The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 20, 1934, Page 3

DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1934 Fage Three C.W.A. Workers Carry Through Actions for Jobs and Relief Anti- -Lynching Bill Senate fad Bars Delegations, Prstests, - Back Jobs, Relief | s Jobless Organize In Congress Is Silent On the Death Penalty NAACP, Leaders Seek | to Strengthen Legalistic | lusions Among Masses This is the second of two ar- ticles by Harry Haywood on the reformist anti-lynching bills in- troduced in the present Congress, and particularly on the Costigan- Wagner bill sponsored by the re- tormist .A.C.P, leadership. The first appeared in Saturday's “Daily Worker.” u. By HARRY HAYWOOD While all other murders are pun- ishable by death, there is no de- mand for the death penalty against lynchers in the Costigan (and other) “anti-lynching” bills now before Congress. This omission is signifi- cant. Lynch murder is clearly not | regarded as a captal crime by the sponsors of these bills. Is this not an obvious concession to the lynch- | ers? Is this not proof of the hypoc- risy of the sponsors of these s0- | called “anti-lynching” bills? While thus protecting the lynch- ers from the death penalty, the Cos- tigan Bill (sponsored by the N. A. A, ©. P. leadershp) offers the rela- tives of the lynch-victims the illu- sion of securing damages from the authorities. If provides that they may bring suit for $10,000 against the county or counties in which the lynching occurred. This is supposed to penalize these communities and to increase the vigilance of the lo- governments against lynching. it is sufficient to point out that milar law exists in West Vir- Its ineffectiveness is shown ginia by what happened when such a suit before the courts of brought ‘The suit was “won,” but tate, hen the county officials announced they had no funds appropriated “for ’ the courts readily such @ purpo: accepted this excuse, and no pay~ ment was ever made of the in- demnity. This, of y confirms | the faci th jogiaintion, even the “y * having seriously as its purpose the bettering of the condi- tions of the masses, means nothing if it does not have organized around it a militant mass movement of Negro and white toilers to force its enamct- ment. Without, organized mass pres- | y bill in the hands of the ads | rs of bourgeois law will be} ui ast. ihe masses and in the} interests of the oppressors, 5 Anti-Lynch Law Tn the of the states where | lynching is where violators of eve! i of the | peopie is most ; > are | | laws 5 rights. For there are anti- lynehing law eight Southern states in lynchines have} mounted ye y year, It is clear that these bills are not for the pur- pose they proclaim, but are used by the authorities fo divert” the! masses from militant struggle against lynching by fostering illusions in the courts and other instruments of the | widest lynchers. Even in the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the U. 8. Con- stitution, which supposedly provide guarantees for the ciyil rights of the Negro people, have now become weapons in the hands of the ruling class against Negro masses and the entire working class, because these amendments are used to hide the J. W. FORD Denied the right to speak on Anti-Lynching Bill today before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Negroes, fascist reaction is mobilizing its forces not only against the Negroes, but against the entire work~ ing class. The introduction of these bifs can only be understood in the light of this developing mass anti-lynching movement, The bills are introduced in a new attempt by the Negro bour- geois reformists and the social-fas- cists to split up and crush the real fight of the Negro and white masses against, lynching, to divert the in- dignation of the masses into harm- less legalistic channels. At a time when the masses are rapidly shedding their illusions in the capitalist courts as a result of the bitter experiences of Scottsboro and other cases; when the authority of bourgeois law and order is being undermined, and are seeking solu- tion of their burning problems in revolutionary mass action outside of the bourgeois courts and legislative bodies, the gentlemen of the N. A. A. ©. P., the leaders of the Socialist Party, the liberals, true to their role as the defenders of imperialist op- pression, etc., all come forward to the aid of the ruling class with pro- posals for new laws as the only “solution.” This, in effect, is a new campaign | to deceive the masses, to disarm their