Young Spartacus
CONTENTS BY ISSUE
(1935)
Volume IV, Number 1, January 1935 (Full pdf version)
Young Spartacus
Published by the National Committee of the Spartacus Youth League of America, New York, NY
Associate Editors:
- Manny Garrett, Editor
- Jane Ogden, Business Manager
Workers Die for War Profits Senate Investigations Reveal Huge Incomes In War Years
(It appears the war that was supposed to have been fought by the U.S. to "make the world safe for democracy" was dictated by Morgan so Great Britain could win the war and pay her debts to American financiers. Profits of large corporations were much greater during the war years and the Astors, Rockefellers, Fords, Carnegies and Morgans, among others, built their fortunes.)
Soviet Executions Point to Dangers in Workers State
(Over 100 executed for plotting to shoot Kirov and working against the workers' state. Among those arrested are Zinoviev and Kamenev. Trotsky is accused of instigating the plot.) Y.C.L.ers Join S.Y.L
(Repelled by Stalinism, the aftermath of the Kirov shootings and numerous other blunders, leading figures of the S.Y.L. and C.P. have joined the S.Y.L. and Workers Party.)
Unemployed Youth in Pa. Organize
(An Unemployed League of more than 100 members has been formed and demands that a community house for workers be built with relief funds paying for labor and with all local unemployed with a low standard of living employed on the project.)
For Clarity and Action
(The first National Convention of the Spartacus Youth League displayed a thorough understanding of the problems of young workers and intends to build an organization that can answer their needs through clarity and action.)
Student Notes: Fraction Work In Schools
(The majority of the delegates at the convention voted in favor of the resolution on the student issue printed in the last issue of "Young Spartacus." This is the first time that a working class youth organization has adopted an all inclusive resolution and program on the student question as a whole.)
Work in the N.S.L. and S.L.I.D.
(We work in these organizations with the purpose of bringing the teachings of Marxism to the students.)
Student Fractions
(We work through our own fractions at institutions and more effectively than the N.S.L. and S.L.I.D. because we know how to involve the trade unions and to rally mass sentiment.)
First Fraction Paper
(It was issued by the fraction at Franklin K. Lane High School. It also issued a bulletin, the "Lane Spark.")
Yipsels Rely On Labor Reactionaries Lead Shipping Clerks Union to Ruins
(The Ladies Garment Shipping Clerks Union no longer exists. Despite difficult and oppressive working conditions and the support of established unions the Yipsels failed in their organizing attempts.)
Org. Notes: Program of Action
(There is great progress toward the fulfillment of the three month program of action ending April 1 in terms of total membership and new branches established.)
Lets Go Spartacans
(Y.S. is announcing a new start with special features, new articles and a subscription drive with books as prizes for 10 subscriptions,)
Attention
(This is a listing of articles which there was no room for in this issue and which will be included in the next one.)
More military training
(The Supreme Court has legalized military drill at the University of California and other land grant colleges.)
Roosevelt Relief Plans Promise Mass Misery
(Even using conservative figures from the American Federation of Labor unemployment has been between 10.5 and 12 million. Expect no help from the government. Work relief proposals would provide below subsistence wages.)
News From the Three C's: Rumors of Militarization Scottsboro Boys Need Workers Support
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
(This article examines the life, work, and ideas of these pioneers who considered the youth a mainstay of the proletarian revolution and who struggled to build an international revolutionary youth organization and an International of the working class.)
Book Review: Art and the Life of Action
(This review of "Art and the Life of Action, With Other Essays," By Max Eastman, concludes that although the essays toward the end of the book are excellent the main essay named in the title is misleading. Because Rivera demands of the artist now to become the propagandist of the revolution it is unfair to say that there will be the same demands of art in the future. He seems not to have realized that in a classless future there will be no political causes and that art will be truly free.)
Merchants of Death, by H.C. Engelbrecht and F.C. Hanighen
(This book is the story of Hiram Maxim, the perfector of the machine gun and other pioneers of weaponry, including Krupp the cannon-king, Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and the endower of the Nobel Peace Prize and others, told in great detail. Though it lacks political depth and never mentions that war is an integral part of capitalism or proposes any action against it, is packed with facts and anecdotes and makes interesting and informative reading.) Crisis
(Poem by Harry Roskolenkier about the conditions that prevail during conflict.)
Note
(All branches are to arrange meetings on Lenin, Liebknecht and Luxemburg in order to educate ourselves to the importance of these leaders and their connection to the current struggles of the working class.)
Lenin and the Youth
(This article reviews the ideas of Lenin on the 11th anniversary of his death. He had a profound understanding of the course of history and the historic role of the working class. A main contribution was the idea of the strongly centralized revolutionary party, the Bolshevik party. He understood the importance of youth and urged that they study Marxism as well as the main currents of bourgeois thought.)
Over Defeats to Coming Victory
(This article was written by Rosa Luxemburg prior to 1917, listing prior defeats of the Socialist revolutionary movements and stating that they were all steps on the road to the coming final victory.)
I Cover the War Front by "Spartacus" The Boiling Balkans
(Since the shooting of King Alexander of Jugoslavia the Balkans have been threatening to flare up as they did in the days before 1914. Various circumstances point to the murder having an official high level sanction. Rather than make open charges against France, Jugoslavia accused Hungary in the Council of the League of Nations of shielding the terrorists and began expelling Hungarians. War talk abounds and various nations are lining up on different sides.)
Greasing the Grafters
(This is a clear description of how graft and corruption is used by munitions makers to influence governments and sell arms partly paid for, directly or indirectly, by taxpayers in the countries of the seller and buyer. Everybody profits except the workers and taxpayers.)
Naval Negotiations Set Pace for Arms Race
(England, Japan and the U.S. were negotiating for naval limitation while announcing plans for increased armament. Japan announced at the close of negotiation it will withdraw from the Washington Treaty of 1922, which will end the treaty in 1936, according to its terms. Japan has been encroaching on U.S. and British business interests and all parties are arming for war.)
Somaliland Simmers
(Mussolini has attacked Abyssinia on the Somaliland border, trying to extend his domain in Africa. There is oil involved and Britain demands peace so it can maintain its profitable relations with the Ethiopian empire.)
The Negro Youth
(The census lists the number of Negro youth employed in various fields out of a total of 1,403,191 between 18 and 24. The majority work in the "overcrowded" fields of agriculture and domestic and personal services. Educational opportunities are limited and there is much resentment to the capitalist system which the S.Y.L should cultivate, foster, encourage and give political guidance to, so it can be transformed into class struggles.)
Despite All!
(This article by Karl Liebknecht predicts eventual victory for the German working class.)
Beyond the Barricades
(Poem by Florence Becker about a future world of freedom and equality with no "God-in-Heaven" anymore.)
You Can Tell Us
(This letter from a member of the Workers Party and former leading member of the S.Y.L. discusses "What must the Spartacus Youth League Do?")
Convention of S.Y.L. Sets Goals
(The first national convention of the S.Y.L. calls for the building of a broad mass movement of the revolutionary youth.)
Resign from the Y.C.L. Join Spartacus Youth
(This is a copy of a letter from 4 folks who have done just that. The reasons are that there is not even a pretense of full and free discussion, one must follow the "party line" which comes down from the E.C.C.I. to the Central Committee of the C.P. to the National Committee of the Y.C.L. and then to District Committee, with no full and free discussion in any of these bodies. If anyone initiates an honest discussion about any real issue they are hounded, slandered and expelled by the bureaucracy. We also completely disagree with the current policy of the C.P.S.U. of summarily executing those communist oppositionists who disagree with Stalin's policies on the basis of unproved slanders, particularly the accusations against Comrades Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev. Finally, we have doubts about the liquidation of red trade unions into the A.F.L. No organization can stifle discussion and hope to escape degeneration and moral collapse. For these reasons we have resigned from the Y.C.L. and joined the Spartacus Youth League, the youth division of the Workers' Party of the U.S., the only party in America which has a Marxist-Leninist basis and democracy within its ranks.)
Boss System Leads Youth into Crime
(Capitalism leads to crime by denying opportunities to all but the upper classes.)
