Elections in the Amalgamated: What For?
The Stalinists in the Hungarian Bureau Run Amuck conthe clothing workers has reached the climax. Too many grievances have accumulated. revolt in the is unavoidable. In this revolt, the cutters will play their part. They may be destined to strike The approaching annual elections in Cut By ALBERT ORLAND the coming elections in the Local. These the first blow.
ters Local of Amalgamated Clothing facts have not been unknown to the memWorkers of America have caused not a litIt is characteristic how the Advance of bers before, but the cynical and frank manelections, eliminating oppositions by means March reports this meeting. In its custle trouble to the local administration and of intimidation and electing his executive ner in which they were brought out by their tomary lying manner the bureaucrats also at the same time led to an outbreak board and staff in advance of the elections officials were too insulting and irritating not of indignation and protest by the cutters mouthpiece tries to convey the impression (which re a farce. The manager answers to provoke an outburst of indignation on to its readers that the entire membership against their chief official, manager Philip their part. Their patience has already been that the chairman has been an accomplice Orlofsky.
present at the meeting participated in the overtaxed and they are showing signs of voting and that the rank and file expressed in all of his acts in the union and therefore Elections have long been a serious proawakening and a readiness for struggle. their views in the discussion. At the same cannot shake off his guilt for them.
blem to the Tammany labor official. KnowThe struggle will be a hard one. But a beThe chairman makes a demagogic aping well that his rule is hated by the memtime the real question involved in the whole ginning will have to be made. The cutters affair, the question of the elections and the peal to the members for support. He swears bership, the local king, since his ascension have for a long time kept aloof from the maneuvers of the officials, is carefully covloyalty and devotion to the best traditions to power several years ago, has never taken struggles of the members against ered up. No mention, of course, is made of of the which are being trampled a chance in an election without first maktheir corrupt officials and their treacherous the protests of the membership and the disupon by Hillman and his hosts of conspiraing it safe for himself, to use the Wilsonpolicies. Now they are facing the effects turbance. The voice of the membership is tors. He claims to champion the memberian expression. Various methods have been of the worsened conditions in the clothing not very pleasant to the bureaucrats ears.
ship elementary rights to elect their own used for that purpose, from manipulating industry and must join the tailors in their officials against the manager autocratic It does not harmonize so well with the much votes to the more effective means of enfight to defend their common interests. The rule.
vaunted Amalgamated spirit of which tirely removing oppositions from the ballot.
cutters are beginning to realize this. The they prate in the columns of Advance In this manner the present manager of the The manager threatens to chain and cutters officials at the last meeting received Well, Advance is published not for the muzzle him until he submits to his will.
cutters local has succeeded in re electing a warning of the approaching storm the membership but for the outside himself to office year after year together Such are the facts laid bare before the organization. They will attempt to stave it world to broadcast the glory of the Amalwith his administration of dummies whom members of the cutters local at the meet off or stem it. But they cannot succeed. kamated leadership and to win medals for he carefully picks from among the most ing called by their officials on the eve of The misery and sufferings of the masses of Hillman. So why bother about it?
unscrupulous and basest elements in the local.
Aboutshing Elections At this time, however, of unprecedented unemployment and great discontent among It took somewhat more than three years the meanwhile the Active Press was liquid by the party leaders overnight. In order for Pepper, Lovestone, Gitlow and Wein ated by the party and there is no one to the membership, the safest thing for Orlofto reinforce this campaign carried on in the sky and his lieutenants is not to have any stone to turn the Hungarian Buro of the pay the balance. Furthermore the Active party organ, four organizers were sent on election at all and assure themeslves the party into a good Stalinist bureaucratic Press owes to the organization 2, 300 for the road to visit the branches throughout offices for another year, and things would machine. It was not an easy job. Com rent and moving expenses. Since the Ac the country to expose the great fascist confare fairly well with them. The former rades of long standing in the movement had tive Press was liquidated by the party this spiracy. Pressure was brought upon party opposition has, with the help of Hillman, to be removed and expelled, to be replaced amount also must be regarded as bad debt. members in various cities to send in corre been liquidated by a rapprochement with one by one with servile petty bourgeois ele2. The Daily Worker just now is makspondence expressing the unlimited its office seeking leaders who were placed ments of the declassed type, ready to serve ing a strong and justified attack upon the fidence of the workers in the party leaders.
