The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 6, 1934, Page 1

War Is Near! Help Fight It! Get Subs for the “Daily” ee Daily <QWorker CENTRAL ORGAN COMMUNIST PARTY U.S.A. (SECTION OF COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL) ————————————————eeee AMERICA’S ONLY WORKING CLASS DAILY NEWSPAPER Vol. XI, No. 32 =_* New York, N. ¥., under the Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Act of March 8, 1879 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1934 WEATHER: Fair, Warmer. (Eight Pages) Price 3 Cents TAXIMEN REJECT LaGUARDIA’S PLAN; CONTINUE STRIKE Washington Unemployed Convention Delegates Force C. W. A. Concessions Mass Delegation Forces Interview With Hopkins Seventy Four Delegates | from CWA Jobs Blast Roosevelt Relief 2 HOUR INTERVIEW Demand Tinmiediate Ae- tion on Workers Jobless Insurance Bill By CARL REEVE WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.— Forced by the persistent de- mands of 74 delegates to the National Conven‘ion Acainst Unemvloyment, all of whom were C.W.A, workers, Federal | Relief Director Hopkins was finally forced to see all 74 delegates today and listen for two houcs while the delezates mado their demands fe- C.W.A, jobs and for adequate relief. Hontins locked the nicturs of abject helplessness as he dropped at a des! on the niuth floor of the Walker- Johnson Building, and heard the damning indictment by Phil Frank- fela, leader of the delegation and the other delezates of his and Pres- ident Roosevelt’s relief and C.W.A. Policies and actions. , Fonkins mode rvomises of “ex- ploration,” of “investigation,” of look- ing into” ell grievances, but be be Turn to. page three for more un- ermloved news. Si more will be publ'shed tomorrow. : evaded ony direct answer to the del- egates’ questions. Hovkins definitely stated to ‘the Daily Worker later that “I am not advecating any more appropriations than thet for $950,000,000. I do not believe relief will solve these prob- Jems. I think some system of un- employment emce or reserve is the only way out.” When asked by the Daily Worker, “Does this mean that you are an advocate of the Wagner Bill?” he replied, “Not necessarily. I’ am not aGvocating any particular bill,” and then, Hopkins asked, “Wagner's Bill doesn’t go very far, does it’? (Continued on Page 2) Mcintyre Refuses to Deny wpa Aim of C6, famns Roosevelt’s Secretary Is Silent As Amter Quizzes Him (Daily Worker “Washington Bureau) WASHINGTON; Feb. 5.—Martin Mcintyre, one of the Roosevelt sec- retaries, today refused to deny the allegation of a delegation from the great, Convention * Against Unem- ployment that Assistant Secretary of Wer Woodring’s recent statament cn the important military significance of the Civilion Conservation Corrs rep- resented the official policy of the ad- ministration, ““yhen s2veral months ago Presi- dent Roosevelt announced the estab- lishment of the C. C. C. he ssid it was fer the: purpose of raising the morn’s ond tmrrovine the physique | of the boys,” I. Amter, National Sec- | retor”- of ‘the Unemployed Councils and head of the Nesro and white delegation of 15 from 12 states. in- formed McIntyre in the lobby of the White House Executive Offices. “Acecrding to avthoritative sources, there are 3,0°0.009 boys, girls and | single ae pevellne around the} (Continued from Page 1) So eS RECO AE ES Cc. W. A. Administrator, who heard demands of National Unem- ployment Cenvention delegates yes- terday. 5,000 CWA Workers Demonstrate for Jobless Insurance Force LaGuardia City Officials to Rective Delegates NEW YORK. — Five thousand workers demonstrated at the City Ha" yostorday cemendinre that the LaGuardia administration endorse the Workers’ Unemn'oyment and Social Insurance Bill and vetition the Roocevelt government for the continuance and en'argement of the forced the LaGuavdia administration, in the absence of Mayor LaGuardia, to receive their mass delezation to present their demands. Hundreds of police were at “band hours before the workers arrived. At 10:30 a. m., C. W. A. workers, notab!y from Dykers Park, where the workers recently held mass demon- strations on the job, massed at the Battery. At the same time, workers on the lower East Side