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How does he know? The Am er Published in the Interests of the Working People · THE MILITANT...

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THE MILITANT Published in the Interests of the Working People Vol. 26 - No. 9 Monday, February 26, 1962 Price 10c Steel Leaders Drop Work Week Demand By William Bundy Under the influence of the Ken- nedy administration, the leader- ship of the United Steelworkers of America has failed to raise the demand for a “shorter work week at no reduction in pay” in the negotiations which opened Feb. 14 for a new contract in the basic steel industry. For the first time in the history of the union, a federal administra- tion has intervened directly in de- termining what the union’s con- tract demands should be. The purpose of the intervention, spear- headed by Labor Secretary Arthur J. Goldberg, is to make sure that the steel union does not set a pat- tern of significant gains for the workers and most particularly that the union does not make a fight for. the shorter work week. The steel negotiations arc the most, important labor contract talks of the year. They directly concern 430,000 union members in eleven major steel companies and w ill probably set a pattern for later negotiations covering an ad- ditional 500,000 workers in metal fabricating, aluminum and other industries. Technological unemployment has hit workers in steel as hard as any in the country. In the last three years the membership of the Steelworkers Union has fallen from 1.2 m illion to about 930,000. Students Flood D.C. To Picket for Peace By Audrey Kalin Thousands of youthful pickets poured into Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 16 and 17. They went there seeking dis- armament, a halt to the civil- defense program and an immediate end to nuclear testing. The dem- onstration was sponsored by the Turn Toward Peace Student Coun- cil whose co-operating groups in - cluded student SANE and the Student Peace Union. It was the largest demonstration of its kind in years. Two Univer- sity of Indiana students were amazed “just to see so many stu- dents getting out for anything like this.” Demonstrators had come from as far away as Seattle. As busloads of singing students and college undergraduates ar- rived, they could not help but applaud themselves for the over- whelming and unexpected turn- out. Surprise Turnout Leaders reported that 1,500 par- ticipated in the demonstration on Saturday. They had expected 3,000 by Sunday afternoon but were overwhelmed by an actual turn- out of 8,000. Pickets marched before the W hite House carrying signs say- ing “Peace — the cause that re- freshes,” “ Ban the bomb,” and “ Peace is the only defense.” One of the spokesmen for the organ- izing group, David Ottaway from Harvard, said “We are the right wing of the disarmament groups. We are not pacifists. We’re not for selling out to the Russians.” In- tended to show the “respectabil- ity” of the demonstration, these views were not what brought the (Continued on Page 4) Arthur J. Goldberg In basic steel it has shrunk from 500,000 to 430,000. D uring those years, the union, and the labor movement generally, publicized the “shorter work week at no re- duction in pay” as labor’s primary answer to unemployment caused by automation. This was reflected in speeches of Steelworkers President David J. McDonald as recently as last October, and in an AFL-CIO con - vention resolution last December. But the Steelworkers Wage Policy Committee approved a negotiating program Feb. 7 that buries the issue of a shorter work week. On Jan. 23, five months before the present basic steel contract is scheduled to expire on June 30, McDonald had a private meeting in the White House with Gold- berg, President Kennedy and U.S. Steel’s R. Conrad Cooper. Immedi- ately thereafter, officials of the Steelworkers Union stopped men- tioning the shorter work week as a necessary device for alleviating automation unemployment. Goldberg — who was chief law- yer for the Steelworkers union be- fore Kennedy appointed him Sec- (Continued on Page 3) Lies Fed to American People About U. S. War in Vietnam By Harry Ring When Attorney General Robert Kennedy made a fast appearance and take-off at the Saigon airport in South Vietnam' Feb. 18, a British newsman bluntly asked him: “American boys are dying out here. Do the American people un- derstand and approve of what is going on?” The president’s brother brazenly replied: “I think the American people understand and fully sup- port this struggle.” How does he know? The Amer- ican people have not been con- sulted about the illegal commit- ment of U.S. forces in support of the Diem dictatorship in the South Vietnamese civil war. And the president himself has approved the clamping down of a censorship on news of U.S. activities in that war — a censorship directed not at keeping information from the “enemy” but designed to keep the American people in the dark about what is really going on there. U.S. correspondents have not Monroe Trial Is Postponed; N. Y. Rally Hits Frame-Up FEB. 20 — Upon motion of the prosecution the opening of the framed-up “kidnap” trial in Mon - roe, North Carolina, has been postponed till May 7. The prose- cutor stated that by then he ex- pected to have Mrs. Mae Mallory, now fighting extradition from Ohio, in the dock along with the three young men defendants, whose trial was supposed to start yesterday. Recently Governor Michael V. DiSalle of Ohio turned down Mrs. Mallory’s request that he refuse to extradite her. A last-ditch court action in Ohio, instituted by Mrs. Mallory’s attorney, Bernard A. Berkman, should be ruled on w ith- in the week. Details of the frame-up were exposed to a New York audience at the Riverside Plaza Hotel last Thursday by the three young men defendants. Defendant Harold Reape, a 17- year-old Negro youth of Monroe, described the aspirations for equality, which had led him and others in the graduating class at the Jim-Crow high school, to par - ticipate in the anti-segregation picketing that preceded the white- supremacist rioting and the “kid- nap” frame-up. Mob Attack Defendant Richard Crowder, 19-year-old Negro youth, presi- dent of the Monroe Non-Violent Action Committee, told how that group had been organized and trained in collaboration with the Freedom Riders. He recounted the Aug. 27 mob attack on the pickets and the events in the Negro com- munity when it momentarily ex- pected a Ku Klux Klan invasion. Defendant John Lowry, 20-year- old white youth from New York, said, “I went on the Freedom Rides because it is my respon- sibility . . . While in the army in Germany I was told when I went off the base always to look and act good because I represented the An Interview Trying to Vote in the Delta Takes Nerve By Fred Halstead Last month Rev. Martin Luther King announced a campaign to register Negro voters in the South. The campaign w ill include speak- ing tours of Southern states, in- cluding Mississippi, by Rev. King, urging Negroes to register. Our readers can get an idea of the importance and the difficul- ties of such a campaign from the following interview with Travis Britt, who participated last sum- mer in a voter-registration drive in the area around McComb in the Delta area of Mississippi. The drive was organized by the Stu- dent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, for which Britt was a field representative while he was in McComb. A native of North Carolina and a veteran of the Jackson Freedom Ride and Jail-In, Britt is now liv - ing in New York City, where he is chairman of the local chapter of the Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants, and where I interviewed him last week. He is 28 years old, tall, with a calm, engaging manner. To my first question of how he got in- volved in the drive in McComb, he replied: “I spent over a month in the Mississippi state prison with other Freedom Riders and there was a lot of discussion there about how the struggle should be carried on when we got out. We also got to know one another under pressure. Then, in the middle of August been barred from battle areas in order to keep the Viet Cong, as the South Vietnamese guerrillas are known, from learning that they are facing American troops. They know that already. But such cen- sorship does keep news from get- ting back here about the fact that GI’s are dying in a war not against a “foreign aggressor,” but against a native force that enjoys the support of the bulk of the popula- Norman Mailer U.S. Well, the converse is also true. People w ill judge me by what they know about the U.S.” Norman Mailer, the famous novelist, praised the Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants, which was sponsoring the meeting. Re- ferring to the chairman and three of the speakers, who were Free- dom Riders, he said: “I know it takes courage to be a Freedom Rider. I think perhaps it takes even more courage for a man like Robert F. Williams to take the kind of stand he did.” Mailer declared “ The Blacks,” a play by the Frenchman Genet, which is currently running in New York, to be one of the great dramas about the Negro people. This play, which has an all-Negro cast, some of whom impersonate whites, is unsparing in its criti- cism of white racism and colonial- ism. Southerners, Mailer said, “have accused New York artists of hiding behind the Maginot Line of the Mason-Dixon Line. Why don’t a hundred of us get together (Continued on Page 2) 1961, after most of us had been released on bail, about 180 of us had to return to Jackson at one time for arraignment in court. Mississippi was trying to make it very expensive, which it did, but it also gave us the opportunity to meet each other and talk things over, face to face, instead of through ventilators and around walls. “While in Jackson for the ar- raignment I was asked to go to McComb on the SNNC voters-reg- istration drive. Five of us Freedom Riders went down there about the same time. Altogether SNNC had eight or nine people there. Gwend- olyn Greene, who already had about six arrests to her credit in (Continued on Page 3) NEXT WEEK: An eight-page issue featuring the text of the 2nd Declaration of Havana, an historic manifesto from revolu- tionary Cuba. Quantities of ten copies or more may be ordered at six cents each. tion in a national uprising against terrible oppression. In Washington, President Ken- nedy couldn’t speak as freely as his brother did, 7,000 miles away, about Americans being informed. At a Feb. 14 press conference he merely said that “We are being as frank as the — as we can be.” The president did disclose that while the American people have not been informed about the hard facts of our new Korea, the lead- ers of both major parties have. And — no surprise — both fully support U.S. involvement in the “struggle” there. (Lawyer Robert Kennedy explained that the dif- (Continued on Page 2) Dominican Crisis Keeps Simmering SANTO DOMINGO, Feb. 18 — This is a brief round-up of the events here in the past few months and their significance. The masses really began to stir as the protest against Balaguer — the president whom Trujillo had left in power — mounted. “The Resignation of Ba- laguer” was the slogan which be- came more and more the people’s cry of hope. On Nov. 28 the inevitable oc- curred, a general strike demand- ing Balaguer’s resignation shook the entire country. The Honorable Mr. H ill, the U.S. Consul, got busy. He is the co-ordinator of the activities of the U.S. State De- partment and the Dominican oli- garchy. The State Department each time has revealed itself as being more intent on restraining any movement of a popular na- ture. These forces, hidden behind the curtain of a “non-political” or- ganization, the National Civic Un- ion, took hold of the situation, taking advantage of and exploit- ing the anti-Trujillo reputation of NCU leader, Dr. Viriato Fiallo. . The strike lasted 12 days. Twelve days of general strike in a country where the working class was and is suffering under the lowest living conditions! This was sufficient to prove the social con- sciousness of the proletarian class of this country. The strike ended and a Council of State (Made in USA) was in- troduced, including Balaguer and presided over by the “liberal” Rafael Bonnelly, an ex-minister of the interior and of the police under Trujillo. This was done without respecting at all the pop- ular demand for “A Government of National Unity.” On Jan. 17, General Rodriguez Echavarria, under the eyes of the U.S. Consul, decided to create an ultrareactionary government and ventured a coup d’etat. This was defeated by the people in 48 hours and the previous Council of State, without Balaguer, was restored. This ruling group has relaxed the political climate. It concedes that the torturers and “calies” (Continued on Page 2)
Transcript
Page 1: How does he know? The Am er Published in the Interests of the Working People · THE MILITANT Published in the Interests of the Working People V ol. 26 - No. 9 M onday, F ebruary 26,

THEMILITANTPublished in the Interests of the W orking People

V o l. 26 - No. 9 M o n d a y , F e b ru a ry 26, 1962 P r ic e 10c

Steel Leaders Drop W ork W eek Demand

B y W ill ia m B undyU n de r the in flue nce o f the K e n ­

nedy ad m in is tra tio n , the leader­ship o f the U n ited S tee lw orkers of A m erica has fa ile d to ra ise the dem and fo r a “ sho rte r w o rk w eek a t no reduc tion in pay” in the negotia tions w h ic h opened Feb. 14 fo r a new con trac t in the basic steel in d u s try .

