The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 19, 1934, Page 2

Page 2 ne Deets ae se Fe A Bie atl hail STEEL COMPANY THUGS BEAT, JAIL, FIRE UNION MEMBERS | N.R.A. BOARD STALLS) WHEN MEN ACCUSE LAUGHLIN Heavy Legal Batteries 0 . R. A. Unconstitut COMPANY f Steel Magnates Declare ional—Union Officials Keep Issoski Off Stand By Tom Keenan PITTSBURGH, Pa., Nov . 18.—With only Judge Walter P. Stacy representing the National Steel Labor Relations Board, the long delayed he wholesale coercion and intimidation of its employes by and Laughlin Steel Corpor steel workers filed man board to tell company thuggery — gings, beatings, and unlawful prisonment of work tivities in Aliquippa, Pa The futitility of attempting to im- utilize “labor board hearii a means of wringing con from the monarchial steel was demonstrated at every point of the sessions. scious union wo: one of the stiffest of class b by “testifying” under the tr ous guidance of A. A. topleaders kers, seeking to win ttles was all the legal apparatus and might of a monopoly giant—the steel industry. Heavy Legal Battery Attorney Earl F. Reed, chief counsel for J. and L., indicated the arrogant derision of the steel com- panies towards the demagogy of Roosevelt's boards in the writ he filed on opening the case. The jurisdiction and authority of the Steel Board grounds: (a) that the President's executive order creating the board is not authorized by the N. R. A.;| (b) that the board has no authority to investigate employer controver- sies inasmuch as these controver- sies do not affect interstate com- merce; (c) that the board has thus | the| no jurisdiction to determine complaint; (d) that the National Recovery Act and the Congressional resolution creating the board are unconstitutional. From the start it was made evi- dent why the J. & L. hearing was delayed by seven postponments from Oct. 5 until today. In these six weeks the terror existing prior to October has been “eased off” by the company, the union is now tem- porarily allowed to hold meetings in Aliquippa, and no attacks have taken place in the interim, Con- sequently, when witnesses take the stand to testify against the com- pany and its intimidations, Judge Stacy bestows a vacuous the complainant and _ asks, isn’t everything all right now?” Retreating at every step before the company's counsel, allowing him to introduce all manner of deroga- tory and irrelevant testimony anent the personal histories of witnesses before objecting, the A. A.’s legal force climaxed their case by de- ciding not to testify George Is- soski, the steel worker who was railroaded to an insane asylum by J. & L,-controlled Beaver County Officials for his union activities. Issoski was not summoned to the stand until near the close of the afternoon session yesterday. Just after he was sworn in, Attorney Reed summoned Charlton Ogburn, counsel for Amalgamated, to a side} bar discussion with the judge. At its conclusion, Ogburn announced that Issoski would not testify, since Reed had threatened stretching the} hearing into seven days of sessions of expert testimony if the framed ™man spoke, and the A. A. is not} “fully prepared” for this. Organizers Beaten The first witness called was John Mayer, A. A. organizer, who said he was sent to Aliquippa on Aug. 22. Mayer described how, as he was returning to his boarding house a few nights later, he was accosted by two of the steel com- pany’s strong-arm men who slug- ged him down as he neared home. The organizer ran up onto th porch after the. first attack, where the thugs followed him, pulled him out of the door and beat him se- verely with black-jacks and fist. An Aliquippa borough policeman ap- peared on the scene then, the wit- ness said, and commanded the foot- pads to ‘Stop! — He has had enough.” Mayer said he was then taken to the police station, where he was searched and asked “how he liked organizing Aliquippa now.” The prisoner was then thrown into jail and the next day he was fined $5 and costs by Justice of the Peace Mike Kane. On legal advice, Mayer asked for a transcript of the hear- ing in order to carry an appeal. Kane refused, telling him he must first obtain an order from the Beaver County authorities, The next day county authorities told him he must advance $50 be- fore he could be granted a hearing on the transcript, and, lacking the tunds, Mayer was compelled to drop the case. He declared that an Aliquippa patrolman who took him home upon his release from jail told him to “get out of town.” mated organizer, was next on the stand. Payne took lodgings in Am- bridge, across the river from Ali- quippa, on Sept. 7. Making a trip by auto into Aliquippa, he was stopped and arrested by Sergeant Monihan, of the borough police. At the police station, Payne’s car was searched and he was taken into a room where Chief of Police Am- brose and two others awaited him and his companions. Two of the Police took off their coats, one picking up a heavy mace. After questioning Payne, however, they left them go, telling Payne they had mistaken him for “a bald- headed Red organizer from Clair- ton.” Reed asked if J..