The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-22
NAZI DIFFICULTIES GROW

a few million marks, have Just Suf-
fered a decrease of As millions ow-
ing to the payments made on Ger
man trade debts to Britain as pre-
scribed by the Anglo-German COM
mercial agreement.
Unemployment Figures
AS to the unemployment figures,
the official faxed statistics have be-
come very modest indeed and do
not go beyond the statement that
unemployment has dropped to g.
268,000 in October lie, has decreased
by $4,000. According to the health
insurance figures, the number of
workers employed is supposed to
have risen from 155 millions at the
end of June to 1876 millions at
the end of September. Everybody
knows how these figures are pro-
duced!
Hours are shortened without a
corresponding increase in wages,
unemployed men are put to work
and wages all round are hardly
higher than unemployment pay; I'M
der the new labor legislation, men
under Is are dismissed, sent to do
task work as land helpers" in the
rural areas, but are registered as
employed, while unemployed men
are put to work to take their places
in the shops. Men doing task work
for unemployment benefit are also
registered as employed. Unemployed
men who are disallowed benefit are
struck off the lists of the labor ex-
changes and cease to figure in un-
employment statistics. This is how
the brown unemployment figures
are cooked.
Discomfort Increasing
THE discomfort among the work
ers is increasing. The attacks of
the employers, the wage cuts, the
curtailment of the social services,
the heavy taxes, the voluntary con-
tributions" rackets, the rise in food
prices, the fascist labor legislation
all the measures by which Hit
Ter vainly attempts to remedy the
crisis according to the wishes of big
business-have increased the oppo-
sition of the workers.
A wave of resistance has COM
menced in the shops. At Siemen's
the workers united action has in
nearly every department beaten
back an attempt to cut wages by
means of cut in piecework prices.
In one department a wage increase
was won. At Bemberg's in the
Wupper valley the workers of the
largest department elected a dele
cation Of six -four of whom were
Storm Troopers) to interview the
manager about wage cuts. The
delegation saw the manager and
protested against the cut. The
manager snapped at the four
Storm Troopers and refused to hear
the delegation. The department
Immediately stopped work. After
an hour the management climbed
down and said it would commune
cate with the authorities. A fort
night later the management at
tempted fresh attack. The work
ers in the twisting department
again stopped work and demon
strated in all the other depart
mentS. Communist mobilization anc
! the formation of a united front ir
this struggle led to victory. The
strike lasted only an hour and g
half: then the management re-
voked its decision.
At the Stricken shipyards il
Hamburg the management rulee
that an hour lost through com
pulSory attendance at speech
made by Hitler should be made, w
by starting work an hour earlier or
one of the following days. The
watchword given by the Commu
niSts, mo man comes in earlier
than usual" was unanimously fol
lowed by the entire staff of 70t
men; not one of them came il
earlier, and the impression mad,
by this unity of action was so grea
that the management refrainet
from deducting the hours wage a
intended.
In Velbert (Rhine district TIN
management put the harvest festi
val badge into the pay envelope o
each and deducted the correspond
ing amount from his wages. Tn,
men marched together to the man
ayers office and insisted on being
given their money. Only yer.
few men did not join in this actor
and the next day three neighbor
ing shops followed their example.
In an arms factory at Suhl tn
German Labor Front had called