182 Pentonville Road London N1 over tne past lew weeks me bourgeois press and television have been giving wide and "sympathetic coverage to the five pupils suspended from Kingsdale School in Dulwich, stressing that the "five unfortunate children" are being roughly treated by a mildly tyrannical headmaster and board of governors. But they try not to say why.
At the BBC, three of the Kingdale students were assured that they would be asked no pollucal questions, une programme was just about their "personal reactions".
The students were victimised for participating in a one-day strike. They withdrew from school to take part in the Schools Action Union demonstration tor an end to oppression or all discrimination against working-class students. They thought that this action, so mild when compared to the struggles of their own teachers, let alone the working class, was within their "rights". They discovered that school students have no rights, except those that their parents exercise on their behalf.
but une meal avordea unese questions and concentrated on the five students as individuals. The bourgeoisie has learnt that it can distract people from the deep implications of oppression and victimisation by drumming up the personal aspect of iniustices. Meanwhile the soecific class forces which lie behind these injustices remain secure. To give them full credit. the media have done a very thorough job over the Kingsdale students.
But they have also given the SAU a lot of publicity, and its membership and support is growing. slowly me sau is learning une Dasic rules of organisation, the dangers of fragmentation, the necessity of a clear political analysis. but it is only just begining to do unis, sureng thened by the fact that in the schools, unlike the universities, working-class youth is beaten into submission ready for factory life. Richard Lugg EDIUK: Lariq Al EDITORIAL BOARD: Anthony Barnett, Robin Blackburn. Vinav Chand. Clive Goodwin, Fred Halll day, John Hoyland, Sheila Rowbotham, John Weal. DESIGNER: Mike Newton CIRCULATION AND ADVERTISING: Dave Kendall SK RUN Peter Crowan Published by THE BLACK DWARF, 182 PENTON01.837 6054
Dear Comrades, Thank you so much for your telegram; these thanks come not only from myself, but from all the Political Prisoners Your support is very much needed at this time. Throughout the country there exists now a mass student mobilisation and in the next few days we hope to see a national student strike. The prime cause and demands now being taken up by the students are the same as those in the funger Strike: the immediate and uncondition al release of the Political Prisoners. Many schools from the national university are already on strike, such as the schools of medicine and economics.
On January 1, there was a riot here in the prison, in aggression against the Political Prisoners and the Hunger Strike. (You should be receiving an English translation of a document pertaining to the incident any day now c/o the Dwarf). We were attacked by hundreds of common criminals by order of the prison director, many comrades were injured (one shot, two knifed, about twenty severely beaten), all the possessions that we had (from blankets, clothing to every type of intellectual material including pen and paper) was stolen!
At this time, in addition to the support of protest with our Hunger Strike, we need donalions of books, magazines (over half the prisor ers read English and French), and every form of intellectual aid, in order to continue. Please make this known in the Dwarf, so that a collection may be taken (note: books sent must be sent one at a time and registered, or they will not be allowed to enter the prison. This help is needed very badly.
So that we can keep you and many others here, we are trying to have a small group organiised at the university with the purpose of sending out all available material and news. We hope to have this working in about a week As to the Hunger Strike. Many of us, such as myself, are still able to do limited work, such as bulletins, correspondence, etc. Since the aggression on January 1, many have been taken to the hospital and had to leave the strike: all those who have left the strike were those in the worst condition after the riot of January 1. There are now about 50 of us in the Hunger Strike after 34 days, and will continue this protest for the immediate and unconditional release of all Poli. car Crisoners.
shall be waiting to see the next Dwar lease accept my Revolutionary and Frater nal Greetings.
Venceremos! Philip Ames, Preventive Prison, Mexico City. London, and therefore had the job of bringing together many people who had not attended such conferences before (despite the remarks about familiar faces). It was made quite clear by the organisers that this conference was only a beginning, and that we hoped that industry groups would come together to get down to more specific tasks.
It may surprise Comrade Purdie, but there are still millions of wokers who have not yet taken over the last few months. even talked about workers' control, let alone acto go on repeating many elementary ideas as this campaign.
If Comrade Purdie wants to help out the camand help organise it. We are an open and demo cratic movement and can do with all the help we can get.
Yours fraternally, Ken Tarbuck, 16а Holmdale Road, London N.W.6.
The Editor, Black Dwarf.
Dear Comrade, lew of the London Workers Control Wonreview of the London Workers ference held during early January. Your correspondent gives the impression of failing to understand. the Workers' Control movement as it has developed in this country.
It must be made clear that, unfortunately, the Workers' Control movement in Britain has been largely under the control of middle class academics. This has channeled its growth in a certain direction; conferences in colleges, seminars, academic plans for workers' control in a single industry unconnected with the actual struggles of the workers themselves, and a considerable delving into minutiae.
But perhaps more important, these conferences have acted as a left cover for a certain section of the Union bureaucracy. For example, Scanion, Jack & Bill Jones have all used the Workers' Control movement to supply them with a left smokescreen of words while they were busy negotiating productivity deals and sel ling men and conditions down the river.
Bob Purdie appears to be under the illusion that the Sheffield Workers' Control Conference was different to all this; he says "the conference was useful in ensuring the success of the May 1st strike." But was this the case? No! Rather, the opposite was true! The May Ist strike was channeled into the direction desired by Scanion and company, and as a consequence they were abie to use it to reach a compromise with the Government, rather than revolutionaries being able to build upon it.
