The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-07-11
Communist Party in Small
Industrial Centers

asked him where he worked, how much pay
he received, etc., he would seldom answer.
Everyone felt that it was his own fault that
he couldn't make decent living. The idea that
everyone could succeed was drilled into them
from early childhood. Today they share with
US their miserable conditions, they realize that
the life of tn rksrs as = whole Is rotten
and one can sen u rsbellioas spirit instead
of docile onaoof wsrkefs who are eontented
will. their fake. WIDEN we tell them we stand
for the organization of the working class, and
against the Millionaire, or millionaire bosses,
they with u.s. They sign the petition to
place our Party on the ballot even if there
is pang of fear II may land in Jail for this"
Hudson, N. Y, is a typical American small
town. There aren't more than 1000 inhab-
itants, The majority of workers work either
in the cement mills the brickfield and only
a few other small shops.
The Cement MILL subsidiary of the Y. S.
Steel Corporation, employs about 900 men in
three shifts. The men working here average
about $22 week, unless they highly
skilled laborers earning at the most $40
week. With such low wages the live
in dilapidated company homes giving the COM
pany another means to exploit them.
All this is in normal times" Today many
of the men are being laid off and don't know
the workers have or had to find work.
There was the brick field. Here Negro and
white workers shaved every summer at ire
mendous speed-up in order to accomplish
certain amount Of work, even if their whole
family had to come out to sweat with them
to finish the prescribed tasks before sunset.
No pay is given for unfinished work, and work
stops at sunset.
For this the workers made SO to 81 day.
1t was a summer industry and many families
struggle throughout the winter in broken
down novels called houses, waiting for summer
and work. This year however, the place has
not opened and probably won't.
This stoppage is due to Belgian over produc-
ton, giving American imperasts a chance
to buy bricks cheaper than they could produce
them here at home, and the general economic
crisis also means less building, and therefore
less need of bricks.
Besides these two places to work there is
little else to turn to- except small shirt fac.
tory, where many young girls slave at the
low wage that prevails in this industry
throughout tn. country. This also is only
working part time.
This is merely one of the towns where we
went in order to place our Party on the ballot.
Every town has a similar story.
1t is therefore not surprising that the re-
Spouse OI tne WOrkerS is SO great. lney readily
realize that we are working class organ
zation, and therefore help US. Not only do
they sign, to get our Party put on the ballot.
but help us get other signers.
At the present period when we see such in
tense preparation for war; it is certain that
in these small cities, with their large number
of unemployed, the capitalist class has a great
reserve army. 1t is easier to rally these work
ers "for the protection of their country" be-
cause they have lived all their lives in these
places, not seeing or understanding the force
that exploits them The workers do not see
themsev as large class suffering under
the same conditions, and exploited by the same
multi-mill;onaire class. 1t is only at the pres.
ent time when the capitalist class is looking for
cheap labor, and strike breakers, that subsid
aries of the large firms have begun to spring
up in these up till now villages. This is be-
ginning to throw the working class together
The workers in the large industrial cities are
much more class conscious because they can