. Supervisors Roberts assured him that his case would be looked after. Faker Doleny called the cops to arrest the committee of the branch, but they did not dare to do this. ‘This shows what organized Jabor will do. After the committee of 30 re- turned to the Center, the police and Plainclothesmen entered the head- quarters and started a search. In order to frame us for carrying con- cealed weapons one dick brought in @ rock wrapped in a newspaper tel- ling us that a ‘ker’ had it in his pocket. The workers branded this as a frem-up and a lie. After an ar- gument the cops left with a long nose, failing in their-effort, this time at least, to frame-up ‘anybody. ‘The spokesman was Comrade John Kasun, Communist candidate for al- derman in the 23rd Ward, Milwaukee. Insulted and Jailed in Automat Restaurant (By. a Worker Correspondent) ‘New York. Daily Worker: ; On January 16th I went to the Automat Restaurant on 14th Street and sat down to have a cup of coffee. T rested for a few minutes. While I was sitting the bouncer came over to me and began hurling insults. The bouncer called a cop and had me arrested. I was thrown into a cell with prostitutes and dope friends and all sorts of degenerates. I was kicked ‘around by the matrons and called a “Bolshevik bastard.” T was taken in front of a magis- trate in the 53rd Street Court and the case was dismissed. The Automat on 14th Street is very antagonistic against radicals and Communists. Mollie Chudler. Post Office Bosses Treat Sub Clerks Like Chattels (By a@ Worker Correspondent) NEW YORK.—Conditions of the vubstitute clerks in the post office are the most heartrending, for the pay he receives barely provides sus- tenance, The average amount of hours’ work for him is between two and three a day. There are times when he gets only 1 to 11-2 hours. ‘The wages of these workers is 65 cents an hour. He is treated not as one who is to become a future clerk and an “upholder of the service” but as @ common slave. A future clerk is one who receives ag a starter $1,700 per year and reaches the maximum of $2,100 within five years. He gets vaca- tions, sick pyay, etc. The substitute does not get any of these benefits. Besides that, he has to take “schemes” regardless of how much he is making and if he fails demer- its are given to him. If these de- merits accumulate to 500 he is fired. Years ago the regular subbed 9 SCABS TO Correspondent) as a scab herding agency for them. Its only job is to recruit ©scabs to break strikes and force the | workers back into submission. The Boot and Shoe has actually been kicked out of the various shoe centers. In Boston, Chelsea, Lynn and other places the workers are | well» acquainted with the betrayers of this union. The strike in Boston in 1929 is still fresh in the minds of the workers. In this strike they fought a hard battle against the boss- es and.against the leadership of the Boot and Shoe. In New York the fakers of the Boot and Shoe scabbed | openly against the Independent Shoe Workers and in spite of the fact that the great majority of the shoe work- ers are unorganized, the Boot and Shoe has not only failed to make a headway, but has lost the few shops which were captured during the 1929 and 1930 strikes. Attempt to Oust Shop Committee ‘The shoe workers of Philadelphia | are having at the present time a taste of the Boot and Shoe. The workers of the Calton Shoe, which won the recognition of the shop com- mittee a few months ago after a 3 weeks strike under the leadership of the Shoe and Leather Workers In- dustrial Union, are now being com- pelled to join the Boot and Shoé be- cause the boss has called in this scab union to oust the shop committee. The fact that there has been no work in over three months has made it possible for the bosses to put this fake union on the workers. ‘The Boot and Shoe has utilized a notorious scab who remained at work during the strike in order to round up a few other scabs and intimidate the workers, threatening them with the loss of their jobs if they refused to join the Boot and Shoe, | A Scab As Organizer | ‘The arch scab, Paul D'Artorm, who! is now acting as organizer for the| Boot and Shoe, is helping the boss put over a ten per cent wage cut against which the workers are pre- paring to strike. Such is the Boct and Shoe. The Jast word has not been said yet, how- ever. The workers of the Calton shop under the leadership of the Shoe and Leather Workers Industrial Union will soon strike back at scab leader- ship of the Boot and Shoe and also the bosses. There is no room in Philadelphia for the Boot and Shoe or any other fake union. The work- ers are looking to the Shoe and Leather Workers Industrial Union for leadership in their struggles. WAR By PICKEN. War! War! War! manufacturers of ammunition roar. You have nothing to lose, they claim, * But your arms, your legs, your brain, / War! War! War! cannons of overproduction roar. Profit and gain, profit and gain, Is the answer to a world tn pain. War! War! War! machine birds in the heavens roar. ‘Tear bombs and bullets rain; Blindfolded, youth fights for cap- ital’s gain. War! War! War! fighting for? If there is a point to score Join the ranks of class war. What are we to 16 months before he became a regular. Now no one knows how long he must sub, When e regular died in the past he was at once re- placed by a substitute, but now, even though vacancies