The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 11, 1933, Page 1

os | | Protest Against U. S. Interven- | | tion in Cuba at Noon Today, | Broadway and Park Row | (Section of the Communist International ) vce Withdrawal of U. S. Naval Forces Party U.S.A. From Cuban Waters! a { | America’s Only Working | Class Daily Newspaper { WEATHER Eastern New York—Fatr Monday, Entered as secon New York, N. ¥. Vol. X, No. 218 -_—* d-class matter at the Post Office at , Under the Act of March 8, 1879; NEW YORK, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1933 (Six Pages) Price 3 Cents NEGRO PRISONER MURDERED ON WELFARE ISLAND San Martin Named of Cuba as Guns Face Masses President PROTEST AT, PARK ROW AT NOON TODAY Workers Hold Twenty Mills; Dreadnaught | ; Reaches Havana | HAVANA, Sept. 10.— The) provisional junta of five acting | as a government of Cuba at- | tempted to consolidate itself | against the growing opposition | of the Cuban masses to its im- | perialist policy by inaugurat- | ing Ramon Grau San Martin, | one of its members, President today. Behind a barrier of machine guns | the junta met in allrnight session, working out a policy. which it hoped would please the Roosevelt’ govern- ment, and earn it the permission to head off the intense mass revolution- Cuban Marines Cheer Sergeant ary ferment of the Cuban masses without the landing of marines from the American gunboats which form! a ring of guns around the island,| which>would destroy-its Remaieingy | with some of his men at Cabana Fortress, Havana, influence over the Cuban masses. Battleship Arrives. Just before they met, the USS. Mississippi, . first line battleship, steamed into Havana harbor, with its guns, capable of dropping shells at 13 miles, in battle position. U. S. NEW YORK.— A. mass\demon- stration and picket line will gather 'n front of the Federal Building, (the old postoffice), Broadway at Park Row, at noon today, led by Robert Minor, Communist Party candidate for mayor. The Anti- Imperialist League, and the Na- tional Student League, and the Communist Party were the first three organizations to take leader- ship of this demonstration. An appeal was made that workers pour | out in thousands. The Anti-Imperialist League call- ed a special meeting for tonight, & p.m. in its headquarters, 90 East 10th St. cruisers and destroyers stand menage ingly in every important harbor of the island, and eight Coast Guard destroyers are standing with steam up at Key West, 100 miles from Ha- vena. Despite the intimidation of the largest naval force the U. S. has mob- ilized since the World War, the re- volutionary masses raised higher than ever their demand for a determined fight to rid the island of American imperialism. Twenty of Cuba’s 180 sugar mills are in the hands of the workers, who have elected their own committees to run them. In every city of Cuba mass demonstrations against Wall Street imperialism are held, and thousands of armed workers and soldiers have announced their deter- mination to resist to the last the landing of any American forces, The Ala Izquierda, revolutionary gtudent organization, and the Anti- Imperialist League, called a mass meeting in Central Park, Havana, to demand the complete overthrow of American imperialist rule. Its mani- (Continued on page 2) ~ Sergeant ‘Angel’ Gonzales, new Leader ae General Strike of ‘Paterson Dyers Is Called for Monday 8,000 Already Out to | Picket Lodi Plant, | Employing 3,000 By CARL REEVE PATERSON, N. J., Sept. 10—With 8,000 dye workers already on strike and the strike rapidly spreading, the General Dye Workers Strike Commit- tee, 612 River St., together with the National Textile Workers Union, has issued a general strike call to all dye house workers for Monday morning. | The workers of all striking shops |are concentrating for a long picket | line at 6 o'clock Monday morning at the huge Lodi plant of the United Piece Dye Works, which employs | 5,000 workers, Meanwhile delegates | Were arriving today from Allentown, _Easton, New Jersey, Philadelphia, |New York, New England, and other silk centers, for the national open strike conference called by the Na- tional Textile Workers Union at 222 Paterson Ave, Paterson, Sunday night, to draw up the demands for the workers’ silk code to be presented to Washington hearings on Tuesday. This conference, called for members of all unions and unorganized work- ers, will issue a manifesto on the silk situation, “A general strike of all dye house printed strike call of the N.T.W.U. and the distributed in thousands of copies. “All dye workers—men, women, truck drivers and maintenance men, go to your shop Monday morning. Do not Close down the shop. Bring every {CONTINUED ON PAGE ® dyers’ strike committee, which has been | W@¥ go inside. Form a mass picket line.