The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-03-30
Develop the League Into An
Organization OF Struggle

activity? Is it the failure of the League to par
ticipate in this work? In some places such as
New York, yes, but in most places, no. The
League has been very active in the unemployed
work. but we find that it was only active in the
general work League comrades led demonStra-
TONS were head of councils, did the every day
work. but what was wrong? They did nothing
to develop struggle around the special demands
of the youth. They did nothing to develop spe-
cial forms of youth activity That is why the
young workers did not respond in such large
numbers to our demonstrations of Feb. 10th and
Feb 25th
In all of our unions we find complete under
estimation of youth demands and forms of work.
The young organizers are not permitted to do
youth work, but are forced to become dues COL
lectorS and general technical workers in the
union. The comrades in the textile union de-
veloped the viewpoint that First build the union,
and then worry about the youth demands" In
none of the important industries such as coal,
metal or textile, have we developed real youth
programs based on the needs of the youth.
The failure to learn the special needs of the
young workers and to crystalline these into slo-
gans of action, shows itself practically in line
of least resistance. The youth organizers would
sooner do the general work, than learn how to
work among the youth, The Party must help
the League to correct this basic shortcoming.
The Party must be the leader in fighting these
tendencies which negate the role Of the youth
in the class struggle.
In most districts this is not the case. The
Party in most districts does not consider youth
work of Importance. Instead of demanding re-
suits from the League comrades in their work
among the youth, the Party gives these COM
rades general work This does not mean that
we mechanically separate youth work from adult
work. 1t means that we demand that League
comrades place the majority of their time on
winning the young workers. The Party and
League must raise the slogan, 'All youth cadres
for work among the League"
A few examples:
In New Haven the Party which has more than
$50 members needed Negro director. The Party
felt there was no comrade who could handle the
work. Instead of putting in new comrade and
developing him in the work, they made the
League District Organizer, the Negro Director of
the Party. This shows an underestimation of
Negro work. failure to understand how to de-
velop new forces, and an underestimation Of
youth work. Although the above was mistake
on the part of the Party, it was double mis-
take on the part of our League conlrade who
agreed with this act.
In Philadelphia the Party uses the League
leadership as a sort of shock troop" to fill
every vacancy the Party has, at the expense of
the League and the Development Of new forces
in the Party. In California, a comrade sent to
the Agricultural region for youth work is made
the general organizer. In the Pittsburgh dis
trict all youth comrades do mainly general work,
and in most other districts the same is true
This situation must be changed. The respon-
sibility for the change rests on the League The
Party must help the League to struggle against
all these wrong tendencies, by forcing the League
comrades to build the League, and win the youth
for the unions. Only by the development of the
partial youth demands can we organize the
youth for the revolutionary unions and for
struggle. In this way we can basically smash
the sectarian isolation of the League and begin
to build it into a mass youth organization.