The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-06-25
Stop This Snobbery!

"Comrade Jorge:-The other day you pub
lisled letter and headed your comment:
Don't Discourage Non-Party Comrades You
said that Party snobbery was doing a lot to
cripple the movement. You have hit upon
very sore spot. Certainly there must be de-
gree of reserve towards new sy1npathizers and
Woud-be members. Very rarely. and with
sense of discrimination-Jorge). But what we
run up against is a barbed wire fence.
Not only is the revolution the property of
the Party, but just you try to get look in on
it'll 1 personally know of four intelligent and
sincere young workers who did their derndest
to work as sympathizers. They joined the John
Reed Club, but after six weeks or so they quit,
absolutely frozen out. All that time, no one
has spoken word to them. CThe Club with all
its virtues, is a poor example, comrade-Jorge).
"A relative of mine and his wife are active
and earnest Party members. They we're more
eager to keep us out of the work than get us
into it. How do you mean 'earnest?'-Jorge).
But 1 could not resist the force of conviction.
I read Lenin, I read the Daily Worker, and my
heart went right out to Communism I joined
the School two terms ago. still there, and
gave all 1 could to the Daily, the School, the
LID 1 ran into this relative at one of the
meetings. then realized that 1 had made a
grave social error; I had not asked his per-
mission before joining the School, GA nice
Communist, this elativel-Jorge).
Party members, if they condescend To talk
TO YOU seem to watch every word .ou say in
order to catch you in errors and make you
feel that you will never be correct. Yet in
my case, I usually found the Daily Worker
express the same opinions that had formed.
1--WE express them again right here in this
case, comrade-Jorge)
"A young woman, a machine operator who
does daily Party work among her fellow work.
ers at the risk of her job almost wept when z
also woman, had friendly talk with her, beL
cause, she said: Nobody ever talks to each othA
at the school or at meetings.
Communism must be protected from takers
and faddists, 1 know. Strangers must not be too
readily accepted Yet intelligent workers anx-
GUS to work for the Party and realizing its
risks and dangers, should not find themselves
in an ice-box If the Party members keep this
up, they will find that they are propagandizing
only themselves. There is nowhere warm and
friendly hand.
Communism is a bitter, agonizing struggle.
1 know that matter of life and death and
not of polite grinning and glad hands. But the
potential force of the personal element should
not be wasted by Party members, should be
utilized to draw work and money from us when
we have it,. When people become white hot.
longing to be used for the advancement Of the
revolution, and they find no possible inlet to
the work-a question mark is all that can ex-
press their feelings.-Kay ESs."
We don't have to add anything to this, except
our thorough agreement and the observation
that this awful disease is more noticeable in
New York than elsewhere Out of town COM
rades should get vaccinated before transferring
here. Also, would Comrade Kay Ess please
drop around and see us?