U . S. Rulers Plan
To Use Germ any
A s a W a r Base
W a r incitements are pouring out in a violent flood from
the W hite Mouse, State Department, the national m ilitary estab­
lishment and Congress.
W a l l S tre e t imperialism’s up a t a th re e -p o w e r conference
in London e a rly !n M arch. A s a
“ cold war” against Russia has re p ly to th is , the R ussian dele­
fla re d up on a n othe r b a ttle fie ld
— G erm any. The m o u n tin g con­
f l i c t between the w estern powers
and the K re m lin has led to an
open s p lit in the A llie d C o ntrol
C ouncil.
A t th e same tim e , U.S. in te r ­
ve n tio n in I ta ly and Greece has
become m ore brazen and a g g re s­
sive. W a sh in g to n , w o rk in g in a l­
liance w ith the V a tic a n , is u sin g
e ve ry device o f in tim id a tio n and
pressure on the Ita lia n people to
p re v e n t th e ir v o tin g f o r C om m un­
is t-S o c ia lis t candidates
in
the
A p r il 18 elections.
In Greece,
A m e ric a n o ffic e rs are d ire c tin g a
new o ffe n s iv e o f the M o n a rc h is t
fo rce s in th e c iv il w a r, in c lu d in g
execution on the spo t o f cap tured
a n ti-m o n a rc h is t fig h te rs .
W A R H Y S T E R IA
A t home, th e w a rm o n g e rs and
m ilita r is ts are re s o rtin g to f a n ­
ta s tic propa gan da to w h ip up a
w a r h y s te ria and push th ro u g h
t h e ir p ro g ra m o f m ilit a r y re g im ­
e n ta tio n and expansion o f the
w a r m achine. T h e ir
la te s t a t­
te m p ts to stam pede the A m e rica n
people w ith fe a r o f a Russian “ a t­
ta c k ” is the w e ird “ red su b m a r­
in es” scare and th e cooked-up
c la m o r ab ou t “ a rm s sh ip m e n ts”
to Russia. T he “ a rm s ” w ere ab o u t $450,000 w o rth o f plane
p a rts sen t la s t y e a r u n d e r an old
lend-lease a rra n g e m e n t and a p ­
p ro ve d b y th e S ta te and W a r p.ep a rtm e n ts .
In G erm an y, the A m e rica n r u l­
ers are p u ttin g in e ffe c t a p ro ­
g ra m to re h a b ilita te the c a p ita lis t
elem ents, b u ild up m ilita r y p ro ­
d u ctio n fa c ilitie s and convert the
A m e ric a n -B ritis h -F re n c h zones in
to a sp rin g b o a rd f o r w ar.
Plans f o r s e ttin g up w estern
G erm any as p a rt o f th e W est Eulo pe an m ilit a r y bastion f o r the
A llie d im p e ria lis ts were dra w n
gates w a lke d o u t o f th e C o n tro l
C ouncil.
On M a rch 23, the W h ite House
announced th a t plan s
fo r
the
•State D e p a rtm e n t, as a “ c iv ilia n ”
agency, “ to assume the respons­
ib ilit y f o r th e n o n -m ilita ry as­
pects o f the G erm any o ccu p a tio n ”
w ere scrapped. The A r m y w ould
continue its m ilit a r y ru le , in vie w
o f “ the pre sen t s itu a tio n ,” w ith
L t. Gen. L u ciu s D. C lay to re m a in
as M ilit a r y G ove rn or and “ Comm a n d e r-in -C h ie f o f U n ite d S tates
forces in E uro pe .”
Im m e d ia te ly th e re a fte r, came
fu r th e r announcem ents th a t the
d e n a z ific a tio n and d e c a rte liz a tio n
p ro g ra m s w o uld be v ir t u a lly abandoned.
B oth ord ers came
fro m C lay.
A m o n g th e fo llo w e rs o f the
N a zis p re v io u s ly scheduled f o r
t r ia l and now released a re m a n y
c a p ita lis ts . T hey are g o in g to be
given a clean b ill o f h e a lth and
lined up as a llie s in the s tru g g le
o f “ dem ocracy” a g a in s t “ bolshev­
ism .”
A s the c ru c ia l elections ap ­
proach in Ita ly , the f u ll pressure
o f U.S. im p e ria lis m , in c lu d in g
veiled th re a ts o f arm ed in te rv e n ­
tio n , is be in g b ro u g h t to bear on
the Ita lia n people. T he U.S. gov­
ern m en t has declared i t w ill cut
o f f a ll economic a id to h u n g ry
I t a ly i f th e S ta lin is ts w in the
elections. A t the same tim e , the
Ita lia n s jure being o ffe re d a b rib e
in the fo rm o f a prom ise to re ­
s to re T rie s te and some A fric a n
colonies to Ita ly .
Congress is speeding up a ctio n
on the M a rs h a ll P lan b ill, now in ­
clu d in g n e a rly a h a lf b illio n do l­
la rs in move m ilit a r y a id to the
d ic ta to rs h ip s in Greece, T u rk e y
end C hina. B u t the A d m in is tra ­
tio n is n ’t w a itin g f o r fo rm a l pas­
sage. A n A ssociated Press d is ­
c o n tin u e d on page 4)
LABOR FACES DEADLY PERIL
OF GOVERMENT BY INJUNCTION
UN Farce On Palestine
Paul Dollinger
SO U TH ST. PA U L, M inn.,
March 31. — W ith picket lines
solid, members of the C IO
Packinghouse Workers have
succe ssfully blocked
eve ry
a t­
te m p t o f com pany o ffic ia ls in the
South St. Paul area to bre ak the
2-w eek-old m eat p a c k in g s trik e .
T he un io n, re p re s e n tin g w o rk e rs
a t A rm o u r, S w ift and Cudahy,
have tu rn e d a series o f com pany
m aneuvers in to an a tta c k on the
a n ti-u n io n p ro g ra m o f the. b ig
m ea t packers. A m o to r briga de
o f o ffic e em ployees was tu rn e d
back a t the A rm o u r p la n t y e s te r­
day when 200 pickets held th e ir
g ro u n d . T h is defeated th e m ost
re ce n t a tte m p t o f packers to open
th e p ic k e t lines.
lawlessness, coercion and violence,
p ic k e tin g has been peaceful since
the s trik e began.
R e s tra in in g
o rd ers have been served on union
re p re se n ta tive s o f locals a t A r ­
m o u r, S w ift and Cudahy and tw o
independent com panies, S u p e rio r
and B artu sch. H o w eve r, w o rk e rs
a t B artu sch and S u p e rio r have
gone back to w o rk w ith a 12-cent
on h o u r increase and an ag ree­
m e n t by the tw o independent
packers th a t th e y w ill engage in
“ genuine co lle c tiv e b a rg a in in g ” to
ne g o tia te the d iffe re n c e between
the 12 cents and the u n io n ’s de­
m and f o r a 29-cent h o u rly w age
increase.
H e a rin g s on the re s tra in in g
orders w ill be held in D a kota
C o un ty d is tr ic t c o u rt th is m o rn ­
in g. Besides the p a c k in g com ­
panies,* th e Chicago G reat W e s t­
ern R a ilro a d and th e St. Paul
U n io n S tockya rds com pany are
p a rtie s to the orders.
E ntra nces
to the S w ift and A rm o u r p la n ts
serve the stockya rd s, and
the
G reat W e ste rn lin e serves both
the p a ckin g p la n ts and the stockyards.
F a ilin g in Ih c ir e ffo rts to b rin g
o ffic e w o rk e rs in to the stru c k
p la n ts, m anagers o f the three
pa ckin g com panies appealed to
G o ve rn o r L u th e r Y ou ng da hl to
c a ll out the N a tio n a l G uard to
en force re s tra in in g ord ers issued
in D a kota C o u n ty to b a r p ic k e t­
in g at p la n t entrances. But the
S U P P O R T O F T R A IN M E N .
p a ckers’ appeal was turne d down
A lth o u g h pickets w ere ordered
w ith a s ta te m e n t fro m the G ov­
to move o f f ra ilro a d p ro p e rty , a
e rn o r th a t the G uard “ is not a
p ic k e t sign extended by a cane
la w enforcem ent b o d y."
fis h in g pole ove r the ra ilro a d
A n o f fe r was made by the union tra c k s is being honored by engine
to le t o ffic e personnel go th ro u g h crew s on a s trike -b o u n d sw itch
th e p ic k e t lines on the fo llo w in g engine in the A rm o u r ya rd . H.R.
c o n d itio n s:
H a lvo rso n , G re a t W estern sup er­
1. T h a t o ffic e em ployes be a l­ in te nd en t, announced la s t S a tu r­
lowed to leave the p la n ts a t n ig h t day th a t the tra in m e n , members
and n o t sleep on the prem ises;
of
the
ra ilro a d
brotherhoods,
2. T h a t p la n t fo re m e n , w ho “ have, s tro n g respect f o r un io n
have been liv in g in the p la n ts o rg a n iz a tio n and w ill n o t cross
since the s trik e s ta rte d M a rch 16, p ic k e t lin e s.” E n g in e crew s have
d iscon tinue th e p ra ctice and leave been re p o rtin g f o r each s h ift, s it ­
th e prem ises d a ily .
tin g in the cab, and le a v in g a t
Spokesmen f o r th e pa ckin g the end o f th e iv e ig h t hours. The
com panies re je cte d the u n io n ’s o f­ engine has been tie d up since the
fe r, s ta tin g th e y w ere “ n o t in ­ f ir s t day o f th e s trik e , w hen
com pany o ffic ia ls a tte m p te d to
te re s te d .”
A lth o u g h
the p a c k in g com ­ haul some cars o f m eat fro m the
panies have accused the un io n o f p la n t.
a
n
kAFL Heads Follow
Do-Nothing Policy in Crisis
A p r il 2,1912 — M arch 25,1948
B y A r t Preis
C H IC A G O , March 27. — Memorial services lor Comrade
Paul Dollinger, beloved Trotskyist militant, were h e ld here this
Government by Taft-H arlley injun ction threat*
ens the American labor movement w ith the greatest
menace in decades — although the CIO and AFL
leaders are lost in a fog o f
indifference, disunity and
inaction.
evening by th e Socialist W ork­
ers Party in accord with his re ­
quest f o r cerem onies b e fittin g a
re v o lu tio n a ry son o f the w o rk in g
class. Com rade D o llin g e r died o f
cancer in M ilw a u ke e on M arch
23 a t the. age o f 35. The services
a t th e A d a n im a s F u n e ra l Home,
4710 N o rth w e s te rn A ve., were
attended by P a u l’s fe llo w -w o rk e rs
in th e Chicago la b o r m ovem ent
as w e ll as num erous p a r ty com ­
rades.
C om rade D o llin g e r, o r “ K u jie ”
as he w as f a m ilia r ly called, p a r­
tic ip a te d in thef T ro ts k y is t m ove­
m en t fro m e a rly y o u th since 1931.
P A U L D O L L IN G E R
Packinghouse Workers
Stand Firm in Strike
B y B a rb a ra B ruce
CIO
J n a series o f d a ily rad io bro ad­
casts ove r s ta tio n W M IN , e n title d
“ On the P ic k e t L in e ,” C IO re p re ­
sen tatives are p re s e n tin g the
u n io n ’s p ro g ra m in the s trik e .
M ilto n Siegel, U P W A F ie ld Rep­
re se n ta tive in D is tr ic t 2, is c h ie f
spokesm an f o r the union. In his
M arch 26 broadcast, he p o in te d
o u t th a t i t is the packinghouse
w o rk e rs w ho, un de r dangerous
and u n h e a lth y con ditions, sup ply
the n a tio n w ith m eat.
“ I t w o rks out how ever,” Siegel
stated, “ th a t c e rta in o ffic ia ls o f
the pa ckin g tru s ts can then s it in
s o ft, s w iv e l c h a irs w ith expensive
rug s under th e ir feet, and spend
th e ir tim e w o rk in g out w a ys and
(C o ntin ued on page 2)
He was noted both for his tire ess w o rk
in
b u ild in g
SW P
blanches in d iffe re n t sections , o f
the c o u n try and as an o u ts ta n d ­
in g u n io n is t.
Chicago
Local
O rg a n ize r
M anuel T e rb o vich gave an ac­
count o f P a u l’s m any-sided ac­
tiv itie s as an o rg a n iz e r in the
unem ployed m ovem ent o f the
e a rly T h irtie s and la te r as o rg a n ­
iz e r f o r the A F L U p h o lste re rs
U n io n and a un io n m ilit a n t in
the C hicago U A W -C IO . In N ew
Y o rk C ity , B u ffa lo , B a ltim o re ,
Chicago, and M ilw a u ke e , Paul
b ro u g h t m a n y w o rk e rs in to the
ra n ks o f his p a rty .
W a rre n A u s tin , ch ie f U . S. delegate to the U n ite d N a tion s,
( r . ) lis te n s as o th e r re p re se n ta tive s discuss the A m e rica n decision
to dum p the P alestin e p a rtitio n scheme. B ritis h delegate A le x ­
ander Cadogan is at his le ft.
F ederated P ictu re s
N. Y. COPS BRUTALLY CLUB
PICKETS AT STOCK EXCHANGE
“ In his ow n person, in his p u r­
poseful life , Paul gave us a con­
v in c in g answ er to those who doubt
The New York police started one of the most savage attacks
o r deny the capacities o f the
in
local
labor history on pickets at the Slock Exchange on March
w o rk e rs ,” said W illia m W arde,
N a tio n a l E du ca tio n a l D ire c to r o f 30. Heads were smashed and
the SW P. “ He provided liv in g faces beaten in by club-swing­ collarbone, m any oth ers sustained
in ju rie s ,
p ro o f o f w h a t one determ ined
in g cops, w ho w e n t a f t e r a ll p ic k ­
you th, one re v o lu tio n a ry A m e r­
W a ll S tre e t’s nerve centers —
ets in s ig h t. So b ru ta lly d id the
ican w o rk e r can be and do.
(he S tock Exchange and C urb E x ­
police proceed w ith t h e ir clu b b in g
“ M u ltip ly the Pauls, extend th a t one pa pe r re p o rte d th a t the change — were s tru c k M a rch 29
U n ite d F in a n c ia l
th e ir a c tiv itie s , o rg an ize th e ir police s tru c k a t everyone who by the A F L
re p re s e n tin g
1,100
im m easurable s tre n g th — and the moved. A p la in clothes de tective Em ployes,
old w o rld now r o ttin g in its who was severely beaten ab ou t w o rke rs. T he U F E c o n tra c t e x ­
fo u n d a tio n s w ill n o t look so im ­ the head com plained a t the h o s p i­ pired M arch 1 and in 28 days of
posing o r im p re g n a b le , and the ta l th a t the police had m istake n n e g o tia tio n s the m illio n a ire re p ­
rese ntative s o f W a ll S tre e t
re ­
new w o rld w ill come w ith in the aim f o r a picket.
gra sp o f the w o rk in g people.
W om en, n o t on the p ic k e t line, fused to g ra n t a s a tis fa c to ry re ­
T h a t is w h y his life w as so were seized by the blood-m adden- newal. The s trik e rs demand the
valuable, cre a tive , in s p irin g . He e-a cops and beaten to the pave­ union shop, a pay increase o f $9
ta u g h t how a w o rk e r can stand m ent. M ag gie B ra d y , 19, a page to r those ea rn in g $40 and less
up a g a in s t a ll the enemies o f g ir l a t the Curb E xchange to ld per week, and a $15 increase fo r
m an kin d and, w ith head held re p o rte rs, “ T hey pushed me rig h t those e a rn in g m ore than $10.
h ig h in defiance o f the s n iv e llin g in to where a ll the f ig h tin g was
T h is is the f ir s t s trik e on the
skeptics, re a ffirm in actio n and g o in g on. The cops w ere s w in g ­ S tock E xchange since i t was
achievem ent his fa it h in the in ­ in g a ll over the place and they tounded. The young w h ite c o lla r
v in c ib le pow er o f the so cia list
h it me w ith a club on the head w o rk e rs ’ union is re c e iv in g m agcause.”
and I fe ll down. I couldn’t seem r if ic e n t s u p p o rt fro m the A F L
In
con clu din g
the services, to get m y s e lf to g e th e r, m y head S ea farers U n io n and the S ailo rs
the
P a cific.