occur for regulars, no one is made for months, The bosses are supposed to be men of intellectual quality, according to the postal laws and regulations. It is just the opposite, however, for they are made by the politicians who are of the lowest class. The bosses are not only asinine and ignorant, but also obscene in speech. There are bosses who send the substitutes home if they enter the comfort room, There is one particular fault with the Post Office Department, and that is that it is not based on merits and demerits—but only on demerits, thus not giving the Worker a chance to display his worth. They do not care for the health of the workers, only for their work. | days” Made in U.S.'A. The above is a reproduction of @ one cent check which is used by the Nicholson Coal Co, of Piney Fork, Ohio, to pay its miners who work at starvation wages. The mines are only working two and three days a week. A worker cor- respondent writes that the miners in Piney Fork are slowly starving to death. : SEWER TUNNEL WORKERS WAGES SLASHED 40 ae Terrific Speed-up On Most Dangerous Job in Milwaukee (By a Worker Correspondent) MILWAUKEE. — Speed-up and wage cuts in Milwaukee sewer and water works construction is now be- yond human endurance. I will try to describe this situation by comparing it with “old days,” not because before there was no exploi- tation and slaving conditions pre- Vailing, but to show to what an ex- tent the bosses in their greed for profits are driving the men to ex- haustion, using present unemploy- ment as a whip to lash the men at work, Cut 40 per cent, There is more than one way to cut ; workers’ wages, I mean direct slash per hour. Speed-up and reducing men all around is just as effective | and profitable for the boss as di- rect cut which until now has reached 40 per cent. In 1929 miners and concrete shovelers were receiving up to $1.25 per hour which is now cut to 75 cents, the most. To be a miner requires skill, es- pecially where there is quick sand and water, also clay ground. You also have to figure on every move you make for if you do not make footage enough to suit the boss you are “out.” One miner and one muck~ er are required to excavate twelve feet per day which was formerly the Job of two miners and one mucker. The same holds good for concrete men. Before there was hardly a cese where two or more miners did not work, now one miner alone has to do the work of two or more and must mine out one-third more than before. Formerly one miner and one mucker excavated 7-8 feet of tunnel now they must excavate 12 feet if they want to hold a job. In the “old three more men did the work that two have to do at the present. The concrete work is doubled and still men get wage cuts of 40 to 50 per cent. If ground is bad (sand and water) men must speed-up regardless of the water conditions, ice cold water pouring on their backs all day long. ; The workers have to buy their own rain coas and hats which were for- merely furnished by the bosses. There is no decent dry room to dry the men’s working clothes. It is hard on them when they have to dress in wet, ice cold working clothes, to do their work the next day. Sick- ness, especially rheumatism, prevails highly among the worker. Because of speed-up accidents occur often— badly crippling the men for life—the death rate is high! When working for a contractor you are not treated as a human being. You are everything but yourself, be- | ing called by all kinds of names but your own. To remedy the situation the men will have to organize into fighting unions against wage cuts, speed-up and inhuman treatment and the bosses should furnish the proper dry houses where men can change their clothes when going to or from work. I almost forgot to mention that there are no such ac- comadations as lavatories and men must eat their lunches with dirty hands on the fly. More than half of the time there is no drinking wat- er. Men have to go without water for hours doing hard labor at the same time. ‘We must demand an increase in pay and fight against speed-up and for better working conditions gen- erally and force the bosses to employ the, necessary number of men to do the work. This can oly be accom- plished by organizing. 4 San Diego A.F.L, Locals Indorse Bill for Social Insurance (By a Worker Correspondent) SAN DIEGO, Cal. — The workers here are beginning to find out that the only way they can get relief and to keep from starving is to organize and put up a good struggle. All one can hear is that conditions are getting worse and the intimation is that the illlusions of expecting any betterment of conditions under the present system are being shattered. More workers are joining the Un- employed Council. Just recently four San Diego A. F. of L. locals endorsed the Unemployment Insurance Bill. The unions were: Carpenters Local 1296, Plasterers Local 346, Lather Local 260 and the Iron Workers Local 299 Moscow, U. S. S. R. Comrades: Your letter, in which you describe your conditions of life, your work the Comsomols (Young Communist | League) organization, of the Moscow First Kursk ra“way station. You tell us, comrades, about your poor wages, that aré being cut, about the length- ening of the working day. The unprecedented economic crisis in your country and all over the capitalist world embraces every in- dustry and trade; the factories, mills and agriculture. You state in