‘The New York Workers School’ by Rebecca Grecht from The Daily Worker Saturday Supplement. Vol. 2 No. 47. March 7, 1925.

THE WORKERS SCHOOL marks the first serious attempt of the Workers Party to set up a permanent educational institution in the New York district. Organized originally as a private undertaking by a group of comrades not directly responsible for the work to the party, the school became an Instrument for Communist training and the spreading of Communist ideology when, about a year ago, it was brought under the direct control and supervision first of the district executive committee and later of the national executive committee of the Workers Party. The school is a Communist educational institution. It purposes to give workers that knowledge of labor history, of the principles and tactics of Communism, which is indispensable for militant action in the struggle against capitalism.

THE importance of this work cannot be exaggerated. Practical activity of our comrades in the struggles of labor, the crystallization and organization of the left wing, both industrially and politically, requires a knowledge of facts, an understanding of revolutionary theory and tactics. The Fifth Congress of the Communist International issued a thesis on agitation and propaganda which calls upon all Communist parties to intensify their educational efforts so as to make their organizations real parties of Lenin, and extend Communist influence amongst the masses. In the spirit of this call, the Workers School aims to spread the teachings of Marx and Lenin so as to develop a Bolshevist ideology, and strives to train comrades to take active leadership both in the various units of the party and in the shops and trade unions.

WITH this in view, a program of activity was formulated for the district in the spring of last year providing for the training of our party membership and the extension of educational work to the trade union elements. In accordance with this plan, the school opened last summer with a party training course covering a period of ten weeks and consisting of several classes in history and Communist theory. The course met with considerable success and prepared the ground for the succeeding work of the school. The school began its winter season on Dec. 1. The main part of its activities were concentrated at the central school headquarters now at 108 East 14th street, where party and trade union training courses, in addition to general lecture courses, were offered. Classes and forums were also started in various parts of the city and in various towns of the district.

Party Training Courses.

THE party training course was planned to afford members of the Workers Party the long-desired opportunity of studying the principles and tactics of the Communist movement. It consists of four classes in Communist theory and tactics, Marxism, and American Economic History. These are not lecture courses, but study classes, each of which is open to all party members who wish to learn and are ready to devote some time to serious study. The course as a whole takes up the fundamental aspects of Marxism and Leninism, and also the basic factors In American economic and social development. It embodies our efforts to give party members that understanding of our movement which is of prime necessity for effective service in the party, from the lowest to the highest units. Trade Union Training Course.

THIS course was designed primarily for workers active in the trade unions. The growth of the left wing movement in the different industries has made it imperative that we develop a body of militants capable of directing this movement. Practical activity in the shops and trade unions is all fundamentally necessary. The left wing, however, has not merely a program for Immediate struggles in the industries. It has a vision of the entire labor movement, a definite goal—the workers’ republic. Effective leadership therefore demands a knowledge of labor history and revolutionary theory and tactics. The trade union course given at the Workers School consists of three study classes in Communism, American trade union history, and public speaking. The classes are open to all workers. Already considerable interest has been aroused in the courses, and the classes are being attended by militants active in different industries.

General Courses.

IN addition to these study classes, the school is offering two lecture courses, one on the Russian Revolution, conducted by Moissaye J. Olgin, another on Current Events, given by Ludwig Lore. These give workers who have no time for study an opportunity to hear the Communist point of view explained and analyzed by leading Communists. Finally, a general course in Public Speaking and classes in Elementary and Advanced English complete the list of activities at the central school.

Workers’ Educational Centers.

MOST of the educational activities of the school, as has been stated, are carried on at the central headquarters. In order to reach wider masses of workers, however, workers’ educational centers have been established in the Bronx, Harlem and Brownsville districts under the supervision of the Workers School and the section committees of the party. These offer classes in the Elements of Communism, and English and also conduct open forums. The educational centers are but the beginnings of what we hope to develop into branches of the Workers School. More classes will be organized as the work continues and interest grows.

Classes In Elements of Communism.

ONE of the main purposes of the Workers School is to make our party more truly a Bolshevik party by spreading the teachings of Marx and Lenin amongst our membership. To’ this end, classes in the Elements of Communism are being given in the workers’ educational centers as well as in other parts of the city. At present five such classes are in progress and a sixth one is being organized for lower Manhattan. All party members who have joined during the last year, and who have had no instruction in Communist theory, are expected to attend the classes. We hope that soon it will be possible to make such a course a requirement for admission into the party in this district The classes are open to non-party members. The first term deals with the general theory of Communism. The second term will study the principles and tactics of the Communist International.

Open Forums.

THESE are being conducted every Sunday evening, 8 p.m. at the workers’ educational centers, with prominent Communists as speakers; among them, Ludwig Lore, Joseph Manley, Oliver Carlson, William Weinstone, Juliet Stuart Poyntz and others. The forum will continue thru May.

District Activities.

THE activities of the Workers School are not confined to New York. The school is a district institution of the party, and has in charge all educational work In the territory of District 2. During the winter, classes in the Elements of Communism were started in Union Hill and Newark, New Jersey, and also in Yonkers, New York. These classes follow the same course of study as in the city. Open forums are also being held in Union Hill and Passaic, New Jersey. A class in Communism will be organized in the coming term.

Our Tasks.

THE above is a very brief account of the activities of the Workers School since its organization as a Workers Party institution. In the short period of its existence, we have not, of course, been able to realize all our aims. But a definite beginning has been made in systematic, educational work. We have succeeded in rousing a more serious interest in education within our ranks. We have begun to develop an appreciation of the importance of training in revolutionary history and theory for our political and industrial work.

OUR tasks, however, are Just commencing. Much pioneer work has yet to be done. The Workers School can be built up only thru the combined efforts of the party membership and sympathizers. We are now completing the first term. The spring term starts March 16. Our immediate task is, to increase the registration for all the classes, to urge comrades to enroll in the party and trade union training courses, to give the school publicity among all the workers we meet, and wherever we congregate. Tho most of the courses started in December and January, they have been so arranged that they can be taken very profitably in the second terms as well. The foundation has been laid. Now we must build. Every member and sympathizer giving his co-operation, we will establish a Communist school which will become the center for revolutionary working class education in this city. Comrades should enroll at once. For information and registration inquire any day or evening at office of Workers School, Room 34, 108 East 14^th street. Telephone Stuyvesant 8100.

The Saturday Supplement, later changed to a Sunday Supplement, of the Daily Worker was a place for longer articles with debate, international focus, literature, and documents presented. The Daily Worker began in 1924 and was published in New York City by the Communist Party US and its predecessor organizations. Among the most long-lasting and important left publications in US history, it had a circulation of 35,000 at its peak. The Daily Worker came from The Ohio Socialist, published by the Left Wing-dominated Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919, when it became became The Toiler, paper of the Communist Labor Party. In December 1921 the above-ground Workers Party of America merged the Toiler with the paper Workers Council to found The Worker, which became The Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924.

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