These
Comrade A rn e
Swabeck paid was p a in in g me so. 1 th in k I was U n io n o f
trib u te to P a u l’s record as a on the ground 15 o r 20 m inutes, m a ritim e unions have not. o n ly
p a rty -b u ild e r. “ The re v o lu tio n a ry and then the y dragged me in to p u t th e ir o ffice s and fa c ilitie s at
the disposal o f the U F E , b u t have
p a rty is the indispensable in s tr u ­ the police w agon.”
m en t f o r lib e ra tin g la b o r fro m
Police trie d to b u st up the m ob ilized th e ir m em bership f o r
c a p ita lis m and e s ta b lis h in g so­ p ic k e t lines and a rre ste d a g ir l p ic k e t d u ty . '
cia lis m . T h e in va lu a b le c o n trib u ­ picke t. As soon as th is happened
T he M a ritim e un io ns are p ro v ­
tio n o f comrades lik e P aul con­ a g ro u p o f A F L seamen s u p p o rt­ id in g a good exam ple f o r the
sists in the c re a tio n o f th a t p o li­ in g th e p ic k e t lin e rushed past w hole la b o r m ovem ent. I f a ll the
tic a l in s tru m e n t.
the cops and sat down on the unions show th e ir s o lid a rity in
“ Paul represented
the best pavem ent before the S tock E x ­ th e same m ilita n t fa sh io n , w ith
q u a litie s o f a ll those a c tiv is ts change entrance.
A t th is p o in t the s tr ik in g W a ll S tre e t w o rk e rs ,
who have c a rrie d ou r m ovem ent the police s ta rte d th e ir general the police b r u ta lity w ill be sto p ­
on th e ir shoulders th ro u g h d if ­ assault. P icke ts s ittin g and ly in g ped and even th e purse-proud
fic u lt years. W e say fa re w e ll to defenseless on the g ro un d were W a ll S tre e t m agnates w i ll
be
him , not w ith any de spa ir w hich clubbed w ith o u t m ercy.
forced to y ie ld to union demands.
w ould be so a lien to his s p ir it,
Such a union v ic to ry w o u ld be
b u t w ith p rid e th a t he fo u g h t in M A N Y IN J U R IE S
a shot in the a rm f o r the m ora le
ou r ra n ks.”
A f te r e x h a u s tin g them selves in o i th e w hole la b o r m ovem ent, it.
Messages w e re read fro m m any a h a lf-h o u r o f savage clu bb ing w o uld also he a good s p rin g b o a rd
SW P branches b y M ichael B a r­ the police a rre ste d 45 pickets, t o r the unions to o rg an ize the
te l!, C hicago Local C hairm an. m an y o f them needing f ir s t aid tens o f thousands o f w h ite c o lla r
The services closed w ith s in g in g tre a tm e n t. One p ic k e t had a w o rk e rs in New Y o r k ’s fin a n c ia l
broken a rm , a n o th e r a fra c tu re d centers.
o f T he In te rn a tio n a le .
Penna. SWP Goes
Over the Top in
’48 Petition Drive
The u g ly face o f the Slave L a ­
bor La w has been revealed in 't h e
sw eeping s trik e b re a k in g in ju n c t
tio n issued b y a fe d e ra l c o u rt oh
M a rch 27 a g a in s t th e A F L I n te r ­
P H IL A D E L P H IA , March 28. n a tio n a l T y p o g ra p h ic a l U n io n
— Despite heavy rain and cold and its o ffice rs.
M a c h in e ry f o r in v o k in g s im ila r
in ju n c tio n s a g a in s t the s tr ik in g
to p u t F a r r e ll Dobbs and Grace
s o ft coal m in e rs and C IO m ea t
C arlson on th e b a llo t in P e n n syl­
pa ckin g w o rk e rs has been set in
va n ia w e n t over th e top. W ith
m o tio n by T ru m a n .
7,900 sig n a tu re s o f re g iste re d
F a r-re a c h in g precedents th a t
vo te rs re q u ire d by la w , m ore than
"00 ove r th a t nu m b e r have a l­ can and w ill be used a g a in s t th e
re a d y been collected. The cam ­ e n tire un io n m ovem ent have been
pa ig n, now e n te rin g its fo u rth established in the IT U case.
weather la s t week, the campaign
week, shows no sign o f sla cken­
in g . T he P e n n sylva n ia comrades
are de term in ed to secure a to ta l
o f 12,000 sig n a tu re s by A p r il 7,
th e le g a l deadline f o r f ili n g in
th is state.
W A R M RESPONSE
The S o c ia lis t W o rk e rs P a rty
canvassers have received a u n i­
fo r m ly w a rm response fro m the
w o rke rs. People are th in k in g and
ta lk in g p o litic s „ to d a y, and are
eager to m eet and discuss th e ir
problem s w ith others. D espite a t­
te m p ts o f th e D e m o cra tic and
R epublican w a rd -h e e le rs to in t i­
m id ate the vote rs, p a rtic u la rly in
N e gro preas, SW P re p re se n ta ­
tiv e s have m e t m any people who
w anted to kno w w h y the y ha ven’t
been around sooner.
Y este rday, one o f the SW P
canvassers approached tw o C IO
E lect ric a l U n io n m em bers and
asked them to sig n. A f te r le a rn ­
in g about the S W P ’s candidate
and p ro g ra m , they signed and
asked w h y th e ir union d id n ’t p u t
up candidates lik e these, instead
o f s u p p o rtin g the D em ocrats and
Republicans.
A lth o u g h SW P re p re se n ta tive s
have n o t been pre ssin g f o r M il i­
ta n t subs, because o f the s h o rt
tim e a v a ila b le f o r g e ttin g the
necessary s ig n a tu re s, m a n y peo­
ple have b o u g h t copies o f the
paper, and a nu m b e r have sub­
scribed. Plans are be in g made to
go back in to these areas a fte r the
p e titio n cam p aign is over, and
sell subs.
Those w is h in g to p a rtic ip a te in
the ca m p a ig n o r d e s irin g m ore
in fo rm a tio n are urg e d to w rite
Irene LcC om pte, in care o f the
M ilita n t La bo r F o ru m , 1303 W .
G ira rd Ave. P h ila d e lp h ia 23, Pa.
D R A S T IC R U L IN G S
In la ng uag e th a t covered e ve ry
conceivable actio n o f th e I T U by
deed o r w ord, F e d e ra l Judge
L u th e r M . S w y g e rt ru le d in e f­
fe c t th a t:
1. I T U and its lo cal unions
cannot s trik e o r ta ke a n y o th e r
fo rm o f a ctio n to enforce demands
w h ich m ig h t be in v io la tio n o f th e
T a ft- H a r tle y A c t, even th o u g h
these are the su b je ct o f an u n re ­
solved d ispu te be fore the N a tio n ­
al L a b o r R e la tio n s B oard.
2. The IT U and its o ffic e rs
m a y g ive no a id o r encourage­
m en t in an y fo rm to lo ca l unions
on s trik e f o r demands t h a t m ig h t
(C o ntin ued on page 3)
W OODRUFF R AN D O LPH
GPU Concocts New Forgery to Smear Leon Trotsky
Stalin’s G P L murder machine,
which could not destroy the
stainless revolutionary reputa­
tion oi Ix ’on Trotsky and the
d o m in a tio n o f S ta lin is m ; and
thu s to p re v e n t the adherence to
the F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l o f le f t ­
w a rd m o vin g gro up s fo rm e rly
b e lo n g in g to th e Social D em o­
cracy, esp e cia lly in F rance and
Ita ly .
F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l even tho ugh
it resorted to the M oscow T r ia l
fra m e -u p s and the assassination
o f T ro ts k y , la s t w eek launched a
new fra m e -u p in the fo rm o f a
crude fo rg e ry called “ T ro ts k y ’s
secret p o litic a l te sta m e n t.”
The purpose o f th is fo rg e d docu­
m ent, e ve ry lin e o f w h ich is
covered w ith the p o litic a l fin g e r­
p rin ts o f tlie G P U , is to spread
the sla n d e r th a t in the fin a l
m on th s o f h is life the g re a t
M a rx is t lead er renounced “ a ll the
ideas and a ll the conceptions
w h ic h he had fo rm e rly held.” I t
seeks to d is c re d it th e w o rld
T ro ts k y is t m o ve m e n t,' w h ich re ­
presents th e m o st serious th re a t
w ith in the w o rk in g class to the
T h is
crude
fo rg e ry ,
w h ile
w ritte n by the G P U , w as n a tu r­
a lly n o t released in the name o r
in the o ffic ia l press o f the S ta lin ­
ists, because th a t w o uld have
destroyed its effectiveness. I n ­
stead, i t w as planted in the
w e e kly F rance D im anchc in P a ris
and, a cco rd in g to th is paper,
also in the Swiss D ie W ochcn
Z e itu n g . F rance D im anche boasts
o f its “ c u sto m a ry o b je c tiv ity ” in
the a rtic le c o n ta in in g th e alleged
“ te sta m e n t,” b u t as seen below,
th is is n o t the f ir s t tim e i t has
been h ire d by the G PU f o r its
d ir ty w o rk.
“ T han ks to an in cre d ib le com­
b in a tio n o f circum stances,” the
M a rch 21 le ad ing a rtic le in th is
B y George B re itm a n
paper begins, “ the p o litic a l te s ta ­
ment w h ich Leon T ro ts k y w ro te
ju s t before he was assassinated,
has a rriv e d in E urope. . . T h is
docum ent, so e x tra o rd in a ry in
every respect, has rem ained secret
fo r e ig h t years. I t was believed
to have been destroyed. I t was
w ritte n by Leon T ro ts k y on M ay
20, 1940 at the tim e when H it ­
le r was w in n in g the b a ttle o f
F rance.”
W h y did i t rem a in secre t? W ho
believed it to have been d e s tro y ­
ed ? The people w ho never heard
o f its existence, o r the people
who had i t and th e re fo re knew
i t w asn’t de stroyed? These are
questions never answ ered in the
a rtic le .
O B T A IN E D F R O M W H O M ?
“ T o w a rd the end o f J u ly 1940
a Soviet ag en t succeeded in
secu rin g a copy o f the te sta m e n t
w h ich T ro ts k y had e n tru ste d to
one o f his in tim a te frie n d s and
the docum ent was tra n s m itte d to S to ry , th a t he had w o rke d w ith
M oscow.” F ro m w hom did F rance the G P U in the p re p a ra tio n s f o r
D im anche ob ta in th is in fo rm a ­ d e visin g an e n try f o r “ Jacson”
tio n ? The o n ly possible source in to the T ro ts k y household in
was the G P U its e lf. T h is is a 3940.
(In c id e n ta lly ,
"Ja cso n ”
convenient p re p a ra tio n f o r
a m urdered T ro ts k y on A u g u s t 20,
possible fu tu r e “ c o n firm a tio n ” o f n o t J u ly 20.)
the fra m e -u p by the. K re m lin
“ T hree copies o f the testam ent
its e lf. And a g a in — w ho w as th is rem ained in the hands o f a p e r­
un-nam ed “ in tim a te fr ie n d ” ?
sonal frie n d
o f T ro ts k y ’s. . .
“ On J u ly 20 T ro ts k y
w as V ic to r Serge. . . I t is one o f his
assassinated by one o f h is c o l­ [S e rg e ’s] frie n d s to whom he had
la b o ra to rs, Jacques
M o rn a rd .” e n tru ste d one o f the copies, who
.T h a t is the s ig n a tu re o f S ta lin has ju s t b ro u g h t it to E uro pe .”
h im s e lf. T H E W H O L E W O R LD
T h u s we come to the one and
N O W K N O W S T H A T M O R N A R D o n ly nam e used to c o rro b o ra te
( A L I A S “ F R A N K JAC S.O N ” ), th e in cre d ib le h is to ry o f th is
F A R F R O M B E IN G A C O L ­ “ te sta m e n t.” Serge died a fe w
LABO R ATO R
O F T R O T S K Y , m onths ago, and so cannot defend
W AS
AN
AGENT
A C T IN G h im s e lf fro m th e G PU fa b ric a ­
U N D E R T 1 IE O R D E R S O F T H E tio n . T here are s u ffic ie n t fa c ts
G PU.
know n, how ever, to
r ip
the
O nly la s t y e a r th is fa c t was fa b ric a tio n to shreds.
confirm ed by L o u is F. Budenz,
F a r fro m be in g a personal
fo rm e r m a n a g in g e d ito r o f th e frie n d o f T ro ts k y ’s, Serge was a
N ew Y o rk D a ily W o rk e r, w ho ad ­ p o litic a l a n ta g o n is t and w as so
m itte d in his book, T h is Is M y designated in a ll o f T r o ts k y ’s
m an y references to h im d u rin g
tile la s t yea rs o f his life . W h y
should T ro ts k y e n tru s t h is la s t
te s ta m e n t (in th re e copies) to
such a m an and n o t to T ro ts k y ’s
lo y a l w ife o r his tr u s t- w o r th y
p o litic a l co lla b o ra to rs ? A n d w h a t
was the nam e o f Serge’s frie n d
who b ro u g h t i t to E u ro p e ?
M O R E O V E R , S E R G E D ID
NOT
A R R IV E
IN
M E X IC O .
U N T I L A F T E R T R O T S K Y ’S A S ­
S A S S IN A T IO N — IN S E P T E it ti
BER,
1941.
HOW
C 0 U L Di
T R O T S K Y H A V E G IV E N H f i i
H IS “ T E S T A M E N T ” ?
The G PU a u th o rs o f th e a rtic le
n a tu ra lly do n o t p ro vid e answ ers
to these questions, n o r to the:
even m ore num erous ones raised:
b y the te x t o f the a lleg ed docuv
n ie n t its e lf:
W H Y A SECRET?
W hy,
fo r
exam ple,
should;
T ro ts k y , th e m o st p ro lific m fj» !
(C o n tin u e d on page 2)
Page Two
THE MILITANT
Monday, A p ril 5, 1948
Packing Workers Hold Firm Against Strikebreaking
(C o ntin ued fro m page 1)
means b y w hich the y m ay fu rth e r
ro b the p u blic, and pre pare ra d io
speeches in w h ich the y d e lib e ra te ­
l y cloud up and confuse the is ­
sues.”
T h e f ir s t o f the un io n ra d io
p ro g ra m s
d e a lt
m a in ly
w ith
S w ift and C om pany, since A . I. G.
V a le n tin e , S w ift general m anager
in South St. Paul, made an a tta c k
on th e union in a bro ad cast la s t
week. In a n sw e r to V a le n tin e ’s
charges o f C om m unism , Siegel
said:
D I V ID E A N D R U L E
he a tte m p ts to p ic tu re a s in is te r,!
d a rk plot, being provoked by some)
fo re ig n agents. The packinghouse
w o rke rs w ho are f ig h tin g on the
picket lin e fo r a decent liv in g fo r
themselves and th e ir fa m ilie s w ill
not he taken in by th is age-old
h u n k.”
The “ A rm o u r F o rm u la ”
was
the subject o f the union broad­
cast on M arch 29. “ A rm o u r and
C om pany is em barrassed about
its h ig h p ro fits and lo w w ages,”
Siegel stated. “ I f it were ju s t a
question o f d e b a tin g the issue o f
high p ro fits and low wages, the
com pany knows f u ll w e ll th a t the
p u blic would soon begin to see
the gross in e q u a lity th a t has de­
veloped — i f the w a te rs were not
muddied by o th e r issues. A rm o u r
is a tte m p tin g to save its e lf fro m
pu blic e m b arra ssm e nt by seizing
upon a secondary issue — a lit t le
piece o f paper called an in ju n c ­
tion . T h is is ju s t a sm a ll p a rt
o f the A rm o u r F o rm u la .”
“ R eference has been made th a t
40% o f the S w ift em ployes, re p ­
resented by a com pany un io n and
an A F L un io n, accepted a 9-ccnt
an h o u r w age increase w ith o u t
th e th re a t o f a s trik e . The fa c t
re m a in s th a t 00% o f the S w ift
em ployes are o u t on the p icke t
lin e . W here is th is so-called dem ­
ocracy th a t M r. V a le n tin e in ­
fe rre d in his bro ad cast and his “ F O R M U L A ” I N A C T IO N
ta lk about C o m m unistic ta c tic s ?
