Montana labor news., 1935-11-28
People Front
Thunders Protest
AT Relief Crisis

NEW HORK-(FP)-At the largest
indoor meeting ever held in America
on unemployment relief, 10000 persons
Unemployed project workers, white
collar WORKERS, trade unionists and
social work employees massed their
organized strength at New Yorks vast
Madison Square Garden and roared
their determination that the federal
government shall not quit this bus
mess OF %relie" while millions remain
without jobs.
Similar priest meetings, though
necessarily OF a smaller scale, have
been held, OF are being planned, in
Cleveland, Chicago, ST. Louis and
many other Giles, as the flood of popu-
lar indignation rises throughout the
nation against reactionary bankers and
Liberty Leagusrs.
Time after lime at Madison Square
Garden, as spokesman for the city's two
largest unemployed organizations voic-
ed the refusal Of their members to
starve, as a trade union official call
ed for union wages on WPA, as the
chairman Of the City Projects Council
declared, Our collars may be white but
our blood is red" or as the fighting
congressman, Vito Marcantonio, de-
clared he would demand a Congress-
ional investigation of "chiseling on hui
man miseri" in New York's relief set
up, the ~raiters reverberated with ap-
|plause. Tha applause turned to ming
led laughte- and ominous kissing as
New York's mayor was dubbed "Dr.
J ekyll and Mr.. LaGuardia" for making
radical species at Washington while
he cuts down relief at home.
The climax Of the occasion was re-
ached as tie fighting M%arcantonio
shouted Il % longer place any faith
in legislative iction for the unemploy-
ed. | prefer o rest our case, the case
OF the worker and unemployed of New
York, Of the people of the United
States | refer to leave it in the
hands of the eople, in the hands Of the
Peoples Frot. The people will rem
ember this light, the night of Nov
ember 20. br tonight the Peoples
Front is give birth in Madison Square
Garden"
At the refeence to building in Amer
lea a countenart of the league Of pro-
gressive and radical forces which, in
France, has trned the tide against Fas-
cism and ~reation after these evil for
ces threatend to engulf the country,
the entire 1000 listeners rose to their
feet, waving ats and cheering wildly.
Special signicance attaches to these
protest assemblies, in New York and
elsewhere, if My because Of the soil
darity they arbuilding between the or
ganized unemployed, on the one hand,
and organize r%ank-and-file social
workers on TIL other,
Hitherto the determination which is
a necessary coalition for the economic
salvation Of bth groups has been
hampered by til unemployed's distrust
of white collar Investigators" and the
social workers exaggerated pride in
professional statu. One was on the
receiving end, The other on the giving
end. But now, viii social workers fac
ing wholesale laoffs and the unem-
ployed drastic REEF cuts, both groups
are coming to rAlize they must stick
together. If thy don't, they will be
out in the coldtogether - and there
will be no receiing end to get on.
In New Yos, Emergency Relief
Bureau higherus, panic-stricken at the
prospect OF thei employees making com
mon cause wit those they are suppos-
ed to hold down to the least possible
relief, had fcbidden all contact be-
tween the twt groups outside the line
of official dut.
But the 200 members of the Work
ers in Public Ielief Agencies, who have
been putting ID a gallant fight for ade-
quate relief md against dismissal OF
1000 Of their members, were not to be
bluffed, and trned out in force at the
Madison Square Garden affair, rubbing
elbows with hose to whom they give
relief. Both groups knew they had
common interest in fighting those
1900 layoffs, while $4,000 relief appli-
cations have piled up untouched fol
lack of edeqiate staff to investigate
them. victories of the organized WPA
projects workers have taught then
what can be done.