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

orker’ wot Party USA Beblished by the Comprodaily Publishing Co., Inc., daily except Sunday, at 58 KE. ABD Bt, New York City, N. ¥. Telephone ALgonguin 4-7956, Cable “DATWORK.” dress and mail checks to the Daily Worker, 50 FE. 13th St., New York, N. ¥. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By mail everywhere: One year, $6; six months, 33.50; 3 months, $2; 1 month, Be Foreign and 35. The Significance of the Farmers’ Conference ‘HE Farmers’ National Conference on Dec. 7-10 took place against the background of the farmers’ militant strike movement which began in Towa last September and spread all over middle and northwestern stat creating the spirit of struggle and desire for organization amongst the masses of exploited farmers. Simultaneously with the strike movement, struggles developed against foreclosures and evictions, against the ever growing taxation burdens and for the immediate relief of destitute farm- ers. These struggles have already taken place primarily in the North- west under the leadership of the United Farmers League and the Com- munist Party, and began to spread all over the country. 6 months, $ Tke Communist Party correctly utilized this initiate a broad united front movement on the basis of immediate needs of the broad masses of the farm population. The basis for a call of the Farmers’ National Relief Conference was set forth in Comrade Foster's speech at the Chicago Coliseum, suggesting the calling of such a con- ference. This call was taken up by a committee of striking farmers in lowa, the very center of the farmers’ militant struggle. HE preparations for the Conference g and imparted to it on a broad During the preparations for the uation by helping to atly stimulated local activity ne required political orientation. jonal Farmers’ Relief Conference penetrated and new local farmeres’ organizations created and mar local struggles initiated. Under the leadership of United Farmers League the militant elements were also able to penetrate the existing farm organizations like National Holiday Asso- clation, Farmers Union, etc, The left wing was built within these organiza- tions and many local and state branches of these farm organizations en- dorsed the Conference. Had we been more conscious about the upsurge amongst the farmers and the readiness of the rank and file in the farm organizations, led by demagogic farm leaders, to join in the struggles, we could have penetrated these organizations even more. But the serious effects of sectarianism, as well as underestimation of agrarian work and under-estimation of the upsurge of the exploited farmers, placed limitations upon preparations for the Far National Relief Confer- ence, held in Washington. ners’ successful united front of the exploited farmers. Farmers gathered in small and lar meetings of 36 different organizations in twenty-eight states throughout the country send 250 delegates to the conference. en the bourgeoisie press, admitting its representative character, e: > represented one million of the farm population. The struggles these delegates represented characterized the Conference itself and imbued it with a militant spirit. The Conference was a rea the majority of the exploited farm of the count to Congress and Federal Government. Backed by organized mass p. it forced Con- gress that the demands be read into the records of both houses of Con- gress. S In its demands, the Conference correctly placed the iB st category of farm population in the first place, demanding immediate federal cash relief to all needy rural families, The Conference also raised demands for production credit for all needy farmers, a moratorium on mortgages, and on interest and rents “for all farmers whose volume of production has until recently sustained the farm family at a decent standard of living” (medium farmers); can- cellation of mortgages, interest, Feed and Seed loans and debts for those farmers “whose volume of production and economic unit has always been too small te carry the debt and support the family at a minimum health standard” (marginal farmers, share-croppers, etc.); cancellation of back farm taxes and moratorium on future farm taxes during the crisis. Fin- ally follows demand that “Congress must declare all foreclosures, seizure of property and evictions illegal.” These demands are based on the immediate needs of the destitute farmers and expose the various farm bills, like Allottment Bills, Frazier Bill, etc., which are now being sponsored by so-called “progressive” po- liticians and supported by the high-salaried leaders of farm organiza- tions, like Simpson, president of the Farmers Union, Milo Reno, presi- dent of Holiday Association and officials of the National Grange, ete. eting monopolies and tax for the consumers ms to refinance farm e.” whch means that ‘HE Allottment Bills, aims to aid bankers, m few rich farmers, by placing $750,000,000 s: and