The Organizer (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1934-08-15

              ;I OPEN HOUSE!
Tonight at 8
At Headquarters
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DAILY STRIKE  BULLETINPi^i
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UNITED
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SMASH THE
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ALLIANCE
TWO TWENTY-FIVE
SOUTH THIRD STREET
VOLUME 1
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 15, 1934
NUMBER 31
Olson's Policy Protested
Crowd Masses
At 574's Call
Denounce Anti-Strike
Plot at Big Rally
Packed to overflowing on both
floors, Strike Headquarters on
South Eighth St. was the scene of
a mighty militant demonstration
last night in response to the call
of the Sti'ike Committee of 100 to
give a smashing answer to the
anti-strike conspiracy which was
nipped in the bud on the previous
evening.
Last night more than five
thourand workers streamed
through Eighth Street, although
it is generally known that only
about three thousand can be
crowded into headquarters. Had
the meeting been held on the Parade, it is clear that 574's record
of having each public gathering
larger than its predecessors,
would have been maintained. For
our inability to use the Parade,
we have to thank the militia
brought in by Governor Olson
against the strikers' will.
Every criticism voiced by the
various speakers against the different elements in the conspiracy
unearthed on the previous day,
was cheered to the echo. The attempt to put over a rotten settlement under cover of approval of
the Federal mediators was explained in detail; the loosening of
the permit system; the prohibition
of Parade meetings; the soaking
of pickets with heavy sentences,
all stirred the assembled throng
to intense indignation.
Among the speakers of the evening was Ray Dunne, member of
the Organizing Committee of Local 574. Albert Goldman, noted
labor attorney and counsel to the
Union since the beginning of the
strike, won tremendous applause
for a brief talk on the necessity
for permanent organization and
militant action of all labor groups.
A guest speaker of the evening
was Sister S. Loewe, secretary of
the Speakers Bureau of the Chicago Federation of Labor. Sister
Loewe is in town as a delegate of
Chicago waitresses to the annual
convention of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers International.
She gave a stirring talk and
wound up with a promise to return to Chicaeo and undertake an
active campaign to get practical
aid for the strikers from the organized labor movement of that
city.
Several musical selections were
given over the loud-speaking system. Just before the meeting
wound up, an automobile halted
(Continued on page 2)
*
574 Demands
Quick Change
Proves Wholesale Permit Rule Evasion
'Each employer is more than willing to iron   out   any   differences.'' — From   a
speech by Jones, Citizens Alliance agitator.
radio
The Stockade is a Hog-lot!
Portland Drivers Strike;
Demand $1 Hourly Wage
Press dispatches report a strike
of truck drivers in Portland, Oregon, following the failure of the
bosses there to meet the union's
demands. The example of Local
574 no doubt influenced the decision of the Portland drivers to
fight.
But they make us look like pikers when it comes to wage demand.
According to the reports the Portland drivers are demanding $1.00
per hour!
We hope to get more information about this strike and give a
fuller report in another issue of
The Organizer.
It looks like the truck drivers
and helpers all over the country
are waking up.
When first our pickets were thrown into
the military stockade a few weeks ago,
Minneapolis workers were horrified by Attorney Albert Goldman's report of foul conditions prevailing there. The protest of the
outraged masses of labor compelled the
National Guard officers to make a change
in their practices.
Today another such demonstration of
anger is necessary, because conditions in
the stockade are now worse than ever.
In a statement last night to The Organizer, one prisoner just released from the
stockade described conditions there as
"filthy, unsanitary and unbearable in the
extreme."
The following are some of the facts:
1. Tents are overcrowded and blankets
are often insufficient.
2. The only toilet is an exposed structure infested by millions of flies. These
flies get into the tents, crawl over food at
mealtime, and not only make the prisoners
miserable but carry disease germs which
may   start an epidemic at any moment.
3. Mealtime is made horrible by the
smells arising from the exposed toilets.
4. Food is brought to the men in an
open truck and they have to eat it cold,
5. A tractor, doing filling work near
where the men eat, throws dust all over
the food.  The officers refuse to stop it.
6. The food is unseasoned and often unpleasant. After the first public protest
against camp conditions, some fancy food
was served to kid the public, but now it's
slop again.
7. After the first protest, all the prisoners got clean dishes at each meal, but
now only a few dishes are provided. After
the first men eat off them, they have to
wash them and pass them on to the next.