vigilance in the face of increas~ ing fascist lynch terror, and wreck | the rapidly rising militant movement ‘on the shoals of bourgeois legalism. At the same time, the N.A.A.OP. leadership and reformists generally, whose prestige has been shaken in | the course of the mass movement led by the Communist Party and revolu- | tionary organizations, seek by this demagogic gesture to place them- selves again at the head of the move- ment in order to betray it. Is it surprising then, that in this maneu- ver, the reformists are receiving the support of reactionary elements,—in the proposed introduc- jtion of the bill by a Southern con- gressman; the wide publicity in the Capitalist pre: and support and endorsement by ‘lar ‘ge sections of the Southern bourgeoisie? Action Against Lynching Our task is to expose the reaction- ary nature of these maneuvers. This can be done not only by criticism of these bills and their authors, but Ford on Hearing of Anti-Lynch Bill League of Struggle Calls | for Protests Against Maneuver | .NEW YORK. Jthough prev | allotting time for James W. Ford, re | Tesentative of the League of Struggie for Negro Rights, on tne discussicn | oaee and tomorrow on the Costi¢an- | Wagner anti-lynching bill, the | ate Judiciary Commiite> suddenly re- jversed its decision erd nd |moved to bar the L. S.N. R. si {man from the hearing on the bil | | sponsored by the reformist N. A. A. | C. P. leadership. |_ In a telegram sent to Richard B. Moore, General Secretary of the L. 8. | N. R., on Feb. 15, Senator Ashurst, Committee, stated: “Telegram received. Will be glad to see that proper time is allotted to Mr. Ford.” Yesterday Moore received the fol- |lowing telegram, signed by Senator} | Fred Vannuys: “Regret to inform you all time for public hearing on Costigan- Wagner anti-lynching bill has been allotted and therefore committe: will not be able to hear Mr. Ford.” Interviewed by a representative of the Daily Worker yesterday, Moore denounced this attempt to bar the L. 8, N. R. representative, and called on all Negro and white workers and their organizations to flood the Sen- ate Judiciary Committee with pro- that Ford be permitted to present/| the viewpoint of the revolutionary Negro and white workers on the bill | now pending before Congress. He | declared: “This telegram exposes the maneu- vers of the government and all the reformist forces around the Costigan~ Wagner anti-lynching bill. Tt shows that this bill is by no means intro- duced to stamp out lynching, but to destroy the militant movement against lynching. “The L. S. N. R. will insist upon its right to speak at the hearing and will continue to expose the maneu- vers of the imperialists and their re- formist agents and to mobilize the masses of Negro and white toilers for struggle against lynching, and for our bill against lynching and for civil rights for the Negro people, together with mass actions to stop lynching.” 600 Farmers Stop | SISSETON, N. Dak. the Mail) ,— farmers gathered here and stopped a foreclosure, and despite the arms | farmer, Henry Nieland back into his house. Several days later, more than 1,000 small farmers met in vent foresloseures, mously agreed to back up the fight against evictions, and « telegram was sent from the meeting to the, the President made sometime ago that “There shall be no foreclosures or evictions. In addition to this, 27 of the small business men of Sis- jseton, and 17 small Peever business men sent telegrams to the Gov- ernor and President pledging their {solidarity with the farmers and the workers, and demanding security in | ) ( Farm Foreclosure Dickens. of the sheriff, they moved the evicted | Governor and President demanding | ar that they enforce the promise that | there have been three cave-ins where | Men in Cafeteria) Workers Protest as Government O.K.’s Discrimination NEW YORK.—An accusation of| chairman of the Senate Judiciary | Jim- -Crowism was levelled on Friday} by the| against the cafeteria run | Western Union Telegraph Co., by em- ployes of the C.W.A. Federal Project | on Railroad Co-ordination, which is housed in the Western Union build- ing at 60 Hudson St. Eighty per cent of the employes engaged on the study signed a statement registering their objections and urging the administra- tive officers to take action on the matter. The statement declares that Ne- groes employed on the project have | been refused service in the cafeteria. Those who were refused service state that they were told that even Negroes employed by Western Union cannot eat in the