The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-21
Building Cadres
in NY. District

LIE QutSllOIl Oh OePtlOpIlS CduIeS,
so often raised in important Party
and Comintern documents has re-
Gently been given serious attention
by the New York District. The dis
trict fully realizes that the develop
ment of cadres is not a mere
routine task, but rather one of para
mount political Importance. AS
Lenin pointed out, Without revo-
'lutionary theory, there can be no
revolutionary movement" These
words Of Lenin are of vital import
ance to us, especially in the pres
ent period. The developing of the
entire mass work of the Party in
the district undoubtedly depends
upon our ability to draw into mass
struggles ever broader and broad
er sections Of toilers, but our abil-
ity, to draw these masses into &C
ton depends upon our ability to
understand and react politically to
events affecting the lives and con-
ditions of the working class. 1t is
therefore apparent that the train
ing of cadres more and more as
sumes signal Importance. And
closely connected with the develop
ment Of cadres, in fact, an integral
part of the task, is the whole ques-
ton Of training the membership.
What has the district done in
the recent period to effect this
task? The first important step was
the organization and carrying thru
Of a full-time district training
school, November to December, 1882.
This school composed of % COM
rades Of the Party and Young Com
mur1ist League, with a few addi-
tionS sent In by the National Of
flee, was a successful achievement.
tt measured with, and even sur
passed, other schools Of similar
character conducted by the district
In the immediate past period.
A week after the commencement
Of the district training school, a
series Of section training schools
started. These schools conducted
on a section basis lasted for six
weeks and had a curriculum COM
prising the following subjects: Cor
ganization Principles" and "Ele-
rnents Of Marxisrn- LeninisIn." The
number of students allotted to each
section was thirty. Not every Sec
ton, however, had this number. The
schools were held one. night during
the week, and; the comrades at
tending we're excused from all other
Party work on that night. The
purpose Of these schools was to de-
velop comrades to be unit function
aries. AT the same time, classes
on Fundamentals of Communism
and for new members were estab-
lished. Also central district class
on Negro problems.
What did the district gain thru
these schools? AS previously stated,
the District Training School was a
success, This was proven by the
fact that through the school COM
'rades were developed to ill such
posts as section agit-prop directors,
section organizers of the YCL, IN
employed Council organizers, lead
ers of opposition groups, etc.
The results from the section
training schools, while not on the
same par, as those from the dis
trict, were not unfavorable. At this
time Of writing, the results are five
.functionaries from one section, a
similar number from another, and
two from third. One Short COM
ing of the section schools was the
failure of the schools to retain the
original number of comrades who
started the course. If the aggregate
results of the section schools are
considered, however, that is, the
clearer understanding of problems
which the comrades obtained, clar-
ification on many difficult ques-
tions, ETC., it could be stated that
the results gotten were favorable.
The extension of this work, which
Is mere beginning, is major task
facing the district. Already plans
have been adopted in this direction.
The section training schools are to
be continued with a new set of stu
dents, while other classes will be
established. The utmost effort will
be devoted toward the ask Of in
creasing the scope OF this work in
the present period.