The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 1, 1931, Page 4

at 50 East Wo! = Daily, aiorker verywhere: attan and SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 8, $8 two months, $1; excepting Boroughs : one year, $8; st: workers, self) becomes of develop- ults Wwhil te nerally correct dect- 1¢ mining field, some leading id revealed underestimation ess of the miners to struggle end of organizing and developing these the basis of local demands as well ing of the Pa.-Ohio, W. Va. strike mple of the correct methods of strike ‘ole of the NM.U. This pes- ude was © ined with incorrect 1 of Edmonson and the opinion that vemature to expose him openly before the masses of mi le they still are having con- fidence in him due primarily to his use of social demagogy. This opportunism was also accompanied with ultra leftist mistakes in at- tempting to spread the Orient strike on the basis of general slogans (6 hour day, 5 day week) without formulating concrete local de~- mands. As a result of these serious errors, Tinked with insufficient activities in the Orient strike, there was: (a) Failure to mobilize the Diinois miners to struggle and spread the Orient strike. @)) Decline of our influence in the Orlent strike. (c) Dissobution of the four locels of the RMU. (@ Dissolution of five units of the Party. ® General weakenihg of our position in the Tinois fields, reaching to such impermissible passivity as failure to utilize the majority vote at the Belleville Convention, favorable to the representative of the Pa.-Ohio strikers, organiz- ing solidarity relief and complete collapse in sending of the delegates to the July 15th Pitts- % 4s not sufficient that the district buro had & general correct line, but it did not see that this was executed in the fields, and did not tmmeédiately take steps to correct these mistakes and therefore shares in responsibility for this sipuation. 4 In the field of unemployment there has een certain definite success, especially with reference to the Hunger Marches. The Illinois Hunger March which found greater response out of Chicago expressed the readiness of the masses to respond and struggle to the call of the Communist Party. The Party did not suc- ceed in utilizing and following the experiences of the Hunger Marches in other districts, par- ticulerly in preparing and organizing - the marches and as a result we have not gained sufficient organizational results. In the city of Chicago there were certain successes on neigh- | orhood scale—in Sections 1 and 4. But the Party failed to utilize to spread this movement beyond these territories, unifying it on a city and county scale. In the other sections of the District there is an ever e unsatisfactory sftuation in re-~ gards to unemployment activities, especially in Milwaukee, St. Louis and Section 5 in Chicago ‘Where branches of ‘Unemployed Councils have developed struggles around local demands (for immediate relief, against evictions, high rents, .) the branch has, grown and thrived. Southern Illinois coal fields thes Hunger ss support and in some cases support from locals of the U. M. W. of A. and. enabled us to organize three branches of loyed. One of the hindrances for lopment and the uniting of the loyed and unemployed is of the revolutionary role loyed, and even the opinion (Frank- the unemployed miners in Saline yen proletariat organizational gains by the in the basic industries. There basic indus- ‘ation on ries. The fractions in the leagues of the TUUL are not mobilized for trade union work is not put to 2 the Party and many members Li mbership in the unions ere not members or only formally. There are elements of passivity the part of the Party member- ship in the trade union field. Non-Party work- érs are not drawn into the leadership and work fm the unions, The whole work of the TUUL yet ts not put on the basis of organizing work- ers in the factories for struggles on the basis mass wor! the forefro: iow the Districts Are Carrying Out the Decisions of the XI Plenum of the ECCI guage field by the respective buros and not jing ourselves to the organizations already athetic and. to utilize these organizations to build grievance committees in the shops, the Party, TUUL and U. C. 10. In struggle against social fascism end fascism we cannot record progress and with~- out this struggle there can be no development of mass movement under the Party leadership. There is an underestimation of the concrete struggles against social fascism and fascism. It manifested itself in not carrying the struggle purposs of strengthening the leadership in Southern Mlinois section and send additional forces for work, paying specific attention, guid- ing the Section Committee, developing the mass campaign for the Pa, Ohio Strike. In of this movement the Party It and strengthened to become the leader in this movement, as without the Party @ successful movement and the struggles can not be developed. B. The second point of concentration is to be the metal industry, especially in the Calu- basis of struggles for partial demands and simultaneously the organizing of shop units. In the three months period only 4 shop nuclei were organized (Section 2, Chicago, 1 stockyards, 1 dairy; St. Louis, 1 railroad, 1 needle). The existing shop units did not recruit any mem~- bers. No grievance committees were organ- ized and the existing groups in the large fac- tories did not enlarge in members and did not develop activities among the factory workers. This revealed lack of activity on the part of the Party in the shops and impermissible un- derestimation of trade union and shop work. The examination by the District Buro of the work of the sections in carrying out the three months plan of work shows that the section leadership is not aware of the importance of shop nuclei. 