The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 4, 1934, Page 5

VAILY WORKER, Browder Cites Lessons of San Francisco General Strike Pacitic Coas t Action Called Event of World Historical Importance: Factors Which Produced the California Events Are Active Throughout the United States, Says Leader of the Communist Party By EARL BROWDER An event of world-historic importance—so, there is no doubt, we must describe the San Francisco general strike. lt will provide material for fruitful study, for some time to come. Without any pretense to cover the whole range of problems involved, this article is an attempt to formulate some of the most important experience. 1. The San Francisco general strike was not something “extraor- dinary” in the sense of being produced by peculiar, unique, un- usual forces and circumstances con- fined to San Francisco, or to the Pacific Coast. All factors going to produce this great battle are ac- tive throughout the country. Even before San Francisco we saw them at work in Toledo, Minneapolis, Mil- waukee, bringing these cities right to the verge of a general strike. A hundred potential San Franciscoes exist today in the United States, awaiting only the final impulse, which in each case will have that “accidental” character of all events which operate as “the last straw which breaks the camel's back.” Concentrated Class Forces 2. Beginning in a typcial “eco- nomic” struggle over wages and working condtions of longshoremen, whose strike began in San Fracisco on May 9, which soon became a general struggle of the entire marine industry of the Pacific Coast, there took place, step by step, a concen- tration of class forces in support of one and the other side which soon aligned practically the entire popu- lation into two hostile camps: capi- talist class against the working class, with all intermediate elements moving toward support of one or the other. It became a well-defined class struggle, a test of strength be- tween the two basic class forces. That means the economic struggle was transformed into a political struggle of the first magnitude. The working class understood that if it allowed the concentration of capitalist forces to defeat the ma- rine workers, this meant a defeat of the entire working class, general wage cuts, speed-up and worsening of conditions; the capitalist class knew that if the marine wozkers should win their demands this would launch a general forward movement of the entire working class that would defeat the capi- taist program for their way out of the crisis, a program based upon restoring profits by reducing the gene:al standard of living of the masses, Here was a classical example of the prefound truth of the Commu- nist thesis that, in the present period of capitalist decline, a stub- born struggle for even the smallest immediate demands of the workers inevitably develops into general class battles, and raises the whole question of State Power and the revolutionary solution of the crisis. It was the capitalist class which, in panic before the rising giant of class action by the workers, hys- terically cried out that this strike, which they could have settled very easily and quickly at any time by the simple expedient of granting the workers’ demands, was actually a revolutionary uprising to over- throw the whole capitalist system. Of course, this strike did not have revolution as its objective, but only the immediate needs of the work- ers. The unity of the workers, how- ever, raised before the bosses the spectre of working class power, of victorious revolution. Bosses Aided by A. F. of L. Betrayers 3. The immediate results of the struggle can already be seen in their main outlines. The strongest mobilization of working class forces, in the four days of genezal strike jn San Francisco, was broken up by the superior strength of the capi- talist forces, because the latter in- cluded not only the combined strength of employers’ organiza- tions, governmental powers of po- lice, courts, and militia, the armed vigilante fascist bands, but also and pofore all the official apparatus of the leadership of the A. F. of L. trade unions, local, industrial and national, with the single exception of the elected strike committees of the original bodies of striking ma- rine workers. But even with this tremendous preponderance of all organizational forces, the San Francisco capital- ists could succeed to smash the strike on’y by combining with vio- Jent suppression, and an_ hysterical j-Red campaign, a series of con- ons of a very important char- ac The original capitalist pro- vam of “open shop” smashing of the mass trade unions had to be publicly renounced; all employers qn tne merine industry found them- selves forced to publicly agree to t:eat with all the striking marine unions on all questions in dispute, and the solidarity pact between the marine unions whereby they had pledged to stand or fall together, had to be recognized to the extent of providing for similar and simul- taneous settlement of all marine demands of all unions involved. The result is, therefore, not a simple defeat for the workers even in their most immediate demands, but a compromise, While the moral gains of the workers, their