The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-09-20

stealing many of them, the bosses election
board was generous enough to grant US the
amount Of three thousand five hundred and
eight votes. But this is not the major impor-
tant thing in estimation of a Communist cleo
ton campaign OF course the number of votes
count, but the most important problem is how
much did the Party succeed to utilize the cleo
ton campaign to organize the workers IN the
struggle under the banner of Communism
well as the building of the new revolutionary
trade unions. This is the major object. In
our estimation of the election campaign we
must also take in consideration the ability of
the Party to break through the wall, which
still exists between US, the leader of the
workers, and the masses of the toilers of this
.ountry. as well smashing the yet existing
strong bourgeois illusions among the workers.
This~must be primary tasks in the eXamln-
ing of our election campaign.
Issues in the Campaign.
Due to the acuteness of the present eco
nomic crisis due to its permanent character,
the increase of unemployment, and the worsen-
ing of the standard of living of the American
workers, the prosperity talks of 1928 were en-
trely absent. The bosses know that the needs
of the hour require the of all kinds of
fake remedies instead of the repetition of the
old prosperity bunk. Unemployment was
therefore the major issue which the bosses
der to have control of the city administration,
which on one hand is used as means of in
come and the most important, used to crush
the resistance of the workers against the I'M
bearable conditions.
The bosses as clever politicians capitalized
the motion of the masses, which set into
through the activities of the Communist Party
in leading the workers in struggle against I'M
employment on March 9th as well as after
L. e ,I,xy
lily through his ability of utilizing this dis
who was elected as mayor, succeeded primar-
satisfaction of the workers and through all
kinds of fake promises of unemployed insur
ance as well as his promises of immediate
relief.
The whole movement around Murphy was
backed by the entire fascist machine of the
city of Detroit, beginning with auto manu-
facturers, American Legion, the Hearst inter-
ests, the ALL. and the leadership of the
socialist party 1t was primarily these fascist
elements under the leadership of the auto
bosses who desired to control the city admin
istraton in view of the wage cutting campaign
which is now sweeping through Detroit. De-
spite the open backing Of Murphy by all the
enemies of the workers. Murphy succeeded to
carry large working class vote through his
ability of raising demagogically the most
vital issues confronting the workers OF the
city OF Detroit as Unemployment, race ulScrlH-
ination and even police brutality. This could
be evident primarily by the fact, that
wherever we carried large number of votes,
Murphy overwhelmingly defeated his OPP
ponents.
Our Shortcomings.
1t is true that our Party during the cleo
tons has carried on vigorous agitatonal
campaign, raising correctly five major issues
confronting the workers: wage cuts, unem-
ployment insurance Negro equality, police
error, and the attack on the foreign born.
y, Unemployed Insurance was especially fea-
.ured, nevertheless we could not make an in
road into the workers of this city and bring
them under our leadership
The key to this question lies in the method
of our work. First our slogans, while they
were correct, have still remained the slogans
of the Party and not the slogans of the work.
ers. 1t was something handed to the workers
and not made the property of the workers of
our city, This was for the simple reason that
our slogans were still disconnected with the
every day life of the workers, and were not
dramatzed enough to convince the workers
that we are the leaders against unemployment
and wage cuts. Let US anayze point by point.
We raised the slogan of wage cuts, brought
concrete examples of wage cuts in the Briggs