The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 24, 1934, Page 1

Against Lynching! For Negro Rights! CIRCULATION DRIVE NEW Daily 33 Total to date. .3,630 SUBS RECEIVED YESTERDAY: Saturday Total Vol. XI, No. 98 > New York, own Tools May 1! Daily .QWorke Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at N. ¥., under the Act of March 8, 1879, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1934. CENTRAL ORGAN COMMUNIST PARTY U.S.A. (SECTION OF COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL) WEATHER: Showers, cooler AMERICA’S CLASS DAILY ONLY WORKING NEWSPAPER (Six Pages) Price 3 Cents OVER 10,000 CLEVELAND, ST. LOUIS AUTO MEN STRIKE | Alabama Steel and Coal Workers to Hold May Day Rally in Birmingham St. Louis “Nut Pickers | Vote To “Down Tools” | on May Day MEETING IN DAYTON, N. Y. To Meet at Garden in the Evening (Special to the Daily Worker) BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 23.—The city commission was forced to grant a May Day permit. This is the first time a permit was ever obtained for a Communist Party meet- ing in Birmingham. The May Day demonstra- tion takes place at 5 o'clock on the steps of Capitol Park, a few yards from the Jefferson County jail, where the Scottsboro boys are im- prisoned. Speakers will talk from the base | of the Confederate Monument. ‘Three carloads of miners are com- ing from Bibb County to the May Day meeting. Truck loads are com- ig from the Bessemer Steel plant, and from the mining center 12 miles from Birmingham. The central point of the May Day demonstration here will be the mine strike. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Co, has offered $500 reward for informa- tion leading to the arrest of per- son or persons responsible for “Blast,” T. C. I. Communist shop paper. R. T. Daniel, chairman of the op- erator’s publcity committee, an- nounced an investigation of Com- munists is under way by Federal agents. He gave a statement to the Press blaming much of the strike sentiment on the Communist Party. The union local at the Sayreton Mine, of the Republic Steel Co., read and approved the Communist Party leaflet on the strike. The Party is distributing 10,000 new leaflets calling for the spreading of the strike to the steel mills. U. M. W. A. Officials Make Arrests For Sheriff Representatives of the Interna- tional Labor Defense, and of the Communist Party, visiting the union Jocal meeting at the Edgewater Mine, of the T. C. I., were seized by UMW.A. officials, and held while the sheriff was notified. Two were held all night by union officials, but no arrests were made. Picketing continues at all mines day and night. Five hundred men marched on the Red Diamond Mine where Ed England, Negro striker, (Continued on Page 2) M.ES.A. Head Still Knifes Desire for Auto Strike Unity Detroit Auto Workers Cheer Anderson’s Militancy By A. B. MAGIL (Special to the Daily Worker) DETROIT, Mich., April 23.—De- spite the demand of the rank and file for mass picketing in the strike of nearly 4,000 tool and die mak- ers and enlisting of mass support to strengthen the strike of 1,000 work- ers at the Michigan Stove Co. and force withdrawal of police protec- tion of gangsters and scabs, Mat- thew Smith, General Secretary of ‘he Mechanics Educational Society Mf America, which is leading these Strikes, is continuing tactics of castrating the strike movement and opposing united action of all labor forces. At a meeting yesterday of the Michigan Stove strikers, John An- derson, fighting organizer of Local 1, M_ES.A., again raised the demand for militant action and criticized the tactics of the Smith machine which are strangling the strike. An- derson was warmly applauded. by the workers. Smith again gave an exhibition of clever verbal gymnas- tics and succeeded in stalling off action. » . Meanwhile, the Ford Motor Co. has taken advantage of the tactics of the Smith clique by firing 200 tool and die makers in the rolling mill Saturd... A majority of Ford tool and die makers are organized in the M.ES.A. At a meeting of the Ford local fe. (Gontinued on Page 2) United May Ist} NEW York. — Union Square, 2:30 to 5 p.m., preceded by two | monster parades. BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Capitol Park, facing Jefferson County jail. DETROIT, Mich—Grand >a | cus Park. CLEVELAND, Ohio, — Sane Square at 4:30 p.m. CHICAGO, Ill—Grant Park. PATERSON, N. J.