F o r the f ir s t tim e in the h is to ry o f the un ion , a fed e ra l a d m in is tra ­t io n has in te rvened d ire c t ly in de­te rm in in g w h a t the u n io n ’s con­tra c t demands should be. The purpose o f the in te rv e n tio n , spear­headed b y L a b o r Secre tary A r th u r J. G oldberg, is to m ake sure tha t the steel un ion does no t set a p a t­te rn o f s ig n if ic a n t gains fo r the w o rke rs and m ost p a r t ic u la r ly th a t the un ion does no t m ake a f ig h t for. the sho rte r w o rk week.

The steel nego tia tions a rc the most, im p o rta n t la b o r con tract ta lk s o f the year. T hey d ire c tly concern 430,000 un ion m em bers in eleven m a jo r steel com panies and w i l l p ro b a b ly set a p a tte rn fo r la te r nego tia tions cove ring an ad­d itio n a l 500,000 w o rke rs in m eta l fa b ric a tin g , a lu m in u m and o ther indus tries .

Techno log ica l unem p loym en t has h i t w o rke rs in steel as ha rd as any in the cou n try . In the last th ree years the m em bersh ip o f the S tee lw orkers U n ion has fa lle n fro m 1.2 m illio n to about 930,000.

Students Flood D.C. To Picket for Peace

B y A u d re y K a linThousands o f y o u th fu l p icke ts

poured in to W ashing ton, D.C., on S a tu rday and Sunday, Feb. 16 and 17. T hey w e n t the re seeking d is­a rm am ent, a h a lt to the c iv i l- defense p rog ram and an im m edia te end to nu c le a r testing. The dem ­o n s tra tion was sponsored by the T u rn T ow a rd Peace S tuden t C oun­c il whose co -ope ra ting groups in ­c luded s tudent S A N E and the S tuden t Peace U n ion.

I t was the la rges t dem onstra tion o f its k in d in years. T w o U n iv e r ­s ity o f In d ia n a students were amazed “ ju s t to see so m any s tu ­dents ge ttin g o u t fo r a n y th in g lik e th is .” D em onstra to rs had come fro m as fa r aw ay as Seattle. A s busloads o f s ing ing students and college undergradua tes a r ­r ive d , the y cou ld no t he lp b u t ap p laud them selves fo r the ove r­w h e lm in g and unexpected tu r n ­out.

Surprise TurnoutLeaders repo rted th a t 1,500 p a r­

tic ip a te d in the dem onstra tion on S atu rday. T hey had expected 3,000 b y Sunday a fte rnoon b u t w ere ove rw he lm ed by an actua l tu rn ­ou t o f 8,000.

P icke ts m arched before the W h ite House c a rry in g signs say­in g “ Peace — the cause th a t re ­freshes,” “ Ban the bom b,” and “ Peace is the o n ly defense.” One o f the spokesmen fo r the organ­iz in g group, D a v id O tta w a y fro m H a rv a rd , said “ W e are the r ig h t w in g o f the d isa rm am ent groups. W e are no t pacifis ts . W e’re no t fo r se llin g ou t to the Russians.” I n ­tended to show the “ respectab il­i t y ” o f the dem onstra tion , these v ie w s w e re n o t w h a t b ro u g h t the

(Continued on Page 4)

A r th u r J. G o ldberg

In basic steel i t has s h ru n k fro m500,000 to 430,000. D u r in g those years, the un ion, and the la bo r m ovem ent genera lly , pub lic ized the “ sho rte r w o rk w eek a t no re ­d u c tion in pay” as la b o r’s p r im a ry answ er to unem p loym ent caused b y autom ation .

T h is was re flec ted in speeches o f S tee lw orkers P res iden t D a v id J. M cD ona ld as rece n tly as last O ctober, and in an A F L -C IO con­ve n tio n reso lu tion las t December. B u t the S tee lw orkers Wage P o licy C om m ittee approved a nego tia ting p rog ram Feb. 7 th a t buries the issue o f a sho rte r w o rk week.

On Jan. 23, f iv e m onths before the present basic steel con trac t is scheduled to e xp ire on June 30, M cD ona ld had a p r iv a te m eeting in the W h ite House w ith G o ld ­berg, P res iden t K ennedy and U.S. S tee l’s R. Conrad Cooper. Im m e d i­a te ly the rea fte r, o ff ic ia ls o f the S tee lw orkers U n ion stopped m en­t io n in g the sho rte r w o rk w eek as a necessary device fo r a lle v ia tin g au tom ation unem ploym ent.

G o ldbe rg — w ho was ch ie f la w ­y e r fo r the S tee lw orkers un ion be­fo re K ennedy appo inted h im Sec-

(Continued on Page 3)

Lies Fed to American People About U. S. War in Vietnam

B y H a rry R ingW hen A tto rn e y G enera l R obert

K ennedy m ade a fas t appearance and ta k e -o ff a t the Saigon a irp o rt in South V ie tn a m ' Feb. 18, a B r it is h newsm an b lu n tly asked h im :

“ A m erican boys are d y in g out here. Do the A m erican people u n ­derstand and approve o f w h a t is go ing on?”

The p res iden t’s b ro th e r b razen ly rep lied : “ I th in k the A m erican people understand and fu l ly sup­p o rt th is s trugg le .”

H ow does he know? The A m e r­ican people have n o t been con­su lted abou t the ille g a l co m m it­m en t o f U.S. forces in support o f the D iem d ic ta to rsh ip in the South V ietnam ese c iv i l w a r. A n d the p res ident h im se lf has approved the c lam p ing dow n o f a censorship on news o f U.S. a c tiv itie s in th a t w a r — a censorship d irec ted no t at keep ing in fo rm a tio n fro m the “ enem y” b u t designed to keep the A m erican people in the d a rk about w h a t is re a lly go ing on there.

U.S. correspondents have no t

Monroe Trial Is Postponed; N. Y. Rally Hits Frame-Up

FEB. 20 — Upon m o tio n o f the prosecution the open ing o f the fra m e d -u p “ k id n a p ” t r ia l in M on ­roe, N o rth C aro lina , has been postponed t i l l M ay 7. The prose­cu to r stated th a t by then he e x ­pected to have M rs. M ae M a llo ry , now f ig h t in g e x tra d it io n fro m O hio, in the dock along w ith the th ree young men defendants, whose t r ia l was supposed to s ta rt yesterday.

R ecen tly G ove rno r M ichae l V. D iS a lle o f O h io tu rn e d dow n M rs. M a llo ry ’s request th a t he refuse to e x tra d ite her. A la s t-d itc h cou rt action in O hio, in s titu te d b y M rs. M a llo ry ’s a tto rney, B e rn a rd A . B e rkm an , should be ru le d on w ith ­in the week.

D e ta ils o f the fra m e -u p were exposed to a N ew Y o rk audience a t the R ive rs ide P laza H o te l last T hu rsd ay b y the th ree young men defendants.

D e fendan t H a ro ld Reape, a 17- ye a r-o ld Negro you th o f M onroe, described the asp ira tions fo r eq u a lity , w h ich had led h im and others in the g ra du a ting class at the J im -C ro w h igh school, to p a r­tic ip a te in the an ti-seg rega tion p ic k e tin g th a t preceded the w h ite - suprem acist r io t in g and the “ k id ­nap” fra m e -u p .

Mob AttackD efendan t R icha rd C row der,

19 -yea r-o ld N egro you th , p res i­den t o f the M onroe N o n -V io le n t A c tio n C om m ittee, to ld how th a t g roup had been organized and tra in e d in co llabo ra tion w ith the Freedom R iders. H e recounted the A ug . 27 m ob a ttack on the p ickets and the events in the Negro com ­m u n ity w hen i t m o m e n ta rily e x ­pected a K u K lu x K la n invasion.

D e fendan t John L o w ry , 20 -yea r- o ld w h ite y o u th fro m N ew Y o rk , said, “ I w e n t on the Freedom Rides because i t is m y respon­s ib il i ty . . . W h ile in the a rm y in G erm any I was to ld w hen I w e n t o f f the base a lw ays to look and act good because I represented the

An In te rv iew

Trying to Vote in the Delta Takes NerveB y F red H alstead

Last m on th Rev. M a rt in L u th e r K in g announced a cam paign to reg is te r Negro vote rs in the South. The cam paign w i l l in c lud e speak­in g tou rs o f Sou thern states, in ­c lu d in g M iss iss ipp i, by Rev. K in g , u rg in g Negroes to reg is ter.

O u r readers can get an idea of the im portance and the d i f f ic u l­ties o f such a cam paign fro m the fo llo w in g in te rv ie w w ith T ra v is B r it t , w ho pa rtic ip a ted last sum ­m er in a vo te r-re g is tra tio n d r iv e in the area around M cCom b in the D e lta area o f M iss iss ipp i. The d r iv e was organized by the S tu ­den t N o n v io le n t C oo rd ina ting C om m ittee, fo r w h ic h B r i t t was a f ie ld rep resen ta tive w h ile he was in M cCom b.

A na tive o f N o rth C a ro lina and a ve te ran o f the Jackson Freedom R ide and J a i l- In , B r i t t is now l i v ­in g in N ew Y o rk C ity , w here he is cha irm an o f the loca l chap te r o f the C om m ittee to A id the M onroe Defendants, and w here I in te rv ie w e d h im las t week.

H e is 28 years old, ta ll, w ith a calm , engaging m anner. To m y f ir s t question o f how he go t in ­vo lved in the d r iv e in McCom b, he rep lied :

“ I spent ove r a m on th in the M iss iss ipp i state p rison w ith o ther F reedom R iders and the re was a lo t o f discussion the re about how the strugg le should be ca rried on w hen w e got out. W e also go t to kn o w one ano the r unde r pressure. Then, in the m id d le o f A ugust

been ba rred fro m b a ttle areas in o rd e r to keep the V ie t Cong, as the South V ietnam ese g u e rr illa s are know n , fro m le a rn in g th a t the y are fac in g A m erican troops. T hey k n o w th a t a lready. B u t such cen­sorsh ip does keep news fro m ge t­t in g back here abou t the fa c t th a t G I ’s are d y in g in a w a r n o t against a “ fo re ign aggressor,” b u t against a na tive fo rce th a t en joys the suppo rt o f the b u lk o f the po pu la -

N o rm an M a ile r

U.S. W e ll, the converse is also tru e . People w i l l judge me by w h a t the y kn o w about the U.S.”

N o rm an M a ile r, the fam ous nove lis t, pra ised the C om m ittee to A id the M onroe Defendants, w h ich was sponsoring the m eeting . Re­fe r r in g to the cha irm an and three o f the speakers, w ho w e re F ree­dom R iders, he said: “ I kn o w i t takes courage to be a Freedom R ide r. I th in k perhaps i t takes even m ore courage fo r a m an lik e R obe rt F. W illia m s to take the k in d o f stand he d id .”