cafeteria, The supervisor of the study told tests against this action and demands | the committee which brought him tue rotest statement that he was power- to do anything in his particular since he is a permanent govern- ment official. He declared that pre- vious protests to Western Union had been to no avail, for the latter had made it quite clear that it was a con- sistent and considered policy on their part. Members of the committee declared that since this was a federal project and the constitution guaranteed civil rights to Negroes, it was the duty of the supervisor of the projtct to see to it that these rights became an ac- tuality. The employes of the project plan to carry their protest to Frederick I. Daniels, state head of the C.W.A, They will demand that the govern- ment in the future refuse to lease property unless the same rights are accorded all of its employes equally, and that Mr. Daniels should at once take this up with the Western Union, stressing the necessity of altering their eu ‘ex. CWA Men | | Go 22 Miles to Work (Delayed in} More than 600 militant | | By a C. W. A, Werker Correspondent | DICKENS,- ‘Tex/The-©; “Wr~A. workers here get 15 hours a week at. 40 cents an hour. So far, no skilled wages have been paid in Dickens County. Administrator O, C, Arthur the has transferred several workers to a school auditorium where they unan- | | road contret which pays 35 cents an imousiy agreed to organize to pre-|!0Ur, 30 hours a week. The workers ‘They were unani-, have to go 22 miles on their own | time. the boss, Mr, ying pace. In the last two weeks | the workers haye to dig, Two workers were caught, but were not badly hurt. The worst cave-in luckily happened at the noon hour and if there had been anyone there at the time he would have been killed without a doubt—yet nothing was done about making the walls safer. Administrator Arthur warned us if | On the bridge job, where we work, | Brotherton, sets a slave- | ennai aaciciesitann eal Western Union Jim- Crows Negro C.W.A.. Relief Workers Union | Leads Struggle on Job | POWHATAN POINT, Ohio, Feb. 19. —A delegation of jobless workers, demanding jobs or relief, forced the local relief administration to grant | recognition to the Unemployment Councils in this coal mining center. | In the future, the Councils will regis- | ter all jobless, and these workers will be given first preference on new jobs. ime egy § | St. Louis Workers Demand Relief (By a Worker Correspondent) | ST. LOUIS, Mo.—A group of job- | Jess workers here who had been de- nied relief, formed a committee of | 20 workers in their neighborhood, and | | Went to the City Hall. Not getting | | satisfaction, they are holding meet- | ings in their neighborhood, and plan | | to go again with a larger committee. ow, Men Reinstated UNION CITY, N. J.—After a dem- onstration before the local C.W.A. of- fices, 1,000 discharged C.W.A. work-! ers were re-instated. Several thousand C.W.A. workers in Union City, West New York and | North Bergen were suddenly fired on Friday. Immediately meetings of these workers were called by the dif- | ferent groups under the leadership of | the Communist Party. All of the dis- charged workers in Union City were given their jobs back. | One of the workers, Collisi, was ar- | | | Tested by the Hudson County police | while he was distributing leaflets, and | js being held for investigation by the federal authorities on the Li aa up charge of sedition. Workers wey Firing CINCINNATI, Ohio.—-C.W.A. work- ers here, under the leadership of the Relief Workers Protective Union forced the re-instatement of fired workers, and won demands on their | grievances. ‘At the Sands School job the union was able to force the officials to keep one worker who was threatened with dismissal, On the Madisonville pro- ject they won the promise that a dis- charged worker would be reinstated, | and the right to build fires. On the Avondale Golf Field job, the workers, by sending a representative to the superintendent, won pay for time that had been lost due to bad weather. Recently,..as a. result of a mass | meeting of Cleveland C.W.A. workers, | & federal investigation has been asked | by the Mayor and the City Manager through Congressman Brent Spence. | California hie Win Demands |... VENIGR, Calif,-A. committee of 30 ied by the Relief Workers Protective | | Union, took two cases to Al Wein- | | workers of the ‘40BuffaloFoudry A.F.L. Steel Men Baek Appeal for United Men Strike Against Co. Union Efforts Fire Shop Committee Men; Workers Demand Pay Increases