The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 27, 1933, Page 3

DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, MONDAY; FEBRU ABS (ff _— ‘Thre. Angelo Herndon Framed Up, Thrown Into ‘Solitary Cell ATTACK ILL. MINE PICKETS; WOUND FIVE Springfield S trik ers Battle Deputies and Scabs ONE WORKER IS SHOT Resume Picketing In| Christian County | SPRINGFIELD, Ill, Feb. 26.—) Striking miners of the Capitol and Woodside mines on the outskirts of this city were attacked with gunfire and stones by deputy sheriffs and scabs supplied by the United Mine Workers officials, resulting in in- juries to five workers and two de- puties, One of the strikers, Joseph | Poder, was shot in the face and had to be taken to the hospital. ‘The striking miners are members | of the Progressive Miners of Am- erica and they have been carrying on a militant struggle despite the | sabotage and betrayal tactics of the | P.M.A. leaders. About 1,000 pickets were massed at each pit mouth when the attack | started. The strikers held their | ground and made it pretty hot for | the scabs and deputies, finally with- drawing their lines in good order. | While the battle was taking place, | & so-called “investigation committee” appointed by the state Senate in| order to whitewash the operators, was visiting the Peerless mine of the Peabody Coal Co. | The strike at the Capitol and/ Woodside mines is one of a series | now in progress in the southern Il- linois coal field despite the open | strikebreaking of the U.M.W. official- | dom and the “no strike” policy adopted by the recent scale conven- tion of the P.M.A. Members of the PM.A. have resumed picketing in } Christian County, scene of the vici- ous terror Which has resulted in the arrest on framed murder charges of striking miners. Bakers’ Officers Looted Treasury (CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE)| bakery workers heard a financial re- port given by Accountant Wolf, of the Forward machine, and by Green- baum, the accountant for the new administration. There was a tax that was supposed to bring in $11,000, but the books showed that this tax brought in but $800. Neither the accountant nor the Secretary could answer the question as to how this was possible. Henchmen of the old administra- tion tried, through obstruction, to white-wash the bad impression left by the accountant Wolf's report. Unable to Explain Greenbaum told the workers that he found in the books expenses of tens of thousands‘of dollars, with the old administration unable to explain where this money went, or how it was spent. In the period of five months, Greenbaum showed, the sum of $18,- 500 was paid out to a certain Benny Friedman. Greenbaum showed the checks to the officials, but nobedy could explain to him what the pur- pote of the expenditure had been. Greenbaum also produced a check to the sum of $1,220 which the for- mer secretary Coleman took. “Let him exolain to us what be did with the money,” Greenbaum shouted. $120,000 Snent “This is not all,” Greenbaum said, “the old officers can not explain how they spent the sum of $120,000.” The books show the sum of $110,000 that was spent for wages and office ex- penses, but they cannot account for who was getting this money or how it was spent. » Payments for bread given as re- Nef to strikers, which had cost $60, were put down on the books to the amount of $293. It was decided to call the old of- ficers to the new executive, and at 2, special committee together with the sccountants, to go over the old vouchers and find out more of the details about the corruption and crooked deals of the defeated cliques. All through the mee‘ing the hench- men of the old officials wanted to break it up, but the workers did not give them a chance. Block Firing of Barge Captains (CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE) cession won even with this small bit of organization. The M. W. I. U. is remaining on the job to see that these promises by the company are carried out and that not a single man is left out. » The Waterfront Unemployed Coun- cil again~showed its solidarity with the struggles of the employed by picketing the company offices when the men were paid off. Some of the barge captains had worked for this company for the last six or seven years. ‘The Seaboard Sand and Gravel Co. has a policy of terrorizing its work- ers by wholesale firing, hoping there- by to keep them from organizing and fighting back against the repeated drive of the company to worsen the already miserable conditions and starvation wages. The wages were cut last December from $2 a day to $1, and the com- pany 4s now putting through another ut, to 50 cents a day. The bargemen are forced to:stay'on their boats 24 tour a day, 2 a3 ‘ | time Miners Picket In Illinois The rank and file of the Progressive Miners of America have resumed picketing in some sections of Christian County, «F. P. Pictures.) DEMAND ROOSEVELT GRANT HEARING ON AID TO JOBLESS FOR MARCH 4TH |Masses of “Forgotten Men” Join In Nation- wide Demonstrations (‘CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE: rk is growing. Thirteen million children are hungering; 2,000,000 homeless youth are tramping the roads; the Negro masses are undergoing the vilest terror. “The steel industr aud is operating at 17 per cent of capacity; the auto industry at 15 percent; the building construction industry is almost at a standstill; mining is rapidly declining. The result is that by the end of December, 1932, industrial production was down to 40 percent. MISERY AND STARVATION ARE SPREADING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY “While governor of the state of New York, the demands of the unem- ployed and part-time workers were presented to you. These demands were rushed aside with the result that the condition of the workers has per- sistently been degraded. Miss Frances Perkins, industrial commissioner of New York and now appointee for U. S. Secretary of Labor, reports a rapidly worsening condition, with 45 per cent of the workers now totally unemployed, wages down to 40 per cent of the level of 1927, and more than 26 per cent below 1931. “The workers of this country listened to your promises. The Wagner bill just passed by the United States Senate is totally inadequate and in no wise meets the needs of the situation. In the state of New York a cominission as appointed by you to propose unemployment insurance legis- lation. The commission was reported. Your successor, Mr. Lehman, who follows your policy, and in the election campaign spoke of legislation “towards unemployment insurance”, now together with the state legis- lature has definitely postponed any unemployment insurance legislation. “The workers cannot be satisfied with glib promises—they demand ACTION—a REDEMPTION IN DEEDS of the pledges made. “The National Hunger March on December 6th, 1932, presented the demands of the workers of this country to the Democratic Congress. These demands have been consistently ignored. The 3,000 elected National Hunger Marchers, Negro and white, empowered the NATIONAL COMMITTEE UN- EMPLOYED COUNCILS of U. S. A. to take such action as would be neces- sary to press the demands of the 17,000,000 unemployed and millions of part-time workers of this country. “On March 4th, the inaugural day, there will be nation-wide denfon- strations demanding immediate cash relief and Unemployment Insurance, to remind you of your promises and to demand ACTION. “THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE UNEMPLOYED COUNCILS there- fore requests that, following its own meeting and conference in Washing- ton, D. C., on March 4 and 5, you grant a hearing to an elected delegation of twenty-five on Monday, March 6th, to present to you the grievances and demands of the working population of this country in a situation that has rapidly worsened since the elections. “According to newspaper reports, you will be holding a conference of governors on March 6th. Among the items to be considered, is “federal aid to unemployment relief.” We are distinctly of opinion that this is TOTALLY INSUFFICIENT and is not in keeving with the pledges that you and the Democratic Party made to the workers and particularly to the “forgotten” man in the election campaign. “We believe, therefore, that it is most urgent that our hearing be at im WORKER CORRESPONDENCE ‘Hotel and Restaurant Conditions of Work Workers Relate Their Tafe Hotel Shows the Share-the-Work Plan | Creating Unemployment: NEW YORK CITY.—Hundreds of times in the Taft Hotel, owned by) Bing and Bing, we are told that in co-operation with the management lies | our salvation. But the pay gets smaller and the conditions worse. A few months ago the five-day week was imposed upon the majority | of the waiters, to help solve the unemployment problem. This was done | to get rid of the Saturday extra-men, who got $2.50 per week and had to pay for their own uniforms, Then the six-day week was restored, but without increase in pay. This will, of course, result also in a wholesale lay-off. And this whole process was carried through in the name of helping out the jobless. The grafting of the head waiter became so bad that he had to be fired, and two new grafters made their appearance; Mr. Smarl, notori- ous for firing at the Astor, and Paul the Crook, who was fired from the Waldorf, also for gypping the wait- ers out of their tips. So as a result of revolting against one crook, the bosses gaye us bigger ones. Between them, they fired in three weeks four waiters and five busboys. The case of Rene Ruchty is of special significance. He committed the criminal offense of being fifteen minutes late to work. His child was ill, and he couldn’t help being late, but he was thrown into the street. His child is now in the hospital, he himself is ill at his home, penniless, worrying, threatened with eviction. In spite of the fact that he has worked many hours overtime and without pay, his explanation was not accepted. The chambermaids hardly ever get a full week's pay because the house- keeper fires them before such time expires. No food nor a holiday, for $11 @ week. Five hours overtime on Saturdays, without pay. Pantry girls got a wage-cut of 10 per cent two weeks ago. The cooks are speeded to the limit, forced to work at over- WATERS IN MONTCLAIR FORCED TO EAT STANDING NEW YORK.