The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-03-06

Of nearly 100000 textile workers ir
Bombay for five months. As far as
immediate economic demands are
concerned, the workers lost oftener
than they won in those innumerable
battles. But taking longer view of
things, they all contributed to the
final triumph of the proletariat. The
net result of those struggles is: L,
development of the fighting power
of the working class; 2, increase of
their will to fight: 8, liberation of
the labor movement from the agents
of the nationalist bourgeoisie; a, de-
feat and discredit of the reformist
leaders; 5, rise of revolutionary
leaders from the ranks of the pro-
ietariat; G, political independence of
the proletariat in the struggle for
national freedom; and, z, rapid
growth of the influence of the Com
munists and other revolutionary ele-
ments close to them.
By superior forces at the COM
mand of the imperialist state, and
by close collaboration between this
and native capitalist interests the
workers were forced to accept star
walton wages and wretched labor
conditions. But inasmuch as the
above victories accrued to the pro-
letariat from the experience of the
struggle, their power and will to
resist capitalist attack grew. Badly
organized, treacherously led, cultur-
ally backward, materially unequipped
for a revolutionary struggle, as
they were Indian proletariat, never
theless, ceased TO be the submissive
dumb millions" who could be coer-
ced by demonstration of brute force
or deceived by counter-revolutiona
hypocrisy of a Ghandi. This trans
formation was evidenced particu-
larly by the resistance of the Bonn
bay textile workers to accept fur
Their wage-cut "to help the. premier
national industry out of depression"
Thanks to the services of nationalist
labor leaders, two successive cuts,
amounting to nearly 80 per cent of
the starvation wages, had previously
been enforced annulling the raise
granted during the period of boom
caused by the war. The net profit
made during that period of several
years was more than double the to-
tai capital invested in the entire in
dustry. Nevertheless, when the in
evitable depression came the work
ers were attacked. The final de-
termination and ability of the work
ers to put up a stubborn resistance
to this capitalist greed created the
situation which was bound to de-.
velop into the present barricade
fight in Bombay and is bound to de-
ve]op further.
The power and will Of the prole-
tariat to fight, evidenced during the
bitter struggle lasting for months
and months, frightened the bour-
gcoisie, who clamored for repres-
sivc measures. After five months
the lockout was ended on condition
that wages ana labor conditions
should not be altered pending the
inquiry by an imperial commit
tee" This was a decisive victory
for the workers, who urgently need
ed respite in the bitter struggle
with superior forces of the enemy.
But the employers broke The truce
no sooner than it was made. Lower
wages and worse working conditions
were introduced in individual mills.
The employers thought that the
workers were exhausted, and tried
to take advantage of this exhaus-
ton to beat them down. They were,
however, mistaken. Determined re-
sistance was put up from all sides,
and the entire industry was thrown
into a chronic state of chaos and
idleness. In the course Of the in
quiry it became further evident that