The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 18, 1933, Page 1

/ e¢ Toilers A Message for a Federal Sales Tax Roosevelt has just sent a message to Congress containing his pro- posals for a public works program and the “control of industry.” In this message, in which Roosevelt repeats his approval of the stag- Daily Roosevelt Orders Big Increased Funds to Army and Navy! ® SEE FARM STRIKE STORY ON *, PAGE 5 3 ger system in the form of part-time work at reduced wages, he lets it e r nist P, art u S. A i be decisively known that new tax burdens are being prepared for the q etJe © THE WEATHER toiling masses. mY Today fair; moderate temperature; fresh northerly winds, Under the guise of helping the unemployed, Roosevelt proposes a $3,300,000,000 public works program. Is Roosevelt's program a real public works program? Does it include the building of new houses for workers, of tearing down the slums, of building new schools and free hospitals? Not at all. Roosevelt's public works program, it has been officially admitted, will include large ap- propriations for the construction of battleships and bombing planes! Who will pay for this military public works program? Will Roose- velt tax the profits of the rich? Will Roosevelt tax Wall Street to pro- vide for the public works program? On the contrary. He proposes to make the working class itself pay for the public works program through &@ Sales Tax on the most elementary necessities of life. Roosevelt demands new taxes. He deliberately refrains from specify- ing in this message the kind of tax which he proposes. His silence on this point has a purpose. The purpose is to confuse and soften the oppo- sition to the Sales Tax. Roosevelt leaves the exact form of the tax to Congress. But he has already announced that he will not veto the Seles Tax, thus violating he of his major election promises. And Speaker of the House, Rainey, one of Roosevelt's closest advisors, and Democratic leader in Congress, has publicly declared that the Roosevelt public works program will in- clude “some form of sales tax.” Why then the complete silence on this question in Roosevelt's mes- sage? Why does Roosevelt harp on the “temporary” and “emergency” character of the new taxes? Why does he take special pains to urge that whatever “emergency taxes” are levied shall be withdrawn when “prosperity” returns? Why does Roosevelt suddenly introduce the ques- tion of the repeal of the 18th Amendment in the message as a substitute source for tax income? (Section of the Communist International) Vol. X, No. 119 Eniored as sosond-slass matter at the Post Office at GERM ew York, N. ¥., under the Act of Merch 8, 1878, NEW YORK, THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1933 CITY EDITION Price 3 Cents Hitler Calls for Redivision of Territory © VETS IN CAPITAL CONVENTION SPURN | ROOSEVELT FORCED LABOR PROPOSAL Adopt 3-Point Program of Action; for Bonus, No Disability Cuts, Relief for Jobless and Farmers; Disruptors Defeated WASHINGTON, May 17. — The Roosevelt administration today re- ceived the answer of the veterans to ;demands: for immediate cash pay- ment of the adjusted certificates; for postponement of the enforcement of country, the fact that out of 17 mil- lion unemployed, more than two mil- lion are ex-servicemen. The program “Prosperity” Bunk Is Answered iy 3199 TELLS REICHSTAG OF HIS “WARM GRATITUDE” FOR ROOSEVELT MESSAGE BERLIN, May 17—Today, in the| Reichstag, Chancellor Adolf Hitler | made a fighting spéech demanding | would be difficult for us to belong to the League of Nations any longer.” Hith defended thi murderous It is because he is here making a special plea for the passage of the | the proposal that they be recruited| the Economy Bill until the reconven- | also contained a clause energetically) *y bat saat oe the revision of Germany’s frontiers, | Storm Troops against riv countries’ Sales Tax. It is because he is attempting to disarm opposition to the | in the government forced labor camps| ing of Congress in December; and for | rejecting the reforestation camp,| % Eig fullest rights to re-arm, and threat-| charges that they are a military force Sales Tax by painting it as a temporary evil to be abolished by the future | When the vets, meeting in conven-|relief for the unemployed and the which was greeted with tremendous) yi/5 in Wee ectera ne at jening to break up the Disarmament | and appealed for their retention, ‘plipaing’ of prohibition repeal tion in the Washington auditorium,| farmers, moratorium on homes and | applause. The program pointed out Es = ae Conference and quit the Leagué of| since aim was exclusively the Pent PCE SeOmE EON FORO R adopted the following resolution by a| belongings of workers, and small| that the adjusted compensation can Fae Sate ber oe oe if Germany's demands Were | elimination of the danger of Com~ i - large majority: farms; protection of the