The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 18, 1933, Page 3

DELEGATION TO SEE THE PRESIDENT ON SLAVE CODES ¢ Families Hungry in Mine Strike Area; Rush Funds GALLUP, N. M—‘“The terror in the Utah and New Mexico coal fields compares to the terror of Harlan and Bell Counties in Ken- tucky,” an International Labor Defense organizer on the scene of the strike reported. ‘The strike is 100 per cent solid, but the relief situation is very grave. Many families reported hungry today as the relief station is now completely empty. Success of strike depends on relief. Rush funds for relief and de- fense today to: Relief Committee, Miners Union. Box 218, Gallup, New Mexico. National Arrest 3 in Gallup Strike; Threaten to Deport Mexicans Bar Miners from Own Homes on Company Land; Make Protest GALLUP, N. M—Three more strike leaders, Pat Toohey and Bud and Martha Roberts, were arrested in the mine strike led by the National Miners’ Union in an effort to break the strike. Toohey is well known among the miners in the East and has participated in numerous coal strikes in Pennsylvania and Illinois. The Mexican Consulate has been put completely at the service of local U, &. officials to help to defeat the miners. Since 73 per cent of the men are Mexicans, the consul was expected to gain sufficient influence and as a last resort to use the de- portation threat in order to break the strike. But all these maneuvers met with failure. Although General Woods, head of the National Guard in Gallup, prom- ed the miners’ committee that men ving in the camp could go freely ) and from the camps without in- erference, it was reported that .50 trikers were refused permission to ‘eturn to their homes in the camps after a mass meeting. The troops informed the men they had “orders” not to admit any one who was not at work. All those on strike, the troopers said, could not enter com- pany property. Most of the strikers have their homes on company prop- | erty. A mass committee was elected to demand of General Woods that he change his orders to the guard and permit the miners to return to their homes. ‘Troops this morning gave chase to ® young Mexican miner who has earned the name from his fellow- workers of “little class struggle.” He is hated by the operators for his fearlessness and militancy. He escaped injury, however, being able to run faster than the ‘troopers. Bill Reese, organizer of the United Mine Workers of America, is busy- ing himself with aiding the coal op- erators. Repeatedly, he tries to drag in the “red scare” by accusing the National Miners’ Union of getting orders “from Moscow.” But these ef- forts to defeat the strike have been unsuccessful. EL PASO SENDS AID EL PASO, Texas.—Food and funds to aid the 1,000 families involved in the miners strike in New Mexico was collected by the Miners Committee for Strike Relief. A permit from. the Mayor for a meeting on Cleveland Square and for the collection was re- ceived with the aid of Michael I. Kustoff, International Labor Defense (Continued from Page One) tration a bitter controversy is going on over the codes. The deputation contends that the President himself is direetly responsible. 2, In spite of the language of the law, actual attempts on the part of workers to organize are met in the vast majority of instances by dis- crimination and attacks by gunmen, police, calling out of troops, ete, In view of his own statements about the | gravity: of the national emergency, the President cannot evade the problem by saying that it is a local or state question. 3. The deputation will demand a clear and unequivocal statement from the President outlawing com- pany unions under the Recovery Act. 4. In view of such statements as the recent edict of Grover Whalen, N. R. A. administrator in New York City, to the effect that N. R. A. abrogates the right to stvike and peacefully picket where an employer has signed the code, as well as state- ments by the President himself, the deputation will demand from the latter a clear statement that the right to strike and picket is in no way affected wnder N. R. A. 5. A declaration that the employ- ment of labor spies and private po- lice and for coercing workers is against public policy, will be asked. 6. A definite tendency is seen to wipe out T. U, U. L. and inde- DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1933 Dunne on Delegation to Put Demands to Roosevelt, pendent unions. The deputation ie lieves that the workers would be best | served by one powerful fighting in-/ dustrial union in each industry. It| fs, however, opposed to forcing the | workers by means of the check-off | or any other device into some par- | ticular union. It will demand con- demnation of all efforts to coerce | workers to join some particular union, and that where there is more | than one union in a given situation both majority and minority groups | be represented in negotiations and in the application of collective bar- | gaining provisions of codes. 