The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 6, 1932, Page 4

hed by the Comprodaily Publishing Co., w York City ¥. felephone AL mail all checks to the Daily Work SURSCRIPTION RATES: By mail everywhere: One year, $6; six months, $3; two months, $1; excepting Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, New York City. Foreign: one year. $8; siz months, 84.50. e., daily except Sunday, at 60 Fast um 4-7956 Cable “DAIWORK.” 50 Hast 13th Street, New York, N. ¥. Dail D, GENERAL”. By BURCK Party Recruiting Drive | January 11 - March 18, 1932 By JORGE — ] FURTHER REPORTS ON THE REVOLU- TIONARY COMPETITION CONNECTICUT-BUFFALO Quota for Connecticut Quota for Buffalo So far r ruiting Campaign in Buffalo members re- at least not reported. does not ove—no new position of the New Mem- mm oF ere A. FG More Concentration on Metal. Connecticut organized no shop nuclei. The imperialist powers are now open- nting against the Chinese masses. ly War is on! Connecticut and Buffalo are primarily districts of war indus- tries. The struggle against war will not be wage h resolutions; action is nece The building of the Party in these s is one of the basic steps in the struggle against war. Speed up, Connecticut! Wake up, Buffalo! CHARLOTTE-BIRMINGHAM Charlotte reports progress. 3irmingham, no report, which means no results. members recruited in t—11. anized 1 shop nucleus in 0 workers. The new shop nu consists of 8 members. The composition of the 11 members is Negroes—8; White—3; Women—4 (all Negroes) ; Average age—33. Charlotte leads in the competition. Birmingham—what are you doing in the drive? Is it possible there are no results? CALIFORNIA—SEATTLE. Seattle leads in total percentage. California leads in shop nuclei. The west coast has started off right in the recruiting drive. Total Recruited: Seattle ...... 84 California ... 50 The composition was not indicated in the reports. California organized new units in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. This is good results. California organized one shop nucleus (a railroad nucleus). Seattle and California—Send in the composition of the new members MONTANA DISTRICT RECRUITS. 13 New Members. Total quota—100. The composition of the 13 new mem- bers is: Employed .. Mining ... Farmers . No shop nuclei organized. DENVER-KANSAS Denver recruited 32 new members. | No shop nuclei. 8 Kansas—complete fallure. port. No new members The composition of the new members recruited in Denver: Mining , Metal. co soso see ccs Railroad .... Agriculture . Women .. Negroes ... Total reported yesterday ....... 2291 New members recruited in Pitts- burgh from Oct. 1-Jan, 11 (re ported late) ..... In todays report ...). Grand total No re- 118 210 2619 eesmocee ; Fifty-three Years in Jail By WILLIAM SIMONS. THREE years in jail! Fourteen Tampa workers begun to serve terms, totalling 53 years. They have been refused a new trial. Seven others ate held by the Immigration au- thorities, awaiting a deportation hearing. One of the nding cases in the country of capitalist terror against the workers. important, because it is an attack on workers of colonial origin, from Cuba, Porto Rico, and other countries of Latin America. The sentence of the fourteen med to crush the Tobacco Workers’ Industrial Union, to compel the mili- tant tobacco workers to accept the bosses’ wage- cutting camr , and to.stamp out the grow- ing influence of the Communist Party. Like Gastonia, like Imperial Valley, like Kentucky, the Tampa case intimately tied up with the workers’ struggles; it is an outgrowth of strug- gles already begun. A Vicious Injunction Issued. Tampa not only presents the defense angle, but also the mpt of the Tobacco Manufac- turers to c Tobacco trial Union through an injunction, which is the most inclusive since the Daugherty Injunction in h the the 1922 railroad strike. The motion for mak- ing permanent the preliminary injunction granted in December comes before the court on Feb. 15th. This unction included 140 of the best fighters for the union, and also specifies “others,” permitting them to add as many as they please. It papers in Spanish issued in Tampa at that time, ‘Traduccion and Gaceta, forbidding them to pub- lish news about the 72 hour strike. Extreme terror is raging in Tampa today. Dur- ing the 72 hour strike of the tobacco workers of ‘Tampa, many were arrested on the picket line, and were put to work on the streets in the bar- barous chain gang. The American Legion threatened with arrest and torture those who were collecting funds for the defense of the Tampa workers. The city authorities have for- bidden any collections in the factories or in the houses. There is a united front of the Mayor, the Tobacco Manufacturers and the Citizen's Committee against the tobacco workers. Organizing Against