The daily worker., 1930-05-23
BY NJ. H. POWERS.
(Written in Jail.)


THE attempt of the Southern capitalist class
to send two organizers. of the Communist
Party to the electric chair marks the height
of bosses terrorism in the South. This cam
paign has been in progress since the Gas
tonia strike but has reached its height only
the last few months.
The increased terroy campaign is a direct
result of the present economic crisis in the
United States This economic crisis has hit
the South much harder than il did the Test
Of tha country because: G( The dominant In
dustr;es in the South are the highest ration
allied Industries in the country (teXtiles, to-
nacco, furniture, steel. (2) Tie textile IN
dustry has heen in continuous crisis for
number CT years due 10 the International crisis
in the Industry. The present crisis therefore
affected the textile industry much more thar
it did other industries. 81 The direct effect
which the crisis in industry had upon the
tenant farmer (who is dependent upon textile
and tobacco.
During March and April most of the tex
tile mills were shut down entirely or were
run in part time Mass lay-offs in furniture
and tobacco plants were initiated and are still
being continued
Make Workers Shoulder Burden of Crisis.
The capitalist class utilized the crisis to 70
duce the already miserably low standard OF
living of the Southern workers First, tens
of thousands were thrown out into the streets
1t is estimated that in North Carolina two
hundred thousand workers are unemployed.
The same is true of every other state in the
South. A new campaign of wage-cuts began,
in some mills reaching as high as 40 per cent.
Speed-up and stretch-out is being introduced
much more than before, the result being that
production is increased with less men employ
T..
for new tens of thousands of workers. In many
cases (Gastonia, etc. the entire population of
a mill town would be idle-starving, the
lucky" ones working two or three days week
for as low as four six dollars a week.
Bosses Fear Workers Resistance.
These conditions have developed a spirit of
mass resistance among Southern workers both
Negro and white, and the only force in the
field willing and copable of organizing and
leading this mass resistance is the Communist
Party and the Trade Union Unity League.
The month of February found not only the
National Textile Workers Union in the field
but also a new squad of energetic organizers
of the revolutionary unions covering almost the
entire South.
The building of the Communist Party was
undertaken not in words but in deeds. The
work proceeded rapidly and the response of
the workers to our program ana slogans was
great. 1t was no accident that our first CAM
paign in February was a campaign against
lynching. For the first time in the South our
Party as a Party has carried through a real
campaign against the lynching of Jimmy
Levine, Negro tenant farmer of Virginia.
Hundreds of workers. Negro and white attend
ed our meetings Banners and leaflets at
these demonstrations carried slogans "Down
with lynch law" "Organize Committees of
Negro and White Workers to Fight Lynching."
These demonstrations were the first of its kind
carried on directly under the leadership of our
Party.
Then came the March demonstrations
which were of a real mass character. In Char
lotte, N. c., more than 5000 workers took
part. Hundreds of police and the Loray COM
mittee of 100 came to break up the demonstra-
tion but did not dare to interfere. Six hun
dred to thousand workers came armed, ready
to defend the demonstration. From the city
hall several hundred workers, Negro and white
marched down to the NT.W.U. Hall where
$50 Joined the T.U.U.L.
On March Z the capitalist government open
ed its present attack. First the city council
in Winston Salem, N. c. passed new city
ordinance prohibiting street meetings between