Let the People Vote on War!
BUILD WORKERS DEFENSE GUARDS At the Moment War Breaks, Every Person Will Be Forced Under the War Machine Totalitarlan Heel Official Organ of the Socialist Workers Party, Section of the Fourth International Issued Twice Weekly VOL. II. No. 50 FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1939 3c a Copy By JAMES BURNHAM Totalitarian War PAST civilizations, war was usually the business of la Workers! One Hundred Percent Support to the WPĀ Strikers!
The Fight of the Building Trades Workers Is the Fight of American Labor President Roosevelt Strikebreaker BUILD WORKERS DEFENSE GUARDS AGAINST FASCISM majority not only took no part in the fighting, but, in point of fact, their lives were very little affected, even indirectly, by the conduct and outcome of wars and battles.
In feudal times, for example, most of the people were serfs and vileins, who lived attached to the land where they were born. They gained their sustenance from locally self sufficient agriculture and simple handicrafts, with scarcely any trade or commerce. They were required to turn over a certain percentage of their crops to their feudal lord, and usually also to work for a certain number of days each year on jobs assigned to them by their lord or his bailiffs. They were not, however, subject to any kind of military service.
With the exception of one or two of the Crusades, wars were fought exclusively by members of the feudal nobility itself, assisted by their personal servants who acted, however, in non military capacities. Fighting was considered, you might say, to be a privilege and prerogative of the nobility. In these feudal wars, not many persons, even of the nobility, were killed. Most weapons were crude, suited not for mass slaughter but for individual, hand to hand combat; and fairly adequate protective devices, such as armor and shields, were worn.
Colonel Harrington, national administrator of sent the following teleThe results of these wars, moreover, did not greatly gram of instructions to all State Administrators affect the conditions of life of the great majority. Some Those who do not desire to accept employment under these conditions and who absent themselves from work for five consecutive days or longer, shall have their emtimes a chivalric army would commandeer all the crops of ployment terminated.
a given district, or even lay it waste by fire and pillage.
Colonel Somervell, New York Administrator, has But, since the armies were small and slow moving, the declared that next Tuesday (July 11) is the date for discharge of those who stay off the job.
roads few and poor and scattered, this clid not happen Colonel Harrington is an appointee of President Roosevelt.
often in any particular place. And the question of who Colonel Somervell is an appointee of President Roosevelt.
won the war was of hardly any concern to the average The Roosevelt Government STRIKE BREAKER!
serf. His duties and obligations were the same whether Baron or Count was his lord.
Even in the first centuries of modern times, the situation NEW YORK MINNEAPOLIS did not greatly change. In fifteenth century Italy, for instance, where the first stage of modern civilization reached Launch Drive to Get Local 544 WPA Section its height, the powerful cities usually conducted wars by hiring mercenary armies. Most of the citizenry kept busy Backing of Unskilled Joins Strike as Labor at its industrial and commercial tasks, and the major inconvenience of war was only an added drain on the Workers for Strike Movement Backs Action treasury.
NEW YORK CITY, July 10 Intensified (Special to the Socialist Appeal)
MINNEAPOLIS, July The Minneapolis drives to organize the largely unorganized unEverybody involved Now Building Trades Council will open strike headskilled workers in support of the strike Today, everything is changed. The world wide division movement called by the building trades quarters Monday morning at the Central Laof labor, the development of a world economy, rapid transwere launched early Monday morning, notably bor Union hall.
The St. Paul Building Trades Council plans by the Jamaica and Astoria divisions of the portation and communication, more or less universal eduUnemployed and Project Workers Union of to follow the same procedure as the Minneapo lis Council and endorse the strike. Protest cation, have transformed war from the sport of nobles or New York.
the profession of mercenaries into mass enterprise inIn a leaflet issued in the tens of thousands Action Committee, constituted by the St. Paul Workers Benefit Association, the and to the workers on projects, the locals volving every single member of the population. Directly unemployed organization, and the trade uncalled upon the unskilled workers to organize or indirectly, everyone is part of the war machine.
and strike.
ions, has been established to direct the strike in that city.
