The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-23
(Pam-Pacific Press Service)

CANTON (By Mai)-The Kuang-
tung General Labor Union, the re-
formist federation of labor for the
province of Kuangtung. has been
closed by the militarists. The latter
have organized what they call the
"Kuangtung Labor Union Fedora
ton" to include the General Labor
Union, the Mechanics Union, Sea-
mems Union and Union of Railroad
Employees, the only unions of any
size remaining after the reaction of
last winter.
The whole incident is typical of
the attitude of the Kuomintang mill
itarists towards the workers. The
dissolved Kuangtung General Labor
Union itself was a reactionary or
ganization. The Ii Chi-sen group,
which controls the city, desired,
however, to consolidate its control
over labor and therefore through
the fundamentally of Ma Chiu-
chun, the local commissioner Of pub
lie works, it decided upon the for
nation of a made-to-order labor
council upon which it could abso-
lutcly rely How reactionary the
Kuangtung General Labor Union
was is shown by its position for re-
instatement. This points out that
the organization had rendered Gin
valuable" service to the government
during recent uprisings, alleging
that many of it's members had lost
their lives in the struggle against
/ the Reds" The reference is to
/ the active part the union took in
armed fighting against the revolu-
tionary government set up by the
Canton workers in the December up
rising and to the assistance given
by its leaders in arresting the revo-
lutionary workers and peasants.
These leaders. in their abject petit
ton to be allowed to continue in
business, boosted of their part in
| the bloody massacres, but their ser
Witty awaited them nothing. Even
their imperialist friends eXulted in
the fact, as the Canton correspon-
dent of the Shanghai North China
Daily News" expressed it, that mot
a second of time has been granted.
After hearing the petition the gov
eminent took steps to close up the
union without any loss of time"
Mechanics Union Joins.
The officials of the Mechanics
Union at once pledged their adher-
ence to the new federation. This
union, as its name indicates, is made
I'D of mechanics employed prin-
cipally in a multitude of small shops
in and about Canton, there being no
big modern industry within the
province. Starting in Hongkong
many years age as a semi-guild, it
aligned itself with the militarists,
who made use of it to disrupt the
real trade unions: the militarist gov
errors made it possible for this
semi-fascist organization to main
tain a powerful military organiza-
ton recruited from the ranks of the
unemployed. The officers of this
armed force were paid by the mill
tarists through the treasury of the
Mechanics Union and were respon-
sible to them. The Mechanics Union
was given control of the workers in
arsenal, waterworks, ETC., and the
, provision that employees could be Sc
cured only through the union Of
fices, and in April, 1927, were used
to completely crush the railroad
workers union by armed force, a
new staff of workers being then re-
cruited by the so-called Mechanics
. Union. Thus it functioned similarly
to the Pinkerton and Burns strike
. breaking agencies in America.
British Influence.
The palnoy days of the Mechanics
Union, however, appear to have
passed. Despite it's long-continuec
support t. the most reactionary
governnner oliques and the out.
! standing vatism of it's leaders
i it is now i favor with the rul
ing clp~ me employers, urged