The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-09-22

CATION which recently called on
Gov. Ely Of Massachusetts to de
mand cessation of the terror
against striking textile workers
and for the right TO strike and
picket. The delegation included
prominent writers, ministers and
leading intellectuals. - Editors
Note.
By JOHN WHEELWRTGHT
I WENT to talk to Governor Ely.
l says he is all for happiness, the
happiness of textile workers on
strike, the happiness Of textile work
ers who won't go on strike, the hap
piness of the operators and the
owners of textile mills. He is for
eVerybody's happiness,-not neces-
sarily for prosperity (Which comes
and goes and which no one can call
back now but for happiness, just
for happiness.
To bring happiness to New Eng
land, he is ready to call out the
National Guard. Capitalism, among
all conceivable economic systems,
brings the greatest happiness to the
greatest number, he believes. 1t has
its faults, such as unemployment,
and to set it right Governor Ely
is prepared to call out the National
Guard. He is determined to protect
the workers right to work. Now
that sounds good-but, just a
minute, what does His Excellency
mean.
He means, and says he means
that if the operators Of textile mill
Che has some in mind) give him as
surance that the majority Of its
workers are content to work under
present conditions, then, he, Cover
nor Ely, considers it his duty to see
that they get to work, under an
armed guard.
THAT may sound fair enough-the
protection of the rights Of indi-
yiduals and all that; but to any one
who knows anything ABOUT trade
unionism, it is just as anarchist as
the claim that the National Guard
should be called out to protect the
preference of the ajority Of some
town or county for Republican
Governor when the organized
voters had elected a Democrat to
office. What would happen to The
political will of the majority then?
Just the same thing that would
happen to the trade unionists' right
to collective bargaining if Governor
Ely had his way.
He maintains that if some work
ers in a mill want to strike and want
to persuade all the others to do SO,
they have absolutely no right to
call in the aid of strikers in any
other mill or town to help them.
He considers this an interference
with the right to work It's about
as much interference as ward heel
ing from block to block in any
given precinct is an interference
with the right to vote; but it may
go down with any one who doesn't
know anything about trade union
ism.
How in the world, when every
mill is in competition with every
other mill, can wages be kept up in
one town when they are kept down
in another town? They can't.
Organized workers have got to sell
their ideas" to organized workers,
no matter whether they live in the
same county, town, block, or some
other block, county, or state-of
nation for that matter. Governor
Ely's ideas are about as sensible as
the idea that he could outlaw q
salesman for union-made cigarette
who approached the smoker Of a
non-union cigarette.
OUT the matter is more serious.
- Imagine the intimidation that
will go on while the operators are
counting the votes Of the workers
who want to avail themselves Of
Ely's right to work" Imagine the
pressure put upon the possible
minority who declare for their right
to strike. And finally, imagine the
intimidation of any who may change
their minds with the passage Of
time.
Governor Ely says he is all for
happiness, the happiness of rugged
individuals, of workers rugged
enough to stand for the speed up
and the hours that other workers
are too rugged to stand for. Strikers
have the right to bargain collec-
lively, Oh yes, but scabs have the
right to work" AS these two
rights contradict each other, the
National Guard must be called out
to protect scabs.
Governor Ely's plan to protect
work is nothing more or less than
plan to force woodwork under
any old conditions, work at the
point of the bayonet, and the threat
Of the bomb. The happiness which
Ely would bring to the Common
wealth of Massachusetts is the hap
r.ness Of the slave.
Workers School Holds