The daily worker. [volume], December 11, 1924, Image 4

About The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
OF LIVING
£S ANOTHER
.•WARD FLIGHT
the Worker** Wage*
Remain Stationary
ASHINGTON, Dec. 10.—Retail
1 prices took an upward trend in
leading cities of the country during
jvember, ranging from less than flve
mths, to one per cent in Detroit, to
hree per cent in Rochester, N. Y., the
department of labor announced today.
An increase of two per cent was re
ported by Louisville, New Haven, New
York, Portland, Maine and Washing
ton, while Baltimore, Boston and Co
lumbus, Dallas, Fall River, Manches
ter, Milwaukee, Omaha, St. Paul and
Springfield, 111., reported an increase
of one per cent.
As compared with the average cost
in 1913, the retal cost of food on Nov.
16, 1924, was 69 per cent higher in
Richmond and Washington, 57 per
cent in Baltimore; 66 per cent in New
York; 54 per cent in Boston and De
troit; 62 per cent in Charleston, S. C„
and New Haven; 51 por cent in F-all
River and Milwaukee; 60 per cent in
Dallas; 49 per cent in Manchester; and
and 46 per cent in Louisville and
Omaha.
The Paxton Hibben
Board of Inquiry
Reopen* Hearings
WBy The Federated Pres*)
YORK, Dec. 10. —The case of
Capt Paxten Hibben, reserve army of
fleer whose trial by a board of inquiry
appointed by Major Genera. Robert
E. Bullard on charge of ''hoi ng be
Uefs favorable to enemies of the Unit
ed States government” was suddenly
halted in September, is to recommence
this month. Col. John J. Bradley,
commanding officer at Fort Slocum,
Hlbben's counsel, has been notified by
Brig. Gen. William Bar-(and) clay
Parsons, president of the board of of
fleers conducting the trial. Bradley
has received a copy of the thousand
typewritten pages of testimony al
ready presented, most of it as rele
vant to the ease as WeDster’i diction
ary or ntncyclopedla Brtttanica, accord
ing to Bradley, who will move to have
most of it excluded. It consists large
ly of alleged effort* of the Third In
ternational to overthrow the U. S
government "in which Capt Hibben is
not even mentioned and with which he
has never had anything whatever to
do,” say 3 Bradley.
Hlbben’s counsel will introduce an
affidavit from Capt E. A. Yarrow in
relief work at Ttflis, Transcaucasian
Russia, which supports Hlbben’s vijws
on the necessity of U. S. restoration of
normal relations between Rus ia and
America. Yarrow tells of Hlbben’s re
lief work in Russia in 1921 and states
that it is his belief that officers in
the army should be "leaders of
thought not time servers and should
be outspoken in their honest convic
tions not muzzled."
Subscribe for “Your Daily,”
the DAILY WORKER.
CHICAGO NORTH SIDE
POLISH BRANCH IN
BIG START FOB DRIVE
The North Side Chicago Polish
Branoh No. 20, gave the campaign
to Insure the DAILY WORKER for
1925 * big send off In the Polish Fed
eration by contributing a total of
fifty dollars In eeah and pledging
many more dollar* to the drive.
The quota for the Polish Federation
Is set at $450.00, and Judging from
the start of the campaign, this turn
will soon be exceeded. The Polish
branch No. 20 took out three SIO.OO
policies, and five comrades present
took $5.00 polloles. There were only
eleven oomradea present at this
meeting. The branoh has already
ordered two more Insurance policy
books. A oommlttee was elected to
visit subscribers to the Polish Com
munist paper and ask their sup
port.
"In my opinion the quota set for
the Polish Federation was too low,”
Comrade Kowalski told the DAILY
WORKER. “I believe members of
the Polish Federation will subscribe
at the very least $700.00 for the
DAILY WORKER drive."
The leading two-column editorial
In the “Trybuna Rabotnlcza” last
week was devoted to a call to the
members of the Polish Federation
to gat behind the DAILY WORKER
campaign to Insure the DAILY
WORKER for 1925.
NEW YORK, ATTENTION!
Learn About Russia!
Moissaye J. Olgin
Noted Communist Writer, Lecturer
Will Give a Lecture Course on
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
at the WORKP:itS’ SCHOOL,
208 E. 12th St., New York City
Course Begins Tuesday, Dec. 16
REGISTER NOW!