However, what is worse, he appears unable to understand the real differences between the Sheffield conference and the London conference. Between last year and this a lot has haputside Mexico informed as to all happenings, have been condemned in the eyes of many ened in industry. The left Trade Union leaders many militants by their refusal to really fight the Government's policy of unemployment and cuts in both working and living standards. It is this growing awareness of the class which has, to a great extent, exposed the shallowness of the Workers' Control conferences. But at the same time it has made possible an effective interventon by revolutionaries.
In the London conference, for the first time, definite concrete measures were proposed to link the Workers' Control movement to the living struggle. In four of the seminars papers were submitted which attempted to link the conference with the real problems in the respective areas of work. In the transport seminar more was achieved-the setting up of a Workers' Control Committee which will attempt to intervene in the transport industry. Again, the POEU engineer who spoke played as decisive a role as London, and herefore had the nobodi Dead Black Dwarf Circle has been meeting weekly since it was formed last Aut- shock. umn. As it is now established with a more or less permanent meeting place and regular attendance, it was decided to discuss the future role of the Circle and suggestions that comrades had as to the contents of the Dwarf itself, and to for an easy penny or a quick buck. give a report. Firstly, though, I would like to outline briefly the course which the Circle has When the Circle began, arrangements were ted upon the idea. Therefore it will be necessary made to have speakers come to the first. few meetings, and give an introduction on a particunew layers of workers come into contact with lar topic, after which they would answer comrades" questions and a general discussion would paign on the right lines, then let him come along have prepared introductions on topics centred around a Dwarf article or on a subject of the comrades choice. Among the subjects discussed have been Czechoslovakia, South Africa, Apprentices" conditions and "Workers' Control"
It has also been part of our function to try to involve the members in other political activities, e.g. VSC and the Springboks demo's, Ernes Mandel's recent visit and a young workers' com mittee which is now developing in the area. At the meeting prior to the Xmas period, we discussed the function of the Circle, a programme of future discussions, and any suggestions the comrades had for improving the Dwarf.
should be non-sectarian, its primary function being to attract young people, students and workers, who are becoming interested in the kind of politics they find in the Dwarf, and provide a framework within which they can discuss, argue and learn about political theory and tactics. We will continue to publicise other political activities and encourage, newcomers to develop their interest and take part in political activity.
It was also agreed that we should try and ter was manna from heaven. make contact with other Dwarf groups and maintain contact with the Dwarf office, keeping the paper informed of any interesting developments in the area. On the Dwarf itself, the comrades were rather critical of several recent cover pages and suggest this point could be improved upon; also, could we please have some articles on British Labour history, and if possible, bibliographies accompanying the main articles.
These suggestions for improvement were generally agreed upon. However, they only deal with minor items; the general opinion is that the Dwarf fills a definite need of the young people on the British left and does so very adequately We hope this letter will encourage comrades in other areas to set up similar groups around the paper, and use the pages of the Dwarf to help each other by sharing experiences. John Blackburn, Glasgow Black Dwarf Readers Circle. The Black Dwarf 20th February 1970 frequented only by those interested in buying these products as raw materials is in for a The bulk of the business in any of these so called terminal markets is in "futures" for th products concerned, and the markets are boos ted out of all proportion by speculators, out A futures market is open to the wildest forms of abuse.
Every so often one gets a sudden upsurging in price in a particular commodity: cocoa, sugar, tin and copper are the four which provide the most fun and games, though it is cocoa which can really become unbalanced.
In late 1968/early 1969 we had a characterdevelop. Since that time, members of the Circle istic example of cocoa-mania. For several years, world consumption of cocoa had exceeded production, the difference being made up out of "stock". The outlook for the crop being gath ered in seemed bleak, and reports of early harvesting showed that quantities were likely to be lower than even the year before. The price of cocoa in early August 1968 was about 250s. per cwt.; under heavy speculative buying it began to soar. Speculators pushed the price up and up, and genuine manufacturers had to vie with them in the market (the effect of this little game on the public was, of course, an increase in the price of chocolate).
Once cocoa-fever catches, it is one of the It was agreed that the Circle, like the Dwarf, most infectious diseases in the City. Geraldine Keene, then Commodities Correspondent of the Times, announced that cocoa might "go up to 800s. per cwt." Gill and Duffus, cocoa deal ers, advised a "general upward trend", and the reports rolled in about adverse weather condiions, rutted roads, political unrest leading to the destruction of the crop, and black-poc Nothing, of course, could have made the speculators happier. Each new Ghanaian disasThe focal point of the markets is the "ring", where busmess in each commodity is coneleted every day, during which time brokers buy and sell rapidly in much the same way as "jobbers" function on the floor of the Stock Exchange.
Figures emerge not only for the day's price of any given commodity, but for its prices for up to a year hence at fixed intervals of time.
This is, of course, an open invitation to speculation. If you have any good reason to think that cocoa-the most volatile and sensitive of the commodity markets-is going to be in short supply in a year's time, either through political intormation you have received about the situation in Ghana, biological knowledge about the state of play with the black-pod disease, or ad. vance meteorological information, you can always buy "twelve month cocoa" (in lots of five tons).
If the predictions you have made come true and the Ghanaians lie starving in the mud, the price of cocoa will soar, and you will have a little certificate guaranteeing the delivery to you on a specified date, which, of course, you sell before the goods arrive, at very considerable profit.
This is the basis of all speculation in commodities: it is, in fact, straight-forward gambling with essential products.
The excuse for the charade is that the grower or producer can plan ahead, and get an even Price onward on pecking for his de by sel.
can insure against slumps and gluts and guarantee his crop early in the season.
However, the only real "grower" in England affected by the London Commodity Exchanges is the Home Grown Grain grower, and officials at the Baltic have often commented on his reluctance to use their service.
The important thing is that it is reports and not facts which most radically affect a market.
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Our new address is school students, and to protest the tremendous