The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-02-01
WORKERS EXPOSE
ELY CONFERENCE
Force Admission Into
Closed Boston Meet

BOSTON, Mass, Jan. 3l.--Dele-
gates Of the Lawrence United Front
Labor Conference for Unemployment
Insurance and Labor Legislation, and
the Unemployed Councils broke thru
the secret sessions arranged by Gov
ernor Ely In Boston, Friday, de-
nounced his attacks on the workers of
the State and left a program Of de-
narlds worked out through the joint
action Of the workers.
The delegate of the Lawrence con-
ference was June Croil and of the
Unemployed Councils Anna Bloch.
Coming to Ely's closed conference
they found governors and represen-
tatives from Is states including New
York, Penn, New Jersey, the New
England States, and a representative
Of the State Department of Labor
Commissioners.
For some time Governor Ely has
been conducting campaign for q
moratorium" on the State Labor
laws. in the effort to bring working
standards down to the level prevail
ing in the Southern states-this ar
gument serving Ely as the pretext for
heading the cutting and speed
up drive of the Massachusetts, tex
tile baro1s.
Perkins Presides.
Acting as chairman in response to
Ely's invitation for this anti-labor
conference was Francis Perkins, N. Y.
industrial commissioner, and now
slated as member in the cabinet of
the democratic President-e t
Roosevelt.
Attempts were made to GUST both
Cfol and Bloch from the conference,
but fearing a startling exposure of
the anti-labor character of the Con-
ference the officials present failed to
go through with this move. But,
later on, both of the workers spokes-
men and the press reporters we're
asked to leave when the real "busi-
ness" of the conference began.
Perkins attempted to maneuver out
of the difficult situation by at first
allowing the labor delegates to re-
main, but prevented them from
speaking. This move did not succeed,
AS soon as adjournment was an
nounced, June Crol demanded to
know when and where the workers
delegation would be heard.
The attempt to ignore Croll also
failed when she loudly declared:
You may be deaf and dumb now,
but won't be when the textile workers
Of Lawrence strike against night
work for women"
This statement resulted in the offer
that Croll and Bloch attend the
Commission on Hours, which they
agreed to do.
Shirks Public Hearing.
John Meade, director of industrial
safety of Mass, took issue with Croll
as she exposed miserable conditions
in Lawrence. II speak for $4,000
workers in Lawrence, half of them
women, as an elected delegates of the
United Front Conference called by
the National Textile workers Union
in that city," she declared.
She challenged Meade to attend a
public hearing to be conducted in
Lawrence to prove her statements
that women worked SIS hours a week
in the mills, that some received as
low as So to "a a week, and in many
instances were forced to get up at
4 a. m. to care for the families be-
fore going to work. Meade eyaded
the public hearing challenge.
Bloch Speaks for JobIess.
Speaking after Croll, Anna Bloch,
who is now under 81 900 bond by the
immigration authorities for activities
in the National Hunger March ex-
posed forced labor conditions under
which the unemployed are forced to
work for private employers in return
for miserable and inadequate relief.
She laid the basis for the presenta-
ton Of demands for the unemployed.
The delegates warned against Ely's
statement in the opening speech at
the conference, when he stated that
his proposal for the moratorium" on
labor laws was made Sin a moment
Of desperation =. q suggestion /
do not now uphold"
Sighting this retreat on the part
Of Ely as most significant of the ef-
fectiveness Of mass pressure devel-
oped by united labor action, the
workers representatives, nevertheless,
warned the workers not to be thrown
of guard by Ely's declaration and to
intensity the fight for the demands
which they left with the officials.
United Labor Demands.
The demands presented by Croll
and Bloch in behalf of the United
Front labor conference include the
following:
Unemployment insurance and
immediate relief in the form Of $50
cash payment for each unemployed
and $40 additional for each depend
ent.
2.-Reduction of hours Of labor
without reduction in pay. Against any
Share.the work schemes.
3.--Against forced labor--that 1t
should be made unlawful to require
unemployed workers to work In re-
turn for "relief" on public or private
projects. Instead, union wages to be
paid for all work done.
4.--Asair1st Ely's proposal for the