The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-02-11
Party Lite
Some Pointers
On Election Work
In Chicago Wards

IN JAN. IS, our Section
" membership handed / n
three thousand signatures
collected for the various work
ers' Aldermanic candidates.
Today, three weeks later,
only two thousand Mayoralty
signatures have been turned into
the District, while another two
thousand are to be found among
the comrades.
How can we account for so few
Mayorslty signatures?
In Ward 34th our comrades re-
ported that the members of the So
ciahst Party, not only eagerly signed
the Communist Party petition, but
offered their services to collect sig
natures for Karl Lockner rather
than for Roy Burt, Socialist Party
candidate for Mayor.
In Ward 80, where Conlrade
Fimoff is our Aldermanic candidate
and where $50 signatures were re-
quired for filing, we found two days
before filing time, that only 90 sig
natures we're collected. The mem
bership was Immediately informed
Of the seriousness of the situation.
The result was that two days later
we were in position to file the
necessary amount of signatures.
A similar experience is that of
Ward 81; 1,035 signatures we're
required there. Three days before
filing time we only had a little over
200 signatures. But in this Ward
too, when the membership realized
the situation, the necessary amount
Of signatures was turned in for fill
ing day.
In Ward "a, where Russell Forbes
is the candidate, the same was true.
Experiences in these Wards prove
to us that once our Party member
ship is aware of the problem they
will tackle it and bring results.
THE reason why so few signatures
have been collected so far for
our Mayoralty ticket is because the
Party membership. as we'll as the
workers of mass organizations, did
not sufficiently realize the impor-
lance of collecting the necessary
100000 signatures to place the Com
munist Party on the ballot
Many comrades feel that there is
an excellent opportunity to elect a
Communist Alderman in certain
Ward, but since there is no oppor-
tunity as yet to elect Communist
Mayor in the city of Chicago, they
feel that there is no need to waste"
valuable time in collecting Mayor
atty signatures.
These comrades do not under
stand that 100000 signatures of
workers and citizens in Chicago who
say that the Communist Party
should be on the ballot as a legal
Party is the best answer that we
can give to Hearst. and is an i'm
portant step forward in the struggle
against Fascism.
The Section Committee. therefore
called membership meeting where
the problem was presented and the
necessary organizational steps were
taken to insure the successful ex-
ecution of these tasks.
1. The Party membership was
divided into squads of four and five,
with a captain placed in charge of
each squad. This captain is to keep
in daily touch with the members
of the squad and to daily check on
their activities. Unit organizers
keep in touch with the captains
twice or three times weekly. and on
this basis make reports to the Sec
ton.
2. The involving of our mass or
carnations was taken UP and or
ganizational steps taken to mobilize
our sympathizers for the signature
drive.
3. Various members of the Sec
ton Committee were assigned to
visit mass organizations to organize
them for the signature drive.
4 All unemployed comrades were
organized into three crews who go
daily to collect signatures. These
comrades are supplied with carfare
and lunches.
We appeal to the members of the
unemployed Councils, Karl Marx
Club, Hirsch Leckert Jewish Work
ers Club, Two. and LID. branches
to go forward with the Party as they
have done in other campaigns and
help place Karl Lockner and the
other Mayoralty candidates on the
ballot.
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