The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-11-25
THE TURNING POINT
An Incident in a ReVoIutiontst's Life
BY ALLAN GILES,

The following is an incident
which brought the reality of the
capitalist state power as the enemy
of the working class before mill
one had to live in his house, eat in
| today, tweniy-siX years later, is
member of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party, and whose
50th birthday and 30th year in the
revolutionary movement will be
celebrated at banquet in his honor
in Irving Plaza Hall tonight.
1T was in 1907. In the postcard
landscape country around Lake
Geneva, bread was Scarce--that is,
scarce for those who made it. The
BARRIERS of Lausanne had gone out on
strike. Theirs was not only prob
lem of bread. Work for a boss and
one had to lvie in his house, eat in
his house, have ones laundry done
in his house and have ones wages re-
duced accordingly.
The barber shops Of Lausanne, as
in other cities of Switzerland at that
time, were the centers Of working
class thought. Many problems were
thrashed out but never really settled.
Revolution against the existing order
of things was continually discussed.
OF course, the workers sensed and
instinctively felt that the capitalist
state (they more often used the word
government than statel was not their
own. But even in the heated con-
versation of the barber shops, they
seldom mentioned Marx.
A 24-year old youth was one OF
the leaders in the BARRIERS strike.
An apprentice at thirteen, born in
Germany, he was member Of the
Social democratic Party of Switzer-
land. 1t was unusual for foreign
born workers to be admitted to MEM
bership. The German, Austrian and
Hungarian Socialists had their own
organization in Switzerland. But the
tWenty-four year old German who
was already known in the gentle
mems press as that damn agitator,"
belonged to the Swiss Party. Other
wise though, there were no stringent
rules on who could or could not be-
long to the cial-Denocratci Party.
The head of the barber shop own
ars' organization of Switzerland was
also a member of the Social-Demo-
cracy. He was leading the opposi-
lion against the strikers at the same
time.
The strike became general strike.
/ i,1rr that orIxy f1J.il K1rn1slF
ers plastered the city Of Lausanne
with strike proclamations. Mechanics
dropped their tools, painters left
their scaffolds hanging in mid air,
the chocolate workers of the large
Peter Kohler Co. plants came out
to a man and struck.
The beautiful hills and mountains,
the woodlands of long needle-like
trees and the soft spring air hid
the welding Of police truncheons and
the flow of workers blood. Almost
every worker in the French section
was out.
viva la grove general" the shout
was taken up by constantly swelling
groups of marching workers. The
Big Hall and the Peoples House,
where the BARRIERS piled their trade
against the bosses during the strike,
became the center for the masses.
Lines Of marchers poured in around
the Peoples House. But they could
not get in. The back sections of the
crowds could not see that surround
ing the center was line of bust
ness-like steel bayonets. The gov
eminent had sent out the recruits,
It was against their own law, which
specifically stated that workers had
the right to enter their own hall.
The law also stated that recruits,
who were youths conscripted into