The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-07-05

uJAiC, Dut tOulu not Ilu OIte oCht AOi
farmers of this state. The new cap
brations-while workers died of star
In the city of Charleston, the CAPT
tai of the state, the contrast is
striking. Charleston is a long, mar
row city along the Kanawha River,
crossed by the Elk River, and con-
fined by high hills on both sides. At
one end is the golden dome, at the
other West Charleston, where the
workers exist on one basket a week
from the county, when they get it.
West Charleston is noted for the
Kelly axe factory, where the workers
slave for So and So a day, working
one or two days week. Hundreds of
workers have been laid off, especially
the Negro workers. Men who have
worked years for Kelly have been
laid off and replaced by young boys.
Kelly brags that he can get these
boys to work for SO cents day
Company Houses
Kelly is so generous that he has
provided houses for some of his en-
ployees-provided they pay him rent,
These houses have all the earmarks
of company houses-dark, weather.
stained, never have been painted,
windows fallen in, etc. Kelly is
known as the stingiest man in the
state, so stingy that his own wife
committed suicide. The national
government returned several hun
bred thousands of dollars to him as
tax refund" last year.
War Plants Kept Ready
Not far from the Kelly Axe, in
South Charleston, is the Carbide and
Carbon Co. Here, too, the workers
slave for a few dollars, one or two
days a week. This chemical plant is
somewhat overshadowed by the gov
eminent arsenal, built during the last
war, and kept in perfect condition
so that at any minute it can again
begin to turn out bullets and cannon.
At Kanawha City, about two miles
from the Golden Dome, there are
several glass plants. and the Dunbar
Glass plant is at Dunbar, few miles
in the other direction. There is a
big Dupont plant several miles out.
All of these plants are potential war
plants. Therefore it is to the inter-
est of the bosses to keep these work.
ers hungry and docile.
Terror Against Negroes.
In order to carry out this plan, a
program of discrimination and
terror against the Negroes is
being worked out. Negroes who ap-
ply for state jobs are told that the
Governor has ordered that only white
men shall be employed Negro fam
lilies find it very difficult to get even
the meagre basket handed out to the
white workers. One white boss's wife
told a Negro worker who asked her
for a job, 1--WE are going to let you
niggeN starve to death and eat each
other" 1t is no accident that the
only lynching in this section since
1910 took place just a few months
ago.
Wesi Virginia has a law that if
any Negro is lynched, the county in
which the lynching occurred shall
pay t0 the Negroes family $1,000. and
an additional $1,000 to the state.
This law has been pointed to by lib
erals to prove the "progressiyeness''
of the state, but the families of the
two Negroes lynched here are still
waiting for their money. The Gov
ernor got very excited at the time,
and swore to bring the lynehers to
justice. The five Briggs brothers
were arrested, held in Jail two weeks,
and let go without even an indict=
ment being brought against them.
The two Negro boys were lynched in
connection with the killing of a
drunken constable who had illegally
tried to prevent Negro dance from
proceeding. They had not been in
dicted and> had nothing to do with
the shooting. They were hung to a
telephone post and then shot at. 1t
is said that fifty bullets were found
in their bodies.
Live in Ovens
Not far from Charleston, in the old
brick yards, workers with families
are living in the old brick ovens.
Many workers have their gas and
water shut off-these workers never
could afford electricity. One family
with nine children in the Triangle
section has had the water shut off
already for several months. Another
working woman had her furniture set
on the street, where it stayed for
two days before she could find a
place to go.
The workers of Charleston will not
accept these conditions much longer.
Unemployed councils are appearing,
and soon no doubt a real fight for
decent living conditions will begin.
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