Pago THE MILITANT Saturday, April 12, 1930 Minnesota «Farmer Labor» Meet LABOR PARTY SENTIMENT Toothless Foster Silent at Party Plenum ECONOMIC REACTION WORLD WIDE Rally Workers on May Day POLLED IN PHILLY The «Practical» Politicians and Business Men Take Charge PHILADELPHIA (FP) By a vote of 10, 575 to 7, 425, readers of the Philadelphia The St. Paul convention of the Farmer In spite of the feeling in the ranks of the Union Labor Record, organ of the Central Labor Association closed March 28th after workers against fusion with the Democrats, Thursday, April 3rd marked the ending Labor Union decided in favor of the A, two days of gerrymandering by the small the manipulators in control, by the action of the Plenum of the Communist Party. It group of political adventurers who have in of 01 partisan political policy as against of the convention, and in accord with the can be described as the dullest, most inane a straight labor ticket.
devious ways attained power in the organ wishes of the majority of the endorsed canand valueless Party gathering ever held ization didates including those for the highest Out of the maze of letters commenting in its entire history. At the opening of the Following the course marked out sev posts, have made fusion almost certain.
on the referenum, states the Record, most Plenum a cable (where have we heard of In the coming campaign and in the of them came from Labor Party enthusiasts, eral years ago by men of the Starkey Shipthis before. arrived from Moscow, stating following period the Minnesota workers while others, evincing an opposite viewstead type, and with the example of the that the thesis on the economic and politihave the task before them to salvage the point, felt that while there was a growing shameful campaign in 1928 as a guide, the cal situation in American was unsatisfacorganization was appropriated by the bank. movement, to keep their unions out of the tendency toward the Labor Party, and that tory and had to be revised. So discussion er farmer office holder delegates and turn hands of the clique now in control of the it would eventually come, the time was not on the political questions was postponed till ed over to Floyd Olson who accepted and to shape a course toward a yet ripe.
the end of the Plecum and the thesis could the endorsement for governor.
Labor party, which must be national in What the vote did show however, be changel scope, based upon the unions and other sums up the Record, is that the shadow of Out of the hundred and fifty odd deleThe Plenum proceeded to occupy Itselt gates present, less than halt represented workers organizations and with a class a Labor Party is immediately before us, if with lengthy and wordy general discusstruggle platform. The Communists in this not this year, then in the not für distant any organization. The overwhelming masions. The floor was occurred largely by future.
Johnstone, Browler and the Comintern repjority were especially picked by the machine movement, must undertake to clarify and educate the masses and to steer them toΦ rosentatives. The Plenum delegates were for the task of keeping out the platform and program of the Left wing and trade wards Communism.
NEW YORK Three Brooklyn judges in made up of fourth raters. Never was the level so low.
union. ements. These were presented by (The comrades of the Communist League special sessions dispensed a little wholesale Wm. Foster did not so much as open the Hennepin County (Minneapolis) dele of America (Opposition) in Minnesota have Justice by sentencing 26 members of the ration, who, with a dozen notable excep prepared a detailed analysis of the Labor his mouth during the sessions. He declared Independent Shoe Workers Union to 30 days tions, were members of organized labor. Party situation in Minnesota. It will be in Jail for violating an injunction against that he had left bis teeth at the dentist!
Maybe it was just as well.
The Hennepin county convention under presented to the Minnesota workers in picketing struck plants, and contempt of Tho only opposition that showed itself pressure of the Left wing had been forced either leaflet or pamphlet form. Ed. court.
in any way at the Plcnum came from Fred to adopt a series of proposals for the State Biedenkapp (ye gods and little fishes. who convention which embodied the idea that had certain objections to offer on the trade all candidates of the put forward union policy. Yet even this opposition, in a the organizational and agitational program gathering of raediocres, was not permitted of the labor movement in the campaign. The depression affecting not only the onomic relations with the Soviet Union, to express himself before the enlargeil mesThe rank and file were for this and deman United States but the leading capitalist Why? This is ono of the cenuine ways to sion but only in closed cxecutive session ded that these proposals be embodied in the nations throughout the world, and that relieve unemployment in iho Taited. Tbo Pler om goes down as the low water platform. They were in dead earnest about brought on a huge unemployment crisis, States. Every worker must put this quesmark in Party listory and retivities.
this and eyen succeeded in placing one of continues. Seasonal improvement has not tion.
their leaders on the platform committee. changed the basic condition. Uncertainty, Relieve Chemployment Through Broad Olson had notined the convention in a doubt and pessimism animate even the Economic Relations with Soviet Union brutally frank letter on the first day that more optimistic capitalist elements. No Let the United States government ex I shall assume that it am endorsed proposals have been set forth by the rul( Continue from page 1)
and elected to office as a candidate of the ing interests that are likely to have any tend long time and large scale crodits to etc. for the the Soviet Union, which has always made unrestricte right ot P. shall have absolute independence really important consequence on the mass press speech and assemblage; for the exthe selection of men and women. unemployment situation.
good on its obligations, and hundreds of tenason of large scale credits to zine Soviet thousands of unemployed Amcricar: workLeti Wing Presents Program; The National City Bank, in its April Union by the government. These ers can be employed and at the same timo Denied Expression bulletin, summarizes the situation briefly and like riemuads forn at base for a united there is promoted thereby the developas follows: struggle and deconstration of workers of Lommen, who is known in the Party as ment of the economy of the Workers Reall political and economie views on May tho Steel Trust Senator. was in full It is now evident that the fallure of public la Russia. It is necessary to break Day.
