The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 28, 1934, Page 4

Page Four DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1934 Why A Large Vote for Communist Candidates Is Needed C.P. STAND ON N.R.A. Local Unions Barbusse Sounds Alarm AND JOBLESS CITED Ass2il Policies AS ELECTION NEARS Green and AFL. Leaders Want Workers to Vote For Roosevelt Terror and Strikebreaking— S. P. Spreads Illusions About N, R. A. Very much in the style of Wil lam Green’s questionnaire to can- didates in the present election campaign, the Chamber of Com- merce of the United States has also addressed itself to the leading Office - seekers, and especially to President Roosevelt himself. Burning issues confront the ‘whole working class in this election. A huge strike wave is gripping the country. No sooner are the textile workers, who put up such a heroic fight betrayed, than the marine | workers get ready for a big battle to improve their conditions. Unem-| ployment insurance becomes so pow- erful and growing a demand that Roosevelt concerns himself with it, preparing all sorts of schemes in an effort to defeat the mounting | insistence that a federal system of unemployment insurance be established. | Hunger on the countryside, the | drought, the A. A. A. and farm re- | lief; taxation; inflation; the rapid) development to war; fascist attacks | on all of the worker's rights, the Slaughter of strikers, the use of Militia, bayonets, machine-guns, | tear gas against workers fighting | for their rights—these are para- mount issues confronting the work- | ingclass. | Green’s Aims in Elections | The A. F. of L. leadership, as the Chamber of Commerce, are very| much concerned, in this period of | the sharpening of class conflicts, on how the workers are going to} vote. Elections are interwoven most directly with every vital issue confronting the toiling population of the country. What are Green’s aims in the present election? What are the aims of the Chamber of Commerce, the bankers, the Roosevelt regime? ‘What are the aims of the capitalist parties, the Socialist Party? What does the Communist Party propose to the workers in this election campaign? Communism has be- come the outstanding issue in every struggle of the workers. In the San Francisco general strike, Communism was put forward as the main issue. In the textle strike, Gorman and the bosses brought in the role of the Com- * miunists. Green and the A. F, of L. leader- | ship make their position clear and | simple. They want the workers to vote for candidates of the Re- publican and Democratic parties who support the N.R, A. and/ all of Rooseyelt’s fake schemes. The workers have had eighteen months of the N. R. A. What did it bring them? The textile indus- try, where the first code was passed, is the best illustration, It brought them greater uremploy- ment, lower REAL wages (that is, Iowered living standards) It brought them the speed-up and stretch-out. Martial Law and Murder As a result, the workers went out on the most militant strike in the| history of the textile industry. They fought bitterly and bravely. Then what did the N. R. A. and the Republican and Democratic Parties bring them? They got Martial law, the militia, the Machine-gun. Sixteen were killed. Roosevelt threatened the use of the federal troops. And now Green wants the workers to vote for the candidates of those parties who supported the N. R. A, and who put into motion the machinery of Oppression, of murder, of fascist brutality to drive the workers back into the mills to be chained to N.R. A. codes and textile boards. The Chamber of Commerce has B_ little different approach. They too, however, support Roosevelt, just like Green does, only with a slightly different approach. In their election document the Cham- ber of Commerce makes this sup- ort very clear, and every worker should ask himself the reason for it. “For the past eighteen months the Chamber of Commerce of the United States has wholeheartedly supported the President and his administration in the effort toward business recovery,” writes the Ghamber of Commerce. But they have some complaints. ‘They do not like the huge strike struggles any more than does Mr. Green or President Roosevelt. They point to: “Increasing strikes and violent labor disturbances, fostered ‘and encouraged by the radicals in labor organization.” More “Old Party” Terror To stop it, they want more of .the type of terror Roosevelt and Republican and Democratic state Officials have been using. But they -want a little more. And here is where they differ with Green and 0 elt on the method of ap- proach in dealing with the masses in action. They want less dema- gogy, less lying promises, more brutal reality. | Fundamentally, they want to achieve the same end as Green and Roosevelt—a crip- pling of the labor movement so that “recovery”—that is, “recovery” of profits at the expense of the Workers can go through, But Roosevelt and Green through their practical experience, because