WHY 1 AM FOR THE MINORITY THESIS
(Continued from page 3)
slogans than the majority thesis, and
the minority does not say anywhere,
nor does it show anywhere, that the
slogan, "for a class farmer-labor party”
is the only good one. On the contrary
they show how, together with the
other slogans, that slogan becomes
one of the most effective weapons to
raise the prestige of our party and to
further the class struggle.
The majority thesis also contains
many slogans. But the political sig
nificance of the farmer-labor slogan in
face of the events of America’s politi
cal life, is not recognized in the ma-
The Defeatist Thesis of the C. E. C. Majority!
By W. J. WHITE. \
THE Foster, Cannon, Browder, et al.,
majority theses is one of the most
discouraging documents it has ever
been my misfortune to have to wade
thru, and I use the word wade ad
visedly, for that is what the rank and
file must do in order to get the true
inwardness of their flunking and run
ning away from the necessity of form
ing a united frant in the ranks of the
landless farmers and the unorganized
industrial workers.
And when these workers have
gotten a headache, from their toil and
ravail from the unwelcome task, this
ong-winded apology imposes on the
membership, no word of hope or en
couragement will they find to greet
them at the end, nothing but discour
agement and despair if they have the
tenacity and concentration of purpose
to stick it out to the end. So much
for the theses itself.
Running like a thread thru this is
he continual cry of despair: "Oh,
woe Is me! We went out to these
and they did not head. Everything
is lost! Let us quit, let us quit, let
us leave them to their fate!” This
is the leit motive running thru the
entire document. A quitting, defeat
ist theses.
How Sam Gompers, Lewis, Berry
and other capitalist allies, who helped
to foist upon the workers the LaFol
lette goblin, must laugh when they
see the panic and fright their politi
cal masked strategy has caused in
the ranks of the Foster, Cannon,
Browder groups. How they will
chortle with glee when they see this
bunch of Don Quixotes still charging
at the wind mills of LaFollette and
LaFollettism, which they set up for
this very purpose, instead of putting
all this wasted energy to the better
purpose of attacking the real enemy
of the working class, lack of solidar
ity and, organization in the ranks of
the poor farmers and the unorganized
industrial workers, and teaching them
the necessity of class solidarity and
organization in the face of a common
enemy.
With this panic running thru the
ranks of the majority committee it is
well that there is a sane minority hav
ing the courage to call the attention
of the membership to the real tasks
confronting the workers. Paragraph
after paragraph in this theses is de
voted to laying this LaFollette ghost.
It would take an adding machine to
keep tab on the number of times the
word LaFollette and LaFollettism is
to be found in this epic to the goblin
of LaFollettism. Take courage Cop
poral “Cy Klegg” Bittleman and
“Sancho Panza” Browder, you who
are fighting this rear guard action, to
lay this ghost, for this is not so deadly
as it seems, and after the majority
of your group have recovered from
this panic and fright, they will find
that this “red herring” of LaFollet
tism under other forms will be
dragged across the path of the work
ers time after time. The rank and
file of farmers and industrial workers
are not such damphools as they seem.
Do not, I beg of you, waste so much
ammunition bombing fogs and shoot
ing ten pounders at chipmunks. Turn
your guns on real Issues, there are
plenty of them, and they are worthy
of yflur marksmanship, I assure you.
However, I see another matter
which is running thru this theses,
which is to be called to the attention
of the rank and file of the members
of our party who read the DAILY
WORKER, and that is the attempt of
this now majority to foist upon the
ninority the guilt of their own sins.
In the "August Theses” it was the
naneuver of Pepper and Ruthenberg
o form a united front of the farmers
md industrial workers, who were
deologically, and in interest, closest
co the Workers Party, and the only
criticism the Communist Interna
tional made on this was that they
stressed the farmers’ end on this front
of workers and farmers too much. In
ether words they were right from a
Bolshevist viewpoint, but did not bal
ance up their work in the two wings
of this logical front, while the work
of the Communist International has
been to keep the party going to the
left and not swinging to the right
under the leadership of the Foster-
Cannon group.
This move of Comrades Pepper and
Ruthenberg was the true Bolshevik
position and to true conception of
Marxism and Leninism, but the Com
munist International said the Workers
Party was not strong enough from the
standpoint of Bolshevism to carry out
the maneuver.
This was the decision of the Com
munist International on the question.
In the case of the LaFollette maneu
vering under the leadership of the
■’oster-Cannon group it was only un
ler the hardest kind of work of the
ntcrnational that wo were kept head
ing from plunging headlong into the
chaos of the third party abyss sad tor
iority thesis. The majority does not
even understand the most elementary
fact—-that if there Is no united front
plogan on the political field of Amer
ica, such as the class farmer-labor
party slogans, the Workers Party will
be helping to crystallize the LaFol
lette movement into a third party.