M a ile r declared “ The B lacks,” a p lay by the F renchm an Genet, w h ic h is c u rre n tly ru n n in g in N ew Y o rk , to be one o f the g reat dram as abou t the N egro people. T h is p lay , w h ic h has an a ll-N e g ro cast, some o f w hom im personate w h ites , is unspa ring in its c r i t i ­cism o f w h ite rac ism and co lo n ia l­ism . S outherners, M a ile r said, “ have accused N ew Y o rk a rtis ts o f h id in g behind the M ag ino t L in e o f the M ason-D ixon L in e . W hy don’t a hund red o f us get together

(Continued on Page 2)

1961, a fte r m ost of us had been released on ba il, about 180 o f us had to re tu rn to Jackson a t one tim e fo r a rra ign m en t in court. M iss iss ipp i was t ry in g to m ake i t v e ry expensive, w h ic h i t d id , b u t i t also gave us the o p p o rtu n ity to m eet each o th e r and ta lk th ings over, face to face, instead o f th rou gh v e n tila to rs and around w a lls .

“ W h ile in Jackson fo r the a r ­ra ign m e n t I was asked to go to M cCom b on the SNNC vo te rs -re g - is tra t io n d rive . F ive o f us Freedom R iders w e n t dow n there about the same tim e . A lto g e th e r SNNC had e igh t o r n ine people there . G w end­o lyn Greene, w ho a lready had about s ix arrests to he r c re d it in

(Continued on Page 3)

N E X T W E E K : A n e ig h t-p ag e issue fe a tu r in g th e te x t o f th e 2nd D e c lara tio n of H a van a , an historic m anifesto fro m re v o lu ­tio n a ry Cuba. Q u a n tities o f ten copies o r m ore m ay be o rdered at six cents each.

t io n in a n a tio n a l u p ris in g against te r r ib le oppression.

In W ashington, P res iden t K e n ­nedy cou ldn ’t speak as fre e ly as h is b ro th e r d id , 7,000 m iles aw ay, about Am ericans be ing in fo rm ed . A t a Feb. 14 press conference he m ere ly said th a t “ We are be ing as f ra n k as the — as w e can be.”

The p res iden t d id disclose th a t w h ile the A m e rica n people have no t been in fo rm e d abou t the ha rd facts o f o u r new Korea, the lead­ers o f bo th m a jo r pa rties have. A n d — no su rp rise — bo th fu l ly suppo rt U.S. in v o lv e m e n t in the “ s trugg le ” there . (L a w y e r R obe rt K ennedy exp la ined th a t the d i f -

(Continued on Page 2)

Dominican Crisis Keeps Simmering

S A N T O D O M IN G O , Feb. 18 — T h is is a b r ie f ro u n d -u p o f the events here in the past fe w m onths and th e ir s ign ificance. T he masses re a lly began to s t ir as the pro test against B a laguer — the p res iden t w hom T r u j i l lo had le f t in po w e r — m ounted. “ The R esignation o f B a ­laguer” was the slogan w h ic h be­came m ore and m ore the people’s c ry o f hope.

On Nov. 28 the in e v ita b le oc­curred, a genera l s tr ik e dem and­in g B a laguer’s res igna tion shook the e n tire cou n try . The H onorab le M r. H i l l , the U.S. Consul, got busy. H e is the co -o rd in a to r o f the ac tiv itie s o f the U.S. S tate D e­pa rtm e n t and the D o m in ican o l i­garchy. The S tate D e pa rtm e n t each tim e has revealed its e lf as be ing m ore in te n t on re s tra in in g any m ovem ent o f a po pu la r na ­ture.

These forces, h idden beh ind the c u rta in o f a “ n o n -p o lit ic a l” o r­ganization , the N a tion a l C iv ic U n ­ion, took ho ld o f the s itua tion , ta k in g advantage o f and e x p lo it­ing the a n t i-T ru ji l lo re p u ta tio n o f N C U leader, D r. V ir ia to F ia llo . .

T he s tr ik e lasted 12 days. T w e lve days o f genera l s tr ik e in a c o u n try w here the w o rk in g class was and is s u ffe r in g un de r the low est l iv in g cond itions! T h is was s u ffic ie n t to p rove the socia l con­sciousness o f the p ro le ta r ia n class o f th is coun try .

T he s tr ik e ended and a C ounc il o f State (M ade in U S A ) was in ­troduced, in c lu d in g B a laguer and presided over by the “ l ib e ra l” R afael B on ne lly , an e x -m in is te r o f the in te r io r and o f the po lice un de r T ru ji l lo . T h is was done w ith o u t respecting a t a l l the pop­u la r dem and fo r “ A G ove rnm en t o f N a tion a l U n ity .”

On Jan. 17, G enera l Rodriguez E chavarria , unde r the eyes o f the U.S. Consul, decided to create an u ltra re a c tio n a ry gove rnm en t and ven tu red a coup d ’etat. T h is was defeated by the people in 48 hours and the p rev ious C o un c il o f State, w ith o u t B a laguer, was restored.

T h is ru l in g group has re laxe d the p o lit ic a l c lim ate . I t concedes th a t the to r tu re rs and “ calies”

(Continued on Page 2)

Page 2: How does he know? The Am er Published in the Interests of the Working People · THE MILITANT Published in the Interests of the Working People V ol. 26 - No. 9 M onday, F ebruary 26,

Page Two THE M IL ITA N T Monday, February 26, 1962

Jagan Regime in Br. Guiana Suffers Disastrous Setback

B y G eorge L ava n

Reuther's "Hockshop" SystemlllHllllillHllllllillllllllllllllflflllttllllllllll<IUI! IIJIIIir*H»UNHUMUIIIII P fC lS IIHIIIIIlÜ

A reg im e in a B r it is h colony w h ic h o n ly s ix m onths ago w on a g reat e lec tion v ic to ry on the basis of be ing fo r independence, the w o rk in g people and socia lism eve n tua lly , has been dea lt a stag­ge ring b lo w b y a genera l s tr ik e in the co lony ’s p r in c ip a l c ity — a s tr ik e w h ich , tu rn in g in to r io t in g and incend ia rism , w as f in a lly que lled b y h a s tily ca lled B r it is h troops.

T h is is the s itua tion in w h ic h the governm ent o f P rim e M in is te r Cheddi B . Jagan o f B r it is h G uiana in South A m erica n o w fin d s i t ­self. H o w cou ld such a th in g have happened?

Bosses Start StrikeThe s tr ik e was ins tiga ted — and

in its in i t ia l stages b ro u g h t about p a r t ly b y bribes — by the co lony ’s n a tive cap ita lis ts and absentee im p e ria lis ts . T hey w a n t to p re ven t independence and to smash Ja - gan’s Peoples P rogressive P a rty . B u t th e y w ere able to b r in g about the genera l s tr ik e o n ly because Jagan’s governm ent, anx ious to avo id charges o f “ ex tre m ism ” in W ash ing ton and London as w e ll as a t home, tr ie d to fo llo w a m id d le - o f- th e -ro a d po licy . T h is led to the proposal o f a na tio n a l budget d ra w n up b y an e x p e rt considered “ safe” by U . S. and B r it is h gov­e rn m en t circles, w h ich imposed sacrifices on cap ita lis ts and w o rk ­ers a like .

The “ a u s te r ity ” budget fo r the im poverished co lony w o u ld have closed ta x loopholes and increased taxes on the cap ita lis ts . N o t u n ­expected ly , these p rov is ions en­raged the ow n in g classes — b u t s ince they a lready hated the Jagan reg im e th is in its e lf caused no change in the re la tio n o f forces W ith in the colony.

T he “ a u s te r ity ” budget, h o w ­ever, w o u ld have im posed sacri-

. . . Monroe Frame-Up(C ontinued from Page 1)

and take th is p lay dow n to M onroe and a ll th rou gh the South and p u t i t on be fore in te g ra te d audiences and have people to defend the cast. N ow w h a t w i l l A tto rn e y G enera l K ennedy re a lly do w ith th a t? ”

Conrad L y n n , counsel fo r the C A M D , focused h is anger on the “ b la ta n t consp iracy between loca l S ou thern po lice departm ents and the F B I and the do-noth ingness o f Negro Congressmen. ”

A fro - A m erican correspondent W ill ia m W o rth y urged Freedom R iders and N egro you th to “ ins is t th a t th e ir a d u lt leaders get onto p ic k e t lines and in to Freedom R ides, in to the B irm in g h a m and M on tgom ery bus stations and in to a M onroe w a de -in , in o rd e r to fo rce the hand o f the fed e ra l gov­e rn m e n t m uch sooner than w i l l o therw ise be the case and also to m in im iz e the danger o f v io lence. ”

O th e r speakers on the crow ded p ro g ra m inc lud ed P rice C hatham and R icha rd G r is y o ld , Freedom R ide rs w h o had been in M onroe. T he m ee ting was cha ired by T ra v is B r it t . A co llec tion o f $370 was donated to the C A M D by thé audience.

Weekly CalendarN E W Y O R K

Freud and M arx, T he ir Theories o f K n o w le dg e . Speaker, Lynn M arcus. Fri., M a rc h 2. 8 : 30 p . m. 116 U n ive rs ity Place. C o n tr ib . 50c. A usp . M i li ta n t Labor Forum .

* * *

MEET W A L D O F R A N K ! Famous a u th o r p resents his la te s t book, C u b a : Pro­p h e tic Is land . Sat., Feb. 24. 8 : 30 p . m. 225 W . 86 tti S t. (Betw een Bdw’y and A m s te rd a m ), A p t. 11-12, H a ll 5. M usic, e n te rta in m e n t, C uban fo o d , re freshm ents. C o n tr ib . 99c. A usp . Fa ir P lay fo r C uba C o m m itte e .

fices on the w o rke rs — p a r tic u la r­ly u rb a n w o rke rs — such as w i th ­h o ld in g a p o rtio n o f wages as fo rced savings, w h ic h cou ld no t be d ra w n upon t i l l m uch la te r, a freeze on vacations and com pu l­sory a rb itra t io n o f wage increases.

In th is m e ltin g -p o t co lony, the m a jo r ity a re descendants o f East Ind ian s b ro u g h t to the sugar p la n ­ta tions as in de n tu red labo r. They fo rm the b u lk o f Jagan’s support. The u rb a n w o rke rs are m ostly Negroes, w ho m a in ly support Forbes B u rn h a m ’s Peoples N a­t io n a l Congress, a p a r ty g u ilty o f ra c is t appeals and re d -b a itin g against Jagan’s pa rty .

S eizing the o p p o rtu n ity , loca l cap ita lis ts ca lled fo r a genera l s tr ik e in G eorgetow n, the co lony’s cap ita l. M an y f irm s pa id th e ir w o rke rs in advance fo r tw o weeks o f s trike . The PNC and a ff il ia te d la b o r leaders accepted the ca p ita l­is ts ’ in v ita t io n . In opposing the budget the y even denounced. the taxes on the bosses and indepen­dence.

P rim e lesson is th a t the road to socia lism in L a t in A m erica is the road o f F id e l Castro, no t the m id ­d le -w a y o f C heddi Jagan.

