The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 3, 1934, Page 1

CIRCULATION DRIVE NEW SUBS RECEIVED YESTERDAY: 68 Saturday Total to date. .2,399 Total . AMERICA’S ONLY WORKING CLASS DAILY NEWSPAPER Daily .<QWorker CENTRAL ORGAN COMMUNIST PARTY U.S.A. (SECTION OF COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL) Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at New York, N. ¥., under the Act of March 8, 1879 “COMMUNIST PARTY OPENS 8uNAT’L CONVENTION TODAY; » DELEGATES FROM FACTORY, MINE, FARM AT CLEVELAND | o Chicago C.W.A. Strikers Win | Vol. XI, No. 80 P46 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1934 WEATHER: Fair, warmer. Price 3 Cents (Six Pages) Convention Manifesto Calls to Masses to Take Revolutionary Way Out of Crisis in Fight for Bread, Work, Against War, Fascism Wage Increases Force 100 Per Cent Pay Rise; Free Transporta- tion; Other Demands STRUCK FRIDAY Refused to Work Until Demands Were Granted (Daily Worktr Midwest Bureau) CHICAGO, April 2.—Mass action of thousands of former C. W. A. workers on the Palos Park project, now under “work relief,” forced the Illinois} Emergency Relief Administration to} grant twice as many hours of work on the jobs and the continuation of the right as on the C.W.A. to} make up time lost through sick- ness or bad weather, and free truck transportation. Three thousand workers milled around the assembly place at 6 o'clock this morning, determined not to work if their demands for in- creased hours and other conditions} were not met. They refused to get into the trucks until their elected committee was finally given a let- ter signed by Edward J. Blair and M. H. Bickman of the Illinois Emer- y Relief Commission, guaran- g§ 24 hours work a week at 60 cents an hour. These hours of work replaced the proposed 12-hour week. The workers would have won greater demands, but their commit- was misled into accepting the promises of the relief officials. The job march through the Loop here Saturday is seen as having hastened the granting of the con- cessions. That the victory will be short- lived unless the workers retain a militant rank and file organization with a commitiee directly respon- sible to them can be seen from the last sentence of Blair’s letter in which he states: “I am further ad- vised by relief officials that efforts will be made to determine the budget needs of each worker so that either direct relief [grocery orders —Ed.] or work relief, whichever best fits such budget needs, may be pro- vided.” ¢ Alexander Guss, organizer of the Cook County Unemployment Coun- cils, pointed out that the victory of the Palos Park workers is further proof that by organizing for mili- tant action relief workers can force concessions from the authorities. “The letter which states each man will work three eight-hour days each week at the rate of 60 cents an hour, as compared with the original assignment of 48 hours a mpnth, is a partial victory,” A. Guss said. “This yictory was won as the result of struggle and united action on March 31. Demand 30-Hour Week “Naw we must organize on the Jobs to demand a 30-hour week as promised by the Roosevelt admin- istration. We must demand union wags on our jobs and the right to organize. “We must demand pay each week on the job instead of every two weeks by mail as proposed by Mr. Blair,” concluded Guss. Taxi Union Opens Drive On Blacklist Protests Move of Cops To Take Licenses from Militant Cab Drivers By HARRY RAYMOND NEW YORK.—The Taxi Drivers Union of Greater New York opened @ drive yesterday to halt attempts of the fleet owners to discriminate against militant taxi drivers. The drive, according to Samuel Orner, president of the union, will espe- cially be directed against the Par- melee garages, wheer the greatest, number of complaints have been made by hackmen since the ter- Boston Workers Will Demonstrate Against War, Fascism Apr. 6 BOSTON, April 2—In spite of the police opposition and the vicious attitude of the Hearst papers, workers are preparing for a mass demonstration against war and fascism for Friday, April 6, at 5:30 p. m. at Tremont and West Sts., Boston Common. Thousands of leaflets announc- ing the demonstration have al- ready been distributed, and many organizations have pledged their support, Slash Pay; Fire Thousands Off C.W.A. in N.Y. CWA Con ference to Reconvene on April 8th NEW YORK. — Approximately 240,000 C. W. A. workers in New York state were thrown off the fed- eral C. W. A. payroll yesterday, it was revealed by F. I. Daniels, state C. W. A. administrator. This follows the firing of more than 100,000 C W. A. workers during the months of February