The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 28, 1935, Page 2

Page 2 DAILY WORKER, N Hearst Wants Reign of Terror In Schools, Says Glenn Frank N. R. A. RUN-AROUND. EW YORK, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1935 j [Michigan Heavy Industry — Wages Drop 20 Per Cent} FIGHT JIM-CROWISM ‘Skow Sharp | WILLING TO DIE FOR $6,000 Educators Back Beard in Condemnation of Anti-Labor Drive Decline of Earnings Under New Deal Detroit Labor Candidate Offers His Services ~ aaa ZARRAOE ATLANTIC CITY, Feb. 27 than 5,000 schools will be co close by March 1 aid is received, 3,500,000 children | e in the schools. osed “investi- in the Is,” Dr. Gler dent of the University isconsin, warned that such investigations : an atmosphere of terror which if unopposed, means the end of everything approaching a sound reasoned nking which makes a great university Under ‘Investigation’ The University of Wisconsin is now under such an “investigation,” Textile Labor Relations Board Refers. All Cases | to Employers Code Authority WASHINGTON, D. C. Feb The Textile Labor Relat: veferring all charges 0: oriti of the such complaints, most of which re- main unsettled, since October. The Textile Labor Relations Board and investigation agencies to study the industry, were created by President Roosevelt as a condition for having the general strike last summer called off. He promised have been received Cabinet Crisis agencies would pass upon plaints of workers and not the code authorities which. consist en- ely of employers as was the case prior to the strike. The practice now tir virtually re-| the United Textile Workers, hailed | the sident’s promise as a strike | vic Workers have been patiently waiting for improvements since October, only to find condi- tions getting worse. It appears very doubtful now that the U. T. W. national officials will be able to Prevailing Pay a Stanley Przytup, unemployed Brooklyn, N. Y., war veteran, who wrote Governor of New Jersey offering to take Bruno Hauptmann’s | place in the electric chair if the convicted slayer paid his wife and children $6,000. eavy Industry Makes New Advance in USSR To Prevent Eviction of I. L. D. DETROIT, Feb. 27—The Inter- national Labor Defense has launched from being ousted. About a month ago the I. L. D.} 1 LANSING, Mich., Feb. 27.—A de- | cline of nearly 20 per cent in the | average real weekly earnings of Workers in the transportation a mass and legal fight to prevent | moved into its present headquarters, | equipment industry is revealed in the Hugo Scherer Estate, Inc., owners of the building in which the I. L. D. is located, from compelling sistant secretary of the I. L. D. Maurice Sugar, prominent labor attorney, who is labor candidate for | judge of the Recorder’s Court, on learning of this outrageous action, immediately offered his services to | ored help or move from the build- | Room 1700, the Hoffman Building, Woodward Ave., near Sibley. Two weeks later it received a letter fom your employ. Some of the tenants lin the building are complaining about this and as it is against the rules of our building, we must ask you to either discharge your col- the I. L. D. in the fight to prevent. it ' ing.” Relief Strike Is Ended Thad hndinin Fight Urged the latest statistics of the Michigan Department of Labor and Industry. hes es the former status. | it to move because it employs Ne-| the Hugo Scherer Estate, Inc.,|Of the 216,770 workers in this in- at the first meet is Gorman who headed the'| groes. The attack of the landlords | stating: | dustry, all except 6,332 are employed ciation of Textile Planning Commission Strike Committee, and | F is directed specifically against F. B.| “It has come to our attention that |in the manufacture of. automobiles, Randolph Hearst's anti- rday. Three thousand and six! thomas McMahon President of | = Maise, a Negro worker, who is as-| you have some colored people in| | with most of the rest employed in | auto tire factories. On the basis of the period of | 1923-26 as 100, the statistics show | that whereas in January, 1934, real earnings in the transporta- tion equipment industry were 104.1, in January, 1935, they had sunk to 86. - The Labor Department's statis- tics show a steady decline in the real earnings of workers in this in- ke dustry under the New Deal. The which, Dr. Frank charges, was I bd U i a I D Cr amnmD eee aN Ns T oe aL | j . ; : ; f athe > William Ran- i ssue oace E — |1933 average was 112.8, while in directly instigated by William Ran na. va s 5 Value of January Output Exceeds One and a Half) rorr smrrx, ark. Feb. 27—| (Continued from Page 1) . | 1934 it was 1045, and today it is dolph Hearst. The 5,000 assembled educat listened in vain for any sign that Roosevelt was planning to provide Federal funds for the schools. On the contrary, his spokesman at the meeting, Jesse Jones, bringing a letter from Roosevelt to the conven- tion, specifically opposed