Pickets in S. F. Win Jobs for Negroes

B y Joyce C ow leyS A N F R A N C IS C O — “ D on’t

B u y W here Y ou Can’t W o rk , ” “ W e W an t Jobs N o w , ” “ D on ’t Accep t T oken ism ” — w ith these slogans abou t 25 p ickets fe l l in lin e th is S a tu rday m o rn in g a t the Super Save m arke t, shopp ing cen ter fo r the N egro com m u n ity a t H u n te r ’s P o in t.

A t noon, usu a lly the h igh p o in t o f S a tu rday buy ing , the re w ere on ly th ree cars in the p a rk in g lo t in f ro n t o f the m arke t. D ism ayed a t seeing h is store a lm ost em pty, the ow ner, M r. W ong, s ta rted to negotiate w ith the pickets, c la im ­in g th a t he had a lready h ire d one N egro c le rk and w o u ld h ire an­o the r “ soon. ” The p ickets s tuck to th e ir dem and fo r the im m ed ia te h ir in g o f tw o clerks.

O n Jan. 3, a s im ila r p icke t line a t S ir i ’s m a rke t was successful and tw o Negro c le rks w ere h ired . S ince th a t tim e the B an k o f A m e r­ica and severa l stores in the area have h ire d Negro clerks.

Labor Backs PicketsT h is cam paign fo r m ore jobs fo r

Negroes is be ing organized b y the B ay V ie w C itizens ’ C om m ittee and the N egro A m erican La b o r C oun­c il, w ith he lp fro m Loca l 6 o f the IL W U . I t s ta rted in the H u n te r ’s P o in t d is tr ic t w here un em p loy ­m en t in the Negro com m u n ity is estim ated a t 20 per cent. H ere you th gangs and rum b les rece n tly m ade b ig headlines and the p a r­ents o f so-ca lled de linquen ts w ere th rea tened w ith ev ic tion fro m the c ity housing p ro je c t. The citizens o f H u n te r ’s P o in t fee l th a t jobs fo r Negro you th , no t sanctions against th e ir fam ilie s , are the an­sw er to d e lin qu en t gangs, w h ic h breed in an en v iro n m e n t o f po v ­e rty , d is c r im in a tio n and w ides- spread unem p loym ent.

T h is S atu rday, ow ners o f a ll the b ig m arke ts a long T h ird S tree t w ere an x io u s ly w a tc h in g the p ic k ­e t lin e — and the em p ty p a rk in g lo t — in f ro n t o f Super Save. I t is a safe assum ption th a t m any w e n t back to th e ir o ffices to w o rk on a sta tem ent o f po licy , and th a t m ore Negroes w i l l sbon be h ired . T h e ir in i t ia l success is so encouraging th a t the N A L C p lans to spread the cam paign to o the r sections of San F rancisco and e ve n tu a lly con­du c t i t on a c ity -w id e basis.

The B ay V ie w C itizens’ Com ­m ittee and N A L C have ca lled o ff p ic k e tin g a t Super Save fo llo w in g the h ir in g o f a second c le rk .

Negro Bus Boycott Solid in Macon, Ga.

M A C O N , Ga. — A 95 per cent e ffec tive boyco tt o f c ity buses here is undei- w ay. The boyco tt was in s titu te d fo llo w in g re fusa l o f the M acon tra n s it com pany to nego tia te w ith o ff ic ia ls o f the lo ­ca l b ranch o f the N A A C P fo r desegregation o f the buses.

B ranch president, W a lte r E. D avis, and Rev. E. B. Paschal, cha irm an o f the legal redress com ­m ittee , had succeeded in nego tia t­in g fo r e lim in a tio n o f J im C row a t lu nch counters, on the g o lf course and the p u b lic lib ra ry .

A T L A N T A , Feb. 14 — T he S tu ­den t N o n v io le n t C o ord ina ting C om m ittee and the C om m ittee on Appea l fo r H um an R igh ts have asked P res iden t John F. K ennedy to “ im m e d ia te ly investiga te mass arrests o f A tla n ta students. ” T h ir ty - fo u r persons have been a r ­rested here rece n tly in desegrega­tio n dem onstrations.

SNNC and C O A H R m em bers have been p ro te s ting segregation at G rady M em o ria l H osp ita l and in the le g is la tive ga lle ries a t the S tate C a p ito l here. A lth o u g h 85 per cent o f G ra d y ’s pa tien ts are Negroes, the ho sp ita l does n o t le t Negro physic ians jo in its p ro fes­siona l s ta ff. Negroes are ba rred fro m the h o sp ita l’s tw o techn ica l schools, and Negro pa tien ts o ften have to w a it m any hours fo r tre a t­m en t in the segregated c lin ic even though the w h ite c lin ic is a lm ost em pty.

Liberties Group to Seek Repeal of McCarran Act

N EW Y O R K — “ T here is no g rea te r th re a t to o u r con s titu tio n a l r ig h ts than the M cC arran A c t, ” said C orliss L a m o n t in announcing th a t the Em ergency C iv il L ib e rtie s C om m ittee has decided to u n d e r­take a m a jo r cam paign fo r the la w ’s repeal.

“ W e in te n d to challenge the c o n s titu tio n a lity o f those • p ro v i­sions o f the act n o t ye t uphe ld b y the Suprem e C o u rt, ” D r. L a ­m on t said. “ S pe c ifica lly , w e have agreed to take the case o f the V e t­erans o f the A b ra ha m L in c o ln B rigade w h ic h has been ca lled a ‘C o m m u n is t-fro n t’ o rgan iza tion by the S ubvers ive A c t iv it ie s C o n tro l Board. The f in d in g o f the SACB is n o t b in d in g u n t i l uphe ld by the Suprem e C ourt, w h ich has n o t ye t uphe ld those p rov is ions dea ling w ith ‘C om m unis t f ro n t ’ o r ‘Com ­m un is t in f i l t ra te d ’ groups. ”

. . . Dominican Crisis(Continued from Page 1)

( T ru ji l l is ta in fo rm e rs ) m ust be b rough t to tr ia l, b u t these crea­tures con tinue to w a lk the streets o f the tow ns and m any have been helped to flee the coun try , a lw ays w ith the same destina tion : theU n ite d States.

The governm ent has reduced the prices o f some basic necessi­ties — in c lu d in g rice , o il and beans — in an a tte m p t to sa tis fy demands advanced b y the people. I t has prom ised general elections fo r n e x t year, 1963.

W h ile the C ounc il o f State p ro ­ceeds w ith its demagogic methods, the c ry o f the po pu la r masses fo r “ A G overnm en t o f N a tion a l U n ity ” s t i l l m ounts. The economic p ic tu re o f the c o u n try is s im p ly disastrous. The T ru ji l lo s , p ro ­tected b y B a laguer, ca rted o ff (and i t is said the y are s t i l l c a rt­in g ) w h a t l i t t le l iq u id w e a lth the c o u n try had. C onsidering the 500, - 000 unem ployed in a po pu la tio n o f 3. 5 m illio n , a re v o lu tio n is in ­ev ita b le even though i t is against the w ishes o f the U . S. State D e­pa rtm ent.

W hy no t pass th is copy o f The M il ita n t on to a fr ie n d o r shop- m ate and suggest an in tro d u c to ry subscrip tion?

W a lte r Reuther, U n ited A u to ­m ob ile W orkers p res iden t and head o f the A F L -C IO ’s In d u s tr ia l U n ion D epartm ent, has become a ch ie f p ra c titio n e r o f the “ hock- shop” m ethod o f un ion nego tia ­tions. I t w o rks on m uch the same p r in c ip le as the m an w ho tr ies to liv e by pa w n ing his fa m ily ’s accum ulated possessions, f i r s t je w e lry , then s ilve rw a re , then pieces o f fu rn itu re , f in a lly home, c lothes and eve ry th in g . In the end, the re is n o th in g le f t to hock and the m an w in d s up a pauper on re lie f.

T h is is the m ethod R eu the r em ­p loyed m ost rece n tly in the se ttle ­m en t o f the b itte r s ix -w e e k s tr ik e o f 6, 700 m em bers o f U A W Local 5 a t the S tudebaker-P ackard p lan ts in South Bend, Ind iana . We are in fo rm e d by an o ff ic ia l news release fro m the U A W ’s in te rn a ­t io n a l o ffice on Feb. 12 th a t the S tudebaker w o rke rs “ emerged fro m a s ix -w e e k s tr ik e w ith m ost o f th e ir un io n -w o n gains in ta c t. ”

T h is “ doub le-speak, ” trans la ted in to p la in A m erican , means: “ I t was a g rea t v ic to ry , boys. We d id n ’t lose h a rd ly an y th in g . ”

“ Statesmenship”

I t seems nego tia tions were sh ifted to W ashington, fa r fro m the p icke t lines, w here R euthe r pe rsona lly took over the un ion side o f the ta lks . W hen the nego­tia to rs emerged, he had g iven aw ay fiv e m inu tes o f the w o rke rs ’ custom ary 15 -m inu te w ash-up tim e w h ile the com pany abandoned — fo r the tim e be ing — its o th e r demands fo r cuts in vaca tion pay, s h ift p re m ium s and ove rtim e p ro ­vis ions. The s tr ik e had been p re ­c ip ita ted w hen the com pany in ­s titu te d these cuts last Jan. 1.

S tudebaker Lo ca l 5 is one o f the tw o o r th ree oldest chartered locals in the U A W , go ing a ll the w a y back to 1935, before R euthe r was even in the U A W . In the course o f 20 years o f s trugg le up to 1954, L o c a l 5 had accum ulated a lo t o f treasured conditions, in -

(C ontinued fro m Page 1)ference between a “ s trugg le ” and a “ w a r” is a “ lega l” one. )

T he c la im o f b ip a rtisa n support fo r the rea c tion a ry and dangerous V ie tn am p o lic y was q u ic k ly con­firm e d . On Feb. 15 R icha rd N ixo n declared: “ I suppo rt P residentK ennedy to the h i l t and I o n ly hope he w i l l n o t stop the b u ild ­up . . . ”

Senate D em ocra tic m a jo r ity leader M ik e M an s fie ld ch im ed in , add ing tha t, i f an y th in g , too m uch had a lready been disclosed about the a n t i-g u e rr il la w a r.

Those facts w h ich have slipped th rou gh abou t the V ie tn am s itua ­t io n g ive vote-conscious Mansfield

grounds fo r ir r i ta t io n .

Long; “ Struggle”P entagon o ffic ia ls n o w speak of

a long in vo lve m en t in V ie tnam . A n d to ind ica te w h a t th e y mean b y “ lo ng ” they p o in t to the ten - yea r ba ttle o f the B r it is h against g u e rr il la forces in M alaya.

P a r t ic u la r ly dam n ing are the adm issions th a t the rem arkab le m il i ta ry s treng th o f the V ie t Cong derives fro m its po pu la r support. In the Feb. 12 N ewsweek , fo r e x ­am ple, correspondent F ranco is S cu lly described accom panying an a n t i-g u e rr il la n ig h t p a tro l (be fo re the ban on such re p o rtin g ) com ­posed o f V ietnam ese and U . S. “ advisers. ” He reports : “ A s w e ad­vanced the V ietnam ese k e p t as q u ie t as they could, b u t th e ir boots made a d ry , c run ch ing sound in the ric e fie ld s . . . F rom fa rm ­house to farm house, the peasants s igna lled w ith lam ps, re p o rtin g ou r advance. S h o rtly be fore daw n we m et ano the r Ranger com pany. N obody had found any g u e rr illa s . ”

e lud ing the h ighest wages in the auto in d u s try . In 1954, the R euthe r m ach ine pressured Loca l 5 in to accepting wage cuts to b r in g its wages dow n to the lo w e r le ve l o f the G enera l M otors , F o rd and C h rys le r w o rke rs instead o f f ig h t ­in g to ra ise the B ig Three wages to the S tudebaker leve l.

