BROOKWOOD RAISES PROBLEMS OF WORKERS' EDUCATION

Laborite

Brookwood Raises Problems of workers' Education Labor College and W. E. B. Travel Along Different Paths $2,000,000 Endowment Fund Is Being Sought By Laborite TIE commencement exercise* h«M at...

...Capitalist newspapers give prizes for the best essays On the Constitution, even though the most important parts of that Constitution are a dead letter and are to remain so...
...secretary of the New Tork City central body, who la not at all addicted to theorizing, steed up the situation with illustrations based upon hie own ea> perience...
...Anybody whd has seen th* Brookwood player*—and thoy performed to ah improvised Openair theatre at th* r oiiimojifl*nj*nt exercise*—will rOoognl** tb* potenttaHU*a of the labor drama, tt to beautiful yat effect!** propaganda...
...If we are going to measure the vslu* of Brookwood...
...A. J. Muste...
...Speaker and gentlemen, we have ail but stopped immigration—even immigration from Germany, England and the western countries of Europe, where people oh the whole have a bifhei average education...
...They are there, created by tba author, but aauar do* their Joys or sorrow* provoke sympathy...
...And the appearance of pax* after page 1* spoiled by erratic ayaelas bet we— Unec An Unworthy Effort {."¦"BEATRICE ("Beatrice," byArK thur Bchnttxler...
...Perhaps the inability to see anything much In It is due to tbe reviewer's obtuaenea...
...Arthur Schnltsler to a tremendously Interesting nanilagiijiiiai J. bat wa found "Bsatrtos" aa unworthy affect, with peculiar moral twists...
...Since then...
...Its, early Ideals of a school democratically controlled "by those living and working on the place" have not suffered...
...When tt take* the form of tragedy, tt vtrttdi for us the nature of the social sdOSi iraf sboamSSR tb?****1 *f % to enter Industrial eoaaj!cto"whD* this aetata of theirs to ml th* flak* of tt cemmendkM...
...And thai our Conatitution...
...4—That "it is claimed that the tips received by the average porter en a Standard car are Insufficient to pay tor his personal expenses on the road alone, and that therefore he and his family are forced to live on his present yearly average wage of $870, which Is far below the minimum American family budget...
...Unity House Opens Doer' To i Line Group of Guests Th* /opening of the International Unity House at Forest Park takes place this week, sad all through the ranks of the I. L. G. W. U. organisation in New York City and adjacent towns this evsnt was one of the principal topics of interest...
...Birthday 111 enj under the auspices of Local 1M MSJut American Federation of "lanssas...
...bat only m snots...
...But it baa never been suggested by any group of "reformers" to put teeth into the first amendment of our Constitution, which was considered the most Important amendment by both Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, who otherwise did not agree on very many things...
...It may have emerged from Its experimental stage but It is still experimenting...
...And democracy today means Jobs for "deserving Democrats...
...The nine point* follow: 1—That "the Pullman Company tells primarily service, mainly the service of its employes, especially the Pullman porter* and maids, from which service much of Its profits ar* derived...
...MmAmAm I —r...
...And wealth, or tba ability to make money, la tb* only thing that counts In our country today...
...Wo have truly become a docile people...
...Thoy are the predlgasted intellectual food for unawakened collego students...
...Plans for holding conferences of union executives from time to time are under way...
...the outcome of this to be...
...Th* number ot mlspellsd words la regretably ate*, and there are far more *x¦mall* of brohen type than would •earn excusable...
...8—That "it is the claim ot those engaged in the present struggle of the Pullman porters and maids to organise into a trade union, that their wagee are at a miserable level, and that conditions and hours of employment ars such as to menace their health' and efficiency, allowing them only three hours' sleep at night on the averags run...
...Of the sixty students that the school has attracted, all, except about ten, who attended during the first two formative years, have been trade unionists, and moat of them active ones...
...Eleven organisations have gone so far aa to establish one or more scholarships nt Brookwood for their members...
...Cheap tend ia almost gone now...
...It is also remarkable as being one of the few provisions which, instead of limiting the liberty of the citizen, extends it._ Moreover, I believe that the first amendment can be enforced without trouble if a law Is passed for it* enforcement...
...He kept his nose to disputes over hours and workin*- conditio...