| the cit ‘1,500 Children Strike. ‘Against Crowding; Schools Face Crisis ‘Officials to Pump NRA | | Propaganda in Fight | Against ‘Radicalism’ NEW YORK, Sept. 10.—As the | bells sound for the re-opening of the city schools, 1,500 school children of the school district 95 at Sedgwick and | Gouvernoeur have declared a strike.. | They demand that the recently closed | Public School 95 be re-opened. The | City closed the school, pleading lack | of funds, Because of this not only | |are the school children forced to go | | to schools three quarters and a mile | away, but serious overcrowding has | | resulted. Bus fare costs $1.00 a month | under this arrangement. Start NRA Drive in Schools NEW YORK, Sept. 10.—The open- ing of the schools will be the occa- sion of a concerted drive to pump the 1,100,000 school children of the City with patriotic propaganda in favor of the NRA codes and against “radi- calism”, an announcement of Dr. William J. O'Shea, superintendent of schools revealed today. Telling of the plans that have been drawn up to enlist the 36,000 teach- ers in an NRA drive, O’Shea said: Private, and stitutions >..we should not in any encourage anti-social or anti- governmental demonstrations or doc- trines ...” The pupils return to classes more crowded than ever in the history of ity. The teachers return to @ Prospect of imminent wage cuta, Reports of a school crisis are com- ing in from all over the country. | will not readily give up. But more important still, control of Cuba means | economic and military control of the whole Caribbean area, control of | control of Cuba is of decisive importance in the battle for world-imperial- || Great Britain, A blow against American imperialism in Cuba weakens | the growing revolutionary movement there. This is why the United States head of the Cuban marine=reagy:/;} Hands Off Cuba Demand the Immediate Withdrawal of United States Warships! Give Active Support to the Revolutionary | Cuban Masses, Led by the Cuban Communist Party! | eel | (Appeal of the Central Committee, Communist Party U.S.A.) | THE Rocsevelt cabinet, acting for Wall Street financial interests, ts | striving by every means to head off and crush the rising revolutionary movement of the Cuban masses. The workers, poor farmers and Negro masses of the United States are in duty bound to fight agSressively against the imperialist policies of Roosevelt. It is our duty to give active support to the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom. sys oh 6 | ‘(ALL STREET is determined to continue its enslavement of the Cuban people. From Cuba the American capitalists reap huge profits which they important trade routes to South America and the Far East. Finally ist domination being ruthlessly waged by the United States, chiefly against Wall Street’s position everywhere. \ This accounts for the present desperate efforts of Roosevelt, to crush INVESTIGATION BY DAILY WORKER SHOWS VICTIM BEATEN TO DEATH; AFFIDAVIT BY EXANMATE BARES DETAILS OF ATTACK is now concentrating its battle fleet in Cuban waters. This is why the American Ambassador, Sumner Welles, gives direct and open aid to the | reactionary army officers and to all other counter-revolutionary elements in their efforts to confuse and crush the growing revolutionary forces. ioe United States ruled as long as possible through the butcher, Machado. When this was no longer possible Machado was thrown overboard and de Cespedes was placed in power. When de Cespedes could not end the | strike movement and halt the revolutionary upsurge of the totlers, the present Junta of five, claiming to be “a truly revolutionary government,” took power, and is attempting to secure the backing of the American unite all the countér-revolutionary forces for the 701 ‘the Cuban masses. ” Dr. Ramon Grau San Martin, a member of the Junta, is now made President; a Cabinet is set up; an attempt is being made to rally the ex- army officers to support Martin—all for the purpose of drowning the revo- lutionary mass movement, more-and more passing under the leadership