The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 24, 1933, Page 3

. than 30 hours per week, but in no f , h | ighed and replaced by week work. 3— | Workers to be paid for lost time /nient to be provided by the em- DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, MONDAY, JULY 24, 1933 Wool and Ship Workers Resist Slave, Codes at Hearings WOOLEN WORKERS: GO TO CAPITAL T0 PUT DEMANDS Burlak Leads Group to| Expose Bosses’ Slave Code WASHINGTON, July 22—When the hearing on the Woolen Code takes place here today, Ann Bur- Jak together with a delegation of woolen and worsted workers from such important woolen centers as Lawrence and Providence, will ap- pear in the name of the National Textile Workers Union and present the union’s proposals as against the starvation code presented by the tex- tile employers. The declaration of the National | ‘Vextile Workers Union contains the | following statements: Proposals of the National Textile Workers Union - | (Presented to the hearings on the | Woolen Code of the National Recov- ‘ry Act in Washington, D. C., July 24, 1933.) “The woolen code proposed by the textile mill owners, if applied, will result in greater unemployment and mass misery. “The proposed minimum wage of $13 for the South and $14 for the North is a starvation wage so low that it is about $20 less than that rekuired by the conservative U. S. Department of Labor for a family budget which is necessary to keep a family in “minimum health and de- cency.” “In proposing a 40-hour week without guaranteeing any definite amount of employment during the year, or prevention of speed-up and streteh-out, the road is left clear for the employers to press as much and more production out of their workers in the shorter hours than they did in the longer hours. “While the code does prohibit em- ployment of thildren below the age of 16, it does not guarantee jobs for their parents or provide for the sup- Port of these unfortunate children who will now be fired and deprived of the pittance they earned to sup- plement their parents’ meagre in- come, in cases where there was such | an income. “On the question of the workers’ Yight to organize, the code repeats the general vague provisions of the cotton code and the National Re- covery act, setting up the govern- ment as the final arbitrator in all labor disputes, but does not guaran- tee the right to strike whenever the workers’ demands are not granted by the employers. “We submit the following propos- als for the woolen code: 1) That industry and the govern- ment assume the responsibility for one fixed minimum weekly and year- ly wage for every worker in the in- dustry, North and South. This to be guaranteed by providing that no worker shall receive less than 40 weeks work per year, and not less case more than a maximum of 40 hours per week. 2) That wages shall be set at a minimum of 60 cents an hour which would provide, as a result of the guaranteed working time a minimum yearly wage of $720 for every worker. Only such a proposal if embodied in the code would represent a minimum wage provision as against the present proposals which are a fraud upon the masses and guarantee nothing. 3) That where industry does not provide a worker with this minimum of yearly earnings, the government shall pay unemployment insurance equal to this amount; and for part- time workers the difference between this amount ($720) and the actual | earnings. Workers who receive more than the minimum wage at present shall be paid Unemployment Insur- ance equal to their presémt average wages, 4) That the average wages of workers at present receiving more than the proposed minimum, shall be increased by 35 per cent. 5) That wages shall be adjusted for all workers regularly as prices rise, so that there will be no lower- ing of the living standards of the workers due to inflation. 6) That women receive the same wages as men for doing the same work. 7) That the present health wreck- ing working conditions shall be im- proved: 1—By a 40 per cent cut in and machinery operated per . 2—That piec-work be abol- (waiting around for work, for sup- plies, repairs, etc.) at the regular hourly rate. 4—A lunch period of one hour, but in-no instance less than an hour be provided for every 6—Proper and sufficient sanita- ion and health protecting equip- 8) That the woolen code provide for democratically elected shop com- mittees controlled by the, workers themselves in all mills. These com- mittees to be recognized by the em- peli and are to deal with the in the enforcement of to any union of their own including Independent. Un- affiliated with the Ame ican Federation of Labor, the Na.tonal Textile Workers Ueraekt pee shall guaranteed. That the tht to whenever the workers’ de- M fre not otherwise granted Jhall fog ee stated and guaran- teed in the code. 9) That night work for women é ‘MOVIE WALK OUT ANN BURLAK PREPARED TODAY Sympathy ‘Strike Will Stop All Production HOLLYWOOD, Cal, July 23.