Press United Front in Yorkville
(The S.Y.L. in New York City has been effective in creating a united front against Fascism with the Y.P.S.L. and the Proletarische Gemeinschafte, holding open air meetings where several hundred workers attended. Despite a decision of the State Executive of the S.P. "to break all united fronts," "special permission" was granted to continue in Yorkville. Should a real united front movement be threatened or hindered the same fate that befell the Austrian and German workers will happen in America. We must smash the fascists before they smash us.)
Read The New International Monthly theoretical organ of the Workers Party
Read the New Militant Weekly organ of the Workers Party
Future of New Youth Int'l
(Written by Comrade Held, the representative of the Youth Commission of the International Communist League on the Buro of Revolutionary Youth Organizations. The buro was created at the conference which met in Luxemburg. Since then important changes have occurred. The Socialists of Austria and Spain took up arms, and the Socialists of France concluded a united front with the Communists after separating themselves from the "republican bloc" and their own right wing. Although there have been shifts within the proletarian youth movement and the Socialist Youth International which allow a united front to be possible there is still a need for a new international and a new youth international. That is because the old parties only move hesitatingly and oppose the building of a broad militia of the entire working class, which allows them to fight but not to win. This is true in France where both parties lack the will to struggle for power. In Switzerland the Socialist Youth is in open opposition to the Social Democratic party in opposing the extension of military service and supporting a united front with Communist organizations. The revolutionary currents of the various Youth Leagues and their positions bring them more and more into opposition to the conservative S.Y.I. and the bureaucracy of the official Communist organizations. These organizations obstruct the development of a broad revolutionary policy which inspires and moves the masses. The new youth international must work not just in Europe and North America but also in Asia, Africa and Latin America where revolutionary currents are strengthening and the groups joined to the International Buro of Revolutionary Youth Organization are natural allies.)
Questions and Answers
(Question: How do the bosses make their profits? This is done by paying workers as little as possible and less than the value of the commodities they produce. This additional or surplus value is then retained as profits by the capitalists who do not work at all. To create a society where everybody works and everyone shares in the fruits of his work we must take into our own hands the means of production. Toward this end the S.Y.L. teaches young workers and students the truth about capitalism and to struggle for their own rights and interests through working class revolution. See "Value, Price and Profit," and "Wage-Labor and Capital" by Karl Marx.)
Remember Bobzien
Mooney May Get Retrial
(The Supreme Court of California has granted Tom Mooney a new trial, although his innocence has been proved and he should be pardoned. The working class must struggle for his freedom.)
Utilities Control School Texts
(The Federal Trade Commission has traced cash outlays of $1,312,264 to the "public policy committee" of the National Electric Light Association. Their purpose is to mold the opinions of the American students.)
Munition Investigation Exposes Activities of Dealers in Death
(The Senate Munitions Investigation Committee has exposed the corruption, bribery and double dealing of the American arms firms. Although proclaiming its support of the national defense of the U.S., many, including Dupont and United Aircraft and Transport Corp. have sold arms and patents to Nazi Germany.)
The Workers Party of the United States is Founded
(The Communist League of America and the American Workers Party unite to form the new party.)
Chaco War Still On
(The war is about control of oil and the selling of munitions to both sides.)
Pioneer Book Service
(Pioneer Publishers is in a position to supply books of all publishers and will make every effort to locate out of print books at the lowest possible price. Make it a point to order all your books through Pioneer Publishers.)
Volume IV, Number 2, February 1935 (Full pdf version)
Young Spartacus
Published by the National Committee of the Spartacus Youth League of America, New York, NY
Associate Editors:
- Manny Garrett, Editor
- Jane Ogden, Business Manager
Anti-Red Drive Hits Workers Hearst and Cohorts Prepare Bills to Outlaw Workers' Movement
(There are six bills. One, a federal sedition law, would punish the advocacy of the violent overthrow of the government, and membership in any organization with such a doctrine. This provides a penalty for speech. Another one calls for a Secret Service Agency in the Department of Justice to track working class militants, their organization, their activities. Taken together these bills represent the first steps toward political fascism.)
Youth Meet Talks Much, Does Nothing
(The American Youth Congress passed numerous resolutions but no program of action was adopted.)
Toy Workers Close Shops in N.Y. Strike
(The strike involves about a thousand workers. Their demands are for a closed shop, increased wages and a forty hour week. The two largest shops have returned to work with the union's agreement. Several shops have already signed up with the union and the bosses are beginning to weaken.)
18 In Sacramento Framed; N.P.L.D. Aids in Defense
(Since the article was written the Communist Party has broken the united front which continues without it. 18 workers are facing 84 year sentences if convicted on all counts. They are mostly members of the Agricultural and Cannery Workers Union. They were arrested during the general strike red scare and initially charged with vagrancy and held on one thousand dollars bail. While they were being held the additional charges of criminal syndicalism were brought and the bails raised to three thousand. A united front supporting them includes the I.L.D., the Workers Party, the N.P.L.D., the Socialist party and the American Civil Liberties Union.)
Bosses Prevent Passage of Child Labor Law
(Pressure from industrialists and manufacturers as well as the Catholic Church has succeeded in killing the child labor amendment in the N.Y. State legislature. In the 10 years since the federal amendment was introduced only 24 states have ratified it, none in the south. The S.Y.L. calls for passage, abolition of child labor under 16, work schools for youth between 14 and 18 and state maintenance of children forced out of industry by the child labor laws.)
Student Notes: Perspectives of the S.Y.L.
(The entire membership will participate in student activities on a coordinated basis instead of the sporadic and loosely connected actions heretofor. There are now 15 student fractions, 5 in New York, which will participate.)
Flash From Chicago
(A united front has been formed between the N.S.L. and the student fraction of the S.Y.L. at Dudley High School on the issue of repairing falling wall plaster. The united front is the first of its kind.)
Peace For the U.S.?
(70% of 70,000 students polled by the Literary Digest believe the U.S. can stay out of another great war. The task of the S.Y.L. on campus is to teach students the truth about war, its nature and cause by organizing classes and forums.)
State College, Pa.
(The S.Y.L. has submitted an organizational document on the conditions and work at their school which puts forth a clear analysis of the objective as well as subjective forces at work in the State College.)
U.S. Students: Please Note
(In Ecuador the students at Quito Normal School have taken matters into their hands in actions against an intolerable faculty. There is a strike and faculty members have been taken hostage. The police are bewildered as to what action to take, not wanting to endanger faculty members during any attack on the students.)
Student Solidarity In Jugoslavia
(In Belgrade several hundred students went on a hunger strike to protest poor treatment of fellow students in a concentration camp, demanding the camp be dissolved. The government responded by sending armed force which resulted in one death and many wounded. Lights and water have been cut off at the university.)
Greetings to the COG
(The National Committee of the Spartacus Youth League greets and congratulates "The Cog," the semi-monthly publication of the New York S.Y.L., now having published its 3rd issue.)
Let's Go Spartacus
(We need subscriptions and agents need to pay promptly for their bundles to pay for printing and mailing and get the paper out regularly.)
In the Organization
(By Nathan Gould, National Secretary. A new branch of 16 members has been formed in Columbus, Ohio, and one is being formed in Scranton, Pa., Chicago has found headquarters for two of its five branches. The Los Angeles branch has increased its membership from 4 to 12 since the convention. There are possible branches forming in Fresno, Ca. and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Philadelphia has organized a branch of almost 20 members and its members have arranged to tour the fields of Eastern Pennsylvania for the purpose of organizing branches. Newark and Youngstown are progressing well. Minneapolis and Detroit are organizing branches and there will shortly be a branch at State College, Pa. New York has 15 new members.)
To the Youth of America Read the "New Militant," a weekly paper reporting on developments in the labor movement here and abroad.)
What, No Pictures? We can get them but can't afford to pay the engraver to print them. Send funds and articles as well.)
Food For Thought
(Members of Congress are protesting the price of pie in the House restaurant and the seats in Congress are too hard. Who can say they are not considering the major issues before the country?)
