The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 18, 1934, Page 1

ea ae ere NO MATTER HOW SMALL! Order a Daily Worker Bundle for Sale To Those You Know as ——— ~ Daily <QWorker CENTRAL ORGAN COMMUNIST PARTY U.S.A. (SECTION OF COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL ) Mntered as second-class matter at the Post Office at AMERICA’S CLASS DAIL LY WORKING EWSPAPER EW YORK, FRIDAY, MAY 18, 1934 Vol. XI, New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 8, 1879. “COMMUNISTS DEFEND RACE EQUALITY IN ALA. COURT WEATHER: Cloudy, warmer, ix Pages) General Strike (1 Looms in Frisco; SRE PLR OAS EEA PUTTER SEA EMT i i | i i Ship P Masters iid Mates on| Ocean Ships on Strike With Longshoremen HIT TROOP THREAT Men on Fery Boats to Vote on Walkout SAN FRANCISCO, May 17. —A general strike as an answer to the shipowners’ threats to bring in federal troops to smash the long- shoremen’s strike loomed here today. Masters, mates, and pilots of ocean-going ships have walked out and are striking, along with the Jongshoremen and seamen. It is reported that crews of the ferry boats which ply Frisco Bay are to vote on the question of joining the | strike. The movement of all ships to the north Pacific ports has been can- celed by the companies. Meanwhile Mayor Dore of Seattle sought the aid of federal troops to exert violence and terror against the strikers. McGrady to Arrive Edward F. McGrady, Assistant Secretary of Labor and aid to N. R. A. Administrator General John- son, is due to arrive here by plane today, from Washington. He will propose a strikebreaking arbitration scheme as a trump card for the shipowners. Judge Reynolds, of the Fedttal Arbitration Board, said that if the strike is not settled speedily the government will take a hand to keep freight moving. The strikers are demanding of their international union officials in (Continued on Page 2) Dockers Strike for 3 Hours in Phila. Supporting Seamen | Shipowners Are Given | 24. Hours to Meet { Their Demands (Special to the Daily Worker) PHILADELPHIAr May 17— Long- shoremen on Pier 27 yesterday re- fused to load the Flomar, bound for the West Coast, and struck for three hours in sympathy with the ship’s striking crew’and their com- rades on the West Coast. Polly Baker, International Longshore- men’s Association organizer, refused to come to the pier. This morning he issued a leaflet ,accusing the Communist Party of trying to split the ranks of the longshoremen, and begging the men to retain confidence in the I. L, A. leadership. The Party issued a leaf- let pointing out that Ryan, I. L. A. President, worker feverishly to pre- vent the strike, and that Baker, here, has waited ten days before speaking of sympathy for the strik- ers, and even then failing to order I. L. A. seamen and longshoremen to strike ships coming from or going to the strike area. 24-Hour Picket Line ‘The crew of the Flomar is keep- ing up a twenty-hour picket line on thedock. Late last night they pre- vented two scabs from sneaking on board and have succeeded in spread- ing strike sentiment to cther ships in port. The crew of one ship vis- ited the Marine Workers Industrial Union headquarters this morning and asked for help in drawing up demands and preparing to strike. They are expected to strike late to- day. Over a hundred longshoremen, Negro and white, on pier 46 have joined the M. W. I. U. and are tak- ing part in the preparations to strike, The committee gave the owners 24 hours to reply to their demands. Picket Relief Buro Unemployed seamen _ continue picketing the Federal Relief Bureau. A mass delegation yesterday forced the seamen’s institute to permit all seamen who walked out in an eight- hour protest against rotten food to return, and this morning there Were new mattresses for the men. A mass meeting last night elected ‘a delegation of five to go to Wash- ington for a demonstration for sea- men-controlled relief. Tomorrow noon a parade will start at 312 South Second St., and go to the Federal Emergency Relief Bureau, 1433 Vine St., to demonstrate for the seamen’s demands for better food and cash relief and seamen controlled relief. ilots Out pe Awaeeton 2,000 Longshoremen Strike in London; May Spread Strike LONDON, May 17.