The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 1, 1925, Page 13

SHOP NUCLEI EXPERIENCES NE thing is certain, the Workers Party must be a Party of shop nuclei. With that feeling prevailing, the tasks before the Party are the steps to be taken in that direction. Even the meager experiences of the Workers Party give some idea as to better ways and means for shop nuclei reorganization. Under pressure of the Party, some Party units have or- ganized shop nuclei; other places on _ their own intiative have proceeded to organize. It would be well for purposes of ed- ucation and encouragement if various district organizers would report some of the results in their districts. 300 Members In Shop Nuclei. N District No. 8 a start has been made. There are some 24 shop and street nuclei in existence, as follows: Chicago, 7, composed of clothing, rail- road, machine shop, printing. Gary, Ind., 2, a steel mill and a street nu- cleus. Pullman, Iil., 4, in steel mill and automobile factories. Hammond, Ind., steel nucleu. South Bend, Ind., automobile. Dowell, Zeigler, Valier, West Frankfort, are mine nuclei. There are approximately 300 Party members organized in these nuclei as follows: Chicago, 50; Gary, 60; Pullman, 46; West Frankfort, 40; Dowell, 9; Hammond, 15; Valier, 10; Zeigler, 75, This is about 10 per cent of Party membership in this district. HESE figures in themselves do not mean so much, but in their possi- bilities, they are a'good deal. The nuclei are organized in the large and basic industries, coal, mining, railroad, ete. . Gary, Ind., and Zeigler, lll., Set Pace. Gary, Indiana is completely organ- ized on a shop nucleus basis. There are two nuclei, one a shop nucleus and the other a street nucleus. The shop nucleus has some 38 members at pres- ent. The comrades in Gary after a couple of educational meetings organ- ized on their own initiative, and it is worthy of note and congratulations that the first city organized wholly on Thé Mission of Count Skrzynski By M. DURDELA. Count Alexander Skrzynski, Polish minister of foreign affairs, arrived in the United States on the 14th of this month, His arrival in the U. S. has much to do with the preseft political and economic situation in Poland. There is no doubt that his purpose is to gain the active support of Ameri- can capital for the Polish policy of exploitaiton and oppression of the workers and peasants in Poland. Count Skrzynski left Poland just after an agreement has been conclud- ed between the Polish nationalists and Jewish bourgeoisie at the expense of other national minorities in Poland (Ukrainians, White Russians, Lithuan- ian and Germans.) For the promised support of the Jewish representatives in parliament the Jews have gained some privileges (viz.,.to keep their shops open on Sundays, kosher for Jewish soldiers in Polish army, etc.) ‘R. SKRZYNSKI’S purpose evident- ly is to use the influence of rich Jews in America for strengthening of the alliance betwen Polish and Jewish bourgeoisie in his fatherland. He will ‘ also try to loan more money from the American bankers. A “special dispatch” from Washington, July 22, to the New York World says: “Coinci- dently with the visit to the United States of Count Alexander Skrzynski, foreign minister of Poland, to attend the round table discussions at Wil- Polish financial agents “are preparing to approach American banking interests on the subject of a Polish loan, according to afvices received in an official quarter today.” Of course, the loan is one of the main points on the program of Count Skrzynski. His lectures at Williams- town, Mass., are only incidental. The money of American bankers robbed from the American workers, will go to the Polish bourgeoisie in order to strengthen the hold of Polish capitalism upon the workers and peas- ants of Poland, and the oppression of national minorities. ? the shop nucleus basis is Gary, a]uation in the Party has not contribut- main stronghold of the steel trust. All ‘the language branches there are only auxiliaries to the Party and have no special Party powers. ULLMAN has over 50 per cent of its members in shop nuclei and there is no reason why Pullman should not be altogether organized into shop and street nuclei in the next thirty or forty days. Only unneces- sary objections which need not be taken up here can prevent that. In Zeigler the 75 members in ,the shop nuclei, one of 65 and one of 10, are made up of the former language and English branches with the excep- tion of a few language members who, ed toward speedier shop nuclei reor- ganization. Where the nuclei are or- ganized, with: some few exceptions, the comrades report themselves satis- fied with the change and lay plans for nuclei work. The English speaking comrades nearly everywhere take the initiative in reorganizatiof and the lead in the work and are most enthusiastic for shop nuclei. Too many comrades approach the question of shop nuclei reorganization mechanically. They assume that re- organization is a matter of a Party edict or mandate, a sort of an affair where the Party rubs