7. Negroes as usual are subject to| special discrimination. There are many instances where, when the minimum wage provisions of a code have been put into effect, Negro workers have been laid off and white workers put in their place. The dep- utation will insist upon measures to prevent such discrimination. | Furthermore, there are a consid- erable number of A. F. of L. unions | which by constitutional provision or otherwise bar Negroes from member- ship. The deputation believes that unions under N. R. A. should be forbidden to exercise any discrimination against workers on grounds of race, color, nationality or political or religious affiliations and will demand a dec- laration to that effect from the President. NEW YORK, Sept. 17—Jacobs and Son Shoe Co. of 78) Wythe Ave., Brooklyn, has signed up under the shoe code but these are the condi- tions under which 1,400 harassed men, women and children labor in this in- dustrial inferno: Salaries for the 14, 15-year old chil- dren who constitute the main body of the employees range between 70 and 80 cents a day. One 15-year old boy who had work- ed in the plant for two years was fired September 5 because he declined to do two hours of the illegal over- time work. Under threats of imme- diate dismissal Basch, the superinten- dent compels workers to come in for overtime Saturdays and Sundays, hiding them in the washroom while the inspector is being entertained. Although 8:15 A.M. is the official starting time power is switched on at 8 and anyone not at the machines is immediately fired. During the recent hot spell water ran out on the upper floors. Women were fainting and begging to be al- lowed to leave the building to recu- perate but no permission was grant- ed. An old unused faucet was finally opened up but the water proved to be undrinkable because of the pieces of rust which wouldn’t stop coming. Workers who passed out were revived and sent back to their post. Men and women use one washroom on some of the floors. Faulty plumb- ing causes filth to ooze through to rooms where people work. Floors have not been washed since time im- memorial. Vermin and lice can be seen crawling along the cracks. These and other conditions have been reported both to the Department of Health and Mayor O’Brien. The letters remain unanswered and no inspector called. Our informant was on the verge of tears as she told the story of her brother who had worked in the fac- tory ‘for 18 months and lost 40 pounds. He’s a family man and can’t quit. “Anyway, you can’t use the name of that place as reference any- where. That’s the sort of reputation it has. “People tried to organize the shop attorney. but gangsters were hired to beat Brooklyn NRA. Shoe Factory Is Inferno for 1400 Workers them up and now there’s a whole crowd of dicks and private spies cir- culating to put down any sort of organization. But those workers are so disgusted they're ready to walk out any minute if only someone would help.” Nominate Powers C.P. Candidate for Queens Borough President NEW YORK.—George E. Powers, militant fighter and trade union lead- er, was nominated as Communist candidate for Borough President of Queens, at an election conference held last Sunday at the Finnish Hall, Jamaica, Long Island. Irving Schwab, International Labor Defense lawyer in the Scottsboro, Tallapoosa and Tuscaloosa struggles was nominated for city judge. The delegates to the conference also unanimously endorsed the fol- lowing candidates for local office. Dora Jones—County Clerk. Irving Schwab—City Judge. Assembly David C. Pisoni, 1st Assembly Dist.; Helen Schneider, 2nd Assembly Dist.; Booker T. Morgan, 3rd Assembly Dist.; Jim Holmes, 4th Assembly Dist.; Chas. E. Archer, 5th Assembly Dist.; Greta Kronfeld, 6th Assembly Dist. Alderman August Henkel, 58th Aldermanic Dist.; Teofil Meller, 58th Aldermanic N. Napoli, 60th Aldermanic Dist.; George Willner, 61st Alder- manic Dist.; Tom Lewis, 62nd Alder- manic Dist. Carpenters Compete For ‘Daily’ Campaign ‘The Carpenters’ Opposition Group 2717 challenges the Carpenters’ Op- position Group 2090 to see which group will raise the most funds for the Daily Worker. Opposition Group 2717 plans an early affair for the “Daily.” It has already raised $7 of its $20 quota, The Carpenters’ Group The Bank J ust Couldn’ t Wait. Fred Hitchock, of Danvers, Mass., with two of his seven children as M they sat among some of