The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 22, 1934, Page 5

DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, THURSDAY, MAKCM zz, rst F page "> —- CHANG — WORLD! By SENDER GARLIN LLIAM GROPPER, the brilliant revolutionary artist, is the subject of a leading editorial in the Socialist wewish Daily Forward. “A Communist and His Con- science” is the heading on the impassioned editorial which assails Gropper—in a mood of vicious impotence—for having taken york ladied out on a “project” under the direction of the Regional Committee of Public Works of Art, Now this “project” is under the direction of the Cc. W. A., and, argues the “Forward,” since the Communists are fighting the Roose- velt, regime—how does it come about that-a Communist artist is taking pymey from the enemy? . ‘fhe venomous “Forward” outburst followed the publication of a front-page story in the Herald Tribune “exposing” the fact that the Daily Worker and Morning Freiheit cartoonist was receiving $38 a week for making black-and-white drawings of athletes to decorate the drab walls of public school class-rooms. “There is among the Communists an artist, a cartoonist, and he is a Communist par excellence, William Gropper is his name,” writes the collective editorial brains of the Forward. “If other Communists are bitter and as odoriferous as onions, then he is as bitter as horse-radish. Where other Communists simply walk, Gropper runs. Where other Communists shout, Gropper shrieks. In brief, what a Communist! (Current jazz translation, “and how!”) “There is no Communist newspaper or magazine in which you will not encounter Gropper’s cartoons. Even in Soviet Russia he is popular. In fact he has been in Moscow and found favor in the eyes of the Little Father Stalin. Particularly bitter is Gropper against the Social- ists and union leaders for their friendship with Roosevelt’s N.R.A. and all its works, such as the C.W.A. and other projects to provide work for the unemployed. For Gropper, as for all Communists, the whole N.R.A. is a piece of Fascism, which all workers must shun. What, pray, does “God do who sits above and pokes around below? Well, he poked around ‘so long until he poked out thé fact that Gropper, this holy shouter, is a Kosher Communist par excellence, whose Communism has the seal of Moscow itself, this Communist eats pork at the table of Roosevelt's N.R.A. There is a branch of the N.R.A., which provides work for un- employed artists. It is known as the P.V.A-P., and Gropper is in the service of this P.V.A.P. and gets $38 a week. So a reporter of the Tribune went to Gropper and asked him: ‘Well?’ And Gropper an- Swered ‘wittily,’ ‘My work is worth much more than that.’ _ “For the reporter of the Tribune this was perhaps an answer. Gropper replies that he takes no money from the Communist paper on which -he works! But the question remains, how can you take ‘unholy money and carry it to the Communists?” a * * * Extra! Extra! HIS “expose” of Gropper is really funny. Here’s a man whose work for the past 15 years has appeared in the most influential of the -bourgeois as well as revolutionary publications. From 1919 to 1925, before he became active in the revolutionary movement as an outstand- ing cartoonist, Gropper did humorous illustrations for the old New York Tribune, for the Sunday World, for the New York American. His theatrical caricatures and illustrations of authors helped liven up the stodgy pages of the old New York Evening Post, when it was owned by Oswald Garrison Villard, the old lady from the Nation. His work appeared in Vanity Fair, the Dial, Life, the Spur, the Bookman, -Pearsons, as well as in Shadowland. Since that time Gropper’s work has become known and loved by literally millions of workers in every country. As far back as 1921 he contributed drawings to the Revolutionary Age, organ of the left wing which had broken away from the corrupt remnants of the Socialist | Party. Later his devastating cartoons appeared in the Liberator, the Work- ers’ Monthly, the Weekly as well as the Daily Worker; the Labor De- fender, the New Masses, in addition to numerous foreign-language Communist papers published in various cities in the United States. Gropper, incidentally, has illustrated nearly 15 books, including “Circus Parade*’ and “Shadows of Men,” by Jim Tully; “Reminiscences of a Cowboy,” by Frank. Harris;. “Necessary Nonsense,” by Gelett Burgess, and others. What is more, as a craftsman, Gropper is con- ‘sidered a master even by those bourgeois art critics who hate and fear the political philosophy implicit in his work. When Gropper earned $350 a week, working