& L. officials had ever been notified and complained to regarding the terror, as if to es eG si ; was denied on four} aring on complaints charging Jones on began Nov. 17. A string of convey that this procedure would have stopped all intimidation Fired and Terrorized | Joe Latrone testified that he| was fired from his job as a J, & L. truck driver for joining the Amal- gamated, after working for the mpany since 1907. L one took his case to a company union rep- resentative, but the latter was un- able to do anything for him. | Angelo Volpe, another employe. described being threatened with harm by police if he did not in-| truct members of his Italian lodge | to refrain from joining the union and said he heard check numbers | of those he joined being phoned in to one of the company super- intendents. sluggers. Entering a subway beat him with black Phillips got one of h down and two workers ~jacks, ing at his eye with a The blow barely mis: gash in his cheek, and the attack- ers fled. Going into the plant, by his foreman. On his arrival at the dispensary a nurse |that she had expected him to b in much worse condition. number, on the phone, and told vhoever answ “the man |88 jringledineer Jase In |receipt such as would be sent to they expected had arrived.” reply to a query: from the other /@Myone who mailed a document of | end, she pronounced his condition as “not bad.” Immediately after the Phillips said he ran out of the/ action everywhere to force the U. {subway to ask protection of 4a 1, patrolman usually stationed there, but no borough police were in sight. When he went into the police sta- tion to present the same request Sergeant Monihan accused him of drinking and told him to “get out.” Phillips also testified that no vis- itor leaves his house in Aliquippa without being stopped and ques- | tioned by police, who are constantly on watch. President Tighe appeared as the afternoon session began, hurrying over to the table of the compa! counsel to shake hands glad to see a¥ old friend.” The union's testimony was com- | pleted Friday. (To Be Concluded Tomorrow) Ve Fisher Lodge is an island of for- gotten men. Men whose muscle and inew built the automobiles, lifted out of earth a new giant city jcarved the fortunes of the Fords, the Chryslers, the Fishers and the other auto dynasties, men who risked life and limb in the war “to end war,” live in this great fac- | tory tomb, home of the homeles denied lives of their own. There are about 1,600 of them quartered, barracks-fashion, in the }old Fisher Body plant on Piquette jand Hastings Streets, Detroit. In the summer of 1933 the press car- | Tied reports that the building was to be razed because of the condi- tion it was in, and another lodge provided. Nearly a year and a half later it is still being used. If you are unemployed and homeless, and | have no family or relatives able to take care of you, and can prove that you have been a resident of Detroit for at least one year, you jcan get in. That is, provided you | don’t happen to be a woman. Fisher Lodge was opened in Jan- | uary, 1931, under the administra- | tion of the New Deal Mayor, Frank | Murphy, now looking after the in- |pines. At first it was under the | direction of the Salvation Army, and the men got no food. Later on, when food was provided, it was filth of the worst kind and aroused con- stant protests. | offered at that notorious institu- | tion. Today the Lodge is under the | direction of the County Welfare Commission. Instead of buying the food directly, however, the Commis- | Phillips, president of the} Aliquippa lodge, described his beat- | ing at the hands of the company | in; ERR Pe the mill on August 30, just after |@Ppeal was only admitted to the he had passed out Amalgamated jbar of the U.S. Supreme Court last Journals to union members, Phil-/Week, has never practiced before ips was attacked by two men. Both | ele i: put |to make such an appeal for which | assailants |@ trained constitutional lawyer is| nearby |Necessary, published a form letter | International pulled off the other, who retreated, from the clerk of the U. S. Supreme then pushed at him again, lung- | Court kn screw driver. |papers which he alleged were