Aladdin’s lamp it is reported, have refused thus far and nuclei spring into existence. Some to enter the nuclei. Persuasion and education, not extreme measures at this time, will solve such difficulties. N Chicago the best functioning nu- cleus is the nucleus in the print shop, not because it is in the DAILY WORKER shop, but because the mem- assume, too, that shop nuclei reorgan- ization is a matter of setting a date in which the reorganization must be completed and the latter is over with. Shop nuclei cannot be organized after the fashion of a hen scratching for food. It must be more systematic and bers are thoroly alive to the possibili-|Planmed, with an understanding of ties of nuclei organization. I do not wish to go into detail here on expe- riences of the various shop nuclei, but only to point out a few generally im- portant facts which must be noted. Greater Encouragement from Federations Needed. First, as to the question of reorgan- ization itself. There is the problem of getting the language federations to encourage reorganization to a greater extent than they have. In the writer’s view, laxity of some comrades in get- ting into the nuclei, where they have been organized, is not due to their own unwillingness, but because they felt that their bureaus were not any too anxious to get them into nuclei. Leading comrades in Zeigler, for in- stance, report this, in their opinion, as one of the reasons why the hand- ful of comrades yet remain outside the nuclei. : URTHER it can be said, without any intention of discussing it from that angle now, that the factional sit- Jugoslavia, Bulgaria, Rumania, and about imperialism of America, Eng- land, France, ete. The case of Poland has been practically ignored. There is no reason for that. Poland is the most important outpost of European capitalism in the East. Soviet Union is her neighbor. Her role -is that of a wall between the Union of Soviet Republics and capitalist Western Eu- rope. The events in Poland have great bearing upon the general de- velopment of the struggle between capital and labor. Poland, about the size of the states of West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Party history, its composition, kind of work our members ars in, etc. HERE are comrades who feel that in the reorganization and in the work of the nuclei, too much stress is laid upon the economic problems and that the political character of the nuclei does not come out. But it is a truism that the problems of wages, working conditions, etc., are the mat- ters which first engage the attention of the workers, of the Party members. There is nothing terrible about that. Quite the contrary; these are closest to them and form the base of political development of the nuclei. Party guidance, meetings of Party function- aries with nuclei, will soon result in development of these primary issues into channels which result in nuclei developing these issues politically. In a Party like the American Party, with all its diverse language elements, one of the first things in the nuclei is to get acquainted with one another to talk, to feel that the language differ- (Soviet Ukraine and Soviet White Russia are “Eastern.”—M. D.) is also from the economic point of view one of the most important bases of Polish capitalism: ‘These territories are for Poland the sources of raw material (lumber, oil), as well as the markets for her manufactured products; in addition to that tens of thousands of Polish officials are enriching them- selves in those “borderlands” at the expense of Ukrainian and White Rus- sian peoples. “Of special importance, both eco- nomic and political, are the ‘border- lands’ to Polish big landowners. They own enormous tracts of land in west- ern Ukraine and Western White Rus- Tennessee, has the population ef about|sia, which circumstance allows them 29 million. Of this there are 18 mil-/to wield great influence in state poli- lion. Poles, about eight million Ukrain- ians, and the rest are Jews, White Russians, Lithuanians and Germans. The Ukrainians, White Russians and Lithuanians live in the eastern terri- tory in Poland. In that territory they are in the majority, but in relation to Poland as a whole they are the na- tional minorities. The Third Congress of the Com- munist Party of Poland in its thesis on “The National Question” said: “The present Poland is a state of nationalities, whose basis of existence is not only the class rule of the Polish bourgeoisie over the masses of Pol- ish people, but also its rule over the masses of people annexed by force of arms to the Polish state (viz., Uk- rainians, White Russians and Lithu- anians), and over those scattered among the masses of Polish people (viz, Jews and Germans). “(HE hold of the Polish bourgeoisie over those conquered peoples is a question of life or death for the bour- geois Polish rule. The control of White Russian and Ukrainian territor- ies makes Poland a great state with great military forces, and makes it possible for Poland to play an impor- tant role in international imperialistic politics. The control