— Technicians in all Hollywood's ma- jor studios are preparing for a sym- pathy strike unless the demands of the workers at Columbia Studios are met. Owners and directors here ad- mit that a walk out of all men would tie up the whole industry. The techniciafs comprise highly special- ized workers including soundmen, cameramen, carpenters, property men and others. The strike started two weeks ago when 400 sound men walked out after their demands for increased wages and better conditions were re- jected. Later they were joined by | 600 stage hands, camera men and other technicians who came out in sympathy strike. The Columbia stu- dios were compelled to cancel all contracts and cease production on all work. 7000 ATTEND UTAH COALMINERS MEET HELPER, Utah, July 17.—More than | 4,000 members of the National Miners Union marched in the Independence Day Parade, organized by the Union on July 4th. The parade which in- cluded members of the ladies’ aux- iliary and the youth’s section from all the mining camps in the Carbon County region was followed by a mass meeting in the park with sports and refreshments, At the mass meeting it is estimated that 7,000 were present. In contrast, the American Legion | parade in Price was composed of 12} Legionnaires, the. Elks, a number of | Price school children, two members of the Elks’ women’s auxiliary, and the: Carbon County High School band. Every member of the Legion in Help- er and the overwhelming majority of the Legionnaires in Price refused to participate in the official parade. It will be remembered that the mayor of-Price and a clique of Legionnaires have been threatening lynch terror against active workers in the National} Miners Union. The small business} men in the town have turned against / the mayor claiming that his policy| has hurt their businesses. | Members of the United Mine Work- | ers in Kenilworth have broken away! and joined the NMU with 120 already signed up. The National Miners Union expects to sign up UMWA members in the remaining strongholds, A resolution adopted at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce recent- ly, favored a policy of neutrality to the National Miners Union and left it to the miners to decide whether they want to join the National Miners} Union or the United Mine Workers. This indicates that the business men are helpless in the face of the tre- mendous mass support and confi- dence of the miners in the National Miners Union in this region, | mands: 40 hours. ‘PROTEST REFUSAL TO HEAR SHIP WORKERS ONCODE | Permit Powers to Read Demands Only, But Not to Hit Code NEW YORK.—A mass meeting of shipbuilding workers h2ld at Central Hall, Brooklyn, Saturday, wired a protest to Gen. Johnson “against the flagrant denial of the right to a fair hearing for our delegation.” George E. Powers, chairman of the delegation that went to Washington to oppose the shipbuilders slave code and present a code adopted by ship- yards workers was grudgingly al- lowed to present the demands, but was shut off when he began to at- tack the shipbuilders code. Deputy Administrator Whiteside, who presided over the shipbuilding | code hearings, reluctantly permitted Powers to speak but would let no other member of the delegation pre- sent the views of the workers, ‘The delegation consisted of George E. Powers, Al Andrasen, Paul Mar- tin, R. Hartz and Joseph Ward. Not only did the government rep- resentatives and the bosses do their utmost to sidetrack the workers’ del- egation, but the A. F. of L. leaders, A. J, Franklin, John P. Frey, and others, outdid themselves as part of their systematic betrayal of the work- ers’ interests in clamoring against the workers’ elected rank and file delegation, urging they be not heard. The delegation was told their names were at the bottom of the list, It was only when Powers jumped up and began to speak, despite the admonitions of Whiteside, that he was able to present the shipyard ' workers’ demands, but he was stop- ped every time he pointed out a joker in the bosses’ code. Powers was interrupted repeatedly when he presented the following de- 1) $25 minimum scale of wages for unskilled labor for a 6- hour day, 5-day week, with hours ‘specified, with scales for semi-skilled and skilled paid proportionally. Time and one-half for all overtime. Auto- matic wage increases to meet each rise in the cost of living. Abolition ‘of all pieee-work and sub-contract- ing. Maximum working week to be 2) 40 weeks work guaran- | teed per year. Those getting less to receive unemployment insurance at the rate of full wages, the cost to be paid equally by the company and the federal government. These and other demands were read, with constant interruption by Whiteside who ob- Jected