such Fed- eral aid. Funds for War. No R.F.C. funds would be granted for state schools, Jones declared. The P.W.A. has granted close to a billion dollars for war preparations already. The economic program of Roose- velt was attacked as “madhouse economics,” by James C. Bay, super- intendent of schools in Easton, Pa. Urged To Aid Scottsboro The immediate task of organized labor in New York City within the next two weeks is to flood into Washington at least 50,000 protest cards demanding the immediate un- constitutional release of the nine| innocent Scottsboro boys and An- gelo Herndon, the New York Dis- trict of the LL.D. stated yesterday. “Every honest fighter must now be warned against just s ing by trust- ing to the fairness of e U. S. Su- preme Court,” the statement said, and continued: “Every trade union local, workers club, all ‘branches of fraternal and cultural organizations, | Women’s and youth organizations, churches, lodges and societies, etc., must immediately redouble their ef- forts to carry out their share of this task. “The following tasks should be undertaken by all organizations: a). Each organization to (Continued from Page 1) of the program put forward by the anti-imperialist daily La Palabra. Support of the Cuban student- teacher strike was voted at a special emergency meeting of the New York City Committee of the National Student League held at noon yes- terday at their headquarters, 257 Seventh Avenue. cae Immediate protests must be sent by all organizations to President Mendieta, Havana, and to the Cuban Consul, 17 Battery Place, New York, demanding the imme- diate release of the six impris- oned anti-imperialist editors, Res- olutions should also be sent to the U. S, State Department protest- ing against Ambassador Caffery’s intervention in Cuban affairs and stating our determined opposition to any interference on the part of U. S. imperialism against the Cuban people, Huge Profits For Ship Firm WASHINGTON, Feb. 27. — War profits of fifty-seven per cent were shown to have been reaped by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corpora- tion in the Senate investigations today. The Senate Munitions Committee uncovered the fact that on an es- timated’ capital of less“ than fifty million dollars, the made a profit of $21,000,000 out of war construction, So great was the business of the company during the years 1917-21) that the company doubled its cap-| ital investment, while its profits in- creased seven-fold, the Senate Com- mittee inquiry showed, corporation | (Continued from Page 1) we | trust - asked. “I would say,” he parried, “that the men whose votes in Congress were necessary to enact it believed it would help labor.” Would Revamp N.LR.A. Now that labor has fully discov- ered the real anti-union purpose of the N. R. A, Nye and McCarran would “investigate the abuses” of N. R. A. Even this, .howeyer, is/| slated for swift shelving. Demo- cratic Leader Harrison announced he would insist that any “inves- tigating” preceding the re-writing of the N. LR, A. be done by the Senate Finance Committee. Nye and McCarran have declared. such an “investigation” would be merely | “a whitewash.” McCarran again insisted that he} would continue to fight for the “pre- | vailing wage” amendment in any/ work-relief bill enacted. He ad-| mitted, however: | “If there is going to be delay in| the work-relief bill, I would be will- ing to enact an $880,000,000 appro- priation to take care of those on relief until next July, or a $1,880,- 000,000 appropriation to take care of them until February, 1936.” McCarran conferred on the mat-| ter with Senators Wagner of New| | York, Costigan of Colorado, Demo- crats, and La Follette, Wisconsin | Progressive. They refused to com-| ment afterward. It was known,| however, they discussed the pos- sibility of “splitting” the $4;800,000,- 000 work relief measure, hae ee | Plan Rally ing program?” he was Billion Rubles—21 Per Cent Gain (Special to the Daily Worker) MOSCOW, Feb. 27. (By Cable) — The third year of the Second Five Year Plan began with new and im-| portant increases in Soviet heavy industry, figures released here oday | revealed. In general, heavy industry in the | U. S. S. R. in January, despite the | exceptionally heavy frosts of that | month, which delayed work in some branches, had an output of 1,683,- | 000,000 rubles. This is 21.1 per cent ahead of January last year. ' The greatest increase in output was iron ore, 41.2 per cent in excess of January, 1934, Iron and steel production was 29.8 per cent in ad- vance of last year, automobiles and | tractors, 32 per cent. Electric power, chemicals, glass, pottery, and many other industries far surpassed the January plan. The number of workers in the en- terprises of heavy industry in- creased by 7.1 per cent, compared with January last year. Fisher Warits Open Shop (Continued from Page 1) March decision of Roosevelt and place their