The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-12-31
The Return from Washington
Weaknesses inH4ngerMarch


not have taken for granted that
this prodding was only the desire
of the washington politicians and
cops to get rid quickly Of their hun
ger fighting antagonists. In our
haste to leave Washington we laid
ourselves open to ambuscade and
attack, a chance that the Maryland
and West Virginia police were re-
vengefully waiting for. The COM
bined Western Columns had brush-
ed the police aside like so many
flies on the way to Washington.
We we're travelling together then.
Now on our return trip we must
have had an attack of dizziness
from our successes for our fast
cars and trucks were trying to OUT
do each other in their haste to get
to Uniontown, Pa. The slower ve~
hicles were proceeding to Cumber-
land, Maryland for the night stop
over. But less than thirty miles
out Of Washington there ceased to
be fast and slow group Of ears
and trucks and instead there FORM
ed a long Struggling line of vehicles
which extended a distance of near
ly fifty miles from Winchester. Va.
to Romney, w. Va, % miles south
of Cumberland, Md.
The Maryland and West Virginia
State Police were quick to realize
the predicament of the isolated del
egations which were running out
of gas and were having tire and
motor trouble, and pounced down
upon them tooth and nail. Com
rades were beaten and chased out
of their trucks which were showed
off the road or taken in tow by the
w. Virginia police. Other COM
rades in cars travelling alone were
at the mercy of the vindictive po-
lice who insulted and threatened
them and gave them bum steers up
blind mountain trails. There we're
more than 25 cars and trucks
stranded and strewn over the Shen-
andoah and Allegheny Mountains
that Wednesday night, Dec. 7th,
with a cold sleet coming down.
Our comrades built fires and tried
to fight off the icy cold mountain
winds. Some slept in stalled trucks
and waited for help. Other dele
gates abandoned their vehicles and
took to the highways where they
were later picked up by our. rescue
crews. Still other groups made
their way to railroad tracks and
hoped freights for home.
At Uniontown and Pittsburgh the
n comrades who reached there
first in the fast vehicles stopped
to reform their broken columns and
to send back mechanics with
money and tools for the cars in
distress. The National Committee
of the Unemployed Councils at
Washington also sent immediate
help in the form of salvage crews
and finances to the stranded DEL,
egations, but the line was past fix
ing so each delegation was aided to
get home individually as best it
could.
AS result of our smashed lines,
our delegations were not able to
arrive in their respective cities on
schedule so that many meetings
were called off and in several cases
no food or lodgings were prepared
for the returning marchers.
1t is true that the returning
Western Columns were smashed by
the police, but it was within our
power to prevent it by maintaining
our marching discipline of staying
together at all times which we fol-
lowed on the way to Washington.
WARMING FOR FUTURE
While this condition as far as I
know was true mainly of Columns 1
and 4 with which I was associated,
I believe the facts revealed must
be brought out in order that we
may be guarded against such repe-
tition in the future. 1 feel certain
that the workers who experienced
the above, will know how to perfect
better organization in the future.
No doubt this is a small incident
in the big campaign we carried
through against great odds and in
the fact of victories we achieved
along the whole front. But we must
Iear.r t1o+ 0n1V from r,IIf. sIyictof-ieu
but also how to overcome even small
defeats. We are preparing for big
Der struggles. We must strive to
be better equipped, better organ
lied and always ready"