re-| d, cutting a|tainers from Patterson annd Norris. | Phillips:| Usrupt the Scottsboro defense was was sent to the company hospital ; " that this letter proved that Leib- eclal | ae ne owitz had been accepted by the U. She} a called No. 4, the police department | Sentative assault, | heartily |immediately to make the week of with Attorney Reed and greet him |Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, which has been with the remark that he “is always {designated national Scottsboro ’ he thought these reports were from | terests of American imperialism as! with dough—mashed potatoes, par- Walter Payne, another Amalga-| Governor-General of the Philip-|snips, three slices of white bread, On at least two! eagerly. | occasions the City Council, having i but got no further than a few sips, presumably solved the problem of/I don’t claim to be an expert in unemployment, closed down Fisher | such matters, and # is possible the Lodge and told the men to go to|coffee was “proper and adequate,” | Eloise, the county “poorhouse.” But! but certainly it was the vilest- | only a small number availed them- | tasting coffee I have ever drunk. stripping to the waist, the other| Selves of the unusual opportunities For two hours afterward that taste yen, for some unexplained reason, | does this through another group of charity racketeers, the Volunteers lot America, z yx — | DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, MONDAY. OVEMBER 19, 1934 \ FP Wits .ncueagregsewc: we Wall Street Monopoly Capitalists Tighten Their Grip On Roosevelt Regime---Prepare Attacks on Workers (Continued from Page ployers. surance will be brutally Speech made clear. sick, for homeless, for maternity these needs of the masses will have velt made plain. As. for without any Manufac rs have to crush any attemp for the 30-hour week, against the speed-up. The bonus, which represents the of the veterans, will meet the uncompromising hos- tility of the Roosevelt government, pledged against it. Above all the workers in the trade unions face a new drive of reaction. The company union which has been flourishing under the N. comes one of the major objectives in the new plans The Wierton Decision showed how hollow are the pretenses of the Roosevelt gov- of the capitalists. ernment in defence of the workers’ to organize under Section 7 A. In the steel industry the company union has the blessing of Roosevelt. In the auto industry, the company shop haye the same blessing. fought by Roosevelt, his for social insurance for the disabled, for the the move toward .a shorter work week reductions in wages, Roosevelt and the lready cemented their plans of American labor to fight for increased wages, and ipport of the oanks and employers to fight An Editorial 1) insurance, to wait ete., Roose- immediate need masses. which has the R. A. now be- promised rights union and open ORE open monopoly higher prices, company unions, speed-up, forced labor, callous relief policies, and terrorism—all ad- vance toward fascism—these are the salient fea- tures of Roosevelt’s latest turn for “recovery.” The New Deal becomes every day more openly the pro- gram of the trusts and monopolies against the It becomes more clearly the medium for the ushering in of fascist dictatorship. The defense of the every day needs of the masses, the defense of the trade unions, the fight for higher wages, for shorter hours without pay cuts, for cash relief and unemployment and social insur- ance—these are now the great and vital tasks that face the working class, The welding of the united front of the forces of labor, in the unions and shops, it is clear, is now the great need to smash the new offensive which Roosevelt and the industrialists are now organiz- ing in Washington. At the same time the rallying of the masses for their day-to-day struggles is the key to the struggle against fascist reaction, And where the A. F. of L. officialdom has suc- ceeded in getting the workers under its control, Any plans for Federal unemployment in- | these officials have become part of the N. R. A. strike-breaking machinery. workers have been bound and disarmed in the fight against the offensive of the Wall Street monopolies. In either case, the domination, wage cuts, LLD. Files Appeal In Scottsboro Case | | (Continued from Page 1) that court and is entirely unfitted | acknowledging receipt of | | The conscious attempt by Leib- owitz to confuse the masses and further made in the statement “Amsterdam News” | shown in the S. Supreme Court as “sole repre- of Clarence Norris and Haywood Patterson. This is false, | the letter was merely a formal ‘any sort to the court, Must Increase Mass Pressure | The necessity for increase in mass | |S. Supreme Court to grant the ap-| plication for review of the case, | land to reverse the lynch-veridets against Haywood Patterson and} Clarence Norris was stressed by the} ILD. | | In the first appeal to this court | in 1932 it was pointed out 150,000, post-cards demanding reversal of | the lynch-convictions against seven jof the Scottsboro boys were mailed, which had an important effect in| ‘obtaining a favorable decision. | Preparations must be intensified week, one of the greatest riational | | demonstrations of protests against |the Scottsboro lynch-verdicts, and lagainst the oppression and exploita- What are the actual conditions at | Fisher Lodge? | Im the interview he gave me as representative of the Daily Worker, | {John F. Ballenger, Wayne County | Welfare Administrator, declared that the food was “proper and ade- ‘ quate” and that the men were sat- jisfied. I told him of contrary re- ports I had received from Fisher | Lodge inmates themselves. Perhaps |“Communist agitators.” He knows better now. Mr, Ballenger offered ; to let me visit the place at any time and try a meal myself. I did. I tried the “best” meal of the day, supper. To be more accurate, I | tried only part of it, because when I sat down at the table with the | food actually before me ¥ got cold feet. You go into a huge hall, where a | smell that seems to be a mixture |of food, human bodies and fumi- gating chemicals greets you. You stand in line with a tray and pass |down a wooden counter, where the food dished is out to you from great vats. You eat at long wooden tables not \far from the rows of beds. The menu that night consisted of “chop suey”—pieces of roast beef mixed | blob of oleomargarine and coffee. The men told me it was a typical 'meal. I gave everything but my ‘coffee to ‘a Negro worker sitting |next to me, who gobbled it up| I started on the coffee, | lingered with me. And this coffee, the men assured me, was an im- provement. Up until a few days before they had to drink it with- out milk or sugar. For breakfast. that’ day the men told me they had had a bowl of oats, three slices of bread and a cup of this ae coffee, Every tion of the Negro people and for their liberation, that has ever been seen in this country. Funds Urgently Needed Funds to pay for the huge print- ing costs involved in the appeals for the expenses in connection with the legal steps taken, for the modest attorneys’ fees involved, and for the equally important steps to be taken in connection with the mass campaign are urgently needed, the LL.D. pointed out. Rush funds by telegraph, air- mail and special delivery to the Labor Defense, na- tional office, room 610, 80 East 11th Street, New York City. Bronx Conference Saturday All Bronx organizations, societies and churches have been invited to elect delegates to a Bronx County Scottsboro Conference next Satur- day afternoon, Noy. 24, at the Ep- worth Church, 834 Morris Avenue, Bronx. The conference is called to organize all elements in the Bronx, which are in sympathy with the movement to free the Scottsboro boys; to work with similar confer- ences throughout the nation to de- feat the lynch death verdicts egainst the boys. Demonstration in Detroit (Special to the Daily Worker) DETROIT, Mich., Nov. 18—More than 1,000 Negro and white work- ers, in an enthusiastic demonstra- tion in the heart of the Negro sec- tion Friday night, demanded the immediate release of the nine inno- cent Scottsboro boys. The demon- stration, organized by the Interna- tional Labor Defense and the League of Struggle for Negro Rights, was held on Brewster Street, be- tween Hastings and Riyard, the en- tire street being roped off. Ben Davis of New York, editor of the Negro Liberator, who was the main speaker, was given a stormy ovation. Davis exposed the role of the renegade attorney, Samuel Leibowitz, and of the Negro mis- leaders who are aiding him, and called for an intensified united struggle to win the release of the Scottsboro boys. Other speakers were Tony Ger- lach, district secretary of the I. L. D.; Frank Sykes, leader of the struggles of the Negro masses of Detroit; Mary Powell of Birming- ham; Mattie Henderson, Negro woman worker; William Weinstone, secretary of the Michigan District of the Communist Party; Joe Rob- erts, district organizer of the Young Communist League, and Phil Ray- mond, national secretary of the Auto Workers’ Union. George Frant, of the L, 8. N. R., acted as chair- man. Protest resolutions were adopted, demanding the release of the Scottsboro boys, Angelo Hern- don, Tom Mooney and of Ernst Thaelmann, imprisoned leader of the German working class. A