Bérmunkás, 1933. július-december (21. évfolyam, 746-772. szám)
1933-10-28 / 763. szám
8 oldal BÉRMUNKÁS 1933 október 28. Junior Column LIFE OF A PROLATARIAT By—MARY FECZKO. (Continued.) FATE. His father met with an accident in the factory. A heavy object fell on his foot, crippling him for life. The dreams Peter had built of becoming a great doctor someday, came tumbling down like so much sand, for, with his father permanently disabled, he had to go to work to support them both. He became card number 447 in the Smelt & Iron Works. Just another youngster added to the list of “Child Laborer.” The ensuing years were uneventful ones. Life was, for Peter, systematic, monotonous. When he was eighteen his father died from a heart attack, leaving him completely alone. His heart ached at the loss of his parent, for father and son had grown very close these past years. But he soon learned, that one’s heart can be heavy, and one can be' weighed down with sorrow, but—life goes on. He still awoke at the usual hour and lived through the daily routine. .. A LAY OFF. Oiie morning a fellow employee stopped near Peter’s press and the following conversation ensued. “Say, Peter, have you heard the news?” “What news?” “The Gillbeu Motor Co. closed down. They’ve laid off five hundred workers. Surprised: “Really ?” “Yeah, and the packing plant “round the comer is going on two days a week.” “Gee, that’s tough!” “I’ll say,” and the lad started to tell Peter about the various families he knew that would be affected. “My uncle has seven children he’s the only one working and-------” Peter tried to warn the boy that the room foreman was approaching but — too late. “SAY,” he roared at the Startled youth, “do you think you’re being paid for loafing? Get back to your bench and make it snappy.” The boy hurried away. The foreman gave Peter a withering look and lumbered off. Peter looked contemptuously after the man and mumbled, “slavedriver.” Not a pleasant name but one that was well deserved. It had been bestowed on him by the emploees he lorded it over. From that day on, for Peter to hear that various factories had closed down, or gone on short-time, was no longer news. It became an everyday occur- ance. But that wasn’t all. Something else happened that few had foreseen, — wage slashing, -r- It swept the country like a plague. Relentlessly, employers everywhere, cut and cut and cut! Reducing the standard of living of most wage workers to the most degrading level. Did the workers resent the wage slashing ? It came to most of them as an unpleasant surprise. They resented it; yes. But most of them believed their employers statements that “Just as soon as business conditions return to normal, wages shall be raised to their original level.” They grumbled, “Yes,” under their breath, for they dared not voice any of their true sentiments. The fear of being laid off hung like a menacing sword over the heads of all. Workers — “rugged individuals” — who had laughed at or dismissed with a shrug the prophesies of labor orators of every stripe or creed; workers who never cared; a whit- about organizing, who never tried to understand, or realize the necessity of Industrial Unionism, were starting to reap the whirlwind their indifference had sown. PETER RESENTS FATE. Peter had entered the Smelt & Iron Works, bitterly resentful of the trick fate had played on him. Yet with the infallible optimism of youth, he kept hoping that someday, somehow, something would turn up that would make it possible to resume his studies and fulfill his ambition. He worked toward that end. He didn’t smoke, kept away from “crap games,” that a good many of his fellow-employees indulged in; didn’t frequent pool-parlours, and speakeasies where it was easy to spend ones hard earned wages or acquire a liking for intoxicating beverages. These things his father had urged and taught him to keep away from. Religiously he set aside part of his pay every week—until the depression. He had been earning as much as twenty-five dollars