The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 22, 1932, Page 4

{ Subdlished by the Comprodatly Publishing Ca. inc. dally except Sunday, at 60 East York City. Address and mail sll checks to the Daily Worker, 60 East 13th Street, New York, N. ¥. Page Four Asth St, New N. ¥. Telephone ALgonquin 4-7956. Cab Dail DALWORK” Yorker’ ta, USA SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Foreign: one year, By mafl everywhere: One year, $6; six months, $8; two months, $1; excepting Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, New York City. $8; six months, $4.54. THE SOVIET UNION AND JAPAN (Leading Editorial in Moscow “Isvestia,” | posed before the whole world. The policy appeared March Soviet Union Press) ORE ¢ piled Mukder nths passed since panese army occu- h the t and when Far East. onflict fl then further Eastern re witness the importance events there. Naturally ion of the Soviet Union is trend of events with keer ticularly because ome of unfold themselves on the the U.S.S.R. From Eastern the very eonflict . Was one sympathies of the Soviet T y under the hee! of But t of the Chinese ile an unques- violate the line of} follows naturally | did not which to this Than consi Soviet of the gard to the events in Manchuria, the pro-| | stories about the imminent Soviet-Jap-| olicy vocative and tempts collapsed one after the other. is sufficient to mention the fate of the cat mpaign of lies created about the alleged assistance rendered by the Soviet govern- ment to General Ma, a campaign fully to borders of } jarising on our Far Eastern borders, re-|fortification of its defenses and to the} An illus-| protection of its borders. This, of course, } | tration of this unhealthy state of affairs}we do not even intend to hide. The So-| mperiali t| tion of the these feelings towards| Vladivostok, who in turn, apparently from} workers and | | se policy of the So-| | hoods, betrays its specific aims. ent|basis of that communication alone there government with re-|is no need to refute all the provocative| | ther and reprinted in the |of non-interference and of peace preserva- tion pursued by the Soviet Union received a universal endorsement even on the part of the opponents of the Soviet land. This al of Manchuria, | policy of the U.S.S.R. received finally the an ever — military |recognition of the Japanese minister of From | foreign affairs Yoshisawa, who stated in a a ay brought a| the parliament that Japan recognizes the fact of the strict non-interfernece on the t of the Soviet Union. a fur- intrigues in} We are witnessing a whole} Nevertheless, we are witnessing a revival of anti-Soviet Manchuria. jsystem of provocative measures, the im- | ce of which must never be under-| An abnormal situation pe estimated. is quiring our serious attention, publication today of a bulletin of} Japanese ministry of Foreign affairs. bulletin was based on a communica- Japanese consul general in| lack of other sources, is referring to a| utable foreigner.” The character of| this communication, based on unfair in-| ventions and combining apparent false- On the} slanderous anti-Soviet at-|anese collision, since, according to that It | “reputable foreigner” “the Bolsheviks hate the Japanese,” just as it is unneces-| sary to expose the lying stories about the! concentration of a Soviet army of 100,000 ~|in the region of Vladivostok. THE GREAT FORD MYTH By ROBERT L. CRUDEN. Reprinted from “The New Republic. PART IL It is not without reason that Ford’s Rouge plant is anathema to its workers. The most common objection is the terrific speed require- ments under which they have to work. As far back as 1917, says Murray Godwin, who worked for Ford at that time, this was a fertile source of discontent. How much more so has it become since then! As a result of the conveyor system, upon which the whole plant is operated, the men have no time to talk to each other; have no rest except for fifteen or twenty minutes at lunch time; and can go to the toilet only when substi- tutes are ready to relieve them at the “belt.” One operation upon which I worked for # short time required that I be on the job, ready to work, just as soon as the preceding shift went off; work up to the exact minute for lunch time; take a couple of minutes to clean up and get my lunch kit and be back thirteen minutes later ready to work. This continued until quitting time. There was never a moment of leisure or opportunity to turn my head. I have already indicated the speed-up which accompanied the wage raise of 1929. Since then, the process has been proceeding apace. A grinder told me recently, “The machines I’m run- ing take up the distance of a short city block. By the time I’m at the last one the first machine has already stopped. The boss is shouting at me and I have to run back there, and then back down the line again to see that the last machine doesn’t stand idle for a second. Now the boss tells me they’re going to give me more ma- chines.” A worker on pinion gears started his job some years ago running four machines. It was later raised to six. A year ago he was given nine to look after, and in the fall he was raised to twelve—with no change in the machinery. A worker on tire carriers, who has collected statistics on his job, presents the following fig- (Conclusion. ures for daily shift production and the men required: 1925....++.+.-3,000 produced with 160 men 1926..........3,400 produced with 60 men 1927... 4,095 produced with 39 men 1928. 950 produced with 25 men 1930... 