—A strike of 2,000 dock workers at Hayes Wharf, between the London and Tower bridges, where 90 per cent of London’s perishable food im- ports are unloaded, is expected to spread to other docks. The strikers are demanding that five men who formerly were employed at clerical work and have now been transferred to longshore duty to take the place of regular longshoremen be taken off the job. Scabs have been brought in by the company to unload the ships. This has aroused the union men, who say they will spread the strike. Bronx Meet To ‘Protest Nazi ExecutionPlan Will Demend Freedom of Thaelmann, Ger- man C. P, Leader NEW YORK.—Protest against the criminal conspiracy of the Nazi butchers to rush Ernst Thaelmann, heroic German Communist leader, to su and death within the’ next ra will sua dered by Bronx workers in an open- air meeting tonight at Wilkins and Intervale Aves. at 8 o’clock. The meeting will also protest the growing fascist terror in this coun- try, the mass murders of strikers in Alabama, San Pedro, Galveston, Buffalo, etc. The meeting, called directly fol- lowing the publication yesterday by the “Daily Worker” of the cabled news of the criminal Nazi plot, will be addressed by Hans Baer, a ref- ugee from Nazi Germany; John Norman, writer, and Jack Schiller, organizer of the Bronx Section of the International Labor Defense, which is calling the meeting. A number of anti-fascist or- ganizations and other mass or- ganizations are participating. The International Liberation Committee has urged the holding of protest meetings throughout the whole world to wrest Thaelmann from the hands of the Nazi murderers, Dem- onstrations should be held immedi- ately in front of all Nazi consulates throughout the country. Protests adopted by meetings should be sent to these consulates and to the Nazi Embassy in Washington and the Nazi authorities in Berlin. Roosevelt to Depend on “Social Commission” To Sidetrack Workers (Daily Worker Washington Buro) WASHINGTON, May 17. — Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives Henry T. Rainey an- nounced today that President Roosevelt would appoint a joint legislative council to sit during the Summer and Fall adjourn- ment of Congress for the pur- pose of considering social legis- lation. “It’s the most stupen- dous thing attempted.” Rainey told newspapermen. Roosevelt, said Rainey, will announce his plans in a forthcoming message to Congress. Obyiously an attempt to side- track the mounting dissatisfac- with the presidential social and economic program, the Roosevelt, move, as outlined by Rainey, is also a political maneuver to keep the Congressmen in check during the interim months. “The most stupendous bunk and evasion,” was just one of the many comments heard around the press galleries. eo Striking San Francisco longshoremen defend themselves against a brutal attack by armed police! One cop was knocked to the pavement. Another cop, carrying a long nightstick, is pictured at the left picking up his cap, knocked off as the longshoremen met the police clubs with rocks and planks, Calls for Building of $2,000 Fighting Fund NEW YORK.—The preparations of the Steel and Metal Workers In- dustrial Union for strike struggle in the steel industry, and the campaign of the SM.W.LU. for a Steel Work- ers Fighting Fund, were endorsed yesterday in a statement by the Na- tional Executive Board of the Trade Union Unity League. The ULL. statement, issued by Jack Stachel, Acting Secretary, de- clared that the steel workers, suf- ering a severe attack on their liv- ing standards, are disillusioned with the N.R.A. and Labor Boards and the A. F. of L. leaders, and are pre- paring for strike struggles. National Board Decisions This sentiment of the steel work- ers for struggles is seen in the grow- ing influence of the Steel and Metal Workers Industrial Union, and in the recent convention of the Amal- gamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers (A. F. of L.) where, in spite of the reformist character of some of the opposition leaders, the voice of the rank and file could not be suppressed. The T.U.U.L. statement con- tinues, “The voice of the rank and file was registered in the decisions of the A. A. convention to organize a broad strike struggle for the de- mands of the 30 hours per week, $1 an hour minimum wage, abolition of the differentials (lower wage) le- galized by the steel code for the South, and for equal rights for Ne- gro steel workers. This convention also went on record in support of the Workers Unemployment Insur- ance Bill (H. R. 7598). “The National Board of the Steel and Metal Workers Industrial Union, at its special meeting in Pittsburgh on May 13, mapped out plans for the development of united front action committees in the mills. for the establishment of the united front with the A. A. workers, for (Continued on Page 3) Workers Forced to Eat Less Since NRA, U. S. Report Shows WASHINGTON, May 17.