The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-08

BrOwder Discusses
Ways Of Helping
Recruiting Drive

IF we ask why We have no more
1 Party members, comrades say they
are too busy to recruit. This is q
vicious circle we have to break
through It is true that comrades
have more tasks than they can
handle. We have to get more COM
rades to do these tasks. This means
more recruitment. There will be no
step forward until we double our
Party membership. have found in
most cases that slowness to recruit
is due to a wrong approach to re-
cruitment. Comrades think that new
members must already be good Boil
Sheviks, able to quote from the
theses Of the Thirteenth Plenum
and the National Convention. etc.
That is not true. Any good worker
in a shop who follows our lead is
material to be brought into the
Party, especially if he is young and
energetis and can be put to work.
You can give him all the education
he needs in the Party. He will get it
through his own searching and de-
sire to learn even if you neglect him.
once he is in the Party.
I have found in most places that
wherever we have a fraction that
leads struggles, there are always four
or five times as many members not
in the Party as in the Party, who
could be brought in simply by ask
ing them to join, Nobody asks them
to join; and after while they think
that all they have to do is to be
sympathizers and follow the leader
ship Of the Party. But this leader
ship never gives them the line to
come into the Party. We have to
make a decisive campaign of re-
cruiting in the industries. That would
require developing the activity of
shop groups and fractions. If there
is not the possibility of immediate
recruitment, this is because of the
lack of political education carried
on among the workers. BY this poll
tical education we don't mean just
courses and schools. We mean bring
ing the political issues into the
unions. We don't mean bringing in
issues that don't belong in the
union. We mean bringing in the
broader aspects of the struggle,
showing them how they can protect
their conditions in the shop by get
ting into the struggle.
From a speech made by Earl
Browder to a meeting Of Commu-
mist functionaries in Boston,
THE question of recruiting has been
very serious one in Section
Four during the past year. The
members dropped have been more
than the number recruited. Many
good elements have come in, but
many of these have dropped out
again. One of the reasons is that
little consideration is given to new
members after they are recruited
both by the older members in the
Units and by the Section leadership
For instance, there was not a
single new members class in our
Section during the whole past winter
and spring. Only one unsuccessful
attempt was made to organize such
class. Several classes were held
for more advanced members. New
members are given assignments
without understanding the Party, or
the significance attached to the as
signments.
Another reason we fail to keep our
new members is the laxity of dis
cipline of our older members, many
Of whom have the attitude that they
have been in the Party so long that
they no longer need to carry on reg
ular activity to be good standing
members.
These comrades have been per-
mitted to drift without strict check
up and their constant cry Of being
too busy" goes unchallenged for
months and sometimes years.
The effect of this on the
new members was that they
soon became discouraged and
dropped out of the Unit. The new
members did not dare to criticize an
old member and a leading comrade
in the unit, but quietly dropped
out, and could not be persuaded to
return. Many members were re-
cruited to this Unit, but few re-
manned.
Following the open exposure OF
this member, and a thorough dis
cussion in the unit on Party dis
cipline, one of the new recruits who
had been in the Unit for about
two or three weeks, stated as fol-
lows: yes, had expected to find
the Communist Party a thoroughly
disciplined organization, and while
| am very much disappointed, still
l am not discouraged, and intend to
stay in the Party and do my best
to remedy the situation"
Unfortunately, however, all new
members do not take that healthy
attitude. On the other hand this
one had only been in the Party for
two weeks, and if it had not been for
the exposure and discussion that
followed he too might have be-
come discouraged.
To remedy this, we are planning
in our Section new members class
to be carried on continually for
six-week term throughout the year.
In addition, we mean to carry on
a strict check-up, more particularly
on the older members. Through this
means we hope to lessen the fiuc-
tuation in our Section. IL. S., Sec
ton 4, Chicago District.)