650 produced with 19 men 1931... 6,970 produced with 16 men Of course, there were great machine changes on this job, but the table gives some indication of the speed at which the remaining men must work. As Ford says, “It is pretty well under- stood that a man in the Ford plant works. Any- one who does not like to work in our way may always leave.” ‘This speed-up, combined with the nervous tension present in the plant, results in a high accident rate. No outsider hears of these acci- dents, for Ford has his own hospital at the Rouge—also run on the conveyor system—and the Detroit newspapers are not eager to print news of accidents. The day I was hired, six men were killed in the power house. There is a belief, however badly founded, among auto workers that a man is killed every day at the Rouge. Even the Safety Department is over- ruled for the sake of speed. On a grinding op- eration upon which I worked, the dressing- wheel would often burst and cause savere face injuries to the operator if he were not agile. ‘The Safety Department ordered this discon- tinued and installed a new, safe device. A few weeks later this was removed and the old wheel put back—the new device had slowed up the work. Nor will Ford pay compensation if he can pos- sibly evade it. Last fall s man sustained injur- jes which resulted in rupture. The compeny refused him compensation and then fired him. A Negro friend of mine was hurt in the foot while at work. He was in bed for several weel and was crippled for months thereafter. company would not pay compensation, but o' fered him another job. He returned to work and was laid off four weeks later. And here is @ newspaper item: “Harry Moody today filed enit against the Ford Motor Compeny end the Henry Ferd Trade School for $50,000 for the loss of his right eye. He sets forth that he was a student in the trade school and was s in the eye by a piece of steel while wor! @n emery wheel. He was sixteen at the ‘The state of mind engendered by these condi- tions is aggravated by @ multitude of petty 'tyrannies. When President Hoover was sched- uled to visit the Rouge plant, all workers, gardless of their jobs, were compelled to wear whj'e shirt, A few months later ae | them. then wearing white shirts were fired. Last summer the barley water for the foundry work- ers was removed and in its place the men were told to drink ordinary hot water and take three or four pills daily which the foreman gave to At certain times you're fired if you walk down the main aisle in your building. At others you suffer if you're caught dodging among the machines on your way to work. At one time it was all right to wear a hadge anywhere, just so that it was in sight. Overnight an order was issued that they would be worn on the left breast and all who forgot to do-sd were laid off. In times like these, when every excuse is seized upon to lay off men, it becomes a nervé-racking ordeal to stick to the job. If you stay too long in the toilet, you're fired; if you eat your lunch on @ conveyor, you're fired; if you eat. it on the floor, you're fired; if you wait to return stock to the tool crib, you're fired; if you talk to men coming on the next shift, you're fired! Practically everyone at work in Ford Rouge today owns or is paying for a Ford car. Every year for some time past the workers have been canvassed as to the type of car they have, when they intend to get a new one, and so on. In the spring of 1930 this system was used to force the workers to get Fords on pain of losing their jobs. The names of those who did not possess Fords were turned over to salesmen and they reported back to the plant. Those who did not buy were laid off. For months the Detroit News printed letters of Ford workers and their wives, protesting against this. When that paper ques- tioned Ford officials, it received a categorical denial that forced buying of Fords is carried on —but the letters continue to pour in on the paper. In at least one case, the company did not even keep its word with the worker who did buy a car—this man sold his old car, mortgaged his house to buy a new Ford and then laid off a few weeks later! I myself know of several cases where workers were compelled to buy Fords— two of them lost the cars when they were laid off and could not keep up the payments. The discontent which develops from thest con- ditions is kept in check by the Service Depart- ment. The open section, whose members are known as service men, acts as a police body in the plant. It checks upon men walking around; sees that workers do not talk to each other; prevents bosses from becoming too friendly with their workers; enforces the thousand and one petty regulations of the plant. They are under no discipline. From their decision there is ro appeal. It is significant that, when an employ- ment manager defied the Ser/ie Ve, at by retaining men they had told him to dismiss, he himself was discharged and the employment division was made a part of the Service Depart- ment. From my own experience with it, I am inclined to agree with a former member who told me, “It's made up of ex-pugs and thugs.” As a class they are the most hated and despised— and feared—men in the whole Rouge plant. The secret section works more smoothly. Its members are scattered throughout the plant, working with the regular workers, It is their Job to “listen in” on the workers, find out what’s going on and locate those who voice “dangerous thoughts.” In this way even the mildest criti- cism of Ford is likely to