The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-10-30
Wisconsin Workers Respond to
Communist Election Tour

League, we had to call and hold our meeting
unassisted. This is due to the complete absorp-
ton of the Superor-Duluth section in work
among the Finnish workers and farmers-in
their language and cooperative Organizations
and total neglect of mass work among the
English speaking and Finnish workers and
farmers. However, the District Committee OF
District is aware of the situation and is taking
steps to correct it.
Big Unemployment.
From talking with workers and farmers thru
out the state we have observed the correct
ness of the Party thesis on the development of
industrial crisis, the aggravaion of the agrarian
crisis, and the widespread rehabilitation of the
masses as result Unemployment we found
to be especially bad in the lumber and wood
products industry Many lumber camps are closed
and wages in those working are SITS to at most
So a day-with dollar taken out for board!
Thousands of lumber jacks are tramping the
roads from camp to camp, living in "jungles'
and coming into towns demanding food when
ever in need. The lumber jacks are ripe for or
ganization, and especially must the Party lead
their struggle against starvation this winter.
Farmers On Road Work.
Thruout Northern Wisconsin the farmers are
mostly very poor, farming only a few acres of
cleared land and dependent on outside work
to make living. Some of them have had road
work for Is cents an hour this summer but that
was very little and is now over with the cold
weather Milk is the only thing they sell and
that has fallen in price. Large numbers of
farmers are unable to pay taxes on their
mortgages, or Farm Loans. But the banks are
slow to foreclose because they would rather keep
the farmers paying interest to them than take
the land which cannot be sold for love or money.
Wage Cuts in Paper Industry.
The paper industry seems to be not quite so
hard hit, and paper mill towns do not show such
mass unemployment. But wages are being cut
and part time work is reducing the average wage
of the workers to ten dollars a week. The
aluminium industry conferred around Manitowoc
is also slack, with naturalization, speed-up,
constantly increasing. Many young workers are
employed in the aluminium plants, and their
wages are less than ten dollars week The ship
yards in Manitowoc are about to shut down after
they finish car ferry now about completed.
Workers in S. P. Coming Over.
In many towns we met former socialists and
even present members of the socialist party who
expressed great disgust with the S. P. Three OF
them gave us subscriptions to the Daily Worker.
and group of them in Green Bay were ready
to act as a defense corps against the American
Legion. Everywhere we heard rumblngs of re-
leftward swing of the rank and file.
But the phenomenon of greatest significance is
the great support of the workers and farmers
for Phil LaFoette, the Progressive" Republican
candidate for governor who DEBATED Governor
Kohler by 10000 majority in the primaries.
LaFollette has played e-ie radical laundering
about unemployment, the farm crisis and high
taxation He has been denouncing chain stores,
chain banks, etc. including the Power Trust.
These demogagic tricks have fooled the workers
into supporting him.
Show Up LaFollette. ,N
But when we pointed out the true character
of LaFollette and especially exposed the revision
of the Progressive platform after the primaries
so that the progressive platform became as reac-
tionary as the regular republican platform, and
especially pointing out that LaFollette now
warns against any unemployment measure
which will injure Wisconsin "industrys ability
to compete with other states"--the workers
listened closely and in no case were we heckled
LaFollette has won over Kohler. but the masses
are everywhere skeptcal and will soon realize
that the "progressives' are still republicans and
100 per cent supporters OF the capitalist class
Many Shortcomings.
While the tour whole was undoubtedly a
success and very big step for the Party, it re-
vealed the tremendous gap between the posi-
bilities for organization which exist, and the
inability of our Party to meet the growing needs
Of the workers for leadership. Imediately after
the election campaign organizers will have to
90 out from Milwaukee again, build Party
nuclei, and thru them rally the workers and
farmers for struggle.
The second half Of the tour, now starting will
take us to LaCross, beside distributing leaflets
in all towns In between We are confident that
our reception in these cities will he as warn, If
not warmer than in the cities already covered
Workers of Wisconsin! Vote Communist!
Fred Bassett Blair for Governor!