davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21

There was disarmament conference held in
Washington in the year 1921. The representatives
of the principal capitalist powers cooed like
pigeons. The pacifsts likewise. They thought a
new era had set in. Perhaps it had, but not in
the direction of universal peace.
The conference fixed the naval ratio of the United
States, Great Britain and Japan at 5-53, allowing
for equality between the United States and British
navies with Japan bringing up the rear. The con
ference also agreed on the status quo on naval
bases in the Pacific east of the 10th Meridian.
This left Singapore out
AS If no conference was held Britain decided to
build great naval base at Singapore. Naturally
this caused excitement in Japan against whom the
move was directed. 1t appears that Washington
tacitly endorsed the British move So the base is
going to be built.
The scheme was dropped while the labor party
government was in Office There was no great need
for hurry. But the next world war is coming
along on three league boots and there is no time
to be lost. The Singapore base is built for war
All the disarmament conferences" called by the
capitalists are only maneuvers for future wars
There can be no peace as long capitalism exists
The only road to peace is thru the class war for the
overthrow Of capitalism and the establishment of
the workers rule.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21
What About Warren?

President. Coolidge of Wall Streets political APP
paratus has sent the name of Charles B. Warren,
to the senate as his appointee to succeed Harlan
2. Stone as attorney general.
The senate judiciary committee, as usual, is go
ing over Warren's career to see what can be done
in the way of withdrawing his record so that he
may appear in all his angelic whiteness TO assume
the responsibilities of the department of injustice.
Warren has few skeletons in his closet that
would make an awful rattle if only given half a
chance. He was the Handy Andy of the beet sugar
trust in 1911 and the chief of the sugar lobby
scandal in 1913. But that should be a recommended
ton for Warren. That he has experience in serving
big business should qualify him for the job to
which he is assigned
The office of attorney general is of the most
powerful weapons in the hands of the ruling class
to keep the workers under its iron heel. Whoever
is in that Office under capitalism will serve the in
terests of the ruling class. The senate committee
investigation is merely smoke screen to fool the
masses.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21

who has anything on his chest is
given hours to get 1t of. Just how
that sort OF real working class free
dom would agree with the capitalist
lackey editor Of the Farmers Press"
we don't know, but we have bunch
he wouldn't like it.
The kind OF free press" the editor
of the Farmers Press" has in mind
lis we'll explained in a letter from A.
G. Miller, who describes just how
free" the Farmers Press" is. The
Communists don't make any bones
about their dictatorship in Russia
The capitalists and landlords are
frankly shut out. But how about the
Ihypocrites who claim there Is free
press in America, and in Williston?
Comrade Miller tells the following
story:
A Farmers Press"--Mlnus Farmers.
"The loud.mouthed fake pro.
gressives of the nonpartisan
league invariably controlled conven.
tons by holding pre-conyentions.
They also controlled the campaign
committee and by so doing railways
kept the reds from being routed as
speakers. The only time they made
a balk. OF it was last spring at the
league endorsing convention where,
manly of the delegates being farm.
ors, the writer was endorsed for the
legislature, likewise Comrade ON.
holt was endorsed for sheriff. Both
being farmers in the county for
twenty odd years.
Immediately after the conven
ton button-hole campaign was
launched by the other candidates
saying, We are going too far to the
left - >. The people will not
stand for this Communist doctrine .
The Communists take their or.
ders from Moscow Yet we were
nominated +t
= AT the June primary election;
after our nomination and about two
months before election. the Farmers
Press turned on IT'S mud battery;
and notwithstanding the fact thai
we hold pald.up stock In that paper
every issue poured out great stresmr
Of mud. saying that our program
was un-American, that II would be
a disgrace to elect Communist to
office, that the Communists wanted
to overthrow this government by
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21
Reaction in Michigan . Robe. 5l5s.
By Robert Minor