savings of | easily be paid since the big tax payers S000 tn Booth et “ | munism. The Brown Army is an _ ‘The working class must organize the most determined opposition to me okied the depositors and Federal insurance einer Ae Crate seinen elena | emecmee Demanding the revision of the Ver-| educational i ution (!) bridging this Jatest Roosevelt attack on their daily standards of life, “This Convention will not accept! on unemployment for all. 11 billion dollars. Sellers pointed out| «/-Ws-—ie' Fiat omy B sailles Treaty, Hitlér said that “the|over class antagonism and reliev Workers, employed and unemployed, organized and unorganized, Negro and white, call mass meetings in every locality to protest against the sales tax and adopt resolutions to be forwarded to the eongressmen of your congressional district. Hold meetings of your organization and forward your protest im- mediately! Call meetings in your neighborhoods to demand increased relief and unemployment insurance. Workers in the factory—raise your voices against the sales tax which will drive down your living conditions. Only immediate mass protests and actions of the toiling masses will defeat the proposed sales tax. Send copies of all protest resolutions to the press. any compromise in the form of re- forestration camps as against the immediate payment of the Adjusted Compensation Certificates.” ‘The action of the men was taken in the face of persistent rumors that the government would. transform Ft. Hunt into a forced-labor camp be- ginning Monday if the vets do not accept the Roosevelt proposal. Later in the day—just prior to adjournment—the Convention by large majorities adopted the three- point program proposed. Presents Program. A program was presented by Sel- Jers of the Convention Committee dealing with these points, pointing out the situation generally in the that delegates were elected to the| Convention on the three points. He declared, “Any one not able to sup- (CONTINUED ‘ON PAGE 3) Picture of New York Times ar- ticle, telling of a wage increase in Norwalk, which is perfectly ex- posed by the Norwalk Worker Cor- respondent letter published below. Workers’ Letters Show Falsity of Boss Press “Prosperity” Talk lidea of revision is inseparable from |this treaty and its effects” and add- ed that “the more clearly state fron- | tiers are made to coincidé with eth-| nological boundaries, the greater the likelihood of avoiding future con- | flicts.” After this unveiled demand for the annexation of Austria and those part | of Poland and Czéchoslovakia in- |Germany’s claim for revision of the Polish frontier demanding “a solu- | tion in the East, both fulfilling the understandable claims of Poland and , taking into consideration the natural | |habited by Germans, Hitler outlined 2 the economic aistress of individuals (giving jobs to Nazi gunmen—Ed4.) Hitler also defends the Stahlhelm as being founded “to protect the Ger- man nation against the Communist Revolution, threatening ever since November 1918—a danger which other countries, not t ng had like our- ves, millions of organized Commu- ts, cannot perceive.” tler strongly resisted any endea- o include these gunmen as part of Germany's military effectives and also defended the establishment. of the Nazi auxiliary police, saying that | The three points are: (1) payment “this body was destined to replace 4, bonus of 5 per cent, Is this the mean- from ten to fifteen per cent, and|rights of Germany.” Hiding Increasing Misery With Prosperity Talk ‘The current "Rooseyelt prosperity ballyhoo is being issued for two pur- an expected “turn” that will never come, The capitalist press shouts about wage increases. But pierce below the surface of these announcements and what do we find? We find that the facts have been deliberately distorted by the capitalist press. For example, the capitalist press of the country is featuring the pay- ment of bonuses to workers in automobile plants, presumably based on veturning prosperity to the automobile industry. The Norwalk Tire Co. announces the payment of a 5 per cent bonus, as a supposed response to Roosevelt's desire for increased wages. But a worker in the Norwalk factory writes to the Daily Worker as follows: “IT have been working in this shop, the Norwalk Tire Co., for the last seven years. At the time I started to work here, there were over 1500 workers on three shifts at full speed. The average wage was about $30 a week. Since then, we have faced one wage cut after an- other. Last winter, we had a terrible cut of over 30 per cent, on top of previous cuts. Now, there are no more than 200 workers in the shop, all of whom are on part time. Our pay today is not more than $7 or $8 per week. It is upon these wages that the company offers us a 5 per cent bonus. Is this the meaning of wages going up, while we suffered a cut of over 70 per cent so far?” These conditions are to be found