by cutting down acreages. The Frazier bi mortgages, on the basis of an “adequate guaran’ only rich farmers could benefit with the cheap cred) Some of these measures have the support of Roosevelt, who made all kinds of démagogic promises campaign to tle farmers incoming president in hig election The purpose of sponsoring all these “measures and the demagogic promises of the incoming administration, is to keep farmers waiting and passive, thus preventing them to organize and join into the struggles for the immediate relief. The Farmers’ National Relief Conference laid the basis for the exposure of these measures and the empty promises of capitalist politicians. But we must realize that these deep-seated illu- sions still exist among the farmers, that only a beginning has been made in liquidating them, and that the important political task for our Party is now to concretely and completely expose these measures and in the course of this exposure, particularly expose reformist and reaetion- ary leaders of the farm organizations as betrayers of the toiling farmers. At the same time we must draw in rank and file members of these farm organizations into the United Front struggle under the leadership of the United Farmers League and Committees of Action on the basis of im- mediate needs of the majority of the farmers. ‘The Conference was successful in broadening out the class outlook of the farmers delegation and drawing their attention to the general problems of the class struggle and for the necessity of alliance with the workers by showing the connection of these questions with farmers’ own problems. The yery fact that farmers’ delegation met at the same time as the Unemployed Hunger March, was instrumental in bringing about solidarity with the workers and necessity of joint actions with them. ‘This was concretely expressed in the resolution which endorsed the unger March and the demands of unemployed, including the unem- ployed and social insurance. The Conference also unanimously adopted the resolution demanding recognition of the Soviet Union. Another reso- Tution against the war and for an immediate withdrawal of U. S. armed forces from foreign land and waters, and that the U. S. government should not protect foreign investments of U. S. bankers and capitalists, was also unanimously passed. . ‘HE participation of Negro delegates from Florida and Alabama and the r warm. reception given to them, was instrumental in breaking down the race prejudice and laid the basis for strong idarity between Ne- gro and white farmers, which will be helpful in breaking down the terror which has again broken loose in the South against Negro share-croppers and tenants. ‘The participation of the Negro delegates in the Conference exercised a direct influence on the recent struggles in Alabama. : * egation, numbering 48, played a very important role in he catatioce ty giving it a militant tone and political leadership. ‘The participation of 64 youth delegates, demonstrated that farm youth can be drawn into the front ranks of farmers struggles. In Good Company IDUARD BERNSTEIN who died recently was one who openly revised E Marxism and denied the existence of the class struggle. If we want to have a broader understanding 2s to why the Socialist Party of Germany etrayed the workers in the last world war, betrayed the revolution in Germany, paved the way for fascism and placed Hindenburg at the head of the ‘government, we’ remember that it was Bernstein and his theories which laid basis for the social-fascist ideology. « ease Fhe JOT the New Leader, S. P. organ in the U. S. has nothing but words of pre or this brazen falsifier. In its December 24th issue it winds up an of ‘with: ““Hé was'a gréat thinker, a great student, a great socialist and a great man. Socialists walk more proudly because such men have walked among them”. It is precisely because the German Socialist Party has been led by such men as Bernstein, Kauteky and Scheidemann that the German working ciass has been betrayed tims and again by the Socialist Party. That is why the Socialist Party has long ago ceased to be a working class party and become a social-fascist party, a party serving the capitalist class, not the working class. It was only yecause the revolutionary section of the German working class has purged it ranks of the Kautskys and Scheidemanns and set up a ‘evolutionary party, the Communist Party, that the German working class ‘to unite the workers tn. the fight against fascism. The Communist she only working eigen norte ‘ DAILY WORKE ARTY LIFE Some Sharp Mass Meetings By JEAN BOLAN, | HE rank and file comrades in the lower units of the Party, spurred on by the decisions of the 14th Plenum Resolution, are doing their best to break the isolation of the Party from the masses. Those of us whose activities are in block work are spending nearly all of our time among the workers in the neighborhood, talking to them, bringing them our literature, con- vincing