The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 9, 1935, Page 6

Page 6 DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1935 Hathaway Presents Communist Party Prefessionals Report A. F. L. Unions, Ge : ly yous = anc Back Workers’ Unempl oy ment Insurance Program)" a sume rrEs ne hae At Hearings on Roosevelt Measure Ge ss : Committee on Social | BRAVE COLD Wagner Bill At Hearings | Jobless. Leader Blasts Roosevelt Program for Workers | Weinstock Shows Wage Slashing Plans in Roosevelt Scheme Talks we the House | Insurance Bill Editer of Daily Warker| Wagner Scheme Flayed| Blasts Administration TALKS ON BILLS Supported Bill ng that the Wagner-Lewis yment Reserves Bill is op- posed by the Communist Party, and stati that this measure not be amended in the in- rests of the workers, Clarence A. Hathaway, editor of the Daily Worker, appearing before the House Committee on Labor on Feb. 1, de- manded the enactment of the Workers Unemployment. Old Age and Social Insurance Bill, H.R. 2827. The full text follows ‘The Chairman. We are proceed- {ng under the 5-minute rule, Mr. Hathaway, but vour time may be ex- tended by unanimous consent of the committee. Mr. Hathaway. I will make the statement of our position brief and to the point The Communist Party is opposed the adr ration’s economic- bill as introduced by ator Wagner and to its under: g provisions. We do not believe that this interests of the workers Communists Back H. R. 2827 The Communist Party counter- poses to this and urges the adop- tion of the workers’ unemployment old-age, and social-insurance bill H. R. 2827. In our opinion, the Wagner bill is not designed to provide social secu- rity for the masses of the people. In our opinion this bill is designed rather, to provide security for the rich who dominate the country The aims of the sponsors of the Wagner bill, in our opinion, are, first, to quiet the masses who are to- day increasingly expressing their discontent with the crisis conditions that exist by offering them a sham measure that will give them in re- ality nothing Secondly, the sponsors see in thi possibility of lowering the cost of caring for the millions of unem- pleved in the country today; and thirdly. by lowering the cost of caring for the unemployed the spon- sors of the bill see the possibility in this of lowering the living of the American people as a whole, in or- der to increase the profits of the rich Specifically, the theory that each State should insist on its own Jaw in relation to unemployment insurance is a negation of all effective social- insurance legislation. In the first place, if one waits for the States, each one, to adopt an unemployment insurance bill, the workers of the United States will be running around for the next 20 years waiting for unemployment insurance, as they have waited for all other forms of social legisla- tion This bill will not serve quickly to give to the millions of unemployed real unemployment insurance. Migratory Workers Barred Secondly, the basing of insurance on the States will involve the pro- blem of residence not only for ac- tors, as was pointed out by a pre- vious speaker, but for literally mil- | lions of workers, because workers, particularly in periods of unsettled industrial conditions, move from one city to another in a desperate hope of finding jobs. You will find one worker after another barred from the unemployment features of the legislation as well as from the old-age feature, by the simple process of being compelled to move from one city to another in search of work. A simple example: An automobile worker in Toledo thinks that there is a possibility of a job in Detroit He packs up and leaves Toledo, goes to Detroit, and, in doing so, he can- tels both his opportunity to get unemployment insurance and also the possibility of getting old-age thsurance. Secondly, the unem- ployment-reserves theory that is embodied in all administration pro- Posals is unsound. theory eliminates the 15 or 16 mil- lion who are now unemployed from =. any consideration under an unem- ployment-insurance scheme that is adopted. It would only apply, at best, to those workers who are now employed in a factory, or who are employed after the system goes into effect. Even those would only benefit providing reserves were butt Sup on a plant basis, providing they ~~ had been employed in the plant for =a definite period of time, providing _ they had contributed toward the building up of these reserves, and a whole series of other factors. So the effect would be that only » @ very small number of workers out of the total working population of the country would ever benefit: from am unemployment-reserves system brought forward as a substitute for dmenrance t A Pittance to Aged _ Thirdly, the old-age pension pro- <= Posals contained in the Wagner bill, starting at 65 and limited to ~ $7 a week, are a joke to the millions of workers who are today being = thrown out of American