French Robber Barons Move Toward Fascism
French Robber Barons Move Toward Fascism France Seen as Possible 2nd Spain By SEN PROTTER The Sew header** Parisian Correspondent CAMS.—The crisis last September showed up the weak spots...
...The United Progressive League was the result of the crystallization of opposition to the Administration's policies and tactics...
...Losses Lee Sees Labor Peace and idealism Vital to A.LP...
...In that report also appeared a statement that members who so oefled "proper" democracy as to publish criticism were guilty of anarcnuoc conduct and the union had a right to rid themselves of meaan trte acted so...
...The French worker does not need "to be put back to work," as Daladier has had the audacity to declare several times...
...AFTER the convention Anne "\* Gould, who is chairman of the United Progressive League and who holds a responsible position in the New York Joint Board of the Int'l Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, was brought before the executive board of Local 16 for questioning...
...State Chairman of the American Labor Party, today attributed the decline in his party's vote to the deal it had made with sections of the New York Republican machine at the beginning of the campaign...
...His denial was taken at face value and Pinchot drew the cover of silence over himself...
...Information is simmering out as to the measures being prepared in the silence of the committee rooms which confirms this opinion...
...110 aft** tt 10 o'clock, people ?Urw e«** ng in...
...Daladier had asked for and received plenary powers until November 15th to legislate by decree on all matters affecting business and the nation's finances...
...practically every organization drive has fizzled out- In only a few cases where employers, impressed by the National Labor jtelatiom Board and the Wagner Act, did net pot up too much resistance...
...The forces of reaction have made big gains in most parts of the country...
...Mr...
...But will they insist with sufficient force to oblige Daladier and Bonnet to state in dear terms what they intend doing to get France out of the rut in which it has fallen the hut six months ' • * ' * |7 YERYONE in France is agreed that the time has come to take a certain number of energetic decisions to the nation to prevent the nation from being subjected to the same fate as Spain...
...The Progressive answer to that was that the method of appeal from tht raf resolution had been property «ao> to the convention of the UOFWA which, since the General Exotstew was not then sitting, was the hit*est appellate body in the mrkm No leas than 825 persona—member* of the local signified their endorsement of the stand takes * the defendant...
...THE opinion I have just enunciated is the gist of what many * enlightened Frenchmen have told me in the last few weeks...
...When they failed, and it became time for her to introduce her evidence and witnesses to prove that every criticism she and others had made against the administration were true, the prosecution quickly withdrew the charge of slander without permitting her to introduce any of bar evidence...
...But the French public still sees nothing on the horizon of its hopes...
...To meet their attack it is necessary to put an end to the schism that now divides and weaken* the forces of organized labor and also, in this state, to bring a new spirit and new methods into the American Labor Party, so that it may raise high the standard of truly independent'political action and call upon the working people in other states to gather around it...
...It is the old cry of two hundred famiKes (and they are really much less...
...The fate of the Liberal Party in England is a striking example of that ruism which it would do the Radical Socialists well to remember...
...A new'-spirit must prevail—or rather, we must get back the old spirit of idealism, the spirit in which we Social Democrats threw in our lot with the A.L.P...
...But there is great danger that the next shock, from whatever direction it may come, will stampede the masses...
...Jean Goy and the reactionary Union Nationale des Combattants, of which he is the head and who noisily approved Pinchot, continue to incite the public to declare itself in favor "of an authoritarian form of government...
...Lee addad that he wan making this statement as an individual, not in his official capacity...
...The abuse he heaped on the Communists and the laboring classes has been interpreted as meaning he intends to practice an anti-democratic policy of the public finances and taxation...
...Discussion arose as to vnj the Trial Board dropped the chirp of slander and lies...
...They starts* that the unlawful gag resolution «rhW> was passed was in direct eostn ventton of even the uaWm'a set constitution...