Wage Cuts. The tobacco manufacturers are cutting wages. This has happened recently in the shops of Thompson Bros., Morgan Bros., and some others. The packers, organized independently in the Tampa Packers’ Union, have been cut $3 per thousand in some shops. The packers stood shoulder to shoulder with the Tobacco Workers’ Industrial Union during the 172 hour strike. These wage cuts follow the 10 per cent genera? wage cut in December, 1930, and the additional | cut of 20 per cent brought about since then through being compelled to do higher grade work at a low grade price. Of the 14,000 tobacco workers, less.than half are now working, for an average wage, under piece work, of $10 to $12, for an average work-week of 56 hours. The attack on the Tampa workers came just after the tobacco workers began to organize the To- bacco Workers’ Industrial Union, affiliated with the revolutionary Trade Union Unity League. ‘The tobacco workers turned to the Trade Union Unity League after 20 years of experience with the reactionary leadership of the Cigarmakers’ Pay . ri des also the only two news- | | Especially | International Union and the American Federa- tion of Labor, and after an attempt in 1930 to | organize a local movement of tobacco workers, independent of the revolutionary unions through- out the country. In spite of the wholesale ter- ror by the authorities, the Tobacco Workers’ Industrial Union is alive and giving out books to the new members. In 1931, the union had 12,000 members on its books, those working being | paid up. The Tobacco Workers’ Industrial Union in Tampa deserves the support of every mili- tant trade unionist, in its struggle for existence. What wes +he 72 hour strike? It was planned to protest against the jailing of the 15 workers on November 7th, and was precipitated by the bosses’ elimination of the “readers” from the tobacco factories, The system of “readers” be- gan among tl.c tobacco workers in Cuba forty years ago, whereby the workers pay a “reader” to read to them from newspapers, pamphlets | and books while the workers are at work in the Workers’ Indus- | factory. The “readers” read for 3 hours a day, in six periods of one-half hour each. Just after the November 7th arrests, the tobacco workers called for the reading of more items from the Daily Worker, not only connected with the Tampa case, but with the revolutionary move- ment throughout the world. It was to stop this growing interest of the tobacco workers in the revolutionary movement that the manufacturers decided to abolish this 40 year old custom of “readers.” Thereupon, the workers immediately and spontaneously left the shops tn their 72 hour strike. The manufacturers secured their | temporary injunction., After the 72 hour strike, the manufacturers declared a lock out, and later opened their factories, but blacklisted a large number of workers. School Children Show Solidarity. ‘The school children of the Tampa tobacco workers showed a splendid spirit of solidarity. About 700 school children from West Tampa, the Latin-American section, went on strike, and marched to the Labor Temple, where they held @ meeting. In one of the school classes at- tended by an American Legion representative, he called on all who were 100 per cent Amer- icans to rise. Instead, one boy shouted: “Viva el Comunismo!” Thereupon the entire class arose and sang the International. The boy who started it was later arrested. The Tampa Tobacco Workers are a vital part of the revolutionary trade union movement of the United States; they are conscious of the'r duty toward the revolutionary struggles in the rest of the United States and in Cuba. For many years, they have collected money regular- ly and systematically for strikes; for every week for six mnoths, they collected $120 a week for the miners’ strike. Surely, they deserve the support of every class conscious worker in the United States. ‘When the November 7th case took place, they immediately took collections in the factories, raising money for the case, with- out any financial support from the outside, But they are forbidden to collect! They need sup- port! Collectors were fired from their jobs, and strikes took place. They need support! November 7th! And as yet, not a single suc- cessful mass meetings held in the United States! In Harlem, the meeting held six weeks ago did not receive the support of the International The Wisconsin Law----Insurance | for Whom? By E. GARDOS - | yee ten weeks of speech-making and sham | fights between the various bourgeois politi- cians, the Special Session of the Winconsin State Legislature adjourned last Tuesday. Called by Governor La Follette to pass bills for employ- | ment “stabilization,” fo runemployment insur- | | ance and immediate relief, the session, especially | | the demagogic