N. Y., Feb. 19—The North Buffalo Hard- ware Foundry and Standard Foun~ dries went out on strike at 10 a.m. Friday, under the leadership of the Steel and Metal Workers’ Industrial Union, after shop committee men and other workers were fired and Piece work rates announced by the company. The shop is out solid, in- volving some 400 men. A strike committee BUFFALO, has been tinued recognition of the elected shop committee, against any form of | company unionism, The employers of Pratt & Letch- worth, where the workers are or- ganized in the 5. M. W. I. U,, are again trying to force the men into a so-called independent workers’ union. ‘The Atlas strike continues to hold solid in the fourth week. Joint pick- eting will be carried on and a central strike committee Sees. Poison Pork Causes ‘Death and IIness of C.W.A. and Jobless Boston Worker Killed by Government’s Poison Pork BOSTON, Mass.—The death Luigi Tomassini was occasioned b; eating infected pork given him by the city welfare department, according to the medical examiner, Dr. Timothy Leary. Trichinosis was given as the excuse of the man’s death. Dr. Leary said: “At one time we had a means of checking on such that our tests did not give proof enough ... my attitude is that te: would detect pork that would cause death,” New York Jobless Poisoned NEW YORK.—Twenty-four cases of trichinosis, a severe illness some- | times resulting in death, and caused |by eating infected pork, have been reported in New York City during January, according to the statement fOrDr. J. L. Rice, City Healt Com- ; missioner. The ayerage number of cases in the past seven years has bere’s welfare office in Ocean Park. Policemen, who had been phoned for, came and forced the committee out of the inner office, but the commit- tee's demands. were granted Viemsssieate On C.W.A. Job LOS ANGELES, Calif, Feb. 19. — C.W.A. against being transferred way out of town for their work, and were able to enforce their demands, staged an-| other successful demonstration at workers who demonstrated | only been 31 a year, the report con- | tinues, | Workers Refuse Poison Pork | HAMTRAMCK, Mich.-C. W. A workers here, who were given supple | mentary food checks after the Roose- velt pay cuts, were handed mouldy rotten pork. | The workers carried the rotten | pork on poles and with placards de- | manded a living wage for ali C.W.A. elected and the following demands | drawn up: General wage increases to| meet the rising cost of living, con-| pork, but the beef trust and the Fed- |the right or pow eral Agricultural Department ruled ants to inv Action 35 to Defend Selves in Chicago Trial for Protesting Starvation Midwestern (Daily Worker Bureau) CHICAGO, Ill, Feb. 19.—Thirty- five workers with “ineitin riot” and r for participati on January 2' vation to de: of Negro work selves before a jur trial Friday at State State and 11th Street The Inter and the Leagu 9 ofc) Rights calls upon all ers who can come to be present at this tria on Friday vhen the court Conviction of Farm Leader Sustained by Supreme Court Decision Is Aimed at reaking Mass Demonstrations opens: 19.—-The nd Rob OMAHA, Nebra Feb, conviction of Har I jert Burle for leading a demon stration of hundreds of farmers against a foreclosure sale at Wilbur, Nebraska, last March has been up- held by the Nebraska State Supret Court Lux, who is state organizer of the Farm Holiday A and Bur. leigh, who is secreta of the Un-| employed Federation at Lincoln, were convicted last year. The of the Court declares that “nothing in r suggests of the defend- ‘oke the provisions of the mortgage moratorium act as they were neither the owners nor liable on the mortga This, decision provides a legal basis for the smash- ing of all organized mass demon- strations against. evictions and. fore- closures. The ntment has been aroused the farmers here by the ision. The decision makes the tw anizers lable to jail | sentences 2 fines of $250 each Sentence Frankfeld for Fighting Sheriff Sale |; PITTSBURGH, Pa. Feb, 19.—~ Phil Frankfeld, leacer of the West- ern Pennsylvania. Uinemn'oyed Coun | cils was convicted last Thursday of “inciting to riot and obstructing legal process,” 2nd, was sentenced to two to four years in the Blaw- nox Jail. Frankfeld’s arrest and conviction grew out of a sheriff's sale of a Against Fi iring Gary Workers Hear. Steel Industrial’ Union “Give Struggle Program Ind., Feb. -19.