The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-11-23
PARTY LIFE
For Personal
Contact In
Our Activity
w CHARLES BLANK

~ our maSB 6SG6atICn2I 9CUlVIGdS&
we have gradually reached q
higher stage Of development, but in
carrying out egitational work by
personal contact we find that we
have hardly paid any attention to
this most important phase Of sgi-
tataon.
I learned the Importance OF per-
soral contact activities and the
lack OF carefully worked out meth
DDS Of doing 1t during several years
in factory which had more than
two hundred workers.
WORKERS AT THE JOB
During work time every worker
Is busy at his task. The work in
hand Is timed, the slower worker is
working harder and taking looks
at the faster worker to see how far
ahead that worker is from him.
The twelve o'clock bell rings. To
wash hands before the bell rings is
not allowed and from every side
Of the factory workers rush to the
wash rooms. Some eat their lunch
inside the factory and many go out
to eat. There is quiet in the fac
tory until 20 minutes to one. In
these 20 minutes is to be seen a
miniature picture of how men ball
ance their life. AS if, by COM
mand, the workers divide them
selves into groupings. All social
contrasts make themselves visible
in full Internationally, language,
color, sex, etc. The cultural back
grounds also come to the front.
Some remain to play ball outside,
others checkers, others carry on
discussions according to their polit-
ical and social development.
pUT there is also visible the silent,
~ observing worker. A personal
contact with these workers reveal
many who, though not actively
connected with the revolutionary
movement are yet critically watch
ing every step Of the Party and the
revolutionary movnent as a whole.
T made notes of a series of con-
versations with those workers in
dividually on various questions. I
am citing here the essential part
Of one Of them.
81 like to go to your big meet
ings. to your big demonstrations, to
your big picket lines, because I find
there life and warmth, but at your
small group meetings find myself
in another extreme-eyerything SO
rigid and mechanical, lacking flex-
Utility. You exercise great influ-
ence when you are in regimental
formation, but your influence is re-
duced to near zero when it comes
to individual contact. I once joined
one of your trade union groups. I
had influence among the workers
in my shop. I tried to be active
In the shop. Any activity that I
undertook 7 was in it with real
earnestness, but once committed
a serious tactical error I recog-
nised my error openly at meeting
before all the workers, but in the
group where I belonged I was al
ready looked upon as an outcast.
Instead of taking pains and in
vestigating the facts in the case to
find out the reasons that led to my
error / was simply informed by
one higher up that there we're sug-
geStiuns from individuals Of the
group to expel me from the or
ganiSation. 1t Is already about
nine months that did not come
to any meeting OF the group and
did not receive even one postcard
or have somebody TO come to see
me and ind out why I was away.
ATTENTION TO
INDIVIDUAL WORKERS
do you want to grow organiza-
tionally that waya I am very sorry
to tell you, you will not. Even now
I am agitating for and contributing
as much as I can to the move
ment. I love the movement, but I
cannot fit in organizationally."
"As to the press and literature,
I would like to say that I fully
agree with your way Of fighting
for the working class, but you are
all absorbed with the working class