The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 29, 1932, Page 4

-ev Huur » Porty US.A Co., Ine,, daily axexept Sunday, a 50 &, ALronquin 4-706. Cable “DAIWORE.” ker, 50 E. 18th St, New York, M. ¥. Published by the C 13th St., New Yerk City, Address and mail shocks SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By mail everywhere: One year, $6; six months, 33: Berough of Manhatinn and Bronx, New York City. $4.50. Canada, 38 per year: two months, $1; excepting Forwign: ene year, 88; 75_conts_per_month. six_monthi Who Betrayed the Painters? A NEW page in the long history of strike betrayals by the officialdom of the A. F. of L. has been written by the Painters’ General Executive Board. The strike of the New York painters which began July 14 was brought to a close September 6 by an agreement forced upon the rank and file, educing the official wages mm $11.20 to $8 and actually stablishing a wage The New York painte ave now had rs, 85 per cent of whom their condi age cut, e of straight he menace of lead of the shorter ag years of struggle. uch by E. srley, third vice-president t ho removed the local strike committee, established a dictatorship over the painters and put into power the not- orious Philip Zausner, who several years ago was ousted by the rank and file for stealing $35,000 from the treasury. ‘This betrayal was not the work of Ackerley and Zausner alone. Acker- ley was called into the strike by the local misleaders, Ladisky, Kosloff, McNamara, Pollecchia, Fische and others, who voted Ackerley full powers, against the opposition of the ieft wing in the strike committee. These 1 eaders who were at the head of the strike never favored the demands of the rank and file, and in the course of the strike itself were surrendering rights of the painters. They entered into agree- ments with individual employers which, while retaining the nominal sum, of $11.20, failed to stipulate the hours, made no demands upon the bosses for secw for the carrying out of the wages agreed upon and thus es- tablished in fact a rate of $5 which Ackerley-Zausner finally sealed in the betrayal agreement with the Association of Master Painters and Deco- raters. These local misleaders, who were in reality opposed to the strike, did not organize the rank and file for a militant and united battle, but instead demobilized the membership and worked for surrender, # * * al mis OW that the rank and file is rebelling against the high-handed treach- ery and the dictatorial methods of Ackerley and Zausner, many of these misleaders are trying to throw off their responsibility, and to cover up their own misdeeds by a sham opposition to these arch-betrayers, Ackerley and Zausner. They are trying to sail under false colors in order to deceive the membership and to prevent a real effective opposition from developing. They are concealing their own dirty role in this betrayal. Their participation in the opposition to Ackerley and Zausner should fool no one. The New York painters must remember what happened in previous struggles when the rank ond file rebelled against their corrupt officials. Zausner was excluded but ocher little Zausners came in, Zausner was Ousted but his spirit and policies remained. The present situation demands a complete and sharp break with all these misleaders. The painters can trust only those who have fought loyally in their interests before the strike and during the strike. They can trust only those who have systematically exposed and combatted the class collaboration policy of the local and national leaders; who have been militantly fighting for unemployment relief and insurance, against the suspension and expulsion of the unemployed members for non-pay- ment of dues; who have fought for democracy in the union, and who have carried on a consistent fight against the hosses. Only the left wing, which stands upon the program of the Trade Union Unity League have been true to the interests of the painters, and only they deserve the con- fidence and support of the rank and file. * * * Tr fight against the Zausner-Ackerley District Council must go for- ward to success, A united front of the rank and file under the leader- ship of the left wing can oust the Zausner-Ackerley clique and enforce a maximum single scale of wages and establish the conditions which the bosses have been straining every nerve to break down. The united front must be established not only among members of the Brotherhood, but must include the workers in the Alteration Painters Union, so that the maximum strength of the workers be organized against the exploiters, In