The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-18
Labor Defense To
Celebrate Ninth
Birthday June 20
Trade Unions To Greet
Organization Which
Aids Struggles

An event of the utmost import
ance to all trade union members in
New York will be the celebration
of the Ninth Anniversary of the
International Labor Defense at
Manhattan Lyceum on Friday, June
18th.
The program of the I. L. D. is
that of defense of democratic rights
of the broad masses of workers
against every encroachment on the
rights now granted them by bour-
geois democracy and for the extern
sion of these rights to full working
class democracy.
1t fights for the rights of work.
ers and for the right and equality
of the Negro people, against jim
crowism, discrimination, and seq
regation. 1t fights for the right
to organize, to strike, to picket,
against injunctions and for the
right of free speech, and assemb-
lage and freedom of the press. 1t
demands the enforcement of the
Constitutional guarantees for the
fulfillment of the Bill of Rights
and Of the Is, IA and Is Amend
ments to the Constitution.
1t becomes increasingly clear as
each day goes by that the coordi-
nation of the work of the trade
union and the program of the In
ternational Labor Defense is of
paramount Importance to the strug-
gle for the right to organize, to
strike, to picket, and to fight against
injunctions.
We do not have to go into the
mechanics of q strike to understand
that when a worker is beaten or
arrested on a framed up charge,
the chances of winning the strike
are directly affected.
A lawyer is retained to fight the
case. The workers involved in the
strike pin their faith and hope on
the talent and ability of this at
torney to have the case dismissed.
The lawyer is getting a good fee
and the workers are told by their
misleaders to rely on his adroit
handling of legal technicalities.
This is the way of reformism, class
collaboration and betrayal.
If we examine a bit closer we can
discover the uselesSness and inef-
fectuality of legalistic methods.
Here is one mana lawyer-at-
tempting to argue legalism with a
Judge who represents the interests
of the bosses against the workers
and can only hand down decisions
calculated to prevent the fight for
workers rights. The lawyer, in such
a case acts as barrier to struggle
and gags the workers. In this way
he definitely becomes a part of the
scheme of class collaboration and
only tends to serve the interests
of the bosses.
The financial resources of the
union cannot hope to outbalance
the police power of arrest, which is
at the boss disposal. Arrests Of
workers are increasing every day.
The trade unions cannot depend
upon legal defense alone. They
must join in the struggle with other
workers in the fight for workers
rights. The program of the Inter-
national Labor Defense must be-
come the program of militant de-
Tense activity of the trade union.
The two cannot be separated.
Destroy ali illusions of formal legal
ism. The International Labor De-
Tense fights on the basis of broad
mass defense of all workers, poor
farmers, Negro masses, and SYM
pathetic bourgeois elements. Legal
ism is secondary to this first and
foremost necessity.
In the preparation of strikes act
(Gn1, f;a11,od an pnoa Az