The daily worker., 1930-10-23
The Great Sham Battles

controls all railroad systems, street car sys-
TENS, bus systems, gas, electric and water COM
panies, ETC., throughout the state. In Penn
sylvania politics up till now nomination in a
republican primary insured the election of the
one nominated. But this deep split in the
republican machine makes the election of the
democratic candidate possible.
The Utilities Speak.
Following the action of Atterbury large
group of important utilities firms and other
institutions connected with utilities came out
against Pinchot and for Hemphill. In western
Pennsylvania the anti-Pinchot committee is
headed by the powerful Westinghouse group
which produces brakes and signals for the
railroad companies and electrical and gas ap-
paratus for the power companies in the state.
1t is interesting to know that all of the manu-
featuring companies, with practically no excep-
tion, which broke away from supporting Pin
chot are those which produce directly for the
railroad and utilities groups in the state,
Mr. Hemphil, preceding this break, had been
marking time, limiting his campaign speeches
to agitation against prohibition but the day
of the break came nearer, Mr.. Hemphill began
to talk of the "unsound economic doctrines"
of Pinchot, by which he meant the agitation
of Pinchot against the utilities con1rany in his
off"~t TO viN the support of the petty
bourgeois masses.
So the great battle is on, the reallignment
of forces amongst the capitalist groups in this
election have already taken place. False issue
after false issue is raised. The Hemph group
vies with the Pinchot elements in their dema-
gogy, in their use of deceptive phrases, of
false suggestions, of fake promises to the
workers. The most important feature of this
struggle is that the fight against Mr. Pinchot
assumes the character of struggle against
the Hoover administration, despite the pre-
tended neutrality of the republican national
committee. Both Pinchot and Hemphil dance
around the question of unemployment. Neither
of them offer solution While raising criti-
csm of the coal and iron police system, both
play With IT, he
supporting either MIR. Hemphill or MIR. Pin
mendous proportions, must be exposed to the
entire working class of the state.
Regroupings
1t is interesting to notice that the same
expression of regrouping of forces within the
capitalist parties is taking place in other states
where in Cleveland, Ohio, for example, the re-
publican paper "The News" has gone over to
the side of the democratic candidate for gov
ernor following the example of the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette.
Recognizing that large section of the work
ers will not be deceived by th's ~''"~, h"-''N.
the bosses push forward the socialist party to
pose as a ant-capitalst group in order to
keep the workers from following tu. i,-as mp
of the Communist Party. Tremendous publicity
is given to the socialist meetings. Every effort
is made by the capitalist press to have the
socialist party as an anti-capitalist group to
turn the discomfort of the workers toward the
socialist party where they know the socialists
will turn it in support of the capitalist system.
Our Tasks
Upon the shoulders of our party in the cleo
tion falls the task of exposing not only the
s'.1n' h~ttle between the capitalist groups from
which the workers can gain nothing, but ad-
ditionl exploitation but also the task of ex-
posing the role of the socialist party chosen
for it in this election by the capitalist class.
This can be done by increasing tenfold the
activities Of our Party in the election, by maxi
ing the agitation of the Party more concrete,
by winning the workers to support our Party,
to support the struggles of the Party, by vot-
ing Communist in the election.