The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-08-08
The International Congress OF
the Y. VI. c. A.

as the cheapest source of labor, as the instru-
ment for the lowering of the standard of the
whole working class, is of particular irnpor-
lance. A fuller note" must be struck around
the globe" to win the youth for the capitalist
attack against the Soviet Union 1t is for this
purpose that millions are spent for militariza-
ton OF the youth, for Citizens Military Train
ing Camps, fer developing war mindedness"
among the youth and children.
Not only in America, but the world over, these
capitalist controlled "Y's have tried with the
lure of gyms, bosses sports, swimming pools and
the idealistic dope of religion to win the youth
for capitalism. With this stock in trade the
YMCA alone has been able to increase its
membership which in 1917 came to 6746oo, to
1o34,019 in 1880. This represents no spectacu-
lar gain. The figures of the intervening years
shows a grinding increase from year to year,
with intermittent declines. The YMCA has
had to struggle in order to attain this figure
Within the membership of the YMCA itself the
young workers have shown their discomfort In
the West Side "Y" of New York City move
ment arose against the CNfTC and war Num-
berless times members of the YMCA have come
out on strike, resisting the efforts of the boss
controlled leadership Of the "Y" to stop them
YNTCA jim Crows Negroes.
The attempt to win the young Negro for CO.
operation with lynch law and discrimination
goes hand in hand with deliberate Installing of
race prejudice among the white young workers
and actual segregation of Negroes from the
white youth within the YMCA. The fact that
the YMCA served" 1888 plants with Jim-Crow
Negro "Y"s In 1929 while in 1885, 1874 plants
received the strike breaking, anti-union "serv-
ice" of million dollar "Y"s donated by the capt.
talists shows the degree of Importance at
taChed to the UyiOuinp of the vo,I,,o Naeyrc ~,
Jim-Crow basis "a order to break the unity of
the Negro and white youth =
We might ask the fascist and social-fascst
leaders of this bosses organization whether the
1924 young Negroes now in the YMCA can be
expected to join in the capitalist cry for the
blood of the nine Negro boys of Scottsboro!
They know that especially within the Negro
membership of the YMCA instances have been
felt showing the growing spirit of dissatisfaction
and discomfort with the Jim Grow, dscrinina-
ton, lynch-supporting policies of the YMCA
And that the white young workers in the YMCA
will join in this spirit with real working class
solidarity is seen by the spirit of support given
to the scottsboro case wherever "Y" members
have been approached
YMCA-Strikebreaker
To meet this growing spirit of struggle among
the young workers. special shop mill and fac
tory YMCAs are built The capitalists owning
the factories make large donations for the build
ing of such "Y's The very fact that the YMCA
served 3,757 shops in 1929, while the figure rose
to 1898 in 1880 points to the emphasis on the
industrial young worker.
These YMCAs are excellent weapons in the
hands Of the capitalists to mould anti Union
men and strikebreakers. When the dock work
ers OF Duluth struck for better conditions, It
was the YMCA which provided the strikebreak-
Ing scabs for the capitalist concern. During the
Colorado coal strike of 1928 the company YMCA
housed the scabs and had to set up barbed wire
around the building for protection" from the
striking miners In the New Bedford textile
strike, the YWCA, parallel organization to the
YMCA, forcibly evicted the girls who dared"
to strike for better conditions in the mills IN
deed it was not out of the purity Of her heart
that Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr., donated the
sum of $1,l02500 to the YWCA In one year
The young workers begin to see this role OF
the YMCA. With wage cuts, unemployment, and
part time work draining their life BLOOD the
young workers are showing even deeper dis