to everything. The rest of the demands dealt with unemployment insurance, right of workers to or- ganize and join any union of their own choice, the right to strike and picket, no discrimination against Negro or foreign-born workers in being hired or in holding any job, including equal pay for equal work. All drydock and shipyard workers and other workers are invited to a mass meeting Wednesday, July 26th at which the delegates will report in detail on the shipbuilding code hear- ing in Washington, The meeting will take place at Central Hall at 8 p. m, under the auspices of the Steel and Metal Workers’ Industrial Union, Brooklyn Local. LONGER HOURS ON RELIEF WORK CLINTON, Iowa. — Unemployed Clinton men who have been made | to earn their doles by working on the roads and other jobs at 30 cents an hour will now have the chance to put in eight hours a day instead of six. They will be given one to three days work a week as before, | according to the size of their fami lies, The rate remains 30 cents an) hour, though Industrial Dictator Johnson has said in Washington that he thought 45 cents a fair minimum for American workers. The men are paid in grocery orders in- stead of cash, There are 1,102 fami- lies on relief in Clinton county, Also “Grant” 40-Hour By HERMAN MICHELSON (Daily Worker Special Correspondent) PHILADELPHIA, July 23.—Facing a situation throughout Eastern Penn- sylvania in which the workers are taking action into their own hands, and fighting toe to toe with mill guards and police to bar strikebreak- ers, the hosiery mill owners met hur- viedly last week at the Manufacturers and Bankers Club, and “granted” a 25 per cent wage increase, and the 40 hour week. One hundred and eight mills are in the agreement, which is an attefnpt to stave off organization of the work- ers, A 25 per cent increase would mean in the majority of cases a wage still far below a decent living stand- ard, How far the rank and file of the thus laid-off shall be provided full maintenance, at regular wages, by the industry and the government until they become old tnough to work, Young workers between the ages of 16 and 18 to be employed no longer than 6 hoursea day, 5 days a week and paid full wages in ac- cordance with the above proposals, 11) That Negro workers shall not be discriminated against and shall jhave the right to work at all occu- ‘pations in the woolen industry and enjoy all the provisions called for in the above proposals” Hosiery Mill Owners Forced By Strikers to Raise Wages Week; 108 Mills in Agreement, Attempt to Stave Off Further Organization workers are from accepting this con- cession was shown here at the Wal- burton Hosiery Mills, B Street and Wyoming Avenue, this morning, after the wage increase had been announc- More than 1,000 strikers and sym- pathizers stormed the mill entrance. More than 50 policemen were at the mill. When an autdmmobile with John Burton, one of the owners of the mill | tried to pass into the gate, the strik- ers surged forward. Shouting denunciations and calling for a union, the strikers leaped on the running board of the car. Police made a clubbing rush and beat the strikers off the car, then turned it and, forming a guard around it, rush- ed it to a police station to protect the boss. Strikers followed the car, hooting and jeering. One of the straw bosses of the mill, riding with Burton in the car, drew 2 pistol. A cop had the sense to take it away from him, after a struggle, and before many of the strikers had seen it. A dozen strikebreakers were rough- ly hendled and chased away as they tried vo enter the mill. A dozen fights with’ scabs were going on at once, | bilge the police not daring this time to attack the strikers, who kept a solid formation ‘tions of the U. T. W. declared the Fleeing from the Imperialists This Chinese mother is fleeing zone shortly before the Nanking leaders vaders. SALEM, Mass., July 23.—Over 1,200 voted unanimously to break away trom the United “extile Workers Union and to organize a union under their own control at a meeting held here Friday night. Ann Burlak, sec- retary of the National Textile Work- ers Union, helped the Pequot work- ers to draw up their plans for or- ganization. This action, it was pointed out, is a direct and severe hody-blow to the United Textile Workers Union, for this was their only 100 per cent or- ganized local in the country. The ; United Textile Workers Union heads had for a long time held it up as an example of the perfect functioning of the worker-employer cooperative Scheme, MacMahon Tries To Colleet On Thursday, the day before the meeting at which the secession was decided. upon, Thomas MacMahon, president of the U..T. W., came to Salem and ordered the collection of all back dues for the period of the strike. He also visited the Pequot mill management and urged them to make it