for the Tribune and other publications, neither the Tribune nor the Forward engaged in “exposes” of him. But when he plunges himself into work for the revolutionary press and his barbs sink deep into the miserable system defended with equal ardor by both the Herald Tribune and the Socialist “Forward”—then Gropper must be “exposed.” Exposed, did I say? Certainly we Communists fight the N. R. A.; certainly we show the inadequacy of the C. W. A. But when the “Forward” tries to show the “inconsistency” of a revolutionary artist “accepting” money from the Roosevelt government, it reveals once again its utter charlatanism. For our demand is not a boycott of C. W. A. work, but rather for the highest wages and best conditions on C. W. A. work! . Why They Hate Gropper Bin Jewish Daily Forward has good reason to hate Bill Gropper, for his powerful cartoons and biting caricatures have unmasked the cor- rupt bureaucracy of the Socialist and right wing trade union leaders. The love which the needle trades workers in particular have for Grop- per is the best evidence of his effectiveness in fighting those who have tried to strangle militant trade unionism. About five years ago Gropper even had the honor of being hailed in court on a charge of “criminal libel.” The complaint was brought, by the late Morris Sigman, at the time president of the right wing International Ladies Garment Workers Union. I was in Magistrate Louis Brodsky’s court that day, and Gropper looked as proud as a kid graduating from school. Sigman didn’t get to first base with his charges, and anyway even if he had won on all the legal points, he ‘eSuldn’t collect much in damages from Bill Gropper! _ Although they deny that they are trying to get “free publicity,” the comrades in charge of the Workers’ Book Shon, 35 Bast 12th St., New ‘York, point out as a matter of objective ‘ “ston that “the busiest. book shop in town today is the Workers F », which is conducting a 20-50 per cent discount sale, which enc y, March 31.” Recital at Pierre | Degeyter Club By CARL SANDS ARON COPLAND is one of the three or four most prominent living American composers and certainly the best of the younger | men. Yet it has remained for an organization of proletarian musici-| i |ans to be the first to ask him to| Congress of the Communist Party | give a recital exclusively of his own|°f the Soviet Union, in a handy | Works! In his remarks prefatory| book form. A large edition makes | to this recital at the Pierre Degey-| it available at small cost, a political |ter Club headquarters at 19th St.,| consideration, because this is a do- | New York, on March 16, he brought ;cument for mass distribution and | still one more affirmation of the| study. It is indispensable for every- | belief that contemporary art music| one who wishes to know what is go- |has lost contact with the vital ing on in the world. For the workers trends in present-day life and that| generally it is a revelation of the the only hope for it lies in its frank | meaning of the phrase “building So- identification with the great masses | ciglism”; for the Party member and oe pe eae, ae in |leader it is a daily textbook of Bol- against | viewing his compositions | Snevism- int ) editions; and |from a revolutionary angle, for, as), phe Barta ead |he said with charming naivete, he! sige 0 of the Slagales of revolu- had not, at the time of their com-| tionary literature. First presented to America in an abridged cable re- sition, any ideas of that sort y oe (ansihie on port covering two pages of the Daily his head. This reviewer held y tightly to his seat, waiting for the | Worker, the complete report is now given us in a 96-page booklet. The | avalanche to fall; but not a single} ‘ | member of the large audience took| cover photo of Stalin delivering his | him up on the point, which clearly| report, showing other Bolshevik Publishers, 381 Fourth Ave., New | York. 96 pages. Ten Cents. | Dae Reviewed by EARL BROWDER is the complete text of Sta- Copeland’s Music Browder Reviews Re STALIN REPORTS. International; He: With the sowing, Comrade lin’s historic report to the 17th | port of Stalin to 17th Party Congress Stalin? We have mobilized our- selves. (Laughter). I: Well, and what then? He: We have put the qnestion bluntly, (Laughter). I: And What next? He: There is a turn, Comrade Stalin; soon there will be a turn, (Laughter) . I: But still? He: We can observe some prog~ ress, (Laughter). I: But for all that, how are you getting on with the sowing? He: Nothing has come of the sowing as yet, Comrade Stalin. (General laughter). . This little story deserves fully as} much