The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 18, 1924, Page 11

The Shop Nuclei Branc The relation of the shop nucleus to the territorial branch was taken up _in a previous article. The relation be- tween the shop nucleus and the shop * nuclei branch is herein briefly touch- ed. This second form is a good deal different and works much more simply and effectively, The shop nuclei branch is one made up of the shop nuclei existing within a given territory. Naturally, then, both in the shop nucleus and the shop nuclei branch, the members have full powers on all matters. The branch exetutive committee of a shop nuclei branch is composed of members elected from the various shop nuclei or at a general shop nu- clei branch membership meeting. Sometimes in a shop nuclei branch, there will be members not yet attach- ed to a particular shop nucleus. The branch, in such instanches, takes care that there are members on the branch executive committee from every shop nucleus in the branch, If the shop nucleus members were all attached to a definite shop nucleus then, of course, only work-shop mem- bers would be on the shop nucleus branch committee. But there will naturally be party and other work- ers, very active comrades, etc, not belonging to a particular shop nu- cleus. They are likely to be wanted and elected on committees. And it is correct that these live-wire comrades shall be placed at the disposal of the shop nuclei. To make certain, how- ever, that members of the shop nu- cleus proper, that is, those who act- ually work in the shop, are on the main committees, there is the provi- sion that every: shop nucleus shall have its delegate on the shop nuclei branch committee. Shop Nuclei Branch Supervives Work of Nuclei It is the duty of the shop nuclei branch to lay out and direct the work in the branch and in the various shop nuclei. The branch or its committee takes up mainly the ways of developing the work of the nuclei. The activity of a shop branch is but the activity of a shop nucleus enlarged and continued. Its work is not different from that of a nucleus. Rather, gathering the ex- periences of the various nuclei, it makes use of such information to help concretely the work of each of the nuclei. The work of the shop nuclei branch is both general and specific. It is general in the work laid out for the party shop nuclei branch in a certain locality, unions, etc. It is specific in the work planned out for each nucleus and, if possible, its members. The branch committee assigns its members to meet with the shop nu- cleus, to participate actively in the shop nucleus work. This aids in co- ordinating the work of the nucleus and the branch and developing the activity of the individual members. The shop branch, or its committee, takes up the general political, educa- tional, economic, trade union and other work im the branch and nuclei. It arranges for public propaganda and educational meetings in order to , HERLOCK SHOLMES (Continued from from Page 2.) mania was not with us. It was pitch dark. We felt at the walls and could find no lights. Both the walls and the floors had that same soft yielding softness. Suddenly the room was flooded with light—we were in a pad- ded cell. The little window that gave it the appearance of a bank, was opened and two faces peered in. “Here they are doctor,” said the ambassador from Roumania and al- leged red, “the one with the kinder- garten tie thinks he is a detective and the other one seems just plain ordi- nary dumb.” At this point I fainted. But as I fell over I could hear him saying; “See I told you so.” It was the ambassador talking not Herlock Sholmes, the great New York detective, —- attract other elements.. Its organizes study classes; it discusses the trade union problems of the nuclei members ard the workers, the development of shop commitree work. It lends aid to weak nucloi in arranging meetings for the workers. It puts forward a program for the systematic political development and education of the members. The branch aims at the proper training of functionaries, of- ficials, propagandists, etc. The branch distributes the party literature, of- ficial organ, the DAILY WORKER, and other information received from higher committees, to the shop nu- clei. It receives a share of the dues and other moneys from the nuclei to carry on its work. It institutes the organization of other nuclei and or- ganizes membership campaigns. The shop nuclei branch, briefly, then, supplements on a larger basis the work and program of the nuclei and the individual members. To make the nuclei members work and to di- rect that work in every possible field for Communist activity—that is the main function of the shop branch. It is no easy task for, it is making the Communist revolution, Shop Branch Must Get Accurate Knowledge of Working Conditions The nuclei members must collect data on every matter connected with the work in the shop. All information should be collected for use in their propaganda. Detailed knowledge must be got of the local industrial conditions. The shop branch and the nuclei can lay out work for the indi- vidual members in the shop or ter- ritory, such as distributing literature, visiting prospective members, trade union work, etc. The more real know- ledge of facts and how to use them, the more productive the work. Mem- bers should write up notes of their experiences .for the benefit of the others, Wall bullettins can serve to this end. Forward to Shop Nuclel! These few lines indicate but the outlines of the work, both in the per- iod of transition to shop nuclei and the time when the ideal form, the shop nuclei branch, is developed. It is going to take a long time before the shop nuclei branch becomes com- monly prevalent in the Workers Party of America. But we must know what we are aiming for, organizationally By Martin Abern and politically. Hence these lines. Meanwhile, we must take up the im- mediate steps toward reorganization. In America we have no shop nuclei experiences of the party; the Young Workers League has had some, bit the organizational problem is so much different that the league’s experiences in the initial stages cannot help the party very much except in an inspira- tional way. The party must build its own road. That means to try organiz- ation in the most favorable places. The party is laying out a program for that purpose. The various activities of a shop nucleus, such as shop com- mittee work, union activity, literature, finance, and many more matters must be dealt with in detail. However, it will be trying to ORGANIZE SHOP NUCLEI, no matter how difficult, that will give us a clear picture and under- standing, instead of a mere formula, of the undoubted superiority of the ° shop nuclei over the present territor- ial branch. Then, as in every other country, the membership will enthus- jastically respond to the work of making the WORKERS PARTY A PARTY OF SHOP NUCLEI! Forward to shop nuclei! Solovetzk, the “Red Hell’’| By LUDWIG MAGYAR. The delegation of menshevik and social-counter-revolutionary emigres have recently instituted a great cam- paign against the Soviet Union. They wish to arouse the public opinion of the working class and of the bour- geoisie against the Soviet power and, as a pretext, they make use of the al- leged heart-rending, terrible fate of po- litical prisoners in the Soviet Union. They are supplying the parties of the Second International with propagan- da material on this question and these cronies of the Russian menshe- viki are, in the Freneh chamber of de- puties and in the columns of the “Vorwarts” and the Vienna “Arbeiter- zeitung” shedding crocodile’s tears over the martyred, tortured Russian ‘socialists, who—alas!