...Translated by Agnes Jacques...
...In addition, many of these have from time to time been called back to active duty for strikes or relief work, while still in attendance at school...
...be felt was sending oat trad* unionists equipped to battle te this now worn...
...Borne of the same people were behind both ventures...
...but to apply to the A. F. da office or the Workers' EdursttoS Sjhaj roan, for assistance in educational aa*T research problems...
...This is net true, however, tt oa* happens to be himself a printer...
...Wilson, fallen, te still the possessor of Mr...
...Finally, the establishment of annual summer institutes has brought to Brookwood active labor men for periods of one week or two...
...If Thomaa Jefferson would rise from his grave today, the Democratic statesmen of the South would put him into Jail immediately as a dangerous radical, since he said that violent revpration* are needed every 25 years to preserve liberty...
...The school ha* been endorsed by twenty international unions, ten State federations of labor, fourteen city central bodies, aa won aa by district council* and local unions...
...4) facility In personal contacts...
...It baa eaten its a food deal of th*lr energy somewhat In th* manner which similar a*tlvttts* IS tb* conventional aeboote do...
...tt comas between "Berth* OarIan," which appeared ta translation soma year* ago...
...which was patch...
...ta this country, thus far, largely a battle of aSdaabrtohats with international bankanv wtthtebor toft out ta tbe eoti...
...jf which the Brookwood faculty —|tto gS th* nucleus...
...Beatrice" will eat vary taw ta talking, unlsee it be to wagging thotr heads In disappointment...
...New York, on June 4. ¦narked the close of the pioneer period «f' the school's development and th* tiegiiiiilnr of tb* new era of expansion aad ewnaoUdaUon...
...There seems to bo lees concern here about the loss of civil liberty than in any western European country...
...He ought, therefore, to bo deprived, of the autocratic power that he has ot ruining any publication at random, if be so chooses...
...Brookwood Raises Problems of workers' Education Labor College and W. E. B. Travel Along Different Paths $2,000,000 Endowment Fund Is Being Sought By Laborite TIE commencement exercise* h«M at Brookwood Labor Collet;*, Katonah...
...That slogan is being heralded by the Anti-Saloon League and its servants in public office...
...Therefore, be it resolved that the Committee on Labor...
...And so tb* augtoy stands at pi acini...
...Ia "Fraulein Etoe," Scbaltxtor gave aa a sensitive, poignant study of a girl...
...Yea "there is no doubt of It, _ Brookwood is trade unionist through and through...
...Speaker, have the American people lost their faith in democratic institutions...
...Albert A Charles Bonl, $2.60) Is a beautifully written,^J>eautlfully printed novel ol practically no importance...
...E. B.) and Brookwood, tba first and still the only resident labor .college.in this country...
...House ot Representatives, be hereby empowered to investigate the wages, hours and conditions of employment of the Pullman porters and maids, and to Investigate .the financial history and financial conditions of the Pullman Company aa same may affect wagea and conditions of employment, to the end that exploitation of ssld Pullman employes might be prevented snd that they might receive fair and adequate wages commensurate with their services...
...Then, too, Clinton S. Golden, field secretary, has established contacts with labor and carried' the workers' education gospel practically to every corner of the United States...
...we must see what tt has accomplished...
...7—That "th* gross revenue of the Pullman Company during the last fiscal year wax $»0.I18,818, of which 186.M7,7<> was from sleeping car and kindred services atone...
...That, existing, it would immediately, unanimously and whole-heartedly take th* un Influential young American who tells the story into tt* confidence la preposterous...
...It I* bristling with Yankee colloquialism* which tend to make tba too tragic content ridiculous...
...This summer, for Instance, there will be Textile, Giant Power and Railway Institutes under the auspices of the appropriate labor unions...
...They find fault with the Russian OOmmunlsts, not on account ot their method* or because a smalt oligarchy is ruling Russia, but because Trotskt, Lenin and their friend* have laid hands on property...
...The Postmaster General, like any other mortal, should be com^ polled to go to the courts and prove his case against the publication before be could stop its circulation...
...t—That "Its net profits were $15,771.276, of which $12,681,103 was from si se ping car aad kindred services alone, and that said huge profits are ample and sufficient to better the working conditions, hours of employment and wagea of Pullman porters and maids...