7. Woxk among the Negro masses has been to a certain extent successful in connection with the Scottsboro campaign. The response of the membership in Chicago Party for,securing many new organizations, particularly Negro, to the United Front Conference and through this meeting, joint demonstrations, as well as the establishment, although not stabilized, of seven new branches of the LSNR in Chicago. The main weaknesses in the campaign were: (a) Failure to actively involve the United Front conference and affiliated organizations in work and activity. (b) Insufficient organizational consolidation of mass response into block committees and drawing in new white working class organiza- tions and workers in defense of Negro rights and increase of permanent circulation of the Liberator. (c) Limiting the campaign primarily to slo~ gans for the release of the Scottsboro boys with~ out the Party bringing forward its own slogans that were formulated with the Scottsboro case. (a) No substantial recruiting for the Party. 8. There is underestimation of the impor- tance of the YCL by the Party, especially in the sections and lower units. The YCL is iso- lated from the young workers with no initia- tion or organization of the struggles. Especially is there lack of youthful character of the YCL and the failure to develop specific youth fea- tures on the Party campaigns or issue youth demands of economic and political character to rouse working class youth. The positive achieve- ments of the YCL in this period was National Youth Day in Milwaukée, and which the Party helped with the exception of Milwaukee. The composition of the YCL is not reflecting the composition of the working class and up to the District’ Convention in the leadership of the YCOL were pessimistic and opportunistic ele- ments (Sotir, Andras, etc.) who developed fac- tionalism among the YCL members against the League and the Party. The Party did not give sufficient political end organizational guidence to the League in the past, without which the League will not be able to overcome its weaknesses. 9. Some slight progress is made in the lan~- guage field, particularly important being the recent conference of the Polish Workers. By successfully destroying the right wingers (Straz- da, Pruseika) in the Lithuanian field, we still find the crassest’ examples of opportunism in the language field. There is the failure to un- derstand the necessity to penetrate into the ST amiga aac cay LGR eSB ei 4 against the social demagogy of Edmonson end Howatt in Southern Illinois, the S. P. and La Follette movement in Wisconsin, the Musteites and A. F. & unions and especially against the Chicago Federation of Labor. mation of the importance of the work inside the local unions of the A. F. of L. is especially evident in Chicago, Milwaukee, etc. The social demagogy and the left phrases of Social Fas- cism elements are an attempt to divert the readiness of the masses into these channels and to prevent them from coming under our lead- ership and only in struggle can these elements be exposed and fought. 11. The weaknesses of the Party in the sphere of mass activities show that the inner Party life is insufficient and weak. The ap- proach to inner Party work has been too much of an apparatus approach instead of full un- derstanding that the improvements of the inner life and work of the Party must necessarily find its reflection in the organizing and developing and leading of mass struggles. The resolution of the last plenum of the District Committee already placed this quéstion sharply before the Party: “We must be aware and smash any tendency which thinks that first we must improve the inner life of the Party and then we will do mass work. The basis of improving the inner Party organization is definitely connected with the developing and leading of mass struggles, and cannot be separated.” But these directives are not yet carried out. 12.. “Only by self-critical examination of our work, separating the good from the bad, effec- tive from the non-effective, learning from the masses and measuring our work by response of the masses, strengthening those policies, meth~ ods of work and tactics, which entrench us deeper among the masses and build up our or- ganizations, combating and eliminating all those factors which hold us back and separate us from the masses which weakens our organiza- tions. Self criticism is that particular method of work by which we improve all our methods of work; it is that policy by which we check up on all our policies.” Starting with the district Plenum self criti- cism must be applied to all Party organizations and correct improving of our work, eliminating all elements of opportunism, indifference, in- activity. The Party must have ‘aith in the masses for struggle, The District Plenum outlines the tesks for the immediate future as follows: A. Concentration on Southern Illinois as the Central task of the Party in District 8 to or- genize struggles, developing mass movement, building the Nationa] Miners’ Union and renk and file committees of gction—developing the work inside the