—Sandy Hill Park, at noon. ST. LOUIS, Mo—Old Court House, Broadway and Market, at 4 pm. BOSTON, .Mass.—Charles St. Mall, Boston Common at 12 o'clock. AKRON, Ohio—Perkins Square at 2 p.m. SPRINGFIELD, Ill—Berger’s Park. RACINE, Wis.—Lake Park. VIRDEN, Ill.—City Hall. BELLEVILLE, Ill—In front of Court House. ZEIGLER, Ill.—City Park. PEORIA, Ill.—Court House Sq. OAKLAND, Cal.—Chabet Park. llth and Jefferson St., at 2 p.m. EAST OAKLAND, Cal.—Mass meeting at 8 p.m. LYNN, Mass.—Lynch Common at 1 pm. SALEM, Mass.—Derby Square at 7 p.m. ‘PEABODY, Mass.—Main St. corner Walnut at 7:30 p.m. NASHUA, N. H.—O’Donnell Hall at 7 p.m. DAYTON, Ohio—Library Park at 4 p.m. LOS ANGELES, Cal.—Plaza, North Main and Sunset at 12 o'clock. PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Inde- pendence Square. KENOSHA, Wis.—Old Relief Station, 55th Street and 8th Ave. at 3 p.m. Jobless Leaders Call for United May Day Action Jobless Councils Urge Unity of C. P., S. P. Workers NEW YORK.—The National Ex- ecutive Board of the National Un- employed Councils today issued the following statement on May First: May Day this year is of especial importance to the army of 16,000,000 unemployed. The millions on the C. W. A. jobs have been fired. Only 500,000 will be put to work on the federal projects. This is TRoose- velt’s “public works” program. In all parts of the country relief is being cut to the bone—and this in face of the cost of the necessities of life, which has risen more than 30 per cent. In all sections the unemployed are fighting. They demand jobs at union rates. They demand food. They demand unemployment and social insurance. In order to prevent the Workers’ Unemployment and Social Insur- ance Bill (H, R. 7598) from being enacted into law—a demand of millions of workers, trade unionists, veterans, homeowners, farmers, etc. —the Wagner “unemployment in- surance” bill was put forward. This is a strikebreaking bill, and will not Front (Continued on Page 2) Demonstrations || i} ‘Detroit Workers Wage Sharp Fight on Police “May Day Ban ILLINOIS MEETINGS Chicago Workers Defy Ban on May Day Parade (Special to the Daily Worker) DETROIT, April 23—Latest de- velopments in the mass fight to compel city officials to reverse their refusal to allow the May First dem- onstration to be held in Grand Cir- cus Park, historic gathering place of Detroit workers, are: (1) May Day Unity Conference will be held Wed- nesday, April 25, at 8 p.m. at Fin- nish Hall, 5969 14th St., at which the campaign will be broadened. (2) The May Day Unity Committee has challenged the position of the city officials by demanding as an alternative to Grand Circus Park, Cadillac Square for the demonstra- tion. Cadillac Square, across from City Hall, was originally the scene of workers’ demonstrations, but sev- eral years ago city officials put a ban on it and shifted demonstra- tions to Grand Circus Park. The pretext for refusing to allow the demonstration in Grand Circus Park this year is that the grass is newly seeded. The May Day Unity Committee points out that there is no grass in Cadillac Square and its demand challenges the sincerity of (Continued on Page 2) Negro Lynched In Courtroom; Lyncher Freed Despite Threats, Court Makes No Search for Arms CROCKETT, Texas, April 23.— Frank Brisby, Negro worker, was lynched in a crowded court room here today while an all-white jury was being selected to try him on a charge of murdering J. M. Ellis, a white man. Despite open threats against the life of the Negro worker, no at- tempt was made to disarm the lynchers who packed the court. The fatal shot was fired by Ben Ellis, nephew of the dead man. The murderer was immediately released under $1,000 bond signed by several prominent citizens who thus signi- fied their approval of the court- room lynching of the Negro workers. Brisby had been arrested on “sus- picion,” following the killing of J. M. Ellis, Federal Agents Kill 2, Wound 4, But Dillinger Gets Away Unharmed MERCER, Wisc., April 23—Fed- eral agents shot and killed two persons, one a young C. C. C. work- er, and wounded four others, in an attempt to corner John Dillinger, notorious bandit. Dillinger is still at large. The franctic attempts of the po- lice to catch the killer resulting in the death of innocent bystanders has aroused the anger of farmers in the vicinity. “I Cannot Forget Thaelmann For 1 Minute”, Says Dimitroff PARIS.