The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-07-28


holes and left the thousands of work
ers who man the local transportation
system completely at the mercy of
Frank Hedley and his aids. Those
takers now claim that the upshot of
the strike talk is a union victory. The
companies did not surrender one iota
to the men. The company union is
recognized by the union officials but
the company has not recognized the
Amalgamated.
Asst year this same set of union Of
~ ficials sabotaged the strike led by
Walsh, LAWN and other militants. The
workers, tho given no substantial
support by the officials of the trade
union movement put up real battle
and compelled the company to spend
over a million dollars to break it.
Tammany policemen seconded the eff
forts of hired gangsters in beating
the strikers. But our Tammany la
Dor leaders did not have a word of
criticism to make.
III was quite evident from the be-
ginning that the Amalgamated Of
ficials did not mean business in or
ganizing the transit employees of this
city. 1t is a heavy undertaking. To
accomplish the task it would have
been necessary to mobilize the entire
labor movement behind the drive But
not a bit of preparation was made.
The reactionary union officials were
bluffing and the company knew it.
Frank Hedley could ignore them with
impunity. He even refused to con-
fer with them at the mayors invita-
ton. They took everything Hedley
felt like hurling at them and swal-
lowed their humiliation, if they are
capable of experiencing humiliation.
THIS does not mean to imply that
the labor takers are bashful boys
OF shrinking violets. 1t means that
they are in cahoots with Tammany
political machine and are more con-
cerned with playing for personal ends
than organizing the workers. 1t was
quite evident from the moment
strilebreaker Frayne entered the
situation that sell-out was in con-
temptation. This lad was fresh from
scabbing job on the Furriers' Union
and appeared to be in good form for
another of a similar nature.
1T is not surprising that the workers
should lose all confidence in the
reactionary leaders of the A. F. of
i. They are part and parcel of the
capitalist system. They have
heavy stake in it. They have fat
bank accounts and live lives of ease.
A change of system would bring them
as much discomfort as it would to
the capitalists. Let the workers toll
for forty or fifty cents an hour. The
takers should worry.
IF the A. F. of L. bureaucrats have
put forward serious effort to or
ganize workers into trade unions
within the past few years, they have
kept it dark secret. The only eff
forts made in that direction have
been by radicals. Thousands of tex
tile slaves fought for one whole year
under the leadership of Communists
while the A. F. of L. officialdom
busted itself fighting the strike in
stead of fighting for the strikers. The
job of organizing the unorganized is
the task of the militants. There
should be thousands of active, capable
trade unionists thruout the American
Federation of Labor who are capable
OF doing this job.
l. THE papers tell Of Nicaraguans be-
. ing slaughtered by United States
troops with as little concern as if
they were reporting the casualty list
/ Of mosquito hunt Of course the
4 Nicaraguans are bandits" and "out-
laws" Our nice little marines would
never hurt good Nicaraguan, But
bandits and outlaws! Particularly
bandits and outlaws that believe
Nicaragua should belong to Nicara-
guans.
! COMMENT made in this column re-
" Gently on the action of the Friends
Of Irish Freedom in praising Gibson
for upholding American traditions
against British wiles in the verbal
slugging match at Geneva, drew acid
reply from member of that organ
ization. stated quite correctly that
there was not peep out of the big
political leaders of the Clan Gael
the parent body of the Friends of
Irish Freedom-during the period in
which this country was engaged in
war with Germany. AS a matter of
fact members of this organization
we're advised by their officers to fight
for British and American imperial
ism. 1t is true that to take another
course would mean Imprisonment, but
they were "revolutionists' and if
their savage attacks on John Bull