Page THE MILITANT Saturday, January 18, 1930 Hutcheson Expels Militant call his men euch vile names? We want peaceful picketing as per instructions from Judge Wright. Thus ended the picket line.
About a month ago war broke out in the Building Trades Council. The fight Bessedovsky Louis Roseland Removed from Minneapolis Carpenters Union was opened against the Sipperley Sjostrom Trotsky on the «Revelations: machine.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. The expulsion rank and file must be very careful of what declared vacant and an election of new offof Louis Roseland, leading Left wing it says and does. Stand by your officials, cers followed. Paul Smith tried valiantly militant, from Local of the Carpenter do not criticize, we are doing all we can!
to stem the tide, but was swept aside with Union here, marks a climax to a long Paul Smith. representative of Bill Green the rest of the rubbish to the tune of 30 battle between the Left wing and progres gave assurance that the whole Executive to 10.
Bive elements in the Twin City building Council of the of was behind the Immediately after the election of the trades union and the reactionary official scenes) the workers in this figbt, that new leadership, they proceeded to go into machine.
there was no reason for hasty action. After all the building trades locals with a progAt the last meeting of the local, a months of sabotage by the officials the ram of organization and cducation, recommunication was read from international spirit dled down, workers became disgusted questing all local unions to elect a commitpresident wfillam Hutcheson demanding some tore up their union cards and went to tee of five, preferably rank and file memthat Roseland be stricken from the mem work on this job. Ranks were breaking bers, to work in conjunction with the orand no sign of a strike: only a single banbership rolls. The move was instigated by ganization and education committee of the Andrew Leaf, special organizer of the ner carried by volunteers for a while, Building Trades Council. This started the B, of who did not have the which finally dwindled down to one person. fireworks in Carpenters Local Union courage to expel Roseland by himself in The class collaborationists were squanIts officers. Ole Nelson, Oscar Ericson, face of the tremendqus opposition among dering the unions money without giving an Walfred Engdahl and William Young, with the membership. With the excuse that accounting of it. Requests for information Andrew Leaf sitting in occasionally, were Roseland wag a Communist, Hutcheson de were rejected on the pretense that it would the official representatives of Local in manded his expulsion.
hurt the movement. But towards Fall, the Council. This element had consistently when the strike had been considered lost Rank and File Opposes More.
carried out a class collaboration policy, When the letter was read in the local, for some time, a new leadership had develalong with Paul Smith, Sipperley, oped in the building trades and the fight the meeting hall bristled with members Attle Sjostrom, Bob Cramer and Co.
was taken up again, Officers of the Builddemanding to be recognized and speak For more than a year, Roseland, along ing Trades Council and the local unions One against the reactionary proposal.
with other members of Local 7, had fought went on the picket line one morning and for affiliation to the Building Trades Counmember walked from the rear of the hall, were arrested. The news in the capitalist stated that he was not a Communist, had no cil. Hutcheson sent a letter forbidding it, press was the first the workers had re but permitting affiliation to a Twin City understanding of what Communism stood ceived that there had been a picket line for, but that he had taken the obligation and then only through the Twin on, duty.
like all other members, with the provision City Carpenters District Council.
that his religious, political and domestic Officials Want No Interference This was accepted and an agitation was This aroused the workers and many Affairs would not be called into question.
started for the building of a Twin City appeared on the scene the next morning.
Amid applause, he announced his opposiB. The secretary of the Twin City Some fell in line, others stood along the Several Hon to Roseland expulsion.
Carpenters Council was instructed to call curb across the street looking on curiously.
others clamored for the floor, making mot conference of all building trades locals At about 7:00 a. as the morning before, ions to table the matter, and demanding in both cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul)
that the chairman rule on whether Rosethe police wagons were again brought on for the purpose of consolidating the two the scene to pick up these courageous offl organizations. But instead of making this land gets a trial or the communication is cers who dared to chat and smile with the tantamount to forthwith expulsion and the a broad appeal, it landed in the hands of membership had nothing to say about it.