—“I cannot forget Ernst Thaelmann, not even for one in- stant,” writes George Dimitroff, heroiz Communist defendant in the Reichstag fire trial, in a letter to Romain Rolland and Henri Bar- busse, from a sanatorium in the Soviet Union. “It is now a question of throw- ing all our forces into the fight for the liberation of the anti-fascists who are still in the clutches of the Nazis,” writes Dimitroff. “IT am thinking in particular of Ernst Thaelmann, leader of the German Communists, the best and clearest brain of the German pro- letariat. His fate worried me dur- ing my imprisonment and trial. I could not forget him now, not even for one instant. “You did so much for us—it is now necessary to do even more, far more, for him, for his release will naturally be a much more difficult task. “Naturally, the difficulties must not frighten us, nor frighten you, you and your friends; and they do not frighten us. A great aim is worth the greatest risks. And our liberation from the claws of the German fascists shows that by the effort of all forces, in a united front, it is truly possible victoriously to overcome the greatest diffculties.” _| enactment of the workers bill. HOW LA GUARDIA’S COPS PROTECT NAZIS NEW YORK — When workers gathered in a counter-demonstra- tion outside Schwaben Hall, Brooklyn, where 500 Nazis were celebrating Hitler's birthday last Friday night, Mayor LaGuardia’s Police sailed into them, injuring. several. On the same day, a delegation from the Allied Professional Com- mittee to Aid Victims of German Fascism, called on Bernard Deutsch, aldermanic president, to vrotest against the police attack on another anti-Nazi demonstra- Len, in Ridgewood. Deutsch, who is also president of the American-Jewish Congress, ordered Dr. Maxmilian Cohen, spokesman for the delegation, thrown out of his office for pro- testing at Deutsch’s support of the cops who heat up workers for dis- tributing anti-Nazi leaflets. National Meet of AFL Steel Union Endorses Workers Bill HR7598 Workers, Back H.R. 7598 MILWAUKEE, Wis., April 23— Hundreds of workers filled the Com- mon Council chambers here and forced the city to officially endorse the Workers Unemployment Insur- ance Bill (H. R. 7598), and to in- struct the Congressmen from the cistrict to support the bill. On March 26, workers mobilized by the Unemployment Councils filled the Council meeting. Alder- man Tesch was forced to introduce the bill. At the next council meet- ing the workers again stormed the meeting. Alderman Tesch, So- cialist, refused to introduce a mo- tion for separate action on the bill so the workers present could discuss it, and when the workers’ spokes- man took the floor, Gauer, another Socialist alderman, called the police to put him out. The workers sprang to their leader's defense and stopped the police. ehe A. F. of L. Unions Act The A. F. of L. Federal Union 18286 of Aeronautical Workers of Buffalo, with 3,000 members now on strike, petitioned the Buffalo dis- trict Congressmen demanding the The letter to the congressmen states in part: “I have been instructed by the body of this union, comprising 3,000 men in the Buffalo area, to solicit your aid in bringing about (Continued on Page 2) Raymond Will Hit Libel Charges in Court Today Workers Urged to Pack Court in Support of “Daily” Writer NEW YORK.—The criminal libel suit brought against Harry Ray- mond, member of the editorial staff of the “Daily Worker” by George Williams, one of a group of profes- sional scab-herders and labor spies, will be heard this morning in Jef- ferson Market Court, 425 Sixth Ave- nue, at 10 o'clock. The charges are part of an or- ganized attack by this group against the “Daily Worker” in retaliation for the activities of the “Daily Worker” and its staff writer in exposing these scab herders during the strike of the taxi-drivers. A series of articles by Raymond on this tribe has just been concluded in the “Daily Worker.” Additional facts of their unsavory reputation will be brought out at the hearing this morning. All workers are urged to pack the court to protest this attack on their paper. at A. F. of L. National Convention (Special to the Daily Worker) PITTSBURGH, Pa., April 23.