of | the Cuban Communist Party, in blood. Only the Cuban masses, led by the Communist Party, are fighting against American intervention and for the national independence of Cuba. The American toilers must act, and act decisively! We must strive to prevent these plans from being carried through. , We mast strive with all our mass might to force the withdrawal of the American naval aH our mass might to force the withdrawal of Ambassador Sumner Welles. We must demand the abrogation of the Platt amendment, which serves as the cover for Wall Street's murderous enslavement of Cuba. We demand that Roosevelt withdraw all support from the re- actionary Machado-Cespedes-Junta cliques. Only a revolutionary government of the workers and peasants, a Soviet government, can free Cuba from imperialist domination and clear the way for a higher standard of life for the Cuban toilers. Only the Communist Party of Cuba, fighting with all its strength for the imme- diate needs of the masses, for their democratic rights, and against in- tervention, can lead the masses to the setting up of Soviets and to vic- tory over their native and foreign exploiters. We must give our support to the Cuban Communist Party. ‘The fight of the Cuban masses !s inseparably linked up with the fight of the American workers. Both are fighting against the same ex- ploiters. Both are fighting against Roosevelt’s “New Deal.” Tt is our revolutionary duty te support the Cuban masses. And we should re- member that their struggle and their victory weakens our enemies and strengthens us in our fight here. Rally to the support of the Coban people. Hold protest meetings and demonstrations in every city. Send telegrams and resotutions to Roosevelt. Demand hands off Cuba! Home Foreclosed; Kills Self GARY, Indiana—After working all Is To Stop Strikes) cary. oe yorking al @TO! s |age, Anthony Gatch, 50, lost it Robert Wagner heat of the Labor |through foreclosure. He moved to 1824 Massachusetts Ave. with his wife and five children. Gatch committed suicide Anti Fascist Collections pane All money, and material such as | boxes and lists which were taken by organizations or individuals in con- nection with the Anti-Fascist Relief pags i ‘Week should be turned new headquarters of the New York Committee to Aid Victims of German Fascism at 870 Broadway. Appeal of Wagner Saw Prison Murder “Negro’s Head Pounded by Jail Keeper Against Cement Floor and Wall,” Witness Swears “Daily” Lays Formal Charge Before District Attorney Crain, Demands Action By JOHN L. SPIVAK. Author of “Georgia Nigger” NEW YORK.—Murder, brutality and rampant crime on Welfare Island deliberately suppressed by | public officials have been uncovered by the Daily | Worker and evidence of them presented to Distriet | Attorney Crain for prosecution. | An eye witness to the murder of James Matthews, a North | Carolina Negro serving 90 days on the Island penitentiary, has | agreed to testify before the Grand Jury. | Affidavits regarding other suspicious deaths have been | secured from ‘several persons who signified their willingness to testify. | Matthews was beaten to death by a prison keeper shortly after 8 o'clock on the morning of Oct. 18, 1932, during one of | the frequent periods when the Island was torn by riots on the part, of the prisoners and viciousness on the part of prison | | | | | } navy. Welles and Swanson.are now attempting to find baprte ' e Shahian, whose sworn af- the murder of James Matthews on Welfare Islan@ Mark | fidavit regarding led to the investigation by the | Daily Worker. Affidavit Describes Deliberate Murder of Negro Prisoner Witness to Crime, a War Vet, Framed Up , for ‘Non-Support The startling and gruesome details | of the cold-blooded murder at Wel- fare Island of James Matthews, a | Negro prisoner, is given in the fol- | lowing affidavit by Mark Shahian, a witness to the crime. The affidavit follows: MARK SHAHIAN, being duly | sworn, deposes and says: | I reside in the City and State of | New York, and am 37 years of age. I am a citizen of the United States | and have been for many years past. In the year of 1917 I voluntarily en- listed in the military service of the United States for overseas duty in the World War and served in the United States Army until February 1919, when I was honorably discharged. I was: twice wounded in action. Dur- ing my. service overseas I received the Croix de Guerre from the French Government, and