The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 23, 1932, Page 4

ished by the Comprodaiiy Publishing Co, ine. defly except Sunday, at 60 East ¥. ‘Telephone ALgonquin 4-7956. Cable “DAIWORK® AMERICAN INTELLECTUALS ON THE SCOTTSBORO LYNC and at its cruellest joys W celebration calmer court. But fulfilled? No. Instead the decisi really first reached by a threatening mob has been confirmed, and the State of Alabama and its courts, low and high, have confirmed as Theodore Dreiser with Aunt Mollie Jackson, when the Dreiser Committee investigated condi- tions of miners in Kentucky, | H VERDICTS to the abhorrence of every decent woman, that their hysterical and red of the Negro is innate in their own. mt by Alfred Kreymborg, poet and res, in part: decision of the Alabama Supreme Court the Scottsboro case once more bares the difference between the workers, black d white, who are underpaid, undernourished, overworked, and kept in a\state of warfare with another to split their strength, and the who own the land indusry, and to all ces sway the law, the courts and the novelist, made the following upport of the mass fight to free the class justice of the bosses’ must fight the Scottsboro case to the Court over the prejudiced Alabama The protests of the entire world will infamous decision denying to dren who are workers and supposedly freedmen all semblance of justice.” Waldo Frank, novelist, denounced the lynch verdicts in a statement reading, in part: “Sacco and Vanzetti in Massachusetts, Mooney in California, the miners in Kentucky, and now the Scottsboro boys in Alabama, give con- viction to the growing fear that throughout our country justice is impotent against class hatred. Lewis Mumford, writer and essayist anda pro- at Columbia University, issued the follow- statement: “The legal slaughter of the seven Negro boys in the Scottsboro case is as great a disgrace as the slightly more open violence of a lynching bee. Race prejudice and raw class vindictive- ness have conspired in this decision to make a travesty of justice. Nothing more contrary to elementary social decency has occurred since the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. “If anything destroys respect for the existing institutions the complete miscarriage of justice, as in the Scottsboro case, does so. Those who wish to maintain the present economic and social order have the most serious cause to be concerned over such tactics as prosecutor, jury and the courts have displayed in this affair; while those who, like myself, believe that our present institutions must be radically altered, are only further strengthened in their beliefs by this exhibition of class violence, insolently disguised as law and order.” A statement given out by Elmer Rice, play- wright, declares, in part: “ “I am shocked to learn that the conviction of seven of the Scottsboro boys has been upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court. “Everything that I have read about the case convinces me that these boys were convicted upon the flimsiest sort of evidence and that the conduct of the trial was governed by racial, sectional and political considerations rather than by principles of justice.” These denunciations by leading American intellectuals of the Scottsboro lynch verdicts clearly show the growing influence of the world-wide mass fight, under the leadership of the proletariat, for the freedom of the Scotts- boro boys, ing Fake Disarmament (Transport Is Being Prepared for War) “It may sound monstrous but under the pre- sent conditions war would have been desirable. War would have increased the need for marine tonnage ,the risk of marine transport would have grown and at the same time speculation would have increased. If no war breaks out the world may for a long time expect any im- proveemnt for the latter is too fari” This was printed in the organ of the Norwegian Con- servative — Morganbladet”— only two months ago. eee ieee A ployers and rail- up projects and Arms and rt through which up to nitions were sailed, even are being transported to he Ck Red ther countries hostile r war. In sp e navigation, due sums on to In i under Hoover's chi nship wrote as fol “Our argument for government aid to our merchant marine has been that ships under our flag are necessary in case of war. Some of our finest ships are engaged in this pro- tected trade. The amount of tonnage in this trade, which should continue to increase, apart grart from tanks, might constitute a naval Peserve.” The capitalist contradictions are manifesting themfelves very sharply on this field. The finance crisis compelled the English Government to temporarily suspend the granting of subsidies om the construction of a giant of 73,000 tons, intended for Atlantic passenger traffic. The French government, on the contrary, energetic- cally subsidies the construction of the biggest ships “Super-Isle-de-France,” as they are called in France, by the Transatlantic company. Railway construction is imbued with the sole {dea of the strengthening of the mobility of the railways, of the transformation of railway trans- port into a powerful means of the concentration of armies of the shifting of troops and supplies during war. The construction program of the railways of Japan was restricted almost twice under the influence of the crisis. The expenditure on the construction of lines, on the reconstruction of old ones, on the building of stations, repairs and enlargement of the rolling stock was greatly. reduced, But the occupation of Manchuria called forth feverish construction of new railway Unes having strategic significance. The Kirin-Heinan line is considered by Japan ® very important strategic line. It will connect the Chinse Kirin with the Korean