SOCIALIST APPEAL JULY 30, 1938 AMERICA PERMANENT DEPRESSION Experts Baffled for Explanation. But New Millions Face Unemployment and Disemployment. Future of Hunger and Insecurity mental break down, concase and death, Compass George Sokolsky One More Chapter In a Venal History to boot?
rehensible and injurious to the labor movement.
SOCIALIST APPEAL Let the rank and file speak out clearly in denunVol. II No. 31 Saturday, July 30, 1988 ciation of it.
Published every week by the SOCIALIST APPEAL PUBLISHING ASS at 116 University Place, New York, NY Taxing the Poor Telephone: National Office: Algonquin 8547 subordinate official of the Treasury DeSubscriptions: 00 per year 00 for six partment jumped the gun a few months on plans months. Foreign: 50 per year. Bundle order to reduce income tax exemptions, and the De cents per copy. Single copies cents.
partment found it necessary last week to issue a All checks and money orders should be made out to the Socialist Appeal.
hasty disavowal. No one, however, should be so naive as to imagine that the last has been heard Entered as second class matter September 1, on this subject.
1987, at the post office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
It would not do, however, to have the issue By ART PREIS Two Factors Reveal Depths raised prominently during the primaries and the Historians of some future age, unearthing the Two factors distinguish the 1929. economic MAX SHACHTMAN writings of our current sooth sayers on the New decline from all previous depressions. One 18 congressional elections this autumn. Once the Deal depression, win undoubtedly publish their Editor the increasing mass disemployment. The other HAROLD ROBERTS FRANK GRAVES administration has its majority safely under its findings in some journal devoted to the study is the increasing regularity of periodic lay off Associate Editors belt, it can be returned to with greater calm and of mental diseases. The average expert. when suffered by almost every worker regardless of STANLEY less chance of effective opposition not blaming depressions on the misbehavior of his trade or industry. The unemployed of preBusiness Manager sun spots, usually attributes economic crises to vious depressions were largely re absorbed into The idea of reducing the income tax ex the mental state of the business class.
industry during the following upturns. Each emptions, for some years a favorite theme of the If the bottom drops out of the stock market, recovery period which succeeded former depresLaFollette brothers, is quite in keeping with the or increasing millions of unemployed haunt the the volume Horse Trading Politics taxation policy followed during the last session gutes of silent factories, the pundits of the press of production and brought forth new industries.
of Congress under the dictation of the big banks doubtedly, pessimism has characterized the state bark, Pessimism. and let the matter ride. Un Indeed, certain industries formerly weathered After having begged in vain for recognition the depression fairly well, and the workers in and Wall Street of mind of the average business man for the these industries considered themselves perby the Democratic Party, the leaders of the The general theory of the banks is, naturally, past twelve months. The economic guess alls American Labor Party in New York have anmanently secure. Until 1929, a railroad job was that the main incidence of taxation shall fall on have failed to show, however, whether this considered guaranteed life time security. But frame of mind is a cause or result of the present the present depression has made an exception nounced the consummation of a deal with the the workers and the lower middle classes. In decline.
of no industry. million railroad workers, for party of Landon and Hoover for contesting seats spite of the tariffs, the sales taxes, the various Third of Nation Distressed.
example, have lost their regular occupations durin the coming state legislative elections.
kinds of open and hidden taxes on consumers In a similarly enlightening fashion, these eco ing the past nine years.
goods, the rent raising real property taxes, all of nomic gospel pounders view the facts of chronic These burning facts must be seared into the The program for Brooklyn has already been which affect directly the living standards of the employed, who, with their dependents, represent mass unemployment America 15 million un consciousness of every American worker. Every worked out. It provides for nine Republican worker, in all Industries without exception, is Assembly candidates to be endorsed by the Labor masses and which together account for the great one third of our population, when not dismissed from now on threatened by the ravages of perlbulk of public income, the banks feel that the as lazy bums won work even they had odio lay offs; and increasing millions unemParty and eight Labor Party Assembly candidates squeeze is not yet being tightly enough applied. job, are considered at beat merely temporarily to be endorsed by the Republican Party. Similar ployed face the dismal future of permanent disunfortunate beings to whom some attention employment.
arrangements are already made for the endorse In the last Congress they drew the teeth from should be paid after the real tragedy of declinThis scene from Cleveland vividly depicts the plight of Workers Pay Price of Crisis ment of two state Senatorial candidates of each the undistributed profits tax, the taxes on per ing profits has been properly remedied.