meet with swift and silent dismissal. Charles B. Sorenson, chief en- gineer and absolute ruler of the Rouge plant, says that men are not fired from Rouge because of their radicalism, but one of his subordinates, Donald Marshall, tells a different story. He told a group, when I was present, that at one time the company had been informed ‘of ‘the. existence of “a Communist nucleus of five. or- six,” and that “they had been cleaned out mighty quick.” He explained that while the company does not co-operate with other corporations in maintaining a blacklist, it does not tolerate union or radical propaganda within the plant. In fact, so easy is it to get a man fired for “political agitation” that foremen have some- times used it indiscriminately to get rid of men they don’t like.. ‘There are members of A. P. of I. unions in the Rouge plant, but they are tolerated only because they keep their months shut. And those who cannot ktep their mouths silent are disposed of by the silent, eecret-ser- | vice men. - These things 1 have portrayed hardly get be- low the surface—but they will suffice to show why Fwrd is no-hero to his workers. f er Wey (Tbis article was written before the murder of fowe Hunger Marchers at the River Rouge Ford plant on March %th—Kditer, Daily Werker,) ee ee es But this is not the only circumstance which interests us at the present moment. We are most of all interested in the fact, that the Japanese political heads get the material necessary for a true appraisal of the situation in the Far East from poison- ed wells; instead of paying due attention to facts. These facts speak on one hand of the consistent peaceful policy of the Soviet Union, and on the other hand they speak of a trend of events which compells every adherent of true peace to stop and take notice. A careful analysis of the facts, which we are about to present, shows, that the situation which confronts the Soviet Union in the Far East, compels it to the viet Union, whose peace policy is both open and consistent, has no reason to hide from the masses its appraisal of the sit- uation in the Far East. And this appraisal, this honest analysis of the situation shows that the least the Soviet Union can do at this moment is to take all the neces- sary and possible means towards protect- ing its borders from outside aggression. And indeed, don’t the ‘facts speak of it? Don’t we notice within the last months, weeks and days a most serious growth of anti-Soviet provocations? We must not dismiss the fact, that quite responsible representatives of the Japanese military circles are openly speaking of an attack on the U.S.S.R. in order to tear away the Maritime and the Trans-Baikal provinces. We are in possession of documents from |the representatives of the highest mili- tary circles of Japan, containing plans of attack on the U.S.S.R. and of annexation of its territory. | The following is stated in one of these documents : “Regarding the advisability Japan’s war against the Soviet Union, of} Japan must pursue a firm policy with regard to the Soviet Union, a policy of being in a position to begin war at any moment.. The cardinal aim of this war is not so much to keep Japan from Com- munism, as to secure possession of the Soviet Far East and of Eastern Siberia.” Another document reads: “Taking in consideration the condi- tion of the armed forces of the Soviet Union and the situation in the foreign countries, the Japanese-Soviet war must have a speedy start. We must realize that as time passes, conditions begin to be more favorable for them. I deem it necessary for the imperial govern- ment to pursue a policy an early start of war against the U. S. S.:R.” The same document states further: strategy of delivering a crushing blow and of bringing the war to a speedy end, we will not be in a position, due to various circumstances, to conduct the war according to schedule. This gives rise to a very important question of the moment of termination of our military operations. We will, certainly, have to bring our forces to the Baikal lake. Re- garding, however, our further advance towards West, same must depend upon the general set of circumstances, which will be created at that time; particularly will it depend upon the condition of the Powers which will set out from the West. In thati event, should, Japan stop on the line of the Trans-Baikal railroad, we will incorporate the whole Far Eastern region in the Japanese Em- pire. have to remain in military settlements, meaning for a long time. After hav- | ing accomplished this ocqupation, we must be prepared to await the further development of events. Since it will be difficult for Japan to deliver a mortal By Labor Research Association. annual report of the Hercules Powder Co. for 1931 shows the company in good shape to turn ‘out the increased explosives needed in the | coming war. This company, a split-off from Du Pont, manufactures high explosives, powder, naval stores, nitro-cellulose, chemical cotton and heavy chemicals, and operates 16 plants—and two experiment stations—located in Utah, Ala- bama, Georgia, Kansas, Pennsylvania, New Jer- sey, Mississippi, California, Virginia, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, Ohio, Delaware and Canada. Its net earnings were $1,430,538 last year. Yet it was able to pay out of its big surplus, accu- mulated from the profits of fatter years, its regu- lar 7 per cent on preferred stock—a total pay- ment of $799,678 for the year—in addition to $3 @ share on its no-par common