they have to deal economically and Politically with great numbers of workers, in all industries, not only in individual industries, as do the individuals who comprise the Chamber of Commerce, know that they must spread demagogy thickly on the knife with which they stab the workers. Here is the difference between them. It is not ® difference of fundamentals, not a difference on the attack against workers. Mey So when the worker is asked by yreen or the Chamber of Com- erce to vote for this-and-this sandidate on the Republican or Democratic Party ticket, he is ged to cast hs vote for the same fundamental program of the capitalist class, with only differences of phrases to cover the on- Slaught against the working class. | y S. P. Spreads Mlusions What is the role of the Socialist Party these elections? That cannot be judged only by the Programs and speeches of the offi- cialdom of the Party, no more than Roosevelt's speeches or Green's professed love of the workers and concern over their conditions can be taken as a guide. When the N. R. A. was first passed—even before—the Socialist Party leaders, including their “left” leader, Norman Thomas, greeted it as a great boon to the workers, as a fundamental change in capitalism that even offered a road to easy pro- gress in socialism. Norman Thomas particularly praised section 7-a of the N. R.A. the very section Roosevelt uses to break strikes, to shackle “arbitration” boards on the workers, to foster the development of company unions, and to attempt to destroy every elementary civil and trade union right of the workers. When the workers first struck against the N. R. A. in steel and coal, Thomas said, “This is not the time to strike.” Later the Socialist leaders saw they were on the wrong track. They began to admit the N. R. A. was not so hot. But still they have not attacked it whole- heartedly. They still maneuver with it, spread illusions about it. In the textile strike, they formed a united front with Gorman and Green. Their main link to the Roosevelt program is through the Officialdom of the American Federation of Labor. C. P. Fought N. R. A. from Start For eighteen months, that is, from the first day of the N. R. A. the Communist Party fought it valiantly, exposing every step of its trickery, every fascist deed of the | Roosevelt regime. In every strike, the Communist Party took a lead- ing part, exposing every betrayal, in coal, steel, auto and now in textile. For its unyielding struggle against the New Deal methods of smashing down the workers’ living standards the Communist Party got the well-merited vicious attack of the leading scab emnlovers. The Red cry was raised in every strike, because the bosses feared most the Communists and the correct Communist strategy for winning strikes. That Green, Gorman and others took up this cry only emphasized their real and fundamental stand on the side of the employers. Only the Communist Party put forward a real unemployment in- surance bill. a farm relief measure, | and carried on a mass campaign for the nassage of these bills. Urges United Action Only the Communist Party carried on a mass campaign for | the passage of these bills. Only the Communist Party carried on a day to day fight against every fascist manifestation, urging a united front between tl Socialist and Communist Parties « against Roosevelt's program of hunger, war and fascism. Many workers who are sym- pathetic to many points of the Communist program, and especially to Communist leadership in strikes, put up the argument that why should we vote for Communists, they won’t win. This argument is put up most strenuously precisely in those sec- tions where Communist candidates have the best chance of winning, It is put up when the bosses’ par- ties and the Socialists cannot answer the Communist Party program—the only one fighting in the interest of the workers’ im- mediate demands and for the final overthrow of capitalism. Communist candidates can win. The victory of a Communist candi- date in either the municipal, state or Congressional elections would be @ great boon to the whole working class, because these candi- dates would put forward boldly and fearlessly the issues and in- terests of the workers. Big C. P. Vote Needed Even if Communist candidates do not win, a huge Communist vote becomes one of the most powerful factors on the side of the workers in their struggle against the em- ployers and the New Deal. Com- munist votes mean workers who understand the basic issues of the class struggle. They mean fighters who will not only express them- selves on election day and then submit to all of the dastardly deeds of the employers afterwards. A huge Communist vote is a chal- lenge flung in the face of the em- ployers. It is a thermometer showing them the rising rage and militancy of the workers, “Vote Communist” is not just a formula for putting an X besides the name of a Communist candi- date. It is a vote for the only revolutionary working class party. It is a vote for struggle, a vote against fascism, war and hunger. It is a vote which gives the work- ing class the most powerful op- portunity to tell the employers that he will not sit and let the em- Pployers yoke him to the New Deal or any other scheme of continued enslavement. It is a vote for Soviet Power, for the ending of capitalist rule and the setting up lof workers rule. Of AFL Chiefs Ask Rights of Newly Organized Federated Groups Be Assured NEW YORK.