O th e r aspects o f rife A rm o u r
The old com pany gam e o f d ivid e F o rm u la were b ro u g h t in to p lay
and ru le reeks o f these ta ctics.
in T ifto n , G eorgia, w h ere
18
“ A n d as lo n g as we’re on the U P W A m em bers were te a r-g a ssu b je c t o f C om m unism , le t’s see. sed; in S ioux C ity , Iow a , w here
W e a lw a ys th o u g h t th a t M r. V ai- A rm o u r tru c k d riv e rs are under
e n tin e was a meat packer, but it in s tru c tio n s to d riv e th ro u g h the
seems th a t since the s trik e he has p icke t lin e in second g e a r a t 35
gone in to the fis h business in m ile s per h o u r; in W est F a rg o ,
o rd e r to d ra g out the old red h e rr­ N. D., where the su p erintend en t
in g . N o t being able to present a o f the A rm o u r p la n t a d m itte d on
c o n v in c in g a rg u m e n t a g a in st his the w itn e ss stand th a t he “ knew
em ployes who are out on s trik e , o f no occasion when A rm o u r’s re-
quest f o r d e p u tiz a tio n o f A r m o u r 5
m anagem ent em ployes w as de­
nied by the s h e r iff o f Cass Coun­
ty ” .
T e stim o n y was taken
at a
h e a rin g in W est F a rg o when
Local 73, was hauled in to c o u rt j
la st week to show cause w h y an
in ju n c tio n should not be issued
a g a in s t the union. D u rin g the
he aring, the union introduced as
evidence an A rm o u r bla ckja ck —
a 12-inch piece o f solid copper
cable w rapped w ith a th in la y e r
> f fr ic tio n tape — and a " w a lk ­
in g s tic k ” used fo r h e rd in g liv e ­
stock. W itnesses te s tifie d th a t
these weapons are c a rrie d by A rp.our deputies, ready fo r action
ag ainst the pickets.
In South St. Paul, ya ckin g
com pany o ffic ia ls have let loose
;. ba rrag e o f c ritic is m o f c ity ,
co u n ty and state o ffic ia ls fo r h a v ­
in g fa ile d to open up union p icket
lines.
D a ko ta C ounty
S h e riff
N o rm a n D ie te r has been accused
o f not “ d e p u tiz in g enough p e r­
sons to enable him to p e rfo rm his
d u ty .”
D ie te r has subsequently
requested
the
D a kota
C o un ty
Board o f C om m issioners to au ­
The p icke t lin e a t A rm o u r's p la n t in S outh
th o riz e pay f o r a d d itio n a l depu­
ties to enforce the re s tra in in g
o rd e r a g a in s t p icke ts a t A rm o u r W h ile re fu s in g to p a y th e ir em ­ set up in the St. Paul H o te l.
L a s t weekend, Glenn C hinandployes the w eek’s wages th a t are
and S w ift plants.
s t ill due the m , S w ift and Com­ er, U P W A fie ld re p re se n ta tive ,
S T R IK E R S ’ R E L IE F
pany has 'eached an agreem ent in a te le g ra m to S w ift and A r ­
A p p lic a tio n s
fo r
r e lie f f o r w ith w e lfa re agencies by w h ich m o u r o ffic ia ls , requested th a t the
packinghouse s trik e rs are p o u rin g s trik e rs who are in need o f aid !ocked-in forem e n be allow ed to
in to the Ram sey C o u n ty and D a­ can co lle ct a p o rtio n o f th e ir pay- leave the p la n ts to spend E a ste r
kota
C o un ty
w e lfa re
boards. checks at an o ffic e o f th e com pany w ith th e ir fa m ilie s . “ These men
K e e p in g 9e r S h u t
Events on the
International Scene
By P a ul C. Stevens
Indomitable Spirit of German Trotskyism
T h is week No. -I o f the m im eo­ E v e ry tim e, on an h is to ric a lly
graphed jo u rn a l lJuser W eg, organ h ig h e r basis.
o f the F o u rth in te rn a tio n a l in
“ The defeats o f the spontaneous
G erm any, reached o u r desk. P u b ­ m ovem ents o f the m ach in e-w re ck­
lished “ somewhere in the fo rm e r ers w ere fo llo w e d by the re v o lu ­
R eich,” the ric h contents o f th is tio n s o f 1918. The lesson o f the
Ja n u a ry 19J8 nu m be r are te s t­ im p o s s ib ility o f these bourgeois
im o n y to the intense in te lle c tu a l d e m ocra tic
re v o lu tio n s
to
go
life o f the G erm an T ro ts k y is ts , th ro u g h to the end led to the
who are re b u ild in g th e ir o rg a n ­ c re a tio n o f the F ir s t In te rn a tio n ­
iza tio n a g a in s t a lm o st u n be lie v­ al.
The c ru s h in g o f the P a ris
able m a te ria l handicaps. W ith in Com mune, w hich showed the in a ­
its m eagre 1-1 pages, U nser W eg dequacy o f the F ir s t In te rn a tio n ­
manages to in clud e an e xce lle nt al, was fo llo w e d by the c re a tio n
an alysis o f “ D o lla r D ip lo m a c y ,” o f the g re a t G erm an la b o r m ove­
a rounded stu d y o f the “ P roblem s ment as the core o f the Second
e f the N ew R e v o lu tio n a ry P a rty In te rn a tio n a l.
A f te r the fa ilu re
in G e rm a n y,” a keen c ritic is m of o f the R ussian s o c ia l-re v o lu tio n ­
the p o lic y o f the CP, SP and oth er a ry (N a ro d n ik ) m ovem ent, came
S t. P aul.
p a rtie s to w a rd
the
im m e dia te the f ir s t u p ris in g o f ih e R ussian
questions c o n fro n tin g the Germ an p ro le ta ria t in 1905. I t showed
are be in g denied t h e ir le ga l w o rkers.
th a t th e period o f re v o lu tio n s
m o ra l and re lig io u s rig h ts as in
A n e sp ecially in s p irin g e xa m ­ was fa r . fro m ended.
d iv id u a ls in be in g re q u ire d to re ­ ple o f th e in d o m n ita b le s p ir it o f
“ In th is period the R ussian
m ain in th e p la n ts 24 ho urs a these T ro ts k y is t fig h te rs , who p ro le ta ria t developed new fo rm s
da y,” the te le g ra m stated. B u t have gone th ro u g h the he ll o f o f s tru g g le adapted to the new
the request was rejected b y com ­ H itle r ’s co n ce n tra tio n camps and epoch o f im p e ria lis m .
These
pa ny o ffic ia ls as “ an in sid io u s to d a y operate un d e r the v e ry w e re : f ir s t , the B o lsh e vik p a r ty ;
piece o f pro pa gan da .”
noses o f S ta lin ’s m urderous G PU, second, the mass s trik e and th ird ,
is an e d ito ria l e n title d , “ T h rou gh the S oviets.
V ic to ry and D e fe at — On To The
“ T h is f ir s t b ig o ffe n s iv e o f the
F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l.” W e quote T w e n tie th C e n tu ry w as beaten
the e d ito ria l in f u ll :
down by the c o u n te r-re v o lu tio n .
“ F o r a num ber o f years the The d e fe a t and the fa ilu re o f the
p o litic a l leaders o f the c a p ita lis ts p a rtie s o f the Second In te rn a tio n ­
have been announcing triu m p h ­ al to absorb the lessons o f 1905
— about how T ro ts k y ordered h im a n tly the decline o f the p o litic a l
to go to S ha ng ha i, then e n te r la b o r m ovem ent. T hey b lare th e ir led to th e ir in te rn a l d is in te g ra ­
Russia to tra in “ squads o f sabo­ slogan about the b a n k ru p tc y of tio n and to the f ir s t im p e ria lis t
te u rs ” ; how the assassin th o u g h t M a rx is m , and a tte m p t to lend it w o rld w a r. B u t th is w a r ended in
to h im s e lf th a t th is w o uld be the appearance o f a reasoned a rg ­ the f ir s t successful p ro le ta ria n
dangerous and “ M oreover, d u rin g um ent. The c a p ita lis ts succeeded re v o lu tio n in Russia in 1917, w h ich
the pre vio us m o n th I had been in p u ttin g up a b a rrie r against s tirre d in to actio n the oppressed
o f the e n tire w o rld .
astonished b y the fre q u e n t v is its
the p o w e rfu l p ro le ta ria n
mass
“ T he defeats o f th e
la b o r
o f the G erm an consul to T r o t ­
m ovem ent
fo llo w in g
the fir s t m ovem ent in the pe rio d between
s k y ” ; how he refused to go, and
w o rld w a r, w hich reached its peak the tw o w o rld w a rs led to the
T ro ts k y a tta cke d h im , th re a te n ­
w ith the v ic to rio u s Russian Re­ is o la tio n and degeneration o f the
ing- to have him shot b y the
vo lu tio n . M ore than th a t, the y suc­ firs t, w o rk e rs ’ state, to the v ic to r y
gu a rd s; and how he then had no
ceeded in sm ash in g the M a rx is t o f Fascism and to the Second
a lte rn a tiv e b u t to m u rd e r T r o t ­
and C om m unist m ovem ent in the W o rld W a r. A n d out o f th is deep
sky. . .
c a p ita lis t co u n trie s as an o rg a n ­ de fe a t th e re arises now, not m ere­
A n d o f th is the e d ito rs say w ith
ized fo rc e ; in un le ashing a second, ly as a f u r th e r developm ent, b u t
a s tra ig h t face : “ T ro ts k y ’s te s ta ­
even vaste r and m ore te rrib le as the h ig h e s t developm ent o f the
m en t illu m in e s in a s in g u la r
w o rld w a r; in con clu din g th is w a r com bat o rg a n iz a tio n o f M a rx is m
m an ne r th e de cla ra tio n s o f his
w ith an im p e ria lis t peace a fte r — th e F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l as
assassin.”
s t if lin g the b e g in n in g s o f a mass th e o rg a n iz e r o f th e p ro le ta ria n
W H A T I T A C T U A L L Y I L ­ m ovem ent fo r p ro le ta ria n dem ­
w o rld re v o lu tio n . I t is no lo n g e r
L U M IN E S IS T H E F A C T T H A T ocracy.”
a sum o f n a tio n a l p a rtie s , but the
E V E N T H O U G H S T A L IN M U R ­
“ T h is successful c a p ita lis t rea c­ w o rld p a rty o f the v ic to ry o f the
DERED TRO TSKY, HE HAS
tio n began w ith Ita lia n fascism p ro le ta ria t.
N O T B E E N A B L E TO D E S ­
and was la te r extended by G er­
“ From th is past we who fig h t
T R O Y T R O T S K Y IS M — T R O T ­
m an N a zism . The m o st conscious under the F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l
S K Y ’S P R O G R A M A N D T H E
ba nner-bearers o f the idea o f so­ d ra w courage fo r the heavy tasks
W O R L D O R G A N IZ A T IO N I I E
c ia lis m were subjected-to the m ost o f the present, and our absolute
B U IL T .
b ru ta l persecution.
M a n y once c e rta in ty o f v ic to ry in the fu tu re .
T h e K re m lin s till stands in devoted fig h te rs in the w o rk in g
The lessons o f the past are the
d e a th ly fe a r th a t the re v o lu ­ class s tru g g le have gone a s tra y
basis and the tools o f o u r present
tio n a ry p ro g ra m o f Bolshevism ,
in th e ir aim s and seek th e ir s a l­ a c tiv ity . T hey g ive us the con vic­
w h ich it has b e tra ye d — and w h ich
va tio n in the en te rp rise s o f the tio n th a t o u r cadres in the F o u rth
is represented tod ay b y T ro ts k y ’s re a c tio n a ry v ic to rs as tools o f a In te rn a tio n a l are a lin k in the
F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l — W ill w in fra u d u le n t im p e ria lis t dem ocracy. h is to ric process o f the s tru g g le
o u t and d e s tro y n o t o n ly c a p ita l­ R e la tiv e ly exte nsive and deep lo r socialism , w hich must in the
ism , b u t also the S ta lin is t m u rd e r know ledge, g re a t courage and end lead to the re a liz a tio n o f the
s tro n g d e te rm in a tio n is re q u ire d v ic to ry o f the w o rk in g class, in
machine.
to u p h o ld -th e idea o f irre c o n c il­ spite- o f a ll the defeats and be­
able class s tru g g le in spite o f a ll tra y a ls . T h is v ic to ry w ill decide
the defeats, cata stro phe s and be­ once and fo r a ll the a lte rn a tiv e
S ocialism
o r b a rb a ris m ’ and
tra y a ls .
“ In th is s itu a tio n know ledge o f smash a ll the fond hopes o f the
the past h is to ry o f social s tru g ­ c a p ita lis ts fo r the b a n k ru p tc y o f
gles, and o f th e la b o r m ovem ent M a rx is m .”
especially, is p a r tic u la r ly v a lu a ­
ble.
“ L o o k in g in to the past teaches
us th a t the ru lin g classes cele­
brated m any a v ic to ry over the
to ilin g masses, but th a t a fte r
every re a c tio n a ry triu m p h the
w o rkers have arisen m ore m ig h t­
ily and m ore p o w e rfu lly than
e>er before. E v e ry tim e the p ro ­
le ta ria t form ed its ra n ks anew.
GPU Concocts New Forgery to Smear Leon Trotsky
the docum ent states, did not f u l­
f ill th is hope.
tie a l w r ite r o f m odern tim es, have
The conception flies in the face
confined his change in o p in io n to o f e v e ry th in g T ro ts k y ever ac­
a secret docum ent, whose au­ tu a lly w ro te o r said. E v e r since
th e n tic ity
w o uld
c e rta in ly
be the b e g in n in g o f the degenera­
questioned — to counterbalance tio n o f the S oviet U n io n under
th e hundreds he had p rin te d on S ta lin , T ro ts k y fo u g h t a g a in st
b e h a lf o f a c o n tra ry vie w ?
those w ho designated the S ta lin ­
U n fo rtu n a te ly f o r the G PU is t b u rea ucracy as a new “ ru lin g
a u th o rs o f th is clu m sy fo rg e ry , class.” T ro ts k y de m onstrated the
th e F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l, on the erroneousness o f th is designa­
v e ry day th a t th is "te s ta m e n t” is tio n , sho w in g th a t the S ta lin is t
supposed to have been w ritte n , bu rea ucracy in Russia w as n o t a
Was h o ld in g
an
in te rn a tio n a l r u lin g class, b u t a b u re a u c ra tic
E m e rg e n cy Conference, “ some­ clique w ith o u t solid class fo u n d a ­
w h ere in the W estern H e m is­ tions, w h ich was able to seize
ph e re ” (M a y 19-26, 1940), one o f
whose m a in actio ns was the
a d op tion o f a M a n ife s to on th e
Im p e ria lis t W a r and the P ro le ­
ta ria n R e volu tion (P io n e e r Pub­
lis h e rs ), w h ich re a ffirm e d the
M a r x is t p ro g ra m in th e m ost
decisive m anner. The a u th o r o f
th is M a n ife s to was none o th e r
th a n T ro ts k y h im s e lf!
F u rth e rm o re , w h y in the e n tire
“ te s ta m e n t” is th e re not a sin gle
réfere nce
to
the F o u rth
In ­
te rn a tio n a l, to the b u ild in g o f
w h ic h T ro ts k y devoted the last
17 years o f his life , and w h y
does the o n ly refere nce to a new
re v o lu tio n a ry in te rn a tio n a l c a rry
th e im p lic a tio n th a t i t w a sn ’t
even fo rm e d ?
W h y, i f T ro ts k y changed the
ideas o f a life tim e on M a y 20,
LEO N TRO TSKY
d id he con tinu e— in the scores o f
a rtic le s he w ro te and in te rv ie w s
he held fro m th e n u n til the day po w e r in a degenerated w o rk e rs ’
o f his death three m onths la te r— state because o f th e te m p o ra ry
to r e a ffir m w ith his c h a ra c te ris tic d e fe a t o f th e w o rld re v o lu tio n
v ig o r a ll o f the ideas w h ich he b u t w h ich w o uld disap pea r w ith
had a lle g e d ly “ s e c re tly ” re p u ­ the v ic to ry o f the re v o lu tio n in
d ia te d ? T h is sin gle discrepancy o th e r cou ntrie s.
(C o n tin u e d fro m page 1)
is s u ffic ie n t p ro o f th a t the socalled “ te s ta m e n t” is n o th in g b u t
a fo rg e ry o f the G PU .