The American working class is paying an the unemployed, facing starvation in a land of plenty.
party.
sonal corporations, and the methods of taxing Between June, 1935, and August, 1937, dates Incalculable price for these conditions in terms which roughly mark the life span of the New captial gains (all of which taxes affect primarily In Manhattan, the program calls for the enDeal Boomlet, unemployment was regarded of physical suffering, disordered family life, the wealthy. Simultaneously they began a de largely as an irritating, but not dangerous, skin dorsement of five Republican Assembly cantermined campaign for lowering the income tax blemish, which could be concealed under the the 2500 yearly income estimated by the didates and one Senatorial candidate by the Children Bureau aus necessary to provide the exemptions, in order, they said, to provide powder and rouge of mounting production and minimum comfort and decency level of living for Labor Party, and four Labor Assembly and two Senatorial candidates by the Republicans.
greater stability to the tax structure, help balance profit figures. It could be soothed, whenever it itched, by a Ught application of jobs a family of five with the 400 700 per year the budget, and equalize the burdens.
which the average worker earns. Then and starvation pensions for the helplessly aged.
remember that the workers, who repIt is hard to imagine a more wretched and The absurdity of these arguments is to be seen Unemployed Census Revealing It was with undoubted optimism that resent less than 20 percent of the unemployed, unprincipled piece of political horse trading than in the fact that the entire sum which could be undertook the nation wide census of unemploy.
are considered a relatively privileged group.
the one that the Labor Party leaders have so realized from the proposed lowering of the ment in June, 1987. Production was heading We can well understand why certain authorities Disclosure of methods by which floor of something that might beblandly announced.
have claimed that the unemployed as a group exemptions (estimated at from 50 to 70 mil. steadily for the pre depression peak of 1929.
the National Association of Ma come big, he made the aquaintsuffer five times as much from sickness and disBusiness men were staggering gaily from heady nufacturers and the big steel corance of Dr. Sun Yat sen, founder The Labor Party, in the face of this agreement, lions) is far less than the individual 50 highest draughts of fresh drawn profits. Everything was case is the rest of the population.
porations sought in 1936 to stir and leader of the Kuomintang.
continues to affirm that it is not only still a incomes in 1937. Here, as in general, in the aim Millions of workers find that the few comforts hunky dory, If only the Budget were balanced, hostility against the Committee of making the masses carry the burden of dep New Deal party, but indeed the only New taxes reduced, and the goddam relief racket and conveniences they manage to accumulate for Industrial Organization and Sells to Japan over years of hard work are snatched away durorganized ression and crisis, tax policy only supplements cut out.
Deal party in New York. We don think that labor generally, by ing even a few months of unemployment. Several years were to clapse, When the figures of the census were revealed means of planned propaganda however, before that party came the wage cuts and speedups at the point of proanything for a party carrying the name of Labor finally in November, 1937, America was already couple of Instalment payments missed, and autoduction campaigns, was made last week to power and as Sokolsky was, to be proud of, but let that be for the moment.
hurtling down an economic land slide at the mobiles. radios and washing machines are in Washington by the Senate and remains, salable to the highIn the same breath, the only New Deal party most precipitous pace in its history. What use promptly taken away Every day hundreds of Civil Liberties Committee.
homes, representing life times of sacrifice and est bidder, he soon discovered makes public a shameless horse trade for legis Lasser Resignation to bemoan the fact of 84 11 million unemployed scrimping, are foreclosed. Thousands of families revealed, develocations, it was that attachment to the cause of The boss during the peak of a boom, when six months lative seats with the most pronounced consertheir propa Japanese Imperialism paid more later at least five millions more had been piled are evicted to join the homeless hordes that to vative opponent of the New Deal.
