The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-05-05
BY E. BENDER.

m May 18th, elections of a new city admins
tration in Baltimore will take place These
elections are of great significance to the workers
IN view OF the problems OF the workers in this
city, and the manner in which the candidates of
the republican and democratic parties deal with
these problems.
Starvation Widespread
Sixty thousand workers are unemployed in
Baltimore. Starvation is widespread. Hundreds
OF workers are being eWcted every week The
jails are filled with workers arrested on the
charge of vagrancy. Relief is being cut off by
the charity agencies and many workers are
forced to dig into the ash cans in search of food
Suicides are a daily occurrence. At the same
time, the number of unemployed is increasing
daily. On the waterfront, in the steel mills, in
the railroad shops, in the copper works, thou
sands of workers are being laid off or work part
time. The Baltimore Copper Works is going to
lay off most of its workers The Mt Glare
shops OF the B. & o. railroad laid off 1900 men
for a period of two weeks. This is the second
lay-off in the period of month. The Sparrows
Point steel mills work on part-time in most de-
partlnents, while some of the departments Cube
Mills are completely shut down.
Wages Cut
simultaneously with the 1ay-offs and unem-
standard of living of the workers. The Bethle-
hem Steel Mills whose officials made $36,0000 900
in bonus, has given wage cut asssr wage cut to
the workers. On February LIST 70 per cent cut
was given to the openers in the Tia Mills. On
April LIST a per cent cut was given to entire
Tin Mill department Speed-up is introduced
continuously. The shearmen in the Tin Mills
will have their hours heightened to II and IL
hours day through mechanical device which
will eliminate the feed boys and scrap boys and
put all of the work on the shearmen The B.
& o. workers lost % per cent in wages in 1880
through periodical lay-offs and speed-up which
we're forced upon the workers with the help Of
the A. F. of L. officials
Attacks on Workers Growing
The rising discomfort and militancy OF the
workers is being met with attacks upon the work
ers. Just recently eight workers from one de-
partment in the steel mills were arrested by i'm
migration officials to be deported into fascist
Italy. Charlie Schwab wants to keep the work
ers from fighting the wage cuts through depor
tation and division of the foreign born native
white. and Negro workers Many more foreign
born workers are being arrested daily and
slated for deportation, the number of which is
not being reported by the capitalist press. The
Negro workers are segregated in Jim Grow sec
into restaurants or theatres; they are receiving
80 cents and IS cents an hour on their jobs.
City Administration Squanders Millions, Moth
ing For Jobless-
The republican mayor and the democratic city
council have worked very well together in spend
ing millions of dollars A $59,000000 loan is
proposed for the city to be spent for new court
ito more efficiently evict and Jail workers., for
viaducts and other such things. The Public I'M
provement Commission is in charge of the fund
and will squander quite few million. -Four
million were already spent for an airport which
has not been built The workers will have to
pay for these loans through an increased tax
rate which will primarily affect the workers
having homes. The unemployed received a crllinb
of $4,000 from the city treasury This makes it
less than one dollar per unemployed family.
The workers are really the ones made to pay
for the pitiable relief that is given out to the
jobless families by the police. The workers in
the factories are asked" to contribute Cat the
point of losing the job. self denial day
was declared by the city and 100000 collected
came primarily from the pockets of the workers.
Major Issues Avoided by Capitalist Politicians.
Howard jackson, the democratic nominee for
mayor and w. q. Albrecht, the candidate Of the
ssnEbssmn partx rfxsets TO peek sbaat ttsae