The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-09-25

THE 18th Plenum sharper than ever before
! raised the question of recruiting new members
for the Party. Its resolution states In spite OF
growing mass influence, expressed in street &C
tions involving hundreds of thousands of work
ers. our organizations and especially the party
grow very, very slowly in membership. Espe-
cialv is this unsatisfactory condition in the field
of penetration of the big factories and in organ
national work" The directives of the Org Dept.
to the Pittsburgh District are worked on the
basis of the resolution and discussions at the
Plenum.
The Pittsburgh District during the strike has
recruited hundreds of new members. Practically
all of the units are new units set up from the
recruited members The following directives Of
the Org. Department are adapted to these cir
cunstances Some of the points may be profit
ably used in other districts where the conditions
are similar Org. Department c. c.
In those sections of our Party where there has
been mass influx Of new members, notably in
the Pittsburgh District, it is necessary for the
organization practices of the Party to be funda-
mentally changed. If the old organizational re-
gime of five and six page weekly organization
letters little or no personal leadership in the
sections lengthy orders of business divorced from
the immediate aspects Of the class struggle with
which the new members are familiar, continues
there is the greatest danger that the bulk Of
our new members will be lost. We give the fol-
lowing directives for our organization work in
the new units. These directives are not to be
applied mechanically. They are to be discussed
in the leading committees Of the district and
sections
y The practice of long weekly organization
letters from the districts to the sections, as well
as from the sections to the units should be dis
continued wherever possible.
o In place of the weekly organization letter
we shall arrange weekly conferences in each Sec
tons or where the territorial extent of the sec
ton makes necessary, subsection conferences.
These conferences shall be held early in the
week. before the weekly meeting nights Of the
units and shall b attended by all unit organ
izers The order Of business at these section con-
ferencea shall be as follows:
AZ Report of the section organizer covering
the most important tasks to be carried out by
the units during the coming week In the first
place, not more than two or three major tasks
shall be assigned to the units for the week and
shall be dealt with in this report. These tasks
must be explained in detail. Above all the re-
porter must be concrete and explain how these
tasks are to be carried out. At the same time
this report must serve as means for the politi-
cal education of the unit organizers; that is, we
must also explain in connection with each task
set the political implications of this task and
why it must be carried through by the units.
Example: Distribution Of leaflets in the election
campagn-here the reporter must explain not
only that these leaflets must be distributed, but
also this task must be the occasion for explain
ing why the Party participates in elections, how
it combines its parliamentary campaigns with
its mass campaigns, etc. etc.
b. Following the report, there shall be ques-
tons on unclear points by the unit organizers,