—Conditions in Hotel Montclair are unbearable. Workers are threatened with being fired if they refuse to submit to these con- ditions, “There.are hundreds outside waiting for “a job,” say the depart- iment heads. ~ Conditions tn ‘the restaurant de- partment are simply unbelievable. There is no place provided for the workers to eat their meals, so that they have to swallow their food standing up in some corner. Waiters are paid 50 cents for one meal, but are forced to work two and some- times three meals without being paid for more than one. In many cases waiters have had to split their hard earned tips with the captains, be- cause the latter do not receive ade- your governors’ conference, so that we may be able to impress upon the | quate wages. state executives the urgency of the unemployed situation, the condition o! the working masses and the necessity of enacting direct rellef and unem- ployment insurance bills to GO INTO OPERATION AT ONCE at the ex- pense of the employers and the government. the Plank in the democratic national This is in conformity with platform. “Trusting to hear from you by return mail as to the place and hour on Monday, March 6th, our delegation may visit you in Washington, we are, Yours, NATIONAL COMMITTEE UNEMPLOYED COUNCILS, I. Amter, National Secretary. Paper of Jobless In Latest Issue Scores Home Relief Espionage NEW YORK.—A special issue of the Hunger Fighter, organ of the Unemployed Council of Greater New York, is off the press today. The issue will consist of twelve pages, in- stead of the customary eight, and features the mass preparations being made throughout the City, under the leadership of the Unemployed Coun- cils, for the March 4th demonstra- tions and the Albany Conference for Labor Legislation. In the current issue there fs an expose of the provocative espionage system maintained by the Home Re- lief Bureau for the purpose of in- timidating, terrorising and deporting workers asking for relief. Positive proof of the fact that the City has fired many workers and hired others through the Emergency Work Bu- reau at slave wages is also printed in this issue of the Munger Fighter. Other special articles and features j relate the progress of the rapidly spreading rent strike movement in New York, of conditions under which workers are forced to live and work, and many other stories of pertinent interest to every class conscious work- er, whether he be unemployed today or not, Organizations are urged to send in orders at once, in order that wide- spread distribution may be effected before March 4th. The price for this special issue is the same as for the regular eight page issue, 2 cents per copy; one and one-half cents per copy for bundle orders. Send orders at once to 10 East 17th Street, Un- employed Council of Greater New York. Strike for Jobs Back at “Durable Slipper” NEW YORK.—Determined to win their jobs back, workers of the Dur- able Slipper Co., formerly the Fen- ster-Arnold Shop, which went into bankruptey and reopened under the former name, are on strike demand- ing their jobs back. The boss is threatening the strikers with an in- junction. All slipper workers are called upon to assist the workers in picketing. Address is 119 Wooster St., N. Y. BLOWN COLOMBIA SHIP TRACED HERE NEW YORK.—Saiurday’s capital- ist press despatches report the des- truction of the Colombian naval ship Narino by Peruvian bombers and the death of 32 sailors. The Marine Workers Industrial Union has sup- plemented the information of the boss press with the following: “The Narino was the former Seu Fox of New York, a yacht. She had lain in the Tiboe basin for years j until her purchase by the Colombian government last year. Her crew of former German naval servicemen was recruited from among the job- less seamen of New York. These men were procurred thru S. Appel, a Fulton street clothing store keeper and crimp. He sent the men to the Driggs Engineering Company where they were interviewed by former German naval officers and if accept- ed sent to the Colombian consulate where they were signed on for the Colombian Navy. One condition of the signing was that pay was to be held back for six months, “Before she sailed an anti-war demonstration mobilized by the Union and the Anti-Imperialist League was held. The ship bugler joined the demonstrators and later on the captain and third engineer left her, A wire was sent to Hoover demanding that he stop the expedi- tion. But he did nothing about it. ‘The fate of the men of the Flying Fox must be made widely known. Other ships are being similarly out- fitted for the undeclared bosses’ wars now raging in South America.” Communist Candidate for Mayor Gets 13 P.C. of Vote in Minn. Town BEMIDJI, Minn., Feb. 26.