The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 17, 1930, Page 4

Nsheo_ py ine Comprod New York Cit Page Four Young Communist League Gains Membe munist League, ng Cc w proletarian recruits, ‘ ,* pa r goal posts, and f on its way t With three more weeks before is, the district has recruited 117 new members. Of these new members we have 20 r e workers, 19 Negroes, eight tex e worke ber of metal workers. The following ding of the various Number of Per- Quota Recruits centage Downtown Ne 26 Dow No. 2 5 0 0 11 10 5 5 7 5 14 5 6 5 0 5 0 Unorganized 10 0 Total 200 s 7, eMhione Stuy Address and mail all checks to the Daily Worker ECRUITING DRIVE | nion st Square. New York. | | | | League The with Newark leades still two un that haven't started in the drive as yet are kville and Pas: In the competi- tween the units, Downtown No. 1 is Yonkers is be: ng Paterson, N New York is ng South Brooklyn iamsburg is beating Brownsville, Upper Bronx No. 1 and Upper Bronx No. 2 are tied, and Lower Bronx and Harlem No. 1 are tied. Har- | lem No 2 still has failed to recruit any young | Negroes. Ited in the organ- new unit in Boro | The drive thus far has 1 ization of three shop nuc Hal new unit in Coney Island and the be- ginnings of a unit in Long Island. These are positive re: s of the membership dr The results are good in national composit the ms ¢ young Americans and not Jewish. The tempo of Every League member >» slow. ingle fac- not active. Too little tory bulletins are issued (only five the first two wee January). The drive is not based upon struggle. and too many of the new mem- bers are recruited on the old ba that is through personal contact, ete. More attention | to the factori recruiting from the unions and from the struggles, fill the quota for young Negroes—that is the slogan for the final three weeks to the Liebknecht demonstra- tion of February 7. more Some ot the Worse Forms of Opportunism By P. FRANKFELD. i ARX, in the 18th Brumaire, stated the fol- lowing: “The traditions of the past weigh like an Alps on the minds of the living.” This correct characterization applies very ongly to our Party. At the present time Party is breaking with its past methods of work. Yet the ties, the traditions of the past, weigh quite !eavily on the minds of many Party m mbers. The old methods are not simply done away with by a mere gesture, a wave of the hand, or merely saying so. It is a process, it is a struggle that our Party must conduct against these old methods of work, the old traditions of conducting Party work. For eason it is simply a lack of understanding on the part’ of any Party member who thinks at the whole fight against the right danger is being “exaggerated” a bit. On the contrary, we must say, that the struggle is still in its first stages, because our Part: is still seeped | ough and through with strong right-wing | elements and tendencies (not organized, of se, since the expulsion of the Lovestone t-wing leaders Struggle Against Opportunism. From ne to time, we catch such glimpses at the persistence of the old methods of work, that it must be brought to the attention of the whole Party. It is simply unbelievable, in our Party at this time, that such things are possible. And it is such expressions of the Party's past that must necessarily awaken every conscious Party member to the fact that the right danger is deeply rooted in the ranks of our Party. As Party Sub-D. 0. I visited a certain unit of the Party in the anthracite. What struck ne fore’ ly when I first arrived in the meet- ng room was the fact that the Party unit— located right in America—was conducting its ousiness in the Lithunian language. The Party abolished language branches when we first eorganized the Party in 1925, but in this unit, the reorganization of the Party apparently nade no visible impression or change. The | mit went right on conducting its Party work n Lithunian. I spoke on the line of the Party, the new yeriod in which we are living and working, | ind pointed out to the comrades that the Party | inits must conduct their work in English, and »xplained the reasons for this. One comrade, ater on during the discussion, argued against his. He sai have been in S..........