4 SOCIALIST APPEAL DECEMBER 14, 1940 SOCIALIST APPE AL VOL. IV No. 50 Saturday, December 14, 1940 PubMehed Veebly by the SOCIALIST APPEAL PUBLISHING ASSN.
at 116 University Place, New York, NY.
Telephone: Algonquin 8547 Juicy War Contracts Just Ooze Fat Profits NOTEBOOK Of an Agitator Editorial Board: FELIX MORROW ALBERT GOLDMAN General Manager: RUTH JEFFREY Reporter Gets a Peek at Some of the Contracts They Give Away Everything Except the White House Linen Subscriptions: 00 per year 00 for six months Foreign. 00 per year. 50 for six months. Bundlo orders: cents per copy in the United States: cents per copy in all foreign countries. Single coples: conto Reentered as second class matter December 2009 or the post omegt New York, Act of March. under the FIGHT WITH THE SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY of the African Standard, for having published an article protesting Johnson arrest. These and many similar arrests are made under the Colonial Defense Regulations, which give the British governors the right to imprison any native whose conduct is considered likely to prejudice the successful prosecution of the war.
Not only troops, but useful naval vessels, are kept in Palestine, to carefully patrol the coast in order to catch and deport the desperate Jewish refugees who are trying to enter the country illegally. illegally, because by British edict practically none may enter legally. brilliant alibi for Britain treatment of its subject peoples was recently conceived by an editor of the New Leader, the organ of the all aid forBritain including war Social Democratic Federation. He printed a picture of Nehru and in the caption underneath triumphantly explained that if Nehru were in German held territory instead of in British held territory, Nehru would have been shot.
For once we find ourselves in agreement with the New Leader. We accept the distinction that it makes between German fascism and British democracy. In Germany, fighters for freedom are shot: in the British Empire, fighters for freedom are imprisoned for four years at hard labor. That is what the distinction between fascism and democracy amounts to From this distinction the New Leader draws the conclusion: therefore let us support the British ruling class in its war against the German ruling class. Let us, this means, become the adherents of four years at hard labor against death sentences.
Whoever draws such a conclusion has the soul of a slave or the heart of a traitor to the working class.
Down with those who sentence to death our brothers, the workers of Germany! And down with those who send to prison or concentration camps our brothers, the workers and toiling peoples of the British Empire! We ally ourselves neither with the hangman nor the prison keeper! Our only allies are the workers and the oppressed peoples of every country!
ON THE WAR FRONT: For: Military training of workers, financed by the gov.
ernment, under control of the trade unions, The establishment of special officers training camps, financed by the government and controlled by the trade unions, to train workers to become officers. Confiscation of all war profits all company books to be open for trade union inspection. Expropriation of all war industries and their operation under workers control, Trade union wages for all workers drafted into the army. Full equality for Negroes in the armed forcesDown with Jim Crowism. An end to secret diplomacy. peoples referendum on any and all wars.
By DON DORE Any reasonable costs aris. tract, the laws may be amended Perhaps you haven noticed it, ing by reason of or in connection so as to provide for additional but practically nothing appears with labor shortage or labor dis allowable items of costs, such adin the press giving any of the putes. This means, in effect sub ditional items shall be considered actual terms of the war mater. Sidization of the corporations by allowable items hereunder.
ials contracts which the govern the government during strikes, But that not all. Still another ment has been handing out to including costs of strike breakers clause provides that at any time Big Business.
and company police, hiring fees during the manufacturing of There is good reason for such of professional scabs, etc. planes under the contract, the silence. Were the general public State and local taxes in manufacturer may re open negoto learn of the contents of these cluding franchises and other tiations for re determining costs contracts, there would be an end taxes, levied on the right to do on the basis of the experience te the myth about taking the business. Workers will continue then available, or on the basis profits out of war.
to pay taxes out of their incomes, of other pertinent knowledge or We have seen only one article but the bosses will be permitted information, and the new fixed in the press giving some of the toplough all taxes including price per unit which the gov.
terms of a few of these contracts. excess profits taxes back intcrnment will pay shall apply not It was written by Frank Ryhlick, costs, and realize to 12 per only to units there after to be in the New York Post, Nov. 19. cent profit on their taxes.
for the purpose of showing the Reasonable costs of service tofore delivered, for which propaverage businessman that Roose ing and maintaining corporate er adjustment shall be made.