resolytion of greetings was sent to Tom Mooney. The demonstration was followed by a banquet in the Negro Y.W.C.A. N.R. A. Leader Aids Put Cut Drive (Continued from Page 1) the reulst is barely discernible in the construction industry — and it is an open secret here that busi- ness leaders are determined to put through a wage-cutting drive be- fore or in connection with “taking the initiative.” It is known here that construction employers have served notice that wages in this industry must go down before the housing program will become “ef- fective.” Figures recently released by the F. W. Dodge Corporation showed residential contracts for the first 22 calendar days of October, 1934, were $19,588,000, compared with $17,- 853,000 for the whole month of Sep- tember, 1934, and with $15,489,000 for the whole month of October, day they were given two sandwiches wandering about, trying to kill time for lunch and turned out no matter | before they can turn in. what the weather. A few hours before I visited Fisher Lodge I met. one of the men in the office of the Unemployment Councils, He was about to bite into a sandwich, He showed it to me. It had some sort of meat spread on it. I smelled it. The memory of that small was what made me lose my nerve when I sat down to eat the “best” meal of the day at Fisher Lodge. During the summer they cut out the sandwiches. The officials thought that the warm air was enough for able-bodied men to live on between breakfast and supper. But the men raised such a kick that the sandwiches were restored. At the time the Detroit News wrote that this would raise the expense , of feeding from 22 to 27 cents a day per person. If it is true that the Detroit Wel- fare Department is paying the Vol- unteers of America 27 cents a day per person for food, then two facts emerge: 1, The Welfare Department, while refusing cash relief to the Fisher Body men, is paying more per person on food for them than for unemployed families, most of whom get from 20 to 25 cents per person per day, 2, The Volunteers of America should be immediately prosecuted for fraud and graft. The so- called food they are handing out to the Fisher Body men does not cost 27 cents a day or anywhere near it. Mee herte After supper I looked over the place. The beds had one thin blanket apiece, though cold weather was already here. In this place, too, the sacred law of Jim-Crow rules, the Negroes sleeping in a section apart. Open toilet doors, though beds face them only a few feet away. One would think the ven- tilation is bad enough without this. “Frolic” Advertised Groups of men are playing check- ers or cards. groups are talking, others are lying on their beds or On the bulletin board a printed handbill: WAR VETERANS’ FROLIC United War Veterans’ Association Free Admission Bring the New Deal te Michigan with the Candidates Slated There followed the place, the date and the names of Democratic candidates. There are several hun- dred Fisher Lodge men who aren't in a particularly frolicking mood, but who would be able to live ordinary human lives again if they got that bonus. They sure would appreciate a new deal. Another handbill, this one mimeo- graphed: Mass Meeting of Fisher Body Men. It’s signed by the Fisher Body Committee that’s been func- tioning under the direction of the Unemployment Councils. One of the office stooges pulls it off. An- other takes its place, a light shining against the black bulletin board, a tiny light breaking through the gloom of this walled-in island of the forgotten men, A mimeographed sheet: “Rules and Regulations,” No. 24: read- ing room with magazines, news- Papers and facilities for vocational training is located on the main floor.” I went down into the “reading room.” An empty room with a couple of chairs, half of it in dark- ness, the other half lit up by a dingy bulb. Not a sign of a newspaper or magazine. The nearest thing to vocational training was ® man pushing a broom around the floor, Ten minutes later, when I left the building, the room was totally dark. nw In his interview with me Ballen- ger said that “the unemployable type of men” are not admitted to Fisher Lodge, but are sent to Eloise, the county poor house only a few miles from Detroit, where several thousand are quartered as virtual prisoners. The “unemployable type of men” are those whom aapitalism has wrecked beyond repair. Floise has beconre a byword in Detroit, One. 4 1953. If this rate of increase con- tinued, it would mean an actual in- erease of only $6,000,000, and $7,- 000,000 a month—a drop in an ocean. The completely negative quality of this increase can be appreciated in the light of total contemplated