The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 28, 1930, Page 4

rupusnea by the Comprodaity Square, New York City, N. Page Four Address and mail all checks to the Daily Worker Publishing Co. Inc, @atly excent Sund Y. Telephone Stuyvesant 16 c 26-28 Union Si ON SOME OF OUR ORGAN- IZATIONAL SHORTCOMINGS By SI GERSON. In the first half of this article the writer pointed out that the question of organization was neglected, the basic reasons for this, the opportunist manner in which the former Lovestone leadership toyed with this ques- tion, and the lack of simplicity in our writ- ings. The second installment follows: Some Questions. various question must nection with this auxiliary of drawing non- another form of then what is the or the form of organization in this bold estion and fin: Unless these tain organi no value eir own, they have erely repetitions nizations, they are 1 true to a large extent in the hundreds of little E which the National Textile Workers Union has been doing work have been urged to join the LL.D., the W.LR., ete., indi- vidually. Since the most active elements gen- erally joined the union first, what happened D. and W.I.R. were composed e of this fact of ma‘ was that the ILL of these same workers. Beca and the organ ional back of the workers, there was conft , and the the LL.D. and W.LR. could tional existence. It ‘or the comrades in auxiliaries like have no sey was therefore e South to make some definite decisions on on, decisions which might be well y comrades working under similar con- hey were in substance: (1) That in ges and in other towns where the great majority of the workers are textile work- ers, the local union of the N.T.W.U. affiliates directly to the I.L.D. (or the W.I.R.) as a bod thus abolishing individual membership cards The local pays affiliation fee to the LL.D. and a certain sum periodically. The same applies to the relationship between the uth sections and the youth organizations like the Labor Sports Union—the youth sections affiliate directly to the Labor Sports Union, one member of the youth section functioning as sports director and L.S.U. secretar; (2) Where the mass organizations have a chance for a separate, distinct organizational existence there we build auxiliaries. That is to say, in a large city or town where there are workers of different industries not yet organized into mass unions and, let us say, an LL.D. branch will not duplicate any other organization, but, on the contrary, will contribute to the other phases of the work, there an LL.D. branch should be organized, for there it has the pos- sibility far a separate life, organizational and al existence and not a paper existence. Driv The conducting of drives, especially those where funds are a great objective, must be very strictly centralized, coordinated and super- vised by the Party. Too often simultaneous drives will go on. The same mailing lists will be gone over and over. The same groups of workers will be approached time and time again until they are weary of being approached for funds. An example of this sort of thing was this last summer when, simultaneously, a Gastonia drive and a campaign to get tractors for the R ian peasants at the time the S viet flyers arrived, took place. Of course, political events necessitating campaigns do not oecur at times most convenient for the work- ing class. Nevertheless, financial drives can be so worked out that there will be no serious conflict. A further necessity in the work of the drives of the various auxiliary organiza- tions is that the Party controls very strictly the outlay of all funds, There sometimes is the tendency for a particular organization or its representative to dominate the application of a policy in a given situation just because that representative has control of the purse strings in that particular drive. This demands the ctest control -by the Party. Auxiliary Papers. Another one of the serious organizational tasks is the careful check-up on all the auxili- | is ques’ and dut ary papers. The same question must be posed mn we check up on t ations themselves: “Does this paper help to lly non-Party masses in the struggle?” Th er has seen only too many instance: where xiliary organs have been left lying fices and have gone to rot. But deep more important than our own neglect o of these auxiliary papers is the fact that the papers themselves have no clear function. For inst le the or Defender is the most popular of all working class periodicals in the South, r U y falls flat. The reason is that the or De besides the fact that it ii ractively put up, has a certain definite netion which most workers, no matter how backward, realize. Labor Unity has not. Instead of being a real organ of both the organized and unorganized workers,’ with special emphasis on the workers in and around the T. various affiliated organ- izations, h of a general political organ, repeating in great part the Daily Work- er. t is too full of resolutions and long articles, rather than short, simple news about the organization work in the various fields and locals. “Soli¢ the official organ of the Workers International Relic seems to have no mass response whatsoever. “Solidarity” ainly has not justified its ex istence or the expense the W.1L.R, is put to in getting it out among the Southern workers A bulletin during strikes or mass movements seems to fit the purpose sufficiently. The “Working Woman” in its present form cer- tainly is not attractive and simple enough for the great mass of American working women, who are even more backward—for certain his- torical reasons—than the male workers. Ditto for a number of our other auxiliary organs. Simple Writing. Along with the simplification in our auxili- ary organizations must come a simplification in the style of our writing. While the C. C. resolution on the Daily Worker, especially the section on simple working class writing, is a great step ahead, nevertheless there is not suf- ficient check-up on our writings. There still exists too much of what Lenin called “Com- munist vanity,” the feeling that no writing is Communist writing unless it is chock-full of our “scientific jargon.”