— Over 350 rkers who attended, @ meet- of the A: -P.of k. €entral: Labor Council “meeting in -Lake County on by Feb. .16, heard the oxganize: Steel and” Metal Workers In- dustrial: Union’ maké “a ‘spfrifed ap- peal for a united front against the dij of - 4,060 workers through Nation of new ‘machinery in the tin mills. They applauded him igorously. SS we Can. succeed in our ef- to stop the wholesale replace- of men by new machinery, the jority of us will be thrown out of the mills for good,” he said. “This can only. be done by. reducing the hours of. work, increasing -wages and topping the introduction of.more 4 High Mills, Strike. if necessary.” Calls for Unity The An an Sheet and Tin Plate Local of the Steel and Metal. Work- ers Industrial Union has twice at- tempted to establish unity -with the mnembership of the Amalgamated As- ociation and other A. F. of Ly locals in the fight against the effects of the new 4 High Tin Mills lately in | tr ed. in the tin mills of the Calu- region An appeal for unity was addressed to the various A. A, locals at the be- ginning of February which received response from one secretary, al- though the local turned down the of- fer after listening to speeches by the paid organizer, The second at- as Made al.a,mass meeting workers held on Friday, the K.C, Hall. of Gary. A week previous, a meeting of 700 workers of, the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company elected a delega- tion to go toWashington, which forced the A. F, of L. to call.another. meet- ing The workers at the A..F. of L meeting listened to two, organizers of the A. A. and one Hammond lawyer hours; and at least 75 left in g because the best solution the . Offered to driving out 4000 workers in the Calumet region tin mills was the proposal that, the gov- ronment buy out one of the 4 High Tin Mills,and destroy. it. The organizer- for -the Steel and Metal Workers Industrial-Union ex- | posed the National Labor Board, pat- y its strikebreaking at the Weirtor Steel Mills. The Steel and Metal Workers In- dustrial. Union-is arranging a~series open meetings to organize the kers against the effects of the 4 High Mill and is intensifying its ef- ‘orts throtigh building the union meetings of workers in departments and milis and quietiy'going ahead with the: view of developing action and struggle against the effects of | these mills | ‘The niémbers'6t the A. A. Whe have |expressedl their Intentions to form * United Front ate being spproachéd to put the entire A. A.“ membership jin motion for the winning of our | program of action, over the heads of their reactionary leadership. their homes for the farmers and | we didn’t stay on this job, he would their job at Dozier and Mednick. | workers or immediate cash relief, A They had been told to report at 6:30| delegation of ten, which met with a.m. and had to wait till 7:30 before| the C. W. A., won recognition. of the | starting work, so instead of working | Relief Workers’ Protective Associa- | | for their week's pay. | onstration was held; equal rights for | The leaders in the demonstration | Negroes on relief and C. W. were members of the Construction | Workers Industrial Union, who knew meat forced the relief off. till 11:30 they quit at 10:30 and went | tion, under whose auspices the dem- | poor farmers’ stock, when 1,000 workers gathered and purchased the stock for $1.10. | ANTARCTIC FLAGSHIP IN. NEW | ‘ZEALAND. na nal Labor Defense | NEW. ZEALAND,..Feb, -19.—The ion for a new | flagship’ of the Byrd: Antarctic:expe- | dition arrived “here tottay-for-a ten- stay before retimning'to Little The Interna’ has _ enter | al 1 ; nd | month meri_a. The ship is at anchor at must be accompanied by @ more en-| workers, not put us back on the C. W. A, the value of mass action, change it immediately. ‘Port Chalmers, ) protest. role of the nationai government as the oppressors of the Negro people, by fostering illusions in the federal institutions. These amendments, so far as the masses are concerned, have become mere shibboleths in the mouths of demagogs, who constantly prate of the guarantees they sup- posedly give to the constitutional rights of the Negro people, and shift responsibility for their violation from the national government to the yari- ous states. It is clear that the fight against tynching must be directed against the national government as the in- lvnchers of the Negro people. Any | ‘point of view which fosters the lie ] of impartiality on the part of the government (and precisely this, is the point of view behind these re- formist proposals) strengthens the hand of the lynchers. Why Such Feverish Activity But the question raised now is; why these feverish