Sharp-Shooting and Victory medals from the Government of the United States, . In July, 1932, I received a prison sentence. of one year for the non- support of my wife and two children. I was framed up on that charge and railroaded to jail without being given the opportunity of obtaining counsel, because of my participation in the Veterans’ Bonus March to Washing- ton immediately prior to my arrest. I was taken to Welfare Island and (Continued on Page Three) Contribute to Daily Worker SATURDAY the Daily Worker began a campaign to secure $40,000 On; donations from its readers in order to guarantee the continued existence of the improved and enlarged Daily Worker. non-Party workers. °s $40,000 Sustaining Fund! Statement of the Central Committee of the At s time when, under the N.R.A., the lynch terror against the Negro keepers.. The reason for the attack upon him tow ill-to yet ‘upto work: was that he was iPrison Medical Examiner and Officials Join ‘in Hushing Up Atrocious Crime ‘The prison officials, fearful of the scandal that would result from pub- licity about the murder hushed up = ; the ghastiy crime . with a noncom- B| mittal certificate giving the cause of death as) “coma—from un- determined caus- es.” The Medical Examiner's au- topsy also hushed up the physical | condition of the} Negro with the bland . statement that “there were no obvious inju- ‘JOHN L. SPIVAK "!S-” According to the eye witness, Mark Shahian of 353 Beekman Ave., the Bronx, who was an inmate at the | time for non-support, Matthews’ head was pounded by a prison keeper against the cement floor and wall of |the penitentiary until he lost con- | sciousness. The Negro was then taken to Correction Hospital where | Cold-Blooded Murder 0 Described in Affidavit The Negro, whose skull was ap- parently fractured, lost conscious- ness. Nevertheless the keeper raised the limp body by his shirt collar shouting: “You black son-of-a-bitch! You dirty black dog! You can’t fool me!” | “While he was saying this he was | striking Matthews’ head against the | cement wall. Matthews then slump- ed to the floor without saying a word. He lay on the floor unconscious, his eyes still wide open.” The official records which the De- partment of Correction is trying to keep from becoming public show that Matthews was removed in an uncon- scious condition to Correction Hos- pital where, for several days Dr. George Gordon, chicf of the hospi- tal staff, and two other physicians tried vainly to revive him. The nurses’ and physicians’ records at the bedside disclose the sickening details of the Negro’s last agonizing days before he found a merciful death. Dr. Gordon attributed his death to “coma —from undetermined causes,” | and the other attending physicians, if they knew what was on the death certificate, maintained a discreet si- lence. The body was sent to the Morgue for autopsy but the Medical | Welfare Island. he died several days later. Efforts on the part of the Daily Worker to examine Matthews’ hospi- tal record and death certificate met with vigorous opposition from Com- missioner William J. Cahill of the Department of Correction, which has jurisdiction over the institutions on In_ the idavit Shahian signed, which the “Daily” forwarded to the city prosecuting authorities, he tells of seeing Matthews ill and unable to get up to work on the morning of Oct. 18, 1932. The keeper, accord- ing to Shahian, rushed over to the Negro’s bed and kicked Matthews in the groin, shouting: “Get up you black dog! fool me! Get to work!” “Matthews,” the affidavit continues, “rolled off the bed and lay without moving on the floor. The keeper went over to the other side of the bed where Matthews had fallen, gripped him by the hair (Matthews had long black hair) and struck Matthews head against the cement floor a number of times.” You can't f Defenseless Negro Is by Witness Examiner, too, failed to find any “ob- vious injuries.” Prison officials notified Matthews’ sister in North Carolina that she could claim the body, the Daily Worker learned, but the penniless Negro woman was unable to raise the money and the victim{was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave, The shocking story of the murder came to light when Shahian wrote a letter to the Workers’ Ri 3 ence Editor of the “Daily,” tellfi simply and apparently not r its gravity, how the prison had beaten Matthews to death. investigation to check on his was immediately