compulsory for the workers to pay up their U. T, W. back dues. “Just let them try and collect!” was the answer, of the workers. Their meeting Friday night was strongly guarded to prevent U. T, W. officials from entering the hall, i Return U, T. W. Charter The meeting decided to sever all| connections with the U, T. W. and! to send the charter back immediately, This was in answer to its traitorous actions during the recent strike, when both the local and national organiza- strike “illegal.” Their new union is to be known as | the Independent Textile Workers | Union of Salem. | Important decisions made at the meeting include the following: that a j mill committee, with representatives ‘U.M.W.A, Councils Work Together |: (CONTINUED FROM. PAGE ONE) hundreds of unemployed miners in the lower anthracite area have demonstrated, and made it stick by live comes ahead of private property rights, The rank and file movement is the vital life force in the United Mine Workers of America here, just as the U. M. W. is the biggest organized force in the community. Eighteen locals of the 23 in Sub-District 3 were represented in the last Rank and File Conference. Monday there will be an Anthracite Bureau con~ coordinate the work of building the rank and file movement in the United Mine Workers of America. HIGH POINT, N. C., July 18.—All the seamless hosiery plants in this area remained closed today, as well as several furniture plants, following the strike of 8,500 workers yesterday. One mill that tried to open closed a half hour later, The full fashioned hosiery mills continue operations, however, as a result of the refusal of the leaders of the Am in Federation of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers to help in the struggles here for wage increases of 25 per cent, D. V. Bradley, leader of the Indus- trial Workers Asoociation, who was forced by the maas sentiment of the workers to call the strike, has been conducting secret Gonferences with government officials to try to find a way to get the workers back into the mills under the conditions desired by the hosiery manufacturers, Bradley got in touch this morning by tele- Phone with officials of the U, 8. De- | partment of Labor in Washington, but refused to tell what he talked about. Later, however, Bradley called off all strike meetings for 1,200 Oust U.T.W. from Pequot Mills in Salem Form Own Independent Union in Reply to U.T.W. Strike Treachery; Elect Own Officers ference in Wilkes-Barre to further | wit with SPURN A. F. of L. SOUTH BEND, Ind. July 17—A smashing exposure of the American Federation of Labor officia made here by workers of the Stud baker Auto plant when the off called a meeting to “orga workers in the plant. Ni worker signed up with the A. F. Two hundred and fifty work showed up in response to thi of leaflets that were circulated 2 the workers. That the company wa in back of the A. F. of L. organization drive was evident in the fact that no attempt was made to interfere with the meeting and over half the audi- ence- present consisted of foremen and higher Studebaker officials. The main line of the A. F. of L.| organizers’ speech at the meeting was} praise for Roosevelt whom he com- pared with Wilson as great labor or- ganizer, Workers should take the op- portunity to join the A. FP. of L. and pay the $2 initiation fee, he declared and then closed with a denunciation of the Soviet Union. ‘When questions were asked for, the workers proceeded to bombard the organizer. Worker after worker ex- posed the A. F. of L. strike breaking policies showing from their own ex- periences how they had suffered at) the hands of the A. F. of L. officials By skillful questioning the workers exposed the Industrial Recov Act and Mr. Roosevelt's “new deal.” When | workers finally rose indignantly and| demanded to know Why he had slan-| dered the Soviet Union, the worke! fatherland, the workers’ audience present burst into applause, and the | speaker was completely routed from every department, be elected} textile workers at the Pequot mills| immediately and that the present of-| ficials be elected for a three-month period only. The workers elected five officials from among their own ranks: Martin Tucker, president; Adelard Dumas, vice-president; Jack Cannif, Red Cross Promises | Supply of Forced | BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Reports are being circulated that the Red Cross nere offered to local business men that they would bring down the wage level of workers here to $1 a day. This proposal, it is said, was made when the Red Cross failed to reach | its quota in ths year’s drive for funds. They offered to business men to sup- ply them with workers at $1 a day if the difference between this scale secretary; Alice Burke, treasurer, and Wilfred Levesque, business agent. and the one they were in effect was