The
so - called
“ te s ta m e n t”
states th a t T ro ts k y expects to
be k ille d
by
S ta lin
because
S ta lin “ ju dg es a Russo-G erm an
w a r as in e v ita b le .” N o tice how
n e a tly th a t fits in to th e K re m lin
life th a t T ro ts k y w as an a g e n t o f
H itle r : S ta lin supposedly seeks t<
m u rd e r T ro ts k y n o t because the
la tte r is the la s t g re a t rep rese n­
ta tiv e o f the B olshe vik le ad er­
ship, b u t because a Russo-G erm an
w a r is in e v ita b le (an d th e re fo re
infiposes on S ta lin the need to
e lim in a te a ll H itle r ite agents.)
AC TU ALLY,
OF
COURSE,
W H IL E T R O T S K Y P R E D IC T E D
A R U S S O -G E R M A N W A R , A N D
W A R N E D T H E S O V IE T U N IO N
T O P R E P A R E FO R IT , S T A L IN
A T T H IS T IM E W A S S T IL L
C U D D L IN G U P TO H IT L E R I N
T H E IL L U S IO N T H A T T H E
H I T L E R - S T A L IN P A C T G U A R ­
A N TE E D PEACE.
T he fo rg e ry then has T ro ts k y
describe h is life -lo n g devotion to
th e w o rk in g class ( “ I fo u n d
m y s e lf as i f fa scin a te d by the
sp len dor o f the m a g n ific e n t con­
cep tion lim ned by M a rx and
E n g e ls ” ) and his hope th a t the
w o rk in g class w o u ld em ancipate
b o th its e lf and the w hole o f
h u m a n ity .
. T h e n the “ te sta m e n t” ju m p s
d ire c tly to th e question o f T r o t ­
s k y ’s s tru g g le against S ta lin ’s
p o lic y , w h ich “ sou gh t. . . to con­
v e r t th e d ic ta to rs h ip o f the p ro le ­
t a r ia t in to a d ic ta to rs h ip o f the
b u re a u cra cy.” T ro ts k y , i t con­
tinu es, used to hope th a t the
w o rk e rs in th e S oviet U n ion
w o u ld “ re a c t” a g a in st S ta lin ’s
p o lic y , w h ich is here credited
W ith h a v in g “ succeeded in m a k ­
in g o f his B o n a p a rtis l clique the
r u lin g class o f a pseudo-socialist
s ta te .” B u t th e Soviet w o rke rs,
In his w o rk w ritte n in 1939-40.
In Defense o f M a rx is m (P io n e e r
P u b lis h e rs ), T ro ts k y expounds
th is idea in g re a t d e ta il. The
E m ergency Conference M anifesto,
of
(he
F o u rth
In te rn a tio n a l,
w ritte n by T ro ts k y , again repeats
th is th o u g h t. A n d so did e ve ry
sin g le a rtic le on the S oviet U n io n
w ritte n by T ro ts k y u n til th e day
S ta lin ’s ag e n t s tru c k h im down.
Supposedly disillu sio n e d about
Russia, T ro ts k y is made fo say
th a t he then turne d h is a tte n tio n
to the “ in te rn a tio n a l p ro le ta ria t.”
e xp e ctin g to see it r a lly to “ the
s tru g g le fo r a new ‘ In te rn a ­
tio n a l’.” B u t “ th is was not the
case. The C om m unist p a rtie s did
not re a ct.” T h is m akes i t seem
th a t T ro ts k y had equated the
in te rn a tio n a l w o rk in g class w ith
the S ta lin is t p a rtie s, o r th a t he
had had some hopes a b o u t re fo rm ­
in g them when as a m a tte r o f
fa c t, he had lo n g b e fore con­
cluded th e y w e re irre d e e m a b ly
co rru p te d .
“ I t was w ith g re a t bitte rn e ss
th a t I was forced to a d m it tha t
the o n ly ones w h o grasped the
tru e n a tu re o f
the
S ta lin is t
d a ng er and w ho trie d to put up
dikes against the B o n a p a rtis t and
b u re a u cra tic tid e were ce rta in
elem ents in , the le ft w in g o f the
S ocialist m ovem ent.”
T H E R E A L REASON
H e re is the tip -o ff on one o f
the aim s o f th e supposed “ te s ta ­
m e n t” — on the one hand to sm ear
le ft s o c ia lis t opponents o f S ta lin ­
ism in E u ro p e as “ T ro ts k y is t
agents o f fa s c is m ” and on the
o th e r to a tte m p t by th is sm ear
to fr ig h te n them o ff fro m m o vin g
to w a rd u n it y w ith
the T r o t­
skyists.
T hen, th e .T r o ts k y invented by
the G P U continues, “ I recalled
th a t in the past, in Russia as
elsewhere, the p u r ify in g waves
o f the p ro le ta ria n re v o lu tio n were
set in m otio n p r im a r ily in tim e
o f w a r when the repressive m a­
chine o f th e c a p ita lis t state
fou nd its e lf weakened by bloo d­
le ttin g and by economic d iffic u l­
tie s and was no lo n g e r in a con­
d itio n to re s is t the re v o lu tio n a ry
forces.” The w a r had entered its
second phase, and “ i t is possible
to expect th a t in a lit t le w h ile
S oviet Russia and the U n ite d
S tates w ill become in vo lve d in
it . . .
“ T h e w o rk in g class o f the So­
v ie t U n io n o u g h t to p ro fit fro m
th is w a r in ord e r to open up
fierce h o s tilitie s a g a in st S ta lin ’s
B o n a p a r t i s t bu rea ucracy. We
o u g h t to e x e rt here the same
fu rio u s e n erg y th a t L e n in showed
in opposing h im s e lf to K e re n sky
d u rin g the F ir s t W o rld W a r. . .
even i f i t is bound to assist i t
[fa s c is m ] in g a in in g te m p o ra ry
m ilita r y successes.”
T h is is one o f the b ig g e s t lies
in the w h ole S ta lin is t fa b ric o f
fa ls ific a tio n . A s is w e ll know n,
T ro ts k y was an advocate o f a
p o litic a l re v o lu tio n a g a in s t the
S o vie t bu rea ucracy, w ith the aim
ot re s to rin g w o rk in g class dem o­
cracy and re tu rn in g the Soviet
g o ve rn m e n t to the p a th o f in te r ­
n a tio n a lism . B U T A T T H E S A M E
T IM E T H A T H E F O U G H T T H E
S T A L IN IS T
BUREAUCRACY,
H E W A S A L S O T H E M O ST
D E T E R M IN E D D E F E N D E R OF
T H E S O V IE T U N IO N A G A IN S T
A L L A T T A C K S B Y I M P E R IA L ­
IS M . B oth be fore and a fte r M ay
20, 1940, lie exp la ine d ag ain and
a g a in :
“ W e m u s t fo rm u la te o u r slogans
in such a w a y th a t the w o rk e rs
see c le a rly ju s t w h a t we are
de fe n d in g (s ta te p ro p e rty and
planned e co no m y), and a g a in s t
whom we are co n d u ctin g a ru th iess s tru g g le (th e p a r a s i t i c
bu rea ucracy and its C o m in te rn .)
W e m u s t n o t lose s ig h t f o r a
sin g le m om e nt o f the fa c t th a t
the question o f o v e rth ro w in g the
Soviet bureaucracy is fo r us sub­
o rd in a te to the question o f p re ­
s e rv in g s ta te p ro p e rty in the
means o f p ro du ction in the U S S R ;
th a t the question o f p re s e rv in g
sta te p ro p e rty in the means o f
p ro d u ctio n in the U S S R is sub­
o rd in a te f o r us to the question
o f the w o rld p ro le ta ria n re v o lu ­
tio n .” ( In Defense o f M a rx is m ,
P. 21.)
In o th e r w ords, T ro ts k y ’s ap­
proach to. the defense o f the Soviet
U n io n (a degenerated w o rk e rs ’
s ta te ) a g a in s t th e a tta c k o f im ­
p e ria lis m was necessarily d iffe re n t
fro m th a t o f L e n in ’s approach to
K e re n s k y ’s w a r to defend Russia
in 1917 (w h en it w as a c a p ita lis t
s ta te .)
T ro ts k y is then quoted as
d e c la rin g th a t he had lo n g be­
lieved th a t a re v o lu tio n in “ the
p ro g re ssive c a p ita lis t co u n trie s ”
(w h a te v e r th a t m ay m ean) w o uld
“ necessarily lead to th e d o w n fa ll
o f S ta lin ’s clique and th e re g e ­
n e ra tio n o f S oviet dem ocracy. I
consider i t necessary to say
op en ly to the w o rk e rs o f the
w o rld th a t I no lo n g e r hold th is
o p in io n .” I f T ro ts k y supposedly
deems i t necessary to s ta te his
change o f o p in ion “ openly to the
w o rke rs o f the w o rld ,”
why
d id n ’t he do so, in ste ad o f in ­
c o rp o ra tin g i t in a secret “ te s ta ­
m e n t” ?
U n fo rtu n a te ly f o r the G PU
lia rs , T ro ts k y w ro te in his “ L e tte r
to the W o rke rs o f the U S S R ,”
w ritte n th e same m on th as the
so-called testam e nt, “ The present
w a r w ill spread m ore and m ore,
p ilin g ru in s on ru in s , breeding
m ore and m ore so rro w , de spa ir
and p ro te s t, d r iv in g the w hole
w o rld to w a rd new re v o lu tio n a ry
explosions. The w o rld re v o lu tio n
f lia ll re - in v ig o ra te the Soviet
w o rk in g masses w ith new courage
and resoluteness and sha ll u n ­
derm ine the b u re a u c ra tic props
o f S ta lin ’s caste.”
F A N T A S T IC
L IE S
F ro m th is p o in t on the fa ls ific a ­
tio n s g ro w w ild e r and m ore fa n ­
ta s tic . T ro ts k y is presented as
g iv in g up n o t o n ly the defense
o f the S oviet U n io n a g a in s t im ­
p e ria lis t a tta c k , b u t even the
idea th a t th e w o rk e rs are capable
o f a ch ie vin g so cia lism :
“ T he v ic to ry o f th is S ta lin is t
burea ucracy over the forces o f
w o rk e rs ’ dem ocracy w ill open the
doors f o r the d a rke st period in
h is to ry ever know n by m an kin d.
T h is w ill he the epoch o f a new
e x p lo itiv e class, horn fro m the
B o n a p a r t i s t bureaucracy o f
S ta lin .
“ I t w ill then be necessary to
recognize th a t th is b u rea ucratic
degeneration o f the S oviet U n io n
b rin g s w ith it p ro o f o f the con­
g e n ita l in c a p a c ity o f the p ro le ­
ta ria t to become a ru lin g class
and th a t the Soviet U rtion w ill
become the p re cu rso r and em bryo
o f a new and te rrib le e x p lo itiv e
reg im e on a w o rld scale.”
T he re a l a u th o rs o f th is “ te s ta ­
m e n t” m u s t have gu ffa w ed w ith
s a tis fa c tio n as the y composed
th is section. Because it repeats
some o f the ph rase olo gy a c tu a lly
used b y T ro ts k y in an a rtic le
w r itte n in Septem ber, 1939, called
“ The U SSR In W a r” published
in the book In Defense o f M a rx ­
ism. The “ t r ic k ” is th a t T ro ts k y
is here presented as a ffirm in g
w h a t he sp e c ific a lly denied!
B u t, it 'm ay be asked by some
people not acquainted w ith T r o t ­
s k y ’s vie w s in his la s t m onths,
perhaps som e th in g happened be-
tween Septem ber, 19-39 and M ay
20, 1940, w hen th is ’testa m e n t
presents h im as s a y in g : “ I am a
ve te ra n o f the re v o lu tio n w ho in
th e la s t hours o f his life finds
h im s e lf com pelled to revise a ll
the ideas and a ll th e conceptions
w h ich he had fo r m e r ly held. I
fir m ly believed in th e reg en era­
tio n o f m a n kin d th ro u g h the
p ro le ta ria n re v o lu tio n . I begin to
doubt th a t the class on w h ic h I
had placed a ll m y hopes is capable
o f a tte m p tin g th e colossal ta sk
w h ich h is to ry w a n ts to a ssign to
it . ”
Yes, som e th in g happened in
th a t pe rio d— H itle r bro ke th ro u g h
his w e ste rn f r o n t and began the
d riv e w h ich ended in (Jie f a ll o f
F rance in June. B U T A T T H E
E N D O F J U N E , 1940, T R O T ­
S K Y W R O T E A N A R T IC L E ON
T H E VERY P R O B L E M S
R A IS E D B Y T H IS IM P O R T A N T
E V E N T . IT S T IT L E IN D IC A T E S
IT S C O N T E N T S : “ W E DO N O T
CHAN G E
OUR
C O U R S E .”
P R IN T E D I N T H E O C TO B E R ,
1940
F OU RT H
IN T E R N AT IO N A L .
A nd T ro ts k y ’s d y in g words,
a fte r the G PU
assassin had
s tru c k him down and he knew
th a t he was a c tu a lly u tte rin g his
last te stam e nt, w e re:
“ Please say to o u r frie n d s th a t
I am sure o f the v ic to ry o f the
F o u rth
In te rn a tio n a l. Go f o r ­
w a rd .”
B u t F rance D im anche’s a rtic le
does n o t end w ith the end o f the
“ te sta m e n t.” A s i f w a n tin g to
gu a ra n te e th a t a ll in fo rm e d re a d ­
ers w ill recognize th a t the w hole
th in g was a G P U jo b , i t continues
b y re c a llin g
th a t a “ special
en voy” o f th is sheet had had an
in te rv ie w w ith S ta lin ’s assassin,
M o rn a rd - Jacson, p rin te d in its
Dec. 8, 1946 issue.
The substance o f th a t in te r ­
vie w is then re p rin te d : M o rn a rd
repeats the long-dem olished a lib i
p u t in his m o n th by the G PU and
r-dds a fe w n e w ly -in v e n te d d e ta ils
M ilitant Army
E le c tio n A c tiv itie s Net
New S u b scrip tio n s
f o r m y M ilita n t pledge and to
renew m y su b scrip tio n s to The
M ilita n t and F o u rth In te rn a tio n ­
a l.” — J. B., A lb e rta , Canada.
E le c tio n a c tiv itie s hv a num ber
o f S o cia list W o rke rs P a r t y
branches are p ro d u c in g su b scrip ­
tio n s in d ire c tly .
W o rk e rs who
sign election p e titio n s to p u t the
S W P on the b a llo t in th e p re s i­
d e n tia l cam p aign n a tu ra lly ask
questions and become v e ry in te r ­
ested in the p a rty , its p ro g ra m
and press.
As P h ila d e lp h ia re p o rte d on the
la s t seven subs sent in , “ s ix o f
these ju s t fe ll in to o u r laps, so to
speak, w h ile we w ere on election
w o rk .”
A sub d riv e is planned
when the p e titio n cam paign ends.
* * *
N in e ty -s ix new and renew al
su b scrip tio n s in N ew Y o rk C ity
th e la s t fo u r weeks w e ll exceeded
the 82 M arch e x p ira tio n s here.
A t le ast seven o th e r areas have
also a lre a d y exceeded e x p ira tio n s ,
and com plete re tu rn s f o r the
m on th w ill c e rta in ly show m an y
others on th e b la ck side o f the
ledger.
* * *
M IN N E A P O L IS held a m o b il­
iz a tio n Sunday to launch a one
week sub d rive . I t was the f ir s t
o p p o rtu n ity f o r such w o rk a fte r
the rece nt a rc tic w e athe r. Results
w ere not in f o r th is issue.
A rea s w h ich have a lre a d y sent
in m ore subs th a n the M a rch e x­
p ira tio n s in th e ir areas are L y n n ,
M in ne apo lis, C in c in n a ti, Toledo,
P h ila d e lp h ia , Reading and W est
V irg in ia .
A n O hio rea de r sent in a bonus
check — aw arded f o r a m oneysaving- suggestion in his p la n t —
to pay f o r g i f t subs to 10 o th e r
tra d e u n io n ists.
*
*
*
“ Enclosed please fin d $10 (C a­
nadian, $8.50 in U . S. c u rreney)
*
*
*
L y n n (M ass.) sent fo u r subs
obtained fro m “ fo u r o u t o f fiv e
persons seen la s t Sunday.”
*
*
*
*
*
*
One o f the h a rd e s t-h it sections
is A lle n to w n -B e th le h e m , M arch
and A p r il e x p ira tio n s w ill w ipe
out m ost o f the sub scrip tions
th e re and so f a r th e re have been
o n ly th re e renew als. H ow about
it , A lle n to w n -B e th le h e m readers?
W h y n o t renew and send in a
frie n d ’s sub w ith y o u r own ?