opening speech of young Phil, | worthy chip of the old block, attracted nation~ wide attention. His exposure of the “strangle- hold of monopolies, against which he dedicates his entire life,” his demand of government in- terference on unemployed relief and insurance, has been put as a symbol by the progressives, whose leader, Senator Norris, had his speech in- serted into the Congressional Record following Hoover's message. “Stabilizing Industry.” “The present crisis is not due to the system of production, but to the wrong distribution of the purchasing power,” states this latest vulgar economist of the bourgeoisie. “Because the masses carry too much of the burdens of taxa~- tion, because they don’t share sufficiently in the nation’s wealth, which is growing, while the masses are getting poorer, we have a crisis to- Labor Defense or of the Trade Union Unity Council. We have left the support of Tampa to the Latin American tobacco workers of New York City. This neglect must be overcome. The series of mass meetings decided upon by the New York District of the International Labor | Defense must secure the support of the mem- bership of the Trade Union Unity League and of the Communist Party. Similar mass meet- ings with a campaign of protest resolutions should be arranged throughout the country. Despite definite instructions from the National Committee of the International Labor Defense on Tampa a month ago, yet nothing is heard from the various districts of that organization. Despite an appeal from the I. L. D. on Tampa which appeared in the Daily Worker a month ago, there is no evidence of any campaign. The ‘Tampa workers are being left to shift for them- selves. Link Tampa With Other Struggles. ‘The Tampa Defense must be a vital part of every defense campaign. It must be linked up with Kentucky, with Harlan, with Tom Mooney, with Imperial Valley. Every defense meeting, every meeting with a defense resolution, should take up Tampa, The Trade Union Unity Coun- cils and the revolutionary unions should pass a resolution 9n Tampa, carry on agitation aboug the case and the conditions in Tampa, and espe- cially support the fight of the tobacco workers against the injunction. Every important demon- stration should raise the issue of Tampa. The Tampa case proves that we still do not react quickly to problems that occur at points far away from New York City; that as yet, we react very slowly to problems affecting the Latin Americans in this country. At a time when the masses of workers and peasants in Latin America are engaging in broader and more revolutionary struggles (El Salvador, Cuba, Chile), it becomes absolutely necessary to strengthen our support to their struggles through the organization of the Latin American workers | State.” in this country. Real support to Tampa now, when it is needed, will do more to win the Latin Americans for the revolutionary trade unions and for the Communist Party than abstract Propaganda. It will convince them that the Party and the Trade Union Unity League in practice as well as in words make no distinction between native born workers and workers of colonial origin. ‘We must convince them through action! must do our revolutionary duty! Let us begin now! We are already late! The trial in Tampa was over before any mass campaign was carried on. Let us begin that campaign now! Tampa is our problem. It is the problem of every class conscious worker in the country. Take this juestion into your meetings, this week, tonight. lave your organization act—pass a resolution of orotest. Send it to the Mayor of Tampa, Florida. Raise funds for the fight to release the 14 jailed comrades. Help the struggle against the in- ‘unctino! Fight against the deportations! Send unds and resolutions to the International Labor Jefense, 799 Broadway, Room 410. Let each | We class conscious worker play his part in this Tampa Campaign. day. Capital cannot change this situation, it is | therefore the duty of the state to step in and help capitalism to put order into the house’— this is the gist of La Follette’s analysis and the conclusions he is discovering, after this was done | by thousands of other would-be saviors of cap- | italism, And he comes out with a mixture of Swope-plan, New Republic liberal schemes and socialist party remedies to “cure” capitalism in Wisconsin—and, one can never tell—later in the entire U.S. A. “Unemployment Insurance”—Sometimes. “Wisconsin, that blazed the trail for the en- tire country in measures like accident compen- sation, primary law, 8-hour day for state em- ployes, etc., is again the first state of the Union to adopt an unemployment insurance bill”— proudly exclaim the progressives and socialists. ‘The Groves bill of “Compulsory Unemployment Insurance,” this “revolutionary” move, was passed