The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-10
Socialist Leader, WaJdman---
The ''PatriOtic NRA Critic" at
Gen. JohnsOn's Round Up"
''We Feel That NRA Is Distinct Step Forward, -
He Tells General Johnson, Sand Must Be
Regarded Important Social legislation

President Roosevelt, General John
son, and the A P. of L. officialdom
that followed the hearings, wsld-
man said:
I take at face value the state
ment made by the Administration
that these hearings are really in
tended to receive honest, fair and
just criticism, and then to pay at
tention, giving Que weight both to
the facts and to the argument be-
hind the facts"
This accepting at face value" all
the demagogy of the Roosevelt re-
gime, which has already led to the
shameless slashing of workers liv-
ing standard, is the manner in
which the Socialist Party tries to
keep the workers chained to the
promises of the bosses; to keep them
from struggling, or preparing for
struggle.
When Roosevelt says he Is not
developing fascisn, the Socialist
leaders take this also at its face
value" and keep the workers from
forming united front against the
rapidly increasing fascist measures
Of the New Deal
The latest issue of the New
Leader" March 10, which features
as its main article report on
Waldman's appearance before the
N. r. A. hearings, fails to print his
ballyhoo for the N. r. A. mo Gain
for Workers Under the N. r. A."
reads the headline. But nothing is
said about what the New Leader
told the workers they would gain
when the N. R. A. was passed.
On the same page In which wald-
mans patriotic" recommendations
for the N. r. A. are printed, Nor
man Thomas takes occasion to boost
President Roosevelt. Since no gains
were made by the workers under
the N. r. A, Reverend Thomas does
not want the workers to become
wrathful with the Wall Street rep
resentative Roosevelt. Hence he
declares: 1--WE may criticise this or
that act Of the Administration, or
its failure to act, but one is no
realist at all who fails to realize
that Mr.. Roosevelt has done better
than we had a right to expect a
Democratic president to do under
capitalism"
That Roosevelt smashed the
workers living standard down
through the N. r. A. would be I'M
polite to mention, according to
Norman Thomas, who takes up the
laboring oar to keep Roosevelts
shameless demagogy moving swiftly,
The New Leader features Wald-
mans proposals to add more labor
representation to the N. r. A., the
kind, for instance, that General
Johnson favors when he told "the
gentlemen who control industry, "
that the A. F. of L. leaders 'in-
terests are your interestsp
He wants tn e compliance
machinery" strengthened. Perhaps
more strength such as was used to
make the Weirton, Budd, Ford, Mil
waukee utility, and others, to COM
ply with strikebreaking orders.
Where he asks for reduction in
work hours per week" he does not
follow with even the demagogic
phrase of Roosevelt about wage in
creases. He leaves that to later
point where he suggests wages
shall be substantially increased"
Since this is the same palaver that
both Roosevelt and johnson dish
out it is in line with the whole
practice of the N. R. A. But when
it comes to strikes, to organization,
to struggle against the N. R. A.
codes, in the spirit of preserving
economic peace" the New Leader
is silent.
Through all Of the criticism" of
the Socialist leaders, two major
points stand out. First, they want
to shield their role in helping the
Roosevelt regime fasten the most
slavish codes, and oppressive strike-
breaking instruments, the yellow
dog company unions, on the work.