The Socialist Party national office announces day aimlessly travel our highroads.
ganda drive against labor at a substantial dividends. He enlisted that David Lasser, president of the Workers on those figures and profits were melting away, time when the was push under the banner of the Rising Class Strength Sapped Ing its drive to organize workers Sun and became sociated wit In the days when Republicans and Democrats Alliance, has resigned from the party followFigures Give Vital Lesson If we permit these conditions to continue for in the steel and rubber Industhe Japanese subsidized Far endorsed a fusion candidate to oppose a ing the presentation of charges against him by But the American workers dare not forget any length of time, the resistance of the Ameri tries.
Eastern Review, edited by the socialist or working class candidate, there was at the party national secretary.
these figures. They reveal a fact that is truly can working class will be sepped. The unparal Bosses Finance Campaign late George Bronson Rea, who least some measure of principle taken into conominous. The figures of mass unemployment Jeled militancy displayed by the American workafter Japan seized Manchuria besideration: Unite to defeat the labor candidate!
With this resignation ends a symptomatic registered at the peak of Roosevelt prosperity ers during the past four years of bitter struggles One of the methods to create came an adviser to the Manchuand symbolic episode in the life of the Thomas prove conclusively. that despite temporary will be dulled. Hunger and disease. demorallae prejudice against the. was teutogovernment ntratary of party.
periods of comparative recovery, larger and the workers and drain their fighting spirits.
What principle is behind the present move?
the publication of a series of 75, 000 a year.
Like so many other petty bureaucrats, Las larger sections of workers are condemned to It is this possible demoralization, rather than prosperity dwells where harWhat program or platform does the Labor Party In 1925 27, when the star of any immediate suffering, which is most to be mony prevails advertisements, Chiang Kal shek and the Kuohave in general, or issue in this election, in com ser stayed with the Socialist Party so long as he permanent joblessness. disemployment. Increasing millions under capitalism are cut off feared by the workers. In both Germany and which were sent through the mintang was rising. Sokolsky, mon with the party of Hoover and Vandenberg? could make use of it for himself. In the Alliforever from productive labor in normal Italy, desperate and demoralized unemployed, country by South Bend adver because of his friendship with Only the principle of getting a few seats in ance, he carried out his own private policy, nomic pursuits.
susceptible to any demagogic appeal, and lacking tising firm. Testimony showed Sun Yat sen (then already dead)
regardless of whether or not it conformed This economically disenfranchised nation powerful organizations knit firmly to the trade that the the legislature of the state. And for the sake of advertisements were and the entree which this gave nation (larger, including dependents, unions, helped form the storm troop gangs of paid for by employers, although him to Kuomintang circles, diswith the decisions of the party. When milithis contemptible bargain, everything worthy of than the entire populations of such countries as the fascists which utterly destroyed the labor they were made to appear as covered he had value for the the dignity of the labor movement is trampled tant and left wing socialists complained against Spain, Canada or Mexico) is supplemented from movements in these countries. The American having originated with public North China Daily News, leading under foot.
Lasser and his policy, when they criticised him time to time by new millions of jobless workers, labor movement dares not permit our homeand civic or third party groups organ of British imperialism in for playing the dirty game of the Stalinists, who are periodically cast by each succeeding grown Hitlers so fruitful a field for exploitation The only possible justification for labor form such as women clubs, dental Shanghal. He was given a job on when they demanded that he follow a miliwave of depression upon the desolate shores of The dangers are too hideous to contemplate. groups, farm organizations and the editorial staff at a fancy ing its own party and giving its name and supour economic system. While some workers are garden societies.
salary.
port to such a party, however inadequate its protant, class struggle policy, Lasser easily crushed lucky enough as Individuals to be drawn back (This is the first of a series of articles on the prominent social worker of Early in 1927, when the Kuotheir opposition, because he always got pro into the economic currents by the receding nature of unemployment, its causes and how it Youngstown, Ohio, who 18 mintang government established gram or leadership, is as a step in the direction tection from the official party leadership. Las waves, other millions are left permanently can be remedied. The next article in the series leading figure in nearly every itself at Nanking with Chiang of independent working class action. The worker ser knew how to play this game to perfection, stranded, part of the rapidly accumulating will be The New Deal and the Unemployed, an health and social service activity Kal shek as military dictator, 80feels that just as he would not be in the same wreckage of labor and talents, of human lives analysis of how the Roosevelt administration has as others had done before him and as still in the vicinity, said he was glad kolsky secured himself wellunion with a boss, so he will not be in the same and aspirations which is mass disemployment dealt with the unemployed and unemployment others are doing right now in the to cooperate in the work be paid job as an advisor to the in America.