stock, a total payment of $1,816,336 on common for this year. Its surplus, even after this dip into the pick- ings of previous years, still amounts to $12,- 254,665. ‘This does not mean that the stockholders failed to get extremely lavish returns from their investment in this premier powder stock during the war days. Here is the record for the war and post-war “deriod, the percentages including both the regular and extra dividends, handed to the parasites. (A part of the big extra divi- dends in 1916 and 1917 were in gilt-edged Anglo- Franch bonds, which the United States entered the war to save.) Dividend Dividend Year (per cent) Year (per. cent) 1914 8 1919 16 1915 16 1920 16 1916 95 1921 12 Hercules Powder Co. Profits from War Preparations tee. ok: 6215 1918 17 But in this year, 1922, the company, like many other American corporations still rolling up huge profits, in spite of the crisis that brought misery and unemployment to the workers in 1921, de- clared a stock dividend of 100 per cent. So for stockholders of record before this date the divi- 1922 6 them a return in the following amounts: Dividend Dividend Year (per cent) Year (per cent) 1923 16 1926 24 1924 16 1927 22 1925 20 1928 28 In 1929 the company put its stock on a no- par basis and has since been paying regularly $3 a year, plus an extra of $1 in 1929. The company reports during the past year, in spite of lower profits, the building of a new experiment station, the consolidation of two plants, a major rearrangement in the Missouri plant, new units established at Hercules, Calif., and a new unit set up for the manufacture of nitro-cellulose at Gillespie, N. J. “Your company has adequate capacity, in first- class condition, to take care of any increase i demand for its products which may reasonably be expected,” says the report as it looks forward to a speedy revival in the military business. At the same time the workers are getting theirs in the form of another wage-cut of 10 per cent on March 1. The cut is announced in the annual nual report as good news for the stockholders. It is also announced that the bonus plan, a typical bait for workers, has not been operative recently, no payments having been made since 1929. “It is quite possible that despite our | On this territory our army will) dend rates thereafter were doubled and brought | calculated at} blow to the Soviet Union by means of a war in the Far East, we must develop a strategic propaganda to involve the Western neighbors and other powers in a war against the Soviet Union and to bring about an internal breakdown of the Soviet Union by means of utilizing white guardist groups in and out of the Union, national minorities and all anti- Soviet elements. The present situation of the Soviet Union is quite favorable for our realization of these aims.” And finally another item in the same vein: “Surveying the general situation of that country, we may conclude, that the Soviet Union is at present in no posi- tion to conduct a war. This moment is, therefore, particularly favorable for our Empire to solve the problem of the Far East. The Western powers bordering on the Soviet Union (Poland, Rouma- nia), can now come out together with us, but this possibility of joint action grows weaker year after year.” These documents may perhaps be judged as expressions of personal opinions of their authors. But these authors of aggressive plans are persons of authority to such an extent, that even their personal opinions carry serious political weight and compel us to serious watchfulness and attention with regard to everything tak- ing place at our Far Eastern borders. No impartial political figure will ignore the symptomatic meaning of the fact that within two months the Japanese govern- jment did not deem necessary to reply to \the Soviet Union proposal of a non-aggres- sion pact. ay Exceedingly characteristic are also the | Japanese anti-Soviet intrigues in the mat- ter of fisheries. The campaign created by some quite influential Japanese spheres around the problem of fisheries has as its aim the wrecking of the fisheries con- jvention, the preservation of which the Soviet government considered and still considers as absolutely necessary. This campaign has nothing to do with the ques- tion of fisheries, but is an expression of the aggressive plans of those Japanese circles, which would like to have a free hand in the Far Eastern waters in order to further enlarge their “broad plans of | conquest.” It is also apparent that the inspirers of the Japanese policy in Manchuria cannot shed the responsibiiity for the anti-Soviet actions of the white guardists who sud- denly came to life. The Japanese ruling circles, professing their “ignorance”! of the actions of the white guardists in Man- churia, wil not be able to deny the fact that the activities of the white guardists became particularly lively precisely after anese army and that they keep on in- the occupation of Manchuria by the Jap-! anese influence in Manchuria. We coul point out to several indications of the fact that the aggressive work of the white guardists| in Manchuria is linked very, closely with the Japanese occupation. It is needless to say that the white em. igrants speak of it quite openly. Reports of the role of Japan, as protector of the anti-Soviet activities of the white guards ists, can be read in literally all the emigre organizations in Paris. As fas back as January the “Vozrojdienie” wrote: “The Japanese leaders. were stressing repeat. edly, that they