The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 17, 1931, Page 4

Page Four DAILY worn, NEW YORK, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1931 Tasks In the Struggle Against Hunger, Repression and War CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3) organize a full-time training scrool for at least one month with a minimum of 20 students. It is necessary to have a drastic change in the is of recruiting new members into the Tre present practice in recruiting work a s in practice to a repulsion Df workers anxious to join the Party and excellent material for the building of the Party. It is necessary that recruiting shall be carried on a mass bbsis, ‘y facility shall be given for the largest er of workers to join the Party, pe and delay in acting on applica- be reduced to a minimum, and that t red ta shall be prepared not only to but to hold them n trem into most reliable To this end the life of the units ly interesting and valu- nd bureaucratic the en weler the new members, active, Party must Routine a The system of ad- ministrative command must be combatted and in its place deve ipation of the active part ning and execution of y weakening the nd individual respon- of at least doub- be sct by ployment insurance | ain successes in the , de- cer s ill almost entirely ac ption of a very few t resolution of the R.LL.U. on es us a sound foundation for our previous errors, the which were (a) efforts to con- n too narrow and strict ional frame, and (b) absolutely in- ntion to the whole problem of or- of the R.I.L.U. resolu- ly begin to build mass nd to fight for the Com- st hunger, of e the main points a) Unem nt and employers, securing to every r the equivalent of his full wages, aployed for any reason, to be ad- by the insured workers organized in bodies on a territorial basis. f in lump sum from ‘the y for each unemployed work- 1 amount for each dependent ening of the excessive hours of labor on the basis of: 7-hour day for all workers with- out reduction of weekly earnings; 6-hour day for miners \d dangerous occupations; abolition of child la ler 14 and a provision of voca~ th government support; 4-hour rkers up to 16 and 6-hour day n of workers from for non-payment of rent when un- d for any reason. Free rents, gas ligrt, etc., for the unemployed at government expense. Free distribution of milk for all chil- dren of unemployed truggle against the Hoover schemes » works which are designed as prepar- ar, cutt expedients and f forecd labor; against the Hoover pub- we demand the inauguration gram of building workers’ homes to replace the present horrible slums and barracks inhabited by millions of underpaid and unem- ployed workers, building of workers’ hospitals, nurseries, etc. All public buildings to be at trade union wage rates and the 7-rour day. (f) Absolute prohibition of all forms of forced labor or coercion of any kind in connection with relief and insurance, (g) Development of trade relations with the Soviet Union (including the demand for recog- nition of the Soviet Union, not only as a funda~ mental requirement of international working class solidarity, but also as a vital immediate economic need of the starving masses) in order that the idle factories may work, fill the con- stantly growing demands of the successful con- struction of the workers’ government and its Five-Year Plan. w The Communist Party demands the financing of all forms of insurance and relief by a diver- sion to this purpose of all military, naval and police. appropriations, sharp reduction of offi- cial salaries, sharply graduated incomes tax on all incomes above $5,000, graduated capital levy on all fortunes above $100,000. The struggle for these demands shall be ore ganized sround the unemployed councils and carried on by mass demonstrations in cities, in counties and states by hunger marches, includ- ing a national hunger march to the opening of Congress; by signature campaigns delegations to governing bodies, and the use of referendum laws in the various states and by supporting the Communist Party in the coming elections. The Central Committee particularly emphasizes to all Party organizations the necessity for ap- plying the forms of organization outlined in the resolution of the R.LL.U. and the methods by Means of which to conduct the day to day strug- gles for the organization of the unemployed workers, 14, Building the revolutionary unions and wort: in the reformist unions. The work of build- ing the revolutionary unions and the creation i loyment insurance at the cost of | of revolutionary oppositions in the reformist unions remains the central task in the accomp- lishment of which only the first beginnings have been made. In view of the ferment within the reformist unions, the work of building opposi- tions must now be energetically and systema- tically taken in hand. Not only must oppositions be created in mass reformist unions in which no parallel revolutionary unions exist, but also in reformist unions such as in