Now S. O. P.R euthe r’s “ hockshop” m ethod o f

paw n ing o ld cherished gains fo r enough im m ed ia te cash ju s t to s tay a live fo r a l i t t le w h ile longer appears to be standard op e ra ting procedure now in the a ff ilia te s o f h is In d u s tr ia l U n ion D epartm ent. T he F e b ru a ry W D B u lle t in re ­po rts th a t un de r the te rm s o f the se ttlem ent o f the Y a le & T ow ne s tr ik e in P h ila de lph ia , A F L -C IO M ach in is ts Lodge 1717 “ was able to re ta in the m a jo r ity o f its past w o rk in g cond itions practices. ”

L ik e U A W Loca l 5, Lodge 1717, w ith a m il ita n t tra d itio n , had en­jo yed cond itions re la t iv e ly su­p e rio r to those o f s im ila r locals o f A lb e r t J. Hayes’ In te rn a tio n a l Associa tion o f M ach in is ts . Lodge 1717 was a th o rn in the side o f the IA M top leadersh ip . The set­tlem e n t th a t was fo rced dow n the th roa ts o f the Lodge 1717 s tr ik e rs inc luded a fo rm u la p e rm itt in g the re ten tion o f 400 s tr ikeb rea ke rs w ho had been b ro u g h t in to re ­place un ion men.

“G ive -A w ay”These w ere no t “ lo s t” s trikes in

the usual sense o f the te rm . The w o rke rs w ere no t beaten by the bosses. In bo th strikes, the w o rk ­ers gave a m il ita n t and honorable account o f them selves. These w e re “ g ive -a w a y ” settlem ents a tta ined by “ hockshop” m ethods used b y the top un ion leaders in co llab o ra ­tio n w ith outs ide governm ent agencies o f the K ennedy ad m in is ­tra tio n . R eu the r has become the m ost system atic exponent o f these m ethods and he has w o rked ou t the “ doub le-speak” fo rm u las to present these be traya ls in a fa v o r­able lig h t.

S cu lly also rebuts the c la im th a t the V ie t Cong bu ild s its s treng th b y “ te rro r iz in g ” the peasants. He quotes an A m erican in Saigon: “ The g u e rr il la fo rce has w on the alleg iance o f the people because i t id e n tifie s w ith the people. ”

Blend InOne U . S. “ no n -co m ba ta n t” a n t i-

g u e rr il la back fro m a p a tro l ex ­p la ins : “ The g u e rr illa s b lend in w ith the people. T hey liv e w ith them , share the same po ve rty , te ll them th e y are fo r the people’s fu tu re happiness. A n d w h a t about o u r side? Y ou don ’t see the s lig h t­est evidence o f governm ent p ro ­paganda except on a fe w m a in roads w here the fa rm e rs don ’t go. I f the V ietnam ese w a n t to keep them selves a cou n try , th e y ’l l have to convince the peasant they can he lp h im . A m ericans can’t do it . O u r w h ite faces are a hand icap . ”

S m a ll w onder P res iden t K e n ­nedy says “ W e are be ing as fra n k as the — as w e can. ”

H allinan W ill Address Lincoln Brigade Rally

N E W Y O R K — The a p p ro x im a ­te ly 1, 000 s u rv iv o rs o f the 3, 200 A m e rica n vo lun tee rs w h o fough t on the side o f R epub lican Spain against the fasc is t reb e llio n oi Franco, are com m em ora ting the 25th a n n ive rsa ry o f the found ing o f the L in c o ln B rigade.

V in cen t H a llin a n , 1952 P rogres­sive P a rty p re s id en tia l candidate, w i l l f ly here fro m San Franciscc to p a rtic ip a te . T he com m em ora­tio n w i l l be he ld a t P a lm Gardens, 306 W est 52nd St., Sunday, Feb 25, a t 2 p. m.

. . . U. S. W ar in Vietnam

Page 3: How does he know? The Am er Published in the Interests of the Working People · THE MILITANT Published in the Interests of the Working People V ol. 26 - No. 9 M onday, F ebruary 26,

Monday, February 26, 1962 T H E M IL IT A N T Page Thre«

...In terview W ith Travis Brittt h e MILITANT

Editor: JOSEPH H A N S E N M anaging Editor: G EO RO E L A V A N Business Manager: K AR O L.YN K E R R Y

Published w eekly , except fo r omission of fiv e summer issues, by The M ilita n t Publishing Ass’n., 116 U niversity PL, N ew Y ork 3, N .Y . Phone CH 3-2140. Second- class postage paid at N ew Y ork , N .Y . Subscription: $3 a year; Canadian, $3.50; foreign, $4.50. Signed articles by contributors do not necessarily represent The M ilita n t’s views. These are expressed in editorials.

V o l. 26 - N o . 9 - ^ ^ 3 4 5 M o n d a y , F e b ru a ry 26, 1962

Rally Against the Ultra-RightN e w Y o r k ’s M a d is o n S q u a re G a rd e n w i l l be th e scene o f a

h a te - fe s t on th e e v e n in g o f M a rc h 7. T h e G a rd e n has been re n te d b y th e s o -c a lle d “ Y o u n g A m e r ic a n s fo r F re e d o m ,” an a rm o f th e u l t r a - r e a c t io n a r y B a r r y G o ld w a te r m o v e m e n t.

Som e o f th e m o s t re a c tio n a ry an d fa s c is t f ig u re s in th e c o u n - t r y w i l l a d o rn th e p la t fo rm a t th e r a l ly w h ic h is a p p a re n t ly in ­te n d e d to g iv e n e w ju ic e to th e u l t r a - r ig h t d r iv e fo r th e re s u m p ­t io n o f n u c le a r tests, th e sm ea r ca m p a ig n a g a in s t c iv i l l ib e r t ie s , o rg a n iz e d la b o r an d th e N e g ro peop le .

C le a r ly , i t is a lso hoped th a t th e r a l ly w i l l h e lp to in t im id a te a l l those w h o ta k e th e ir s ta n d on th e s ide o f soc ia l p rogress .

S uch a r a l ly s h o u ld n o t go b y u n n o tic e d , p a r t ic u la r ly s ince i t is th is g a n g ’s f i r s t e f fo r t a t a m a jo r sh o w o f fo rc e in th e c ity th a t has t r a d i t io n a l ly been th e c e n te r o f th e c o u n t r y ’s l ib e r a l a n d ra d ic a l m o v e m e n t.

C o n s e q u e n tly , w e a re g r a t i f ie d th a t tho se w h o re p re s e n t th e re a l s e n tim e n ts o f th e g re a t m a jo r i t y o f N e w Y o r k ’s y o u n g pe o ­p le — fd r peace, c iv i l l ib e r t ie s , c iv i l r ig h ts a n d th e r ig h ts o f la b o r — a re o rg a n iz in g th e ir fo rce s to d e m o n s tra te th a t th e y w i l l n o t be in t im id a te d b y these e m b ry o n ic s to rm tro o p e rs .

A Y o u th O rg a n iz in g C o m m itte e A g a in s t th e U l t r a - R ig h t R a lly has issued a c a l l to a l l y o u n g pe op le , la b o r, c iv i l - l ib e r t ie s and c iv i l - r ig h t s o rg a n iz a tio n s in th e area to tu r n o u t fo r a p ro te s t p ic k e t l in e in f r o n t o f M a d is o n S q u a re G a rd e n th e n ig h t o f th e “ Y A F ” show . W e ho pe the i-e w i l l be a b ig tu r n o u t th a t w i l l m a ke c le a r th a t th e re ’s no m a rk e t fo r u l t r a - r ig h t po ison am o ng th e y o u n g pe op le o f N e w Y o rk .

An Invite to Robert KennedyL a s t w e e k w h e n he w as to u r in g Jap an , A t to rn e y G e n e ra l

R o b e r t K e n n e d y w as “ s tood u p ” b y seven c o m m u n is t s tu d e n ts . T h e y sa id th e y d id n ’ t w a n t to a p p e a r fo r ta lk s w i th an “ im p e r ia l­is t . ” K e n n e d y e xp resse d re g re t a t th is b ro k e n da te .

N o w K e n n e d y has a chance to ta lk to a C o m m u n is t. Jam es E. Jackso n , e d ito r o f th e W o rk e r , cab le d an in v ita t io n to a p p e a r w i th h im b e fo re th e N a t io n a l P ress C lu b in W a s h in g to n , D .C ., to d iscuss f re e d o m o f th e press.

T h ro u g h o u t h is t r ip K e n n e d y has been e x to l l in g th e “ v a lu e o f f re e an d open so c ie tie s .” A l l a lo n g h is ro u te h e has been la v is h w i th re m a rk s a b o u t th e A m e r ic a n W a y o f L i fe , f re e press and A m e r ic a n s ’ r ig h t to d is s e n t w i th o u t fe a r o f p e rs e c u tio n .

J a c k s o n ’s c a b le g ra m q u e s tio n e d th e v e ra c ity o f K e n n e d y ’s s ta te m e n ts . H e c ite d th e fa c t th a t n e w s p a p e rm e n , s ta f f m e m b e rs o f th e W o rk e r , ha d ju s t been subpoenaed b y th e D e p a r tm e n t o f J u s tic e w h ic h K e n n e d y heads. “ I m y s e lf am b e in g fo rc e d to a p p e a r in sec re t, s ta r -c h a m b e r p ro ce e d in g s . . w ire d Jackson . A s to a n y chances he m ig h t h a v e ha d to m e e t K e n n e d y ab roa d , Jackso n re m in d e d th e A t to r n e y G e n e ra l th a t i f he m e re ly a p p lie d fo r a pa ssp o rt, “ . . . y o u w o u ld o rd e r m e a rre s te d an d p ro se cu te d u n d e r th e M c C a rra n la w . ”

K e n n e d y ’s D e p a r tm e n t o f J u s t ic e w as f u r th e r accused b y th e W o rk e r e d ito r o f a t te m p tin g to “ d e s tro y th e W o rk e r th ro u g h th e ‘la b e lin g ’ p ro v is io n o f th e M c C a rra n A c t . ”

Y o u w a n t to d e b a te p u b l ic ly w i th d issen te rs , M r . K e n n e d y ? H e re ’s y o u r chance in th e c lim a te o f y o u r o w n “ fre e an d open s o c ie ty .” A n d m a y w e “ f u l l y exp ress o u rs e lv e s ” an d second J a c k ­son ’s in v ita t io n .

. . . Steel Leaders Drop Demand(Continued from Page 1)

re ta ry o f L a b o r — has been push­in g the p ropos ition th a t un ions should n o t dem and increases g rea te r than th ree per cent a year. T here is eve ry in d ica tio n th a t M c ­D ona ld is ready to settle fo r a wage and fr in g e “ package” w e ll w i th in th a t figu re , w h ic h in steel w o u ld mean abou t 10 o r 12 cents an hour.

