Detailed directives from the C.P.-led Unemployed Councils under whose auspices the First National Hunger March to Washington D.C. gathered on December 7, 1931. Over the following years local, regional, and national marches would become a defining movement of the Great Depression. All aspects from slogans to sleeping arrangements dealt with below.

‘Organization Plan of the National Hunger March to Washington’ from the Daily Worker. Vol. 8 No. 247. October 14, 1931.

DIRECTIVES ISSUED BY THE UNEMPLOYED COUNCILS COMMITTEE FOR THE NATIONAL HUNGER MARCH

The task of the National Hunger March is to mobilize masses of unemployed and part-time workers in the struggle against unemployment, to expose the misery and starvation in the United States, and to link up the struggle of the unemployed with the employed for their mutual demands. The Hunger Marchers will present to Congress demands for unemployment insurance and immediate winter relief and other demands, as stated in the Call for the National Hunger March issued by the Unemployed Councils. It will present to the government the Workers Unemployment Insurance Bill, sponsored by the Unemployed Councils and the TUUL, and will organize mass support behind this Bill. The Hunger March must be carried through on the basis of developing the struggles for local demands through local Hunger Marches, demonstrations for immediate relief and unemployment insurance, against evictions, etc. The Hunger March and the preliminary preparations shall serve as a stimulus for the building and strengthening of the Unemployed Councils, in the cities where the delegations start from, the cities along the routes, and in other parts of the country. Into the Hunger March and its attendant demonstrations must be drawn especially AFL unions, workers’ fraternal organizations, ex-servicemen’s leagues, organizations of poor farmers, etc. The preparations for the Hunger March must be utilized to make an organized exposure of the starvation conditions of the workers and poor farmers, and to unmask the fake relief measures of the government, the employers, the Pinchots and Murphys, the AFL leaders and the Socialist Party.

Preparations of the National Hunger March.

The preparations for the National Hunger March must be based upon the following mass activities led by the Unemployed Councils.

1. The organization of local, city and county Hunger Marches and demonstrations for local relief.

2. Public hearings to expose the starvation conditions among the workers. These shall be organized in the principal cities during the week of November 1st to the 7th, according to the directives previously sent out and published in the press. These hearings and their findings shall be utilized to develop the local struggles all over the country. The Hunger Marchers shall present this material to the government.

3. Intensification of the struggle against evictions, etc., the organization of rent strikes and struggles against the high cost of living.

4. Mass meetings, open-air demonstrations, etc., in front of shops and factories, expressing the solidarity of the unemployed workers with the employed workers in the struggle against wage cuts, lay-offs and speed-up, and drawing the employed workers into supporting the demands of the unemployed.

5. Organized activities in the AFL and other reformist unions, setting up of “Support the Hunger March” Committees in these unions and the initiation of mass activities to draw these organizations into the Hunger March and all its activities.

6. Increased activity among the unemployed workers in the flop houses, soup kitchens, employment agencies, etc., with special programs of demands for these categories.

7. Special attention to drawing in the ex-servicemen, linking up their demands for full payment of the bonus and penetrating into the rank and file of the veterans’ organizations for the support of our program.

8. Organization of mass activities to compel respective Congressmen and other government officials to expose their stand on unemployment and upon the workers’ demands.

9. Special efforts to draw in women, youth and Negro workers, and organizing the fight for their demands, paying special attention to the struggle against Jim Crowism, discrimination in relief, for the release of the Scottsboro boys, etc.

10. In view of the activities of the WIR in supporting the struggles of the unemployed workers, all workers and workers’ organizations are called upon to build the W.I.R.

In all these activities and preparations for the Hunger March, there must be systematically compared the starvation conditions of the workers in the U.S. with the rising standards of the workers in the Soviet Union, and the workers mobilized in defense of the Soviet Union.

Organized campaign for building unemployed councils, based upon neighborhood branches, block committees, breadline committees, flop house committees, etc., in all industrial communities.

Composition of the Hunger March.

The National Hunger March shall be composed of approximately 1,200 marchers, organized and disciplined, elected as delegates by big masses of unemployed and employed workers. The election of the Marchers shall be preceded by a whole series of local activities and struggles. The Hunger March organization will assume responsibility for road accommodations only for the regularly elected Marchers.

