The daily worker., 1934-06-25

great significance to all workers
in the city.
The statement is clear
analysis of the political motives of
the charter revision movement
which masks itself behind pre-
lenses of liberalism.
The full statement follows;
STATEMENT OF THE CONINIU-
MIST PARTY ON CHARTER
REVISION
The charter revision scheme
grows out Of the LaGuardia econ
omy program. One of its basic aims
is to assure the fulfillment of the
eity-bankers' agreement which
mortgages the relief of the unem-
pleyed, the salaries and living
standards of the teachers and civil
service employees, and the standards
OF the whole working population to
the bankers. One of the chief fea-
lures of the proposed charter re-
vision is the plan for a city man
ager or commission form Of govern
n1ent.
The commission form of govern
ment would further tighten the die
tatorship of finance capital over the
city. The elective offices would be
abolished, the mayor or chief city
executive would be appointed to run
the city "in a businesslike way, like
any private corporation. Even
the sham control by the people over
the officials through their franchise
would be done away with. The
bureaucracy running the city ad-
miniStration would be still further
removed from even the remote re-
sponsibility to the electorate. This
business executive" city manager,
would have the power to appoint
all city officials, would have the
right to consolidate the bureau
cratic machine of finance capital.
Fascist Tendencies
Another important feature of the
proposed new city charter is the
system of preferential voting. The
object of this is to blur party lines,
to strengthen the demagogy of
''non-party," "non-political," non
partisan" city administration which
constitutes a further step to the
fascination Of the government. The
blurring Of party lines and the
establishment of a sort of national
concentration on a city scale is a
direct step to fascism.
The Socialist Party leadership
is directly involved in this whole
scheme for further consolidating
the bureaucratic machine of the
bankers. The Socialist leaders
work on the basis of definite
agreement with LaGuardia. 1t is
no accident that Norman Thomas,
the leader of the Socialist Party,
is chairman of the city charter
commission on proportional rep
resentation. 1t is clear that the
Socialist Party leadership sup
ported LaGIardia in the last cleo
tions in return for the promise to
participate in the kind of capi-
talist concentration city govern
ment as proposed in the new
charter
The city manager form Of gov
ernment would be an instrument for
the further fusion of the social
democracy with the state power. 1t
Is in line with the general basic
tendency of capitalism to the fas-
citation of the state. 1t proves the
social fascist character of the So
cialist Party leadership.
Another of the chief objectives of
the charter revision in line with the
basic program of capitalism for
fascination of the state power, is
the abrogation of the power of the
so-called elected representatives OF
the people-the Board of Aldermen.
Already open proposals have been
made for the abolition of the Board
of Aldermen. The dictatorial powers
demanded by LaGuardiia soon after
his election aimed at destroying all
of the existing legal safeguards of
the salaries, tenure of Office, man
datory salary increments and pen
sion funds of teachers and all civil
service employees. The compromise
with the leading circles of Tam
many which practically vested these
powers in the Board of Estimate was
the first step in disfranchising the
people, in abolishing the powers of
the elected representatives. The
Board of Estimate already has be-
come a concentrated burocratic
body, virtual dictatorial bankers
committee. The proposal to further
restrict the Board of Aldermen is
another step in carrying through
the general program of the fasciza-
ton of the state power.
~ Intensified Terrorism
It is no accident that these pro-
posals for charter revision come at
a time of intensified police terror
against the workers. The LaGuardia
open and cynical preparations to
perpetrate a blood bath on the
workers, the growing fascist incite-
ment of the police by General
O'Ryan who demands that the
police use all the force at their COM
mand" against the New York work.
ing class and threat to place charges
against any of the police force who
can't prove that they have used all
the force at their command against
the workers. 1t comes together with
the growing vile bloody incitations
throughout the capitalist press
against the working class, the fierce
brutal attacks and discrimination
against the Negroes, growth of in
functions, attacks on the revolution
ary working class press, indictment
of Hathaway and Raymond for the
grand jury, the libel charges against
the Italian paper, Unita Operaia,
etc. These are all elements of the
same program of growing fascism,