...Philadelphia member* and member* of locals te the vicinity of New Tork may register from their own local of• noes, which win assure then* ssnam modationa, te accordance with arrangement* made by th* mate office of the Unity Hons* te New Terfc...
...9—That "every reasonable effort made by the Pullman porters and maids to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining has met with constant and stubborn resistance of the Pullman Company, who have used every known method that wealth can purchase to prevent said organization...
...Merriam cites six basic qualities of a political leader, namely: (1...
...Tbe story to one ot a high aristocratic bto'-p in present-day Rome, whose influence Is supposedly enormous, but whose achievements ars apparently nU...
...They are an to believeithat th* praaaat social, political, and economic ' order ia the best that the world ha* ever produced or ever will produce...
...tt to i|iitoltiatoM| whether ft ought to be osxwarajsd...
...up it times, is tb* meat perfect and the moot aaruail document error received by man since tb* decalogue And we are teaching the young...
...In fact, most of -the group who met at Brookwood...
...It brought into existence the Workers' Education Bureau (W...
...whom the d»nsrai prose insists upon labelling "dean" and who is really chairman of the faculty, announced the Inauguration of a drive tor a two million dollar endowment fund...
...Even the formerly simple questions now require expert knowledge of the intricacies wf purines...
...E. Zlegler, Gas.lav Gel see and Robert Fscbner, among others, have taken an active interest In the work...
...He soon SJtnirrdrooT that prewar pubelelty work te modern industrial struggles-' te act a luxury but a necessary weapon' te Sbo agatt...
...Quite arbitrary choice ot th* getting-on attribute* of successful politicians, It would seem...
...g^r^n^^^^^^^^^**^^toBf" esuaaaSeatY «5§e...
...At the commencement exercises John Cough Un...
...Nevertheless, there hi close co-operation aad open exchange of vtsws between both resident elements...
...American business men today worship Mussolini, who brag* that he wipe* his feet oa liberty...
...What we are trying to dp aow to to mold all ot them Into one form, whlol we proudly can the American mold...
...It was formerly a modern school for children, owned and conducted by William and Helen Kin eke...
...8) facility in expression...
...But now things v* become more complicated...
...9tf ¦*)»• Sueh4aMB> i Wasted Material HERE ("The Cabala...
...And at the same time E. H. Gary, the president of the United States Steel Co., is an honorary fascist aad tt sighing for a dictator ia th* United States...
...But censorship of the type we have in this country is {he plutocratic devil'* own invention, and ws* nurtured from a little stripling by hypocrisy, crookedness, and cowardice until it grew up and became the bis tree of the present day...
...As to oiu* Constitution—the right of the people to speak freely, to write freely and to have the right to assemble for the purpose of discussing their grievances lies at the basis of all other rights...
...Some New Books in Brief Statesmen's Stuff HOW a man who baa viewed tbe obscene spectacle of municipal politics from the vantage point of Chicago's City Council can produce an interpretation of political leadership as unreal aa this ("Four American Party Leaders," by Charles E. Men-lam, University of Chicago) is aa intriguing mystery...
...Bat it has not been wasteful...
...And then there is the recent case ot the Mercury, a monthly magaxine published in New York, and edited by America's foremost\critic, Henry L. Mencken...
...And they are all to think alike, aad to apeak alike, and to act alike...
...Merriam's ate basic' qualities...
...dean*' to ahfJ aoflty *aaf ipabtflia IX es*»q oa* of the sacrifice* that thnijj from^netoar Into extended f^vj ctosaVSm fur a' week or ^^jfl wwrfchnjr aawfl aa the) »aaBBssb^3^^B Probably the most r*marlsab*g^H Of Brookwood"s history has IflRjg independence...
...Fannin M. Cohn, Phil...
...Scarcely a word in the** tetarnretar'"'a* of Lincoln...
...In tb* spring ot 1921 the workers' education movement in the United States wax full ot hope...
...It ia the vision and loyalty of these two that induced them to turn over their property to the "New Brookwood...
...Much 1* being said about putting teeth into the eighteenth amendment...
...wS)sBi constructed...
