The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-01-16

MAYOR F. H. LAGUARDIA
ever, this caused no flutter in the
hearts of the workers of New York
City. The crowds Of relief clients
in the Home Relief Bureaus and
their families in the firetrap tene-
ments failed to stand up and cheer.
Wall Street undoubtedly appreciated
it; Mulberry Street somehow didn't
get the point.
This has been fundamental to the
entire LaGuardia regime the ere
construction" Of the city'S credit at
the expense of the broad masses of
the city's population. In plain Ian
guage, it has meant payless fur
loughs and wage cuts for municipal
employees, cutting down of essential
social services, the passage of the
sales tax-sll this in order to meet
the payments of interest to the
bankers.
What this means in practice was
shown dramatically by events with
in the relief administration. Police
terror against the unemployed at
the relief bureaus was a common
occurrence. Discharge of competent
relief workers who were active in
organizing the Home Relief Bureau
Employees Association and publicly
opposed the use of police against
the unemployed became an estab-
lished policy of the LaGuardia-
Hodson relief administration.
Words and Deeds to Negroes
The Negro masses were given
many and large promises when the
Mayor was candidate. LaGuardia
considered it the better part of
valor however, to ignore this ques-
ton in his radio speech. And for a
good reason: thousands OF Negroes
in New York are disguised with the
Jim-Crow policy Of the administra-
ton. policy covered by the slimiest
Of evasions.
The case of the Queens County
General Hospital leaps to mind.
Negro physicians, supported by
many white workers organizations,
demanded that number of Negro
doctors be placed on the staff of
the new Queens hospital. They have
consistently been given the run
around by the administration.
The Mayor is quite alert to the
growing disillusion with himself. He
is therefore pushing forward a
series of new proposals. He has
now become the champion of the
people" against the vested inter-
ests, the utilities" He will force
the reduction of rates. He will build
municipal power station. Or so
he says
The Mayor demands a low rate
of credit on Federal money loaned
the city. Boldly he demands un-
employment insurance !. when he
is far away from New York and has
a national sounding board. Here
he refused to see a delegation Of
New York workers who come ask
ing the endorsement of the Work
ers' Unemployment and Social In
surance Bill, known as H. R. 1927
IN the present session of Congress-
The "Socialistic Plaything"
We do not intend to go into a
long discussion of the spurious type
of municipal socialism" Of which
LaGuardia is an advocate. The
Daily Worker will discuss these spe-
cific proposals more at length on
some future occasion. How Social
istic" these proposals are we will let
The New York Times say. Thai
staid organ Of finance capital. writ
ing under the heading. "One Year
CT Fusion" said editorially Jan. 2
1880:
He TLaGuardia1 seems always
to want to have in hand some
socialistic plaything or other. Just
now it is a municipal power
plant"
A dangerous radical, indeed. this
man LaGuardial He must have g
"socialistic plaything,' some Social
istic" rattle to distract the atten-
ton of the masses.
This, Of course, is just a mere
whim and is understandable in a
politician who seeks to get back into
the national political arena in these
parlous times. The Times editorial
If nothing else, is understanding
LaGuardia may need a plaything
but when it comes to the banker
he laws it on the line. We quote
ut Is much to his [LaGuar-
dia's] credit that he has stood
faithfully by the agreement be-
tween the city and the bankers,
/. made before he took office. and