The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-03-26
BY HERBERT Fam.

Communist International is not an
isolated incident in the activities of
the Comintern in the last year, and
particularly in connection with the
Sixth Congress. The policy received
in the open letter flows directly
from the present world position of
capitalism which has been charac-
terized as the third period of post
war capitalism. Only if we view the
line in the open letter and relate it
properly to the analysis of the third
period, will we really understand
what the new line is, which this let
ter formulates for the American
Party.
The present period represents for
us perspective for greater, more
intensified struggles, struggles not
confined to the boundary of one
country, but reverberating thruout
the system of capitalism.
In ~ecent years we have already
seen some indication of these strug-
giles, and if we relate them and clas-
sify them, we will see that there
has been a tendency for these strug-
giles to repeat themselves on a world
scale and to constitute general in
ternational conflict and sharpening
contradiction within the capitalist
system as such. For example, if we
examine the coal mining industry,
we find there a whole series of gil
gantic class conflicts such as we
have not been accustomed to in the
period following the period of severe,
acute outbreaks. We had mining
strike in England which, for dura-
ton and intensity, set new mark
in the class struggle in England and
which resulted in the first general
strike in any important country in
the present period.
But this conflict in the mining in
dustry was not confined to England.
We have seen similar struggles, not
of the same duration, not of the
same intensity, not involving equal
ly large numbers of masses, but con-
flicts of the same general charac-
ter, in Czechoslovakia, in Germany,
in Poland and in the United States.
Therefore we see that the line of
the open letter means for our Party,
means for the Communist movement
in the United States the mobiliza-
ton of the Party and its prepare
ton for leadership of the workers
in the struggles which the third Pc
Rod is bringing out, against the war
danger and for the struggle for the
interests Of the working class.
The New Line and Youth Work.
This new line has significance not
only for the Party, but also for our
youth movement which follows the
same general policy as the Party.
And we will have to understand the
problems and tasks Of the youth
movement in the light of the open
letter and the line formulated there
in. Any other analysis would not
only fall short but would actually
miss a correct understanding of the
role of the young workers in the
present period and of the tasks that
confront the Communist movement
in this connection.
This matter was discussed at the
Sixth Congress of the Communist
International and at the Fifth Con-
gress of the Communist Youth In
ternational, and at these two con-
crosses the analysis resulted in the
general formulation that in the pres
ent period one of the outstanding
features in all the struggles in which
we will engage will be the struggle
between the revolutionary movement
and Imperialism for the youth. This
is not based on any sentimental APP
peal to the young workers or to
the youth because of the youth, but
is based on the requirements of the
present situation.
The Sixth Congress gave more de-
tailed and firmer instructions on the
question CT winning the youth to
the Parties than any previous con-
gress or plenum of the c. /. has
done. The problem of winning the
youth follows directly from the war
danger and the process of ration
alization bound up with it. We know
that no talk of preparing for the
war danger and against the bour-
geoisie on the part of the working
class is possible unless the factors
which will be engaged in the COM
ing war are analysed and the pre-
parations made to align those fac
tors on the side of the working
class against imperialism.
War Danger, Naturalization and
the Youth
The bourgeoisie knows very well
that in the war of the future as
we'll as Of the present, it will be
the youth, the young workers, who
will fight that war. Their efforts
are in the direction of preparing
the young workers for participation
in this war as efficient soldiers for
capitalism. Our efforts are in the
direction of preparing the young
workers for participating in the war
as efficient soldiers for the working
class. And therefore there is this
fundamental conflict over the youth.
In the processes of naturalization
it is required that the workers, the
labor forces shall be well trained,
efficient and docile. Capitalist ra-
tionalization cannot be successful