—Work- ing class families all over the coun- try have had to get along with less groceries since Roosevelt started his N.R.A.-New Deal, the latest re- port on food sales issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce re- veals. Also, this report reveals that grocery sales have shown an 8 per cent increase in dollar sales during the first four months of this year, a period during which retail food prices rose 19 per cent. This means that the workers paid more money and got less food for it than a year ago before Roosevelt took office. The official report. of the Depart- ment of Commerce confirms the recent figures issued by the A. & P. Grocery Chain which show a drop of 10 per cent in the quantity of groceries sold over the counter dur- ing the past year. Red Flag Flies Near Nazi Ship Docked at Boston Yard BOSTON, Mass., May 17.—A Red Flag, 20 feet by 6, was unfurled on a 200-foot tower here at the Hossac Docks, adjoining the Navy Yards here where the Nazi war ship, the Karlsruher, is docked. It bore the slogans: “Drive out Hitler! Free Theelmann!” It was removed only after many hours and with the greatest difficulty. A heavy police mobilization is go- ing on here against an anti-Nazi demonstration planned late today at the Navy Yard by the Boston ¥ Committee to Aid Victims of Ger- man Fascism together with the Ma- rine Workers Industrial Union. Dr. Hans Luther, Nazi ambassador to Washington, is scheduled to come to Boston on Saturday for an in- spection of the Nazi cruiser. The real reason for Luther's visit is an effort to dispel the tremendous enti- Fascist sentiment being aroused among the Boston workers by the distribution of leaflets and tie prep- arations for the anti-Nazi demon- stration today. Industrial Steel Union Launches Preparations For Big Strike Struggles Drive High Prices Women’s Wear Sales 25 P.C. Below 1933 NEW YORK.—Women buyers of clothing are now, after one year of the Roosevelt N. R. A., paying 50 per cent more for 25 |! per cent less clothing, the Jour- |t nal of Commerce reports. Reports continue to come in that show declining purchases of women’s apparel as a result of ! the soaring retail prices. The N. R. A. retail price advances, how- ever, in the last 12 months, even in the face of declining demand, brought a sharp upturn, in prof- for, andisers, The re- striction of the market through high prices is beginning, how- ever, to pile up unsold stocks once more. Vets Confab Opens Today For Bonus New Groups | Arriving ; | Men Unite on Three- Point Program Following the 50 vets who left Wednesday for the Capital on the present bonus march, another contingent of vets will leave Union Sq. at 11 a.m. on Saturday. More than 300 have signed up to join the march. RE tr oe By SEYMOUR WALDMAN (Daily Worker Washington Bureau) WASHINGTON, May 17.—Regis- trations for the Veterans National Rank and. File Convention, which opens this Saturday at Fort Hunt, Va., went well over the thousand mark, the ex-soldiers announced to- day at their Capital headquarters tent on lower Pennsylvania Ave. Thirty-eight Negro and white vet- erans, representing the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Workers Ex-servicemen’s League, and 26 representing the American World War Veterans of Georgia League, arrived yesterday. One hundred men from the Buffalo Civilian Conservation Camps are on their way, rank and file leaders de- clared. The convention 4s scheduled to open with a preliminary check-up and conferences of the various organizations represented. Arrangements are being com- pleted for tomorrow’s parade of the entire camp personnel through the streets of the capital. In