Tramping Through the South
(This is an account of a trip travelling through the South to study Negroes and Negro conditions. A main observation is that there is no open discrimination outside of the South, but there is past the Mason-Dixon line.)
Youth Under Hitlerism
(Economic conditions in general under Hitler are difficult, with wages stagnant and inflation destroying buying power. The situation of youth is even worse with unemployed youth sent to labor camps where they are paid very little and subjected to military training. Also, there is a law which forces almost every worker under 25 to relinquish his job to an older person.)
Call Out the Militia!
(There are 185,000 national Guard, mostly young workers, students or unemployed persons. Recently their main duty has become strikebreaking for the bosses. They must be neutralized or won over. The Y.C.L. has tried and failed to accomplish this task. The S.Y.L. can do this work but first we need to gain a complete understanding of the problem and then experiment with various ways of approaching it and determine which is best.)
Who Was Spartacus?
(Spartacus was a fighter and leader who traced a blazing course across the history of the class struggle. He was born in Thrace, and like other adventurous and impoverished youth of his time he joined the army. Not long after he must have deserted because we learn he was tracked down, arrested and handed over to the Romans as a slave. He was sent to gladiator school partly because he was a deserter and partly because he was well built. The school couldn't hold him and he broke out with a handful of fellow slaves and fled to Mt. Vesuvius where thousands of slaves who were inspired by him rose up against their masters. Under his leadership, as their numbers grew they smashed and routed two Roman forces sent against them. He conceived the "great idea" of ending slavery and building up a "communist" system where all worked and all were free. This meant challenging the power of the mightiest empire the world had ever seen. After being victorious in southern Italy greater masses flocked to him and he marched to the Alps but then turned back instead of marching on Rome, we don't know why. Two years later his slave army, divided by factional squabbles, was defeated and he fell in battle. His name has come to stand for stubbornness, courage, indomitable revolutionary spirit, solidarity among the oppressed and untiring struggle against oppression.)
Central Labor Youth Councils of Action
(The National Convention of the S.Y.L. formulated a resolution on the student question which has already been printed in Young Spartacus. It also addressed the question of the united front and concluded that what was needed was the Central Labor Youth Council of Action which would have equal representation of every youth group in a given locality. The C.L.Y.C.A. would weigh the necessity for a united front on a given issue and take the required measures for the execution of single or series of immediate tasks.)
Book Review-
("A Short History of the New Deal," by Louis M. Hacker, is a straight-from-the-shoulder exposition of the aims and design of the New Deal. "John Brown" by David Karsner presents a clear analyses of the two competing economic systems, one based on free trade and slavery for its tobacco and cotton plantations, the other based on protection of trade, centralized government and wage slavery. The book presents new material and is interestingly written and well worth reading.)
This Country's "Father"
(George Washington is hailed as the greatest example of American manhood. a heroic fighter for freedom, liberty and equality and a patriotic, fearless leader who embodies the American ideal of the rugged individualist. In reality he was a very wealthy slave owner who made most of his fortune from land speculation and was motivated by the fact that he and other planters could repudiate their debts to British merchants. Rather than a struggle for the rights of life and liberty the revolutionary war was actually a revolt of the autocracy fought by workers.)
Editorial Young Spartacus
(For three years the Y.S.L. has been publishing by far the best working class youth paper. We need your help to continue to organize and educate the youth for revolutionary action. Help us with criticism, letters, articles and money.)
Whither the Y.P.S.L.
(A number of Yipsels are facing expulsion for holding revolutionary ideas. Elements are calling for a Fourth International and political independence from the Socialist Party. We support them.)
Hearst Leads the Chorus
(Hearst, backed by powerful interests, is clamoring for Congressional laws to outlaw the political freedom of workers)
The Pioneer Publishers
(Announces two new pamphlets that are ready, "The Kirov Assassination," by Leon Trotsky, the first time in English, and "The Suppressed Testament of Lenin," with two explanatory articles by Leon Trotsky.)
Reasons for the Kirov Assassination
(In Trotsky's pamphlet, see above, he defends those accused of this crime and shows the absurdity of the charges. Instead he blames the bureaucratic machine that must resort to acts of violence against its own comrades in order to safeguard its position of leadership.) I Cover the War Front, by "Spartacus" Japan Moves Into China
(Japan takes and occupies territory in Chahar and Mongolia, positioning itself strategically for war against Russia.)
Uncle Sam Increases Arms
(Roosevelt asks for $870,922,292 for "national defense," increasing budgets for the army and navy, as well as the Reserves, National Guard and R.O.T.C. Japan responds with army and navy budgets totalling half the national revenue.)
Hitler Speeds Militarization
(Military training is now compulsory for all and steel production has more than doubled.)
Favors for Ship-Builders
(The Senate Munitions Investigating Committee reveals huge tax cuts for ship-builders. The navy will pay them. Also, Lithuania has sent reserves to the Memel border to meet a German increase.)
At the Movies With Ray
(Hollywood has become the gathering place of freaks and "talents" from the world over. The latest freak says his name is Romano Trotsky, the nephew of Leon Trotsky, and he predicts his "uncle" is preparing to come back to power within 10 months. The Hearst papers printed his portrait and an interview. Various inconsistencies reveal him to be an obvious fraud, white guard and fool.)
And Ruth
("Chapayev" is the story of one of the beloved heroes of the Russian revolution, a peasant leader in the Red Army. There are excellent characterizations, photography and direction. "David Copperfield" has highly exaggerated Dickensian characters that lend themselves well to the screen and are very well played. The film is highly entertaining. "Imitation of Life" is a sentimental and superficial melodrama but holds interest in its treatment of a near white Negro girl trying to pass for white. its propaganda cannot hide the fact that the problems of Negroes are bound up with the revolutionary working class and that only under a socialist order can the problems of the oppressed be answered.)
A Few Facts About the Nat'l Guard
(The National Guard has 200,000 members and is part of the regular army of the United States. Its principal function is to protect private property and to be capable of quick expansion in the event of war. It was used against Pancho Villa's revolution and to contribute troops during the World War. The Guardsman must answer to the call of his state and also the federal government. When called into federal service he becomes an army regular. The Guard is well trained. The Guard has been used to break strikes. In Toledo 20 guardsman refused to fire upon the strikers. Our task is to make that sort of occurrence more frequent and to win the Guardsmen, who come from working class families, to our side.)
Battles of Labor
(The great steel strike of 1919 was supported by 24 craft unions. It failed because it received only limited support from the A.F.L. It was brutally repressed and workers were clubbed, beaten and murdered.)
Good Boy – An Incident
(This is a story of two "good boys," one a National Guard member engaged in putting down a strike of workers he had grown up with because it was part of the "Red Menace," the other a Storm Trooper who believes he is serving The Leader and his country.)
Flashes From Abroad
(Kurt Lieberman, a leader of the youth section of the Socialist Workers Party, a left group that split from the Socialist Party, was arrested by Holland police and then deported to Germany, He has been sentenced to six years in a concentration camp. Franz Bobzien, previously listed as murdered, got four years in the concentration camp. Conflict has developed between the Swiss Socialist Youth league and the party. The youth believe that Socialists should represent the interests of the workers and not manufacturers and the like. They also disagree with the party's position in that they want a united front with the communists. The Leninist Youth of Belgium (Trotskyists) have entered the Socialist Young Guards and the Socialist Youth League in Germany is conducting its work, although in secrecy.)
Ferment Points to New Strike Wave Movement in Union Ranks Shows Prospects of Coming Struggle New Snaps C.C.C. Boys Protest
(125 boys at the C.C.C. camp 1281 on South Mountain Reservation, New Jersey, refused to work on January 8. The official reason was the 11 P.M. bedtime rule but the boys declared they were protesting the food. Police were called. 14 were expelled. the rest fined.)
Mexican Oil and Arms
(Hitherto unpublished correspondence in the State Department archives discloses that the reason
for the U.S. embargo on arms to Mexico in 1919 was Mexico's refusal to permit American companies to
drill for oil.)
Germans Give Birth
(The Reich claims the fastest growing birth rate, 17.6 for each thousand of population,)
America, He Loves You!