industry in ~ the most ruthless manner as soon they reach the age of 50. ‘Throughout the mass-production in- dustries a worker at 50 can no longer hold a job. He is thrown out. But he has to wait 15 years before he is included in a scheme such as this, and even then he is limited to a very small amount each week, $7, hig the State makes other provi- Finally, the graduated-tax theory, as contained in the Wagner Proposal, is an evasion of the fun- Government is now confronted in Oaring for the unemployed. In the first place, the tax is too! small. The tax will not provide for | the demands that will be*made by the unemployed and that will con-| tinue for a long period of time. | Secondly, the fact that the appli-| ation of the full tax is conditional vement im mdustrial can be amended in the | The reserves | damental problem with which the/| also a negation of the jn | Clarence A. Hathaway | whole problem of caring for the un- }employed of the largest number, when the greatest amount of money is needed to care for the unem- ployed, then the tax is only partially applied, and the full tax is held in abeyance until conditions improve. For these and many other reasons that might be stated, the Gommu- nist Party is opposed to the under- lying theory back of this bill, and | we propose that the workers’ bill, H. R. 2827, be substituted for this and adopted in the present session of Congress. The Chairman. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. McCormack. I ask unani- mous consent that the witness’ time be extended 2 additional minutes. The Chairman. Without objec- tion, the witness may proceed for 2 minutes. Outlines Workers’ Bil Mr. Hathaway. Briefly, to state the principles of the workers’ pill, as distinct from that of the Wagner bill: This provides payment to all un- employed workers without any wait- ing period, basing itself on the theory that the welfare of the peo- ple is the first consideration and that, regardless of how long a worker may have been unemployed, regard- less of residential requirements, regardless of his contact or attach- ment to one or another factory or industry, this worker js entitled to unemployment insurance inasmuch as he is not responsible for the fact that he is unemployed. He is ready and anxious to take a job, He | has no job only because industry is unwilling to give him a job, with the profit motive the determining factor in employment at the present time. Secondly, the workers’ bill pro- vides for caring for all unemployed workers entirely at the expense of those who can afford to pay, those who are responsible for the indus- trial system in America. We pro- pose, in short, to tax the bankers, the manufacturers, etc. and that they, together with the government, assume full responsibility for the care of the unemployed. Thirdly, the workers’ bill provides for full average wages for the work- ers with a minimum of $10 to any unemployed worker, and an addi- tional amount for workers with de- pendents. Finally, the workers’ bill, as dis- tinct from the Wagner bill, provides | for the administration of unemploy~ ment insurance by the workers themselves, through the workers’ o7- | ganizations, through the trade unions, etcetera, the only sound principle on which unemployment | insurance can be administered for the benefit of the workers. Mr. Vinson. Do you have any tax features in the workers’ bill? | Taxation on the Rich Mr. Hathaway. Yes; the tax fea- tures in this embody direct taxes jon the rich, and the specific amounts you can get by looking at the bill. Mr. Vinson. How do you arrive at your figure of $7 a week for old- | age pensions under the bill that we are considering? Mr. Hathaway. It proposes that | the Federal Government shall pro- | vide to the States an amount of $3.50 a week and that this shall be matched, dollar for dollar, by the States, giving, of course, to the | State, the opportunity, if they wish, | to grant an additional amount. | Mr. Vinson. How do you arrive, | under any condition, at that figure? How do you arrive at your conclu- sion that the bill under considera~ | tion provides an old-age pension of |$7 a week? Point to the language in the bill. |. Mr. Hathaway. You see, I have | had about 25 years of experience in from that experience that they never give me anything. If the bill provides for a maximum Federal | appropriation of $3.50 a week or, I think, $15 a month, to be matched | dollar for dollar by the State, the | States are not, out of the kindness of their hearts, going to add very many dollars to it. Mr. Vinson. You say you do not favor employment reserves. Did I understand you correctly? Mr. Hathaway. That is correct. Mr. Vinson. By that you are re- ferring to the private reserves that may be set up under the bill? Mr. Hathaway. I am referring. to the whole theory that had developed in the United States during the re- cent period, that is embodied in the Wisconsin law is now being brought