The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-10-21


families from the relief rolls. On Sept
last Red Cross baskets. Relief pre-
cinct workers have been instructed
to drop scores of cases in their ter
ritory, using their own Judgment as
to which cases these should be.
Wholesale evictions are taking place.
Relief is being drsstically cut. Home
relief is coming to an end. Work
relief at low rates Of pay and for a
totally inadequate number of hours
is taking its place.
In the face if this situation why
has the unemployed work of the
Party so seriously slumped in the
New York district-and in other dis
tricts? The reasons are many.
1. The propaganda Of the New
Deal" and of NR.A. has affected a
section of the Party membership. In
the beginning, even some leading To-
cal comrades believed that the pro-
visions of the recovery act were such
that we would not be able to oppose
it. The analysis of the Party seemed
to clear them up-but not for long.
In the Bronx, conrade is waiting
for the new Party line" This COM
rade believes that the Open Letter
does not meet the situation. But the
Open Letter is just the answer to
the N.R.A.-and no new line" is
needed. What applied when the
Omen Letter was written applies now,
nth even greater vigor.
Opportunistic Analysis
Certain workers temporarily have
had their wages increased, some new
workers have received jobs. Some
comrades have come to the conclu-
sion that capitalism therefore is on
the upgrade once more-that unern-
ployment is back issue. A new
early crash and rapidly mounting
cost of living will follow, sharpening
the situation as never before. The
analysis of the comrades is Oppor-
tunistic and is keeping the Party
from grasping the situation and
meeting its tasks. The District has
a big job ahead in clarifying the
membership, for without this the
work on no field will go forward.
2. The Open Letter has been ap-
piled in a one-sided manner. The
Open Letter correctly declares, as did
the 18th Plenum Resolution of the
Central Committee two years ago,
that the main channel of the Party
work is shop and trade union work.
The Open Letter, however, also lays
down as basic task the 0rganiza-
ton Of the unemployed and vigor-
Gus fight for relief and unemploy-
ment insurance.
The Party in New York has swung
into shop work, leading many strike
struggles, struggles against the at
tempts to stop the activities of the
revo ionary unions (Whalen and
the COURTS etc. The task of organ
izing and leading the struggles of the
unemployed, on the other hand, has
fallen into a slump, in spite OF the
recognition that mass unemployment
is a permanent phenomenon at this
stage of capitalism.
Shop work and the building Of the
Industrial unions together with
building the left oppositions in the
reformists unions must go hand in
hand with the building OF the I'm
employed Councils and leading joint
struggles. The unemployed have been
on the picket lines, aiding the shop
workers in their struggles. With the
sagging of the unemployed work,
strike breaking automatically in .
creases, SO that the strike struggles
are endangered.
3. There is open disbelief that Un-
employment and Social Insurance
can be won. There is the idea that
unemployment insurance is only an
agitatiOnal slogan, or, as one COM
rade states, something to worry the
capitalist with at times" If in 20
states during the past winter I'M
employment insurance bills were in
troduced; if Roosevelt admits that
millions will never return to work;
if the predictions of johnson, Green
and Roosevelt that 100000 would
return by Labor Day have not ma
terialized; and if the figures OF pro-
duction and consumption show that
the line is downward, then 1t Is clear
that there is not only the need of
unemployment insurance, but the
necessity of mObilizing all forces to
struggle for the Workers Unemploy-
ment Insurance Bill. This is lacking
in the New York District.
These are the main political issues
hampering the development of our
unemployed work and not only in
New York. Now as to our methods
of work.
4. Bureaucracy is widespread in
the unemployed movement in New
York. There is direct appointment
and removals of Unemployed Council
functionaries by the Party Commit
tees. These functionaries are re-
sponsible not to the masses but to
the Party Committees. AS result
we witness the following:
al The leading functionaries warm
the seats In the headquarters wait
ing for cases." and giving directions
and orders, instead Of being in the
neighborhoods, helping the less de-
veloped comrades in the work, and
themselves canvassing, organizing,
leading the workers in the neighbor-
hood struggles.
b. This brings about an isolation
of the leaders from the struggle, and,
because of the inexperience of the
other comrades, isolation of the I'm