The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-02-27
SOCIALISTS.
COMMUNISTS ASSAIL
LAW AGAINST TOILERS
United Front Farley
Maps Vigorous Plan
Against Measure

SPRINGFIELD, Ill, Feb. 26.-
Delegates from many trade unions.
language groups, the Socialist Party
OF Peoria, H., the Communist Party
of Illinois and other organizations
| met here in a united front con.
ference on Sunday to plan a vigor.
Gus Statewide campaign for the re.
peal of the Illinois criminal syn.
dicalism law.
Coming to the conference from
every section Of the State, in some
cases travelling hundreds of miles,
the delegate represented a real
cross section of the American
working class, including native
white and Negro men and women
and representatives from various
language groups, Greek, Scandina-
Wan, Russian, Finnish, Lithuanian,
Polish, Jewish, etc.
Unions Represented
Trade union representatives in-
cluded miners, painters, bakers,
coopers and cigarmakers from eight
American Federation of Labor Lo-
Gals, totalling some 5000 members:
the Progressive Miners Union and
its Womens Auxiliaries, together
with representatives from various
unemployed organizations.
The conference was also attended
by the Communist Councilmen of
Taylor Springs, Ill, as official rep
resentatives of the Taylor Springs
City Council. The Red Bird Base
ball Club and Firemen's Local of
Taylor Springs also sent delegates.
The conference elected a COM
mittee of ten to go before Illinois
State Legislature to demand the
repeal of the criminal syndicalist
statute.
The delegates III anim ously
pledged to mobilize. their organi-
cations for the following program:
ID holding of mass open hearings
on the law, inviting legislators from
each district to attend; ~ further
development of the campaign Of
protest resolutions to the Governor,
State Senators and Assemblynen;
80 inclusion of a Repeal the
Criminal syndicalist Law section
in every May Day celebration and
parade; "a wide, sale of. Repeal
the Criminal Syndicalist Law" but
tons.
Andrew Newhoff, District secre~
tary of the International Labor De-
tense, in the main report to the
conference pointed out that the law
threatens all workers who exercise
their constitutional rights of free
speech, press and .assemblage in
order to improve their conditions"
Delegates reviewed the wide
spread use of the criminal syndi-
calist laws since, the introduction
of the MIRA, particularly in Cali
.fornia, Oregon and Illinois; as well
as the traditional use of frame-ups
of working-class fighters and the
oppressed Negro people, such as
Mooney, Mcnamara, Billings, the
Scottsboro Boys. Protests against
these frame-ups were sent to the
responsible authorltleS ana warm
letters of solidarity to the victims
in the penitentiaries.
Assail DepOrtations
Deportations and other attacks
on foreign born workers were pro-
tested and demands made for the
dismissal of the charges against
Eric Becker and Fred Werrman
facing deportation to Na1 Ger
many.
Other anti-labor laws, now being
introduced in the Illinois State
Legislature and the U. S. Congress,
such as the "pauper laws" de-
mands for teachers to take the
patriotism OATH" etc, were pro-
tested by the conference.
Delegates to the conference car
rid on a sharp fight against the
practices of jim-crowism and seq
regation with which the State cap
ital, Springfield, is infested, and
compelled several jim-crow restau-
rants to serve the Negro delegates.