turned over to the Red Cross, Transportation Workers Describe the Labor at $1 A Day | Page Three AUTO WORKERS = GLASS, SCOTTSBORO FOE, GIVEN RAILWAY MEDIATION BOARD POST BY ROOSEVELT Lynch Law Defender § tial” Mediator for Frank P. Glass, 7 member of the railway mediation board by Pres. Koosevelt. Advertiser which wrote shortly after ‘Now the State is the object of calumny because paper, the Montgomery (Alabama) the early Scottsboro trial Supposed to be “Impar- tailroad Workers 75-year old newspaper publisher has been appointed a It was Glass’ the trials were expeditious, and because great crowds of curious (!) onlook- ers attended them. Alabamians will surely make it harder to guarantee court trials of similar lers in the future.” (our em- phasis) This southern Bourbon then, attacks the defenders of the nine| egro Scottsboro boys and warns that in the future. Negroes will be |Negro Workers Win [Strike Organized by |Daity Worker Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. July 14 How a strike of Negro pea shellers was won through the organization | | activities of a “Daily Worker” cor- respondent was revealed in a let- ter received today. Negro workers | d to shell beans and peas were ing 3 cents a quart for 16 to urs of work a day. In this reaking work at long hours rkers eke out a dollar a deal ringing Roosevelt's new to the workers here, the emr declared a cut in the rate and refused to pay more than 2% cents a quart. Instead of docilely accepting the éut as the employers expected, | the workers, aroused to action, by | | the “Daily Worker” correspondent, | decided to strike for 5 cents a} |quart. Threats of terror, whip- | ping and lynching did not budge | them. After four hours the boss yielded and agreed to pay 4 cents a quart which the workers ac- | | cepted Efforts are now being | made to organize the workers in- | to the Agricultural Workers In-} | dustrial Union. Iron Fist in Slavery Act Company Union Is Rejected By San Pedro Longshoremen | | (By a Worker Correspondent) SAN PEDRO, Callf.—Mr. Hank, the well-known California A. F. of L. labor faker, came down here to extol the wonderful possibilities for the workers under this so-called Recovery Act. present at this meeting was not so the seamen and longshoremen present were unanswered. Rail Workers Killed’ ‘By Bosses’ Economy (By a Worker Correspondent) DENVER, Colo.—Information on a heavy rain between Palmer Lake and Castle Rock, Colo, was supposed to be given the train before leaving Palmer Lake. But no nightman was on duty at Castle Rock to get the line-up on weather conditions by the train dispatcher. This caused the freight train to run into a washout, killing six workers near Castle Rock, Colo., a short time ago, ~ Looks like these railroads are get- tng riage every day. fruit ick but the railroad company tries to hog it all, laying workers off every day for no reason at all. Race Discrimination on Panama-Pacific (By a Marine Worker Corréspondent) NEW YORK.—A wholesale lay-off of Filipino workers was made by the Panama-Pacific Steamship Co. in this port recently. Pgh departments re php pen engine ie aero and the ipinos, citizens of the United States ‘These Filipinos were employed by ability. This ig not the first time that the Filipinos Ameriean bourgeoisie. The Filipinos have been diseriminated against sinee Admiral Dewey entered Manila Bay in 1898. to this day, and Dourgeoise. as long as Filipinos te- as long as re main unorganized. But if the Pili- Lye will organize he ongattr dy iiosd beter will be Mehintow vee e the American workers and The response of the workers enthusiastic. The questions asked by The excuse was that he did not know any- | thing about the conditions on the | waterfront. Mr. Hank, I believe, is president} | of the State Federation of Labor of} | California. Now, the labor fakers| | are concentrating on the longshore-| men who constitute the biggest single| unit of our working class in this sec- | tion. A meeting was called at the} Marine Service Bureau, the “Fink Hall,” at which a committee of seven| was elected to confer with the bosses | on the kind of organization the| longshoremen should have. Reject Company Union, All longshoremen that are not registered at the Fink Hal and sea- Men were excluded. The organiza- tions offered to the longshoremen ere the Blue Book and the I.L.A, The i@ book union, which is known to the workers as the company union, was flatly rejected. Mr. Stein, the agent for the blue book from San Francisco, who is famous for col- lecting dues at the point of a gun, came down to speak for his union. One worker exposed him so bad that he had to leave without speaking. It was brought out by the workers that Mr, Stein always carries two guns in | his poekets whenever he comes to a meeting of workers, And he collects the dues at the point of a gun. The| worker