The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-24
Unemployment
Councils Lead
demonstration
Men, Women, Children
dubbed When They
Ask for Hearing
BY JOE BOUCHER

SCRANTON, Pa, Aug. %. - Fiji
teen hundred unemployed miners
and their wives and children, under
the leadership of the Lackawanna
County Unemployment Councils,
marched on the relief headquarters
here Tuesday. The workers, who
came to present their relief de-
mands after the refusal of the re-
lief heads to address a meeting at
the courthouse, were attacked by
more than 100 police.
Before the march on the relief
Offices, more than 1000 workers and
their wives and children, some of
whom had walked six to eight miles
from the surrounding towns, par
AIDED through the streets of Scran-
ton. Arriving at the courthouse, an
open public hearing was held on
relief in Lackawana County.
At the public hearing, mothers of
large families, homeless single
workers and unemployed miners on
relief testified against the starva-
ton relief and the eviction and
hunger policy of the relief admin
istration.
Officials Stay Away
Although registered letters had
been sent to the directors of the
county relief board, to Mayor Davis
Of Scranton, and to state relief di-
rector Eric Biddle to appear before
the workers at'the public hearing,
they did not put in their appear
ance.
A motion was unanimously passed
that since the relief officials had re-
fused to attend the public hearing,
the workers would march on the
relief headquarters and present
their demands as follows:
THAT county relief board
chairman Byers meet with the COM
mittees of the Unemployment
Councils. $3.50
2-The reinstatement Of two
single workers who three weeks be-
fore had been thrown out of the
Salvation Army shelter for organ
national activities.
3-The removal of Byers from the
relief board.
Immediate payment of rent for
a family of nine from Dickson City
who were to be evicted.
Selection of the relief board by
the workers of Lackawana County.
The workers massed in orderly
ranks and marched on the county
relief offices. Although he at first
refused to meet with the workers
committee, Byers agreed to meet
with a committee of two, then five.
The workers demanded that he
meet with the full committee of fif-
teen, a right they had won through
previous demonstrations
Police Attack With Clubs
Byers declared that he would give
them fifteen minutes to decide on
committee of five, but before the
committee was able to put it to
the workers for a vote, one hundred
police. armed with riot clubs, at
tackled the meeting. clubbing men,
women and children.
The workers of LackaWanna
County, under the leadership of the
Unemployment Councils, are pre-
pairing for a mass demonstration
and march on Labor Day The city
officials have already denied per-
nit for this day, and the local
papers, in commenting on it, state
that the demonstration this week
~is likely to be the last demonstra-
ton to be made by the Councils
with the permission of the city au-
thorities." In refusing the permit, |
director of public safety j. T. Han
lon. after meeting with Mayor
Davis. said Labor Day has been
set aside for organized labor and |
is recognized as labor's day alone"
The Unemployment Councils and |
the Communist Party are prepared |
to fight this denial of the workers
rights to the streets, and the work
ers are determined to march on
Labor Day despite refusal of a per-
nit. This is the beginning of the
mass campaign here in organizing |
mass marches and delegations of |
unemployed miners and their fam
lilies in preparation for the state
hunger march in October