MOSCOW PLOTS

Hokitika Guardian, 25 September 1928, Page 2

MOSCOW PLOTS

“ WAR TO A FINISH.” LABOUR LEADERS’ DISCLOSURES. FUNDS TO WRECK UNIONS. ATLANTIC CITY, August 9. War to .ji finish has been declared upon Communism by the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labour, now in conference here, which views with no little concern the change in the methods of those holding Bolshevist views. Hitherto they have been content “to bore from within.” They did this so successifully in the International Women’s Garment Workers’ and Fur Workers’ Union of New York that they wrecked two successful and powerful unions, cost the workers £6,000,000 in wages, and expended some £900,000. This they did by slowly working from inside and eventually capsing unecessary strikes in which they set up veritable reigns of terror. Both unions have been reorganised, and the Communists, led by Ben Gold, a. lipry agitator, have been expelled. But the fight for control is still going on, with both industries more or less disorganised. The new policy calls for working in the open, and calls have been issued by the Communists for a mass meeting of railway men in Chicago on October 1 to organise one big industrial union to replace the four big brotherhoods of train men and the 16 craft unions affiliated with the federation. The call has also been issued for a meeting in Pittsburg on Septemhpi to organise the miners in opposition to the United Mineworkers.

. MASS ARRESTS. Meanwhile in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the Lancashire of the United States, the Communists have taken advantage of a. strike by the legitimate unions against a wage cut to resort to mass picketing, causing diserde. and mass arrests. <

In New Bedford there have been nearly 300 arrests in a single day. Mr William Green, President of the Federation, said to me to-day: In New Bedford the tactics followed in Passaic, N.J., two years ago are being repeated. You know ciiat left to themselves the strikers would easily have won. Now they have an add ional foe. They are losing public sympathy which was theirs, because of the activity of the Communists. Where ever there is a strike these creatines pour ill agitators to mobilise discontent. Following the cowardly assassination of General Obregon, PresidentElect of Mexico, 15 agitators were' drafted into the country to take advantage of the situation, and if possible assist in destroying the Mexican Federaetion of Labour.

In the mining areas there is, as you know, much discontent following the 16 months’ strike. Before the strike these Reds sought to capture the organisation and place it under the direction of men in- direct communion with Moscow.

FALSE PROPHETS. Surveys show’ that the Reds are active in other directions in their attempt to carry out the orders issued some time ago to capture or to destroy the United States Labour movement. They will do neither. The United States workman has too much sense to followsuch false prophets., I also saw to-day Mr Matthew Woll the Vice-President of the Federation. He said:

We know and our State Department knows that, acting under orders from Moscow, William Z. Foster and others have set out to capture the Labour movement as a step towards overthrowing our Government. Everywhere their methods have been the same. Wherever there has been discontent situation and by appealing chiefly to they have throw’ll themselves into the non-English-speaking elements have created conditions more or less serious. In New York I had charge 'of the reorganisation cf the furriers and cloakmakers. We spent almost £4O, 000, but not a sixpence to what the Reds spent. In the cloakmakers’ strike the Reds spent £700,000, leaving the organisation in debt £360,000. There is a source of income—the collection of so-called defence funds—when one group collecting money under the pretence of aiding the starving miners changes its name. There are more than a score of such organisations in New York and Chicago.

WANT AND MISERY. Mr Benjamin Scblessinger, vice-pre-sident of the International Women Garment Workers’ Union, added his story of Red activities. He said that the Communists had brought want and misery to the people on the east side. He said: “ A man called on me in 1920 and said that the Red International was convinced that the United States Labour Movement, together with the American Federation of Labour, could be captured and used in the world revolution. I told him that w-e could not do what he asked if we would, and that we would not if we could. He answered: ‘Then w'e will wreck organisation.’ ” Mr Schlessinger continued: “Now the Reds have daily papers in Yiddish and English and many weeklies in many languages, Ihere has been

Some criticism outside the Labour meat of the Federation policy; and Mr Green because of his attitude\ to- JpT wards the advocates of Communism. -/ “ The Federation is criticised because* it is opposed to the recognition of the Soviets and to sending delegations to Russia to investigate. We do not have to go .to. Russia to learn what the Soviets are and what they are doing, is Mr Green’s answer. “ We' know that in every country where the- S jviets have been.recognised they have abused their diplomatic privilege by agitating against’, the Government that recognises them.”