+- over since 1921. We have not taken in one English-speaking worker since that time. So ould we conduct our meetings in Enz- ."" This comrade did not see that it was mpos to get any single English-speaking vorker (or any non-Lithunian-speaking worker that matter) if the Party spoke in Lithu- tian. But the significant thing is, however. he complete isolation of our Party unit from he ma: of American, and non-Lithunian vorkers. Some of the comrades had objections to the ew dues system. One comrade asked for a ‘eferendum vote on the new dues system. He isked what right did the C.E.C. have to make uch a decision “without consulting the mem- vership.” The demand for a referendum vote hows the fact that some Party comrades have aken over hook, line and sinker the social- lemocratic traditions of the socialist party with hem, and have never gotten rid of these tradi- | ions yet. Vote by Secret Ballots. La. elec.tons of u functionaries was teld. I was simply swept off my feet when I aw the comrades vote by secret ballot. Appa- ently, these c nrades have not yet learnt to Workers! Join the Party of Your Class! Jommunist Party U. S. A. 3 East 125th Street, New York City. I, the undersigned, want to join the Commu- ‘ist Party. Send me more information. \ddress ... Jecupation Mail this to the Central Office, Communist | evty, 43 East 125th St., New York, N. Y. S| 1 | without they themselves doing a thing to jus- | ing co The fight against the right-wing | were the center of the incorporated West In- | city of New York now stands. differentiate between the methods of the C.P. | and the methods of the S.P. Perhaps they may have hurt each other's feelings had they voted by open ballot. This is the ce in only one Party unit | in the In another unit, some other | members, also Lithunian comrades, attacked | the Party Lithunian organizer in a non-party, fraternal organization. These comrades per- mitted the Party to be criticized, and not only did not object, but joined in the fun of Party baiting. These comrades do not consider them- selves as Communists working in the fraternal organizations, but as fraternal organization | people functioning incendentally in the Party. In the same town, other Party comrades “old bolsheviks” they think themselves to be, have been for 10 years and more in the Party. They have gotten in very few if any new members into the Party. In the Recruiting Drive they have gotten in no one new member. But the label of “old bolshevik” pleases them mightily tify this high distinction they so easily place | on themselves. | Need Fresh Blood. It is the most difficult thing to get these comrades to buy or to sell The Daily Worker. They do not conduct work in their mines, be- with attending their unit meetings, and believing that their revolutionary duty be- gins and ends there. Our Party in the anthracite certainly needs a spring house cleaning. We need some new fresh blood, that will make the Party a 1 force in the class struggle. The passi old age is present with only too mar comrades, and in our membership d have made feeble beginnings in the direction of winning newer and younger elements. And this state of affairs exists in other parts of the Party, but undoubtedly not in such acute fashion. “The traditions of the past weigh like an Alps on the minds of the living”—but the Party of Lenin in America must proceed to uproot these traditions so that no trace of them will ever suz-ive to plague our P again. nger ha) g is not yet over—it has only been begun! The Negro Joins the Struggle! By L. WOODARD. HE wealth of America which it contains to- day, was brought about chiefly by the Negro slaves who were brought to America from other countries—of course, there were white slaves in America before there were any Negroes, but they were few in comparison. So the big landowners decided that they wanted more profit, therefore the empires of Europe began to transport Negroes to the landowners of this country. And with what joy did the land- owners hail the Dutch ship “Treasure” when it landed at Jamestown, W. Va. in August, 1619, and set on shore the first 20;big strong Negroes for sale. This was the beginning of Negro slavery in America. These twenty Ne groes of the wilds of Africa were the pioneers > who opened the road of suffering for the Ne- gro race in this country. After these few were brought to this country, the bosses were on the road to solve the question of labor power, putting forth these Negroes to work in addition to the white slaves. Then the landowners were able to deepen their roots into the life of the new country and to live more luxuriously. In 1330, another ship, the “Fortune” arrived with a large cargo of Negroes who were sold for rum, tobacco, ete. Then no other ship with Negroes arrived until 1636, the “Desire.” At the beginning the trade grew very slow- We find that New York and New England ly. dian Company. were located on Also the Dutch plunderers Manhattan Island where the This company stated that it woul] supply the colonists with money, slaves as it could, and it did so. After 1650 slavery spread like wild fire. Even after the War of Independence which overthrew the British rule, the slave-trade was not discon- tinued, but on the contrary, was carried on more extensively. Just before the war of 1860, there were some millions of slaves in this country, After the Negroes had been stolen and chain- ed down iike dogs, they were burdened down in this country with this so-called religion. What for! Not for what it says, but to keep you humble and submissive to the bosses, hinder! N STUDYI : Baily S25 Worker Central Organ of the Communist Party of the U.