(The N.Y. Times reports on January 30 that Harry Levy of the Bronx, 54, left his home to apply for a job in Yonkers as a presser in a clothing factory. He had been without steady work for several months and without any employment for a month. A few hours later his family was informed that he had collapsed and died of an apoplectic stroke, the result of having been told he was acceptable and should report to work. Doctors said excitement had brought on the stroke.)
Saar Returns to Germany
(The Saar plebiscite has resulted in an overwhelming majority voting for a return to Germany. This is a setback for the workers of Saar and the international working class. The united front between the socialist and communist has failed to motivate and lead the workers. This defeat points to a need for new revolutionary parties that can lead the working class. This means building the Fourth International and the new revolutionary Youth International, and in the U.S. the building of the Workers Party and the Spartacus Youth League.)
Volume IV, Number 3, July 1935 (Full pdf version)
Young Spartacus
Published by the National Committee of the Spartacus Youth League of America, New York, NY
Associate Editors:
- Manny Garrett, Editor
- Jane Ogden, Business Manager
(They were leading members who had called for a Fourth International, the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism, and a revolutionary party built on democratic centralism.)
Huge May Day Parades Will Be Demonstration of Workers Solidarity Workers Party and Spartacus Youth League to March in United Front Parades with Unions – Call Workers and Students Out on Streets
Nation's Students in Strike 110,000 Out; Lack of Worker Leadership Chief Fault
(A nationwide demonstration and student strike against war was held April 12. Although some schools were supportive there were suspensions and expulsions at others. The strike would have been more effective if working class youth organizations had been included. Support the Student Strikers.)
Scottsboro Boys Granted New Trial By Supreme Court Defense Rests in Workers Organized Support
(Two of the boys have been granted new trials by the Supreme Court. The other seven still face the electric chair. Only a united front of the entire labor movement can save their lives.) Spartacan Leads Job Fight
(In Gillespie Ill., picketing and organized action won jobs on a P.W.A. project. The action was led by a Spartacan.)
Gould Leaves on Nat'l Tour Will Report at Conferences To Speak in Main Cities From Coast to Coast
(The 35 city tour will have National Secretary Nathan Gould speaking. The tour is from April 13-July 7, 1935, an itinerary is in the article.)
SYL Scores Great Gains
(National membership is up 144%, branches are up 133%, subscriptions up 400%, paid circulation up 100% and dues payments are up 400%.)
"Mass Action" Out
(The National Unemployed League has started publication of a weekly unemployed paper called "Mass Action" which is the only national unemployed weekly publication.)
YCLers Come Over to S.Y.L.
(The demoralization and disintegration of the Y.C.L. is reflected in a number of recent resignations and expulsions. Five members of the Y.C.L. in Philadelphia resigned to join the Spartacus Youth League. Members in Newark and Brooklyn were expelled for questioning the "party line." They joined the S.Y.L. as did three others in Brooklyn who resigned from the Y.C.L. Five leading members of the C.P. resigned and joined the Workers Party. In Akron a whole branch of the C.P. resigned and joined the W.P.)
Lets Go, Spartacans
(Numerous branches have paid their bills but we have had to cut off some bundle agents who have not paid for their papers as we are on a "cash and carry" basis with our printer. Subscriptions are increasing, 12 in Dec.; 16 in Jan.; 23 in Feb.; 37 in the first two weeks of March. This is a good trend but we need more to assure the life of our paper.)
Educational Notes
(The educational department of the National Committee has prepared the following material for branch use: an outline for classes in the ABC of Marxism and a pamphlet by George Marien, "Paris on the Barricades," which is the story of the Paris Commune.)
Conference in New York
(The first Regional Conference of the S.Y.L. was held in N.Y.C. on April 13 and 14. The national organization is growing quickly. There were reports from the national organization and various branches on their progress. A District Committee was approved and elected.)
Luxemburg May Day Article is True of Situation Today
(Just as during the first May Day demonstrations the world is imperialism and war and preparations for more war. The Frenchman Lavigne proposed May Day at the International Congress in Paris (1890) as a way to allow independent political mass action of the proletariat, the laying down of tools as a demonstration and fighting tactic for the eight-hour day, world peace, and socialism.)
Writes Appreciation of Young Spartacus
(A letter praising the paper and describing the daily life experiences of unemployed youths.)
Callouses – Cuts – Constipation
(The story of a boy who joined the C.C.C. and worked as a health worker and his attempt to deal with unhealthy and unsanitary conditions with severely limited resources.)
Editorial: More Truth Than Poetry
(The situation in Europe duplicates that of 1913. War is coming. It is the central concern of the working class. Capitalist rivalries and hatred of the Soviet Union create war. Only capitalism's destruction can prevent and and eliminate war. We need a new youth international. The National Committee of the Spartacus Youth league has sent a letter to the International Bureau of Revolutionary Youth Organizations calling for an international conference in December.)
The Student Strike
(The student strike organization was dominated by Stalinists and Socialists through the N.S.L. and S.L.I.D., who pay verbal allegiance to working class leadership but did not respond to a call put forth by the S.Y.L. for practical acceptance of working class leadership and for a properly constituted united front containing working class youth organizations.)
Go West, Young Man, Go West
(The famous statement from Horace Greeley sent thousands of youth to a vast undeveloped west. The same idea is put forth today but there is no room for expansion and two hundred thousand youths find that life is nothing more than a freightyard and a transient camp. The article describes the experience of these youths in the freightyards. We must organize them or they will be recruited into the Fascist horde.)
The Red Reader-Book Reviews
("The State in Theory and Practice," by Harold J. Laski, a brilliant political thinker, uses a metaphor to detail the nature and interaction of the bosses, the working class, and the petty bourgeois. The same metaphor is used to elucidate imperialist war, fascism, and revolution. "Waiting For Nothing" by Tom Kromer tells the story of a man who after being a glass blower, a proof-reader and a teacher can not find work and travels to the wheat fields of Kansas. With no work in Kansas, California or anywhere he takes to the road and becomes a "stiff." The book is a vivid and authentic account of life on the road during the depression. Its weakness is in its negative approach to life but
if carefully supplemented it will be highly instructive.)
Not Last, But Next, Says Sam: Letter to the Editor
(The last war made a profit for the capitalists of $12,000 per casualty. and 10 million soldiers were killed. The next one will have similar casualties while the Morgans & Co. calculate their profit percentages. This will continue forever until capitalism is torn out by its roots and is replaced by a workers' society where production for use, and not for profit, prevails. This is why Young Spartacus should write not about the first but the coming world war.)
I Cover the War Front by "Spartacus" Reich Raises Arms
(Hitler has decreed universal military conscription, a larger navy and more efficient air force, as well as repudiating the Versailles Treaty.)
France Polishes Front
(France has added another year onto the existing year of compulsory miltary service. Two new 35,000 ton battleships are planned and troops from the Italian frontier were brought up to man the Rhine fortifications.)
Italians Put On Move
(Two divisions of 35,000 men have left to reinforce the border guards in Somaliland. Mussolinhi has begun to mass troops for service in Europe. 250,000 soldiers of the class of 1911 have been called into active service. The Italian army is being changed for adaption to movement and the cavalry is being motorized.)
Japs Jilt British
(The Japanese Foreign Office declared the open door policy (whereby each nation has equal trading rights) invalid in Manchukukuo. This gives Japan a monopoly over oil produced in Manchukukuo, one of the world's main sources of supply.)
China Gets "Loan"
(Japan is attempting to force an unsolicited loan on China. Britain and the U.s. have also expressed interest in lending to China and Japan said it would join in international action. These actions generally result in firmer imperialistic control over the nation's economic and political life.)
Uncle Sam Spends
(The budget is much higher than expected due to increased military appropriations including a new air base in Hawaii and new coast defenses.)
