The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-17
Party Life
Collective Effort
OF Every Member
For A Mass Party

IN 1hEAoE ONOE 10 GilS central
1 Committee letter to the Party
membership, the whole Party has
engaged in special intensive
Recruiting Drive. For our District
We can say that the Central Com
mittee letter will help us greatly to
achieve our quota of ten thousand
dues paying members, by Lenin
Memorial Day, Jan. 81, 1885.
The decision of the District on 4
quota of ten thousand was based on
a realistic understanding of the
possibilities for recruiting; but when
we examine the tempo of growth
of our Party, we see that while we
have a steady growth in member
ship, as well as an increase in the
weekly rate of recruiting, yet this
increase did nos develop to such pro-
portions that would assure us OF the
fulflment Of our quota.
In June, 1888, before the Open
Letter, our dues paying member
ship was 4,028. On October 20, 1894,
our membership grew to 6,445,-an
increase of 2,417.
During this period we recruited
on the following weekly average:
From June 1888 to March (the
time of our Party Convention)
2,559 or 81 and a half per week.
From March to the end of
August, 2,136 o. 107 per week
From August to October goth.
906 or 129 per week.
We see here that we steadily in
creased our membership as we'll as
the weekly rate of recruiting; but
we also see that we almost doubled
the recruiting rate after the Con-
vention to September, that in the
last period from September up until
October Goth, the increase is only
% per week. Instead of TRIPPING the
weekly rate, we lessened our tempo,
precisely at time of great strike
struggles, Of the Hunger March,
the Anti-War Congress and the
Election Campaign, etc. Certainly
the election results prove that if
we were really conscious Of This
task a much greater recruiting
would be the result.
This situation should be and can
be corrected Immediately. The Cen
trail Committee letter should not re-
main merely another document, but
must become powerful factor in
our every day work for the building
of our Party.
Section Committees, units and
fractions, as we'll as every individual
Party member should see to it that
everyone in the Party is activized
on recruiting. Trade union frac-
tons that did not yet develop the
Drive should at once plan and call
open fraction meetings and prepare
for mass recruiting. The same
holds true for fractions in fraternal
organizations, women's societies,
clubs language and all other or
! CARNATIONS. The fact that most of
the sections and fractions so far
failed to submit their plans as we'll
as their experiences to the District
up until now. shows that most of our
leading bodies are not proceeding
with necessary momentum or politi-
cal consciousness. Each Party men,
Der should take the initiative when
ever the leadership is lax and de-
mand Immediately an open mass
fraction meeting, TO-, recruiting.
Special attention should be given
by the Sections to the basic concen-
tration industries. The percentage,
at present, of workers from basic in
du5trieS is about 10 per cent. Greater
efforts must therefore be made to
recruit among the Marine, Metal,
Traction, Taxi and Railroad Work
ers. Our objectiv. should be to at
least triple this percentage. The
Section Committees and leading
fractions must take personal respon-
sibility for recruiting from these
basic industries, laying particular
stress on recruiting from A. F. of
L. unions.
Negro recruiting must be given
serious attention throughout the
Drive. At present the percentage OF
Negro Comrades in our Party is
about per cent, This certainly
does not correspond in any degree
to the influence of our Party among
the Negro masses. Negro recruiting
should not be relegated to the Har-
lem and Crown Heights sections.
The entire Party must develop the
most intensive drive for Negro re-
cruiting. Especially should the shop
nuclei and trade union fractions
recruit Negro workers from the
shops.
The shop conferences decided
upon, as well as the conferences of
fraction secretaries, to discuss
planned recruiting, were not held in
most of the sections. In the coming
week all these conferences and
functionarieS meetings should be
held, and recruiting planned and
started in the shops and fractions.
Units and fractions should at this
time check On their plans, again
discuss the Central Committee letter
and above all activize every indi-
vidual Party member as proposed
by the Central Committee.
When we look at the figures of
f1uctuation, we learn some alarm
ing facts We see that at the tir1,e
Of the Open Letter our member
ship was 4.023. Since that time
until October goth. we recruited
5,601. This should give us a mem
bership of 1929, almost our full
quota. Our membership on that
date was. as stated, GAS, showing a
loss during sixteen months of 3,1S4.
This shows: l. that the inner life of
0l1r 1l0itS is still POLITICALLY MOO and