The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-04-25
How to Organize May Day Dem
monstrations and Meetings

outside edge Of the demonstration to maintain
discipline at the fringe, to break up social gath
erings and to be the first line against an attack;
and third division whose members are as
signed to the individual organizations, and are
therefore dist ----u through the meeting
Literature sale must be organized, preferably
in connection with the individual organizations.
Speakers should refer frequently to the Daily
Worker and to other literature that is being sold.
Indoor Meetings.
An indoor meeting must also be ruled by the
same feeling of organization and discipline.
Workers should not come as individuals but
should march in with their organization led by
banners, after q preliminary mobilization.
The hall should be decorated with every kind
of revolutionary sign poster and slogan, special
" prominent streamers in red and white letter.
ing carrying the main slogans Of May Day.
An indoor meeting should have only one main
speaker, and not too many others. It is abso-
lutey wrong to tire out the workers with speak
err after speaker. The main speaker may pos
sibly speak as long as an hour, but generally not
longer three or four other speakers about ten
minutes each. There should be number Of
speeches Of revolutionary greetings by workers
from the shops, not more than three minutes
each. Three hours should be the absolute maxi
mum for the whole meeting, and 1t is neces-
sary to emphasize, it should start strictly on
time
The whole plan of the meeting, length of time
Of speakers. etc, must be carefully worked out
beforehand, and must be closely adhered to by
the chairman Above all the chairman himself
should see to it that he doesn't become the
worst offender by talking for half-hour be-
tween each speaker. All speakers must be kept
closely to time.
An indoor meeting should have cultural pro-
gram; mass singing Gin English, musical selec-
tons, tableaus playlets, or pagesnts, but all dis
tinctly of a revolutionary. working class charac-
ter.
Absolute order must be maintained through
out the meeting. Ushers must be trained and
instructed beforehand to allow no one to stand
around anywhere in the hall. to allow no walk
ing around, changing of seats talking. or worst
of all, any social gatherings i'll the back. Such
scenes OF disorder disgust the workers, who lose
all respect for any organization that does not
maintain order at its own gatherings,
Members of the Workers Defense Corps are
distributed outside the hall inside near the
exits, and the rest generally through the hall at
the ends of rows.
Admission should be charged to indoor meet
ings. In addition, a collection should be taken,
generally before the talk of the main speaker
Sohu aHSo lndhl44S NbcSblOu SpSsCilSS often seem
to think that the amount Of the collection de-
ponds upon the length and imprisoned eharac-
ter Of their appeal. This is not So Workers
know that organization costs money and arc
willing to do their share financially as much as
they can. Collection speeches should be short,
the collection should be taken up in a rapid
and orderly manner by collectors who have pre-
ytously been assigned to their sections, and the
collection should not be turned into q period
OF general chaos from which it is tremendous
task to re-estabiish order.
The meeting should start and adiourr with
the singing of the International