UMW of A. With 50 per cent of the miners unemployed, the ynemployed struggle must receive particular tion as one of the means of gugranteeing the successful development of the struggle on the part of the unemployed miners~-that is a guarantee of the unity of action between the unemployed and employed. To carry these tasks the struggle against Ed- monson and all the other social fascists must be put into the forefront exposing concretely as the agents of the UMW of A machine, the coal operators and their government. The Dis- trict. Buro to take organizational steps for the By BURCK met section, concentrating on selected factories where we already have some conta¢ts and groups —establishing shop units and factory branches of the Metal Workers Industrial League griev- ance committees to take up the immediate grievances of the workers on the basis of im- mediate demands to organize mass movements and struggles. C. In the railroad industry we shall concen- trate on St. Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Chicago, especially utilizing the preparations for the National Railroad United Front Conference on August 15-16th to establish groups of rail- road workers and to develop the campaign among the railroad workers on the basis of their demands and grievances, building the Railroad Workers Industrial League. ‘The building of the YCL and recruiting of p- & [= workers must be considered as one of D. In the city of Chicago the main points | of concentratioi in addition to metal, must be the Stockyards where we have already estab- lished a shop unit. Having these points of concentration, drastic measures and personal attention must be given on the part of the leading comrades to the or- ganization of shop nuclei, the proper distribu- tion of Party forces and definite assignments to trade union work has to be checked up by the Party. Development of new forces on all committees and generally in the departments of various committees. To each shop unit a leading com- rade is to be drawn in work, even at the ex- pense of some other activity. The responsibility for this lies with the Section and the District Buros. The same thing must be done by the Leagues and unions of the TUUL by assigning Party and non-Party members to factory work, specializing in it. E, The Pa.-Ohio strike to be popularized among the broadest masses of workers, reaching the locals of the AFL and others and influence them by means of organizing mass relief for the strikers. This work must be undertaken in every section and in every city, not confined only to the cities where we have already Party organi- zations. F. In the field of the unemployed the imme- diate tasks are to organize neighborhood, city and county conferences on unemployment which is to unite the unemployed and employed work~ ers and organizations and utilize them’ to or- ganize County and City Hunger Marches in struggle for unemployed relief and for social insurance. In Illinois organize a mass endorse- ment by workers and organizations for the so- cial insurance bill and the demands presented to the State Legislature to be undertaken All these campaigns myst be developed ground the concrete issues and demands and gain organi- zational results. G. The fractions inside of the local unions of the A. F. of L. and the leagues and unions of the TUUL, UC, ILD, TWO, FSU, the language organizations and other organizations must be put on a functioning basis, and work to be de- veloped inside of these organizations raising the slogans, demands and program of the Party to mobilizing the workers of these organizations for the Party campaigns. In all mass organizations the drawing in of non-Party workers into the leadership must be considered, an immediate task. The fractions inside of the mass organ- izations must always consider that recruiting to the Party is one of their main duties and tasks, the tasks of the Party. Especially must we un- dertake this task of building the units of the League in the cities and factories where there is a Party organization and where there is no League organization. (At the present the Party has organization in 37 cities and the League only in 8.) The Party must give full political guidance to the League on the district, section and, unit scale. One of the immediate tasks of the Party is to mobilize the young workers for International Youth Day, September 8th. Spe- cial atention must be paid by the fractions in- side of the trade unions to develop the youth sections and winning the young workers for our unions. I. We must organize tne activities inside the locals of the A. F. of L., espavially in Chicago and Milwauke and undertake campaigns against social fascists, S. P. and Musteites, with particular attention to the Mlinois coal flelds, Wisconsin and the Chicago Federation of Labor. On the basis of issues in the Trade and industry in.each union, and through such issues as the Pa.- Ohio strike and the call for solidarity de- veloping 2 broad movement, united front from below, inside the A. F. of L: union, with the ob- jective of bringing this movement under the leadership of the TUUL. The TUUL must par- ticularly organize 2 sharp struggle against the American Federation of 1: hich still influence among a certain strata of the work- ing class. 