The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-12-26
BY WILLIAM F. kRusE.

devote much space 10 Lne dcIAflIioS
Of various working class organiza-
lions. Party, youth section, trade
union, cooperative, sport club, wo-
mems clubs-all these are well night
universal. But one form of organiza-
ton activity seems confined thus far
to the kaiser's old recruiting ground,
and that is the Red Front Fighters
Bund. This organizations activities
fill columns of space in the Commun-
list Party press, and they send shivers
down the editorial spines of the reac-
tionaries.
Every day and every night one finds
the Red Front Fighters in meet
ings, parades, demonstrations, itera-
ture. distribution and fights. Reaction
airy leaders in the reichstag demand
their suppression, even at time when
the party. itself enjoys a nominal le-
gality. The sometimes flippant atti-
tude of some old party leaders toward
this movement was one of the major
points in their recent indictments by
the Comintera. The r. F. B. fig
ure prominently in present party dis
cussions. Good or no good? Perma-
nent or ephemeral? What really is
this much-discussed ''ROte Front?
NOME to a Communist municipal
" election meeting. A block away, on
every intersection, one sees an unob-
strusive young idler with bicycle.
He wears distinctive yet not uncom-
mon garb, a green-gray linen jacket
and a peaked cap. Look close in the
darkness and you will see a red arm
band, embroidered in black worn low
down on the right sleeve. The young
sters stand there for hours, Dotionless
except for their ever-roving eyes
until the nearby meeting is over.
The "Red Front" on the Job.
In front of the hall, the ever pres
ent half dozen or more policemen.
But in the entrance, between police
and meeting hall, fifty or more young
huskies, all in the same distinctive
garb. And in the hall, especially to-
ward the. rearsswhere are the en-
frances; sevefal hundred more. One
of their number almost invariably
makes a speech from the platform.
Their red flags mnigle with those of
party units and the youth section.
Their cheers are loudest.
The meeting is over. Masses Of
workers leave, but stand around the
entrance. The police make no move
to dispense them, just yet. Music
from the hall, band, and several hun
bred strong, well-trained voices sing
ing Red Army song. They march out
into the street, four abreast. Hun
dreds of bystanders join the process
sion which, with song and drum corps
music, winds thru the streets for an
hour or more before finally it des-
bands in front of headquarters. After
the parade has gone a block or more
from the hall the sullen police dis
perse the remainder of the crowd. 1t
goes INTERESTINGLY now that it van
guard is no longer there.
A HOTLY contested working class
"A section. A long fence covered
with Communist posters. Elsewhere
we have seen many posters torn to
shreds by supporters Of rival parties.
But not here. Look closely and you
will see a goodly number Of r. F. B.
ready--anxious--for action. The post
ers stay put. The workers read them.
Communist prestige and confidence
scars.
This fighting organization already
numbers many more thousands than
the plutes like to think about 1t
would be undesirable to say just how
many thousands, but one group in a
single section of Berlin grew from 40,
all Communist members, to a full
battalion of over 1000 men with Com
munist members constituting less
than 40 per cent, besides junior aux
Hilary, the "Roter Jungsturm," in
which the Communists constituted