The United States is the most powerful imperialist country in the world. The imperialist forces that exploit and oppress the Cuban people and the rest of the Latin American nations are the same monopolists that exploit the workers of the United States. This fact places upon the workers and progressive forces of the United States the responsibility of developing solidarity with and aid to the embattled people of Cuba and the other nations of Latin America. One hundred years of struggle by the Cuban people against Spanish and U.8. imperialism resulted in very little freedom for the Cuban nation until the democratic-popular anti-imperialist revolution led by Fidel Castro and the 26th of July movement and supported by 95 percent of the Cuban people including the Popular Socialist Party brought into existence a genuine liberation movement for the first time, free from corruption and determined not to compromise with the main enery of the Cuban nation: American imperialism. That is why American imperialism is fɔrcefully resisting every step taken by the Castrɔ government. Whether through diplomatic channels such as the recent State Department statement protesting against Cuba's anti-Americanism, or by direct armed attack frɔm airplanes based in Miami, Florida, U.S. imperialism is using every means to undermine Cuba's progress toward complete freedom from U.S. imperialism. The people of the U.S. and especially the working class have much in common with the Cuban liberation movement. Cuba is fighting for her sovereignty and freedom from foreign intervention as did the American people in the course of their revolution of 1776. Moreover, the working class of the U.S. today has a big stake in solidarity with the Cuban workers. The workers of Cuba harbɔr nɔ illusiɔne as to who is their real enemy. When they cry "Down with Yankee imperialism," they are resisting the sane mɔnɔpɔlists whɔ are the bitterest exploiters of Arerican labor. Cubans emigrating to the U.S. have set high standards of militancy and courage in trade union struggles. 1. WE THEREFORE PROPOSE TO: Mobilize U. S. public opinion and try to organize support, especially in the trade unions, for the Cuban people. a. To answer the lies and slanders being spread by imperialist circles b. c. d. To encourage sending telegrams of greetings from trade unions tɔ their To help organize assistance to Cuban workers' families -- mɔney, To organize help for Cuba's schɔɔl children contribute paper, 2. Develop continuous activity, not just sporadic actions, in support of Cuba. Keep supplying facts of background on the latest developmente and outlɔɔk ɔf Cuba. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Build Friendship Organizatiɔne involving nɔn-Cuban people with the specific Send delegatiɔns tɔ Cuba for trade union and cultural exchanges. Popularize Cuba as an ideal vacatiɔn spɔt and thus help build up the tourist trade of a free Cuba. We shall strive to arɔuse our people to combat any reactionary mɔve to wreck the Cuban sugar quɔta and other measures directed tɔ weakening Cuban ecɔnɔny. We call on progressive Americans to protest the unwarranted actiɔn ɔf steanship companies trying to destroy Cuban tourist trade. For all these reasons, this convention must see a great emphasis put on the entire question of Cuba and Latin America. COMMITTEE EXHIBIT NO. 15 THE WORKER As favorable as are the objective conditions for the successful realization of the decisions of the 17th Convention of the Communist Party, these historic goals will not be reached without the building of The Worker into a popular, mass, Marxist-Leninist press which has gained the confidence of tens of thousands of labor, the Negro people and other minority groups. The Editorial Board and Staff of The Worker are conscious of the need to strengthen, improve The Worker politically, in coverage, in analysis, as well as to make its style more popular. A recent all-day critical review of The Worker in which Comrades Hathaway and Kushner participated with the Staff and representatives of the National Committee and the New York State Committee, decided on a number of measures towards this end. In this direction we also greet the agreement reached by The Worker and the Midwest comrades to publish a Midwest Edition beginning May 1, 1960. The anti-monopoly movement, the peace forces of America, the Negro Liberation movement, organized and unorganized labor, the national minorities of our country, those forces fighting for the peaceful co-existence of countries with divergent social outlooks will find in The Worker a dedicated supporter of all for which they fight and a press that interprets events from a Marxist-Leninist position and in the interests of a socialist society in the USA. The Worker has been seriously affected in terms of its circulation and its financial supporters by the critical struggles through which the progressive forces of America fought against the intrigues and anti-Constitutional hysteria provoked by the McCarthyites and directed in the main against the Communist Party. It has been seriously weakened by the inner struggles of the Communist Party. But despite these blows, despite weaknesses associated with the production of The Worker in its content or management The Worker stands today as one of the ideological bulwarks against the attempts of the metropolitan press of monopoly to win the minds of the American people for its war economy..... : The building of The Worker is not for Communists just another of its several tasks. The building of The Worker, strengthening the financial base and support of The Worker, giving fundamental aid to those who seek to restore the Daily Worker becomes that task without the successful achievement of which the establishment of a powerful peace movement, an invincible labor and Negro liberation movement is impossible. Therefore, the 17th Convention of our Party instructs the incomin; National Committee to make the building of The Worker a responsibility to be assumed by the Party as a whole and by every individual member of the Party. In assuming this great responsibility this Convention believes that the National Committee should place a major political duty upon all Party leaders to give guidance and specific attention to the building of Worker circulation. The Worker can and must be carried to the American people. This Convention believes that promises and preparations should be made early for financial aid to The Worker's 1960 financial campaign. This Convention proposes to the incoming National Committee to organize a financial campaign for support of The Worker for $75,000 or more which will begin on the 36th anniversary of The Worker, January 13, and end on or before the list of May. The present circulation of The Worker is between 13 and 14 thousand. This Convention believes that that circulation can be successfully raised to 20,000 within the year 1960. It therefore instructs the incoming National Committee to create a standing Worker Builders Committee which will immediately