The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-12-01
BY BILL DUNE.

ny OOINNEas
1.-THE statesmanlike report Of
the Executive Council of the
American Federation of Labor in
favor Of compulsory unemploy-
ment insurance is like a bright
light on very dark night. Its
positive arguments admit Of no
effective reply. They are cOgent
and convincing. I rejoice that
the Council sees so clearly that
ideally unemployment insurance
should be national. AS the Coun-
Gil points out, given the Consti-
tuition as interpreted by the
courts, national unemployment
insurance bill would probably be
declared unconstitutional. Hence
we shall have to work for state
bilIs."-Norman Thomas in 1.-THE
New Leader" Nov. 26.
DY its rejection of compulsory fed
II eral UNEMPLOYMENT insurance,
the A. F. of L. bureaucracy, with
its program of insurance by sep
arate states, is trying to demobilize
the mass movement for federal I'M
employment insurance among work.
ers outside the A. T. of l.. and to
queu the revolt of its own member
ship against its sabotage of the in
terests of the unemployed at the
Vancouver Convention last year.
BY the elimination of the 1916
100000 workers now unemployed
from its proposed program Of in
surance by states the A. F. of L.
bureaucracy, by it's Wall Street in
Spired maneuver, hopes to split the
ranks of the working classic
divide the unemployed from the
employed, weaken the struggles of
both, and relieve the great and
growing mass pressure on American
capitalism and its government.
ENDORSE NIANEUVER
The Socialist Party, as We pre-
dicted it would, is now throwing its
forces into this campaign, acting
as the vanguard in this sector Of
the capitalist offensive.
Both Thomas and Hillquit have
endorsed the A. F. Of L. maneuver
with the greatest enthusiasm. They
have taken up with alacrity their
task of dividing the working class
ranks.
On Nov. "a, commenting on the
A. F. of l.. unemployment insurance
proposals, we said:
1.-THE opening speech of Presi-
dent Green to the convention
has made still clearer the call
culated character of the perfidy
which prompted the Executive
Council to shift from a position
Of open opposition to all forms OF
compulsory government insurance
to proposal for compulsory I'M
employment insurance enacted by
state legislatures.
"On the surface this appears
to be an advance and undoubt-
eddy will be hailed as such by the
liberals and the Socialist Party.
Actually it is a peculiarly cum
ming and contemplate piece of
treachery to the 15-16,000, 900 I'M
employed, the part-time workers
now being forced to share the
work still more under the Teagle
Plan, and to the whole working.
class"
SEEK TO CHECK
MASS STRUGGLE
The endorsement OF tine A. F. of
l.. program by Norman Thomas on
behalf of the Socialist Party Is j,
even more sweeping and unre-
st-icted than We thought it would
be. Nor was there any waste Of
time in placing the Socialist Party
squarely behind one of the most
ambitious and dangerous schemes
for checking the mass struggle of
the working class against starva-
ton that the long record of be-
Layal of the S. p. and the A. F.
of l.. records.
THE conclusion is unacceptable:
L The American ruling class finds
itself confronted with mass resent
ment Of such proportions and with
mass demand and mass move
ment Of such increasing militancy
ana power for federal unemploy-
ment insurance, that it cannot de-
pend only upon its own propa-
gands machinery, coupled with
that OF the A. r. OF H. leadership,
and ite latest rnsneywer, btlt must