them of the necessity of struggle, drawing them into the bleck committees. On Sundays, we not only canvass part of the day on the campaigns of the Party, but in the afternoon and evening, the homes of many comrades become open forums where friends and | neighbors coming to visit us and | knowing that we are Communists, ask us question after question about the movement which we try to an- swer to the best of our ability. We spend days without end bring- ing the message of struggle to our friends and neighbors, drawing them closer to the movement. After we have created strong per- sonal ties with the workers, win- ning their confidence through our limited efforts, we bring our con- tacts to mass meetings, to affairs, so that they may get the feeling of being a part of a large mass, so that they may hear the line of the Party presented by leading comrades. We do this in the hope | that these meetings and affairs will clinch our individual arguments and finally draw the workers into the special organization that we want him to join. If viewed in this light, our mass meetings must take on the greatest importance, must be given the most painstaking attention as far as the | organization of these meetings and | affairs are concerned. | Unfortunately, the nature of our mass meetings up till now has tended to disrupt all the good ef- fects our individual contact work has had Lately there has been a series of meetings so miserably arranged that there is a bad taste in our mouths we cannot get rid of. eae The Maxim Gorky Festival on Friday, December 23, which was under the auspices of the Revolu- tionary Writers Federation, was so bad that words fail me. I invited ; Some friends from out of town and feel particularly resentful. The first thing I want to emphasize is that on the stage where all the delegates from the different mass organizations sat, there was not a single Negro delegate. Not a single Negro participated in the meeting and I counted exactly one Negro in the audience. Not only that, but every speaker but one scheduled to appear and widely advertised failed to appear. Comrade Olgin, who did come, spoke so long that the greater part of the entertainment | had to be cut out! I tried to con- vince my friends as best I could that this was an unusual case and invited them to the District Train- ing School Graduation ball the fol- lowing evening. Well, there is | Plenty to be said about this affair, In the first place, it was the great- est mistake in my opinion to com- bine an event of such political im- | portance as the graduation of these | students together with a dance. The graduation exercises alone deserved an evening in itself and, if so de- sired, the graduation dance could have followed it an evening or two later. At this affair, Comrade Hathaway, N.Y. District Org. of the Communist Party, was scheduled to speak. A day before the affair, it was announced that Earl Brow- der would speak instead. On the night of the affair, Comrade Puro was the main speaker. The com- rades attempted to stage long grad- uation exercises during the course of the dance and were unable to get the attention of the audience. Everybody was in a holiday spirit and were impatient with the many Jong speeches. My friends insisted on going home soon afterwards, and believe me, it will be hard to get them to go to another affair. #7) 8148 Hunger Marchers on November 29 was another bad experience. This meeting was advertised to start at 7 o'clock. My unit mobilized the block committee. We rallied the workers and got them down to the Coliseum by 7:30. The meeting be- gan at 9 o'clock! Of course, the spirit of the meeting was excellent, but the workers could not, get, home so late and had to leave before the end of the meeting. | The Madison Square Garden Blection Rally, by the way, was one of the best organized meetings. | ‘The speeches were carefully timed and there was no repetition in the subjects. These are just a few of the more recent meetings we have In the local clubs and organiza- tions, the comrades arrange lec- tures, open forums, etc. to which speakers are assigned by the Dis- trict and one case after another has happened where speakers never showed up, leaving the comrades who organized the meeting in a very embarrassing position, and the workers thoroughly disgusted. * 8 The District and the Central Committee must take into consid- eration what these meetings mean to the thousands of workers that attend them, as well as to the com- rades who spend endless time get- ting workers to come to these meet- ings, and should give these meet- ings the most careful attention. They should see to it that the meet- ings start on time, that the speech- es are shorter, especially if there are other features on the program, and above all the speakers that, are an- | nounced should appear. This is very urgent in order that the per- sonal contact that we make with the marees is not lost, but is irsantoemes