—In the municipal elections held here last Tuesday, E. W. Hannah, candidate for Mayor on a Workers’ Ticket en- dorsed by the Communist Party, got 294 yotes, or 13 per cent, of the en- tire vote cast, which registers a big increase over the Communist vote last November. Hannah came in second, if a list of three candidates running for Ms For any protest against such mise- table conditions men get fired. Hotel and restaurant workers! The only way to change this terrible op- pression of the workers, is through organized action of all the hotel and restaurant workers. heated ranges without ventilation. A notice has been posted on the blackboard of Bing and Bing, stating | that all mail addressed to employees | will be opened and read by the man- agement. Need more be said? Has serfdom been banished for centuries only to come back in a new form at the Taft, and what has| become of that great paper-docu- ment, the American constitution? We all grumble, but talk will not defeat the ghost of our misery, and| will not stem the insecurity of our jobs. Once for all let us leave be- hind the influence of the fake prom- | ises of co-operation. The hour has} struck when a worker must see the clear-cut line that divides us and our interests from the bosses. line marks the fighting front of the | proletarian against his oppressor.| Join hands with your fellow-worker | in the struggle for bread and secur-| ity. Join the Hotel and Restaurant} Workers’ Section of the Food Work- | ers’ Industrial Union, 4 W. 18th St., which wil} help us struggle against | these’ slavery conditions. REDU CING WORKING TIME | CREATES FALSE HOPES) NEW YORK CITY.—The Ameri- | can Hotel Association in its last con- vention considered the adoption of ways and means to relieve the un- employment situation. Several plans have been considered such as the shortening of the working hours to six per day instead of eight, or shortening the week to 5%2 or less working days. All hotel workers know that not only have their wages been reduced, but also their working time has been raised during the past year. Many hotels have only recently raised the working hours of engineers, firemen, painters, etc, from 8 hours to 12 hours per day. All this talk about reducing work- ing time serves only one purposé, to divert the minds of the workers from their immediate problems, and to create false hopes of getting a solu- tion of their problems from their bosses. It is high time that every hotel worker realize the necessity of organizing and taking action to better their own conditions as well as that of their unemployed brothers, Only the workers themselves can better their conditions thru United Action. The bosses are interested only in one thing, how to make Profits at the expense of the workers. A Hotel Worker. COMMODORE HOTEL WORKERS. Readers will find a statement by | & group of workers in the Commo- | dore Hotel on page 4. | Military Regime in Banquet Department of New Waldorf-Astoria NEW YORK CITY.— When the banquet department of the new Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was to be opened, the 300 waiters employed had to bring perfect dress-suits, which Paul the Crook (we call him this because he gyps us out of our tips) put under rigid examination. Those who passed deposited our food-handlers cards, paid $1.50 for six buttons, and then orders began to be sneered at us in real old Prus- sian military fashion. The dress re- hearsal a few days later resembled a military maneuver of the German imperial army under the command of Paul the Crook. He made us a speech, telling us how honored we were to be members of the staff of the great Waldorf- Astoria. After recounting to us the vast opportunities awaiting us (which turned out to be two extras from Oct. 1 to Jan. 25), the big door opened and slowly in walked His Majesty “Great” Oscar (the barber, as the waiters call him). Against our will we had to give thunderous ap- plause to this old hotel man—though some of us wanted to give him apple sauce. As Czar Oscar entered, Paul the Crook sank to his knees to greet his master. Then he rose and gave us the signal to sit down. Another lecture to respect and fear the executive of the great house. Collections, we are told, are unbe- coming, and we will be taken care of by Paul (who gyps us out of our tips). Then we had to to get up and give three cheers for Oscar, who was retiring backwards with a broad smile on his mug. There was a rush for our uniforms which almost resulted in a riot. The locker room is a long, dark corridor without afiy windows or ventilation, with papers and dirt covering the floor and cement dust on everything. Two men have to use one locker, just big enough for a pair of shoes and a hat. This must hold suits and overcoats of two men besides. We have to pay ten cents for the locker and ten cents for hanger and rack. Then came the rehearsal. We stood inspection by Paul, who found a thousand and one faults. We were driven to the banquet kitchen, form- ed three lines at each service table, and at the command of Paul, we