Bread or Bullets?

WE DEMAND BREAD INSTEAD OF BULLETS!

This ephemeral circular was published in Chicago around 1932 by the Socialist Party of Cook County. Issued near the height of the Great Depression, the pamphlet highlights the high levels of joblessness across the region and cites the need for immediate assistance in the form of government-sponsored unemployment insurance.

Extracts from an Illinois National Guard training pamphlet reflect the state’s willingness to use violence against unarmed workers, while party demands (in addition to insurance) include six-hour workdays and the inauguration of massive public works programs. The text concludes:

“Let us remember that during the world war the workers were urged to pay till it hurt, for the purpose of killing as many fellow workers of other countries as possible. We now demand as our lawful right, that those that have be taxed in the interest of those in our own country who have not in order that they may outlive the present crisis and not starve to death. WE DEMAND BREAD INSTEAD OF BULLETS!”

The pamphlet is dated by additional text at the bottom of the back page, which explains that a legislative change the year prior now requires third parties to field a minimum of 25,000 signatures to appear on the ballot. In 1931, Illinois was one of several states that deliberately restricted electoral access of third parties, increasing the requirement from 1,000 signatures to 25,000 in an effort to thwart the growth of the Communist Party and prohibit a Socialist from becoming elected mayor of Chicago.

Source.