The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-04-24
PROBE HARLEM
JOBLESS COUNCIL
Drastic Correstions
Necessary
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE,


the executive committee or the
branch ever talks to these workers,
never asks them why they call, do
they desire to report an eviction or
a case of starvation, do they want to
join the branch. 60 The executive
committee talked specifically about
only one case of starving family
containing eight children. The
father, after a committee had visited
him on 134th ST., had come to the
branch headquarters, had joined the
branch, had never been seen again
since. After he had joined the
branch he asked what the branch
could do for his starving children.
The answer was, This is not a char
ity organization, we are a struggle
organization, we can do nothing i'm
mediately for your children" The
branch made no attempt to get re-
lief for his children from the city,
nor was an effort made to supply
these starving children with even a
single loaf of bread.
After the meeting I requested to
see the filled investigation blanks
which the Is comrades who went out
to visit house to house on 134th st.
had brought back. I found that 100
blanks had been filled. OF these 100
families Investigated, "a were report
ed getting some relief from charity
| organizations. Upon inquiry I
learned that these reports had been
in the hands of the branch ten days,
had never been studied, and the
branch had never sent a follow-up
committee to the homes of the "a
families reported without food, nor
had a meeting been held on bath
st. to arouse the entire neighborhood
for demands upon the city govern
ment in the name of these "a fami-
lies who were without food. The
branch executive committee did not
know that these "a cases of starva-
ton existed upon this street, but
members of the committee stated in
meeting that they could not go back
to bath st. because the workers were
slamming the doors in their faces,
saying that our committees we're only
interested in asking a lot of ques-
tions, and not in doing something for
the starving.
What are the lessons to be drawn
from this experience. % The dis
trict, after deciding to concentrate in
Harlem, did not supply additional
leading forces, failed to keep in touch
with the activities of the comrades
in that section, failed to give this
concentration point daily attention.
| The leading comrades in the unem-
ployed work in the district T.U.UL.
similarly failed. 90 The Party in
this section has failed to apply itself
to this mass work and has failed be-
cause it does not understand it and
has not been convinced of it's i'm
portance. 1t was reported to me that
out of 10 Party members in the sec
ton do not know what it is all about.
go For two months not single local
struggle has been carried on against
the city government for adequate re-
lief, against the reduction of relief,
lessening bread lines, discharge of
1000 workers employed during the
winter months by the Prosser char
ity. Nor has delegations of unem-
ployed workers even visited either
the city council or the board of esti-
mate in these two months with de-
mands. Therefore it becomes impos-
sible to link up the fight for food for
starving families with a sustained To-
cal struggle for relief and unemploy-
ment insurance. The Harlem COM
rades are failing to link up their ac-
tivities in behalf of the unemployed
with May Day by not indicating to
the unemployed workers that May
Day is as well day Of struggle for
food and unemployment insurance.
(4 insufficient participation in
unemployed activities by white COM
rades, allowing Negro comrades to
carry on the work almost alone,
thereby bringing about a division be-
tween Negro and white workers. go
Failure TO carry out the investigation
nF fot,1i1inc 1OHth CT n thu
clusion which the program stipulat-
ed, resulting in members Of the UNI
employed branch arriving at wrong
conclusions workers will not listen,
they are not yet hungry enough,
etc), and resulting as we'll in the loss
Of confidence of the families investi-
gated CD Bureaucracy in the
branch headquarters by failing to
talk to new workers who visit the
headquarters, who come to get adj
vice, give information, ask for as
sistnce.
CD Failure to study the filled In
vestigation blanks at once, to issue a
leaflet to the unemployed workers
and families on bath st. calling
their attention to the "a families
without food, calling all families on
bath ST. to meeting to discuss this
starvation situation and help plan
a struggle for food from the city. (8)
Failure to make some provision for
food for the starving family with
eight children, thereby losing the
confidence of the head of this family
who joined the branch.
Excepting for the one achievement,