were put through Kaiser maneuvres. The first line had to rush to the table pretending to pick up some dishes, and left face march, climb the stairs as fast as possible to the second balcony. Then the second line and then the third line. Paul and his captains stood with watches in their hands to see how fast we could make it. We were too slow and had to do it over again, with the threat that if we are not fast enough, another crew will be hired. We spent our time this way from 4 p. m. to 2 a. m. without pay or even a cup of coffe or a slice of bread. We have to go through a chain gang education to get a job. But what kind of a job? We do not make enough for ourselves, not counting our families. We work from 12 to 14 hours a day and they do not allow us to take anything to eat- not even a cup of coffee. The cap- tains and Mr. Backee collect the tips for us, and of course keep the | most of it, and we walk home with a dollar or two. The steady workers are working on the Share-ihe-Work scheme. Only through organization will we be able to force the bosses and their agents like Oscar and Paul to give us conditions and allow us to make our own collections. Fellow waiter and all hotel and restaurant workers. Join the Hotel and Restaurant Sec- tion of the Food Workers Industrial Onion, at 4 W. 18th St. CONSTANT WAGE-CUTS IN GOV. LEHMAN’S HOTEL NEW YORK CITY.—Although the wages of the workers in New York Hotels are at starvation levels, there are some, especially the larger ho- tels, that always keep slashing at the coolie wages of their employes. Particularly the Waldorf Astoria, Astor, Plaza, Savoy Plaza, etc., are the leaders in this wage cutting. A remarkable fact is that Gov- ernor Lehman is part owner of one of those that sets pace to all the rest of them in reducing systemati- cally the salaries of its slaves, This is The Barbizon Plaza. At this time of the year the hots? | the Phillipines are reported to have | Japanese Navy | ing Japan for its Manchurian aggres- | While Nanking Gov’t Sabotages Defense A Group oh the Chinese Volunteer Troops Who Are Putting Up a Heroic Resistance t o Japan’s Robber War in Manchuria and Jehol Province, while the Kuomintang Nanking Government Betrays Na- tional Revolutionary Struggle and maintains a huge army of 800,000 well-equipped troops, with fleets of bombing and combat planes against the Chinese Soviet Districts, | G U.S. MAKES NEW | JAPAN THREATS War Danger. Sharpens | In Pacific Area FROM PAGE ONE) | | (CONTINUED China against the Japanese threat, | declaring that the U. S. “henceforth | must play its full part.” Secret War Meet | On the same day, the U. S. Navy and Army officials in the Phillipines | held a secret conference, following the receipt of urgent instructions; from Washington to hold the U. S. | forces in the islands in readiness for | any eventuality. U. S. warships in steam up and ready to sail for North China at a moment's notice. This| follows similiar orders issued to the by Mineo Osumi, Naval Minister. Japanese reservists in the Philli- pines are reported getting ready to return to Japan. Unconfirmed re- ports declare that secret instructions have been issued to Japanese reser- vists in the U. S. to return to Japan for military duty. The Japanese Government has called additional classes to the colors within the past week, including thousands of youth. French Bosses For Japan The French Right press is defend- | ing Japan, with whom France has a secret military alliance, and attack- ing the U. S. charging the Wall Street Government with using the war debts as a bludgeon to force support from the European debtor powers for its drive for war with Japan, The Paris Le Journal des Debates predicts “dire events” in the Far East and declares: “the great future danger is an even- tual clash between Japan and the United States.” The Le Echo de Paris supports the Japanese conten-/| tion that world imperialism should recognize Japan as the policeman of the Far East, and expresses the fear that Japanese imperialism may break under its present “too exacting task” and go down before the revolutionary | Japanese proletariat thus strengthen- | ing “the revolutionary forces which are working in Asia.” A few hours after the League of} Nations made its gesture of censur- | | sions, Japanese troops captured the} city of Chaoyang in the drive of Japanese imperialism to add Jehol Province to its Manchurian loot. Capture of the city was preached by a murderous aerial bombardment in which death was rained indiscrim- inately against the civilian popula- tion and the volunteer forces defend- ing Chaoyang. FIND ARSON PLOT IN SOVIET UNION N. BUCHWALD (European Correspondent of the Daily Worker) MOSCOW, Feb. 26.