3. The Party must creo. its agitation more thoroughly 2nd must speak to {je masses daily on the general developments a8 well as specific manifestations in each given situation. Is'is not enough to issue leaflets for campaigns, but also on political events. The Party as such must issue leaflets to the masses of workers who are particularly close. to us explaining each new development. The special Chicago page of the Daily Worker can also be a factor in this, and the sections and units and workers, gener- ally, must be better organized to participate in the preperations of this page. ‘The Party must organize its work to insure & mass sale and distribution of the Daily Worker. In this general political activity, we must place the struggle against the war danger in the fore- front, and not merely limit it to a campaign such as August First, and the struggle against imperialist war must be linked up concretely with and the masses be made 'to see the link, in connection between the preparations for war and the attacks on their living conditions, and the attacks of a general political character against the working class. One of the greatest expression of opportunism is the under estima~ tion of the war danger and this must be com- batted. _We must also record the work on the pert of the Friends of the Soviet Union in not involving broader masses and being built up into the broadest type of mass organizations. ‘The whole Agit-Prop work must correspond to the tasks and concentration points of the Party and to be felt in all Party campaigns and strug- gles and help to develop these from the agita~ tional and propaganda angle. The work of the Agit-Prop and propeganda must extend to the mass organizations and to the shops. The is- suing of shop papers and leaflets must be given special attention and guidance and systematic holding of shop and street meetings. To help carry on this mass agitation work, it is neces- sary to issue regularly and as the situation de-~ mands, special outlines for speakers. In the Party 2 system of educational work to be de~ veloped through discussion on the tasks of the Party and the establishment of study groups. K. In the struggle for Negro rights, we must raise. much more to the forefront among the broadest masses of workers the slogan for the rights of Negroes and the general slogans of the Party. Utilizing the Scottsboro campaign we must organize local struggles for Negro rights to build the LSNR Block Committees and the mass distribution of the Liberator and develop- ing the campaigns by the TUUL, UC, ILD, FSU, IWO, etc. to recruit Negro workers and bring them into the leadership in these organizations. Likewise the recruitment of Negro workers into the Party must be given special attention and the bringing of Negro comrades into active lead- ership in the units, sections and district. LyAmong the weaknesses of the District, there is one that is outstanding—that is the ab- solute lack of work among the women. What- ever work ‘has been carried on has been only among housewives. The main emphasis must be placed upon reaching the working women in the factories, and the Plenum places sharply the question that work among women is a problem for the mass organizations, particularly for the trade unions, and gives them the taks of car- rying this through. The Women’s department of the District Committee must undertake the organizing of this work on 2 broad and effective scale. The immediate task in this respect is the organization of Women's auxiliaries in the coal fields and the stockyards in Chicago, organizing delegates women meetings, etc. M. The greatest importance has to be placed on the work in the language field and among the mass language organizations, and the orien- tation of the attacks of the State against the foreign born workers, to reach new strata of workers still isolated from us on the issue of the attacks on the foreign born, and in this way win them away from the clerical, fascist and social fascist forces. The mein task in the language field must be the penetration into the broad masses of language speaking workers in each field—breaking down sectarianism, which is existing at the present time and reach mas- ses of workers with our slogans, demands and organizations. While not limiting the organ~ izing of the IWO only to foreign born workers, the, building of the TWO must penetrate much more rapidly into all lenguage speaking organ- izations, clubs and masses. This can be utilized as an effective supporting weapon in the devel- opment of mass struggles in the building of the revolutionary ynions. Party must give speciql end perticular atten- tion to reaching and winning the Polish, Italian and German workers with particuler attention to organizing Mexican workers, a field which is completely neglected et the present time. N. In connection with the workers’ delega- tion for the November Celebration in the USSR we must immediately orientate and ley down the necessary preparations to select @ proper delegation of workers from the heavy industries, Negroes, farmers and women. In selecting the delegates we must have the objective in view of selecting such workers who have mass contact in mass organizations and with masses generally and-not congning es was the ptegtice-tpthe | situation, t By JORGE oe] Following Farm Board Advice 3 Since the Farm Board says the farmers should reduce the surplus themselves, and Mr. Legge and Secretary Hyde have likewise complained that there are too many farmers, we suppose that the following news item, from the N.Y. Post of July 30, ought to suit them right down to the ground: “LITELE VALLEY, N. Y., July 29.