The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-08-31
364 DELEGATES AT WIR MEET VOTE
TO PUSH RELIEF FOR MINERS

union growing in the face of the
greatest terror. This delegate is him
self being hunted by the coal OPP
orators deputies and had not slept
under a roof for a week before COM
ing to this conference.
Price indicated the Importance to
the strikers and relief collectors of
the present election campaign, among
other things, as a chance to strike
back at those squires and burgesses
who jail the pickets and arrest and
prohibit relief collectors.
The other speakers pledged full
support of their organizations in the
campaign of the Workers Interna-
tional Relief.
The two main reports were made
by Marcel Scherer, of the national
office of the Workers International
Relief, and by Director Wagon
knecht, of the Pennsylvania Ohio
West nia-Kentucky Striking
Miners Relief Committee.
Scherer told of the organization
of the Workers International Relief
in 1921, under the leadership of
Lenin, and Of the many campaigns
in which it has taken part in the
United States, including Passaic,
Gastonia, the unemployed hunger
marches and the present miners
strike. He outlined the tactics for
collecting during hunger marches,
for turning temporary collection
committees into permanent W. I. r.
branches, for intensifying the relief
in the present strike
1.-THE central task of the w. I. r.
is to increase the collections and
solidarity movement to support the
present miners strike" said Scherer.
He also outlined the cultural work
of the w. I. r., its movies and work.
ers' theatres, its rehabilitation work,
including camps for children and
strikers sickened or wounded in the
struggle, etc.
Scherer also described the organ
national and propaganda work of
the w. I. R., which, first approach
ing unorganized workers on the basis
of relief collections, draws them into
the revolutionary unions.
Wagenknecht spoke sharply on the
contract between the very good re-
suits obtained in this miners strike
by the miners own local relief COM
mittees which labored under every
possible obstacle, in some cases col
Letting food in sacks, on foot and
walking many miles without shoe
soles to get it, with the relatively
small collections made under more
favorable circumstances in the big
cities. He stated that this was not
because there was less well organ
ICED national relief collection in this
strike than there was in previous
strikes, but because the .circun-
stances required even better organ
iZation.
Because of the crisis, you can only
get ten cents from worker who in
former years would give a dollar"
said Wagenknecht, "but now you can
find ten workers who will give some
thing where in former years you
could find only one"
The way out is to greatly increase
the number of collectors. Wagon
knecht gave many practical instrue=
tons for developing new corps Of
collectors, especially by taking the
names of sympathizers found in the
collection campaign, He emphasized
the necessity of setting up headquar-
ters with the name Of the w. l. R..
on them and an appeal to bring
food collections there. He related
instances of rank and file pressure
in the most reactionary organiza-
NAOAAA9 VA WIZ hCios CfC4A OGlAAt-ldDN1ol
organizations, which forced dons-
tons from the organization treasury
when relief collectors came to speak
to the meeting All workers organ
izations must be visited by relief
speakers.
He outlined the organizational
forms Of the w. I. r. which must
be establisher through hard work by
the delegates returning from this
conference.
A tremendous ovation was given
the delegates from Kentucky, a
striking miner who told about the
vicious terror of the Flaw" and the
great strides the union is making
there in membership Another
striking miner from Scots Run, w.
Virginia, told about the impending