activities of the reformists and imperialist pojiticians around the issue of lynching at the present time, since these bills are ob- N viously not in the interests of the Negro masses and the working class? ‘Then in whose interest are they? ‘These questions can only be answered in the light of recent developments in the mass fight against i: In recent months the wave of lynching has grown tremendously, 1, against the background of the crisis of capitalism and the sharpening of- fensive against the white and Negro toiling wage lynch masses. The sai terror has evoked the wildest indig- nation among the masses, bringing : home to them the necessity for a militant struggle against lynching. ‘This wide-spread indignation is being crystallized in mass protest actions of white and Negro workers and in- tellectuals. This movement is in- creasingly coming under the leader- ship of the Communist Party and the whole revolutionary movement, ers that the revolutionary movement, is the only force conducting @ real fight against lynching and for na- ‘ional liberation of the Negro people. {n this process, a united front of Negro and white toilers is being orged in the struggle. White toilers sve beginning to see that behind the yutal chauvinist attacks against | strument of the oppressers and) pe ergetic carryng through of our posi- tive program against lynching and Negro oppression. Against these re- Sormist maneuvers we must counter- pose our revolutionary program of joint action by Negro and white toil- ers against the lynchers and national oppression. } We must make clear that we are; not opposed to the introduction of bills, petitions and other parliamen- tary methods. On the contrary, we | stand for the maximum utilization of all constitutional methods, realiz- ing, however, that these can only play a supplementary role and must. subordinated to organized actions of the masses outside of the bounds of the courts and bourgeois legisla~ tive bodies and be directed to broad- ening out such actions. Only in this manner, can a really effective fight against-lynching be conducted, ‘These efforts on the part of the bourgeoisie and their agents must be answered by renewed and more energetic activities in the develop- ment of the mass movement against. lynching and against the sharpen- ing oppression of the Negro masses, The movement against lynching and for the general demands of the Negro masses must be connected more in- timately with the every-day eco- nomi demands of the Negro and white toilers, in the shops, factories, mines, fields, and in the field of unemployment, Especially is it neces- sary to bring forward more ener- getically than heretofore the issues Taised as a result of the increasing oppression of Negroes under the NR.A.; discrimination in N.RA. codes; C.W.A. jobs; on relief jobs; and relief generally, At the same time, we must carry through the widest mass agitation around the Bill of Civil Rights for the Negro People, sponsored by the League of Struggle for Negro Rights, and obtain millions of signatures de- manding its passage and enforce- ment, and secure endorsements of the bill by all possible organizations of white and Negro tollers. PLAN NEW HOP. FRANCE, Feb, 19,~-Paul Vodos and Maurice Rossi arrived here to pre> pare for a flight to Buenos Aires with the purpose of attempting to break their own non-i Breep distance airplane flight record By FRED “BIEDENKAPP It is correct to say that for the first time in the history of the American Labor Movement amalga- mation of several unions in the same industry was carried through in the most genuine rank and file fashion, The participating organizations were the Shoe Workers Protective Union, the National Shoe Workers Union, the Salem Independent Shoe Workers Union and the Shoe and Leather Workers Industrial Union. The rank and file convention of Shoe workers was held in the Brad- ford Hotel in Mass., from Dee, 11th to 21st, 1933, and is a land mark in the history of shoe workers in their struggle for unity and rank and file leadership and control. Whatever its weaknesses and short comings may be or whatever tenfencies tha, manifes; themselves at the top towards the right wing, that there was genuine and deter- mined opposition towards any affilia- tion with the A, F. L. This anti-A. F. of L. expression of the rank and file delegates became stronger as the convention progressed in spite of the many efforts on the part of the few Socialists and Love- stonite elements who had gained an influence, among the delegates and who were trying desperately hard to jead the rank and file into the A. F. of L. The delegates to the con- vention represented about 70,000 shoe workers and they were dominated by a spirit of militancy and a strong desire for the building of one or- ganization in the shoe industry. Some Outstanding Lessons ! 