—Demanding that the rights of newly organized fed- jeral locals of the A. F. of L. be guaranteed, many local unions have adopted re ions to be intro- duced at e national convention of the Federation in San Fran-| |cisco, scheduled for the first week of October, the A. F. of L. Rank }and File Committee announced at jits offices at 1 Union Square here j yesterday. The battle against craft union- |ism, waged for many years within |the A. F. of L., has received new |impetus by the resolutions in favor of this form of organization en- }dorsed in many local unions, the committee stated. The resolutions on Federal locals and industrial unionism follow: ON FEDERAL LOCAL UNIONS WHEREAS: ‘Thousands of unorganized workers from the trustified mass produc- tion plants beset by the danger of com- pany unionism and the continued attacks on their working conditions, joined the A. F. of L. to fight for their rights and for the improvement of their working con- ditions, and to wage successful struggles against the powerful trusts, and WHEREAS: These workers have organ- {zed into federal locals directly on the basis of a policy of the A, F. of L. Ex- ecutive Council to organize them with the understanding that ‘the rights and inter- ests of all aMiiated national and inter- national unions must be followed, observed and safeguarded,” showing clearly that it is the ultimate aim of the A. F. of L. Executive Council to dismember these unions into craft organizations separatea under the different international unions, and WHEREAS: At the 53rd Annual Con tion and at special meetings thereafter the question of strengthening and giving |ereater support to the federal locals in their struggles was not considered but in- stead the discussion centered on the divi- sion of the spoils and who shall have the benefit of the dues when the federal locals are dismembered into craft unions, and WHEREAS: It {s the interest of these reactionary officials to split up the locals and divide the ranks of the workers, con- trary to the desires of the membership in these locals, who see the danger of such action, be it therefore RESOLVED: That the.ocnonntake im- mediate steps to guarantee the interests of the federal locals and the right to full local autonomy for these unions, in- cluding the right to strike, that the dues of the locals be handled by the locals themselves, and that the federal locals |have equal representation with any other affiliated body to the A. F. of L., to elect their own delegates to the A. F. of L. con- vention according to the representation allowed the national and international unions, and be it further RESOLVED: That the federal locals be given full ‘support from the funds of the Executive Council of the A. F. of L. in the struggles they are waging for im- provements in their conditions and for the Tight to organize and be it further RESOLVED: That the.ewssonmAtthor= izes and pledges “support to the federal | locals in the respective industries to con- tact and cooperate with other labor or- ganizations in the respective industries to unite in common struggle leading toward the formation of one class struggle in- dustrial union in each of these industries. FOR INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM BASED IN STRUGGLE WHEREAS: We live in a period domi- nated by monopoly capital where industry is highly concentrated, with machinery and mass production developed to a high degree, where skill is being more and more eliminated and where many different | crafts are employed in one or more plants | by one company, and WHEREAS: Craft unionism in practice has meant constant jurisdictional fights, the division of the workers in many dif- ferent unions with separate agreements, in most cases expiring at different times, resulting in the scabbing of crafts on each other during strike struggles, and WHEREAS: Such antiquated form of trade union organization can in no way be justified, since it divides and weakens the workers and serves only to strengthen the hand of the employers and reaction- ary A. F. of L. labor bureaucrats, who look upon the unions as dues collecting institutions to serve their personal inter- ests, and WHEREAS: The employers, especially since the N.R.A., are combined into strong industrial associations, chambers of com- merce, etc., and are acting for their mutual interest to secure more profits and take greater advantage of the wage earn- ers, and WHEREAS: The conflicting interests of organized labor and capital are leading to