The Daily Worker

PENNSYLVANIA
AND MINNESOTA STATE CONVENTIONS

ON Sunday, July 13th, the Communist Party of Pennsylvania and Minnesota held their state conventions to ratify the election platform and candidates for the coming elections. These conventions must not be viewed as mere gatherings for a "pure and simple" parliamentary campaign. They are mobilizations for struggle. They are means through which the Communist Party wants to utilize the field of revolutionary parliamentarism in order to expose the true nature of capitalist democracy; in order to prepare and lead the workers and farmers for struggle against wage cuts, against bosses' terror, against the expropriation of the farmers by finance capital. The conventions had seriously to consider the political situation in these two states and the economic conditions of the workers and farmers.

Mellon's State.

The capitalist brutality and corruption of the Pennsylvania state machine controlled by the steel trust and the Pennsylvania Railroad is known not only to the workers of this country but to the workers of the entire world. The armies of Mellon's private thugs and coal and iron police continue to kill and slaughter workers and their families. In no other section of the country has the judicial and police state machine pursued such an open strike-breaking course. The persecution of foreign-born workers, imprisonment of workers for their militant class activity, raiding of headquarters of the revolutionary workers organizations, breaking up of workers' demonstrations, killing strikers, smashing picket lines are characteristic of the bosses' rule in the State of Pennsylvania.

The convention likewise exposes the role of the A. F. of L. and the socialist party in the state of Pennsylvania. Still fresh in the memory of the workers remain the betrayals of the United Mine Workers of America, the treachery of the International Longshoremen's Association, the recent A. F. of L. betrayal of the Pittsburgh Taxicab drivers, the cooperation of the A. F. of L. and the police in framing up workers, all of which proves the strike-breaking and fascist role of the A. F. of L.

Especially must we intensify the struggle against the socialist party, which pursues a no less treacherous and strike-breaking course. The hosiery workers' strike in Kensington, Pa., is a good example of the role and purpose of the Musteites and the socialist party. The heroic hosiery strikers were stabbed in the back and openly betrayed through the Muste-socialist policy of non-mass picketing, arbitrations and co-operation with the Davis republican state machine.

Social-Fascists Smash Strike.

Still more outstanding is the role of the socialist city administration in Reading, Pa. There the socialists jailed workers who collected strike relief, broke up meetings, smashed strikes and openly co-operated with the bosses. The fact that the Communist state ratification convention took place in the socialist controlled city of Reading, Pa., marks the beginning of delivering a death blow and exposing in all its nakedness the aims of the socialist party and establishing more firmly the influence and organization of our Party.

The election campaign must reflect the developing struggles of the workers in Pennsylvania. We must take into special consideration the discontent and the coming struggles of the 150,000 anthracite miners against wage cuts and the betrayals of Lewis; the miners in the bituminous field, the movement of organization among the steel workers. The Party has now an opportunity to raise the economic struggles of the workers to a higher political level. The campaign for the Party platform and candidates means a fight for the legal existence of our Party, a fight against the police terror and the Lewis thugs, a fight for the protection of the foreign-born workers, for the right to strike, to picket and assemble against the criminal syndicalist and sedition laws and for the building up of the revolutionary trade unions and the Communist Party.

Expose the Social-Fascists.

The political situation in Pennsylvania is not without any dangers for our Party. Besides the struggle against the socialist party, the role of Davis as "the friend of labor" and Pinchot as "the foe of the coal and iron police" was not made clear and explained to the workers. We must take cognizance of the fact that among large sections of workers in Pennsylvania, strong illusions exist about the so-called "liberal" and "pro-labor" role of Pinchot. It must also be admitted that the Party of districts 3 and 5 failed to take energetic steps in the primaries to carry on a struggle against Davis and Pinchot and unmask them before the masses. This must be rectified at once.

The situation in Minnesota does not differ basically from that of Pennsylvania. The movement of struggle and resistance to the speed-up and wage-cuts is rapidly developing among the iron miners and lumber workers. The struggles of the dock workers on Lake Superior is assuming momentum. The election campaign of our Party will find a fertile field in the present situation among the exploited working masses in Minnesota.

Win the Farming Masses.

The Party must devote special attention to the farmers. We must repair our inexcusable neglect of the agricultural proletariat and poor farmers. In every election the farmers of Minnesota become the prey of the capitalist Farmer Labor Party. On the other hand, however, the accentuation of the present agricultural crisis proves conclusively to the farmer not only that the farmer labor party is unwilling to fight for their interests, but that capitalism cannot solve their problems. In Minnesota the election campaign, without ignoring the industrial proletariat, must especially concentrate on the agricultural proletariat and the poor farmers. Precisely in this election campaign can the Party bring its program of class struggle to the farmers and establish a firm foothold in the agricultural districts.

As in Pennsylvania, the Communist Party in Minnesota is faced with the tasks of unmasking those forces which speak in the name of labor and try to mislead the working class. The struggle against the farmer labor party must be more politicized and intensified. On the basis of the political record of the farmer labor party must we try to convince the workers and farmers that the farmer labor party is a capitalist party and not a workers' and farmers' party. The results of the recent primaries in Minnesota shows that the farmer labor party is trying to capitalize the present economic crisis and the growing misery of the workers and farmers. It also shows that strong illusions still prevail in various sections of Minnesota concerning the farmer labor party. These must be destroyed on the basis of systematic political agitation and struggle against the social fascist role of the farmer labor party and its allies, the Halonen group in the Finnish movement, and the Trotskyites.

The Minnesota and Pennsylvania state conventions have concretized the political support of the mass organizations and the response of the workers. The most important thing is to follow up organizationally the decisions of the convention. Broaden the election campaign, bring it into the factories, farms and mass organizations, particularly those which are still under reactionary leadership and control.

Forward to a Communist election campaign!
Build the revolutionary trade unions! Build the Communist Party!