25, 50 and 75 Years Ago

April 30, 2018

May 3, 1993

President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno are responsible for the cold-blooded murder of 86 people, including 17 children, outside Waco, Texas.

Tens of millions of people watched in horror on TV the inferno that culminated the FBI’s April 19 assault on the large wooden complex housing the Branch Davidian religious sect. Six hours earlier armored vehicles had begun smashing through the walls of the buildings, pumping tear gas inside.

This heinous crime exposes the true face of the bipartisan imperialist presidency, Congress, armed forces, cop agencies, and courts. The entire operation had been carried out over weeks with coarse disregard for democratic rights and with callous indifference to the human life of anyone outside of ruling-class circles and the multitude of professional and middle-class retainers.

April 29, 1968

The need for the antiwar movement to fight for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Vietnam through mass mobilizations in the streets is more urgent than ever.

Washington has escalated the war once again. More troops are being sent to Vietnam. The bombing of North Vietnam has reached the highest level of the war. The bombing in South Vietnam continues heavy and brutal. The killing of Vietnamese goes on, and the death toll of the GIs mounts.

The antiwar movement must mobilize as never before. It must bring massive new forces to bear in the struggle to end the war. False hopes have been stirred by diplomatic maneuvers which may lead to talks with North Vietnam. The people of Vietnam have demonstrated that they will fight to the death for the right to determine their own fate and the future of their country.

May 1, 1943

The government’s wage-freezing program entered a profound crisis and the miners’ struggle for higher wages was headed for a showdown as tens of thousands of union members walked out of the coal mines. The UP reported that 41,000 had discontinued work and many more were expected to join them before the contract expired April 30.

UMW President John L. Lewis reaffirmed the traditional stand of the union that “It is perfectly reasonable to assume at all times that the mine workers of the country will not trespass on the properties of the coal operators in the absence of a contract.”

The UMW relies on its own half-million members, loyal and militant unionists who understand the difficulties facing them, who have more than once shown the way to the rest of American labor and who are supporting the present struggle almost to a man.