°S. A. G THE KELLOGG ‘PEACE’ PACT! By Mali (in New York City onl By Mall (outside of New York SUBSCRIPTION RAT 8.00 a year; $ ity): $6.00 a year; six months; $3.50 six months; $2.50 three months $2.00 three months The Indian Masses Lead to Soviet Power Left Wing Leadership Comes Forward As Firm Opposition to Reformist Leadership Assum- ing the ks of Leading India to Inde- pendence. By J. W. FORD. HE struggle of ‘oung left wing for lead- ership of the Indian Trade Union move- ment over reformist leader ing on during the last two y the eighth session of the 1 gress two years ago that left wing too form and gathered its fore time before, the reformists have held the In- ip t at ion Con- definite dian Trade Union m in the hollow of | its hands. Now the y has been decisive; nothing has shown it more clearly than the ent, by the All-Indian Con- , of the Nehru eme of “Do Status” for India w the British which was caused the left wing of the Indian Trade Union move- ment. With this victory,and, supported by the Indian masses the left wing must go* forward outlining and carrying forward the tasks that lead the Indian masses to Soviet Power. Struggle Against Reformists. Despite the repressive measures directed against it by the combined forces of the capi- talists and the reformists the left wing has gone forward gaining strength; outstanding in this regard has been the victory of the left wing in the Great Indian Railwaymen’s Union In order to try to retain their influence and to counteract the growing influence of the left wing the ‘bourgeoisie are putting forward na- tional reformists, of the type of young Nehru, president of the All-Indian National Congress, in the place of social-reformists, of the type of Joshi, Kirk and others. This has been elear- lv demonstrated by the recent congress: at La- hore. The role of young Nehru si to try to fool the revolting Indian masses by means of mean- ingless left phrases, as contrasted with the half-left phrase of Joshi and Co., and of course you from revolting against your suppressor who enslaves you for years. And not only then, but today the Negroes are exploited, segregated, discriminated against. The Negroes undergo the most bitter suppression of the thousands of the world. We must awaken to the facts, annihilate the cliques of the capi- talist class of this country. I want to recall another happening during the slave-stealing. The slave-ship “English Brillante” crossed the Atlantic with 600 Ne- gro slaves. After it was said that no more slaves should be brought to this country, these thieves continued their acts, There were, there- fore, battleships to search all ships that cross- ed the Atlantic. This ship “English Brillante” containing 600 Negroes, which were called “cargo,” had no other way cut. So these Ne- groes were chained together and rushed over- board. That were the same landowners, the same thieves in those days as we have today. id before. We cannot ar I repeat, as I have sleep any longer. © up and know enemy. It is not the w rs, no nationality. Unite, all workers, and fight your common the bos the millionaires! Down with As a leader of the workers, I solidarity to the working cla x imperia pledge my most dangerous to the Indian movement. The task of the left wing in exposing this cherous tactic of Nehru is to lay down in a clear and in no unmistakable manner the of class struggle against the line of class , bring to the forefront the aim afety Bill (designed against Communists) and compulsory arbitration, at the same time exposing the repressive meas- ures of the Mecrut trial in taking away from | the Indian proletariat its most militant leaders, exiling them and confining them to long prison terms, in which the reformists are collaborat- ing with the Anglo-Indian authorities. Another task is the sustained and continuei uggle against the right, “left” and “center” in the trade union movement. Joshi, Bunji, id other Eastern reformists are preparing the convocation of a “labor” Conference of the t. Of course this conference is not being red in the interest of the Indian and Eastern