police while the scabs were rushing to the executive boards and the ranks never The chairman dared not make an outthe gates to get to work. Upon their arri heard of it. Roseland then moved the val, they discovered several stowaways in election of a committee to visit all local right ruling, and evaded the issue by saytheir midst. The labor officials said to ing that Roseland understood the meaning unions for the purpose of reaching the them: Who in hell are you? Stowaways of the document as well as he did and that rank and Ale, who would in turn elect from the rank and file. Who the hell told similar committees to work with Local s he did not deem It necessary to make a you to come here? asked the polite labor ruling. Seeing the chairman weakness, for a Twin City leaders. Nobody; we read in the capitalist Hutcheson watchdog, Andrew Leaf, took This motion was defeated on some papers that everyone who gets on the pick trumped up grounds. Roseland then moved the floor and explained that immediately et line gets a free ride to the city hall. on December 27, to endorse the program of after reading the letter, Roseland was no Well, said the officials, this is strictly our longer a member of the union and that the education and organization affair and we don want any more butting was Anal. He was greeted with shouts of committee, and to proceed with the election in of the rank and file, so tomorrow you Throw him out! Sit down! We want of a committee of five members to work stay home.
a decision from the chair! To hell with with them in accordance with the commitThereupon the chairman finally Next morning, about 6:15 a. about tee request. After three or more hours 100 rank and Alers showed up but got no discussion, the motion was tabled.
called the letter supreme and advised no free ride. They became peeved and started The issue in the expulsion of Roseland further action. But as far as escorting calling the scabs names, big, burly bus is in reality the development of a conscious Roseland out of the hall, or requesting him iness agent came rushing up the line and to leave, the chairman was unwilling Left wing in Local which has got under howled: Cut it out, can you see you re the hide of the reactionaries. In order to Upon an appeal from the chair, a mixmaking the police sore? Furthermore, up followed, and Roseland finally took the safeguard their positions they had to have can you see Mr. Haglin, the contractor, floor, demanding a definite ruling as to a killing. The last word remains with the and his wife just across the street? What whether or not he was still a member of union membership not only in the Twin will they think of us if we permit you to Cities, but throughout the country.
the Brotherhood, since no business can be conducted with a non member present.
The chair, fearing that it would be lost, for Roseland to leave the hall.
The meeting was in an uproar, until Taylorville, Ini. the ngses, and several other doubtful Roseland was granted the floor for some Dear Comrades: characters. Then, think at the order of last remarks, Briefly, he stated that since Perhaps you have already read of what Freeman Thompson and some local celebhis admittance to Local about seventeen happened in the Peabody district. In all rities, was replaced by the above menyears ago, he had fought to the best of his the conventions and conferences have tioned gents, and as soon 4s the strike ability for the union and the working class attended, and have attended most all of fizzled out, they renounced their member28 a whole. Through the every day them and chiefly on my own meager exship in the so as to hold their struggle on the job, meeting workers of all penses, was somewhat set back because jobs, which they did. For their treason to shades of opinions, soon became congTaylo ville was considered the weakest disthe miners they got a better job while cious of who the enemy was the boss and trict, and it was thought that the work was hundreds and more were fired from the that my duty was to fight him as well as not good, not effective. The occurences in mine, and those that were not discharged those who defend him. Because of the fact the last strike taught me a bit different. by the operators were discharged by the that have consistently fought for the When Taylorville came out, and that was Haywoods and Glassgows (U. offamalgamation of craft unions into powerabout 100 percent, the other districts did cials. ful industrial unions, for the organization not. And am proud of the boys around At one time they had the jails so full of the unorganized, for independent polithere and the walkout shows what lone that there was no standing room. too ical action of the workers, etc. have determined fighting can accomplish. was nabbed on Friday the 13th. wanted been branded by Hutcheson as an enemy had no or little assistance, but those things to be with the boys but the sherif rounded of the trade union movement.
Roseland removal came at the end of have not stopped me, nor will they stop me. up Joe Natterman who put up 2, 000 bond will continue with my silent persistent for me and was forcibly escorted home sharp conflict in the building trades over work, which is the most effective. had by the sheriff and my house guarded 80 the erection of the National Bank that experience in the German miners that could not get out of the yard.
Building. Early fast spring the building strike in 1889 and so will carry on the trades locals wero united on a program My trial was postponed three times fight here which will help not only the of fighting the Haglin Contracting Co.
and comes up Monday January 13. The Mass National Miners Union but also the Comwhich was to put up the building.
International Labor Defense took up the munist movement, as the two cannot be picketing was endorsed by locals, assessmajority of the cases, but 65 year old separated. The success of the one is the ments of 00 per member were levled Fritz Bode had to hire his own lawyer success of the other.