* This one field where the greatest of patience is needed. Sim- ple, popular language is wanted badly. This is by no means a simple task, But it must be carried out. Not a word should go out in any of the mass organs unless it is understandable to the workers. Where a difficult word is used (or one that is found mostly in the Marx- ist technical vocabulary) it must be explained. This seems elementary, yet we find that it is generally not done. No auto worker, for in- stance, will use a word or expression about something in the factory where he works, if he is talking to a textile worker, without ex- plaining what that word or expression mea Why do we not do the same thing? The Y.C.L. has made an excellent step in the direction of simplifying and popularizing its literature that the Party might well take not of. It has drafted a four-page leaflet on-“Why Southern Young Workers Should Join the Young Com- munist League” and has given it to a com- mittee of two southern young workers to edit. Any word that these young workers did not understand was stricken out. That insured popularity of the leaflet and did not detract one whit from its political content. More Stress on Organizations Sides. All the above points have been brought up for discussion and action because of our evi- dent weakness in organization. Our organiza- tional work has failed by far to keep up with our political influence. This in turn has meant political weaknesses later and lagging behind ; | and many the activity of the mass Much more stress on the organizational side in the future to con- solidate our political influence! correct political line. weapons of struggle and above all our Party and Young Communist League! For this we need patience, tirelessness, and attention to the tiniest of organizational details. Otherwise, the most correct political line will find no means of execution. Is article certainly cannot be cited as an example of simplicity or of popular writing. The writer recognizes this but points out that this is in the nature of a Party discussion article, meant for y members for the most part. I 1 meant for We have the | Let us build our class | _A Communist Speaks in a Capitalist Parliament The following is the third and last part of the speech of a Communist member of the Czecho-slovakian parliament, Comrade Gott- wald during a stormy session at which the bourgeois “socialist” party deputies “listened with faces distorted by hatred and fear” to the speech of a Communist, a speech that was a declaration of war aganist the rotten bourgeois system and its social fascist sup- porters who are the ruling party in the Czechoslovak government. The last part of Comrade Gottwald’s speech follows: * * * INALLY you state that we are subject to Moscow, thatewe are going there to get their wisdom. You are subject to the Givnostiensk Bank. to the Taceks, the Weimanns, and Preisses (big sapitalists), you are subject to the League of Nations, that is, to the imperialist robbers and you are learning from them how best to exploit the toilers. We are the Party of the Czechoslovakian proletariat and indeed our general staff is” Moscow. We are going to Moscow to learn from the Russian Bolsheviks, how best to break your necks. (exclamations.) You know, the Russian Bolsheviks are great masters in this matter. (Cries, exclamations). You will not bribe us, you will not break us, you will not destroy us. You have bribed a band of traitors and you have thought that you can smash the Communist Party, and hen you opened your mouths wide, when you ‘ound that your agents were flying out of the Jommunist Party of Czechoslovakia. You have carried on against us a campaign if versecution, cavalry attacks, but in spite of this, three quarters of a million of voters, have voted for us. Hundreds of our comrades, our active fight- ers are in jail, and many thousands are await- ing the same fate. But tens of thousands will take their places. You will not break us. We declare a decisive struggle against you and your social fascist government. We will fight for every piece of bread for the workers and public employees. We will fight for relief for the unemployed. We will fight against the increase of rents, and for reduction against your grafting mismanagement in the sick-bene- fit offices. We will fight for the demands of the poor peasants, for the possession of the streets, for the freedom of the press, assembly and organ- | ization, for the right to strike for the pro- letariat. Against your fascist police terror we will put forward proletarian resistance. We shall