forward by all of the various Com- | missions in the various States, and the Commission appointed by Roosevelt, as the basis for ineupance the United States, the working-class fight and I know | by the Federal Commission, that is| as Wage-Robbing Tax Upon Masses | Mr. Vinson. As I understand you, employment reserves, as used by you, would mean any reserves which might be set up in the Federal Gov- ernment under unemployment in- | surance? | Mr. Hathaway. No, no. I am referring to a very definite theory that has already been worked oui | and which is embodied in the Wis- consin act. | Mr. Vinson. Employment reserves, | as used by you, refers to employ- | ment reserves set up under the Wis- consin law? Mr. Hathaway. Correct. Mr. Vinson. | means that you oppose H. R. 4120, the companion bill in the House in | S¥@nce, on whose behalf the pres- | | toto? And I understand from that | eM witness speaks, supports H.R. | | statement that you are opposed to any Federal contribution toward maternal and child health A Complete Program | Mr. Hathaway. On the contrary. In the workers’ bill, H. R. 2827, we include a complete system of social insurance that cares for unemploy- ment, for old age, for sickness, for | maternity, and all other forms of social security. | Mr. Vinson. Then I do not un- | derstand that you oppose an appro- | priation in this bill for maternal and child health? | Mr. Hathaway. KB is not a ques- | tion of the specific— Mr. Vinson. Please say whether | you do or not. Mr. Hathaway. It is not a ques- tion of a specific sentence. and so forth, most assuredly I am. But I am opposed to the specific bills that are brought forward, and I counterpose to them a very defi- nite bill that is now before Congress. Mr. Vinson. You say you oppose this bill under consideration in toto. Federal contribution to the aid of | crippled children? \ have already explained very clearly | exactly what I meant. I the adoption of H. R. 2827, which includes all of the cases that are provided for in this bill, but pro- vides for them in a better way, a more thorough way for the workers, and places the responsibility for providing the funds directly on the | class that can afford to pay it. Mr. Vinson. Is there anything in the Lundeen bill that refers to any Federal contribution for crippled children or public health? | Mr. Hathaway. This bill, as T stated, includes all aspects of cer- tain welfare, of certain needs Mr. Vinson. You say that it In- | cludes crippled children and public health? Invites Improvement of H. R. 2827 Mr. Hathaway. Yes; if you think there are deficiencies in the bill in | that respect, we invite your sup- port and such amendments as will | include it. | Mr. McCormack. Mr. Hathaway, you said that there are a large | number of workers who, by reason | of economic conditions, are com- Ppelled to go from State to State and might loose the advantages of the | Settlement clause. That impresses me very much, in view of what the previous witness has said. looking at it from a broader field than that. I rather visualized a | large number of persons, Under the State plans, where it Is distinctly a State plan such as we have now in some States, that can | be controlled within the cities and |towns by simply going back to the last city or town where there was a settlement. I know up in Mas- sachusetts, if a man lives in Boston for 20 years and then moves to Wor- cester and lives there for 2 years, he is not entitled to benefits in Wor- cester, but they trace it right back to Boston, where he gets the settle- ment, where he .would get his old- age pension or his welfare relief. But that would be rather difficult in | the case of States, it seems to me. Can you give us any idea as to | the number that might be involved | or affected unless some such pro- visions were included in some law? Mr. Hathaway. It is not possible |for me offhand to give numbers; | that is, any approximate number, Two Bills Introduced Against Anti-Labor Measure in Ohio By Sandor Voros (Daily Worker Ohio Burean) | CLEVELAND, Ohio, Feb, 8—Two | bills for repeal of the Ohio Criminal | Syndicalism Law were introduced yeterday in Columbus, Ohio, by | State Senator McIntyre and Rep- resentative Zona Day, after the Secret Seven Committee of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce | came out with a fascist attack di- | rected particularly against the Com- munists, but aimed against the en- tire working class for the smash- | ing of its growing strike struggle. The Secret Seven’s report is ad- mittedly based on five years of spy- ing on workers, teachers, editors, professors, clergymen, lawyers and social workers, | Midwest Storm Delays Traffic | CHICAGO, Feb. 8.