The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-05-20
The Meaning OF 1900 Commun-
list Votes in Los Angeles

4A%S ~ w. 49, -
Editors Note:-This article on the very
significant primary election in Los Angeles, in
which 1900 votes were cast for the COmmun-
Est candidate, deserves special attention. Not
only does this vote show the huge possibilities
developing before the Party everywhere, but
the practical experiences involved will help our
workers in the field in other places 10 better
guide their work.
BY EVA LEDER
OVER 1900 votes have been cast for Conrade
U Sander the candidate for the Communist
Party for Board of Education in the primary
elections in Los Angeles, on May 5.
This is a great vote for Communist can
didate in city as Los Angeles, where the police
persecution and terror against the revolutionary
working class, and especially its leader the Com
munist Party, is so great, The c. P. was not
able to hold one election campaign meeting,
without the police and the Red Squad breaking
it up. arresting and beating up our speakers and
the candidates.
Now after the primary ELECTIONS are over,
with the candidate of the c, P. getting 1871
votes, the question of what this vote means to
our Party and the workers of Los Angeles is
being hotly discussed among our own comrades
and workers generally.
Fake mo Party" System.
Los Angeles is a city of mo party politics"
1t means that on the ballot there are no
party candidates but independents" supported
and endorsed by various parties and various
groups of capitalists,
This mo party system of course, is one OF
the greatest pieces of hypocrisy and demagogy
on the part of the Los Angeles bosses, and is
intended to mislead the working class voter,
not to give a political expression to the workers
vote. on clear party basis embodying a crys-
taIlized division on class lines. The boss class
of Los Angeles has actually abolished, not the
two party system, which would not be bad
thing but the party system as such, and has
substituted the Los Angeles Chamber of Com
merce for both-the Republican and the Demo-
cratic party. But it does not say so openly.
In the election campaign, therefore, such fake
slogans as keep the schools out of politics, etc.
are being raised, just as if the Chamber OF
Commerce (who nominates and elects its own
candidates., would not be the real boss party,
the interests of the boss class in
the city
Sander Vote-Largely Vote for c. P. Platform
For the workers after the present primary
elections this state of affairs is of Importance
and is causing some brain racking': were the
l5I91 votes cast for the C. P. candidate with
emphasis on the C. P) were they casual
votes? Many comrades think that this vote is OF
no significance whatsoever. THE voters, they
saw. did not vote Communist; they voted for
a name" They say more: III" they add, I'VE
would have had the hammer and sickle on the
ballot and over 1900 votes would have been
cast for that we would know that it was Com
munist vote, but as it was-who knows?"
OF course, we agree that if the hammer and
sickle we're on the ballot it would be easier to
ric4 trot
the fact that the hammer and sickle were not
on the ballot does not mean, however that the
vote was not Communist and "of no significance
at all"
For after all it must be understood that all
other candidates that ram we're boss candidates
and had plenty of publicity. The voter knew
their names pretty well And If this is the case,
why should the voters coming to the polls, vote
casually" for Sandler?-Why not vote for the
names that stared them in the eyes the whole
time of the election campaign, the names the
voter heard over the radio, but for Sander?
still we can't say that the whole 1871 votes
were conscious Communist votes.
First of all our campaign was not developed
broadly enough 1t is true we distributed 10000
leaflets and on the whole-good leaflets.
We had some open air meetings, even though
broken up by the police; some shop gate meet
ings. But the work generally was started too
late, not systematic, not the necessary enthusi-
asm on the part of the Party membership, and
it is pretty hard to say that our campaign work
can be responsible for the 1871 votes for COM
rade Sander.
We must account for some casual votes, OF
some not too informed voters, who voted Tor
Sander, and would not have done so II the
hammer and sickle were on the ballot-near
Sanders name This category of the vote is very
small very limited.
Shulem Vote-Factors to be Considered
Another point is raised: our candidate, Com
rade Shulem, in District No g. did not get
more than 200 votes. This shows that the vote
for Sander was not vote for Candidate of
the Communist Party"
This reflects not on the Sander vote, as those
comrades want to impress us, but something
else Our campaign in District No was totally
not developed Whereas the Roosevelt High.
school situation with comrade Sander coming
to the Board of Education, putting up fight
there, and at other meetings speaking to the
workers, facing the workers, to be sure, not as
much as necessary, but to certain extent, made