The majority simply demonstrates po
litical blindness coupled with a sec
tarian spirit of the first magnitude.
It is childish to believe that the C. I.
will support the present majority ol
the C. E. C.
“Join the Workers Party” is not a
united front slogan.
which they now would place the blame
on the shoulders of the minority, who
have all along held to the true Bol
shevik position, but also to the con
stant criticism of the Communist In
ternational against the swinging to
the right are we indebted, and this
constant criticism has been against
this present majority, the Foster-Can
non group. Let those who have sinned
bear the result of their sinning and
not try to shift the sin onto tnd
shoulders of some innocent group.
Ready enough they were to follow
the LaFollette “illusion” over the
brink and into the precipice, and they
now rush to the other extreme and
say: “A general agitation campaign
by the Workers Party under the
slogan of 'For a Mass Farmer-Labor
Party!’ would not be profitable. The
policy of applying the united front
tactic by attempting to form a mass
farmer-labor party of which the Work
ers Party would be a part, is not’
adaptable at the present period.”
Let me ask the Foster-Cannon ma
jority group at this juncture: Did the
election which we have just passed
thru remove the necessity for a mass
farmer-labor party? You say it did.
Why do you say this? Has this elec
tion given the landless farmers back
their land? Has the pressure of capi
talism been removed from the should
ers of the proletariat in the mills and
mines? Is the robbery of these work
ers any less today than it was before
the votes were cast? Is it not a fact
that these workers have a common in
terest in throwing from their should
ers this common enemy, capitalism?
Can they do this better in separate
groups than in mass action of farm
ers and workers led by the Workers
Party? You know they cannot.
Again you leave no doubt about
your lack of grasp of the question con
fronting the workers and the Workers
Party when you say a little farther
on in the theses: “Our chief task of the
immediate future is not the building
of such a farmer-labor party but the
strengthening and developing of the
Workers Party. . . How pray are
you going to build this Workers
Party? Have you some magic formula
which will enable you to get this ma
terial out of the non-existant?
Now is not the time for you to wrap
your bedraggled cloak of ingrowing
political Puritanism and virglhity
which you have soiled, about your
shoulders and attempt to hold aloof
from this great mass of workers and
farmers from whom the strength of
the Communist movement has come,
and from which it must come.
The mass farmer-labor party is the
slogan which must be used to rally
them to the Communist movement.
It is from the mass that the revolution
will come. Cheer up the worst is yet
to come. It is not as black as it looks.
Wants Registration of Aliens.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10.—Demand
for registration of all aliens is again
made by Secretary of Labor Davis in
his latest annual report to congress.
This scheme, denounced by organized
labor and by defenders of civil liber
ties as being a scheme to fix an indus
trial passport system upon foreign
born laborers in this country, is sup
ported by the national association of
manufacturers. It would enable the
immigration bureau to keep tab on the
whereabouts and activities of these
workers, and to hustle them out of the
country if they were found to be tak
ing part in labor agitation or strikes.
Michigan Coops are Sturdy.
WASHINGTON.—Over 90 per cent
of all co-operatives existing in Michi
gan in 1913 are still doing business. }
> •
i I
; , - Present!
| Look for your agent
in this Buffalo, New York San Francisco, Calif. 4 |
J Captain: Chaa. Dirba, City Agent Captain: Frank J. Kratofil
Roll Call « «■-«» „ *T A
1 m b ... _ , „ . Finnish Elvl Laivo
; Jewl » h - Solomon Katz James Nl p apu j
If this ie your local and you don't £57" ““• h D """>
find your branch mentioned- Buls .ri.n M . Pow , Christopher, 111.
j be sure to elect a Daily Worker German Jacob Sans p ‘ °city Agent
; Branch Agent at your very next U l .....Mike Bi.zevich
meeting. UJj OeattlCj Wastl* South Slavish .Matt Laktosieh J
Captain: John Lawrle, City Agent En »" ,h - Adrln Del,or » e
And be sure to send us his name and / am ”7 111
'tddress j MBk English M. Hansen Zadgier, 111.
• W Caucasian Harry B.gi. Capta|n; M Puk( , c Aflent
. - _ __ _ __ _ Russian P. Belsky t
Insure the Daily Worker for 1925 and Build On It! -**•"• hSEHIS
; Finnish Mrs. Aug. Utterl Bouth slavish Steve Phillips
Esthonlan O. Wasar Finnish..., Elno Salmi
I
r«
THE DAILY WORKER
MAKING MOTION
PICTURES TALK
FOR COMMUNISM
j
(I. W. A. Press Service.)
