The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-07-10
SOME LESSONS FROM GROW
ING MINERS STRUGGLES

NJ. u, to report that the Rivesville miners
are going back to work. This was done in
order to demoralize the striking miners and
make them accept wage cut.
The above is definite proof of our tagging
behind the masses If this tagging behind is
to continue any longer--and the miners are
not waiting-f the Party and the N. M. U.
will not be able to give the leadership to the
miners there is great danger that either
the Howat-F ishwick- Harrington CLIQUE will
gain some influence or that some sort of
fake "rank-and-file" movement will spring UP
as was the case in the southern Illinois De-
cember, 1929, strike. The Party must be on
guard against such development And the
only way the Party can be on guard against
that development is to mobilize all its forces
and to give strong leadership to the miners
Convention Warning
The growing miners struggles, our tagging
behind the masses and the danger of social
fascist coming in the situation was foreseen
by the district convention of the Party. In
a special resolution on mining situations
adopted by the convention we find the follow
ing:
UNLESS we mobilize the maximum forces to
stimulate, organize and lead these struggles.
connect them with the whole struggle against
naturalization and unemployment, there is
the gravest danger of social fascist elements
securing the leadership of sections of these
workers for a time, betraying their struggles
and preventing the organization of a solid
fighting front of the masses in these decisive
industries"
The socia-fascists have not stepped into the
situation as yet But, which is still worse, the
open fascists of the U. NJ w. A.-Fagan, Van
Bltner, Robertson-have taken control of the
two striking Mines McKeesport and Rivesville,
and have betrayed the struggles of the miners
In the same resolution the following was
stated
1.-The convention Of District 5 urges the
Party Convention and the Central Committee
to work out plans for moblizing the entire
Party to assist in this struggle by the release
of forces for this work, by more intense eff
forts in developing new forces by work.
ing out correct slogans for combining the
strike struggles against wage cuts with the
struggle against mass lay-offs, permanent
mass unemployment for Work or Wages,
ETC."
On the basis of this a special mining con-
ference was held during the Party convention
Some very good decisions were made at the
conference and the districts of the Party in
the mining industry were instructed to carry
them out. So far not single district has
carried out the decisions This shows how
seriously the districts of the Party have taken
the mining situation.
Forces Needed
The question of forces is burning oues-
ton in the mining industry. There are many
promising forces among the miners. But the
problem is to develop these forces and to draw
them into active leadership of the struggles.
The Party as a whole must be madk respon-
slble for developing these new forces. Par
tlcularly those districts working in the min
ing industry must be made responsible in this
respect.
Comrade Losovsky in his speech to the
Lenin School students February ID, 1880,
stated the principles of strategy:
I'D To strain all forces available to the
very extreme. Any weakening of effort de-
lays the achievements of the objective Even
1t victory were quite probable, it would be in.
eXpedent not to strain every resource to the
utmost to make it absolutely possible, for such
efforts can never have unfavorable conse-
quence.
"(2) To concentrate the greatest possible
forces where the brunt of the blow is to be
borne, to subject even to failure secondary
positions so as to ensure success at the main
point"
The mining industry at the moment is the
front where "the brunt of the blow is to be
borne" Therefore the whole Party must be
modified for this blow