The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 27, 1930, Page 4

Published by the ty. Page Four Comprodaily Publishing rk C Jable Union Square. New Yor pt Sundav, 2 28 Union WORK." N FORCES; SOME SUGGESTIONS By BILL DUNNE. it is one the Communist I enin that and f its sections.) 2d to is on March 6, the en our litera- the rapid Union more clearly ts collec- s the overcol ave respon! our the own of Cannot Now Supply Demand. petent made ‘upon I , in many in- s steel r lumber, tex- are waiting t can be fur- Are Weakest. Where We ce worst is in the field of trade e ich is the weakness of forces or task of organjzing the in revolution trade truments of working cla: we are unable to keep pace with plants East Pitt towns—employing be 0,000 workers—there was a r larch demonstration. Many the shops for lunch taking their reet clothes with them—expecting a general in poring work ft strike to be called. Practically no organizational work had been h plants for months preceding 6—y because of lack of forces. hat some comrades cover he nderestimation of the extent of radi- ch March 6 proved again to be ned to certain indus- clajm—by complaints conf neites whole is driving into failure of our Pa! now in many instances, ities in specially fav- comparatively unim- han to conduct care- ll organized campaigns the scarcity of capable as a the is Demands Have Multiplied. r greater results are se- same amount of forces But the opportunities are © demands made upon us by have multiplied many times instance: number of fairly large cities several nd workers gathered around the city and raised the unemployment slogans of Party without anything in the nature of jmmunist leadership except our literature. In at least one of these cities there was not even a Party unit. rn has emphasized, our Party r od when its main activ was f propaganda. For the first time it can be said truthfully that masses of our class are looking to us for leadership. The class strug- gle does not wait. If we cannot produce the forces necessary then we will contribute to the jemoralization of many workers and make it their being misled and betrayed into e morass ¢ 1 fascism. The Result in Two Industries. Ir ‘ industry it is principally the lack « s which makes it possible for the # ” of the social fascists—the Muste- it attract numbers of workers and sell them to the bosses. In Southern Illinois at present it is the weakni of the forces of the National Min- ers Union, the scarcity of Communist trade union organizers which makes it possible for he coal operators to begin a new offensive lded by the Howats, Brophys and Hapgoods Germers—working shoulder to shoulder nd with the blackest social-fascist types under the direct instructions of the Peabody Coal Compan Drawn From the New Reservoir. We must admit that long factional struggle prevented the normal development of new forees in our Party. That struggle is now his- tory but some of its heritages remain. One of them is the slowness with which we have drawn new proletarian elements into leader- ship, te slowness with which we are still go- ng about the all-important task of selecting and training new forces for mass work. The recrujting campaign has supplied our Fight the Right Danger. A Hundred Proletarians for Every Petty Bourgeois Rene- eade! Workers! Join the Party of Your Class! mmunist Party U. S. A. East 125th Street, New York City. I, the undersigned, want to join the Commu- nist Party. Send me more information. Name . Address Occupation . Age Mail this to the Central Office. Communist Party, 43 East 125th St., New York, N. ¥. ) Party with a reservoir of f | district must r new members with work each best established, course, Communist this is not . Every s of the to finding out what tted for. Classes will be and the elements of taught them at once, But e a caref a view is of theo; enough. I am of the opinion t committees should be ber of new members, z bers these committees shall attend all meetings, cussion and in this way and not merely academica’ nist Party work all Party district ed a certain num- not actually mem- perhaps, but who take part in the dis- n by experience, now a Commu- at to of To Be Taken. in the daily work of the Party new leadership must not be to take the “normal” course. Every Some Measures Furthermore, the development allowed Party official should be ructed categori- cally to watch carefully for comrades who show signs of ability above the average and report such comrades with recommendations | for their assignment to the proper committees. There must be more specializa training courses of our Pz We « ford to waste time training comrades for t union or inner Party organization work who may be exceptionally good agitators, but en- tirely unfitted for carrying out tasks demand- ing much organization ability. This must not mean that the theoretical side of training is to be neglected but it will