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


ST various conferences of the Communist Party
a and the Young Communist League, at which
the tasks and perspectives OF the Communist
movement in Washington, D. c., were taken up,
it was definitely established that the most i'm
portant field Of revolutionary activity among the
100000 residents at the political stage of Wall
Streets country is its Negro population.
One-third Of the population of washington,
D. c., is a group which, in addition to the gen.
eral working class pgCbms, has its own special
grievances and specific tasks to perform. The
Negro workers here, as elsewhere in the United
States, are the poorest paid, the most vicioUsly
oppressed and doWn-trodden section of the
prolatariat.
While more than 60 per cent of the Negro
POPULATION in Washington are engaged in cle--
ical cccupations-this circumstance causing them
to be corrupted in spite of low wages and bad
conditions with many petty bourgeois notions
and asprations-the bulk of the Negro popula-
ton exist in the dircst need and misery Those
few who can find employment are forced to slave
at so cents a day in many cases. Unemploy-
nlent has also struck the Negro w0- lers hardest.
Moreover, Negro workers are forcol to live in
dilapdated, damp, rheumatism and consump-
ton breeding novels, for which they are made
to pay outrageously high rents. They are
barre from restaurants, theatres, movie houses
barber shops, etc. BY constant discrimination
and insult the bosses seek to have them under
sand that they are merely dirty niggers" who
Lust keep in their place
From this it can be seen WIZ objective con-
Gitions exist for the building OF a 2.-o-g revolu-
tionary Increment at the capl.2l e tie chief
imperialist country--a capital vl2.cA, -lo-eovc-,
is on the border line Of the South.
Lack of Real Accomplishment.
IN
point out whas been and has not been cone, it is
necessary to attempt to settle for the "oroad-
minded, PRACTICAL comrades the "sagacious"
questions which they ask whenever the lack of
any real accomplishment in the Negro field is
pointed out Lock at the other cities-no more
was accomplished there" they cry. First, this
is a misstatement for anyone reading the Daily
Worker, or even the capitalist press alone, ought
to know Of the courageous struggles for Negro
rights which the Communist Party and the
Young Communist League have developed and
ere leading in other cities-notably in Chicago
C2condy, it is very easy and comfortable Cfor
Communists" who are not true Bolshevils) to
Point to the units which, for whatever reason
are weak and lack accomplishments, and copy
them.
Those comrades who in the heat of passion
say that nothing was done in Negro work in
washington are Dauly GAaBSeTdIlIlS oOlue
work has been done, but the recu1ts are far too
neager The failure to push this work can be
seen today in the fact that only two Negro mem
hers remain in the Communist Party and an
other two in the Young Communist League
White Chauvinism Rampant.
Another result of the failure to push our Ne
gro work is that white chauvinism is again show
ing its obnoxious head in the auxiliary organiza-
tons and, to our great shame even in the Com
munist Party and the Young Communist League
few Of the unfortunately many proofs of this
will suffice
1t is matter of established fact that the In
tsrnational Workers Order, the Cooperative,
Camp Nitgedaiget, the Mothers League, etc. are
rampant with white chauvinism. Very few Ne
gro workers are coming to the camp, because,
until lately, the tact policy was to keep Negro
workers out of the camp. Even Party members
dared to defend this vicious bourgeois policy for
purely business" reasonsl And even today the
few Negro workers who do visit the camp are
made to feel out of place, are snubbed by the
petty bourgeois elements. The Party fraction in