since 1985. Ed. cause he opposed outside 18 butcher of the Chinese masses.
party as a boss. He wants a party of his own, Lasser was a Thomas man, which meant bor leaders. Although paid for breaking from the dirty practices and the rewholly by employers and mer Employed by Kuomintang he was under Thomas wing and that he joined actionary policies and leadership of the old capchants, with a slight contribution italist parties.
in every vicious attack including expulsionsKnown in China by all his asfrom two civic groups, the wit sociates, Chinese and foreign, as against left wingers. In exchange, he obtained ness said it was decided to have a petty intriguer, Sokolsky was From the point of view of the labor masses, immunity for all sorts of rascality and oppor.
the advertisements published as interested only in espousing this is an entirely progressive movement. The tunism committed in the name of his party sponsored by neither industry causes that were financially proflabor bureaucrats, however, seek to prostitute Thomas, Tyler and Co. in turn, sought to covBy LEON TROTSKY nor labor.
itable to himself. His Kuominthis healthy movement to the basest and most er their own impotence by pointing proudly Sokolsky Revelations tang employers understood his conservative ends. And that is precisely what is character well, and they kept During the eighteen months of Rivera and myself on their own to Lasser as an example of the mass work we The most revealing evidence him on their payroll only so long being done by the bosses of the American Labor socialists are doing. Only, Lasser wasn work my stay in this hospitable coun initiative, conversed with me read into the record by the Le as they found him useful Party in their latest deal with the Republicans. ing for the party; the party was made to work number of dreadful conspiracles. and in particular about Follette Committee, concerned But with his venal reputation for him George Sokolsky, prominent and character, and his penchant Is it any wonder that these bosses do not even bother to consult the rank and file of the Labor Before the bureaucratic expulsion of the left few months back Mr. Tole them the same views which writer and lecturer, who was for intrigue, Sokoisky Anally bewing by Thomas, Tyler and Lasser, when there ings that was preparing a gen my books have expressed many times in Party and of the unions that make up its mem shown to have received 28, 599 came a source of embarrassment articles. In order from Hill and Knowlton, public to China new rulers and acbership and its strength? They are the ones who was still time to do something about it, the reveral strike against the govern to assure complete clarity of exrelations counsel for the steel cording to reports belleved true should have the final say on such a matter not olutionary socialists tried in vain to haul Lasser ment of General Cardenas. No position. gave them a written corporations, for speaking at by all who know him in China, before the party and compel him to give an more and no less!
statement. None of these teachafter it has been done but even before it is pro publicly sponsored meetings, the Kuomintang finally paid him between June, 1936, and Februas substantial sum to lenve the posed outside the ranks of the account of himself. The party bosses answered the leader of the Communisters, so far as know, considered ry, 1938. In addition, Sokolsky re country, with the understanding with thunder and lightning not against Las Party (his name, think. Is la or called himself Trotskyite. a mass ceived 3, 409 directly from the that he was never to return.
The workers in the ranks of the must ser but against the left wingers!
meeting in the presence of the In Jiquilpan, Guadalajara and National Association of Manufac Back in the United States, he react promptly and vigorously to the disgraceful Finally, when Lasser was through with the President of the republic that Morelia, am sorry to say, had ment containing in itself the red turers for expenses from May, built a reputation as a writer and lecturer and shortly thereand humiliating horse trade carried out by the for good, when he no longer needed it, was in a fascist conspiracy with of these places stopped for only also will be interpreted by my Sokolsky, who in his lecturing after, according to the LaFolparty bureaucracy. It must be repudiated, if the when he no longer bothered even to make be Generala Cedillo and. Viareal.
a few hours.