...Not a word te these papers that would' aid questing undergraduates to understand tbe battle of politic* a* It to—a scheming, relentless, cruel and horrific contest of organized economic groups far strategic position* of control...
...I would give no man living the unlimited censorship over tree ft beech ana over free press...
...Brookwood nestles among the rollteg hills of Westchester County at JCatonah...
...It is furthermore made up of all kinds of nationalities, races, and religions, who have little love for each other and little coherence with each other...
...The world can not stand still, aad economic evolution doee not stand still...
...It has never kajBflja to anybody...
...That such a group actually exist* I a, improbable...
...Through donations it ha* been possible, to transfer the whole to Brookwood when it became Incorporated a year ago...
...It ia appropriate, therefore, at this point to take stock of Brookwood, It* achievements and possibilities...
...Nevertheless, even the native American worker is satisfied, if he hat enough to eat, if he can go to a movie and see a gams Of baseball Or a prise fight occasionally...
...For this purpose said Committee on Labor win have the right to swear witnesses and take testimony In the District ot Columbia as well as other parts of tbs country...
...Ho bad to be conversant with conditions to astro or Jons relevant Sold...
...Speaker and gentleman, wkdttl...
...Tbe most obvious and fair explanation, tt must be concluded, is that Mr...
...The majority of the Board of Directors are labor representatives...
...Patriotism today does not mean the greatest good for the greatest' mass, but means military display—flag day, navy day, defense day...
...Like the book itself (perhaps wa should call it aa allegory), they don't get anywhere...
...Roosevelt, a political cast-off, to no toss sensitive, acute, facile, clever aad courageous...
...March SI and April 1, 1121...
...Therefore, I say: Colombia quo vadis...
...Whither goest thou...
...Of course, I realise that many Americans of today are different from those of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries...
...Gregory Matusewich, concertina virtuoso, and several leading parformers of the Yiddish stag...
...What is the outcome to be, then...
...Assistance baa been **vaae*K the American Fund for Public stw for a ten-year extension pro*T*xfudJQp' buildings, especially a library...
...Will it be communism...
...aad "Fraulein Etoe," which sat all th* critic* talking toot fait If wo ar* anything ef a preps...
...All of the members of the faculty have seme sort of labor background...
...Th* Brookwood Players pie—ute* a oneact play...
...Among the musical and literary talent that participated in the program marking the opening night at the Unity House were lime, Boabover, soprano...
...Free speech has become next to impossible in this country...
...Our working class, apart from the farm labor, is mostly made up of aliens and semlaliens...
...They are puppet*, always steeped ta sex desir*, never having their SB of thte desire...
...Other* of th* asm* type and the name mode ot thinking ar* signing with him...
...Or perhaps It hi due to a feeling of exaspc—tion, which grows with every nags turned, that the author has not made better use of hi* material and of his unquestioned talent...
...We have only oa* poUtlcal party, aad that 1* the plutocratic Republican Party of Ptorpoat Morgan, Dohoay, and company, of which the DeraocraUe Party la but a poor appendage, without any program, without any kwtamteadss with out any reeaea for eatetaaoe, attoty held together by th* race question down South...
...Of course, we hear a great deal about Americanism and Americanizing...
...Somehow or other, however, the tale, as tohT, baa an air of plausibility...
...A. J. Muste baa been teaching history and foreign labor...
...on top of all that, he can also have a cheap automobile, then tbs goal of his wishes has been reached...
...Local committees, shop ' groups, officers and members alike made the annual pilgrimage for the day when tb* magnificent workers* .estate ia the Bin* Ridge mountains was thrown open for the Sow of guests and vacationists...
...He said that a generation ago the duties' of a tabor leader were comparatively simple...
...Why tt should not be of importance, this reviewer is unable to say...
...Merriam prepared these papers for undergraduate consumption...
...Research work wuLBb undertaken...
...undoubtedly easier, especially sine* the war has turned Europe into a general poorhouse...
...8) courage...
...t) facUlty te group combination...
...0~^ ^tj...
...One hears every day business men deploring the fact that Congress is in session and wishing that Congress would adjourn forever, if possible—and such an obedient Congress, at that...
...At this very moment, men are held under $20,000 ball at Passaic, N. J., merely because they dared to exercise the right of free speech, even though they exercised it only on a privately owned lot...