In all locals. The spirit of mass action was because he committed lese majeste in manifest in all the unions, the general The strike was a success in Taylorville, quoting from the Militant in one of his public was aroused and expected a real Pana and the Midland. It was a failure speeches, and distributing the Militant battle on this job. In the face of this in the other places in the state. We had among the men. This, think, was also the splendid opportunity to win with hands not enough men to take the lead and some reason why was side tracked by Freeman down, the leaders were negotiating with of them are already mis leaders. On the Thompson and Company. Some of their ilk the city officials and trying to make peace third day of the strike, when it seemingly had given me previous warning and a with the police.
looked like a success, all the fakers and bunch of Militants were stolen out of my systematic campaign of hushing up would be fakers clamored for the leaderoutside overcoat pocket. Isn that some the rank and file was begun by communi ship. Think of it, two preachers, one a wonderful comradeship to treat an old cations from local officials, as well as from Nazarene, and the other a Latter Day rebel? was at the Belleville conference various internationals and the Executive Saints preacher, another an ex committee when Watt was ousted. It was the most puncil of the of L, stating that the man of Local 08, a renegade and friend of disgraceful procedure have ever witnessed Hardly had Mr. Bessedovsky quit Com.
munism by the way of the back window and fence of the Soviet embassy in Paris, than he immediately made clear his position in a long series of articles that have þeen gobbled up by the bourgeois press of the world. In the United States, they are being published by, among others, the Jewish socialist Forward with sensational headlines guaranteed to make Willie Hearst turn yellow with envy. From his articles it becomes quite clear that his revelations are calculated to open a new attack on the Soviet Union and, as a first result to achleve its diplomatic isolation. Because this time it is a question of facts destined to alarm the interested governments. Comrade Trotsky, having received numerous questions, writes. You ask me what value the abundant revelations of Bessedovsky have, confess that have not read them. because the Arst article that came to land appeared to me to be vacuous. Allər your request, perused a number of the articles. have mot, of course, any possibility of verifying all his information, seeing that a series cf facts hc recounts are entirely unknown to me, even from heregay. Novertheless, have run across at least a dozen facts with wbich am personally acquainted.
The others can Judge only according to the knowledge of the circumstances, the persons, etc.
Within these rather broad Ilmits, the memoirs of Bessedoveky are impressive for their fantasy, a fantasy of that particular character known among us as chlestakov (from the name of one of Gogol heroes, Chlestakov. It is a combined lle, where the element of personal interest joins with an impartial imagination provoked by the absence of any regulating centers. In many cases, Bessedovsky inventions have quite defined and despicable aims. He is trying to serve those who would like to muddle the relations between Germany and the and provoke a rupture between Moscow and Paris. At the same time he wants to furnish arguments to the most belligerent elements in Poland and other neighboring countries. Since, despite his rather representative official position, he played a role of only second or third order, he employs for his combinations the retty crumbs that reached him from tables where he had no place. But in many cases, his fantasy has no aim and rather indicates a mind that has lost its balance. By the way, am told that Bessedovsky not only took part until recently in the bureau of the Communist nucleus of the Embassy, but that he played one of the leading roles in the commission charged you!
tionists.
As you see, he is a man quite qualified for that! This fact at the same time makes clear the political evolution that Bessedovsky has made. not even in twenty four hours, but within a much shorter time. Communist grettings. Trotsky.
in my 42 years in the revolutionary fight.
After the strike fizzled out, all the would be leaders crawled back to their holes, kissing and glorifying the hands of their masters, either the operators or the labor fakers. The miners in Taylorville and vicinity are actually starving. This morning, January 7, they discharged 80 more men at No. mine. All members of the must go. Hundreds upon hundreds have already been fired and the little work they had previously was not enough to feed their loved ones. sincerely hope that can stay a while longer in the fight, but the 29th of this month marks my entry into the 65th year, but when am in the fight, then feel myself as young as any of them. never will be a renegade or traitor to my fellow men. receive a bundle of Milltants every issue, and they come in mighty handy right now. As write, the paper comes in stating that two more of our boys were arrested. wonder what they will do to me, but let her go!
With the hope that we all remain faithful and fearless and true to the inev.
itable world revolution, remain yours as ever. FRITZ BODE. Sr.