of Western Uk- raine and Western White Russia 7 i” peo has been written in our press about white terror in Hungary, tics, “The rule over the subjugated Peoples is, therefore, one of the sources of the economic and political power of the Polish bourgeoisie; it strengthens their class rule, it in- creases the slavery of the Polish work- ers and peasants. The liberation movement of these peoples, which bursts the frames of the capitalist Polish state and aims its attack at the very basis of the class rule of Polish bourgeoisie, is the prerequisite of the class emancipation of Polish workers and peasants, it is one of the basic conditions of the victory of workers and peasants revolution in Poland . .” The thesis on “The tasks of the Communist Party of Poland,” adopted at the same congress, says: “The party, raising among the masses of Western Ukraine and of Western White Russia the slogan of joining those territories to the neighboring Soviet Republics, points out at the same time to them that under the ban- ner of Communism only can they be victorious in their class and national struggle, propogates among them the feeling of solidarity with the exploit- ed masses of entire Poland, and the consciousness that the victorious up- ~ising in their territories is possible in this international situation only hand By Martin Abern ences are no barrier in the Party re- organization. In some localities the first contact of all comrades with one another has been thru nuclei. Discus- sion of shop problems is a first step toward getting acquainted and laying a sound basis for complete nuclei ac- tivity. Organization Must Be on Large, Swift Scale UT if there is reason for care and planning in shop nuclei reorgan- ization, there is, nevertheless no rea- son for slowness in reorganization. Shop nucleus reorganization in the various districts shows this fact, thru reorganization cannot be on the style of the junk dealer, done on a second hand basis. Party reorganization must be on a large intensive scale, taking in large working areas at a time. Spot- ted organization, that is, organization of isolated nuclei here and there, in- stead of helping reorganization tend to hinder, discourage and, perhaps, for a time destroy possibilities of reorgan- ization. ‘ RGANIZING in isolated fashion, which has been pretty much the case thus far, only results in most of the comrades not participating in the reorganization, in being by-standers, watching the parading shop nuclei, who are perhaps not all in step as yet, and who have not yet learned to drill or to function as they should. Reorganization, to be effective, must yeginning with the close of the party convention, be sweeping in its form. Cities must be chartered out into sec- tions. Sections registered accurately, meetings called, sections reorganized into shop and street nuclei, shop nuclei branches wherever possible within the sections, formed, etc. In the large cities the method of re- organization will vary in’ accordarce with the kinds of towns and indus- tries. -In small towns the problem is simpler. But the question of organiza- tion in the different towns is subject matter for another time. in hand with armed uprising of the workers’ and peasants’ masses in Po- land.” rcp is the policy of the Communist Party of Poland in regard to na- tional minorities, ; On the other hand, the Polish bour- geoisie tries by all means to suppress any sign of liberation movement in non-Polish territories. White terror reigns supreme. The assimilation’ pol- icy is being pushed with whole force. The “borderlands” are being colonized by the hangmen of the Polish bour- geoisie. Thousands of the best fighters for workers’ and peasants’ interests are now in Polish prisons. Count Skrzynski who has come here to fill up the money bag of Polish bourgeoisie will not tell of those things. He even does not mention the fact that at present millions of work- ers and peasants in Western Ukraine are now in the clutches of famine as a result of bad crops and ruinious tax- ation policy. The workers and peas- ants of Soviet Ukraine have sent about 30 carloads of wheat to the famine stricken; here in America the Ukrainnian workers are collecting funds for that purpose. But the Pol- ish bourgedisie has practically done nothing: The Polish government has put aside a small sum of money in or- der to “help” the famine stricken pop- ulation—and the help goes to the big landowners and rich peasants, th they might buy some corn for sowip instead of helping the poor peasan to save their lives. There is no doubt that Count Skrzy- nski, will now attain his purpose: he will gain support of the rich American Jews for the new Polish-Jewish bour- geoisie agreement in Poland and he will carry back with him new millions of dollars from American bankers; But the American workers should let Count Skrzynski and all his clique here, and in Poland, know what they think of the bourgeois Poland—the exploiter and oppressor of the Polish, Ukrainian, White Russian, Lithuanian, German and Jewish working masses. ~ : i ‘ ; | } |