—(U.P.) —Sleei, | freezing rain and light snow which | packed into a blanket of ice feil | across six midwestern states today | with disaster to train, airplane and bus schedules. Motorists aban- doned highways and traffic slipped | into helpless snarls in cities. The ice covered western Nebraska, Kan~ sas and Northern Missouri, and vir- {ually al! of Joma, Tints, Ipdtana proposed | T -was| situation where it might affect a/| In reporting at the hearings on | the wage-robbing Wagner-Lewis bill, Mary Van Kleeck of the Russell | Sage Foundation, pointed out the| workability of the Workers’ Bill, H. R. 2827, and cited the growing | mass movement behind the measure. In her indictment of the Wagner- Lewis measure, she declared that the professional workers are becoming ever more conscious that their role as allies of the manual workers was binding these groups together in a common fight. | Asummary of her report follows: Seourity for all who work for their living in the United States is the | primary and all-important obliga-| tion on which the 74th Congrss is T take it that that | Called upon to act. The Interpro-| fessional Association for Social In- | 2827, the Workers’ Unemployment and Social Insurance Bill, because it | undertakes to provide compensation for insecurity for the masses of the | unemployed, and, as such, is the | first step in the comprehensive pro- | gram which the establishment of se- | curity for the American people will require in the next few years. The Interprofessional Association for Social Insurance, which includes individual members from all the rec- ognized professions and is just now | beginning to serve also as a center | for the professional organizations in| |@ program for the security of pro- | fessional workers, was organized to| | express the demand of professional workers that they be included in| | legislation for social insurance. Rec- | | opnizing the identity of interest of Tf you | Professional workers with industrial | ask me whether I am in favor of | Workers and farmers in the need for | caring for the old, or for the sick, | economic security, the Interprofes- | sional Association does not develop its own program but undertakes to | cooperate with all other workers and with trade unions in support of in- | clusive legislation. | Six Points of Support The specific reasons for support | Does that mean that you oppose | of H.R. 2827 by the Interprofessional | Association for Social Insurance at | this time are as follows: Mr. Hathaway. My dear friend, T | (1) The continuance of extensive | mass unemployment demands com- prehensive action to provide insur- | | ance for all workers, in leu of in- | come from earnings. | (2) Professional workers are suf- | fering gravely from the extent of | unemployment, but in most profes- | sions they are not covered by any | other legislative proposal, and can | be protected only in such an inclu- | sive bill as H.R, 2827, | (3) The great and vital need of the unemployed for means with which to buy the necessities of life | for themselves and their families is | not and cannot be met by the un- certain and inadequate provision for | relief. | (4) This mass unemployment is not an unusual emergency, but has recurred at regular and frequent in- tervals in this country, so that the time has come for the definite rec- ognition of the obligation of gov- ernment and the economic system to insure continuity of income. (5) Technicians and _ scientists agree that the productive capacity of the United States is equal to a far greater measure of security and to higher standards of living than have yet been established; and sci- |ence and invention promise to ex- pand this productivity to a higher level, if the productive system can be freed from the recurrent bur- dens of industrial depressions. (6) As a continuing problem, mass unemployment requires Congres- sional action because of the man- date laid upon Congress by the Con- welfare. ; ish These reasons are amplified wit | supporting data in the following statements. |The Present Extent of Unemploy- ment The most recent report of the | Bureau of Labor Statistics as to trends in factory employment and payrolls showed an increase in De- cember as compared with November: but the factory employment index stood at the alarmingly low level of 78.1 and the payroll index at year average of 1923-25, which is taken at 100. Thus for every 100 employed in 1923-25 only 78 were at work in December of last year, and of every dollar paid to workers in 1923-25 only 63.2 cents went into workers’ income in December, 1934. Not only is this indicative of a very serious decline in income for factory workers, but the fact that employment has increased some- what more rapidly than payrolls is a, sign of the lowering of individual incomes, Widespread Destitution ‘The Committee will have before it, in the testimony of other wit- nesses, vatious estimates of unem- ployment. These vary widely, from 10,000,000 to 17,000,000, but all esti- mates agree in showing that the present extent of unemployment is extremely hazardous not only for the unemployed but for all workers and for the general welfare of the nation, This unemployment