Meaning and Lessons of the Coal Crisis By William F. Warde and M. Stein THE - See Page 3 - MILITANT PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKING PEOPLE VOL. V II—No. 20 NEW YORK, N. Y„ SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1943 PRICE (5) CENTS Protest Against Mine Leaders Predict Walkout The Davies' Film Dewey-La Follette Natalia Trotsky Unless Contract Is Negotiated Letter Reiterates Appeals to Honest ft> Commission's Verdict Public Opinion The film “ Mission To Mos­ Natalia Sedov Trotsky, widow Govt. Tries to cow’’ is an example of the kind of Leon Trotsky, last week ap­ Union Members Are Prepared of "propaganda which falsifies pealed from Mexico "to all history through distortion, those who hold the truth dear, Head Off Militant omission or pure invention of all those who refuse to assume To Fight As Truce Nears End facts," according to a letter in moral responsibility for Stalin’s the May 9 N. Y. Times written crimes, to speak out in protest Action By Meager W ar Labor Board Crisis Sharpens and byjohn Dewey, noted American against ‘Mission To Moscow/ ” educator, and Suzanne La Fol­ the Davies’ motion picture ‘Roll Call’ Move AFL, CIO Call Emergency Conferences lette, liberal writer, who served which presents a 100% GPU By Philip Blake respectively as the chairman version of the Moscow trials. By C. Charles and secretary of the Interna­ Her full statement follows: May 12 — A new coal stoppage can be expected tional Commission of Inquiry “The film ‘Mission To Moscow’ Obviously intended as a no­ into the Moscow trials. ought to have depicted the Mos­ tice that the wage demands of at the end of the 15-day truce on May 18 if a con­ The Dewey-LaFollette letter cow trials with full and genuine thè miners and other workers tract is not negotiated by that time, leaders of the also declares: documentation and veracity; but would be denied under the pre­ “ ‘Mission To Moscow’ deals in reality this film merely under­ United Miné Workers in several important mining w rite s the lies and crude forgeries text that prices are being “ roll­ essentially with three things: ed back," the Office of Price districts warned this week. Soviet history since January, of these trials, the most outrage­ 1937; international relations since ous in the annals of history. Administration this week an­ On May 7 President Roosevelt told his press con­ “By terrorization, by threaten­ nounced that starting June 1, that time, and American history ference that he regards workers in the mines which since 1939. It falsifies all three... ing injury to the relatives and prices of seven items would be “In this synthetic trial (shown families of the victims, Stalin ex­ reduced by 10%. The items in­ have been taken over by the government as govern­ in the film) the accused confess torted admissions from people clude meats, butter and coffee. whose entire lives had been de­ ment employes who have no right to strike. This that their alleged crimes were The “roll back” in prices is to voted to the revolution — in par­ directed by Trotsky. What is be achieved through a subsidy to was understood as a sign of the administration’s readiness to use ticular, the admissions of the. mon­ omitted is the testimony in the the meat packers, dairies and cof­ every means at its disposal to break another coal strike and to strous charge that, they were in actual trials to specific alleged fee processors. uphold the authority of the greatly discredited W ar Labor Board. Hitler's service. All this was per­ meetings with Trotsky abroad— At. the same time the OPA pro­ But Roosevelt was answered only a few hours later when John testimony immediately challenged petrated prim arily because of fear of Leon Trotsky, his authority, his mises stricter enforcement of P. Busarello, president of District 5 of the U M W i declared that' in the world press and con­ price ceilings. unless an agreement covering the Appalachian mine field was clusively disproved by evidence political integrity and heroism. These promises w ill not succeed reached by midnight, May 18, “there will be no bituminous fuel offered in rebuttal before the in­ It was indispensable for Stalip to discredit Leon Trolsk.v in ad­ in the least in changing the produced in this district at. least.” He reported that the union’s ternational commission of inquiry workers’ minds concerning the of which the undersigned were vance in the eyes of the masses, district board, covering the de-S- to make him the target of the urgent need for wage increases to cisive Pittsburgh area, had voted respectively chairman and secre­ Utah, Missouri, ¡Kansas, Wash­ dirtiest, slander, before proceeding, meet the ris in g cost, of