Heinon and the latter will be connected by means of the already existing railway line with Taztizin, an ice-free port in Korea. The way from Shanchu to Osaca which is covered at present through Dairien in 2 hours, will take only 51 hours, upon the termination of this line. Besides; the shift- ing of troops, munitions, ete. in the Northern basin of Zusime will not be subjected to the risk of being attacked by the foreign navy. ~The Kirin-Heinon line enables Japanese imperialism to shift munitions and troops to Manchuria with the least risk and greatest speed. Besides this line is parallel to 4 part of the Chinese-Eastern Railway. The planneq railway line Shangun-Tailai in the northwest of Harbin will enable Japanese imperialism to penetrate into the northern part Taonan and Salu, as well as between Tunigiko of the northeastern China, and the line between Tunigiko and Peched will secure the penetration into Mongolia. It is clear that the railway construction of Japan in Manchuria pursues a strategic purpose, and these preparations for war transport are directed against the USSR. In the light of these facts the interview given by Edo Fiemen, the leader of the Amsterdam transport workers’ international, to: thg Japanese journalists—de- serves special attention. He declared that the demand made to Japan as regards the evacua- tion of troops from Manchuria, without guar- anteeing the interests of Japan, was quite absurd. This means that the “friend” of the USSR, as he pretends to be in order to mislead the masses _ of transport workers and to prepare them for an intervention against the USSR, promises that the social-fascist trade unions bureaucracy will render the greatest support to the war prepara- tions against the USSR. His ally, Bratschi, General Secretary of the | trade union of Swiss Railwaymen and member of the Executive Bureau of the International Fed- eration of Transport Workers, who represented the transport workers’ International at the IV | International Conference of the transport work- ers, convened by thé& League of Nations, also confirmed the pledge of the social-fascists as | regards their greatest assistarice to the im- perialists in organizing continual work of the nsport in case of war. He assured this hering of the imperialist where plans of an rmeq invasion of the USSR are worked out, of the follwing: “I fully appreciate the great political, econ- omic and social importance of international traffic. I recognize that the removal of all serious obstacles to an undistributed transport of persons and goods in international traffic is a worthy object, and I am glad that the League of Nations is devoting attention to this important question.” Such assurances have something behind them. France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Roumania and the Balkan countries are carrying out the plan of railway construction with a view to connecting the strategic junctons and the theatre of war by means of communicating lines, thus organizing DEMA HEAT WAG E rg ND FREE RENT AS) D SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Sy mail everywhere: One year. $6; six months, $3; two months, $1; excepting Buroughe of Manhattan and Bronx, New York City. ¥orsign: one year, $8; six months, $4.50, | By N. BERNICK ment of farmers has developed in northern Michigan, especially around Mass and Hancock. This mass movement is an outgrowth of the mis- erable conditions of the small farmers, inability to pay taxes and interest, foreclosures on mort- gages, etc. While the same conditions are pres- ent in other places, in this part of Michigan it found proper leadership in the United Farmers League and Communist Party, and the mass Movement took on the form of demonstrations and struggles against foreclosures and for relief in which thousands of farmers participated. It therefore was obvious that the local township and county. elections coming in spring should develop into further steps of struggle on the part of the small farmers. That is why the Communist Party is participating in more local elections in the Hancock section than in any other section of northern Michigan. But these elections have at the same time revealed serious shortcomings which are not wrong trend in the mass movement. The role of the Communist Party, as the only political mittees of Actions and the United Farmers League were conducting the struggles of the mass struggles. The result is that many farmers, not knowing what the Communist Party is, insisted on putting up in elections United Farmers | League tickets, “Workers and Farmers” ticket | (Baraga), “Voters League Caucus” (Green). This | becomes more serious when we find that members | of the Party surrender to this weakness and do | | not fight against it. “On‘the contrary, we find that in many places it is the Party members. who lead in putting up all kinds of tickets except a Communist Party ticket." Such election campaigns create the impression that we are merely “playing politics,” and estab- lish illusions in.the minds of the workers and farmers that they can win their demands through “elections” and not necessarily through struggles. -And since the Communist-Party is known as a revolutionary organization, since it is the “Red” Party, the conclusion is drawn that it will be much easier to elect if we run on a camouflaged ticket. The result is that it gives impetus for a definite class struggle program, but with the major emphasis on “fight the grafting politicians and highway commissioners.” And, instead of utilizing the local elections as another method of mobilizing masses of farmers for strugzles, behind the red candidates of the Communist Party, the mass movement takes a slump down. Of course such election practices’ have nothing in common with revolutionary parliamentarism of the Communist International. .