assembled at previously arranged meeting places and in trade unions and mass or- ganizations, and converged on. the city hall at noon. Arriving at the city hall, the workers found that a speakers stand had been erected for them. To this the workers said: “Next time we exnect LaGuardia to provide loudspeakers.” The delerates having been elected, the workers drew aside ‘their ranks to permit. the mass delegation to enter the city hall. ‘They were immediately received by acting-Meyor Deutch. Richard Sullivan, Secretary of the Unemployed Councils of Greater New York, in the name of the thousands of workers outside, demanded that the government go on record en- dorsing the Workers’ Unemployment Insurance Bill, and passing the Work- ets Municipal Relief Ordinance. “Other delegates,” Su'livan con- tinued, “will present their demands (Continued on page 4) : ty obless ConventionCloses Harry Hopkins ] With Delegations ' to Officials (Special to the Daily Worker) WASHINGTON, Feb. 5—The Na- tional Convention against unemploy- ment today translated into action its freshly adopted program, split up in- to nine delegations, which visited the heads of the Roosevelt government. and Wiliam Green, President of the American Federation of Labor, and demanded action on behalf of the unemployed. The demand for the immediate enactment of the workers Unem- ployed Insurance Bill, for more jobs, for adequate relief; against dis- crimination against Negroes, youth and women—for all of the demands of the unemployed, rang throuch the capitol today. Today, pushed about and patrolled. by numero-s nolice, the detogaticns, visited the White House, Secretary of Labor Frances’ Perkins, C. W. A. adminis- trator Hopkins, the German and Polish Emb2ssy, Robert Fetchner, head of the C. C. C. Camps, and discrimination against Negroes. Earlier in the-day, the state delcga- tions visited “their” Congtessmen and Senators and demanded action on their demands. The same day President Roosevelt’s. controlling Democratic Administra- tion passed in the House of Repre- Cc. W. A. program. The workers; sentatives the bill limiting relief, in- cluding direct relief, C. W. A. and C. C. C. relicf, to $250,000.000, _Reose- velt thus served notice that the plan to Mquidate the C. W. A. entirely May 1, and limit relief, will be pushed throu~h. The answer of the unem. ployed is, “We will go back and or- ganize, and force the enactment of the Workers Unemployment Insur- ance Bill by the hunger spaine of Roosevelt.” In ton‘ght’s concluding session the reports of the results of the dele- gations, visit to the government heads will be reported. The ‘resolutions, constitution and program of action will be finally adopted, and a new national committee of the National Unemployed Counci's elected. The convention will adjourn tonight, the delegates departing in cars, trucks and buses to the thirty-two states they came from, to carry on the fight for the demands and program adopted and to build the National Organization. Railway Carmen in Threat to Strike CHICAGO, Ill., Feb. 5.—Officials of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America were forced by growing rank and file pressure, to declare that if by 2 p.m. today the officials of the Chicago & Northwestern R.R. do not settle grievances, strike ballots would be sent out. Over 26,000 men are in- Everything is being done by the union officials and the company to keep the men from striking, how- ever. The strike ballot is used as a threat for further negotiations to settle the grievances at the expense of the men. The union officials say if the ballots go out, a strike will not take place before two weeks, which gives the company plenty of time vo maneuver, NEW YORK.