The daily worker., 1925-12-17
GARMENT.
WORKERS union
GREETS GITLOW
Demonstration NJ ark S
Entrance to Hall
BY J. W. TOMBSTONE.
Especial to The Daily Worker)

''fN -
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. t5-A most
enthusiastic demonstration took place,
when Benjamin Gitlow, who has Just
been released from the Sing Sing
prison at osslnlng, N. ". entered the
hall. :,
II was equalIed only in its Intensity
by the second demonstration which
followed his introduction to the con-
ventlon and the presentation Of a
basket Of red carnations from the
progressive delegates bearing the in
scrIptIon:
WELCOME to our class war prisoner,
Ben Gitlow, from the progressive dele.
gates to the Ladies' Garment Work.
ers' Convention"
When the convention adjuorned for
lunch, Ben iGtlow was presented by
the progressive delegates with gold
watch as a token Of their esteem of
his activities in behalf, of the work
ers.
Il speak to this convention with
great feeling and emotion that it was
the action Of the convention in pass
ing unanimously resolution demand
ing that Governor Smith pardon me
that is responsible for my being a free
man." declared Gitlow.
He showed that this was only pos
sihle because it came from a great
and powerful international union and
that 1t showed what the members
thot on the question of political class
war prisoners. He declared that 1t
was not himself, not one man, but that
1t was the workers who must open
the doors of all the jails and set all
the class war prisoners free. He
hoped that this act of solidarity in the
convention, held in one Of the largest
industrial states in the. union, Penn
sylvania, where the constabulary were
used so brutally against the workers.
where the right to organize and free
dom of expression were denied, would
be warning to the state and the f.
nancial and industrial. combines and
that the workers thru their power
would abolish the state censtabulary.
He showed that Smith in pardoning
him was not opposed To the criminal
syndicalist laws but thor that the pun.
ishment was too severe.
Gitlow then pointed tout that with
the industrialization oi America and
the development Of giant trusts and
with America now the dominant
worlds power, that tho workers must
form labor party and bring about
world trade union unity. He hoped
that out Of this convention would
come unity and showed that the In
ternational Ladies' Garment Workers
organization had one of the most en-
Tightening histories in3 the American
labor movement and that they had
conducted great struggles, lifting the
workers out of the sweatshop hell.
holes. building up from a few hundred
members to 10000 and that this was
the proof of the courage and calibre
OF the membership, which makes GER
tain that the organization cannot be
destroyed, cannot be split, and that it
VIII meet the future as it was able to
meet the past.
He pointed out that we cannot live
on the past; that the future belongs to
those with vision, to the advancing
exploited workers of every country in
the world.
The convention is still discussing
the officers reports. The left wing
resolution for direct negotiations with
employers with the strike weapon to
enforce demands instead of arbitra-
ton and that arbitration was only to
be entered into after along protracted
strike, when the union was too weak
TO carry 1t on further and that all fu-
ture agreements must have the clause
giving the shops the right to strike
was adopted.
Nagler, Halperin, tAantonini, Fine
berg and Sigman defended class col
iaooration.' Antoninf gave away the
machine strategy. After defending
class collaboration he said that the
left wing wanted them to defeat the
left wing resolutions but that they
were not going to do 1t. Fineberg
evolved" new theory" He stated
that the class struggle did not only
mean getting the workers out on the
streets but that arbitration, with So
called Impartial chairman, was a
weapon of the class struggle.
The convention is expected to end
with the fight on the expulsion policy.