construction estimates reported to the Dodge Corporation. They showed that from June, 1933, through April, 1934, estimates of expected con- tracts totaled about $500,000,000, The July, 1934, figure dropped to $243,000,000. The September, 1934, figure was $150,000,000—the lowest since April, 1933. Opposes Thirty Hour Week The Chamber of Commerce Com- mittee today declared opposition to any 30-hour week proposal, or any general restriction on hours, and insisted, that both “hour and wage standards must be suited to the re- quirements of each enterprise.” It oppcesed particularly any “reductions in working time with upward ad- justments,” but, pleading for “flex- ibility said pointedly. “Moderate reductions in hours, with propor- tionate reductions in the weekly earnings of employees, may consti- tute effective expdients for minim- izing unemployment when volume of business is declining.” SubwayGuardsSlug L R. T. Passenger (Continued from Page 1) body, apparently from both blows and kicks. After being held incommunicado for nearly 24 hours—after his own attorney, Irving Korn, had been de- nied access to him—Howard told the following story to a reporter, who was able to see him only after special orders had been issued by Police Conunissioner Valentine: “The whole thing is like a hideous nightmare to me. When I went into the subway I was in a hurry. I reached into a pocket and drew out a handful ef coins and selected aj nickel. It was not a slug. I am positive of that. I felt someone grab me by the back of the neck. I was dragged several feet and al- most lifted from my feet. “I next got a blow on the head and then a backhanded slap across the eyes. I couldn't bring myself to & realization of what it was all about and my first instinct was to seek safety by running away. I made for the nearest exit. I hardly remember what. happened after that.” The two I. R. T. thugs, Frank J. Walsh and John Corbett, and Har- old Williams, a columnist for the “Chelsea Village Times,” who joined in the attack upon Howard, were arrested Saturday in the District Attorney’s office and almost imme- diately released under $1,000 bonds each. Although scores of subway pas- sengers saw the murderous attack, Lee M. Hutchins, attorney for the I. R. T., cooly told reporters Satur- day that Howard was injured by falling on a stairway “while strug- gling to escape arrest.” With increased organizational ac- tivities among subway workers, the I. R. T. has become infested with guards, who divide their time be- tween spying on the traction work- ers and engaging in such attacks as took place Friday night. Forgotten Men of Detroit’s Fisher Lodge Refuse to Stay Forgotten; Militant Spirit Persists Despite Forced Labor and Unbearable Food By A. B. Magil hears all sorts of harrowing tales about food with vermin crawling in it, unspeakable sanitary conditions, persecution of inmates. If only ten per cent of these stories are true, they are a damning indictment of capitalist charity and of the whole system that creates it. Forced Labor Practiced Fisher Lodge, however, is reserved for the “employable man,” Ballen- ger assured me. And to show that it practices what it preaches, the Welfare Department employs every one of these 1,600 men — cleaning alleys one day every two and a half weeks. For this he receives the sum of $1, or at the rate of 12% cents an hour, I don’t know whether there is an alley-cleaning code, but the Welfare Department's wage is certainly, in the true spirit of the NRA. In addition, the men put in another day’s work inside the Lodge, for which they get no pay. Ballenger told me that “they get room and board whether they work or not” (quoted from the steno- gram). Here, as in other instan- ces, Mr. Ballenger’s desire to please got the better of his respect for facts, I have seen the card which each Fisher Body inmate carries; on it is printed quite legibly: “Your workdays are checked at left.. If card is not punched by work foreman, meals and lodging will be cut off at once.” Hitler, has his concentration camps, Detroit has its Fisher Lodge and Eloise. Oi eee What sort of men are these in- mates of Fisher Lodge? Fellow-worker “A” is a machinist. who has lived in Detroit for 30 years, helped it grow from a pro- vincial town into the mammoth au- tomobile center of the world. He has worked at the Ternstedt and Studebaker plants, at Timken- Detroit Axle Co. and alsewhere. He put two sons through college. To- day he is one of the down-and-outs, living in a factory barracks, eat- ing slop, cleaning alleys, his ma- chinist’s skill going to seed. When he votes, he registers at the last address at which he lived before EASTERN PARLEY. OF