Because of distance and weather, the Hunger March will proceed. by trucks, or autos where trucks are unavailable. The Marchers will go afoot through all important towns along the routes.

The following table will show the approximate quotas of Marchers assigned to the various localities. Changes in these quotas may be arranged in consultation with the Unemployed Councils Committee for the National Hunger March. The quotas assigned to the various cities shall include Marchers from the surrounding small towns not here specified.

Election of Marchers.

The marchers shall be regularly elected from broad local conferences of Unemployed Councils, revolutionary unions and shop groups, A.F. of L. unions, fraternal organizations, ex-servicemen’s leagues, etc., called by the local Unemployed Councils. The marchers so elected shall be ratified by mass meetings of workers in the neighborhoods and centers. We must aim to draw in the greatest possible masses of workers in the election of the marchers:

1. The Unemployed Councils shall call the local conferences to elect the marchers not later than Nov. 22, with the ‘conferences in the far western points organized correspondingly earlier to permit of earlier starting dates.

2. At these conferences the participating organizations shall present their nominees for the march, approved at the meetings of the organizations, out of whom the local conference shall elect the quota for the particular locality. The selection of these nominees by the various Unemployed Councils, trade unions, etc., should be made the occasion of big mass meetings in the various organizations and localities for the support of the Hunger March and the unemployed struggles generally.

3. Following these conferences, and before the starting dates, neighborhood and general mass meetings shall be called to ratify the election of the marchers.

In electing marchers to the National Hunger March to Washington, special attention must be given to (a) the drawing in of Negro, women and youth, (b) the activity of the respective marchers in the struggle of the unemployed, (c) the age and ability of the marchers to stand the strain of the march, (d) the inclusion of part-time workers among the marchers, (e) special attention shall be paid to securing workers from the basic industries.

Routes of the March.

The National Hunger March shall proceed in four main columns. Column 1: Starting at Boston and proceeding via New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.

Column 2: Starting from Buffalo and proceeding via Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Scranton, Allentown and joining with Column 1 at Philadelphia.

Column 3: Starting from Chicago and proceeding via Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh to Washington.

Column 4: Starting at St. Louis and proceeding via Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Wheeling and joining Column 3 at Pittsburgh.

Marchers from points west of St. Louis and Chicago will leave their respective cities in due time to arrive in Chicago and St. Louis by the starting date from these points.

Dates of departures and stopovers of the columns:

Column 1, will leave Boston Dec. 1 at 7 a.m., making the following night stopovers: Between Boston and New Haven, town to be designated, Dec. 1; New Haven, Dec. 2; New York, Dec. 3; Philadelphia, Dec. 4; Baltimore, Dec. 5; arriving Washington, Dec. 6.

Column 2 will leave Buffalo Nov. 29 at 7 a.m., making the following night stopovers: Rochester, Nov. 29; Syracuse, Nov. 30; Binghamton, Dec. 1; Scranton, Dec. 2; Allentown, Dec. 3; Philadelphia, Dec. 4; Baltimore, Dec. 5, arriving in Washington, Dec. 6.

Column 3 will leave Chicago Nov. 29 at 7 a.m., making the following night stopovers: Kalamazoo, Nov. 29; Detroit, Nov. 30; Toledo, Dec. 1; Cleveland, Dec. 2; Youngstown, Dec. 3; Pittsburgh, Dec. 4, and a point to be decided on between Pittsburgh and Washington, Dec. 5, arriving in Washington, Dec. 6.

Column 4 will leave St. Louis Nov. 29 at 7 a.m., making the following night stopovers: Between St. Louis and Indianapolis, point to be decided, Nov. 29; Indianapolis, Nov. 30; Cincinnati, Dec. 1; Columbus, Dec. 2; Wheeling, Dec. 3, arriving in Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, and proceeding with Column 3 to Washington.

The exact road routes will be furnished in special maps by the National Hunger March Committee.

Meetings and Demonstrations on the Road.

The National Hunger March must be made the occasion for gigantic demonstrations of the workers, at the starting points, along the routes, other localities and in Washington. These demonstrations must be well prepared by the local organizations on the following basis:

1. At the main starting points of Boston, Buffalo, Chicago and St. Louis the send-off demonstrations shall be held the night previous to the departure of the marchers.