pointed to the hip pocket of Mr. Stein, where a gun could be seen plainly. Stool Pigeons In Fink Hall The Fink Hall is hated by the workers, for it is nothing but a ship owners’ agency to beat down the workers. It is full of stool pigeons and any worker who is suspected of any radical thought is blackballed. The jobs are handed out only to favorites or those that can bribe the gang boss with a gallon of wine or whiskey. The longshoremen have been) forced to accept wage-cut after wage- cut through this agency. A leaflet has been issued by the Marine Workers’ Industrial Union, calling upon the longshoremew to join them. It was very well received. Many ‘of the workers are in favor of the M. W. I. U. Strike Lost Through Lack of Organization BUFFALO, N. Y.—One hundred of the 120 workers of the McKaig & Hatch Drop Forge plant went on | strike recently, but the bosses suc- ceeded in breaking up their ranks and getting them back to work af- ter a two hour strike. The three leaders of this spontancous walkout were immediately fired. There was no committee elected, no demands | worked out. , Attempts are being made now by the Steel and Metal Workers Indus- tiTal Union to organize the shop with the aid of the three workers fired out. The porns. ore ne approximate! cents an hour working 10 hots @ day, | plant for some time. t Layoffs in RR. Shop While Prices Go Up (By a Worker Correspondent) BOISE, Idaho—Commodities are really skyrocketing*in price here un- | der the New Deal, but all we know | of any rise in wages is what we read| in the capitalist papers about some other sections of the country. As one instance of the hands we are| drawing from the New Dealer, the Pacific Fruit Express car shops at | Nampa may be cited. Since the first of the year this plant has laid off 68 men, 28 on June 1st alone. There is a persistent rumor to the effect that when the| new railroad set-up is inaugurated, | the plant will be dismantled and moved away. A few years back Nampa raised | $35,000 to pay for the land on which the plant is built. This was pre- sented to the P. F. E, which is owned jointly by the S. P., the West- ern Paeific and the Union Pacific.| The S. P. is reported to have been | demanding the abandonment of the The Union Pa- cific now maintains only one through Passenger train from Portland to Chicago, the one other retained hay- ing been given a mixed status— carrying two or three box cars, one day coach and one Pullman, and running from Portland to Green River, Wyo. There has been a slight seasonal increase in freight traffic, due to the opening of the small fruit season and | shipment of early peas and lettuce crops, but this is hauled with 9,000-! type engines, in trains up to 150 cars —with the same old short crews used with 50-car trains. Layoffs In Hecla, 8. D. (By a Worker Correspondent) HECLA, S. D.—This little town has only one railroad, the Chicago & Northwestern, running through it, Formerly there were about half a dozen “section” men employed by the road to take care of the track near here. Now there are only two, and July 1 one of these was put on half time, showing how the new prosperity is. affecting the workers here. It is reported that men were laid off all along the line on this railroad the first of July. It is very evident that the rate of) pay for R. F. C. workers in this state depends on the organization or lack of organization of the workers, also on their fighting spirit. The rate of pay where there is no organization seems to be in most cases 20 cents per hour, In Aberdeen, where there is an Unemployed Council, the rate is 25 cents. The county commission- ers have tried to reduce it to 20 cents there, but mass pressure of the work~ ers has frightened the commission- ers into backing down, Recently two of the most active members of the Aberdeen Unem- ployed Council were fired from their R. F. C. jobs, but the rest of the men struck, demanded that the two men be rehired and won their demand. In Sioux Falls a militant Unem~- ployed Council succeeded in getting 30 cents per hour for the workers, in addition to some slop from a soup kitchen, but a clever offensive by the bosses against the workers and the Unemployed Council there has te@- porarily disorganized the workers, and on July 1 the rate of pay on R. F. C. work was reduced to 20 cents an hour. However, there some active workers there who 4re re- building the organization and will soon take the offensive again. Such attacks on@ who | cerni lynched before they receive trials, is expected to be an “impartial” me- diator for rail labor! And this comes closely upon recent revelations con- terroristic campaign against Negro firemen in Mississippi Roosevelt's appointment of Glass the g | shows the type of men being chosen | }on | |taken this talk to heart! |to decide the destiny of Negro and | white rail