A cco rd in g to governm ent f ig ­ures, wages in basic steel now average $3.28 an h o u r b u t m any basic s tee lw orkers get o n ly $2.28 and o ften w o rk sho rt w o rk weeks w ith o u t a fu l l w eek ’s pay.

M cD ona ld has been ho ld in g de­ta ile d discussions in p r iv a te w ith G o ldbe rg and o ffic ia ls o f the co r­po ra tions fo r some tim e, b u t fo r the ranks, the u n io n ’s demands are k e p t vague. T hey center around “ jo b secu rity ,” w h ic h in ­cludes: im p roved s e n io r ity fo rlo n g -te rm employees, m ore sup­p lem e n ta ry unem p loym ent bene-

fits , p re fe re n tia l h ir in g r ig h ts at new p lan ts fo r w o rke rs la id o f f at o ld ones, and lim ita t io n s on the co n tra c tin g ou t o f jobs.

Im p o rta n t as these demands are fo r h igh se n io r ity w orkers , they do n o t p ro v id e an increase in jobs. Y ounger w o rke rs w i l l con tinue to be la id o f f and no p ro v is io n is made fo r y o u th com ing in to the la bo r force.

The average nu m be r o f w o rke rs in the iro n and steel in d u s try dropped by 48,000 d u r in g 1961, accord ing to a Feb. 7 re p o rt o f the A m erican Iro n and Steel In ­s titu te . A s a resu lt, the to ta l pay­r o l l fo r the in d u s try dropped de­sp ite a s lig h t increase in the ave r­age wage. The to ta l p a y ro ll was $3.7 b i l l io n in 1961 and $3.8 b i l ­lio n in 1960. Average wages in the basic steel in d u s try are the h ig h ­est o f a ll basic industries . Wages in steel, however, have increased less pe r yea r d u r in g the past three years than in the p rev ious 17 years.

(Continued from Page 1)the s it- in s and Freedom Rides, was the youngest at 18. I was the oldest.

“ M ost were Southerners and a ll except Bob Z e ln ick , a w h ite Southerner, w ere Negroes. Bob Moses was a leader, and so was Charles M cDew. H e was ve ry qu ick and an in te lle c tu a l. He cou ld n ’t seem to pass by an act o f in ju s tic e w ith o u t do ing some­th in g about it.

“ Bob Moses had a lready been arrested w hen I a rrive d . He had taken th ree loca l Negroes to the re g is tra r ’s o ffice in L ib e r ty , in the a d jo in in g county, and was stopped on the road by police. T hey asked h im i f he was ‘the n igger th a t came dow n fro m N ew Y o rk to s t ir up a lo t o f tro u b le .’ He an­swered, ‘ I ’m the Negro w ho came dow n fro m N ew Y o rk to in s tru c t people in vo te r reg is tra tio n .’ So the y took h im in and fin e d h im $50 fo r ‘ in te r fe r in g w ith an o f­f ic e r ’ o r some such th ing . He stayed in ja i l ra th e r than pay the f in e .”

W hat was the reception from the local Negroes?

“ T hey had no t expected us, e x ­cept the ones w h o had been in contact before. A n d yet, they d id expect us. T hey w ere sort o f w a it ­in g fo r the in ev itab le . They kne w the freedom struggles w ere b re ak ­in g ou t a ll around, and the y knew i t w o u ld come to M cCom b some day, b u t w hen the y saw th is group o f w e ll-d ressed Negroes, a- lo t o f them w ere scared.

“ I t w e n t s low at f irs t. O u r in ­s tru c tio n classes had been set up in the M asonic tem p le in McCom b, and w c w e n t kno ck in g on doors asking people to attend. W e had the door slam m ed in ou r faces sometimes, and w e ta lke d to peo­p le w ho w ere v e ry fr igh te ne d .

“ The w h ites tr ie d eve ry th in g they cou ld th in k o f to get us ou t o f the re as q u ic k ly as possible, b u t n o th in g w o rked .”

Did you have any help from the local Negroes?

“ Yes, a lo t o f them he lped on the qu ie t. A v e ry fe w open ly at f ir s t . One was a sm a ll business­man. H e was m ak ing m oney and re a lly com ing up fa s t in the w o r ld o f M ississipp i. One day he came- in and to ld us po lice o ffice rs had caught h im on a d ir t road one n ig h t and to ld h im the y w anted to k i l l h im anyw ay, and i f he d id n ’t stop assisting SNCC the y w o u ld close up e ve ry th in g he owned, b u rn h is house and k i l l h im .

“ He had to stop com ing around then because he kne w the y w e re n ’t k id d in g .

“ A n o th e r one w ho he lped open ly was H e rb e rt Lee. H e was a fa rm e r, about 50 years o ld, and v e ry m ilita n t. He owned his fa rm and a tru c k and equ ipm en t and a car. H e had been ta lk in g about Negroes vo tin g long be fore we got there. He po in ted ou t people fo r us to in v ite to the classes, and took us around to w here they liv e d and fu rn ishe d us gas and le t us use h is car. The w h ite peo­p le p u t h im on a lis t ca lled ‘the e ra d ica tion ’ l is t and c u t o f f h is c red it. B u t M r. H e rb e rt Lee w o u ld n ’t scare.”

W hat did you teach at the classes?

“ W e tau gh t the C o ns titu tio n o f M iss iss ipp i and how to pass the test the y gave w hen Negroes w e n t to become voters. W h ite people cou ld pass i t easily. B u t they a lw ays asked Negroes m uch m ore d i f f ic u lt questions so the y p rac­t ic a l ly had to be la w yers before go ing to the re g is tra r ’s office .

“ Then there w ere the h ig h - school kids. W e w e ren ’t too m uch in te rested in them a t the beg in­n ing , since they w e ren ’t o ld enough to vote. B u t i t was sum ­m er vaca tion and the y came a round eve ry day, w a n tin g to he lp and le a rn a ll abou t the s trugg le and f in d o u t w h a t ro le the y could

T ra v is B r it t

play. So they were tau gh t non­v io le n t d ire c t action. -A nd they he lped us beat the bushes, f in d ­in g o lde r people w ho w o u ld reg is­te r, and showed us-around.

“ The young people had no fea r w hatsoever. The ones w ho d id not p a rtic ip a te w ere k e p t aw ay by th e ir parents. T hey w o u ld come in and say: ‘M y m o the r wasthrea tened yeste rday to be fire d fro m her job , so I can’t do an y ­th in g openly, b u t a n y th in g else I can do, le t me k n o w .’ Some w ou ld de fy th e ir paren ts ’ orders. Some w ere even beaten by th e ir p a r­ents.

“ H a v in g those k id s around led to d ire c t action. O n A ugust 26, I be lieve, tw o o f them — E lm er Hayes and H o llis W a tk ins — tr ie d to desegregate the W oo lw o rth store in M cCom b. T hey w ere sen­tenced to 30 days in ja il.

“ A fe w days la te r, th ree m ore sat in a t the lu nch coun te r a t the G reyhound Bus sta tion. They were also ja ile d . One o f them was Brenda T rav is , w ho was o n ly 15 o r 16 years old. The local w h ites w ere so an g ry the y tr ie d to lie about i t be ing loca l students in ­vo lved . B u t those w ere the f irs t s it- in s in the M iss iss ipp i D e lta reg ion and loca l Negroes d id it.

“ So the v o te rs -re g is tra tio n p ro j­ect and the classes had become a com b ina tion — the M iss iss ipp i C o ns titu tio n fo r the adu lts and d ire c t-a c tio n techniques fo r the k ids. P ersona lly . I was w a ry about the d ire c t action, because we w e ren ’t equipped to take care o f a l l the tro u b le the k id s could get in to , b u t there was no h o ld ing them back. A n d the vote rs reg is­tra t io n was v e ry fru s tra t in g .”

H ow successful were you in get­ting Negroes registered to vote?

“ In P ike county, w here M c­Com b is located, w e got a few reg istered. In W a lth a ll county, q u ite a fe w people w en t dow n bu t the re g is tra r w o u ld n ’t pass any o f them . In L ib e rty , in A m ite county, we w e ren ’t ab le to get m any peo­ple to try , because o f the v io lence.

“ On A ugust 29 Bob Moses was accom panying some people to the re g is tra r ’s o ffic e w hen he was beaten on the head w ith a piece o f m e ta l by the s h e r if f ’s cousin, B i l ly Jack Caston, in L ib e rty .

“ Moses pressed charges against Caston and I can t r u th fu l ly say th is was the f ir s t tim e any Negro had ever pressed charges against any w h ite person in th is county fo r anything'.

“ O f course, a t the t r ia l Caston was acqu itted . B u t they s t i l l feared Moses fo r th is. They cou ld n ’t u n ­derstand how any Negro could have so m uch nerve.

“ The n e x t one to get h it was me, on Sept. 5 in L ib e r ty . T hen John H a rd y took some people to the re g is tra r ’s o ffice in W a lth a ll cou n ty Sept. 7. The re g is tra r to ld h im he w o u ld n ’t take any m ore Negroes because the re was a lready a fed e ra l co u rt case against h im fo r no t passing them before. W hen H a rd y objected, the re g is tra r pu lle d a gun and ordered h im

out. H a rd y tu rne d to leave and the re g is tra r h i t h im on the head w ith the p is to l. T he people w ho had come to reg is te r — a couple in th e ir 50s and v e ry m il ita n t fo r th a t age — helped h im to the s idew a lk.

“ Then the po lice arrested H a rd y r ig h t there. H e had to . pay fo r m ed ica l tre a tm e n t in the ja i l h im ­self. L a te r the fed e ra l A tto rn e y G enera l’s o ffic e got us an in ju n c ­tio n b u t the re g is tra r was never arrested.”

How w ere you attacked?

“ I was a t the o ffic e in L ib e r ty w ith Bob Moses and some people w ho w anted to reg is ter. I got. separated fro m the others and be­h in d the b u ild in g I was su rro un d ­ed by a r in g o f w h ite people. I l i t a c igare tte . One o f them came up to me and said: ‘Boy, w h a t’s y o u r business?’ I said, ‘I don’t have a business.’ A nd he h i t me in the eye.

“ I stood the re cou n tin g the b lows. I got woozy b u t I th in k he h i t me 18 tim es. B ob Moses ca lled to m e to cover up, and I d id. One o f the crow d ye lled o u t ‘W h y don ’t you h it h im back, n ig ­ger?’ B u t I d id n ’ t. The m an tr ie d to th ro w me, b u t I k e p t on m y fe e t. I f I ’d gone down, th e y ’d have been on me w ith k icks in the face. A nd fo r G od’s sake, don’t t r y to ru n in a s itu a tio n lik e tha t because then they a ll t r y to get you.

“ B u t ju s t by me stand ing there, the m an fe lt a l i t t le ashamed of h im se lf. T hey have the idea th a t we are o n ly the re because we w ere ‘pa id ag ita to rs ’ b u t I am sure the y saw I was sincere abou t w a n tin g to he lp m y people dow n in M ississipp i.

