The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-09-10
Labor" Day
Denagogy

capitalist propaganda on the part of it,
chlet representatives in their efforts to misleaC
the masses The addresses this year are of mar
ticular Importance because of the crisis which
is unprecedented in the history of capitalism
and because of the stark winter that faces the
working class.
Matt VOL, vice president of the American
Federation of Labor, used the occasion in order
to continue the hypocritical lies common to the
A, F. L. leaders in the attempt to divert the
masses from militant struggle. This lieutenant
OF the capitalist class in the ranks of the work
ers showed his treachery in addressing on this
Labor Day" the organized church of the land"
from the pulpit of the Cathedral of st. John
the Divine in New York He spoke in the name
OF organized labor" that is in the name of the
organized treachery to the working class the A.
f. l.. bureaucracy He vomitted phrases about
the horrors of the crisis for the workers and
then added that "the old platitudes have lost
thelr meaning" today. In other words the crisis
makes 1t necessary for the takers of the A L.
to use other phrases to deceive the masses than
those they used on previous Labor DAYS The
only consolation that this hypocrite had to offer
the millions of jobless was that if all of the
bosses and the professionals would find a iob
each Tor the Jobess not so many would be I'M
employed This is the same hypocrisy that Hey
wood Broun, the socialist" shouted at the be-
ginning of the crisis but since gave up as ton
stupid for even him. VOLS statement was in
part as follows:
If all who control work opportunities would
contribute work hours, or jobs for the work
less; if every householder would make a sacri
flee to provide work hours, such as repairs
changes household service; and if every en-
ployer and professional person would find a
way to add at least one more employe, and
roOytiO e. 49,
lishment then would be able to take care
of our unemployment problem in a construc
tive, self respecting way, instead of spending
our resources in doles that weaken both river
and receiver"
The workers of the United States know that
this is only the smoke screen for the real policy
OF the A. F. L. leaders in regards to unen1plov
ment-Wage cuts speed-up and the stagger
system.
VOL pointed out particularly that in this crisis
the fakes in the A. F. L. were cooperating with
the leaders of the churches throughout thu
country in the attempt to mislead the masses.
The coming winter" said VOL, will test our
faith in each other" The cooperation of the
churches and the A. F. L. leaders is already
seen IN the Clifford committee which has drawn
the leaders of each group into its attack on the
jobess.
VOL was ably seconded by one of the out
standing prophets of the capitalist class, Butler
the president OF Columbia University Butler.
however, brought forth more complete pro-
gram of capitalist demagogy to mislead the
workers His program includes: Provision for
security against unemployment, the five-day
week and naturalization of production to curtaiI
the recurrence of depressions revision of the
Sherman antitrust act and tariff reduction"
The main item in the program of Butler is
the chief aim of the Clifford conmittee-the re-
1usal to give unemployment insurance to the
Jobless. The main form of insurance must be
some sort, not on state basis that the capt.
talists themselves will select, SAYS Butler, If
there are some cases which cannot be brought
into this form of insurance then the individual
states must give some aid There must be no
federal unemployment insurance under any
circumstances is the policy of the cayi-
talist class Butler emphasizes that in those
cases where the individual states do naugurate
some sort of insurance it must not degenerate
into DOLE" In other words the insurance
program must be designed to fool the workers
not to give them any adequate relief.
Butler also picked up the lead put down by
one of his bosses last week-Otto Kahn the
banker. Kahn advised that the antitrust laws
be abolished. Butler carries this to its logical
conclusion-the intensification of monopoly con-
troll in the United States He said that what
appears to be required is that the several great
basic industries of the nation should be SO Or
ganized in the interest of the general public as
to control production within the limits of a
proper balance with expanding power of con-
sumption"
He tries to fool the workers into believing that
this increased justification would mean a
change in the chaos of the capitalist system
would mean less of the misery for the workers
than capitalist exploitation now means for them
AS the Daily Worker pointed out in connection
with Kahns speech, this increased classification
would mean in the future what 1t has meant
in the past-greater oppression and exploitation,
greater unemployment as inevitable in the lives
OF the workers under capitalism He warned
that while unemployment was not a new
phenomenon, the extent and severity of the
present crisis such as to constitute "a full
and final test of the entire so-called capitalist
system, a test to which it had never been sub
jected"
The working masses are learning that they
must challenge" the capitalist system in order
to free themselves from all of the misery it
brings with it. 1t is in view of this militant
surge of the masses that Butler shouts end
lessly about organizing capitalism. Capitalism
cannot be organized. Unemployment is inevi-
table under this system of oppression and with
it starvation and disease. Organized the work