The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-01-02
Why Did YPSL Raise
SO Many Obstacles to.
Unity Decisions?
BY John Little
New York District Organizer, Young
Communist League

New York District Organizer, Young
Communist League
The recent Regional American
Youth Congress, held in New York
City on Dec. % and %, is indeed
living indication of the tremen-
dous growing desire for unity in
struggle on the part Of the toiling
youth. For the first time in the
history of the youth movement in
New York City more than 300 dele
gates, representing more than 20O,-
900 organized youth from a wide
variety of organizations and trade
unions, gathered and unanimously
adopted resolutions against war,
fasciSm, against the attacks of the
ROOSEVELT Administra-
ton, and for the immediate enact
ment of the Workers Unemploy-
ment Insurance Bill.
The American Youth Congress
was born in the struggle against the
attempts TO crystalize a semi
fascist youth organization in Amer
lea. In the month of August, the
first Congress, called by Viola lima,
a reactionary tool of American
finance capital, was transformed
from a gathering that was to for
mulate and attempt to rally the
youth for fascism into a powerful
youth movement against war, fas-
cism and against the attempts to
further worsen the conditions of the
toiling and student youth.
The leadership displayed by the
Young Communist League from the
very inception of this movement,
especially in the struggle for unity,
was the prime motiyating factor
that modified the majority Of the
youth delegates for united strug-
gle against fascism and war. With
the persistent struggle for unity on
the part of the Y. G. L., the Young
Peoples Socialist League leadership
for the first time in its history in
the United States was compelled to
reckon with the necessity for such
unity, and was actually forced to
brush aside all the artificial OBJ
stacles that it had maintained up
until that time and unite in the
struggle to defeat the fascist pur-
pose of the lima conference.
The correctness of this policy on
the part of the Y. c. L. was dem
onstrated by the immediate support
that it received from numerous or
CARNATIONS, Y. M. c. AS, Y. w. C..
AS, Settlement Houses, Boy Scouts,
trade unions, clubs, ETC., support
which compelled the Y. P. S. L. to
fall in line and which led to the de-
feat of the lima. conference. =,
What Faces the Youth
Now more than ever before is
the capitalist class attempting to
worsen the already miserable condi-
tions of the youth. Why is it that
the already long hours of work of
the youth are being constantly
heightened, and the already miser-
able wages are being further re-
duced, except to bolster the condl-
lions of the capitalists at the ex-
pense of the toiling youth?
For what other reason than prep
aration for war is compulsory mill
tary training being established in
the colleges and universities? Why
is it that all militant and anti
fascist students are being expelled
from colleges and universities, as
was the case in the c. C. N. Y. ex-
cept to attempt to stifle and to pre-
vent the organization of the stu
dent youth? For what other reason
than to further worsen the condi-
tons of the youth is the Hearst
press conducting its campaign to
drive the revolutionary movement
into illegality, Just as in fascist
Germany, and to transform the c.
G. G. camps into sdjuncts of the
United States Army?
Is not the LaGuardia Sales Tax
direct blow at the conditions of
the workers, directly placing the
burden for unemployment on the
backs of the workers instead of the
capitalists? Is not the Wickes Law,
which denies youth relief, a direct
denial of the right of young work