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

WHAT is to be done in order to eliminate all
W the numerous weaknesses and shortcomings
Of our revolutionary trade unions and to @arls-
form them into real mass organizations?
Reorganization on a Shop Basis.
Beginning with the First Congress of the Red
International of DOR Unions and ending with
the recent Fifth Congress, all the authoritative
decisions speak CT the necessity of penetrating
into the shops, of shifting the center of gravity
of the daily work of the unions into the shops,
of transforming each factory, each mill, into
revolutionary fortress.
The Fifth Congress of the Profintern imposed
on all the sections the duty to turn their faces
to the factory, to rapidly reorganize themselves
on the shop basis. The transferring of the daily
work to the factories, to penetrate in the first
place the large plants the organization there
of factory groups the formation of factory COM
mittees in spite of all the difficulties connected
with this work, this is the key to the successful
creasing tasks of defense work. This increase
cannot come out of the Party membership The
Party membership is more and more unen1-
ployed, and at the same time there are more
and more demands on the Party, on the mem
bers, for every phase of our activity. You can
not get out of our ten thousand Party member
dollars for defense work, This can only be done
by building up a mass organization. In this
respect, think the Labor Defender is the most
successful phase of lid work Here we have
substantial basis for a mass organ. We have
not begun to exploit the possibilities for it,
Just a few words about the question of law
yers. think that we are going through a GER
tain. process now in the development of our
legal practices, with, on the one hand, lots OF
lawyers that we used to be able to get easily for
our cases, who no longer will have anything to
do with us. They are moving rapidly away from
us. But on the other hand, certain lawyers,
much smaller number, but almost everywhere
we find few who come closer to us, closer
politically, who are much more reliable in put
ting through our line in the conduct of cases,
and also closer to us in that we get more free
work out of them They are ready to sacrifice
more in order to take on our work. And this
is very important, that we should develop these
because these lawyers are very valuable to u.s.
And while we are getting away from depen-
dence upon lawyers, it is q very good develop
ment that we have to work towards more
efficient systematic and conscious use of law
yers that we can depend upon and whom we can
get without big fees and even without any fees
at all. This will be great help in solving some
of the financial problems of the LID In the
past, a large proportion Of LID funds has gone
for legal expenses 1t is possible for us to give
better legal services than we did before, with a
fraction of the cost think we must emphasize
that side of the work of the LID also.
In my opinion it is necessary to have not a
new document for general Party discussion. but
the working out of a few simple directives on
what has to be done. And for the masses, let's
work it out in the Labor Defender on the basis
Of our cases, and in the Daily Worker in the
news items and editorials, in which by force Of
example we impress the policy that we want on
the entire movement. This, in my opinion, is
the only way we are going to make this turn
in defense policy and all proposals of discus
sion in units, etc.--well, we can have them, but
if this is done mechanically, they will fail and
to a certain extent they will arouse criticism
and opposition to the work CT the lid But if
it Is done by example, by articles dealing with
the current struggle, then it will take effect
without resistance and then perhaps a few
months from a discussion can really be
ganized, because then the movement will really
take hold