FOR THE FOURTH WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!
INTERNATIONAL!
OFFICIAL WEEKLY ORGAN OF THE SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY Vol. II. No. 18.
Socialist Appeal May Day. Day of Struggle!
Saturday, April 30, 1938 Five Cents per Copy DOWN TOOLS!
Make May Day Labor Day!
709Harry Bridges Orders SWPSummons Union Smashing Drive Against Coast Sailors Workers For May Day Rally REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISM WAR and dilo Hom Nazi Shadow Deepens Over Czechoslovakia International May Day is the day when the working Whole Future of Maritime Unions At Stake On class mobilizes its ranks in demonstration and review, and outlines its course of action for the period ahead.
Clear Cut Issue of Collaboration Whoever seeks to convert May Day into an innocuous Or Class Struggle Policy ceremonial parade, is flying in the face of the best traRevolutionists Will Not dition and the spirit of the day.
The ruling class throughout the world is on the ofSAN FRANCISCO. As the carry this program out on the Attend Patriotic Show time for the termination for the West Coast. When the Of The Stalinists fensive. In its agony, the dying monster of capitalism present agreements between the threw picket lines around the is seeking desperately to outlive its time by eating its West Coast maritime workers Shepard Line Sea Thrush at NEW YORK. Refusing to and the shipowners draws near, Portland, Ore, and the Timber participate in the patriotic, warway through the very vitals of the masses.
a profound crisis is developing Rush at Seattle, Wash. Bridges mongering May Day parade orREACTION HITS LABOR within the ranks of the Maritime ordered the longshoremen at sanized by the Communist Party Federation of the Pacific Coast. these ports to smash the sailors and denied the possibility of The standard of living of the workers, never very This crisis which is at bottom lines.
a struggle between two irrecon Backed up by police armed a joint demonstration with the participating on equal terms in high, is being cut to the bone in one country after another. The natural resistance of the toilers is brutally cilable policies the program of with sawed off shotguns and Socialist intransigent class struggle as machine guns the Portland long Workers Party and its youth or Party. the Socialist suppressed by the guns and sabers and blackjacks of against class collaboration, has shoremen obeyed. In Seattle, ganization has been obliged to Fascism or military dictatorship in an increasing already broken out into a number however, the men organize its own independent cenumber of lands. In the countries of democracy as of bloody clashes.
in the countries of reaction, the real wages of the It will be resolved only with and it was not until Bridges lebration on May Day this year.
either complete destruction of rushed to this city and personal: bration will take the form of an workers are cut; their working conditions are worsenthe unity of the West Coast ly led the attack that he could indoor rally at Germania Hall, ed; advanced social legislation is revoked or rendered meaningless; the situation of the farmers and peasants triumph of the Stalinist policy crash the picket line. Three days 144 East 16th Street, on Sunday, continues to deteriorate; the political liberties of all of cooperation with the ship later, when the Sea Thrush speakers will be Max Shachtowners, or with the defeat of docked in San Francisco, Bridges man, editor of the Socialist the masses are curtailed where they are not abolished the Stalinist Bridges machine and again ordered his men through Appeal, Maurice Spector, editor outright, the establishment of a clear cut the lines of the and again of the New International and That is the real situation. And added to it is the everclass struggle policy built on with the backing of the police Ben Herman, district organizer present danger of a new imperialist war, more imrank and file control of all the succeeded in crashing through.
of the maritime unions.
Bogus Ruling minent now than before, in which the highly developWill Parade ed technique of capitalism is to be directed to exterBridges Order To justify these splitting acThis meeting will be preceded minating millions, young and old, to determine which Events of the past few weeks tions directed against fellow gang of international thieves shall dominate the world already foreshadow the struggle members of the Maritime Fede by a parade of members of the and draw tribute from it.
come. On March ration Bridges points to the Na and 22 Harry Bridges, West Const tional Labor Relations Board start from the headquarters of Capitalism in every country is in the death grip of FACS SM a crisis. The ruling class knows no way out of it, except International Longshoremen and bargaining rights to the the Lower East Side branch of to reduce the masses to an even lower level of existence, Warehousemen Union and ban who are running the Shepard the 159 Rivington or to wipe out whole sections of them on the battlener bearer for the Stalinist ships. This ruling was made Street, at pm. and march fields.
union smashing machine on the after balloting the Shepard Line from there to Germania Hall.