2. At the night stopover points along the routes, as established above, the mass meetings shall take place on the night of the stopover.

3. In the non-stopover cities, the workers shall be mobilized by the local Unemployed Councils and committees, through leaflets and preliminary mass meetings, to await the marchers at the main square, or at the city limits, and wherever possible short speeches shall be made without delaying the schedule of the march. In all these cities, resolutions should be presented in the name of the workers in support of the march and the demands. Wherever possible, the workers shall accompany the marchers to the city limits.

4. In Washington on the evening of Dec. 6 there shall be a National Unemployed Conference held, and a big mass meeting of the workers to welcome the marchers.

5. On Dec. 7 the marchers will present the demands of the unemployed to the President of the United States, the Senate and the House of Representatives, supported by a demonstration.

6. In all the demonstrations, and along the routes, there must be a widespread distribution of pamphlets, leaflets, Labor Unity, the Daily Worker, etc. Special preparations must be made by each delegation for mass sale of the 2-cent pamphlet on Unemployment Insurance Relief.

Organization and Discipline of the March.

The National Hunger Marchers must be thoroughly organized and disciplined. For this purpose the following regulations shall be applied: 1. National Organization. The executive of the New York Unemployed Councils, as authorized by the signatories of the Hunger March Call, have elected a committee of 5, who, together with representatives of the Trade Union Unity League and Workers International Relief National Bureaus, shall compose the National Committee for the Hunger March and shall prepare all the general arrangements. The National Hunger March is carried out nationally and locally under the auspices of the Unemployed Councils, in co-operation with the T.U.U.L. and W.I.R. 2. Local Organization. United Front Hunger March Committees shall be organized in localities all over the country, under the general auspices of the Unemployed Councils. These shall consist of the Executive Committee of the Unemployed Council, together with representatives of the T.U.U.L. and W.I.R., A.F. of L. unions and other workers’ organizations. The functions of these committees shall be as follows:

They will organize all preparations and local activities, such as conferences, demonstrations, etc. They shall supervise the election of marchers from their locality, make all necessary arrangements regarding trucks, housing, feeding, etc. They shall initiate financial campaigns for the Hunger March. They shall systematically set up Unemployed Councils in their localities and do follow-up work at the conclusion of the march. These local committees shall elect the following sub-committees to carry on the different phases of the work: (a) finance committee, (b) feeding and housing committee (c) route committee.

3. Column Organization. (a) Each marcher shall receive an arm band, issued by the National Committee, with the following inscription: “National Hunger March, Dec. 7, 1931.” This must be worn at all times during the march.

(b) The unit of organization shall be the individual auto or truck. Each truck or auto shall elect its captain.

(c) The trucks shall be organized according to districts. Each truck shall be consecutively numbered, also indicating the district to which the truck belongs. The truck captains shall compose the leading committee of the district division. They shall elect a captain and an assistant, the assistant always to remain with the division. The captains of the district divisions shall compose the leading committee of the column. This leading committee shall in turn elect a captain of the column. These various committees shall hold daily meetings to consider the problems and transmit decisions to the units.

(d) Where two columns merge (at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) the leading committees become a joint committee and a captain for the combined columns shall be elected in the same manner.

(e) Special scout cars shall be organized to work ahead of the columns and to pick up stragglers.

(f) A medical squad shall accompany each column, the organization of these medical squads to be worked out by the local W.I.R., in consultation with the center.

(g) St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Detroit are responsible to secure good automobile mechanics among the marchers for their respective columns. These mechanics shall see to it that all cars are in good condition before joining and during the march.

(h) Complete registration shall be made of all marchers, the National Committee will furnish blanks and the respective district division captains shall be responsible for the registration.

(i) Special attention must be given to the organization of defense squads in the Hunger March. Every district division shall organize a defense squad, which shall be under the leadership of the district division captain.

Feeding of the Marchers.

1. At the night stopover points the local committee is responsible to provide hot meals for all the marchers in the evening and breakfast in the morning, served in popular workers’ halls.

