The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-02
Lynch Masters Know Their
Enemies>>and Their Friends!"
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ALABAMA STRUGGLES

the country (Which in many cases
were printed i'll the press in fulD
was d Sledge hammer blow to the
Alabama ruling class and their
hired thugs. Any one who doubts
the effect of mass protest should
see some of the southern papers
and any one who also happens to
doubt the Importance of the Daily
Worker should have been in the
South or in Birmingham and
imagined the knock out effect the
Daily" of Dec. 81 had on the ruiz
ing class and the inspiration and
power it gave to the masses. This
whole flood of kilograms and the
struggle in the BLACK Belt" simply
staggered the ruling class and
sharply brought out the deepening
crisis in Alabama. 1t was not en-
tirely accidental that on Dec. 20
Gov. Miller called another special
session of the state legislature to
convene on Jan. 81 and that day
Representative Lovelace of ITALIA
poosa county declared that he will
have bill passed in the legisla-
ton to enable courts to convict on
''sedition" and melting to riot.
This is very important for land
lord Lovelace because he himself
admits that "all the Negro tenants
on my farm are on the mailing
list of some Communist organiza-
ton in Birmingham. The fact.
that one third of the schools thru
out the state involving 125, 1000 chill
dren are closed down and that tax
strikes are spreading, forced the
millionaire Will Leedy TO say that
these actions smack of Commu-
nisnl and would serve to further
the ends of a group of Commu-
nists of Birmingham who are bent
on bringing chaos to the state"
IN these first few days of the
4 struggle the united front was
created between the finance CAPT
talists of Birmingham headed by
the Tennessee Company (U. S.
SteeD, the big landlords of south
ern and central Alabama the Ne
gro reformist leaders and other
agents of the lynch masters. The
main line was savage attack on
the Communist Party. First the
press shouted in its headlines that
the struggle was a race riot, race
war, inter-racial clash etc. in an
attempt to have more blood spill
led. The wish was father to the
thought. For this purpose lying
stories were invented the first two
days Is it any wonder that many
people are thinking how is it pos
sible for the lynch melting press
to call the Communist Party drill
sergeants of hatred and "harpies
that spring up in troubled times?
But lies do not stop the lynchers
from frothing at the mouth. The
Inter-racial committee of Alabama
Tennessee consisting of white bos-
ses rSyrd Negro refornrist leaders
says among other things: Certain
sinister, alien, influences are at
work seeking to SOW discord be-
tween black and white, Behind the
malevolent activity there is able
Leadership, tireless energy, world
wide organization. Communism in
its hope of world revolution has
chosen the southern Negro as the
American group most likely TO
respond to their revolutionary ap-
peal"
Having failed to "create a race
riot" the press in its editorials begins
10 deplore the episode. A typical
editorial says the following. THE
deplorable affair in Tallapoosa
County is an example Of what
comes of the activities OF Com
munist agitators who prey upon
ignorant Negroes III these times
of unrest, and stirring up bitter
ness among them" Not word Is
said about the deplorable condi-
tons under which both Negro and
white farmers live in the Alabama
Black Belt. Not word is said
about the issue involved, namely
the struggle for the RIGHT TO
LIVE. The only trouble 1t seems,
is that the Communists are MAX
ing the good Negro" as bad Ne
groes" that the Negroes naturally"
accept the customary barbarism Of
the South peacefully but that the
Reds simply stir up these ignorant
Negroes to protest their condi-
items. Such is the line of many
of The Southern papers who echo
the interests of the rich. &,
WHILE the lynch masters know
NIX kS.aSr avnsrr,aa At.asy oysn kVanSk