...Few old-party politicians dared to come out openly against social and labor legislation, and most employes were afraid to get into conflict with the workers over 'wages, hours and shop conditions...
...By this time bosh iority and minority repprtt jf*» n and the defendant had sMW ier case...
...were they (the administration) able to obtain even meager gains for members...
...It implies that the theory of economic liberalism is definitely discarded in favor of an economy directed by the State...
...The hostility and prejudice of the chairman and the board were obvious from the start...
...Several interesting thing* sen)oped at this meeting...
...One thing that was proved on Tuesday is that the tactics of bargaining with one or both old parties for rapport at the polls yields no good results for such a party as oars, it may often he right sot as to endorse old-party candidates who stand for important parts of oar program...
...The net result has been to strengthen the conservative parties by a half-dozen seats at the expense of the Radical Socialists, who lost still another to the Socialists...
...The weakness is at the top, in the refusal of those who govern - France politically to take the power away from a handful who control France financially...
...The forty-five-hour week in the form of -five nine-hour working days has been inaugurated in the airplane factories...
...missed...
...The answer was that they were ready to take any action to keep the delegates at the convention from knowing what was going on in Local No...
...That means, of course, the severe control of the banks and the bankers, as well as the huge financial reserves of the insurance companies...
...After hours of grilling, the executive board decided that the way to "stop these people" was to single out the leaders and punish them...
...The specific charges preferred against Anne Gould was violating the motion and publishing slanderous and false statements about the union...
...The worker who refuses to comply with the demand lays himself open to be fired immediately and loses the right to paid vacations and any indemnity which would otherwise be coming to him for abrupt discharge...
...The .premier denied formally he had anything to do with Pinchot's declaration...
...It was under the stimulus of the first reaction after awakening to the realisation what Munich meant for France that Pinchot, president of an important veterans' association, came out in favor of a strong government...
...In vain members pointed out that this was unconstitutional and that even in reactionary organizations, at conventions, all barriers are down and anyone who has a point of view has every right to attempt to influence delegates to bring resolutions on the floor and vote on them...
...Communist Rule in White Collar Union Drives Out Anti-Stalinites By JACK CARTER QN October 24...
...Not only this, but even those minotea were twisted and misquoted...
...Last year a similar application was refused the Pinkerton Agency by the Farmer-Labor Governor who is vested in law to grant or refuse such applications...
...Daladier seeks to avoid the stumbling block by first padding the pay envelope and then letting the cost of living go up...
...Daladier...
...The principle of the forty-hour law will be left intact, but the reality will be another thing...
...The capitalists and .their agents in the old parties can now take the aggressive on both the political and the economic field...
...Certain newspapers do not hesitate to show their preference for a military dictatorship...
...Harm we hove the same story of Communist domination aad ruthless SfwOafft elimination of oil opposition...
...two years ago...
...Her insistence that she had a right to be heard fell an deaf ears...
...Her* again, when she attdaptstt to introduce evidence she *t, stopped, the answer of the chawman was "We are not interertec in facts...
...IN May of this year preparations were made for a national convention of the United Office and Professional Workers of America...
...The United Progressive League, in the meantime, decided that, regardless of consequences, the convention had to be informed of what was going on in Local 16 and elsewhere and published a special edition of the paper in which it called upon the delegates to formulate proper organization plans...
...PROM time to time The Mew Leader has printed the inside stories of what it hepaeer leg in 4. F. of L. and C.I.O...
...that they had spied upon and disrupted unions, provided armed guards and names of onion members to employers...
...the* organized ?ofiice workers in New York City were given a fesson in "coordination"—and simultaneously, the organized labor movement in New York City was given a practical illustration of what the Stalinites mean by their frequently mouthed slogan "Democracy...
...The worker is expected to find his compensation in the added pay which overtime will bring him...
...The party convention of the Radical Socialists has shown the rift between the two wings to be growing wider, with Daladier inclining more and more to the anti-Socialist group...