consciousness of power, their political understand- ing, has been enormously strength- on ene in Forces, Methods 4, Why did the general strike movement come to realization in san Francisco while it was choked lessons to be drawn from this & off in Toledo, Minneapolis and Mil- waukee? What were the differences in the forces and the methods to ac- count for the different results? The main difference is to be found, not in any different level of radicaliza- tion of the workers, but in the rela- tion of forces between the organized base of the revolutionary left-wing inside the striking organizations and the organized base of the offi- cialdom who everywhere fought against the general sirike. In Toledo, the revolutionary left- wing had an organized base only among the unemployed, not inside the unions, where the only organized leadership was that of the sworn enemies of general strike; therefore, in Toledo the tremendous general strike sentiment found leadership only from outside the union halls, not inside, which made it possible for the A. F. of L. officials, with the aid of Muste and Budenz, to choke it off and betray it before it swept the masses into action, instead of afterward, ar in San Francisco. In Minneapolis, the only organ- ized leadership inside the drivers’ union which was decisive was that of the Trotskyites who operated as an arm of the official A. F, of L. family; the serious weakness of the revolutionary group inside the driv- ers’ union resulted, in practice, that the revolutiona:y influence could be exerted only from outside. No Base in Unions In Milwaukee, the inside organ- ized forces in the trade unions were considerably stronger, although here, too, the decisive fozce that made the great mass movement was directly among the masses in the neighborhoods rather than inside the unions; but in Milwaukee, the mass movement organized by the revolutionary left-wing forces with- in and without the unions. gained a partial victory that ended the strike before the general strike movement could mature. In San Francisco, the strength of the strike movement from the be- ginning, including the general strike, was based upon definite, organized left-wing groups, which even though young and weak, played a most de- cisive role, and brought San Fran- cisco into the vanguard of the whole national strike movement. The lesson is the supreme, vital importance of work inside the A. F. of L., the same lesson that the 8th Convention of the Party hammered so heavily and stubbornly. Even the beginnings of serious systematic work, with all its weaknesses, brings the most tremendous ‘results for the workers and for the entrench- ment of the Communist Party among the masses, The Effect on the C. P. 5. The~ Califoznia Communist Party organization stood up excep- tionally well during the strike and the terror, stretigthening very greatly its political influence. Here we’ must emphasize that even the tremendous “red scare” campaign of the capitalist press has by no means been entirely negative in its results, It is true that certain polit- ically immature elements may be scared away from the Party; sym- pathizers may be for a time in- timidated or afraid to speak up or do anything. But especially among the workers and the trade unionists the Party has a respect as a force fighting on the side of the workers that it never had before. A large section of the working class is class- conscious enough to recognize that the capitalist press serves the em- ployers and not the workers; its vicious campaign against the Party serves to consoldate the influence of the Pariy among these workers. Under the pressure of the most intense terror and pe:secution, raids on Party offices and auxiliaries of every kind, the smashing of office equipment, arrests, raids on homes of individual comrades, ete., we can say that the Party functioned throughout this period without a single break. Most Party units met every day or two throughout the entire period. Forty-six out of forty- seven units (with one connections were broken) reported a minimum of one meeting during the week of most intense terror and some of them had four meetings. Twenty- two units independently leaflets. The District Commitice issued two leaflets and a mimeo- graphed edition of the Western Worker. Only one printed edition jof the Western Worker was missed. This continued functioning of the Party is an achievement which in itself greatly adds to the prestige of the Party among the workers. Party Responsible for Strike 6. As to the political character, the political adequacy of the Po~ty’s leadership, we must state: there would have been no genera] strike in San Francisco but for the work of the Pazty; there would have been no general marine strike; and certainly the strike struggle, altho not created by the Party, was given its organized character, its geneval character, its persistent and stub- born character by the active and energetic work of the Party. The Party has done really splendid issued) there, and when we speak of the Party it means the District and sec- tion leadership and the member- ship, it means Communist long- shoremen and seamen, | Points Out Weaknesses | There were, however, a number