— | Despite the secrecy surrounding the proceedings of the national conven- tion of the Amalgamated Associa- tion of Iron, Steel and Tin Work- ers, and despite the censored news releases sent out by the press com- mittee, the Daily Worker reporter here is able to report that a resolu- tion for the endorsement of the Workers Unemployment Insurance Bill (H. R. 7598) was unanimously adopted. It is also reported that the resolu- |tion adopted calls for the presenta- tion of the Workers Bill to the Na- tional Convention of the American Federation of Labor by the Amal- gamated Association delegates. Over the weekend, the 70 oppo- | sition delegates went to the various district conferences and mass meet- ings held throughout the Pittsburgh, Youngstown and West Virginia dis- tricts, and rallied the rank and file to the support of their program. Saturday's session of the conven- | tion was stormy as the opposition delegates presented their resolu- tions, President M. H. Tighe seeking to rule them out of order. Several four-point programs, calling for 1) immediate presentation of demands for union recognition and a 25 per cent wage increase; 2) a 10-day ultimatum to the bosses, and a general strike if the demands are not granted; 3) industrial form of unionism; and 4) the six-hour day and five-day week, one of which was ruled out by Tighe. The opposition plans to fight for the acceptance of this one, and to also force the passage of the reso- lution for the abolition of wage dif- ferentials in the South. Madrid Paralyzed by Anti-Fascist General Strike MADRID, April 23—The deep hatred of the masses of Spanish workers for the fascist “Popular Ac- tion” Catholic party was manifested in yesterday's general strike, which paralyzed all transportation and trade throughout the city as a pro- test against the national congress of the fascist organization. Although thousands of Socialist workers took part in the strike and street demonstrations, the Socialist headquarters denied any responsi- bility for the workers’ manifesta- tion. Two were reported killed, many injured and many arrested in wido- spread clashes between the police, armed with rifies, and the demon- strating workers, Play “Conqueror” As Morgan Reviews The National Guard NEW YORK.—T —The 107th Regi- ment Infantry, picked cadet guard of the upper bourgeoisie, was reviewed by J. P. Morgan and his sons and daughters at the annual affair held Friday night at its Park Avenue Ar- mory. As Morgan entered, the band struck up “Pomp and Circum- stance,” and followed with the “Conqueror.” This was one of the few public appearances made by the Wall Street banker, and it is is indic- ative of the present preparations for another imperialist slaughter that the man who controls the munition plants should have picked a military affair at which to_make his most recent debut. Fifty-nine medals were given dut as part of the ritual. NRA Supports Lower Wages For The South Communist Party Urges | Strike for Equal Pay With North By PAT TOOHEY (Special to the Daily Worker) BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 23— President Roosevelt and the N. R. A. withdraw the $1.20 for Alabama miners by a_ special presidential order today. Roosevelt’s statement approves the principle of lower, | throwing huge picket lines Betrayers Fail In Stoppin o es) Militant Action St. Louis Chevrolet and Fisher Body Strikers In Mass Picketing BOSSES SPREAD LIES | Pledge of Support from Auto Workers Union ST. LOUIS, Mo., April 23—Four thousand Chevrolet and Fisher Body plant workers today went on strike, about both plants. The demands of the |strikers are that all workers fired for union activities be reinstated, and for union recognition. The company has tried to split the work- ers by spreading rumors that the Federated Auto Workers Union jim- | crows Negroes. The Communist Party here, which is supporting the strike and mobiliz- ing all its forces to help the workers win their demands, has called on the strikers to set up a broad rank and file strike committee; to pre- sent special demands for the Negro and youth workers, and is calling for a city-wide conference of all | workers’ organizations to rally sup- port behind the strikers. They also call for representation on the strike differential wages for the South,|Committee from all departments, Roosevelt says: “On the question of Southern wage differentials, the Re- covery Act recognizes differentials. It is not our contention to produce any sudden or disrupted changes in an established economic rela- tionship.” Roosevelt requests the miners to go back. The Communist Party is | distributing leaflets urging the min- jers to refuse the lower Southern Railway, Airplane, Steel To