attention on our part in the| U. S. A. as the deep and clear ana- I given of the world situation | and the problems of Socialist con- | struction. We also, and perhaps more than others, have our chat-| terboxes who can talk by the hour and repeat all the slogans so long | as they are abstract enough, but cannot carry out in practice the | first simple tasks of the workers’ struggle. Bolshevik responsibility, | | ate stage of almost religious rage or, challenges the very basis upon| which the club is organized. Noth- ing in our world can lie outside of the scope of revolutionary criticism, The class bias of any music can always be distinguished whether or not the composer is aware of it. ec e5 8 ® (E issue was all the clearer be- cause the composer’s Progress | from ivory tower to within hailing distance, of the proletariat was| plainly and graphically told in his| music. From the genteel seclu- sion of the earlier works (a Pas- sacaglia and two pieces for violin and piano), through an intermedi- better, rage at religion (the Trio, “Vitebsk”), and of a flirtation with Broadway a jazz concerto for piano), he emerged by 1930 as} the composer of one of the most) undeniably revolutionary pieces of | music ever produced here — the Piano Variations. That he was not! “conscious” of this at the time he wrote the work is merely to say} that in 1930 he had progressed | further in musical than in language | development. For what we or- dinarily call “being conscious” is} linguistic, verbal, awareness. After | all, Copland is primarily a musician! That he warns against revolution- ary criticism of his work shows | advance, but that still his linguistic | lags behind his musical conscious- | ness. But evidently it is coming on. | re ae IN ANSWER to a question as to what had this music to do with the proletariat, one speaker, an- nouncing himself as a structural steel-worker, answered that it | only with the daily job but with the trip to and from it—even with |the lunch hour, Copland rejoined | |that he did not attempt to portray | riveters and subways in music, but that he did compose the work in |@ room on a very noisy New York thoroughfare and had felt that his music must be able to stand up against modern life. For one of the finest definitions of revolution- ary musical content yet made, we hail Aaron Copland. “Up against!” And with vigor, too—that is the essence of the Piano Variations. There chief shortcomings seems to | be that they are almost too much “against” — against pretty nearly everything. So some day, Aaaron, write us something “for.” You know what for! A strictly workers’ audience should hear this work with, of course, some langut explanation. (For the proletariat’s approach to music, is as is that of the bour- geoisie, clouded over with ancient misconceptions of a linguistic na- ture and these must be removed, partly through talk, before the music can gain free access.) In such a case it would be safe to bet that the piece would be well-liked | until about two-thirds way through, when attention would be lost. There is a barren spot there and a work- ers’ audience would react promptly and unfavorably. Many bourgeois musicians have noticed this pas- sage, A cut of a minute or so might turn the trick. For otherwise the continuity of power and poise is fine. Not so, however, with the earlier Concerto, which, in spite of its many brilliant passages, lacks form—too often stopping and start- ing again, as if blinded momentarily by its own wit. | ‘The performance was usually adequate and very often brilliant. | The audience crowded the space to capacity and proved most apprecia- tive. That is, all but a half dozen who, as upon several former oc- casions, made such a noise talk- | Chief of the Kiev Military District | leaders listening with broad smiles,|the relentless carrying through in was taken when Stalin was telling | reality of the agreed-upon line of the already-famous story about the | action, is the lesson being learned “chatterbox” (page 87-88). |from Stalin by the workers of the Here is the conversation, as told | entire world. Small wonder that| by Stalin: all traitors and weaklings hate the I: How are you getting on with [Ramet is for the same reasons | the sowing? that the masses love it. Leaders of da Pirosletarian Red Army of the U.S.S.R. Vit 14 JOHN YAKIR was born in 1896 | in Kishenev (Bessarabia). He took| an early part in the revolutionary student movement. He joined the Bolshevik Party in 1917, During | the Civil War, Yakir was active in the front and the rear of the enemy | in Roumania, He organized the | 45th Division of the Ukrainian Red | Army and headed the breaking | through of the Southern Front of | the Whites. In 1925, Yakir was appointed | and in 1927 was head of the Mili- | tary Schools of the Red Army. Hej} is a member of the Political Bureau | of the Central Committee of the) Communist Party of the Ukraine | seemed to him to be in keeping not | * and Commander of the Ukrainian Military District, as well as a mem- ber of the Supreme Revolutionary Military Council, JOH KIR TUNING IN TONIGHT’S PROGRAM WEAF—660 Ke. 7:00 P..M.