the struggle against the Ackerley-Zausner clique and the local jchmen of the bosses, in the fight against the attacks of the bosses, Communists and left wing workers must organize their forces more Sirmly than ever before. They deserve and can gain the leadership in “his decisive fight in the interests of the painters. Strike a Blow Against the Tampa Terror OWN in the Southeastern corner of the United States in Tampa, Florida, the terror is increasing so steadily that it merits the serious attention of all revolutionary organiza- tions, of all workers and intellectuals who are determined to fight against capitalist terror. The attempts to continue the organization of the tobacco workers into the Tobacco Workers Industrial Union, the attempts to mobilize the workers of Tampa against the capitalist attacks on their living standards have been met with increased terror by the tobacco barons and their local lackeys. The workers sentenced in connection with the death of a policeman in Tampa when police broke up the November ‘7th anniversary celebration in the Labor Temple are still in jail—some having been given ten-year terms, with a total of 52 years for all. They have been subjected to inhuman torture in the well-known Florida “sweat- box” which recently killed a young worker who was a prisoner. Sige aie seats organizers have been kidnapped and severely beaten, for example, Prankie Jackson, Young Communist League organizer; Hy Gordon, whose arm was broken, and Fred Crawford, who was tarred and feather- ed and compelled by these American fascists to drink 4 quart of castor oil. These are the accompaniment of the increased oppression against the workers of Tampa as a whole, as wages are cut and unemployment grows by leaps and bounds. ‘The “injunction” issued against the Tobacco Workers’ Industrial Union, affiliated with the Trade Union Unity League, the most sweeping injunction on record in modern times, ordering the Tobacco Workers’ Industrial Union to dissolve, declaring the union to be an illegal con- spiracy, is still in force. There has been no real national campaign against this injunction; such a campaign is a vital necessity. The Trade Union Unity League and its affiliated industrial unions should fight this injunction, which is a threat against the very existence of the Trade Union Unity League in Florida. The broad scope of the attack upon the Tampa workers can be seen from the arrest of one of the active strikers, Montero, in Philadelphia, and his being held for deportation, on the ground of being a “member of an illegal organization, the Tobacco Workers’ Industrial Union.” Sie campaign must be carried on all over the country for the re- REAL A lease of the Tampa prisoners. The Tampa workers in 1928 gave more | than 3,000 in the 1928 elections for Foster, They are true revolu- for freedom. The Tampa workers are the victims of the lynchers that keep the Scottsboro boys in the shadow of electric chair. A blow struck for their freedom is a blow delivered for the freedom of the Scottsboro and all other class-war prisoners. ‘The United Front Tampa Committee of New York has arranged a demonstration for the release of the Tampa prisoners for this Saturday, October 1, which gathers at 100th St .and Second Aye. at 12 noon, and marches to 110th St. and 5th Ave., where a protest meeting will be held. All workers are asked to come to this demonstration on which the eyes of the Tampa workers will be set. a oe | pid fight against capitalist reaction becomes every day more ‘urgent. October 8—International Day for the Freedom of the Scottsbe 1s and "Tom Mooney—should be joined by the great’ masses throughoube e country. a aah i 4 # Debs and His Revolutionary Heritage those workers and poor farm- ers who may have been taken in by the Socialist Party election campaign claim that “Norman ‘Thomas wears the mantle of Eu- gene Debs,” and for those who wish to enlighten the workers as to the “skeleton behind the mantle,” it will be highly instructive to read “The Heritage of Gene Debs,” by Alexander Trachtenberg, in the International Pamphlet series, DEBS AND THE A. F, OF L, ‘The writer shows that Debs was a sincere and militant revolutionist whose heritage rightfully belongs to the revolutionary proletariat of today, led by the Communist Party. Debs fought on the front-line trenches of the American class struggle for over two generations and was one of the organizers of the Socialist Party in 1900. He was @ revolutionary trade unionist, un- compromising in his opposition to e revolutionary policies of the A, F. of L,, favoring ‘organized oppo- ion