by, Shege huge rallies, The night of the Send-Off of the | Criticism of | | of railroad police. “DAMN. THAT LIGHT!” W YORK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1932 By VERN SMITH «YOU came in hard as hell,” the vets who met Hi Smith, in Washington. He was leader of a group of 23 Bonus Marchers from the Pacific Coast and Middle West to Washin “We can be just as har Smith, His story of the trip made by this little detachment of the great Bonus’ March, is a history of work- ing class ingenuity and persistence, of solidarity and patient, undefeat- able surmounting of the most varied difficulties. ‘The group assembled in Kansas | City, broke, and 1,170 miles from its destination. A stoolpigeon told them they could catch a freight at the Rock Island Yards, far out of the city. They went out there, and found no trains were running, and walked Seven miles back t6 town. That was just the beginning. On Nov. 28, they all caught a fregiht ‘east- ward on the Missouri Pacific, the “Mop.” They made St. Louis that night, and the next day took part in the triumphal parade through the city and demonstration before the city hall of thousands of St. Louis workers, led by Columns 2, 3 and 5 of thé National Hunger March, RIDE WITH HUNGER MARCHERS The 23 rode with Marchers to East St. Louis, Ml., and separated from them there. While some committees collected food, which was cooked and eaten, another committee, with Smith went to the yard master. They found him surrounded by numbers ‘The yard mas- ter Called Smith aside and ques- tioned him as to the objects of the march, then asked him what he wanted. Smith modestly replied that he wanted an extra car put on the train for the 23 to ride in. “You know the Big Boys don't like the idea of this march,” said the yard master. “To hell wth the Big Boys, we're not asking them anything about it!” said Smith. * the Hunger ay Me W ket got ready to board the freight. The police. demanded that they scatter in twos and threes along the track. The 23 saw | through the trick to let some go on and hold the rest back, They stuck together, and they went up on some open space outside the yards, The city police came down and ordered them to moye, They did, for a ways, and the police came again, this time making threats. “Stick together!” shouted Smith, “Won't do you any good to stick together!” said a cop. “You'd be surprised what hap- pens when we stick together.” said the vets. COPS FORCED TO CONTRIBUTE ‘They refused to leave town until they ate. The “bulls” flashed their guns and badges No use. Finally, to get them on their way, the police contributed $1.05, ‘The boys ate, and were told they could get a train at Caseyville, “four and a half miles out.” They walked, and it turned out to be nine miles; And the trains went through too fast to board. ‘They soaped the rails, but had only enough soap for two rails, and it didn’t slow the trains enough to get on. Moreover, railroad police riding the rear cars spotted one vet with @ flash light. * * Y ena night, while one man watched the fires, the rest went to sleep in an old mine near by. Squads of police swarmed down on the camp fires during the night, but the one man there said he was, alone, “didn’t know anything about any gang,” and jinally was’ left alone, The mine wasn’t searched. They slipped through Caseyville in twos and threes the next morn- ing. Some overheard the constable complaining: “T. was told to arresi how can T find the 1 never * ithe Pacific Coast Bonus Marchers gether? They all hiked on, six miles more, to O'Fallon, farmers along the way donating pork, bread and sausage. They found no trains stopped in O'Fallon. They borrowed a truck from an ex-serviceman living there, and rode out to Scott Aviation Post. Smith asked a sergeant: “Where's the Officer of The Day’? “What do you waht him for?” “We want permission to solicit for funds for Bonus March ex- penses.”” “Oh, let the Oficer of The Day sleep, and go down to that end of the barracks where they're most civilized, and solicit.” They collected some money, and when they went to leave, some mys- terious soldier had eqipped their truck with a light. * O'Fallon hunt them up a truck to take them to Breeze. There the ex-servicemen got them another truck, to Centralia. They demanded another truck from the mayor of Centralia. He Said he didn’t know where one could be found. He was yery cold to the idea. So they took their flag, fastened it to a hitching post and started a meeting. The crowd got bigger and bigger. By tens and fifteens, people arrived, to hear how veterans who were told “nothing is too good for | you” when they were fighting for | Wall Street, are treated now, cheated of their back pay, not even given transportation to go and ask for it. A farmer who wants to be post master rushed up and offered the loan of a truck. “HOW ABOUT A FEED?” That took them to Flora. The chief of police there argted: “You are just making trouble; the coun- try is in