"F in a lly , he stopped and I got in to a fr ie n d ’s ca r and we drove back to M cCom b w here I got m ed­ica l care.”

W hy didn’t you h it back?“ I f I had, I am sure I cou ld

have licked the fe llo w w ho was beating me b u t I w o u ld have been lynched b y the others. They w ere w a it in g fo r me to do som eth ing lik e tha t. I ’m no t opposed to peo­p le p ro te c ting them selves b u t we have to use good ju dg m en t. N o w in R obe rt W ill ia m ’s case, I cer­ta in ly don’t ob jec t to h is f i r in g in to the a ir to scare o f f some K lansm en. B u t the s itu a tio n was d iffe re n t the re in M iss iss ipp i.”

W hat about the argument tha4 you shouldn’t put yourself into a position where you can’t defend yourself?

“ W e ll, I d id n ’t kn o w th is s itu a ­tio n was go ing to come up ju s t th a t way. I f I had, I ’d have done som eth ing — ca lled the Justice D e pa rtm en t and ins is ted on ha v­in g w itnesses there , o r som ething. B u t i f you are go ing to avo id troub le u n t i l you abso lu te ly kn o w you are ready to hand le it , you aren ’t go ing to get s tarted .

“ A n d som eth ing had go tten started dow n there, be lieve me. I t came to a head a fte r the fa rm e r w ho helped us — M r. H e rb e rt Lee — was m urde red .”

(Coninued next week)

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Page 4: How does he know? The Am er Published in the Interests of the Working People · THE MILITANT Published in the Interests of the Working People V ol. 26 - No. 9 M onday, F ebruary 26,

Page. Four T H E M IL IT A N T Monday, February 26, 1962

Letters From Our ReadersA P A M P H L E T R E V I E W

Is Your Brain Outmoded?C y b e r n a t i o n : T h e S i l e n t C o n ­

q u e s t . B y D ona ld N . M ichae l. 46 pp. A R epo rt to the C enter fo r the S tudy o f D em ocra tic In ­s titu tio ns , B ox 4068, Santa B a r­bara, C a lif. Pub lished by The F und fo r the R epub lic .

Perhaps second o n ly to the 3om b, the s ing le th in g m ost feared b y m illio n s is the th re a t o f jo b Loss th rou gh au tom ation . A n d i f th is w asn’t bad enough, a new developm ent is re v o lu tio n iz in g au tom ation and is a hundred tim es m ore fr ig h te n in g — i f th a t’s pos­sib le . T he s c ie n tific te rm g iven th is new deve lopm ent is cybe rna ­tion , w h ic h is the vast im p ro v e ­m en t o f au tom ation and even the au tom ation o f au tom ation . The m a in d iffe re nce between au tom a­tion and cybe rna tion is the ex ten ­sion o f au tom ation to the u t il iz a ­tion o f (and even im p rovem en t on) the hum an b ra in in the fo rm o f com puters o r “ th in k in g m a­chines. ”

T h is l i t t le book le t is packed w ith a tom ic-age dynam ite . A glance a t the sou rce-m a te ria l headings ind ica tes some o f the fr ig h te n in g im p lica tio n s o f cybe r­na tion : '’ C a llin g A l l Jobs, ” “ W hen Machines H ave Jobs — A n d W o rk ­ers Do N o t, ” “ The A u to m a tion Jobless, ” “ N o t F ired , Jus t N o t H ire d , ” “ Less W o rk — Less L e i­sure, ” and, iro n ic a lly enough, “ D a ta R e trie ve r to H e lp the C IA F in d One Page in M illio n s in O n ly a F ew Seconds. ” (O n Cuba, no do ub t. )

C yberna tion w i l l a ffe c t no t ju s t the w orke rs , b u t eve ry class in society. H a rdest h i t w i l l be w h ite - c o lla r w orkers , managers, fo re ­men, sm a ll businessmen, s k ille d w o rke rs and even pro fessional men. These “ th in k in g m achines, ” the pa m ph le t reports, sup p ly “ d i­rections fo r e ve ry th in g fro m fin d in g the cube ro o t o f a num ber to design ing a b rid g e — and m uch o f the w o rk o f doctors and la w ­yers (and teachers) cou ld be done by com puters. ”

H ere a re o th e r exam ples o f the extent to w h ic h cybe rna tion m ay a ffec t w h ite -c o lla r w orke rs :

“ The R. H . M acy Co. is t ry in g ou t its f i r s t e lec tron ic sales g ir l. T h is m achine is sm art enough to dispense 36 d iffe re n t item s in ten separate styles and sizes. I t ac­cepts one and f iv e d o lla r b ills in ad d itio n to coins and re tu rn s change, p lus re je c tin g c o u n te rfe it cu rre ncy . ”

“ The U . S. Census B ureau was able to use 50 s ta tis tic ians in 1960 to do the tabu la tions th a t req u ire d 4, 100 in 1950. ”

Nothing- Scares H im — Speaking a t a h a s tily sum m oned press con­ference a t the Saigon a irp o rt in V ie tn am Feb. 18. A tto rn e y G en­e ra l R obe rt K ennedy declared: ‘ •We are go ing to w in in V ie tnam . We w i l l rem a in here u n t i l w e do. ” A New Y o rk T im es d ispatch added: “ M r. K ennedy d id no t leave the h e a v ily guarded fie ld d u r in g a tw o -h o u r stop. . . He said he w ished he cou ld have stayed longer. ”

“Free W orld” Report — TheSouth K orean m il i ta r y d ic ta to r­ship, w h ic h en joys W ash ing ton ’s w a rm support, has sentenced 20 ttiem bers o f the S oc ia lis t P a rty to prison te rm s ran g ing up to 15 years fo r “ p ro -C om m u n is t” a c tiv ­ity . They were convicted o f h e lp ­ing the C om m unists b y advocat­ing an exchange o f v is its between the tw o K oreas and fo r opposing ih e governm ent’s b ru ta l c ra ck ­do w n on “ com m un is t” ac tiv ities .

Deadly New Secret Weapon — “ Radio L ib e r ty , ” w h ic h beams c o ld -w a r propaganda in to the USSR, is p la n n in g to rock the So­v ie t people w ith a devious new assault. The sta tion has slated a p r r ^ ra m devoted to the “ tw is t”

Countless o ther exam ples add up to the same re su lt — trem en ­dously increased p ro du c tion w ith the use o f fa r few e r w orkers.

W h a t so lu tions does the au tho r propose fo r the p rob lem o f the rep lacem ent o f m en by machines? F o r one, re tra in in g and education by p r iv a te in d u s try and govern­m ent. B u t, he notes, “ m anagem ent has no t a lw ays been w i l l in g to in s titu te re tra in in g program s. Peo­p le are e ith e r f ire d o u tr ig h t in some cases or, m ore often, s im p ly no t reh ired a fte r a la y o ff. ”

As fo r governm ent, “ The C a li­fo rn ia S m ith -C o llie r A c t R e tra in ­in g P rog ram d rew o n ly 100 ap­p lican ts in s ix m onths. ”

He then asks: “ Is the re a jo b w a it in g fo r them w hen they have been re tra in e d ? ” A nd . the answer im p lie d in the v e ry question is — No.

O th e r proposed so lu tions are c ited : e a r lie r re tire m e n t, b ir thcon tro l, huge p u b lic -w o rk s p ro ­gram s and (be lieve i t o r n o t) “ e x ­p o r t b lu e - and w h ite -c o lla r w o rk ­ers and th e ir fa m ilie s to nations need ing th e ir ta len ts. ” (A piece­w o rk corps, perhaps? )

T h is book le t devotes m ost o f its

(Continued from Page 1)8, 000 students to W ashington. T hey w ere b ro u g h t the re b y th e ir deep and genuine suppo rt o f th a t p a r t o f the T u rn T ow a rd Peace p o lic y s ta tem ent w h ic h asked the ad m in is tra tio n no t to resum e n u ­c lear tes ting in the atm osphere and to a d m it open ly the useless­ness o f c iv i l defense as pro tec tion against nuc lea r w a r. T hey were the re to p ro tes t the w a r po lic ies o f the A d m in is tra tio n .

A le a fle t o f the Y oung S ocia lis t A llia n c e ha iled the dem onstra tion “ as a rea l step fo rw a rd . ” I t sug­gested th a t the c o -o rd in a tin g groups and others in te rested in peace adopt as p a r t o f th e ir p ro ­g ram the idea o f le tt in g the people decide a ll questions o f w a r th rough a re fe rendum vote. I t ca lled fo r rem o v in g the w a r-m a k in g pow er fro m th e hands o f the go ve rn ­m en t “ th a t is m a rch in g th a t coun­t r y dow n the road o f W o rld W ar I I I in secrecy and w ith o u t con­su ltin g the people. ” The sta tem ent was c a re fu lly read b y m any o f the students and the re was an en­courag ing am ount o f agreem ent w ith it .

D u r in g the tw o -d a y dem onstra­tio n the m archers p icke ted the W h ite House, m arched in a m ile -

craze “ fo r the b e ne fit o f the m any iso la ted S ov ie t c itizens w ho are bored o r depressed ove r th e ir iso lated, reg im ented existence. ”

No Socialist Cab Drivers —B a ltim o re C ity Judge D u laney Foster uphe ld a 1960 c ity ru lin g deny ing a tax ica b op era to r’s p e r­m it to A . R obe rt K a u fm a n o f the Y oung S oc ia lis t A llia n ce . The judge cited K a u fm a n ’s record as a “ co n tro ve rs ia l” f ig u re and his arrests in connection w ith e ffo rts to d is tr ib u te soc ia lis t lite ra tu re . N o tin g th a t cab d rive rs come in con tact w ith m any people and re ­c a llin g K a u fm a n ’s “ p ro pe ns ity ” fo r im p a rt in g h is be lie fs to others, the judge said the c ity could p ro p e r ly take such fac to rs in to account in w e igh in g the ap p lica ­tion .

Progress Report — “ The la test im p rovem e n t fo r l i fe in a fa m ily fa llo u t she lte r is a s im ulated, o r fake , w in d o w fo r the she lte r w a ll w h ic h g low s to g ive the illu s io n o f o u t-o f-d o o rs s u n lig h t. ” — The Feb. 13 B a ltim o re Sun.

M ight G ive Us a M ajo rity — In a Feb. 16 New Y o rk T im es in ­te rv ie w , a d ve rtis ing executive

a tten tion to the e ffe c t o f the new au tom ation on the w h ite -c o lla r w o rke rs and the m id d le class gen­e ra lly . B u t the im p lica tio n s are also obvious fo r in d u s tr ia l w o rk ­ers, fa rm ers and those w ho are the hardest h it by au tom ation — Negroes and o lde r w orkers.

A cco rd in g to the au thor, “ The dependab ilities and po ten tia lit ie s o f these devices are u n lim ite d . They c c rta in ly con ta in e x tra o r­d in a ry im p lica tio n s fo r the em an­c ipa tion and enslavem ent o f m an­k in d . ”

To m e the a lte rna tives are c lear enough. The past record o f c a p ita l­ism dem onstrates th a t in an econ­om y based on p ro du c tion fo r p ro fit, w here hum an needs come last, cybe rna tion can mean the th re a t the book le t indiqates. B u t in a p lanned soc ia lis t society based upon p roduc tion fo r use, w here hum an needs come f irs t , the m arch o f science can mean eco­nom ic secu rity , freedom fro m drudgery , g ian t leaps in the stand­ard o f liv in g , and a c u ltu ra l le ve l undream ed o f unde r cap ita lism . In sho rt — the em ancipation o f m an­k in d .