needle trades, textile and mining, where the masses are under the leadership of the reactionary officials. The main line of criticism in the work of bulding the revolutionary unions have been correctly in- dicated in the resolution on the miners’ strike adopted in the Polburo on July 29th, which the Central Committee approves. These lessons must be worked out in detailed application in each specific field of trade union work. In the next period the Party must concentrate upon build- ing up and strengthening of the revolutionary unions and especially metal and steel, auto- mobile and marine, in struggle against wage-cuts and speed-up along the following lines: (a) the working out of concrete programs of etruggle for industries and factories, (b) participation of the masses in the formulation of their imme- diate demands, (c) independent leadership by the revolutionary trade unions throygh var'ous forms of the united front from helow, grievance committees, shop committees, action committees, strike committees, etc., (d) utilization of united front formations as the foundation for the build- ing of the revolutionary unions and oppositions in the reformist unions, (e) systematically build- ing new cadres by drawing in new active work- ers in responsible leading bodies from top to bottom, abolition of the practice of relying en- tirely on outside forces for organizational lead- ership, (f) intensified study and propaganda of the tactics of strike strategy and practice, es- pecially with regard to the preparation and end- ing of strikes, (g) methods of isolating and ex- posing the bosses’ agents among the workers and guarding against spies without impairing the practice of trade union democracy, (h) syste- matic struggle against bureaucratic tendencies, building of responsible trade union apparatus, widest development of trade union democracy and methods of organizational consolidation of the revolutionary trade unions. The C.C. stresses the necessity for the most energetic and systematic revival of work in the reformist unions, the conditions for which are constantly broadening as a result of the growing struggles. The Party must more systematically counteract the policy of the bureaucrats of head- ing struggles in order to behead them and more | carefully expose the strike-breaking policy of the reformist leaders, particularly the left re- formists, socialists, “left” phrase-mongers and the Musteites. All district committees must be instructed within the next month to report on methods and plans of work adopted in regard to strengthening the work in the reformis* unions. 15. In the struggle against imperialist war preparations and for the defense of the Soviet Union, the Plenum notices a certain qualitative improvement in the work of the Party and a broadening of its scope (better political prepar- ation of the August First campaign, concretiza- tion of the issues in the press, especially the Daily Worker,“and the linking up with current events, the mass sale of anti-war pamphlets, im- proved organizational preparations,. border de- monstrations for the first time, a small num- ber of farmers’ demonstrations, and 50% in- crease in number of participants over a year ago). Nevertheless the Central Committee derlares the August First demonstrations were not satisfar- tory in relation tothe sharpening economic cri- sis, the nearness of the war danger and the growing radicalization of the workers. There is still to be noted a definite underestimation of the war danger within the ranks of the Party and entirely insufficient efforts in mobilizing the masses against it, This is shown in: (a) Influence of pacifist illusions among the revolutionary workers, ’ (b) Weak united front efforts. (c) Failure to draw in trade unions and mass organizations in organized manner. (d) Insufficient concrete, popular and con- vincing exposure of the war preparations of American imperialism. (e) Insufficient attention to war industries. (f) Insufficient connection between every- day issues and struggles, with the war danger. (g) Weakness in developing mass sentiment in struggle against the Young Plan, against im- perialist oppression in Latin America, Philippines and China. ‘The Central Committee emphastses that the Party center and districts must take the most energetic measures to overcome all weaknesses and mobilize the widest front of struggle against imperialist war. The Central Committee calls attention to the task assigned by the 11th Plenum of the E.C.C.1. which calls upon every member of the Com- munist Party to regard as a task of first im- portance the struggle against the war danger and the fight for the defense of the Soviet Union. As an important means to develop the struggle for the defense of the Soviet Union is the building of the Friends of the Soviet Union into a mass organization, the Communist Party organizations must assist in the building of the F.S.U, and in the organization of a workers’ delegation to the November th celebrations, con- sisting