...For a time it was thought the government was going to act' energetically...
...At the convention, delegates suspected of having unpopular views were denied their seat, on one technicality or another...
...And they kept their word...
...The Progressive Office Worker, distributed only to members of Local 16, began to have its effect among the membership...
...They then proceeded to conduct the kind of trial that such an "impartial board" would be capable of...
...They then started on the second charge of violating the nuatior...
...CUM Strikebreaking He declared that nine large Minnesota industrial concerns had purchased the services of the "finks...
...v* ¦ • *F*AXES are to be raised generally, despite the enormous in** creases of the past year amounting in some instances to fifty per cent...
...All this propaganda leaves the public cold...
...In both instances, the aim is the same: to reduce the worker's standard of living...
...not a trial bat a lynching parr» and walked out...
...The practice will be extended to .the other industries working for national defense and then in the branches of purely private industry...
...Almost every strike conducted i by the ' administration has been lost...
...The revival of that unconquerable spirit must be accompanied by a change in methods of action...
...that they helrr* break the resolution—aad that if Anne Gould is therefore "fa®T" they are all "guilty...
...The prosecution tried to get her to say something that would incriminate her...
...The Radicals control the government and therefore the immediate future of France depends on their decisions...
...They communicated to me their anguish at the thought that if the necessary financial and economic reforms are not put through in time, France would go from crisis to crisis until it found itself worn and torn and ready to become a second Spain...
...She could neither refute tie i...
...is never fatal...
...The Trial Bouffa answer was, they wanted *Jr «¦ pedite the trial and therefore decided to drop these charges...
...French Robber Barons Move Toward Fascism France Seen as Possible 2nd Spain By SEN PROTTER The Sew header** Parisian Correspondent CAMS.—The crisis last September showed up the weak spots of the financial and economic structure of the French nation, inion was unanimous that a thorough overhauling was needed quickly...
...It is almost always wrong for us to seek endorsement for our own candidates from either old party...
...That means, also, exchange control to prevent the flight of capital abroad, but hot to hinder legitimate trade or tourism...
...Bat when it comes to determine the exact character of'those decisions, the fundamental disagreement between the two factions Antonini Blames Deals For A. LP...
...The League was composed of rank-«nJJle...
...Aectt+'y the Stalinite tactics In the Painters' locals, end out West in Harry Bridges1 territory were exposed in our columns, fa this edition we turn to Local 16 of the United OBcs aad Professional Workers' Union...
...OUT what the local lacked in •If union organization ability was made up in good "party" work...
...When that cry was first launched, it aroused infinite enthusiasm and gave an irresistible impulsion to the People's Front movement...
...CREDIT SYSTEM MEED VAST REFORMS T9E weakness of the French economic system is not at the base...
...Antonini said...
...All that is changed...
...It must be completed by another and larger reform, namely* the direction of the nation's entire credit system...
...Yet at 10 t'dtW* hereafter, ever 106 people cats* * -only to vote...
...France needs no new Napoleon...
...Far my .part I believe the American Labor Party hi worth rebuilding...
...The worker in the factory and on the farm does his share, works overtime if it is really necessary...
...Hoover, and possibly retain the support it had built up by opposition to that party and philosophy," Mr...
...Antonini predicted that the lessons of the past election would cement the Labor Party's ties with the New Deal...
...The local became the kite-tail of every known Communist Party "innocent" organization...
...Tht tonority on the board pointed vtt that the board could not arrive it any decision since no cast kid been presented...
...It resulted in the transformation of the Bank of France from a robbers' stronghold into a public institution...
...RADICAL SOCIALISTS MAY DISINTEGRATE JVS expected, the elections of October 23 have not changed the political complextion of the French Senate...
...He revealed that he had been in California when the deal was consummated, and that upon his return to New York he had made his opposition known within Labor Party circles, but had not made his stand public because he feared it might create further confusion and impair the party's votegetting power...