velt was all right for business. structure, including taxes and exfor Ryhlick never wrote any foil penses on the transfer of capital plains, is not peculiar to the stock. The bosses will have a Douglas contract. It appears as a low up articles on the subject!
of the contracts in general of eosts can accrue from the Curtiss Wright Corp. Sept.
pienie on this one! multitude special provision in an 112 707, 657 contract awarded the Rhylick declares: The contracts, expenses of stock manipulaand they were described as typi tions and the servieing and The Post tips the mitt on the call of their kind by a War Dept. maintaining of interlocking di real significance of these comemployee, contain none of the rectorates and holding compan tracts by admitting The War profiteering crudities that charies!
acterized many contracts of the Such other costs as should officials are fully aware that the World War era. But they show indisputably that business is dein the opinion of the contracting customary fee of percent on a manding and getting handsome officers, be included in the costs cost plus fixed fee contract is no of airplanes. Such other costsindication of the company real terms.
an unrestricted blanket coverage profit. The term fixed fee has. The War Dept. aided by long caused chuckles among lobof any item which the contractor formal Treasury Dept. decrees, wishes to include might mean a byists, and army and navy heads has been open handed in approv. new corporation yacht, six phrase in private, but this is the are always frank to wink at the ing the items a contractor may months in Florida for all the major fact of life in Washingcharge to cost. Some of the vice presidents, etc. And it will, contractual provisions seem al it will!
ton.
most an invitation to pad the exA 33, 500, 000 lump sum tank pense accounts.
GOOD OLD UNCLE contract awarded the Chrysler Some of these Invitations, ANYTHING GOES!
Motor Corporation is even more quoted directly from terms of The proviso adds, just in case wide open than the Douglas or a 19, 084, 136 contract awarded the war profiteers might overlook Curtiss contracts. It does not the Douglas Aircraft Corp. on a few crumbs in the public treas even attempt to stipulate the Sept. 12, include the following ary: In the event that, prior to concern margin of profit. Anyitems chargeable to cost. final settlement under this con thing goes!
AT HOME: For: job and decent living for every worker. Thirty thirty 30 weekly minimum wage 30 hour weekly maximum for all workers on all jobs. 30 weekly old age and disability pension. Full social, political and economic equality for the Negro people. Workers Defense Guards against vigilante and fascist attacks. twenty billion dollar Federal public works and housing program to provide jobs for the unemployed. Expropriate the Sixty Families. An Independent Labor Party based on the Trade Unions. Workers and Farmers Government.
Camacho Takes Office And Turns To The Right British Équality Correction While the Army authorities have not appeared anxious to call the matter to our attention, we hasten to correct a serious error of fact in our last week editorial, The Draftees Health.
We stated last week that among the first batches of draftees called for medical examination, from 15 to 25 per cent had been rejected as physically unfit. This is absolutely untrue and we hasten to correct the wrong impression conveyed by these inaccurate figures.
The correct figures included. 1) From 15 to 25 per cent of the draftees were rejected as physically unfit by the Army doctors at the induction centers. 2) Prior to that, in the medical examinations made by the draft board doctors, nearly 60 were rejected as physically unfit. The 15 to 25 per cent found unfit by the Army doctors were found in a body of men who remained after 60 of the original body of draftees had been weeded out.
That means that, out of a hundred men called up by the draft boards as eligible for Army service, only from 25 to 35 were found physically fit!
The real picture of the physical havoc wrought by eleven years of capitalist depression is, therefore, three times as gruesome as we had painted it last week.
For the conditions which have bred this disease and physical degeneration among the masses, the Army has now found a solution. slight trend toward greater lenity on the part of Army doctors conducting final physical examinations of draft inductees was apparent today, the November 29 New York Post reports. In other words, the Army solution is to lower the health standards of the Army!
It reminds us of Jonathan Swift savage satire on Britain mistreatment of Ireland. Swift suggested that in order to take the Irish children out of their misery they should be eaten.
Finland and Greece Public opinion that melange of sentiments and moods which are set in motion by bourgeois pressure and propaganda is reacting rather calmly to the Italian attack on Greece. year ago this same public opinion was all in a lather over Finland, then under attack by the Soviet benr. Why is there no hue and cry for Greece? Isn poor little Greece as noble as poor little Finland, and isn Mussolini just as big a bullying scoundrel as Stalin? Evidently there is something different somewhere.