addition street meets in Washington and ed- ucational meetings in the camp, the purpose of which will be to explain the three-point program, will be held up to the opening of the con- vention. Questionable and unscrupulous elements, led by (fly-by-night) “leaders,” are entering the camp and attemptng, wth booze and other inducements, to divide the men by counselling concentration on the bo- nus as supporting the en- tire three-point program. This pro- gram also includes the repeal of the Economy Act and endorsement of the Farmers and Workers Unem- ployment and Social Insurance, as by H. R. 7598. Hitlerism, in the person of a fel- low who calls himself Schwartz, is visiting the camp. Schwartz is openly trying to rally the veterans for Fascism. Thus far he has had no visible success. Practically no Jim-Crowism has shown itscif in the Fort Hunt Camp. despite the fact that the Negro and | White ex-soldiers are staying in a Virginia town where Jim-Crowism is supreme. The one case of attempted Jim-Crowism was overcome satis- factorily without any damage done to the camp unity. Mass Jailings After Latvian Fascist Coup, Hitler Press Is Highly Pleased As Terror Rages on Baltic (Special to the Daily Worker) MOSCOW, May 17, (By Radio). — Troops are patrolling the streets of Riga, after the fascist coup yester- day, and numerous leaders of the left parties and revolutionary work- ers are being arrested throughout Latvia. Reports from Warsaw give addi- tional details of the Fascist coup in Latvia. On the night of May 16, the government buildings in Riga, capital of Latvia, were occupied by troops. The order for their seizure was signed by Premier Ulmanis and War Minister Balodis. They pub- lished a decree proclaiming the whole country under martial law for six months. Parliament was sus- pended. Leaders of the left parliamentary fractions, including the Social-Dem- ocrat Kalnynsh, president of parlia- ment, was arrested. The “People’s House,” Socialist headquarters in Riga, was occupied by troops and the Aisargi, a semi- militarist reactionary organization. Break Up Political Parties All political parties were dissolved. The government statement declares that.to eliminate all internal poli- tical complications it will use “all means at its disposal.” The coup was carried out by Ul- manis and Balodis, with the aid of troops and police. and the Aisargi, brought to Riga from various parts of the country. Railway Stations and bridges were occupied and guarded by military detachments. All meetings and demonstrations were banned. Provi- sional censorship was introduced. A member of newspapers, and other publications, were suppressed. > oe je. HITLER PRESS SATISFIED (Special to the Daily Worker) BERLIN, May 17, (By Radio via London)—The entire German press gives prominence to the Fascist coup in Latvia, expressing unconcealed satisfaction. ‘The obviously inspired comments emphasize that the Nazis of Ger- many can only welcome such devel- opments of events in Latvia. The maneuvers of the Latvian Government, writes the Nazi “Boer- senzeitung,” especially their motiva- tion, in many respects recall the measures and slogans which with the aid of the National Socialists (Nazis) liberated “Germany from parliamentarism.” This paper particularly welcomes the crushing of the workers’ organi- zations, and the occupation of the People’s House by troops. The paper goes on to express the hope that the Latvian Government. after reorganization, will conduct a policy friendly towards Fascist Ger- many. Ps Workers for Strike | Violence IGNORES MURDERS | Does Not Criticize Use | of Troops Against Pickets By MARGUERITE YOUNG | (Daily Worker Washington Bureau) | WASHINGTON, May 17.— {Secretary of Labor Frances | Perkins, asked today to com- ment on the violence of police, | private armies, and National troops in murdering strikers to a point where Congres- sional investigation is being sought in the House of Representatives declared, “Sometimes violence comes from one side, sometimes from the other.” | Pressed to say whether the terr in major strikes has not been ins tuted against rather than by labor, as recognized in the Lundeen reso lution, Perkins merely said: “I think | nothing is ever more unfortunate so far as the settlement of indus’ disputes is concerned than violence on either side.” Even while thus bandying the out- worn anti-labor slur, the Labor Sec- | retary announced that Edward F.