Sooner or later the expression of
class Interest in the motion pictures
will be recognized as equal in impor
tance with that of the press. It will j
;be an accepted fact that every local
1 labor movement must have its movie
theater side by side with its news
paper, that the Labor Temple is only
half complete unless it contains a j
well-equipped movie theater to pay its
expenses and to express the workers’
cause in the most eloquent medium
known. Such a motion picture thea
ter is the natural meeting place and
rallying ground in local class battles,
strike meetings, school protest gath- :
erings, etc.; its billboards are always
read and therefore would become
bulletins for union notices and other
items of importance to the workers
The maintenance of such labor thea- s
ters would be an effective basis for
a local united front, which would be
constantly extended as the showplace
was put to more and more distinct
use during the sharpening of the strug
gle.
Look for Our Friends.
The first step is the showing ol
every film we now have in every house
friendly to our cause so as to build up
a demand for labor movies. The de
mand must be built up not only among
isolated individuals but among work
ing class organizations, unions, fra
ternities, co-operatives, schools; this
can best be done by lining them up
in support of our present film ven
tures. In so doing we not only insure
the success of our present shows but
we build solidly for the future. We
must immediately list all theaters and
managers favorably disposed toward
us, and all organizations which might
be induced to produce our films on
their own auspices. All such informa
tion should be sent to the Interna
tional Workers’ Aid, 19 S. Lincoln St.
Chicago, 111.
Party Activities 01
Local Chicago
— >
Thursday, Dec. 11.
Cz.-Slovak No. Berwyn, Roosevelt and
Seville Ave.
Lithuanian No. 2, 1900 S. Union Ave.
Mid-City English. 722 Blue Island Ave.
11th Ward Italian. 2439 S. Oakley Blvd.
Scandinavian View, 3206 N.
Wilton St.. Cate lndrott.
Scandinavian West Side, cor. Cicero
and Superior.
Scandinavian Karl Marx, 2733 Hirsch
Blvd.
Russian Branch, 1902 W. Division St.
Friday, Dec. 12
Scandinavian g. Side, 641 E. 61t*t St.
Lettish Branch, 4369 Thomas St.
Saturday, Dec. 13.
Y. W. L. dance. Northwest Hall, cor.
North and Western Aves.
** * j
All friendly organizations, T. U. E.
L. groups, party branches, language
federations and Y. W. L. branches!
Arrangements have been made for the
following major city affairs. Do not
arrange conflicting affairs on these
days:
T. U. E. L. Ball—Wednesday, Dec. |
31, W T eßt End Women’s Club Hall, j
Monroe and Ashland.
Karl Liebknecht Celebration—Sun- j
day, January 11, Northwest Hall, I
corner North and Western Aves.
Auspices Y. W. L., Local Chicago.
Lenin memorial meeting—Wednes-j
day, Jan. 21, Ashland Auditorium, Van
Buren and Ashland. Workers Party,
Local Chicago.
The Red Revel —Saturday, Feb. 28,
West End Women’s Club Hall.
— "N
YOUNG WORKERS LEAGUE
ACTIVITIES.
LOCAL CHICAGO,
L
Friday, Dec. 12.
Area Branch No. 1,6 p. m., 180 Weat
Washington St. Diacuaalon on N. E. C.
statement. John Williamson, speaking.
Area Branch No. 2, Bp. m., 722 Blue
Island Ave. lUseusalon of N. E. C. state
ment. John Edwards, speaking.
Area Branch No. 3, 8 p. m.. 3142 S.
Halsted St. Activity meeting.
Area Branch No. 4, 8 p. m., activity
meeting. 3322 Douglas Blvd.
Area Branch No. 5, 8 p. m„ activity
Area Branch No. 6, 8 p. in., 2613 Hirscb
meeting. 820 N. Clark St.
Blvd. Discussion of N. E. C, statement.
Max Shachtman, speaker.
HUNGARIAN SECTION CONVENTION
ENDORSES C. E. C. MINORITY’S THESIS
(Special to The Dally Worker)
f NEW YORK CITY, Dec. 10.—The convention of the Hungarian section
in New York which held its sessions on Dec. 4 and 6 heard the reports Os
Comrade A. Blttelman, representative of the Central Executive Committee
of the party, and Comrade Benjamin Gitlow, representing the minority of the
Central Executive Committee.