The decision to hold a separato West Coast, told a meeting of ships but without putting the CAPITALISM CRIPPLED NEW YORK the National Maritime Union in on the ballot or notify. May Day celebration was made New Orleans to pull the mem ing that union of the action des only after it becário clear that This is true even in the most powerful and wealthy MAY DAY bers of the Sailors Union of the pite the fact that the a genuine united front of workPacific off ships and replace has a contract with the Shepard ing class political parties and country of the world, the United States of America.
trade unions could not be arthem. The only thing to do is line calling for preferential RALLY The most productive machine in the world is crippled, stamp out these destructive ele. ing. The Labor Board has prac ranged.
although, if it were put to work, it could make possible Hitler Makes New Threats As Britain Pushes Its ments, he declared.
GERMANIA HALL tically admitted the weakness of The Communist Party has plenty and comfort for those millions who are unemployOn April 15 Bridges launched its position and its obvious col nade plans for a People FrontPlans to Strike Bargain With Nazis 144 East 16th Street ed and constantly on the brink of starvation. The ina personally conducted attack on lusion with the Shepard Line and Collective Security Patriotic demonstration and parade on Satcreasing ranks of the unemployed want work, demand Sunday, May 1, P. picket lines of the Sailors Union the Curran Bridges Stalinist of the Pacific in an effort to (Continued on puge Continued on page 4)
it, have a right to it, for without it the right to live is ing over Czechoslovakin. In the revisionist movement held a The Nazi shadow is deepen in Hungary the Nazi inspired. 000 persons at is interested in production only if profit can be accu pact into a four power arrange for the dismemberment of Czemulated. They produce only when there is a profitablement uniting England, Italy, choslovakia was openly espoused.
market. The masses the market of capitalism need Exence, and Germany, the Nazis Thus Hitler, employing the food, clothing, housing, roads, automobiles and a thous minary campaign for the dis have brought Central Europe and and one other necessities and comforts of life. But memberment of Czechoslovakia under the Fascist heel, is once the vast machine for producing them is not at work and the absorption of its poly more waving the big stick of May Day, the day of labor, on which the workers We greet the imprisoned Bolshevik Leninists in because it is not profitable.
000 Germans, into the orbit of led faces of the French and Bri of all lands and all races join in demonstrations to Greece, Bulgaria, Poland and the free city of Danzig, May Day, then, must be a reminder to the workers influence of the Nazi Reich. tish leaders precisely at a time renew their pledges of international solidarity and to and through them the workers in whose struggles they that the ruling class their ruthless enemy. will not. In an arrogant and menacing when they are seeking a means review their forces in preparation for new struggles Have fought!
and cannot bring them anything for their growing speech at Karlsbad, Konrad of curbing him by drawing him Henlein, fuehrer of the Germans into a western European pact.
for their social liberation, has always been used as a TO COMRADE TA TU THAU misery except greater misery and greater oppression. minority in Czechoslovakia, despecial occasion for remembrance of and greetings to May Day must be a reminder to the workers that manded virtual independence for Directed Aginst class war fighters and prisoners.
We greet our comrade Ta Tu thau, jailed in French they, and they alone, can solve their own problems, can the German citizens of the That this pact will be based The Socialist Workers Party, carrying forward this Indo China by the People Front government and now smash the capitalist offensive and the reaction, can country upon the central notion of giv tradition of the revolutionary movement in a period stricken with paralysis as a result of hunger strikes!
inaugurate a better life in a new society. The workers Embraces Nazi Leadershiping Hitler a free hand towards of darkest reaction, sends greetings to the fighters To the imprisoned and persecuted revolutionary the East, e. toward the have no friends but themselves! They can rely only on fighters in the victims of Stalin countertheir own strength, their own organization, their own He completely dropped the was bluntly admitted against capitalist exploitation and oppression wherever pretense, until now maintained, by Augur, unofficial spokesman they are imprisoned.
revolutionary regime, we likewise send our greetings party!
that the Sudeten Germans (the for the British foreign office, in and assure them of our solidarity!
Czechoslovak Germans) support a dispatch to the New York GREET TOM MOONEY!
To all other class war prisoners, wherever they hapWHERE ARE WE MARCHING? ed the idea of preserving the Times on April 25. This week pen to be, we send May Day greetings! We pledge ourstate of Czechoslovakia and were Premier Edouard Daladier and We greet Tom Mooney, America outstanding class Millions are marching on May Day. Where? In what not closely wedded to their Nazi Foreign Minister Georges Bonselves to remember them in our work and to strive war prisoner, held in jail for 22 years by the labordirection? With what leaders?
unceasingly for their liberation. The defeats suffered by the masses at the hand of der. Henlein openly embraced don to take their orders from hating reactionaries of California for the crime of To the working class we renew our pledge to fight reaction have been defeats produced by false leaders, the Nazi faith and openly ack. Neville Chamberlain concerning organizing the workers and leading them in struggle unwaveringly for the overthrow of the capitalist system by the Stalinist and Social Democratic parties, which nowledged his allegiance to the the rapid conclusion of a Franco against their exploiters!
which oppresses and exploits them!