faith in the employer- controlled Auto Labor Board, warn- ing them that continued labor dif- ficulties would cause the company to withdraw work from Cleveland plant. The company’s statement, while fully anticipated by the majority of | the workers, who knew that their only hope lies in strong organiza- tion and strike preparation, blasted the illusions of those who thought that their demands could be won by peaceful negotiations. The union is holding three meet- ings Wednesday afternoon to de- termine its further action. Commenting on the company’s statement the Communist. Party called on the workers to intensify the building of the union and pre- pare to strike for their demands. The uncompromising attitude of the company clearly shows that nothing could be gained without militant Weirton Wins NRA Decision (Continued from Page 1) autocratic company towns in the | country the company ruthlessly | suppressing all free speech and as- semblage in the town. West Vir- | girya State police spread terror | against the strikers, The decision devotes much space | to praise of J. C. Williams, presi- dent of the Weirton Co., quoting Williams as saying that “What in- jures the company injures the men.” Nields said that the company union “in all respects complies with provisions of Section 7-A of N.R.A.” He declared that it is “a lawful and effective organization of the work- ers for collective bargaining through | |representatives of their own | choosing.” Brazen Anti-Union Stand The decision of Nields upholding | the company union is a more brazen | and open method of the govern-| ment for legalizing the fascist com- The strike of the four thousand re- lief strikers who were fighting | against a fifty per cent relief cut | ended when the workers voted to | go back to work in order to better organize their ranks for a future struggle. i The relief workers strike started three weeks ago in the southern part of the county when the unem- ployed miners walked out in protest against a wage cut from thirty to fifteen and twenty cents an hour and the setting of a monthly re- | lief budget at’ fifteen dollars. They | demanded forty cents an hour with a thirty hour week. Workers who were organized into | the Workmen’s Union of the World | and the Veterans of Industry of | America have become disgusted with their “leaders” who, instead of taking part and leading the | struggle, spent their time in con- ference with the Chamber of Com- merce in an effort to “settle the strife.” These workers have taken steps to affiliate with the National Unemployment Councils and have condemned the leaders of the Fort Smith Trades and Labor Cotncil who refused them the use of the Labor Temple for meetings. | Victims Aided In Soviet Blast (Special to the Daily Worker) | MOSCOW, Feb. 27 (By Cable).— | The . machinery of the workers’ | state moved swiftly today to aid the families of twenty-nine persons | killed and injured when a com- fascism by millions of toilers throughout the whole world, with- out distinction as to political beliefs or membership in any organization. Simultaneously this was a signal for the wide development of the united front struggle of the proletariat, the Communist, Socialist, Christian, Anarchist and non-party workers, against fascism and war throughout the world. “With the assistance of this militant united front, the prole- tariat will also secure the release of. their imprisoned fighters Ernst Thaelmann, Matthias Rakosi, and thousands of others. Only as a result of the unwavering irrecon- cilable class struggle, as con- trasted with Social-Democratic class collaboration with the bour- geoisie, will the working class, in ailiance with the other toiling strata of town and village, led by the Communist International and under the wise guidance of the leader of the world proletariat, Comrade Stalin, secure the final victery over capitalism with its crises and wars and catastrophes!” Strike Closes Hosiery Mill CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Feb. 27. —The Daisy branch of the Rich- mond Hosiery Mills was closed yes- terday after most- of -its.-strike- breakers failed’ to report for work. The announcement came at a mo- ment when a large crowd of strik- ers and sympathizers were staging a picket demonstration outside. Glenn .Rankin, superintendent .of the mill, charged in a statement still lower, as indicated by the fig- ures for January. The real weekly earnings of workers in all Michigan indus- tries also showed a decline, from 101.4 in January, 1934, to 93.6 in January, 1933. eee These official government figures ganda of the auto companies about the “high wages” they are paying under their open shop Auto Code, They show the necessity of pre- paring for strike.action in order to win higher wages and better con- ditions for the tens of thousands of men and women in the industry. ‘Farmers: Act In Minnesota (Continued from Page 1) to a question