The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-02-08
Bv TOM JOHNSON.

By TOM JOHNSON.
THE degree of Bolshevization of Communist
Party may be determined to large extent
by its ability to react Immediately and cor
rectly to changes in the arena in which it oper-
ates and to instantly throw its full forces into
action in the changed situation.
Our American Party is today facing such
revolutionary test. After much hesitation, aft
err a severe internal struggle which involved
scrapping much of the old leadership, the Par
ty has at last made the turn and come to some
realization of the present situation in America,
and the tremendous tasks and responsibilities
developing on our Party from the changed
conditions of the class struggle. This process
has been helped considerably by recent develop
ment's Lovestones phantasy of Victorian
Age" for American Imperialism has been shat
tered by the realities of life, The industrial
recession of which Lovestone only yesterday
spoke so hesitatingly, has turned out to be a
severe economic crisis which is shaking the
structures of American imperialism to its
depths.
The analysis of the 10th Plenum of the Com
intern and of the October Plenum of our Party
has been fully substantiated by the whole
course of events. The struggles in Gastonia,
New Orleans Illinois. The great movement of
the unemployed developing throughout the
country under the leadership of the Party. The
tremendous mass demonstration of $4,000 New
York workers, ready to battle with the police
for possession of the streets, at Steve Katovis'
funeral. And finally the success already regis
tered by the Recruiting Campaign, and the in
creasing momentum of this campaign as it
draws to close. These living facts must
open the eyes of the most backward Party
member to the new situation. These facts
give the lie once and for all to Lovestone's raw
ings of an Exceptional" American Imperialism,
of wrong Party line, and of disintegrat-
ing Party.
Still Tagging Behind.
Under the pressure of these developments
the Party is going forward, is developing the
forms and methods of work necessitated by the
changed conditions. But this very fact proves
that our Party is not yet Bolshevized Party,
quick to grasp the essentials of the new situa-
ton and to mobilize it's full forces for action
The fact of the matter is that in many of the
lower Party organizations this change is made
only under pressure of the masses of workers
outside of the Party. The Party in some cases
is not the leader the initiator of the change,
it lags behind the masses and only makes the
change under the instant demand of these
workers for leadership in the struggle.
This was brought home wildly to the writer
at a recent mass meeting at Toledo. This
meeting a protest meeting against the Ohio
Criminal Syndicalist Law not large
one only 125 workers being present. However,
most of those present were new faces to the
con,rades-they were workers who had never
attended our meetings, with whom we had had
in the part no contact. At the conclusion of
the meeting 10 workers Joined the Party, OF
them workers in the huge WHY'S Overland
auto shops. Furthermore, after the meeting
the local organizer informed me that the day
before, delegation of WHY'S Overland work
ers had come down to the Workers Center to
find out how they could organize in the Auto
Workers Union. This delegation stated that
they represented some 80 men in their depart
nent, whom they had lined up to join the union
Why did these workers join the Party? Why
did this delegation of auto workers come to the
Party asking to be organized? They came be-
cause the Party in Toledo had been forced un-
de- the pressure of events, to engage in mass
ACTIVITY, to appear before the workers as a
le, der and organizer of the working class in
it9 struggles. The mass unemployment situa-
tic n in Toledo had drawn the Party into action.
splendid Council of the Unemployed had been
fc med, 700 workers had participated in the
mass demonstrations of the unemployed de-
handing work or wages of the city govern
mant. The Party had come forward as leader
O. the Toledo workers, reaching hitherto
untouched strata of the Toledo working class
with out program and propaganda Largely
as a result of this new activity the Party made
contact with WHY'S Overland workers, and
,eeks succeeded in issuing shop paper in this
plant For years the District Committee
has been trying to get the Toledo comrades
70 issue shop paper in WHY'S Overland. This
the Toledo comrades have in the past failed
to do, due to the fact that they had absolutely
no contact with the workers. in this, the largest
nd us-a ;,-nor+ant sho~ =, the citv. AS re-