—Fire broke out several days ago in the building of the Civil Air Fleet at Ustbolsheretzk, Kamchatka. Investigation _estab- | lished that the fire was due to ar- | son committed by the militiaman Trofimoy, who guarded the building, with assistance of another militia- man, Prygunov. The arson was com- mitted by Trofimov and Prygunov at the instigation of Selavanov, ware- house man who proved to be a former priest. | When examined all three confessed | they committed the crime upon the} order of a certain Japanese agent,| Kaisewa, living at Ustbolsheretzk. | When arrested, Kaisawa admitted | the truth of the statements by Sali-| vanov and the arrested militiamen, | | confessing he was ordered by 4 cer- | tain Japanese to destroy both the| base of the civilian air fleet at Ust- bolsheretzk and a number of other important state buildings. The exam- ination is continuing. business is at its peak, yet in that particular hotel, where his Excel- lency the Governor is one of the exploiters, the wages have been cut twice in the past six months, another cut to take place this month, and another is to be expected in May, when business gets slack. As it is, a mechanic gets 100-115 dollars a month, minus the ten per cent cut this month. A waiter gets 12 dollars a month, plus tips(?) A chambermaid getting 50 dollars a month now will get 45 dollars in the future. The tips are nil, perhaps enough for carfare. ‘This is the situation in an industry employing thousands of workers, where there is not the least sem- blance of organization. No wonder they are at the mercy of the ex- ploiters. But let me state in the end that although most hotel employes are foreign born, those that react most ler at the Socialist Party meeting o: militantly are the American born workers, = ALA. GOVERNOR GETS DEMANDS But Won’t E Ket for Job- less, Poor Farmers MONTGOMERY, Ala., Feb. 25, committee of Negro and white work- ers, elected by the first No-Discrimi- nation Conference in Montgomery in the heart of the feudal reaction, | visited Goy. Miller and the speaker} of the House to present the demands | of the poor farmers and unemployed workers. These demands include (1) | cash relief, (2) a moratorium on all | debts and taxes, (3) no attachments} of farms and work animals of poor | farmers, (4) free food, housing andj clothing for unemployed workers and | homeless youth, (5) free electricity and gas, (6) free seed for the farm- ers and croppers, (7) immediate re~- | opening of all schools, (8) full pay for the teachers and free lunches and | * transportation for the children, (9) no discrimination against Negro workers, farmers, croppers and their children, Pass the Buck The committee was “cordially” re- ceived by the governor who, however, remained non-committal on the de- mands, and suggested that the work- ers and poor farmers should turn to the “charity” relief doled out by the Red Cross, under conditions of the most brutal exploitation of the toil- ers through forced labor and othe! vicious schemes. Paxton, spokesmat for the delegation, denouneed the anti-working class schemes and red tape of the Red Cross and the Re- construction Finance Corp. The gov- ernor then tried to shunt the déle- gation to the State Assembly. Paxton denounced this as a maneuver to get rid of the delegation without doing anything for the starving unem- ployed workers and croppers and the impoverished small farmers, The delegation then visited the State Assembly, and saw the Speaker of the House, Representative Tun- stall, who admitted “we are all in a devil of a fix,” but gave the delega- tion no promise of relief, merely agreeing to place demands before the legislative committees. Communist Makes Address ! At the Thursday night session of | the conference, Nat Ross, organizer} of the Southern District of the Com- | munist Party, was invited to address | the delegates. He spoke on the role} of the Communist International and} its sections of organizing and leading} the struggles of the starving toilers | for adequate unemployment relief! and social insurance at the expense ; of the bosses and their government. Six of the delegates joined the Com- munist Party, while all welcomed the support of the Party in their strug- gles against the starvation and boss terror, GOERING FOR HIS MURDER DECREE Fascists Ban Election | Work of Opponents NEW YORK—‘“We madi in 1918” remarked an Itali the German situation in Town Hall) yesterday. He admitted that it was wrong to shoot down the workers and place the Socialist Party in a | position of defending capitalism. Other speakers talked of aving democracy in Germany,” while mitting that there is no democ under capitalism. Fifteen Hitlerite: sat in‘che meetir Captain Hermann Goering cist Minister of Interior for Prussia | yesterday defended his police dec- ree ordering the police to ruthless- ly shoot down Communist workers, declaring “I carry the responsibility alone. I am a soldier and have learn- ed that a mistake in choice of means is not so bad as omission to take any means. The blame which my officials ineurr is mine; when they shoot, that is my bullet.” He further declared that his decree recognizes two kinds of justice: one for the working-class and the other for the fascist and the industrialists: “I recognize two classes of men—those who stand up for their country (meaning the bourgeois state —Editor, Daily Worker) and those who want to destroy thelr country. On this question I have no objectiv- ity and, the word ‘justice’ is simply lost on me.” The police yesterday confiscated 280,000 election campaign leaflets of the Communist Party and issued a decree forbidding the collection of funds by workers for the Communist Party, thus attempting to cut off the Party's only source of revenue. Po- lice also seized Socialist handbills and banned a parade by the Reichs- banner called for Sunday, on the fas- | Scottsboro boy GUARDS JAIL BREAK STORY IS AFAKE Negro Prisoners Help to Expose Vicious Frame-up of Lad PROTEST TORTURE Prison Authorities In Plot; Held Up Letter ATLANTA, Ga., Feb. 25.