| McGrady, Assistant Secretary of Labor, who helped the Administra- tion break the Pennsylvania, Mine strike last August by tricking work- ers to “rely on the President,” has gone to the Pacific Coast to try his hand in the Longshore strike. therefore “we are hopeful.” Also, Perkins defended General Pelham Glassford’s activities as “mediator” in Imperial Valley against widespread protests by the American Civil Liberties Union and others. Perkins admitted that Glass- And} (Continued on Page 2) Score Roosevelt Anti-Soviet Move At Meet Tonight Cooper Union Protest to Demand Opening of USSR Trade NEW YORK.—Vigorous protest will be voiced tonight against the Roosevelt government's encourage- ment to the anti-Soviet war front by blocking Soviet trade and by falsely declaring the Soviet Union in “default” on the Kerensky loans, at a mass meeting in Cooper Union, Cooper Square, be- tween Third and Fourth Ave., near Ninth St. The speakers at this meeting, under the auspices of the Friends of the Soviet Union are: Maxwell S. Stewart, Foreign Policy Asso- ciation, and prominent author; Professor H. W. L. Dana, famed lecturer; Roy Hudson, secretary Marine Workers Industrial Union and Herbert Goldfrank, national secretary of the Friends of the Soviet Union. Tim Holmes, of the Needle Trades Workers Industrial Union, will be chairman. In sending ir new subs to the “Daily” please write the name and address of the new sub- |See’y Perkins Blames 3 ‘Negro Miner, scriber clearly. * JOHN HOWARD LAWSO? The noted American author and playwright, who has been special correspondent for the Daily Worker, together with four others, was jailed yesterday as part of the reign of terror and | attempt to suppress all news. Shot In Ala. Raids, Lawson Wires Just Before Arrest ED. NOTE.—The following wire was received from the Daily | Worker correspondent at Birming- ham, Ala., John Howard Lawson, a few hours before his arrest. The Daily Worker has learned from a telephone conversation to the LL.D. that Ed Higgins, a Ne- gro coal miner and secretary of the Empire local of the U.M.W.A., who was shot on May 14, is dead. By JOHN HOWARD LAWSON BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 17.— Continued tension prevails in the strike-torn area. As a result of the | militant demand of the strikers, two} Jefferson County offic Grady | Baker, county marshal, Sam Arnett, deputy sheriff, were ar- rested, charged with the murder of two Negro pickets last week. Both} immediately posted $10,000 bond} each. Hugh A. Locke, attorney for Hill- man Hawkins, St. Clair County miner, announced he would file damage suits against the Alabama Fuel and Iron Company as a result of the massed attack on his home by men in four automobiles. The attorney has collected ap- (Continued on Page 2) Grafting Union Head Gets 18 Months Jail NEWARK, N. J. May 17.—The former business agent of the Iron- workers Union, John E. Delaney, was sentenced to 18 months in a) federal penitentiary and pay @ $2,500 fine on charges of failure to file income tax returns on “protec- tion money collections, totaling $200,000 in 1928 and 1929. Contractors testified they paid him large sums to protect them from lagor troubles. Forced Labor, Relief Cuts Mark New LaGuardia Attack On N. Y. Jobless PLAN TO DROP 20,000 FROM RELSEF ROLLS ON JUNE 1 o Camarines casas By HOWARD BOLDT Following the Roosevelt aban- donment of C. W. A, reduced federal relief grants to states and municipalities, and the most re- cent Roosevelt attack upon the living standards of the unem- ployed masses in slashing federal relief expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1935, by half a billion dollars, relief situations throughout the country are rapid- | ly approaching a crisis. Conditions on relief nationally are reflected in the present relief set-up in New York City. Here as elsewhere, relief wages have been slashed following the ending of C. W. A. by Roosevelt’s pro- nouncement. On Home Relief, a vicious forced labor system is about to be introduced. Thousands are sys- tematically dropped from the re- lief rolls. Rents for the jobless remain