—Mary Small, Songs 1:15—Billy Batchelor—Sketch 7:30—Shirley Howard, Songs; Jesters Trio 7:45—The Goldbergs—Sketch 8:00—Vallee Orch.; Soloists 9:60—Captain Henry Show Boat Concert 10:00—Whiteman Orch.; Al Jolson, Songs 11:00—Viola Philo, Soprano 11:15—News Reports 11:20—Normin Cordon, Bass 11:30—From Buenos Aires: Music 12:00—Lunceford Orch. 12:15 A. M.—Hollywood on the Air 12:45—Scotti Orch, WOR —710 Ke. 7:00 P, M.—Sports Resume 7:15—Comedy; Music 7:30—Lone Ranger—Sketch 8:00—Little Symphony Orch.; Philip James, Conductor; Edith Friedman, Piano Argentine | formance was disturbed, How about | some show there, comrades, of revo- lutionary discipline, not to speak of courtesy and musical taste? eed ye Degeyter Club is growing rapidly in size and in import- ance. It must put on more shows of the musical worth of last Fri- day’s. It must also show a more consistent policy in discussion and in planning. Not only must its political grasp of music be sharper | and firmer, but it must penetrate and dispel the mystery in the minds of many of its members in regard to the inevitable identity of revo- lutionary technique and revolution- ary content. No musician today can live without frustration and inner conflict.in a musical eight- eenth century boudoir while pro- testing a verbal, twentieth century adherence to the party of Marx and ing in the corridor that the per- Lenin. 9:00—Variety Musicale | 0:18 —Dramatized News | 9:30—Success—Harry Balkin 9:45—The Witch Tale 10:15—Curtent Events—Harlan Eugene Read | 10:30—Jolly Russians 11:00—Moonbeams: Trio | 11:80—Dance Music WJZ—760 Ke. :00 FP, M.—Amos 'n’ Andy 15—To Be Announced 30—Sagerquist Orch.; Don Ameche and Sally Ward in Dramatic Sketch 8:00—Cape Diamond Lights—Sketch 8:30—Adventures in Health—Dr. Herman Bundesen 8:45—Pickens Sisters, Songs 9:00—Death Valley Days—Sketch 9:30—Duchin Orch. 10:00—Canadian Program 10:30—America Must Choose—Senator William E. Borah of Tdaho 10:45—To Be Announced 11:00—Cavaliers Quartet 11:15—News Reports 11:20—Anthony Frome, Tenor 11:30—Archer Gibson, Organ 12;00—Olsen Orch. 12:80 A.M.—Dance Orch. a tm WABC—860 Ke. 7:00 P. t and Marge 7:15—Just Pl Bill—Sketch 7:30Serenaders Orch. | 7:43—News—Boake Carter | 8:00—Raffles—Sketch | 8:30—Concert Orch.; Baritone; Mary Eastman, Helen Morgan, Songs 9:00—Philadelphia Studio Orch. 9:15—Emery Deutsch, Violin 9:30—-Waring Orch. 10:00—Gray Orch.; Stoopnagle and Budd, Comedians; Connie Boswell, Songs 10:30—Evan Evans, Baritone; Concert Orch. 11:00—Vera Van, Songs 11:15—News; Jones Orch, 11:45—Sosnik Orch, 12:00—Nelson Orch, 12:30 A. M.—Davis Orch. 1:00—Messner Orch. Alexander Gray, Soprano; Chicago, Il, CARL HAESSLER will speak before the John Reed Club, 1475 8. Michigan Ave., this Saturday, 8 p.m. on “China, the New American Frontier.” Boston, Mass. MONSTER Annual LL.D. Ball on Fri- day, March 23, at, Repertory Hall, Hun- tington Ave. near “Mass. Aye. Adm, 35¢. Phil Bard Murals|“Y oy In the New York’ Workers Center By WILLIAM SIEGEL IGNIFIED art crities and bour- geois intellectuals who believe that revolutionary art is “crude” and “inferior,” are cordially in- vited to visit the headquarters of the Daily Worker Builders on the fifth floor of the Workers Center in New York City and inspect the mural paintings just completed by Phil Bard, John Reed Club artist. Such critics—and particularly those who talk about “American- ism” in art—will see a series of murals which depict the real “American scene” with an honesty that is not to be found in the work of any “recognized” mural painter in this country. Instead of pale processions of allegoric figures which signify | nothing, they will see a moving panorama of the class struggle in America today — scenes in which we take part and which are foremost in the minds of workers and revolutionary intel- | lectuals. | This picture of contemporary America opens with a mural rep- resenting a farm foreclosure. It shows the farmers struggling with the militia and burning the mortgage. The next large panel shows the revolt of the industrial workers — miners, steel workers, lumbermen—who threaten the fat capitalist who is about to devour & whole pig. This is followed by the familiar theme of starvation-amidst plenty. Unemployed workers search the garbage cans for food, while Roosevelt grins at them near an empty plate over which hovers the Blue Buzzard. At right angles to this story of America today is another mural —the largest one of all—depict- ing, in contrast, the great achieve- ments of the Soviet people. Around portraits of the leaders of the working class are woven sym- bols of all the great victories of the Soviet Union, This painting is an epic which synthesizes the gigantic industrial, agricultural, Scientific, educational, and artistic accomplishments of a victorious working class. | THE idea for these murals origin- ated a few months ago, when a competition was announced by the John Reed Club of New York for a mural design for the Daily Worker Builders’ room. A number | of designs were submitted. From these Phil Bard's sketches were selected. The murals had to be painted under the most adverse condi- tions. Being a true revolutionary | artist, Bard was not easily dis- | couraged and he completed the project with practically no assist- ance. Inspired by this outstanding example of revolutionary mural painting, other working class or- ganizations are planning to have | similar paintings on their club room walls. In order to select designs for these new projects, the John Reed Club of New York is going to hold an exhibition of murel sketches to be opened May Ist. | | WHAT’ Thursday WORKERS SCHOOL SPRING TERM, 35 E. 12th St., New York. Second week of registration. Register now before it is too late. ALL WORKERS Book Shops are now conducting a 20 to 50 per cent Discount Sale. Also Circulating Library at New York Workers Book Shop, 50 E. 13th St. MORRIS KAMMAN speaks on “The Role of the Daily Worker in the Revo- lutionary Struggles of the Austrian Work- ers’ at the Middle Bronx Workers Club, 432 Claremont Parkway, Bronx, 8:30 p.m. MEETING of the Short Wave Radio Club of America at the Middle Bronx Workers Club, 432 Claremont Parkw: 8:30 p.m. All comrades capable of teach- ing the Morse Code are urged to atten! TOM TRUESDALE speaks on ‘The Ne. gro in the Professions” at the Pen and Hammer Club, 114 W. 21st St., 8:30 p.m, IMPORTANT Meeting Potamkin Fiim School at 12 E. 17th St. 8:30 pm. All students of school urged to be present. “THE SOVIET SYSTEM Contrasted with Parliamentary System,” lecture by Theo- dore Bayer at West Side Br. F.S.U., 2642 Broadway at 100th St., 9 p.m. Adm. free. IMPORTANT Membership Meeting Tom | Mooney Br. IL.D., 323 EB. 18th St., 8:15 pm, Organization of the LL.D. All welcome. REPORT on the ILD. Bazaer at 108 E, 14th St., Room 304, 7:30 p.m. Dele- gates can settle for tickets at this meet- ing. STRUGGLES of the Western Workers— @ first hand account by Belle Taub at the Edith Berkman Br. I.L.D. and Boro Park Workers Club, 4704 18th Ave., Brook- lyn, 8:30 p.m. Leading Party Committees and Campaigns Must Reach Basic Industries | p.m. Speakers: Rabbi Goldstein, J. W. 1| Wise, and Joseph Tauber, chairman LECTURE “‘one Year of Hitler and What/| Next” st Tremont Prog. Club, 866 E.| Tremont Ave., 8:45 p.m Philadelphia F°ST Annual Ball given by ‘Workers | Lawrence Emery will speak on the! "ll Never Get a Jol With a Coat; Hock It! By JOHN L. SPIVAK NEW ORLEANS, La.—On a wooden bench in the C.W.A. | building I sat beside a man} who was waiting to be inter- viewed before his plea for any kind of work was passed upon. We had a long talk, and what he said I heard from others in this same building, in offices and on the streets. At first he thought I was there for a job too, for he eyed my over- coat carefully and said: | “You'll never get a job with that coat on you, better hogk it; then maybe they'll give you something to do. Mine went long ago.” “How long have you been out of a job?” “A little over} @ year. Things been getting| worse all the time. I had some money saved, but that! months I used to get $75 a week,”)| he added, “but that. was long ago.” He smiled ane TAK Wistfully. | JOHN L.SPIVARMSfully. your business?” “Real estate.” He grinned. It was the first sign of amusement that showed on his worried face. “Now look at me.” “Haven't things picked up any since the government came in here?”