Union Leaders Call for Freedom of the 18 at N. Y. Mass Meeting

FREE THE 18! the MILITANT PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKING PEOPLE VOL. V III— No. 25 NEW YORK, N. Y., SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1944 PRICE: FIVE CENTS GPU Terrorist Union Leaders Call For Freedom Drive Launched Of The 18 At N. Y. Mass Meeting On Trotskyists --------------------------------------------------- International Slander and Lynch-Incitation Campaign Is Aimed at All Militant Workers ILGWU Boston Convention By Joseph Keller Unanimously Demands Pardon The Stalinist frameup and strikebreaking machine has launched a highly organized international slander campaign CIO Speakers Denounce Stalinist Attempts against all labor militants and, in particular, the Trotskyists, most conscious vanguard fighters everywhere for the working to Sabotage Fight for Framed Trotskyists class. This GPU-inspired onslaught is beginning to reach fren zied heights both in the United States and England and coincides with the growing repressions against the labor movement and BULLETIN the increasing “ democratic" persecutions of the Trotskyists by the Roosevelt and Churchill ca- The Boston Convention of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union unanimously went on record calling on President pitalist governments, i 1 ously two anti-Trotskyist attacks. Signaled by the recent Stal The aiticle claiming to give the Roosevelt to pardon the 18 Minneapolis labor prisoners. inist public rejection of social “low-down” on the British The reporter of the Resolutions Committee was greeted with ist objectives and open espousal Trotskyists finds that “ the center applause when he said: of capitalism, the latest GPU of world Trotskyism at present “The 17 men and one woman involved in the case—leaders of incitations to frameup ami terror is the Socialist Workers’ Party the Minneapolis Truck Drivers Local No. 544 ana of the Socialist against the Trotskyists is part in the United States.” Because Workers Party—were prosecuted for publishing and distributing of the Stalinist defense of capital the British workers are more ad radical literature, for making radical speeches, and declarations, ist reaction, which includes sup vanced politically, this article and for carrying on agitation along similar lines. port of anti-labor legislation and attempts to “argue” against the “The records of the case abundantly show that they were con Trotskyist program by a series decrees, acting as volunteer stool demned simply and solely for the expression of opinion, no overt of bald-fac.ed fabrications, such pigeons for the corporations and act of any sort being charged against them. They were convicted governments, and unabashed as “ all the resolutions passed by under the notorious Smith Sedition Act of 1940, the first statute strikebreaking. the Fourth International . since 1798 to make the mere expression of opinion a federal crime. But the immediate and special advocated that the followers of object of this slanderous lynch Trotsky should utilize the crisis “ Your Committee thoroughly disagrees with the philosophy, the drive is to reinforce and abet the created by the -war in order to objectives and the tactics of the Minneapolis prisoners. Nevertheless, government frameups of the 18 overthrow the Soviet govern we arc deeply convinced that these convictions challenge the best imprisoned Trotskyists in this ment.” "All the resolutions,” as traditions of civil liberty under the constitution. country and the 4 indicted every informed person knows, “ We are gratified to note that a number of leaders of our In George Novack, National Secretary of the Civil Rights Defense Committee, addressing the mass meeting in New York City on Trotskyist leaders of the British make the keystone of the Trotsky ternational have lent their support to the growing movement for behalf of the Minneapolis Labor Case defendants. Seen on the speaker’s platform are Thomas DeLorenzo, President of UAW-CIO Revolutionary Communist Party, ist program “the unconditional an executive pardon to the 18 Minneapolis prisoners. defense of the Soviet Union from Local 365, George Baldanzi, Executive Vice-President of the CIO Textile Workers, and Roger Baldwin, National Director of the and to sabotage the rapidly “Entirely in the interests of civil liberty, your Committee heart growing labor defense campaign imperialist attack.” American Civil Liberties Union. Others who spoke, but are not shown in this picture, were Henry Fruchtcr, National Educational ily recommends concurrence with the intent of the resolutions be on their behalf. The Stalinists Director, CIO United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Em ployes, Norman Thomas, Socialist Party leader, Daniel Bell, Editor G IB B E R IS H fore us (Nos. 38, 131, 205, 260) to join in the appeal to the Presi have been aroused to unprecedent of The New Leader and Albert Gates, Editor of Labor Action. ed fear and fury by the fact that “Facts on Campaign of Min dent of the United States to grant such pardon. hundreds of union organizations, neapolis Trotskyites,” which the representing over 1,250,000 mem People’s World threatens is but the first of a series, descends al War Profits Canada Stalinists bers, have voted support for the Badoglio Cabinet Collapses By Art Preis Minneapolis Labor Case prisoners, most to sheer gibberish, and is a America’s corporations are and that so great has been the tissue of fantastic inventions. It raking in an average of $1,000 NEW YORK ClT Y, June 8. — In an inspiring demonstra labor reaction against the frame turns the Minneapolis Labor Case net war profits a year on every For Money Control tion of working class solidarity with the 18 imprisoned Trotsky up of the British Trotskyists that lite ra lly upside, .