The Cabbie
(Poem about the life of a cab driver by Al Russell) 6 A Few Pages From the Life Of Our War-Lord, Franklin D. Roosevelt – And Haiti
(Haiti, home of American owned plantations and bank branches was invaded in 1915 by American marines. There was a provision in the Haitian constitution that prohibited the ownership of land by foreigners. U.S. interests proposed using the marines to enforce the adoption of a new constitution, increasing their numbers eightfold, if necessary. The new constitution was drafted by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The constabulary of the island and American marines took charge of the plebiscite, which passed the constitution. A missionary later testified that only the yes votes were counted. During 5 years of marine occupation 3,250 Haitians were killed, mostly for resisting efforts to make them work on the plantations stolen from them for next to nothing in wages.) US...Young Guys
(A letter to the editors that proclaims that "young workers" are all individuals with their "own way of looking at things" but a common interest in organizing and having strong unions, whatever color or nationality.)
This'n'That in Science
(The Norsemen who discovered the New World 500 years before Columbus were unable to maintain their colonies because of rickets. They refused to take the native cod liver oil that enabled the Eskimos to survive. The Nazi pseudo-scientists claim that Nordic heads are long and narrow but the predominant head shape in Germany is broad and flat. The Nazi scientists claims this comes from placing babies on their backs. This article also has instructions on how to do trick photography.)
The Starling
(Poem by Allen Ericson)
Where are the Young Socialists Going History of Y.P.S.L. Argues Need of Militant Policy and Organization As Left Wing Group Joins Y.S.L.
Statement of Resignation from the Y.P.S.L.
(The Y.P.S.L. and Socialist Party are reformist-centrist in nature and reject a program of active revolutionary Marxism, instead dividing the working class along national lines. Therefore the members who have resigned to join the S.Y.L. and the Workers Party believe that only in this way can they effectively continue their work against Fascism, war and capitalism and for the Fourth international and workers' victory.)
Sacramento Verdict Convicts 8; Acquits 6 Vigilantes Unleash Anti-Union Drive; As They Force Conviction
(Their only crime was trade union organization. Jack Warnick, one of the defendants, said "an insane verdict" and "If any of us were guilty, all of us were." The verdict was a compromise.)
Fargo Men Stick With Local 173 Resist Attack Of Bosses and AFL Officialdom
(General Drivers Local 173 in Fargo is engaged in strike struggles. 95 strikers have been arrested and their union headquarters tear gassed. The president and secretary of the union and one other picket, were sentenced to six months at hard labor. The A.F.L. leader, Tobin, has revoked the union's charter and declared the strike illegal. Other local unions, as well as the A.C.L.U. and the Non-Partisan Labor Defense have come to their aid with legal and organizational support.)
Frisco United Front Sets Nat'l Example Y.C.L. Joins Spartacus and Yipsels In United Demonstration
(400 people attended the meeting held under the auspices of 6 youth organizations. Steps have been taken to form a committee for a demonstration against war and Fascism on May 30.)
AF of L Betrays Workers
(The Akron rubber workers strike ended without a single demand being granted. The A.F.L. leaders, Green and Claherty, instead of pursuing a militant class struggle called for conferences with government officials. Experience has taught class conscious workers that the government of any capitalist nation is on the side of the bosses.)
Volume IV, Number 4, August 1935 (Full pdf version)
Young Spartacus
Published by the National Committee of the Spartacus Youth League of America, New York, NY
Associate Editors:
- Manny Garrett, Editor
- Jane Ogden, Business Manager
New Youth Sop Menaces Labor F.D.R. Decree Sets Miserly Pay Standard White House Plan is Greek Gift to Workers
(Roosevelt has created the N.Y.A., the National Youth Administration. Youth will be employed as apprentices, at "minimum allowance" during their 2,000-10,000 hours of apprenticeship. This will hurt employed workers with lower paid competition, and only help half a million of the 3 million youth who are in need.)
War is Certain As Black-Shirts Muster Troops Abyssinian Venture Heralds New Carnage
(Italy is preparing to devour one of the last independent states in Africa--Ethiopia. 500,000 Italian workers have been sent to Italian Somaliland and Eritrea in preparation for war, which is imminent. In 1896 Italy attempted to conquer Ethiopia but was defeated by Menelek II and his followers. In 1906 the tripartite treaty signed by France, Italy and England gave each country Ethiopian territory. Italy has concocted border disputes and says Ethiopia has provoked them and that they are uncivilized and incapable of self-rule. These specious arguments are a cover for Italy's desire for Ethiopia's oil, coffee, platinum, gold, copper. lead, ivory and other rich minerals which will bring huge profits to Italy's ruling class. Also, the fascist government with its bloated bureaucracy is draining the treasury and causing higher taxes, higher unemployment and worker unrest. The workers of Italy must follow Karl Liebknecht's advice that "the enemy is at home" and realize that war will not benefit either the Italian or Ethiopian masses and destroy the fascist dictatorship.)
Spartacus Fights Pacifism at Detroit Meeting of AYC The Stalinists and Y.P.S.L. were concerned about not offending pacifist and liberal elements but little concerned with offense to revolutionary elements.)
Pa. Unemployed League Forms "Workers Scouts" Children Boycott Politician's "Haven"
(The boycott occurred because the youths of the "Haven" supplied scabs to break the strike of caddies on a nearby golf course. The unemployed League organized the "Workers Scouts of America" to provide a working class education free of the bosses' propaganda and provide sports activities and a weekly hike or outing every Saturday.)
Yipsel Nat'l Convention Elects "Militant" N.E.C. Avoid Discussion of Political Issues
(No program of action was adopted, however the voting age was raised from 25 to 30.)
Student Notes: Expulsions and Expulsions
(At Cedar Crest College Prof. Winslow Hallett was dismissed for aiding the Lehigh Unemployed League in their struggles. The National Teachers Union, labor unions, the S.Y.L., W.P., N.P.L.D. and student body have begun a campaign for his reinstatement. In Ohio, at Struthers Junior High, four teachers were dismissed by the school superintendant for working to organize a student union. The S.Y.L. passed out petitions urging the students to strike. The next day 1,500 students left their classes shouting "We want our teachers." The success of the protest led to the superintendant inviting students, parents and teachers to a board meeting where the board voted for the reinstatement of the teachers. In Champaign, Illinois a comrade was expelled from the N.S.L. for "Trotskyism" which led to five leading members resigning and joining the S.Y.L. At Harvard a comrade who was on the executive committee of the N.S.L. and editor of the Harvard-Radcliffe "Student News" was expelled for "Trotskyism.")
Let's Go Spartacans
(The paper is two months late because of lack of funds. Contributions are needed.)
Students at Edinburgh Offer Trotsky Rectorship
(This is a letter dated June 7, 1935 from Leon Trotsky thanking the students of Edinburgh University for offering the position, especially since they were uninfluenced by the refusal of the British government to grant him a visa. However he refuses because the position is non-political and he has been and remains "devoted to the revolutionary liberation of the proletariat from the yoke of capital. Therefore he only feels it proper to appear publicly under the Bolshevik banner.)
Organization Column by Nathan Gould
(He sat with Tom Mooney for an hour at the "reception" hall of San Quentin and discussed his case and other current working class problems. He is an inspiring example of revolutionary speech and determination. He expresses confidence that revolutionary and workers organizations that have battled for 18 years for his freedom will continue to do so as part of their general struggle for the emancipation of mankind from class rule. Prior to the visit with Mooney he spent an hour in the same reception hall with Norman Mini, serving 1 to 14 years for organizing California agricultural workers. He sends his greetings and a fighting message of devotion to his class and comrades encouraging them in the struggle for his freedom which determined efforts will accomplish. Three new branches have been formed: Champaign Ill (8 members,) Minneapolis, Minn. (13 members) and New Haven, Conn, (7 members.) The Canadian S.Y.L. has three branches, two in Toronto and one in Vancouver. There are prospects for the formation of branches in Hamilton and Montreal,) Fertile Field in Settlement Houses
(The Settlement Houses in the state of New York are private institutions set up by the bourgeoisie to mitigate the broad unrest of the working class, caused by the capitalist system. Our comrades need to concentrate on these places in order to spread our program, win the youth for the working class and direct and lead their struggle along revolutionary lines.)