constantly sharper struggles, and WHEREAS: The policy pursued by the Present officialdom of our unions, con- ciliation, arbitration and compromise with the employers, is ruinous to the interests of the workers and leaves them completely at the mercy of the employers, who drive down their conditions more and more, and WHEREAS: Even where industrial unions are formed, unless they are led by incor- ruptible elements fighting in the interests of labor on the basis of struggle, they can be utilized by tne corrupt labor officials in the same manner as is deing done in the craft unions, as for example in the U.M. W.A., be it therefore RESOLVED: That the..... goes on record in favor of genui industrial untonism, to be achieved through the re- orgnization of the membership into in- dustrial unions through the merging of craft unions in each industry, and be it further RESOLVED: That said industrial unions shall be based on programs of struggles and against collabortion with the employ- ers. Against Menace of War Which Threatens USSR Issues Passionate Appeal to Every Honest Person For Unity in the Struggle Against the Second World Slaughter By Henri Barbusse “The idea of war is in the air. It can break out any moment. At the end of July a situation | suddenly arose which was similar | to that of 1914.... One must | we prepared for war not tomor- row but today, We must become a military, a military, or bet- ter still a \ ike nation. .. .” Mussolini spoke these words from |the top of a tank. The counten- ance of the adventurer and con- dottiere in the service of reaction was to be seen behind the mask of the pacifist chief of State. All the capitalistic countries ac- companied the declaration of the fascist “veteran” with deafening music. The air maneuvers, the gen- eral rehearsals for technically per- fected war, are taking place almost everywhere, At the present time air maneuvers are being held in jand around Paris. In the mean-~ |time the Amsterdam-Pleyel Com- |mittee, which has made it its task to form and extend the united front throughout the world for the fight against war and fascism, arranged |counter-demonstrations against thet farce of aerial defense. We now jlearn that the air maneuvers are {not to be held over Paris, but in the neighborhood. In the mean- time, air maneuvers have been held in England, as a result of which it {has been proved that an air at- tack could in a few hours reduce London to a heap of ruins covering |several million dead. Thus we see that England has made considerable progress. It occupies sixth place in the air armament competition and aims at advancing to a higher po- | sition. Mr. Baldwin moved in the House of Commons to increase the air force by more than 800 airplanes, under the pretext that only a na- jtion occupying a leading position |in the sphere of air armaments can |compel other powers to reduce | their air fleets. Great Britain, for | the sake of peace, is preparing to | build an air fleet of 1,300 airplanes. i Germany and Japan have become jconverted into huge drill grounds and munition factories. The whole population of these two countries |are becoming more and more mili- | tarized, commencing with the youth jand the industrial workers, who are systematically prepared for war which can break out any day. Against whom and against what are the potentates in the capitalist countries arming at such a feverish pace? The antagonisms between |the capitalist countries are increas- ing and becoming more acute, as is only logical. The Nazi putsch in Vienna, which proved an absolute failure, has opened the eyes of everybody. The most skeptical are forced to realize what a danger- spot the Danube Basin is. In the meantime the war-mongers, pre- cisely because they are aware of the tension between the capitalist States and because they know that they are thereby risking everything, are together seeking a way out which would permit them to har- ness their peoples to the war char- iots. War is the ideal solution. It would free them at last from the terrifying nightmare which has been weighing heavily upon them |since a certain October revolution. Mussolini, in the speech from which we already quoted, did not hesitate to reveal his’ innermost thoughts: “Because certain nations are on the ascent and others on the de- cline,” declared the strangler of the Italian people, “there re- mains, in spite of the best will, in spite of conferences and protocols, only one way out—war.’” Expressed in plain language, this Means: Because today there is only one nation and one people which is on the ascent, namely, the work- ers’ and peasants’ State, the capi- talist countries, which are on the decline and collapsing, cannot do anything else but unite for war against the Soviet Union. Mussolini has not taught us any- thing new. We know his principles and his aims. The World Commit- tee and the World Committee of the Youth for the Fight Against War and Fascism have repeatedly, and especially in the