in soft Jobs a long time prior to the elec any master. Yes, it was a hard job but Russky Golos for publishing an ad of some The number of party members not being tions. The administration will even be it was done and for a number of years swindling real estate venture. The Uj Elore very impressive, letetrs were published in able to pretend that it is very much con this petty bourgeois apparatus has been did something just as bad or worse. It ran Uj Elore allegedly written by members and cerned about economy, and would rather sitting in the sadle firmly and serenely, not the ads of a swindling stock scheme of workers with signatures of a member and divert the money which an election entails only in the Hungarian Buro but in the Partos, the head of the Cornell Drug Stores. a worker into the relief fund for the unemployed. auxiliary organizations as well. They are Although some of the bourgeois papers exrather running amuck in consequence of But and here is where the trouble In some cases the attacks made on posed the swindling operations of Partos comes in there is a mischievous child in some events which came like a bolt from and warned the Hungarian workers to besome members of the investigation comthe house, and a member of the family at the blue sky, or, to put it in a more prosaic mittees have some justification. Two or ware of this faker, thousands of workers way, from the Hungarian Sick Benefit and that. The present chairman of the local, a three inembers of these committees had for bought the worthless stocks because of the Educational Federation, the only Hungarian staunch supporter and trusted accomplice of years a very strong anti Communist attiads they read in the Uj Elore. This fellow Ph. Orlofsky in all his machinations, is mass organization under party control.
tude, not so much on a theoretical basis but paid for the ads with notes and after procdetermined at this time to advance himself Charges of Corruption rather because of dissatisfaction wtih the keting hundreds of thousands of dollars, way the affairs of the organizations were to a paid oflice in the organization. This organization is the mainstay of the ran his corporation into bankruptcy. The And lo and behold! This mischievous handled by the party. But the overwhelmUj Elore, the party Hungarian daily. With notes which the Uj Elore held for the amboy has proved to be a real rebel. He its nearly five thousand members it is a ount of 1, 800 became worthless. But this ing majority of the opposition has always refuses to budge for any consideration. heen composed of sincere and loyal suprecruiting ground for the party. It gives matter did not cause headaches for the way must be found to remove him from the porters of the party. They are known as valuable support to the various party cam Hungarian Buro. It turned over these ballot. He must, in addition to that, receive paigns.
such by the masses of the workers. By It is considerable financial worthless notes to the Sick Benefit and his due punishment for defying his chiefbranding them as fascists the party leaders source for the party. Looking over its fin Educational Federation for cash.
tain. The integrity and wisdom of the adhope to turn them against the party, to ancial report for the year of 1930, we find The investigation committees found ministration on the other hand, must be make them anti Communists and then to the following items in the expenditures in the safe of the organization bad checks demonstrated before the membership.
have their charges dismissed on the ground For the official organ (Uj Elore) 626. 78 to the amount of 2, 333, issued by the Ac that these charges, coming from a counterA membership meeting of the local was for educational and organizational purposes called to consider a recommendation by the tive Press and the Uj Elore.
revolutionary camp, are not worthy of consi 643. 88 for defense 509. 72. The sum They found in the safe a note signExecutive Board to disqualify the candidacy deration.
first mentioned went directly to Uj Elore, ed by Louis Koress, a party leader, indorsed of the present Local chairman for Business the second amount was spent by organizers So far they have failed.
by Gustave Mayer, another party leader, The action Agent at the coming elections on the ground appointed by the Hungarian Buro, the third for the amount of one hundred dollars. The taken by the committees is anything but that he has been engaged in selling insurwent to the In various ways more note was payable anti Communist. They made their report ance policies. Simultaneously, the month of March, recomthan ten per cent of the total income was last year. They found a bad check cashed and recommendations to the branches. They mendation has also been brought to bar all placed at the disposal of the party. Out for Hugo Gellert in the month of April, demand the removal of the guilty party leadthose engaged in sidelines while belonging of almost five thousand members not more last year. They found other notes for var.
They reject any tendency to withraw to the union from seeking office for a period than half a dozen used to protest once in ious sums given to party members.
support from the party or to overthrow the of two years.
a while against this support given to the party control. They insist that rank and The membership that crowded the large party some non working class, reactionary For several years there was a growfile party members should be elected to the meeting room watched the performance of ing demand for the replacement of the asmembers, insignificant in numbers and de National Executive Committee and that the verbal encounter between the corupt of void of any influence. The organization was sessment system with the more sound rate party control should be ideological rather ficals on the patform ike a crowd watches system. This proposition was rejected by called a milch cow for the party by all the than mechanical. They demand workers a sporting game without being concerned reactionary newspapers as well as by the the Hungarian Buro as anti proletarian.
democracy in the organization. In the face about the outcome, as though they were not W. and the The proposition is now given up by the Buro, In the face of of all the provocation they declare that directly olved. They have become so acatta reproaches from these sides, but the party leaders made an agreement they are going to carry on the struggle withcustomed to such performances that these with a Philadelphia lawyer who for the the organization took the correct and proud in the bounds of the organization not for consideration of three thousand dollars unhardly produce any moral effect on them.
position of support to the leading, revoluthe dissolution of the relation between the They have long convinced themselves of the dertook to secure permission from the Intionary party of the working class as the organization and the party but for the corruptness and treachery of their officials surance Department of the State of Pennsy.
elementary duty of a labor organization climination of corruption.
lvania to let the Pennsylvania branches reand therefore show indifference on such ocworthy of the name.
casions.