2. Between night stopover points the district divisions are responsible for the feeding of their respective marchers throughout the entire Hunger March, under direction of the respective column committees.

3. The local committees shall carry on an intensive campaign for the collection of food supplies for the local meals and for the marchers while on the road.

The W.I.R. will be directly in charge of local feeding arrangements, in connection with the local committees.

Housing of the Marchers.

In each city where night stopovers are made the local committees are responsible to provide sleeping accommodations for the entire body of marchers. These accommodations shall be secured by (a) demands upon the city government to give lodgings to the marchers, with provisions that no jails shall be accepted; these demands to be supported by mass pressure and mass demonstrations; (b) a canvass shall be made of all nearby working-class halls and to mobilize the rank and file for giving these halls for lodging accommodations; (c) special demands to be made on A.F. of L. halls.

Full housing arrangements must be completed two days in advance of the arrival of the marchers and a full list of the housing accommodations presented to the captain of the column immediately upon the arrival of the marchers. No splitting of the marchers by Jim Crow practices shall be permitted.

Facilities for the Marchers.

In organizing the district delegations of marchers, conditions of weather must be borne in mind. Each local committee is responsible to see to it that each delegate is supplied with sufficient clothes and blankets and that arrangements be made to protect the marchers against rain while in trucks.

Number of Feeding and Sleeping Accommodations for Night Stopover Points.

The local committees in the following cities shall start immediately to prepare for feeding and sleeping accommodations for approximately the following number of marchers for the specified dates, coming in from other points:

Column 1.

New Haven, 50 marchers…Dec. 2 New York, 80 marchers…Dec. 3 Philadelphia, 475 marchers…Dec. 4 Baltimore, 675 marchers…Dec. 5

Column 2.

Rochester, 40 marchers…Nov. 29 Syracuse, 50 marchers…Nov. 30 Binghamton, 60 marchers…Dec. 1 Scranton, 70 marchers…Dec. 2 Allentown, 90 marchers…Dec. 3.

Column 3.

Chicago, 50 marchers…Nov. 2 Kalamazoo, 100 marchers…Nov. 2 Detroit, 100 marchers…Nov. 30 Toledo, 140 marchers…Dec. 1 Cleveland, 150 marchers…Dec. 2 Youngstown, 200 marchers…Dec. 8 Pittsburgh, 350 marchers…Dec. 4.

Column 4.

St. Louis, 25 marchers…Nov. 28 Indianapolis, 35 marchers…Nov. 30 Cincinnati, 45 marchers…Dec. 1 Columbus, 55 marchers…Dec. 2 Wheeling, 65 marchers…Dec. 3.

The night stopovers between Boston and New Haven and between St. Louis and Indianapolis will be decided upon later.

Return Journey of the Hunger Marchers.

The Hunger Marchers will return to their respective localities in the same order and discipline as in the march to Washington. They shall make the same night stopover points all along the four routes and at the stopover points they shall speak at mass meetings of workers to report on the events in Washington.

The local committees are responsible for organizing these mass meetings and for arranging feeding and sleeping accommodations upon exactly the same basis as when the marchers passed through to Washington. The marchers will organize to leave Washington on Dec. 7. The National Committee will work out the dates when they will arrive at the various stopover points.

Agitational Material.

The National Hunger March must be made the occasion for the distribution of many hundreds of thousands of pieces of working-class literature among the masses of workers. This distribution must take place at all the mass demonstrations, the marchers taking along the necessary quantities of literature. Special pamphlets, etc., will be prepared by the National Committee.

Financing the March.

The National Hunger March shall be financed according to the following general plan:

1. A national campaign for funds shall be initiated, under the auspices of the Unemployed Councils and the W.I.R. The respective local committees shall raise these funds by involving the unemployed and employed workers, from trade unions and all other workers’ organizations, etc.

2. Each district must provide its delegation of marchers with sufficient funds to cover the cost of gasoline, oil and auto repairs to and from Washington.

3. Detailed plans will be sent to the various local committees regarding the allocation the funds collected, together with blanks, quotas and material for the collection of the funds.

Unemployed Councils Committee for the National Hunger March, 6 E. 19th St., New York City. (Clip this and keep for further reference)

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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