and March on Roose- velt’s order to “taper off” C. W. A. Yesterday, at least 30,000 New York C. W. A. workers, having failed to “establish need” to the satisfaction of the C. W. A. and relief officials, were fired from the city “work re- lief” which replaces C. W. A. The firings, it was stated by C. W. A. and relief officials, followed the failure! to answer the pauper’s oath ques-! tionnaire satisfactorily. The La- Guardia administration stated that it was at a loss to provide relief for those fired, or to guarantee the con- tinuation of the jobs of those re- tained at reduced pay. The new “work relief,” Commis- sioner of Welfare William Hodson recently st.ted, will be on the basis of ‘absolute need,” stating that “we are going to have to go back to a relief wage . . . and we are only going to be able to give this to the destitute.” The relief wage will be $7.20 a week (Continued on Page 2) “New Deal” Means $83,213,000. Profit For General Motors Budd Auto Workers Get Steep Pay Slashes Under NRA NEW YORK.—Reflecting on the enormous increase in the efficiency of extracting profits from labor un- der the Roosevelt “New Deal,” the Morgan-controlled General Motors Corporation today reported a profit rise since last March 830 times as great as last year an on increase in gross business amounting to only about 25 per cent, according to Al- fred P. Sloan Jr., president of the corporation, The company reported profits of 383,213,000 for 1933, compared with Profits of $164,979 in 1932, After reporting such huge profit increases, Sloan declared that “there appeared indications of im- provement throughout the world.” The wages of auto workers have been cut, and the intensity of their exploitation has been increased by the Roosevelt price-raising program and the N.R.A. codes. The N.R.A. codes have permitted the Wall Street auto monopolies like General Motors to increase production far beyond any increase in employment, mination of the general strike. Despite the fact that Mr. Levin Rank, head of the Parmelee Sys- tem in this city, has pledged openly in the press that there will be no discrimination or blacklisting, nu- merous complaints have been re- ceived at the headquarters of the union, 233 W. ¢%nd St. These complaints, the majority of which are coming in from the Par- {Continued on Page 2) the increase in total auto produc- tion being more than three times the increase in auto employment. Despite the large increase in pro- duction, a goodly portion of which is accounted for by the manufac- ture of trucks for military purposes, as well as stocking up in anticipa- tion of price advances, actual retail sales have lagged behind produc- tion, with foreign markets not pro- viding the expected buying power.| } ® Leaders of the Communist Party of the U. S. A. ae William Z. Foster, national chairman of the Communist Party, veteran fighter for American working class emancipation. Drawings by Morris J. Kallem Earl Browder, general secretary of the Communist Party, who ga ve the keynote speech at the opening of the eighth convention in Clye- land yesterday, es Soviet Ship “Kim” Anchors nN. Y. After 23-Day Trip Marine Worker Delega- tion Greets Crew Warmly NEW YORK, April 2.—With ham- mer and sickle emblazoned on them, two bright red flags snapping in the wind today announced the com- ing of the first Soviet ship, “Kim,” since 1917. The ship, which left Odessa 23 days ago, docked at the Bush Ter- minal, Pier 8 with a cargo of 6,400 tons of general merchandise. will remain in New York two weeks before embarking for Odessa. A delegation from the Unem- ployed Council, the Marine Work- ers Union and the International Longshoremen Association wel- comed the arrival of the “Kim.” The “Kim” is one of many ships which display the tremendous in- dustrial progress that went on dur- ing the first Five-Year Plan, hav- ing been built in 1932. The re- markable comforts for the crew are a feature of the ship. Capt. August Upnal, in a speech, said he was glad to have brought this ship to America and that, “This won’t be the last; but more and more will come, showing the progress of So- viet industry. This will help to bind more firmly the friendly relation- ship existing between America and the Soviet Union.” April 6 Anti-War Rally to Answer Jingoes Workers Will Mass in| if St. Nicholas Arena Friday Night NEW YORK. — A mighty working class answer to the jingo glorification of war on the 17th anniversary of America’s entry into the World war will be given in the mass anti-war rally next Friday night, April 6, 7.30 p. m., in St. Nicholas Arena, 69 West 66th St. The meeting, called by the Am- erican League Against War and Fascism, has been endorsed by hun- dreds of mass organizations, trade unions, fraternal and cultural groups, anti-war organizations and other bodies, | CLEVELAND, Ohio—The huge opening mass meeting of the Eighth National Convention of the Com- munist Party of the United States was about to begin here at the Music Hall of the Public Audito- rium as the Daily Worker went to press last night. With all of the main delegations already in Cleveland, the conven- tion is all set to embark on the series of basic discussions and plans which are expected to carry t| War Preparations Spur Output of Bandages WASHINGTON, April 2.