French Young Socialists (AJS) make important headway

Period He Ne Ar 6. Xia Rn contains elements. pretations, and falsifications. ('Dialectical Materialism and Science', Trotsky, 1925.) THE RISE of capitalism and the need for the bourgeoisie to subordinate nature to themselves for the purposes of manufacture and trade prepared the way for major development in all fields of natural science, including chemistry.

Alchemy could not provide a sharp weapan to . probe the material world and had to give way to the beginning of scientific chemistry.

"To know SO that we may fore- BY M see and act'-this was the Russian scientist Mendeleev's definition of science.

This was blazoned across the banner of the rising capitalist class as it established its hegemony over human society. To probe, to predict, to test out and to probe again-the empirical method forced nature to yield her secrets.

Modern chemistry takes its beginnings from Dalton's atomic theory (1803). His theory may be summed up in the following way: • All matter is composed of Be an Si Ti Ge Zr Ca Sn 57-71 La* Ac* 89-103 well as some of the radioactive man-made elements.

xenon are chemically inert and Atomic weight* Density compared red to water Colour As Nb Sb GERMANIUM Predicted 1871 73:9 Dark grey which is taken very small particles atoms. • Atoms are indestructible: they cannot be subdivided, created or destroyed. • Atoms of the same element are similar to one another and equal in weight. • Atoms of different elements have different properties and different weights. • Chemical combination results from the joining of atoms in simple numerical proportions.

Looking at these postulates today, we can say that points two and three are incorrect béRTIN ZARROP cause the atom has been long since split and because atomic weights (e.g. 'ordinary' carbon 12 and radioactive carbon 14 which is used for dating archeological specimens).

However, it is not simply a question of being wise after the event. Dalton put forward a working hypothesis. He is saying:

'Behind these numerous chemical processes, lie some fundamental laws. What are they? Do they explain past experiments? Can we predict the results of future experiments?' OF MENDELEEV'S : TABLE Cr Mn NI Se Br AN..

Tc Ru Pd Te Re Pt Po Observed 1886 72.3 Greyish white THURSDAY TV From this standpoint the atomic theory was revolutionary even though it was nearly 100 years before the existence of the atom as a real material body was finally established.

The present-day chemical notation arises from the atomic theory. For instance, water = H2O= one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen, and so on.

Dalton's theory simply explained the results of previous experiments. Lavoisier had found that in chemical reaction the total weight of all compounds is the same at the beginning and at the end (total number of atoms remains constant throughout).

Also, if we take a piece of salt and break off a portion, we find that it will contain sodium and chlorine in equal amounts whatever portion we take. This is simply explained if we assume that each atom of the element sodium combines with an atom of the element chlorine.

The general acceptance of the atomic theory made it possibl to investigate series of chemica compounds, formed from varying proportions of different elements, and to attempt to explain their properties (boiling point, melting point, etc.).

However, until 1869, the growing list of elements still defied attempts to put them into meaningful order which could be a guide to further research.

During the 19th century much time and effort was devoted to seeking an arrangement for the known elements which would emphasize similarities in properties and thereby facilitate their systematic study.

John Newlands in England between 1863 and 1865 came very close to succeeding. He listed the known elements in order of atomic weight starting with the lightest-hydrogen-as number 1 and noted that in many cases there was a repetition of chemical properties in each eighth element.

He called his law the 'law of octaves, but this was laughed out of court by the Chemical Society and they refused to publish his paper.

His work was not recognized until 1887.

In March, 1869, Dimitri Mendeleev transmitted to the Russian on the classification t paper Chemical Society his first elements, which bore the title "The Relation of the Properties to the--Atomic Weights of the Elements'. In it he sums up the repetition or periodicity of chemical properties in his famous periodic table.

The superiority of the Mendeleev table over the work of Newlands and others was that the Russian scientist did not allow himself to be mesmerized by the 'magic' of the atomic numbers.

He formed his table from a study of the regularity in the material properties of the elements and was therefore able to make an important development of theory.

He stated that the atomic weights of certain elements had been incorrectly determined and that new elements would be discovered to fit into vacant spaces in his classification.

Trotsky says: Here with the authoritative gesture of research worker confident of himself, Mendeleev knocked at one

PART TWO

of nature's hitherto closed doors, and from within a voice answered: "Present!".

"Actually, three Voices responded simultaneously, for in the places indicated by Mendeleev there were discovered three new elements, later called gallium, scandium and germanium.' These were elements 31, 21 and 32 respectively and on the basis that the properties of these elements must be in continuity with those of their neighbours, Mendeleev was very accurate in his predictions, as the table below shows.

Modern-day periodic tables have little advantage over the original, but scientists now know what lies behind them.

