Page THE MILITAT Saturday, February 13, 1930 Low Wages for Unorganized The Strike Miners in Va.
of the Toronto Cloakmakers The Socialist Party and the Radicalization of the Masses wing COOPERSBURG, Pa. So far as the mining situation in West Virginia is concerned, there is cle to be said but that the United Mine Workers is smashed. The new union, however, has never got its roots into Va soll.
Wages are being slashed with a knife that cuts two ways. First, they cut wages with reductions, and then they cut wages by refusing to pay for dead work. Not only that, but the men have to take the place of mules. Coal is mined in MoundsVille at 51 cents per ton. The stone that comes down with the blasting of coal is Bot paid for. Other impurities have to be thrown out without compensation. All track timbering and the like have to be done for nothing. The cars are delivered to the mouth of the place and from there the miner has to push the car to the face, whereas under uplon conditions, cars were delivered and taken from place of work.
Men have to walk in a crouching pooltion for 45 minutes or more. Under union conditions, the miners had a man trip to take thom to and from work. good two weeks work will average min 00 a day. Out of this comes smithing. lamp. doctor, and powder. The miner 19 lucky If he makes 00 not.
In Moundsville, they have a svatem of turning over one earnings to the con pany store. After the store deducts whatever bills the workers runs up he gets the rost of the pay, if there is anything comIng to him.
An acquaintance would always be In tbe hole when pay would come around, One pay he owed 64, another pay, 37, two weeks later,. 99 and he thought he was lucky to owe only 99 cents.
The morale of the minere 18 at its lowest ebb. They have little respect for the old due to its control by the bureaucrats, of course, one argues that militant organization of the miners into a solid body that would strike terror into tho operators is the solution, but they tell you that that only talk. They will have to be shown. That how sceptical the miners are now. There is a big Job ahead for the Left wing. AUGUST VALENTINE TORONTO, Canada. The long awaited matter of fact, nobody knows that they are cloakmakers strike began last week. The playing any role at all. The leaflets dis(Continued from Page 2)
wonderful turnout and the fighting spirit tributed by the previous to In reality there is nothing strange or of the strikers, can hardly be attributed to the strike denouncing it as a fake stopinexplicable in the present developments.
the organizational efforts of the local page and exposing the Right wing, only Reformism is a blind alley which diverts job holders.
had a tendency on the whole to make the the workers from a class advancement and The Industry has degenerated to such a workers apathetic. Certainly, It brought no even from any realstruggle for their immepoint that the majority of the workers and new members into the Left wing union.
diate needs, But how are the American it increasingly impossible to make a living, It never occurred to the Left wing leaders to enter into the struggle and by the course workers, not yet through the primer school Long hours, speed up, low wages, unsaniof class education to know that? The majtary conditions and short seasons have beof It win the workers away from the Right ority of the workers of Germany, trained come the order of the day. In desperation for generations in the class struggle, many to save their economic existence, the work QUARTER of whom have seen revolutionary battles, ers are again willing to follow the same do not know it yet. If they will learn from leadership that betrear edhe thermalled Shape Pittsburg Cab Drivers on Strike exceto dayzenithe basi hof their own experproof elements responded to the call of the ican workers learn it overnight?
general strike, showing how rampant and PITTTSBURG, Pa. In this city, which widespread is the dissatisfaction of the is considered one of the most industrial American Labor and Reformism Masses.
cities in the United States, the working It must be remembered that the Amerconditions are no better than in other ican workers have never seen Social DemRight Wing Leaders Sabotage cities. The workers are harassed by an ocratic betrayal on a big scale for the simBut in spite of the wonderful response unbearable hunger, despair and starvation. ple reason that these agents of capitalism and solidarity of the workers the leaders It is 18 days since the taxi drivers have not yet had euch an opportunity. The American Socialists have never held any of the International Ladies Garment Work went out on strike. The Yellow, Green ers Union refuse to fight. The slogans and Checker companies are using ever power except in euch isolated and relaunder which they called the strike, firstly, means at their disposal to break it. Striketlvely unimportant sectors as the needle the 44 hour week but not the abolition of breakers, company thugs, ministers, Judges, trades. The American worker, bound all piece work 19 meaningless. Also the slogan police and society women all of them are his life to capitalist ideology, 1s apt to of 00 an hour as a fair union wage in their service. Mr. Walter Laird, the consider a vote for the Socialist Party a radical step forward. He is not fated to without specifying the big shops or the president of the Yellow company, utilized small. In the big shops, with the longer all the usual means in order to paralyze stop there. He is not a fasciat when he season and cheaper work, 00 per hour the courage of the strikers. He brought takes that step, but a deceived worker who renresents an increase. In the small shops the professional strikebreaker from Chicago wants to improve the position of his class.