—The huge Febru- ary 11 “Support the German Work- ers’ Revolution” meeting at the Bronx Coliseum, will sound a stir- ring opening keynote to the nation- Wide solilarity campaign which it will launch to raise funds for the work of the illegal Communist Party Germany. All proceeds of this In the Daily Worker .. Today ee NS Page 2 Sports Ae prea Page 3 Unemployed bee Pare # Letters. Frem Steel, Metal and Auto Workers. Party Life ‘ “Dr, Luttinger Advises” In the Home. Page 5 “ies the World, ” by Michael Go'd Eugene Nigob—a “Portrait, Vor'd of the Theatre. “A Man's Castle.” Page 6 ‘| situation in Germany, the Central Committee of the Ger- man Communist Party to be con- verted into literature, ete, to jen the German workers in their’ struggles aga against the Nazis. Wl Deceribe German C. P. Work Earl Browder, secretary of the Communist Party of U.S‘A. who will be the main speaker on Febru- ary 11, besides describing the meth- ods by which the German Commu. | si nists illegally carry on their agita- tional and organizational work, will give a thorough explanation of the the strength of the Communist organization and its supporters, the situation of the ed Browder to Open Nation-Wide Drive to Support German C. P. German workers under the Nazis, the conflicts among the Nazis them- selves, and what may be expected to happen i in Germany during the tom- ing months. The courage of the German mili- tant workers, in the face of Nazi terror, is clearly shown in a dis- patch received yesterday from Ber- first meet will be turned over to) lin, It tells of a large “flash” anti- fascist demonstration in Naunym- strasse, in the working-class East End. Workers on bicycles gathered, sang Communist songs, ‘attracted a large group of workers, shouted anti-fescist slogans in speaking chorus, and dispersed, before fascist police could take any reprisals. That these solidarity movements will hearten and strengthen this struggle of the German workers is inevitable, the Central Committee of the Communist Party, under whose auspices the February 11 meeting will be held, stated. A program covering all fields of proletarian art, will be presented at this meeting. Tickets are on sale at the Work- ers Bool:shop, 50 East 18th St., downtown. Prices are $1.00 for seats in the reserved section, and 40c in advance for seats in other sections, Soldiers Kill Speaker Rainey to protest against - 2 Workers in Cuba Strike Murdered As Mendieta Proclaims Right of “Free Assembly” | (Special to the Dzily Worser) HAVANA, Feb. 5.—Presi- dent Carlos Mendieta is at-) tempting with a combination of terrorism and demazogic concessions to stem the growing aia | | ‘wave. While soldiers were using armed | Torce against strikers in many parts | of the island, and ki ed. several work into a picket’ line in this Cieta proclaimed a provisional con- stitution widing the “right of frec assenibly” among other paper con- | ossions. { evkers of the Cuban Electric Company, forced to remain in the tants by soldiers with mzc? ‘fter the general strike “ay, have gone on hunger st Havana and Camaguey this mi Mills Strike in Sympathy An‘attempt by Mendieta to he strike by forbidding all long tance telgphote calls, thus cations between the sti us parts of the defeated by a strike of the workers’ union, Ww zescind the decree and wit diers pested at the telephon> of ‘cas. ers in more than, 20 suzar mills have struck in sympathy with the railway workers’ strike, as have the harbor workers in Port Nucvites. The bus strike in Havana is holding solid. The strike. of 30,000 tobacco work- wa bes eromm tll it exten’s all ove> Cuba, and involves many thousan?s more. Th? National Confederation of La- bor hes called a genercl strike in Havana, to begin Wednesday, in sym- pathy with the other strikes. tista Bribes Army Col. Fulgencio Batista has obtained a large fund from the trecsury with which to buy the loyalty of his army by paying’a “campaign bonus.” De- spite the fact that armed soldiers dave manned all the power stations, most of Havana, as well as many cther parts of the island, remain without electric power and lizht. The new provisicnal constitution, so stend until general elections to take place at some vague time in the Melts, toys cor tnt smffraze, right of habeas corpus, “due procecs of law,” freedom of thought, press, zeligion, and “peace‘ul assembly for tegal ends.” in Billion Dollar Inflation Advance Wall Street Making Biggest Clean-Up Since ‘31 NEW YORK, Feb. 5.