| “Not much. Whatever improve- ments there have been are mostly of a seasonal nature.” “What does it cost you to live here?” He smiled. “Nothing. I have} |nothing. I’ve hocked everything I jever had after we drew out the| | money I had saved up. We had it |in two banks. From one of them I got 30 cents on the dollar and | from the other nothing, That went long ago. Our food—I have a wife and two children—comes from the organizations. But I guess what | you mean is the price of food for) | those who can buy. That’s gone| | up, anywhere from 20 to 50 per| |cent of what it was before the N. | R. A. came in here.” | Wholesalers and retailers contend | that because of the N. R. A. they! | had to “raise” wages and cut hours/| | which made it necessary for them) |to increase the cost of foodstuffs. | | Since general conditions have not improved and wages have actually} | been reduced instead of raised, this | has served merely to put essential food stuffs like bread, milk and | meats out of the reach of thousands | of people.” | “The government's firing men, | not hiring them,” I finally said. | He nodded glumly. “I know, but | they must have some kind of work | before everybody's let go. I've got ; to get a job no matter what it pays. This relief food is not enough | | for_us.” “What'll you do if you can’t get ja job?” He stared at the information desk | | visible in the corridor from where | we sat. He shook his head slowly. “Just live on charity, I guess,” | he said slowly. “All charity money is now com- ing from the government,” I said. “And that can’t keep up indefi-| nitely.” “It better keep up — somehow, | someway,” he said grimly. “I’m a | Hickerson, Norman Tallentire and Sadie Van Veen. Auspices of Ella May Branch LL.D. at I.W.O. Center, 1373 43rd Street, Brooklyn, 8:30 p.m. ANTI-FASCIST and Scottsboro Meeting cated by Scottsboro Br. T.L.D. at Temple Club, 991 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, 8:30/ Cul -al and Sports Club of Strawberry Ma’ %n on Priday, March 23, at Savoy Plaz:, 835-37 North Broad St. Featuring Dave Kantor and his orchestra | sented by University men | good American and I've always he | honest and law abiding but- He did not finish, just sat th with his shoulders hunched, sta at the information desk. SUMMARIZE what happend in this city since the depression 1—No one seems to have theger- act number of unemployed. Bti- mates vary from one out of ever; four workers to three out of ever) four. 2—One out of every four person¢ are uttterly destitute and dependen upon charity for their small food allowance, 3—An equal number, it is timated by charity officials, are pendent upon relatives and friend who still have a few dollars or jobs 4—Requests for charity have in- creased so tremendously that o tributors to the Community can no longer meet the demands for relief. 5—Before the depression this was an A. F. of L. stronghold; today union labor is only a name. 6—New Orleans, which was second largest port in the coun is now fourth due partly to a fall- ing off in exports and imports. 7—Longshoremen are demoral- ized; half of the approximate 8,000 who worked on the docks, sought work with the C. W. A. and are now being thrown back among the 6. | unemployed. 8—Those who did work around the docks did not earn enough to support themselves and their fami- lies and had to appeal to charity. 9—Hit even harder than long- shoremen and unskilled workers is the white collar class. 10—Many of the white collar class are now dependent upon charity. 11—The Negro, though he com- prises only 26 per cent of the total population, gets 60 per cent of the total charity expenditures, showing that wherever possible his job has been taken by a white. 12—Speed-up in work and doubl- ing-up in homes are common here since the depression. 13—Home and family life have been destroyed in many instances. 14—With all the millions the gov- ernment spent on federal relief pro- jects, only three per cent of those registered as unemployed for gov- ernment relief jobs have been put to work. 15—The overwhelming majority of those who are working are not earning a living wage. 16—Repregentative union wage scales for New Orleans as given by the Department of Labor for last year were inaccurate then and are inaccurate now; the wage scale is approximately half what the government says it is. 17—Unskilled labor, which was thrown upon the charity heap ail- | most immediately after the depres- sion set in, seems to be the most resigned of all the workers. is 18—The white collar class here shows the greatest unrest and re- sentment against the current eco- nomic and political system. 19—The “intellectuals” as repre- and teachers are in a nebulous state— floating around in air, mildly re- sentful. 20—With the Hquidation of the C. W. A. the increase in charity applicants and the inability to raise enough money to feed the unem- ployed, the director of the Com- munity Chest believes that if these conditions continue or become ag- gravated, they will bring on “a revolution” judging from the temper of the people. 