fight against the national oppres- sion and’ for the liberation of the oppressed | nationalities. (Fifteen lines stricken out by Czechoslov- akian censorship). (Continued ‘exclamations). Pretty soon you will stop laughing. We are continuing our struggle, regardless of all sacrifices, and we will carry it to the final aim, the overthrow of your rule. Fight the Right Danger. A Hundred Proletarians for Every Petty Bourgeois Rene- gade! vy, at 26-88 Union ble: “DAIWORK.” re, New York, N. ¥ Baily Central Organ of the Comm DOWN TOOLS MARCH 6 aed Worker unist “arty of the U.S. A. ised Mall (in New York City only): BY Mall caer of New York City SCRIPTION RATES: $8.00 a year; ‘): $6.00 a year; $4.50 six months; $3.50 six months; $2.50 three months $2.00 three months r nme - By Fred Ellis Cablegram on the Co-operatives MOSCOW, Feb. 22, 1930. Party, Central Committee, Gommunist De AS: To the Knowledge of the linnish Members of | the Party. The Political Secreta International of the Communist has unanimously approved an extensive letter to the Finnish members of the Party of the U.S.A. a thorough account both of Halonen’s bour- Communist It contains geois opportunism as well as of the correct Communist class line and of the tasks before us, which signify a real turn towards better- ment of our entire activity. The letter shows that the disassociation: from Halonen, from the one who had hoplessly become bourgeois, had become imperative. Not too soon, but, too late, a decisive struggle was taken up by the Party against the right danger of Halonen. Only in time the explaining of the matter in principle to the membership of the Party and | to the members of the mass organizations should not have been neglected, neither should tactical unthoughtfulness have happened in practical measures. On the other hand, again it was an error that Comrade Matti Tenhunen other comrades did not in time, on account of incidental matters, understand the main thing, that in the struggle between Halo- nen and the Party they could not remain in any unclear middle position, which could be | looked upon as a conciliatory attitude, but that it was necessary with full energy to fight for the Party. The cases of those isolated com- rades, expelled from the Party, who sincerely want to follow the line of the Comitern and of the Party, will be taken up together with the Central Control Commission for a,new and completely unbiased review. The attitude of the Party towards the cooperatives and to- wards other mass organizations of the workers, is placed in its right place in the letter of the Political Secretariat. These organizations are not in that respect auxiliaries of the Party, that the Party would directly give instructions to them as to what they should and what they should not do. For this reason it is entirely wrong to argue any thing such, that it would be the intention of the Party to start to de- stroy them, if it cannot get the control over them. The members of the Party, who are as a fraction in their ranks, should only by ex- plaining and by convincing try to effect the adoption of correct decisions. The neutrality pushed by Halonen towards the so-called “dif- ferent tendencies in .the labor movement” means in the’ co-operative movement hobnob- bing with the worst tools of the bourgeosie, as with the bosses of Raivaaja, I.W.W. and the fakers of Gompers, instead of exposing these, as the case should be, as the traitors of ' the cause of the workers. Such neutrality means today going over in the camp of the class enemies of the workers, and to thid\it is best for the organized workers of the Cen- tral States to answer by driving Halonen away from the Co-operative Central Exchange. These Finnish workers have certainly to pro- tect their Paper, the Tyomies, from ever go- ing into the hands of the opportunists. Only as a Communist paper is it possible for it to fullfil its important function in the class strug- gle of the workers. By no means does the Party in the matters of the Tyomies strive to brush acide the voice of even the non-Papty | workers, owning shares in the Tyomies, nor | the free power to act in accordance with the constitution and by-laws of the Tyomies Pub- lishing Society. The right wingers are trying to drive a. wedge between as well the mem- bership of the Party and the Party leadership as between the non-Party mass organizations and the Party, thus to destroy the Communist Party. All such efforts of Halonen and his ilk must be repelled by united forces, Coun- ciliation, or even vacillation and hesitation in the struggle against them—says the Commin- tern ‘letter—is not any more only an error, but directly a crime. The leadership of the American Communist Party and the Finnish Bureau, who have correctly and with determina- tion fought against the Lovestonite renegades, | , have in the matters of the Finnish organiza- tions, too, presented in the main an absolutely correct line, even if they in tactics have made isolated errors, which in the future must be corrected. The oki factionalism is buried, the old sins must not be remembered on either side and no one must, with suspicion, render more difficult the strengthening of the united front of struggle. Comrade Tenhunen, who, as well as Comrade Puro, completely joins the position presented in the letter of the Polit Secretariat, is ready by deeds and by aeti to drive