Ed Beecher

long lin e to A r lin g to n Cem etery and massed a t a ra l ly to hear So­c ia lis t P a rty -S o c ia l D em ocra tic F edera tion leader N o rm an T hom ­as, E m il Mazey, U n ite d A u to W orke rs o ff ic ia l, and severa l s tu ­dents. One speaker, a H o w ard U n iv e rs ity s tudent, u rged th a t the f ig h t against w a r be u n ite d w ith the f ig h t against racism .

W h ile the thousands o f s tu ­dents p icke ted fo r peace in fro n t o f the W h ite House, 76 o f B a rry G o ldw a te r’s “ Y oung A m ericans fo r F reedom ” p icketed a t the T reasu ry . T hey had such signs as “ A Test a D ay Keeps the Rus­sians A w a y . ” One Y A F p icke te r said “ The cops lik e us m uch be t­te r . ”

T w o young N ew Y o rke rs were a rrested and convic ted fo r d iso r­d e rly conduct. They w ere arrested w hen the y photographed a u n i­fo rm ed so ld ie r w ho la y p ros tra te on the pavem ent. The so ld ie r had refused to y ie ld to po lice w ho dragged h im o f f the p icke t line .

Co ld and sleepy, the dem onstra­to rs re tu rn e d home, heartened b y the know ledge th a t they had made a m ea n ing fu l co n trib u tio n to the beg inn ing o f a vast m ob iliza tio n o f the young people o f A m erica in the f ig h t fo r a peacefu l w o rld .

D a v id O g ilv y said th a t ad men “ are do ing them selves and th e ir business grave ha rm b y ca llin g a ll c r it ic s o f a d ve rtis ing socialists and enemies o f free en te rp rise . ”

Oops! — A fu e l-o i l d e liv e ry tru c k pu lle d up a t a hom e in W inston -S a lem , N . C., to. m ake a de live ry . The d r iv e r p u t the noz­z le o f the hose in to a p ipe p ro ­t ru d in g fro m the g round alongside the house. F in a lly no tic in g the absence o f the custom ary gu rg le as the o il gushed in to the tan k he checked and discovered the p ipe was an a ir exhaust fro m the fa m ily fa llo u t shelter.

Southern L a w Enforcement —A cco rd in g to a survey on “ Police R estric tions in the S ou th ” by P ro f. E ll io t M . R u d w ic k o f S outhern I l l in o is U n iv e rs ity the re are o n ly 82 c itie s and tow ns in the South th a t in c lud e Negroes on th e ir po­lice forces. There are b u t three such m u n ic ip a lit ie s in A labam a and none in Lou is iana o r M iss is­s ipp i. O f the 82 places w here the re are Negro cops, o n ly 19 p e rm it them to a rres t w h ites on any charge and in f iv e m ore they can a rres t a w h ite o n ly on a fe lo n y charge.

Monkey LifeP ittsbu rgh , Pa.

I see by the papers th a t the gov­ernm en t gave a g ra n t o f $1, 201, 000 to s tudy m onkeys’ love fo r th e ir m others.

These guys have sure ly flip p e d th e ir lids . M aybe they fig u re they have made m onkeys ou t o f the people so long tha t now the y w a n t to f in d ou t w h a t makes them tic k .

A lso, accord ing to another re ­po rt, Secre tary o f L a b o r G oldberg w an ts to stay in the act so he made a speech abou t ra is in g the ta x de­duc tion l im it so the m illio n a ire s w i l l c o n trib u te m ore fo r “ c u ltu re . ” Y ou and I k n o w w here the m oney fo r th is c u ltu re w o u ld come fro m — the w o rke rs ’ pay envelope.

The S tee lw o rke rs ’ nego tia ting com m ittee is m ee ting here today on the new con tract. N ow w o u ld be the tim e fo r the 30 -hou r w eek a t 40-hours pay to become a re a l­ity , b u t M cD ona ld is n o t push ing fo r it . Oh yes, he ta lks about it , b u t in the fu tu re .

M cD ona ld is G o ldbe rg ’s m onkey and G o ldberg is p u llin g the strings.

W atch, you w i l l see the steel­w o rke rs tossed a few crum bs w h ile D avey B oy and G oldberg eat the cake.

B. M .

About Max LernerN ew Y o rk , N. Y .

M a x L e m e r w ro te a co lum n in the Feb. 19 N ew Y o rk Post about the F rench C om m unis t dem onstra­tio n against O AS te rro r in w h ich e ig h t people w e re k il le d b y De G a u lle ’s po lice. L e rn e r described the dem onstra tion as “ fu t i le r io ts ” and said in e ffec t th a t De G au lle had the s itua tion w e ll in hand u n ­t i l the CP rocked the boat and th a t the O AS now has an excuse fo r m ore bom bings and a ta rge t — the Com m unists.

B u t fa r worse, accord ing to L e r ­ner, is th a t students, jo u rn a lis ts , un ion is ts , backers o f M endes- France and governm ent c le rks supported these dem onstra tions. “ W ha t blindness has s tru ck them . ” L e m e r w a ils . “ H o w s tup id can the non-C om m un is ts get? ” he asks.

L e m e r had h igh pra ise fo r G uy M o lle t and his S oc ia lis t P a rty fo r re fu s in g to en te r in to a “ po pu la r fro n t” w ith the C om m unists. B u t the n e x t day, G uy M o lle t (a F rench M a x L e rn e r) became “ s tu ­p id , ” a lb e it un de r th e ’ pressure o f the S ocia lis t w o rkers , and jo ine d in a dem onstra tion w ith the Com ­m un is ts and others.

Since th a t g ia n t dem onstra tion the w ho le w o r ld know s how “ fu t i le ” such actions are and how “ s tu p id ” the F rench non-C om ­m un ists got.

F o r m e the question is, how s tup id can o u r lib e ra ls get and s t i l l get aw ay w ith it?

E. B.

W h y Marx W as RightB a ld w in P ark , C a lif.

A fr ie n d o f m ine w ho is a so­c ia lis t o f the re fo rm is t type asked me w h y , in v ie w o f the Russian experience, I tho ugh t we w o u ld a tta in socia lism unde r the theories o f M a rx .

I po in ted o u t to h im th a t since the tim e o f S ta lin the S oviet lead­ers had n o t adhered to the theories o f M a rx ism and th a t as fa r as I can understand the y have a de­fo rm ed w o rke rs ’ state w ith b u ­reaucra tic cen tra lism . They also have n o t adhered to a M a rx is t re v o lu tio n a ry p o licy abroad.

H is to r ic a l developm ents, fro m the P aris Com m une o f 1871 to the

Cuban R evo lu tion , have proven the theories o f M a rx w ere correct. The basic the o ry is the need to abolish the c a p ita lis t state and re ­place i t w ith a w o rke rs ’ state w h ich , accord ing to M a rx , f in a lly w ith e rs aw ay. T h is cannot be ac­com plished Unless a m a jo r ity o f the w o rke rs are fo r it .' The C uban R evo lu tion d id abo l­

ish the old state m ach inery , set up w o rk e rs ’ m ilit ia s and na tiona lized in d u s try . I hope i t w i l l also soon set up w o rke rs ’ councils.

I be lieve the 26th o f J u ly m ove­m en t had m any in te lle c tu a l and m idd le -c lass people. W ith o u t them the Cuban R evo lu tion w o u ld n ’t be w here i t is today. A n d w ith ­ou t the w o rke rs i t w o u ld n ’t be w here i t is e ithe r. I f the w o rke rs and peasants hadn ’t go tten beh ind the re vo lu tio n Castro w o u ld s t i l l be in the m ounta ins. Today i t is the w o rke rs and peasants w h o are ex te nd ing the re v o lu tio n — the pe rm anent re vo lu tio n , as T ro ts k y ca lled it.

I recom m ended the s tud y o f State and R evo lu tion , by Len in .

G. W . V .

Change O ur Name?A k ro n , O h io

I t seems to me th a t one o f the objects o f the ■ paper, besides in ­fo rm a tio n , is to see th a t as m any people as possib le see i t and b u y it .

O utside o f the ra d ica l elem ents w ho are a lready fa m il ia r w ith the name, “ M il i ta n t , ” how m any peo­p le kn o w w h a t The M il ita n t is? I t ’s a good name, b u t i t ’s n o t a se llin g po in t. W h y no t change the nam e to ( fo r instance) “ The So­c ia lis t Press” ? — a nam e th a t w o u ld be s e lf- id e n tify in g to the s tranger on the street, to the s tu ­dent lo o k in g fo r soc ia lis t l i te ra ­tu re — o r to the m any thousands w h o consider them selves socialists, b u t kn o w o f no paper th a t re p re ­sents th e ir ideas?

L e t’s face it , i t is h a rd e r to sell socia lism to the p o te n tia l buyer, w hen you h ide beh ind a name lik e The M il ita n t regard less o f how good a nam e i t is, o r the t ra ­d it io n beh ind it .

The days o f M cC a rth y are gone and even i f the re m ay have been advantage to a nam e l ik e The M ilita n t i t ’s no t so today. F o r tho u ­sands w ho are lo o k in g fo r socia l­ism, le t ’s m ake i t easier fo r them to f in d us. L e t ’s take advantage o f the name S oc ia lis t — and spread i t across the f ro n t page w h e re i t belongs.

Rem em ber once L e n in changed the nam e o f the p a rty fro m So­c ia lis t to C om m unis t w hen he fe lt i t was to the advantage.

One m ore th in g to th in k abou t — check y o u r records o f sales a t newsstands. E ve r w onder w h y the In te rn a tio n a l S oc ia lis t R eview o u t­sells The M ilita n t? and a t a h igh e r price? Could i t be th a t the w o rd S oc ia lis t on the cover is a se lling po in t?

W h y no t take a po ll?H ere is one vote fo r “ The So­

c ia lis t Press. ”J. K .

Letters W e Love Dep'tN ew Y o rk , N. Y .

Enclosed please f in d $3 fo r a yea r’s subscrip tion p lus $2 w h ich I hope w i l l be use fu l in y o u r p u b ­lic a tio n e ffo rts . The M il ita n t has ke p t me aw are o f events w h ic h are n o t as a ru le pub lished in the N ew Y o rk da ilies. I apprecia te the in tro d u c to ry subscrip tion o f the las t fo u r m onths a t the reduced rate.

F . P.

Thought for the Week“ The labels ‘R epub lican ’ and ‘D em ocra t’ have become v ir tu a lly

meaningless. The d iffe rences between P resident Kennedy and M r. N ixo n , fo r exam ple, are fa r sm a lle r th a n between the P res iden t and m em bers o f his ow n p a rty . . . . We have in A m e rica today w h a t am ounts to a on e -p a rty system . ” — F ro m a Jan. 6 sta tem ent o f p o licy b y the e d ito r o f the S atu rday E ven ing Post.

. . . Students Picket for Peace in D. C.

I t W as Reported in the Press


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