—Rushing up- tvard in the heaviest trading sinc2 the ‘nflationary sneculative boom of last July, the Stock Market today added over one billion dollars to the quoted value of the ‘stocks and bonds of the New York Stock Exchange, é Leading mining, railroad, and metal stocks shet un from 1 to 4 points most of them closing at the hichs. The hig monopoly utilities, such as Consolidated Gas, Columbia Gas, and others.were also very strong. The chem‘cal and munit‘on stocks, as well as the aviation stocks were particularly strong, with du Pont Chemical, a war explosive stock, soar- ing to the highest levels since 1931. One stock, the preferred issue of ‘he Van Raalte Company, a textile company, swooped un in a spectacular rush advancing more than 34 points in a few hours. The big merchandising companies, like Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck, also rose strongly reflecting the profits that will accrue to them on the appreciation in their inventory vrofits as a result of the Roosevelt 59 cents dollar. Thus, the “money-changers” who wwere denounced by Roosevelt are, un- der his program now raking in the “ggest profits in three years, BRAZIL USING NAVY TO BREAK | STRIKE RIO DE JANIERO, Feb. 4—The Brazilian government was ucing navy tendérs and ferries manned by ma- rines teday in an attempt to break the strike of workers on the British- owned ferrv lines hetween this city and Nictheroy, state capital, across the bay. new subscriber gained for Every the “Daily” strengthens our revclu- Stock Market Soars : \tra ¢ drivers Win the Strike by Unity of All Cabmen, Taxi Workers Union Urges Striking Men La Guardia’s Cop Opposes Taxi Strikers New York policeman preventing a group of taxi strikers from persuading a scab to leave his cab and join the ¢trikers. 2,000 Fifth Ace. Busmen in Vote on Strike Action Conductors, Drivers Protest Lockout of 26 Men NEW YORK —A voie for strike ac- tion of the 2,009 conductors drivers Avenue Bus Company ‘was taken last night at 574 W. 720th St., in enswer to the lockout of 26 men who joined Loenl 994 of the Amalvamated Asso- ciation of Street and Electric Reilway Employees Union. As we go to press, che results are not yet in. The perspective of spreading the strike to the whole transportation sys- tem of the city is listed as one of the important points to be considered at the meeting. In a leaflet issued by the local call- ing for the meetiny, the following demands were presented: “All busses to be in garages at 9 “1,15 per hour, company to supply tools and unif-rms fro $9 Tce: $1 an hour; wags for ex- week whether they work or not; mechanics: to be given the union ceale; recognition of the union and no ions without a hearing before ance committee; reinstate- ment of all locked out men with full pay for time lost.” The firing of the 26 workers came after 5 months of promises from the ‘National Labor Board that the bus workers would be given the right to organize in a union of their own choosing. Aas Roosevelt Would Take Care of Them No decision, however, was forth- coming. Mr. Sibea, the A. F. of L. organizer, promised the mea in July thet they had the right to organize ~nd told thom that the Rooscvelt. ad- ministration and the N. R. A. wou7d fake care cf them. ‘The 26 workers were fired, never- theless, for their union activities. Of the 2,000 busmen, there are about 600 extra men. These extra men are forced to report every day where they are kept inthe crew rooms, and then sent home. without pay. Then men on the line are speeded up unmercifully. Spotters, known as “shoe-flies,” and inspectors constant- ly hound the drivers and conductors. “he workers demand that these con- ditions be eliminated. Spivak’s Survey Shows Unrest Growing Among New England Workers “There is a fering of unrest here,” John L. Spivak writes from New Eng’and, the fist stopping place on his nation-wide tour for the Daily Worker, which will start publishing ihis “Pdvtre‘t of America” series on Friday, Feb. 9th. His first article will show that in the important shoe center, Brockton, Mass., one-out of every five workers who owned a home lost it during the present criss, How are the New England workers: reacting to the miserable conditions? Read the full answer in Spivak’s ar- tutionary movement. Ask your fel- low worker to subscribe’ ticles starting Feb, 9th. Order your|for mobilizing forces for the Daily copy in advance. and extra mon of the Fifth} M.. Monday; drivers weg: to b2! conductors} «; and