chiefly of industrial workers from the basic industries, 16. The task of exposure of the social fascists, in destroying their mass influence, takes on an \ added importance with the latest tactics adopted by them which constitute a distinct “left” man- euver designed to head off the masses who are- moving towards the leadership of the Commu- nist Party. Examples and characteristic points of this maneuver are: A. F. of L. taking lead- ership in strikes (Paterson) in order to behead and betray them; A. F. of L. use of Muste ele- ments and even “communist” renegades to fool the workers; Socialist party manifesto on unem~- ployment, callnig for demonstrations and coun- cils; socialist party independent “relief” for striking miners as a basis of their struggle against the National Miners Union; the project of “taking the National Miners Union away from the Communists,” etc. The treachery of the social fascists cannot be exposed effectively before the masses by abstract slogans; this task requires first of all a correct application of the tactic of united front from below in all struggles of the workers; and upon the basis of concrete experiences the exposure of the treacherous acts of the social fascists individually and collectively in the course of struggle. It is important also to connect up social fascist treachery in the U.S.A. with the similar practice of the Second Inter~ national in other countries, particularly in the colonies. The exposure of the social fascists must reveal the identity of their policies with , those of the capitalist class to put into effect the capitalist policies. We must shatter the illusion which is prevailing among large masses of work- ers that the socialist party stands for “Social- ism” in contradistinction to the Communist Party standing for “Communism”; we must expose be- fore the workers the fact tha tthe socialist party no more stands for Socialism than the demo~ cratic party stands for democracy; that Social- ism as a stage in the development of Commu- nism is demonstrated in life by the achieve- ments of the Soviet Union and that Socialism can only be achieved through revolutionary class struggle under the leadership of the Communist Party through the dictatorship of the prole- tariat. 17. In the struggle for Negro rights in which our Party has registered highly significant polit- ical victories, the utmost attention must now be concentrated upon consolidating our mass in- fluence organizationally by (a) intensified re- cruiting of Negro workers into the Party; (b) mass recruiting of Negro workers into the rev- olutionary trade unions and unemployed coun- cils and the development of their special im- mediate economic demarids; (c) building of the mass circulation of the Liberator and the crystallization of the L.S.N.R. groups around it. The last trace of white chauvinism in the ranks of the revolutionary workers must be burned out. Special attention must be given to the develop- ment of leading cadres from among the Negro workers in all phases of work. ‘Concentration upon certain limited demands in special cam- paigns (Scottsboro) must be used as the start~ ing point to develop the broadest mass propa~ ganda for the whole Communist program on the Negro question ‘The serious weaknesses that have appeared at times in dealing with the Ne- gro petty bourgeoisie (Pickens, Negro press) must be systematically and energetically cor- rected. 18. It is necessary to begin real organized work on the farms. In this field we have not even begun to formulate the partial demands. In the first place by developing the struggles of the agricultural wage workers and their or- ganization in ‘the Agricultural Workers Union. Poor farmers who are in ever-larger numbers facing destitution and starvation must be mob- ilized in action committees for struggle against taxation of their meager properties, against all foreclosures for non-payment of taxes or mort~- gages, for relief, free seeds, etc., from the gov- ernment, against the extortions of marketing and terminal corporations, railroads, etc., against the feudal remnants of the share-cropping system, especially in the South, etc. Basing ourselves upon the masses of poor farmers, every effort must be made to draw in the middle farmers or to neutralize them. ‘The United Farmers League must be given all possible support in the circula- tion of its paper and fhe extension of its or- ganization. All Party papers and especially the Southern Worker must give more systematic at~ tention to the development of the struggle of the farmers. 