...Antonini hailed the election of Governor Herbert H. Lehman and Lieutenant-Governor Charles Poletti as a clear rebuke to those who had sought to make political capital of racial and religious beliefs, and especially to German and Italian fascists who had been conducting anti-semitic campaigns...
...sinuations of the prosecutioi nw attempt to clear herself ef tat charge, nor have the charg* 4...
...People who began by opposing his dictatorial handling of the chair joined with those who were demanding an accounting of financial expenditures...
...At the May membership meeting of Local 16, and in the midst of discussion on resolutions for the Convention, Morris Yanoff, the administrative officer of the local, in-< troduced a motion prohibiting a member from "publishing or distributing d ir e c 11 y or indirectly points of view relating to the instructions to our .delegates to the United Office and Professional Workers' convention which are in opposition to the action taken by this membership...
...The vote «" or a administration...
...The minority alar stated that the motion on wojeh the charge was based was dearly unconstitutional and for that reason the charge must be disrnissec However, the majority vtnhct read "guilty...
...was thought to be behind the move...
...The majority at that meet*** lourse upheld the admimstrzU* Knd a word regarding that f> iority is in order here, a*-**3:30 o'clock a vote was take** » minor issue...
...I believe it will be rebuilt and will live up to the Ugh hopes that'gave it birth...
...THE trial board then wet sal their verdict was four month suspension from the union...
...ALGERNON LEE COMMENTS ON ELECTION RESULTS - Algernon Lee, city chairman of the Social Democratic Federation, commented on the election results, so far as concerns the American Labor Party, as follows: "The American Labor Party will be needed even more in the next few years than it was in 1936 and 1937...
...Laval thought to attain his end by reducing wages by ten per cent...
...Benson Bars Burns Agency In Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS...
...Members who objected to these extraunion activities, demanding that the union emphasis be in proper more difficult to organize an admittedly union-shy element, were hissed on the membership floor...
...The 186 were so incensed at a* satire procedure that when A*** Sould was ordered to * »I1, they all rose and waited •* n protest with her...
...Here Is the some story of too crushing of democracy la ovary organization the Stalinites control, despite their ubigvitous lip-service ft "democratic aad popular fronts...
...One member of the board then preferred charges, and the rest of the board was to sit as the trial board...
...That is to be expected, because as members of the Radical Socialist Party they do -Sot wish to commit political suicide...
...At 11 o'clock, he vote was taken on the vt»w* t was 270 for sasneaateri against...
...First, tat majority report quoted some of fat verbatim testimony taken or (he hearing of the charge, which sat withdrawn, without allowing tat defendant a chance to reply...
...Such setbacks are dangerous only to a labor party which has became so obsessed with the desire for so-called practical success that it loses interest in basic principles and far-reaching aims...
...And this brings Us to the special meeting in October...
...unions controlled by the Communist Party...
...Success Mr...
...Tber answer needs no comment—it if by far a more effective condemnation of a union administration thir any opponents could have made Members of the local, incenaed at the verdict of the majorttj, pointed out the gag resolution ota clearly a violation of the eonatitution of the union as well si of the defendant's rights as a etustn, to freedom of press and speech, in the constitution of tht uraee itself occurs the stipulation that 1 member vows to defend freedom of thought, whether tiwaisud by tongue or pen, hi the spirit af trade union democracy...
...His speech was noteworthy for its lack of constructive elements...
...The taxes under way will undoubtedly cause the cost of living to go up...
...The prosecution, having no evidence and no witnesses, insisted that Anne Gould testify against herself...
...For a labor party imbued with that spirit, an occasional setback, with loss of votes and loss of offices previously won...
...Lewis Merrill, now president of the International of which Local 16 is an affiliate, was then president of Local 16, and his autocratic handling of the chair at a membership meeting had to be seen in order to be believed...
...Luigi Antonini...
...this is the procecu > », have established and we will l;10, , nothing else...