their belongings. They were evicted after a bank foreclosure on their mortgage. years, waited in vain for the loan for which he had applied from the Home Loan Bank. Hitchock, unemployed for two (Contindeall fee Bae One) ° the codes make it illegal for the} workers to strike, but demands they stay on the job while a compulsory| arbitration board, consisting of two) representatives of the bosses, and one| of the UMWA “discuss” the workers grievances. When these grievances} are discussed, and a decision made, the workers must abide by it for a period of six months. At that time, they are not allowed to strike, ac-| cording to the law, but must wait again for the compulsory arbitration. While this appeared in the prelim- inary draft of the coal code, it has now been greatly strengthened. Strikebreaking Provisions “All of these strikebreaking and com- pulsory arbitration methods appear in the code under Article VII, entitled “Administration,” section 5, “labor! relations.” Paragraph A of this section, pro- vides that all controversies must be submitted to special bodies set up to handle them. Then Section B reads: “Any such controversy which can- not be settled in the manner so provided and which threatens to | interrupt or has interrupted or is | impairing the efficient operation of any mine or mines to such an ex- tent as to restrain interstate com- merce in the products thereof shall be referred to the appropriate bitu- minous coal labor board, established as hereinafter provided, and the de- cision of said board shall be ac- cepted by the parties to the con- trovery as effective for a provisional period of not longer than six months to be fixed by the board.” In plain English it means, the min- ers if their wages are cut, or if their union is attacked, or even if the pro- visions of the code are violated, are not allowed to strike but must sub- mit to a board in which the opera- tors and their government have the last word. Section C, makes the anti-strike or- der even more oppressive. It says that while the board is discussing the controversy the miners must submit to existing conditions, saying “Neither | party to the controversy shall change| the conditions out of which the con- troversy arose or utilize any coercive or retaliatory measure to compel the} other party to accede to its demands.’ In short, the miners must continue to slave under existing conditions, without using their organization to win their demands. This is a com-| plete outlawing of the right to strike and every other right of the work- ers, and strives to make entirely 2090 is urged to accept this challenge. | UMWA officials, are the very indi- | crease hours without increasing pay. | $5.63 (for Montana alone) for inside | than they are, worthless any organization of the miners. Finally, under this set-up, the code| provides for a bituminous coal labor board to be set up in each district. They are to consist of three mem- bers chosen as follows: 1) By the coal operators, 2) By the President or the NRA, 3) By organization of the workers (in practice, officials of the} UMWA, the very same betrayers who helped to,write the code.) Nothing could be more disastrous for the miners than to have their fate rest in the hands of such a clique in each district. Definitely, two of the members of the labor board in whose hands rests all decisions are bosses’ men, and the third, the viduals who tried to break the last two strikes of the miners, and prom- ised them that the code would give! them all the demands. The operators and the UMWA offi- cials had very little conflict over wages and hours, as these are set low enough to continue the present star- vation pay, throughout the entire soft coal fields of the United States. Whereas the preliminary code pro- vided for the 36-hour week, the code | finally adopted sets the 40-hour week, and eight-hour day rate, with plenty of loopholes for the operators to in- A special provision is made for indi- vidual agreements at Separate mines, allowirig the operators to fix hours as they wish, depending on the resistance of the workers. The code definitely states that the 40-hour week is “not thé minimum.” Wages are ranged from $3.60 for so-called outside common labor, to skilled workers. Sixteen districts are set up in which the wages are ar- ranged to suit the operators. In the largest district, known as district A, covering Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michi- gan, and the Panhandle of West Vir- ginia, wages are set at $4.60 a day for “skilled” workers, and $3.60 for |. common outside laborers. This means that the minimum wage is $3.60, and the operators des- ignate, who is “skilled” and who “un- skilled.” An hourly rate is also set, so that by the stagger plan the nres- ent wages can be cut even lower In many districts the present | weges of the miners, won through | strikes and organization, as those in the Utah and New Mexico coal fields through the National Miners’ Union, mre cut through the coal code. The warning to the miners by the National Miners’ Union that John L. Lewis and other U. M. W. A. offi- cials, through the coal code negotia- tions, are preparing a drastic attack against the miners is fully borne out. LETTERS FROM WORKERS IN ROOSEVELT’S FORCED LABOR CAMPS ISick Men Forced to Work at West Yellowstone Camp ‘WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont., Camp 1249.—All sickness or ailments that the men complain and suffer of in our, and in other camps, are put off in just mere words. The doctor claims that most of the men are malinger- ing and just natural shirkers, These attempts are to force the men to work Militant Fight Wins Right to Promised Holiday NEWCOMB, N. Y., Camp 19, Co, 270.—A riot occurred here on Aug. 31 when the camp authorities ruled against the day and a third holiday which we had been accustomed to receive This sudden ruling hee @ shock to us. The following night indigna- | tion meetings were page which ended with shouting and the destruction of the camp street signs which are named after the officers. The next morning the men in mass descended upon the officers’ tents and de~ manded to see the order from Wash- ington which deprived us of the holi- day, Naturally, they couldn’t find it, The men whistled and booed and shouted epithets at the civilian boss, Mr. Hobbs, who was really instru-| mental in all this. Captain Field then phoned for the State Finally the captain ordered all men who refused to work to step forward. No one did, knowing that if they did they would lose a full month’s pay. We went to work, but all that we did was make all the motions of working, lifting our picks and shovels| supposed to and dropping them into the void, | That night the captain came to (us and after a few remarks, to save his face about the morning’s demon- ‘|stration and that we wasn't in the least frightened, said he had decided with the civilian engineer to allow she men their well-earned vacation. TNo Extra Pay Given Labor Camp Youth for Fighting Forest Fire (By a Labor Camp Correspondent) CAMP 122, TWO MEDICINE LAKE, Mont—tI have just been dis- charged from Camp 1220 of the ©. C. C., located at Two Medicine Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, on charges that I was spreading Com- to| munistic talk around camp and in- citing the boys to refuse to go to work for $1 a day. The conditions at this camp are terrible. The grub isn’t fit for a hog and they make you get on line for it. There are no sanitary features to the camp. We wash our mess kits in dirty, soapy water, Some weeks The fellows have struck against the rotten conditions already on ac- count of having to eat corn (canned horse meat) for 17 straight days, We fought a 4,800-acre forest fire on the Blackfoot Indian -Reserva- tion the other day for four days straight, working 16 hours per day. ‘We were involved in several danger- ous situations which called for ex- Perienced fire fighters. However, we recetved no extra pay for overtime, although regular fire fighters are get 35 cents per hour out in this neck of the woods, I am convinced that the C. C. ©. will sooner or, later be conve Into @ regular arm of the army forces, Most of the fellows in this camp ‘are from Buffalo, N. Y, ago the entire camp had diarrhea,| train, against their will. The education is still of the cheap®. variety, given by the officers and | visiting clergymen for the officials’ ; Purpose, not that of the men. The clengymen praise the officers to the heavens. The bread that we have received lately has been green-moulded. The hardtack, that we have eaten, and what we expect to eat again on the when we go home, was made in 1916 and 1917. We eat this hard- tack when we are short of bread. The rest of the food consists of raw cabbage, beans, stews—almost every- thing of the cheapest variety. . 8 6 The officers used to eat in the same mess hall as the men, but now eat by themselves due to dissatisfac- tion and ill-feeling arising among the men at the difference in their foods. . 