The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-06
Party Life
A Few Pointers
For Recruiting
New Members

l ANN1SA ~ AAAG 4 aA W a. 4AllF
portant. But what can - more
important than drawing IN more
forces from the masses of workers
to train for the mountains of work
that lie before us? Who can deny
that our graYest difficulty is lack
of forces?
To read the appeals in the Daily
Worker, to the membership, in re-
gard to the present recruiting drive
one would almost think that an
apology was being made for asking
comrades to do something difficult
and dangerous, but I have never
had anybody knock me over yet for
asking them to join the Party. One
worker approached a couple of
months ago said: Sure, Give it
here, I'll sign it," He filled out the
application card and handed it
back to me. You don't seem to
need any coaXing," I told him.
Hell" he returned, I'D have
signed one six months ago if any,
body had asked me to- Then his
card was lost somewhere in the
Party channels and he is still
patiently waiting for me to trace it
so he can get into the Party.
I signed up another since then
and have a promise from a third
one. 1t should not be impossible to
get two more by November 7th.
Many of the workers 1 meet and
talk to are taxi drivers and street
car men. Most of them recognize
the Communist Party as the best
friend and champion of militant
labor.
Many of these men would have
been in the Party long ago had it
not been for the danger of losing
their jobs. They know that known
reds are Immediately fired and
blacklisted. And it is hard to con-
vince them that the Party takes
pains to keep them from getting
fired and will try to show them
how to make their livelihood more
secure. Once this false idea is
broken down we should win many
of them.
Another objection I have met
more than once is something like
this: Il am not ready to join the
Party. I don't want to join until
I can participate in the work
whole-heartedly and without re-
serve. Some day I will have less
personal responsibilities than I
have now and will also have a
stronger and more resolute will to
carry out the Party'S directiveS.
want to be a Communist some day.
but just now I do not feel worthy"
Such workers as these must be
dealt with very patiently We know
thai most of them are good ma
terial once they are in the Party.
This more favorable time for them
may never come. probably will not.
1t is now that their contribution to
the revolution is needed, not in the
uncertain future.
We must consider all of these OBJ
jectionS of the workers to Joining
the Party, learn how to answer
them, and how to convince them
that their place is in the ranks of
the Communist Party.
Answer to the Open Letter
AM in a mass organization the
Small Home and Land Owners
Federation of Illinois. This is my
method of carrying out the Open
Letter I make personal contacts
in my neighborhood. I carry at all
times 1-cent and 2-cent pamphlets
and one or two why Communism"
and try to have the pamphlets fit
the neighborhood, for we have all
kinds of nationalities to explain
Communism to. I find in talking to
them that they all agree that the
Communists have the only real
| solution.
Since I have been in the Party
have been assigned to work at
collecting signatures to get the
Party on the ballot in the presi-
dental election campaign. I COL
lected $50 signatures and out of
that l recruited for the Unemploy-
ment Council, the I. L. D., the
Y. G. L., the Home Owners Fedora
ton, the I. w. o. and the Com
munist Party. l would give the con-
facts to my unit, but for some
cause some were never visited. In
our last signature drive here I COL
lected SOP signatures and made
many contacts, some of which were
placed in the Party. Before I could
recontact them was sent to COL
lect signatures for our Party in
indianapolis. 1 was in Indianapolis.
| talked to many people and they
mad many different views, but they
all agreed that our Party is the
Party. The Negroes of indianapolis
can be organized. All whom talked
to are in sympathy. In three days
only got twenty-nine reflections.
Twenty were white, nine were Ne
groes. Two of the Negroes were
captains OF the Democratic Party,
but they subscribe for the Daily
Worker. l got nine subscribers in
one day. 1 spoke to them on the
questions of Scottsboro, Herndon
and general lynch terror, pointing
out the segregation all around them
and the general conditions under
which they live, and how they can
be made better.
find personal contracting to be
the best method to start the worker
thinking. There is more to be
gained in this manner than in any
other way, if properly carried out.
T. w. HI.
Unit 7O4, Section I, District 8.