“A correct Communist municipal policy can and must be EDITOR'S NOTE.—While Comrade Bernick 18 absolutely correct in polemizing against all ten- dencies to hide the face of the Party, is is also and apply proper united front tactics to draw in the widest numbers of workers and farmers. These should take the form gf committees of workers or farmers (under suiable names) to support the candidates and election platform of the Communist Party. | @ widespread front of an armed attack on the | USSR. The Polish plans of railway construc- tion provide for the building of a few parallel | lines,toward the USSR, The railway networks of | Czechoslovakia, Poland, Roumania and the Bal- | kan countries are being connected by means of lengthening the existing lines, construction of railway branches and main lines, construction of railwey bridges, in order to strengthen the transport capacity of the railways having a de- cisive significance in an anti-Soviet war. These plans of railway construction include also a net- work of high roads running across the coun- tries bordering on the USSR—these countries being the treatre of the future war, The railwaymen are being militarized in Poland and Roumana, Every breach of duty is being punished by court martial at the meeting of the League of Nations. The social-fascist leaders solemnly ratified their contacts with the im- perialists with regard to the preparations for an armed attack on the USSR. merely “election mistakes,” but rather show a | ‘ty under whose leadership the Farmers Com- | farmers, was not brought out sufficiently in these | \URING the last fall and winter a mass move- | the building of “cliques” and “caucuses” without | necessary in each given situation to study out — Shortcomings in Local Elections in Northern Michigan made to serve as a lever for the mobilization of the population from the influence of bourgeois parties of fascism and social fascism” (from reso- lution of ECCI on municipal policy and elections, February, 1930). Other serious mistakes are found in the formu- lation of the immediate demands in the election programs, which reveal the shortcomings in the entire mass movement of farmers in northern Michigan. For an example we will take the clec- tion program of the Party in Mass, Mich. On the front page the platform calls “Vote Commu- nist for immediate relief, against foreclosures and high taxes” (emphasis mine, and’ that “the Communist Party fights... for low taxes.” Is this true? Does the Communist Party fight. for low taxes against high taxes? Of course not. The Communist program comes out of the needs of the workers and farmers. The small farmers and unemployed workers cannot pay taxes, they are hungry and starving, they need relief, they | face the loss of their land to the banks since they are unable to pay their mortgages. Our program, | therefore,. calls for the exemption from payment of taxes for the small farmers and for immediate relief. But where will the immediate relief come from? Of course from raising the taxes on the mining and lumber companies, on the banks and on the rich landlords. The Communist Party insists that the total amount of taxes must be increased in order to provide cash relief for the farmers and -unemployed workers and establish | local elections the correct formulation of the other social relief measures. And since the small | farmers cannot pay any, and the middle farmers cannot pay any more, it naturally must come from the rich. To deny the demand of higher taxes on the rich means to make a joke of the demand for farmers relief and for the exemption of taxes for the small farmers. It is under the general slogan of “lower taxes” and “economy” that the bourgeoisie is mobilizing its’ forces through “taxpayers’ associations” and “taxpayers’ leagues” in order to counteract the struggle for unemplpoyed relief and insurance. In this the bourgeoisie get the full support of the rich farmers and often ure able to mislead large sections. of .well-to-do farmers and worker home owners. Against this propaganda we must come out with a class program on taxes: exemption of taxes for small farmers.and unemplpoyed work- ers, home owners, cancellation of ‘delinquent taxes for small farmers, no raise in taxes for the middle farmers, higher taxes on all lumber and mining companies, banks and rich landlords in order to get the funds with which to provide relief for the small farmers and unemployed workers and without cutting down on the social services (schools, recreation, etc.). This way | we bring a class program on the countryside and | bring in the class struggle between the rich and poor, between the banker and the mortgaged farmers, between thé lumber companies and semi-proletarian farmers who. work in the lumber camps during the winters. Any other formula- tion means falling into the swamps of bosses’ propaganda for the capitalist way out of the crisis by making the workers and small farmers bear the burden of the crisis for which the capitalist system is responsible. The demand for wage cuts for government em- sployees (teachers) represent the same bourgeois class content. In the Mass Election Program we read: “Twenty per cent reduction in the salaries of all school officials and teachers receiving over $150 per month; 10 per cent reduction for those receiving from $100 to $150 per month . . We will not argue about the first part. But since when does the Communist Party demand cutting wages of workers (teachers are workers—we are net talking about officials) who receive between | $100. to $150? Do we consider that those are too high wages? Of course not. We never propose | cutting the