19. The work among the youth is more and more becoming a living, practical problem of to- day for our Party in every field of struggle, strike struggles, unemployed movement, Negro work, etc. The Young Communist League at its recent Sixth Convention demonstrated that it has begun to emerge from its critical condition ofa year ago. It must be stated, however, that the leadership and assistance of the Party to the Y.C.L. and the mass youth organizations has been absolutely inadequate. This neglect by the Party, expressed in the practical work by fail- ure to draw the youth into the struggles as an important, recognized factor results in turn in giving ground for wrong tendencies towards sep- aratism among the youth themselves (miners’ strike, etc.). The Party must in all its sub- divisions discuss the work of the Y.C.L. as de- veloped in the resolutions of its Sixth National Convention, and elaborate, business-like plans for assistance and leadership of this work, in the closest contact with the units and leading bodies of the Y. C. L. and fractions of the mass youth organizations. All Party organizations must carry out the decisions of the 11th Plenum of the E.C.C.I. which gives to the Party the task of assuming responsibility for the building up of the youth organizations, for establishing youth nuclei where Party nuclei exist, to build up the youth membership to that of the aPrty and in excess of it. The Party organization must com- bat any social democratic tendencies of under- estimating the youth and must overcome the forma] relations which exist at the present time and establish real leadership in assisting in the building up of the Y.C.L. 20. The special campaign of persecution of foreign-born workers expressed in the Doak pro- gram of deportation of 20,000 workers per year, the projects for registration ahd finger-printing of the foreign-born, etc., indicates a sharp inten- sification of this system of division of the work- ers and requires that the utmost efforts be ex- erted by the Communist Party to organize the broadest mass resistance and protest on the part of the entire working class. While registering certain guecesses in the work of the Council for Protection of the Foreign Born, it must be de- clared that in the center and most districts this work has been criminally neglected. Especially inadequate have been the efforts to penetrate broad mass organizations of the foreign-born, which are under the control of the fascists and social fascists andin which the present capitalist offensive creates the most favorable conditions for our work. The Councils for the Protection of Foreign Born must activize in every city and must broaden their work to include mobilization of the masses for the struggle against each and every concrete example of persecution of the foreign born, without by any means limiting their activity to those special cases of individual leading revolutionary workers. «The Party frac- tions must become the real leaders and organizers of all this work. 21. The quality and circulation of the Party press, while generally improving in the past year (notably in the Daily Worker) is still lagging most decidedly behind the rising wave of working class activity and struggle. It is necessary that. we inaugurate the most intensive campaign to improve the contents of our press by the organ- ized participation of the workers in the shops workers’ correspondents, Daily Worker clubs, ‘etc.) by the impro%ement of collective work of the editorial staffs, by systematically developing closer connection between the press and mass struggles, by sending members of the staff into the field, by systematic periodical surveys and reviews of each paper by the respective staffs and directing bureaus; and extend the circulation on a multiplied scale by involving the masses of readers in planned work to this end. The Central Committee stresses the necessity of our press giving greater attention to the day to day political issues, more intensely and with more popular methods struggling against the bourgeois demagogs and social reformists, giving more lead- ership and direction to the Party organizations in regard to the task of the Party in mass strug- gles, as well as leadership in building up the Party organization. 22, The task of support to the liberation strug gle to the colonial and semi-colonial peoples has not yet seriously been taken up by our Party as a whole. The plan of patronage adopted at the Seventh Party Convention whereby each district assumes the obligation of establishing direct con- nections with one of the oppressed countries and to give political and practical support to the movement in that country has been left to remain on paper. Immediate measures must be taken to overcome this shameful shortcoming. At the same time each Party district must take up in a practical business-like fashion the devel- opment of activities among the immigrant groups from the oppressed nations, particularly Latin- American and Filipino agricultural workers, the Mexicans in the steel and coal industry, etc. The general work-of the Party in support of the liberation struggles of the oppressed peoples must be developed in a more sustained and system- atic fashion. 