The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-31
Actors Fight the Radio
AS the Printers Once
Fought the Linotype
BY J. LOUIS ENoDAHL

TODAY there Is quite panic among theatrical employees
and theater owners the possibilities of the radio
The workers fear for their jobs owners for their
profits The immediate result Is alliance Of class
collaboration between workers and sxplcers against this
new device that reaches millions.
The fear Of the theater workers only repeats the alarm
OF labor every time some new invention appears The back
ward workers has always been the enemy of the developing
machine age The classic example Is always pointed Of
the hostility of printers to the Introduction Of the linotype
The terror of the printer from the fear that
duction of this labor saving device would rob him of
chance to work.
To be sure, there Is unemployment among the printing
trades workers today But the number of printers employed
is greater than The eagerness read permeaes the
and more. in spite Of the numerous draw
backs under capitalism and the need of the printed word
grows steadily.
Profit rule In the printing industry, however, still holds
can The struggle however. between the owners and the
workers has resulted In the building OF strong labor unions
in this industry, and the fight goes on
The workers In and around theaters whether actors or
stage employees make their first mistake by building
alliance with their employers They must learn that their
interests entirely separate from opposed those Of
their bosses Dollars not invested In the theaer BUSH
pure panthrophy They put to make
more dollars If the radio business or the building of ynr
machines other enterprise, becomes much more
profitable then these dollars readily be shifted else
where by their
This situation clearly revealed itself when most of the
big theatrical managers in New York City failed to attend
the anradio meeting called by the Actors Equity Asso
citation, the actors organization, close approach to
a union as these workers have.
The actors in this country have difficult time getting
the idea that they ought to be the peed dangs Of
the ch which accounts for their attempt to lean
the managers, whom they will again be called on to
fight in the future
Theatrical workers should have fear for their
jobs than printers The theater will grow and develop
this medium of entertainment and education made
available for the This will happen under
capitalism
Only recently In the big steel town Of Lackawanna,
in New York. Here is Industrial center of tens of
thousands of workers. is the bedragged spots
have The main street boosted only the smallest
and cheapest movies. Everything just lowered in the
shadow of the steel mills The only for the existence
of Lackawanna is that the workers may make profits for
"Chaey" Schwab and his millionaire friends Of the Bethe
hem Steel company Lackawanna is typical of the nation
shows how the theaer has not yet been made available
the of millions The desire of the great for
the theater has not yet been tapped It great
demand that needs only to be touched with Ife
This will only be completely achieved under Com
munsm; just Communism Is the only real foe of iteracy
that is even fostered under capitalism.
All workers must fight for jobs under the present profit
system the theatrical employees along with the rest But
there only way for workers to protect their jobs under
capitalism the building of class organizations
against the employers Trying to combat scientific
discoveries Is fighting Wndnls
In their struggle, the actors, In common with other
workers. will finally discover that their only real salvation
lies the complete abolition Of capitalism Thus the radio
like all other Inventions helps turn these workers
toward the struggle for Communism.