...A resolution was pssanS condemning the acceptance of daa»i tions from foundations and stouter sources that might be hostile to ni|sa toed labor...
...The character* do not live ox suffer...
...aet Mtb at***AV_ .j^^^Jx^^jj&lu^^ When a Judge in Boston freed th* magazine, the Postmaster General forbade it* circulation...
...N. Y- about forty miles [north of New York City...
...The Volstead Act had that object te view...
...Tbe translation slums stilted aa*1 not* good enough for Bchnttxler...
...I regard the first amendment as most essential to the preservation of fundamental rights of Americans...
...The most dissatisfied 'class today is the farmer class...
...Har nature ¦unit te have an inordinate ntimber that ar* understandable, bat thoa* that atom pat there Just to auk* tt harder...
...The several individuals who compose the Cabala— Miss' Grier, the Cardinal, tbe Duchess Of Aquilanera, the Princess of Hbrpoli, As tree-Luce—are an endowed with the breath ot life...
...Th* boaaYat and guarantee fund of |2,ev0,«t* -*» seek support only from labor crank* Uons aad groups of Individual* gats insly interested in auihai*' *d*OB°*J*a under trade union control aad ujsj aat solicit or oeocpt contributions from foundations whose loyalty to the fundamental alma of erg**lssd saber might be questioned...
...Certain wealthy Americans today envy Italy, Spate and Greece their dictators...
...1> acute perception of possible causes of community conduct...
...The faculty, of course, Is isspnatlhlt for instructing tb* gradual* in tb* us* *f tb* modern arms aad ammunition...
...p»rb*P...
...The ssaaat conference for teacher* ot wetbgOJ, education was held at Brook wood sabt the Washington...
...The ultimata ate* of top student-body win be It...
...Now, with all du* respect to tb* Postmaster Genera), I do not believe that he ia an absolute Judge of either good literature 'or good morals...
...It is recognised for example, that the faculty has autonomy In matters of educational policy and the students in other things...
...The slogan in our country today, like In Rome ot antiquity, seems to be "ponem et clrcenses," bread snd game...
...tt ia with high hopes, the*, -ajjg*j fb-ookwood looks forward to uh»JB> turn...
...Safeguarding Our Liberties IHAVE also Introduced a bill to enforce the first amendment to the Constitution by making it a Federal offense to violate its provisions guaranteeing freedom of speech, of the press and of assemblage...
...Wilson, Roosevelt aad Bryan of^th* economic force* that make aad break statesmen...
...Interestingly enough, the pitfalls of undifferentiated democracy into which other groups have fallen have been .avoided...
...Arthur W. Calhoun, social economies...
...6—That "it appears that the sum total of dividends since th* company's original Incorporation amounts to over 8269,600,000, in addition to which $64,000,000 has been declared in stock dividends, making a total of an dividends in excess of $333,600,000, ol which $10,732,272 were declared during the last fiscal year...
...David J. Sapoes, aSwSrseTtta M^sss^ I nramiil to* »mims*sa> Ha had b**n out in tb* Ssefi arrnJxrteg relief for the Pasanje stifsaaa...
...Functional democracy has been the watchword...
...From the first Brookwood has hsd Its roots In the labor movement...
...Fin tba anna, tba fund "to never to cover maw the* St per cent of the actual budget, at that th* school may continue to bt dependent far it* existence oa tb* annual scholarships provided by trad* labor education..- u*e*a*wOd bfe a ctoar vision of its functions, ft Irmra* exactly where it to going, aad It wffl gat there, ( Socialism On Vital American Issues Victor Berger's Speech in Congress...
...one or two...
...For those reasons it 1* surely the most poorly organized on the whole ot any workins class of, any civilised western European country...
...Win it be fascism T A* my bins prove, X want neither...
...Democracy seems to have loot coat* with tb* older stock of the American people I say older stock advisedly, because there is no old stock...
...Practically without exception they have remained in the labor movement after graduation...
...are momentarily happy k* this declre, but on fun of fear and suspicion that th* Sesira toad* immediately aad almost inevitably to despair: Baatrte* herself ta spot* seems a gwnoin* enough parson...
...Our political life seems to bo stagnant Oar parliamentary life to almost extinct...
