The daily worker., 1934-04-07

About August, 1882, the
first Communist Party unit
IVES started in the state Of
Mississippi by Comrade Landy,
who made a short stop here
in Oxford. myself had just joined
the Party two months before. I was
chosen to be organizer. I knew
precious little about the c. P. and
nothing whatever about organizing
activities I did not know the word
Jim Crowism, nor did ] know the
G. P. is illegal in Missippi. merely
mention these facts because my un-
forgiveable ignorance was to cost
me many pain and was to some
extent the direct cause of our little
movement being split up more than
once. OF course, it's but natural
that stools found their way into
our organization without m u h
trouble and before we could prevent
it our town units wac terrorized out
of existence and has never dared
to reorganize since. We have had
several cases like that but have
carried on Just the same. Out of
six units only three real active units
are LETT, all of them in the country.
We are really on the upgrade now,
but are going slow in order to clean
the units Of unreliable elements and
are drawing in only tried out COM
rsdes from lower organizations.
The comrades in town are talking
about starting up again but so far
nothing has been done. The town
comrades would have to meet some
place in the country since thugs
are roaming the Negro section of
town both day and night, breaking
into the houses and lining the Ne
groes up on the inside. If they
don't find anything, it makes them
sore and they often beat up both
women and children and take the
men to the light plant where the
current is applied to their innocent
victims till the blood comes out.
In spite Of all Of that, some 1000
letters have been sent to Gov. Miller
OI Alabama in behalf of the nine
Scottsboro boys, several dozen to
Judge Callahan and also an un-
known number to Attorney General
Knight. Two hundred fifty protest
postcards we're sent to the U. s
= Supreme Court, and other letters to
different places.
Delegate 10 Farm Conference
In spite of police terror, xxx.
American Legion and wealthy riff
raft and rabble of all kinds, we held
several meetings among the white
farmers in an effort to get dele
gate to the first farmers national
relief conference in Washington
However, it must be said we didn't
get up enough money Last Novem-
Der the comrades who, by the way,
lre all Negroes with the exception
Of three white, of which two are
, not active, got up enough money
to send me to the Farmers Con-
ference. Right after I came back
we got the Share Choppers Union
started. About two months ago we
sent comrade to school in st.
Louis and since that comrade has
been back from school our organ
izing activities have resulted in
doubling the membership of the
Share Choppers Union. New mem
bers for the I. l.. D, and G. P. have
also been gained. However, it must
be said that as yet the Party in
Oxford is dangerously weak. The
main cause for that Is our inability
to develop leadership among the
comrades both in the units and mass
organizations. Another setback is
the tremendous illiteracy among the
Negro masses Of Mississippi, which
makes it hard to sell literature. It
is therefore to be expected that the
discussion of the draft resolution of
the Party has not been as fruitful
as would or should be the case in
the more advanced sections of the
country.
However, we have studied the
draft resolution with keen interest
and while we give it our most hearty
endorsement in its entirety, We wish
to draw certain questions to be
found on page seven of the draft
resolution to your attention. 1t says
in part about the out of town sec
tions, That closed guidance must
be given them by the district CEN
ter" We comrades in oxford take
it for granted that the district CEN
ter should not only be made to re-
port back the receipt of weekly re-
ports from district rural sections,
but should be made to criticize such
letters in detail, because such letters
are supposed to reveal to what de-
gree the various organizations are
functioning along correct Party
lines. The old saying that chain
Is only as strong as its weakest link
tells us that special effort should
be made to strengthen such weak
} local units wherever they are to be
found, and what could be more ap-
propriate than constructive criticism
of the weekly report sent to the dis
trict center?
Criticize Methods
Here we also think it ridiculous
OF the QlSGrlcC CenCer TO, snail we
say, appoint certain conrade to
build Young Communist League
in some far off section, knowing
that the said comrade does perhaps
not even know what the Y. c. L. is,
let alone how to organize and make
such an organization function, not
even to provide the said comrade
with piece of literature for correct
instruction, but nevertheless expect
ing flourishing reports in a short
time about a perfect functioning Y.
C. L. Since it is expensive as well
as slow to send comrades off to
school, we have planned to build a
complete ring around oxford of mass
as well as Party organizations and
when the ring Is complete, which it
soon will be, we hope the district