The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-10-13
PRE-PLENUM DISCUSSION
Young Communist League, U.S.A.
Are We to Win the Proletarian Children?

should utilize all this influence to build real
children's movement, and not allow ourselves
to continue on the old perspective of small,
sectarian groups.
1t can readily be seen, that in order to bring
about this basic change in our children's or
ganization, there must be a drastic reorganiza-
ton of the present leadership of our children's
movement Until now, the task of leading the
children was considered by the Party entirely
in the hands of the Y.C.L. This continued to
the extent that the Party was hardly aware
and conscious Of the situation that constantly
existed. There is no denying that the Party
always recognized the need for the organiza-
ton of the children, but it never thought of
the need of assisting directly in the leadership
of the childrens movement. Now the matter
is clear, without broad leadership of adults,
besides the YOUTH there cannot be the pos
sibility of Transforming our organization into
mass movement. Until now, even the vel.
very badly neglected the leadership of the
children. This was manifested in most cases
by the fact that some of the politically weak
est and raw elements, were assigned for this
work, usually of a poor social composition.
Instead of realizing the Importance of its task
and getting young, capable proletarians to lead
in this work, the League in most cases gave
some of the weakest and poorest comrades. If
such an attitude on the part OF the Party and
League will continue, we can never recognize
our children's movement. If we eve to intro
duce these new methods and activities we will
have to utilize all of the comrades in the Party,
League, and among the sympathetic elements
to assist in these tasks. We must get the
mass organizations of the Party to organize
the children with leadership for them from
among their membership. We must involve as
aI1,14 re hot hov oh
ity, in the preparing of material and the lead
ing of the groups both directly and indirectly,
through committees to be formed in the dis
tricts and the sections throughout the country.
just as the Boy Scouts and other bourgeois
organizations Of children, utilize doctors, en-
gineers, military officers, etc., to help them
in their work. we must reach all class cons
cious, sympathetic individuals and get them
to cooperate in the building of our Revolutionary
childrens Organization.
The crying need for the cooperation of the
parents of our children is most clearly seen
when we note the attacks of the capitalists
upon our children's movement. Regardless of
how small and sectarian we have been until
now, such men as Fish and his investigating
committee are very conscious of how effective
we may become Such examples as the attacks
on the children's camps in Van Etten, NJ Y,
Detroit and California, are examples of how
the bosses appreciate" our organization. The
sentencing and the Imprisonment of Harry
Eisman for 5H years for his brave and con-
sistent militancy as Pioneer could never have
occurred if the Party and the movement as a
whole, realized the Importance of helping in
the building of a strong children's movement.
The job now is to find out whether or not
the Party and it's mass organizations will CO.
operate in the building and development of our
childrens movement. If we understand the i'm