without any fight by the state legislature, which spent weeks and weeks on arguing on the immediate appropriation for relief, This is natural, because the latter deals with cold cash, to be raised somewhere, from those who have it, while the Groves bill is a sham, deceitful ges- ture to prevent the workers from fighting for real social insurance. The bill, first of all, will only become a law on July 1, 1933, “to enable employers to pass voluntary insurance plans, acceptable to the The Wisconsin Manufacturers’ Associa- tion, meeting before the special session, decided to voluntarily introduce some kind of a comnen- sation system—a la Eastman Kodak of Roches- ter, N.Y., or Meuthe of Fond du Lac, Wis... . Another reason of this delay is the waiting for better times, hoping that the crisis will be over by that time. It is “not aimed to touch condi- tions in the present depression” (Chicago Tri- bune). But even this is not the end of the story. The bill directs each employer to tax their own payrolls 2 per cent—and keep this fund themselves—until a fund of $75 has been built for each employe. (This will take again several years, even if “prosperity” will return). Out of this fund each employe is entitled to draw a benefit of half of his earnings, but’ not more than $10 a week, for not loner than 10 weeks! What are the requirements for this benefit? 1. That the workers shall not be laid off for reasons of “his own creation (“‘miscon- duct” trade dispute strike, lockout) or an act of God; 2, a two-year residence in the state; 3, a gainful employment of 40 weeks during the two-year period. Several categories of workers, like farm laborers, domestic workers, are ex- cluded from the provisions of the bill, And, to complete the story: “Employers who can suar- antee at least 42 weeks of work a year with at least 36 hours a week” are exemnt of paving unemployment compensation—which, in other words, means making. an institution—out of the stagger system. There is no need for any comment. We can also add that the bill meets with unanimous approval. The Chicago Tribune likes it, so does the Wisconsin Federation of Labor and the so- cial-fascist Milwaukee Leader, whieh regrets, though, that the socialist Hampel bill, which is “stronger,” hasn't been passed. No wonderithat the entire City Council of Racine, to please the socialist, Mayor Swoboda, went on record fot the unemployment insurance bill! A good bill for the bosses, but this is not going to save Wiscon- sin from Communism, -as F. Hunt, an admirer of Senator La Follette hopefully writes in the January Cosmorolitan Magazine. Nothing of the kind, this will be an additional impetus to fight for the real Unemployment Insurance Bill at full wages at the expense of the bosses! “Immediate Relief.” As might be seen forseen, the fieht between the progressives, conservatives and the socialists, representing different sections of the bourgeoisie, led to a compromise bill, which may be satis- factory to them—but this is a shameful gesture The original La Follette proposed an appropria~ tion of $17,000,000, out of which $6,000,000 is to go to relief proper, $6,000,000 for a $1 per $1,000 refund on property taxes and $5,000,000 for re- forestation purposes, to “give employment and at the same time education to 25,000 single men.” ‘Themoney was to be raised out of a surtax on incomes up to 30 per cent from $800 a year up, taxing dividends, chain stores, etc. The bill was ditched by the united opposition of the social- ists and conservatives. They both agreed that it would take away too much money from Mal- waukee for the farming and lumber counties (Hoan, Polakowski-Gettelman, Daggett, etc.). ‘The conservatives opposed the surtax on in- comes and the principle of taxing dividends to refund property taxes, while the socialists, spokesmen of the middle class, wanted the sur- tax to start at a higher bracket, from $3,000 on. After weeks of sittings, enlivened by the “strike” of the progressive senators, threats of black eyes, etc., a compromise bill was passed, which, while adopting some of the “principl | of the progressives (taxing dividends, barring capital losses), only appropriates $7,000,000 for relief, reforestation, tax refund, etc., giving for relief to the counties $1 per inhabitant—in other words, about $10 for each unemployed for the entire year! As to taxing incomes, the burden will be borne by every taxpayer, the highest rate being 6 per cent. This is the end of the famous session, with the revolutionary phrases of the progressives and socialists! The Treachery of the Socialists. Senator Polakowski and the other socialist legislators have been soapboxing for months to have the session called, but at the session proper they, of course, acted as the third party of the bosses. They started with