repre- sents a curtailment of the distribu- tion of the necessities of life, and this in turn will create more unem- ployment unless the trends can be reversed by some such effective policy as is represented in H. R. 2827. The Duration of Unemployment... This is of great importance in connection with proposals for un- employment insurance. The Ad- ministration’s bill, Wagner-Dough- ton (Wagner-Lewis) (H. R. 4142), implies a severe limitation which weeks. No comprehensive data ex- ist regarding the length of unem- ployment of those who are now without. jobs, but. there are several studies, one of which may be quoted here. The University of Minnesota [a er | Wagner-Lewis bill, Louis Weinstock, stitution to provide for the general | 63.2, as compared with the three-| would probably be less than fifteen | | Strikers at the New York plant of the National Biscuit Company found the weather mighty cold and so every so often they took a little time to warm their hands over a fire. But despite the cold wave they continued their job of letting the public and the bosses know why they were striking. published under the title, “Social Consequences of Prolonged Unem- ployment” (August, 1933). It was found that only 22.9 per cent had been unemployed less than one year, and 45 per cent had been unem- ployed two years and longer. This | is a clear indication of the fact that} to provide funds for so limited a} period of fifteen weeks or even six months in a year is merely to post- pone dealing with the problem of compensation for unemployment, since when funds are exhausted the need for some definite provision of income again arises, Who Carries the Burden? This same study gives facts about | the resources of the unemployed, which doubtless could be matched in other parts of the country. In the Minnesota study it was found that in 16 per cent of the cases families has doubled up to reduce expenses; among those having at |least one member employed, expenses | had been reduced to a minimum below the level of safety for family | welfare; in some cases women he- came the sole wage earners, the hus- | bands sometimes taking over the} household duties; cash savings, of | | course, were rapidy exhausted: | | homes were lost; insurance policies were cashed; and debts were in- curred either with individuals or with tradespeople. In any case, it is | clear that the burdens of unem- ployment have constituted an in- creasing weight upon the standard of living of the American people. Recurrent Unemployment Though the present industrial de- | pression is marked by great inten- sity as well as by its duration and its extent in the different countries of the world, it should not be re- gaxeed merely as an emergency, and | least of all as due primarily to the war and therefore calling for pa- tience in the expectation that re- covery will come of itself. Students of the business cycle have shown that States had 32 business cycles with 32 business cycles with an average | length of four years from panic to | panic, or from recession to reces- sion, [National Bureau of Research, Business Annals of the United States, England, France and four- |teen other countries by Willard Long Thorp, with an introductory chapter by Wesley C. Mitchell. New York, 1926.] Stated differently, it was | found by these economists that in the period from 1780 to 1925 the United States had a year and a half of prosperity for every year of de- pression. | Senate Votes to Bar The Public at Inquiry Into Two Sea Disasters ‘WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UP).— The Senate Commerce Committee today approved a proposal for in- vestigation of the Morro Castle and Mohawk sea disasters, but narrowed the scope of the original resolution offered by Senator Robert T. Wag- ner, Democrat, of New York. The Committee reduced the pro- posed appropriation from $50,000 to $15,000 and altered resolutions to provide for private investigations by sub-committees instead of a public hearing before the full committee. Death Rate Cut in U.S.S.R. The death rate in the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet, Repub- lic, one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, has been cut by 40 per cent below what it was in Czar- ist days, according to the report of the Commissar of Health to the Congress. This is another crushing refuta- tion of the lies and slanders of the Hearst press. Polish I.W.0. To Hold Dance CLEVELAND, Ohio, Feb. 8.—The Polish Branch of the International Workers Order here will celebrate its first anniversary with a dance on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Polish National Hall, 7205 Fullerton Ave., at 7:30 p.m, 19 Die in Wreck FORT WILLIAM, Ont., Feb. 8— (U.P.).