detractors as interference in the and writing activity always lette Committee evidence, movement for independent working class polit lieve that he was listening the national secInternal life of Mexico. But this endeavored to appear as an im came propagandist hack for ical action is to be a healthy and genuinely pro retary timidly filed his charges on May 24th. Messrs. Accusers cast aside his On the morrow each of the Plot In an Orphan Asylum trick will fool no one. gave a partial observer of the struggle the steel corporations gressive movement, Some two months later it announced obscurely own accusation like a cigarette In Guadalajara, the field of opment of this country, that is to emerges in the role of pala tool propaganda much more than definite obligation to the govern between capital and labor, thus the steel corporations spend on Labor is strong enough to stand on its own that Lasser had resigned from the party.
butt, forgot about it, and passed eration for my conspiracy was the Government of General Car of the big boss organizations. This they paid Sokolsky, whose refeet. More truly, it is only when labor stands Will the Thomasites draw any lessons from on to new Inventions.
the government palace, the unt denas and not to the government is quite consistent with his past numeration appears relatively inon its own feet that it is strong. Dependence on this instructive experience? Not on your tin The Conspiratorial Trip versity, and the orphan asylum, of Lombardo Toledano. No one career significant. Hill and Knowlton Friends was the curse of Gomperism in the type! They will go right on producing more where examined the frescoes of has informed me that the task Years ago, after having ac received for publicity sum of labor movement for years. The founding of the Lassers and Lashes and. resignations. For to Patzcuaro, Jiquilpan, Guada proached me asking for auto servation has been conferred something of a reputation as a and December, 1937, the evidence At present my vacation trips Orozco. Various people ap of keeping my behavior under ob quired in his high school days 248, 654 between August, 1988, as a vote collecting agency for Roosevelt their idea of party democracy boils down to lajara and Morelia is placed on graphs or simply to press my upon Mr. Toledano. never ob radical and being expelled from last week showed. This sum was and Lehman stultified and stunted the develop this: free reign to all opportunists and bureau the agenda. Now am no longer hand. Some of them asked jest ligated myself to keep silent on at least one educational institu subscribed by the Republe steel ment of the party from the beginning. The crats, but the gag and the boot for all accused of preparing general ingly, just as of the teachers in slanders, and slanderers. retain tion, Sokolsky went to China. Corporation, the Youngstown horse trade with the Republicans is no less rep revolutionists.
strike and a fasciat uprising but Patzcuaro: Aren you afraid to the right in my house as well as There, recognizing in the rising Sheet and Tube Company and the of. a trip through Mexico, approach counter revolutionist during trips to breathe the Mex Nationalist movement a chance American Iron and Steel Instistopping at hotels, and meeting and fascist? Almost invariably can air, to meet citizens of this to sell himself in on the ground tute.
Middletown Labor peared at the plant with shot. was reached. The discharged and conversing with Mexican received the answer, Not a single country, to enter into conversaguns, rifles, crude gas bombs, fireworkers were re instated and the citizens. Yes, have actually sensible person believes this. tion with them, to visit monuTeaches a Lesson crackers, etc. and started to dig was granted bargaining committed all these in. They dug holes in the ground rights for production workers. must add, comand, Needless to say, this answer gave ments of art and in such cases them me great moral satisfaction. as And it necessary, to brand (Continued from page 1)
and entrenched themselves The of L, bargained for the with great pleasure.
around the plant. Seeing that the die makers, machinists and metal On the part of the various So far as the conspiracy with openly and by name those demojunction even if he had to use workers really meant business polishers layers of population workers Dr. Ad is concerned, can only tionists, who oh shame, have machine guns. This threat was and were prepared to the best of In addition the injunction teachers, army men, artists, gov say that heard his name for the taken upon themselves the age FORWARD TO CIRCULATION OF met in a determined fashion by their ability, the company quick against picketing was withdrawn, ernment and municipal authori. Arste timen erom the human sikeres a signment to obtain by les ana the workers, and they decidedly agreed to meet that they must meet such threats with the union representatives. for 50, 000 against the tion and hospitality which in have the honor of knowing him. hands of the local. The company had charged general so brilliantly distinguish in similar language, Victorles for Strikers No Silence on Slanderers the union with damaging com the Mexicans. In Patzcuaro, a July 19, 1938 More than 200 strikers ap The following day a settlement pany property.
few teachers who visited Diego do not doubt that this state Coyoacan, within ON MY CONSPIRACY beBUILD THE SOCIALIST APPEAL!
10, 000!