good shape; everybody has enough to eat.” “What do you say you feed us then?” demanded the vets. But then it developed the coun- try might be full of food, but the city treasury of Flora was empty. “Nobody needs to go around ragged,” said the chief of police, jooking on them with disfavor. “So much clothes in the country, why not give us some?” asked the vets, “Can't Treasury is busted!” said ‘the chief of police. But the authorities got them a | truck and started them off*to the next little town. No trains stopped there, They started looking for the | chief of police, but he hid out on | them. ‘They took up a collection of | | | | | | $1.60, bought gas, and rode in the Flora truck to Olney. EST THA ‘HERE they were met by the chief of police and two cars full of deputies. ‘The officials were “look- ing for Reds.” After a long argu- ment, they were routed through the outskirts of town, and airived on foot at a farmer's house. ‘They slept in the farmer's barn. His wife donated coffee and they ate on his porch, They scraped all their pennies together, and telephoned for a truck to take them to Law- renceville, 30 miles away. Then the truckman reneged. So they walked the 30 miles, and caught a local at Lawrenceville to Paris, Ill. There they caught a freight on the Penn- sylvania line to Columbus, O, While they were sitting on the train at Columbus two railroad “bulls” came up and ordered them off, saying: “You could ride for all we care, but the main office has issued strict y orders no bonus marchgs are to ride the freights.”” | GET TO WHEELING They went to the Unemployed Council Hall in Columbus, and stayed over Sunday, then caught a ies on the B. & O. to Wheeling, a. f THEY made the chief of police of | “We Can Be Just As Hard,” Said the Veterans wa |The E pic Story of, i expelled him, * took if up on a side hill and cooked and ate. While they were around resting, some one in local authority came and told them they couldn't stay there. They found the “jungles” and at midnight got a freight to Grafton, W. Va., still on the B. & ©. But one of their number, riding in a separate car, was picked up at Fairmont, W. Va., and sentenced to ten days, which he worked out, and then overtook the rest in Washing-, ton. ‘They had discovered that every- body going into the yards at Graf- ton was arrested and sentenced to three days, so they got off before they reached the yards, They walked through Grafton, and caught a coal train to Cum- berland, riding hour after hour, on top of the coal, in a rain. wen eh a r Cumberland they slept in an abandoned brick kiln. They made coffee, and while they were drinking it, the city police came down, “looking for hunger marchers.” It was here that the tremendous demonstration of military and po- lice force met the Hunger March Columns, The “bull” didn’t arrest them, but watched them board a box car, and supposedly wired ahead. When they neared Washington, word reached’ ‘them that all bonus marchers were being arrested in the railroad yards. They got off before reaching the yards, and Shrew away their blankets, and walked into the capital city of this nation, That was Dec. 8, at 8 p.m WASHINGTON In Washington they got in touch with the Bonus March headquar- ters. A Negro ex-serviceman, a trustee of a Negro church, loaned them some church property on which to rig up a kitchen, and there they stayed.a week through- out the Bonus March. These "23 decided to get some work, buy a car, and send a com- mittee out organizing Workers Ex- Servicemen’s League Posts and Anti-War Committees. A snowfall gave them their chance. First two and then two more got jobs. Here dissension developed. One of their number, an ex-Khaki Shirt man, had been making trouble all the way. When he got his turn shoveling snow, he an- nounced that the money he made would not go to buy any car, he was “going out and get a woman with it.” His name was Ruhl. After a meeting and trial they ND finally they got a seven pas- senger Buick for $35, reduced from $37.50 when the agent found they didn’t have enough. The rea- son they had less than they ex- pected to get was because the Dis- trict of Columbia deducted from their snow shoveling wages 11 per cent for the Community Chest. They sold enough Fighting Vets (newspaper of the Workers Ex- Servicemen’s League) to buy a li- cense for $3.50. s Nine of them joined the organiz- ing squad and they started for New York. A sympathizer at a filling station gave them 22 gallons of gas, two gallons of oil and two cans of to- bacco for 50 cents. , On the way to New York from Washington, sympathizers donated gas and oil. One garage man in Newark would give nothing until he found out there were W. E. S. L, members among them; then he sold them five gallons of gas for 50 cents. The playwright, Harold Hicker- son, who is one of the leaders of the rank and file veterans move- ment had come down from Wash- ington with them, and he collected $1.60 for them, somewhere in New- ark, They