your letters that the workers in your coun- try are anxious to get any work to keep the body alive, but with no-+ results. Thousands of workers are dying of starvation in the streets of your cities. In conclusion you ask us, comrades, to write to you about our conditions of life, work and about the general conditions in the Soviet Union. Reconstruction of Villages. Now we will tell you something of the conditions in the U.S.S.R. W are now experiencing the r tr tion of our country. From a v7 tive, uncultured land, we are trans-| forming our country into a prozres- sive, industrial country. The Soviet Union is becoming the most exten- sively developed agricultural coun- try in the world. We are transform- ing our country from a state of feud- alism and small peasant holdings ta a@ country of collective farms. In this process of collectivization we are liquidating the kulaks as a class. From the middle and poor peasants we are creating a new social element. This is one of the victories gained in the socialist reconstruction of the village. Now we will tell you a little about the railroad transportation and what we are accomplishing. In this year, in transportation, we are reaching the fulfillment of the Five Year Plan. In the technical re-equipment of transport we have gained a num- ber of successes. We have built new railway lines, but far from enough to satisfy the demands made by the construction of socialism. The growth sary thatthe problem of transpor- tation be solved once for all. The \only way to take care of the trans- portation problem is to transform ‘t on an electrical-technical basis, as the best means of transportation. Role of Comsomols, What is the role of the Leninist Comsomok, its practical activity in this work and how do we help the |Communist Party in the fulfillment of plans? In all this work, the Com- somols share an equal responsibility with the Party. We in our depart- ment have organir-d socialist compe- tition in our work, helping the dif- ferent shock brigades in speeding up |work. We organize circles for the ‘new comsomols. We teach our chil- dren not to worship God, but on the contrary, we fight against religious dore because we are convinced that belief in God is a bluff and our class enemies are using it against us. We educate our youth in an international Communist spirit. The Comsomols are independently repairing locomo- tives in our free time and gratis as @ present to the proletarian October celebration. The October Revolution overthrew the rule of the landowners and capi- talists and the bourgeois dictatorship, and set up a proletarian dictator- ship. The October Revolution de- prived the capitalists of their power and wealth. But that does not yet mean that we are out of danger, be- cause ‘the capitalist world is still on the watch, looking for a chance to smash our plans. The capitalist world is preparing war against the S:« iet Union, and our reply is that we are always ready for the fight. Comrades, write to us and we will always answer you. The Comsomol Organization of the Moscow Kursk Railway. and struggles under the heel of capi-| talism, was read at our meeting of! of socialist economy makes it neces- | . ORK, S ATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 1932 . Page Three : — ATLANTA JOBLESS FORCE RELIEF FROM CITY—A. F. OF L. SCAB TER FROM SOVIET RAIL WORKERS—SLAVE CONDITIONS IN UNITED STATES POST OFFICE Soviet Railroad Workers Write Village and City Construction ¢ manufactured by the combine plant “Kommunar” ed on a railroad platform. OMAHA JOBLESS COUNCIL WINS Jobless Council Stops Eviction of Two Dear Comrade Editor:— ‘The Unemployed Council has won eral victories here. I will state couple of the most important ones. a A married couple, here, resided in @ one room apartment on Chicago Street. The husband had been out of work for some time, and managed to squeeze the room rent out of the charities, although he had to scrimp for food. The charities thought that the worker wrs getting it too easy, so they thre.'ened to split the couple, and to :end him to the Sal- vation Army, and her to the city mission. The Community Chest and the landlord celebrated, and while the Chest called the couple to the office to see about next month's rent, the landiord threw the furniture and belongings out of the room. The Unemployed Council heard of this act, and immediately sent a com- mittee to the city authorities, and forced them to give the couple a place to live and weekly food. The couple are now good members of the Unemployed Council here. Here is another case, Because of him being out of a job, and with a wife and child to support, Mr. Prehs went to the Family Welfare here to apply for relief. He was brutally treated and bawled out for getting maried, etc, He left one morning with a note saying: “I can’t stand this any longer. I've been bawled out by the charities too many times. Iam going to end it all.” The charities, due to the fact that he left, began to pick on Mrs, Prehs and threatened to send her to the City Mission and the boy to the or- phanage. In the meantime, the landlord, after threatening several times, broke in one morning at 6 0’ clock. The Unemployed Council or- ganized a block committee and forced the city administration to give them immediate and weekly relief, also rent, A Steady Downpour Will Drown Him SAILOR ROBBED IN PHILA. FLOP Church