wages of workers, not even of police- men, even though these policemen club the workers at street meetings and demonstrations. Here again we find the Mass Election Program suffers from bourgeois influence. It is a part of the capitalist “economy” campaign, of cutting the wages of workers and employees, of reducing the length of school terms, reducing relief to unemployed, reducing the expenditures for parks (the rich have their own private country clubs), and generally cutting down on the social services. And even though the Mass Election Program states on the front page that “the Communist Party fights against . . . cutting wages of work- ers,” the definite proposal of cutting the wages of teachers geting $101.00 a month on the second Extent of Unemployment | | | dent of the U. T. W., told the Committee on By BURCK eres de rerteataners Buel page exposes the inconsistency and carelessness | with which such a program was drawn up. One could go on and point out similar shortcomings in election rograms in other places. But the above examples are sufficient to make every class-conscious worker and farmer take the elec- | tions seriously and take the question of drawing up programs in. a very serious manner. The lesscns from the experiences in the north- ern Michigan local elections have already: been Jearned in other parts. The program of the Com- munist party in Ewing Township (Rock) elec- tions shows a correct class approach to these problems. The program for immediate demands, amongst other, states: “1. Immediate cancellation of all delinquent | taxes for the small farmers by the County. and | State. | “2. To exempt alf small farmers from paying taxes and to demand from the County and State | for a heavy increase in taxation on large cor- porations, real. estate companies, mining com- panies, banks and rich landlords.” ‘3. No closing of schools and no reductions in the salaries of school teachers. We will fight | for a State appropriation to keep the schools open.” Of course we are dealing in this article with the immediate demands, and a complete program ‘of the Communist Party in any elections must include a complete program of the Party of abol- | ishing the capitalist system and the establishing of a workers and farmers government. In these immediate demands is of utmost importance to | develop further the class struggles both in town | and in the country and to destroy the illusions | of “democracy” and reforms through elections | without mass struggles. In the resolution of municipal policy adopted at the enlarged plenum of the ECCI, February, 1930, it states: “In municipal election campaigns, Communists must put forward before the masses an extensive program of partial demands, but they must not put, forward such partial demands as are likely to foster democratic illusions among the masses.” This we must all study and learn in order not to reeat the shortcomings already committed. As a guide we should read the Com- intern Resolutions on elections reprinted in the February and March, 1932, issues of “The Com- munist.” in Textiles By Labor Research Association There is no exact -ecord of the number of workers who are out of work in the textile in- dustries, When Thomas F. MacMahon, presi- Labor of the House,of Representatives, Feb. 12, | 1932, that there were approximately “a million and a quarter people employed in our industry.” | he was referring not to the textile industry proper, but to the whole textile and textile prod- ucts industries which inchide the 28 of more | branches of the clothing trades. He estimated | that there are “500,000 textile workers today | working a 5-day , week or less, about 250,000 | working three or four days per week, and the | | | | remainder are working fairly steady.” He es- timated that there were only 200,000 workers out of jobs in the textile and clothing industries combined, This is 4 great underestimation. There are probably over 500,000 less workers employed in the whole textile and textile products industry today than in 1923-25. And of the approximately 874,000 workers in the’ cotton, wool, silk and dyeing and finishing branches—textiles proper— that were employed in 1926, about 245,000 are out of the mills today. About 120,000 are out in cotton, 70,000 in wool manufacturing, 40,000 in silk manufacturing and 15,000 in dyeing and finishing. These estimates are based upn the employment indices of the U. 8S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census of Manufactures. There is no way of telling how many more hun- dreds of thousands are now working part time— from two to five days a week. In its investigation of conditions in Lawrence, Labor Research Association found that of the 67 workers studied, only 5 had full-time for the entire 40 weeks of 1931 prior to the strike. Sev- eral who had full-time weeks, when they worked, reported that the “stagger plan” kept them “one week in and one week out,” or in some cases, “one week in and three weeks out.” Of the 2,680 weeks of work which these workers might have put in, they were allowed a total of only 1,150 full weeks and 1,000 approximately half weeks, Here sre.a few recent examples of’ the way \ Japanese Proteges of the 2nd (Socialist) — International By SEN KATAYAMA few weeks ago the II International issued am appeal “against the Japanese wer.” In this appeal it was even’ “dominated” that Japan should be declared “aggressor” on the basis of the statutes of the League of Nations, It is generally known that the International Federation of Trade Unions, generally described as the Amsterdam International, works in close agreement with the II International. The peti- tion to the League of Nations in the interest of so-called “disarmament” was organized by these