proletariat, but is being prepared by the League of Nations in intérest of the im- perialists, the Japanese and Anglo-Indian gov- ernments, in opposition to and for the stifling of the growing leftward swing of the labor movement of the East. Under Leadership of R.LL.U. How can the left wing combat this move | of the reformists? The organizations that lead the struggling proletariat and in particular the Indian masses into struggle against imper- ialism and to independence are the Pan-Pacifie Trade Union Secretariat and the Anti-imper- ialist League. The struggle for the affiliation of the Ail-Indian Trade Union Congress to these organizations occupies the forefront of the left wing to defeat the reformists. At the same time the question of the affiliation of the All-Indian Trade Union Congress to the Red International of Labor Unions is of equal im- portance, in view of the desire of the rights to affiliate it to the yellow Amsterdam Interna- tional but who dare not propose it. All of this will of course depend on the tactics of the reformists and the strength of the trade unions, the growing power of the Bombay Textile workers and railway workers. Internal Problems of the Indian Workers. | Of great significance is the strike struggles | that have taken place during the last two years | for the bettering of the conditions of the work- |,ers and which are growing in number and im- portance. In view of the extremely worsening conlitions of the Indian working class, made more harsh by the capitalist rationalization which in recent years has taken on a more exaggerated form, the Indian workers have the task of struggling to better their conditions all along the line. In India the seven-hour day is the center of struggle, here the workers are being worked unheard of long hours, men, women and chil- dren—the regular 42-hour week; the introduc- tion of social insurance in case of sickness, | accident and unemployment at the expense of | the employers; special attention to women | workers, against night work for women, leave with pay during pregnancy for a stated period of time; against the working of women in dangerous industries, against the employment of children under 14 years of age; a minimum wage, equal pay for equal work; equality of \« ions for all workers regardless of race or | nationality; election by the workers of work- ers’ factorv committees of inspection: aboli- By Fred Ellis ‘LENI NIST NOTE: The excerpts printed below are taken from Lenin's famous brochure “What is to be done?” which is included in Volume IV of the Collected Works of V. 1. Lenin, just published by the International Publishers, 881 Fourth Avenue, New York. This volume, published in two parts, includes all the writings of Lenin between 1900 and 1902, and covers the formative period of the Russian Bolshevik Party. HAT do the words “to give the economic struggle itself a political character” which Martynov uses in presenting the tasks of so- cial-democracy, mean concretely? The econ- omic struggle is the collective struggle of the workers against their employers for better terms in the sale of their labor power, for better conditions of life and labor. This strug- gle is necessarily a struggle according to trade, because conditions of labor differ very much in different trades, and consequently, the fight to improve those conditions can only be con- ducted in respect of each trade (trade unions in the Western countries, temporary trade as- sociations and leaflets in Russia, etc.). To give “the economic struggle itself a political character” means, therefore, to strive to se- cure satisfaction for those trade demands, the improvement of conditions of labor in each sep- arate trade by means of “legislative and ad- ministrative measures” (as Martynov express- es it on the next page of his article, p. 43). always have done. thoroughly scientific (and “thoroughly” oppor- tunist) Mr. and Mrs. Webb and you will find that the British trade unions long ago recog- nized, and have long carried out the task of “giving the economic struggle itself a political character;” they have long been fighting for the right to strike, for the removal of all juridicial hindrances to the cooperative and trade union movement, for laws protecting women and children, for the improvement of conditions of labor by means of sanitary and factory legislation, etc. Thus, the pompous phrase: “To give the economic struggle itself a political character” which sounds so “terrifically” profound and revolutionary, serves as a screen to conceal what is in fact the traditional striving to de- grade social-democratic policies to the level of trade union policies! On the pretext of rectify- CONCEPTION OF ROLE OF COMMUNIST PARTY ———_—__——_—— This is exactly what the trade unions do and/ Read the works of the | ing “Iskra” onesideness, which, it is alleged, places “the re voluti nizing of dogma. higher than the @evolutionizing of life,” we are pre- sented with the struggle for economic refor: as if it were something entirely new. .