SYL Protests to International Bureau on Delegate's Action
(The International Bureau of Revolutionary Youth Organizations, committed to a program for the Fourth International, participated in the congress of the International Workers Alliance held in Paris in Feb. of 1935. The basic discussion was about resolutions and speeches of Comrades Sneevlet and Schmidt of the newly formed Independent Workers Party of Holland criticizing the existing Internationals and establishing a need for a new revolutionary (4th) International. Willi Brandt of S.A.P. gave a speech attacking the speeches and resolutions of the Dutch representatives in violation of the principles of the Bureau and the mandate of the Secretariat which bound him to support of the 4th International at this congress. This was able to happen because while those most interested in the movement for the 4th International were the majority in the organization but a minority in the Secretariat, its leading body. The S.Y.L. sent off a sharp letter to the Secretariat disassociating itself from Brandt's conduct, condemning his actions and his speech and demanding a change in the composition of the Secretariat by making additions to the Bureau which would give supporters of the 4th International a majority in the Secretariat. A special meeting has been
called to discuss the S.Y.L. proposals.)
8 Page New Militant
(The "New Militant," the official organ of the Workers Party will soon appear as an 8-page weekly, much enriched in content and make-up.)
Unemployed Boys and Girls Neglected by Boss System
(A report by secretary of labor Frances Perkins to the U.S. Senate reveals the total inadequacy of what has been done so far and shows that unemployment has hit younger workers particularly hard.)
Fascists Militarize Italian Youth Under Lash of Economic Oppression
(Mussolini has instituted compulsory military training that does not end until age 32. The educational system has been totally "fascisized" and only party members are eligible for state employment and afforded opportunities for advancement in their jobs. The economic position of the Italian young worker has sunk lower and lower, with wages declining and unemployment increasing.)
The Army – and the C.C.C.
(The army dominates all aspects of the C.C.C. 5,300 regular and reserve military officers have been drafted or reassigned to the C.C.C., where they control all aspects of the camps. Camp conditions include substandard food and medical attention. There are 20-30 "show camps" near large cities where conditions are better.)
A Letter From The Three C's
(The letter was provided by the writer's mother. Her son writes her that he wants to come home. He tells her that because the lack of enough food and decent food most of the men went on strike, were threatened with dishonorable discharges if they did not return to work and fined $3. However, the mess officer was fired, new cooks replaced the old, and the food improved.)
Tom Paine and the American Revolution
(Tom Paine discovered a surprising eloquence and early in 1776 wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense," which electrified the nation. It listed the grievances against the throne of England and made the case for complete separation and a model democracy ruled by the whole people. He continued writing during the revolution, pleading with the people for support and encouraging the army. As a special ambassador to France he raised money and supplies for the revolution. He believed government arose from the mutual consent of the governed and was disillusioned by the emergence of a new ruling class. He went to England during the French Revolution and wrote "Rights of Man" in support. He went to France, where he pleaded for the life of the French king on humanitarian grounds and because he had aided the American revolution. He was jailed as a result. In prison he wrote "The Age of Reason" which knocked down the symbols of religion because he believed these trappings discredited the idea of a god and he was himself religious. He did not realize that the oppression, cruelty and immediacy of the enemy made inevitable the ruthless stamping out of the old society and all its symbols in France. The Terror was a necessity.)
The Birth of This Nation
(America was colonized by masses of humans driven from their native lands by conditions of life described as "blood and filth." Refugees from the war between France and Holland in 1674, including religious heretics and prisoners, and Scotch and Irish displaced by sheep, migrated to America, many of them as indentured servants who were sold on the auction block. They were cheaper than slaves and often lived 20 to a room in conditions of indescribable filth. Negro slaves were also imported.)
France Faces Barricades
(This article contains excerpts from a manifesto issued by the Bolshevik Leninist Youth faction inside the French Socialist Youth to the national conference of the latter. The leadership of the Socialist youth has announced an expulsion campaign against them. There are six million unemployed youth in France. They are subject to brutal exploitation. The reactionary offensive is gradually tearing away all the existing liberties and social reforms. The struggle must be for the complete overthrow of the system through nationalization. The workers must join with the peasants in insurrection and all physically fit youth should join fighting organizations for defense which the Young Socialists must link with the working masses.)
Editorial: A New Deal Crumb
(50,000,000 for the National Youth Administration, which sets miserable wage standards for young workers and menaces the wage levels of adult workers. The Spartacus Youth League calls upon workers, young and old, to oppose the plan and to destroy capitalism.)
I Cover the War Front by "Spartacus"
(Emperor Hailie Selassie has mobilized his country to fight Italy saying "Better die free than as slaves." Mussolini has mobilized his maximum strength and hostilities are certain to break out at the end of the rainy season. The U.S. is arming for war and increasing military expenditures. Britain has dropped all naval quotas and is arming itself, while at the same time its munitions firms are selling arms to Germany. Japan is advancing in China and has ambitions on Soviet islands in the Amur river, leading to a border dispute. Tokyo plans to double its air force and build up its navy. It is creating tensions with the U.S. by its designs on the Philippines, where it has land-holdings, fisheries and retail trade. Germany is building battleships, cruisers, submarines and torpedo boats. They are adding a new plane every three days and fortifying their borders in violation of the Versailles treaty. France will replace its entire air force. The Soviet Union, surrounded by imperialist nations, has developed its defenses in the Baltic. The League of Nations, although a sorry instrument for its goal of "the preserving of peace" puts out an informative yearbook that shows increases in the world's armaments over the last three years, particularly for Germany, Japan, Russia and the U.S. The Baltic states are pushing their air forces and increasing other armaments.)
Questions and Answers: War and the Franco-Soviet Pact
(What causes imperialist war? Industrialists want markets and raw materials, bankers want places to exploit with loans and investments. Since these things are limited there is war. Should the workers take sides with the "good " capitalists against the "bad" capitalists in case of war? They are all the same and the worker always loses. What can the workers do to get out of this mess? Capitalism brings about wars and we must wipe out the capitalist system to permanently abolish war. What should be the attitude of the Soviet Union towards the question of imperialist war? It should explain to the workers of the world that the only real defense of the workers' fatherland is the defeat of their own capitalists and the creation of Soviet governments throughout the world. Surely the Franco-Soviet pact is not in line with this? No, the French workers must overthrow their country's imperialists. How do you explain this contradiction? The Soviet bureaucracy has turned away from the international working class and placed the immediate narrow interests of the Soviet Union above the fate of the international proletariat and the ultimate fate of the Soviet Union itself. They have deserted the international revolution.)
A "Champion of Democracy Wields Cudgels in Letter To Us: And We Answer
(A letter to the Franklin K. Lane High School paper (staffed by S.Y.L. members) from Mr. Anthony Love, a graduate. He criticizes students for preaching against the organization that gives them their education and suggests that they would be better off in Russia. He praises democracy. The reply points out that one of the aspects of democracy is the right to advocate whatever kind of politics you believe in and that suggesting anyone who disagrees with Mr. Love should be shipped to the U.S.S.R. is inconsistent and unclear as to what democracy is. Mr. Love's letter also says that "some reds who have been inflamed by Communist propaganda "attempt to spread notions of revolution in order to install a vicious dictatorship of the sort that's been set up in Russia." The reply points out that our country was born in revolution and Jefferson said "We ought to have one every 20 years" and Lincoln said: "Revolutions are sometimes not only good, but necessary." The reply also points out that education is not a gift but paid for by taxation which falls mostly on workers, and since we pay for the government we have the right to say what kind of government we want.)
This 'n' That in Science
(This article examines medical fads and particularly osteopathy and chiropractic, explaining the theories of both and claiming that they have no scientific basis.)
Howard Waley:: Bridge Builder
(Howard Waley slipped and fell to his death on June 2 while working on the Trans-Bay Bridge from San Francisco. The story describes the Bay Bridge as a wondrous achievement. It also describes his fall and blames it on the lack of a safety line and slippery conditions on the catwalk due to fog. The big company building the bridge chooses not to afford the safety lines because men are plentiful.)
Yipsels Asked to Break With United Front Mockery-Analysis Urges Dissolution of Congress-For Councils of Action.