liv in g . to carry out “the traditional po­ tary. It is not irrelevant to men­ ington. Colorado and New Mexico as Stalin later did. with the as­ licy of ‘no contract, no work’ ” tion here that the commission, COMPLETELY INADEQUATE have also signified their intention after painstaking investigation, sassination. My husband, I^on after the truce deadline expired. Trotsky, was murdered on August First of all, the workers know of not "trespassing" on the mines concluded that the Moscow trials 20, 1940 by one of the< agents of that the increases in the prices “IF THIS IS NOT DONE. .” if no settlement is reached by were frameups— a conclusion en­ of necessities have been far midnight of May 1®. dorsed by intelligent world Stalin's GPU. Since then a number of other “The production of ‘Mission To greater than 10% on a few items. opinion at the time of its an­ important sections of the uuion UNION ACTIONS Moscow’ was needed by Stalin in Reductions of a cent or two on havp adopted the same position. nouncement.” No word has been issued by the order to present a semblance of items »which have increased in Among these was District 6 in UMW policy committee since last justification for this vile crime. price by 20 and 30 cents will not Ohio and the West Virginia week when Lewis announced the I thought there was one course mean much to the workers. Panhandle, whose president, John 15-day truce following .the agree­ Five More Unions open to me: to turn to the courts The American Federation of La­ Owens, long know n as an im ­ ment he claims was reached with in order to lay hare the colossal bor lias made a study of real portant lieutenant of the Lewis ad­ Ickes, but the position of the forgery of ‘Mission To Moscow,’ prices of goods used by workers. ministration in the unio n, union is clear nevertheless. Not Aid Kelly Postal its distortion of facts and of his­ The AFL survey shows that declared: only the statements of district of­ tory and its abysmal slander. But prices of food in. many cities have “We assumed when President ficials, but regretful reports in the to my great disappointment, I increased by over 100% since Jan­ Roosevelt instructed the solid Charges Condemned capitalist press that the miners was informed by my attorney that ua ry 7, 1941. fuels administrator (Ickes) to support the Lewis policy, attest As a Frameup and the legal code of the United And prices continue to skyrock­ seize the mines and operate them, to the fact that the miners are States does not provide for court, et. Price increases granted by the that they would negotiate wages ready to fight if no agreement is Stab at Labor's Rights action in the case of defamation OPA in February were douUle and conditions of employment reached. “It is essential at this time that of the dead. those in the previous month (in­ during the fifteen days of exten­ “Only one other course is left This was shown also by the labor unite for the defense of creasing by 1% as against the sion of the old agreement. If this me: to appeal to honest public prompt walkout of a number of Kelly Postal in order to hit hard Zi% of January). On May 4, is not done, the miners are de­ opinion. I appeal to all those locals after some of the mine against the anti-labor forces in OPA officials admitted that food termined to cease work.” Who hold the tru th dear, a ll those operators served notice they in­ the state of Minnesota. Our local prices were "practically out of The union locals in Wyoming, who refuse to assume moral res­ tended to fine each miher $1 for understands the situation and it con tro l.” ponsibility for Stalin’s crimes, to DUNNE ELECTION CAMPAIGN Senate Adopts each day they were out during is the opinion of our membership speak out in protest against ‘Mis­ PAYING FOR SUBSIDIES MINE PROFITS the recent strike. that the whole affair was a sion To Moscow.’ ” And it was demonstrated again frameup and a direct stab against According to the OPA "roll ROSE IN 1943 COMES TO SPIRITED CLOSE Anti-Labor Bill when Tow er H ill Local 7674 in labor’s democratic rights. On be­ back” plan, the meat packers, dai­ Prosperity continues for the the Pittsburgh area fined 25 mem­ half of the members of our — B U LLE T IN — ries and coffee processors w ill be mining companies. bers $5 each for working when union, I sincerely trust that Connolly Bill subsidized by the government to MINNEAPOLIS, May 11 (By wire) — V. R. Dunne, Social­ According to the April issue tho union walked out after the Kelly Postal will be exonerated Earl Browder: the amount, of 3300,000,000, so ist Workers Party candidate for mayor in yesterday’s primary Passes Senate By of the monthly bulletin of the contract expired on April 30.