The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-10-18
DefenseP Plans
In Barre, Vt.
Are Analysed
By a worker Correspondent

BARRE, Win the Daily Worker
of Sept 26th an article appeared
telling of the formation of the Barre
Defense Committee. TheILD. head
quarters criticised this plan sharply,
as hiding the face of the LID. We
had no such intention, especially as
the I. L. D. in Barre is very popular
among the workers.
Originally the Defense Committee
was an elected committee of I. L. D.
members. We planned to enlarge
this committee so as to include
union and other workers, also small
business men, who for one reason
or another are not yet ready to join
the I. L. D. Also we wanted to en-
large the scope of the newly origi-
mated committee so that it might be-
come a bulwark in mass picketing
and flying squadrons, something
needed in the last big strike. This,
we felt, would be function outside
the 1 L. DIS jurisdiction.
Rather than have two separate
strike committees, one I. L. D. de-
tense, the other rank and file
strike committee, we hoped to con-
Solidate the two into an enlarged
group which would handle all func-
tons in militant strike leadership
when another granite strike takes
place. The proposed committee was
to act only in the event of a strike
next spring or summer, and to pre-
pare for such strike action, but in
no way was it intended to Supplant
our 1. L. D. branch with such q com
mittee.
However We gladly accept the
criticism of the 1. L. D., and we will
seek to organize two entirely sep
arate groups, one rank and file
strike committee, the other COM
mittee of active I. L. D. members
to keep up constant preparations
for handling defense in the event of
another strike.
The Barre strike of last year,
which was actually civil war, be-
came a united front of workers.
legion men, storekeepers, and house
wives in which even the Chief of
Police was forced to refuse to make
an arrest of picketers.
When another strike comes, after
the expiration of the sell-out agree
ments, we are determined to muster
rank and file leadership so we won't
be sold out again by Sam Squibb
and his henchmen of the union
leadership.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The Barre
comrades seem to have swung
from one extreme to the other.
The l. L. d. branch should work
toward setting up a defense com
mittee with participation both of
!. l.. d. members, and members
of the strike committee. In
strike preparations, the /. L. ID.
should aiso seek to have a lead
ing member participate on the
strike committee itself. In this
way defense activities can be
thoroughly coordinated. Two zen
tIreiy separate" groups could not
effect this coordination.
The criticism by the national
office Of the l. L. %. of the Barre
plan, a copy of which was sent to
the Daily Worker, was directed
against giving the defense COM
mittee" all the functions of an I.
L. ID. branch, and in this way
actually making it take the place
OF an 1. L. d. branch.
The Barre comrades in their
letter do not touch upon another
very important point raised by the
national /. L. ID. Their plan
called for the setting up by the I.
L. d. of physical defense CORPS,
with separate headquarters, teIe-
phone, and flying squadrons. 1t
was pointed out that this is not
at any time the task of the /. L.
D., nor of /. L. D.-union defense
committees such as are planned in
barre.