mean that comrades who show ability for specific given special t ng for these ta . ks. Mobilize Our Technicians. Another point: y of our best Party com who are especially good organizers and mass workers, and th applies with added emphas to many of the new members—have little tech- nical ability. The drafting of leaflets, the issu- ing of statements, the writing of reports, the composing of news for our press, if they are not actually terrified by these tasks, find that acquiring by themselves the mechan- ical ability for these technical tasks is often harder than acquiring the political ability. Much valuable time is lost by forcing, because of lack of technical help, capable organi to spend the most of their time in mechanical office work There h been somewhat of an exodus of Party office workers from Party office work in the last year or so. They must be brought back and assigned to definite tasks. There is no reason why discipline should not be applied field as everywhere else. It is the sheerest nonsense that comrades charged with responsible work should be compelled to learn typewriting and mimeographing before they can begin to function as mass workers. A cap- able organizer who is pounding a typewriter geting out routine reports and letters is so much dead loss. Mobilize the technicians! On the other hand, if a technical office work- er can be developed into a Communist leader no time should be lost in assigning such a com- rade to responsible work. No Underestimation of the Problem. We all know the tremendous problem of de- veloping new corps of leading comrades which the Bolsheviks faced just previous to and after the conquest of power in November, 1917, what great importance Lenin attached to this and how much he wrote about it. It would be carrying the analogy too far to say that our problem is as serious. Neverthe- le it must be emphasized again that unless | we are able, within the.next few months, to | bring forward new forces, to strengthen nu- | merically the leading committees of the Party, from the district committees down to the unit and especially in such important districts Cleveland, Pittsbu Buffalo, the anthracite and the South, we will confront a very critical situation. In this connection we must also take into consideration the probability of many of our leading comrades being arrested and impris ed and the further weakening of our forces as the offensive of the government sharpens to meet the offensive of the mass ades—comrades stories Communist Apprentices. ures proposed 2 In addition to the me: I am of the opinion that we should adopt, with the uisite modifications, the System of ap- prentices used by the old guilds—Communist apprentices. in addition to the general assignments to com- mittees—should be assigned some promising rank and file comrade for whose training he shall be responsible over a certain period. This, of course, means a complete break with all traditions of the past which dictated that leaders should initiate no run-of-mine comrades into the work of direction and instruction ex- cept in the most formal manne’ Of one thing we must be careful—that we do not narrow the gap between membership ‘and leadership by lowering the general political level of the leadership. This, however, is not the main danger now. The main danger is that by approaching too cautiously the whole problem of discovering material and training new leadership we con- tinue to be unable to meet the demands made on us for teachers, organizers, writers and agitators by our class. ove, That is, to all leading comrades— Central Organ of ie Communist Party of ne e S. A. By Mail (in New York City only): $8.! By Mall (estas ot New York City): $6.00 a year; JBSCRIPTION RATES: $4.50 six months; $3.50 six months; $2.50 three months $2.00 three months by Fred Hts THE, YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE ON MARCH SIXTH By SAM DARCY. IN cabling its commendations on the member- ship drive to our Party, the Communist In- ternational makes as a chief question, that of developing the new members theoretically in classes and study groups. This same emphasis on the need for working class education is evident in all of Lenin’s writings. The attitude that theoretical study is of minor importance in revolutionary activity a remnant of the social democratic anarcho- syndicalist ideo- logy; the former i: s “practical” and is only confused by y—the latter “does not believe in theory but in action!” A Marxists Leninist always puts the question of working el. education among the top questions which face us in the class struggle. nd In the United States the Communist Party has during the past period made certain prog- ress in expanding the movement for Leninist education and also in clarifying it. The A. F. of L, which carried on capitalist propaganda under the pretense of workers edu- cation has dropped even this guise. The