not only in the automobile indus- try, but in every industry which is, with such noise, reporting wage in- cfeases or bonuses. ‘The same conditions exist, for example, in the textile mills. Yesterday's paper features the news that the Amoskeag Manufactur- ing Co., one of the largest textile mills in the world, will raise the wages of its employees 15 per cent. The increase not to be effective for at least two months! What the newspapers do not feature is that this increase, which is promised two months from now, was preceded by wage cuts of from 20 to 42 per cent only a few weeks before! In another textile mill in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, a worker correspondent writes that the company intended to reduce workers’ wages 20-25 per cent. Instead, it cut their wages from 10 to 15 per cent. And this was loudly hailed in the newspapers as a wage rise! Roosevelt's plea for higher wages has, therefore, had the effect not of increasing wages, but of introducing more subtley and cunning into the methods of wage cutting. Wherever the capitalist class finds it ex- pedient for publicity purposes to raise wages, it makes sure to precede such minor wage increases by major wage-cuts, the net result being fur- ther slashes in the living standards of the workers. Close examination of the capitalist reports also confirms the fact that the so-called wage increases are confined to an insignificant number of workers, strategically chosen to give the impression of a nation-wide rise in wages. Letters from workers coming into the Daily show entirely different conditions, They show an increase in the intensity of exploitation of the workers through speed-up, longer hours, and rationalization, On top of this, they show that the wage-cutting drive which began under Hoover, has been intensified under Roosevelt, who set the wage level for the unemployed workers in the forced labor camps at $1 a day. Roosevelt's carefully engineered campaign to give the illusion of re- turing prosperity turns out to be fraudulent claims of wage rises, res- tricted, at best to a minute proportion of the working class. The misery of the working class is intensified by the recent sharp increase in the cost of everyday necessities resulting from the inflation- ary actions of the Roosevelt government, The merciless capitalist “scissors” of rising prices against declining wages, cuts more deeply than ever into the living standards of the people. ‘The toiling masses of the country will answer these efforts of Roose- velt to drive them still deeper into misery and hunger. In all the shops, on the railroads and transport systems, the workers must rally to fight against Roosevelt’s Wall Street program. At every relief station there should be organization and action for continued and increased relief. Under the following slogans the workers must organise against Roose- velt's hunger program: 1. For increased relief and wages to meet inflation prices! 2. Fight for immediate relief and Unemployment Insurance! 5. Against relief cuts! Against wage cuts! Against forced labor! - For a public works program to tear down the slums, to build san- llavy houses and free hospitals for the workers. Unemployed workers em- ‘ored on public works to be paid regular trade union wages. 6. Tio use of all war funds for relief and unemployment insurance. %, Housewives! Organize and fight against rising prices! bis ~ ae of the adjusted compensation certi- ficates (bonus); (2) no reduction in disability allowances; (3) adequate relief for the unemployed and the farmers. While the men were discussing the steps to be taken to win their fight, wagon-loads of Washington police were pouring. into the basement of the converition hall. Vote for Program. On the question of the payment of the Adjusted Certificates—this was unanimously adopted. For postpone- ment of the enforcement of the Economy Bill, at least three-fourths in favor. For the third point, ade- quate relief for unemployed and farmers, four-fifths in favor. A fre- mendous demonstration followed the voting. As a result of this situation, the disruptors, finding themselves dis- credited, bolted the convention with about 100 men, They declared they would not return to the camp but would sleep in the park. The majority group at the con- vention put forward these three chief | MEETING TONIGHT OF YCL, YPSL MEMBERS ON UNITED FRONT Tonight at 7 p. m. (yesterday’s| |pmnouncement incorrectly stated | 8 p. m.) at the Stuyvesant Casino, Ninth Street and Second Avenue, a citywide meeting at which C. A. Hathaway, district organizer of the coon Party is to speak nung = é : ussion meeting. | all young Communist, — jialists, and the mem-— of the Young Circle League the International Workers Order youth branches to attend this very important meeting. Riis z8 Conference Tonight To Aid Nazi Victims NEW YORK.