on conditions in West ern Minnesota. “Son, you can’t paint it too bad. You can’t imagine what we're fac- ing out there. You can go as far as you like in telling how bad it is and I’m telling you you won't be exaggerating it one bit.” Keating and the others backed their truck up against the. broad plaza of the capitol. Every legis- | lator entering the building couldn’t help but see the mute appeal. Demand Feed and Seed “We want the legislature to pass the million dollar feed: and seed | bill,” Keating said. “We just want | to get another start next -Spring, As it is now, our horses: are - too weak to stand, let’alone pull'a plow. Our cattle are almost tod weak to go out and graze for themselves, We're right up against the: wall un- less we get a push to’ carry“us over the next ‘hill.” Keating said “cattle are dying out imme- (Daily Worker Midwest Bureau) action, the C. P. declares. pany unions than that pursued by| pressor exploded yesterday in the! that Sheriff . Frank. Burns had | th » 7 . pace aie es > ‘ ; y | I at_ way by the hundreds. aaa waged meee peer ser CHICAGO, Ill, Feb. 27.—Hun- Protracted negotiations as advo- | Roosevelt. Under section 7-A, and| graphite department of a lead «sayen down” on his promise to “T ei’ it,” he emphasized. Court; ss) Each Y cevanteanion ain: Mellon D odged Taxes dreds of Chicago organizations | cated by the A. F. of L. top official- | +1. ianor boards set up by Roosevelt | pencil factory in Moscow. A com- | protect those who want. to work.| “In the past six weeks more than mediately to get a quantity of pro- have endorsed the call of the | dom, would result in defeat. The mission was immediately formed to The strike at the four plants of 500 have fallen over dead from test cards for distribution among your membership. All materials are to be gotten from the New York rae IL.D., 22 E. 17th St., Room 4. 5 “The critical need of funds to carry through these cases (Hern- don’s hearings come up in March in the U. S. Supreme Court, and the New York District ILD. at the present time is preparing briefs to file the appeal in the Clide Allen case), demands once again the unreserveti support of all workers’ organiza- tions. In spite of all obstacles, the fimds must be raised. Certainly now after almost four years of con- tinuous struggle, whatever may: be the need for funds, it can be raised and must be raised.” Waiting for City Aid, Aged Jobless Worker Drops Dead of Hunger Jack Silver, a 65-year-old unem- ployed worker, dropped dead from hunger late Tuesday night at Grand and Essex streets. Ten days ago Silver applied to| the Unemployment Council to help} him get relief. His case was taken up immediately. As a single worker, under the new LaGuardia policy, | he was referred to the single men’s division at 59 Leonard Ave., where | all cases of unattached persons are handled. Almost endless red tape and de- lay resulted. Finally, two days ago, an investigator visited him and promised that relief would be given. + Death did not wait for the city’s belated action. Insurance Bill Offered In Michigan Would Bar Strikers from Benefits LANSING, Mich., Feb. 27.—A ‘so- called unemployment insurance bill | in line with President Roosevelt's | fake security program has been in- troduced ito the State Legislature. | The bill has been drafted with the assistance of Dr. William Haber, state emergency welfare adminis- trator, and evidently bears the stamp of administration approval. The bill would provide benefits of one-half the average weekly wage, | with fifteen dollars a week as the | maximum. Payments would not start till five weeks after the loss of employment and would continue | for not more than twenty weeks a | the issue of an independent working | sands of A. F. of L. locals which By Fake Stock Sales, Government Charges PITTSBURGH, Feb. 27.—In order to escape paying income taxes, the multi-millionaire aluminum king, Andrew Mellon bought and sold through a secret holding corpora- tion $350,000 of his own bonds, it was brought out today in the gov-| ernment’s suit to collect $3,000,000 back income taxes from Mellon. Through this “wash sale,” the wealthy monopolist was able to evade paying taxes on his tremen- dous investments. Mellon, while he was Secretary of the Treasury, | American League Against War and Fascism for an anti-war rally Tues- day evening, March 5, at the Ash- land Auditorium, Ashland Boule- | vard and Van Buren Street. The |endorsing organizations are issuing | leaflets and calls to the Chicago | workers, in their own names, to at- |tend in masses. Speakers at the meeting will be | Robert Minor of the Communist Party; Prof. Frederick L. Schumann | of the American League Against | | War and Fascism; Albert Hamilton, | chairman of the Student League for Industrial Democracy; J. C. Austin |of the Pilgrim Baptist Church, with Communist Party calls on all work- ers and local officials of the union to intensify