of serious weaknesses, of which the |chief political weakness was some- times a certain hesitation and fear of the task of exposure of the mis- ! leaders, the ]the misleaders only after their be- trayals and not to warn the work- ers before hand. There was even @ certain tendency to theorize this weakness, to place the question this way: the main danger is the un- skillful or too hasty exposure of the A. F. of L. bureaucrats; there is no danger on the side of delayed exposure or failure to expose them. The understanding and overcoming of this weakness played a vital role in determining the degree of the Party’s political success in consoli- dating our influence among the workers, in consolidating the revo- lutionary understanding which the workers gained from this strike ex- perience, etc. The District must set itself the task of decisively rooting out such tendenries. The San Francisco general strike gives to the Party and to the whole working class many rich lessons which we must carefolly study and bring to the broad mass of the workers. Additional material will be brought out in the press very shortly. Chicago Press Plays Up New Anti-Red Gang Try To Reorganize Old Outfit into Local Vigilantes (Daily Worker Midwest Bureau) CHICAGO, August 3.— Attempts to reorganize the Crusaders, for- merly anti-prohibition and now anti-Red outfit, got under way Wed- nesday when Fred G, Clark, Na- tional Commander in Chief, arrived to confer with Seymour Wheeler, his right hand man, and other Chi- cago 100 per centers. The Chicago Tribune, viciously reactionary publication of the Mc- Cormicks who control International Harvester, has published a long ar- ticle ballyhooing the Crusaders. The article, written by Phillip Kinsley, states that having put over repeal, the Crusaders are “taking the lead- ership in the struggle to preserve American institutions from various subversive minority groups of So- cialist and Communist minded peo- ple.” Kinsley, in another part of the article, complains bitterly of the sad state of the anti-working class groups in Chicago. “The fight against Communism, | which is organized in Chicago in a political way, has been lacking in leadership.” Charley Dawes, of R.F.C. fame,} organized fa group some time ago called the Minute Men of the Con- stitution. However, seemingly, this group has not lived up to its noble tendensy te criticize! Biggest Divid Under Roos Hick Ste: bibiders Collen: ends in Years evelt New Deal By MILTON HOWARD SURVEY of the current financial reports reveals that the Roosevelt N. R. A. program is giving Wall Street investors the fattest profits they have reaped in the last three years. Dividend checks mailed out during the month of July to the handful of stockholders who control the major part of the country’s industry amounted to $132,909,000, a sum that topped the high figure of last year $127,985,000. a handful of parasites at the rate of more than $30,000,000 a week will be increased as the year passes on since July payments are usually considered light. Raise Dividend Rates So golden a harvest has been gathered by Wall Street corpora- |tions under the wage-slashing, price- raising program of Roosevelt, that 27 companies declared extra divi- dends this July as compared with 17 companies last year. And whereas last year, 69 com- panies reduced their dividend pay- ments, this year only 13 companies found it necessary to do so, while 19 companies increased their rates. These enormous profits do not by any means indicate that the Ameri- can bourgeoisie has solved the basic questions of the crisis or that the conditions of the masses have im- proved. Instead all the economic and financial data confirms the estimate of Comrade Stalin and the theses of the Thirteenth Plenunr of the Ex- ecutive Committee of the Commun- ist International that the bourgeoi- sie has succeeded in overcoming the lowest point of the crisis only at the forces making for the _intensifica- tion of the world crisis of capital- ism continue to deepen. reactionary ideas of the capitalists. Organized particularly to combat working class ideas in schools and churches, the Paul Reveres get a small pat on the back for its fas- cist activities from Mr. Kinsley. The | Paul Reveres are more or less the private property of the publishers of the Tribune. The American Vigi- lant Intelligence Federation ‘and the notorious “Americanization” depart- ment of the American Legion, it seems, have not been able to cope with the rapid left swing of the workers. The Trib’s hack writer is forced to mention, however, that, due to all these factors, “the Communist Party continues its work from head- quarters at 101 S. Wells St.” But Workers Families Get Less Food— Codes Slash Pay Enveiopes—Unsold Stocks Indicate Deepening Crisis This flood of dividend income to! expense of the masses, and that the} purpose of chaining labor to the} R.A The basic force of the crisis, the poverty of the masses, has been made more harrowing by the Roosevelt program. While profits rise, food consumption of the masses declines, Rather it should be said that be- cause food’ consumption declines, profits rise. For it is the centra] technique of Roosevelt's program that it strives for a