The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-27
Plan Fight for Worker
Control of Seamens
Relief
BY a Seaman Correspondent

NEW ORLEANS. April 26.-At A
mass meeting held by the Marina
Workers Industrial Union here last
week to protest against the federal
goTe-nment's taking the relief out
Of the hands Of Baltimore seamen.
1t was voted by al present to send
wires and letters Of protest to Presi-
dent Roosevelt, Administrator Hop-
klnS and Baltimore local authorities,
It was also agreed upon to put
forth Immediately all efforts TO es-
tablish seamen's relief-control here,
AL persons present, showed their
determination to back the Balti-
more seamen BY taking prompt ac-
ton against Federal Administrator
Early Of the Emergency Relief in
his policies Of starvation and forced
labor for the searnen Of this port.
80 Cents Relief" to searicn
Administrator Early cos his train
Ing in starving the workers curing
ten years in which he served as
head Of the Community Chest in
Birmingham. He is the man who
invented forced labor for the unem-
ployed in this country, and put it
into practice in Birmingham over
three years ago with the aid Of spe-
cial donations from wealthy indus
trialists, without even waiting for
a grant to be voted by the City
Council. Policemen carried the
workshops out to the first group Of
men who were selected. From
these great deeds, the United States
Government saw that Early could
be very useful, so he was given a
free hand in experimenting with
the lives of the unemployed in
Louisiana, where more than a
third Of the population was de-
pendent upon relief Due to being
used for experimental purposes, the
seamen in the port Of New orleans
suffer all the more. The present
experiment consists in finding out
how long sailors can live on 90
cents a week, with forced-labor at
tachedl
A seaman who took part in the
Baltimore struggles for control Of
relief described to the members of
the New Orleans local the steps by
which the Baltimore victory was
won, carefully pointing out the
mistakes made in Baltimore so that
these could be avoided here in the
course Of a similar fight.
Circulate Petitions
AS the first steps to be taken. he
proposed circulating two petitions,
The first to all seamen en-
ployed and unemployed, contained
straight Genial that any relief
was being given to seamen in this
port and a statement that the
Starvation policy here in New Or
leans, with forced labor in the bar
gain, is a disgrace and an insult
The second asked all businessmen
and concerns in the vicinity Of the
waterfront who know the seamen's
needs and conditions. to back their
demands for better conditions. One
solid demand in this is, that sea-
men be provided housing and food
in one or more buildings on the
waterfront, instead of being scat
tered all over the city as they are
now, separated from each other and
removed from the possibility Of
finding jobs.
Demand Workers Control
These proposals met with warm
response, and committee was
elected on the spot to draw up the
demands, with the entire mass
meeting volunteering to cooperate
in putting the program over. The
Baltimore speaker warned them
that different methods would be
used in attempting to break down
their morale and their program,
but that a militant front would
carry them through. The seamen
greeted this with shouts: Wen see
it through"
The entire meeting was then
turned into a delegation, to visit
and welcome the Soviet ship Kim
which had docked in New Orleans
about an hour earlier. The del
egates were met by Soviet sailors,
who showed them conditions aboard
a workers ship from a workers
country. They left the ship more
than ever determined to back the
Baltimore seamen and to carry out
the plans adopted at the meeting
few hours before.