The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-07-28
AMTER ISSUES
OPEN LETTER
Hits Wage Cuts of City
Employees
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE


come to donate at least 10 per cent
for unemployment relief. 8. We de-
mand that the retinues of ushers
and politically appointed secretaries
who surround you and various high
city officials shall be abolished and
that no city official shall have more
than one car at his disposal All the
other linousines, Packards, Dusen-
burgs, ETC., shall Immediately be sold
and the proceeds turned in to the
city treasury. 4. AS it is very appa-
rent that the cut in the payroll is
not for the purpose of effecting a
lowering of rents, etc, but in order
to tighten the taxation upon the big
corporations of the city (a) taxation
upon big corporations, banks, etc.
shall be raised; (b) the taxation
upon small property owners, espe-
cially owners of homes, shall be ma
terially reduced"
The text of the letter follows:
! Mayor James j. Walker
Mayor City of New York
Dear Sir:
On orders of the Wall Street bank
ers, whose lackey you are, you have
made an open call for reduction OF
the wages of the 147,00o city en-
ployees. In order to show your strict
obedience to Wall Street you made a
radio speech on July 22nd, appealing
to, and at the same time, threaten
ing the civil service employees to the
effect that if they did not yolun-
tarily accept wage-cut of one
months pay, an appeal would bt
made to the State Legislature to eff
feet such cut.
In the year 1880, when there Were
at least 100000 unemployed in New
York, you had the nerve, together
with your fellow treasury plunderers
the borough presidents, ETC., to raise
your salaries This meant further
mulcting of the city of hundreds OF
thousands of dollars. In addition
you personally, and several of you1
colleagues in high office, have beer
accused, and several have been con-
victed, of having filled your various
"tin boxes" vaults" ETC., with graft
Your seuandering of funds on Euro.
pean trips, trips to Hollywood ane
the West Indies, ETC., shows clearly
that, while the workers we're starving
you manage dto live on the "measly'
40 thousand dollars year to which
you raised your salary.
You, with a 40 thousand a veal
salary, and your Comptroller, Charles
w. Berry, your borough presidents
your judges and justices of the vari
Gus courts, the Chairman of thu
Sanitation Committee, VIM. Schroe
der, Jr., and the whole list of high
paid city officials coul dvery well af
ford in the midst of this crisis II
have a taste of the conditions tina
the working class is enduring.
You, just like the Wall Stree
bankers and the manufacturers o
this country are determined that tn
cost of the crisis shall be borne b
! the workers. The Communist Party
representing the masses of unem
ployed and employed workers of thi
country, call upon the workers t
resist this attempt of Wall Street t.
saddle them with this crushing bur
den.
1t is obvious that there Is no in
tention, as the result of any econ
omy, that funds for the relief of tn
more than l million unemployed 0
the City of New York shall be in
creased thereby. On the contrary
through the system of registration
which must be signed by notary pub
lies which is being forced upon ever
unemployed worker, the purpose is t
deny as many workers as possible un
employment relief This will merel
increase the misery of the more tina
one hundred thousand starving fam
lilies that your city officials ADM
are in the most desperate need i
the City of New York and are get
ting no relief whatever.
This situation demands immediat
organization of the city employees
not the fake organizations that the
have at the present time. These or
carnations must have q militan
program and militant leadership an
clearly notify the city that they wi
stand by their rights and will resoi
even to the weapon of strike In OF
E der to enforce them. The militar
labor movement of New York wi
i support the city employees in TIL
movement and will do everythin
possible to assist them in organiza
ton and struggle.
, This, Mayor Walker, is the answe
of the militant workers Of this cit,
. led by the Communist Party, and {
large section of the city employee
who, despite your threats, will figf
against this cut in their pay.
. The Communist Party will expo:
! the Democratic, the Republican an
the Socialist Parties in the Electio
9 Campaign as parties that are assist
ing you i'm putting across this wage
a cut, despite the demagogic maner
vers the Socialists directly an