for

Breakthrough

democracy in the United States

“A T OUR 17th convention we agreed on the need to speak to the millions and this we have achieved. Now, we must go from this 18th

convention and strive to become a party that not

onl: speaks to millions but speaks for the millions.” -

declared Gus Hall, general secretary of the Commun- ist Party of the United States, in his closing remarks to that party’s recent national convention.

This was the convention of the “breakthrough” as one delegate expressed it. With 255 delegates and alternates and over 400 observers the convention met in New York city between June 22-26. The first ses- sion, which had over 1,000 in attendance, was open to the press.

The report of Gus Hall at this session set out the party’s goals. He reminded delegates of the period through which the party had gone, and declared, ‘“‘Dur- ing the past years the truth embodied in the science of Marxism-Leninism as presented by our party, has been outlawed, persecuted and prosecuted. It has been distorted and misrepresented. It has »een time and time again solemnly declared to be sick, old, dying and—many times—dead.

“But after the Smith Act, the McCarran Act, the Communist Control Act, after Landrum-Griffin and Taft-Hartley, after McCarthyism, after Leavenworth, Atlanta, Lewisbury, Alderson, Terre Haute and Dan- bury—here we are in a national convention, here we are a vital force on the political scene; here we are united and growing. It is proof again; you cannot imprison, isolate, or destroy.an idea.”

He continued: “We are the first to admit: we could not have achieved this victory by ourselves—in fact it is not our victory. The holding of this Convention is a victory of that democratic spirit, that democratic concept that has such deep roots in our national character. And so we want to take tris opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the millions of our people . . . who saw through the smokescreen of anti-Communism, who came to the defense of Com- munists because it was the only way to defend our democratic institutions.”

Attacking U.S. foreign policy sharply, Hall spoke of the “cowardly, barbaric U.S. aggression against the people of Vietnam.” He said: “We, the people of the USA, are unavoidably forced to share in the national shame, in the responsibility for the ugly spectacle of a world power indiscriminately using its air might, its naval power, its tanks, artillery, napalm bombs, gas bombs, chemical warfare and over 300,000 of its troops in an attempt to enslave a small nation, whose only crime is that its people want self-determination and freedom.”

Both the report and later discussion in the -con- vention made it quite clear that peace, the ending of the war in Vietnam, was and would continue to be, the centre of the work of Communists in the United States.

The issue of civil rights received strong attention throughout the proceedings. Hall’s report had stated unequivocally the position of the party.

“Where Negro citizens are in the majority they must have the right to exercise that power. This means the transference of that power from the present minority to them as the majority. In political sub- divisions where the relationship is reversed, the ques-

tion of the rights of a minority, of political equality, becomes the main issue. No such rights are respected now.”

The report pointed out that some 48 percent of all Negro families live in poverty, making less than $3,000 per year, as against 19 percent of white families. With the shift to white collar employment about 46.5 per- cent of the white workers are in this category and only 18.4 percent of Negro workers. “The struggle against this color differential is key to working class unity,” Hall said. “It is key to ‘trade-union Negro people’s unity. It is key to a successful organization of the unorganized—to the unionization of the South.

It is key to unity on the electoral front.” hes

Noting the growing shift toward political indepen- dence, including opposition to Johnson, although still mainly within the two-party structure, Hall called for great attention to political action, for encouragement

‘We must strive to be a party that speaks for millions,’ says the American Communist Party. On this page is a special report of the party's June 22-26 conven- tion.

Below: Gus Hall addresses the convention

of all peace candidates. He pointed out that there has

been a rise from 2 percent in 1960 to 40-45 percent in

1966 of the vote received by peace candidates.

“The time has come for all organizations and indi- viduals who are for an alternative to gather thelr forces now, to prepare and set in motion the move ment that will present to our people an independent candidate for president of the United States in 1968,” Hall declared.

He added: “The way to prepare for such a cam paign is to build and stimulate the forces of indepen- dence in the 1966 elections. The way to prepare for 1968 is to avoid the pitfalls of isolation and dead-end

pathways. The way to prepare for 1968 is to elect the

candidates of peace, Negro and labor and left caadi- dates in 1966. The concept of defeating the candidates of the ultra-Right in 1966 is a necessary preparation for 1968.

“Insofar as it depends on us, there are going to bé Communist candidates from now on.”

Turning to questions of the party, Hall said: “we took the defense of the party’s legal existence to thé people. The struggle to hear the Communist view point from the Communists became an important patt of the popular mass upsurge. It is to the everlastin8 credit of the young generation that they broke dow? the walls of silence. They injected new life into thé concepts of democracy.

“They declared that McCarthyism is dead. It was these young Americans who spearheaded the fight t? get Marxism and the viewpoint of the Communist Party into the marketplace of ideas. To some extent their attendance at meetings where Communists spok@ was a way of protesting against the Jegal restrictions on our party. Our concept of speaking to the millions became a reality.”

The Convention itself strongly reflected the role of this young generation with over one-third of thé delegates under 35 years of age. Their presence wa felt not only in discussion but in the lively spirit th@

ih, ae Saar a Mr

they brought to the convention. They bore witnes®

to the advances already made, and those to come.

As Hall stated in his report, however, there aré

_ weaknesses in the party which will have to be over”

come to realize the full potential. “Most of ov! weaknesses,” he says, “flow from a case of politica reflexes that have been conditioned during the |: years of persecution and harassment. . . The cond}- tioned ‘political reflexes’ tend to impart a defensiv® and inward orientation to the Party.”

And further: “The past period has also left behind some specific conditioned reflexes of leadership. read in the press where some of the young coming to the convention want to offer the benefit of the! experience in the struggle against bureaucratic me thods of work. We welcome the assistance.”

The convention’s proceedings included an intel national evening where Alderman Joe Zuken of Wi” nipeg, representing the Communist Party of Canad@ along with representatives of the Communist Parties in Chile and Puerto Rico, greeted the convention.

An 80-member national committee was elected. It chose as the officers of the party, Henry Winstom blind Negro Communist leader. from Mississippi as national chairman, and Gus Hall, as general-secretatY*

July 15, 1966—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page