The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-12-27

-WOrkerS school, Dec. y, 1881,
BY MOISSAYE j. OLGIN
WHILE the Hunger March is still
W in progress it is necessary to
say few words about its connec-
ton with the Workers School.
At first sight, the hunger march
ers represented a Heterogeneous
crowd. They had come from every
industry, from every section of the
country. They differed as to back
ground, previous experiences and
education. But as l became ac-
quainted with them, as / listened
to their conversations, l realized
that the Workers School was not
alien to them. In fact, many men
toned with great pride their study
ing at one or the other party
schools. Some of them had been
to district training school, some
hoped to become eligible for dist
riot training school. One of the
Negro comrades, seargent of the
late war with seven decorations,
among them Croix de Guerre,
was not at all proud of his military
accomplishments, but he told me
with great enthusiasm how he had
spent three weeks in a New Eng
land district training school. He
was assigned, he said, to collect
signatures for placing the Party
on the ballot. He went with an
other conrade, more experienced
in Party work. The citizens, when
approached for signature, asked
questions or offered criticism. The
experienced comrade replied, eX-
planning the policy and tactics of
the Communist Party. This prac-
tical work" said the comrade,
plus theoretical work in the dist
riot school gave me a foundation.
1 can speak now to workers.
can make myself useful for the
movement" There was CLEAN OF
pride in the eyes of this warrior,
veteran of the imperialist war
but a novice in the class war.
PROUD OF SCHOOL
Many more comrades mentioned
the Workers School with love, adj
niration and longing. Some
cherished the fond idea of being
sent to the National Training
School. Some emphasized the
amount of hard work necessary to
accomplish before one has quail
fed for the National Training
School.
The hunger march was a very
practical thing, a complete set of
actions, yet somehow it was not
separated from the Workers School.
The Workers School was connected
with the Hunger March, yet in an
other more organic way. And 1t
is this phase that deserves parti-
cular attention.
THE Hunger March, as I said,
1 consisted OF a heterogeneous
crowd. Many of the marchers were
inexperienced in the class struggle.
Most of them had been recruited
on the bread lines, in the flop
houses at block meetings. Many of
them had never held membership
in a working class organization.
Many were what we call in our
Party language a raw element"
They were proletarians; all of
them were out of work; most of
them resented their situation.
They had brought with them few
fundamental reactions. They had
a wholesome hatred of the bosses,
collectively and individually. They
had a salutary contempt and
hatred for the cops, also individu-
ally and collectively. They knew
that they had been selected to
represent their fellow workers in
a great cause. But they were raw.
They had known no real prole-
tartan discipline. They had not
understood clearly the meaning of
the workers demands. They had
no adequate conception of the class
division of society and of the class
struggle.
NOT YET LEADERS
Into this mass of proletarians
was injected number Of those
who had gone to Party school,
who had received Party training.
They could hardly be called lead
ers. They were rank and filters.
But then this is the situation of
the whole Communist section of
the working class. Everyone is
leader in relation of those less ex-
perienced and less class-conscious,
and rank and filler in relation
to those who have had a better
MarXiSt-Leninist training.
Who were those truck captains,
squad commanders, even division
commanders? They we're men and
women who, at one time or an
other, had a course in MarxiSm-
Leninism, who had gone to a Dist