Manifesto of the full session of the International Bureau of Amsterdam-Pleyel and the Youth on July 31, declared that the danger of war against the So- viet Union is becoming more threat- ening every day. “The rising wave of provocations strategic preparations along the So- viet frontiers indisputably prove that Japan is determined to make war on the Soviet Union at any price.” The events of the last four weeks have confirmed this declaration in an alarming manner, Not a week, in fact not a day, passes without Provocations by the Japanese mili- tary clique and their puppets in Manchukuo. Officials of the Chinese Eastern Railway are still being ar- rested. Never has a campaign of robbery and lies been carried on so far in order to convert a neighbor into an enemy and force it to war. It is only because Japan has to deal with such a powerful and peaceful partner as the Soviet State, which is master of itself, that this insolent game which it is pursuing has not achieved its aim. It is clear that Japan is bent on seizing the Chinese Eastern Railway not only in order to save the purchase money, but in order to continue its policy of rob- bery. The Soviet government has given a plain and emphatic answer thru its Ambassador in Tokyo to these provocations. This document is such a damning indictment of the Jap- anese government and its Man- churian puppets that other pretexts must be sought for the seizure of the Chinese Eastern Railway than the tragi-comedy staged hitherto. The diplomats and the general staffs of nearly all the imperialist powers are eagerly working in order to launch an attack against the Soviet Union from the East, the South and the West. A short time ago it was reported in certain news- papers that a military alliance was in course of preparations between Great Britain and Japan. It is clear that German imperi- alism is doing its utmost to win over Pilsudski Poland as an ally. As an inducement Germany has promised Poland a large slice of the Soviet Union, and in addition certain ad- vantages from the dismemberment of the Baltic States. There is no doubt that an agreement would be reached with regard to the Polish corridor. It seems that in the last few days a secret agreement has been concluded between Germany and Poland according to which, in the event of war, Poland would sup- ply food and raw materials and Germany war materials. Who could deny that this agreement represents @ war plan against the U.S.S.R.? In this very serious and threaten- ing situation the working masses of the world must launch a counter- offensive in order to frustrate the aims of the international war in- cendiaries. The Soviet Union has done its utmost in order to main- tain peace in the interests of the masses of the whole world. The moment has now come when the masses of the people in the capi- talist countries must come forward in a broad united front in order to prevent the war against the So- viet Union and to shatter the block of the imperialists. In various countries Socialist and Communist, Christian and non-party workers, employees and intellectuals, women and children, have unitedly ex- pressed their determination to bring to naught the war designs against the workers’ and peasants’ Republic, The World Movement against War and Fascism has made it its historic task to defend the Soviet Union with the aid of the whole of hu- manity, We are millions who are inspired with the ambition to become the world organ of united action, to stand at the side of the great free people and win the emancipation of the subjected peoples. We address a passionate appeal to all opponents of war and oppression, no matter to what party they belong, to join our mass movement and, together with us, fulfill their duty by defend- ing the Soviet Union, Welsh Mine Tomb Hit By Second Explosion WREXHAM, Wales, Sept. 27.—A second explosion occurred Tuesday in the Crestford Coal Mine, where 260 miners died last Saturday in an explosion and fire that is considered one of the worst mine tragedies in by Japanese imperialism and its the history of English coal opera- tions, and Hawkins Streets. ing signatures for the Communist nist headquarters and against ef- forts to frame Communists as “idle persons” and for the possession of lottery tickets. here is planning a broad campaign against the raids and against the attempted frame-up and intimida- tion of Daily Worker salesmen and against other phases of the strike terror. ning a big indoor mass meeting for Oct. 7, with outstanding defendants, trade union leaders and liberals as speakers. s John Weber, Albina Porrino, Esther Marks, David Glass and Al- bert Planks will go on trial here on Tuesday. Halpern and Joseph Planks will face trial on Friday. AFL Chiefs Advance Haensel Plan Against Jobless Insurance Prof. Haensel’s Scheme of Workmen’s Savings 1,000 Acclaim C.P. Candidate In Strike Area Workers Raise Protest Against Recent Raid Of C. P. Quarters PAWTUCKET, R. I, Sept. 25.