The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-05-07
LIES or A RENEGADE
BY MARTIN RUSSAK.


There has been brought to my
attention an article by Mr.. Patrick
Quinlan which appears in the New
Leader under the title of "Textile
Unionism in Paterson"
This curious piece of literature is
an irresponsible defamation not only
of the Paterson locals of the Ma
tional Textile Workers Union, but of
the 10000 exploited and oppressed
textile workers in Paterson.
Record Known.
Paterson workers know very we'll
the traitorous role that Quinlan has
played in the labor movement since
his Jail sentence for activity in the
1918 strike. This ex-member of the
l. W. w. who is now, appropriately,
a Socialist" and who last October
came out for the election of Hoover,
has at last been rewarded for his
work. A month ago he became or
ganizer of a little Paterson union
known as the Associated Silk Work
ers. No more reactionary foe of
militant unionism could have been
found by the strikebreaking Asso-
eiated officials. The capitalist news
papers in Paterson hailed the APP
pointment of Quinlan with great
satisfaction. The reactionary eve
ming News" gave this labor leader"
a headline and ran full length pie
ture of him on the front page.
In the New Leader, Quinlan at
tempts to blame the present terrible
exploitation of the Paterson textile
workers on the radio and the auto.
With the logic of a cork-screw, Quin-
Ian explains that the destruction OF
the S-hour day and the drastic low
ering of conditions are a direct re-
suit of the greed of the workers for
radios and tin lizzies.
A Phoney Theory.
The great mass of Paterson silk
and dye workers, who do not own
automobiles or any of the expensive
luxuries that Quinlal and his fellow
bureaucrats of the Associated en-
joy, have learned with bitter COM
pleteness that what Quinlan calls
workers decline and demoraliza-
ton" is direct result of the class
collaborating tactics of the Asso-
ciated in the face of capitalist speed
up and naturalization.
Founded by a group of ribbon
weavers the Associated at first re-
fused to take in broad-silk workers
and later refused to organize the dye
workers. For the better part of a
decade the leaders of the Associated
have opposed and knitted every
struggle and every organizational
endeavor of the silk workers. The
character of the Associated did moi
change in IT, strike of 1923. 1t was
precisely because the character OF
the Associated did not change in the
last general strike that all the class
conscious silk workers discarded this
rotten shell of a union.
The Bureaucracy.
The officials of the Associated
have always had bureaucratic inter
ests of their own which were sep
arate from the interests Of the
workers. Between 1924 and 1928 the
officials and leaders Of the Associ-
ated built up their union as a de-
tense of their own interests against
the opposing interests of the work
ers. In 1928 the Associated leader
ship deliberately prevented gen
eral walkout, sabotaged the strike
and kept the workers from de.
cisive struggle with the bosses. Such
struggle would at the same tim'
have destroyed those bureaucratic
officials. They could not prevent the
strike altogether. But they had t.
liquidate the strike in order to main
tain themselves. This they did
shamelessly. They sent the worker:
back to the mills with over $50 fax
settlements. The answer of thu
workers is by this time historical
the affiliation with the Nationa
Textile Workers Union and thu
opening of a new era of rising elias:
struggle.
Joined With Bosses.
Since the strike the Associated
leaders have allied themselves witt
the bosses. Led by the worst trai
tors and renegades that have eve,
fastened themselves upon the Pat
erson labor movement, furnished
with contributions from manufac
turers' societies and from forme
labor organizations that are nov
controlled by bosses, the Associates
is advancing to the attack of al
workers who dare to fight for tn
intrests Of the working class.
The traitors of the Associated ar
cooperating with the bosses to wip
out whatever union conditions cal
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