—John- son & Johnson Co., makers of sur- gical dressings, whose orders have recently increased as a result of war preparations, have filed an applica- tion here asking that they be al- lowed to operate their machinery 144 hours a week instead of the 80 hours which is the limit they are allowed under the cotton textile code. This request was made by the Johnson & Johnson firm at the original hearing on the cotton tex- tile code, and was bitterly opposed by the rest of the cotton mill bosses who did not have the war orders upon which they could increase pro- duction. Delegates in Cleveland As 8th CP. Convention Opens | the working class of this country into new heights of militant strug- gle in the immediate future, The arrival of delegations from Southern California, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, New York and Boston completed the number of Commu- nist Party delegates expected here. They came from 43 of the 48 states in the Union, ready to map the Communist Party’s campaign in the shops and factories, in the mines and countryside, among the Ne- groes and foreign-born workers— among all sections of America’s toilers, unemployed and oppressed. Final arrangements for the hous- ing and feeding of these delegates, towards which workers of the en- | tire country have contributed from their own scarce funds, are being made by the workers of Cleveland. The first regular session of the convention opens this morning at} 10 o'clock. BYRD BEGINS 7-MONTH STUDY LITTLE AMERICA, Antartica, April 2—Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd had settled himself “as com- fortably as could be expected” in his little one-room shack 123 miles south of Little America, where he ‘Matthew Smith In ‘New Move to Split will remain alone for seven months to study weather in the Antartica. Dr. Harry F. Ward, of the Meth- odist Federation for Social Service, the newly named national chairman of the American League Against War and Fascism, will be the chief speaker. Among the other speakers will be Louise Weir, of the Wo- men’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Robert W. Dunn of the Labor Research Asso- cation; Roger Baldwin of the Civil Liberties Union; Carl Brodsky, of the Communist Party; Mrs. Annie E. Gray, of the Women’s Peace Society; Jack Davis of the Workers Ex- Servicemen’s League, and represen- tatives of trade unions and other organizations affiliated with the League. Norman H. Tallentire will be chairman. Brownsville Demonstration Thursday ( Admission will be 20 cents at the 4 door; 15 cents with a card which is being distributed broadcast by all organizations supporting the rally; and free to all unemployed with membership books in any organiza- tion of the jobless. Friday’s rally will be preceded by a mass meeting and march against war in Brownsville, under the auspices of the Brownsville League Against War and Fascism. This demonstration is called for Thursday, April 5,7 p. m., at Hop- kinson and Pitkin Aves. All workers and organizations from East Flatbush and Crown Heights will meet at Fulton and Rolph Aves., all frem Brownsville and East New York at Hinsdale and Auto United Front Auto Union Urges All| Shop Stewards to Hit Betrayal Plan (Special to the Daily Worker) DETROIT, April 2.—Openly fiout- ing the will of the rank and file, Matthew Smith, General Secretary of the Mechanics’ Educational So- ciety, took another big step forward in his sabotage of united action of all automobile workers when at a meeting of the district executive of the M.ES.A. held Friday night he refused admission to a delegation from the Auto Workers Union and prevented the question of united ac- tion from being discussed on the floor. This was done despite the fact that the district executive meeting last Monday had decided to take up at the Friday night's meeting a pro- posal for a mass meeting to be called jontly by A.W.U., M.ES.A. and A. F. of L. rank and file in accordance with decisions of the united front conference held March 25th. By this high handed procedure, reminiscent of tactics of A. F. of L. officialdom, Smith unmasks himself as definitely opposed to fight against the infamous sell-out nego- (Continued ‘on Page 2) Brownsville. Anti - War Demonstration for Thursday Night Sutter Aves., and march in a body to the demonstration. Ciencia New Haven Anti-War Meet NEW HAVEN, Conn.