23. The work of building mass fraternal or- ganizations (mutual aid clubs, etc.) is taking on constantly growing importance. Especially significant in this respect is the growth of the International Workers Order, which has already proved by its successful work the hundred-fold Possibilities that lie before us in this field. While using every effort to successfully carry ugh the movement for amalgamation of the éxisting language fraternal orders on the basis of the fullest language and cultural autonomy, the main attention must be concentrated upon the extension of the English-speaking membership and ‘especially the drawing in of the native workers. 24. All talk about winning the majority of the working class, without making a revolution- ary change in the attitude of the entire Party towards work among women is nothing but idle chatter. While certain advances in this work are to be noted (International Women Day cam- paign, organizational achievements in the min- ers’ strike, building of auxiliaries, recruitment of women into the Party, improvement of the Working Women, growth of circulation, etc.), the main characteristic of this important phase of Party work is that of almost complete neglect. The tasks of the districts are to find forces and <= to, build functioning departments for work among women and to give them political and organizational guidance. Wontén “wage workers constitute one-fourth of thé working class, the vast majority of them being among the most exploited and oppressed constituting an enormous reserve of proletarian fighting ‘spirit which must at all costs be brought into the revolutionary class struggle. Every district is charged with the responsibility of working out concrete slogans and demands on the: immediate issues of wage cuts, unem- ployment.insurance, high cost of living, special labor legislation, etc., to develop mass contacts among women, mobilize them in struggle, estab- lish special organizational forms (women’s de- legate meetings), recruit women into the Party and revolutionary unions, and pay special atten- tion to. draw in Negro and Latin-American women. A concrete program of work is to be formul- ated on a district and section scale; (1) cone centrate.on.a few important factories employ- ing large numbers of women, especially in war and: textile industries; (2) conduct a struggle against imperialist war preparations by expos- ing’ fascist and pacifist women’s organizations and winning the masses of proletarian women for struggle-against imperialist war and for the defense of the Soviet Union; (3) Popularize the platform of the Communist Party in the election campaigns. by mobilizing masses of working 4wo- men in support of the Party, and make special efforts to bring women into the Vote Communist ‘Clubs. Special attention must be given to the syste- matic development of the most capable women into the leading bodies of the Party and mass organizations. 25. 'The'“Goming election campaign assumes more importance than ever in the development of the ‘mass‘struggles against hunger, capitalist terror and imperialist war. The development of these campaigns is seriously hampered by the remnants of anti-parliamentary tendencies ‘and underestimation of revolutionary possibilities of election campaigns. The elections this fall, im- portant’ in ‘themselves, are of even greater sig- nificance’ as being a test of our preparedness to exploit’ the tremendous possibilities before us in the general national.elections of 1932. Ths election, campaigns must be made the instru- ment to bring together the issues of all the partial struggles and the issues of particular fields of work into one consolidated program of revolutionary working-class struggle against capitalism, concretizing the general slogan, “Class against class,” and showing to the ex- ploited masses the impossibility of any way out of the Crisis except the way of mass revolution- ary struggle and proletarian reyolution. 26. ‘The rapidly increasing strike struggles under revolutionary leadership raises more sharply than ever the necessity for building a permanent mass organization for relief. It is not only a necessary instrument for the suc- cessful conduct of the strikes themselves, but it is_also most effective for mobilizing broad solid- arity‘actions of the workers generally and there- by broadcasting the political influence of these strike struggles and raising thereby the consci> ousness of the working class to a higher level. It_is imperative that the entire Party take. up in a serious, business-like, responsible fashion the building of the Workers International Relief aS & mass organization for this purpose. 