plan to go with their car now from New York on an or- ganizing tour of the big industrial cities along the shores of the Great Lakes, in conformity with the pro- gram adopted by the bonus march: ern’ conference : lying | | ers. | unlike anything shown in newsreels | workers who wnderstood the his- Soviet Railroad Workers Get More Than Wages System ‘of Old Age Pensions, Sick Benefits, Contrasts With Boss Dole in U.S. ut. are being sent each years for their By L. MARTIN, vacations to health resorts and rest Wess are about the only com- | homes which were once the pleas- pensation an American rail- ure haunts of the rich. About # quarter of a million Soviet railroad- ers haye been accommodated in rest homes, sanatoria and health resorts in 1932, according to union figures. And the great majority of these had all their expenses paid, Try to imagine an American “rail”. being sent for his vacation to the Florida home of a former millionaire, if you want to get the comparison—and imagine the rail- Toads paying all his expenses, just because he happens to be a worker! oh psaae roader gets for his work. Out of them he must not only support himself and family but provide against sickness, unemployment and old age. Only a few qualify for company pensions, which may be cut or withheld at any time; and those who have Brotherhood pen= sions or insurance must pay high for them out of their wages. To a Soviet rail worker, however, Wages are only a comparatively small part of the benefits he re- ceives as a useful member of a we ing class society. EDUCATION FREE | To begin with, communal nur- riens and free we the Soviet worker goes to the theater or some other amusement, his union card en- titles him ta admission at lower | tates. And the union provides spe- cial club, sport and recreational fae cilities of all kinds for him. There are some 642 clubs in the country just for rail workers. In the little railroad center of Perova, for instance, the clubhouse is the center of the community life. The auditorium, with revolving stage, is finer and more modern than you would find in any town of similar size in the United States, Workers’ meetings are held here, and there are regular entertain- ments—movies part of the time, and some of the best stage shows come from Moscow to play to the vailroad workers. Gymnasium and library are other features of this club. But perhaps the finest clubhouse we saw anywhere in the Soviet Union was the recently completed railroad workers’ club in Kharkov. ct cost of bringing: up children; and their education—even to the high- est university courss—need cost the worker nothing at all. Not only is all education free, but students are paid wages while studying to cover living expenses and pocket money, and if they have dependents these also are provided for. I found many young rail workers at the Oktyabrskaya terminal in Moscow who,put in only four hours a day on the job and three hours studying. These paid nothing at all for lodging, laundry and other facilities at the Komsomol House where they lived. Rents in ger r Soviet workers. They are limited to a maximum of 10 per cent of the individual’s wages, and many very low for pay less than that. Special al- | Jp five-si i lowances are made for lower earn- ular peat Pidgin hatin ings, large families, etc. At the vhich make its rooms as bright as day. Each of the main club-rooms is painted a different color, producing a pleasing rainbow effect as one walks through the cor- ridor. There are conference rooms, for photography, art circles, games and all kinds of social activity. ‘There is @ gymnasium, library, restaurant, and a huge auditorium with revolv- ing stage and all the latest fix- tures. The best artists in the Uk- raine were hired to decorate this workers’ clubhouse. What @ con- trast to capitalist America, where the finest clubs are reserved ex- clusively for rich loafers who either do no work or work only at ex- same time housing is being steadily improved, the amount spent on building new ‘homes for railroad- ers having been doubled in the last few years, N Kharkov we found one of the best sections reserved for rail- road workers. Lying on high ground on the outskirts of the city, it con- sists of red-brick two-story houses with about eight rooms apiece. The houses stand well apart; each in its own garden. It would be a middle- class suburb in America, but in the US.S.R. the best is for the work- At Perova too we found many railroad workers living in single or | ploiting the real producers! ‘ double houses. But most of the |RETIRE ON PENSION new housing developments are bigs | AT 60 ' apartment houses, with communal restaurants, laundries, nurseries, co- operative stores, etc. Russian work- ers who in capitalist days never knew what it was to have running water, electric light or the simplest comforts, and who had never seen a bathroom, now have bright up- to-date apartments with bathrooms, central heating and all other