The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-07
TrOtzkyiteS Knife
Minneapolis Strike
Continued from Page y

by confusing them and antagoniz-
ing them against the Communist
Party. Instead of warning the
workers against the military forces
that would be useed in the strike,
they helped to create the illusions
in the minds of the workers that
Olson would send the Guardsmen
to stop the scab trucks.
On Wednesday, the second day
of the strike, when Olson had al
ready placed troops in the city, the
Communist Party again issued a
statement which was distributed to
the strikers in which the Com
munist Party took up the following
points: Cd The strike must be
broadened Immediately. The union
must call out the petroleum work.
ers, who are under its jurisdiction.
The union must work for spreading
the strike to all commercial trans
portation. (2) The union must i'm
mediately appeal to the other local
unions to take up the question of
sympathy strike with the drivers,
concluding in the following man
ner:
THE drivers are fighting the
battle of every working man in
Minneapolis. Every working man
must be called upon now to join
the BATTLE
Against the Troops.
90 Compel Olson to withdraw
the troops from Minneapolis. We
quote from this statement:
THE troops are here to intimi-
date the strikers and all Mime
apolis workers. Bullets, bayonets
and poison gas are held in store
for the drivers and the other
workers and
The Organizer, Daily Strike
Bulletin Of local 574, finally ad-
mits this fact, but mere talk will
not prevent events such as han
pened in Toledo and San Fran
cisco. Do we want to see our
pickets drowned in blood from
bullet and bayOnet wounds de-
hvered to them by Olsons troops?
Ii we say no, we must act now.
We propose united action of the
organized labor unions and unem-
ployed organizations, workers fra
ternal and political organizations.
to stage the biggest demonstration
Of labor in Minneapolis, and, if
necessary to march to the Capitol
IN st. Paul, to present mighty
demand for the withdrawal of the
troops
The Communist Party sent out a
letter to local STA, to the Central
Labor Union and the Socialist
Party, asking for joint committee
to undertake such action. Again
local STA, together with the Central
Labor Union and the Socialist PARTY.
ignored this call and again the
leadership of STA instructed the
drivers to chase away the Commu-
nistS who distributed literature from
the strike headquarters.
Strikers Shot Down
On Friday, July goth, the warn
ings Of the Communist Party and
the need for such action as proposed
in the bulletin, proved itself in prac-
tice. More than fifty workers were
shot in Market Place on Third
Street and Sixth Avenue North. Due
to the narroWness Of the strike. only
about 300 to 400 pickets could be
rallied to this place where the en-
ployers made a concentrated move
to run scab trucks. Police Chief
Johannes instructed his police to
shoot to kill, and armed them with
shotguns.
The shooting of strikers by the
police was certainly encouraged by
the fact that the picket line was
small and the fact that Olson's
troops were ready at a minutes
notice to come to the assistance of
Johannes police. After this shoot
ing, that has already taken the lives
of two pickets and crippled num-
Der Of them for life, the Communist
Party again issued a statement
which was distributed to the work
ers in Minneapolis, in which the
Party called upon the workers and
all unions to organize a General
Strike as an answer to this bloody
attack Of the Citizens Alliance.
The DUNES Oppose General Strike
Again the Trotskyist leadership of
local STA answered in the negative
to this call. On Friday night at the
big protest meeting against the
shooting, under the auspices of the
union, Myles and Vincent Dunno
nrncla irned that thar mara MT Co.