...That means, by way of logical sequence, the comprehensive use of credit to irrigate industry and "commerce in the interest of the country as a whole and not of any particular group of individuals...
...The League, realizing that its main task was to reach the several thousand 'disgusted members who had ceased to attend meetings, began u, issue "The Progressive Office Worker," in order to win these people back to active participation in the union...
...Antonini pointed out that there was a vast difference between local elections where only the issue of clean government was involved, and state and national elections where the New Deal itself was at stake . "No party professing adherence to the New Deal could support candidates associated with the party and philosophy of Mr...
...If any conclusion can be drawn at all from these elections, I should say they prove, once again that when liberals refuse to take clear decisions in times of great crises, they are inevitably ground between the opposing forces of conservatism and progress...
...Union committees were busy with the Committee for Peace and Democracy, t he American Youth Congress, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the I.L.D., etc., etc...
...As organizational failures mounted, members also began to demand corrective measures in organizational work...
...against the French nation...
...Bjejnjibers...
...On hearing.th.&, jj* defendant declared that tab *a...
...For on this day, at a special membesship meeting, the administration of Local 16 of the United Office and Professional anion work, maintaining that the < political activities would make it Workers of America forced through the conviction and suspension of Anne Gould, a member of that union, on the offense of having expressed opinions critical of "the" administration...
...The Labor Party leader disclaimed all responsibility for his party's horse-trading with the Republicans...
...Antonini declared that although the party's vote had been sufficiently large to make victory possible tor the NewDeal State ticket, and to elect New Dealer James H. Fay in the 16th Congressional District overO'Connor, the conservative incumbent, the sharp drop in its vote nevertheless indicated that by 'endorsing candidates identified with the Republican Party, it had seriously compromised its prestige among labor and liberal voters...
...A tax on capital is also said to be in course of preparation, but it is yet to be seen whether it is a bone to the crowd, or really a measure to bring a good round sum into the State coffers...
...political opinion of Local 16 interested in the welfare of their union...
...By refusing its application for a renewal of its license to operate in Minnesota, Govern or Benson has put an end to the strikebreaking activities of the William J. Burns Detective Agency in this state...
...The five hours overtime with supplementary pay is made compulsory...
...of ajl shades of...
...It is only too clear France would then be ripe for the plucking by the first intelligent adventurer who poses as his country's savior...
...The reform has proved insufficient...
...The revival of the turnover tax-and the institution of ether measures which will put the brunt of the armament burden an the lower classes...
...Bat there will be no increase in the hourly wage rate...
...used stink bombs to disrupt orderly onion meetings* and incited violence in strikes...
...Any-violation of this ruling will be considered a serious breach of trade union responsibility subject to appropriate action by the Local...
...It can be expected that the party members will not want to disavow their leaders, Daladier and Bonnet, for what happened at Munich and will declare they acted in the beet interests of the nation...
...Thus two rat organizations that have for many years poisoned industrial relations* in Minnesota have been compelled to abandon this field of operations and these two victories show how independent political action of the organized woikeis can protect their economic organisations . In a statement announcing this decision Governor Benson drew an impressive indictment of the criminal activities of the Burns outfit...
...The measures show that the present government refuses to open its eyes to the extreme gravity of the situation and is ready to practice the same policy of deflation and repression at home and connivance with the Fascist powers abroad as marked Laval's passage as prime minister in 1935...
...HE only reply the adminutri•^tion had was—that the defend ant did not appeal to the refako channel in the onion...
...Opposition to the administration started to grow...
...Alluding to the American Labor Party's support of liberal Republicans in last year's municipal elections, Mr...
...The progressive spirit in American politics was then in full swing...
...But at the same time, its critical analysis of the administration's "successes' and its demand for a wholesome and constructive union policy were becoming irksome to the administration...
...we are not interested n truth...
Vol. 21 • November 1938 • No. 46