method of al- lowing monopolies to incresse the rate of profits even in the face of declining markets, As a result of the rising cost of food, the average worker's family mow pays more for its food and see less on its table. Groceries purchased throughout country, as indicated by figures of Department of Commerce, were less in June than in May, and also Jess than in June of last year, and lower than in June, 1932. Dollar volume of grocery sales this June was 19.5 per cent lower than in June, 1932, 23.5 per cent lower than in June, 1930, and 26.5 per cent lower than in June, 1929, | Rise in prices since those dates would make a drop in volume of grocery sales even more signifi- cant. Masses are undoubtedly consuming less food than a year ago. This is the answer to the question put by Roosevelt in his radio speech of June 28 “Are you better off tham you were last year?” The answer in terms of food consumption, is emphatically “No.” Roosevelt's N. R. .A. program, combined wtih all his other eco- nomic measures, has thus succeeded in allocating a larger portion of the national income to the biggest Wall Street monopolies at the ex- pense of a degraded living standard for the masses. Production of Unsold Goods Production, following the pre- cariously sustained Spring rise, is now turning rapidly downward with the business index of “Business Week,” for example dropping five points in the last two weeks, and the New York Times weckly index reaching a point lower than last | year. This is the first time this year that pzoduction makes an unfavor- able comparison with the corre- sponding period of a year ago. Fur- ther evidence of the deepening of the basic forces of the crisis is given in the fact that despite all attempts to eliminate non-monopoly produc- tion to avoid “surplus,” the stocks of unsold goods still remains higher than ever. One of the most significant reports of the recent weeks is the revelation by the U. S. Depart- ment of Commerce that the volume of unsold manufactured | goods on hand is now 11 per cent above last year, a sure sign of | developing crisis. The Fighting Vet By H. E. BRIGGS NICE new Fascist organization with headquarters at 139 E. 57th St. has opened a drive for member- ship. In lieu of a colored shirt it| parades under the title vf the} “order of 76.” However, Royal Scott Gulden who signs his name to con- | fidential letters “Vigilantly yours” is a stuffed shirt. Rumor has it| that he, Gulden is the big brown mustard man. This in itself should | lend color and spice to the order. | The kind of color that one finds in the gutter before the street Sweeper begins to mop up. One of Gulden's confidential letters begins: Strictly Confidential! Re: LEON TROTSKY, alias- Brounstein, and many others. It is reported that this successful revolutionary generalissimo has arrived in the United States to work for the coming revolution here. He has shaved off his usual beard, though he will have to wear glasses, and will probably locate in this area. As Trotsky is probably the most dangerous man to Americans who want to preserve the Constitu- tional form of government, you are requested to use every effort to find out his whereabouts and activities, ALL INFORMATION regarding this should be sent to head- quarters immediately. Signed, '76. The stupidity of Gulden can only be matched by his viciousness and use of the stale excuse that his organization is mainly interested in surpressing crime and racketeering. Quick Watson the needle. This is the steenth time Trotsky has betn located by the wrong people, in many parts of the world: always bent on the same mission, leading the revolution. Too bad Mr. Gulden did not ask us where he really is. We could have told him that to- day Trotsky is stewing in his own bile, his leading activity slander against the only revolutionary party, the Communist Party. How- ever, if Gulden told the truth it would let the cat out of the bag and leave the potential sleuths of the Order with nothing to do. The applicants letter sent out to pros- pective customers sounds like a mail order house trying to get suckers for a dollar down, money refunded if you get your man, in this case Trotsky. But don’t laugh. All this talk about suppressing crime and racketeering is a smoke screen to hide the real purpose behind this fascist group, the suppressing of | militant workers struggling against wage cuts, speed up, etc. . MASS meeting will be held in Union Square Sunday night, August 5th at 8 p.m. Come and hear a report by a representative from the strike area. The latest maneuvers of the newly organized police rifle squad will be explained; also the doings of the Rank and File Committee in Washington. It will be an interesting meeting so don’t be late. By lending your pres- ence and donating to the $5,000 Veterans Fighting Fund you are striking a blow against War and Fascism and helping to build the Workers Ex-Servicemen’s League. Red Seare Used by Green To Prevent Strikes, Defeat Demands By CARL REEVE The leaders of the American Fed- eration of Labor, ardent props of the New Deal, are giving every as- sistance to the armed terror now launched by the Roosevelt govern- ment against the strike wave. They help the employers