through the fulfillment of this correct position under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Party and its organs. KUUSINEN, WEINSTONE, PURO, TENHUNEN. Notes on the South By CAROLINE DREW. Goldberg Brothers, who own the American Spinning Company Mills No. 1 and 2 in Bes- semer City, also own the Piedmont Mill in Gastonia, where 80 workers are employed. They recently gave these 80 workers notices that the mill would close down indefinitely and that they had better vacate the company houses. The next move of these bosses was the shutting off of the lights and water supply. The Southern members of the Workers In- ternational Relief are supporting the unemploy- ment mass meetings and demonstrations held under the leadership of the Trade Union Unity League, where “work or wages” are demanded for all unemployed workers. A negro woman working in a tobacco com- pany in Winston-Salem received $4.15 for working 50 hours. Her house rent is $2 a week and on the remainder she must support herself and a dependent. This is part of Hoover’s American Prosperity Scheme. In Gastonia a man, earns $8.85 a week, for a curtailed week—three days a week. He has to pay $3 a week house rent, he buys a load of wood for cooking and heating purposes every two weeks, which cost $3, and on the remainder he and his wife and three children enjoy the “luxuries of life.” The Home Section of the Southern Textile Bulletin is making “history” in the text of “Alice in Blunderland,” by Ethel Thomas, the editor of the Home Section, This is the kind of “history” that Floyd Gibbons, a cheap, jingo journalist, wrote in “The Red Napoleon” vici- ous anti-Soviet propaganda printed in “Lib- erty” magazine. “Alice in Blunderland” is supposed to be the story of the Gastonia strike, although the names are different. The author writes of the incidents in the strike -and colors each event with bosses’ propaganda. orkers! Join the Party of Your Class! Communist Party U. S. A. 43 East 125th Street, New York City. I, the undersigned, want to join the Commu- Send me more information. nist Party. Name ... Address ..):s0svies vied enVelcae Oltyins costes Occupation «..cceseccvsvvccsvvvts AGGcacsve Party, 43 East 125th St., New York, N. Y. Mail this to the Central Office, Communist By S. HORIS (Bucharese. HE enormous aggravation of the capitalist stabilization crisis in Rumania is closely linked up with the catastrophic agrarian crisis. The whole of industry is paralyzed. Not only the weak and shaky undertakings have been closed down but’ also the greatest works of finance capital, such as “Reshitza” in the Ban- at, the “Astra” wagon factory in Arad are restricting production and throwing thousands of proletarians onto the streets. Thus for in- stance in the “Astra” wagon factory only about 700 workers are working three days a week, where formerly 5,000 workers were occupied full time. According to the reports of bourgeois papers and of the government the number of the un- employed exceeds 200,000. But the organ of the Unitary trade unions “Munkaselet” (Work- ers’ Life) of January 19 estimates the number of the unemployed industrial workers at 300,- 000 to 350,000. As a result of the decay of capitalist stabilization we sce the rapid up- surge of the revolutionary movement which is headed by the unemployed masses. In the months of December and January the starving unemployed masses came out onto the streets, under the leadership of the’ Communist Party. Collisions occurred with the gendarmerie and the military. Be rabian Toilers Fight. & The revolutionary struggle reached its high- est point in Bessarabia which has beerf annexed by Rumanian imperialism. After the workers had occupied the premises of the Unitary Trade Unions in Kishinev, mass demonstrations took place with red banners and revolutionary streamers in Orhei, Ismail and Tighina. The demands of the workers are: “Work and bread, defense of the Soviet Union and the unification of Bessarabia with the Moldavian Soviet Re- public.” In Bucharest and Jassy ever larger masses are demonstrating in the streets. On the 8th of January, during the trial of the arrested delegates to a conference of the Unitary Trade Unions in Czernovitz, street fights repeatedly took place between the workers and the police. Also in Transylvania and in the Banat power- ful mass actions took place under the leader- ship of the Communist Party and the Young Communist League against the treacherous trade union bureaucracy. In Temesvar several thousand workers marched with red flags on December 22, 30 and 81 and January 2 and 3. In the ensuing street fights the unemployed occupied the town hall and captured back the workers’ premises; REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE - OF THE UNEMPLOYED IN RUMANIA Pa a 49 basvicade fighting. ‘hese revotu- tionary actions were systematically bet by the reformist trade union bureauer: and the expelled Kéblés—Berger renegade group. With the protection and support of the fascist authorities the’ latter founded on January 12 the social fascist independent trade unions un- dé the name of “Trade unions of the factory and industriat workers,” they advocate the support of the fascist dictatorship, openly combat the revolutionary labor ntovement, the Communist Party and the Unitary Trade Uni- ons, Disarmed the Police. In the whole of ‘Transylvania the revolution ary struggle of the unemployment masses i developing, In Cluj the unemployed attacked the police guard posted before the workers’ premises, disarmed it and occupied the trade union house. In Targa Mures the masses like- vise captured the workers’ premises. In Arad, lea-Mare and Porasov, powerful demonstra- tions also‘ took place. The social fascists demand the bloody sup pression of the unemploy: In Buch- arest the social-fascists organized an “unem- ployed delegation” who demanded of the fascist government the forr in order to proceed ¢ Communists. 