The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-07-25
BY DAVID RAMSEY
Science" Does It's Bit

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Science" Does It's Bit
BOURGEOIS scientists are always
y making the point that science is
above" such things as class battles
This is, of course, the rankest kind
Of balyhoo, designed to conceal the
truth that whenever it is thought
necessary science is fagged in to
front for capitalist brutality and
terror. Last week, when a wave of
anti-working-claSs hysteria was let
loose in the kept press, the science
news writers also did their little bit
for capitalism.
Science Service" is a national
agency, with headquarters in Wash
ington, that supplies hundreds of
newspapers with science news.
Science Service used consistently
in your newspaper will build reader
confidence" On the second day Of
the San Francisco general strike,
July IT, it sent out a story which
was played up prominently by the
liberal Scripps-Howard paper, the
Washington Daily News:
From the viewpoint of science,
civil strife such as grips San Fran
cisco represents a great waste Of
time and effort" Notice that the
story does not say that it is some
hack who is speaking. Instead it is
made to appear that it is Science"
proclaiming that strikes are nothing
but social waste"
The story goes on to invent a new
scientific" theory of hunger. It
seems that "the greatest hazard is
perhaps psychological The fear of
being without food will probably be
more dangerous than actual lack of
food" Strikers and unemployed
workers will be cheered by the news
that lit might even do many people
good to eat little less food than
some Of them have been eating"
BY eating nothing at all, they could
perhaps master their fear" of being
without food, and then there would
be no need of striking Cor living, for
that natter.
Science" having raised its hands
in horror at the notion that workers
should fight for their rights, and
having explained to them why hum
ger is beneficial, concluded its little
contribution by condoning the use
Of gas against workers. THE use
Of tear gas in control of mobs by
the military will probably save
many lives, since it is easier to dry
tears than mend bullet holes" This
is the same kind Of logic" that
chemists use when they explain that
poison gas is the remedy for unem-
ployment, fiat feet, tuberculosis,
badness and impotence.
This horrible and inhuman argu-
ment is repeated by our almighty
Science" but in speaking of the
therapeutic qualities Of gases he
forgets himself and says: "Nauseat-
ing gas may be used before bullets
are resorted to, although this gas,
which causes severe vomiting, may
cause death m the cases of those
with weak hearts" He does not
add that a severe dose would kill
almost anybody.
Conquering Nature
IN THE SOVIET UNION the work
1 ers demonstrate daily that the
Soviets plus science make for prog
ress and socialism. Every achieve
ment Of the Second Five-Year Plan
has, as one of its bases, a new
achievement in science and tech
nology.
The victory of Dnieprostroy made
tie Russian workers determined to
free the Soviet Union from the
necessity of using foreign experts
and techniques in the construction
Of hydroelectric stations. That they
are making considerable progress
towards this goal is evident from
the news that the worlds largest
hydraulic laboratory has been estab-
lished near Leningrad. The Research
Institute in Hydro Technics is the
result of the merger of eleven fully
equipped hydraulic laboratories. In
the buildings of the Institute are to
be found the most modern instru-
ments and devices many of them
invented by its research staff.
The Institute has successfully de-
veloped an ingenious method of