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

| : a Ms Page Four BMEY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1932 age pe gg Published by the Comprodaily Publishing Co., Inc., delly axexept Sunday, at 00 Bh Sth St., New York City WN. ¥. Telephone ALgomquin ¢-7906. Coble “DAIWORE.” Address and mall checks to the Daily Worker, 80 E. 13th St, New Yerk, M. ¥. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By mail everywhere: One yeer, $6; six months, $8; twe months, $1: cmespiing onx, New York City. Foreign: ome year, 98: Borough of Manhattan and Canada, 38 per year; 75 cents per month. six months, $4.50, Two Strikes-Two Paths! HE victory of the strikers at the Regal Doll Co. in Tren- ton, N. announced yesterday, brings forward vividly the contrast between a real rank and file militant struggle, and the recent sell-out of the New York doll strikers by a Socialist-Lovestoneite leadership. The socialists were of the “left phrasemong g” variety In New York the picket line consisted of two workers who walked up and down before the factories until five o'clock, when they were told by their leaders to go home so as not to disturb the scabs coming out. A few days be- fore the strike called off, a “mass picket line” was formed at h ers. ers, marching two by two, parad . ffi that thi 1 noise, Ther nass picketing ended, also before fa y ) eliminate “disturbance.” Ih Trent 1 3,000 to 5,000 workers supported the 800 workers of the Regal ss picketing. Fifteen cars of scabs were stopped Tectively closed on the second day of the strike In New Y a t was made by the leaders behind the backs of the worl ers were herded back to work under condi- tions no be rse than before they went on strike. in Ti ke committee went back to the workers mass met to 20 per cent wage increase, a reduc- nitary conditions, and recognition of the shop committe the Trenton Doll and Toy Workers’ Industrial Union. These demands were won in spite of the New York misleaders who, not content with their sell-out of the New York doll workers, sent agents to prevent the Trenton victory tion in hours, In New Y¥ the dolleworkers union was handed over by the Love- stonite and Soci misleaders to the reactionary American Federation of Labor. In Trenton the union has pledged itself to follow the militant policies of the Trade Union Unity League. In New York a unity of Lovestonite and Socialist leaders with the boss against the workers. In Trenton a unity of all workers against the boss. and for better conditions. Out of the struggles of the doll workers emerge two paths—the. path of class collaboration and defeat to which beckon the Thomases, Love- stones, Mustes, and Willitm Greens, and the path gf militant class strug- gle and victroy, under the leadership of the Trade Union Unity Legaue and the Communist Party. Point Two of Roosevelt’s “Square Deal for Labor” Point 2 of a leaflet entitled “Why Wage Earners Want Roosevelt and Garner” issued by the Democratic National Campaign Committee, states "Because the Democratic Party offers hope for sound industrial re- covery through 1) demanding immediate modification of the Volstead Act which will give back jobs to thousands; 2) encouraging the spread of employment by a substantial reduction in the hours of labor, and 3) revieving the tariff downwards after an international economic con- ference to reopen the channels of trade.” The Communist Party is against prohibition but only the Communist Party points out to workers that the Democratic Party lies when it says that modification or repeal “will give back jobs to thousan On the contrary, repeal of prohibi- tion will probably increase unemployment. New York City alone, according to official figures, re ort keasies.” They are nominally illegal but they give employment to at least 150,000 waiters, bartenders, porters, truck drivers, ete, The repeal of the Volstead Act, or modification which will: legalize le of beer and liquor, will not increase but decrease the number of »w employed. The jobs will become slightly more respectable ion of the beer and liquor traffic will do away with a large i jobs because it will be thereby made more efficient. of beer will not increase the number of workers em- st of the larger brewery companies now are manu- r d other food products and were actually employ- ing more workers.than before prohibition—up to 1929. legalization of beer and liquor will increase employment illusion deliberately created by the capitalist party politicians to distract the minds of workers from the need of and struggle for decent unemployment relief and federal unemployment insurance at the expense of the employers and the government. anc agi sad of employment by substantial reductions in iy in effect. It has had the most devastating as administered by capitalist government, of list offensive except permanent mass unem- the hor results for mea ployment There are millions of workers in America who get only from one to ten days work per months. Recent government figures showed that only 14.6 per cent of the entire workingclass was working full time. Wages have been reduced—not in ratio with the reduction of working time, but far below it, by wage cuts. The Democratic Party, the officials of the New York State Federa- tion of Labor and the officials of the American Federation of Labor who support either the Democratic or Republican Party, have endorsed the vicious Hoover “stagger plan,” one of the most effective means of cuf- r invented, as well as the new extension of it called the * plan, developed by Walter C. Teagle, head of the Stand- ard Oil of New Jersey. 