In many respects, the Italo Greek war appears to be a duplicate of the Soviet invasion of Finland; the points of resemblance strike the eye. In cach case a strong military power attacked a smaller and weak er opponent. The Soviet invasion of last year appeared to be poorly prepared. The victim of aggression fought back and scored initial victories. The press dispatches pictured David putting Goliath to rout while thousands cheered. So today, in the modern war of the Greeks and the Romans. The first at tacks are repelled and followed by what appear to be successful counter attacks which push the invader back in retreat.
Neverthless, the sheer military preponderance of Italy over Greece would seem to assure eventual vies tory unless powerful new forces are brought to play in favor of Greece. Why, then, is the far flung antiSoviet mob of last year not in action? Why are they resting in their dug outs with such maddening nonchalance while the armies of Mussolini and Metaxas fight it out? Where are the sermons thundering from the pulpit? Where is the Hoover Fund Raising Com mittee? Where are the special theatrical benefits for the victim of aggression? Where are the trade union relief committees?
The sympathy of the American ruling class is indubitably on the side of Greece, since Greece is an ally of Britain, and thereby also of the United States, in the developing and expanding world struggle of the rival imperialist powers. But this sympathy is lukewarm and restrained. There is no drum beating campaign, we see no hysteria, no unbridled fury, such as that which swelled in a mighty tide against the Soviet Union during the Soviet Finnish war.
Is this because the rulers and makers of public opinion perceive a fundamental difference between the regime in Greece and that of Finland. Not at all.
The bloody work of exterminating the flower of the proletariat, which was carried through to completion under Mannerheim in Finland, and on the basis of which Finnish democracy was stabilized, is still in process in Greece under the dictatorship of Metaxas.
But this is a factor of secondary importance which does not even interest the class rulers, to say nothing of determining their policy.
The difference from their point of view is the difference between the class nature of the Soviet Union and fascist Italy. victory of fascist Italy over Greece, would be a military episode in a drawn out world war. The masters of America, because of the international alignment, have an interest in preventing such a victory. But they do not permit themselves to get unduly excited about the prospect. The military domination of Greece by fascist Italy would not change anything fundamentally in the class structure of the latter. It would not spread the infection of expropriation and nationalization which the masters of property fear and dread above everything else.
The difference which the ruling bourgeoisie per.
ceives, and which motivates their instinctive reaction, is the fundamental difference between the property relations in the Soviet Union and those of fascist Italy. They do not delude themselves for one moment by a vulgar identification of the two countries ber cause of the superficial similarity in the political regimes. They know the difference between a fascist regime which reinforces the rule of private property and a soviet regime which signifies its annihilation, and they have great respect for this difference. The preservation of the system of private property is the one thing that really concerns thom.
It was the threat to private property, implicit in a Soviet victory over bourgeois Finland, which dotermined the unrestrained violence of the bourgeois anti Soviet campaign during the Soviet Finnish war.
They gave the workers an instructive lesson in class politics! The motivation of the bourgeoisie in this case was graphically summarized in the Manifesto of the Fourth International on The Imperialist War and the Proletarian Revolution, adopted by the emergency conference of the Fourth International last Spring. This Manifesto, the last great programmatic document written by Comrade Trotsky, says. Extremely cloquent in its unanimity and fury was the campaign which the world bourgeoisie launched over the Soviet Finnish war. Neither the perfidy nor the violence of the Kremlin prior to this had arcused the indignation of the bourgeoisie, for the entire history of world politics is written in per fidy and violence. Their fear and indignation arose over the prospect of a social overturn in Finland upon the pattern of the one engendered by the Red Army in Eastern Poland. What was involved was a fresh threat to capitalist property. The anti Soviet campaign, which had a class character through and through, disclosed once again that the USSR by vir.
tue of the social foundations laid down by the October revolution, upon which the existence of the bureaucracy itself is dependent in the last analysis, still remains a workers state, terrifying to the bourgeoisie of the whole world. Episodie agreements between the bourgeoisie and the USSR do not alter the fact that taken on the historic scale the contradiction between world imperialism and the Soviet Union is infinitely more profound than the antagonisms which set the individual capitalist countries in opposition to each other. War and the Fourth International)
From a class point of view, the bourgeoisie were absolutely right in the position they took on the Soviet Finnish war. So were we right from the point of view of the fundamental class interests of the proletariat, in firmly maintaining our defense of the Soviet Union in spite of the enormous pressure of bourgeois public opinion, which even found expression at that time in our own ranks. Contemptible was the faction of Burnham and Shachtman which attacked our program in synchronism with the bourgeois antiSoviet campaign. Pathetic must be the fate of the faction whose independent existence stems from that shameful capitulation.