begun by the Worker with the result that. tablished that Shahian was in penitentiary at the time of the al- leged murder in the section of the pen where the murder occurred. In addition Shahian’s other statements regarding incidents in the peniten- tiary, dates and other itmportant facts were checked and their authen- ticity ti “Daily” learned, had been sent to the Island for non-support. He is pa} ‘War Veteran, honorably disc! e and holder of the Croix de from the French Government conspicuous bravery in action. ‘An @ The Central Committee of the Communist Party fully supports this cffort. We urge all readers of the Daily Worker, all workers and farmers, and their organizations to respond quickly and liberally to this appeal. We particularly urge all leading committees of the Communist Party and all Party fractions and units to become the organizers and leaders of this campaign, working unceasingly until the full $40,000 is raised, . . . ° DAY, more than ever before, the Daily Worker is a necessity for the toiling masses of the United States. It alone exposes every new effort of the bosses to undermine the working and living conditions of the masses, or to take away their democratic rights. It alone points the way out for the workers—the daily struggle for their needs, the revolutionary road to Communism. It is the organizer and leader of the workers in their struggle for emancipation from capitalist slavery and misery. At a time when every other English-language newspaper, including even the press of the Socialist Party, unconditionally boosts Roosevelt's “New Deal” and conceals the disastrous consequences of this “New Deal” Communist Party, U.S. A. —the N.R.A—for the workers, the Daily Worker alone speaks out against it, bringing every day concrete facts to prove that the blue eagle sym- bolizes only new attacks on the workers. At a time when the whole capitalist world 1s feverishly preparing for war—for a war of intervention against the Soviet Union, for a robber war between the big imperialist nations themselves, for the bloody sup- Pression of the struggles of the colonial peoples for freedom, as for example the present massing of United States armed forces in Cuba—the Daily Worker alone brings forward the facts of these preparations and rallies the toilers for revolutionary struggle against war. ‘ * * . Av A time when the leaders of the Socialist Party and of the A. F. of L. have joined hands with Roosevelt in putting over Wall Street's hunger and war program, the Daily Worker patiently and convincingly points out this treachery to the A. F. of L. and Socialist workers, steadily win- “ning them for united revolutionary struggie with the Communist and masses, as the highest expression of the increased discrimination and persecution, grows, the Daily Worker alone rallies the Negro and white masses in the struggle for Negro rights, for an end to lyncking, for com- plete equality. * * * OTHER English newspaper in the United States gives such service poor farmers and the oppressed Negro people, Most effective instrument of the toiling masses. is entitled to thetr support; it must have their support to live. The Central Committee of the Communist Party urges every worker . Send donations according to your means—dollars, half~ dollars, quarters and dimes, Even small contributions from thousands of readers will quickly make up the urgently needed $40,000. Workers’ organizations are urged to send in substantial sums. We urge also that they arrange special affairs for the benefit of the “Daily.” Comrades, the Dally Worker ts your paper. It fights your battles. “The Face of the Keeper As He Killed Inmate Is Forever Engraved in My Mind” Shahian ed an affidavit testi- | engraved in my mind. fyine bs wide te. had wltnemed 404 “But it should not stated that he would be glad to ap- pear Attorney Crain | thews was a ‘workhouse member’ as and heii da. teats He added | some of the pomgre gs doagg = ct ,, because | WAS. Keeper. th 3 the Distr Attorney, cee : ted. tn binithowes" my Beciy ase O'clock on the 18th of October ) cr gabe hi on insist | tia. Reaper had ome, on duty St 3 . M. “ know the name “The officials should kechen i Killed ‘Matihews,” Shas | culty finding out who thet guard was hien said. “I was there only one|and I can identify him when I sre po ge ag aed pa curses a6 ray ec tena al ‘he Killed thet poor devil is forever! . (Continued om Page Three) Ss