The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-19
VIM Foster Stresses Winning Youth PreConventon Discussion
'Pdrty Must Become Youth Minded,
Wrest Youth From Fascist Influence"
Young Workers Will Not Us Spontaneously Party
Leader; We Must Mobilize Their Mtancy Revolutionary

youth in the economic and political
struggle. This underestimation
manifests itself in many ways,
among them the chronic and mex
Cusable neglect in very many in
stances to give life to the slogan
that for every Party nucleus there
shall be Y. G.. l.. nucleus; the
general failure to pay attention TO
youth activities in our trade unions
and other organizations, etc. II Is
characteristic that in the first
dozen articles Of the Party con-
vention discussion that I have read,
practically no mention whatever is
made Of the youth question, in spite
of the manifest appreciation in all
capitalist circles Of the importance
Of this question.
2. Flowing out this underestima-
ton Of the role Of the youth there
is naturally a failure to develop and
apply the special methods Of prop
uganda and organization necessary
to organize the youth. Usually, the
working class is just considered as
workers in general, although the
Comintern correctly considers the
problems Of the youth so specific
that 1t has created an international
organization and an ella borste pro-
gram with which to handle them.
3. Observation-Disclosures Of the
youth question: This means b81e
RELOCATION Of the youth question
simply to the Y. G. L., instead Of
considering it as it is, a ma ior Party
question in which every Party unit,
as well as the Y. c. L. should vitality
concern itself. This disastrous ten
dency practically liquidates youth
work in many Party organs.
4. SectarianiSm in the Y. G. L.:
This is a deep-rooted tendency in
the Y. G. L. to consider its problems
in an abstract and formal manner
AND to make the Y. C. L. a youth
duplicate of the Party instead of
broad mass organization. This
bad tendency partly originates in
the inexperience of young workers
in the class struggle, but its main
source arises from the tendency in
the Party to relegate the whole
youth question TO the Y. c. L. and
thus TO isolate it from the general
struggles of the Party.
These wrong tendencies must be
liquidated before serious work
among the working class and farmer
youth can be accomplished. The
Party must be educated as to the
true role of the youth in the class
struggle in this period of developing
fascism, war and proletarian rev.
olution. AS Roadway is made in
this work, then the question of
methods of youth work will take
on q live interest in the Party end
Y. G. L. and some real progress will
be made in applying G. I. and Y.
G. 1. decisions on these matters
The Party will then be brought to
a fuller realization that the or
ganization of the youth is major
Party task, just as much as the
building of the trade unions, the
organization of the Negroes, ETC.,
and that it is not simply the Job
Of the Y. G. L. Then also the Party
will keep the youth question to the
fore in all its mass activities. With
this as g fact, I am convinced that
much Of the sectarianism of the
Y. c. L. will disappear and it will
swiftly branch out into a wide or
ganization Of the youth and be-
come a powerful contingent in the
revolutionary forces led by the
Communist Party.
am glad the question of the
youth is one Of the orders of bust
ness at the coming Party conven-
ton. And I hope that advantage
will be taken Of the occasion to
develop, for the first time in our
Party conventions, q fundamental
discussion Of the youth question and
the development Of a comprehensive
program of youth activities for the
whole Party and all the revolu-
tionary organizations that follow
its political leadership. We must
pay more attention to the young
workers. We must quadruple our
efforts to win the working youth.
Our Party must become youth con-
scious, youth-minded Then our
progress will be greatly hastaned
for the winning of the broad deci-
sive masses Of the working class.