conductors to be $25] i chosen representa’ NRA Individual Weirton Poll Divides Men Steel Bosses Threaten To Discharge Men, Hire Gun Thugs WEIRTON, W. Virginia, Feb. 5. — Government agents, sent by the Na- ‘ional Labor Board, began today to descend on individual workers of the} Weirton Stecl Mil!s en the pretext of | “determining whether a as | held” when they were dfiven into 3 company union. a Instead of permitting the, 12,000 men to meet en mass and vote, the National Labor Board is taking this method of discovering what t! have already declared in one of { the past) most militant strikes of year. All the Weirton steel plants! were shut tighter than a drum *by| a strike of the workers, demanding reeognition of their own union. The} broken by promises of terrorized | ng company- the steel company offi the: men i Under a so-called promise by! President Roosevelt to determine if the men had a “free” yote, the gov- ernment officials are canv men’s homes. In preparation for th’ company gunmen have leputized by the county au- it ssuze is brouth ainst the men in the plant, with mplary lay-offs and di telling the men what to they ‘do not answer properly when! they are cornered in their homes by men ¢ Munson Line Crew Strikes In Baltimore Begin Action for Demands On All Munson Ships BALTIMORE, Md., Feb. 5.—Be- ginning the offensive against the Munson Line in the demand for higher wages and better conditions, the 7 of the “Munsomo” went on this afternoon: here under the ‘chip of the Marine Workers al Union. ‘Munsomo” crew have en- ed the demands for $32.50, pay overtime, full crew, and union snition, and has authorized the ral committee to present these ds to the head office of the ny in New York on ‘February be enforced on all ships of the company, The Marine ~ Workers Industrial Union has been preparing for strug- me on the Munson Line for the past three or four months in order to foree the company to accept the de- mands of the men. the National Labor Board officials. At the same e, steel plant offi- cials are tal of an injunction to stop all activi The A. F. of L. officials in the Amalgamated Union have taken no steps to protect the men, and have ; not put forward the demani for an outside mass meeting to give the men a right to vote, with their massed strength protecting them. Instead, they are supporting the in- dividual canvass, which the Weirton Steel Co, is already rejecting on the ground that the official working list is not in the honds of -the National Labor Board officials. IN. Y. Section Tr ‘Daily’ in Less Than 2 Months NEW YORK.—What can be done, to increase the circulation of the Daily, Worker, provided action is taken to bring our paper to the workers, ig shown by Section 4 of the New York District Communist Party, which trivled its weckly sales of the “Daily” in less than two months. On Dee 7, this section, which In- cludes Harlem, so'd 555 conies weekly. Tho sales now roach 1.774 copies. This increase was gained throuth in- tensive and consistent canvassiny of workers’ Ba ae Section 4 todk quick action to mobilize forces for the cir- culation drive, and exrects to show) a stitt further increase in its sales very soon. Sharn Contrast On Dec. 7, when S! sellint 555 conics, the tion 2 amounted to 849 sales by Section 2 now total 914 cop- ies, a. negligibte gain of 4 conirs. com- nared with the inercase of 1,219 by Section 4 in the same period. iples Sales of Section 2 is located in the midtown ' area, which provides fertile grounds for’ snteadiny the “Daily.” It in- cludes the West Side waterfront, the needle trades area. In this scction dressmekers are conducting a strug- gle for better conditions. Th? gen- eral strike of the food workers is centered in this section. But the sec- tion has made practically no effort to reach the striking . workers, the waterfront workers with our Daily Worker. Outstanding Work In Section 4, too, the work can be improved. The Finnish organization is doint splend’d work in svreding | the “Daily.” Good work is being done by Units 490, 404, 406, 408, 412, 414, 415. 425. On the other hanj, Tit 411 refuses to toke the Daily Worker for sale. The “Daily” is also neglected by Units 418. 