—The New York Committee to Aid Victims of Ger- man Fascism has called a conference for tonight at 8 p. m. at Irving Plaza Hall, 15th Street and Irving Place, to organize the united forces of unions, shops, workers mass organ- ization and professional groups for the relief campaign. The conference will discuss the organization of mass protests and demonstrations against the arrival to the United States of Goebbels. The arrival of this Fascist murderer cannot go unchallenged by the workers and intellectuals of the United States! It is urgent that delegates from every organization be present. All unions, A. F, L. locals and sym- pathetic organizations are urged to send their delegates to this con- ference, which will be the final mobilization for the tag days to be held on May 19, 20 and 21, to aid the victims of German fascism, NORWALK TIRECO. WORKER ANSWERS THE N. Y. TIMES Go, % Bonus Comes’ on Top of Wage Cuts of 70 Per Cent | fis | SOUTH NORWALK, Conn.—I have ; read in the capitalist press that pros- perity is coming, that many indus- tries are opening, and wages are going up. This because of the Roosevelt policy. How funny it looks! Among the industries who announced raises | in wages is the Norwalk Tire Co. But | to hear of what is going on in this shop, may surprise you. I have been working in this shop, | the Norwalk Tire Co. for the last) seven years. At the time I started to work here, there were 1,500 workers | on three shifts at full speed. The| average wages were some thirty dol- lars per week, Wage-Cut After Wage-Cut Since then we have faced one wage cut after another: The workers have been reduced to a starvation level. Even this last winter we had a ter- | tible cut of over 30 per cent. There | are now no more than 200 workers in the shop, and we are on part time. Our pay today is no more than seven or eight dollars a week. | ing of wages going up while we suffersthen it is announced in the news- Hitler démanded the disarmament | a cut of over 70 per cent so far? We have tried to organize in a union several times, thinking we could ward off these terrible blows. ‘We Must Organize The.workers will not be deceived by-the lies of the capitalist press that prosperity is returning. Only the Daily Worker, as the workers’ paper, is e: such lies. To get better! conditions we need to organize and fight. The” bosses never were and never will be generous to us, but they are our enemy as a Class. Therefore; we should organize and fight against the Roosevelt policy and for the right to live. —P. ANNOUNCE WAGE INCREASE. DENIED (By a Worker Correspondent) E. GREENWICH, R.I. — On the twelfth of May, I read that the East | Greénwich Mill here was the first | one in the state to raisé the wages | according to President Roosevelt's advice. This morning I met one of the workers in that mill, and told| her what I had read. | The answer I recéived was in sub- | stance this, I have seen that in the | Papers too; but the truth is that| we have got from a fifteen to aj ten per cent cut. A féw weeks ago) the mill was closed and then the workers were informed that when called back to work the wages would A 70 Per Cent Cut and a 5 Per Cent Bonus ‘Yes, this company has given us a be from twenty to twénty-five per cent less. So the wages are cut By C. A. HATHAWAY. Article I Norman Thomas, most voluble spokesman for the mis-named “mil- itants” of the Socialist Party, would | have it appear that he favors accept- | ance by his Party of the united front | proposals made as long ago as March 29th by the Communist Party. In | the “New Leader” of May 6th, follow- ing out his recent weekly custom, he comments “favorably” on the united front, on that occasion as follows: |. “The immense May Day outpour- ing of workers on Union Square was a sight to lift up the heart and | ake one rejoice. It was by far | fhe largest crowd which yet has | gathered in that square, Evidently the workers are beginning to un- derstand what the triumph of Hit- lerism in Germany means if it spreads ’round the world. Not the least gratifying feature was the ab- sence of the old slanderous Com- munist attacks, and the better at- titude of the Party toward united action on specific matters. I am informed that in New Haven and one or two other towns where the local Socialist Party tried a united front demonstration of one sort or another all went well. This makes my proposal that our Na- tional Executive Committee should appoint a sub-committee to deal with the Communists on the whole matter.” (My emphasis—C.A.H.) Socialist Party Rejetced United Front Offer Since this article appeared rumors have it that the Socialist executive has taken his advice. According to press reports the National Executive Committee of the S. P., meeting in Washington on May 6th—-12 days ago, | Erie, the “Daily Times” and the “Des- | jin | wages. papers that thé wages have been|of Germany’s rivals or if they | raised. Well this is the way the |fused to disarm, then full rearma- “Forgotten Man” is remembered. j|ment for Germany, including air- | = | planes, tanks, heavy artillery and) Laid Off After 15 sane Years... Work; Hitler Praises Roosevelt Message Reads) Hitter welcomed President, Roose- | About. “Prosperity (By a Worker Correspondent) 99, velt’s. message, saying that “ft obliges ERIE, Pa.