Monday, A p ril 5, 1948
Page Three
THE MILITANT
New War Preparations Threaten
Further In fla tio n a ry Price Rise
o n ly 4% . Thus the f u ll burden
o f the en la rged w a r p ro g ra m w ill
After two months of uncer­ fa ll upon the poor in the fo rm of
tainty the American economy is increased prices.
B y A r th u r B u rch
TROTSKY
“On Feb. 10 09401, President Roosevelt warned the Amer­
ican Youth Congress against radicalism, advising it to improve
the existing institutions, little by little, year by year. Such a
procedure undoubtedly would be the best, most advantageous,
most economical, if. . . it were realizable. Unfortunately ‘the
existing institutions’ in the entire world are not improving
year by year but deteriorating.
. . . The liquidation of the private ownership of the means of
production is the central historical task of our epoch and will
guarantee the birth of a new, more harmonious society. The
act of birth, daily observation leaches us, is never a ‘gradual’
process blit a biological revolution.”
— Leon Trotsky, Interview with St. Louis Post Dispatch, 1940
A m erican ca p ita lis m , hut yes­
faced with the prospect of an­
other inflationary cycle. The te rd a y on the b rin k o f an econom­
L E N IN
W all Street's Labor Salesmen
If W all Street and its government hired
hands stood alone in propagandizing the M a r­
shall Plan, tile American workers would not
give a nickel's worth of support to this pro­
ject for propping up dictatorships in Europe
and Asia.
But Big Business and the Stale Department
have recruited a crew of sharp salesmen from
the C IO and A E L top bureaucracies. These
volunteer hucksters are trying to palm off
the Marshall Plan as a prize package of “ humanitarianism,” “peace” and "democracy.”
Philip M urray heatedly denies that the
Marshall Plan is part of a "W all Street plot.”
He claims it is just a “civilian economic re­
habilitation job.” lie indignantly repudiates
the suggestion that there is anything "polit­
ical” about the Marshall Plan or anything
designed to "interfere in the internal affairs”
of other countries.
The very next week, C IO Secretary-Treas­
urer Carey threatens the Italian workers that
if they vote the Communist-Socialist ticket
in the April 18 elections, “they can hardly
expect to share in the benefits of the E R P .”
A few days later A PE President W illiam
Green sternly warns the Italian workers over
the State Department’s “Voice of America”
broadcast that anyone who tells them “that
a vote for the Communists will not cut off
help from the United States” is “not telling
the truth.”
' W hat is this but the use of the Marshall
Plan for political purposes and interference
in the internal political lile ol another coun­
try? W hat is the State Department doing
when it waves the bludgeon of "no aid” over
the Italian workers and threatens them with
starvation if they don’t vote for the Vaticanbacked candidates of the capitalist parties?
The top labor leaders lie in their teeth
when they say that the Marshall Plan is meant
to "feed the hungry" and “safeguard democ­
racy." It is, in fact, intended for an exactly
opposite purpose: T O B O LSTER C A P IT A L ­
IST T O T A L IT A R IA N IS M A N D FA S C IS T
D IC T A T O R S H IP S .
The proof?
1. The House of Representatives on March
30 passed, by a vote of 149 to 52, an amend­
ment to the ER P bill to make Fascist Spain
— under the Franco dictatorship — eligible
for Marshall Plan funds. W ill the butcher
of the Spanish republic and the Spanish labor
movement use Marshall plan funds for democ­
racy, perhaps?
2. Incorporated in the present Marshall
Plan bill is nearly half a billion dollars for
M IL IT A R Y S U P P L IE S to the monarchocapitalist dictatorship in Greece, where the
firing squads are working night and day
slaughtering labor opponents of the regime;
to the m ilitary dictatorship in Turkey, where
all labor organizations are banned and labor
leaders imprisoned without trial; to Chiang
Kai Shek, whose bloody dictatorship is so
rotten that the very Senate committee which
recommended arms for him had to admit the
unspeakable foulness of his regime.
The union leaders who are trying to sell
this bill of goods to the workers of America
and Europe are not blind, deluded and misin­
formed. They know the score. They are con­
scious liars, who have traded their very souls
to the Stale Department. These conscience­
less labor lieutenants of capitalism — in their
blindness and opportunism — are selling the
American and world labor movements down
the river to capitalist totalitarianism and bar­
barism — the end-product of the Truman
Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.
A d m it the W ar Refugees!
American imperialism’s sellout of the Jews
and scrapping of the partition scheme for
Palestine calls to attention once again that
the Zionist program to create a Jewish state
in Palestine is not only reactionary but also
unworkable.
Nevertheless, the plight of European Jewry
and other displaced persons is a tragically
real one. 850,000 men, women and children
remain in the D P camps, facing a future with
no perspective or hope.
The Washington statesmen have, on numer­
ous occasions, shed pious tears about these
victims of Nazism and the war. But their
•record of action on this question is no less
reprehensible than their conduct on Pales­
tine.
During the war, on Roosevelt’s initiative,
the Evian Conference was held to take up
the problems of the Jewish refugees. Then the
U. S. delegation to the UN took the initiative
in insisting that sanctuary be found for the
Displaced Persons. And yet three years after
the war these same U. S. leaders have not
taken one single practical step to provide
asylum for these war refugees.
In the House the totally inadequate Strat­
ton Bill, which would admit 400,000 D P ’s
over a 1'our-vear period has been pigeonholed
in committee for nine months. Now Senator
W iley ( R ., Wise.) has introduced a bill into
the Senate which would further whittle down
the number to 50,000 D P ’s a year for two
years. And even this bill has little chance of
passage unless strong pressure is exerted on
its behalf.
The time has come for the Jewish people to
stop depending on the slippery imperialist
statesmen for help. Let them call upon the
labor movement to inaugurate an aggressive
campaign to let down the immigration bars
into the U. S. and permit the entry of the
Displaced Persons. Such a campaign would
be ten times more'progressive and has ten
times greater chances of success than the fan­
tastic scheme of setting up a Jewish state
against the desires of the whole Arab popula­
tion of the Near East.
C IO Leaders on Labor Party
It looks like the union bureaucrats are scur­
rying from the sinking Truman ship. Two
weeks ago M ax Zaritsky, head of the A EL
M illinery Workers, started the stampede. L.ast
week, Louis 1lollander. head of the New York
State G IO ran for the nearest port-hole.
Like Zaritsky, Hollander suddenly discov­
ered that Truman is unfit for the high office
of United Slates President. He appealed to
the Democratic Party to find a better candi­
date — by which he means a winning candi­
date.
This is part of the campaign of the “labor
statesmen” to get a “ D raft Eisenhower” move­
ment going. They know that the Democratic
Party under Truman hasn't the ghost of a
chance in the 1948 elections. So they are
throwing their weight around and working
overtime to pump new oxygen into this ex­
piring organism.
This gives the lie to their previous propa­
ganda that "now is not the time” to build a
Labor Party. This proves that so far as they
are concerned, the "right time” will never
come.
Hollander, like the other union leaders,
knows there is another — a real — alterna­
tive. 1Ie stated this just last week — not di­
rectly to the G IO workers — but in an inter­
view in the March 29 Labor Leader, organ
of the Association of Gatholic Trade Union­
ists.
"Some day we will have a real independent
Labor Party,” says Hollander. It won’t be
any "third parly” like Theodore Roosevelt’s
Bull Moose, La Follette’s Progressive Party
and Wallace's movement “ built by individ­
uals from the top down.” It will be “a real
Labor Party, built from the bottom up,” that
“won’t have to call itself 'the third party.’
It will be the second, or even the first party.”
T h a t’s fine. But what are Hollander and
the other labor leaders waiting for? W hat
better time will there be than now to build
a real Labor Party from the bottom up.
Labor won’t touch the Republican Party
with a ten-foot pole. The Democratic Party
is falling apart with rottenness. But for the
fatheads who pass themselves off as “ labor
statesmen” this is still not the right time.
This demonstrates that the movement for
a Labor Party — if it is to get going — must
start from below in the shops and plants and
mines. T h a t’s the way the industrial union
movement started in 1934. T h a t’s the way
the Labor Part}’ movement will have to start
today.
ic crisis, is ag ain lo okin g fo rw a rd
to a period o f a stron om ical p ro ­
fits .
It is ready to u tilis e any
p id d lin g wage increases granted
to the w o rke rs as an excuse fo r
an o th e r steep increase in prices.
T he re -e sta blishm e nt o f a irc ra ft
p la n ts and those p ro d u cin g oth er
m ilita r y
eq uipm en t
w ill
once
again b rin g about shortages in
m any consum er goods, c o n tin u in g
the se lle rs’ m arket w h ich has p re ­
vailed since the w a r. The te n ­
dency to unload in ve n to rie s w hich
began w ith the com m o dity de­
cline w ill v e ry lik e ly he halted,
and m ay g ive w ay to continued
While Truman centered his talk ho a rd in g , w hich w ill induce f u r ­
around the need for universal th e r shortages and price increas­
military training and the reinsti­ es.
pre cip ito u s decline in th e com ­
m o d ity m a rke ts, in cre a sin g re s is t­
ance o f the consum ers to h ig h
prices and the g ra d u a l f ill in g up
o f s u p p ly lines foreshadowed the
im m inence o f a new depression.
I t was a t th is p o in t th a t the im ­
p o rta n t K e y W est conference o f
R ig Rusiness, B ig Rrass and the
A d m in is tra tio n , too k place, out o f
w hich em erged the new p re pa red­
ness p ro g ra m w hich prom ises to
g ive the economy an o th e r shot in
the arm . T h is was re fle cte d by
the steqp rise in the stock m a rke t
fo llo w in g the S aint P a tric k ’s Day
speech o f P reside nt T rum an .
tution of the selective service
draft, the stock market advance,
ied by aircraft, copper, chemical
and steel served notice that much
more was involved.
Gradually
the full program is being divulg­
ed.
First,. Secretary of Defense
Forrestal informed the Senate
Armed Services Committee that
the present arms outlay of 11
billion dollars had to be boosted
by another 3 billion dollars.
W h ile e m p lo ym e n t m ay in ­
crease, the w o rk e rs ’ stan dard o f
liv in g w ill con tinu e to decline as
B ig Business revels in its in fla ­
tio n a ry o rg y o f u n p ro d u ctive and
govern m ent-fina nce d “ fre e e n te r­
p rise .”
The vete ra ns w ill be
asked to fo re g o new homes f o r
an in d e fin ite period. A n d f o r th a t
m a tte r, w h y b u ild new homes
when soon you m ay have to f ill
fie s h gra ves in the a rc tic snow?
The w o rk in g class w ill be asked
R ut F o rre s ta l f u r th e r a d m itte d to s u b m it to m ore vicious slave
th a t even a 4 b illio n d o lla r boost la b o r co n tro l and w age freezes
w ould o n ly ta ke care o f the pres­ w h ile p r o fits con tinu e to soar.
ent 55-gro up a ir force. B u t the
O f course the day o f re cko n in g
A ir Force B ig Brass is dem and­ f o r B ig Business d ra w s closer as
in g a 70-group fo rc e as “ essen­ the re s u lt o f th is reckless spend­
t ia l”
f o r a m in im u m
s tr ik in g in g f o r the tools o f d e stru ctio n .
force. F o rre s ta l estim a te d that, a F u rth e r la rg e increases to the
m ilit a r y p ro g ra m o f th is m a g n i­ a lre a d y huge g o ve rn m e n t debt
tude w ould cost a ro un d 18 b illio n m u st e v e n tu a lly lead to b a n k ru p t­
d o lla rs. L a te r i t appeared th a t cy.
a 2 b illio n d o lla r lend-lease p ro ­
g ra m to E uro pe was also be in g D A N G E R O F IN F L A T T O N
contem plated. T hus even w ith a
The new a rm a m en ts p ro g ra m
55-group force, f o r the tim e be­ o f the g o ve rn m e n t b rin g s to the
in g , the arm s budget w ould have fo re the renew ed danger o f in f la ­
to be increased fro m 11 b illio n tio n . T h is imposes on the la b o r
d o lla rs to 16 b illio n do lla rs.
m ovem ent the need to re -in v ig o ra te its f ig h t f o r an adequate
T H E POOR W IL L P A Y
wage p ro g ra m .
T here is every lik e lih o o d th a t
H ow can the w o rk e rs p ro te ct
some such budget increase w ill be them selves a g a in s t a new in f la ­
passed by th e
R epublican-con­ tio n a ry wave ? T h e y m u st in s is t
tro lle d Congress w ith li t t le d if ­ on an adequate w age ris e to com ­
f ic u lty since the tw o le a d in g con­ pensate f o r th e b ig ris e in prices
tenders f o r the R epublican p re s i­ in the past year. Then th e y m ust
d e n tia l
n o m in a tio n ,
T a f t and p ro te c t th e ir p u rch a sin g po w e r
Dewey, are the m ost a rd e n t ad ­ f o r the d u ra tio n by de m anding a
vocates o f an enla rged a ir force. c o s t-o f-liv in g bonus to com pen­
A lth o u g h th is a d d itio n a l o u tla y sate them f o r any and a ll a d d i­
w ill m ore tha n e a t up the a n tic ­ tio n a l price increases a fte r th e ir
ip ated b u dg et surp lu s, Congress c o n tra cts go in to
e ffe c t. T h a t
passed the ta x reduction, measure w ould gu a ra n te e th e w o rk e rs
w h ich eased the burden on the a g a in s t red uctio n in th e ir liv in g
w e a lth y by as much as 67% standards.
O th erw ise any wage
w h ile in cre a sin g the take-hom e increases w ill be w iped o u t by
pay f o r the average w o rk e r by c o n tin u in g price increases.
A ll Labor Faces
Injunction Menace
(C o ntin ued fro m page 1)
be p ro h ib ite d by the T a f t - I I a r lle y
A c t.
3. The cou rt, in a f u r th e r u n ­
precedented move, a rro g a te d to
its e lf the a u th o rity o f deciding
w h a t can and w h at cannot go in to
the union co n tra ct.
U n d e r p e ril o f im p ris o n m e n t
and ru in o u s fin e s, the IT U o f f i­
cia ls, headed by W o o d ru ff R an­
dolph, are in e ffe c t, ordered to
n e g o tia te co n tra cts th a t w ill e li­
m in a te the tra d itio n a l closed shop.
N ow , the U n ite d M in e W o rk e rs ’
re p re se n ta tive s, whose un io n has
a lre a d y f e lt th e w e ig h t o f one
fe d e ra l in ju n c tio n and a $710,000
fin e f o r “ c o n te m p t,” have been
ordered by' a fe d e ra l ju d g e to ap ­
pear a t h e a rin g s o f T ru m a n ’s
hand-picked, p ro -e m p lo y e r “ fa c t­
fin d in g ” com m ittee .
A t the h e a rin g , L e w is in siste d
th a t he had n o t ordered a s trik e ,
th a t the men had w a lke d o u t
spontaneously u n d e r the “ able
and w illin g ” clause o f the con­
tra c t w h ich the m ine o p era to rs
have “ dishonored.” The m iners,
he said, are a n g ry because th e y
have been “ g o ld b ric k e d ” by the
o p e ra to rs in the m a tte r o f the
u n io n ’s h e a lth and w e lfa re fu n d ,
fro m w h ich th e y have n o t d ra w n
a penny.
W h ile an othe r T ru m a n “ fa c t­
fin d in g ” com m itte e is c le a rin g the
le ga l path fo r an in ju n c tio n
a g a in st the C IO l ’ ackinghouse
W o rke rs, local judges are mass
p ro d u cin g a n ti-p ic k e tin g re s tra in ­
in g orders at the behest o f the
“ B ig F o u r” m eat packers. Such
in ju n c tio n s have a lre a d y been is ­
sued in O m aha; St. P a u l; F a rg o ,
N . D .; S t. Joseph, M o.; T ifto n ,
Ga.; and Mason C ity , Io w a .
In th is h o u r o f deadly' p e ril
f o r la bo r, the leaders o f the CIO
and A F L are d is p la y in g a c rim i­
n a lly s lu g g ish a ttitu d e . N o t o n ly
as between the C IO and A F L ,
b u t w ith in these tw o m a jo r o rg a n ­
iza tio n s th e re is a to ta l la ck o f
u n ity o f purpose and action.
