The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-06-05
PRE-CONVENTION DISCUSSION
The West and the Party Convention

increasing, armed forces growing, yet our anti
mlitarist work was confined to a leaflet to
the soldiers and sailors prior to the May Day
demonstration.
What has the West done about the special
problems in the West? Very little indeed. No
thing is said here about the general campaigns
Of the Party, since evaluation of the work in
the West hg been made by the Central Com
mittee in connection with the various specific
campaigns. But it should be clear that the
districts in the West with the aid of the Cen
trail Committee, must undertake broad cam
paigns on the special western problems indi-
Gated above.
The Great Desert
Between the Pacific Coast and Missouri are
many states where the Party has little nflu-
ence. The California District has not yet
penetrated Arizona Nevada nor New Mexico.
The Kansas District is too large to be handled
as one district. Just as the South is being
divided into number of districts, so must the
Kansas District be divided. And in sending
district organizers to these sections we must
not continue the policy of sending relatively
inexperienced comrades to open up new ter
ritory. This difficult work must be assigned
to the most capable organizers.
Special Needs of the West.
1. The West needs capable Spanish speak
ing organizers The burden of their develop
ment must fall largely on the western districts
themselves. But the Center should arrange
regular national trips to the West by leading
Spanish speaking organizers. 2. The West
needs the Party paper in Spanish to be pub
hshed in the West, if possible 8. The Weekly
Worker for the West must be started as quick
ly as possible. The proposal for such paper
made by the California District Committee has
been approved by the Central Committee and
preparatory steps are being taken. A. National
tours of leading comrades in all phases of
Party work must extend beyond Chicago. While
it is true that the long hauls beyond Chicago
involve increased expense, yet it is not healthy
that we must wait for presidential election
years to have leading comrade come to the
Coast.
The West faces the Party Convention with
the Imperial Valley criminal syndicalsm trial
now going on with twelve comrades facing II
years imprisonment each for activity among
the agricultural workers of the Imperial Val
ley; with increased persecution against the
Party on the Coast but notwithstanding, with
the Party making the turn to the factories, be-
ginning to concentrate on the building of shop
nuclei, the issuing of shop papers and the
building of the Trade Union Unity League.
A National Point of View.
Any tendency toward sectionalism, putting
forward local considerations at the expense of
the Party as a whole, would be wrong. Out
in the West, far away from the Center, sec
tonalism develops, especially when the strug-
gle sharpens and when the comrades feel the
need of support from elsewhere. There has
developed at times, especially in Los Angeles,
a tendency to make exorbitant demands on
the Center for forces and financial support.
But on the other hand, certain steps remain
to be taken to weave the West into the ma
tional pattern 1. Instead of circular leader
ship there must be more personal leadership
through tours by leading comrades of the
Party and TU.U.L. 2. Arrangements must be
made to permit all districts in the West to
have their Representative at Plenums of the
Central Committee lin April the Seattle dis
trict organizer could not attend due to lack of
money!. s. The work on the Pacific Coast must
be coordinated by the Central Committee
through special campaigns and conferences.
4. The Central Committee must make an ana
lysis of the West, similar to that made for the
South
These organizatonal proposals, if carried
out, will help bring the West closer to the
Party Center and will insure the carrying
through of the Party line throughout the West.