Present Workers Bill | City Council scale, and to continue the strike for equal wages with the North. The leaflet -urges the miners to elect rank and file strike commit- tees, to repudiate the treachery of Mitch, U. M. W. A. district presi- dent in accepting the agreement. The Communist Party leafiet explains that the 40 cents increase resulted from a determined struggle of the miners. The operators will unquestionably raise house rent and commissary prices. The miners are bitterly dissatisfied with the ruling. The operators are aware of the dissatisfaction, and the troops are to remain on duty. The Na- tional Guard reserve force at Bir- mingham has increased. The op- erators correctly interpret Roose- velt’s statement as a permanent official blessing on lower living standards for Soutiern workers. Mosley, Ex-Socialist, Leads Fascist Rally LONDON, April : 23.—Sir Oswald Mosley, ex-Socialist, leader of the British fascist black shirts, gathered 10,000 of the most reactionary ele- ments of the British ruling class for a meeting last night in Albert Hall devoted to brutal, naked na- tional chauvinism. Mosley declared that he expected to seize power, and by decree -yould forbid the importation of any goods or raw materials which could be produced in England. He declared his allegiance to the king, and de- clared his fascists would deal with Communists and Jews “as they de- served.” U. S. BASEBALL IN U.S.S.R. MOSCOW. — United States Am- bassador William C. Bullitt has de- veloped plans for the first American baseball teams to play in the Soviet Union. The plans call for two teams drawn from the embassy staff and two made up of Americans living in the country. and no settlement of the strike without a vote for all the workers. A leaflet has been issued to the | strikers embodying all of these pro- | Posals, ‘The main demand is that the company take back the worke?s fired for union activity. The work- ers lowest estimate of the number fired is about 400. Some estimates put the figure as high as 400. The workers plants characterize the plants as sweatshops and slave-driving fac- tories. In one department there are only five washing places for 125 men, one shower for 125 men, and no lockers. A worker cannot leave his place on the line unless there is another worker there to relieve him. Many workers cannot stand this driving pace and are forced either to quit or are fired. Many of the workers’ hands are cut up be- cause of the terrific speed-up in handling the parts. A gate meeting was held at the Chevrolet plant Friday noon, April 20, which was well received. All copies of the Daily Worker on hand were sold. We are making contacts rapidly; within a week we made about 20 contacts. Leaflets have been distributed calling for solidar- ity with all workers and with the Trade Union Unity League. There is a Daily Worker agent at the plant every day. The circulation is growing. Tammany Hall Splits in Naming Curry Successor NEW YORK.—A split in the Democratic Tammany Hall appeared yesterday as two factions fought over the election of former State Senator Edward J. Ahearn as the successor to the recently ousted boss John F. Curry. , Ahearn is boss of the 4th A. D., the lower East Side of Manhattan, where in the last city elections the most flagrant intimidations of voters and vote-stealing took place. The largest issue at stake is Fed- eral patronage. The national ad- ministration, primarily responsible for the unseating of Curry, has made it clear that it will not dis- pense patronage to a Tammany whose leadership does not har- monize with it. New York Metal Workers to Hear Earl Browder Tonight NEW YORK.—Workers in the Majestic Shop Communist Party factory unit, which comprises ten per cent of the workers in the shop, a unit which was formed through struggle, and which led the workers in strikes and struggles for better wages and working conditions, in- vited Earl Browder, general secre- rades in the factory unit to Earl Browder is printed below: par eer Earl Browder, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the U.S. A. Dear Comrade: ‘We send you, the leader of our Party, our heartiest proletarian tary of the Communist Party to | greeti speak at an open Party meeting of steel and metal workers. Comrade Browder immediately accepted, and will speak on the Eighth National Convention of the Communist Party at an open meet- ing of the Party units in the Ma-| jestic, the Grand and the Seidan| at a meeting to be} Metal shops, held tonigh: at the Manhattan Lyceum, 64 E. Fourth St., at 5:30.