The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-06-05
By WILLIAM SIMoNs.

DURING the past year the Party entered the
South and in the April Plenum of the Cen
trail Committee it summed up our experiences
and prospects there. But the Party has not
yet made a thorough analysis of conditions in
the West, neither as to the relation of the
West to the national situation, nor as to the
specific tasks necessitated by that analysis.
An attempt at this has been made by the dis
tricts of the Pacific Coast, but without review
or coordination into one pattern by the Cen
trail Committee, resulting in consequent short
comings in our work,
The West is no exception to the national
economic and political situation. Huge unem-
poyment, continuous layoffs and wage cuts
are the order of the day, particularly in oil,
rubber and steel industries. An increasing
rehabilitation of the workers is evident and
there is a greater response to the campaigns
of the Party. The financial interests of the
Coast are tied up with Wall Street. Steel
corporations, auto firms and other national
industries have their branches in the West.
The Convention Thesis proposed by the Cen
trial Committee is indeed applicable in its
analysis and formulation.of tasks to California,
Seattle and to the vast Kansas districts as
well as to other western districts.
What are the special features in the econ
omic and political situation in the West? ~
industries. (2) Importance of agriculture. (3)
The question of workers of colonial origin. az
The growing role of the Pacific Coast in con-
necton with the war danger.
Seattle Starts Lumber Worker"
To what extent is the West melting these
problems? As yet, insufficient work is being
done in mining. In Colorado some work is be-
ing carried on among the coal miners but on
too limited scale: merely circular leadership
from the National Miners Union. No connec-
tions have been established as yet with the
copper miners of Nevada and Arizona. In oil,
no contacts at all as yet, In the California
District we are beginning to understand the
Importance of this industry and have directed
our sections toward work in the oil fields and
refineries. But what of Oklahoma and Texas?
The launching of the Lumber Workers Indu-
strial Union, and their monthly organ, the
Lumber Worker" is an achievement for the
Seattle District, but this work has not spread
sufficiently into the other lumber sections
The work among the small farmers in the
West is very weak, indeed. Activity among the
agricultural workers in the West has been
limited almost entirely to the Imperial Valley
and to Central California Our work among
Mexicans has been confined practically to the
Mexican fruit and vegetable workers of Cali
fornia, with some attention to the Mexican beet
workers OF Colo ado ana nearby states. Among
workers of colonial origin, who offer unlimited
possibilities dus to their brutal exploitation
our activity h., been spasmodic and infrequent
While We a-~ ID on a campaign on behalf of
the worker, led in Mexico this work was
not continued Turing the attack on the Fill
pinos in Wat, aavle, the Party took up the
issue of the ipino workers but no sustained
campaign is being carried on among them, nor
on behalf of Filipino independence.
We have just begun to establish conctaets
with Hindu workers in California. Our tagging
in this field is due primarily to our failure to
develop good leaders among these workers.
But contributing factor is the lack of litera-
ture and organizers from the Center. "Vida
Obrera," our Party paper in Spanish which
reappeared few months ago after lapse Of
eight months, and which met with splendid
response from the Mexican workers in the
Imperial Valley, has been permitted to die
again. The lone Autographed issue of Labor
Unity" in Spanish, if it appears regularly,
will be a decided help.
War Preparations Increasing.
The Pacific Coast and the war danger have
not yet been given the necessary serious at
tention. War preparations on the Coast are