—are languish- ing in the terrible dungeons of the Tcheka, and are being shot several times every day. The social-counter- revolutionary Suchomlinov is pester- ing comrades Anatole France and Se- verin with tedious letters of com- plaint, while the London and Amster- dam Internationals issue appeals and protests. The anti-Soviet campaign is in full swing. Let us examine the facts a little more closely. . ek How many political prisoners are there in the Soviet Union? We will not make comparisons. We will not point out how many revolutionary workers and peasants the Bulgarian social democrats, as mentbers of the murderous Zankoff government, have caused to be slaughtered. We will not ask why the social democrats in the Bavarian diet voted against an amnesty for the Niederschonenfeld prisoners. We do not ask how it comes about that, with the consent of social democracy, over 7000 Commu- nists are eating their hearts out in the prisons of Germany. We do not ask how many Indian revolutionaries are expiating their revolutionary deeds in the prisons of the labor gov- ernment of Ramsay MacDonald. We will not call attention to how many Communists have been arrested and murdered with the consent of the Polish socialist party. We also leave aside the question as to how the so- cial democrats in Finland, Lettland, Esthonia, Hungary and Yugoslavia have acted. We would only state that in the Soviet Union—which embraces one-sixth of the earth and which has a population of 150 millions—there are only five hundred political prison- ers. Mensheviki, _social-counter- This number includes mensheviki, so- cial-counter-revolutionaries, anarch- ists, monarchists, fascists and all enemies of the proletarian revolution, whatever they may choose to call themselves, s- ¢ # How are the political prisoners treated? What life do they lead in the “Red Hell” as the appeals of the mensheviki so “mildly” describe it. On the Solovetzk Peninsula, where “the bolsheviki, these hangmen of in- nocent socialists, act with the great- est cruelty,” and over which the great- est outcry has been raised, the poli- tical prisoners have complete self-ad- ministration. They have absolute freedom of movement the whole day, and the system prevailing in Solo- vetzk is the wish and the demand of all political prisoners in Russia. Was- siliev, a member of the central bu- reau of the mensheviki, who is confin- ed at the Susdal camp, proposed to the political prisoners in Susdal to commence a struggle for the improve- ment of the prison regulations. “Our general demand is clear: We want the system obtaining in Solo- vetzk be introduced in Susdal,” he writes to one of his comrades. And the brother of Martov, Zeder- baum-Levitzky, stated, that the de- mand for the introduction of the Solo- vetzk system was a too far-reaching demand. “This demand can only be regarded as a maximum aim,” he writes. And this is how all prisoners in Sus- dal write.. Their slogan is: The Solo- vetzk regime in Susdal. The administration at Solovetzk have allowed the members of the prisoners’ families who visit them, to live with the prisoners a whole week. Nowhere in the world do prisoners en- joy such privileges. It is easily un- derstood that this regime is desired by the prisoners in other places. Com- plete self-government, a whole week in company with the members of their families, a prison diet at which the prisoners themselves never complain; this is the picture furnished by the “Red Hell.” . . + The prison group of the Georgian mensheviki writes to Wassiliev, mem- ber of the central btreau of the men- sheviki: “Regarding the general regime we can only repeat that nobody can con- sider it a crying evil. If in reply to our hunger-strike there would be ad- mitted, to investigate the conditions, an anti-soviet minded commission, even including European socialists, they. would only be able to report that the Soviet system and its justice are not the pleasantest institutions, but that there is nothing to complain about regarding the prison regime in Susdal.” In Susdal therefore the prison re- gime is quite satisfactory. In Solo- vetzk it is still better and therefore, prisoners at the former wish to ob- tain the Solovetzk regime. We could publish hundreds of quo- tations from, or facsimilies of such letters, s. - @& There are therefore only five hun- dred prisoners in the Soviet Union. These are given humane treatment, as the prison regulations in the S6viet Union are of a remarkably mild char- acter. The prisoners themselves re- cognize that even the sworn enemies of the Soviet power would have to admit them to be thoroly satisfactory. And the mensheviki and the social counter-revolutionaries in emigration, who during the civil war have rivalled the bands of Kolchak and Denekin in acts of. bestial cruelty, work up a spurious indignation over this regime. And the heroes of the Second Interna- tional, who persecute revolutionary workers, issue appeals, pass resolu- tions of protest and relate lying stories to the workers as to the “Red Hell.” A gang of hypocrites and calumnia- tors against the Soviet Union. The workers must spurn these lies and calumnies with loathing and disgust. MITCHALL’S INTERNATIONAL ORCHES(RA Union Music Furnished For All Occassions Write for appointments to M. MITCHALL, (Teacher of Saxophone) 1640 W. Congress St. Chicago, Ill. Res. 1632 S. Trumbull Ave. Phone Rockwell 5050 MORDECAI SHULMAN ATJORNEY-AT-LAW 701 Association Buliding 19 S. La Salle Street — 8657 Central 4945-4947 CHICAGO | 4053 W. Telephone Monroe 2284 Genova Restaurant ITALIAN-AMERICAN 1238 Madison Street N. E. Cor. Elizabeth St. Spaghetti and Ravioli Our Specialty Special Arrangements for Parties on Short Notice JAY STETLER’S . RESTAURANT Established 1901 Madison St. Chicago Tel. Monroe 2241 —