—Recently thé papers in the German Government to express | its warm gratitude.” After this |thanks for Roosevelt’s aid to Ger-| many’s arms demands, Hitler ex- pressed Germany's desire to revive | thé dormant Four Power Pact first | proposed by liussolini and Mac-| patch Herald,” spilled a lot of ink on} ar ene Hetuve of Promeriiy (Donald for the linking of France, | They lied to us about the increase | Italy, reas oon z ha i agreemen| maintain a new status exp legy 78d. /the = rathe | quo based upon revision of the Ver- | Him off |Sailles Treaty in favor of Italy and |Germany. Hitler specifically said “I| jagain wélcome in behalf of the Ger- | man Government the far-sighted | scheme of the head of the Italian | Government.” Hitler expressly threatened thai Shout Prosperity But Lay Now I am sending to you the en- closéd letter I received from the Bucyrus Company which manufac- tured steam shovels, just when all the publicity about wage-raises began to be put in the papers, After 15} years work with this company, they |Gérmany would break up the Dis- “remove my name from thé rolls,” |afmament Conference if its demands as they put it. My group insurance | Were overruled, saying “any attempt | policy is also cancelled. But they |forcibly to impose regulation upon | tell me to be “cheerful.” , [Germany by means of a simple} “ on |majority against the clear méaning Eee eet ra there nae 500 |0f the treaties could be dictated only | men working for this company here, | PY the desire to induce us to leave Now there are only 100, and these | the Conference. .: workers are cut in wages time after| “The German people however has time. And by the way, this company enough strength of character today has thé 6-hour system, the system | not force cooperation upon other na- that everybody is talking about. 1 tions in such a case but to draw the sure can see that if this 6-hour day | Mly possible consequence, although is put into effect with the tendency | with heavy hearis.” of cutting the wages as they do, most| To this Hitler added an open threat of us workers will be working for less | to leave the League of Nations: “As than a dollar a day, a continually defamed nation, it that part of the police which seemed | less reliable.” After Hitler finished his speech, the Reichstag unanimously adopted a joint motion to thé effect that “the Reichstag approves the declara- tion of the government and whole- heartedly supports the government on the equality~eft-rights. which is de~ cisivé for the nation’s destiny.” The Associated Press reports “there~ upon all of the parties including the Socialists voted for the resolution.” The A. P. also says, “When the Chan- cellor finishéd his speech which last- ed an hour, the whole house arose spontaneously and sang ‘Deutchland Ueber Alle Litvinov’s Definition of Aggressive Nation Adopted at Geneva GENEVA, May 17.—At its final session today, the Security ion of the Disarmament Conference adopted the Soviet definition of an aggressive nation The definition defines a nation to be an aggressor: 1) If it declares war. 2) If it invades the territory of another state without declar- ing war. 3) If it establishes a naval blockade. 4) If it bombards the terri- tory of a neighboring state. If it lands or establishes naval, land or air forces on the teritory of another state with out permissi Why Does Mr. Thomas Make Gestures for a Uni CAN IT BE THAT HE IS ONLY BLUFFING THE WORKERS? munist Party. No such decision, how- ever, has been conveyed to us. Neither have we seen strangers prowling) around our offices who might by any chance be such a committee. Maybe they have lost their way somewhere between the Rand School and our offices, The only word we have ever re- ceived from the Socialist Party was @ letter dated April 17th (quoted in| full in the May “Communist”), cate- | gorically rejecting our offer for com- mon action to rally mass resistance to Roosevelt’s attacks, to fascism, and to war. Subsequently, the Socialist being carried the information that decision had been made by the narrow margin of a 6 to 5 vote, with the Thomas “militants” casting their votes for “negotiations” with the Communist Party. If a reversal of this decision has now been made, |. e., if the Thomas proposal for “negotia- tions” has been adopted, we will have plenty of time to discuss it in our press when we find out what they want to “negotiate.” Here we are concerned with the reasons for Mr. ‘Thomas’s advocacy of the united it. With Thomas United Front Only a Maneuver