1 masses, inst the insurrectionary Even in the “beggars’ kitchens” established for the unemployed armed social- fas s together with police, Siguranza and gendarmerie are attacking the revolutionary unemployed. The Communist ty and the. Unitary Trade Unions which are conducting the revolutionary struggle of the unemployed masses, are en- deavoring to link up the struggle of the un- employed with the struggle of the workers in the factories. On March 6 the unemployed and the employed will demonstrate under the lead- ership of the Communist Party for the follow- ing slogans: Against the mass dismissals, f state support for the unemployed; Against | capitalist rationalization, for increased wages! Against fascism, for revolutionary self-defense of the masses! Against social fascism! Against the counter-revolutionary renegades and liqui- dators! For the legality of the Unitary Trade Unions! For the restitution of the workers pre- mises to the revolutionary working class! For the defense of the revolutionary class organ- izations of the toiling m: s! Against impe- rialist war! For the defense of the Soviet Union! For the overthrow of the fascist dic- tatorship and for the Workers and peasants government! their bigotry and witchery. Socialist Construction Goes Steady Forward The workers in the Soviet Union will not lef the imperialist religious optum peddlers interfere with the rapid building up of Socialism. The forces of super- stition who back the imperialist war maneuvers cannot arouse the workers with The final defeat of capitalism will also mean the final eradication of the opium of the people—religion. Questions and Answers on Unemployment (The following is the third of a series of Questions and Answers on the World Crisis, Unemployment and the Tasks of the revolu- tionary trade unions, issued by the Red Inter- national of Labor Unions.—Editor.) | Question 3. Is the recent growth of unem- ployment a result of the crisis? A correct answer to this question is exceed- ingly important, for throughout the whole of the post-war period there has been consider- “able unemployment practically in all the coun- tries, Suffice it to say that even when the period of prosperity was at its height in the U. S. A. there were between 2 and 3 million unem- ployed in this country, unemployment never fell below the million mark in Great Britain, while in Germany the unemployment figures fluctuated between 600,000-700,000 and two and a half millions. Owing to capitalist rationalization and the displacement of labor by machinery, unemploy- ment during the last few years has shown a definite tendency towards further growth, and the army of unemployed today is no longer a reserve, but altogether euperflucus, for there is no hope that these men will ever be ab- | sorbed by industry again. While we see the present day economic crisis developing amidst the general economic crisis of the post-war period, we should note that the exceptional growth of unemployment during the last few months has taken place amidst the growing chronic unemployment which has béen so much in evidence during the last few years. That the crisis will increase unemployment still further is borne out by the following facts. A conservative estimate places unemployment in the U. S, A. at the end of January some- where over 6 millions, that is. to say three millions over the normal “prosperity” figures. i In Germany there are about three and a half million unemployed, who ¢omprtse ap- proximately a fourth of the proletariat. In England there were a million and a half unemployed, a further increase of 382,000 being registered between June and December, which far exceeded the figures for the same months in previous years. Of the small countries we might call at- tention to Italy with its 800,000 unemployed (although official fascist statistics claim only 400,000); Austria with its 400,000, Czecho- Slovakia 400,000, Hungary 300,000, and so on. In the small countries there are more than three millions unemployed today. Should we add to these figures the 500,000 unemployed in Mexico; the million unempioyea in Latin America, the British Dominions and Japan with their million each, then we see that apart from the colonial and semi-colonial countries there are approximately 17 millions unemployed today, This means that world capitalism is doom- ing 17 million proletarians, together wita thar families a total of 70 million people’ to starva- tion. In contrast to previous years we already have at the present time, at the very begin- ning of the crisis, an increase of unemploy- | ment by five or six millions. Since there is “every reason to believe that the crisis will spread and be deepened, this of course holds out every prospect of a further growth of uns employment in the capitalist countries, ion of an armed guard * or |