within it (and even the or- ganization of new revolutionary unions) and the organization of the unorganized. Today the So- cialist Party leaders extend their full support to the Greens and the Wolls and have made common cause with their policies. ae ha S far back as 1911 Debs warned against the danger of reform- ism within the Party and declared, “All the votes of the people would do us no good if we cease to be a revolutionary party.” Then it was Victor Berger and the numerous petty-bourgeois journalists who were being acclaimed “socialist leaders” overnight; today it is the whole Socialist Party leadership of petty-bourgeois reformists from Morris Hillquit to Norman Thomas and Heywood Broun, One of the main planks of Nor- man Thomas and his party is pub- lic ownership of public utilities, which, he claims, will solve all the problems of the workers. “Govern- ment ownership of public utilities means nothing for labor under capitalist ownership of govern- ment,” said Debs, ON REVOLUTION AND WAR Although Debs knew the econ- omic causes of war, he did not fully understand the nature of capitalist imperialism. Yet he fought stubbornly against the im- perialist war and was imprisoned for his stand on the war in 1918. Norman Thomas, “the self-ap- pointed successor” of Debs, sup- ports the League of Nations, the World Court and all the other im- perialist instruments, proclaiming himself a pacifist. He would be the first to denounce these ringing words of Debs: “I am opposed to every war but one; I am for that war with héart and soul and that is the world-wide war of the social- revolution, In that war I am pre- pared to fight in any way the rul- ing class may make it necessary, even to the barricades,” Unclear in many of the funda- mentals of Marxism-Leninism— especially the role of the state and the dictatorship of the proletariat— yet Debs, in contrast to the “reser- vations” of other “socialist” lead- ers, gave his full support to the revolution, declaring: “I am a Bol- shevik from the crown of my head to the tips of my shoes,” and “I | heartily support the RuSsian Revo- lution without reservations.” Nor- man Thomas and his cronies have long since passed the stage of “reservations” and support the open conspiracies of the Second International against the Soviet Union. * 6 6 Aeteouce Debs on many occa- sions attacked the S. P, leader- ship—which was so afraid of him that it never permitted him into leading committees—yet he failed, unlike C, E. Ruthenberg and others, to split from this leadership and organize the revolutionary work- ers into a real revolutionary party of the proletariat. After the split occurred in 1919, and when he left prison in 1920, he failed to join the Communist Party, which, as Com- rade Trachtenberg says, “was his historic mistake.” This mistake was a direct consequence of a number of weak spots in his theatrical understanding, particularly on the question of the State. This pamphlet will indeed help strike the mantle from Thomas and reveal him as the social-fascist (so- cialist in words, fascist in deeds), that he is. It should be widely cir- culated during the election cam- paign, especially to reveal the real nature of the Socialist Party today. Debs was a stalwart, revolution- ary fighter and his heritage be- longs to the revolutionary working class, of which the Cortjinunist Party is the leader. Suggests Campaigners Use Simpler Language New York, Daily Worker Editor: Comrade:—As the election cam- paign develops and we reach out for more and more masses of the workers, it is very essential for outdoor speakers to use the sim- plest language possible so as to bring our issues clearly to the workers. Last Friday one of the speakers used such phrases as “cast your ballot.” Why not, “Vote Com- Another remark: “Hoo- ver and Starvation are synony- mous.” Why not “Hoover means Starvation.” “Hoover embarked on a campaign of wage cutting”—what does the word “embarked” mean to the workers? Simpler language at our open- air meetings is very essential, Speakers, please take note! M. FE. TAPT. Against defense of p a Be rialist War; for the nt stil THE SPIDER CASTS HIS NET 4 Forward to International Scottsboro-Mooney Day October 8th! —By Burck Why I Will Vote for Foster and Ford in This Election THE NEGRO REDS OF CHICAGO). By MICHAEL GOLD. SYNOPSIS In yesterday's instalment Michael Gold related how the murder plot hatched by Oscar DePriest, Negro landlord and politician, together with realty sharks and N.A.A.C.P. lawyers, resulted in the killing of three Negro workers, when thousands massed to fight an eviction on the South Side of Chicago. The mass resentment against this murder swept the entire neighborhood behi-.d the eviction fights being carried on daily by the Unemployed Councils. . . INSTALLMENT II. 