Institute Kicks} Him Out (By a WV arkek Cheisapoadiaty PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Typical re- ligious generosity was again the order of the day Jan. 11th at the Phila- delphia Seamen's Church Institute. The wrath of a merciful god and his self-appointed agehts was this time vented on a sailor, who happens to be an ex-serviceman With half of his left foot gone. He was ejected or (releived of his relief) because of his dislike for present panis condi- tions. On his first night ashore from his last ship, his locker at the Sea- men’s Church Institute was looted and he thus lost his entire pay-off. This, however, did not tend to temper the religious justice of these sky-pilots, the bum’s-rush was inev- itable (sailor eviction in the name of Jesus). The joint is polluted wtih a bunch | of jelly-beans, scenery-bums and hay- shakers who wouldn’t know the dif- ference between a steamboat and a gondola. These birds are evidently secure on the relief list, such as it is, for the winter, while this dis- abled ex-service-sailor, can, with half his foot off, limp through snow and ice 60 blocks a day to another joint for a scoff and a flop, after being robbed of his pay. Make just one remark favorable to the working class movement and your relief suffers the same fate as did Deacon Jones’ Wonderful On- Hoss-Shay. Our problems are well analyzed in the ‘Marine Workers’ Voice,” that fearless organ of the Marine Workers Industrial Union that dares to tell the truth and work out a constructive policy. Line up Sailor, line up. GRAPTERS LOOT CHI. TREASURY No Pay Yet for City Employees (By a Worker Correspondent) CHICAGO, Ill.—The taxing ma- chinery, as well as the entire con- struction of the local government is in a deplorable state of affairs. The grafters and politicians have made a clean sweep of the treasury. The salaries of the city employees have not been met in the last five or six months. The teachers have had to carry the heavy burden of working without pay. This does not mena that the City Hall gang is starving. These boys have already taken fat rake-offs. ‘The city fathers have introduced a number of “economies.” They have decreased the working hours and at the same time the wages. ‘They have made it known that a worker will be required to work 12 months and get paid for only ten at reduced wages. It is high time that the workers awake to the rotten conditions and the filth and stench emanating from City Hall. All the workers should come to the big demonstration Feb. 4 and demand that the government give relief to those of us who are unemployed. The only way we will get it is by building a strong Com- munist Party, strong revolutionary | the families were refused relief. ON (By a Worker ATLANTA, Georgia.—The by getting the rich bosses to ¢ wages of workers still employ cases afraid to complain becau the next pay envelope there w services are no longer required Th funds are low and that they car state this in spite of the fact that their collection drive has just been completed. Denied Relief Two families were denied relief two weeks ago on the grounds that there Was no money in the fund. One wi a forty-two year old woman three small children and the other a@ carpenter with two children and a wife. The latter was out of work for almost two years. These cases were brought to the attention of the Neighborhood Unem- ployed Committee, a committee of five workers. This committee went to the Community Chest headquar- ters and told one of the girls that the} wanted to see the person in charge of the relief distribution. The committee was told that the head of the relief department was not in. They were then sent to a girl up- stairs who was in charge of the files. There was a sign on the wall stat- ing that anyone who wanted relief should use the stairs, so the com- mittee decided to try the elevator and find out why hungry workers must climb the steps while only par- asites are allowed to use the elevator. Chased from Floor to Floor The committee when they ‘ived on the top floor asksd the girl why She tried to give them a few lame ex- cuses, but the workers demanded to see the one in charge. She then took the committee to another woman down stairs. This woman then took the committee upstairs again to get the cards of the two applicants. She tried to sidetrack the commit- tee by calling in one of the appli- ;cants and telling the other to wait outside. Bug when she opened the door all the workers walked in. She then told all the workers that the funds were low and she could accept no more applicants. Forced to Give Relief The committee was then taken once more down stairs to look for the boss of the bureau. They found him and he said that they must have three days to investigate. The com- mittee then told the welfare hed that if relief was not forthcoming by noon the next day they would go with a larger committee to the mayor and expose the relief fakers to the whole city. The next day both fam- ilies received $4 in cash from the chest. The committee is on the job, ever alert, to see that these families continue to get this relief, that it is not cut. Mrs. Joyce Gives Bread to Jobless; But Wants Votes (By a Worker Correspondent) CHICAGO, Ill.