Engels placed Mendeleev's achievement on a very high level. 'Dialectics of Nature' he •.. the Hegelian law is valid not only for compound substances, but also for the chemical elements themselves. We know that ... their quality is determined by the quantity of their atomic weights. . . . Mendeleev achieved a scientific feat which it is not too bold to put on a par with that of Leverrier in calculating the orbit of the until then unknown planet Néptune.' Both Engels and Trotsky recognized that despite the scientist's reactionary political position, in natural science he was a materialist.

"The cause of chemical reaction lies • in the physical and mechanical properties oi compounds', said Mendeleev.

In other words, chemistry needed no supernatural force to explain its workings' but a study of the real material processes going on within matter.

It was the carrying through of this programme that revealed finally what lay behind the power of the periodic table.

To be continued next week Churches further apartheid THE PRESENT 'stand' of the Catholic Church in S Rhodesia is not against Smith's antiAfrican land law, but against any encroachment of the state on the preserves of the Church.

The Church ultimatum to Smith that it would close all its schools, hospitals and oldpeoples homes is not directed against apartheid, but against the danger to the church of state interference with the implementation of apartheid industrial areas in France and important progress made amongst students in the universities, the AJS fights on a programme of building a : mass revolutionary youth movement in a fight against the betrayal and class collaborationist policies of Stalinism.

The AJS has its own monthly paper "Jeune Revolutionnaire' and in Paris new spacious headquarters were opened earlier this year with meeting rooms and offices.

The success of the AJS are a reflection of the combativity of the French working-class youth.

On February 1 this year 10,000 young people from all over France and groups from Germany and Belgium took part in an AJS-organized rally at Le Bourget airport, near Paris.

This was the biggest revolutionary youth rally ever organized in Europe since the Second World War.

In France today one out of every four youth are unemployed member interviewed by out of jobs for one and a half years-since he left school-and he had no qualifications.

No opportunity 'Once you leave school without training there is barely any CLASS STRUGGLES IN AFRICA By N. Makanda which the Roman Catholic Church, like every other church in S Rhodesia, has always practised.

There is thus every likelihood of a 'compromise' between Smith and the Church and it is for the purpose of such a compromise that Smith agreed to meet the Church leaders and that the ultimatum itself was issued at the end of April.

The Roman Catholic Church in Rhodesia has, for half century, carried out the various anti-African land laws made by Britain.

Its protest against the intensification of the Land Acts by Smith is thus nothing but fraudulent.

This Church, like the Anglican Church, practised every form of apartheid law made by Britain during its long and brutal direct rule over S Rhodesia. Its recent protest cannot therefore in any way be interpreted as anti-apartheid.

SMITH

In particular the Churches were the main agencies of educational apartheid and starvation from the very beginning of British rule until the present day.

They have owned and managed special inferior schools into which they segregated African children even when there was no law to enforce such segregation.

At the same time they have owned and managed separate, luxurious 'Europeans only' schools, old people's homes and hospital services.

They are the oldest masters of apartheid in S Rhodesia. It was not for nothing that Rhodes' special thanks went out to them in the 1890s—already after the defeat of the Matabele and Mashona by Britain.

The Catholic and other major imperialist churches-for that is what they are in the modern epoch - have always practised and also preached the apartheid they now pretend to condemn in order to curry bogus favour with the 'independent' African states and to divert anti-imperialist struggle into liberal, pro-imperialist diversions.

look at the educational position in S Rhodesia makes the role of the missionaries in this respect clear enough. • One hand-book says of the preslost Schobis in $ Rhodesia 'Most are run by missions, grant aided by government (e.g., A. GordonBrown). Since the educational system in S Rhodesia is notoriously segregationist, the missions bear the main direct responother opportunity of getting one. Even when you come from training school there is, in most cases, no suitable job,' he said.

In the training schools (CET) most youth start working and give up their courses before taking their exams because they know they won't get a job even with the exam.' In France there are very few apprenticeships. In the field of industrial drawing there is the opportunity to become a teacher after a period of five years' work by passing additional exams.

For aliens—-mainly Algeriansthere is a method known as 'Alphabetization' to teach reading and writing. This course has no particular use other than to enable a young worker to read his terms of employment and sign a form ... if there is a job available.

In the factories the AJS has been mobilizing amongst young workers who are now increasingly affected by the government's AFRICA sibility for this apartheid.' The missionaries were experts in the practice of educational apartheid and starvation.

Their main role was regiment and starve African education'. They were the major party to the fact that up to 1939 there was no secondary school at all for any African children in Nyasaland, S Rhodesia or N Rhodesia.

For the 'European' child there was a luxurious system of separate well-equipped schools.

The purpose of the mission schools was to indoctrinate the African child with a slave mentality. The purpose of the European schools was to prepare the 'white' child to be a master.

