Montana labor news., 1932-05-19
THE WASHINGTON SCENE
(By d

WAsHINGToN-(F P9-Progressye senators listened, astonished, in
the final minutes of the new hungerreief hearings, before the Manufac-
lures Committee, May 9, when Edward F. McGrady, field and legislative
representative of the American Federation of Labor, warned them that
the trade unicnsts of this country are likely to revolt this summer unless
Congress provides the starving unemployed with food before it adjourns.
Here was a nw note from the Federation-a militant and almost cn
temptuous note. 1t smelled of powder. It as in sharp contrast with
the cautious, statistical testimony of devoted executives of relief organiza-
tons in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago that for two hours had
preceded it. Senators Costgan, LaFoIete, Cutting, Wheeler, Sheppard
and Wagner, and Representative D. j. Lewis, have listened to accounts
of the exhaustion of local and relief funds in the industrial centers, the
drying-up of state appropriations, and the rapidly increasing number of
destitute unemployed, of helpless sick, of under-nourished children doomed
to grow up stunted in body and mind. The senators felt the pity and
misery of the picture, and evidently wished that members of the reaction
airy majority in both branches could hear the evidence and become o
vinced that Congress should do something.
Then McGrady took the stand, looked them in the eye, and told them
that the leaders of Organized Labor had lost patience, after coming here
repeatedly asking this government to do something to stop starvation, only
to be met with utter indifference by the leaders of the administration and
others in Congress"
He reviewed the steadily worsening unemployment situation, predicted a
worse condition next winter than last winter, quoted figures of unemploy-
sporadic uprisngs' that have taken place in industrial centers during the
past six months did not represent mere Communist activity but were lass
He said the A. F. of L. leaders have kept m preaching patience and obedi-
ence to law, but this could not continue indefinitely.
a say to you advisedy, gentlemen" he continued with tense earnestness,
that unless you do furnish relief quickly, the doors of revolt in this country
are going to be thrown open. The heads of the government in this country
ought to know that, and to know that the people are not interested in this
ak about balancing me budget gust now; they arr interested IN TWO o'her
words starting with bA-bread and butter. They are hungry. If you do
not let them get bread and butter through work, they will get them anyhow.
I'm every labor meeting hall there is a good representation of soldiers of
the World war, and they are the most outspoken of all in bitterness. If this
administration has Congress adjourn without providing food for the millions
OF hungry people, until they ean get work. personally would 10 nothing
to close the doors of revolt | have in recent weeks addressed tens of
thousands Of hungry men and women, in II states. Threefourths of the
time of labor union meetings now is being devoted to denuncation of public
officials here who cn provide food for the starving and who fail to act
Il am not going to come again before Congress to beg for relief. We,
too, have lost patience. Congress and the administration know the facts
We may as well let others handle it. But unless you do provide relief,
something is going to happen in this country"
So the spokesman for the A. F. of L. had invited the hungry workers to
be patient no longer, to worry about Communist perls n more, but to feed
their families if Congress, before it adourns for the summers political
swindleseason, does not provide a federal fund to stop the starvation
Relief workers, unable to sound a militant note themselves, smiled happily
at this sign that the labor movement va coming awake to the fundamental
human right to live. Chairman LaFonette suspended the hearings until
further notice. Wagner had withdrawn before McGrady spoke.