21—Out of six banking institu- tions with numerous branches, four crashed, taking with them home- stead banks, which resulted in some 19000 privately owned homes being lost. 22—Food costs have risen from 20 to 50 per cent since the coming of the N. R.A 23—The N. R. A, has produced a widespread cutting of wages in- stead of raising them. 24—Business increases in the last year have been trifling in compari- son with the increased unemploy- men and the rise in charity appii- cants and expenditures, COMMEMORATE the Paris Commune, Friday, March 23, 8 p.m. Main Speaker: | Joseph Brodsky, Program. John Reed Club, Nature Friends, Pamous North Carolina | Singers. Ambassador Hall, 1710 N. Broad | Street, Don’t miss the first installment of John L. Spivak’s series of ar- ticles on Tulsa, Oklahoma, which begins in tomorrow's Daily Worker, |. AMUSE MENTS | LAST 2 DAYS! Fri oe on “How to-Stop the Next| ies dager War.” Speakers: Annie Gray, Herold “*RUBICON’? or “THE STRIKEBREAKER” A SOVIET Picture Produced in the U.S.S.R. by Belogoskino (English Titles) STARTING SATURDAY! 2 SOVIET productions ANNA STEN | in “THE GIRL WITH | THE BAND BOX | — AND — r “IGDENBU” we vn i ‘ © z a | Soviet Mongolic (English Titles) Must Take Up the Daily well as of our Union, were faced) cleus with that of the street units, | Revitalize Our Slogan | ACME THEATRE _ Uthstectand | Mianite show with lay-offs. We initiated meet-| | you'll find an entirely different pic- of “Face to the | ti Union Square | Saturday Grievances of Workers, Large and Small ings. The workers responded, and as a'result of this movement, most of the workers were given jobs on other operations. In the sheet Pre-Convention Discussion By M. H. POWERS Our experiences during the past mill, 60 Negro openers demanded pay for dead work. They were month proves that concretization means to take up the daily griev- ances of the workers, no matter how small, In the Sheet Mill in Spar- rows Point the hand-shearmen were faced with a wage-cut of 40 per cent. It only effected some 12 or 15 workers. These workers were all non-union members. In spite of this, our comrades man- aged to get them together, elect a committee of action id protest against the wage-cut. The result, the wage-cut was stopped. In the Sheet Mill again, some 50 workers were mobilized through our con- tact, to go up to the company of- fice and demand one hour's pay veien reporting to work and when told that there is no work for them. The company was forced to grant them the demand, with a result that now all the workers report- ing to work get 75 cents when turned down. in the mill, a new shearing thine was instalied, Many work- members of the A, F, Ly asi gotten together to a meeting for the first time in the history of the plant. The Negro workers elected their own committee and went up to the company office. The superin- tendent refused to see them because they were Negroes. But t... next day the demand was granted, amounting to an increase of about $1.50 a week, because we mobilized the support of the white workers. These partial strugg! nected up with the exposure of the N. R. A, and the popularization of our Union. In the course of these actions, our union continually gained membership. This si how the present condi- tions necessitate new methods of organization in connection with the exposure of the N. R. A. and the building of our Union. Our General Campaign and Concentration Our work in the factories at present mainly suffers from the lack of understanding as to what concentration really is. For ex- ample; ‘These actions mentioned “| not in the plant. above could have been easily utilized and connected up with the general political activity and cam- paigns of our Party. But this is not the case. Sparrows Point plant has three thousand Negro workers; but the Scottsboro campaign, car- ried on by the Section Committee and the Party street unit, was mainly directed towards the street and neighborhood. During the past months, thousands of leaflets, if not tens of thousands, were dis- tributed in the neighborhoods, but Mass meetings and demonstrations are arranged away from the plant, branches of the I. L. D. are built, but none in the steel section. A campaign against War and Fascism is carried on. Hundreds of dollars are spent by the Sec- tion, and by the mass organizations, but not one single leafiet on war and fascism, not one single attempt to hold any meetings to organize committees in the Bethlehem Steel plant, where 12,000 workers are em- ployed, with hundreds of Italian, German, Polish and Austrian work- of the company