The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-08-24
By A. B. MAGIL.
upASEBALL as a Cure for Indus
~ trial Unrest"

~ trial Unrest"
This is the amazing title of an
article in the September number of
the Baseball Magazine, unofficial
organ of the professional baseball
industry. Amazing in the frankness
with which it admits a significant
tactic of the employing class in its
effort to keep the workingclass
plodding its treatdmill for long
hours and low wages-and grazing
meekly in the pastures of capitalism
for the rest of the time. The article
reveals the resourcefulness of a
capitalism that is class-conscious to
the highest degree and, incidentally,
it punctures full of gaping holes the
legend that sports are neutral" and
have no connection with the class
struggle-the sports for sports
sake" drivel that is ladled out by
the capitalist press, schools and
churches and is glibly recited by the
social reformist parakeets of capt.
talism.
William McNulty, a professional
sports writer, is the author Of this
article. He has evidently taken the
trouble to get a few facts in order
to hand out a sales talk that will
doubtless take effect in the proper
quarters. The subtitle to his ar
ticle reads: MANY Enlightened
Managers of Huge Corporations
Have Adopted and Promoted Base
ball as an Important Factor in Main
taing Plant Efficiency and En-
ployee Loyalty and Avoiding Vexa-
tious and Costly Wage Disputes"
GAYS the candid Mr.. McNulty:
" "Hard-headed executives of
manufacturing companies have been
seeking the panaeea for industrial
unrest and all it means-strikes,
lockouts, sabotage, violence, murder,
reduced efficiency, lack of co-opera-
ton and harmony, bitter animosities
"In this quest there is one element
that stands out in bold relief
against all the fads and fancies that
have been introduced in an effort to
improve relations between employ
ers and employees in industry, to
promote business harmony.
"This element is Baseball.
"The national game has accom-
plished more in subduing the modern
trend toward industrial unrest than
any other factor"
This is pretty plain talk even
though we need not accept the last
statement 100 per cent. No effort
is made to conceal the real purpose
Of the employers in promoting base.
ball. There is no sanctimonious
talk about Health" or the "moral
value" of the game. The boss class
is using baseball for strikebreaking
purposes, as a "panacea for indus
trial unrest" for reduced eff
cheney, lack of cooperation and har-
mony." In other words, to keep the
workers plant and submissive to
capitalism's naturalization program
of speedup, wage cuts, long hours,
Unemployment; to destroy class
consciousness among the workers, to
keep them unorganized, to cause
them by incubation with the vapor-
GUS theology of sports loyalty to
identify their interests with the in
terests of their exploiters.
| Baseball is thus an integral part
of the offensive of American CAPT
talism against the rising revolt Of
the workingclass.
McNULTY gives few interesting
M examples.
"The General Electric Corpora
ton, with gigantic plants at Lynn,
Mass, and Schenectady, N. Y, have
tied up with baseball as a medium
Of improving relations with their
employees. At Lynn and Science
tady this great corporation has in
troduced up-to-date baseball fields.
Encouragement has been given en-
ployees for the formation of base
ball teams among the workers in
factories and offices. At each
plant there is an official General
Electric team which plays semi-pro-
fessional ball. .. .,svasu ssss1 80.