In the first place, in our day, vast numbers of the popuThe leaflet makes clear the role of the Roosevelt administration. The 10, 000 a year The o. in Minneapolis has officially enlation are directly concerned in the fighting of a war. The stooges of the bosses in Congress have joined dorsed the strike.
war armies are not restricted groups of professionals but The Minnesota Workers Alliance this afterthass armies made up of millions of individuals. Most of noon issued a call for a statewide strike, only to take all the guts out of the See page for editorial on the these millions are drafted or conscripted from the broar strike call by lamely suggesting that workers Strike ranks of workers and peasants and farmers. In the battles could meet on projects every morning, discuss of modern wars, great masses of people are killed or next steps and leave after an hour or two.
Hits Proposal Made He Got the idea! Radio Speech Proves with 100. 000 a year President Roosevelt to In Duluth, strikers have threatened wounded. In the war of 1914 18 at least thirteen million to close up city headquarters if an atwere killed, and about thirty million more were wounded. By Milton to Local Guards Are Way to destroy the living conditions of the tempt is made to operate projects.
workers, to slash their wages and lengthen But with the growth of new methods of fighting, such Stop Coughlinites 66 of their hours. Continued on Page 3)
as airplane bombing and gas attacks, many persons who The entire labor movement of the United ST. LOUIS States, the leaflet continues, is keenly are not soldiers are killed and wounded in modern battles.
workers headquarters. the By JOSEPH HANSEN aware that this is nothing but the first step bomb or a gas shell does its work as quickly on old Debs School and have sucto grind ALL WAGES below SLAVE levels Thousands in Strike In a violent one hour tirade ceeded in breaking up nu.
women or children as on men with uniforms.
and to throw every worker out into last Sunday over his nationmerous meetings of labor or the streets.
In modern war, moreover, death and wounds and diswide radio hook up. Father Protest Against ganizations in the city. Last Calling upon the unskilled workers to join ease are not confined to the battlefields. Scare of food, Coughlin attacked the forma week they tried to break up of anti fascist the picket lines of the skilled workers already union an American Labor disruption of medical service, dislocation of hygienic and tion Party out the leaflet concludes by saying: Your Gov Starvation Bill guards, as if he feared that any meeting where Michael Quill, sanitary measures, all extend the casualty lists traceable to minute they might mop up the wages, your hours, your livelihood, the very president of the Transport existence of depend upon the successthe war by untold millions.
fascist gangs he is organizing. Special to the socialist Appeal)
Workers Union, was the ful outcome of this fight. The army colonels ST. LOUIS, July Nearly 10, 000 These factors, however, all of them directly bound up Father Coughlin attack was speaker: fortunately the are threatening the strikers with arrests. But transport workers were preworkers are now on strike in seven southern with war in its fighting aspect, by no means complete the specifically directed against American labor will not allow to be pared.
Illinois counties, and the Building Harry Milton proposal to Loturned into a concentration camp.
Trades of St. Louis voted today to call its 500 picture. The war of 1914 18 taught us that in modern cal 66 of the International LaA few weeks ago beside the Flying squadrons of speakers have been skilled workers off the projects in St.
war, the entire population and all activities must be assem Gies Garment Workers Union above mentioned attacks dispatched to the projects to win workers to Louis and St. Louis County beginning Monday bled into the war machine. The army is no longer just the that they organize Anti Fascist against labor, the Coughlinites the strikers side. Large numbers of militants morning. The strike movement has reached soldiers in uniform; everyone belongs to the army. Every tack on Milton should dispel knifed a school teacher on 14th are participating in the mass distribution of a peak. Workers on projects throughleaflets.
out this region are eager to fight the reaction factory, mine and mill and farm go on a war basis. Educa the last doubt which might HARRY MILTON Street in New York City and ary Roosevelt Woodrum Starvation Law, and tion and movies and religion and art are harnessed to war linger in anyone mind that attempted to break into the are proving AKRON it Father Coughlin is deliberately under the domination of the headquarters of the Socialist by pouring out on the picket propaganda. All organizations, such as political parties planning lines. The chief demand of the strikers, so introduce fascism Stalinists.
Workers Party, knifing an antifar, is the rescinding of the 130 work week and unions and clubs and fraternal societies, either line up in America.