union, etc., is very much concretized. This sort of “concentration” actually hinders concentration and hampers the shop nucleus to carry. on political ac- tivity in the factory. It divorces our economic fight from political struggles and hampers the growth of our Party and union. Comrades say that you cannot give up gen- eral activity, but this is incorrect. ‘The success of our activity in the streets and neighborhoods mainly depends upon the success in mobi- lizing the workers in the factories. A movement of 12,000 workers in a single plant would automatically have a reviving effect upon all our activity. But it will never work the other way around. These are the lessons and meaning of con- centration. It really means all our forces for factory work even at the expense of having some of our secondary work suffer. Shop Nucleus and Party Leadership The functioning of our shop nucleus in the Bethlehem Steel Plant and its work is of tremend- ous significance. If you compare ture. The shop nucleus member- ship, in spite of all its shortcom- ings, has remained steady, with very little fluctuation. Whereas, the fluctuation in our street unit is practically 60 to 75 per cent. Our latest activity in the plant has found a great response amongst the workers to our Party, especially among the American workers. The result is that the new recruits came into the Party made up of advanced and key people in various depart- ments. But how are these new ele- ments handled? How much per- sonal attention do they receive? How much pain do we take to really educate politically and make these workers Party conscious? A few- examples will illustrate this point. For the past three months that I know of, the Section Organ- izer or the Org. Sec’y. of the sec- tion hasn’t spent half an hour in @ personal conversation with one single party member or unit organ- izer. In fact, the Org. Sec’y. of the Section has never met in per- son the Organizers of the shop nuclei in this particular plant. These new workers, who are eager to Jearn about the Party, who want literature, who want information. Factories” —-THE THEATRE GUILD presents— JOHN WEXLEY’S New Play THEY SHALL NOT DIE units in the city. The result is that | with scores of comrades in each de-) partment, with functioning units | ROYALE Ths, 45th st. and well-attended meetings, never- theless, the political life of these units is dampened, because the gen- eral campaigns of the Party, as well as the relations between the leadership and the members of the shop nucleus are bad. This can be explained probably by the fact that on the Section Committee, out of 15 members, only one is @ steel worker, in spite of the fact that the steel member- ship in the city makes up about 35 per cent of the total. These problems must receive serious at- tention at the coming section con- ventions, District, as well as the National convention of our Party. Face to the factories and con- centration is but an empty phrase, unless our best forces, leading party committees and Party campaigns are so coordinated and directed to reach the workers in the basic in- dust Only then will we be able to solve the problems of factory are simply not paid any attention ers, and where daccism in the form the fluctuation im the shop nu- to; much less than any of the street. a ea nucleus and the building of trade unions, « x Mats, Thurs EUGENE O'NEILL's Comedy AH, WILDERNESS! with GEORGE M. COHAN | ea., 324 St, W. of Biwa: GUILD 5, ssomtats-rnar.asat.220 MAXWELL ANDERSON’S New Play “MARY OF SCOTLAND” with HELEN PHILIP HELEN HAYES MERIVALE MENKEN ALVIN Thea., 52d St., W. of B’way Ey.8.20Mats, Thur. &Sat.2.20 WALTER HUSTON in Sincleir Lewis’ DODSWORTH Dramatized by SIDNEY HOWARD UBERT, W. 44th St. Evs. 8:40 Sharp Matinees Wednesday and Saturday, 2:30 Workers’ Laboratory Theatre Premiere of Revolutionary Drama MIKE GOLD, chairman Saturday, March 24th, 8:30 P.M. 5th'Ave. Thea, 20 St & Bia'ay Tick’s 25e38cS0e7S¢ Workers Bookshop, 30 F, 13th St., and .T., 42 B, 12th Bt. ——RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL— 50 St & 6 Ave—Show Place of the Nation Opens 11:30 A. M. “Bottoms Up” SPENCER JOHN “PAT” TRACY BOLES PATERSON And a great Music Hall Stage Show RKO Jefferson Mth St-2 | Now Brd Ave. | | JOEL McCREA & GINGER ROGERS in ‘CHANGE AT HEAVE Added feature:—“FOG” with MARY BRIAN & DONALD COOK TEGFELD FOLLIE with FANNIE BRICE Willie & Eugene HOWARD, Bartlett Si WINTER GARDEN, Matinees Thurs Biway & bot y and Satur UNITY THEA., 24 E. 28rd Present a Preview of “Death of Jehovah” Dramatized from the story “1933” by J. Klein Friday, March 23rd, 9 P, M. Admission 25 Cente |