The A F L top h ie ra rc h y has
h a rd ly lift e d a fin g e r in th e IT U
ease. The C IO c h ie fta in s are p e r­
m ittin g - the packinghouse union
to stand isolated. N e ith e r gro u p
has so m uch as said a w o rd
a g a in s t the g o ve rn m e n t’s in te r ­
ve n tio n in the m in e rs ’ s trik e .
T W O Y E A R S AG O
O n ly tw o years ago, organized
la b o r was a g g re ssive ly on the
m arch, b a ttlin g on a hundred
p ic k e t lines. T oday, the g o ve rn ­
ment. is con tem ptuo usly clu b b in g
the unions around w h ile the u n ­
io n leaders s it passive and p a r­
alyzed, w a tc h in g la b o r’s most
cherished rig h ts being tra m p le d
upon. T hey are to o busy c a r r y ­
in g out S tate D e p a rtm e n t chores
to b o ther ab ou t m o b iliz in g the
w o rk e rs to defend the v e ry life
o f th e ir unions.
These leaders th o u g h t th e y
could “ come to te rm s ” w ith the
T a f t- I I a r t le y A c t. T h e y th o u g h t
by c a p itu la tin g to the T a ft- H a r tle y “ ye llo w dog” oaths and p la y ­
in g d e a f and dum b m aybe the
unions could ig n o re the T a ftH a rtle y Law . B u t i t is n ’t ig n o rin g
them .
Paul Dollinger —
A Model Revolutionist
B y S ol D o llin g e r
March 25th was a sad day for the Trotsky­
ist movement. After long suffering from can­
cer. Paul Dollinger. better known as Paul
K u ja c , passed aw ay a t the y o u th fu l age o f t h ir t y five.
D espite his y o u th , P aul had f a it h f u lly served
in the re v o lu tio n a ry a rm y o f T ro ts k y is m alm ost
fro m its in ce p tio n . I Iis adherence to the m ove­
m ent in 1931 a t the age o f 18, and h is 17-year
s tru g g le sym bolized the in tra n s ig e a n t b a ttle o f
A m e rica n T ro ts k y is m to become the bone and
sinew o f the A m e ric a n w o rk in g class.
A ll th ro u g h the years, w ith g re a t singleness
o f purpose, he gave u n s tin lin g ly to b u ild the
P a rty w h ich m eant so much to him . In s p ire d by
the goal o f S ocialism , he adopted a p a tte rn o f
life fo r a ll T ro ts k y is ts to em ulate.
In his life tim e o f service, we can w itn e ss the
m etam o rph osis o f T ro ts k y is m fro m an id eo log ica l
g ro u p in g on the road to a mass p a rty . In h is
service we can un de rsta nd the source s p rin g s o f
the trem endous v it a l it y o f o u r m ovem ent, its
a b ility to b rid g e a ll obstacles and its uncon­
querable s p irit.
L e a v in g home a t the age o f sixteen, P au l
moved around the c o u n try d u rin g the la s t
depression. He fo u n d e m p lo ym e n t on sha re­
cro p p e rs’ fa rm s in G eorgia, f r u i t o rch ard s o f
F lo rid a and c a ttle ranches in the w est. He
re tu rn e d to N e w Y o rk C ity lo o k in g f o r a so lu ­
tio n to th e te rrib le c ris is o f U . S. c a p ita lis m —
w h ich had made an in d e lib le im p ressio n on him .
}Y h ile w o rk in g in a sm a ll m illin e ry sw eatshop
he made his firs t con tact w ith the P a rty th ro u g h
a T ro ts k y is t s y m p a th iz e r. Paul soon made his
decision to jo in in the s tru g g le . N e ve r once did
he fa lt e r in his decision. I t shaped his whole
fu tu re life and in tu rn he helped to shape the
developm ent o f o u r P a rty .
H ow fo n d ly he w o u ld re c a ll those pioneer days.
O urs was a p a rty w ith a m em bership o f o n ly one
hundred th ro u g h o u t the c o u n try b u t w ith u n ­
exam pled co n victio n and d e te rm in a tio n The P a rty
and its leadership w as consecrated to the sole
purpose o f h a m m e rin g o u t its id eo log ica l p ro ­
g ra m in p re p a ra tio n f o r p e n e tra tio n in to the
mass m ovem ent. A ll th a t A m e ric a n T ro ts k y is m
then had in its arsenal was its p ro g ra m , b u t P au l
D o llin g e r value d th is m ore tha n size and num bers.
He was fir m ly convinced th a t th e too ls o f M a rx is t
ideas w o uld be the Open Sesame to the b u ild in g
o f a mass p a rty .
The rise o f H itle r to p o w e r m a rke d the g ra d u a ­
tio n o f Paul D o llin g e r fro m the S pa rtacus Y o u th
League to f u ll a d u lt m em bership in th e P a rty .
P aul was on call a t ony tim e to serve h is p a r ty
in a n y ca p a city. I Iis personal lif e w as su b o r­
d ina te d co m p le te ly to the f u lle r and ric h e r life
o f b u ild in g an o ffic e r corps o f re v o lu tio n a ry
so cia lists to help lead th e social e m a ncipatio n
o f th e hum an race. li e pased e ve ry te s t o f
demands o f th e P a rty w ith fly in g colors.
S T R IK E S T R U G G L E S
The s trik e s tru g g le s o f th e te x tile w o rk e rs in
Paterson, N . J . ’ opened up p o s s ib ilitie s f o r the
P a rty in th is area. T he n u m e ric a lly sm a ll p a rty
needed comrades to b rin g its p ro g ra m to th e
s tr ik in g w o rk e rs . W ith o u t h e s ita tio n P au l q u it
his job, w hen jo bs w ere h a rd to get, to do his
p a rt in w in n in g the fig h t and ad va n cin g th e ideas
o f re v o lu tio n a ry socialism .
F ro m the m id d le T h irtie s on he w o rked in the
U nem ployed Councils, the W o rk e rs ’ A llia n c e , ando th e r unem ployed o rg a n iz a tio n s . He led hundreds
o f d e m o n stra tio n s, h u n g e r marches, p ro te sts and
sitd o w n strik e s .
S lo w ly but su re ly he saw his p a rty g ro w . And
m any w o rk e rs found th e ir w a y in to the P a rty
ra n ks as a re su lt o f the w o rk and guidance o f
C om rade K u ja c .
The e xp a n d in g w a r economy o f the la te '
T h irtie s b ro u g h t an end to unem ployed w o rk .
P au l became a v o lu n te e r o rg a n iz e r f o r the A F L
U p h o ls te re rs U n ion . In th is w o rk he in tro d u ce d
m any new ta c tic s in the o rg a n iz a tio n o f sm all
sweatshops.
P A R T Y O R G A N IZ E R
A t th is tim e the P a rty fo u n d o p p o rtu n itie s o f
expansion in to new citie s. The P a rty sent P au l
to B u ffa lo to o rg an ize a new branch w ith th e aid
o f a fe w com rades. T h ro w in g them selves in to
th e w o rk w ith g re a t energy, th e ir successes began
to m ou nt. The c lim a x w as reached w ith th e
La ckaw ann a Steel s trik e w h ere f o r the f ir s t tim e
B ethlehem Steel buckled to th e CIO . K u ja c and
the n e w ly o rg an ized u n it o f th e SW P played a
m em orable ro le in th is epic s tru g g le o f in d u s tria l
u n io n is m ’s rise.
W ith th e f ir s t w a r d r a ft o f 1940, Paul was
called in to the A rm e d Forces. Released fro m the
A r m y te m p o ra rily because o f age, he was soon
rca lle d . I t w as then he f ir s t became aw a re o f his
p h y s ic a l a ilm e n t. H a m s tru n g b y b u re a u c ra tic
d isre g a rd o f th e in d iv id u a l, the A r m y d id n o t
release h im u n til he had become s e rio u s ly h a n d i­
capped p h y s ic a lly .
U pon release fro m the A rm y 1 he c a rrie d on in ­
te r m itte n t a c tiv ity as his h e a lth p e rm itte d . In
1944 he w as th ir d h ig h n a tio n a lly in o b ta in in g
s u b s c rip tio n s to The M ilita n t. F o r several m on th s
he w as o rg a n iz e r o f th e S outh Side branch in
C hicago. In th is post he led m a n y a b a ttle a g a in s t
J im C ro w ism .
F ro m 1945 on he had to b a ttle w ith the
cancerous g ro w th th a t was ra v a g in g h is body.
On h is death bed he co n fid e n tly to ld his close
frie n d s and comrades, “ I sh a ll not liv e to see the
day o f Socialism but you w ill see it in y o u r lif e ­
tim e .”
W h ile im m ersed in the a c tiv ity o f the class
s tru g g le , he a lw a ys fo u n d the tim e to w age
id e o lo g ica l s tru g g le to u p ho ld the cle ar p ro g ra m
o f M a rx is n i; He had n o th in g b u t co n te m p t f o r
the skeptics, re v is io n is ts and re tro g re s s io n is ts .
A t every stage o f th e s tru g g le to b u ild the
B o lsh e vik p a r ty in th is c o u n try he fo u g h t to keep
the ideas o f T ro ts k y is m in ta c t.
E ve ryw h e re , w h ere T ro ts k y is m liv e s th e re
is a p a r t o f K u ja c . E ve ry w h e re w h ere re v o lu ­
tio n a ry so cia lists band to g e th e r in un co m p ro m is­
in g s tru g g le f o r social em a ncipatio n, lives a p a r t
o f P au l K u ja c . W h e re ve r the unconquerable s p ir it
and stu b b o rn p u rs u it o f m a n k in d ’s goals fo r
s o c ia lis t e m a ncipatio n con tinu e, there you w ill
find liv in g te s tim o n y th a t Paul K u ja c did n o t
die in vain.
I t is o n ly f it tin g and p ro p e r th a t h is fin a l
re s tin g place should be in W ald he im C em etery,
Chcago, close by th e m a rty re d H a y m a rk e t v ic tim s
o f 1886 and the ashes o f B ig B ill H a yw oo d—
fig h te rs f o r social em a ncipatio n o f a n o th e r day.
A s w e pause in tr ib u te to th is T ro ts k y is t
w a r r io r , in f u ll ju s tie e to h is c o n trib u tio n , we
can o n ly redouble o u r ow n e ffo rts to b rin g ab o u t
a w o rld w id e s o c ia lis t society.’ T h is w ill be a
f it t in g m onum ent to h is m em o ry.
WORKERS FORUM
'Mass M an' - A New
European Type
E d ito r:
As w o rld c a p ita lis m sinks deep­
er by the m in u te , in d iv id u a l ca p i­
ta lis ts and th e ir stooges fin d
them selves fle e in g to assorted
philosophies o f despair.
Some
lik e James
B u rn h a m
tu rn
to
“ C aesarism ” a la N ietzche and
S pongier — a ll-o u t ju s tific a tio n
<f A m e rica n im p e ria lis m w ith no
ifs , ands, o r huts. O th ers can’t
stand
such
b ru ta l balderdash
s tra ig h t, so th e y m ix in a li t t le
le lig io n . C e rta in s cie n tists w ith
bank accounts in the h ig h e r f i g ­
ures lik e R obert M illik a n and the
C om pton b ro th e rs are adepts o f
th is sort.
GREAT DANGER
Unless the w h ole la b o r m ove­
m en t jo in s forces in actio n around
a u n ifie d p ro g ra m o f s tru g g le ,
the unions are in g re a t danger.
In a d d itio n to th e above the re
The in ju n c tio n a g a in s t th e IT U ,
the g o v e rn m e n t’s moves a g a in s t r ’V' o th e r schools o f th o u g h t, b u t
the m in ers and packinghouse out here in L A we have som e th in g
w o rke rs, are a L A T E w a rn in g . unique, a m in o rity o f one. T h is
is M an che ste r Boddy, p u b lish e r
T here is no tim e to lose.
o f the Los A ngeles D a ily News.
A Congress o f L a b o r, w ith f u ll
L a s t ye a r w h ile tra v e lin g in
ra n k and file re p re se n ta tio n o f
the C IO , A F L , R a ilro a d B ro th e r­ G erm any, Boddy discovered “ Mass
hoods and independents, m u s t be M an .” Mass M an, he te lls us, is
summoned as speedily' as possible. “ a new ty p e o f hum an b e in g ,”
A u n ifie d p ro g ra m and s tra te g y p e cu lia r to E uro pe and A sia , who
o f a ctio n to f ig h t the T a ft- H a r t- is “ leaderless” and pre sum a bly
ley L a w , to h a lt g o ve rn m e n t by incapable o f le ad ership o r o f be­
in ju n c tio n f o r a u n ifie d wage in g led.
You guessed it. Mass M an is
f ig h t m u s t be m apped out. The
union ra n k s m u s t demand th a t none o th e r than the European and
A s ia tic w o rk e r in re v o lt a g a in st
th e ir leaders stop p e d d lin g the
ca p ita lism .
M a rs h a ll P la n p a te n t m edicine
Boddy like s to hearken back to
and g e t on the jo b o f le a d in g the c a p ita lis m o f a hundred years
ago when gentlem en w ere g e n tle ­
la b o r’s f ig h t f o r existence.
men and masses were masses and
fu rth e rm o re
“ staved
in
thenplaces.”
N ow th a t the old p ic tu re post­
card E uro pe has fa lle n a p a rt, he
can see o n ly “ a n a rc h y ” there. He
says th a t n e ith e r B ritis h social­
ism , R ussian com m unism , n o r
A m e rica n c a p ita lis m can save
E urope fro m chaos and uses the
old “ too m an y people — not
enough to go aro u n d ” hooey to
ju s t if y th is statem e nt.
He d is ­
c re e tly fa ils to re fe r to T ro ts k y ­
ism.
C. G ra n t
Los A ngeles
“ C om m ie.” In th is respect, T r u ­
man has uncloaked the re a l in te n ­
tio n s o f the A m e rica n c a p ita lis ts
b y p u ttin g th in g s out in the open
and above board.
The Marshall Plan —
A W ar Program
T here is s t ill confusion on the
necessity o f m ilit a r y p re pa red­
ness. T h is is e a sily dispe lle d by
the sim p le fa c t th a t th is c o u n try
n o t on the defensive, IT IS A N
AG G R E S S O R , w hen
it
sends
troop s and m ilit a r y equipm ’e n t
in to C hina, In d ia , K ore a, Japan,
Greece, G erm any, T u rk e y , P ersia,
South A m e ric a , etc.
In s h o rt.
A m e rica n tro o p s cover the w o rld
and its b a ttle sh ip s are b e g in n in g
to p a tro l it .
W h a t’s m ore ag ­
gressive th a n to have the U.S.
in flu e n c in g the fre e Ita lia n elec­
tio n s ?
E v e ry sove reign n a tio n has the
r ig h t to elect w h a te v e r govern--;
m ent i t w ishes, w ith o u t the in-«
te rfe re n ce o f th e U.S. A ll A m -;
eriean and R ussian tro o p s should
be w ith d ra w n fro m fo re ig n te r-,
rito rie s . B.K.
Cleveland, O hio.
E d ito r:
T ru m a n ’s message to Congress
on M a r. 17 c a llin g f o r passage o f
the “ E uropean R ecovery P la n ,”
U n iv e rs a l M ilit a r y T ra in in g and
a re su m p tio n o f the S elective
Service D r a ft has lifte d the fo g
and m y s te ry th a t surro un ds the
M a rs h a ll Plan.
In his ta lk T ru m a n lin ke d the
th re e m easures to g e th e r as a
m ilit a r y p ro g ra m a g a in s t Russia.
No lo n g e r does the halo o f hum anita ria n is m su rro u n d the M a rs h a ll
Plan e u p h e m is tic a lly called the
“ E uropean R ecovery P la n .” One
can now, f o r the f ir s t tim e since
the p la n w as in itia le d , condemn
the “ M ” P lan as a W A R PR O ­
G R A M w ith o u t be in g labeled a
W a r and th e p re p a ra tio n f o r
w a r has been the m ain p o in t o f
discussion in
th e
p la n ts.
No
w o rk e r w a n ts w a r.
The e xp e r­
ience o f the la s t one is too close.
Besides, th e y un de rsta nd th a t th e
present in fla tio n — w h ich is fo rc ­
in g m a n y to. w o rk tw o jobs o r
p u ttin g the re s t in to d e b t — is a
re s u lt o f the h ig h cost o f the la s t
w a r. The cost o f th e n e x t w a r
in live s and m oney is beyond
im a g in a tio n .