and their gov- ernment split the ranks of the work- ers by raising the red scare. They accept, without organizing a mass protest, the use of troops to murder strikers. They oppose strikes and urge the workers to accept Roose- | velt's arbitration boards, which mean defeat of the workers’ de- mands. The social fascists reveal their fascist policies more openly, Breaking the General Strike William Green launched whole- heartedly into the campaign to break the San Francisco General Strike. “The strike in San Francisco is local in character, possessing no national significance,” said Wil- liam Green while the strike was on, He stabbed the strike in the back, attempting to isolate it from the support of the rest of the working class. Green declared that those who called the gen- ! eral strike, “must accept full re- sponsibility for this action. THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR NEITHER ORDERED THE STRIKE NOR AUTHOR- IZED IT.” Thus Green supported the fierce drive of the government forces to defeat union recognition of the longshoremen. The reactionary C. L, U. officials in San Francisco staved off the walk-out as long as possible. When it came, they split and betrayed the strike as soon as they could. . A. F. of L. Leaders Accept Troops IN MINNEAPOLIS today the A. F. of L. leaders in control of the {Central Labor Union, are playing the same strikebreaking game. They held the militant Minneapolis work- ers in check and refused to call a sympathy strike in support of the Minneapolis truck drivers. Governor Floyd Olson, Farmer- Labor leader, is responsible for the terror now raging against the truck drivers. Olson declared martial law, prohibited picketing and assembling. His troops suppressed all the ele- mentary rights of the workers in . Political and organizational work Minneapolis. AEE Had: & d Rice Dial Terror Aga Olson's political machine has one of its strongest bases in the A. F. of L. officialdom, many of whom are Farmer-Labor party leaders. The C.L.U, leaders did not arouse the workers against the dangers of martial law. They remained passive while Olson's national guard troops made the strike ineffective by es- corting the trucks, They made no attempt to rally the Minneapolis workers for mass picketing, to combat the terror of Olson’s troops, or to spread the strike. The Red Scare E leaders of the A. F. of L., in their increased use of open fas- cist methods, supporting the strike- breaking terror of the government, employ the Red Scare. The Red Scare is the weapon used to isolate the most active and militant trade union members from the masses, to split the ranks of the strikers, to destroy their morale, It is employed in order to divert attention from the eco- nomic demands of the masses for which the strike is called, and to ; Substitute the impression ‘that a few “outsiders” have caused’ the strike for some sinister designs. It is an attempt to behead the strikes by attributing to the mili- tant strike leaders motives at vari- ance with the aims of the rank and file in the struggle. Under cover of the Red Scare the strike is broken. In Chicago, the masses of packing house workers are demanding the spreading of the livestock handlers strike to the production workers. This would win their own demands and strengthen the handlers strike. Pat Gorman and William Collins, Officials of the Amalgamated Asso- ciation of Meat Cutters and Butch- ers, (A. F. of L.) are refusing to spread the strike. Instead they co-operated with the Police and the states attorney in the arrest of the leaders of the Packing House Workers Industrial Union, whose militant strike policies are supported by increasing numbers of the rank and file packing house workers. The Red issue is raised to shield the A. F. of L. leaders’ treachery in failing to spread the strike, and in preparation for end- ing the handlers strike in arbitra- tion before the demands are won. work, by a vituperative attack on the Communists, Tobin ordered the drivers to accept the unfavorable de- cisions of the arbitration board and remain at work, which meant the dropping of their demands. Of the Communists, Tobin said: “Language describing, or capable of describing this class of serpent in the shape of a working man could not be put into print... .In Russia there was some excuse for Commu- nism. ... In this country men are free, are not allowed to go hungry eyen when unemployed. ... Never was there freedom in any country for the workers equal to that en- joyed by the workers of this coun- try. That freedom is liable to be endangered by those semi-monsters who are creeping into our midst... creating discontent, bloodshed and rebellion,” This outburst of satisfaction with present conditions and freedom must make interesting reading to the Minneapolis workers who are being put into military stockades for picketing and have had their ele- mentary rights suppressed. They had a good chance to read it, be- cause the employers re-printed it in large advertisements in all the Minneapolis papers as an argument that the drivers should remain at work, Woll’s Anti-Strike Drive Matthew Woll, A. F. of L. vice- president, and acting head of the fascist Civic Federation, comes out with