charge of the platform committee. Knowbusiness to make a more rapid recovery this united front of Hoover and the bossince the first of this year is due to fact ses, Green, Woll and tho lahor fakers For a United Front ing that Olson was already nominated and that the situation is not simply a domestic against the Soviet Union and thus against tho The policy of the official Comet that the platform already prepared could Rot be changed, he quite naturally assumed Party in the United States, as led by Fosone but that we are involved in a world immedite and ultimato interests of the ter, Mlgor. ecache, et ai un tortosa lely that the demand for absoluto indepenwide reaction. Our emphasis. The fall American working masses sees in May Day only a Communist demon dence was also already accepted. We did of prices of staple commodities has been The workers, organized and orgalstration. Where persists the fulse copa exactly what he was told to do; brushed even more serious in other countries. This Ized, have a common interest in a struggle aside the entire document presented is most clearly seen in the state of Briclon that the pass of workers in the the against the capitalists and incir tools, To nited States will raily on May Day under trade union workers; and buried a couple tish industry and trade.
make unemployment relief mean anything, the leadership of the Communist Party.
of minor demands under a heap of words The world industries, the bulletin the workers Dust fight for the shorter This by no means represents the uctual and rubbish. He handled Walter Frank, the goes on to say, have more than recovered workday, the 40 hour and five day week; development of the mans os Annerican Hennepin Co. trade union centrist, as an their pre war capacity, but the markets are for the abolition of the speed up; for work workers at the present te. The united experienced and dotermined politician overloaded with staple gods. Despite the or compensation at the cost of the employfront still remains one of the main iever handles another with less experience and improvement in the past few weeks, the ersund the government, to be administer by which the Communists will rully the littlo determination, and brought out the aggregate volume of manufacturing and ed by the workers committees and organ workers to its vanner.
most reactionary platform that has even trade is still running considerably below izatious; for the extension of larg scalo Our aim on May Day should be to been adopted by a gathering in Minnethat of the same date in 1929.
credits to the Soviet Union by the U, draw every worker into a common movesota. What should have been the center Bosses and Government Do Nothing government.
ment against capitalist rule and for specof a really stubborn fight in the convention For Jobless tfic demands. For the Communist Party to against the obvious manipulations of the The United States government, Presirefuse to enter into or develop a united machine fizzled out completely for lack of 20, 000 Rush Ford Plant for Work dent Hoover and state and local governfront movement for May Day is to limit proper direction and leadership.
mental agencies know full well the acute DETROIT Twenty thousand unemployed sharply the mobilization of the workers Under the chairmanship of the archness of the situation. But not one step do forces for that day. This course is wrong men gathered at the gates of Henry Ford reactionary Roister, with the secretaryship they take to appropriate sums of money to River Rouge plant were brutally disperseil narrow, sectarian and has the result to in the hands of the equally reactionary compensate the unemployed workers. by police who hurled gas bom! and divide, not to unite, the masses in a comStarkey, the Communists and Left wingers Every remedy is sought except the ones laid about them with clubs. Eyewitnesses mon fight against capitalism. May Day were denied any voice in the proceedings.
that will really aid the jobless worker. reported scores injured. Three of the jobdraws near, but there is still time for a The Left wing workers were unable to bave The willing lackey of the bosses, Wm. less were arrested.
broader movement. We call upon the their platform resolution even considered.
Green, president of the American Federofficial Communist Party to act according This resolution proposed a platform of poation of Labor, warns the Senate ComRumors spread throughout Detroit that ly. The Communist League (Opposition)
litieal demands coupled with trade union Ford would hire thousands of men At merce Committee that the alternative to at these conferences will work for a May demands for the closed shop, for a six hour m, crowds were in front of the Ford unemployment relief is revolution. This Day mobilization on the above basis.
day and a five day week, etc. and also prolabor faker fears the workers revolt that gates, pushing to the front in a long weary posed a complete re draft of the program vigil which they hoped would reward them will put him and his kind on to the scrapas well as a change in the structure of the with work the next morning. Monday mornDETROIT atternmakers of the Keto heap, and would like to stave off the inparty in order to abolish individual memtlewell Co, hate won a strike against waga evitable historic event.
ing they were told that the rumor was a reductions, bership and to base it upon the workers No responsible person or group holds fake. Hungry and desperate, the shivering movement.
thousands refused to leave the Rouge gates, out hopes for substantial change in the Left Wing To Continue Fight For future. The condition of mass unemployHundreds of police reserves were rush If the nunber on your wrapper is Fighting Workers Movement ment is of long standing. Yet Investigators, ed to the plant when the crowd grew angry The slickers who came in by the in Congress and other bodies are still taking at tha deception. The jobless stormed the dividual membership route together with the census of the unemployed and await steel fence protecting the plant, smashing the trade union bureaucrats, who controlled ing more data. Public works and conIt underfoot and assailed the employment ofthis convention, trampled upon the workers then your subscription to the Militant has struction are the byword of all, but they fice, breaking windows and hurling missiles, demands and actually, in the person of remain on the blue prints. None of these Mounted police rode ruthlessly through expired. Renew immediately in order to Starkey, openly insulted them, by crumpling capitalists or politicians whisper a word the ranks of the unemployed, beating with avoid missing any issues, the Left wing resolution before their faces. about the development of large scale ec their clubs and hurling gas bombs.
40 THE MILITANT, VOL III, No. 15, April 12, 1930 Published weekly by the Communist League of America (Opposition) at 26 Third Avenue, New York, SubGription rate: 00 per year; foreign 50. Five cents per copy. Bundle rates, centaper copy. Editorial Board: Martin Abern, James Cannon, Max Shachtman, MallIce Spector, Arne Swabeck. Entered as second class mail matter November 28, 1928, at the Post Office at New York, under the act of March 1879. Total No. 10.