NATIONAL COMMITTEE, I 1 I Labor Must Take the Offensive to C.P.U.S.A. STin Substantial \Vage Increases! I 5 I The Defense Prosecutes JOSEPH CLARK 120) The Peace Can Be \7on! GEORGE SISKIND I28l How "Historicus" Caricatures History ABNER \7. BERRY 137) The Struggle for the Lincoln Heritage I. TAPTEV 147) The Triumph of Mitchurin Biological Science HILARY MINC 152) \Vhat Is National Income? JAMES \7. FORD I70l The 1948 Elections in Bedford- Stuyvesant HOWARD SELSAM & I82l The Philosophy of John Maynard HARRY K. TTELLS Keynes J. MARTIN 1931 Communication TOMORROW'S CHINA bY Anna Louise Strong voL. xxYlll, No. 2 FEERUARY 194? political affairs Anna Louise Stron'g is the only Joreign corresponl'ent in' to haue penetrated' th'e Liberated Areas ol China' BERRY' ALEXANDER BITTELMAN' Editorlal Board: V. J. JEROME, Edltor' ABNER W' the clud,ing Manchuria, shortly alter its liberation by JACK STACHEL, MAX WEISS Communists. Tomorrow's China is baseil on a year's stay, lrom luly, 1946, to luly, 7947, in these newly liberated areas. lake the 0llensive to By jeep, donkey anil airplane, t'his in'ilomitable reporter tabor Must places lwrilly to be otu maps' She has has aisited, lound lncreases!* intentieweil not only leailers like Mao Tse-tung and [rlin Suhstantial tilage Chou En-lai, bu't spoken to worhers, pedsants, lactory ntanagers, iloctors, in'tellectuals, an'il hundreils ol others' If you work in steel, Your PaY reforrn, Fellow Workers! ller on'th'c'spot description ol the agrarian is worth an average of $ro'94 American workers urgently need check military principles are applied' in a week. But been sPeeded how Mao'Tse-tung's wase increases tday, to meet the less You've up to produce more in hours the fighting against Cltiang Kai'shek's arrnies, Chinese .r..?s of their families. TheY need 4o -to- day thin you did in hours during attituiles to the Marshall Pan and, U.S- interoention, 48 the war. the establishment ol a antl the tleaelopmerrts lead,ing to If you work in auto, Your Purchas- new clernocratic all-China goaerwnenl, lhrows a brilliant ing power has dropped $13.56 a week' out czrrs searchlight on the China ol today. Published, by Com- But now you're turning 40 an hour, instead of 3z' a Democrati.c Far Eastern Policy. lige the N'A'M' mittee lor the picture in two of the big the fourth round That's 65 cents industries. The Pfice: This time we'd monopoly-controlled the Negro worker, an answer"t woman worker, and the other lowest workers National Distributors But the $zr billion net raked Paid Profit even worse ofi. by the big moaoPolies in 1948 are NEW CENTI]BY PUBLISHDRS in But, in addition to concern for came out of a cut in real wages. 532 tsroad.wtY, l\'lcw York 3, N' Y' Your their take-home pay-most workers Purchasing Power and @los since r945, while are now worried also about iobs social security. They feel in their Y' under the has been increased second class maiier January 4, 1945, at the Post Office al New York' N' bones that tl're so<alled by New Centr]ry Publishers, lnc.' al Postwar 3. 1879. PoLlTlcAL AFFAIRs is published monlhly bust. For the York 3, N. Y., to whom subscripiions, payments and correspondence should be senl' boom is about to go New s**"r, issed bv the Natiooal Cormittc ate: $2.50 y""r: i1.25 for six months; foreisn and Canada, $3'00 first time in many years sharP in'- " ;rl"i:: il"iJ: ir:i.'i: of thicommunist Prtv'm Janusrv 5, 1949. -. POLITICAL AFFAIRS LABOR MUST TAKE THE OFFENSIVE creases in unemployment and the head ofi the growing rank-and-6le those put over on G.M. workers by and coverage for the maritime, agri- short work week are hitting industry demand for wage increases. They are Walter Reuther last year. It's a reason cultural, professional, domestic, and after industry. trying to dodge a real wage fight in for rejecting all proposals for wage- young lvorkers-as well as the doub- The "cold war," of which the Mar- order not to embarrass the big trusts freezing, or for raising prices to "keep ling of all social security benefits and shall Plan is a part, has taken around and the Truman Administration. up" with wages. adequate state appropriations to as- $5o billion out of the national in- That is why they are trying to split Substantial wage increases aren't sure speedy handling of applicants. come, and a good chunk out of your labor's ranks by ourdoing the N.A.M. handed out as a "gift" by Wall Street. Additional measures to defend the pay envelope. Many workers believed Red-baiters. But they can be won by militant and economic interests of the workeru in- the lie that the Marshall Plan would These reactionary