...New Tork: Simon and abutter- 81A0) Is the Schnltsler ot a decade and a bait ago...
...Recently tb* akktoj has gotten into hot water...
...Man like Jolin Fits pa trick, James H. Maurer, John Brophy, Jay G. Brown, Boss Schnelderman, Charles Kuts and Abraham Lefkowltx, all active trade unionists, were responsible for launching the school...
...There is surely less resistance against Federal, State and local tyranny...
...The physical equipment of the school is no longer the property of private individuals...
...About any *ne of them a complete novel could be written, aad the pity ot it, rather, la that this waa not done Taken together, they caaeel out, la the opening sentence it was stated that this book wa* "beautifully printed...
...If a publisher of a paper or a magaxine has done any wrong and that has been proved in the court—then the man responsible should bear the consequence* aad be punished...
...by Thornton Wilder...
...ia "Beatrice," he gives us a cruel, hardly credible tale of a woman of forty, don* te abort, bohl strokes that alienate ear eyt&pathlea from their character te the novelette...
...It these attributes make statesmen, what are the one's which break them...
...The resolution concludes: Whereas, the condition* ot labor that th* said Pullman Company impose* on the Pullman porters and maids are so below the American standard of living aa to shock the public conscience by it...
...Tin Siaamllii work he* taken up too much ot tba time of tba student* teat year...
...One third ot their share'they retained, the third they sold to M. Toscan and Josephine B. Bennett, to whose lot it fell in conjunction with the Finckes to get the school actually under way, and another third Okay deeded to A. J. Muste, the new fgajtrman of the faculty, and his wife, up tang as they remained connected Stth the school...
...Nine Facts About Porters Niae tailing count* against th* Pullman Company's treatment of the porter* are made ta a resolution proeontod to th* Hons* *f < Representatives by Congressman Cellared Now Tork...
...Owing to the colonial condltloni which still prevail in our country, th| standard of living is higher in thlt country and the living condition...
...S—That "it appears that the Pullman Company, under the name of the Pullman Palace Car Co., began business under the laws of the State of Illinois in 1867'with sn original capitalisation ot $82,300,000, to which no cash capitalisation has since been added, ' although now the Pullman Company claims that tt Is capitalised at 1186,000,000...
...This has not institutionalized the college...
...It makes violations of the amendment a felony, punishable by two years' imprisonment or by a fine of 15,000, or both...
...Because it published a story which some prudes thought was immoral, but which many people believed was in reality a highly moral lesson by showing up the hypocrisy of some of the yokel towns In the Middle West, Its sale was forbidden...
...It has kept betels' waft tba ideal at open-mlnd«cls«se,'-ejsjj| the facts squarely...
...It originally started with the Poe Unas tar General, together with the Attorney General getting the right to deprive, papers that oontained advertisements of the Louisiana lottery, with which Southern gentlemen tried to recoup their fortunes, of the secondclass mailing privilege...
...Therefore, In October, II, the first contingent of students Sad faculty trudged up the hilly road ho the large white colonial house, that has remained the center of activity Voce, guessing, hut little- knowing, what firm foundations they were layteg...
...3—That "they are subject to many hours of enforced preparatory labor without pay...
...Sensitiveness to the strength and direction of social and Industrial tendencies...
...to organise the school, went the following day to the conference in New Tork City that established the W. E. B. Since then, these two bodies have traveled in different directions...
...But I am afraid future gen-, •ration* may not respect my wishes any more than tb* present generation doe...
...Tolerance oFSj Shrting opinions ha* been Its eSahaf* tortttle feature...
...It wan mad* etoar tax* this was aimed at th* Worker** S**>> cation Bureau, which had practlosjbr become the Educational Department *S the A. F. of L The W. B. B. had saw eeptod ouch a contribution for carry* lag on Its publication work, la th* "Weekly Now* Service" of the A. F,«f L. under date of May 22, 1224, an Sank appeared warning workers not tea* "deluded by tricky (workers') ireau Una...
...people in th* public schools to salute the flag, and to revere th* Daughter* ol the American Revolution, aad to believe that George Washington never told a lie...
...Aa a aktn of this change...
...United State* of America...
...Colonial condition* are disappearing daily more and more la our country...

Vol. 3 • June 1926 • No. 23


 
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