The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-02-25
THE LENIN RECRUITING
DRIVE--A TEST

come in month by month means refusal to
carry a recruiting drive at all, means failure
to meet the test now placed upon the Party.
certain pasSivity, a certain failure so far to
begin energetcally to push the recruiting of new
members Systematically must be noted in the
district Ali sections and units must combat
these Sectarian tendencies.
Especially in the relation to planned work is
a certain Journalism, a certain sectarian ten
dency to be nsted. The section committees it
is true have plans of work which are good.
But these plans of work are merely aids which
enable us to carry on MASS WORK systematic
ally and regularly. These plans cannot be sub
stituted for mass work. The Party is just learn
ing to walk as far as its connections with the
masses is concerned. Good beginnings have been
made for example with regard to contacts in
the A. F. of L. unions But these are only be-
gnnings and must be theoretically pushed to
the next stage of organizatonal strengthening if
our gains are to be even held. Our Party is not
a Party which pours out plans as a substitute
for mass work. We must fight any tendency
toward dissatisfaction that every section and
unit has a three months plan of work. The plans
of work must not take the place of the old
lengthy resolutions as paper records, as buro-
cratic, narrow substitutes for mass work. This
plans must not be drawn up and then forgot
ten Our Party, thru all its campaigns and
struggle. We must thru our mass work breathe
life and blood into our plans, carrying them
out in action
An example of this narrow burocratic method
of carrying out plans, which should be real
danger signal to the whole Party occurred in
Minneapolis. The Minneapolis section commit
tee has model plan of work. An important
part of this work is the struggle against social
fascism, the FLP-AFL machine and Trotzkyism.
And yet, the Trotzkysts in special election held
in the first ward, in Minneapolis, ran candi-
date in this election, posing as Communists"
and in the name of the Communist International,
while the Minneapolis section committee did not
even know that an election was held in this
ward until four days before the election took
place, when it was too late to put up Com
munist candidate and we were forced to write
in the Party candidates name. -Four days be-
fore the election, the district office learned of
the election from the ST. Paul section committee
members, even the Party has members living
in the first ward in Minneapolis and has
unit concentrating" in this section Of the city
This method of fighting" social-fascism must
be taken to heart as a lesson by the entire dis
trict brro as well as the Minneapolis section COM
nittee 1t serves to show the lack of political
alertnesS and connection with the masses, IN
spite of model plans. The results OF the Lenln
Recruiting Drive which has not yet really
started in District Nine, will serve as a test of
whether or not the Party is seriously carrying
its blans into the life of the working class.
We are still only beginning to center our strug-
gle around the local. concrete issues and every
day demands and needs Of the workers.
In the present recruiting drive, work thru the
fractions assumes Importance, since it is the
fractions that are in closest touch with the non
Party masses. The cooperative fraction Of dis
trict nine has set itself quota Of 200 new
members among the left wing cooperatiyes. To
achieve this quota would undoubtedly strike
a serious political blow to the Halonen-Love-
stoneites The getting into the Party OF those
Finnish proletarian and poor farming elements
who support the left wing cooperative movement
is particularly important The work among the
Finnish workers and poor farmers must not be
underestimate. At the same time, the section
committees and units must give foremost at
tention to the concentration points, which look
toward lettering the composition of the Party
by the addition Of non-Finnish workers The I'M
employed council fractions of the Twin Cities
have already begun the work Of recruiting new
members.
The Lenin Recruiting Drive, the achievement
of 1900 dues paying members by the end of the
drive will be test for the Party in plunging
deeper into the mass work. The District Buro
District g. challenges Detroit District and guar
antees to have higher dues payment at the
end of the recruiting drive than the Detroit
district.