democracy in England, the socialist acts of the Industrial Explosions The capitalist press devotes much of its space to describing the punishment being dealt out by the British authorities to the German and Italian forces; we permit ourselves to call attention to a few scarcely noticed items concerning punishments dealt out by the British authorities to people who are not fascists.
Within Britain itself, we limit ourselves to just one small item, published by the Chicago Tribune under the misleading heading, London Severe With Looters. We quote verbatim. LONDON, Nov. 18 The unprecedented severity with which authorities are meting out punishment for looting from demolished houses and shops was illustrated today when a London police court sentenced Mrs. Doreen Jones, 42 years old, mother of ten childzen, to three months in jail for receiving 29 cents worth of coal stolen by a ten year old boy. Mrs. Florence Pedder, also 42, received the same sentence for getting 40 cents worth of coal under similar circumstances.
The numerous stories in the press about the social transformation and the growth of real government, etc. etc. are shown up as just so much lying war propaganda by this little item. Equality of all in capitalist England today is the same old equality of which Anatole France wrote: the majestic equality of the law which forbids rich and poor alike to steal bread. Rich and poor alike are sent to jail for stealing 29 cents worth of coal.
To enforce the majestic equality of such laws, many British policemen and troops are kept in England who might otherwise be added to the armed forces fighting Germany and Italy. Such is the love for law felt by the British authorities that they restrain their impulse to send these police and troops against the fascists and keep them at home to punish Mrs. Doreen Jones, 42 years old, mother of ten children and all other lawbreakers like her.
Other large bodies of British troops have their backs turned to Hitler and Mussolini in order to mete out punishment to lawbreakers in India. Punishment such as the sentence to four years at hard labor, meted out to Pandit Nehru, a leader of the All India Congress, for daring to say publicly that India has been dragged into the war without the consent of the people of India. The arrest of Nehru has been followed by a wave of mass arrests for the same crime.
Still other British troops cannot go to fight Hitler because they must enforce the majestic equality of the law in Britain colonies. The Negro newspaper, the Pittsburgh Courier, reports the imprisonment in a concentration camp of Wallace Johnson, secretary of the Sierra Leone Trade Union Congress; and the sending to prison of Boyle and George Thomas, publisher and editor By WALTER ROURKE nor the Communists would colla rested insist that the Major was MEXICO CITY, Dec. The borate. It must be remembered shot from outside. There are past week has seen the last of that Camacho was clected only theories that this raid is the prethe Cardenas Governinent and the thanks to the support of these lude to the complete outlawing of first signs of the new Camacho people.
the Government in Mexico. Henry Wal Shortly afterward it was an In the light of these few haplace arrived to attend the Inau nounced that Toledano would re penings it is possible to see why guration of Camacho. General Al. tire from the General Secretary. there are some misgivings as to mazan returned to liquidate the ship of the at the next Con the future course of the Camacho movement which supported him gress which will be held in Feb government. Yet Toledano affirmand which continued to the last ruary. This report was confirmed cd that. no conservative minute to believe his repeated this week by Toledano himself in force either from within or with promises that he would take pow. his speech to the 15th session of out will be able to do anything er in the National Palace today. the National Committee of the against the regime of General Av.
The visit of Wallace has been He assures his listeners ila Camacho. He calls upon the given a flowery reception by all that he will continue to be a working class movement to give of the daily press, from the most soldier of the proletariat in what the same support to Camacho that reactionary to Toledano Elever country of the world may it has given to Cardenas. TolePOPULAR. They all interpret the find myself. Yes, Lombardo is dano aids Camacho with the same visit as a proof of the continua going to take a trip: it is said servility with which he aided the tion of Roosevelt Good Neight that he will be active in the Cen Stalinists in doing away with for policy.
tral and South American trade Comrade Trotsky Such a reception by EL POPO union movement outside of Mex We can be confident that SpeLAR is more repulsive since it is ico.
