The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-05-21

works hardship on the defendant be-
cause the citizenship cases are in the
federal courts, where the defendant
lacks the advantage of jury trial and
other protection of his interests by
the criminal court procedure.
Other Cases Of Suppression.
The Michigan criminal syndicalism
law is paralelled by similar laws in
thirty-three other states. The Michi-
gan law makes it felony to advocate
the doctrine of criminal syndical-
ISM" defined to be the advocacy Of
crime, sabotage, violence, and other
unlawful means of terrorism as a
means Of accomplishing industrial or
political reform" 1t is crime even
to assemble WITH" "any society,
group or assemblage of persons form
ed to teach or advocate the doctrine
of criminal syndicalism."
This law and the other similar ones
are absolutely in violation of the con-
stitutional guarantees of freedom of
thought and expression, inasmuch as
they do not apply to the commission
of crime but only to the expression
of opinions. Neither the Communist
nor the trade union movement ad-
vocates the doctrines of criminal syn
dicalism, nevertheless these laws are
used to prosecute Communists and
they can be used against trades
unionists in case of the slightest dis
order during strike, caused by the
employers guards and strikebreakers.
These laws were a product of the
anti-red hysteria Of the period follow
ing the war, but the fact that they
still remain on the books indicates
desire on the part of the capitalists
to use them against the workers when
expedient.
Another form of suppression is the
deportation of foreign-born political
'offenders") radicals. In the last nine
months about seven thousand foreign
born workers have been deported on
grounds of improper visas, likely to
become public charge, etc. Others
have been proceeded against by the
AAAhAAE abAOA Jul AACAuQlnS OOnn
Lassen, Emil Vatjauer, S. Zinich, edi-
tors of Workers Party papers in Hun
garian, Czech and Croatian languages.
A deportation bill is now before the
senate, having passed the house, prov
iding that an alien convicted of
one years Imprisonment shall be de-
ported. The effort to introduce regis
tration. finger-printing, photographing
of foreign-born workers, is another
line of oppressive action.
Support Foreign-5orn.
The foreign-born workers are es-
pecilaly subjected to exploitation by
long hours and low wages, and it is
but natural that a large percentage of
workers active in the labor movement
come from their ranks. Hence to sup
press the active elements among the
foreign-born is to place handicaps in
the way of the whole labor move
ment. For the same reason all work
ers, native-born and foreign-born,
must support those workers who are
subjected to attack by criminal syn
dicalism laws, deportation proceed
ings, etc.
The policy of governmental sup
preston in these various ways is an
accomplishment of the capitalist cam
paign Of wage cuts, open shop drives,
speeding up, reduction of force with
resulting unemployment. The workers
must be made to accept their lot as
decided upon by the employers and to
| insure this it is necessary to suppress
the radicals, the agitators, the lead
ers of the working class in their strug-
giles to resist oppression and wiring
from the bosses better wages and i'm
proved conditions.
If the Communist receive especially
severe treatment it is not primarily
because they are Communists, but be-
cause their activity and influence and
policies result in their being an
especial hindrance in the way of the
employers. Therefore all workers must
defend and support the Communists
in order to at the same time defend
and support all active workers in the
labor movement, whether Communists
or not.
Long Labor Record.
Severino has belonged to the Brick
layers ever his arrival in this country
from Italy in 1909. He has been active
in his union and has served it in vari-
GUS official capacities. He is vice-presi-
dent of the City Cooperative Dairy
! Co. He is an advocate Of amalgama-
ton of the craft unions; Of an ag-
gressive policy on the part Of the or
ganized labor movement toward the
employers, instead of the present gen.
eral policy OF Cancellation and class
collaboration; of an aggressive cam
paign to organize the unorganized; of
independent political action by the
working class and poor farmers. His
i n - -.