Muste- ites, are still conducting Brookwood Labor Gol- lege but only because of the huge Garland fund subsidy which they obtained. The Social- ist Party has the Rand School which now spe- cializes in sex psychology and summer camps. In contrast to this the Workers Schools movement, under the leadership of the Commu- nist Party has made splendid progress. Where several years ago it consisted of one school of sixty students—today it has a Central School with full time training courses and branch schools in many of the larger cities in prac- tieally every part of the country but the South. The total attendance at all schools totals many thousands of workers. The struggles of the workers are now in- creasing in every part of the country. Our revolutionary movement is experiencing con- siderable growth. The facilities for the train- ing of functionaries, officers, and active work- ers and leaders must be increased. The chief task is to establish a school in an industrial center of the South (possibly the wheel! Two Events in Working Class Education Chattanooga or Birmingham). Negro and white Southern workers must be made to qual- as the builders of their own movement. Practical experience will be a great contrib- uting factor but Marxist-Leninist education is an indispensible weapon. The difficulty in ying out this task can be seen by the fact that great masses of Southern workers have never had the opportunity to learn to read and write. But the Southern workers have already shown their fighting capacity in Gastonia, New Orleans and elsewhere. The obstacles will be overcome. But the Northern workers must supply the funds to begin the work. The Central School of the Communist Party last year turned away close to 400 students for lack of proper facilities; and it was able to entertain only a fraction of the applications which were made for the full time courses for the same reason. Seamen, migratory workers, mers, etc., are unable to benefit from a ing cl education for lack of a self- study department in the Workers School itself. In order to supply these needs a fund of $10,000 is needed. Everyone must pitch in and help raise this fund. Every shoulder to et your organizations to contribute, make collections amohg your shop mates, con- tribute yourselves! Send all funds to Work- ers School Drive Committee, Alexander Tracht- enberg, treasurer, 26 Union Square, N. Y. C. Aside from the need for this fund, meas- ures must be taken to increase the educational work of all militant labor organizations. By decision of the Trade Union Unity eLague a Working Class Education Conference has been called for April 19 at 2 p. m. at the large auditorium of the Workers School, All or- ganizations are urged to send delegates. Two delegates for the first hundred members, one more for each additional hundred up to 400, and for all over that, 5 delegates. Send your credentials and requests for information to the Working class Education Conference, 26 Union Square, New York City. Tasks of Women Workers in 1 the Economic Struggle MOSCOW, U.S. |—The Sixth Session of the Central! masses of |Couneil of the Red International of Labor Unions made decisions re- garding the part that the women) must play in economic which should again be emphasized for all R. I, L. U. ad- herants in the U. S. /. The reso- lution adopted by the Wixth Session declan es in part: Concrete Demands for Women Workers | “The VI Session of the R. I. L. U. Council places on record ;paign be | further del | workers on = pa acre Central that the revolutionary T, U. move- | ment failed to appreciate promptly ‘and correctly the growing revolu-' tionary wave among the broad | frequently |ma ses of the women workers and | specific | toiling women, and that all the af- |aorkers at jfiliated R. I, L. U. organizations |have failed to attract the women take up th |ment of the working class. In order | ceonomic | shen.seives . S. R. (By Mail) that the radicalization of the broad the affiliated R. I tions unawares, it is of pa mount importance that an energe | political and organizational | struggle. The pr ‘lying all the women workers to take in the economic struggles is _to draw up and popularize concrete, demands ae from getting the women workers | up their demands, our organizations demands for the “In order women workers shouldn't t | L. U. cam- undertaken without any lay to unite the women | the platform of the class | requisite for ral- | workers, atically, for the for the women Events have shown that ; to take part in drawing forgot to put up any women | struggles, all R. I. 1 | must now set themee all. that the women worker neir proper place in the struggle, to correspond into the a | general ‘ive with their position in industry, must radically overhaul our meth- | ods of work among the women work- ers and break once and for all with | ¢ | the traditional reformist outlook of ignoring the women