After the speeches of the two representatives and a thoro discussion, the
convention voted on the question of
: its attitude toward the theses of the
majority and the minority. f
The resolution adopted bjr^ an over
whelming vote representing branches
from every part of the country was
;as follows: After having heard the
! report of the Central Executive Com
mittee and the minority of the Central
Executive Committee and after having
thoroly discussed the question placed
before it, the Hungarian section of the
Workers Party in convention assem
[bled declares itself unqualifiedly In
favor of the position of and thesis of
the minority group of Comrades Ruth
enberg and Lovestone.
The convention wishes to emphasize
the following points,’-1. The necessity
.of continuing the use of the farmer
labor party slogan as one of the most
effective weapons for rallying the
workers and poor farmers around the
Work«s Party into a mass Communist
Party l 2. The necessity in accordance
with the decision of the Communist
international of the Central Executive
lommittee of the party and the whole
party membership carrying on an
energetic campaign to root out all
vestiges of the Second-and-a-Half in
ternational ideology and conception of
the Communist activity still prevalent
in our party and accepting no lip
adoption of the position of the Com
munist International, j 3. The nece‘
dty of strict party control of all party
organs so that there may be no repe
tition of the left social democratic
points of view being represented an'
defended in our press/ 4. The neces
sity of Bolshevizing the party thru a
thoro Marxian-Leninistic education o;
our party membership to enable all
members actively to participate in the
laily struggles of the workers and in
all phases of our party work. A com
plete reorganization of the party on
the basis of shop nuclei, as the only
effective means of mobilizing all party
orces and masses of the workers for
he proletarian revolution. The com
plete reorganization of the industrial
department of the party in order that
t may carry out. the tasks laid down
for it by the Red International of
Labor Unions, in its recent decision.
The organization of an agrarian de
partment for carrying on persistent
work among the poor, and exploited
armers of the country. jThis eonven
ion pledges energetically to support
the DAILY WORKER, the central or
gan of the party, as one of the best me
diums for increasing the influence and
prestige of the party among the work
ers and poor farmers of the United
States. The convention is of the opi
nion that only by fulfilling the above
tasks will the Workers Party grow
Into a mass Communist Party capable
of leading the American workers and
poor farmers into the struggle for the
establishment of the proletarian dic
tatorship thru a Soviet government
in the United States.
The resolution also provided for the
discussion of the two theses thruout
| CHICAGO BRANCHES
DO YOU NEED A SPEAKER FOR YOUR NEXT MEETING?
——■—
THE importance of centralized effort in every unit of our Party for
bringing the Communist message to American workers thru the
DAILY WORKER and our party literature, is the purpose of a local
campaign to be systematically followed thru every single branch in
Chicago.
Speakers are already beginning their local tours under the direc
tion of City Literature and DAILY WORKER Agent Comrade Thurber
Lewis and include such well known comrades as J. Louis Engdahl,
editor of the DAILY WORKER, William F. Kruse, Moritz J. Lodb, A.
Wagenknecht. Martin Abern, Manuel Gomez, Walt Carmon and others.
To “Insure the DAILY WORKER for 1925” and to build our party
by efficient methods of propaganda distribution is the purpose of the
speakers who will visit your branch. They will surely come to your
branch, but—WHY WAIT?
Call or write Comrade Thurber Lewis, city agent, AT ONCE, at
Room 307, 166 W. Washington St. and he will arrange to give you the
best speaker available for your next branch meeting.
Get the very best speaker for a big job! Telephone State 5959.
L ■■ ' ————
the branches.
In the afternoon session, Comrade
Israel Amter, who for a year and a
half represented the Workers Party in
the councils of the Communist Inter
national, made a spirited address. A
special invitation was extended to him
by,the convention. He was very warm
ly received. Thunderous applause and
a tremendous demonstration greeted
Comrade Amter when he mentioned
the name of comrade Ftepper and his
services to the Workers Party, in par
ticular, and the Communist Interna
tional in general.
The convention was considered to be
one of the most successful ever held
by any federation language group of
the Workers Party.
Red Hunter Disappoints Diners.
NEW YORK. —American Defense
Society leaders pepped themslves up
with anti-Bolshevik cocaine at a select
dinner at the palatial Hotel Plaza,
where Frncis McCullagh, former Brit
ish spy in Russia, and New York
Herald correspondent from Warsaw,
spoke luridly of red terror, red slavery
and red free love.
McCullagh’s climax was disappoint
ing to his audience. The Bolshevik
regime is quite secure, he said, sup
ported by a well-armed and well-fed
red army.