the leading article in the July 21 Liberty, noc of course, in support of the strikes of the workers for decent conditions and union recog- nition, but against the militant working class fighters. In this ar- ticle, Woll spills some cheap blood and thunder lies. But his principle attack against the Communists is that they led strikes for better con- ditions. Red Seare In California This article of Woll is made good use of by the A. F. of L. machinery in the Red Scare raised to break the San Francisco general strike. The article is reprinted almost in full in such A. F. of L. papers as the Miami (Fla.) News (July 26) in support of the Red Scare in San Francisco. This A. F. of L. sheet says, in a front page editorial “Organized Labor Against Communists”: “Mayor Rossi paid high tribute to these leaders [the reactionary A. F. of L. “Freedom” in Minneapolis In Minneapolis, D. J. Tobin, Pres- ident of the International Brother- hood of Teamsters Union (A. F. of L.) carried on unsuccessful efforts to keep the Minneapolis drivers at \ ) cfficials] in his broadcast, giving them most of the credit for calling off the strike as did General Hugh S. Johnson.” The united front between the publishers, led by the Hearst man, > inst Strikers | They Oruanine No Mass | Protest Against the Use of Troops Neylan, the police and troops of the state and city government, and the A. F. of L. leaders, was a strike- breaking united front aimed to maintain non-union conditions in California. It carried on under the slogan “the general strike is revo- lution.” A strike of 120,000 workers was characterized as the plot of a few agitators. The Red Scare of the employers, in which the A. F. of L. leaders play a leading role, portrays great struggles of hundreds of thousands of workers, as the work of a few agitators. It thus tries to distract attention from the grievances of these thousands of strikers, Ro 'HE employers are determined not to increase wages. They are de- terminde to instal the company union and smazh the genuine unions of the workers. They are trying through severe terror to smash the strike wave of the workers from coast to coast, and thus defeat their demands. The A. F. of L, officialdom has supported the employers’ govern- ment in these aims from the start. They are supporting the fascist terror now. The A. F. of L. lead- ers declare against all strikes in principle, They want to render the workers defenseless by betray- ing them to arbitration of the government boards—the very gov- ernment which is shooting them down on the picket lines and which is carrying on the drive against their living standards. William Green and his fellow bu- reaucrats defeated the demands of the miners, the steel workers and auto workers through Roosevelt ar- bitration boards. The A. F. of L. leaders supported and praised the wage cutting, strikebreaking N.R.A. from the start. Now, with terror raging against the strikers from coast to coast, the A. F. of L. bureaucrats, contrary to rallying mass support for the strik- ers, gave aid and comfort to the murderers of the workers by split- ting up the strikers. They are in the forefront of the fascist drive against the working class organi- zations. The fascist trend of the A. F. of L, leaders, once more emphasizes the burning necessity for the building of Used by Johnson By HARRY RAYMOND Mr. Ben Golden and his asso- ciate high pressure salesmen of the New Deal in New York City have lost considerable of the hypnotic| influence that they exerted over the| workers during the early days of} the N.R.A. Reports from the Re-| gional Labor Board offices at 45) |Broadway show that the Blue Eagle | folks are having trouble selling their | wares. | It was not long ago when Ben} Golden, the chief custodian of the} Blue Eagle in this region, was able to kid the workers along with a ministerial smile and a well-chosen remark or two about~being “some- what of a Marxist” and “a reader of the Daily Worker.” But those balmy days are gone. The workers of New York, entering into a new| round of trade union struggles, are eradicating the idea that the N.R.A will help them. They have learned,| at least a great many of them| have learned the simple truth—that | the .NR.A. is a strike-breaking ap- | paratus, | But just because the N.R.A. stands | discredited and exposed before | greater sections of the workers it | does not mean that the danger of | the N.R.A. has lessened. The N.R.A. | is a greater danger today than it ever was and the struggle against it and all its agents must be in- tensified more and more. The Regional Labor Board in| New York City is developing new methods for putting over its class-| collaboration policies. In the past, when the Blue Eagle could wear with considerable grace and ease! Mrs. Herrick and other ladies and | gentlemen of the Roosevelt entour- age gave audience to all and sundry groups that requested a hearing. Strike-breaking maneuvers, of course, were worked out and put into action with the aid of the top re- actionary officials of the A. F. of L, Today a rank and file group has great difficulty in getting past the! door at the Labor Board office. New conditions have brought about new methods of work. With the mounting strike