— More than 1,000 Italian workers, the majority of them in the tex- tile industry here, gave enthusiastic greeting last Thursday night to Al- bina Porrino, Communist candidate for Mayor, and Walter Petraska, member of the independent union, at the weekly open-air meeting of the Communist Party at Charles A total of 100 copies of the Daily Worker were sold at the meeting, and many workers volunteered to help in the collection of nominat- candidates. Vigorous protests were expressed against the recent raid on Commu- The International Labor Defense The organization is plan- Irving Kaitz, Irving ANTI-LABOR RECORD SHOWS WHY BORAH AIDS TORY GROUP | Basis for Senator Borah’s Support of American Liberty League Revealed by Examining His Reactionary Record as Republican In a speech made at Genesee. | Idaho, on Sept. 24, Senator William E. Borah asserted that the Ameri- can Liberty League “is not too ear- ly in this field” and their “move to preserve liberty is an important un- dertaking.” Senator Borah has made half a dozen speeches in Ida- ho in which he has denounced the destruction of “liberty” under. the New Deal. They are part of the campaign material that is being used by the most reactionary sec- tions of the American ruling class to win votes in the national and state elections. : Senator Borah’s comment on the Liberty League should not surprise those who have followed his ca- reer. He caters to middle class prejudices and attacks “monopoly” and Wall Street. But at every elec- tion he votes the straight Repub- lican ticket, just as in Congress he supports every anti-labor measure that is pushed through by the man- ufacturers and bankers. He is a pretty transparent fraud. On Labor Day he warned the workers that they must rise and support abstract “constitutional rights,” otherwise “liberty” will be denied and forfeited. What kind of liberty is Senator Borah talking about, and what does it mean to the average worker? Why does he talk of vague constitutional rights —and not of the concrete right to Seen as Old Self-Help Plan To Protect Profits of the Employers By Si Gerson iss capitalist class has spiritual policemen who perform their function of defense of profits as well, if not as obtrusively, as the husky gentlemen who stand at the factory gates with pistols at their sides, Such a spiritual policeman is Professor Paul Haensel, of North- western University, who attacks the idea of unemployment insurance and proposes “A Workmen’s Say- ings Fund Plan” instead. The pro- fessorial fellow is given, signifi- cantly enough, the columns of the August, 1934 issue of the American Federationist as a forum. The fact that the article is not answered editorially and that it comes so close to the October convention of the A. F. of L. can mean but one thing: the article meets with the approval of the top leadership of the Federation towards the ques- tion of social insurance. (Whether Green, Woll and Co. will put for- ward these ideas at the convention depends entirely upon circum- stances, above all, on the sentiment that will have been developed by that time in the lower bodies of the organization.) An examination of the arguments of the learned apologist is impor- tant for all members of the A. F. of L, and all others who are interested in the struggle for unemployment insurance in the United States. Hert Haensel dismisses unemploy- ment insurance in two sentences. He says: “A system of compulsory unem- ployment insurance (in its tech- nical sense) is impractical. In the first place unemployment is not an insurable risk, since it can net be forecast with any degree of certainty, and, consequently can not be underwritten. Secondly, the ordinary scheme of unem- ployment insurance is not attrac- tive to the worker who enjoys continuous employment, since he contributes throughout his life to gs fund and gets nothing out of The learned doktor then goes on to his particular nostrum for the unemployed: “a savings fund built up by joint contributions of worker and employer.” Under this system the worker would place into the ‘Guidance of Paper Is Impetus for Work In the Arts To the proletarian cultural or- ganizations the Daily Worker is an indispensable ally. Without the Daily Worker none of them would have the encouragement and crit- icism which is necessary for their existence. Few of them, indeed, would ever have been started with- out the impetus given to them by the paper. In the pages of the Daily Worker all of them find the inspiration and material for their | working class compositions. One of their chief objects each year, therefore, should be to raise a certain sum of money for the Daily Worker. The John Reed Clubs, the literary, theatre, music and art groups—these are de- | pended upon by the ‘Daily’ With their capabalities, with their means of atranging symposia, con- certs, and performances, these should provide a fair quota of any ‘Daily’ drive. In the present drive for $60,000 Jess than fifty dollars has so far been received from the