trade union ofr- united trade union struggle, real in- clude a Federal minimum wage of help European economic recovery- cials argue that if the workers give dependent labor political action, and $r an hour; strict curbs on specula- and so beat the old cycle of boom up the fight for higher wages they joint action of labor and all demo- tion and hoarding by the food trusts; and bust at home. But, instead, a tnay get lower prices; and that the cratic forces. In the last few months and an extensive public works pro- "normal." crisis of overproduction is way to check the developing bust is we have seen what can be done, for gram to provide low-rent housing, developing while war preparations by supporting Wall Street's arma- example, in the successful wage expanded school and hospital facili- lncrease. ment program and "get tough" pol- struggles of the west coast longshore ties, new roads, etc. The cost of strch Instead of helping, the Marshall icy. They don't deny that the work- workers, a Federally financed program should Plan has hurt European recovery as ers need a substantial wage increase Growing unemployment is no ar- be met through a steep tax on high well as independence threatening the -yet they argue that "this is not the gument against wage struggle. It's incomes and corporate profits, by of other nations and world peace. It time" to fight for one. an argument for combining the ending the "cold war" and sharply has contributed to a z4 percent de- The Communist Party, the Party struggle for wages with the struggle reducing armament appropriations. cline in America's foreign trade, and of the working class, the Party of so, for jobs and social security. As an elementary measure of rclf- is directly responsible for mounting cialism, at all times defends the im- In addition to a determined strug- defense, every union should main- unemployment at home. mediate as well as the long-range S.le for wage increases, unions enter- tain its unemployed members in good While the projected $r5 to $zo bil- interests of the American workers ing netr., contrdct negotiations should standing, and advance the trade un- lion war budget will help the Wall and people. We declare that today also genuine tneasules to ion organization of the unemployed. 'Street fght lor profiteers-it won't raise your the workers can raise their living reduce speed-up; remouol of all The Southern organizing drives wa8'es, or give you jobs and social standards and defend their economic clawses in any way limiting the right should be stepped up, the present security. By stepping up their war security. We declare that this can to stike; and introductiot of the jo- anti-Communist and |im-Crow prac- preparations, the bipartisan monopo- only be done at the expense of mo- ltour weefr uithout any pay-cuts. I-a- tices wiped out, and real Negro-white lists are making the economic situa- nopoly profits and Wall Streer's arm- bor should also press its dernands for unity established, tion worse. ament program-and by united, mili- a guaranteed annual uagc. Concern for the rights of thc Ne- The N.A.M. repeats the Billion tant struggle against the trusts and Of course, the workers will have to gro workers is vital to the whole Dollar Lie that wage increases are warmongers, carry this fight into the 8rst Congress struggle for wage increases and eco- responsible for inflation. To cool off Even a return to the living stand- and state legislatures-in the first nomic security. The Negro worker labor's wage demands, it is staging ards of 1945 would require a wage place to secure repeal of the Tafr is still first to be fired last to be a sit-down against excess profits increase of z5 percent. But workers Hartley slave law and reenactment, hired, and Iowest paid. Whole indus- itaxes and threatening more lay-offs. don't join unions only to hold their without compromise, of the Wagner tries, for example, textile and electri- And those trade union leaders who own. Progressive unions constantly Labor Relations and Norris-LaGuar- cal, are still virtually "lily white." In 'play the part of Wall Street's labor strive clia Anti-Injunction addi- some 'lieutenants to improve living standards. Acts. In industrieg Negro workere are are also trlnng to use the That is one reason against rying tion, they should demand unernploy- being denied jobs, fired, or dorryn- threat of -"s *.-ployment to wages to escalator clauses such as ment insurance for a 4o-week period, graded because the employers frar POLITICAL AFFAIRS thcir splendid record as militant trade struggle of all their shop-mates in de- unionists and organizers.