"Don't Swap Hearses!"
"Don't Swap Hearses!" Momentous Discovery Announced by Eminent Political Authority. Charles Cross. An Interview by a New Leader Special Correspondent. "jQONT SWAP HEARSES!" That clarion cry...
...Beer in the Bier "Do you smell beer in this hearseT You do...
...just as it did when I first heard Charles Cross shouting it from the roof-tops, where I sought him out for this momentous interview* "You want my message to the American pulilic on the burning issue of the day...
...Look at the statements by Pat Hurley showing that the bonus army were criminals and Reds...
...Civil Liberties We pledge our elected officials to restore, preserve and extend the liberties of all the people, regardless of race, creed or color...
...Or, for that matter, wherever you're going or whatever you're doing...
...You're in the Democratic Hearse already...
...Well," he roared on, "what is the great problem facing the electorate today...
...there's a whopper for eighty million dollars to Charles G. Dawes' own bank...
...They ars the forgotten men and women...
...The passage of the recent banking act, sponsored by both parties, which turned over the supervision of our banks to the very set of men who were in part responsible for their collapse, is but another indication of the bankruptcy of the old parties...
...The great Cross leaned toward me...
...The collapse of the...
...It has meant extortionate profits and autocratic power for the few, and has greatly added to the evils of the present depression...
...Croia, why not take It yourself...
...2.—Comprehensive and effective factory inspection laws...
...Where else could you get such promises—and in writing, too...
...Now I ask you," he continued, "What is to be gained by swapping hearses ? If you already have Andy Mellon, why should you want Barney Baruch...
...We pledge our candidates in this state to work for such a public system, properly coordinated, in city, state and nation...
...Taxation and Finance In order to furnish funds for needed social services and at the same time assist insecuring a more equitable distribution of wealth and in increasing the purchasing power of the masses of the people, we favor: 1.—Steeply increased income and inheritance taxes in the ^higher brackets...
...A Bid for the Equine Vote "There's last winter's Red Cross loans on behalf of destitute animals...
...No, there's very little said about bread in either hearse...
...Another Button 1 "DONT SWAP HEARSES...
...Look at those wonderful promises in writing of a chicken in every pot, of a car in every garage...
...So, you see, you have all kinds of company in the Republican Hearse...
...Those furtive fellows over yonder are the speak-easy boys who are keeping the saloon out of the home by bringing it next door...
...There are those promises to keep wages up and those proclamations to bring prosperity around the corner...
...The Democratic Hearse is full of millions of new people no ons ever saw there before...
...That clarion cry still rings in my ears...
...who, it seems, had too many...
...They're on their way to the election, after which of course they'll be forgotten...
...6.—We specifically pledge our support to the legislative demands of the State Federation of Labor for extension of the Workmen's Compensation Act so as to apply to occupational disease aa well as industrial accident, and for an exclusive state insurance fund...
...The use of bank affiliates and the development of chain banking and of holding company control have added to the evils of the present unsound financial structure...
...Government The continuance of the present outworn, inefficient and overlapping forms of village, town, city and county government in the state results in undue tax burdens on the small homes of the workers and constitutes a serious obstacle to efficient local programs of socialisation...
...Bread, did you say...
...If you already have John F. Curry, why should you want Boss Vare...
...Look at the hundreds of thousand-dollar-bills that line this hearse...
...Before the interview was over he had twisted four bu" tis off...
...Editor's Note: Once again, Mr...
...5.—Legislation declaring illegal "yellow dog" contracts which prevent the workers from joining labor unions...
...If you're now in New York City, in the Solid South, in Chicago, there's nothing you need to do about it...
...Look at the loans by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation...
...Bank of United States, with over 400,000 depositors, half of whom held thrift accounts, throws a vivid light on this system and on the alliance between crooked bankers and politicians...
...The Socialist Party advocates consolidation and reorganization and that the principle of proportional representation be applied to elected officials...
...DONT SWAP HEARSES...
...for adequate inspection and for rigid enforcement of the Industrial Code and of the prevailing rate of wages law...
...He thundered on: "Take the Republican Hearse first...
...2.—A system of land values taxation...
...Your hearse, whichever ons you're in now, will get you to the plsce where all hearses go...