workers—a lynch law de- fender bringing with him all his prejudices. The Rail Executives “Reduce” Their Salaries The press these days is circulating ly repo that railroad presi- have untarily” reduced own salaries, both before and ter rail coordinator Eastman’s talk that subject in Washington, July And how these rail heads have For ex- | ample: Daniel Willard, B. & O. pres- |ident now gets only between $70,000 | and $80,000 a year after his cut. And eneral Atterbury, Pennsylvania has been reduced to the measly sum of between $100,000 and $109,000 against his former $150,000 yearly stipend! Tabulation of the salaries of the esidents of 10 railroads, including the two incomes L. F. Loree nets as | head of two roads, reveals that their |combined annual selaries, after re- | cont cuts, total $780,000. Among these roads are included N. Y, Cen- tral Lines, the Chesapeake and Ohio; Lehigh Valley; New York, New Haven & Hartford and several others. J. M. | Davis, Delaware, Lackawanna and | Western R. R. chief, has been re- |duced to a paltry $60,000 a year. |At the same time an Associated | Press reports dispatch on the Davis road that it is charged with “engag- ing private detectives to prevent ma- chinists, boilermakers, blacksmiths and electrical workers from. joining | unions.” This is labor's “freedom” to organize about which the Roose- velt demagogues are continually spouting. But the presidents need not be alarmed. according to Eastman, who | said in his speech, “The executives will have much more to gain by such an adjustment than they can pos- | sibly lose.” To which the rail owners solemnly answer “Amen.” For where are such salary reductions to go, who will “benefit by them? Will these “cuts” go to restore the 10 per cent wage cut; to provide unemployment insurance to the jobless rail work- jers; to furnish relief for part time | workers? Of course not. Rather they will |go to increase the profits of the ts oir | 14. ; owners, to swell their dividends pay- ments or, as in the case of the Bal- | timore and Ohio R. R., to increase | its control in other companies. New | York Times, July 15, reports that the B. & O. now owns 42 per cent |of the Reading Co. stock and is in Position to cash in heavily on this | transaction with a “market profit on the purchase nearly 100 per cent.” Rail Workers’ “Dividends” Some 40 railroad section laborers were found living in a “box car vil- lage,” on the railroad tracks at the northwest tip of New York City, formerly owned by the New York | Central. For food and lodging these rail workers have to pay $6 a week. But, remarks the N. ¥. World Tele- gram, “The railroad men earn 42 cents an hour. Many worked two days and less per week during the | winter.” Assuming they worked two | days every week, at 42 cents an hour |for an 8-hour day their earnings | would have amounted to about $6,72 out of which 72° cents would be left to pay for clothing, recreation, me- |dicine and the hundred and one other necessaries essential to workers! (Poor Mr. Williamson of the N, Y. ; Central, however, is also forced to “get along” now on a puny $66,000 @ year.) Only occasionally do reports of the plight of “employed” (i. e. part time) railroad workers appear in the press, Such an account appeared in the N. Y. Times in connection with talk ~ | of increased rail unemployment. The N. Y. Central, for example, jubilantly announces that during July, nine of its locomotive shops are expected to operate at an average of approxi- mately 16 days a month. At the same time, however, they are forced to admit that during March, eight locomotive shops operated at an aver- age of only 11.6 days per month. With mechanics and helpers ave ing around 60 cents an hour (with the 10 per cent cut) on the basis of the 8-hour day, this meant about $55 a month for those employed, But then, many worked only 5 days a month or so, which meant only $24 monthly. | __And the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. Rfl reports that locomotive re- pair workers at its shops in Cleburne, Texas, have been increased in July from two to three days work a week or to slightly over the N. Y. Central average for March. The highest esti- mates for repair shop workers give only 16 and 18 days a month as the period of employment during July. Most employed maintenance workers get much less work, Naturally, the capitalist ‘press picks up such scarce items for bally-heo in connection with alleged “recovery” propaganda Already many roads are giving “furloughs and reductions in com- pensation below the May level,” as is seen by the announcement that complaints of such practices are ex- pected to be filed with Eastman, the New York Times, July 18, 1933, an- nounces, So the “increased earn- ings” and “increased employment” bunk handed out by’ the employers is offset by such inadvertant ade missions