861.00 Congress, Communist International, VII/32: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union ( Bullitt ) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 30—11:15 a.m.]
320. Speech of Comrade Darcy (United States). Title, “The Fighting Baptism of the Revolutionary Sailors”:
“The past 5 years witnessed a new fighting baptism of the American working class. More than a hundred workers were killed by the [Page 232] police and the troops in street fighting, thousands were crippled and wounded, imprisoned for terms up to 14 years and many are threatened with sentences up to 20 years.
Comrades Pieck and Browder have already spoken of the strike of sailors and dock workers on the western seaboard and of the general strike in San Francisco. As late as 1933 the workers in water transport on the western seaboard were unorganized in trade unions. We began to convince the workers not only [to enter into the American Federation of Labor, but] to become its active and leading members. The stream of those entering into the federation was great. We placed ourselves at the head of many thousands of workers. After the decision on the strike there was elected a strike committee. Our comrades headed this strike.
But the local trade union bureaucrats were, nevertheless, able to get to the head of the strike and in the last analysis to betray it. During the strike we laid the foundations for ties with the unions of foreign sailors and dock workers (Australia and Holland) and their solidarity and assistance evoked a tremendous enthusiasm among our workers.
The international ties of the working class acquire a particular meaning in connection with the danger of imperialist war. It is necessary to win over the wide influence of sailors and dock workers who are occupied with the loading and transport of military armament.
The interesting thing in the strike of the sailors was that we succeeded in bettering the position of the negro longshoremen. We induced the negro longshoremen to enter our Party and the negro paper came into our hands (applause).
In September there expires the period of the agreement of the dock workers, and the ship owners are already preparing for the struggle for the purpose of destroying the revolutionary leadership of the labor union. It is clear that the latter will not willingly give up a single inch of what has been won. All this prophesies the most terrible struggles.
It is very probable that this will be the beginning of a strike struggle of tremendous proportions. The outcome of the struggle will not only depend on the work which will be done by us on the western seaboard. We consider that by the strength of all sections of the Communist International there will be assured a close cooperation of sailors and port workers of all countries in the general decisive struggle against the bourgeoisie.”