cial Ambassador Wallace will not a trade union paper official or The inauguration ceremonies of place any obstacles in the way of gan of the Confederation the new president have been her Camacho dealing summarily of Mexican Workers. EL POPU. alded by a demonstration in front with any of the firth columnists LAR, under the control of the of the American Embassy and a who object to the United States collaborator of the Stalinists, raid on the Communist headquar. non intervention intervention in Toledano, was always especially ters and the Almazan headquar affairs of Central and So. Amer.
diligent in discovering that the ters. The demonstrators at the ica. Garrisonod airdrones and Yankee imperialists and reaction Embassy all claimed to be Alma naval bases located strategically aries are active in Mexico through anistas with surprising unan throughout the Americas will such agents as Leon Trotsky and imity: a leaflet they distributed serve to defend the interests of other enemies of the Stalinist Inbogan Remember Texas. Indi Uncle Sam against the competi ternational. It referred to Comcations are that this was organ tors from without the western rade Trotsky several times as an ined by the Nazis and not by the hemispbere and against the future agent of the Dies Committee.
Almazanistas.
protesting peoples from within.
But with Henry Wallace the The raid on the Communist Wallace Good Neighbor slutte story is quite different although Party headquarters has been re and Camacho democratic ideas in an editorial that. the ex. The facts are however that some American parallel to the North propriated oil properties, Ameri members of the army or of the American singoist reaction.
can owned lands and American police force attacked the head.
railway investments (are mention quarters. There was a brief ed) as rumored subjects of conakirnish and several shots were versations to be held between Mr.
fired result.
Wallace and Mexican officials. and an army Major was killed.
several wounded Request Photos El Popular begs to differ. Pres. He was neither fascist nor an Of Leon Trotsky ident Roosevelt has given one Almazanista but Camachista.
more proof of his loyalty and res. Communist party members ar.
To all Comrades, Friends, and Sympathizers: pect for the principle of non intervention, consecrated in America, The Party has set up a Film Commission headed by Johr and has made patent at the same Wright to gather together time his proposition to continue Boro Park for preservation every pos.
his policy of Good Neighbor.
MASS MEETING sible serap of photographic CAMACHO RIGHT TURN record concerning the life of Such a stupid and servile state 15 Months of Leon Trotsky. We carnestly ment is not so surprising as it request everyone who has TOTAL WAR!
would scem, when the recent taken pictures of Comrade trend of Camacho is considered. WHAT NEXT? Trotsky during any period of Soon after being clected Camhis life to send them to us for acho stated in an interview that Hear duplication and preservation.
he was a Catholic and that furthJOSEP! HANSEN The originals will be carefully crmore he was not a socialist.
Former Secretary to handled and returned to cach but rathor a democrat. These are Leon Trotsky sender, immediately after dup.
unprecedented statements for a lieation.
Mexican president to make since MURRAY WEISS The Party will appre.
the revolution. The church was al Organizer, Local ciate the cooperation every.
ways left out of the picture and FRIDAY DEC. 20 P.
every Mexican politician claimed one in this task. Please sene all material direct to: to be a socialist. In the same 3623. 5th Ave.
John Wright Interview Camacho said that he Brooklyn, NY 116 University Place was sure that Cardenas did not Adm. 150 Door Prize New York, NY wish to participate in his government and that neither Toledano Most of the newspapers which blazoned in front page headlines the strike breaking red scare statements of Attorney General Jackson against the Vultee Aircraft strikers did not carry a line of his statement of December in which he warned against attributing the epidemic of industrial explosions to sabotage.
Jackson statement was: Industry is engaged in a great and sudden speedup which results in accidents. Many men are being called to work who have long been idle, and their skills have suffered. Experiments are being undertaken by industry to increase production. All these things tend to increase the number of industrial accidents.
All of which adds up to one fact: the employers, in their lust to reap war profits, are resorting to such unendurable speed up and dangerous experimental processes, that the resultant deaths can only be termed, MURDER FOR PROFIT!
The Post, December 5, throws further light on this whole matter in a tiny item. FBI officials have said privately that there definitely had been no organized attempts to disrupt production. They point out that last year before the preparedness program got under way, manufacturing plants suffered 23. 700 fires, 10, 500 of them caused by explosions. The imperialist war in which the capitalists of the world are now engaged is merely an extension and heightening of that bloody and continuous war against the workers, which even in peacetime numbers its yearly victims in the millions.