Milton Actual Record fascist who was on guard. Unskilled Workers Plan under the new relief law.
for the war or are illegalized. No individual freedom is This attack proves once and Harry Milton served with the for all that Father Coughlin ndependent Labour Party con formation of anti fascist labor Father Coughlin fears the The action of the St. Louis Building Trades tolerated. Everyone must think and talk and act for the Council came after the inspiring news that realizes perfectly that anti fastingent of the 29th Division of kuraras more thana sernist bother Joint Action With war, or be subject to the most severe penalties.
650 workers had walked out on strike (Continued on Page 3)
Includes all Humanity FORCE which can stop him defending on the battlefields tempt to stop him in his plans Construction Strikers cold.
the Spanish workers against to thug his way to fascist powIn short, war has become, in our day, totalitarian. War Father Coughlin began his the attack of General Franco er in America.
ROCHESTER bitter and slanderous attack fascist legions. Milton was ar (Special to the Socialist Appeal)
is no longer a matter for some sections of the population. gainst the formation of anti rested by the Stalinist Only one thing could have AKRON, July 10 Fighting desperately fascist union guards by reading secret service and imprisoned broken our movementIf the and some types of activities. War dominates and controls to defend its organization and wage scales, the Strike Action Spreads adversary had understood its L, building trades unions in three counties the total life and activities of the totality of the population. Tover the air a resolution which with hundreds of his fellow principle and from the first surrounding Akron struck the today.
The governments and general staffs of every nation recog 66 of the by one of ists, and other militants. Only day had smashed, with the Fast as Men Down Announcing that they intend to strike untol nize this to be the case. That is why the war plans of all its prominent members, Harry by the narrowest of margins most extreme brutality, the Congress passes some emergency legislation Milton nucleus of our new move.
did he escape death at the governments include the organization of the whole country Tools Spontaneously to correct the situation, the Tri County Union Guard Resolution hands of Stalin G.
ment. Hitler)
Building and Construction Trades Council, cen and the entire population along totalitarian lines. In the The resolution urges the In introducing the resolution If the enemy had known tering in Akron, tied up work on all major (Special to the Socialist Appeal)
case of the United States, as elsewhere, these plans are immediately to organ in Local 66 of the how weak we were, it would projects today.
ROCHESTER, July When the orMajor Projects Affected fully prepared. Many of them are included in the famous ize an anti fascist union guard which was attacked by Cough probably have reduced us to ders increasing hours to 130 appeared in order to defend itself from lun. Milton stated: jelly. It would have Although only 300 ftsmen are im on the projects last Wednesday, spontaneously document known as the Industrial Mobilization Plan, fascist groups and preserve the We must not wait until crushed in blood the very be mediately affected by the call, their strike the workers downed tools and walked out on the provisions of which are scheduled to go into effect on democratic rights and civil lib our own union is broken into ginning of our work. Goeb. will close the major construction projects. The strike. Before the end of the day, about 000 Day the day that war begins.
erties labor.
and smashed by fascist bels)
building trades unions ignored threats of mass workers were on strike and by Friday the The problem of modern war is, thus, a problem for consideration by the Internais gangs, as they will attempt Coughlin understands that firings and of criminal prosecution, with which number had increased to 000. Flying squadtumorrow or the day after, the formation of anti fascist the new law threatens all who inter rons, in the majority of cases organized on every human being. With the destiny of each one of us at tional Executive Board of the but to stop the fascists now, union guards will prevent him fere with work on the projects.
the spot, made lightning trips to projects in stake, it would seem wise and proper for us to try to decide ILG.
wherever they attempt to de from introducing fascism in Meanwhile, the Communist Party controlled the area, while the Building Trades Father Coughlin slandered Ourselves what to do, and not to turn ourselves blindly prive any worker or workers America. Workers Alliance worked feverishly to head of pulled its members out on strike.
Harry Milton throughout his organization of its constitu That is why he opposes the any genuine protest from the thousands of unAdministrator Fires Agitators over to the hands of others.
entire period on the air, assert tional rights, formation of anti fascist union skilled project workers. Under complete Stal In spite of these threats, which on Friday were (Continued in next issue: The History of the ing that Milton marched The Coughlin Fangsters guards with such a deadly inist control, the Alliance openly ordered 800 added to by the threat of arrest and no relief, Ludlow War Referendum against the people of Spain have already broken into a fear. Continued on Page Continued on Page 3)
Carlo Coughlin Delivers Fascist Blast Against Workers Defense Guards