Does Mr. Thomas really want a united front of the workers—Commu- nist, Socialist and non-Party—in a joint struggle for their needs? We would like to believe that he does, but we firmly believe that he does not. ‘With him talk of the united front is only # manenver to deceive the work- appointed a sub-committee to confer with a similar committee of the Com- | ers. ‘This, we believe, is: borne out by his own writings and actions, In a letter written to the Socialist | front demonstration of one sort or N.E.C. during the early part of April; another all went well.” Showing quoted in full in the May “Commu-| again that the Socialist and Commu- nist”), he had the following to say as| nist workers, both confronted with to his reasons for supporting united| the common desire to struggle, have front. ‘negotiations’ with the Com-)|no difficulty agreeing on “honorable munists, “I have recently been traveling rather extensively in New England and elsewhere,” said Thomas, “and know that in our own Party and outside of it we shall suffer very considerable harm if we can be made to appear to be blocking any kind of united front action. Frank- ly, I am skeptical whether the Communists will undertake united action on honorable terms. But for the sake of our members, especially our younger people, it must be made obvious that it is they who sabotage the united front, and not we who d’sdainfully reject it.” (My em- phasis—-C.A.H.). As to “whether the Communists will undertake united action on honorable terms,” we will comment a little later. Here it is sufficient to say that those socialist workers who participated in the “Free Tom Mooney Congress’’ in Chicago had no difficulty working with the Communists; on the con- trary, they left Chicago more firmly convinced that a united front was not only necessary, but easily attain- able by the workers. In fact, Thomas refutes the very basis for his own pro- fessed skepticism when he says (in the first quotation cited above), “I am informed that in New Haven and one or two other towns (we could cite a dozen towns—C.A.H.) where the local Socialist Party tried a united \terms.” These, they can always settle lon the basis of full proletarian dem- | ocracy. | “Negotiations” to Prevent United Action But to return to Mr. Thomas. In his letter to the N.E.C., he favors united front “negotiations” because |“in our own Party and outside of it |we shall suffer very considerable) | harm if we can be made to appear to be blocking any kind of united) front action.” So to avoid the appearance of opposition to the) | united front, he proposes to ma- |neuyer a bit. He proposes to “nego- | tiate.” In his words, “it must be made | obvious that it is they (the Commu- |nists—C.A.H.) who sabotage the united front.” His reason, then, for “negotiatons” is not to achieve united action of the workers, but to endeavor to fix the responsibility for failure on the Communists in order to pacify the socialist workers who are in revolt against the reactionary class-collab- oration policies of the Executive. | In the May 6th article quoted above, | he shows still more conclusively that, for him, the united front of the work- | ers is only some kind of a maneuver. “We cannot afford to be outma- neuvered and made to appear in the role of those who reject offers | | of a united front,” says Thomas. | ¢ ted Front? — sues is made impossible it should clearly be by Communist action,” For a Policy of Struggle Against Capitalism But Jet us emphatically inform Mr, Thomas and any other interested | parties that, for the Communists, the united front is not a maneuver. We proposals openly and clear- muage every worker could understand, As for “negotiations,” we also made our position very clear. We do nob propose to permit the socialist lead- ers to “negotiate” us into accepting nt anti-working-class policy Thomas himself is forced to (New Leader, May 6th) that nt policy is a “not too well collaboration with old line parties (Republican and Democratic —C.A.H.) and indifference on the part of Socialists, in the unions and else where, to the interests of socialism.” He goes even further and admits “that most of the guns of the (So- admit cialist) fort seem to be trained om Commu rather than the hosts of capitalism.” We do not intend to accept such @ policy. We propose a policy of active mass struggle against capitalism. “The negotiations between the parties concluding such (a united front) agreement,” declares the Communist International, “must be based on the most elementary pre= requisites for a common fight, Without a concrete program of ac= tion against the bourgeoisie any agreement between parties would be directed against the interests of the working class.” In a second will deal with other phases of position of the Socialist Party, article tomorrow, we the and If a unitéd front on such is- | partigularly with that of Mr, Ni Nar Laet a