(United fronts are possible with pacifists only on specific anti-war issues. The A.Y.C is too heterogeneous and its program is not revolutionary but pacifist, detouring the youth moving to a revolutionary position to a pacifist course. The Yipsels are seeking to break from the congress on organizational issues and not political ones. They cannot break on political issues because they bear equal responsibility for its creation and permanent status. Labor youth organizations should work through local youth councils of action on single specific issues.)
Let the Y.C.L. Answer
(The Y.C.L. brings pacifist confusion and reformist delusion by support of the national, democratic governments that stand for "peace," thus replacing Leninism with Stalinism. The main enemy is at home. The duty of every class conscious worker and young rebel is to reject alliance with the bourgeoisie against the proletariat and to labor for the revolution in his own country.)
The S.Y.L. Resolution
(There is a tendency to distinguish, in their struggle against war, between Fascist countries and the so-called democratic countries and lend their sympathies to the democratic countries. This congress goes on record against any war engaged in by American imperialism. There is no "lesser evil" and supporting a country with a so called democratic government in a war against a fascist country could not and would not be in the interests of the masses. Any pact engaged in by this country would be only to advance the interests of American imperialism and under no circumstances can the workers movement or any anti-war movement support any act entered into by the ruling class of this country.)
A Quotation from Tchemodonov
(Tchemedonov was the secretary of the Young Communist International. Excerpts from his quotes are: "War? If war occurs against the U.S.S.R. and you make your revolution, you will be traitors." and "German fascism must find itself confronted with the countries who are struggling for peace: France and the U.S.S.R.")
Green Pastures and the Home Relief Bureau
(Mr. Edward Cord, Home Relief Bureau administrator, has a plan that calls for creating a garden project, stimulating the back to the land movement and deporting aliens who are willing to return to their native land. This is supposed to give unemployed workers the illusion of activity, achievement and social usefulness. Responses include comments like: "I'm not a farmer...There are enough farmers--too many of them, and they can't get rid of their stuff." Our program for the workers on relief is higher relief budgets, a work relief program at prevailing wages and social security at the expense of the state and the bosses.)
Young Coal Digger Describes Bootleg Mining In Anthracite
(Bootleg mining consists of sinking a shaft to a vein of coal close to the surface. The shafts vary from 10 to 80 feet and after reaching a vein it is dug with a pick and shovel and in most cases a slight charge of dynamite. It is then brought to the surface, broken up and graded into different sizes. The work is dangerous and sometimes fatal because after a rainstorm the ground absorbing the water has created a surface pressure which causes the roof of the mine to collapse. Workers are struggling against capitalism and learning that the only way to secure and guarantee a decent standard of living is to do away with the capitalists and take over the wealth producing machinery and run it for use and not for profit.)
Volume IV, Number 5, November 1935 (Full pdf version)
Young Spartacus
Published by the National Committee of the Spartacus Youth League of America, New York, NY
Associate Editors:
- Manny Garrett, Editor
- Jane Ogden, Business Manager
War and the 4th International An Address to Young Socialists and Communists Who Think
(An article by Leon Trotsky about war danger and youth. It criticizes the leaders of the 2nd and 3rd International for preaching "disarmament" and "agreement" through the League of Nations. He says: "For Marxists the struggle against war coincides with the struggle against imperialism. This means the struggle is not "general disarmament" but the arming of the proletariat for the revolutionary overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the establishment of the workers' state.")
Watch France
(The militants of the Seine District of the French young Socialists have drawn the wrath of the combined bureaucracies of the Socialist Party, Communist Party and the boss state. They were expelled from the Socialist youth organization by the Central Committee. 13 members of the Socialist Party of France, members of the Bolshevik-Leninist faction, have also been expelled. A mass meeting of 1,500 Parisian workers declared themselves behind the expelled, as did Pivert, leader of the left group, Bataille Socialiste.)
N.Y.A. Proves Inadequate New York Director Resigns
(Aubrey Williams, executive director of the N.Y.A. admitted that the 50 million appropriated to take care of 8 million Unemployed youth was wholly inadequate. The N.Y. director, Fairfield Osborn, resigned because nothing had been done because funds had not come through. The program is being curtailed.)
Magazine Article Exposes Scouts
(The American Spectator, December 1935, has a lead article titled "The Boy Scouts Prepare For War." Quotes from General Pershing, the Secretary of War, and other high government officials prove they are not merely a humanitarian organization but a military clique closely tied up with the army.)
New Items
(The Nobel committee has decided no peace prize will be awarded this year.)
Anti-Red Drive Meets Snag
(Bill Green, in his drive against progressives in the trade union movement sent Meyer Lewis to Minneapolis to start the drive. But Lewis changed his mind and came out in favor of the hosiery workers' strike in progress which he had promised the Citizens (bosses') Alliance he would oppose. The drive was opposed by Local 574 with the backing of the organized labor movement of Minneapolis and the students of the University of Minneapolis who used their official newspaper and university radio station to oppose the drive.)
On the Student Union
(In several months the National Student League and the Student league for Industrial Democracy may fuse to form the American Student Union. The S.Y.L. is willing to join the new organization provided they are allowed an opportunity to voice their opinion when the occasion arises. However, the N.S.L. and the S.L.I.D. have been attempting to exclude Spartacans. Will this become one of the conditions of fusion?)
Let's Go Spartacans
(The paper is appearing irregularly because of financial shortfalls. Young Spartacus need subscriptions. A new drive is announced with prizes of books and pamphlets for 5 and 10 subscriptions.)
Organization Seen as Needed After Shipping Clerks Strike
(12,000 shipping clerks stages a two and a half week battle against police, gangsters and scabs. There were some gains made but they were limited and the strike exposed the need for more organization and preparation on the part of the strikers and their union.) Just Off the Press War and the Workers by John West
(This pamphlet is a searching analysis into the causes for war and the imperialist conflicts of the present epoch, as well as a scathing indictment of all forms of pacifism and social-patriotism. League branches are asked to make special efforts toward a large scale distribution.)
Coal Is Bread by Kim Dolson
(The author's grandfather had pro-union ideas. He was wise and showed an understanding of the predicament of working people that was pointed and simple. He and his friends worked in the coal mines and when he brought up the idea of striking for union recognition and safer working conditions one of them asked "What if they fire us?" Her grandfather replied that "they can't get along without us" and pointed out that coal runs machinery and trains and gives electricity and heat. He said coal was like bread to the poor, you could go without it for a little while but but in the end would have to go back to using it. The next Monday they called a strike and all fifteen hundred men came out. That was 12 years ago and today the union is part of their lives. Then the depression came and the bosses turned more heavily to mining machinery and today one third of the miners that were employed in 1929 are producing twice as much coal. If her grandfather were alive today he would say "Get rid of the bosses who steal the bread of the workers, and let only those who make the bread eat the bread.")
Reactionaries on the Offensive
(The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a campaign to discredit "free education above the eighth grade" because, in view of the impending war, they do not want to create cannon-fodder that is socially and politically conscious and may therefore turn against them.)
Guerilla Warfare in the C.C.C. Part 1: The Authorities
(There is a relentless war, kept secret by the press, and unknown and unnoticed by the public, between the C.C.C. authorities and the "agitators." The authorities are the army officers, the reserves, the educational advisors and "Happy Days," published weekly in Washington "for the C.C.C. by the C.C.C." The authorities have the power to put on trial and punish to any extent anyone they suspect. They have no mercy and can inflict fines and extra work details or even discharge their victims "dishonorably." Their goal is to intimidate the young camp inmates and make them feel powerless in order to discourage any resistance, all the while lining their pockets with money diverted from mess and educational funds.)
Editorials: Hail the Revolution!
(Eighteen years ago, on November 7, the Russian masses proved that the working class could take power, given organization and revolutionary guidance. Lenin said the young soldiers of the revolution were indispensable. From this victory sprang international organizations of labor--adult and youth. Stalinist bureaucracy has destroyed these organizations. The S.Y.L. pledges "For a Fourth International; for a new Youth International."
Farewell to the Y.C.I.
(At the 7th World Congress of the Communist International it was decided that the Young Communist (Y.C.I.) was to be dissolved. No notice was given.)