unpaid in a majority of cases. Medical aid is totally in- adequate. Total expenditures are | limited by the infamous Bankers’ | Agreement. In New York C | alone one and a quarter million | y | unemployed are systematically being starved by whet LaGuardia calls “systematic and humane” relief. _ Fifteen thousand to 20,000 fam- ilies on Home Relief will be dropped by June Ist, Commissioner of Wel- fare William Hodson of New York announced yesterday. For those who remain on relief, Mayor LaGuardia has outlined a vast system of forced labor by which all unemployed on relief will be “classified” according to occupation, and skilled workers will be forced to work at their trade for the miserable pittance handed out as “relief.” Most of those to be dropped from: the relief rolls will be those fam- ilies on Home Relief, Hodson in- Price 3 Cents Sec’y Perkins Vague On Terror; B’mingham Cops Jail ‘Daily’ Correspondent Boss Court Told Party Unites Negro, White Workers in Struggle BANISH LAWSON Court Forced to Delay Passing of Sentence By JOHN HOWARD LAWSON (Special to the Daily Worker) BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 17.—For the first time in an Alabama jim-crow court, the program of the Communist Party rang out in Judge Aber- nathy’s kangaroo court today, as Ralston and five other workers militantly defended them- selves against the frame-up at- tempt of the steel bosses The trial took place two floors e the Scotts- ed in solitary on, conducting |! own de- fense, declared in ringing tone “IT am an organizer for the Communist Party is actively par- is uniting the white and Negro workers of the South in immedi- ate struggle for better conditions. unempleyment . equal rights for the Negro people and seif-determination fer the Necro majorities in the Black Belt, The Communist Party is actively pra- ticipating in strike struggles and building a powerful trade union ins * _| movement as part of the struggle Terror, Dies | of the factories, mines railroads |Four More Arrested in| of the working class for the over- throw of capitalism, confiscation and wealth of the Seuthern bour- bons and the Wall Street oli- rarchy in order to establish a Soviet America as part of the world struggie of the toiling masses for Communism.” Prosecutor Praises A. F. of L. Leaders Ralston was finally stopped and told not to make any more speeches after White Legionnaires whispered in the ear of the prosecutor. The pi itor posed the A. F. of L, bureaucracy against the Com- (Continued on Page 2) | Austrian Fighters Get Jobs, Health In the Soviet Union Work at Their Trade or Are Sent to Best Sanatoria in USSR (Specal to the Daily Worker) MOSCOW. May 17 (By radio).)\— All of the 310 Austrian Schutzbund- ers (armed guard who participated in the defensive armed struggles against Dolifuss’s fascist regime) who came to the Soviet Union were given work in their trades in So- viet factories here. A group of 64 of the Schutzbund members left May 15 for Leningrad. The heroes of the Vienna barricade fighting were met by large demon- strations of workers from Leningrad factories who gathered at the rail- way station. Placards and banners were draped over the station in German and Russian greeting the Austrian working class heroes. This group of Schutzbunders will | work at the Red Putilov Turbine | Plant Nee large group of Schutzbunders | left for work in the Kharkov Trae- tor Plant and other Ukrainian fac- tories. One hundred and cighteen of the Schutzbunders have obtained work in Moscow factories and on building fobs. ‘The trade unions are giving the best places in the southern sanato- |riums to Schutzbunders requiring medical treatment. Eighty of them recently went to Crimea and the ; Caucasus. Meatcutters Win Recognition But Lese Pay Raise CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. (FP).—Af- ter a four-day strike, 1,300 workers of the Sinclair Packing plant in Ce- dar Rapids returned to work. The company, an affiliate of the Wilson Packing Co., granted recognition to j the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butchers Union, and promised not to discriminate ‘against worl: union activity, but refused to a wage settlement. Many w have been drawing as little as $1 (Continued on Page 3) a week, Pero #5 D3ue