The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-09-17
PRE-PLENUM DISCUSSION

YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE U.S.A.

carry out among the working youth In this
way we will develop agitators and organizers,
we will develop mass workers, speakers and
leaders, who understand the needs of the
young workers, live their lives and speak their
language.
The entire sectarian outlook of the League
reflects itself also in our attitude to new men,
bers. We fail to give them any work, The
comrades seem to feel that only the tried
and true" can do work. Putting them on sub
committees and making them listen to long
speeches only drives them away.
At a meeting the waterfront in New
York, a young Negro worker came up to one
of our comrades and said Il have come to
your meeting for the past three weeks. l
agree with everything you say. Please, tell
me what you want me to do now" The only
answer our comrade could give him was to
come back next week Is there any surprise
that this young Negro was not seen again.
The new fresh elements that enter our League,
join because they believe it is an organization
of struggle. To keep them in the League we
must give them work. of organizing the young
workers for struggle. Is it surprising that
1900 members joined our League in the last
membership drive and are out today? 1t is
surprising thai the Cleveland and Detroit dis
tricts took in two hundred new members
total membership of each of these districts
is less than that? Not at all.
The NEG Bureau discussed concretely the
methods Of work. 1t was clearly brought
out that the districts have not sufficiently de-
veloped the methods Of Shock Troop and revo-
lutionary competition as a means of develop
ing the individual initiative of the member
ship and the young workers in the auXiliaries.
Only in Detroit were these methods developed
to any extent.
The NEG Bureau also took note of certain
wrong tendencies expressed in the carrying
out of the Shock Plan In Philadelphia lead
ing comrades had developed theory of cor
gained retreat on the part of the Party and
League. They started their arguments by
asking why the change of slogan for August
first this year. From this they developed the
theory that our Party this year is retreating,
and we must follow this "retreat" accordingly
in the League. The NEG Bureau very sharp
ly hit this form of pessimism. The Party has
not retreated. The slogans for August LIST
based on the world situation. Any talk
of retreat today is nothing more than a CAPT
tulation to difficulties is a reflection of the
failure to understand how, and with what
methods, the League is going to cut down the
gap that exists between its influence and the
objective conditions. Such tendencies obiec-
lively lead to the right wing theories of Love
stone, who sees no revolutionary perspectives
in the present world crisis.
A second wrong tendency manifested was
in the approach of certain comrades towards
the leadership, In some districts the national
shock troop had met open and tacit resistance
to the carrying out of the plan. These COM
rades were overcome by the difficulties and
developed the theory that in some districts we
must destroy the present leadership before
we can carry out the Plan. The NEG Bureau
pointed out that the district as whole had
failed to understand the turn, and that no one
particular comrade was alone responsible, but
the District Bureau itself, the League itself
The turn in the League will have to Be made
through the present leadership and through
the present poor membership composition
The NEG Bureau at the same time correctly
stated that these elements in the leadership
who resist the carrying out of the Plan, must
be mercilessly fought and removed from
responsible leadership. We must use the lead
ership and membership willing to work for
the carrying through of the Plan, show them
the new methods of work, how to win young
workers for the League, and use them as the
instruments in changing the situation in our
League The Plan must become a test for
the leadership nationally and locally, and on
tie OASIS Oh Che results OF the ran, we must
eliminate those elements who cannot work the
new way and draw in young proletarian ee-
ments to take their places.
The first six weeks of the Shock Plan clear
ly show the path for the League to follow
The shortcomings and mistakes of the first
six weeks must be rectified as soon as pos
sible The last weeks of the Plan must see
an increase in the tempo of the Plan, and
clearer understanding of how it is to be car
ried out. The entire membership must be
drawn into the realization of the Plan. The
membership and leadership must realize that
only through the carrying out of the Shock
Plan can the League make its turn towards
becoming the vanguard of the young workers
in the developing class battles.