—Wi H. Stevens poured gasoline overt his haystack, chained himself to the stack, fired the hay and shot. himself to death. The burning guided neighbors to the tragedy.” ‘Yoo.Hoo Prosperity, From the Publishers’ Weekly we hear that Ed- die Cantor itas a “Five Year Plan” book of his own (along with David Freedman), under the title “Yoo Hoo Prosperity.” It will be out in August, and is advertized at—‘“Price $1.00 or 2 catload of wheat.” We can’t guarniee it just from reading the publishers’ blurb, and possibly Hoover hypocrisy are taken care of to both sides” by some anti-Soviet nonsense but the blurb has a few good ones, among them being Eddie’s “prosperity” comment to the effect that: “On Boston Common the pigeons are now feeding the people.” Our idea on that is, that no pigeon who wants to die at 2 ripe old ege will be so careless es to’ get within reach of the people of Boston Common. See aA Get Out Into The Country! We know that it isn’t possible for m: isn't for us!) but we also know that it is sible for a lot of comrades who don’t. We-don't mean to move your femily or yourself to the couutry, but just jaunt out on week ends or holidays. Borrow ah old Tin Lizzie if you can, and load it up with’comrades and a lot of literature like the Daily. Worker, the “United Farmer” (ad- dress. Box 91, Superior, Wisconsin, to get some if there’s none around), the pamphlet, “Soviet Farming” and that dandy little booklet, “Red Villages,” and hie unto the country. Or, take some of this literature under your wing and grab an interurban street car for as far out as you think necessary to get among the farmers, And remember that the Trade Union Unity League has a trade union in the making for farm wage workers you may strike in the big dairy farms, fruit orchards, poultry and truck garden farms. Scare up the local T. U. U. L. organizer and tell him about it, be- cause most of them appear not to know. It’s called ‘the Agricultural Workers’ Industrial League, and its TUUL business to make it grow. Just tackle these farm workers, and the poor or middling-poor farmers; asking ‘em how they like their ‘situation, the Farm Board and the bankers, what they know about Soviet farming, etc. If you do that, we opine that you'll get the surprise of your life. Most comrades have the queer notion that it’s awful hard to win fermi- ets to the revolutionary, Communist view. But that is just 100 per cent boloney.. We have found it much easier than to win city workers. Just go out and try it yourself! One comrade, writing in 2 personal ‘etter to another here in New York, tells what he found while leisurely hiking from Jersey to Iowa: “Each and every farmer and werker to whom I have spoken, at each and every dis- cussion I’ve taken part in, they look forward to but one light and see but one hope—Russia. They tell me: ‘Lad, if what they are doing in Russia is Bolshevism, then by God, we are Bolsheviks and plumb tickled to be that.’ “The tragic part about it is that the ma- jority of them have never heard the word ‘Communists’ nor understand the meaning of it. Both workers and farmers are looking to Russia, -yet have never heard of Communism or the Daily Worker. When I spoke of or- ganization, how to organize, what it will bring them, told them that there was such an or- ganization as the Communist Party and “bout its principles, how it would back them up, they looked up at me as if I were a little tin god. If we had leaders and organizers, these farmers would come over to us en masse.” While the Party is hunting for organizers, why not give yourself a new and inspiring exper- ience? Get out into the country! EE past, to workers who have functions in mass or~ ganizations through the Party. ©. The outlined above tasks are immediate tasks for which the whole Party must orientate to execute them. The plenum set as the tesk for the Party in district eight inside of these campaigns to double the membership of the Party by January 22, 1932. Setting the task of doubling the Party membership ,could be achieved orly with the development of the struggles and the breaking of the barriers of preventing the workers from joining our Party as we-had, as we have experiences of many such cases at the present time. Burocracy and red tape to admit sincere workers to the Party must be smashed. The criminal neglect of not ad- mitting workers to the Farty at once is one of the examples of lack of faith in the masses and signified our whole approach to the misses. The response received to the Hunger March in the district in the industrial towns and cities, calls for immediate sending of voluntary organ- _izers to the cities to organize mass orggnizetions and to build the Party. This must be consid- ered as one of the immediate tasks of the Dist- trict and the Section. The selection of volunteers and the sending them must be placed on the Agenda of the first meeting of the District Buro and the section committee. _ ‘The District Plenum instructs every section in the District on the basis of this resolution to work out @ Three Months’ Plan of Work from August First to November First and make all snecessary and drastic changes in placing com~- yades to carry these tasks—tc reduce to the minimum, the technical work of the Party ape paratus and throwing the best forces into mass work. The outlined tasks of this resolution will be tested in the course of our work and will test our Bolshevik Be eo, to apply fi in the present