The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-04-02
Build the Central School of
the Party
By A. MARKOFF.

THE recent events in the United States in
connection with the March unemployment
demonstrations, where over a million workers
responded to the call of the Party, prove two
things:
l. That the rehabilitation of the masses is
becoming widespread.
2. That the influence of the Party among
the masses of workers in the United States is
growing from day to day.
This fact places before the Party very i'm
pOrtant and urgent task, that of strengthen
ing its organization apparatus, developing
greater cadres of trained functionaries who
will be in position to give leadership to the
struggling masses. The gap between our or
ganizational weakness and the political nflu-
ence of the Party must be narrowed.
A number of articles in the Daily Worker
have dealt with this problem. 1t has been
correctly pointed out that the actual participa-
ton in the class struggle is the surest way of
developing the rank and file of the Party mem
bers. But we would be poor Lennists if we
disregarded or underestimate the Importance
of the theoretical training of our members and
the masses of workers outside of the Party
ranks. Theory and practice must go hand in
hand in Communist movement.
In number of districts, this question has
been partly solved by the existence of the Work
ers School. In New York the Workers School
registered great achievements. The phenomena!
growth of the school-60 students registered
in 1874, to 1900 students registered in the
Fall of 1929 is an indication of the urgent
need of this instrument in the class struggle.
Many district functonaries have been trained,
and hundreds of workers from the shops and
factories have received instructions in Com
munist theory.
The schools in Chicago, Cleveland Detroit,
Philadelphia, Boston and others, while much
smaller than the school of New York carried
on educational work among the masses. But on
a national basis very little has been done. The
activities of these schools have not been CO.
ordinated, each district school depending on
its own resources. This is serious shortcom-
ing. The educational work of our Party must
be centralized under the guidance and direction
of the Central School.
Many towns and smaller cities and particu.
larly the South have no educational facilities,
and the Party work suffers accordingly.
1t is therefore imperative for the Workers
School to begin Immediately to function on
national scale.
The program of action should be as follows
|. special department to be established
at the school which will have under it's juris-
diction the guidance and supervision of all
existing district schools. This department
should send comrades experienced in educa-
tional work in the Party to visit the district
school for the purpose of aiding them in over
coming some of their defects and shortcomings
2. The Central School is to aid the districts
in establishing schools or classes where such
do not exist. A school in the South must be
the first on the program. In places where for
lack of resident instructors it is not possible
to establish school, circuit courses are to
be organized. Each instructor must be assigned
certain territory which he or she is to cover
regularly The question of expenses can be
worked out jointly by the districts and the
Central School. minimum of two types Of
classes to be established in the circuit course
an elementary course for new MEMBERS and
an advanced class for Party functionares
3. Our problem does not end with the train
ing of our own members of even those workers
who attend our schools We must reach the
many hundreds and thousands who are unable
for one reason another to attend classes.
This can be accomplished by a home study
course.
Correspondence Courses.
This is one of the most effective means of
carrying Communist education to thousands
of homes. In the Soviet Union today, the C.P.
of S.U. is making tremendous progress thru
these home study courses. Our German Sister