Generally no towels are provided for drying dishes.
8. There are no bathtubs or showers,
only rusty dishpans and a hose. The bathhouse, such as it is, is so close to the toilet
that the men are bitten by flies when they
take a spray with the hose.
The stockade, in short, is a hog-lot!
Another serious complaint is with respect to the denial of the right to read The
Organizer. The militia, anxious to spread
lies among the men and discourage them,
fear the truth contained in the strikers'
own paper. -
One night a raid was conducted. The
guards turned the prisoners out of bed,
searched them and their tents and confiscated and destroyed all copies.
Organizer reporters are not allowed in
the camp. The other day one was ejected
from the courtroom where military "justice" is dispensed.
And to whom is all this vile treatment
being given ?
To our own brothers, to members of Local 574, to members of other Unions and of
the M.C.C.W., who have been on the picket line with us, who have done the same
things we have done, who are guilty of
only one crime, the crime of being strikers
and peaceful pickets!
It is these men who are being made to
live under foul conditions, their health endangered, and deprived even of the newspaper they rely upon for information and
spiritual sustenance.
This is another way in which the National Guard is helping the strike, trying to
break the spirit of our pickets and to discourage our ranks in general.
That they have not succeeded, is a tribute to the iron will of the brothers in the
stockade. True warriors, serene in the
knowledge that theirs is the just cause and
that our enemies are tyrants whose days of
power are numbered, they do not budge
an inch from the position we all hold.
The strike committee demands that the
National Guard treat our brothers like human beings.
We demand of Governor Olson again
that his soldiers, Whom he called in and
who take orders from him, cease to persecute and mistreat our brothers. We want
our men out of this hog-lot!
1 In this demand we have the whole-hearted support of the workers of this city and
of every decent human being.
WE WANT IMMEDIATE ACTION.
GOVERNOR OLSON, RELEASE OUR
PICKETS FROM THE MILITARY HOG-
LOT!
A committee of 12 members of
local 574, appointed by the Strike
Committee of 100, met Governor
Olson this morning at the Armory
to protest against the strikebreaking activities of the National
Guard and to present concrete
proofs that the "permit" system
is still being used as a cover for
wholesale movements of scab
trucks under military protection.
The members of the Committee
were: Grant Dunne, Charles Cabana, Jack Severson, Moe Hork,
Carl Sandell, Ray Tigue, Roy
Fi-ies, Ben Shapiro, Alfred Nelson, Harry Peterson, Herbert
Palmer and Ray Rainbolt.
Grant Dunne opened the discussion with the Governor by reminding him of the statement he
had made on the day before the
strike in the presence of the Employers Committee, the Union
committee and Mr. Dunnigan.
"On that occasion, Governor,"
said Brother Dunne, "you said
you would close the market and
keep it closed till a settlement was
made. Instead, troops are being
used to open the market and to
prevent picketing. We have come
to lay before you definite and
concrete proof."
Individual members of the
Committee cited many concrete
cases of restriction violations
which have been brought to light
by our pickets.
Jack Severson informed Governor Olson that pickets found a
truck with a fake permit made
out to look like a military permit,
and signed by Joseph Cochran,
head of the Cameron Transfer
Company and Chairman of the
Employers Advisory Committee.
Charles Cabana gave proof that
the Dayton Company has repainted some of its oldest trucks and
is using them to deliver packages
with military permits secured by
"dummy" owners posing as individual operators.
Ray Tigue pointed out the
widespread practice of permits for
specific purposes being used to
haul other things. Tigue asked
General Walsh, who was present,
if strikers had a right to inquire
of truck drivers what they were
hauling. Walsh said: "You have
no right to stop trucks and examine their contents, nor even to examine permits on the trucks."
Grant Dunne then again took
the floor and pointed out how
military rule is operating to help
the employers break the strike.
"We are compelled to say openly
to you, Governor Olson, that your
actions as head of the National
Guard are such that, if continued,
they will work to help the employers break the strike. If it comes
to that, we intend to place the responsibility where it belongs."
The Governor said he would
consider the matter and give the
Union an answer soon.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
AH men with claims of back
pay, or complaints against discrimination, are asked to report
at once to Jack Severson, Harold Sandell or Bill Sarempa.
The Union needs full information at once.