the radical demand of $20,000,000, instead of $17,000,000, for relief— but Polakowski’s vote was added to the conser- vatives in defeating the bill, which, they said, was not strong enough. The social-fascist sen- ator from the South Side openly admitted that he drafted the $12,000,000 compromise bill, which the conservative, Goodland, presented, “in order not to jeopardize it.” Their famous resolution, adopted a tthe still-born “Unemployed Council of Action” meeting at the Milwaukee Auditorium last October, called for a 6-hour day, with a minimum of $7.50 a day—but it was again the 8-hour bill of Polakowski that was passed by the Senate! Many more examples could be given to expose the social-fascist talks—and their deeds—against the interests of those whom they claim to represent. Our Party and the Unemployed Council have exposed in numerous mass meetings, leaflets and resolutions the sham special session before the workers of Wisconsin. Our spokesmen at the public hearing of the legislature, Bassett, Neh- mer and Sikat, pointed out early in December the real purpose of the session and exposed La Follette and his socialist cronies as would-be saviors of capitalism. The shameful betrayal of the Wisconsin workers and poor farmers by the three major factions of the bourgeoisie must further be used to mobilize the workers for struggle, to point out the “Wisconsin individual- istic solution, which will find a job for every man in the state,” as against “Russia’s Communism” es a demagogic maneuver of bankrupt capital- ism, The “stabilization” schemes of La Follette, whieh the legislature did not even find worth while to discuss, together with the fake Groves ku, will not stop the workers and poor farmers of the state to fight for real unemployment in- surance at full wages at the expense of the capitalists only—and at the same time to work for the only way to stabilize industry; to kick out the capitalists, with their La Follettes and Polakowrktis, and establish an organized society SOME OTHER PROB- LEMS IN. SHOP PAPER WORK =a By EVA SHAFRAN, “Recently we discussed a few of the oustanding shortcomings in shop paper work, in surveying our shop papers for 1931. There are still some other problems that must be discussed. Regularity ‘There were probably about 75 or a hundred papers appearing in 1931. Many of those were “dropped” during this year, after not having appeared for three months in succession. Forty- one papers did appear in 1931 at the rate of once every two or three months. Out of these 41 papers, in examining the statistics for the entire year, we see that only 157 issues (numbers, months) appeared, while 208 falied to appear. ‘The main reason for this irregularity is: In too many instances shop papers are the property of one or two comrades of the district or section, The unit membership, and still less the workers of the shop, are drawn into the work of writing and getting out of the papers. If the district or section organizer is “energetic” and knows how to get out a paper—the apper ap- pears. If this comrade is too busy with other work, or is being transferred to another field of activity or to another city, the paper stops, ‘Underestimation; Lack of Coordination Another great reason for this irregularity in ' organization and struggle. On Banquets and Behavior “Dear Jorge:—We have great news for you. You are going to eat a regular supper on the night of February 7. Of course you must pro- mise 'us not to starve to death in the mean- time. The occasion of this revolutionary change in your dietary hopes is the combined dinner and banquet of the three English speaking branches in New York City of the International Workers Order. The place is Sollin’s Restaurant, 216 East 14th Street, and the hour, 9 p. m. We are having a joint in- Stallation that night, and we don’t care. who comes.” So writes us the I. W. O. of New York City; a city in which there are four Americanskis to every auslander, yet nonetheless, a city in which the English speaking branches still have to spe- cify that they are English speaking; namely, they are yet only auxiliary to the foreign speak- ing branches, instead of being the main body: We are anxious that this situation be re< versed, and for that reason wish to give these branches a lift. The offer of a supper has nothing to do with it, as we won't attend be- cause, as everyone should know, who knows the business manager of the Daily Worker, -we starved to death long ago. Aind lately we have been so nearly knocked out that only by completely absenting ourselves from the Daily Worker, following strict orders of our medico and writing only what we can without effrt, are we able to stay on our feet at all. Which accounts for the hit and miss, mostly miss, way this column has been showing up, if