formulate a circulation campaign to begin together with the financial campaign. It is obvious that conditions do not permit uniform responsibilities. But this Convention believes that no District of the Party should be without a press director. We believe that the greatest possible coordination should exist between those responsible for the building of The Worker and those responsible for its produc ti Everywhere efforts must be made to help create Build the Press Committees, or Volunteers for the Worker, or what have you. While The Worker is not the official Voice of our Party, we hereby declare its building indispensable to the building of the Communist Party and the many movements seeking to create a security and peaceful life to the American people. De old er mere Eistorted the channels of world trade and shut off American fare products from wie strat, and substituted the products of the aratment facttries for the prostata of our termesta. My sprinter 27: Lif24ae and all agriculture is being dealt heavy Blow. Is the South the shift from cotton to livestock, and toward increased metanization, is creating an upbeamal in the lives of large masses of Negro tillers. Kid's farers are being eliminated as well as the so-called "inefficient" sell farmers. The heats of the banks, processing accopolies and feed trusts are taking a tighter grasp on agricultural production, especially through vertical integration. During the past decade one million farm families and five million persons have been eliminated from agriculture, be-third of the farmers' income is from offfern vagas and salaries. And by the end of this year, it is estimated, net fars incom will have fallen two Milion dollars from what it was in 1958, and for next year an additional drop of one billion is forecast by the Dept. of Agriculture. Yeazubile we continue to produce "surpluses while millions of Americans are underfed and hundreds of millions throughout the world hunger. The Administration knows only one answer: cut the "surplus" by cutting out farmers. In this it has the support of the big farmers who hope to take over viet the family farmers must sacrifice. As Communists our answer to the major problems outlined above must always have a class approach of favoring smaller farmers against their class enemy in the countryside the big farms; and includes the following: 1. A main advantage of big farmers is the vast profits they sweat out of the terribly underpaid and exploited farm workers. The organization of effective unions among farm workers would be a major help to small and middle farmers. The initial steps already taken by the AFL-CIO deserve all-out support. 2. The method of farm price protection must be changed to reduce the cost of farm programs and discourage all-out production by big farmers. Farm produce should sell on the open market, and prices under parity should be supplemented by deficiency payments on only that amount of production per farm that will sustain a family-size farmer. 3. We oppose crop curtailment but where there is reduction it must be imposed entirely on the big farmers. 4. The Communist Party urges full participation of its members in every struggle to maintain small and middle farmers on their farms, including support of legislative programs for low-interest credit, soil conservation, crop insurance, Federal aid to education and other demands of small farmers. 5. We favor the enactment of a national food stamp plan that will supplement the starvation wages imposed on millions of Americans, and that will provide adequate food and clothing to the millions in de pressed areas. Such a program would be of direct help to both labor and farmers. 6. The world, too, needs a food stamp plan. Let us subsidize the shipment of food instead of hardware for destruction. 7. Agriculture in the South has special complex problems tied up with the fight for democracy in the South. Some of these special problems are dealt with in the Negro resolution. PERSPECTIVES Our neglect of the farm question is a serious weakness in our practical activity, and represents a big gap in our efforts to apply Marxism-Leninism to the tasks ahead. In particular, this defect in our theoretical understanding threatens serious consequences for our electoral activities for 1960. An essential component of the 1960 electoral campaign is the coordination of farmer, labor and Negro efforte, enlarging to the national arena the splendid 1958 state campaigns against right to work lave. The common interests of the farmers, workers and Negroes requires an offensive against the Dixiecrats. It is the Dixiecrats who are the gun rumers for the offensive against the labor movement. It is the Dixiecrate who block the democratic advance of the Negro people. It is the Dixiecrats who defend the interests of big farmers and plantation owners. Farm state liberal Congressmen trade with the Dixiecrats to help pass farm legislation. Deals are made whereby the Dixiecrats trade their votes on farm laws for support of anti-union and anti-civil rights positions. The Dixiecrats must be isolated in national politics and then totally eliminated. This can only be done by a farm-labor-Negro coalition that understands and supports one another's basic needs; and develops urban support in the North and West for adequate farm legislation. The 17th Convention should spark serious turn toward implementing the basic Marxist-Leninist principle -- the alliance of farmers and workers. The first requisite for achieving this turn must take the form of every District leadership adopting measures to guarantee that especially the trade union cadre of our Party becomes conscious of their responsibility to win the trade union movement for a full understanding of the stake that labor has in lending the fullest support to the pressing needs of the family farmers and in the labor-farm alliance. Secondly: it should take the form toward the full participation of all farm comrades in their farm organtations, seeking to direct the attention of their fellow farmers toward more consistent and purposeful activity to save the family farmers from extinction, to establish bonds with the city working class, and to advance the program of the party on the peace, civil rights, civil liberties, and trade union fronts. The Party favors the immediate preparation of pamphlets and literature which will (1) provide a survey of the existing farm situation to the broadest masses of farmers, workers and middle class people, (2) make known the party's position on the critical issues facing the farmers, and on the methods of their solution. The national excutive committee should be directed to establish a functioning farm commission to include a member of the NEC, and to establish regional farm commissions under the regional subcommittees of the party. The political perspectiveswhich have been outlined in our national draft resolution and in Comrade Ball's speech, and in this resolution, will only become effective if serious organizational steps are undertaken. |