Break the Fiasco The Y.C.L. intends to use the A.Y.C. for the purposes originally intended for the Y.C.I. It opposed a motion calling for the A.Y.C. to declare against support of the U.S. government "in any war that it may undertake." This motion was introduced by the S.Y.L. and Y.P.S.L. Membership in the A.Y.C. is no longer tenable for the S.Y.L. which proposes Councils of Action instead and today publicly proclaims its break with the A.Y.C.)
Another Gesture
(The A.Y.C. has framed the American Youth Act for proposal to Congress. It is an ineffective gesture emphasizing the middle class and is limited in its scope.)
Red Reader-Book Reviews Horse Shoe Bottoms By Tom Tippet
(This is a book about the lives of coal diggers in Illinois in the last decades of the 19th century. It is simple, sincere and devoid of affectation. The book closes with the building of a union hall with miner's labor and money they contribute. The book is heartily recommended and the review suggests it be made required reading in workers' schools throughout the nation.)
Poison Gas by the Union Democratic Control
(This pamphlet describes in detail the horrors of poison gas, with less attention to the fact that each of these gasses has an effective counter measure if properly used. It is very unpleasant but so is shrapnel, machine gun fire and bayonets. To a soldier there is not much difference. All branches of war are horrible; no phase of it is worse than the other. All should be learned by the workers and used when the time comes. Only in this way can the horrors of war be finally and completely done away with.) 5 The Birth of this Nation by Al Russel This article, continued from last issue, describes how the emigrants pushed west when freed of their bond of servitude and survived by hunting and fishing, agriculture, and trade in fur, lumber, molasses rum, pitch, indigo and saltpeter. The revolution brought wealth to some and poverty to others. Those who were unable to pay their debts or discharge them through bankruptcy languished in debtor's prisons for long periods of time, sometimes life.)
I Cover the War Front by "Spartacus"
(Italian troops and planes attack Ethiopia and take territory. Lack of water, yellow fever, dysentery and other problems delay the advance of the fascist army. Desert wastes, mountains and the need to build roads are problems as well. A determined population with fighting ability is another problem for the Italians. Five nations, England, France, Italy, Japan and the U.S. will attend a disarmament conference which will likely limit arms to a level that is considerably greater than the current level. The Chinese are expecting a Japanese drive to take territory in South China. The U.S. is building an aviation landing field on Bataan island in the Philippines amid tensions in the area with Japan. Britain is filling the Mediterranean with fighting ships to protect the Suez Canal and its commercial interests in Egypt. The U.S. is beefing up and modernizing its armed forces. England is doing the same. Germany is preparing to invade Lithuania.) Poem, And a Prelude by Allen Ericson
The Scientist Counsels: Revolution
(A column meant to provide an appreciation of the physical universe, life as a phenomenon within it, the spectacle of the human species struggling through almost a thousand generations to fashion a society of equal opportunity for all individuals. It will deal with science in a materialistic way, without bringing in a supernatural power or force. To scientists the universe is orderly and governed by the law of cause and effect. As our understanding of it grows we are increasingly able to predict. The scientific method uses controlled experiments to observe the effects of known causes and to determine the significance of any single factor under analysis. The scientist is able to generalize, to state principles, conclusions. Science is a method of conquering ignorance and superstition. Science can convince by its achievements. Communication and transportation have made great advances. Power machinery has diminished labor needed to manufacture goods and process raw materials and has helped fight communicable diseases.) 7 Gracchus Babeuf The Organizer of the Society of Equals
(To the casual student the French Revolution consists of the Bastille storming, the execution of the King, the Reign of Terror, the downfall of Robespierre and the coup d'etat of Napoleon. Babeuf saw the revolution, which was fought by the masses of the people, hijacked by the bourgeoisie after the fall of Robespierre. The new government and new constitution rescinded the rights that had been won and ruled in the interests of the bourgeois. Inflation was rampant and the price of bread and other necessities rose precipitously, which hurt the masses the most. Babeuf founded the "Society of the Pantheon," a political club which called for compensation for those who had fought in the Revolution, better living conditions for the masses, civil rights and other demands for the benefit of the proletarian class. In his paper, "The People's Tribunal," Babeuf denounced individual property-ownership as the principal source of all existing evils. He had been in and out of jail depending on the political winds but now a new order for his arrest was issued and he had to live in hiding from that point. The society was outlawed and replaced by the "Society of Equals," led by the "Secret Directory," an illegal committee of insurrection, which was to prepare for the overthrow of the government. It aimed to achieve political liberty and economic equality through the abolition of private property and the institution of a communist regime. They planned an insurrection but were betrayed by a government agent and arrested. They were tried publicly and made speeches explaining their program and urging the masses to resist every reactionary move of the government. In 1797 Babeuf and others were guillotined.)
Y.C.L. Report Announces Dissolution
(The New York meeting of the Y.C.L. announced the liquidation of the Young Communist International.)
Poem By Ruth Jurow
(An untitled poem about how things will be better after the revolution.)
Youth Rally Around Red Flag in France
(We see a reprint, in French, of "Revolution," the paper of the French young socialists.) Gov't Assassins Seize "Revolution" by Nathan Gould
(The expulsion of the left wing of the Young Socialist League of France because it advocated and propagated a revolutionary program may be the harbinger of the new revolutionary party, the French party of the Fourth International. They have been joined by Spartacus and are opposing the "Defend the fatherland" program of the Stalinist Communist party. Many organizations, in France and abroad, have pledged solidarity with the left wing. One issue of "Revolution" has been confiscated and articles in others have been censored. It continues to publish. Brothers, comrades of the revolutionary wing, the Spartacus Youth League stands behind you.)
Volume IV, Number 6, December 1935 (Full pdf version)
Young Spartacus
Published by the National Committee of the Spartacus Youth League of America, New York, NY
Associate Editors:
- Manny Garrett, Editor
- Jane Ogden, Business Manager
(Special Student Convention Issue) 1 Columbus Congress Faces Fight Against Social Patriotic Forces An Open Letter to the Delegates
(The Y.C.L. considers the convention in Columbus a first step toward "organic unity" with the Y.P.S.L. Students come from many classes and there is no tie that binds them after their school years. Our principal task is education along the channels of revolutionary solidarity with the working class. This education is best served by the working class youth organizations working directly on campus. We will work with the American Student Union, but only if it supports unity with the laborer and clearly opposes any imperialist, nationalist war and works toward ending war permanently through the total destruction of capitalism, which causes all wars through its greed for profits, markets and raw materials. The war we must fight and win is the war of the workers against the bosses.)
Organic Unity What Kind? What For?
(To all members of the Y.C.L., the Y.P.S.L and all revolutionary youth, the Communist International and the Young Communist International have proposed liquidating their own organizations and constituting a youth organization independent of the Communist and Socialist parties. The program is to be establishment of a new social order and "opposition" to war and Fascism. The program is vague and lacking in details. Because specifics relating to action and methodology is carefully avoided the organization will be a conglomeration of revolutionists, centrists, pacifists and Christian Socialists. Revolutionary youth organizations are a "school for communism" and cannot play a role independent of the revolutionary party. History shows that only a party united on a revolutionary program is capable of leading the proletariat to victory. A party unified on a reformist or centrist program can only lead to defeat.)
An Explanation and an Apology
(The S.Y.L. apologizes for any misunderstanding in connection with the so-called Chicago program of the S.L.I.D. It turns out the document was a draft for discussion and never adopted. A Resume of a Program "Pointers" for Consideration
(The Spartacus Youth League presents the 14 points to the delegates at the convention of the American Student Union as essential to its anti-war program. We urge all delegates to support them as a condition for fusion. The points, in brief, are: oppose pacifism and disarmament, expose the League of Nations as a not an instrument of peace but of imperialism, support Ethiopia and all colonial and semi-colonial countries against imperialism. American neutrality must be exposed as a myth that serves the current interests of American capitalists. The A.S.U. must declare its task is not defense of the national state but its complete and final destruction. The A.S.U. must oppose all imperialist wars, support the Soviet Union against capitalism by working for the overthrow of our own capitalist government, it must struggle against fascism as part of the struggle against war and declare that war can be abolished only through the abolition of the capitalist system.)
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