masses than they had thought.
Then the Michigan supreme court
brought in its decision flatly annull-
ing its own state constitutional
guarantees" Immediately the whole
machinery of reaction begins to func-
tion again thru the little court room
in Michigan to prosecute and send to
the penitentiary all of the other ar
rested leaders Of Bolshevism in the
United States. With an avidity never
before equalled, the court house YER
min, the strike-breaking crew from
Chicago, New York and Washington.
pounce upon their intended victims.
The locking of Comrade Ruthenberg
into cell and the opening of the first
Of the other trials, with the announce
ment that Foster will be retired and
that all Of the other thirty Commun.
ist leaders must stand prosecution.
means the recognition of the end of
the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS" period.
1t is time for the period to come to
an end, from the point of view of
American capitalism. 1t is time to put
an end to the pretense of freedom
Of assemblage," freedom of political
organization among the working class,
and an end to the organization and
maintenance Of labor unions not con-
trolled by the capitalists.
Full Speed Ahead.
World conditions and domestic con-
ditions require that the capitalist
class now mobilize every strength for
the complete wiping out of all pheno-
mena of Independent organization
among the exploited. 1t is necessary
to conquer China with conscripted
masses from America; and there must
be no Communist Party growing
strong among the American masses.
1t is necessary to increase the exploit
alton of labor with longer hours and
lower reduced standards of living-to
"deflate" labor-and there must be no
liberties of organization among the
"deflated"-especially no organized
Bolsheviks among them.
The legal precedent created in
Michigan, of supprossing a political
party, must be extended over the
whole of the industrial states. The
principle Of the Daugherty Injunction
created at the same time on the same
initiative. holding all labor unionism
subject to punishment as criminal
conspiracy, must be extended into
common practice of the federal gov
eminent.
But whatever there is Of courage
and manliness among the working
class and the exploited farmers must
begin quick and must fight now for
its very life. If the intelligent and
honest workers and farmers do not
support morally and financially the
defense of the Michigan cases, their
cause and ours will be struck a blow
OF disastrous consequences.
However, reaction or no reaction,
momentary defeat or victory, with its
leaders inside or outside of prison,
the Workers (Communist) Party will
continue to exist. The party of the
Communists cannot be destroyed in
this country, nor can it be isolated
from the masses ever again. 1t will
grow strong under this persecution.
and it will ultimately lead the exploit
ed masses to victory.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21
The Anthracite Rebellion

The coal diggers of District No. are in a state
Of rebellion against the employers and also against
their treacherous officials who have proven them
selves now more than ever before to be the loyal
agents Of the coal barons.
Sixty thousand miners threaten to strike today,
and If the strike takes place. "a local unions in
volved are threatened with revocation of their
charters by Rinado Cappellini the renegade presi-
dent of District l. acting under the orders of John
L. Lewis, international president of the U. NJ. w.
of A.
The coal barons have brought to the front every
agency at their command in an attempt to drive
the rebellious coal diggers back to work But they
have signally failed. The miners have reached the
limit of their patience. They grew tired of ap-
pealing for redress of long standing grievances
they finally decided to act under the leadership of
the joint grievance committees originally used by
Cappellini in his fight against his rivals, but
branded by the traitor outlaws
A very delicate situation exists in District l. a
situation that calls for very careful handling on
the part of the rank and file leaders. 1t is not
surprising that in situation like this voice
should be raised cOunselling policy that would
split the miners and destroy all hope of victory
either over the coal barOns or over the ackeys of
the coal barons, the officials of the union.
This voice was that of Tony Panne, chairman of
the 10000 Pennsylvania Coal company's miners,
now on strike. He said that the men under his
leadership would split away from the United Mine
Workers of America. This kind of propaganda will
only benefit the bosses. 1t will destroy the unity
of the miners.
The officials of the United Mine Workers are
hoping that the members of District / will be
forced into some rash act that would enable them
to split their ranks, expel the radicals and drive
the demoralized coal miners back to the pits under
whatever terms the bosses and their labor ieuten-
ants fit to give them. The miners are fighting
two wings of the enemies army, the coal barons
and the labor takers. But there is another enemy
in their midst; it is the secessionist, the dual
unionist who, taking advantage of the rebellious
spirit among the members, urges split policy. OF
the three the splitter is the most dangerous.
The miners of District L should take lesson
from the strategy followed by their comrades in
Nova Scotia, who defeated John L. Lewis and his
stoolpigeons by staying with the union and fighting
on the inside for control Of the district This is
the policy of the Trade Union Educational League
and the Progressive Miners Committee. 1t is the
winning policy. 1t is the policy that Lewis fears
most
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21
A Farmers Press" That Isn't