W iary o f a Steel W o rk e r
The Private Kingdom
B y T h e o d o re K o va le sky
D o w n in the fu rn a c e y a rd we scarcely f e lt an y
breeze a t a ll, b u t a f t e r w e had clim bed p a r t w a y
Up the steps we had to hold on to the iro n h a n d ra ils
to keep fro m being- b lo w n o ff.
The steps w e re s m a ll and
n a rro w . O n ly one m an a t a
tim e could pass, so we tru d g e d
s lo w ly u p w a rd , g rip p in g the
r a ilin g w ith one hand, h o ld ­
in g o u r shovels and p icks w ith
th e o th e r, tu rn in g o u r heads
fro m
th e tu g g in g , tearingw ind.
I t ’s a ro tte n jo b , c le a n in g a fu rn a c e top . Some
men w ill te ll you i t ’s the w o rs t jo b in th e w o rld ,
b u t i t is n ’t th a t. T h e re are a lo t o f o th e r jobs
in the b la s t fu rn a c e d e p a rtm e n t th a t are ju s t as
bad and worse. S till, some men can’t clean a
fu rn a c e to p a t a ll. W hen the y c lim b h a lfw a y to
th e top, o r even fa r th e r , the y suddenly re a lize
th a t the y are seve nty-five, a hu n d rd , a hundred
a n d tw e n ty -fiv e fe e t above the fu rn a c e y a rd on
a lit t le n a rro w s ta irw a y w ith lo w h a n d ra ils that
th e y have to lean fo rw a rd to g ra sp (and i f the y
lean b a ckw a rd, th e y can tu m b le o lf the s ta irw a y
and down to the b ro w n -re d ore d u st below, f a r
b e lo w ), and th e y crouch on the steel steps and
h u g the ra ilin g w ith a death g rip , so th a t tw o
men have to help them back down to the g ro un d
ag ain. M ost o f us a re n ’t lik e th a t. . . b u t none
o f us lik e to clean fu rn a c e tops.
J im m y and I were p u ttin g in a double s h ift
so w e could g e t a fe w e x tra d o lla rs to squai de
on food and re n t. The tu rn fo re m a n had to ld us
we could g e t a s h ift i f we w a nted to clean
fu rn a c e tops, so h a lf an h o ur la te r we w ere w ith
a g a n g on o u r w ay up to the top o f N u m be r
F o u r.
I t m ust have been ab ou t an h o u r la te r th a t 1
looked up fro m the caked flue du st we had bee-i
h a c k in g and sh o v e llin g fro m the top o f N u m be r
F o u r. The wind- was a ll aro un d us, w h ip p in g the
d u st in to o u r faces and eyes u n til we w ere a ll
o f th e same color. I p u t down m y shovel and
leaned m y elbows on the r a il a t th e edge o f the
p la tfo rm . F a r below me, a b o u t a hu n d re d t h ir t y
fe e t, an engine was p u llin g a lin e o f scalloped
c in d e r ladles, and as th e y sw ayed on the u n ­
even tra c k s the m o lte n sla g flashed a t th e sides
o f the hardened cru st. Then I looked around.
I saw the lin e o f b la s t fu rn a ce s s tre tc h in g
aw ay w ith b ro w n is h spum e seeping up in to the
sm oky sky fro m th e bleeders. A m illio n and •
h a lf d o lla rs, w a sn ’t it , to b u ild a b la s t fu rn a ce ,
I mused. “ J im m y ,” I called, “ Lo ok a t t h is ” !
Behind us w as the s lip w ith lake fre ig h te r;
tie d lip in it. Soon the com p an y’s ore boats w ould
be ste a m in g in' and out. Beyond th a t la y the cola
oven w ith its b a tte rie s and stacks and a gey.iei
o f steam b illo w in g fro m a heat th a t w as be in g
quenched, and f a r th e r o u t a n o th e r s lip f o r the
coal boats. W e could see the g re a t b rid g e c ra :ie r
w ith th e ir lit t le cabs m oving back and f o r th am'
th e buckets r is in g and f a llin g lik e f a t spiderL o o k in g the o th e r w a y we saw th e huge open
h e a rth sheds and th e ir ta il slender stacks, am
the m ills , lo n g e r and lo w e r w ith s m a lle r stacks
J im m y and I stood w ith o u t spe aking, lo o k in g cu
ove r th e p riv a te k in g d o m o f the steel p la n t. H on
m any m illio n s o f d o lla rs w ere here? A nd this
place was owned, owned b y men, hu m an being
lik e J im m y and me, m en w ho made o th e r m illio n
o ' d o lla rs o u t o f the sw eat and som etim es the
blood o f th is g a ng cle an ing the fu rn a c e top
hundred t h ir t y feet, above the gro u n d , o f the
gangs in the open he a rth s and m ills , the cok
ovens and b ia s t fu rn a ce s!
Then, as an a fte rth o u g h t, we tu rn e d and looked
c u t beyond the m ills a t the d ir ty lit t le to w n where
we lived un d e r th e sm oky shadow o f the p la n '
We looked a m om ent, shook o u r heads am i bega.
s h o v e llin g the flue d u st a g ain.
T h e N e g r o S tr u g g le
Why Stalinists Slander Us
B y A lb e rt P a rk e r
I f readers o f the C o m m u n ist P a r ty ’s W o rk e r
o f M a r. 28 were confused a f te r the y fin ish e d rea d­
in g B e n ja m in E. D a v is ’ colum n, th e n th e y w ere in
ju s t the sta te the a u th o r trie d
to g e t them . The a rtic le is a
d e nu ncia tion o f A 1 m e n a
D a vis, e d ito r o f the N e g ro
w e e kly, Los A ng eles T rib u n e ,
because she attacke d C la u d ia
Jones, S ta lin is t leader w ho is
th re a te n e d w ith d e p o rta tio n to the W e s t Indies,
and c y n ic a lly expressed “ in d iffe re n c e ” to he r
fa te .
Then, suddenly, B e n ja m in D a vis sw itches over
in to an a tta c k on T ro ts k y is m ,, m a k in g the fa n ­
ta s tic (and f a m ilia r ) charge th a t i t “ is a synonym
f o r c o rru p tio n , p o litic a l degeneracy and service
to re a c tio n and fa scism ,” and in v e n tin g a new
lie — th a t the “ T rib u n e is a ne. t o f T ro ts k y is m ”
and th a t A lm e n a D a vis is a T ro ts k y is t!
Readers o f The M ilit a n t kno w th a t w e T r o t ­
sky is ts , despite o u r op p o sitio n to the S ta lin is ts ,
have s tro n g ly p ro te sted the d e p o rta tio n cam p aign
a g a in s t C laudia Jones, and h e r associates and
have called on la b o r to p u t an end to the g o ve rn ­
m e n t’s w itc h -h u n t cam paigns. A nd readers o f the
Los A ng eles T rib u n e know th a t it has n o th in g
in common w ith the T ro ts k y is ts ; f o r exam ple, the
T rib u n e supported the rece nt im p e ria lis t w a r (as
th e S ta lin is ts d id ) w h ile we opposed it- fro m be­
ginning- to end.
W h y do B e n ja m in D avis and the o th e r S ta lin ­
is ts re s o rt to such m on stro us (and ea sily d isp ro v-
ed) slanders a g a in s t the T ro ts ty is ts ? Because
th a t’s the o n ly k in d o f “ a n sw e r” th e y can g ive to
o u r p o litic a l a rg u m e n ts and p ro g ra m .
Because
th e y are a fra id to le t the N e g ro people kn o w th a t
the S o c ia lis t W o rk e rs P a rty p ro g ra m is th è o n ly
w a y to end c a p ita lis t w a rs, fa scism and race
p re ju d ice .
ih u _ .
*
*
*
A rea de r says: “ A f t e r re a d in g y o u r la u d a to ry
re m a rk s ab ou t Caste, Class and Race b y O liv e r
C. Cox, I n a tu ra lly w ondered w h a t y o u r c ritic is m
o f i t was. You say th a t ‘some o f the p o in ts D r.
Cox trie s to m ake are n o t acceptable to M a rx is ts .’
W h y d id n ’t you in d ica te w h a t th e y a re ? ”
W e are c o n c e n tra tin g f o r th e tim e being on
c a llin g a tte n tio n to the v irtu e s o f th is book, in
o rd e r to he lp i t g e t the k in d o f audience i t de­
serves. B u t we o b vio u sly did n o t seek to hide
the fa c t th a t i t has sh o rtco m in g s and weaknesses.
On the p o litic a l fie ld , f o r exam ple, the a u th o r’s
a tte m p t to “ s im p lify ” M a rx is m leads h im to nu ­
m erous serious e rro rs in discussing rece nt p o lit ­
ica l developm ents, esp ecially in his tre a tm e n t of
R oosevelt and the N ew D eal. D r. Cox is by no
means a S ta lin is t, b u t his a p p a re n t la ck o f ac­
quaintance w ith p o litic a l la b o r problem s and
s tra te g y causes h im to accept m a n y o f th e ir e s ti­
m ates w h ich a rc in d ire c t c o n flic t w ith M a rx is m .
W e repeat, how ever, th a t the book’s p o sitive
q u a litie s and c o n trib u tio n s to an u n d e rsta n d in g
o f race p re ju d ice f a r o u tw e ig h these and o th e r
fa u lts .
Wallace Endorsed by Handpicked
Conference o f The C alifornia IP P
(C o ntin ued fro m page 1)
\N O T H K R B R IB E
The S ia te D e p a rtm e n t its e lf,
ir, M a tch 2(i, p u b lic ly announced
— p o in te d ly c la im in g no in te n ­
tio n o f in flu e n c in g the Ita lia n
elections —- th a t the II.S . g o ve rn ­
m ent l a:, ordered the d is trib u tio n
o f 3(10,000 packages o f cig a re tte s
In S a rd in ia .
These cig a re tte s
would he an inducem ent to “ con­
ten tm e n t, as every sm oker know s,”
(he S tate D e p a rtm e n t said. W ith
the a p p ro va l o f the S tate De­
p a rtm e n t a special
sho rt-w ave
broadcast on the Ita lia n elections
is being beamed d a ily to I ta ly
fro m Boston over s ta tio n W R U L .
U.S. in te rv e n tio n in Greece has
lo n g since been in the “ hot w a r”
stage. E v e ry d ispa tch fro m Greece
makes it. cle ar th a t the m on arch­
is t forces are being not on ly a rm ­
ed and tra in e d , but ordered and
led b y the A m e ric a n m ilita r y
m ission. F o r exam ple, a M arch
30 U n ite d Press dispatch fro m
S alon ika re p o rts the opening o f
the s p rin g o ffe n s iv e o f the m on­
a rch ist a rm y “ supported by waves
o f fig h te r bom bers.”
I t adds,
“ The o ffe n s iv e was com p le te ly
planned by the A m e rica n s.”
The
dispatch
re p o rts
th a t
D w ig h t G risw o ld , head o f the U.S.
m ission to Greece, has announced
the c a llin g up o f con scrip ts to
the G reek a rm y ’s N a tio n a l De­
fense Corps, in c lu d in g "the nu m ­
be r to be d ra fte d . G risw o ld as­
sures us the m o b iliz a tio n was
“ proposed by A m e rica n ad vise rs”
and “ approved by the U.S. S tate
D e p a rtm e n t.”
M eanw hile, the th re a t o f m ili­
ta ry to ta lita ria n is m
becomes
m ore om inous in th is co u n try.
The b ig parade o f top m ilit a r y o f­
fic ia ls , jo in e d by leading, re p re ­
sen tatives o f W a ll S tre e t and B ig
Business, continued la s t w eek to
pressure the Senate A rm e d S erv­
ices C o m m itte e fo r u n iv e rs a l m il­
ita r y tra in in g and the peacetime
d ra ft.
B y A r t Preis
D o n ’t lo o k now , b u t th e re ’s a red periscope
peeping above th e w a te rlin e in y o u r b a th tu b .
R ussian subm arines, equipped w ith schnorkels
too, are be in g sig h te d fa s te r th a n fly in g saucers
these days.
I t a ll began a t the h e a rin g o f th e Senate A rm e d
Service C o m m itte e on M a rch 25. The B ig Brass
and Gold B ra id w e re b a skin g in the s p o tlig h ts
and s m ilin g a t the senators. The senators w ere
no d d in g and s m ilin g back. I t w as a w o n d e rfu l
s p rin g d a y— ju s t r ig h t f o r a n o th e r b ig ra id on
th e U . S. T re a s u ry b y the m ilita r y .
In to th is id y llic scene b u rs t th e sub m arin e
scare. S e cre ta ry o f N a v y S u lliv a n made the
‘sensational announcem ent th a t underseas c r a f t
“ n o t b e lo n g in g to a n y n a tio n w e st o f th e Iro n
C u rta in have been sig h te d oft' o u r shores.”
T h e panic w as on. T w o a u g u s t senators fe ll
o ff th e ir ch a irs sim u lta n e o u sly. A s te n o g ra p h e r
sw a llo w e d h e r g u m and n e a rly choked to death.
One re p o rte r re q u ire d em ergency h o s p ita l t r e a t­
m e n t a f te r being tra m p le d in th e rush o f news­
paperm en to the ne a re st telephone.
N o t a n o th e r w o rd w o u ld S u lliv a n speak— f o r
“ s e c u rity reasons,” o f course. B u t i t d id n ’t ta ke
th e k e p t press m ore th a n tw o ho urs to d ig up
th e d e ta ils. B y m id -a fte rn o o n d is a s te r-ty p e head­
lin e s tru m p e te d th e re d sub menace and w h y
\ve need U M T and the peacetim e d ra ft.
T h u su a l “ in fo rm e d sources” and “ anonym ous
n a v a l o ffic e rs ” sup plied th e u su a l “ re lia b le in ­
fo rm a tio n .” In a ll, seven “ p u rp o rte d ” Russian
sub m arin es had been sp o tte d “ re c e n tly .” F iv e
o f the seven lu r k in g “ o ff o u r shores” were
v a g u e ly placed as “ o ff th e A le u tia n s ” — about
9,000 m iles fro m S ea ttle and less th a n 400 m iles
fro m S ib e ria . T w o o f th e re p o rts came fro m
unnam ed m e rch a n t ships. One saw a “ pe risco pe”
ju s t “ 200 m ile s fr o m San F ra n c is c o ” — " a t n ig h t.”
Im m e d ia te ly a f t e r S u lliv a n ’s “ re v e la tio n s ,”
A d m ira l L o u is E. D enfield, C h ie f o f N a v a l O per­
a tio n s ,.b la n d ly a d m itte d th e U . S. has 35 su b m a r­
ines in th e P acific and 41 in th e A tla n tic . F o u r
are en ro u te to T u rk e y as p a r t o f the “ E uropean
a id ” p ro g ra m . 12 U . S. d e stro ye rs and th re e
a ir c r a f t c a rrie rs in the W e ste rn P acific arc
g u a rd in g “ o u r shores” a fe w hu nd red m iles fro m
S ib eria . A m e ric a n w a rs h ip s are a t T rie s te ; 17
are in G reek w a te rs.
B u t as A d m ira l H a lse y said, “ W e ’l l send ou r
ships a n y dam n place in the w o rld w e please.”
A n d A ir F orces S e cre ta ry S y m in g to n , fo llo w in g
S u lliv a n a t th e Senate h e a rin g , boasted th a t
A m e ric a n bom bers fro m A la s k a “ ‘could bomb
any p a r t o f Russia and re tu rn to A m e rica n
bases.”
So you sec w h y we need u n iv e rs a l m ilit a r y
tra in in g , peacetim e co n s c rip tio n and m ore tens
o f b illio n s f o r th e A rm y , N a v y and A ir F orces,
n o t to speak o f the a to m ic bom b developm ent.
B y God, these R ussians are g o in g too fa r . W h a t
do th e y m ean o p e ra tin g subm arines in “ o u r”
P a cific Ocean? D o n’t th e y kn o w w e ’ve a lre a d y
fo u g h t tw o w o rld w a rs f o r “ fre e d o m o f th e
seas” ?
Notes from the News
IN D E P E N D E N T ? — T he Independent P ro g re s ­
sive P a rty o f C a lifo rn ia Is s u p p o rtin g p rim a ry
Candidates ru n n in g f o r Congress in 21 o f the
s t a t e ’s 23 d is tric ts . O f these, fo u r are ru n n in g
on th e IP P tic k e t o n ly , w h ile 16 are ru n n in g on
•the D e m o cra tic tic k e t as w e ll, and one is ru n n in g
on th e D e m o cra tic tic k e t alone.