—Toll of the fatalities in a Fear 1 |relief program and demanded enact- | pointed in 1932, with the objective Tn the hearings before the House Ways and Means Commiftee on the national secretary of the A. F. of L. Rank and File Committee for Un- employment Insurance and Relief, pointed out that fully 3,000 locals of the A. F. of L. were in the fight for real unemployment insurance. He attacked the starvation, Roosevelt ment of the Workers’ Bill, H. R. 2827, which provides for full benefit payments to all workers who are unemployed through no fault of | their own. Weinstock’s. statement follows: Mr. Weinstock. My name is Louis Weinstock; I am the national sec- retary of the American Federation of Labor committee for unemploy- ment insurance, 1 Union Square, New York City. I am a member of the Brother- hood of Painters and Decorators, Local Union 848, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. This committee I am representing is a bona fide organization within the American Federation of Labor, ap- of gaining the support of the entire American Federation of Labor for & genuine unemployment insurance ill. Today, as a result of this com- mittee's work, there are on record the official votes of nearly 3,000 | local unions affiliated with the | American Federation of Labor, scores of central labor bodies, and several State federations. of labor, | and the following international | unions: | The United Textile Workers Union, United Mill, Mine, and Smelter Workers of America, the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers Union, and, in addition, the American Federa- tion of Silk Workers and the Amer- ican Federation of Hosiery Work- ers, and the International Union of Molders. Furthermore, the sentiment pre- vails in spite of the fact that ob- stacles have been placed in the way of the rank and file members of the American Federation of Labor for free expression of opinion on the question of unemployment in- surance. For example, the position of the executive council of the American Federation of Labor has been in opposition to any form of unemployment insurance until re- cently, when this position was re- versed. Mr. Yhairman, my committee sent me here to oppose the Wagner- Lewis bill. I am, going to oppose this bill and not 6n the basis that it has been opposed by Mr. Epstein. on certain phases; for example, Mr. Epstein was afraid that if we de- mand too much we might choke. I am afraid that if we have this bill passed, we will chocke because we will ge so little that we will get only the bones, and nothing else. If we examine the bill, we find, for example, from the report of the Committee on Economic Security [quoting]: “Unemployment compensation as Wwe conceive it is a front line of defense, especially valuable for those who are ordinarily steadily employed, but very beneficial also in maintaining purchasing power. While it would not directly bene- fit those now unemployed until they are reabsorbed in industry, it should be instituted at the ear- liest possible date to increase the security of all who are employed.” Over 17,000,000 Jobless Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, we are interested in unemployment in- surance, We are interested that those unemployed people—and I be- lieve that the figures are between 14 and 15,000,000—I have here a statement of the Labor Research Association, and they say the fol- lowing on the problem of unem- ployment at the present time: “Over 17,000,000 men, women, and young workers were still un- employed in the United States in November, 1934, according to the latest preliminary estimate just completed by the Labor Research Association. This number repre- sents over 33 per cent of all ‘gain- fully occupied’ persons in the country. The estimated totals include as unemployed those workers having relief jobs on Fed- eral emergency projects.” No Provision for Workless If we exclude these people, we will still have 14,300,000 people still un- employed at the present time. This Wagner-Lewis bill does not cover a single one of these unemployed workers, Our committee last year, as well as this year, opposed the Wagner- Lewis bill for the simple reason that it is not an unemployment- insurance bill. We believe that these 14,500,000 people cannot be ab- sorbed today in industry. Even if we consider the large appropriation of $4,800,000,000 even this amount will not take care of the unem- Ployed at the present time, espe- cially if your administration, with the $4,000,000,000 appropriated for public construction, aims to cut the wages of the working people in this country, because, if I understand correctly, the $4,000,000,000 appro- priated for public construction has a proposal which limits the pay roll to $50 a month. If you pay that $50 a month, we would get $12 weekly wages. Right now the build- ing-trades workers have a prevail- ing scale of $45 or $50 a week. If the Government will institute through the public projects a weekly wage of $12, naturally the building employers in private industry will follow the Government, and they | will also institute wage cuts in the near future, I shall call your attention to a newspaper