The Revolutionary Age Chronicle and Interpretation of International Events Vol I, No. 28 Saturday, April 26, 1919 Price Cents The Unemployed and the Soldiers The nacine to the camerican workers and HE problem of unemployment is very real and were compelled to make concessions. higlier wages, at present, is still the only nation upon which the bonuses, and consideration.
world can draw for commodities. But soon Europe problem that will become more acute and that When the Devil is sick, the Devil a monk would be; will resume manufacturing. It will buy. certain goods cannot be met in the old way. Drastic action is neces when the Devil is well, the Devil a monk is lic. When from us, but it will have goods of, its own to sell; it sary.
the capitalist needs the workers more than usual, he will compete in the markets of the world with the Dr. George Kirchwey, Director of the. Unīted smiles upon them, until the day comes when he can United States. Out of this must develop acute comStates Employment Service, said on April 19: Recent kick them again.
petition, an industrial crisis, more unemployment.
estimates that placed the present number of unem The day came. The war was over (except the little It is a serious situation. It is a situation that calls ployed in New York City at 40, 000 are decidedly con war against the workers of Soviet Russia. Munitions upon the working class employed and unemployed, servative. Actual statistics on unemployment are alfor the employed may soon become unemployed for ways impossible to get. One can only approximate.
aggressive action.
However, 100, 000 would be much nearer the inark as Call for a National Conference The soldiers and the unemployed must unite with an estimate of the number now out of work here. The of the Left Wing the employed workers to act upon this crisis. They total may be even higher than that. Aproximately must create their own inachinery to tackle the un25 of this huge army of unemployed in New York Local Boston, Socialist Party, Local Cleve employment crisis.
City consists of former soldiers, sailors and marines.
land, Socialist Party, and the Left Wing They don want charity. They don want the according to Dr. Kirchwey, who adds that the present Section of the Socialist Party of New York smile of pretty girls or the unctuous promises of old crisis will last well into the summer.
City have issued a call for a National Left women, in place of jobs. Nor must they depend upon Wing Conference.
Recent estimates (which now must be revised up government agencies which provide jobs for exThe call is iacued to locals, branches and Tards, however) indicated that unemployment is genperts but few for the workers.
minority groups of the Party who have eral throughout the industrial centres of the United Councils of the Unemployed must be organized.
adopted the Left Wing. Manifesto and States: Buffalo, 13, 000; Albany, 4000; the state of Councils of Soldiers and Sailors must be organized.
Program.
Massachusetts, 50, 000; Cleveland, 55, 000. Toledo, 10, Councils of Workmen must be organized. These three The purpose of the Conference is to form000; Detroit, 30, 000; Minneapolis, 000; San Franhave their own functions, but must unite in General ulate a national declaration of Left Wing cisco, 8, 000; the state of Oregon, 7, 000. etc. These Councils. And these Councils must consist of actual principles, form a national, unified expresfigures provide a very poor picture of the actual men sion of the Left Wing (a sort of General soldiers, sailors, unemployed and workmen in the ace of unemployment, of the terrible suffering of the Council. not a separate organization) and shops.
workers which is made worse by a rising cost of living. concentrate our forces to conquer the Party The demands inust consist, not in emergency meaThe actual unemployment is supplemented by a crisis for revolutionary Socialism.
sures, but in measures which are emergent and perinanent in character, ili urs of workers Must be reduced among the employed. Wages are being slashed; work The Conference will meet on Saturday, June in order to proride joi for the unemployed, and make ers are compelled to accept lower wages and work 21. Representation one delegate for cach 500 work easier and not a tragedy. Industry must be liarder by the threat that the factory may close down. members not more than delegates for each Workers with jobs are fired (often on the pretext of regulated to absor) the unemployed.
group. Place to be decided.
It is a crime 1itat soi. workers work too hard while being Bolshevik agitators) while unemployed are hired Left Wing locals and branches, act! Address other workers have no work at all.
al lower wages. reign of industrial terror is being all communications to Louis Fraina 885 instituted by the employers.
These Councils must prevent a reduction in wages; Washington Street, Boston, Mass.
in fact, they should compel an increase in wages so There are two immediate causes for this unemploythat life may become worth living.
ment (the fundamental cause, of course, is Capitalism, If factories shut down, while people are starving, which develops and requires a reserve industrial army of unemployed. the suspension of most war industry first victory of peace for the workers, an indication were not in demand. Unemployment developed the these Councils must demand that the factories be operated by the Workmen Councils. There shall be no work, and the demobilization of the soldiers and sailof what is to conie.
sabotage of production while millions are in want of Brutally, the workers were thrown out. Brutally, the things of life.
During the war, the patriotic capitalists made money the smile of the employers turned into a sneer: Well, Mass pressure must le brought upon the employers hand over fist. They monopolized, practically, the what are you going to do about it?
and the Government. Mass demonstrations must be markets of the world, the European peoples being Then this unemployment was increased by the demo organized by the Unemployed Councils. The soldiers active producing cleath tead of goods. They manu bilization of soldiers and sailors and there are a must assert their rights. Every Strike Committee factured munitions for the Allies, and then for the million more, we believe, to be demobilized. Some must become a Soviet. There must be a unity of the American Government, at fabulous profits: hundreds these de fenders of democracy got their jobs but solliers and the workers: then we are invincible.
of new millionaires were made during the war. Some this meant unemployment for other workers. Some Gradually, these Councils from immediate measures people do profit from war. Extortionate prices thein couldn get jobs they had helped to make will necessarily consider ultimate and larger measures.
were charged the Allies and the American Government the world safe for democracy, but didn make then They must, if the workers are to live. From cutting.
for munitions, and other things; there was profiteering selves safe for a living.
profits, they will come to ending profits.
even in the food sold for the starving Belgians. The American Government did practically nothing Capitalism is breaking down. It cannot solve its Extortionate prices were charged for necessaries of to insure a normal transition from war industry to own economic problems. It has come to a crisis; and life, for food, clothing and shelter. which largely cut peace industry. It threw workers out of the munition this crisis will become more acute and menacing to ciown the slight increase in wages. It w::s a positively plants; it threw solliers and sailors out of the service; the workers, until the workers act to end Capitalisin, feverish period of prosperity for the capitalists. organizing no nirachinery to deal with the inevitable The workers may not realize this now; but they The workers cluring the war had power. Millions crisis.
will. Life itself will compel this recognition.
of them were drafted into the army: millions more Congress proved itself utterly incompetent, the em They told the soldiers they were to make the world were required in the war industries; there was a larger ployers utterly brutal. It is the nature of the beast safe for democracy: but the makers of democracy are demand, also, for the commodities produced during Capitalism.
now thrown upon the scrap heap.
peace. The result was that the demand for labor was This unemployment crisis is bound to become worse They told the workmen that a new world was conlarger than the supply. But labor was afraid to use with all that means in the way of suffering and tears ing; it has come, a world of new misery, of new opthis power, because of the regime of governmental for the men, women and children of the working class. pression.
and bourgeois terrorism made possible by the hysteria More soldiers and sailors are to be demobilized. That There must be action. There must be unity of the of the war: the capitalists could use war as an opport imeans more unemployment.
soldiers and the unemployed, unity of these with the unity for lar profits the workers were But, still more porta Europ industry will workers; and a conscious struggle for work and life, afraid to rise the opportunity. Still, the employers soon resume normal operations. The nited States, peace and happiness ors.