| The invitation sent by the com-| ings. Your splendid report, wherein you also mention the work of our Party shop unit, at the Eighth Party Convention has awakened in all members of our unit a greater un- derstanding of the importance of our Party in the factories. The discussions of the delegates, especially the many speakers, both Negro and white, from factories, (Continued on Page 2) in both of these| [Cleveland A.F.L. Chiefs Sidetrack Rank and File Committee ENTHUSL ASM HIGH Demand 309 % Pay Rise and Union Recognition CLEVELAND, April 23.— A strike beginning this morn- jing tied up the Fisher Body Co. here. There are 8,400 workers recorded on the pay- roll. The strike followed ac- tion at a local meeting of the Automobile Workers Federal Union (A, F. of L.) Sunday. The leaders |fearing to lose the local because of a recent raw sell-out, could not any longer stop strike action Despite the fact that the tion peak is almost over, ers are determined to fight action followed when the boss d to reply to the demands sub- mitted to them with Fri |the deadline. The wo jrecognition of their union and a 30 per cent wage increase. A motion was made at the meet- ing for a broad rank and file strike committee, but through juggling |with “Roberts rules of order.” through substitutes and amend- ments, it was decided to leave it in the hands of the executive com- mittee. A Socialist member of the local fought against the broad strike committee proposal. A. F. of L. leaders say the Cleve- land strike is the key to the labor | situation in the auto indust: Cleveland Plain Dealer states: cause the Cleveland strike might be the forerunner of similar disnutes throughout the country, labor lead- ers are expected to concentrate their strength here. feeling a victory would better their position nation- ally.” There was a great deal of enthu- siasm at the meeting when a tele- gram was read at the meeting tell- ing of the strike decision of 3.100 St. Louis workers of the Chevrolet Motor Co. and the Fisher Body Co. Workers Keep A.F.L. Faker from Floor James P. McSweeney, organizer of the A. F. of L., and president of the Cleveland Metal Trades Council, has lost considerable influence in the Fisher Body local through his maneuvers. At the last meeting he was not allowed the floor by rank and file decision. The local leaders are doing all they can to make the strike look “respectable” and “peaceful.” They admitted they tried to do every- thing possible with the company, | President, Roosevelt, and the Auto- |mobile Labor Board; and after everything failed, they finally had | to call a strike because of the senti- ment throughout the shop. The demands of the strike are, recognition of the union, 30 per cent increase, double time for Sun- day and holidays; time and a half for overtime. No special demands for the youth or women have been drawn up, although all are out. There are thousands of strikers around the factory. Police are out in full force patrolling the district. Two mounted cops were booed by a group of strikers, This morning a strike meeting is being held. Auto Workers Union Backs Strike The Auto Workers Union fully supports the strike. It calls for ® broad united front of all workers, regardless of union organization they belong to. The Unemployed Council here has pledged its full support and cooperation with the strikers. They pledge to mobilize the workers of the whole city behind the Fisher Body strikers. They will help with relief and keep unem- ployed from scabbing. 300 Brass Workers Strike CLEVELAND, April 23.—Three hundred Chase brass and Copper Co. workers went on strike this morning. The prospects are that 1,000 will be out tonight, shutting down the entire plant. The de- mands of the workers are for a 25 per cent increase in wages, against the company union, and for recog- nition of the Steel and Metal Work- ers Industrial Union, which is lead- ing the strike. The strikers appeal to the workers in the Waterbury, Conn., plants of the Chase Brass to follow the example and support the Cleveland strike. OPEN HEARING ON C., W. A. INTIMIDATION NEW YORK.—An open hearing on charges of intimidation of C. W. A. workers by superivsors, Delp and Greenfield, will be held at the office of Col. W. A. DeLamater. at 111 Eighth Ave., at 10 a. m. today,