These purposes were often openly stated as British state policy in S Rhodesia, as they had been in S Africa.

By 1939 the missionaries who are now loudly protesting' against Smith were mainly re-education or a 'system' of which starved the African child by means of a state expenditure of ls 5d per African child, compared with £6 (a year) for each European child discrimination of about 80 1 practised by the holy missionaries themselves.

After the war, apartheid in schools was extended and intensified-again with the help of the Churches.

By the time of 'independence' for Malawi and Zambia there was the grand total of 3,300 Africans in secondary schools in S Rhodesia (with some million people classified by the British racial classifiers), 2,108 in N Rhodesia and 1,300 in Nyasaland.

The total for 'European' children was 21,671 (for some quarter million 'Europeans'-a racial discrimination of over 100 to l.

The Churches participated fully in the running of this apartheid system of education starvation for the African colonial slaves and of training for 'white supremacy' for the children of the 'whites' of all classes. This is the first of our new, regular features on youth and socialism to appear every Thursday.

'sixth plan, a programme attacks on the working class meet the economic crisis.

In Renault, where there are 100,000 workers, there has been a fight over the past two months against the introduction of "progress contracts' which seek to tie workers to the management and attack the right to strike.

Organized

The AJS organized on the shop floor to mobilize workers against the government's 'sixth plan' on a programme of demands.

The Stalinists refused to organize on a class basis; they accepted the contracts.

At the March Congress of the CGT (the Stalinist-controlled union) the AJS fought against the contracts.

They oppose the progress contracts on the basis that the Stalinists and the trade union bureaucracy could use such an agreement to convince other factories to sign and in this way use it against the whole French working class.

The problems of young workers at Renault are centred around a demand for a conference of all young workers.

The CGT has been forced to call for a national meeting in defence of youth at the factory.

An AJS member working in the factory explained his wark and that of his comrades:

"The AJS intervenes not just on a particular local issue or factory issue, but relates it to the general demands of the youth in jobs, unemployment and low wages on a national scale.

"The strength of the AJS in Renault can be seen in the fact that at Billancourt the Stalinists are completely unable to slander the Trotskyists!

Large branch

At the Michelin factory, Clermond-Ferrand, the AJ$ has a large branch of members— some of them came over to the Young Socialists' 10th Annual Conference in Scarborough in April this year.

Out of a labour force of 5,000 are under the age Tri 24,000, last weekend's congress Mutualité, Paris. the average wage of workers is 900 francs (about £14 a week).

Through its work for the February 1, rally the AJS has been able to contact thousands of young workers in the factory.

The AJS campaigned around the hostels — provided by Michelin for the young workers - and made many contacts through relating these conditions in the factory to the struggle for socialism.

Michelin own many of the flats and lodgings which their employees live in. Workers rent houses for which they pay 90 francs a month.

"The political work of the AJS has been specifically turned to wards the youth in Michelin. The key to the problems on the shop floor is to train a youth leadership to win the confidence of the workers in struggle against the Stalinists and the church,' explained a young Michelin worker.

Consciousness

In preparation for the Congress of the Alliance Ouvrière on June 15 and 16 and in building the AJS, we have to raise the political consciousness of the workers and youth on two levels to link the struggle in the factory and around the lodgings to the general struggle against the bourgeoisie.' AJS members at Michelin have recently had a very important experience in struggle against management-union participation.

Following an ultra-left provocation by the Stalinists, three workers were sacked, but the wave of strikes and the determination of the Michelin workers forced the management to retreat. IN THE universities the AJS has emerged this year as the largest group in the National Union of French Students (UNEF).

In a recent six-week strike by language students the AJS policies for a national strike committee were carried overwhelmingly in face of opposition from the United Socialist Party (PSU), the Stalinists and the Maoists.

The strike took place because of a bill proposed by the French government to abolish the teaching of a second foreign language in schools.

Demonstrations When the strike ended the National Central Strike Committee proposed demonstrations throughout France on a platform of students. united teachers' demands.

Big demonstrations were held in some of the major cities in France — Grenoble, Dijon, Clermont and Lille.

It was mainly as a result of the struggle carried through in this strike that the AJS emerged in April as the strongest single organization in UNEF.

Out of this fight the AJS won many new recruits and was able to gain a powerful force amongst students.

The AJS work amongst young workers, students and unemployed over the past year is a powerful vindication of the history of the revolutionary movement and the theory of Marxism; theirs is a record to be proud of.

With the Young Socialists the Year of Lenin and Trotsky, work- AJS is this year celebrating the towards an international conference of revolutionary youth at the end of 1970.

This will bring together youth from all over the world, young revolutionists who will forge an international programme building the Fourth International and establishing world socialism.

PAGE FOUR Thursday, May 21, 1970