The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-11-19
By M. DUMoNr.

By M. DUMONT.
CLEVELAND ,Ohio-Next week will start the
annual drive of the Cleveland bosses to rob the
workers through the Community Fund. Last
year almost Is per cent of the fund came direct
ly out of the workers pockets Despite unem-
ployment and short time and wage cuts, workers
contributed sl04S,479 to the Community Fund
through check-offs from their wages by the
bosses. 216343 workers were forced to con-
tribute to the fund in this way Additional
Thousands of dollars came from the pennies and
nickels which workers children were forced to
contribute in the schools.
The method of payroll deduction is favored
by the Fund. "This is not method OF fore
ing employee sto contribute to the Fund" it de-
clares. But we know that should a worker re-
fuse to give to the Fund, all sorts ofpressure is
brought to bear upon him. In the Telephone
Company last year, for instance, several of whose
officials prominent in the Fund when a
young supervisor refused to give she was brow
beaten for days and when she persisted in her
refusal she was denoted back to operator at
lower wages. Many other corporations fired
workers who refused to give. They have been
warned to "give or get out" One worker teSti-
fled at open hearing last week that he had
been forced to give $75 to $50 out OF his pay to
the Community Fund or he would have been
fired He later lost his job anyway and all the
relief his family had ever received from the As
ISOLATED Charities was months supply of
groceries, bread and milk, although he had been
out of work two years.
Not only directly does the Community Fund
money come from the working class but also
indirectly through the exploitation of the work
ers by the BOSSES Last year 1000 corporations
pledged 81 100000 to the Fund which they robbed
from the workers in other ways. Who leads the
Community Fund? Charles E. Adams the gen
eral chairman, Is president of the Cleveland
Hardware Co. What has MIR. Adams done for
his own workers? He runs an open shop where
wage cut after wage cut has taken place and
starvation wages are paid. Samuel Mather, hon
orary chairman, just died, leaving behind him
fortune of $10O,O0O00O made out of the misery
and exploitation of miners and steel workers.
One of the last acts of Mathers life was to ap-
prove, as director, of the 10 per cent wage
slash by the steel corporation, of which he was
the second largest individual stakeholder. That
wage slash alone added hundreds of thousands
of dollars to his estate. Mather was also hooked
up with the New York Central Cleveland Cliffs
Iron, Youngstown Sheet & Tube, Bankers Trust
and American Shipbuilding, all of which have
thrown thousands of workers out OF Jobs and
cut wages merciessly Mathers last public state
ment was directed against governmental pro-
vision for the unemployed.
In ltS literature, the community Fund openly
admits that it exists simply to prevent unem-
pigment insurance. ".und Success Helps To
Prevent Dole" one paragraph is hecGod and
then goes CT: g.. American business sentiment
is almost unanimously averse to the plan of a
federal dole for the unemployed. The best
hope that Congress may be persuaded against
the enactment of federal dole lies in the pre-
sent effort of over 500 leading American cities
to demonstrate in the weeks before Congress
meets that they are still able through COM
bination of public and private resources to
handle their relief problems themselves. -"
Where do the vast sums raised by the Fund
go? Only bare 10 per cent of the fund goes
back to the workers. The fund budgets SO per
per cent of the total for afnily relief agencies,
but less than half Of that sum actually reaches
the workers in the form OF relief. for the agen-
cics have huge administration and salary expen-
SCI. Only ~ Fer cent OF the Associated Char
tics expenditures for instance, usually goes for
direct relief. The total amount given each fam
lily has been drastically cut down. Edward d.
nVnde, general secretary OF the Associated Char
itieS. boasts OF the small amount Cleveland is
spending direct relief. Remember that the
per capita expenditure for relief here Is smaller