Italian pact as a preliminary to We greet Fred Beal, Gastonia textile strike leader, dragged the workers off the road of militant class In Berlin Henlein speech was a settlement with Germany.
To the oppressed masses of the colonies and semiOne of the main issues upon now serving a 10 20 years sentence in a North Carolina struggle and on to the road of reliance on capitalism, promptly hailed as a last warncolonies to all those fighting for freedom against the ing to the Czechoslovak leaders.
the road to the abyss. Continued on page 3)
prison on a charge framed up against him by the rapacious imperialist powers we send May Day southern Bourbon bosses and their lynch gangs!
It is not true that the masses will not fight, fight We greet the Harlan County miners, railroaded to greetings, assurances of our unbounded sympathy and aggressively, fight with solidarity and determination solidarity with them in their struggles, a pledge to aid jail many years ago and still incarcerated in Kentucky to win. The workers have not lost faith in their victory.
them in every way possible!
dungeons for the crime of striking to improve their Their misleaders have!
conditions. SUPPORT THE NATIONAL STRUGGLES!
The workers of Spain give us an example of courage We greet all other class war prisoners in America! In particular, we greet the heroic Chinese masses, and heroism, now, just as the workers of Austria did Founded on the firm principles of international work battling against great odds to preserve themselves from four years ago. The masses of China are showing that After four days of intensive, the party relation to the grow.
discussion, the first quarterly ing movement for independent the hand of comradeship across land and sea to class ing class solidarity, the Socialist Workers Party extends victory is possible, even against a savage, militarily enslavement by the Japanese imperialists!
We greet the downtrodden people of India and Palesuperior foe like Japanese imperialism.
mittee of the Socialist Workers constituted one of the most im war prisoners in other lands.
stine, terrorized and oppressed by British imperialism!
They are showing that it is possible to win in the Party concluded its work with portant points on the agenda We greet, too, the oppressed masses of all the other struggle against reaction. Where they are flung back, the mapping out of a campaign Arrangements are being made TO THE FIGHTERS IN SPAIN British colonies! And all those trodden under foot in it is only because the poison of People Frontism is of activity in the trade unions for submitting full reports of the We greet the heroic class war fighters in Spain, and the political field calculated plenum work to the memberblinding and weakening them. The People Front is the colonies of France, Italy, Holland and Belgium!
to bring the party into the most ship of the party and the Young battlers against fascism, and in particular our Bolshe Last but not least we send fraternal May Day greetthe policy of support of murderous capitalism just be intimate contact with the prob. People Socialist League, and vik Leninist comrades and the Anarchist workers im ings to the exploited peoples of the Latin American cause it wears a democratic mask. It is the policy lems and the movement of the for a thoroughgoing discussion of prisoned in the jails of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia countries, victims of oppression and exploitation! We of support of imperialist war and capitalist govern American working class these reports.
ments, just because they pretend that it is a sacred war was concentrated mainly upon a our readers will be made fam.
The attention of the plenum in coming issues of the Appeal, by the capitalist government of the People Front and affirm our desire to enter into a firm alliance with them its Stalinist allies!
against our common enemy American imperialism, for democracy. Born out of defeats, it leads to de consideration of the unprecedent iliar with important material We greet the imprisoned Bolshevik Leninists of for the establishment of a Soviet United States of all feats.
ed social crisis in the United dealing with the work of the the Americas!
Germany, and through them the whole German workEnough of them! It is high time to turn the tide.
States and the concrete means plenum and the position of the ing class, victim of cruel reaction!
Against the black flag of advancing reaction we raise Not the People Front, which makes the masses motion against the bankrupt ca burning problems facing the We greet, too, the valiant proletariat of Italy, ground the red banner of the socialist revolution. Never shall (Continued on page 4)
pitalist regime. The question of American labor movement today. down under the iron heel of fascist dictatorship! it be furled!
an empty phrase. But capitalism and its government midst of preliminary negotiations moes meeting attended by 203 Our Greetings and our Tribute TO PRISONERS OF THE CLASS WAR Plenum Maps Out Future Party Activity