cultural groups throughout the country; yet, in the work \f one or two of these organizations, we see what the proper activity can do. Of the money that has been received, $25 has come from the Freihet Gesangs Varein of Philadelphia and $15.85 from the Workers Lab- oratory Theatre in New York, The money from the Gesangs Var- ein was due to an immediate do- nation. The program of the Workers Laboratory Theatre in New York is at present the most extensive that has come to the knowledge of the Daily Worker. With a quota of $200, it calls, among other points, for Socialist competitions among its members, for performances for the Daily Worket’s benefit and for active, daily publicizing of the drive. It has adopted an excellent method of announcing each mem- ber’s daily work. On a bulletin board in its headquarters is, first, a painted thermometer showing the rise of funds for the collective body and, second, a list of each collector and his or her collections. Third, the bulletin board contains the standing of the competitions— and, fourth, a list of those who have produced nothing. The Theatre, moreover, has challenged the Film and Photo . The League, however, has not yet answered. In New York, furthermore, the Role of ‘Daily’ Stressed for Cultu ng 6 ral Groups Daily Worker Calls for Support as Campaign For Funds Lags John Reed Club has undertaken, as its contribution, to give chalk- talks free at affairs held for the ‘Daily.’ So far, though no money has come in from this Club. Very little has been heard from the John Reed Clubs in the rest of the country. With a month of the drive gone, this weakness should not be al- lowed to continue. The cultural organizations — and, particularly, the John Reed Clubs—should see to it that money is collected through their efforts for the ‘Daily.’ In a preceding paragraph has been outlined some of the means they have of raising money. Let them get to work immediately. fund about five or ten per cent of his wages, the employer placing a like or slightly higher amount. The government is to pay a certain amount on the funds thus accumu- lated, the interest rate being raised as the fund grows. When the worker is unemployed, he is to be permitted to draw a limited amount from the fund, no more than the total contribution. He may not touch the interest. As soon as he gets a job again, the worker is to replace what he has taken out of the fund. Then the high rate of government interest will be restored. ere ie S to unemployment insurance being “impractical.” One cannot “forecast” unemployment on the same basis that the actuary pre- dicts life span for the insurance companies. This argument certainly cuts no ice with the workers. The capitalist system is so anarchic that it cannot compute with any de- gree of certainty the actual number of unemployed for the coming few years? Does this do away with the problem of unemployment? Does it do away with the bread lines? Pre- cisely because of this anarchy is it necessary for the workers to have unemployment insurance. Actually, however, even under capitalism, systems of unemploy- ment insurance in Great Britain and other countries have been forced to count the number of unemployed and build a system of unemployed insurance, that to some degree is workable. The very fact that there is a system of federal unemployment insurance in these countries compels the government to register the unemployed and to compute statistics on the rise and fall of unemployment from month to month, ‘ The second argument—that “the ordinary scheme of unemployment insurance is not attractive to the worker who enjoys continuous em- ployment”—simply flies in the face of well-established facts. It pre- Supposes job security for the Amer- ican toilers that does not exist. Out of 45,000,000 workers who haye had gainful occupations in this country at least 17,000,000 (ten million by A. F. of L. estimates) are totally without jobs. Millions more are working part-time. Almost every offs. Under such circumstances— the actual, not theoretical, circum- stances of American working class life today—can there be any such talk about “continuous unemploy- ment”? And if, Herr Doktor Haensel, unemployment insurance is so “unattractive” to workers, how can you account for the fact that more than 2,400 A, F. of L. bodies, in- cluding three international unions, have endorsed the Workers Unem- ployment Insurance Bill, known in the last session of Congress as H. R. 7598? * he | ele atl HAENSEL'S plan is simply a sugar-coated “self-help” Plan—poor Paul and poor Peter paying starving Paul and starving Peter. Out of the wretched wages you can make you are to put aside a certain sum so that when the lordly employer decides to shut down his mills and throw you out you may be able to exist for a few weeks on money, half of which you have yourself contributed out of starvation wages! This implies, of course, that you worker is faced with seasonal lay-| ang organize, to strike and to picket? Back