any. To get back to the I. W. O. affair, however, we are glad to see that they “don’t care who comes.” Last month the F. S. U. branch here in New York had some kind of banquet, and we were invited to that, too. But didn’t go. Yet some non-party comrades who did go, and took along some folks who had never before attended a meeting they regarded as “red,” came around and told us that they wished they hadn't attended. Their story went something like this: “When we and our friends gave over our tickets at the door, we were grabbed by some~ body who seemed to think that he was county register or a teller at the polls on election day. He wanted to know ail about us, each and every one, and he couldn't wait to find out either, Our pedigree was DEMANDED, and one of the questions which most annoyed our friends was: ‘What political party do you belong to?’ Which was not only bad grammar, but a question our friends regarded as none of the F. S. U.’s business. Well, after telling the Inquisitor that we belonged to no party, we are taken around somewhere under @ stairway or something, seated there and then given no attention the rest of the evening, with the exception of some of the bummest service we ever saw; apparently much worse than the others got, Maybe if we had sald we belonged to Tammany Hall, this bureau- erat might have given us better seats and some attention. Our friends swear they will never go to an F. S. U. meeting again.” We tried to explain that perhaps the F. 8. U. taking for granted that all Communist Party members are friends of the Soviet Union, wished to know what percentage of their audience fell outside the category of Party members. But we could not explain why the matter was handled so stupidly as to offend people who are really friends of the Soviet Union and drive them away. This is not Germany, where a doorway ques- tion about political affiliation is taken for granted. There are plenty of other and more pleasant ways of ascertaining ‘te attending percentages of party and non-pe~:y members than by leaping at their throats bef c they have passed the ticket collector. And ‘f they are non-party, they should at least uso. get the worst service of “all. shop paper work is the fact that in most dis- tricts the dis‘rict buro, organization department, or D. O. pays no attention whatsoever to shop paper work. The comrades think that because a shop paper is “the written word” it belongs entirely to the agitprop department. We find for instance, leading districts telling us: “How do -you expect us to have shop papers when you have not sent us Agitprop director?” Surely these comrades would not take such an attitud> towards organization work, if it shovld happs: that for come reason or other, the org. secretary would leave the dictrict for a while, or be ar- rested. In this case the D.O, would find some way, shifting of forces or anything else, and the org. work would go on. This shows two things: Firstly, the complete underestimation of this work. Secondly, a wrong conception, a bad underctanding of the role of a shop paper as the organ of the Party in a par- ticular shop or factory. If the comrades would not have this misconception of the wor, sho? paper work- would be considered a part and parcel of the general activities of the Party, of entrenching the Party in the shops, mines and mills. This would certainly have its re- flection in having more and much better shop papers, Complete Change Needed A definite and decisive change must take place. Hand in hand with building shop nuclet’ must go the issuance of shop papers in these work places. Wherever @ shop nuclef is fi ex istence, especially nuclei in larger shops, a shop paper must be in existence. The quality of these shop pares must be greatly improved in line with the discussion above—in line with the de- velopment of struggles in the shops; against particular grievances, wage cuts, speed up, mass lay-offs, fake insurance schemes of the bosses to which the workers are forced to pay, ete., ete. Our shop papers wil] become good agitators, propagandists and organizers in the shops and factories, only when the weaknesses discussed. above will be overcome, only when the under estimation of this work will be done away with. Only when the district buros, org. depts. will take an active part, lead, guide and carry on this ‘wo: with the active assistance of the agitprop departments. Only when we will stop the practice of.‘producing” papers “from above” and develop the self-initiative’ of the comrades in the units and the workers in the shop, in connection with this work. Only when the pa= pers will appear regularly, every month bringing }-the message of Communism to the workers in the particular shop where it appears, a message used on the conditions in the shop, furthering