—Mrs. Joyce, wife of a political leader here, had a crowd of unemployed workers gathered on the corner of Wells and Institute Place for the purpose of giving them Christmas baskets. In return for this charity the workers had to give the pledge that they would ‘promise’ to support the bosses in the next elec- tion, For the 200 that had gathered there was nothing but one truck load of bread instead of the promised baskets. SHOE STRIKE—LET- WORKERS’ COMMITTEE FORCES COMMUNITY CHEST GIVE RELIEF Atlanta Chest Has Collected Thousands; Workers See Little of It Neighborhood Committee Invades Community Headquarters; Gets Relief Correspondent) > Community Chest of Atlanta has recently collected thousands of dollars from the workers jeduct a dollar or two from the yed. The workers are-in most se to do so would mean that in ill be a note stating that their grafting outfit has been telling the workers that the n relieve no more families. They JOBLESS HALT ’ AN EVICTION IN BALTIMORE, MD. 100 Mobilize to Stop Sheriff from Ousting Workers’ Family (By a Worker Correspondent) Baltimore M@ Dear Comrades: At a meeting of the~International Labor Defense last night two mem- (bers informed us that there would be 2 eviction cases this morning. We got in touch with the Unem- ployed Councils, and also mobilized the unemployed of the ILD to parti- cipate against the evictions. The first house I went to this morning was in the most miserable block I have ever seen. Why are we workers always thrown out of the very worst blocks—while I have never seen a banker thrown out of a man- sion? (In fact those cowards, at the time of the Wall Street crash com- mitted suicide rather than live the poor life of the working class. The workingclass is strong through their life of struggle and fight). In the first house the husband was sick with a broken le and has not been working for a long time. How- ever I found that a respite had been given them—they would not be thrown out until next week. I urged the woman the necessity of organiz- ing her neighbcors and herself into an Unemployed Council—with the help of the Unemployed Branches No fancy speeches here—cold, hard necessity! As Lenin said, our duty is “to maintain contact to obtain ap- proach, to fuse itself, if you like, with the wide mass of the toilers.” I went to the next eviction case. A young woman of 28 with 6 small chil- dren, all under 11, and with a seventh one on the way (within a couple of months) had been informed that she would be put out.. We had 100 people |mobilized there to stop the eviction. |Then the police arrived—about a do- zen of them and more, headed by a |captain Mooney. When captain Moo- ney saw the crowd he made a very soft and tender speech “What's this —why people you know ‘this is unne- cessary. All you have to do is to come to me for help. Then I send you to the charities, according to your re- ligion.”” The mother of the children said, “I Was up your place. But the charity gave me a basket of food, and no rent Captain it was unnece: Moor stil’ maintaining 'y for wotkers to or- ganize—that is was against the law— promised to get in touch with the charities for her and see that she re- ceived further help. The police left and then I left a comrade to remain withe women and then come back and report to me if anything was done. But we shall carry on the struggle. Here's for a bigger and better fight. JK (By a Worker Correspondent) CHICAGO, Ill.—In !- 54, of the Carpenters and -» so-called Brotherhood troubles are growing thick and fast. First, it was the question of the secretary treasurer. He misused the confidence of the local in such a bad way that he was removed from his post. It was found out that he nivested about $20,000 of the union’s money on mortgage: unquestionably collecting fat commis. sions on the transactions. This secretary treasurer has been the “pillar” of the union for many years and a reactionary of the first class, always fighting against the pro- gress of the local. The second “pillar” of the union, the business agent, John Lejear, has laid off for six months. The local took this action because of the mis- handling of the funds by the first “pillar,” Ninety per cent of the membership of the local are not working and thus 50 per cent are unable to pay dues. Stool Pigeon Lejcar Unions, strong Unemployed Counc- ceils. This Lejear is known as a stool pigeon for the higher-ups and his Chicago Carpenters Fight to Oust Stool From Local 54 last job was to fill out charges against @ carpenter from another local for distributing leaflets drawn up by a rank and file committee against the fakers of the district’ cotincil. This | said stool pigeon, after being laid off |the ‘payroll, sent a petition to the district office in Ind{anapolis and | after some bickering through the mail |sent his personal ° ‘representative, hare, to our local. Share Jaid down jan ultimatum to the Jocal that we either pay the business agent his | Salary in full—even for the last three |months—or the charter will be taken |away and the property confiscated. | Some of the members tien pointed jout that in order to pay the salary of the business agent we Would have | to expel over 100 of our members be= | cause they can’t pay their dues. Share replied in the manner ‘of‘all A. PF. of L, fakers. “Boys, it’s just too bad," he said; |“but you must abide by the decision jof the general presidén’, Brother Hutcheson. | This should show to the carpenters: |that one good stool pigeon 1s more important to the officials than 100 members 4,