1, The amalgamation movement was initiated from below by the workers in the shops who had been influenced by the left wing move- ment. One of their wisest moves in the beginning the outstanding fact still remains—| liberations and activity. This policy was successfully continued through- out the convention and contributed greatly towards the success of . the convention. It is to be understood that these officials were of the A. F. of L. type that today dominate the right wing organizations of the ALP. &, 2. The workers organized a plan- ning board consisting of workers elected from the renks of the vari- ous locals in New England and New York, It was the work of this rank and file planning board that com- pelled the respective organizations at their respective conventions to take up the question of amalgamation. 3. It was however a Weakness on the part of the rank and file plan- ning board to permit its power to be assumed and absorbed by a sub- t provisional committee set up at conventions of the respective rvanizations that were still under the influence of the leadership, which was at no time in harmony with amalgamation. 4. The est>blishing of the Provi- sional Committee forced the real rank *}and file committee into the back- ground and reduced it to a pure agitational force without power to act. 5. The personnel of the Provisional Committee became a very important factor and to our regret it must be edmitted that the Lovestone element was able to maneuver itself into a prominent position and leadership. 6. This could never have happened in the Planning Board, nor could it have happened had the line of the T. U. U. L, been carried out by the lett wing leadership in a correct and consistent manner. Failure to do so relegated such leadership into a back seat, 7. One of the first tasks of the|the was their decision to|Lovestone elements, controlling the bar all paid officials from their de-! Provisional Comm., was to try and prevent the New York Industrial Union from gaining # foot-hold in the amalgamation movement. This they attempted to do by spreading lies and generally attempting to dis- credit the New York leadership. The Loyestonites realized that their ambition to bring the amalgamation movement into the hands of the A. F. L. would be frustrated if the New York Industrial Union became a factor. 8. It must be frankly stated that the New York leadership of the Shoe jand Leather Workers Industrial | Union underestimated the importance of the New England deyelopment and though the general strike in New | York was in progress at the same | time, It was yet @ serious error not to be fully connected and participat- ing in the amalgamation movement from beginning to end, 9. The New York organization had sent delegates to the rank and file Planning board at two or three dif- ferent times, but this by no means served the purpose, The neglect by the New York leadership plus the weakness of the T. U. U. L. leader: ship .and the left wing followers in New England made it easy sailing for the Socialists and Lovestonite element up until a month before the convention. Our active participation put an end to their reign of mislead- ing. tee were working towards A. F. L. that much confusion pre’ minds of the New England Conven- tion delegates when the real tasks of the convention were taken up. It is however due to the correct line laid down by the T. U, U. L. and carried out by the New York dele- gation that the barriers raised by the Lovestone elemenis were soon smashed, thus paving the way constructive work and unprejudiced unity between the New York and New England delegation. 12. The convention delegates also for the first time received real dem~- onstration as to the meaning of right | wing A. F. of L. leadership such as the Nolans, etc., and left wing T. U. U. L. leadership as came from New York and it was not surprising that during the entire convention the only leadership taking any part in the convention on the part of paid of- ficials were those of the Shoe and Leather Workers Industrial Union— Rosenberg and Biedenkapp. 