two international organizations, The In- ternational Transport Workers Federation be- longs to the International Federation of Trade Unions. The Japanese Seamen's: Union is affiliated to the International Transport Work- ers Federation as its Japanese Section. The leading representative of the International Transport Workers Federation is Edo Fimmen, one of: the most well-known and celebrated “Left” social democrats. The same Mr. Fimmen visited-the Far East a little while ago, attendéd banquets, at which, among others, the chairman of the Japanese Seamen's Union, Mr, Hamada, drained not a few glasses with him to the inter- national brotherhood of the whole proletariat, and especially the seamen. This hospitality probably induced Mr. Fimmen, in public de- clarations to recognize the Japanese rights in China and especially in Manchuria: After his return from the Far East to his native land of Holland, Mr, Fimmen, a short time ago, soon after the Congress of the Dutch social-demo- cratic party, set up a “Left social-democratic party,” which of course is following the footsteps of the party of Rosenfeld and Seydewitz, the English Independent Labor Party, ang suchlike bodies, We give the above facts as in introduction to the document which the chairman of the Jap- anese Seamen’s Union, Hamada, has issued on the occasion of the New Year, to all members of the Japanese Seamen’s Union, this section of the International Transport Workers Federa- tion, and the.eby also of the International Fed- eration of Trade Unions, the sister organ of the II International. We quote the following from this document: “As regards the Manchurian-Monoglian ques- tion, we cannct but see great complications in view of the cultural backwardness and obstinacy of China.” “The Left elements maintain that the in- terests of our country in Manchuria and in Mongolia are the result of imperialist annexa- tions and one can therefore immediately re- | nounce them.” “Nevertheless, what advantage would it trite to the Chinese people if Japan renounced its interests in Manchuria and Mongolia, as these | people desire” “If Japan were to renounce its interests ‘in Manchuria and Mongolia, it would.mean in- creasing the explditation by the military cytes of these countries and would facilitate the im- perialist advance of England, America and Rus- sia, in the Far East. The circumstances that our country, which possesses a small territory, is poor in natural resources and suffers from overpopulation, is conducting an economic of- fensive in Manchuria and Mongolia, which is an international proletarian State, demands from population, that moreover our country has the intention to exploit these unsued natural resources, in cooperation with China, will be, of great advantage not cnly to our country but | also to the Chinese people, . “Viewed from the standpoint of socialism, | our country which has 100,000,000 inhabitants crowded on a very small territory, must be characterized as an internatioan! proletarian State. China, on the contrary, which has a vast territory with a relatively sparse population, must be regarded as an international bourgeois State. “Today, when the prolteariat, which is threat- ened with hunger and starvation, is recognized as having the right to submit demands in de- fence of its vital interests to the bourgeoisie which is living in super-abundance, it cannot be designated as imperialist annexation when our | country, which is an international proletarian State, demands from China, a bourgeois State. the right to exploit its economic’ riches “Our country, whith in view of the ‘continued diffculties in regard to raw materials must cease to exist as a State in the not distant future, is at present carrying out in Manchuria and Mon- golia an economic offensive which forms the only way out of its situation. The o' attitude. of China, which possesses 3: wealth, can only be characterized as miserable bourgeois pretectionistn, “Hence a radical, solution of the Manchur:an and Mongolian question is in no way contrary to our socialist standpoint, i } “In order to set up international equality and oy | Peace, which are our only ideal, the plans, spread over years, regarding Manchuria ang Mongolia must be actively supported.” I am 71 years old. I have experienced a good deal in my time, including the fact that in the year 1914 many of my friends and fellow founders of the II International went over to the side of their own bourgeoisie, the side of im- perialist war. Nothing can easily surprise me now. This pacifism, this internationalism of the members of the II International and of the Amsterdam International and of the Left social- deniocrat Fimmen does not surprise me. There are some things, however, I cannot understand: how is it that so many workers can still have faith in these (I will not use my epithet) people? I request all workers’ newspapers to print these few remarks of mine. I call upon évery worker to answer this question! unemployment has hit eased of workers in par= ticularly mills: Four hundred workers | of the Manville Jenckes Co. at Pawtucket are out of jobs as the result of the transfer of the main plant of the company to Cumberland, R. I, Formerly over 2,000 workers were employed in this now empty Pawtucket plant. Four hundred more workers in the New Bed- ford Cotton Mills division of the Hoosae Cotton Mills Corp. are out of jobs as the result of the closing down of this plant indefinitely, About 200 workers are thrown out of jobs by the closing of the Klota Throwing Co, plant at Lonaconing, Md. It is closed for an “indefinite period.” ‘The plant of Lansford Mills, Lanstord, Pa., re- cently ceased operations “for an indefinite period,” throwing out of work 140 workers, { \