their organization and begin immediate preparations for militant action to win their de- mands in the present production season, A Correction Inadvertently, the phrase “Labor Party” was omitted in the report of | the statement made by J. B. Mat- thews at the Madison Square Garden meeting on Monday. Mat- thews’ statement should have read, “We can unite to build a Labor Party, a party of the working class, and this party must include the saved himself about $14,000,000 it!a representative of the Friends of | Communist Party. We will reject has been shown. \the Soviet Union, any party that does not so include.” | company unions have been strength- ened in all industries. Roosevelt signed the auto code with its open shop “merit” clause, and in March 1934, signed the pact setting up the Auto Labor Board, a pact which le- galized company unions in the auto industry. The present Weirton ruling, aimed to smash the Amalgamated Asso- ciation’s strike preparations through company union terrorism, and to | influence the reorganization of the N. R. A. in the direction of estab- lishing more open fascist unions, seeks to accomplish union smashing more openly, whereas Roosevelt under N. R. A. has sought to ac- complish the same thing by more demagogic methods, render special assistance to all the dependents of the victims. Soviet law guarantees adequate accident and death insurance for everyone concerned in industrial accidents. The workers who were at all in- jured or shocked were sent to sanitoria and rest homes on full pay. The explosion occurred in the Krassin factory when a one and a/ half ton tank containing compressed | air was hurled through the depart- ment by the force of an accidental ignition. It broke through the floors of the second and third stories, then smashed through the roof. The explosion caused a fire the company continues with strikers remaining firm, Garment Agreement Renewed BOSTON, Mass., Feb. 27.—An agreement renewal affecting 1,000 cloak and suit makers, embracing 95 per cent of the workers in the industry here, was signed by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and the Coat and Suit Manufacturers Association. Four shops with about 100 workers face a strike if they don’t sign the agreement. The contract which ex- pires in July 1936, provides that the existing wage scales remain for week work and that Labor Day and in the factory. May First are holidays and paid for, | CLASS STRUGGLES MUST BE MAINSPRING OF LABOR PARTY This is the second of two ar- ticles on the Communist Party’s role in the movement for a Labor Party. ste ote: The most important factor which has contributed to the disillusion- ment of the masses with the two capitalist parties is the New Deal and. the struggles of the workers which it called forth. The N. R. A., its codes and other features of the Roosevelt adminis- tration’s policy have brought the masses into direct conflict with the capitalist government to an unpre-| cedented degree. There is hardly a question concerning the life of the workers which doesn’t rise as a po= litical question under present cir- | cumstances. In virtually all cases strikes are a violation of some N. R. A. agency’s order. Never before have the workers gone through ex- periences which expose the govern- | ment so clearly as a tool of the capi- | talists. For a Working Class Program The wave of strikes which has continued since the introduction of the N. R. A. has to a greater degree than ever brought the workers face to face with National Guards equipped with gas bombs, machine guns and all means for suppressing strikes. National Guards were sent against strikers by the Republican Governor of California, the Demo- cratic governors of southern states and the Farmer-Laborite of Min- neapolis, Such experiences raise sharply year. Nothing is provided for the | class Present jobless. | tions showed, the masses are no/| The bill would compel the work- longer content to confine their | ers to pay part of the funds for the | choice within the two “regular” | insurance. | Party machines. Large numbers did | program. As the recent elec- | | Longs and La Follettes. Recent ex- | periences take the very foundation from under the non-partisan policy of the trade union bureaucrats. The | still more open attack of the Roose- | velt administration against the | workers, so that there is even a rift | between it and the A. F. of L, of- | ficials, will also hasten the inde- | pendence of the workers from the | capitalist parties, | In addition to the experience of | the workers during the past decade, | the Communist Party and rank and file movement in the unions have become much stronger. These are | the main forces that will generate the trend toward a Labor Party, In 1923-24 the Communist Party was still young, and in the main isolated. The left wing in the unions was in its infancy. A cam- paign by the A. F. of L. at that time | to expel