however, with the considerably shorter Charles Burger, who is also an organizer Such a worker is, and should be regarded season and better line of work, 00 per for the of He was one who in as a potential Communist.
hour might mean an actual reduction, the strike of the milk drivers last summer The Communist struggle for the supIn speaking to the workers and in the used all his tricks to surrender them to port of the masses in American has many the mercy of the Liberty Company.
different aspects from than the same strugpress reports, the bureaucrats apologize gle in the for having called the strike. The whole capitalistically developed Now, again, as representative of the countries in Europe. There, the great majfault lies with the bosses who don want of in a speech delivered to a ority of the workers are already politically to be fair. But, they go on to assure the meeting of the strikers, although he was workers, the strike will be over in a few violently hissed by the audience, ho dared organized in the Socialist and Communist days, since we can bear to see your famcamps and the recruiting of workers to the to tell them that he would take their Illes suffer.
banner of Communism requires the breakunion charter away if they do not want to Is the strike a fake, as the Stalinists compromise with the companies. That is ing down of long established traditions and habits and organization bonds. The strugclaim! It is not difficult to see that the how he tried to terrorize the strikers and ernations gle here, in the main, is to win workers does not want to fight and show the bosses that he is faithfully peraway from direct allegiance to the capitwill not fight. Thøy promise the bosses to forming his duties as a betrayer of the alist parties, close the doors to any possible organization In this the Socialist and working class. But the strikers to a man Communist Parties are and will be rivals.
of the industry by the Left wing in ex and with splendid courage, not only conDespite the primary stage of the class change for Right wing recognition in the front these disgraceful and base tricks of shops. That they won make any real Mr. Walter Laird, but also Jalls and beatstruggle in American and the consequent lack of class consciousness of the workers, demande, except possibly a few scraps to ings by the police, injunctions and whatshut the mouths of the workers and make it ever other means the miserable capitalist the prospects of the revolutionary party, even for the proximate future, are good.
look like a real. contract. is true. But system is ablo to put at the disposal of the the Left wing union is unable to play any There is plenty of ground for the assumpcompanies, The strikers are determined decisive role in the strike because of its tion that developments in America, on the to continue the struggle until they win negative membership and isolation. As a their demands. JAMES SIFAKIS basis of its inextricable involvement in world economy once fairly started will be swift. In such a setting Communism, given correct policy can bound forward and become the banner of the workers strugMinneapolis, Minn. What a victory! Loyal proletarian women, gles as well as of their aspirations for freeDaar Comrades: some of them founders of the organization dom from the capitalist yoke.
It is necessary to acquaint the left were craftily eliminated, while petit bourThis presupposes a correct approach wing with the recent events in the Minneap geols women were boosted into office.
to the workers the politically unorganized olls Ladies Auxiliary of the Independent Whose hands are these raised against As well as the victims of reformist decepWorkmen Circle which the Stalinites have class conscious workers? No understanding tion. The Communist International in the captured. The Auxiliary consists of var is necessary.
fundamental documents of its first four The really vital questions dous classes of women, mostly of left wing in the life of our movement are thrust Congresses, has given a clear guide in this opinions and has always done construc aside. After all, why discuss them, they task. It is necessary to restore our movetive work in the labor movement generalment to this basis and cast overboard all may be counter revolutionary. Ideology?
ly. With this program the organization has What is that women disease, perhaps?
revisions and Improvements which have very seldom been a scene of factional hand for Stalin, and all your past been smuggled into the International since squabbles, sing against the working class are forglvLenin death. Among other things this Now however, like a dream, all this has en. The capitalist class has long ago reameans to sevive the united front tactics vanished. The Stalinist plague has de lized that workers hands and not their and apply them in place of the counterfeit upon and in other workers minds should be used. The Party leaderdogma of social fascism. It means to organizations, our Auxiliary has not es ship 19 dragging our organization downstrengthen and support the Opposition which caped. Here is a sample of their work: hill to destruction.
fights for Communist fundamentals on an First they began to polson the minds International scale.
