The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-02-05
THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AND
TASKS OF Y.C.L.

are very insecure, and they are confronted
with highly developed system of hiring and
firing means of keeping down wages. The
capitalist class in its efforts to make the
workers pay for the crisis will so far reduce
the income of working class families through
lay-offs, wage cuts, ETC., of both young and
adult workers, that new sections of children
and youth will be forced to look for work. IN
employment especially effects the youth in the
mass lay-offs in the highly rationalized light
and medium industries electrical manufacture 4
ing, radio, confectionery, etc.
The young Negro workers feel most sharply
the effects of the developing crisis since they
are even more exploited than the other Sec
tons Of the young workers and therefore
rapidly radcalized and ripe for recruiting into
the League.
The deepening of the chronic agricultural
crisis as result of the economic crash is felt
with particular intensity by the farming youth. /
The worsening of conditions on the farms in
creases the already large migration of the
farming youth to the cities despite the fact
that the growing mass unemployment renders
hopeless the possibility of finding work, as a
result they become an important part of the
permanent army of unemployed, while thou
sands are forced into the army and navy. The
mass unemployment causes a certain mgra-
ton back to the farm despite the fact that even
worce starvation conditions await the youth
there than when they were forced to migrate
to the city, The further class differentiation
in agriculture has marked effects upon the
farming youth who becoming more and
more concentrated among the class of agrcul-
tural wage workers while the children of the
poor and middle farmers who continue work
ing for their parents are forced to work with
out pay or any share of the diminishing
profits.
The bourgeoisie is doing everything in its
power to increase it's influence over the young
workers. both ideologically and organization
ally, as an important part of it's attack upon
the conditions of the toiling youth and in an
attempt to stem their growing rehabilitation
AT the same time they increasing their
measures of repression and terrorization
against the Young Communist League and
other revolutionary youth organizations (Hoo-
ver's statement, McNutts proposal to Amer
lean Legion Convention). They put this in
creased political, theological and economic
pressure upon the young workers because they
understand to what extent the outcome of the
impending imperialist wars and class strug-
giles depends upon the part that will be played
in them by the working youth. The crisis
which brings with it the immediate danger of
war gives a tremendous impetus to the rapid
process of naturalization which further at
tempts to directly indirectly embrace the
entire population This is seen clearly in such
measures as the proposed Coughlin Bill, pro-
vldlng military training in the public schools
for all students between 10 and IS years of
age; the strengthening of the unorganized re-
serves, the more rapid miltarization Of the
bourgeois youth organizations development
of rifle clubs, company sport clubs, etc.,, and
the exploitation of the growing unemployment
to strengthen the regular army and navy, in
creased numbers of workers in the armed
forces and decline in number of assertions.
Social reformism plays an important role in
this respect and tries to assert its influence
over the young workers with the help of the
apparatus of the American Federation of La
Dor; the socialist party, the Music progress
slves" and their attempts at organization of
the youth, which together with other cleft"
SOCIALIST elements represent the greatest dam
ger in winning the working youth, the at
tempts to resurrect the Young Peoples Social
ist League in some sections of the country
and the further prostitution of this organiza-
ton before the traitorous A. F. of L. bureau
crazy at its recent national convention, and
finally, IN the attempts to organize an Anti
Communist Youth League on the part of the
Lovestone renegades.
The rehabilitation of the young workers
takes away the base of the social refornists
among the young workers and while social re-
forinism remains the chief theological bar.
rier which we have to overcome amongst the
young workers, there can be no real growth of
reformist youth organizations but only disn.
tegration providing the Young Communist
League plays it's role. The refornists are.
therefore, resorting to even more reactionary
methods in their efforts to crush the move
ments OF the working youth and to prevent
their organization and joining ever more open.
ly the campaign of terror against the revolu.
tlonary workers organizations which is espe.
cially concentrated against the Young Commu-
mist League.
ITO be continued)