8 «6 Put On Fight for Inspectors The food is as usual, no change, excepting a few days in which in- spectors arrived, whose coming they Knew in advance and on those days, they gave us good food so that the inspectors are satisfied, The medical attentions are still in poor condition. I have heard by word of mouth from other camps, that deaths that could be prevented by the doctor have happened. The stomach disorders are still numerous. Dollar Fines The slightest shirking of work brings dollar fines, o 8 The Daily Schedule We awake at 6 o’clock and stand in line till 7 o%lock, At seven we have our breakfast. We then line up at 8 o'clock and go to our work details. At 11:45 we stop and wash up and then line up for lunch, From 12 to 1 o'clock, we have lunch. Then from 1 o'clock to 3:45 we work again. From 3:45 to 5:30, which is our din- ner hour, we prepare for it, the din- ner, From 5:30 to reveille in the morning, the time is our own to do as we wish, but we usually go to sleep, as there is a lack of things to do. The men in charge of the work are mostly Montana men, who are un- der the forest service rules. These men are trying to work us to our limit to carry out the projegt. About 30 of the men have left. Many of the men who dared to open their mouths as to the conditions, have received dishonorable discharges The demands presented by* the tional Miners’ Union at the W: ington hearings for a $6 a day sca as minimum for six hou @ guarantee of 40 weeks’ the year, were rejected. Several of the demands of the M. U., however, were included in t code, but even these are e by the set up of compulsory arbi ing and the eee apparatus in | N. ns in the code are: Tonnage to be based on 2,000 to 2,400 pounds, though no scale is set for] tonnage, the operators having the| right to fix the rates on the basis| of the starvation day rates; min to be paid twice a month by or checks; miners do not have tol! in company houses; nor are they re- |, quired to trade at company stores. The code provides that | Hurricane S Coast, Convict Man in Murder of on MEXICO, D. F.—2,000,000 dollars Page Three Sweeps pee 2 Drowned, One|bittsburgh Strike pag iY Storm Shuts All Cleaning 2 and Dye Factories 2,000 Out Solid for _,_| Union Recognition, path of the| ° lly under| Higher Pay between} | PITTSBURGH, Pa., Sept. 17.—With every cleaning and dyeing plant in the industry here shut down tight ‘wo persons were wned and a third in the hurricane which swept the usually high tides reased the damage een | Site the j=} e storm nd New Jersey have| and 2,000 workers striking for higher pitol lent rain-storms! wages, every effort of the NRA of- of | ficials, tlle Chamber of Commerce and the mayor to break the strike inde has failed. ; The workers are determined to win ‘old- | their strike, which is led by the 'ch- Cleaners’ and Dyers’ Union. _the Negotiations are going on with the ‘win, | bosses and the strike committee, in- atre, d be put back an| cluding officers of the union, Mice Saving Time.| “Thus far the bosses have agreed hilip ving the time | to recognize the union, but are at- da this year j tempting to classify 70 percent of Otto jthe workers as unskilled, while the ving union declares 90 percent are skilled and and should be paid according to that ing, hurricane | Uns. Ned North Caro- Miss Pitt of the U. S. Labor De- ‘ode ia coast | Partment was sent down by the NRA the d to hit New York | t “mediate” the strike. ome on Sunday. The workers declare they will not not , go back to work until all of their on- >] demands are granted, and as every non il Mai Plane La anit plant in the city is tied up, the out- Jout -|, CLEVELAND, O.—A fog that rolled | iogk is that the strike will end ina am, : from Lake Erie swallowed up a| victory for the workers. ios 3 work, and| Mall plane bound from Chicago to = Mleveland early today and no trace i ne or pilot has been found. ‘Signature Drive ==: . on, wr Boston Slow = SAN JOSE, Cal—David A. Lam- mm s n ow ™m w don a charge of for >, in their Stamford | BOSTON, Mass—Boston district of seq campus home. The jury | the Communist Party points to the my. commended the death penalty. alarming slowness with which sig- .* . . . natures needed to put the Party’s its Storm Ruins Banana Crop. candidates on the ballot have been 14 The ©. P. calls on all its members and sympathizers in Boston and vi- ° cinity to immediately cut down 2# many hours of meetings as possible _ and throw all their energy into the ‘ signature drive. ne coming in. Workers may get signature peti- tions at the New International Hall, suffered near Tampico where ns were killed during the rricane yesterday. Tux- ot Tampico reported Many houses and flat and ships were y battered, but there derground, and those under 4 2 ae are many ways to get a | Erie to Ban Wooden Cars. Youth Center, 35 Westminister, st ,| TRENTON, N. J.