The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-09-30
PRE-PLENUM DISCUSSION
From February to October and Next
YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE, U. S. A.

sent a letter to our League giving the following
estimation plenum:
"Our general estimation of your plenum Is that
it was unsatisfactory. that it did not put the
question of the Turn before the League in a
concrete fashion, that 1t did not expose the sub
stance and meaning of the left" sectarian
danger, and that 1t gave program Of militant
action to the League"
What was our reaction to the 7. c. l. estina-
ton Of our plenum? A cynical, unhealthy and
factional one. 1t was best expressed by our "ac-
ceptance and approval" and Immediately filing"
1t away, in the same spirit, with the same
motives, as in the good old" factionaI days
However, our crime was not only in hiding the
letter from the membership, but also inability,
and even resistance, to the Y. c. T. estimation Of
the situation The roots for this grave error
lies:
1. In our ssetarIan ldeaIogy. We did not
judge the position Of the League in relation TO
the class struggle IN relation to the objective
possibilities.
To what extent had we established orr n.
huence in one or another industry or In the
mass organization of young workers? What
prestige has League within the ranks of the
young workers?
Lacking such an outlook every SUPERFICIAL and
insignificant gain created in us a sense of self
satisfaction which tended to minimize and over
look the basic factor in the League situation
namely OUR EXTREMELY WEAK AND IN
SIGNIFICANT POSITION AMONG THE YOUNG
WORKERS.
2. The raw DEAF we gave to the YCI letter
proves that the leadership has fooled the mem
bership, the YCI and itself, when It thought that
we freed ourselves from the old school of fac
uonalsm The leadership did not have the nee
essary courage and spirit of revolutionary self
criticism to state with the words of the YCI:-
That one of the reasons why the League Is
not modified for its present tasks is the great
shortcomings Of your recent plenum."
In the ranks of the leadership too much sub
Had fnO
problems at the expense of political aertness
Instead of judging whether this or that individual
or the leadership as a whole has worked "hard
enough" or not, we should have asked ourselves
what new did we bring to the membership, what
steps have we taken to makessure that the YCI,
will live up to its task as militant revolutionary
organization in this present period of crisis Or
perhaps we should have asked ourselves what
new did our League bring to the young workers
If we would have had such approach, we sure
would nave not committed such grave errors
The Party Convention
Even before the convention, the leadership Of
our party has made several attempts to wash
our ears and polish brains, calling to our at
tention the confusion that prevailed in our ranks
on the political line as well tagging behind
Something has been accomplished, but very little
1t was only at the convention and Immediately
after with the help of the YCI that sober realism
on the Leagues situation began to prevail in our
ranks. The party convention clearly established
that If the League will not take extraordinary
steps to improve the situation the League will
find itself in a crisis The convention made it
obligatory for to carry out the instructions of
the YCI sent to us months ago, namely
urgent and militant measures must be taken
to bring about TURN in the League to draw
every League organization into real mass work
to show every League member what concrete
tasks are placed before his organization and be-
fore him and how they should be carried out"
1t is this period, Immediately after the party
convention, that marks first serious attempts
to make the Turn we talked about for period
of six months
(To Be Continued)