Next Sunday Night and Every Sun
day Night, the Open Forum.
ITALIAN COMRADES
PLEDGE SELVES TO
EXCEED THEIR QUOTH
The campaign to insure the
DAILY WORKER for 1925 is receiv
ing material assistance from the
Italian Federation. Italian branches
have already sent money direct t«
the DAILY WORKER office, L. Can
dela, assistant secretary of the Ital
ian Federation declares, "The Ital
ian federation will exceed the quota
of $1,698 set for It by the DAILY
WORKER,” Candela said.
“I am confident that the Italian
branches will not only reach the
quota, but will far exceed it. The
total quota set is fifty thouand dol
lars as an absolute minimum. We
are having our struggles with
‘II Lavoratore’, our Italian Commun
ist daily, and we know what it
means to issue a Communist daily
newspaper. We are advertising the
DAILY WORKER campaign in
‘II Lavoratore’ and we call on all
comrades in the Italian Federation
to aid the campaign by putting the
quota of the Italian Federation over
the top.”
Thursday, December 11, 1924
BOSTON BRANCH
PLEDGES SUPPORT
TO DAILYWORKER
(Special to The Daily Worker)
BOSTON, Mass., Dec. 10. —The first
order of business of the newly com
bined English branches which took
place here was insuring the DAILY
WORKER. The branch pledged to
raise not less than $l5O of which $26
were raised immediately.
The following comrades were elect
ed officers of the combined branches:
J. C. Blockland, secretary; George
Kraska, financial secretary; John Bal
lam, educational director; M. Fla
herty, industrial organizer; J. Karras,
C. C. C. delegate. Eva Hoffman and
E. R. Stevens were added to the above
names making up the executive com
mittee of the branch.
The branch voted to call a special
meeting Thursday, Dec. 11, at 8 p. m.,
at headquarters, 158 Broadway, Boa
ton, to discuss the theses of the nufc-
Jority and minority. Every member
of the branch is called upon to attend
this important meeting.
• • •
BOSTON. Mass., Dec. 10. —"Beauty
and the Bolshevik,” the Russian come
dy drama picture, will be shown to
Boston, Jan. 16, (Friday) in Symphony
Hall, at 8 p. m. This picture will be
shown here once only. Comrades and
sympathizers will please hold date
open.
MUSIC.
By ALFRED V. FRANKENSTEIN
SYLVIA LENT, who is one of the
youngest violinists who ever playv
ed solo with the Chicago Symphony
orchestra, was soloist with that organ
ization on its eighth program of thla
season. She played the first concerto
of Max Bruch. Now the Bruch concef
ti, to say the least, are a bit over
worked hereabouts, and it takes an
excellent violinist to put them over So
they do not sound bromidic. This Syl
via Lent did. Her tone is remarkably
large, fine in quality, and her technic,
and style are sure and firm. Hers was
a new and charming Interpretation of
the slow movement, with its' Idyllic,
singing melody.
“A Night on the Bare Mountain,” a
symphonic poem by Modest Musorg
ski, opened the concert. Musorgski
tells the story in this work of a dance
of the demon Chernobog and his fol
lowers on the Bald mountain, near
Kiev. A church bell rings, and the
devils are dispersed. I prefer to think
of the work apart from this common
place program. It is probably the
grandest storm in music. For Musorg
ski, like Wagner, knew that to picture
a storm in tone one does not need to
pile up all the noise a modern or
chestra affords, but one must rather
write themes that in themselves have
a restless, stormy character.
The ninth or unfinished symphony
of Anton Bruckner, Mr. Stock’s favor
ite composer, followed the Musorgski.
Even without the finale, the symphony
is quite long, and tensely dramatic and
affecting. Bruckner is unfortunately
an unheard composer in Chicago, and
Stock ought to give us more of him.
As a memorial for Gabriel Faure,
who died a few weeks ago, a suite by
him taken from his incidental music
to Maeterlinck’s "Pelleas and Mellsan
de” was performed. It is nice, un
important salon music. It makes one
neither enthusiastic in its praise or
condemnation. Debussy said all there
was to be said in the way of a setting
for “Pelleas and Melisande,” and be
side his creation, the work of the ear
lier composer is insignificant.
HELP! HELP!
Give Us a Hand—
We are swamped
There is just a load of work
piling up in our office and our
small force is struggling hard to
get it done. If any comrades
have a day, an hour or a minute
to spare, COME ON OVER
GIVE US A HAND!