Party News Briefs (1949)

Party News from the October 1949 issue of the Socialist Standard

Glasgow Branch is getting into its pre-election stride. Vote catching has been commenced by the Parliamentary hopefuls, and Glasgovians are feeling the urge to attend political meetings. Glasgow Branch is catering for this urge in a big way. There are two outdoor platforms on the go, and literature sales are steadily increasing. A speakers’ class, held during the winter months, has borne fruit and the branch now has another half dozen young and enthusiastic speakers who are more than able to deal with any opposition. Plans are well advanced for what appears will be the most active winter season that Glasgow has yet experienced. These plans include a venture to prove that Socialists are indeed sociable. Details will be published in The Socialist Standard at a later date. The branch meetings are well attended and a high standard of discussion is maintained. A discussion is held, after routine branch business, to which all workers are invited. Any reader of The Socialist Standard in Glasgow should pay a visit to the Workers’ Open Forum in Renfrew Street any Wednesday evening. Glasgow members extend a cordial invitation to all to visit their meetings.

A Dance Band must be hired whenever we hold an evening social and dance. Although our social affairs are never a financial loss these days, we might still save a few pounds for other projects if we could produce our own music. There must be quite a number of members and friends who are capable instrumentalists. If we can only get them together, there is no reason why a good dance band for our own use should not be formed. The Social Committee will welcome information on this matter. If you can play any instrument please write to Head Office to let the committee know.

Motor Cyclists also take note. We have received suggestions that we should form a motor cyclists’ group with the object of arranging day or week-end runs to provincial towns where propaganda meetings can be held. The rationing of petrol will prevent any ambitious schemes at the moment, but it may be useful if members who have motor cycles get together to talk over the proposition with a view to setting up some sort of organisation before next spring. Will those who are interested send their name and address to W. Waters at Head Office.

Kingston Branch has continued the meetings at Castle Street, Kingston, with the same success as during the previous season. The Communist Party, which attempted a series of opposition meetings during the 1948 season, has not put in an appearance this year. The most noticeable opposition has come from young Conservatives, but it has been of very poor calibre. With the approach of the shorter and colder evenings, those who have attended the meetings at Castle Street are invited to come and sit by the fire in the Kingston Branch room at 9, Vicarage Road, Kingston, to continue the discussions that have been held from the outdoor platform. The entrance to the branch room is in Wood Street, opposite Bentall’s store, and meetings are on Thursday evenings at 8 o’clock.

Dublin Branch of the Socialist Party of Ireland is meeting with many difficulties and much hostile opposition from various quarters. We reported in the August issue of The Socialist Standard how the Dublin comrades’ meeting on July 3rd had to be discontinued owing to a hostile dement in the audience and to the failure of the police to intervene until a serious breach of the peace was threatened. The following extracts are from The Irish Democrat, published in London by the Connolly Association, and which is obviously Communist controlled. (August, 1949, issue.) “Belts and knuckledusters were used by bands of organised hooligans who marched six abreast to break up the Irish Workers’ League weekly meeting in O’Connell Street on the 17th July.” (Page 1.) “On Sunday, July 24th, a crowd some thousands strong gathered in Abbey Street hoping to see a repeat performance, but no meeting was held . . . ” “Little known aspect of the pogrom background is the work of a handful of Dublin Trotskyites who held a meeting at Abbey Street on July 3rd, which was broken up.” "It is believed that the reactionary elements which attacked the Workers’ League would not have been successful in drawing together their forces if it had not been for the precedent set by these obscure but pernicious political elements.”

The Irish Workers’ League is the organisation in which the Irish communists work, it is, in fact, a Communist organisation, although this is frequently denied. The “Trotskyites” referred to are, of course, our Dublin Comrades. This accusation by The Irish Democrat fails to take into account that the Irish Communists have been attacked in a similar manner before July 17th of this year, before there was a Dublin Branch of the S.P.I., before there was even a Dublin Socialist Group. The Dublin Headquarters of the Irish C.P. were once burned down in one of these disturbances. The argument presupposes that if the Dublin Socialists had not held their meeting on July 3rd, then the future Workers’ League meetings would have been peaceful. Which is nonsense. A Dublin comrade writes: —

“Actually, what is grieving them (the Communists) is the fact that we stole whatever thunder they may have possessed. We came out as revolutionaries, with the red lettering on a white background of our platform reading ‘ Socialist Party of Ireland.’ That’s what got them. They—the Marxists, the dialecticians, the tacticians!! Tactics! Trying to hide under an alias—and sending condolences to the Bulgarian C.P. on the death of Dimitrov! With known Communists like Nolan, O’Riordan, etc., in their ranks, yet trying to maintain that they are not the Communist Party! Why, these people were smelt out long ago, before we held our outdoor meeting, long before.”

As for the “obscure but pernicious political elements.” It’s amusing. Our Comrade Cullen has been propagating Socialism in Ireland for 40 years and is known to everybody who has political connections with the Irish Workers. And “pernicious.” On at least three occasions, the secretary of the Dublin Branch S.P.I. and other members went to see J. Nolan, secretary of the Workers' League, at bis bookshop in Pearce Street to try to arrange an amicable agreement re the allocation of dates for the meetings of each organisation at what appears to be the only official meeting spot in Dublin. But no! They were going to lead the revolution. They were the only revolutionaries. So they have only themselves to blame. The tragedy is that there is now much talk in official circles, including Dail Eireann, about banning public meetings. In the Sunday Independent (Ireland) a printer asks the editor to publicise a statement that no more Communist literature will be printed at his works, “in response to numerous requests.” That will probably raise another problem for our Irish comrades when their manifesto, which is almost completed, is ready for print. Anyway, they are getting ready for a winter campaign. They have arranged a series of lectures the first four of which will be addressed by Comrades Walsh, Fahy, Lynch and Courtney in that order. Further details will appear in the Dublin Mail, editor permitting.

The Week-end Summer School and the Autumn Delegate Meeting will be reported in the next issue.

Our General Secretary, Comrade C. C. Groves has given notice of his intention to resign from that post on the grounds of ill-health. Comrade Groves has held the post of General Secretary for seven years. We are sorry to lose his services, and hope he will soon be well enough to resume them.

Leyton Branch lectures held each second and fourth Monday each month continue to go well, with increasing attendance of members and visitors. The new station opened at “ Elms,” Leytonstone, early this season, is now established, and meetings have been held every Saturday during the propaganda season.

W. Waters