30,000 employees of Standard Oil under this plan have just had a sixteen and two-thirds per cent wage cut forced on them. + This is the real meaning for workers of the Democratic Party’s “en- souraging the spread of employment by reduction in the hours of labor.” The Communist Party fights for the 7-hour day 40-hour week with me teduction in pay. It fights against the “stagger system,” speed-up and wage cuts. ae 'T three of the statement that “a vote for Roosevelt and Garner Means a square deal for labor” calls on workers to support them be- eatise’ they believe in “revising the tariff downwards after an interna- tiofial conference to reopen the channels of trade.” First, such a conference would be only one of the long series already held, dominated by the representatives of Wall Street imperialism like Mellon (Republican) and Owen D. Young -(Democrat), and of France, England, Italy, Japan, etc., designed to strengthen the position of the imperialist powers against the Soviet Union, the oppressed colonial peoples and the working class. Second, in regard to the tariff revision policy of the Democratic Party (and here we have not the space to deal with the role of tariffs in the present stage of imperialism) it is only necessary to quote Andrew Mel- Jon, head of 2 list of trusts and banks longer than the dream of a bank- rupt broker and one of the chief beneficiaries of the present tariff law— passed jointly by Republicans and Democrats. In his speech in Man- chester, England, Oct. 20, in his capacity as ambassador to the court of St. James, Mellon said: ys “As regards even the historic question of the tariff, on which so many American elections have been fought, the two great parties in my country, while differing on the degree of protection to be afforded, are Mearer together today than ever before. The result is that the tariff itself is not a major issue in the present campaign.” (Our emphasis.) Mellon is head of the Aluminum trust to which every worker's house- hold pays additional tribute under the tariff whenever it buys cooking utensils. Mellon knows. E is no difference between the Democratic and Republican parties, There is no difference between Roosevelt and Hoover as far as the interests of the working class are concerned. Both are capitalists and capitalist leaders. ‘The capitalist way out of the crisis is the way of wage cuts, mass un- employment, mass hunger and imperialist war. ‘The Communist way out of the crisis is the revolutionary way—the organization of the working class and poor farmers, of the oppressed Ne- gro masses, for the conquest of capitalism, its overthrow and the estab- lishment of the Soviet Government of the United States—the power of ‘he working class instead of the power of the capitalist class. Vote Communist! Urgent Tasks for Worker, Farmer Correspondents By CHARLES BLANK T the time when the offensive of American capitalism upon the standard of living of the American masses is growing fiercer from day to day, itis necessary that every militant and classyconscious worker, should by every possible me: help to strengthen the revolution- ary press. But. good . intentions alone will not make the revolution- ary press grow and strengthen. In order to accomplish this concrete steps must be taken to involve a great majority of these militant and class-conscious workers. WORKER CORRESPONDENTS The Daily Worker, the central organ of the Communist Party of the United States of America, the organizer of the many. militant mass struggles and movements in this country, has an army of corre- spondents, consisting of workers and farmers scattered in all parts of the country, who report, occa- sionally, about conditions in’ the mines, mills, factories and on the farms, who participated and also took an active part in the organ- ization of various mass - struggles. ‘These worker and farmer corre- spondents should become the shock’ brigades in the task in making the Daily Worker a mighty weapon in the hands of the’ American masses. How? For one thing: again the Unem- ployed Councils are organizing a March :to- Washington to demand unemployed insurance and_ relief. The veterans, under militant lead- ership, are organizing. a Bonus March to Washington. Simultane- ously, the farmers are preparing for a National Farmers’ Conference in Washington. In all these mass movements the Worker and Farmer Correspondénts. should become the most important oragnizational me- dium and make them a gigantic success, 6 eis "HOSE workers and farmers who 4 participated in the Unemployed Hunger March to Washington last year, or in the Bonus March under the fake