421, 424, 426. by the Hungarian, Esthonian and Spanish organizations. These units end organizations in Section 4 and the entire Section 2 The Daily Worker agent in Section}are called upon to explain their 2 Aeclares that he does not receive any heln from the Section Committee in his attempts to boost the sales of the “Daily.” It is“also significant that Section 2 has failed so far to hold a section membership meeting ‘Worker circulation drive neglect of our only American working eless daily newspaper, the Daily Worker. We call on the other sections to report what they are doing to in- crease the sales of the “Daily,” what they are doing to put the circulation drive over the top! ele esas A Cop on Each Taxicab, LaGuardia’s Scheme to Break Strike | ERNST REVEALS PLAN Strikers Demand Union Recognition, NEW YORK—Taxicab drivers flatly refused Mayor La Guardia’s back to work | preposition yesterd2y and in |mass meetings held through- | |For further news on Taxi Strike see page 5. out the city decided to continue che strike for 100 per cent of 2 nickel tax. this the strikers demand independent union, formed through the amalgamation of all the four unions nvolved in ied strike. ‘operating with on West End Ave. in the Bronx. When this repozted to the meet- ng of over 4,000 ikers at Hrnts >oint Palace, the drivers surged into he street to stop the cabs, LaGuardia’s proposal, which the men flatly refuse to accept and which was presented by Morris L. Ernst, @ liberal lawyer who recently demanded free speech for the New York Nazis, was for a division of the nickel among she riders, operators and drivers, Joseph Gilbert, organise of) the Taxi Wer! Union ana member of the strikers committee of 13, called on the men to carry on the strike for th following demands: wl 1I—190 por cent of the nickels col- lected by the fle2t owners to be re- turned to the hackmen. 2—The extra nickel on the clock to be turned over to the hackmen. 3—Garage committees of hack- men to be elected to distribute the money. 4—No settlement to be made by the united strike committee without the approval of the men, 5—Recoznition of a united inde- pendrt hackmen’s union. The majcrity of the strikers have agreed to carry on the struggle for these demands. Ernst Would Get Cabs Rolling Morris L. Ernst, speaking for the Mayor to a group of strikers yester- day, clearly revealed his purpose in connection with the strike. “Hurry up,” said Ernst. “I want fo get the cabs rolling.” A new attempt on the part: of the taxi owners to break the strike came to light yesterday when a group of about 60 taxi drivers came to 285 Madison Ave., where Mr. Ernst’s offi- ces are located, secured the use of a rceom on the sixth floor of the building, called for Mr. Ernst and told him that they represented 10,000 drivers and wanted to return to work, Upon questioning the men, how- over, it was learned that they were not elected by their garages and rep- resented no labor organization. The men were obviously sent by the fleet owners to disrupt the strike. They represented no masses of strikers. Ernst Exnoses Ma‘led Fist One of these men asked Ernst if | Continued on Page 5) Jacob Panken, Leader of Socialist Party, Caught in Scab Cab NEW YORK. — Jacob Panken, leading member of the Socialist Party, was caught red handed Sat- urday afternoon ridinz in a scab indevendent taxi strikers reported to the “Daily Worker.” This strikebreaking act of the ex-judge, who has been posing as a supporter of the strikt and was given the floor to speak at Satur- || day night's Madison Square strike meeting. was exposed when a sroup of strike pickets recognized him as he entered an independent cab Saturday on Second Ave., near Fourth St., about 3:30 p.m. Pan- \) ken entered the cab from the Palm Casino. The cab was stopped by strike picksts. Someone said, “That’s Panken. Let him go.” And the car sped on. Further down the street the car was stopped again. Pickets and workers who were g-thered on the corner insisted that Panken get out. He refused and was off be- force the workers were able to pull the “socialist” cut by the scruff of the neck, which they had aimed to do.. “You see what a socialist leader will do,” said a worker in disgust as the scab taxi disappeared.