workers and their interests. We must now strive to gain the confidence of the women And this. can be achieved not by making flowery speeches at | meetings, but by fighting system- immediate ests of the women workers, encour- aging their initiative and activity and getting women workers placed on the leading organs of the revolu- tionary T. U, movement. Some Immediate Tasks. “In view of the maturing economic U. of drawing all the women workers Bitugnw i interests of the working wefclass. To this end it is essential: “1, To get women delegates’ elect- led by all the women workers to take jpart in drawing up the demands and iin working out methods and reforms, “2. To place women workers on all the preparatory and leading or- gans of struggle. "43, To get the women workers to take active part in the work of the Strike Committees and in the or- ganization of relief for the strikers. “4, In those enterprises and in- dustries where women workers are in the majority, the Strike Com- mittees should also have a majority of women workers. “5, Both prior to and during the strike, special steps should be taken to organize the workers’ wives, who should be urged to take active part in the struggle together with the workers themselves.” inter- Ps adhere By JOHN STEUBEN. | bale 6 marks one of the most brilliant pages in the history of the American labor movement. Very seldom in the past did the American working class demonstrate its mili- tancy and international solidarity to such a degree as on March 6. The success of March 6 is primarily due to the following factors. (a) America is the center of the world eco- nomic crisis. (b) Unemployment and partial employment is greater than in any other country in the world. cna (c) The process of radicalization which is now being accentuated by the present crisis, is becoming more and more widespread and deep rooted. : (d) The party’s clear revolutionary perspec- tive and Leninist estimation of the present sit- uation in the country, enabled us, way before, to foresee the present situation, and thus pre- pare and mobilize all our fo for the sharp- ening class battles. In speaking about the suce March 6, we must not only have in mind that we have rallied under the Communist banner over a million workers, but also the fact that it was a national demonstration, in hundreds of cities and towns, including places where the Commu- nists never before organized demonstrations, and also the unity of the working class, black and white, young and adult. In this article we shall primarily deal with the role of the young workers and the Young Communist League (Y.C.L.) on March 6. Over 200,000 Young Workers. The recent Plenum of the National Ex- ecutive Committee of the Y.C.L. pointed out that “the intensified attacks against the working class called forth by the eco- be felt , especially by the young workers. These young workers al- ready working at top speed and receiving wages far below the level of existence will least of all be able to accept the speed-up and wage cuts which will ensue and be among the first to join the counter offen- sive of the workers against the capitalist offensive. This has been proven before and again on March 6. Over 200,000 young workers participated in the March 6 dem- onstrations. + It is very interesting to note that the largest number of young workers participated in those industrial sections of the country where the process of rationalization is developed most, the following figures prove it: Detroit, Mich., 25,000; Philadelphia, Pa., 12,000; New York, 10,000; Chicago, Ill., 8,000; Youngstown, Ohio, 6,000; Boston, Mass., 5,000; Akron, Ohio, 4,000; Flint, Mich., 3,000; Toledo, Ohio, 2,500; 000; Paterson, N. J., 2,000; 2,500. Not only were the young workers outstand- ing in numbers but also with their militancy In Detroit, for example, where one-quarter of the demonstration was made up of young workers, the battle with the police was of longer duration than in any other city. This growing militancy and readiness to struggle on the part of the young workers in every part of the country has been expressed not only on March 6, but also in our preparatory work. Two weeks before March 6 the march of the unemployed workers on the Cleveland ci Hall, was led by the T.U. who was seriously injured and is still in ‘the hospital. In Milwaukee, Wis., Toledo, Ohio, Indiana Harbor, Soo City, Mic! and in many other parts of the country the young workers played a leading role. This is primarily due to the economic position of the young workers today, which are being hit hardest by the present economic crisis. In speaking of the role the Young Com- munist League played on March 6, we can state that in comparison with other campaigns, the Y.C.L. has made the best showing in ihe preparatory work as well as on March 6. We have issued more leaflets to the young workers in connection with March 6 than for