published by the Build- ing Trades Employers’ Association. IL Amter “That is the point to which the building-trades employers and general contractors are striving to reduce labor and material costs for a temporary period.” ‘We have heard about this “tem- |Porary period” the last 6 years. | (Continues reading:] “Tt can be brought about if the Presidential pronouncement. . will be carried out in actual practice in the construction field.” It means that these people are al- ready welcoming the announcement of the wage cut. Mr. Chairman, if you allow me a few more minutes, I believe I will be able to conclude, although it will be impossible for me to cover the ground I intended to. The Chairman—You may extend anything that you desire in the record. Mr. Weinstock—Mr. Chairman, I believe that William Green, the president of our American Federa- tion of Labor, was present here, and he gave testimony of about 60 pages. We are in disagreement with Mr. William Green's testimony. We are members of the American Federa- tion of Labor, We believe that the rank-and-file membership—that is, the voice of this rank and file— should be heard at the committee, because otherwise it will make the impression that Mr, William Green, in the name of the A, F. of L., had certain small disagreements with the Wagner-Lewis bill, but in gen- eral he is in agreement. I say, in the name of the American Fed- eration of Labor, that we are totally in disagreement with the bill and we propose something else instead. Oppose Roosevelt Program Mr. Weinstock—We favor the unemployed. We want to go squarely against the administra- tion’s plan of forcing millions of workers into forced labor camps, into Public Works projects, and the miserable wage of $50 a Month, which is even below the immediate wages in the codes. Eleven million unemployed work- ers, who will be driven down to the industrial status of coolie labor, will be compelled to fall back on the mercy of private charity or be herded into concentration camps in the manner of Hitler’s program in Germany. The Wagner-Lewis bill calls for a 3-percent tax on pay rolls. Even assuming that all States enact un- employment-insurance laws, how will it be realized on this basis? We cannot assume that all States will enact such a law these coming sessions, because there are four States of the Union where there will be no sessions at all this year, to my information. According to the census of manu- facturers, the total wages paid out in 1929 amounted to $11,620,973,000. The salaries were $3,000,000,000. Central administration amounted to $600,000,000, a total of $15,816,000,- 000. Three per cent of this amount would yield approximately $474,000,- This you accept will be borne by industry. But it is well known that industry will get this in the form of higher prices or lower wages. The workers will be compelled to pay 3 per cent taxes, whether in- directly through higher costs for necessities, or directly through wage cuts. We are opposed to such a method of raising funds for un- employment insurance. We maintain that if it is possible for the Congress of the United States to give millions of dollars to moribund banks and collapsing in- dustries, it is equally within their power to provide funds for the mil- lions of unemployed without com- pelling the workers to bear the costs of unemployment insurance. Demands H. R. 2827 We believe that the workers who have built up the power and wealth of this country shotld be treated equally with the banks and indus- tries, and that Congress should ap- propriate funds based on the tax- ation of higher incomes of over $5,000 to provide sufficient funds for the maintenance of all unem- ployed workers in the United States with an adequate amount of sub- sistence, The administration plan does not determine what standard of insur- ance should be provided for unem- ployed workers. We declare that in the interest of the employed work- ers, whose standard of living must be maintained, that the unemployed workers must be given benefits equal to average wages and no less than $10 a week and $3 for each dependent in the family. » This demand is in the workers’ unemployment insurance bill, which is known as the Lundeen bill, H. R. 2827. In our opinion, the workers’ bill provides for the needs of the unemployed workers. It makes im- mediate provision,-as against the Wagner-Lewis bill, which provides for a small amount of benefit some- time in the future, limited only to certain sections of the workers and excluding large groups of the toiling population. Mr, Chairman, I conclude, and I state the following, that the local unions of the American Federation of Labor have expressed themselves This newspaper here welcomes the railway crossing accident here last| announcement of the. $50 wage night mounted to ten today as|scale, and at the conclusion of the [read | bill should in favor of the workers’ unemploy- ment-insurance bill and therefore, we