waves, the N.R.A. was forced to drop its mask of democracy; the New Deal became | While this development has be- come more obvious on the West Coast, where General Hugh S. Johnson, national head of the N. R.A, issued an open call over a/ radio broadcast for a fascist pogrom | against Communists and militant | unionists, Mr. Golden can no longer | hide his fascist face in New York. N.R.A, and the Painteit; Take the present general strike of the painters, for instance. Mr. Golden has chosen to recognize as the leader of the painters Mr. Philip Zausner whom every honest per- sons knows rode into the office of secretary-treasurer of the Painters Brotherhood through fraudulent voting. The rank and file strike committees of locals 499 and 848 were not invited to the conference arranged between the Master Paint- ers Association and Zausner, de- spite the fact that Louis Weinstock, chairman of local 499 strike com- mittee, sent a personal letter to Ben Golden pointing out that Zausner did not represent the strikers, de- manded that representatives of the rank and file committee be allowed to appear Golden’s policy, the policy of the N.R.A., is one of sup- porting the reactionary union leader and the boss against the worker. A whole series of strikes is now developing in New York: fifteen thousand knitgoods workers are ready to strike; a general walk-out of all heavy construction workers in sympathy with 6,000 workers en-| gaged on the mid-town Hudson Tunnel, a P.W.A. project, is in the making; seamen and tugboat men are getting ready to answer wage cuts with strike, N.R.A. Strategy The strategy of the N.R.A. in face of this development of the class struggle is to attempt to isolate the growing rank and file leadership, to swing the leadership of the strug- gles over to the reactionary leaders whose aim it is to betray them, and to co-operate with the LaGuardia- O’Ryan fascist Rifle Regiment by keeping LaGuardia informed at all times on the development of the struggle so that when words and trickery fail, bullets can be used to put down the workers. In the knitgoods situation David Dubinsky, reactionary president of the I.L.G.W.U., is already manecuver- ing with the Regional Labor Board to halt the strike. When the first wind of the strike sentiment reached Mr, Golden he prepared a conference between the manufac- turers and the I.L.G.W.U. leaders. He _ conveniently overlooked the Knitgoods Workers Industrial Union, the first and oldest union in the industry, which has on its rolls 5,000 members and which voted to strike. The Knitgoods Workers Industrial Union was not invited to the con- ference because Golden knew that this union stood on a policy of class struggle. Goiden’s aim in this situa- tion is to place the reactionary I.L.G.W.U. heads in charge, to halt any form 4 united action on the part of all organized workers in the trade, to keep the rank and file op- Position in the LL.G.W.U. from coming to the fore and thus defeat the struggle. In the mazine situation Mr. Golden is attempting to head off rank and file opposition groups in the A. F. of L. unions. the developing strike on the tug- boats by pushing to the front Cap- the robes of democracy, Mr. Golden, | [ more openly fascist. | - 'The N. Y. Labor Board ‘Plans To Meet Strike ‘Wave with New Methods Ben Golden, Blue Eagle Custodian, Removes “Liberal”? Garments—Will Utilize Tacties in San Francisco tain William Maher, president of @ group of waterfront labor fakers who call themselves. the Seafarers Council Grooming Their Man And in the heavy construction industry the Regional Labor Board is aiding and abetting Mr. Charles Johnson, president of Carpenters’ Local 1456 and notorious labor mis- leader. The N.R.A. is grooming this man to head the movement with the purpose of beheading it. this wide-spread developing strike movement it is the militant rank and file within the unions alone who can save the situation. The rank and file will be able to deal with the N.R.A. as it should be dealt with—as a strike-breaking organization. Mr. Golden knows this, That the reason he has adopted the tactic of ignoring the rank and file and militant leaders ship of the unions when confer ences are called with the bosses. The rank and file opposition with in the A. F. of L. unions, within the Mr. Maher’s tugboat union, must come forward as the leaders of the struggle. To assure victory in the coming strikes in New York the first pre- requisite is to strengthen the rank and file opposition. For Mr. Golden cannot kid the rank and file. Since they represent aiixed quantity of gold, beth as to principal and interest SOVIET UNION 7% GOLD BONDS automatically increase in value proportionately with any advance in the price of gold in terms of the dollar. Send for Circular D—2? SOVIET AMERICAN SECURITIES CORP. 30 Broad St., N.Y. - Tel. HAnover2-5332 TENTS Lowest Prices in New York City SQUARE DEAL ARMY and NAVY STORE 121 Third Avenue (near 14th Street) THE WORKINGMEN'S STORE To Hire AIRY, LARGE MEETING ROOMS and HALL Suitable for Meetings, Lectures and Dances in the Czechoslovak Workers House, Ine. 347 E. 72nd St. New York Telephone: RHinelander 5097 LERMAN BROS. 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