'HOUSANDS gather “round these eviction scenes, and watch the council volunteers hauling in fur- niture. At first the crowd seems only a casual and neutral obser- ver. But if the cops come, and begin their usual murderous slug- ging, the crowd turns partisan at once, It jeers, boos ar even stones the gangsters in uniform; the heart of the southside is with the Councils. Everyone on the south side knows and sympathizes with the work of the councils. It has penetrated everywhere. In a little barbecue restaurant, five truckdrivers: were at lunch, devouring huge platters of pork ribs. I heard their talk; they were discussing that morn- ing’s editorial in the Daily Worker on Germany. On a wooden stoop at sunset sat a group of tall job- less men and their wives. One giant in overalls fingered at a guitar; another was reading aloud to the serious little group out of a pamphlet by Lenin. IN CHICAGO'S PARKS he There are several parks on the MICHAEL GOLD south side where enormous meet- ings are held daily. I spoke at the Washington Park public forum, The Communists speak here every day to crowds averaging two to five thousand, all afternoon until 10 o'clock. The meeting was to begin at three. But at least 500 Negro work- ers were already gathered at two o'clock, lounging on the benches around the speakers’ stand, or ar- guing in groups under the trees of | the massive meadow. Many of them sleep and eat here. They have no other home. There are sardine tins and empty biscuit cartons in all the garbage cans— workers’ food. “Comrade, can You spare a cigarette?” It is a chunky little woman in a torn gray sweater who asks, She has the “New Masses” and the monthly “Com- | smokir backwo¢ thers, from‘ the piney a Daily Worker. mothers, grandmoth- from the deep south, and res of children—all the gen- ions were at the forum, this Communism has become a folk thing, They have taken Com- mun and translated it into their own idiom, “For this cause I am ready to eat corn husks and sleep in the id an old Negro, the comrade party, the he boss parties,” “We Negroes love our cause it means freedom,” ‘om east to wi from north uth, the news is going forth, and as to a mother, the Negro is rushing under the wings of our comrade party, , If we must die, we will die for, Communism and a great cause, net}} like stuck hogs.” ie LLIS PARK (now renamed by the workers “Newton Park” in recognition of the militant leader- ship of Herbert Newton is- another south side forum, Around its square had flourished many churches; those shabby little sectarian flytraps where some windy greasy ignora- J j “Capitalist Parties Rotten to the Core; S. P. | Shrinks Before Tasks of Revolution” (Revolutionary workers thru- out the U. S. will welcome this militant statement by Waldo Frank, eminent American author. Frank recently headed a delega- tion of prominent writers who sought to bring relief to the strik- ing Kentucky miners, and was vi- ciously assaulted by coal opera- tors’ thugs as a result. ‘Lhe statement vigorously at- tacks the two old parties and de- nounces the socialists as reform- ists who shrink from the task of destroying the capitalist order. What Waldo Frank says about the Socialist Party is, in general, correct. However, it must be noted that the Socialist Party is to be condemned not only for what it fails to do, but also for what it actively does—to the det- riment of the working class and toward the maintenance of capi- talism, which belies socialist talk about “a new society.” Waldo Frank correctly emphasizes that the intellectuals must take sides: Either with the capitalist dicta- torship (described by him as “dull and brutal fascism”), which “pa- rades under the banner of demo- cracy,” or “with the comrades of the revolutionary workers.” This call by Waldo Frank will no doubt express the convictions of an increasing number of Amer- ican intellectuals who are daily leaving the camp of the bourge- oisie—and enriching the reyolu- tionary movement with their ta- Jent—EDITOR’S NOTE. Mu reasons for not supporting the republicans or democrats need scarcely be stated. These two par- ties are rotten to the core: Rotten with the disease they represent, the malignant disease of capitalism. Their one real program is, at what- ever cost of life and human happi- ness to the people, to sustain and to perpetuate the hideous world system of which their leaders are the chief beneficiaries—a system of