believe that the Wagner-Lewis coverage of all workers at present | Israel Amter, secretary of the Ne tional Unemployment Councils, in presenting the unemployed workers unqualified opposition to the spuri- ous Wagner-Lewis bill, demanded immediate action on the Workers’ | Unemployment, Old Age and Social | Insurance Act, H. R. 2827. The text of Amter’s statement fol- lows: The question was asked of a previous speaker as to the number of unemployed in the United States. | Nobody knows, not even the United | States government. We will have correct figures only when there is instituted a system of unemploy- ment insurance embracing every worker in the country. The na- tional committee on economic se curity speaks of 10,000,000 unem- Ployed. William Green says there |are 11,500,000 unemployed. We de- |clare there are 16,000,000 uneme ployed, and the number is growing, The unemployed are not only the manual workers but include hun- dreds of thousands of white-collar workers, professionals, farmers, and so forth. Among the unemployed are 5,000,000 of the youth of the country who have graduated from schools and colleges and have never obtained work. I want to interpolate a word, The United States Commissioner of Education, Dr. Zook, issued a statement, I think it was last Oc- tober, to the effect that in the five years of the crisis, 7,000,000 boys and girls have graduated from high schools and colleges in the United States. At the beginning of the hhuman-needs campaign that was | inaugurated in New York City I think about two months ago, New= ton D. Baker had an article in the New York Times. Commenting on the statement of Dr. Zook, he said: “Of this number no more ino one-third have ever obtains work, and they have only work part time at very low wages.” I need not say a word about the situation of the children, which is well known, in that the Department of Labor has already stated that 25 per cent of the children of the United States are undernourished. The Federal government recently announced a program for the un- employed. One million five hun- dred thousand are to be thrown on the mercy of the States, municipali- ties and private charity. The na- ture of their relief can be gathered from the F, E. R. A. report of Sep- tember, which I have here. This report shows that in Kentucky fam- ilies on relief receive an average of $8.21 a month. North Carolina, Virginia and Arkansas ranged at jonly slightly higher, whole families being compelled to subsist upon that amount of money during the period of a whole month. The government's further pro- gram is to put 3,500,000 on pubiio works, for which an appropriation of $4,800,000,000 is sought. As for the remaining unemployed no pro- vision is made whatever. The re- port of October of the United States Department of Labor shows that 1,950,000 on relief jobs received an average of $26.16 a month, about $6 per week. The $4,000,000,000 ap- propriation cannot afford what Mr, Roosevelt. promised, namely, $50 a month for a period of more than two years, for which the appropria- tion runs, but only $24.39 a month, This is nothing but forced labor. Can one therefore have the hardi- hood to call this “security”? We demand union wages and conditions on all jobs and an adequate num< ber of hours per week. Jobless Worker Sends $1 To Aid LL.D. Appeal Case of Scottsboro 9 “I am enclosing one dollar for the Scotsboro-Herndon Defense Fund, and this is from what little relief we now get,” a jobless worker from New York Mills, Minnesota, writes to the International Labor Defense, “I have watched the Scottsboro boys for over two years, and Herne don since he was first placed in jail, in fact ever since coming in contact with the militant workers’ movement,” he writes, “I am cons vineed that the fight for the Scotts- boro boys and Angelo Herndon is one of the major political tasks of the workers and farmers, black and white. To win freedom for these boys now will mean a big blow to the whole system of frame-up lynching, terror, and fascist activity in general.” Funds are urgently needed for the U.S. Supreme Court appeal in these cases. Money should be rushed to the national office of the Interna- tional Labor Defense, Room 610, Ole East Eleventh Street, New York Appeals. for Quarters An urgent appeal was made yes- terday by Roy Hudson, national sec= retary of the Marine Workers In- dustrial Union, for housing for 35 out-of-town delegates to the Na- tional Committee Meeting of the union. All able to provide the required accommodations were asked to call Bowling Green 9-9480. Nazis Get Saar Feb. 18 BASLE, Switzerland, Feb. 8— Franco-German experts negotiating the return of the Saar to Germany reached a complete agreement to- day. It included the practical re- turn of the Saar economically te Germany on Feb. 18, Communist Party ‘Banquet Earl Browder, general secretary of the Communist Party, will be the main speaker at an anniversary ta Works Genta 8 SoS