of all the talk of Roosevelt and the Liberty League that fills the press these days about defend- ing the Constitution and fighting for liberty is the desire of bankers and industrialists to perpetuate their rule and increase their profits, The decay of American capitalism has brought with it a realignment of groupings within the ruling class, In the Liberty League, for exam- ple, this recrystallization of forces has cut across old party lines. It has not cut across class lines. The Liberty League was organ- ized several weeks ago by both Democrats and Republicans to “preserve property rights and com- bat radicalism.” Among its char- ter members were such liberty lov- ers as Irenee Du Pont, the muni- tions magnate; John W. Davis, the Morgan oligarchy’s lawyer and gen eral handyman; Nathan L, Miller, Prominent in Republican politics and a big corporation lawyer; and Al Smith, the friend of the “pee- pul’—and the servant of Wall Street. There is, of course, no real con- flict, between Roosevelt and the Liberty Leaguers. They point out that they are “definitely not anti- Roosevelt.” And although he went through the motions of attacking them in order to make political capital, for himself, at the same time he endorsed their general principles. The basic principle on which both Roosevelt and the Liberty League agree is that America must remain the private domain of a small group of parasites who will have full liberty to loot the country with the sanction of the Constitution. The Liberty Leaguers feel, how- ever, that the social demagogy of the New Deal is superfiuous by now and that its ballyhoo about hu- man rights should be replaced by the old ballyhoo about the Consti- tution, the Founding Fathers and the Spirit of Liberty. Roosevelt, who is serving the interests of the whole capitalist class, points out that his organized attack against the working class must be carried out behind a “liberal” front. He claims that the enormous profits of the Liberty Leaguers since the in- ception of the New Deal is the best proof that what is needed is more, and not less, demagogy. Only one party exposes the sham fight between Roosevelt and the Liberty League. Only one party really fights for adequate relief and unemployment insurance, for the right to organize, picket and strike, Only the Communist Party organ- izes the working class for the counter-attack against the hunger program of the New Deal. The best way to beat back Roose- velt’s attack against the living standards and political and eco- nomic demands of the American masses is to vote for all the Com- munist candidates. In municipal assemblies, in state legislatures, and in Congress, they—and only they—will voice the political and economic demands of the toilers. The election of Communists to legislative bodies will mean the ad- dition of a powerful weapon to the political arsenal of the working class. don’t need every blessed nickle you earn. But how many _ workers, o wise professor, are in that posi- tion? Out of the 45,000,000 normally gainfully employed in the United States, 40,000,000 of them earn LESS than $2,000, the approxi- mate minimum for a decent standard of living, as computed from government statistics! How can these workers, barely keeping body and soul alive while working, put enough aside—grant- ing that your idea was acceptable— for the inevitable “rainy day” of unemployment—now a steady downpour? sa * HAT will the Haensel plan mean in terms of actual cash? Suppose you are working for a Solid year at $25 a week. Then you are fired. By that time, figuring that you put five per cent, the boss the same, and the government two per cent, you have accumulated in your reserve the great sum of $150, only $125 of which you may touch. If you are “permitted” to take $10 @ week for yourself and your family your savings fund will hold out exactly twelve and one half weeks, where are you then? We could go on like this in even greater detail. But our readers can already see that this is not a plan to help them mitigate in the Slightest the misery of unemp xy- ment. It is a plan, purely and simply, to guard capitalist profits, to prevent the masses of the unem- ployed from getting even a tiny percentage of the profit millions. The plan meeting with increased favor among workers, A. F. of L, and otherwise, is the Workers Un- employment Insurance Bill, pros Posed by the Communist Party. This Bill calls for unemployment insurance maintained by the em- ployers and the government, with no taxation of the workers’ in- come. This bill provided that the unemployed worker receive $10 a week for the entire duration of his unemployment and $3 a week for each dependent. This is the bill that should get the earnest support of every A. F. of L. worker. The coming conven- tion of the Federation should see a struggle on the floor for the endorsement of the bill and the repudiation of the fake Haensele are in a position to save, that you| Green proposals, —" | | 2am ( € LL Li a