Connecticut Socialist Reject Relief Sales Tax
Knepler, Abraham
Connecticut Socialists Reject Relief Sales Tax By Abraham Knepler Special to The Sew Leader < M E W HAVEN, Conn.— W i th I its position on the sales tax 1 and the Labor Party referendum ! the...
...Speakers were Mayor McLevy, Devere Allen, Mrs...
...lasted about six hours...
...Connecticut Socialists Reject Relief Sales Tax By Abraham Knepler Special to The Sew Leader < M E W HAVEN, Conn.— W i th I its position on the sales tax 1 and the Labor Party referendum ! the main issues that faced the , delegates, the Connecticut So- j cialist Party completed a two- j day convention late Sunday eve- j ning...
...The steps to be taken by Labor should be determined by Labor men themselves...
...When the resolution was presented on the floor of the convention, Allen moved for its adoption, agreeing in the beginning that the motives of everyone were sound and loyal towards the Socialist movement...
...He said that the special session which the Socialists have demanded of Governor Crass for the passage i f relief legislation might not be called if the convention took such a stand, claiming the resolution was "putting us in a straitjacket...
...at ate hearings," McLevy said, adding that the Socialist sen a to rs and representatives, worked to* g e t the best kind of program, ana worked for the interest said dividend taxes to force the opposition to yield...
...One night aproximately 5000 people were on the picket line...
...Fraternal delegates to the convention from a number of A. F. of L. unions sat with the Labor committee .and offered suggestions before the resolution was drawn, and agreed unanimously with the committee on the report before it was presented...
...It charges hist with having acted "according * the approved fashion of the Citizens' Alliance...
...They dc not recognize that workers are entitled to any rights or consideration...
...The Union Advocate of St Past, official organ of the St* Pflel Trades and Labor Assembly, runs i leading editorial against Mayor Latimer under the heading, "Repudiate Latimer...
...Other important r e s o l u t i o ns adopted included the endorsement of the Hillquit Workers' Sights Amendment, encouragement of the formation of consumers' cooperatives and of Socialist participation in the cooperatives, the provision for a secret ballot in voting in state party referenda...
...Ton forget that far months we fought for the income tax," McLevy said...
...Killings in Minneapolis Stir the Labor Movement By Sounder D. Genis MINNEAPOLIS.—This city has * v * a group of employers who arc still livitsj»,3a the past...
...The result was two dead, thirty injured...
...The same spirit was manifest at, the convention banquet Saturday night, with over 606 guests present...
...In commenting on his report, Freese declared' that the Connecticut party is "still head and shoulders above any state Socialist organization in the country...
...Tien a motion was made to refer the original motion back to the committee...
...After the defeat of this motion by two votes* a recess was declared by Chairman Martin F. Phmkett after Allen had explained that he thought a compromise might be affected...
...An amendment to the resolution which would "instruct Socialist members of trade unions to work fat the success of the referendum" which is to be taken by A. F. of L. locals in Connecticut was tabled by an ovei whelming vote...
...Allen added that he believed the Socialist senators had been maneuvered unwittingly into the position they had takes on the sales tax at the last legislative •nation...
...Bright has recently becenc organizer of the BoaKsStpsr*', Stenographers' and Accotmtast!' Union No...
...During the convention the delegates were addressed by , L«fca Morrow Lewis, E. J. Lever, president of the Cooperative Distributors, and George H. Goebel, the bitter making an impassioned appeal for the building up of the party press as fundamental...
...I don't want farther to "beggarize' the people of Connecticut...
...Debate on : an anti-sales tax resolution, which I was adopted by a vote of 75 to 49...
...A motion to table was carried by a vote of 65 to 47...
...In spite of the heated debate on the sales tax, a spirit of optimism prevailed throughout the convention and carried over as the delegates prepared to leave for homes...
...The picket line grew until ft reached hundreds, then thousands...
...About the first, week in August a strike was declared against five or six iron workshops...
...We know that our Socialist representatives' attitude towards the sales tax is not the same as the capitalist attitude, that their attitude towards it is such only in view of their desperate desire to do something for the unemployed,'' said Allen in referring to the stand of McLevy and his supporters on the resolution...
...They sought to control or gain a measure of control of the officials of the A. F. of L., although many who worked for the Labor party did so with the best of motives...
...Celia D. Rostew, town chairman of New Haven, Karl AHin, George H. Goebel of New Jersey...
...to deal with their employees eek lectively, as provided under the Wagner Labor Dispute Act, or their plant would be dosed...
...The Socialist attitude towards a Labor party also caused considerable debate...
...The result was' the fight against that firm...
...He explained that as the legfislature is composed a small proportion of the small towns can stop relief from going to the larger citfes...
...Following the injunction obtained by the firm, workers on strike, members of other unions, and sympathizers started picketing the plant evenings...
...Arnold E. Freese, State Secretary, stated in his annual report that the party had made considerable progress in the past year, and had placed tickets in the field this year in 11 communities where there had never been Socialist tickets before...
...After they succeeded in operating the plant with these 26 and fearing the picket Una, they applied for an injunction restraining the city from attempting to enforce the city ordinance which prohibited housing workers in a manufacturing plant...