13. No officials of any of the other unions participated during the con- vention besides making one speech on the opening day. 14, The question of aftiliation with a@ central organization was one of the major questions, although Soci- alist and Lovestonite elements had 10. The fact remains that while we were fairly well represented in the Planning Board we had absolutely no representation in the Provisional Committee and as time went on ge Provisional Committee became controlling factor, while the Planning Borrd remained the agitationa] machinery; and while both work for unity and amalegamation the ideo- logy and aims of the Planning Board was away from the A. F. L. while Zimmerman-Lovestone leader- Had in the Provisional Committee plus the Socialist lawyer Bearack, prepared the ground for a fight against the T, U. U. L. by poisoning the minds of the workers against the T. U. U, L. and were working hard to bring forth the A. F. of L. they he | failed completely in gaining even the slightest support for the A, F. L. 15, The New York delegation aroused great enthusiasm and re- ceived long and hearty applause when presenting its program based upon the class struggle and calling for militant action by the rank and file in its struggles for improved con- ditions and particularly so when the to | engaged by the Provisional Commit-; New York celegation exposed the ) | | tactics 11, It is therefore not an accident | policy of the A. F, of 1 led in the | and the wrong lines and 16. The convention, having gone on the New York delegation come in to the amalgamation on the same basis, in other words to be free from af- filiation with the T. UL. U. L. A declaration of secession from the ; bose -Pre-Convention Discussion of ‘the Communist Party’ Some Outstanding Lessons at the Shoe Union Amale: amation Movement left wing leadership is on the job apply ying the line laid down in the Open Letter results can be achieved. 20. The fight to save “the ¢ | record that the new organization was | tion was led and won by the New | to remain independent, insisted ‘that York delegation . only.. because we came there. with. a. correct. program of the T. 0. U. 1, tl Se 21. By speaking personally with delegates, doing real Sime gis work, holding. joint Se fags y m0. f on the floor of | * J the ¢ her with a plain | xD alist 7 “i Zima _ aie ment’ is. ta. the the Socialist ans immerman. el ment. # * ments and pointing out -the-corretl Tt was poi 9 line of the - left-- wing ~movement | ecognized the j all unions into ¢ one controlled o mount impor mony with the line of the ‘ and that secession from the T. U. U. L. today did not mean a repudiation of all that the T. U. U. L. stood for, but was on the contrary a move if the direction which the New York delegation felt would eventually lead many more thousands of shoe work- ers into the folds of the left ls movement that the T. U. U. represents, 18. The question of constitution | was of course the greatest issué at the convention and the constitution proposed by the committee with Zim- merman at the head, if accepted, would have made Bill Green blush with shame. It was a consititufion that the A. F. of L. itself would have adopted with glee. 19. The genuine and spontaneous | opposition on the part of the-con- vention delegation against the pro- posed constitution and the subsequent | acceptance on the part of the New England delegation of the New York leadership in the fight for a real rank and file constitution was a forceful demonstration of the cor- rectness of the line laid down in the Open Letter and proved beyond 2 shadow of a doubt that where the L. | action. | fin gained for the .New,. York delegation the confidence of the New England delegates which Jed. to: fina) victory. ‘alter the “New” York ‘situa- | tion, excepting the “noise ‘Tmade . by the Lovestone and’ Socialist elements lin an effort to- capitalize upom the j secession by. tryingto make~it ap- |pear that the rank-and file-of the |New York organization forced’ this This is “entirely untrue*and — has no_basis;as a@ matter-of-fact, mere “Labor Unity’s"-.were- sold at ‘the last membership meeting than at any previous meeting... 23. It becomes necessary, ‘however, that the left wing leadership, eyery- where, must apply a correct and | policy of the T. U, U. L. laid {down inthe Open Lettér iW “érder the actuat cerday agp agin ers in their eve |the unbearable ers find eae cme ine correct, to Say that ‘the™ star f in approehing™ the” convention’ es seh the convey dent ie laid-down y the Us Le-wasseorrect ar if sincere and “eonseant™ eiakiantigh te given and activity developed we wil oi | 4 undoubtedly paver the* way “tH the ~ right direction’