the last months put together. For exam- ple: New York, 50,000 leaflets; Detroit, 50,- 000; Cleveland, 20,000; Philadelphia, 15,000; Chicago, 5,000; Youngstown, 5,000; Duluth, 5,000. Aside from issuing special leaflets to the young workers, the League was the “shock troop” in distributing to the workers literature issued by the Party and the T.U.U.L. The Detroit League alone distributed more than 200,000 leaflets, posters and_ stick The New York League, within three days, distrib- uted 80,000 leaflets, in Philadelphia 50,000 of , Oakland, Cal., | | for March 6. | with the | were distributed. This is true about most of the districts. Membership Mobilized. On March 6 there was almost 100 per cent turn out of the membership. In New York alone 400 League members, in Detroit 100 members of the Y.C. tively participated in leading the demonstration. The membership displayed real militancy and revolutionary courage. Our Boston Distriet Organizer re- ports that “in Providence, Maynard and Wo; cester the League was the main force in mobil- ization.” In Detroit a day after the demonstra- tion, the capitalist pr came out with the following statement: “Thursday’s Communist demonstration was not a demonstration of 100,000 Reds. It was a demonstration of a double-handful of fanatical, mostly young Communist trouble makers.” The Oakland and Los Angeles press gave special attention to the militancy of the young Communist. The Cleveland demonstration was led by Lil An- drev s, the District Organizer of the Y.C.L. While we record the great work done by the Young Communist League, at the same time we must take seriously that the warning “we must not become The Party must sober- success but at the same ime clearly analyse its political and or- ganizatio shortcomings and energetical- ly appreciate this success but at the same even more far reaching revolutionary ac- tion.” In the spirit of this warning we must fully and boldly expose some of the weaknesses and shortcom: which have revealed themselves before and on March 6. Among them we must emphasize the followi 1. The Young Communis st League did not participate as an independent force, with the result that our program for the unemployed workers was not popularized to a sufficient degree, within our League as well as among the young wor The Leag d to establish itself as an active force in drawing in young workers into the unemployed councils and committees of the Party dizzy with succe: y apprecciate th of action. With ever few exceptions no special mass meetings, demonstrations and marches of unemployed young workers have been or- ganized. : 4, The Youth Department of the T.U.U.L. did very little to mobilize the young workers of the existing ions, 2s well as youth sections in various the young workers in general 5. Not one youth conference on unemploy- ment was held. ed working class calling upon them to par- e in the demonstrations. The I e has almost completely failed 'y our propaganda and agitation to the ed forces where thousands of young work- landed due to unemplovment. Only New P. k, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Duluth have made some attempts (special leaflets to the National Guard). Detroit was the only city which issued special leaflets to the soldiers. 8. Strong “underground moods” and giving up too easily the struggle for legality was evident in some places. (In the first case New York, and in the second case California), 9. Some districts of the Y.C.L. have totally failed to even ue special youth leaflets, (California, Pittsburgh). 10. The emphasis was laid too much on the unemployed young workers and not enough on the young workers in the shops and factories, result that our strike calls were not at all effective. 11. The directives from the National Com- mittee to the districts and from the districts to the wu not sufficient and concrete enough, 12. the With exception of Detroit and Youngstown the League faile1 to mobilize to a snfficient degree the young Negro workers on Mareh 6. All these weaknesses prove very deci: that we have not et learned how to car out a Communist youth policy in practice among the young One of the most important phases of our turn towa work is to learn and be vely able to r ing workers under our own slogans and banners, to struggle for our de- mands and follow our leadership. sees must be born in mind in connection with our preparatory work in the May 1 campaign, as well as on May, 1 itself. Young Workers Fought on March 6 Young Communist addressing the Cleveland March 6 demonstration as the workers’ red flag flies overhead. Types of young unemployed workers who demonstrated 200,- 000 strong on March 6 for work or wages. In the center of the above photo can be seen a young jobless worker warming him self over a fire in an empty lot. less worker joining the second unemployment parade in “so cialist” Milwaukee. photo shows young job- \ |