class still exists in Soviet Russia, but
as a subject class. in the process of
historically disappearing as the new
society evolves. So we believe in
evolution as well as revolution-the
latter being part of the former.
No Communist in Russia would
claim that there is any press which
is free" for the lies of these CAPT
talist exploiters which are allowed to
exist by sufferance as an exploiting
class for certain economic benefit
they still have. just as the capitalists
allow the workers to exist in Amer
lea, and can't kill them all (even If
they are ''reds") because without
workers they have no profits.
Real Free Press-For Working Class.
But every Communist in Russia will
assert and prove that the honest
worker in the shops or the peasant on
the land has real free press to air
his grievances If he has them. But
there is no free press" for the Eng.
fish, French and American spy ma
chine to use to help the Russian capt.
talists, bankers, landlords and bosses
to lie to the honest people as the
Farmers Press" is allowed to do in
Williams county.
For the farmers of Williams county
Communist regime would mean that
they would have for the first time in
history real. genuine chance to ex
press their opinions in meetings and
in print. We, and they, know how
they are gagged by the capitalist die
tatorship. In the war they were told
quite frankly-"obey the law and
keep your mouth shut" And thost
who didn't keep their mouths shut
were dragged off to Leaven.
worth whether they oboyed the
law or not, as everybody knows. And
everybody knows how the liberty
loans were forced out OF the farmers
with terrorism. Poppycock on this
free country" and free press!
This Is. Why He Gets Sore.
But in Russia the capitalists have a
dose OF their own medicine, and only
the workers and peasants have a
right to express their opinions They
have hundreds'of papers to do IL and
II is a regular joke among everybody
who knows Russia how the meetings
OF both workers and farmers arc
never-ending affairs where everyone
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21
BY HARRISON GEORGE.

A few weeks ago the DAILY
WORKER correspondent at Williston
North Dakota, sent in dispatch com.
menting upon the irritation of what
we termed "the newspaper which rep
resents the capitalist dictatorship in
Williams county-the Farmers Press "
over the election Of a Communist
A. c. Miller, to the legislature. The
correspondent mentioned the fact that
the irritation of the Farmer Press
had led 1t to say that both Comrade
Miller and another Communist
Andrew Omholt, had concealed that
they were Communists during the
election.
This statement of the Farmers
Press" 1--WE by no means impute the
sins of the Farmers Press" to the
poor working farmers Of Williams
county,, Comrade Omholt rather
mildly labeled as a lie.
We All Agree on This.
Under the circumstances the editor
Of the Farmers Press" didn't seem
to be able to contradict Comrade ON
holt on this matter in subsequent
spasm he published, so it seems to
be generally agreed that he is liar
That being the case, II is not sur,
prising that as an appendix to the
aforesaid spasm the editor of the
Farmers Press" deports the CONVEX
sation to Russia and wakes wroth
quite wroth indeed, over the lack OF
what he calls free press" under
the first workers and farmers gov.
eminent on this earth.
To any Of the working and ex
plotted farmers OF Williams county
North Dakota, who didn't get the
Communist message from Comrades
omholt and Miller, we address the
following exposition OF the mendacity
OF the pen-pusher who hopes to BAN
boozle them into belief that Commun
lists mean to take away from the
poor farmer and the wage worker, a
free press" which they haven't got
No Free Press--For ExpIoiters.
Very well, let's go over to Russia
No Communist In Russia will think OF
claiming that Communism is in full
swing" they are only claiming that
the workers and peasants are in con.
troll OF state power. The capitals
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21