“As matter of fact, the phrase “to give the economic struggle itself a political character’ means nothing gnore than the struggle for economic reforms. And Martynov himself might have come to this simple conclusion had he ofly pondered over the significance of his own words. “Our Party” he says, turning his | heaviest guns against “Iskra,” “could and | should have presented concrete demands to the government for legislative and administrative measures against economic exploitation, for the relief of unemployment, for the relief of the famine-striken, etc. (Rabocheye Dyelo, No. 10, pp. 42, 43). Concrete demands for measures—does not this mean demands for social reforms? And again we ask the im- partial reader, do we slander the Rabocheye Dyeloists (may I be forgiven for this clumsy | expression!) when we declare them to be con-~ cealed Bernstenists, for advancing their von about the necessity for fighting for economi reforms as a reason for their disagreement with “Iskra?” Revolutionary social-democracy always in- cludes, the fight for reforms in its activities. But it utilizes ‘economic’ agitation for the purpose of presenting to the government, not only demands for all sorts of measures, but also (and primarily) the demtand that it cease to be an autocratic governmént. Moreover, it considers it to be its duty to present this de- mand to the government, not on the basis of the economic struggle alone, but on the basis of all manifestations of public anl political life. In a word, it subordinates the struggle for reforms to the revolutionary struggle for liberty and for Socialism, in the same way as the part is subordinate to the whole. Mar- tynov, however, resuscitates the theory of stages in a new form, and strives to prosecute an exclusively economic, so to speak, path of development for the political struggle. By com- ing out at this moment, when the revolutionary movement is on the up-grade, with an alleged special ‘task” of fighting for reforms, he it | dragging the Party backwards, and is playing | into the hands of both “economic” and libera) | opportunism. (To Be Continued) War Is “Outlawed”---But War | Budget Grows! By MYRA PAGE. [is N imperialisnt spends one-half bil- lion dollars more each year on wars, past, pres- ent and future, than is expended on all types of public education in the United States. This sit uation is revealed when figures presented by two outstanding figures in the capitalist world, Hoover and Mellon, are examined and com- pared. Hoover’s analysis of the proposed Federal budget for 1931 (as reported in N. Y. Times on December 5, 1929) shows that out of a total budget of $3,830,445,231, the amount of $2,733,- 213,283 “will be devoted for payments of past wars and those that may occure in the future.” This amounts to approximately 72 cents out of every dollar spent. Another two million dol- lars is expended on “administration of terri- tories and dependencies,’ bringing the total spent for these imperialistic purposes to nearly two and three-quarters of a billion annually. This figure does not include the vast sums ex- pended each year to maintain the armed forces of class rule within the country, in the form of State militia (nearly $42,000,000 was spent for this purpose by States in 1926), State con- stabulary, police and courts and other agen- cies. Mellon, in his 4°27 “Report on State of Fi- nances, by Secretary of the Treasury,” makes the bald statement, “It is well known to stu- dents of public finance that the peace-time bud- gets of modern occidental (i.e., imperialist— M. P.) nations are largely concerned with the costs of past and future wars” (p. 19). Well, Engels and Lenin explained the reasons for this situation to the workers some years ago and, Mr. Mellon, the workers have not forgot- ten it. The bulk of the funds for public education comes from State and local governments, the Federal Administration appropriating but four- teen and one-half million toward these pur- poses. According to the latest figures avail- able, $2,200,789,000 is spent annually on all form of public education in the United States, including public elementary schools high schools, universities and colleges. When privately en- dowed institutions are included and their net expenditures added