*
“ C IV IL
R IG H T S ”
*
*
P R O G R A M — T ru m a n
la s t
m o n th signed a b ill, passed b y Congress, a u ­
th o riz in g m ilit a r y u n its o f S ou thern states to
c a rry the C onfederate f la g a lo n g w ith th e U . S.
flag.
*
*
*
S O U T H E R N J U S T IC E — A 14 -yea r-old N e g ro
b o y in N o rth C a ro lin a w as la s t w eek sentenced
to 30 years in ja il f o r the alleged t h e ft o f a
fla s h lig h t.
The heads o f the N a tio n a l De­
fense E s ta b lis h m e n t, w h ic h ' in ­
cludes a ll the de pa rtm e nts o f the
arm ed forces, and the secretaries
o f these de p a rtm e n ts, p u t in th e ir
second appearance w ith in a week.
T h is tim e F o rre s ta l demanded, in
a d d itio n to U M T w h ich w ill cost
•fo ur b illio n s a n n u a lly , the
im ­
m ediate d r a ft o f up to 345,000
youths between 19 and 25. He
made i t cle a r th a t th is is ju s t a
s ta rte r.
The h e a rin g s . w ere clim axed
S T A L IN IS T S TO O K O V E R
Staring hopelessly into space, these three youngsters typify
the war-ravaged children of Europe. This scene is from The
Search, a film telling the story of these children, which recently
opened in New York.
Federated Pictures
w ith statem e nts o f B e rn a rd B a­
ruch , W a ll S tre e t’s d ire c t ad­
vis e r to tw o w a rtim e a d m in is tra ­
tio n s, and G eneral E le c tric ’s pres­
id e n t C. E. W ilso n . B o th dem and­
ed q u ic k passage o f U M T and the
d ra ft.
B aru ch also called f o r
“ to ta l m o b iliz a tio n ” , a w a g e
freeze, and an a n ti-s trik e “ w o rk ­
e r - d r a ft” law .
RECORDING READY
The M ilit a n t Chorus makes
its f ir s t re c o rd in g th is week.
I t should be rea dy f o r M ay
D a y m eetings. The sin g le 12inch record a t $5 w ill contain
Go F o rw a rd , W h irlw in d s o f
D anger, The T e r r ie r Song and
The Locom otive
Send cash, orders to The
M ilita n t, 116 U n iv e rs ity Place,
N ew Y o rk 3, N . Y.
George Clarke speaking on:
The Political Crisis
In the United States
Schedule of
Clarke Tour
P itts b u rg h
A k ro n
Cleveland
Toledo
Chicago
M ilw a u ke e
T w in C itie s
F lin t
D e tro it
Y ou ng sto w n
B u ffa lo
S a tu rd a y
Tuesday
T h u rs d a y
S a tu rd a y
Sunday
Tuesday
F rid a y
Tuesday
T h u rsd a y
F rid a y
S a tu rd a y
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
A p r.
3
6
8
10
11
13
16
20
22
23
24
PRESENT COST OF M IL IT A R IS M
IN THE UNITED STATES
Here are the estimated Federal Government ex­
penses fo r 194-7-48. Note how fu tu re wars, past
wars, and war preparations account fo r more
than 7 1 % o f the total budget.
FUTURE WARS ....$10,776,000,000
(W ar Department. D avy Department,
Terminal leave fo r ciilisted personnel,
Stockpiling of strategic materials, etc.)
29.0%
PAST WARS ........ $12,294,000,000
( Veterans’ services. Pensions, Insurance,
Re-adjustments,
Benefits,
Hospitals,
Other services, Adm inistration, Interest
on public 'war debt, etc.) ......................
33.0%
WAR PREPARATIONS: PROPPING
UP WAR ALLIES ....$3,617,000,000
9.7%
WELFARE, HEALTH, EDUCATION,
INTERNAL EXPENSES, ETC.
$6,989,000,000
18.8%
OTHER
SAN FR A N C IS C O . March iz a tio n to th e s u p p o rt o f W a lla ce
21. — 175 h a n d p ic k e d delegates ar.d T a y lo r. Passed w ith o u t d is­
cussion. B y -la w s w ere adopted to
attended a meeting of the State
O rg a n iz in g C o m m itte e o f the In ­
dependent P rog ressive P a rty o f
C a lifo rn ia , endorsed W allace and
T a y lo r and approved a W allace
p ro g ra m fo r the p a rty . T h ro u g h
th is session, the top com m ittee
has been able to lig h te n its g rip
upon the p a rty ap pa ratus.
The session had been announc­
ed e a rly in M arch as a broad,
d e m o c ra tic a lly organ ized m e e tin g
a t w h ich the ran ks o f the p e titio n
g a th e re rs and o th e r su p p o rte rs o f
the o rg a n iz a tio n could m ake th e ir
wishes heard. H ow ever, tw o weeks
1 before the date o f the m eeting,
I a ll m ention o f th is was dropped.
Those a tte n d in g were mem bers
o f the O rg a n iz in g C o m m itte e
plus th re e re p re se n ta tive s fro m
each cou nty, w ho in the m ain
were ap pointed by the sta te exe­
cu tive com m ittee . A ll o th e r 1PP
mem bers w ere p e rm itte d io a t­
tend o n ly as observers.
natch fro m W a sh in g to n on M arch
>7
th a t “ the f ir s t ship
c a rry in g M a rs h a ll Plan aid fo r
Europe m at' d o -k in a fo re ig n
• r t tw o days a fte r
P resident
'lru m e n signs the b ill. ” The d is ­
patch adds: “ I t is possible the
in itia l c a r fjo .. .w ill go to I ta ly !
• lo u t 10 days be fore the c ritic a l
■le ction te s t.”
JU ST A STARTER
‘‘Freedom of the Seas”
V ic tim s o f W a r
Washington Plans
To Turn Germany
Into Base for War
............... $3,517,000,000
(General government, Refunds, Reserve,
etc.) ..............................................
9.5%
TOTAL BUDGET___ $37,193,000,000
The heavy hand of- the .Stalin­
ists -was e vid e n t th ro u g h o u t the
proceedings.
Im m e d ia te ly a fte r
the m e e tin g opened a m o tio n was
made to tra n s fo rm the O rg a n iz ­
in g C o m m itte e in to a te m p o ra ry
S tate C e n tra l C o m m itte e and to
ree le ct a ll S ta te o ffic e rs . Passed
u n a n im o u sly.
A pre a m b le was
read w h ich co m m itte d the organ-
Behind Petrillo’s
Ban on Recordings
r e s tr ic t m em bership to “ re g is t­
ered vote rs who accept IP P p r in ­
cip les . . .” Passed un a n im o u sly.
D iscussion
lo o k
place
o n ly
around the p a rty p la tfo rm
but
the d iffe re n ce s w ere m a in ly on
m in o r co rre ctio n s and w o rd in g .
The p ro g ra m includes re m o va l o f
m ilita r y
and fin a n c ia l leaders
fro m p o lic y -m a k in g posts in the
S tate D e p a rtm e n t; o p p o sitio n to
the d r a ft and U M T ; a $1 m in im ­
um w age; S ta te and F ede ral v e t­
erans bonus; $100 old age pen­
sions f o r a ll over 60; ro ll back
prices to 1945 and recreate the
O P A ; p u blic ow ne rship o f essen­
tia l u tilitie s ; b ig g e r taxes fo r
h ig h e r incom e b ra c k e ts ; lo w e r
ones fo r the lo w e r b ra c k e ts ; re ­
peal o f the T a ft- H a r tle y L a w .
The assembly also approved a
p la tfo rm on peace to be achieved
th ro u g h the U N .
T hus the S ta lin is t p ro -W a lla ce
p ro g ra m has been fo is te d upon
tiie IP P w ith o u t the ra n ks h a v in g
any o p p o rtu n ity to discuss it .
Candidates f o r th e p rim a rie s w i ll
be chosen b y co n su lta tio n betw een
the hand-picked c o u n ty rep rese n­
ta tiv e s and the S tate E x e c u tiv e
C om m ittee. In m an y cases th e
IP P w ill s u p p o rt R e pu blican s and
D em ocrats who w ill be labeled
“ p ro g re ssive .”
A special h a n d b ill, was d is trib ­
uted to the g a th e rin g , signed b y
fo u r u n io n is ts fr o m th e C IO
M a rin e Cooks and S tew a rds, Steel
w o rke rs, Longshorem en, and A F L
P a in te rs U nions, a ll re g is te re d
m em bers o f the 1PPC.
I t declared th a t “ since the
IP P C has a lre a d y become p a r t o f
the W a lla c e -th ird -c a p ita lis t-p a rty
m achine i t can no lo n g e r m e rit
ou r s u p p o rt. W e w ill con tinu e to
fig h t to b u ild a genuine In d e ­
pendent La b o r P a rty .”
m onths before the b ig reco rdin g
com panies fin a lly agreed to pay
James
PetriIio president th is ro y a lty . N ow the T a ftH a rtle y Law has fo rb id d e n the
of the American Federation of paym ent.
Musicians, knows there is good
The press cla im s th a t P e trillo is
reason f o r the new spapers being h o ld in g iiji progress by n o t le ttin g
so opposed to h im : The c o u n try ’s re co rd in g and b ro a d ca stin g com ­
ra d io sta tio n s are owned by the panies fu n c tio n fre e ly . W h a t the
b ig new spaper co rp o ra tio n s. (A c ­ union ¡:. re a lly t r y in g to do, h o w ­
cording- to the FCC they ow n 508 ever, is to get back some o f the
o f the 886 sta tio n s in th e U n ite d money made on m usic— f o r the .1
S tates.) A nd he know s th a t when m usicians who m ake th a t music.
he a tte m p ts to m ake these c o r­
p o ra tio n s p a y decent wages they T H E “ B id F O I I I ”
The gross income o f th e “ B ig !
p u t up an a w fu l fuss
A f t e r P e trillo announced th a t F o u r” in the re co rd in g in d u s try
m usicians w ould no lo n g e r make — P .C A -V IC T O R . Deere. C olum - |
records a fte r Jan. 1, the boss ilia , and C a p ita l— am ounted to j
press launched an especially b itte r a p p ro x im a te ly 110 m illio n d o lla rs
in HUti. Y e t the m usician s w ho
cam p aign a g a in s t him .
made the records received on ly
T he big re co rd in g bosses know
2,500,000 d o lla is o r about 2 MPT
— i f th e ir pen pushers don’t —
in wages. A y e a r’s fee f o r the
th a t the recent re co rd in g ban is
average m usician em ployed by
re a lly a s trik e ag ainst the T a ftR C A -V ic to r, the la rg e s t o f the
H a rtlc v L a w . In 1912 the m u ­
com panies, is o n ly ab o u t $450.
sicia n ’s union w ent on s trik e and
“ W e cannot si on canned m usic,”
forced the re co rd in g m agnates
to agree to pay a 2% ro y a lty to P e trillo says. "W e don't want. to.
But wc w ant the m usicians o f
the un io n tr e a s u r y to be used as
A m e rica to share in the p ro fits it
JAM ES C. P E T R IL L O
a w e lfa re fu n d fo r m usicians.
The T a ft- H a r tle y A c t ou tlaw ed makes f o r o th e r people.”
In th e ir pretended ro ic as de­
th is ro y a lty . P e trillo the n told
the union m em bers to stop m a k ­ fenders o f th e p u b lic in te re s t, the
in g records. He know s th a t when gentlem en o f the press charge
m usicians
un io n
is
the re co rd in g and b ro a d ca stin g th a t th e
com panies use up th e ir su p p ly h a rm fu l to th e c u ltu re o f m usic.
o f records th e y ’ll have to send These e d ito ria l w rite rs com plain
f o r th e ir la w y e rs and g e t the m to because u n io n m em bers consider
B y R aym ond R ice
fig u re o u t some w a y o f g 'e ttin g wages m ore im p o rta n t than the
around the T a ft- H a r tle y Law . a r t o f m usic. W here do the y
N E W Y O R K CI TY. — With'
The N . Y. T im es quoted a re co rd ­ th in k the a r t w o u ld be i f a ll the
in g o ffic ia l as sa yin g , “ W h a t we m usicians w o u ld s ta rv e to death ? t w o - th ir d s o f th e u n io n painters
The A F M , as a m a tte r o f fact, in New York unemployed or
face is the fa c t th a t a la w design­
ed to help us is be in g used by has prom oted m usical c u ltu re . w o rk in g p a rt tim e , p ro g re ssive
the un io n to p u t us o u t o f b u si­ T he union has sponsored many- ¡■¡embers o f the un io n a re de­
ness. The o n ly w a y we can stay fre e concerts a ll over the co u n try , m a n d in g p o litic a l a ctio n to com ­
in business a p p a re n tly is to find e sp ecially in C hicago. P e tr illo pel la n d lo rd s and real esta te op­
some w ay to circu m ve n t the la w .” says, w ith ju s tifia b le pride , “ I ’ve e ra to rs to p a in t and re p a ir a p a rt­
made C hicago th e greatest m usic m ents, o ffic e s and fa c to rie s .
SOUND REASON
c ity in the w o rld . W here else
Lo cal 892, th e la rg e s t p a in te rs
T here is an econom ically sound can you hear L ily Pons and the local in the N .Y . d is tric t, heard
reason f o r the m u sicia n ’s union Chicago S ym phony fo r n o th in ’ ? ”
a f u ll discussion o f the p ro b le m
demand th a t the re co rd in g com ­
The b ig re c o rd in g and broad­ < ¡'.(1 voted o v e rw h e lm in g ly to c a ll
panies pay a record ro y a lty to ca stin g c o rp o ra tio n s a re n ’t ac­ upon the union d is tr ic t council f o r
the union tre a s u ry . W hen a p e r­ tu a lly a fra id th a t P e trillo is
im m e d ia te action.
The p a in te rs
son w rite s a book, he can collect g o in g to ru in m usic o r hold back
demand th a t th e N Y a u th o ritie s
a ro y a lty on each copy sold. Band progress. W h a t these c o rp o ra ­
begin a rig id e n fo rce m e n t o f the
leaders and soloists a re like w ise tio n s fe a r is th a t the m usicians s a n ita ry and b u ild in g law s.
in a po sitio n to b a rg a in f o r are g o in g to g e t p a rt o f the
A nu m be r o f b u ild in g s have
ro y a ltie s on the records the y p ro fits t h a t r ig h t ly belong to
collapsed in rece nt m onths w ith
make. The in d iv id u a l m usician, them . F u rth e rm o re , these c o rp o ra ­
the te n a n ts b a re ly g e ttin g o u t in
how ever, receives o n ly the un io n tio n s and th e ir press are a fra id
tim e. Cornices and stone copings
w age f o r the tim e spent in m a k­ th a t o th e r w o rk e rs are g o in g to
have fa lle n in to th e stre e ts fro m
in g the reco rdin gs.
notice w h a t the m usicians are
m any o f th e
old
d ila p id a te d
I t w ould be im p ossib le to pay d o in g and g e t the same idea.
s tru c tu re s s t ill occupied as homes
each m em ber o f a band a ro y a lty
and fa cto rie s.
on each record he makes. The
P rog ressive speakers pointed
personnel in m usical o rg a n iza tio n s
out. th a t i f these co n d itio n s are to
is ch a n g in g c o n s ta n tly . T he ex­
be rem edied, it w ill be necessary
pense o f the bookkeeping w ould
lo present the unions’ view s to the
am ount to m ore th a n the w o rth
v o tin g p u b lic in the com ing elec­
o f the records. W hat P e trillo
tion . These speakers po in te d to
proposed was th a t the ro y a lty be
th e necessity o f strict, en fo rce ­
paid to the union tre a s u ry . The
m ent o f the s a n ita ry and b u ild in g
fun d collected fro m the ro y a ltie s
codes.
T hey called upon
the
w ould be used lo pro vid e free
union to exam ine the p o s s ib ilitie s
m usic fo r people w ho could not
of ru n n in g a num ber o f u n io n
a ffo rd to a tte n d concerts. A t the
candidates f o r o ffic e , and express­
same tim e th is w ould provide
ed the o p in io n (hat i t w o uld be
em p lo ym e n t f o r m usician s w ho
possible to m o b ilize the un io n
were th ro w n out o f w o rk by
m em bership fo r a ctive s u p p o rt o f
le chn olo gical developm ents. The
such a p o litic a l cam paign.
A F M had to go on s trik e f o r 27
B y D ic k J o n e s
N.Y. Painters Urge
Political Action