While capitalist politicians were wrangling over
he question whether the Coolidge Administered ton
got this country entangeld in the meshes of Europ
can diplomacy thru its signing of the Paris agree
nent on distribution of reparations under the
Dawes plan, great demonstrations of workers, or
ganized by the Communists were being held in
Germany protesting against the Dawes plan and
depicting it by word and picture as a gullotine
which is executing the German working class.
Every nickel in reparations paid to the robber
powers who defeated Germany in the great war will
be wrung out of the blood and sweat of the Ger
man workers. The capitalist class of that country
will live as usual, in luxury They will have to sur
render some of their profits to their rivals, but
it is the enslaved working class that will pay
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21

labor governm ents."
This democratis-paciflst" phase has
been reflected in every walk Of life
in every country in the world.
But the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS" period
the breathing space for world capt.
talism--has passed. In England,
finance capital got thru with MacDon-
aid, and Macdonald fell. In Germany
world Imperialism got thru with dem
ocratic republican" ministries and
shifted to a monarchist ministry. In
France the adjustment is managed In
America we had the "democratic-paci-
fist" period (under this singularly in
flexible form of republican" govern
ment) with the soft-spoken reaction
airy Coolidge in the saddle but with
"insurgent" and progressive" politi-
clans flirting with office-hungry so
cialists" and cavorting in and out of
congress sufficiently to create the illu-
sion of democratic" possibilities.
American capitalism also got thru
with this period, and the click of the
end.
National ollgarchy AlIbes Itself.
In that period the democratic pre-
tense touched even the matter of pro-
secutions Of radical" labor agitators
in several instances. Even before the
period definitely began, the federal
wartime laws of suppression we're re
pealed by congress. And the bust
ness OF strangling the labor move
ment VISA related to the state laws
being efficiently handled by the vari-
Gus state governments, thirty-five of
which had criminal syndicalist"
statutes under which working class
movements could be strangled in OBJ
scure state courts, while the federal
government could maintain an alibi.
Thus in California and elsewhere,
the small town agents of all-American
capitalism exercise their states
rights" by brutal repressions of the
Industrial Workers of the World. Such
repressions, if conducted openly by
the federal government, would become
national political issue embarrass-
ing to the federal government. 1t is
interesting in this respect to consider
the Mooney case. A federal president
was obliged, because of national and
international protest, to intercede to
prevent the hanging of Mooney; yet
after Mooney is proven innocent, the
state government of California can
safely keep him in prison for life
while the federal government can
make sanity face and say 81 am
powerless; it is purely state mat
ter"
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21
Repression of 1922.

Along came the mass railroad and
coal strikes of August and September.
1922. This had to be handled on a
national scale, being nationwide in
scope; so single federal judge with
the stroke of pen, in effect, created
federal law of the most drastica1H
repressive sort, in the form of an in
junction.
But that was not all. The capitalist
power was uneasy lest the mass rail
road and coal strikes take on an open
ly political color. A prospect of a
union of political 6oIshevism witt
these strikes of so huge a scale Gre
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21