per week. When the wage slashing commenced he was cut first to twenty-two, then to eighteen, and finally to fifteen. He wasn’t pleased with the cuts but sensed the futility of protesting. There were too many unemployed who would gladly take his job for that amount or even less. He worked steadily for a year at the reduced rate. His bank account in the meantime had diminished considerably. His brother-in-law had been out of work for seven months, during which time he had been supporting him, his sister Marie and their two lovely children. After seven months of unemployment he finally got a job for one third of what he had received during so-called “good times.” It was work never-the-less and he managed, rather meag- erly, to keep his family alive without Peter’s aid. Shortly after, Peter lost his job! (To be continued.) Nincs béke az acél iparban Az acél iparban, bár az újságok híradása szerint befejezték a sztrájkot a szervezkedési jog elismerésével, de az csak arra volt alkalmas, hogy megbontsa a munkások között az összetartást. Több telepen, köztük a Weir- ton, W. Va. nagy acél telepen is, a munkások követelései a mélyen leszállítót bérek, a speed up rendszer még elintézetlen és azért a harc minden; pillanatban kiújulhat. Hogy a munkások az acél iparban is jogos követeléseik birtokába juthassanak, a mostani laza szervezetüket fel kell, hogy cseréljék az egész országra és az egész iparra kiterjedő szervezetet kell alkotniuk, amely képes az egy mindért, mind egyért elv alapján az egész acél ipar munkásai érdekéért síkra szálni. WIENER ANDOR munkástárs néhány hétre Cle- landba érkezett, hogy a Bérmunkás körül ezekben az időkben felgyülemlő munkákban a labizottságnak segítségére legyen. WIENER mtárs ebben a pár hétben Cleveland és a környéken előadásokat is fog tartani amelyekre ezúttal is felhívjuk lapunk olvasóinak a figyelmét. ELŐFIZETÉSEK NYUGTÁZÁSA. Okt. 15—21-ig. J. Horváth, Cleveland____ 2 J. Lockner, Cleveland...... 1 J. Herczegh, Cleveland...... 1 M. Vlosits, N. Y................ 1 J. Nyirán, Cleveland.......... 4 G. Nagy, New York.......... 1 F. Takács, Pittsburgh....... 2 A. Kucher, Pittsburgh....... 3 F. Szüch, So. Bend............. 2 G. Stana, Cleveland.......... 8 J. Bodnár, Shelton............. 1 PASSAICON, N. J. 60 Dayton Avenuen, minden vasárnap este 8 órakor gyűlést vagy vitaestéket tartanak a Bérmunkás olvasói, amelyen szívesen látják a magyar munkásokat. Nagy esemény New Yorkban A Modern Színkör és az IWW szinielődással és műsorral egybekötött táncmulatsága október 28-án, szombaton este az Ifjúsági Kör és Daltestület hatalmas színház termében. 181 E. 87th Street. Színre kerül, Tóth Sándor rendezésével két egy- felvonásos vígjáték. Műsor után a Modern Ifjúsági Zenekar mellett tánc! Belépti dij taxel együtt 50 cent. Kezdete este pont 8:15 perckor. Tekintettel a tartalmas műsorra pontos megjelenést kérünk. A rendező bizottság. Utcai Gyűlés A Burnsideon lakó magyar munkások figyelmét felhívjuk, hogy az IWW minden csütörtökön este 8 órai kezdettel a 93-ik és Cottage Grove Avenuen utcai gyűlést tart. Kérjük a munkások tömeges megjelenését. CLEVELAND WEST SIDEON minden szerdán este összejövetel a csoport helyiségében 4153 Lorain Ave. (első emelet) Előadások, viták. Minden olvasónkat szívesen látunk. CLEVELAND EAST SIDEON minden pénteken este összejövetel a csoport 8622 Buckeye Road alatti helyiségében. Vita estélyek vagy előadások a munkásságot érdeklő eseményekről. MEGHÍVÓ. A Világ Ipari Munkásai Szervezetének Pittsburgh-i Magyar-Angol és Olasz csoportjai közösen nagyszabású táncestélyt rendeznek a szervezet lapjai javára, 1933. november 11-én, sszombaton este 7 órai kezdettel. Az International Socialist Lyceum- ban, 805 James St., N. S., Pittsburgh, Pa. Amely mulatságra ezúton tisztelettel meghívjuk a Bérmunkás olvasóit, valamint Pittsburgh és környéke magyar munkásságát. Ezen az estén beszélni fog J. MARGOLIS, a közismert pittsburghi ügyvéd, aki nagyszerű munkás-mozgalmi tudásáról és . tevékenységéről nem egyszer tett már tanúbizonyságot.
