The Daily Worker

PARTY RECRUITING DRIVE

Into the Life of the Masses

By ALFRED WAGENKNECHT.

Every party member will hail with sincere bolshevik cheers the party recruiting and Daily Worker building drive. The announcement of this drive made by the organization department of our Central Committee should electrify every unit of the party. And why? Because this drive constitutes a political and organizational program which will propel the Party and the Daily Worker headlong into the industries; will mark the beginning of making every mine, mill and shop a Communist fortress.

The disintegrating factional background of our party still bears down upon us a little, causing many comrades to live only within the party. Talking about inner-party situations constitute the sum total of their activities. Other comrades carry on wordy battle about social reformist illusions-not among the workers in the shops to win them for the T. U. U. L. and the party but only within party circles. Comrades are replete with indications that the masses of workers are in mood for struggle against rationalization and extreme exploitation yet on the job, in their shops, these same comrades are speechless. Imperialist war preparations continue, the danger of an imperialist attack against the Soviet Union grows day by day, however there seem to be comrades who do not realize that to fight the war danger and to defend the Soviet Union effectively the party must grow in members, in influence, establish its leadership among the workers in all basic and war industries.

The drive to win 5,000 new members for the party and 5,000 new readers for the Daily Worker has within it all elements necessary to dynamite the party out of its present too static existence. It is a drive to drive all of us into tasks that will win a majority of the working class for the party and constitutes an important step forward to make our party a mass party. Those who fail to participate in this drive will be swept aside by an avalanche of fighting proletarians who will replace them within the party. The time for marking time has passed. It is either forward or backward. Those who fail to march forward face the danger of soon finding themselves in the camp of the enemy.

Throughout the program of the party recruiting and Daily Worker building drive there runs a line which we must call especial attention to. In past drives of this kind (and this has been especially true of Daily Worker building drives) comrades have orientated themselves too much upon skilled workers, sympathizers in the professions, small shop keepers. Here money came easy. Secondly, previous drives sent comrades into the field in scattered formation, each to do what he could in his own way; each selecting his own prospective party members or Daily Worker readers.

This drive throws the party, in organized formation, right in front of mine, mill and shop gates, right into the heart of all industries. It demands that districts of the party, center their attention and mobilize party forces in a real communist offensive against the most important industries in the district to win the workers for the party.

This drive demands that each unit of the party approaches the factories within its jurisdiction in a body and through the distribution of the Daily Worker, leaflets, sale of party literature, holding of regular factory gate meetings, establishes definite and lasting contact with the workers in the factory.

The loyal carrying out of the drive program will enrich the party in shop nuclei, will help organize the T. U. U. L., will acquaint the workers with the lessons of Gastonia and the bosses' terrorism everywhere, will expose the Lovestone and Trotskyist renegades, will liquidate reformist illusions, will broaden our Negro, women's, youth, anti-imperialist, workers' defense and strike relief work; it will place us in the front of masses of workers ready to fight against the imperialist war and for the defense of the Soviet Union.

Every party comrade, party unit, section and district of the party must make the Daily Worker an organic part, an actual participant in the drive and in every task undertaken during the drive. It must become your spokesman in every industry, help you to organize and agitate. It constitutes a major instrument to help build a mass party and must, towards that end, secure a mass circulation.

Do you accept the leadership of the Comintern? Forward then, ranks solid and vitalized, into the life of the working class masses, with the Comintern Address and the line of our party plenum.