The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-05-24
By MARGUERITE YOUNG

D9 4OON0
COME two hundred seamen
~ faced Maryland Relief Di-
rector Greenstein's desk, but
instead of the charity expert,
a seamen sat in the officials
chair. Marine workers were
conducting a mock trial of
Greenstein in his own office! The
seaman in Grenstein's chair was the
Judge" Others we're impersonat-
ing Defendant Greenstein," the
Prosecutor" and the Defense
Counsel" All the rest were the
Jury"
we charge the defendant as a
strike breaker
"Objection!" exclaims the De
tense Counsel" My client is the
seamen's friend, Your Honor Have
you not heard him say SOP"
Indeed Greenstein himself had
just said so in this same office. The
seamen had marched en- masse to
demand that he return their beds,
their food, their gas. He had re-
piled, God bless your efforts, but,
gentlemen, I can do nothing until
you re-register and submit to the
program we have proposed. .
Gentlemen, divorce your relief prob
lem from your economic questions,
your controversies with the ship
owners. I say God bless your
efforts-dont smile-to better your
conditions with the shipowners, but
you. gentlemen. will have to sub
nit"
Finally Grenstein had declared,
Washington has ordered me to
eviet you from the project at any
cost but I am the seamen's
friend. 1 don't want to use force. :"
Then, said Greenstein, he would
leave them to attend a meeting of
the State Relief Commission. They
agreed, but warned they would wait
for him to return. First, however,
they demanded that Greenstein or
der out of the room two uniformed
policemen who stood on guard.
The mock trial continued.
Your Honor, can the seamen
really be so miserable?" asked the
marine worker, irnpersonating
Greenstein.
A Letter Is Found
mol MOL" the aman-defense-
counsel interrupted. Why, unem-
ployed seamen never enjoyed such
standards as developed right here
in Baltimore under worker control
of relief. And my client now offers
them work at 80 cents for q hours. "
The seaman-prosecutor, mean
while, had noticed lying on the desk
letter to Dear Harry from
Maurice Lewis, former Federal
Transient Relief Director, who had
left his post after conceding the
seamen's demands, and who also
had been held UP to the seamen as
your friend" The prosecutor i'm
mediately introduces the letter in
evidence, reading:
Dear Harry: Thanks for your
letter relative to the Baltimore
seamen's situation. ] am very
glad that you had decided to re-
frain from precipitating any clash.
1t seems to me that you can easily
keep this position. While the men
may be in possession Of the prem
ises they are there as trespassers,
but 1 do believe you can afford to
permit them to remain for a
while. If your present relief pol
icy, which requires treatment on
an individual basis of need works
out, the matter should take care
of itself.
'Tf it is not accepted by the
men, it will be necessary for them
to become the aggresscrs, and l
would certainly keep the situation
on that basis. l still believe that
a work relief policy would ease
UP the tension, but their leader
ship does not want to accept the
suggestion that the men work
and maintain themselves with
their earnings in the shelter If
necessary. ! had long talk with
the National Secretary Of the NJ.
w. !. U. last Friday after you
called me, in an attempt to find
some ground upon which both
sides could stand. He frankly ad-
mitted that they don't want force,
but rather than make any con-
cessions they would chance losing
everything gained thus far. ="
Just as the seamen-jury shouted
Guilty" 20 policemen entered, fol.
lowed by Greenstein. The building
had been surrounded. There WERE
motorcycles, patrol wagons, sixty
club-swinging, pistol-carrying cops
Greenstein ordered the men out
They answered with a quotation
from the Lewis letter and, declar.
ing they would not be provoked
marched perfectly disciplined dowr
the four flights of stairs, through