militants did not meet with | much resistance. Today the mili- tants take a lead in some of the | outstanding strikes in “the country. The rank and file challenges the bureaucrats in some of the largest unions in the heavy industry, as in steel. The expulsion campaign in all unions initiated by Green has thus far fallen flat. Support for Workers Bill An indication of the forces that | the militants can muster in the present situation is in the support collected behind the Workers Un- employment and Social Insurance Bill (H. R, 2827) and the huge | Washington Congress which mobil- | ized to push its adoption, The thou- endorsed the bill and the hundreds of locals which were represented at the congress defied the orders of the A. F, of Ly executives. The Central Committee of the The bill contains a strike-break- Ing clause by which strikers would | not be allowed to receive benefits. | . not switch back to the Republican | Communist Party, after pointing out Party, but rather sought to express | the forces which seek to divert the action into channels that will sub- ordinate it to capital, at the same time warns against attempts to place the movement for a Labor Party behind a program that sets out to abolish the capitalist system. Only the Communist Party stands for the latter. Such a policy would narrow down the support ‘for the Labor Party. In order that the La- bor Party should really succeed in quickly leading the masses away from the capitalist parties, it must be built around a program of im~- mediate needs only, such as will make the broadest mass appeal. Not “Cover” for Communists The Central Committee also warns against hiding the Communist Party |or against the idea that a Labor Party is only a “cover” for the Com- munist Party. The Communist Party, in addition to maintaining its independent existence, will be the most dynamic force to build the La- bor Party. It will come out boldly with its program that only the re- placement of the present order by a Soviet America can be a funda- mental solution for the workers and other exploited people. The work of building a Labor Party likewise gives the Communist Party a fine opportunity to win the most ad- vanced of the class-conscious work- ers into its own ranks. If we fail to make clear the dif- ference between the Labor Party and the Communist Party, and the latter’s role, it would be just like failing to warn against a “red scare” in a strike, or union election. The capitalist politicians, and the top labor leaders, as LaFollette and Gompers did in 1924, could use the “red scare” as an effective trick to disrupt the move for a real Labor Party at a most decisive moment. ‘We must in advance explain to the workers in the simplest terms that themselves through the Sinclairs,! sentiment for independent political every step forward for the workers By GEORGE MORRIS is in line with the policy of the Communist Party, and that we do not seek to dominate the Labor Party movement but insure that it will follow on the basis of an in- dependent class policy. Party Based in Union From our analysis it should be clear that the possibility of a genu- ine Labor Party rests primarily upon the extension of the Rank and File movement in the trade unions, especially in the A. F. of L, This is repeated in the resolution a num- ber of times. The slogan for a Labor Party must now be made one of the outstanding points in the program of the rank and file in the unions. To the degree that the rank and file wins control in the unions, to that degree will a solid foundation be built for a real Labor Party. We will find that most of the top union officials will resist the movement for a Labor Party, as it hits at their scheme for auction- ing off the votes of the workers. The only Labor Party they would support is one that would act as an appendage of the employers and a new weapon against the militant workers. Socialists and Labor Party The furthest that the top bureau- crats would go toward a Labor Party will be through joint action between the Socialist Party and its supporting union officials, espe- cially in the garment unions. Com- munists and militant workers need hardly be told that they would not be permitted to take part in such a party. Such a “Labor Party” would be bureaucratically controlled from the top. From this it does not follow that it is impossible to unite with the Socialists on the Labor Party issue. The Socialist Party is not a unit. It is its right wing under the lead- ership of Louis Waldman and Abe Kahn which would compromise as far as merging with a third ‘capi- talist party. The Socialist Party did so in 1924, when it endorsed La- Follette. We must regard Upton Sinclair and Paul Blanshard, who is now in the Fusion administration in New York, as advance agents in this trend. On the other hand, there are strong left tendencies in the So- cialist Party which could be won for a genuine Labor