— A letter describing the fram- ing of Angelo Herndon in the Fulton Tower prison on charg- es of attempting to escape, as an excuse for torturing him in solitary confinement, and a de- nial signed by him and his three cellmates, has been received by the International Labor Defense | here. The letter of Angelo Herndon, Ne- gro organizer of the unemployed whom the Georgia lynch bosses re- cently sentenced to 20 years on the murderous chain gangs, is an appeal to all white and Negro workers to defend him from these tortures. Al- though sent out by Herndon on Feb. 16, the appeal did not reach the IL.D. for five days, showing that he authorities held it up to prevent mass protests from immediately orcing them to stop their torture Herndon writes, in part: In Solitary Confinement “These dirty rats have me locked up in ‘solitary confinement.’ They came up to my cell last night about eight or ten times, and I thought e they were going to take me out for a lynching party. When they first came in my cell they pretended th were looking for hack-saws. But the couldn't find any. Then they took all my personal correspondence and went through it. I am not certain whether or not they stole any of it. “They found some little pieces of iron that probably came off some of the rotten ventilator pipes, and then said we were trying to make an es- cape. “They first put me In an old cell where water was running from an id rotten toilet pipeline, and when I reminded them of the stink in the cell, they replied ‘We don’t give a god-damn if you drown.’ they also threatened to put double shackles on all of us, and beat up one of the boys and told him, ‘Nigger, if you ever talk to a white man like that again I will go home and get my Winchester and blow your god-damn brains out.’ “I can’t even get any water or anything else in this ‘solitary con~ finement.’ “They finally moved me out of the first cell about 1 o'clock last night and put me in another one, where there are no plumbing fixtures or anything at all, and I don't know | how long they are going to keep me in here,” Only the most vigorous mass pro- test can stop this hideous torture of Angelo Herndon! Workers and their organizations are urged to immediately rush protest telegramis to Gov. Eugene Talmudge at At- lanta, Ga., and to the warden at the Fulton Tower, demanding a stop to the torture and solitary confinement of this working-class leader, Deny Attempt to Escape ‘The statement denying all at: tempts at escape, signed by Hern- don and three other Negro prisoners, Mose White, Richard Morris and Richard Sims, held under death sen- tences in the Fulton Tower death house, exposes the lengths to which Ree guards went to frame an “at- tempted escape” charge. It states, in part: “We emphatically deny all charges, Peau spread through the press and other sources, by the officials of Fulton Tower, that we attempted to | escape Thursday night, Feb. 16.” SCOTTSBORO CASE "100 HOT IN MONT. KALISPELL, Mont. Feb. 26.— Mark Boyd, Daily Worker agent here, was arrested for distributing copies of the Daily Worker of Feb, 13, con- aining the letter of Ruby Bates, state star against the 2 which she repu- diates her testimony on which the nine innocent boys were originally condemned to burn in the electri chair, The arrested workers are charged with distributing “indecent” literae ture” because Ruby Bates in her let- ter declares the boys did “not touch me,” thus shattering the last legal- istic pretense that the nine innocent boys had raped her, eo Plan to Delay Trial. | BIRMINGHAM, Feb. 26—The Ala- bama lynch bosses are forcing a poste ponement of the new trials for the Scottsboro boys to March 20, in order to develop their lynch-incitement campaign against the boys and to | put every possible legal obstacle in the way of the defense. Attorney General Knight has reversed his position that he would not oppose a change of venue for the new trials. He now intends to fight against such a change. Hearing on the I. L. D. motion for a change of venue has been set for March 6, before Judge Hawkins, who directed the original lynch hearings at Scottsboro in April 1931. At the same time, the lynch bosses are using pressure on Ruby Bates to discredit her letter in which grounds that the fascists have ar- Fanged a fermen = she repudiates her original y Menents ee SP te kaw da