The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-08-28
BY LOUIS SISSELMAN.

@SeA3 IN,
One might ask what is our i'm.
mediate task in the election cam
paign? The answer is put the party
candidates on the ballot. Thus to
enable the class conscious workers
to vote for their candidates, and to
express their protest against capital
ist oppression, for Communism. AT
the same time to make it possible
for the Party to carry on the cam
paign.
The capitalist rulers have estab-
lished their laws by which to pro-
tect their capitalist democracy,
and put all obstacles in the road of
Independent working class organiza-
tons to be put on the ballot lespe-
cially this holds true of the Com
munist Party. In the present case
they require twenty-five thousand
(25,000l signatures of citizens to
enable our candidates to enter on
the ballot. These signatures must
be collected proportionally in every
election, assembly, and aldermanic
district. To some comrades it will
surely seem very hard. They will
ask how IS it possible to get these
signatures But a Communist, !"
said Lenin, "Must have faith in the
Party and in the working class" AS
in all phases of our struggle, this
holds good in this case as well. Only
a little energy is required on the
part of every comrade. Then every
one would realize that not only can
we get the necessary amount of sig
natures, but Build the Party and es-
tablish contacts while getting these
signatures.
Relating Some Experiences.
1t was in Harlem, on Sunday
morning, that the writer of these
lines went out to collect signatures.
This experience can serve as good
Communist lesson for every COM
rade. Of course, at none of these
houses did we notice any of the
$23, 1853, 869,993 that fourteen ma
lions are to pay to Wall Street. Ut
shall be understood that the work
ers do the paying.) These were
poor slums, dark, old wooden cor
ridors-actual fire traps. Poverty
and misery was seen in every corner.
The furniture and household of
many of these flats would surely fill
their right place in a junk shop.
Harlem is 1eighborhood mainly of
colored and Porto Rican workers. To
many of these oppressed slaves the
Communist Party was foreign. Some
of them never heard of it before.
However, after we explained to them
in a concrete and simple manner
what it stands for, then not only
did they give their signatures but
in many instances they were eager
to get more contacts with the Party.
These oppressed colored workers felt
that it is their Party. Also the
Porto Rican workers had a special
sympathetic attitude towards the
Party. These workers as well as the
colored know best what the 'iron-
heel oppression" of Yankee imperi-
alism really is. In some cases these
Porto Rican workers not only gave
their own signatures, but took me
over to their neighbors and urged
them to sign. ooh! yes," said one
Porto Rican to me. II wish there
would be strong Party in Porto
Rico and we would organize all the
workers against the Yankee gener-
ais and the bosses. l worked on a
tobacco plantation from sunrise to
sunset and earned $500 to $3.50 a
week. My wife, my six-year-old son
and myself get altogether from $500
to $3.50 a week.
eve came here after many diff
ficulties looking for improvements.
But what's the use? How can one
live here when earning 35 cents an
hour in a wire factory?"
This is the situation that prevails
among these workers.
Our Party cannot be considered
mass Party and worthy of its stan
dard as section of the Communist
International unless we have in our
ranks these thousands of Porto
Rican workers and colored workers.
For these workers will be in the
first trenches Of battle against the
oligarchy Of American imperialism.
These workers are employed in the
most exploited unorganized indus
tries. We must establish contacts