The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-11-28

dLnleJlC ana Cne social. AS q
rule the strength stood about
Is to 4 in favor of the athletic
because most of the boys were either
on the indoor baseball or basketball
teams. What the smaller faction
lacked numerically they made up in
power and influence. 1t was on the
basis of their representations that
the use Of the clubroom at the local
Tanlmany Hall was secured and
maintained. The eighty-odd dollars
in the treasury were also accounted
for by a dance and beer party ar
ranged by the "socials."
They are all Irish Catholic and
Italian Catholic boys and most Of
them go to the same church and
somehow the difficulties were all
ways ircned out. The sociaIs re-
sented the fact that baseball and
basketball equipment had to be
bought by the earnings of their af-
fairs, but they realized the affairs
would not have showed profit if not
for the cooperation of the athletes.
In the heat Of close game every
body was temporarily loyal.
4
ONLY four or five of the whole
" crowd hold jobs. Theirs is the
generation which never did get
even the seasonal chance to enter
industry: Social units like the fac
tory or the section gang are vague
concepts to them; next to inp0r-
tnnce to their families, il was this
club around which their lives
revolved. In the past years only
one of them has deviated from the
orbit: George Casey, whose prog
ress from petty larceny to the road,
then back to A. & p. pe0nage, /
wrote up in the Daily Worker of
Aug. %.
The club was natural outcome
OF the boys interests and geo.
graphic distribution and 1t was
formed on their own initiative.
They had no cluh-ooIn and had to
meet in back Of the barber shop
owned By one Of the parents, and
when ward lieutenant offered to
help the loose organization by sup
plying a meeting place his proposal
was met with enthusiasm. The
name Tigers" was adopted before
the Tammany connection and
solely for connotations of ferocity.
Here were score Of prospective
voters and Tammany was working
the old formula Three Of them had
already gone to the polls in the last
mayoralty election and one voted for
Robert Minor although his action
may have been the result Of tenn
porary personal influence. The
power of remarkable and tyrannical
priest whom I've yet to meet is so
great in the others that the club
seemed just superluous Tammany
tentacle, safety measure. OF
course God" does not represent the
active personal force it signifies for
their parents and the moment the
old world family ties were broken by
a job in some other town, the spell
of the priest would snap; still, it
has held them back so far. The
boys Tammany church tie-up has
been curiously affected by the
O'Brien debacle The defeat of the
Tammany candidate has tremen-
dously weakened their Faith.
WARD politicians have a tradition
w of strategy that seldom allows
for tactical errors. But they hap
pen, and WREN they do the safety
devices are usually sufficiently elab-
crate to assure Ultimate victory. The |
disbanding Of an organiza-
ton like the Nelson Avenue Tigers
certainly indicates g loocening grip.
Well, there were eighty-odd dol
lars in the treasury and She boys
felt the basketball team ought to
ret new uniforms. They supplied
Their own sneakers, but the shirts
were all torn and the subs had no
trunks. They voted the uniforms,
but the treasurer, who was $50
clal," refused to deliver up the
funds. He said, wait until Mr..
Mr.. Cassidy comes down from up
stairs. So somebody went and /
called Mr.. Cassidy and he tod the