Party. If we concentrate our attack against the extreme right wing in the Socialist Party we thereby make it increas- ingly more difficult for the center headed by Norman Thomas to go along with it. Of decisive impor- tance in preventing such a fake Labor Party from arising, is a firmly rooted rank and file move- ment to undermine the plans of the officials in the very unions where the Socialist Party Right Wing wants to form its base. : Strikes and Labor Party The campaign for a Labor Party can be aligned with every struggle of the workers, but, above all, it must be pushed during strikes. It is then that the workers come in direct. conflict with the strike- breaking forces of the capitalist Strikes such as were ex- perienced last summer give a splen- did opportunity to convince hun- dreds of thousands and millions. of the need for a Labor Party. This was especially: seen in the West Coast strike. But it was Up- ton Sinclair who with his dema- gogy succeeded in diverting the strong will for independent political action into support of the Demo- cratic Party. : The Central Committee warns against premature steps to form a Labor Party and states categorically that no steps should be taken for the formation of a Labor Party on a national scale. When a firm foundation has already been laid for an independent political action, in unions and other organizations of workers, a local or state Labor |Party could be launched. There is a still more elementary approach, where it is advisable, a United La- bor Ticket. But launching a party without sufficient connection from below will narrow down support for a Labor Party. Premature Tendencies A tendency for premature action was expressed in an article by Joseph Shell in the Daily Worker of Feb. 6. In his opening sentence he declares “that a Labor Party is an immediate possibility in Amer- ica.” This, unfortunately, is not yet the case. Comrade Shell pro- ceeds to show that in Paterson, N. J., there is a good opportunity for such a Party. But Paterson is not a typical example. In addition to going through bitter strike strug- gles, and getting a “raw deal” from Roosevelt, unions embracing a ma- jority of the workers in that city have replaced their reactionary leaders with militants, and thus weakened the main obstacle to a Labor Party. The former administration in the Dyers’ Local 1733 is intimately bound up with the Republican Party, while the former Lovestone- ite officials of the Silk Workers are agents of the most reactionary wing in the Socialist Party—the- cere Daily Forward. Paterson furnishes us an excellent example of how ef- fective rank and file activity in the unions lays the foundation for a real Labor Party. But most indus- brial centers are still to follow the example set in Paterson. lack of feed. Our herds, depleted by the federal cattle buying pro- gram last fall when we had to cut down, are being still further reduced.” Death Would Follow Cold Spell “The warm weather of the past few weeks has helped a lot,” he continued. “But it’s cold again.. If | it went down below zero, snowed a lot and stayed cold for several days, I'm telling you we would be wiped out. “Corn is a dollar a bushel. We get $25 a month federal aid. What can we do with that? If we could just get enough to get the horses in shape for plowing and get the cattle squared around by the time the grass starts greening, I’m sure we'd be able to pay off next fall.” 2 Reliet Cut 40% In Johnstown JOHNSTOWN, Pa.,. Feb, .27.~ Twenty-seven hundred relief work~ ers in Cambria County have been cut off work relief and placed on direct relief under a sweeping re~ lief cut that has been given to all the unemployed here. Those on direct relief have been slashed 40 per cent in their budgets. ~ According to John Miller, execu- tive director of the county relief board, the average direct relief check to each family, which- was $6.02 a week before the slash. has now been cut to $3.60. A family of four persons, heretofore getting $5 weekly relief, now gets $3 a week. The relief cut and the stoppage of work relief, which was threatened by State Relief Director Johnson, is part of a general attempt to put over sales taxes upon the working population of Pennsylvania, In fighting the relief cut, the Johnstown Unemployment Council has prepared to call a mass’ demon stration before the relief. offices. New ‘Labor Defender’ On Sale at Newsstands The March issue of the Labor De- fender, now.on the newsstands, car= ries a striking cover design on the Paris Commune, a number of ac- tual pictures of the Comrhunards burning the guillotine and of the barricades in the streets of Paris in May 1871. There are also many other pic- tures and articles of the present day heroic struggles of the workers throughout the world. including an analysis of the present status of the Scottsboro case, now before the United States Supreme Court. are the best answer to the propa- .