— A, mass meeting against war will be held here on Friday, April 6, 8 p. m., in Center Church Parish House, 211 Temple St., near the Green. James Mendelhall of Lincoln High School, Columbia, will be one of the speakers. On April 13, the League will hold an outdoor demonstration on the Central Green, ‘Calls For Struggle Against Roosevelt “New Deal,” The Program of Wall Street [FIGHTS N. R.A. SLAVERY Urges United Front Struggles Against Hunger and War CLEVELAND, April 2.-In a historic docu- ment addressed to the entire toiling population of the United States, the Communist Party in the draft Manifesto of its eighth national convention, |which opens here tonight, calls upon the work- jing class to take the road of class struggle for the defeating of the Roosevelt-Wall Street “New Deal.” The Manifesto follows: WORKERS OF THE UNITED STATES: The crisis of the capitalist system is becoming more and more a catastrophe for the workers and toil- ing masses. Growing millions of the exploited popu- lation are faced with increased difficulties in finding the barest means of livelihood. Unemployment relief is being drastically cut and in many cases abolished altogether. Real wages are being reduced further every month, and labor is being speeded up to an in- human degree. The vast majority of the poor farmers are slowly but surely being squeezed off the land and thrown on to the “free” labor market to compete with the work- ers. The oppressed Negro people are loaded down with the heaviest economic burdens, especially of unem- ployment, denied even the crumbs of relief given to the starving white masses, and further subjected to bestial lynch law and Jim-Crowism. Women workers and housewives are especially sufferers from the crisis, and from the fascist movements to drive them out of industry. Millions of young workers are thrown upon the streets by the closing of schools and simultane- ously are denied any chance to earn their living in the industries. What the ‘‘New Deal” Has Given the Workers The suffering masses have been told to look te Washington for their salvation. Mr. Roosevelt and his New Deal have been decked out with the rainbow promises of returning prosperity. But the bitter truth is rapidly being learned that Roosevelt and his New Deal represent the Wall Street bankers and big cor- porations—finance capital—just the same as Hoover before him, but carrying out even fiercer attacks against the living standards of the masses of the people. Under Roosevelt and the “New Deal” policies, the Public Treasury has been turned into a huge trough where the big capitalists eat their fill. Over ten billion dollars has been handed out to the banks and corporations, billions squeezed out of the workers and farmers by inflation and by all sorts of new taxes upon the masses. Under the Roosevelt regime, the main burden of taxation has been shifted away from the big capitalists onto the impoverished masses. The N. R. A. and the industrial codes have served further to enrich the capitalists by establishing fixed monopoly prices, speeding up trustification, and squeezing out the smaller capitalists and independent producers. The labor provisions of the N. R. A., which were hailed by the A. F. of L. and Socialist leaders as “a new charter for labor,” have turned out in reality to be new chains for labor. The fixing of the so-called minimum wage, at below starvation levels, has turned out in reality to be a big effort to drive the maximum wage down to this point. The so-called guarantee of the right to organize and collective bargaining has turned out in reality to be the establishment of the company unions. The last remaining rights of the workers they now propose to take away by establish. ing compulsory arbitration under the Wagner Bill, camouflaged as an attempt to guarantee workers’ rights. All these domestic policies are openly recognized as identical in their content with the measures of pro- fessed fascist governments. This rapid movement toward Fas- cism in the United States goes hand in hand with the sharpen- ing of international antagonisms and the most gigantic prepara- tions for war ever before witnessed in a pre-war period. More than a billion dollars has been appropriated for war purposes (Continued on Page 6)