—Wooden cars in| South End; Russian Club, si > oS, Ses al te dey to be signed today | New Jersey are to be discontinued. |ford St, West End. is the second Monday after its signa-| | he | ture. 23 Besides dealing with wages and| |i 6s ‘ ne hours, the coal code provides a whole | Register Now for Fall Term! ied scheme of price raising to increase | a oy “ins fw WORKERS SCHOOL: |not give up their rights, but con- “4 |tinue the strike until an agreement | CLASSES IN id is made directly with the companies Principles of Communism Sociology-Psychoiogy id and the strike committees. Political Economy Historical Materialism le wlll Cone On da ecoenitién | Marzism-Leninism Science and Dialectics st Throughout the past two strikes the | fg Ttade Union Strategy History of Class Straggle ly U, M. W. A. officials have exposed | Mm Negro Problems Revolutionary Journalism i | their unity with the operators, and/f Organization Principles Revolutionary Theatre . the immediate necessity of the miners| MM Agrarian Problems English and Russian Languages | — | is a powerful opposition against the History of the Russian Revolution ik pas EEE IH ae. OE History of American Labor Movement it Classes Fill Up Quickly. Get New Descriptive Booklet, ) REGISTER NOW! 6 WORKERS SCHOOL, 35 E. 12th STREET, 3rd Floor 4 up the right to strike, or leave. their fate in the hands of the bituminous labor boards. More than ever independent organ- | _ PHONE: ALGONQUIN 4-1199 HARLEM BRANCH WORKERS SCHOOL if Registration now on at 200 WEST 135th ST., ROOM 2128 ization of the min freed from the bet the U. M. W. A. | necessary, The tional ers Union from the very beginning of the strike exxposed the betrayals of the | Lewis machine, fought in Washing- ton and on the picket lines in a united front struggle for the miners’ | demands. T 7 >". U. is com ‘oper- | ating and fighting with the opps | ticn forces in the U. M. W. in order to defeat the new slave ia of Roosevelt, Lewis and the coal op-| erators. | All He Got in Camp Was a Sore Throat (By = Worker Correspondent) AUBURN, Wash.—The following is| a true account of the experience of one of the CCC Camp recruits. He is a friend of mine here in Auburn: He is unemployed, has a wife and two children and was formerly a tel- ephone lineman ex-navy man. Arrived at camp 3, Carbon River, Rainier National Park. It was raining, no tents, no shelter or food. Well they did have a “tarp” about 1 am. Trucks came with tents so they work- ed at night pitching camp. The food was terrible. Corned beef, spuds, water.. Officers mess in plain sight with beefsteak, fresh fruit, veg~ etables, coffee, sugar and whatnot. This worker caught a bald cold and sore throat. Went to the camp doctor at sick call. The doctor sent him back to his tent for the day. Camp Commander Carl E. Berg saw him and ordered him back to the doctor again. After a whispered con- ference with the camp commander, the doctor, Lieut. J. B, Johnson, or- dered him back to work. This worker was sick and refused to go back to work so was given a drumhead court martial and discharged, He came to Auburn to see a doctor and it has cost him most of what he earned to get rid of his sickness. The bunks in the camp must be made up so they don’t show a wrinkle. “The old army game.” If they don’t |*Dishonorable Discharge” For ~ fetting Sick: By a Labor Camp Correspondent YUCCA CAMP No. 5, KAWEAH, Cal.—Our work is widening a moun- tain trail and in the line of duty a numbér of boys contracted “Poison Oak,” and another skin disease called “Scabies.” Because of insufficient medical treatment, these unfortunate | chaps underwent many painful nights. The past few meals we had was beans and spaghetti. One member, John Martin of | Cincinnati, O., suffered a broken ear drum and was supposed to get a “medical discharge,” but the captain, seeing him in his tent, said to go to work or be given a “alshonorable | discharge” for refusal to work. Another member, Luther Noe, of Hamilton, O., had a cancer and after | they would or could not cure it, forced | upon him a “dishonorable discharge” | for refusal to work. Another new member of the com- pany, a Californian named Eller, suf- fered a rupture and was told to re- port for regular duty or be discharged | dishonorably, Help improve the “Daily Worker.” send in your suggestions and criticism! suit, you can be fined $3 or $4. This and lost their home relief for their families in the bargain is thought to be a graft, as the full Pay comes from Washington, \ Let ws know what the workers in — shop think about the “Daily.” bebebbebdbhbbbb bbb bb tt Php bet tb Pt bb PPP PPE Ph hb bh td Meet Your Comrades at the New--Modern-- Up-To-Date ALE RAIL BAR AND GRILL 106 East 14th Street Between Fourth Avenue and Irving Place WHERE YOUR NICKELS AND DIMES BUY THE MOST PURE FOOD AT PROLETARIAN PRICES KING’S BEER ON DRAUGHT OPEN DAY and NIGHT