METAL UNIONS. | MAPS ACTION PLAN NJ. Silk Workers Vote for Walkout: (Continued from Page 1) maneuver to delay strike action. Following the reading of a com- munication which called for the election of delegates to attend the Second National Convention of the American Federation of Silk work- ers, which is to take place on Noy. 24 and 25 in New York City. Keller stated that the Executive Board recommends to the membership; that he himself be elected as a del- |egate to the convention since he is the general manager Sam Sheber, chairman of the ; meeting and a rank and file worker, took the recommendation to a vote and it was rejected by the mem- bership. Friedman, member of the National Executive Committee of the American Federation of Silk Workers, also appealed for the right to be elected as a delegate to the convention on the grounds that he is a national officer. Nominations followed, with about thirty workers being nominated. Only those members in good stand- ing for a year were eligible for vot- ing The following delegates were elected: Sam Sheber, S. Phillian, Sarah Perlinsky, Edward Sochon, John. Troy, George Anthony, Joe | Brooks, Bob Appel, Alex Phillian and Sam Donyan. Four of the del- egates elected received a unanimous vote. Keller and his clique were defeated by a large margin. A few days before the meeting took place, Keller and his group issued a bulletin signed by the “Progressive Group,” in which they brought forward a program, which was very vague, and on the basis of which they called upon the workers to elect their.slate. The slate consisted of Eli Keller, man- ager of the union; and Keller's right-hand man; Harry Flum, George Anthony, other members of the Keller clique. George Anthony, paid -rganizer the Board Silk . Department, of nations to the effect that his name was placed on the Keller slate without his authorization and pro- tested against it. The ranks of the striking dyers remained solid and not a single plant in Paterson, Passaie or Lodi has ever dared to attempt opera- tion with scabs thus far. A parade which took place in Passaic on Sat- urday, in which at least 5,000 par- ticipated, was an impressive dem- onstration in answer to the call of the employers for return to the shops, . coming to the Lodge. “I’m humi-. liated enough,” he said, “without registering at Fisher Lodge.” Fellow-worker “B” is a former Chevrolet employee. Before that he was for’ ten years superintendent of a large Detroit manufacturing company, had a home of his own and was a respected citizen, one of these “independent Americans” who are supposed to be the backbone of the’ country. His ancestors were here before the American Revolu- tion. Lost 20 Pounds This is the second time within a year he has had to go to Fisher Lodge. In the four months he has been there he has lost 20 pounds. But he has gained something he will never lose: a sense of solidarity with his fellow-workers, a fighting heart and a hatred for the system that breeds Fisher Lodges. These are two out of hundreds of Fisher Lodge men who are learn- ing the bitter lesson of “relief” un- der the New Deal. And under the leadership of the Unemployment Councils they are learning that the only New Deal they'll get will be through their own united action. These workers, far from crushed, are among the most militant sec- tions of Detroit’s unemployed. They are holding meetings and organiz- ing. They have won some conces- sions already and will win more, Their representatives are on the! committee of 25 elected on Nov. 11 at the broad united front confer- ence called by the rank and file A. F. of L. Committee for Unem- ployment Insurance and Relief. They will be heard in Detroit, in Lansing and in Washington. The forgotten men of Fisher Lodge re- fuse to stay forgotten. (In the next article case work- ers employed by the Wayne County Welfare Administration, a physician and a dentist who have treated many relief dependents, will tell what they think of the Meyer Lax, | chairman of the Executive Board and six} |made a statement before the nomi- | Establishment of Council of Independent Unions Is Keynote of Eastern Conference of Steel ’ and Metal Workers Union : The establishment of a council of Independent unions in the metal, machine-building and allied industries, as a means of bringing about joint action for the improvement of: the conditions of the workers and the organization of the un- organized, was the keynote of the Eastern Conference of the Steel and Metal Workers Industrial Union, held Saturday at the Man< hattan Lyceum, 66 East Fourth St. New York. erage With representatives of states, New York, New ‘Jersey! Massachusetts and