which war and human exploitation are the inevitable methods. And their promises to the workers and farmers are lies, so cynical and empty that it is difficult in times like these to understand how the leaders themselves can have the impudence to utter them, AGAINST SOCIALIST PARTY My reasons for not supporting the Socialist Party are, of course, more difficult to state in few works. Mr. Hoover flatly believes in capitalism, and therefore his actions, however hhypocritically he disguise them in fine phrases, are at least logical; and any man who believes in capi- talism is logical in supporting Hoo- ver. The Socialist Party, on the other hand, condemns capitalism and is dedicated to the ideal of a socialist economy. But its troubie is that it balks at the necessary methods whereby the change to so- cialism can be achieved. Marx was tight in his thesis that only a rey- Chinese people and.) olutionary wo —fused,| : () hie et” eementa of | which is only a beginning, the workers of the United States must be militantly educated to know that under capitalism (in “good” times telligentsia—can destroy the capi- talist order and institute a truly human culture. The Socialist Party By WALDO FRANK. munist” under her arm. On her other arm sits a brown big-eyed infant. A dozen young Negroes in jazz pants and flashy suspenders wait around, and talk in low voices. I hear the magic word, “Russia,” from these tap-dancers. Me dese | Ue an elm tree fifty husky ‘steel mill and stockyard work- ers are talking, shouting, arguing, roaring with Homeric laughter. A fat little buttertub of a man in comic spectacles is the butt of their jokes. All try to shout down his loud passionate speeches. He mus in a frockeoat passed himself off as minister, and fleeced the humble-minded out of their nickles and dimes, After the Communists spoke in Ellis Park for some months, seven of these churches found themselves bankrupt. The preachers grew thin and indignant, and seeing the pork-chops of this world fade and heaven approach their persons, they complained biterly to the cops, Another plot followed, of course, It was decided to prohibit all speaking in Ellis Park, has failed to appeal to such a class, and has refused to recognize the necessity of its existence. The cap- italist order, moreover, must not be “polished up,” “trimmed down,” or otherwise ‘reformed,” it must be destroyed. The Socialist Party shrinks from this destruction; it shrinks from this threat to the middle class cultural values to which -most of its leaders are at heart attached. FOR COMMUNIST PARTY My reasons for supporting the Communist Party at the coming election are, briefly, as follows: 1. I believe that we must estab- lish, on a strict economic founda- tion, a society in which poverty, the exploitation of man by man, and the entkroning of money as the standard of social and perosnal value, shall be abolished beyond the possibility of their return. Only Communism can give this founda- tion. Only from this foundation can mankind begin to create the new world culture which will be the first human culture, 2. I believe that to this end or in bad times), they can only be slaves—economic, intellectual, and spiritual slaves. And I believe that the workers must organize militant- ly, in order that they may play their historic role in the future of the world. INTELLECTUALS MUST, TAKE SIDES 3. I believe that the workers of Soviet Russia and of Soviet China have taken the lead in this revo- lutionary task. And, therefore, they must be defended at all costs against the attacks, direct or indi- rect, of imperialist governments of Eprope and America. 4. I believe that the intellectuals of the United States—the writers, the artists, the teachers, the tech- nicians, and the clerks—must now at last take sides. Hither they re- main, actively or passivly, the ser- vants of the particularly dull and brutal fascism which parades un- der the banner of democracy in the United States; or they must de- clare themselves thf enemies of our business fascism, and the comrades of the revolutionary workers. Cleveland Issues Call for More Worker Correspondents CLEVELAND, O.