The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-16
The Steel Workers And
Capitalist Democracy

A REMARKABLE lesson in the real
Il meaning of capitalist democracy is now
being enacted in the struggles taking place
around the preparations for the steel
strike.
About 100000 steel workers want
little more money in their weekly pay en-
welcomes to buy more food and clothes for their
hungry and miserable families. They want some
lessening of the killing drive that burns the men
nm in the mills. They want recognition of their
union That IS all.
But against these steel workers fighting for bread
and better life swiftly lines up the whole brutal
power of the capitalist dictatorship and its sup
porters
The steel workers cannot meet-the steel trust
thugs and state deputies break up meetings. The
steel workers have no press except the press of the
revolutionary movement. The capitalist press IN
every CITY is pouring SANDER and poison upon the
steel workers. The radio, controlled by the very
same j. P. Morgan which controls the steel corpora
tion is a sluice of hatred and vciousness against
the steel workers fighting for bread The movies
are all set to picture the "barbarsm and riot" Of
the steel workers
ROOSEVELT the leading figure of the Federal
new bill maneuver At the same time he has the
troops ready to murder the steel workers as they
were murdered at Toledo and Minneapolis, Frisco
and New Orleans.
The State government warns against picketing
and mobilizes its militia against the steel workers
The mayor Of Pittsburgh, McNair threatens all
workers who picket with immediate arrest. The steel
workers cannot congregate
AS for the big democratic" parties the Demo-
cratic Party is the party Of Roosevelt the strike
breaker, and Senator Wagner (Denl0, sponsors an
other strike breaking trap in his new bill.
The Republican Party is the party of the Steel
Trust with closest ties to the steel barons. Mellon,
schwab and the rest are heavy contributors to the
Republican Party.
And the Socialist Party does its bit to kill the
steel strike by maintaining a cold silence on the
militancy of the men. and the strike breaking
treechery Of the A. F. of L. leadership Little less
than year ago, Norman Thomas sang hymns Of
praise to William Green for his manuevers around
the steel code Now William Green is called in to
break the steel strike. And Thomas is silent
CAPITALIST democracy is seen to be nothing but
Y the cloak that conceals the fact that every CAPT
talist government no matter Of what form or kind,
Is dictatorship in the interests of the ruling class
Literally, less than score of rich steel Trust
magnates have the entire force of the State power
modified behind them to protect their prohts
against the demands of more than half million
steel wori.ers. A handful Expresses the vast ma
iority under this democratic capitalist govern
ment.
al this mobilization of the Roosevelt govern
ment, the N.RA slave codes, the strike breaking
Intervention of the government the tie-up of the
A. F. of L. officialdom with the capitalist State
power-all this is the evidence of the steady march
which the American ruling class is making to-
ward open fascism.
Only under proletarian dictatorship where the
working class owns. the factories, the press the
meeting halls and controls the entire government
apparatus can the workers have real democracy.
The steel workers can win against this line
mp Of interests defending the steel mcnopolies
only if they weld their unbreakabe unity in the
mills. Unity and strike action win the steel
workers demands. The fight against the Steel
Trust becomes a fight against the Wall Street
dictatorship for real working class democracy.