¿Qjvn, represent Under Italian Mass Pressure worker employed, and their ist and Minneapolis Transport Wor.kprs Local 544-CIO leaders, 8 labor Members of Parliament ing Its origin as a conflict be top executives “ pull down the approximately 800 workers jammed the C ivil Rights Defense are heading- the committee for tween “union bosses” (the Dunne By James Cowan neat average sum of $84,000 By Bank Oligarchs Committee mass meeting at the Hotel Diplomat Crystal Ball their defense. brothers) and the “democratic” per annum,” reports the June The shadow government of Italy, set up and kept in office An attempt by the Canadian room here tonight. They enthusiastically endorsed the appeal leadership of Daniel Tobin’s 3 CIO Economic Outlook. It STALINIST DIATRIBES by Allied bayonets in order to frustrate the w ill of the masses, of nationally prominent trade union and civil liberties leaders gangster-ridden AFL Teamsters also reveals that in spite of Commonwealth Federation and the Social Credit members of the who unitedly issued a call for American. labor lo rally behind The general tenor of the Stalin machine. Above all, it tries to has been reshuffled for the second time within a brief space of long hours of overtime the av ist diatribes is that the persecu show that the imprisonment of a few weeks. erage worker ends up the week Canadian parliament to take the fight to free the 18 and repeal the Smith “ Gag” Act under tions of the Trotskyists are not the Minneapolis Transport Work Marshal Pietro Badoglio, fascist butcher of the Ethiopians with exactly 35 cents left in his away from the ten government- which they were convicted. The speakers joined in urging organ “ labor cases.” The Trotskyists ers Local 544-CIO leaders is not and one of the staunchest backers of the former regime of Mus pocket. chartered banks their right to ized labor to resist the growing create credit and currency and deserve to be thrown into prison a “ labor case.” Among “ the 17 or solini, has been replaced as Premier in a reconstructed cabinet by A typical example of how offensive of Big Business and civil rights during this war, was restore it to parliament, was —and worse—because they are 18 convicted”—the People’s World Ivanoe Bonomi, an ex-Social-Democrat who headed the Italian much profits arc drained from the government against labor’s in the finest traditions of the defeated recently by a vote of really “Hitler agents” who are which claims to give the “facts” government for eight months in 1921-22, shortly before the ad every worker was cited before democratic rights. working class movement. Reflect the WLB by Emil Rieve, presi 107 to 20. A ll the ca p ita list p a r “ inciting strikes” for the express is vague even on the number im vent of fascism. ing the mounting nation-wide dent of the CIO Textile W ork ties, aided by the Stalinists, com Among the outstanding fig purpose of “sabotaging war prisoned—“only a few were mem The need for this new “demo tion. Revolver shots rang out. support for the CRDC campaign, ers, who pointed out that the bined to kill the measure. Both ures who addressed the meeting production.” These raving lies bers of the Teamsters Union.” cratic” face-lifting arose after the The Italian masses have long this united meeting represented giant American Woolen Com Stalinist -members of parliament, were George Novack, CRDC are merely the basis for scarcely- Actually, 13 of the 18 were mem m em ories! a significant step forward in ad Allied occupation of Rome. Bado pany made a 1943 p r o fit of Fred Rose and Dorise Nielson, National Secretary; George veiled appeals to outright physi bers and leaders. “Only a few glio and his cabinet colleagues— vancing the fundamental princi cal terrorism and mob action hundred members” of AFL Local HOT CLIMATE "more than $1,380 on every voted with the bankers' repre Baldanzi, Executive V i c e - ples of working class solidarity Stalinists, Social - Democrats, w o rke r on the p a y ro ll.” The sentatives. against Trotskyists and all m ili 544 endorsed affiliation with the Christian democrats and liberals— It was with these shots ring President of the CIO Textile with all victims of capitalist class company is complaining that Joseph Coldwell, leader of the tant workers whom the Stalinists CIO.

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