Working women! Don permit your of the members against the class conscious The sooner and the more aggresively thoughts to be trampled upon. Historical women who would not permit themselves the Communist workers turn to these basic facts bring us closer to the reality of the to be misled. Stalin famous bugle call, tasks, the sooner will the present advance new life in the class struggle. Down with counter revolutionary and renegade beof reformism be transformed into a temthe bureaucrats! Down with the disruptgan to be circulated first secretly, then porary incident and the better will the ers and splitters of the working class! Caropenly in our meetings.
ry forward the ideas of Lenin.
awakening workers be prepared for future Stand by They come with finished decisions made victories.
the working class. Tomorrow it will be in closed rooms. There is no discussion with us.
permitted. Even the chairman is made to QUAKER CITY KNITTERS REVOLT CLARA KAUFMAN order. The Ladies Auxiliary has never yet ON WAGE CUTS suffered such dictatorship and such brazMINNEAPOLIS WORKERS SCHOOL PHILADELPHIA Revolt is spreading en arrogance. The more class conscious wothrough the Quaker City scab hosiery men gradually began to react with feelings The Workers School of Minneapolis mills on the heels of wage cuts. Three of injustice, and finally we began to take wishes to announce the completion of the hundred workers, nearly the entire force action on these questions. The healthy cri first half of its courses as planned last of the Rodgers mill, bave walked out to ticism of honest working women in regard Fall. An examination in the elements of Join the ranks of the 1, 400 Aberle strikers.
to the Stalloist tactics began to be heard Communism demonstrated a definite im Discharge of union workers caused the more and more. But in spite of this the provement in Ideology and a grasp of prac Rodgers strike.
activity of the Auxiliary began to weaken. tical problems of the movement from a Discontent is running high in other The old spirit died.
Marxian viewpoint. Continued progress will non union mills and further strikes are exIn election periods the Stalinites be warrant the extension of these courses and pected. Smaller plants have caught the gan to show their wonderful tactics in la possibly the establishment of new ones on contagion and knitters in scab shops out hor organizations. You see, it was neces an even broader scale. The classes are of town are also ready to pull the rods.
sary to save the Stalinite officers. There held every Tuesday evening, p. at The Rodgers plant not only paid under was no lack of automobiles to bring dead 401 Washington Ave. South. There is no the scale but worked shifts of 10 and 12 timber to the meeting for this purpose. charge and all workers are urged to en hours, The strikers want the straight And the Stalinites were victorious. roll for the second half of the season, un oa roule and two shiftgn aloht houre Minneapolis Stalinists Disrupt the Ladies Auxiliary ANTHRACITE TAKES HEAVY TOLL IN ACCIDENTS WILKES BARRE, Pa. FP) One day toll in one sbction of the anthracite la revealed by these mine casualities: Thomas Walsh, 44, Hughestown, died in az ambulance from injuries sustained when he was caught in a rock fall from the roof of his working place in the Pittston Coal Co. mine.
Frank Shumak, 23, Plymouth, was critcally injured following a gas explosion in the Dorrance mine of the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. He is in the Wilkes Barre general hospital suffering from burns on the face, neck, chest and arms, fellowworker was seriously injured in the same blasc.
Peter Kocor, 47, Alden, was burned about the face, neck, and hands when caught in a gas explosion in the Alden Coal Co. mine.
Henry Dustrecrem, 47, Wilkes Barre, suttered serious injuries to his hand while at work in the Glen Alden Coal Co. Mine MOUNDSVILLE, Va. Wage cuts have brought out 300 miners of the FrankIin and Alexander mines, controlled by the Paisley interests of Cleveland. Wages were cut from 51 cents to 45 cents an hour for shovel londers and 44 cents to 40 rents for machine loaders.
jolly MINNEAPOLIS!
jamboree and dance On Saturday, Febreary 22, 1980 at P.
at MOOSE HALL, 48 South 4th St.
Dancing Entertainment Excellent Program Workers dramatic troupe will put on a play never before staged anywhere, Almission 25c All Invited Benefit of the Weekly MILITANT