mod- ern conveniences. Falling sick has no financial ter- Soviet railroad workers are en= titled 4o retire with a pension at the age of 60. Their pensions are no company dole, as in America, which the employers may cut or abolish at their will. Nor are they, like Brotherhood pensions, something for which the workers must pay themselves, Soviet pensions are Suaranteed by law and paid for from the social insurance funds to which each industry is compelled rors for the Soviet worker. All | to contribute 12 per cent of its Ppay- medical seryice is free—without any | roll. docking of wages to support rail- The miserable pension scheme road hospitals, as on some Amer- ican roads. The social insurance funds of the industry provide not only for his care while sick but for his dependents. Then there are the aunual ya-~ cations with full wages for all So- viet railroad workers—from two to being pushed in Congress by Broth- erhood officials would get a laugh from Soviet rail workers, nor would they have much more use for Roy- ster's National Pension Plan. For both these plans would require workers to pay from their wages for pensions which should be theirs four weeks, the longer vacations be~ by right, besides being Sin dangerous or | around with many objectionable re- which include loco- strictions, motive engineers, for instance, and eer cn: a number of the shop crafts, (Next article: “An Industry More and more railroad workers Owned by the Workers,”), THE HUNGER MARCH FILM By SAMUEL BRODY (WFPL) I WAS a member of a group of four cameramen sent by the New York section of the Workers Film and Foto League to cover the activities of Column 8 of the National Hunger March on its way to Washington from New .York City. Soon there will be shown to the workers of New York the evidence gathered by the keen eyes of our cameras. This evidence is totally to fight against starvation and for unemployment insurance. The marchers’ demonstration before the doll factory in Trenton where a sympathy strike had been declared, and the response of the workers themselves is, in my opinion, one of the most stirring filmed documents of the class-struggle. The Paramount cam>ramen did not want to see all those things. They were too busy “shooting” Lord and Lady Astor on a slumming trip through the New York Avenue en) campment. They were too preoc- cupied with photographing Commis- sioner of Police Brown tn conference with his fellow-thugs. t Despite certain shortcomings (fail- ure to make @ more intimate and taken by capitalist concerns. Our cameramen were class-conscious torical significance of this epic March for bread and the right to live. AS a matter of fact, we “shot” the March not as “disinterested” news-gatherers but actual par- ticipants in the | March _ itself. Therein lies the importance of our finished film. It is the viewpoint of the marchers themselves. Whereas the capitalist camera men who followed the marchers all the way down to Washington were constantly on the lookout for sensational material among the merchers during their two-day internment in Washington, etc.) we fecl that our film is an invaluable contribution in our ef- forts to unmask the lies and pro- vocation of the capitalist press and screen before during and after the March and to disseminate among which would distort the characters wide masses of workers and poor of the March in the eyes of the | farmers the lessons of of masses, our worker - cameramen, | our struggle against huhger and for working with small hrend-cameras that permit unrestric‘ed mobility, succeeded in recocding ineidents.| that show the fiendish brutality of the police towards the merchers. We have recerds of workers writh- ing in pain from the after-effects of tear-gas. We have pictorial evidence of pblice terrorization in New Eng- land. Our film also proves conclusively unemployment insurance. Lettersfrom Our Readers WANTS “TECHNOCRACY” EXPLAINED that in no case were the marchers ' intimidated by the unparralleled display of weapons and bombs. From the moment our trucks left Union Square until we reached Washington no threats of violence, no provoca- tions by the capitalist press or the | police could succeed in dampening | the determination of the marchers /to reach the netional capitol and present their demands to Congress. | Our: film proves this. Los Angeles, Cal. Editor, the Daily Worker, Dear Comrade: Will you please explain to us what this “TECHNOCRACY” will do for the worker at latge. We find your Daily Worker very intoresting and educational. Thanking you in advance for the above information, we are, Our fiim also records the fact that Comradely, the marchers were rpc ane cal Hemet bag i? L, 8. comed all along tl ie i am by Negro jand white workers who Editor's Note.—An article om saw in March the expression of cate to ba ene ace thelr own and determination’ carly isene of the ‘Workes. f Pur: SORE A TE wa cmon cor tlans detailed record of what transpired ~ ————————