The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 12, 1924, Page 8

The Betrayal at Cleveland HAT was it that happened there on July 4? Nothing more nor less than surrender—complete and to- tal surrender to LaFollette and La- Folletteism on the part of the repre- sentatives of labor that ‘were present at the convention of the C, P. P. A. at Cleveland on July 4. A Great Disaster. There is no minimizing the impor- tance or far reaching consequences of the betrayal. It is nothing short of a disaster to the American labor move- ment. For the moment it destroys al- thost completely any chance whatever for a working class united front in the coming presidential elections. It ties the exploited masses of the country hand and foot. It delivers them into the hands of the middle class politi- cians to be exploited in the interests of social groups that are opposed and antagonistic to the working class. In short, the betrayal at Cleveland makes the workers subservient to the petty bourgeoisie, which, in the last anal- ysis, means subjection to Big Capital. What did they do in Cleveland? The delegates to the Conference for Progressive Political Action (C. P. P. A.) came to Cleveland ostensibly in the interests of fabor. They were rep- resnting labor organizations. They spoke in the name of labor. The con- ference was made up overwhelmingly of delegates from railroad unions, gar- ment workers’ unions, state federa- tions of labor and six or seven other international unions. The _ socialist party was there. Even the socialist- labor party, the arch-sectarians and isolationists in the American labor movement, they, too, were represented at the conference. So that, judged by its make-up, it was a labor gathering pure and’simple, It was a political conference. Which means that its duty was to devise and perfect the best possible political means under the circumstances to pro- tect and defend the interests of the American laboring masses. It was their duty to create a political party of labor and, in conjunction with other labor groups willing to join in the com- mon cause, to launch a presidential campaign in the interests—exclusive interests—of the class whom the dele- gates in Cleveland were there to rep- resent. That was clearly the duty of the Cleveland Conference, in fact of every labor organization that undertakes to discuss political problems in the name of labor. And this, the only thing to be done, the Cleveland Conference did not do. Instead, it sold out (we have no objection to this being understood ‘ literally), it sold out to the propertied middle classes, to the manufacturers, to the merchant, to the small banker, to the rich farmer and to the well-to- do professionals. The men who dom- inated the Conference for Progressive Political Action in Cleveland on July 4th, consciously and with premeditated design, entered into an alliance with the leaders of the propertied, middle classes in order to exploit jointly the political power of the oppressed masses in the interests of: a) Manufacturers, merchants, small bankers, rich farmers and well-to-do professionals. b) Labor bureaucrats and a small section of the labor aristocracy, and c) Bankrupt and unemployed poli- ticians of the socialist, republican and} democratio parties. This is what happened at Cleveland on July 4th. It was a black day, in- deed, one of the blackest in the annals of the American labor movement. And let it be understood that those guilty of the crime have done a pretty good piece of “business.” Everyone in- volved in the alliance will profit by it. As a result of the LaFollette cam- paign the propertied middle classes will undoubtedly secure a substantial ' ghare of political power. They will use this power to wrest some concessions for themselves out by the greedy hands of Big Capital, but at the ex- pense of the workers. The labor bureaucrats of the C, C. P. A. will not get much political power, but instead they may secure some very soft and warm berths for them- selves and their friends. They may even succeed in getting a few minor concessions for a small section of the railroad unions, again at the expense of the large masses of the rank and file. The bankrupt politicians of the so- cialist party will also profit by the deal. Having lost their party and their influence, they are now ¢ompelled to look for new fields of “conquest.” They have sold their souls to the beureau- crats of the C, P. P. A. and expect to be rewarded for it at some future date. Thus it can be seen that the treach- erous deal in Cleveland is of mutual benefit to all the parties concerned. All but the one party that lends real power to thé generals of the C. P. P. A.—the workers and exploited farm- ers. These are the only losses as a re- sult of the Cleveland alliance with La- Follette. The United Front Becomes Impossible. The July meeting of the C. P. P. A. has had it in its power to make pos- sible a united front of labor in the coming presidential elections. They could have declared themselves in favor of independent class political ac- tion, joined hands with the farmer- labor center formed in St. Paul on June 17th, thus launching a United Front political campaign of all the op- pressed and exploited masses in the jmay yet find itself to be nothing more nor less than a new instrument in the hands of Big Capital for maintaining and perpetuating capitalist rule in the United States. This menace of, LaFolletteism is not only genuine but grave and immediate as well, Such a state of affairs, which confronted us with a united petty bourgeois front extending from LaFol- lette to Eugene V. Debs, calls for the most resolute and uncompromising ac- tion on the part of every worker and exploited farmer who is loyal to the interests of his class. Where the issue is: either working class political in- dependence or the subjection of labor to the leadership of the petty bour- geoisie, the slogans must be: No com- promise! A clear-cut fight for inde- pendent