The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-02-14
BY LEON PLATT.

etectDRs, the role of the socialist parity
and the insufficient activity of the Conma-
aist Party il, the elections.
-
THERE were also manifested tendencies of
indifference and sabotage in the last NUM-
cipal election campaigns. In Rochester our
comrades without investigating, were of the
opinion that it was too late for them to file
candidates, but in week or so later they found
out that they had still time to put up Party
ticket. In the judicial elections in Chicago,
our comrades were of the opinion that only
lawyers could run for judges and since they
have only one lawyer in the Party they there
fore considered it impossible to participate in
the judicial elections. However, later, they
found out that non-awyers could also be put
up as candidates in the judicial elections. The
neglect occurred at a time when our comrades
waged bitter battle against the capitalist
court, which got "a members of the Party IN
jail, and imposed heavy bail upon our COM
rades However, in spite of all this, instead of
exposing capitalist justice, they failed to par
ticipate in the municipal elections for the
simple reason that they did not take the trouble
to investigate more carefully the conditions for
putting up a party ticket. In Buffalo, the
district committee and the membership failed
miserably in securing the few hundred sigma
ballot In Philadelphia where it was only
necessary to secure 1000 signatures to put up
party ticket in the last municipal elections,
all the comrades have secured in the city
of Philadelphia, where such favorable oppor-
tunites for party campaign exist, was only
1900 signatures. This indifference and gross
neglect was against the interests of the Party
Even in city like New York, with member
ship of over 5000, the Party had only partial
slate and could not secure enough signatures
to put up candidates in every district. In Ak
ron and Youngstown, two most important III
dustrial cities in Ohio, where the workers are
most miserably exploited, our comrades did not
even take the trouble to try to get on the bal
lot The indifference on the part of our mem
bership, their right-wing outlook and approach
to party campaigns, was best manifested IN
Embridge, Pa an important steel center, where
Party unit with 90 members could not secure
81 signatures which is all that was necessary
to put the Party candidate on the ballot In
Avella mining center in Pennsylvania, where
the Party and the National Miners Union ex-
ercise a great influence, no attempt was even
made to have the Party participate in the cleo
tons In East Pittsburgh, where, during
August l. we had splendid anti-war demonstra-
tions, no Party candidates were put up.
In Detroit the Party did not concern itself
with the elections. In the Boston district the
Party put as its candidate for mayor Com
rade Canter, who is now serving jail sentence
for his activities in the Sacco-Vanzetti demon
strations. In spite of all this the Party failed
to utilize the favorable objective situation or
link the struggle for the release of Comrade
Cantor with the municipal elections in Boston
In addition to these gross mistakes of indif-
ference there were also manifested gross ex-
amples of opportunism and right-wing attl-
tudes In Yorkville, Ohio, our comrades re-
fused to distribute the platform of the Party
because workers found with them might De
backlsted, or it might hinder those comrades
who have some chances in the elections. In
East Pittsburgh and Monnessin, Pa, workers
halls under the control of our Party carried
advertisements for capitalist candidates, widely
displaying them in their halls during the pri-
maries and when the district committee pro-
tested against this, the comrades resented TINS
action on the part of the district under the ex-
cuse that when these capitalist candidates VIII
be elected they will lower the taxes on these
halls. to which the Party is not contributing
There were also attempts to get candidates TO
run on the Party ticket who were successful
in primaries on the Republican, Democratic
and Labor Party tickets
In addition to these mistakes we must also
point our other political shortcomings OF these
municipal elections First there 1ods cont
,,Ietc failure to understand local politics. There
was a complete failure and inability to utilize
local issues facing the workers and connect
them up with the general revolutionary pro-
gram of our Party. The district committees
failed completely to understand the issues and
problems facing the workers in the territories
under their jurisdiction. They failed concreteiy
to expose the capitalist parties. There was also
a gross neglect in the utilization of the dis
content of the working masses and the tlrst
signs of the developing economic crisis. Ihey
failed to point out the graft and corruption
as a direct product of the capitalist system
This was best expressed in the election plat
form of the Philadelphia district. where Party
comrades stated that: "The prediction fights
within and between the parties of the bosses
are of no concern to the workers To these
mistakes there must also be added the great
shortcoming that occurred in the underestma-
ton of social reformism and the insufficient
exposure of the treacherous role of the social
list party. The Central Committee and the dis
trict organization failed sufficiently to expose
Premier Macdonald on his last visit to the
United States, whicihi the Socialist Party utll-
lied as an advertisement for themselves in the
elections. The underestimation of social re-