27.'The sharpening political repression against the working class, the drive against foreign-born workers, "the “new wave of persecution of the Negro masséS‘raises sharply the question of our defense policy and the status and the role of the International Labor Defense. The correct policies’ worked out by the I.L.D, to meet the new conditions of the class struggle are still not being applied in most districts and are ap= plied insufficiently in all districts. It is neces- _ sary that not only the leadng, responsible com<- rades shalt-thoroughly master the I.L.D. policies, bue also-that these policies shall be made known tothe broadest masses of revolutionary workers. ‘The organizational weaknesses of the ILD. in the centerarid especially in the districts and localities must be remedied by the assignment of adequate and leading forces. The mass base of the I.L.D, must at all costs bé broadened and ‘consolidated organizationally. WYNNE ADVISES WORKERS KIDS TO EAT WELL Workers Demand Free Food, Clothing for School Children ‘Thousands of working class par- ents who cannot afford to give their children enough food or clothing during the school session starting soon, have been given some advice by the Commissioner of Health, Shirley W. Wynne. Among ten rules listed for parents to follow to prepare their children for school, he says: “See that he has a nourishing noon-day meal. See that he has lunch in the afternoon. See that he gets one quart of milk every day.” In addition, “his diet also should in- clude plenty of fresh vegetables,” “Propériy-fitting shoes, and good clothes,” should be given to the workers children. Dr. Wynne seems to forget his own statement that due to the great undernourishment among the chil- dren, the epidemic of infantile par- alysis grew by leaps and bounds. The unemployed workers who will soon send their children to school every day without breakfast, because they have no money, will appreciate the advice of the Tammany politicians in the Board of Health. ‘The. workers of New York will give Dr. Wynne an example of how to supply the children with food and clothes when they demonstrate be- fore the Board of Education building this Friday at 12:30 p.m. The dem- onstration has been called by the Communist Party and the Young Pioneers of America, and many other working class organizations will co- operate in demanding free food and clothing for the children of the un- employed. Demonstrations will also be held at the Brooklyn and Bronx Boro Halls. Indoor mass meetings will be held this Wednesday, at Ambassador Hall, 3rd Avenue near Claremont Parkway in the Bronx, and Down- town at 643 Eighth Ave., where del- egations of jobless workers and chil- dren will be elected to present the demand of free food and clothing at. the Boro Halls and at the Board of Education. SING SING PRISONERS TO LIVE ON 23.4 CENTS DAILY ‘The food allowances of the pris- oners in Sing Sing prison have been reduced from 26 cents a day to 23.4 cents a day for each prisoner. Cap- italism starves you outside of jail. If you dare to steal food, capitalist “private. property,” you are jailed and starved inside. Capitalism lives on the starvation of the ons class, Keeney’s Union Mak pi No Fight for Clothes: for Miners’ Children CHARLESTON, W. Va., Sept. 16. School bells are calling Charleston's school boys and girls back to study, but many can’t respond. ‘They have no shoes and their clothing: is -in} rags. The lack of food and clothing for school children in the Western Penn- sylvania, Eastern Ohio and Pans.,| handle West Virginia sections where. the National Miners Union leads, has. resulted in organization of..mass marches on the school boards to | demand those necessities, and will result in more. The demonstrations for food, clothing and shoes for school - children is led by the Women’s Aux-- iliarles of the National Miners Union /and by United Front Parents’ Com -| mittees built up at mass meetings: called by the Women's Auxiliaries. Charteston is in the more southern West Virginia fields, where no union. but the treacherous West Virginia Mine Workers, led by Frank .Keeney has been formed. In Charleston, the: only action taken is that the Family. Welfare Society asks the parents of rich children to give some of their, cast off clothing to “the poor.” One way to help the Soviet’ Union is to spread among the workers “Soviet ‘Forced Labor,’” by Max Bedacht, 10 cents per copy. US. STEEL DROPS; -. SPURTS IN USSR Soviet IncreasesWages ., ,88 Per Cent “NEW YORK.—The course of de- eaying capitalism in the United (States and growing, advancing so- cialism in the Soviet Union is clear- ly and unmistakably drawn in the ‘following comparisons in such a basic industry as steel. Total steel tonnage production for the United States for 1931 is estimated “between 25,000,000,000 and 27,000,000 which /would be on the level with vonnage production back in 1910.” (World Telegram.) While in the Soviet Union production has increased from 11,900,000 tons in 1913 before the x lniopey took power advancing to 14,- 908,000 in 1929 with plans in 1931 of -producing 23,500,000 tons. The Soviet. Union at this rate is almost up to and will soon surpass the production of the United States in steel pro- duction. ia }-In the United States the steel workers have suffered constantly de- clining standards of living until now ~oithey work at starvation wages. In the Soviet Union the wages of metal workers have been steadily creasing, showing a gain of 38 cent for last year with addi increases expected this year, Euse