Evening star., 1920-01-08
SOVIET LEAFLETS
FOR RAIL WORKERS
Revolutionary Sentiment in
Circulars Which Have
Reached Here.

Pernicious activities of the soviet
communists are being carried not only
into industrial shops throughout the
United States, but efforts are being
made among the railroad Shopmen
and railroad workers, information
reaching Washington today revealed
Leaflets detailing the aims and pur-
poses of the soviet communists have
been sent to railroad shopworkerS in
Washington. it was learned today, but
have met with no response from the
workers at the Union station. These
leaflets eXhorted rail workers mere
to strike and join general EFFORT TO
seize the railroads, to be carried out
in every city in the United states
Officials were reticent today, but
promised further information.
Would Organize Committees.
These new activities of the soviet
communists have centered in the dis
tribution of leaflets calling on ran.
road workers Ito secure control or
the shops' and carry the legend that
the first step is to organize d shop
communist committee in the shop in
which YOU work" The leaflets have
been distri buted by mail and IN per-
son by agents of the communist party
of America in the large railroad CEN
ters of the country in New York. Chi
cago and Omaha but railroad officials
aver that they have met with no re-
sponse from the railrHen.
The American Federation of Labor
and the railroad shop men. through
their executive committees Htne
taken n firm stand against distrlbu-
tion of anarchistic literature or any
kind among members of any OIL the
railroad organizations. and. 1t IS re-
ported. will do everything in thelr
power to prevent the spread of such
literature. The Department. of Jus
tice has been apprised of the spread
of communist leaflets among the ran
workers of the country. and is taking
steps to prevent 1t.
Leaflets Radical Sentiment.
Apparently based on tile supposi-
ton that rail workers are ready for a.
general strike, the leaflets distributed
among the shopmen preach The doc
trine that sit should be your shop
or your railroad, yours to work in.
yours to produce in, yours to man
age with the help of yovlr fellow
workers controlled the shop, de-
termined the hours of labor, the
working conditions and apportioned
the rewards for the services rendered.
YOU would be able to create the con-
ditions that would bring hapInness to
you
Point to Russian WOrke rs
"The Russian workers have organiz-
ed their power. They creates1 shop
committees in every plant and united
these in workers councils. Thus they
built up the means for united action.
When the crisis came they were pre-
pared to use their mass power. Before
their mass power the government of
the capitalists and land owners broke
up and disappeared. The workers
councils became the organs of the
working class government. The
workers controlled the state power,
the police and the army
They are endeavoring not only to
obtain control of the industrial plants
of the country. but are also trying to
foment discomfort among railroad en-
ployes.' an official of the railroad ad-
ministration said today. They are
counseting railroad workers to pre-
pare for the day when they can take
possession and control of shops and
plants"
Director General Hines. it is under
stood, has not yet seen copy of the
leaflets distributed among railroad
workers by the communists. but on
his return from New York this after
noon. it is expected he will take some
action to suppress dissemination of
this literature through the railroad
shops.