Connecticut, the conference went on’ reeord for the setting up of an autonomous organization in the metal ‘and ‘ma- chine-building industry within the S. M. W. I. U. and for an intensive organizational drive by the ‘union, Resolutions on these questions ‘and on the Steel and Metal “Worker, official organ of the union, wete adopted by the conference. The conference also yoted to re+ quest the Trade Union ~ Unity League to release Andréw Over- gaard from his present post in the New York T.U.U.L. Council, to act as national field organizer for the union, The conference voted to tec= ommend similar action to the Mid- Western Conference of the union to be held in Chicago on Dec. 6. Charles Green, president of the Metal Novelty Local 303, presided at the conference. James Matles, national secretary of the Metal and Machine Building Division, made the main report, and George Gilly acted as secretary of the corifer~ ence. Situation Reviewed Tee In his report Matles reviewed the. situation in the metal and allied in-. dustries throughout the United States. More than 1,500,000 work- ers are involyed, he stated. In line. with the decision of the Second Biennial Convention of the union he introduced the resolution and spoke for the establishment of an autonomous national organization in this section of the industry. In spite of all organizations in the field the largest majority of work- ers still remain unorganized, ‘he stated. The organization of the unorgan- ize, the unification of all indepen- dent unions and the establishing of united action of all unions, he stated, is the key to the problems, of the unionization of.the trade and the raising of the level of the con-. ditions of the workers. . He reported 3,000 members in.a hundred shops in the New. York District, 2,000 of which work under. unich agreenients. Nearly 4,000/) workers were led by the union in)! strikes during the year, most of! which were succés$ful. ‘Three to” four hundred workers were in lost strikes. . Connecticut Delegates Reports Connecticut reported making ef- forts to counteract the utilization: by owners of shops of the cooperation. of the Chambers of Commerce of the state for moving from New York in order to “run away” from or= ganized labor and union conditions, G. L. Bauman, reporting, claimed six functioning locals. An organ~ ization drive was stressed by him and Kling, another Jeader of the union there. Unity Stressed 7 Proposing numerous changes in resolutions introduced, - K ling stressed the publication of. a res- olution on the subject in. pamphlet- form, Paul Martin, .of the. Editorial Board of the Steel and Metal Worker, stressed the importance :of- utilization of the union journal as an organizer for the union and- the’ making of the saper an integral part of the life and activities of the union, He also dealt with the reso-" lution introduced on the paper and demanded a change in attitude on) } the part of union organizers to 'the| — paper and the sending of material and payments on time. , James Lustig dealt ‘with the question of dues and the impor tance of maintaining the organiza~" tion financially and organization-_ ally on a sound and solid basis. He called for special attention to “run- away” shops and co-operation be- tween various districts of the union in putting a stop. to this practice by concentrating on them, wherever they move to. pays The importance of’ work withthe independent unions and with the workers inside of. the company unions, was stressed by.Al Steele of the Editorial Board. He -pro= posed the utilization. of the paper for practical discussion, of agrees ments signed by the union with ins dividual shops; for exchange of-ex= periences in organization,,work, and proposed to offer space in the paper to independent unions entering. the proposed joint council. “Run Away” Shops i dent of the union, dealt. with al “run away” shops and reported on the establishment of seven new. locals in New York since the last district convention. . Business-like methods of work were advocated by him for the uhion, sais The effective struggle against “Ted scare,” used by the bosses, was « extensively dealt with by Andrew Overgaard. He agreed to accept the post of national organizer for the union if and when the T, U: U. L, releases him. si Twelve additional members to the National Execyutive. Board. were elected, including two- each” :from New Jersey and Massachusetts and — four each from Connecticut and “adequate” food budgets and the effects on the health of tens of thousands of men, women and New York. Bauman was elected to report on the conference to the New. district convention held Charles Rivers, third ee |