—The District Agitation and Propaganda Depart- ment, District 6, Ohio, hereby makes an urgent appeal to all read- ers of the “Daily Worker”, to be- come Worker Correspondents. What is a Worker Correspondent? A Worker Correspondent writes of his experiences in the class struggle. The cutting of relief; forced labor; discrimination against Negroes and youth in the giving of relief, shutting off of water, gas, and electricity, evictions, wage cuts, speed up, industrial accidents, etc., all these things ares material for worker correspondents. There is the Socialist Party, which throws out lies about help- ing the workers How is it helping the! hunger program of the capital- ist state government headed by Governor White? How are the republican and democratic politic- jians trying to fool the workers in all the communities in Ohio? This is material for worker correspond- ents. STRUGGLES OF FARMERS. What are the striking farmers around Bowling Green doing? What. are the impoverished farmers suf- fering and saying? The worker correspondents must find this out and begin to develop farmer cor- respondents What are the units and sections A sine the Communist Platform? What are the Unemployed Coun- cils, Branches and Block Commit- tees doing in the struggle for Un- employment Relief and Unemploy- ment Insurance? What are the International La- bor Defense Branches doing to help Jead the struggle to free the Nine Negro Scottsboro Boys? What are the posts of the Work- ers’ Ex-Servicemen’s League doing to win over the veterans for a rank and file struggle for the bo- nus? STEEL STRUGGLES. What is the Steel and Metal Workers Industrial Union doing to develop more struggles against | wage cuts and speed up? Suppose the “Daily Worker” readers will challenge each other. Youngstown, Warren, Canton, Akron, Toledo, Cleveland, one against the other. The “Daily Worker” editorial staff will be the judge by printing the most impor- tant articles. By reading the “Daily Worker” yourself you will see who is the winner. All Ohio material should be sent to the District Office of the Com- munist Party, 1245 Prospect Ave., Cleveland. Send in workers’ cor- respondence, build the "Daily Worker” and make the Friday Ohio page 4/page that reflects the strug= and conditions of eageetd young leader, Herbert Newton, wa: speaking when the thugs arrived, He climbed into an old oak tree went on talking from its branches, Some of the uniformed killers tried to climb up after him, but their graft- swollen bellies interfered. It was comical, and the crowd Jaughed, Then several cops pulled their But the Communists held a meeting. That brave and sensitive: is a preacher, I am told, and every day he comes here to,win back some of his vanished flock. They used to fear, respect and bribe him for a pass to heaven, now they laugh at the sweaty little humbug. “Get that good old Moscow News, daddy of all the workers’ press!” This is what a coffee-skinned lit- Typical Negro Communist described by Michael Gold in his story, “The Negro Reds of Chicago.” These and other photos illustrating the story taken by Chicago Film and Photo League. ] guns and pointed at the crowd, The people did not flinch, nobody ran away, they cheered, booed and yelled, “Stay up there, Comrade Newton, we are with you!” A Cop fired a shot. Instantly a shower of stones and rocks fell upon the cops, Then Newton came down, rather than give the police a “justifcation” for killing, He submitted to arrest, but the fight was won; the speale ing continues in Ellis Park, “YES, THEYRE HUNGEY” tle man in a torn yellow shirt and salvaged yachting cap is shouting. He is a news vendor, with a line of conversation that amuses the crowd, and makes them buy. “Get that good old Daily Worker, and learn about the world you live in! How can you talk about the revo- lution, ef you don’t read about it? I’m always reading, and I can tell you what is happening in Germany right this minute! Read, read, read, and grow yourself a set of proletarian brains! Tf I had the money, I'd pay you to read, fellow workers! Get some ammunition a- gainst the boss-class! Get the Soy- iet Russia picturial, or some of these here pamphlets, and learn the workers’ truth!” “THE COMRADE PARTY” On one of the benches sits an old woman who fascinates me, She has a grim, mysterious face, like an Indian's, and her old shawl and bonnet seem the costume of a witch, She sits there like fate and smokes a large briar pipe. All through the meeting later, and as I spoke, I could sce her. ed, that it has to be the leaders, rather than pushed forward. ¥es, they are hungry, Does Oswald Villard of “The Nation” know what hunger fecls in tHe belly, do Messrs, Hoover, Morgan, or Roosevit know what men think wher they see their babies’ bones rotting for Jacl: of milk? These artificers of well- tempered prose, those Lippmans and George Soules end ocher “rational” thinkers in offices, these well-padded, well-heeled liberal “planners” on their way to fascism, none of them can understand why’ hungry men fight, and how hi ger makes the poli - =