The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-11-14
PURCELL GIVEN
HEARTY OVATION
AT cleveland 0.
Federation of Labor Is
Sponsor for Meeting
tcontInued from PAGE u

| ulon ln6 WhCACbJ NhC pau
sites live.
Purcell painted the misery and the
exploitation that the workers suffer
in China and India. He pointed out
that these Chinese and Indian work
ers are competing with the American,
British, French and Japanese work
ers, whose masters, the British, Amer
lean, French and Japanese capitalists,
have invested their surplus profits
that they have wrung from the toll of
the workers Of their own countries
/ in factories in China and India.
1t is the duty-in self-protection-of
the organized workers Of the capital
list countries to help the workers of
these countries to organize. Without
this organization, the capitalists will
drive down the conditions of the work
ers of their own countries. In some
instances this has already happened,
and the prospect is that it will con-
tinue.
Soviet Russa's Unions.
Purcell then spoke Of the trade
unions of Soviet Russia. The mention
of Russia brought forth peal of APP
plause. He explained that in 1920 he
had gone to Soviet Russia, and saw
the parctical beginnings of the trade
union movement. They were still
cropping, not yet having found the
method Of building them UP. Again in
1924, Purcell, together with other
prominent leaders of the British trade
union movement, such as Bramley,
Smith and others, went as a delega-
ton to Soviet Russia where they
were shown whatever they desired.
They saw the union machinery-they
visited the clubs. Purcell described
| that the clubs are schools for train
| ing trade unionists into becoming bet
ter trade unionists and to fit them for
the work of reconstruction. "They
use the palaces and villas that they
inherited to teach the illiterate. That
is part of their Junction. function
that, of course, we have hot to per-
from, being that we are so much
more intelligent-only the workers of
Russia have got rid of their masters,
which we have not"
He spoke of the miners federation,
and the unions of the other industries.
1.-THE British labor movement at its
congress at Scarborough tecided that
it is none of our business what poll
tical belief worker has--whether he
is republican,, syndicalist, socialist,
or Communist. All we want to know
is whether he is worker, then we
know that he is part Of the movement.
1T is time that the workers are
getting out of their insuiarity 1t is
time that they see beyond their own
district council, their own state feder-
alton. They must look upon the ques-
ton as world question"
Against Capitalist Wars.
| Purcell then showed the horrors
that confront the workers of the world
after the war to end all wars" why
are they preparing more dangerous
and powerful gases and chemicals,
airplanes and bombs? Is it because
war will never come again, as they
said? 1t is not. They are preparing
these death-dealing machines because
they know that we are further from
peace than before. These chemicals
will not be used against the bellig-
erents, but against the women and
children. It Is time that the workers
Of the world tell the masters in I'M
mistakeable terms that they will not
go along in this war game. That we
can do only if we have world trade
union unity,
Purcell ended with an eloquent ap-
| peal to the workers of this country
to consider the suggestions of the
British Trade Union Congress. He
asked them to go beyond the confines
of their immediate situation and to en-
visage the problems that confront the
entire labor movement of the world.
Even if we cannot prevent war, we
will make the masters, the financiers,
who are interested in war, the vested
interests, which have something to
gain by the war, be careful in their
war talk. We will be able to tell
these war gourmands that if they are
interested in war, they may go out
and fight them themselves"
The speaker was interrupted by
rounds of applause. His appeal met
with a most hearty response from the
1000 workers present.
Meeting Has Great Portent.
Unquestionably the coming OF Pur-
cell has been of inestimable signi-
fcance to the trade union movement
Of this city. II the workers-and par
ticularly the trade union leaders-of
this city respond only in a small
measure to his appeal, the movement
in Cleveland will look forward. Per-
haps It may not be too much to sug-
gest that the Cleveland Federation Of
Labor, or some of the progressive
elements in the federation sponsor a
move to send trade union delegation