...There's the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Bonds which we got right from Morgan A Co...
...What's the difference...
...How can a President remember so many people...
...Now just look st this hearse for variety...
...Look at the elegant speeches it is lined with...
...3.—The abolition of industrial home work in the interests of public health and as a means of preserving the gains of unionism...
...If you already have John Nance Garner of Texas, why should you want Charley Curtis of Kansas,—or vice versa...
...and legislation compelling banks to furnish security assuring the return of savings and thrift deposits...
...Ed...
...During the last year 8,000 banks have failed...
...Did you or anyone else ever see a more sumptuous vehicle...
...I wouldn't know," I answered truthfully...
...It's lined with Jimmy Walker, with ruddy-faced ward politicians from the big cities, with William Randolph Hearst, with 'Ma' and 'Pa' Ferguson, Barney Baruch, TomTom Heflin, John Nance Garner of Uvalde, Texas, John F. Curry of New York, Vincent Astor, the DuPonts of Delaware, the Sheriffs and Deputies of the Kentucky coalmining counties and of the North Carolina textile counties, and Huey Long—just to name a few...
...We especially urge: 1.—The enactment of laws restoring to the people the right to be secure against unlawful search and seizure...
...That's the hearse most people are in now...
...To restore and conserve labor's rights, we favor: 1.—The enactment of legislation for the adequate protection of working women and children and for the strengthening of the labor code...
...for shortening of the work week...
...Try and collect...
...Here Cross finally paused for breath and to twist another button off my vest...
...2.—The repeal of the Criminal Anarchy Law...
...I billed the editor for a whole new vest...
...Under Republican and Democratic rule these rights have been assailed wantonly and increasingly...
...he thundered, plunging into the interview like the great political orator that— some people say—he is...
...4.—The abolition of private detective systems and of the use of armed guards in industrial struggles...
...3.—Legislation providing for the right to a jury trial in all criminal cases...
...So I say to you again, voters of America: "Don't swap hearses while «, °ng to your funeral...
...Look at Andy Mel Ion's contribution, and Ogden Mills', and even poor old Samuel Insult's...
...Pending the attainment of these ends, we demand the extinction of banking affiliates, of holding company control of banks and security departments in trust companies, the segregation of thrift funds in commercial banks under regulations which spply to savings banks...
...It was worth it...
...Every Useful Man and Woman in the Empire State Would Benefit by Socialist Success — Vote For It...
...Look at those statistics, proving in the President's own speeches, that in 1028 or some such year, we used more butter per capita -han any other nation in the world...
...Socialism's Atroeal to the State Planks from the Socialist Party State Platform Labor The right of labor freely to organise, bargain collectively, to strike and to picket, cannot and must not be questioned in a democracy...
...And on the Other Hand "Now take the Democratic Hearse...
...The two dominant parties of the state have done practically nothing to remedy the situation...
...The private ownership of the banking system of the country during the last few years has resulted in the loss of billions of dollars to the small depositor...
...Editor's Note: You take it, Mr...
...Those boys with the guns are the racket-boys who work with the Tammany and the Chicago politicians...
...His fingers closed over a button on my vest...
...And he twisted another button off my vest...
...Why bother then to swap...
...Well, now that you bring the subject up," he whispered confidentially, "I may as well tell you, but not for publication: Neither do I. "But again let me say this to the people of America: Alas...
...It carries a mortgage for several hundred thousand dollars to the order of John 3. Raskob...
...There's Boss Vare of Philadelphia and Cal Coolidge— that man with the little black satchel is Albert Fall—and that thing he's got under his arm is Teapot Dome—there's Harry Daugherty and all the other members of the Harding cabinet not now in jail —and there's most of Wall Street— and over there are Lee, Higginson of Boston, the trusting friends of Ivar Kreuger—there's old Charley Curtis, who might, if the Fates so decree, some day be President of the United States—those peaked— looking fellows who are just now rocking the hearse a bit and, to tell the truth, trying to get out to board the Democratic hearse, they're the Middle Western farmers...
...As a means of safeguarding the savings of the people, abolishing financial extortion, and aiding in the socialization of industry, the Socialist Party favors the public ownership and administration of the banking system of the country...
Vol. 14 • November 1932 • No. 19