to this sum, the figure reaches an estimated total of two and one-half billion—or still one-quarter billion less than goes to imperialist purposes. (Report of Com- mittee on “Recent Economic Changes,” Herbert Hoover, chairman, Vol. 1, p. 16-17.) American imperialism has proven that the business of war is more important in its scheme than education. Public schools and colleges are only important insofar as these enable im- perialism to achieve its aims: for propaganda tion of corpora] punishment, fines, deductions of wages, ete.; freedom of picketing; right of organization and to strike. With this program the Indian masses not only go forward strug- gling to better their every day conditions, but on to open clash with the capitalists—foreign and Indian—for Soviet Power. With these main conditions setting and de- termining the line of the struggle the main tasks of the Left Wing are clearly outlined, and through alliance with the peasantry whose conditions are also hitter, the Indian labor movement will liberate India from British im- perialism and the Indian bourgeoisie. The Indian revolution comes forward. playing .its significantly historical role in conjunction with the Chinese; being at the same time a great stimulus to the rising Negro movement on the continent of Africa and in Haiti, as well as of great significance to the revolutionary move- ment in the home lands of imperialism—in the period of imperialist world crisis, and the pre- paration of imperialist war. Long live the rising colonial mavemantd purposes, and for training of its corps of tech- | nical experts, as well as to exploiters; and the | equipping of the toiling masses with the mini- mum requirements, in order to make them more efficient coks in its industrial machine. ‘California Y. C. L. Challenge Three Districts in Revolution- ary Competition. The membership drive is now on its full swing in District 18. The slogan of “Revolu: tionary Competition” is spreading to all parts of the district. Los Angeles has challenges Oakland to get more Negro members and San Francisco to get more Oriental workers. Sar Francisco came back by challenging Los An- geles for the entire drive. Challenges are now | going on all over the district covering. all phase of league activity. These challenges are coming from the members of, the units them. selves. The district has also taken up the question of revolutionary competition and has challenged three other districts for the drive;: Seattle District 12, for marine, lumber and | Oriental; Kansas City District 10 for Mexican and agricultural workers; Connecticut District 15 to double the membership and triple the “Young Worker” subscribers. Also, to secure more Negro young workers build more new units and fill the quota sooner. The challenge to Connecticut was in reply to their challenge to double the membership and triple the Young Worker subscribers by Februar,’ 15. Other challenges have been made by other districts but have not yet been re- ceived. California is ready though to take on all comers. The result so far in the membership drive shows California ahead of most of the districts. Already totaling up 18 new members, and 18 new subscribers to the “Young Workers” witk half of the district yet to report. Forward to a mass Young Communist League under the slogan of “revolutionary competition.” ! Seek Document of Lenin. International Publishers are now at work in preparing for publication Volume XVIII of Lenin’s Collected Works “The Imperialist War.” This volume contains Lenin’s writings from the middle of 1914 to the end of 1915. In November, 1915, Lenin, having received | from America literature from the Socialist | Propaganca League, sent them a copy of the pamphlet “Socialism and War,” written by him | and Zinoviev, and also a letter in which he touched upon the various questions raised in the leaflets of the Socialist Propaganda League. The Russian edition of Volume XVIII, pre- pared by the Lenin Institute, includes only a part of this letter, and the editors state that the first part of the original of this letter has not been preserved. International Publishers, who base their Eng- lish edition of Lenin’s Collected Works on the revised Lenin Institute edition, are very anxi- | ous.to find out whether the full text of Lenin’s | letter to the Socialist Propaganda League is available, either as manuscript ot in printed form, in the original or in translation. Any information regarding this will be greatfully received by them. Address International Pub- lishers, 381 Fourth Avenue, New York, Fight the Right Danger. A Hundred Proletarians for Every ‘Petty Bourgeois Renee LD ; 4