Waters leadership; or in the Farmers’ Holiday Strike, under the Milo Reno type of leadership, should write their experiences, their criticisms, their suggestions to the Daily Worker. WRITE CONCRETELY They should write them con- cretely, with facts, with figures if possible. They. should report the organizational progress of these mass movements, and also report cases where organization is lagging behind. With these reports the workers and farmers will make it possible for the Daily Worker to reflect the United Front struggles of the American masses against the capitalist. offensive. Workers who do not sée their letters printed have no reason to get discouraged. They can rest as- sured that their letters were read carefully, but lack of. space makes it impossible to print a great many letters; when correspondence is not published, the worker is generally informed by letter. The most im- portant thing is the information sent in. Workers and farmers! Write re- ports and spread the Daily Worker! Worker and Farmer Correspond- ents should become the shock bri- gades of the struggles of the Amer- ican working class! Questions and Answers QUESTION “We, father and sons, haye. en- tered into a discussion regarding whether or not only .a ‘rotten ele- ment’ attends prize fights, as those held in Madison ‘Square Garden. We are. all sympathizers of | the Communist Party and would ap- preciaté your answer. The father contends the affirmative, ang the sons the negative. An answer from you will settle this dispute arid"per- haps divert funds ordinarily spent on fights into the treasury of the Daily Worker.” °°” " ° ANSWER ua Boxing is a sport that. many peo- ple enjoy both as participants and as spectators. The boxing match- es in Madison Square Garden are attended overwhelmingly by work- ers—both industrial and clerical workers, the largest part of whom are not class-conscious workers. They are by no means “rotten ele- ments.” They are workers. who will. have to be won over .to. the struggle against capitalism. Sports has degenerated today in- to an organized commercial racket. So much so that even sport writers whose business it is to whoop up prize fights, are forced to speak about some of the most scandalous “fixed"fights, etc. Yet, there is an honest interest on the part of many workers in the sport itself. There- fore, while under capitalism, prize fighting has attracted to itself racketeers of the worst sort, most of whom are. promoters, stadium owners, boxing managers, etc., and sometimes the prize fighters them- selves—we cannot say that only “rotten elements” attend prize fights. Unfortunately we do too ttle to attract workers’ interested in sports, to our movement. We do too little to build up labor sports, as well as give too little account of sports under capitalist control. By doing so we might attract the attention of these un-class-con- scious workers and win them over to-our- sid? - $ } By JOHN WILLIAMSON NEW local, offensive is being carried through by the boss class of Chicago and Illinois, aim-' ed particularly against the unem- ployed, but affecting all strata of the workers. Up until now there has been a great difference be- twen the relief given to the un- employed of Chicago (itself only a miserable pittance) and that given outside of Chicago. Those 160,000 on the relief rolls of Chicago, con- stituting a fraction of the officially admitted 750,000 unemployed, re- ceived between $4 to $6 per week average, but down State, relief (where given) averaged between $1 or $2 weekly and in the majority of the mining fields amounts to a few pounds of flour or beans. This difference is due solely to the he- roic struggles of the Chicago un- employed workers under the lead- ership of the Unemployed Councils ang Communist Party. Only through mass struggle was this relief forced, were evictions completely stopped for a period, and today are lim- ited, A NEW OFFENSIVE In the last two weeks a new of- fensive against the unemployed has been started, as evidenced by: 1, Abrupt announcement on October 2 that all family relief would be cut 50%, starting the next day. _ 2. Refusal of special session of State Legislature to appro- priate a single cent for unem- ployment relief, although its own sub-committee recommended 36 million dollars, which could not even start to meet. the situation, 3. © Consideration (although postponed until after the elec- tions) of a Sales Tax for Coun- ty—unloading the burden of un- employed relief on the workers and middie class (petty-bourge- oisie). 4. Statement yesterday of Im- migration Commissioner Palmer, “That 25% of families on relief rolls of Cook Cotnty are aliens... if he had access to records...they might be used by the government in ordering deportations. We be- lieve that a great many of -the aliens receiving relief could; be deported.” 