are pinning particular hopes on those Russians, who are hostile to the Soviet Union.” Even foreign ob. servers have pointed more than once to the connection between the Japanese plans and the intrigues of the white guards, Thus, for instance, the New York Herald. Tribune wrote the following at the end of January: “The fact of the enthusiastic salietiol given the Japanese by the white guards upon their arrival at Harbin, leads to be- lieve that Japan has given secret promises to these ever hopeful men.” The Paris correspondent of the “Ber- liner Boersenzeitung” reported on the 28th of February: “The white guards have achieved a great deal: A new source of trouble on the Soviet border has been created.” We may finally quote the opinion of the semi- official Japanese paper of Darien, “Mansu- Nippo,” which underscores that “the white guardist movement became particularly lively from thel moment the new Mane churian goveri:ment was organized.” Such are the incts, the sober appraisal of which speaks o. the increase of anti- Soviet tendencies in tiie Japanese-occupied Manchuria. Such are the facts which re- quire vigilance and precautionary m¢ ures for the protection of the territory of' the U.S.S.R. against attempts at invasion. from the outside. The peaceful policy of the Soviet Union is not, however, a policy of ignoring facts. We have repeatedly pointed out that the Soviet Union will-not yield to provocations and that, at the same time, the U.S.S.R. will e xpose and smash al such provoca> tions being prepared and directed against it. The Soviet Government has been, is, and will keep on, pursuing a firm policy of peace and of non-interference with the events occuring in China. But never shall this be an indication that the Soviet Union will permit any one to violate the borders of the country, to invade its territory or to seize even the least part of the Soviet land. “NOT A PARTICLE OF FOREIGN LAND DO WE WANT. BUT OF OUR OWN LAND, NOT A FOOT WILL WE | GIVE TO ANYONE.” creasing with the spreading of the oa NEW YORK.—Despicable whitewashing of the Murphy regime, its connection with the Ford murderers who cold-bloodedly slaughtered four unemployed workers in the Ford Hunger March on March 7 has now become one of the major tasks of the socialist party as shown by the latest issue of the “New Leader.” 'This historic event of the brutal attack of the capitalists against the hungry jobless masses, is stuck away by the New Leader in a short, vi- cious article at the bottom of page 9 of its March 12th issue. ‘The article signed by Edward Levinson, one of ON GUARD! \- BY BURCK How the Socialists Support Murphy the socialists who supported the election of the Murphy regime, goes to particular pains to aid Murphy, the killer of unemployed workers, to try to clear himself of the blood of the murdered workers. Not one word is said in Levinson’s ar- ticle about the connection of Murphy with Ford, about the fact that Ford loaned Murphy $5, 000 with the proviso that unemployment relief be cut down—and that Murphy (with socialist support) fully complied with this policy! ‘The article by Levinson, almost word for word, is a repitition of Murphy’s apology which he sent out in telegrams to all the workers’ organ- | izations that protested against the Murphye Ford murderers. The New Leader now appears as the official opologist for the Murphy regime. ‘This is no accident whatever. Soon after Mur- phy’s election, Norman Thomas, socialist sky- pilot leader went to Detroit and held a confer- ence with Murphy, pledging him socialist aid, an dpraising him in an article in the New Leader. When Murphy cut relief ,in accordance with the wishes of the big bankers, the socialists re- mained silent to protect Murphy and to help him starve the workers so that Ford and other automobile magnates could save taxes and in- crease their profits. ‘The very beginning of the “New Leader” ar- ticle is intended to hide the role of the Hoover as well as the Murphy regime against the un- employed. It reads: “The Hoover policy of playing ostritch amid the suffering of the country’s millions of un- employed reaped one of its inevitable results this week.” 4 Every worker knows that the Hoover policy is not an “ostrich” policy. Hoover has a very much wide-awake, imperialist, open brutal policy, fully aware of the misery of the masses. Hoover began the policy of putting forward the plan of calling upon the United States army to be mobilized to “handle relief’ ‘at the point of a bayonet. The socialists now seek to wash Hoover of blame also by cleiming he “can’t see” the problem of unem- ployment, that he is playing “ostrich,” and that if he didn’t, of course, the socialists reason, no workers would be shot down. ‘The article does not even mention the word Communist, It hides the fact that the dem- onstration, demanding jobs or bread, to wheih over 5,000 workers rallied, was under Commu- nist leadership; that two young Communists were shot down, leading the struggle. Not being able to blame the Communists (as Murphy and Ford are trying to do) because hungry woikers were shot down by Ford private gunmen, the socialists simple don’t say anything, calling on the workers to follow the socialists who by their support to Murphy opened the way for such vicious morcors. st party in Detroit and everywhere is main apologists for capitalism in the murder of workers, stand- ing this time as Ford’s best shield in covering up the murderous role of the Murphy } standby of the big automobile bosses, 4