, ated nightmare among the capitalist
chiefs. A blow at the political organ
ization Of Bolsheyisn was considered
necessary accompaniment of the
railroad injunction. The same attor-
ney generals office, thru the same
corps Of detective" strike-breakers
under the same William ]. Burns,
struck the two blows at once. The
federal government, while securing
the injunction against the railroad
workers, secured the arrest of prac-
tically the entire leadership Of the
Communist Party.
However, 1t was not necessary for
the federal government to take open
~ the onus Of this political repres-
sion. Nor would it have been simple
to do so, for there existed no longer
any. federal law for the arrests.
Therefore, the. responsibility for the
prosecution of thirty-two leaders of a
national political party for assem-
bling" in peaceful convention was
shifted to the obscure little rural COM
munity at st. Joseph, Michigan. Fed
eral agents under the direct orders Of
member of the. presidents cabinet
conducted the arrests, supplied the
evidence-the funds come from some
mysterious source which federal
agent says he Cannot reveal and
federal agents direct the trial in the
country town court room. But the
federal government makes sanity
face and says, II am powerless; IT
is purely state matter"
William a. Foster was tried with
the jury disagreeihg) and Ruthenberg
was convicted. All was going well
for the course of repression.
Mass Discomfort Intervenes.
But then came the big surge Of
mass discomfort growing out Of the
economic situation; labor discomfort
ed and turning to thoughts Of politi-
cal action, farmers being evicted by
hundreds Of thousands and turning
radical" and both classes exhibiting
occasional spurts of sympathy for the
real radicals" whom they vaguely
knew as "Bolsheviks," tho generally
keeping within the bounds of demo
cratic illusion.
The period of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS"
illusions reached it's height in Ameri-
ca during the last presidential cam
paign.
The courts of capitalism--and the
venal. crude and illiterate judges of
the Michigan state supreme court are
no exception ears as sharp for
the political winds OF the time as for
the interest of their monied masters.
At the height of the period while
millions of workers and farmers were
staring wild-eyed at visions Of "democ-
racy" and constitutional liberty"
during the past presidential campaign,
it would not have been expedient for
the supreme court of Michigan to re-
turn decision unfolding the con-
demnation of Ruthenberg to penal
servitude for assembling"
The supreme court of Michigan did
not return its decision during such a
period. There was a .singularly long
delay.
Then Coolidge was elected. 1t be-
came clearly apparent that the big
capitalism of Wall Street had even
greater powers of control over the
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-21


THE click of the jailer's key in the
lock of Ruthenberg's cell at the
Jackson penitentiary two weeks ago
may be taken as symbolizing the end
Of certain period in the life of Am
erica. Not that the mere locking OF
one man in a CELL nor the opening OF
prosecutions against thirty-odd more
constitutes alone a force that could
alter the course of history. This new
bred Scott" decision of the Michigan
supreme court is not the cause, but
rather the dramatic illustration, o.
the end Of a period of democratic
pretenses on the part of capitalist
government
Nor does the subsequent granting
of bail to Ruthenberg alter the facts
Reaction Shows Naked Face.
Quietly, almost unobserved by the
average man or woman of the work
ing class-and entirely beyond the un-
derstanding of the middle class
drudge who is pictured as the type
of American citizenship, this country
IS entering into a period of reaction
which promises to be darker, more
deadly and more openly characteriz-
ed with violent repression, than any
period before known.
Finance capital of America knows
that it is facing in the near future the
biggest world crisis of all history, and
it is preparing. World war and world
conquest are the only possible pro-
gram for American finance capital. A
look at the fast-decaying fabric of Eu-
ropean capitalism gives the necessary
tip. Another look at the stagnating
world market gives the warning for
the army and navy to prepare to open
up the world market
There is war in China, where Wall
Street must step in. More Ameri-
can marines have Just landed. :
There Is smouldering revolt in India.
where Morgan's London partners
must hold on for their very lives.
There are several small wars in
course, and several more incipient
ones barely concealed.
The "oemocratic-PacIfist" Period.
The martial condition has been
chronic ever since that skirmish
which we called the world war" but
which was only preliminary to the
real world war. Yet it has been con-
cealed with every possible means
while world capitalism tided over a
breathing space. Morgan's London
banking partners drafted Ramsay
Macdonald into service; French CAPT
tai drafted the "socialistic" Herriot;
and Morgan sent Charles G. Dawes to
Europe to make the necessary adjust
ments, and Dawes incidentally was
able to mobilize whole socialist" in
ternational-al the "social-democrat-
ic" parties of Europe-to help; and
thus with mighty effort the great
world oligarchy of finance capital Gre
ated for itself breathing space
which was called "the democratic-pa
cifst' period. in which to prepare its
forces while meek and credulous
working men hung onto street car
straps in all the cities and towns of
the world and read of peace" and
democracy" and adjustment" and