5. While the City has no mo- ney for relief, 400 new policemen were added last week to help kil! and beat the workers: © ing of Comrade Sbosob in first local struggle against relief cut Answering this latest attack, the Unemployed Councils with full sup- port of the Communist: Party, in- twnsified its efforts..already initi: ated, to organize a broad united- Sront struggle of the workers a- gainst starvation, having as its hase local struggles in the neigh- By BARD. Buide. ter called for in his Coliseum speech in Chicago on Sept. 10. UNITED FRONT CALL Immediately, tHe Unemployed Councils called for united strug- gles of all unemployed, including the members of the Chicago Work- ers Committee on Unemployment and the Worker-League of America in each neighborhood, on the basis of local mass struggles, under the leadership of Local Action Com- mittees, all to lead to an. imme- diate hunger march through the loop to the City-County Building. This call was taken up enthusias- tically by the rank and file and already many local struggles have been successfully carried through on the basis of the fighting policy of the Unemployed Councils, par- ticipated in jointly by members of the other two organizations. While’ basing the united front correctly on the bottom, the Un- employed Councils also addressed letters to each organizaiton as such which it also made public in leaf- let form, demanding united action on the basis of a program of de~ feating the relief cut and through local struggles, delegations, etc., leading to a city-county wide Hunger March. Under pressure of the rank and file, the reformist Socialist leaders of the Chicago Committee and the would-be ultra leftist leaders of the ‘Workers’ League responded. These confer- ences ‘brought out sharply the dif- ferences in policy between the le- Balistic, pity-seeking, reformist pro- gram. of the Socialist Mr. Karl Borders, and the policy of united action of all-the workers based on mass struggle, forcing the bourge- cisie to give from their profits wrung from the workers, all lead- ing towards a revolutionizing of the workers, as expounded by the Unemployed Councils. WORKERS + “e DEFEAT MANOEVRE: y ~ Under the pressure of the rank and file of his organization, Bor- ders has dragged along, trying to create conditions which would force the Unemployed Councils -to_ break the united front with the workers. The Unemployed Coun- cils with the support of certain sections of Borders’ rank arid file, haye defeated this, although no one need have any illusion about. Borders. He will wriggle out as soon as possible. The sharpest, , clashes have come on three points: 1. Borders refusal to agree to local mass struggles against the relief stations and loca! politicians, etc. This is what he fears more than anything else because here the workers of his organization will come in contact weth the fighting policies of the Unemployed Coun- cils, which offers the only possi- bility of even partially defeating these attacks of the boss class. Borders is also afraid the rank and file will become “militant” or will use “‘indiscreet, unpleasant meth- ods” which “might embarrass” the “| stop mean nothing. The United Front Fight Against 50 P.C. Relief Cut in Chicago Unemployed Meet New Boss Offensive; Lay Bare Attempts of Socialist Borders to Disrupt United Front the Unemployed Councils realize that only at the bottom will the united front of the workers be or- ganized and is proceeding, despite Borders’ refusal. 2. Borders also wanted to create illusions that the Cermak and Em- mersons are the representatives of the workers. He wanted a clause: “Our representatives have failed us” and in a conference of two de- legates from each of the three or- ganizations, this was overwhelm- ingly rejected. 3. The most bitter fight occurred also at the above-mentioned con- ference, when an attempt was made on the part of Borders, his associate—Schneid—a renegade ex- pelled from the Communist Party years ago for his Feformist pro- gram and betrayals in the Amal- gamated Clothing Workers Union, as well as the ultra-revolutionist, Dickson, to put over an idea that the struggle for relief and against. the attacks of the boss class is separated from politics. REJECT BORDERS’ PROPOSAL They tried to convince the de- legates that we should demand that “no political propaganda—no ad- vocating of political platforms or candidates in the Hunger March.” The Unemployed Council delegates with support of the rank and file delegates of the Borders move- ment, distinct from Borders’ ag- gregation of social service ladies, ministers and renegades from Com- munism such as Schnied,and Kat- violas, defeated this proposal 100 to 74. The Unemployed Council | delegates pointed out the main is- sue. ig’ the defeating of the 50%, relief cut. This can only be done through mass struggle involving all workers. 