...sever a have since settled with the union, bat one firm, the Flour City Ornamental Ires Works, doing work for the government on contract, decided that it is entitled to ali the - benefits derived from governmeat contracts while labor is not even entitled to collective bargaining...
...Harold B. Hunting, candidate for mayor of New Haven, and Charles O'Connell, tosstmaster...
...In some communities," the report said, "the election of at least a portion of our tickets is likely...
...The resolution adopted states that "we view with gratification and hope the trend in the great Labor movement towards Independent Political Action and trust that prudent and courageous leadership will continue to serve the Labor movement in ail its endeavors...
...A rumor that appeared hi the press after the convention concerning an anticipated split in tike party in Connecticut because at the sales tax resolution is ! wtthent any foundation, and Socialists are reminded net to take such rumors too seriously...
...I don't want it said that I neglected one person who needed relief...
...Last year, when the Milk Betters' Union was struggling to maintain itself, the Executive Based persuaded Bright to take a peation with them as Businesj Manager...
...Local 338, of Westchester County, N. Y., has presented fata with a testimonial engrossed o> parchment as a permanent tribute...
...No group fought more against the sales tax at the hearing at Hartford, but those Socialists most vociferous against it except Comrade Allen, were conspicuous by their absence...
...I don't want to climb into political office over the backs of starring constituents...
...MILK DRIVERS HONOR LEONARD BRIGHT FOR YEAR'S S E R f l C i t In appreciation of services tendered by Leonard Bright at Adviser and Business Manager about a year, the Milk Wags* Drivers ' and Dairy Employast' Union...
...State Chairman Plunkett, who was a delegate from the Jewelry Workers' Union to the recent State Federation of Labor convention in Danbury, warned that if a Labor Party is to be organized "it must be organized without interference from outside sources...
...Mayor Criticized Unfortunately, it was the lack of foresight on the part of the Farmer-Labor Mayor, who could have prevented all this by taking the position that as this firm refused to submit its dispute to ar* bit ration, he could have dosed the plant until the firm either tgrind...
...He cited Socialist leaders, organizations and publications in the country that Were opposed to the sales tax, and stated that 101 economic experts in the nation claimed the sales tax was only a tax against the poor and could not provide proper relief...
...McLevy'j Position McLevy claimed that the entire attitude of the Socialist delegation at Hartford had been misrepresented...
...September IS...
...ia the state which this past summer had m relief «t all to administer, and 86 towns which paid less than 3% of their budget for relief...
...The opponents to the resolution 1 finally adopted, entitled a -'Resolution for Taxation on Relief," were led by Mayor Jasper McLevy of Bridgeport, with Devere Allen as chief proponent of the resolution, which tanned the sales tax a "tax that can supply relief only by making the poor pay to aid the poor...
...On a rollcall vote the resolution was carried by a vote of 76 to 48...
...Picketing became the pass-word among tht union and sympathizers, and the firm, in violation of a city ordinance, arranged for sleeping quarters in the plant to accommodate 26 scabs...
...a result of which The New Leader has 33 additional Connecticut J imbue Higginses on, its Its* for yearly subs...
...About 10:30 p. m. about two or three hundred police on duty started shooting with shotguns and revolvers and tossed tear gas bombs...
...That would have avoided rioting and bloodshed and it would have bees a credit to the Farmer-Labor Psrty...
...So Minneapolis has become a battleground between the labo: unions and the well-known anti social Citizens' Alliance Grour dominating and directing the exploiters in the fight against labor...
...When the final resolution was presented, McLevy contended that he saw no essential -difference between the original and the final resolutions, and urged its defeat...
...McLevy cited 28 towns...
...All the members of the Labor committee which drafted the resolution are members of organized Labor...
...We should not take a position of boring from within...
...Socialists of Westchester Gotstr are pleased with the recogruMM accorded to the party's Executive Secretary by this anion cafsjSjHi overwhelmingly of conservsirn trade unionists and regard it si one more indication that ahk, teytl and devoted work performed by a Socialist is accepted gratetany by non-Socialist trade unionists...
...We invite the trade union members to make the Socialist Party their party and that in our future relations to the Labor party movement we will seek the advice and guidance of our trade union members, and suggest that a statewide conference of Socialist Union members be called to discuss this question...
...Philip Brainerd of Waterbury, vice-chairman of the convention, argped that "the capitalist class ia Connecticut will not dare allow the poor to starve...
...Before the strike they employed about 100 people, but they hoped if they started with 25 scabs and obtained sufficient police protection they would probably break the strike and induce more of its workers to return to work without union recognition...
...After considerable debate an amendment was* offered to refer the matter to the state executive committee with instructions to present the best legislative bill it could on the relief question...
...12646, of which hi ess president for 8 years...
...No government existed that allowed the people to starve for any length of time...
...He declared that the delegates must abide by the platform pledges of the party, however, or else "we win become not the political party of the masses but just one more political machine...
...Other Resolutions Plunkett* declared that from his observation at the Danbury convention the greatest objection he found to the present Labor Party movement was the desire of some of the sponsors to use the party to mold the internal policies of the Labor movement...
...A total of 30 tickets will contest elections in Connecticut...
...Let this convention net go on record as urging its members to here from within the Labor movement...
Vol. 18 • September 1935 • No. 38
