The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-09-21

IN ST. PAUL, Fred Miller was in
variably our Socialist candidate for
Mayor. He was superintendent Of
an ice-cream plant. Whenever the
Party Or the Yipsels had a picnic
we bought our ice-cream from Com
rade Miller's plant. We young ones
were warned not to call him com
rade" when we went to him with our
orders. 1t sounded strange to call
him Mister, but we were told that his
boss didn't want him to mix Social
ism with business. So we gave him
our orders for ice-cream and were
very glad when he shook hands with
each one of us.
Although Hillyer did not have a
cleer speaking voice. it was effective
with mushy sentimental softness.
Maybe he got it from the ice-cream,
Like Van Lear he always spoke about
the suffering of labor under capital
ism and never said what ought to
be done about it except elect Social
list candidates.
CfOc0ulle IearS
I remember one meeting called in
support of the miners on strike on
the Mesaba Range. An old miner
described how he and others worked
in the watery mine pits, yet never
made enough to live on. He described
how his wife and children were hun
cry. The audience was moved. Miller
wiped his moist cheeks with a red
handkerchief. When he stood up to
speak there was hush in the hall
as if 1t were a church, with Jesus
about to deliver the Sermon from
the mount.
INV heart breaks" Miller began in
choked voice. He had to pause sew
eral times to wipe his eyes as he re-
peated only in more elegant words
what the old miner had said so sto-
ically Had Miller broken down much
more than he did during his speech,
the meeting would have ended in
failure. But towards the end, he
gained strength and concluded with
an hysterical appeal for funds for
feeding the miners kids.
Women threw rings into the col
lection hats; bills fluttered in out
stretched hands. The hall was in tur-
mol with men and women shouting
their donations. Miller was a great
revolutionist.
Then the War Came
War was declared The city cleo
tons and the draft came at about
/ 49, so,,oa tina Cana IF tho vAfJr1OaP
Socialists had already been arrested
for opposing CONSUMPTION and were
out on bail, pending trial Our party
meetings were suddenly deserted by
the older comrades" our leaders,
among them Miller. And remember
Mahoney, now mayor Of st. Paul,
coming to meeting and sinking out
when we younger ones forced dis
cussion on anti-war activity.
The city convention for nominating
cur ticket was one of the largest held.
Amidst tumultuous applause Miller
accepted the nomination for Mayor.
While everyone cheered, he stood up
and waved at us with his red hand
kerchief.
"The Thomases of Those Days"
| Then we voted on platform. After
much oratory we younger ones forced
through a plank reiterating the OPP
position to war as stated in the st.
Louis platform, accepted at an emer-
gency convention and sahotaged by
Berger, Hillquit and the Thomases.
of those days.
AS soon as the plank was adopted,
Miller stood up. Everyone was quiet,
for he was white in the face, and his
lean body trembled.
Comrades, comrades" hepleaded.
1--WE got wife and children. They
will arrest me if run on such
platform. Please don't put me in
such a condition. Please, comradesl"
Insist on Anti-War Plank
We younger ones swept the con-
yention with our scorn. 1.-THE foot
prints of our Russian comrades are
still blood stamped on the SHOWS OF
Siberia. Shall we turn towards when
they have unfurled the red banner of
liberation?"
The plank was voted on a second
time, and again carried, though with
smaller majority. Miller stood up.
He wiped the perspiration off his face
with his red handkerchief. He tugged
at his solid red tie. II can't run on
TIL IVyYTyT II CIH N