'This_movement must. include the Communist Party because it is the only, political party which has a program on these burning issues and which participates and leads the unemployed as well as all other ‘workers in struggle for immediate demands—all linked with struggle against’ capitalism. Furthermore, “the” Unemployed Council delegates ‘}>showed the connection between the government state and relief; the Emmerson Government cut relief 50°,-Cermak’s policemen enforce it by murdering the workers who fight ogainst it. ‘The Unemployed Council must, realize that tlese negotiations on The real uni- fec-front {s with tha workers et the bottom, These conferences only serve to expose the reformist lead- ers, providing the struggles con- tinue at the bottom and the Un- employed Council exposes every be- trayal move of the Borders-Schneid on top, 9 ae ANY dangers arise, primarily because of lack of political clarity in the ranks of the Party and of course in the Unemployed Councils. These dangers express themselves in the tendency of some [-oomrades to think that the. united~ By ALEXANDER TRACHTENBERG 1. 0 MANY occasions Eugene V. D2bs was in open conflict with the Sccialist Party leadership, Al- though considered as such, Debs really was never the political leader of the party. He represented per- haps the greatest peculiarity of the American Socialist movement. Con- sidered by the rank and file as the personification ot the fighting spirit of Socialism and looked upon by the outside world as the outstand- ing personality in the American Socialist movement, Debs never sat on the executive committee of the party, except for the last two or three years of his life, when he was brought in chiefly for window dressing, never was sent as a dele- gate to a national convention or an international congress, never par- ticipated in the councils of the party to formulate policies and work out tactics. The leadership of the S., P. studiously avoided bring- ing Debs into the organization. He was kept on the platform, where his eloquence was capitalized, or he was allowed to write mainly in fugitive and privately owned So- clalist journals, rather than in the official organs of the party. The S. P. leadership feared Debs’ revolutionary attitude on the burn- ing questions which agitated the membership of the party. They knew his uncompromising stand on many questions and they preferred not to have any quarrels with him. He spoke his mind from time to time, but being organizationally re- moved from the membership he could not exercise the influence over them which otherwise would have been his. Debs should never haye permitted himself to be placed in such a posi- tion by the S. P. leaders. His place was among the proletarian mem- bers, guarding the party against the reformist leaders and guiding the membership in his own spirit of militancy. He should have been the political leader of the party in- stead of letting that leadership fall into the hahds of lawyers and preachers, DEBS WARNS AGAINST REFORMERS . During the years 1910-12 the S. P. grew in membership, reaching the highest number in its history (over 120,000). Debs saw the entrance of elements into the party who were joining it not as a revolutionary So- cialist Party, but as.a third bour- geois party. While in other coun- tries there were liberal parties which petty-bourgeois elements, dis- illusioned with conservative parties, could join, America had two equally reactionary parties from which these elements sought to escape. The S. P. was the only available Political home for all those who favored reforms which the two main parties opposed. Advocates of woman's suffrage, direct election of Senators, abolition of child labor, protetctive labor legislation, munic- ipal ownership and agrarian re- forms, joined the Socialist Party, through which they hoped to pro- mote these reforms, without bother- ing about the ultimate aims which were written into the program of the party. In this manner the proletarian and revolutionary sec- THE PLATFORM i Debs’ Fight Against the Reformist S.P. Leaders | His Struggle Against Hillquit, Berger and Op- portunists of Type of Norman Thomas tions in the party were pérmeated by altogether alien elements. With his revolutionary instinct, Debs felt the danger to the Socialist Party lurking in the admission of such elements. These were the years of “trust busting” campaigns, of muck-raking and the offering of all sorts of panaceas against the encroachments of corporate wealth. The petty bourgeoisie was begin- ning to feel the solidification of. American capital and it was looking to reforms to help it out of the difficulty. These elements were finding their way into the Socialist Party, and the well known among them, particularly the writers and journalists, were immediately ac- claimed as leaders. Charles Edward Russell, Allen Benson and their like became overnight spokesmen of the party, These were the forerunners of the Heywood Brouns of -today. They were elected to executive com- mittees and designated as standard bearers in elections. TING in 1911 under the title ‘Danger Ahead,” Debs warned the party against the degeneration. which was sure to set in as a result of the admixture of elements entire- ly foreign to its program and its aims. He wrote: “It (the S. P.) may become permeated and corrupted with the spirit of bourgeous reform to an extent that will practically destroy its virility and efficiency as a revolutionary organization . . . The working class character and the revolutionary character of the S. P. are of first importance. Alt the votes of the people would do us no good if we cease to