The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-05-03

Ill ILLS Slldll COuCCIlJldIC lC-
gion, only a couple of hours
travel north and south and east
and west. But, step by step, they
have lost all the gains achieved
with their blood in the revolu-
Ition.
1t is easy to forget that there was
a revolution sorts--in Germany
l forgot it all the time, for nowhere
in the world is exploitation of work
ers more raw than in Germany now.
Nowhere are they expected to live on
such starvation wages. From ten to
twelve cents an hour is the wage for
a skilled worker of the highest class
in the steel mills, and In almost ev-
cry works there is much part time
work, due to disorganization of trans
port under French attempted manage
ment. Krupps, with their old tradi-
tions of paternal care for workers,
have been parcelling out twenty-four
hours week to single men and thirty
hours to men with families, giving
thus a wage somewhere between two
and three and half dollars a week.
Yet with all this surplus of men,
they are frightening the hours of dali
ly labor. "They have established al
most every length of working day ex-
cept eights," said member of the
factory council in one Of the big
plants, to ME bitterly. "They have
seven and half, and nine and ten
everything but eight. They are out
to break in principle the eight-hour
day"
While l was standing in the Office
of another Factory Council, written
notice was brought in from the fac
tory management that henceforth any
worker wishing to consult the factory
council. must first obtain leave of abb
sence from his foreman. The secre-
tary of the Factory Council turned to
me: "Step by step they have taken
away all our power" he said. "Our
workers council is nothing but a
she'll"
Yet he could look back to the thrill
of the days when there was a Red
Army in the Ruhr, and the miners
seized and nationalized the mines, ap-
pointing Commission of Nine" dele
gated from local trades cour ~ md
mine committees, to take over the
whole Of the Westfalian Coal Indus.
try and manage it in trust for the
state. The Communists led the way
but the local Majority Socialists also
took part in it, urged on by the spirit
of the workers towards a new Ger.
many. That was in 1919-the pale
Idisillusioned secretary of the Factory
Committee in a big establishment
whose name l shall not mention be
cause it might affect his job, told me
with tired smile that those were
good days." The managers came to
work or remained away at the per
mission of the workers committees
The output of coal rose steadily.
But the coalition government of So
cialists, Catholics and Democrats sit
ting in Berlin, declared themselves in
favor of naturalization by their voic
es, but announced in the same breath
that the act of the Ruhr miners was
an act Of war. They sent an army tt
take control, and the miners gave il
to the will of their own Socialist rep
resentative in the Reichstag, trust
ing them to bring naturalization o.
mines in due and orderly fashion.
A year later they were striking
again,-not now for naturalization
but to maintain the six-hour day un
derground. And even while the strike
breaking corps and the armies, sen
: by the Socialist government, was ad
vocating against them, the same So
cialist government was thrown out o
Berlin by the Kapp Putsch. The loya
miners of the Ruhr rose at their cal
and joined a general strike to saw,
Ebert, Scheideman and Noske. Ant
within a fortnight, the Socialist lead
ers, back in their seats thru the up
rising of the workers, sent the SAM
2 royalist troops who had just beef
, fighting against them, to put down thu
red rebels" in the Ruhr. So dem
ocratic Socialist government was saw
ed to Germany, but the most active
: able men of the Ruhr who helped saw,
r it, were slaughtered by it like sheep.
When the French advanced into TIL
Ruhr and the workers laid down tools
they played into the hands Of German
Big Business thru their patriotic feel
: ings. They realize this now. very bit
terly. ut was not that we though
a German capitalist any better thai
French one" many OF them salt
to me, but we thought we coul'
control our conditions better unde
our own German labor laws and witt
the protection OF our trade unions.
, II was a hard situation. They strucl
against the insolence OF invading al
, mics; they carried on the creates
! general strike known in history in tn,
most complicated industrial area o
the world. But all its result was I,
! give German Big Business superl
weapon to use in making terms will
the French.
-.