On the other hand it must be admitted tain the unsound assessment system till If the opposition sticks to this line, However, as the fight between their that such a correct position should not be it will deserve support.
manager and chairman progressed, the mutaken by the party leaders as a license for There were other instances of misuse Beware of Dangers!
tual attacks and accusations, as well as mismanagement of the organization, for misof funds and mismanagement found by cynical utterances, revealed facts of corrupuse of its fund for corruption in general. the investigation committees of the two The appearance of any opposition withtion and treachery that caused a spontan.
And this is what the party leadership stands braches. The Astoria committee submitted in the movement is taken by all anti Comeous outbreak of uncontrollable protest accused of even by such members of the its report to the National Executive Com munist elements as a signal for a concerted from the ranks that almost turned into a organization who for many years have been mittee of the organization. The party lead attack upon the party. upon Communism.
riot. With great difficulty order was estab staunch supporters of the party.
ers denied the charges at the meeting, but These elements will try to attach themselves Hished after general commotion. But the Here are the facts: something unexpected happened. The two to oppositions in the Communist movement.
meeting ended in a victory for Orlofsky.
Some time ago a hint was given to memnational auditors took the floor and made An opposition, no matter how justified, will Rank Corruption bers of the Astoria branch by Friedenfeld, a statement to the effect that every charge degenerate if it does not reject such apWhat were the facts brought out at the was true, they know of these cases of mis pronches in a clear cut, decisive manner.
a party member, president of National Exmeeting? The following: ecutive Committee, to the effect that somemanagement and corruption, they kept sil The opposition in the Hungarian Sick Beneent about them under the pressure of the thing is rotten in Denmark. an investifit and Educational Federation has failed The manager accused the chairman of striving to advance his insurance business gation of the books of the to do this. This is a dangerous failure and party leaders, but they refuse to shoulder organization would be in order, and so on.
the responsibility for such mismanagement.
The branch through the medium of a union office (there if not corrected at once, will lead to its degeneration. Anti Communist As a protest against it they tendered their elements are strong rumors prevalent that the mana took the hint and appointed an investigager himself is engaged in a big business. tion committee, to go over the books of the resignation. One of these auditors, Pisko will offer help. It must be repudiated. The namely, in the manufacture of canvas for national organization, such procedure bethy, was a party member for a long time, has taken up this fight and offers the clothing trade.
ing the constitutional right of any branch.
left the party just recently, but remained a remedy: to fight against corrupt leaderThe chalrman stated that in 1929, in the Independently of the Astoria branch, a simia supporter of the Buro up to the time ship replace the Marxian Leninist theory year previous to his election to the office of lar committee was elected by the New York of these exposures.
with syndicalist notions. The opposition chairman, he sold insurance to the value of (Yorkville) branch. Both committees found must disassociate itself from such elements Supporters Turned into Fascists Overnight 385, 000 and that in the year 1930, while and reported the following cases of mis The party eaders took action at once. in an unmistakable manner. Failure to do this means disaster for it and tbe strengchairman of the union, he sacrificed his management and misuse of funds: Day after day articles were published in thening of the very bureaucracy against business and is ready to give it up entirely The Active Press, a party institu Uj Elore about a great fascist conspiracy and devote his entire energy to the union. tion, got a loan of six thousand dollars whose corruption it began the fight.
Party members against the organization. He did not, however, say to whom he sold from the Sick Benefit and Educational Fed and ardent supporters of the party for There is another shortcoming of this his insurance. The manager proudly deeration.
This loan was given for three many years, who dared to raise their voices opposition. It is its failure to understand clares that he fears no opposition since he years in 1927. In three years 1, 100 was against the corrupt acts of the party leaders the basic reasons for the situation. We knows how to deal with oppositions. paid, at present the notes for the balance were branded as fascists and the allies of shall take up this question in our next arThe chairman accuses him of stealing are in the safe of the organization, but in fascists. They were turned into fascists ticle EL ers 1932.