be a revo~ lutionary party.” (Emphasis mine, —A. T.) Lincoln Steffens, the eminent journalist, once interviewed Debs during his presidential campaign of 1908 in’ the presence of Victor Berger, one of the real bosses of the S. P. He was asking many ques- tions and Debs was replying to them much to the discomfort of Berger, who claimed to have been the ideo- logical brother of Debs. Steffens wanted to know how Debs proposed to deal with the trusts. “Would you pay for or just take them,” asked Steffens. “Take them,” came the quick and sure reply of the revolu- tionist Debs. “No, you wouldn't,” cried the reformist Berger, “not if I was there, and I answer that we would offer to pay.” Debs would confiscate the capitalist trusts, he would fight his way to Socialism. Berger would negotiate, he would pay his way. What chasm between the two attitudes! One is that of a militant fighter, the other that of a petty-bourgeois reformer! At the 1932 Socialist Party con- vention in Milwaukee the proposal in favor of confiscation was de-° feated after a special appeal by the presidential nominee, Norman ‘Thomas. Naturally Thomas would side with Berger, not Debs. To many in the Socilaist Party the essence of Socialism was publi¢ ownership of public utilities. To- day it is one of the central reforms advocated by the S. P. To these ad- vocates Debs -addressed himself in his characteristic manner: “Gov- ernment ownership of public util- ities means nothing (read: is of no benefit—A. T.) for labor under cap- italist ownership of government.” Debs knew of the breaking of strikes in government-owned indus- tries by the use of the military forces and the prohibition of union- ization of these industries. Debs crossed swords with the S. P. leaders when they advocated the A. F. of L. policy of excluding im- migrants. In a letter to a delegate to the 1910 convention, which adopted a resolution dealing with immigration, he wrote: - “I have just read the majority report of the committee on immigration. It is utterly unsocialistic, reactionary and in truth outrageous, and I hope you will oppose it with all your power. The idea that certain races are to be excluded because of tac- tical expediency would be entirely consistent in a bourgeois conven- tion of self-seekers, but should have no place in a proletarian gathering under the auspices of an interna- tional movement that is calling on the oppressed and exploited work- ers of all the world to unite for their emancipation.” y, To Debs such a ‘stand favoring the exclusion of workers from other countries meant forsaking the prin- ciple of international solidarity and he calleq upon the members “to stand squarely on our revolutionary working class principles and make our fight openly and uncompro- misingly against ell our enemies, adovting no cowardly tactics and holding out no false hopes.” means unity and a “love feast” with the other orga- nizations. Nothing could be more wrong and more dangerous, The 15th Plenum of the Central Com- mittee states: “Approsening the non-party masses oa the basis of their im- mediate necds and demands; pro- posing to these masses immedi- ate concrete actions to satisfy these immediate needs; and de- veloping such special forms of or- ganization of these struggles that will provide the broadest po: ie united struggle front, without requiring from the non-party participants in this strugzi@ the immediate acceptance of the full progtam of the Party, of its or- ganizational forms, nor its formal leadership. The essential feature of the United Front is that it unites hitherto separated groups of workers for a joint struggle which wonld otherwise bemore difficult or impessible,” But it must always be understood that the Uncmployed Council does not give up its organization but on the contrary, builds it, recruiting also the largest masses from these reformist-led organizations in the course of the united struggle to de- feat the attacks of the boss class. The United Front in the neighbor- hoods is established through estab- | Ushing local Action Committees and developing mass struggles against relief stations and political bodies. NEXT STEP. It is also necessary to. guard against a strengthening of already existing legalistic methods which find roots in some sections-of the Unemployed. Councils, -by . coming - in contact with workers who have had less experience in the Borders movement and who still suffer the influence of Mr. Borders’ boss-class ideology. This can only be over- come by a sharpening of the class propaganda inside the Unemployed Councils, : In all these activities the Unem- ployed Council dots not give up its ivi ip, existence or rence of 208 dele gates on October 16th during all these activities which included some {rom these other organizations, wr That conference Ipeck’ to cone solidate suprort .o, th tested line ed Countil, based Ti? delegates rercs musi serve as the steel rcd of class strugg'e policy at the general conference é¢alled by all three organizaticns on October 20th im preparation for a Cook County Hunger March to City posaty Building on Monday, Oct, st y DP Seed & |