political action by labor! A merciless struggle against all and every betrayer of this vital principle of the proletarian class struggle. The Workers Party and the Election Campaign. ~ The. betrayal at Cleveland removes the possibility of a United Front on the political ficld. And without such a united front as a basis there can be no farmer-labor election campaign. Which means that the Workers Party of America must take the field alone jand lead the battle against capitalism, — <i HOT > (oN, 0008 We (Ss Fat tionns y\ m |, MINISTER OF LABOR TO STRIKER: For God’s sake, don’t! He hasn’t had any official warning! A: country. it was in their hands to make ;against LaFolletteism and for the idea July 4th a red-letter day in the life of the American labor movement. But they willed differently. For the sake of personal advancement and the advancement of the interests of an in- significant group of labor aristocrats in the railroad unions, the leaders of the C. P. P, A. have seen fit to betray and sacrifice the life-interests of the whole working class. This they have done, and in doing so have removed the last chance for a United Front Farmer-Labor campaign in the coming presidential elections. Instead of a united front of, for and by labor, we shall have, by grace of the C. P. P. A,, a united front against labor by labor bureaucrats, labor aristocrats, socialist politicans (from Berger to Debs), all these united with merchants, bankers and manufacturers. The Menace of LaFolletteism, This petty bourgeois sweep in the ranks of labor is a genuine menace to the wellfare of the American working masses. It threatens, unless it is seriously resisted, to destroy all but completely every vestige of working class political independence. It may succeed, unless all class conscious ele- ments in the American labor move- ment unite in combatting it, in estab- lishing the ideological hegemony of the petty bourgeoisie over the op- pressed masses even more completely than the old capitalist parties ever succeeded in imposing upon the mas- ses their ideology. And since the pet- ty bourgeoisie, whom LaFollette rep- resents and serves, has never been able, for any considerable length of time, to lead a political movement of its own, this LaFollette movement of independent political action by the workers and exploited farmers. In announcing the withdrawal of its candidates in favor of those of the Workers Party of America, the Na- tional Executive Committee of the Farmer-Labor Party formed at the June 17th Convention in St, Paul de- clares: “We have been pursuing the aim of bringing about a united front of the oppressed masses of the country for a common political struggle against the rule of capitalism in the United States. For this purpose we have been carrying on a widespread campaign of agitation and organization in favor of a Farmer-Labor Party as the only means of establishing this united front of the oppressed against the ex- ploiters. In this we were successful to a very large extent. In spite of the treacherous attack of GRAND Given by ‘White Riiesen Peoples Society, South Side Children School and Russian Branch, Workers Party of America SUNDAY, JULY 13TH, 1924 / National Grove LA GRANGE, ILL. " ‘Tickets in advance 40c, at the Gates 50c Grove Open at 10 o’clock DIRECTIONS: Take any car to 22nd St., 22nd St. West to the end. Take La Grange car to National Grove. By Alexander Bittelman Senator LaFollette, the national con- vention of the Farmer-Labor Party, held in St. Paul on June 17, 18 and 19, suceceded in laying the basis for an independent political party of the workers and exploited farmers, thus paving the for a united front cam- paign in the coming presidential elec- tion. The convention also instructed the National Executive Committee to engotiate with other groups favoring a farmer-labor campaign in order to make the united front as wide and all- inclusive as possible, and if necessary even to withdraw the presidential can- didates nominated by the convention. The next step was to be made by the Conference for Progressive Po- litical Action. To these men and women claiming to represent the in- terests of labor on the political field, belonged the fifial word as to whether there should be a united front cam- paign of workers and exploited farm- ers in the coming presidential elec- tion. We have been anxiously awaiting the results of the Cleveland Confer- ence.” “The betrayal at Cleveland makes impossible any united front farmer- labor campaign. It delivers into the hands of LaFollette and the propertied middle classes whom he represents, large’ sections of American labor. It shows the complete surrender of the labor bureaucracy and the bankrupt socialist politicians, which dominate the C. P. P. A., to LaFollette and La- Folletteism. The united front in the coming campaign, therefore, becomes impossible.” Such being the case, the Workers Party must by itself unfurl the ban- ner of the class struggle and mobilize in the battle as many class conscious workers as there are at présent in the United States. PROTEST. All day I fill bottles, I sit on an up-ended box, Turn a little spigot, And fill bottles. A reach, a twist, a reach, And a boitle is filled. T dare not think. If I think I may forget And spill the liquid. A song is singiug in my head The words go like this: Hey there you, cries the foreman, You gotta keep your mind On what you’re doin’. God! think of it! Filling bottles all day. And the sun on the grass, And the wind in the trees. Filling bottles, endless bottles. And the robin is singing, Come out and play! come out and play! And me filling damn fool bottles. All day, filling bottles. Hey you there, cries the foreman, You gotta keep your mind On what you're doin’! Wanted. Single room for man (without board), Northside, near Lake. Quiet. Ad- dress Box C-7, The Daily Worker. MAC’S BOOK STORE 27 JOHN R STREET DETROIT Full line of Sociological and Labor Literature. Periodicals and Newspapers PICNIC ‘4 eo