The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 15, 1924, Page 8

By J. W. JOHNSTONE HE working class of America is facing a critical situation. More than 2,000,000 of workers are unem- ployed. In the textile and mining in- dustries large numbers of workers are on the verge of starvation, and all indications point to the conclusion that this winter will see conditions be- coming worse, with the army of unem- ployed greatly increased. The elect- ion of Coolidge and Dawes has: con- solidated the capitalist dictatorship, which feels that it now has a free hand for carrying out its purposes of reducing the standards of the work- ers. The “open shop” drive, begun in 1921 but temporarily halted on ac- count of the building boom and other industrial and political factors, will now be carried on with greater vigor. This is the situation that confronts the convention of the American Fede- ration of Labor when it meets Mon- day, Nov. 17, at El Paso, Texas. What will the convention do to solve the burning, problems that arise for the workers out. of this critical situation? The “open shop” drive of 1921-22 lowered the general standard of living of the working class, destroyed some unions completely, and demoralized the labor movement to a great extent. The next “open shop” drive, now being prepared, will aim at the com- plete destruction of the labor move- ment. The aim of the American cap- italist class is to destroy all pos- sibilities of resistance by the working class at home, that it may have a free hand not only in America, but par- ticularly in carrying out its imperial- istic program of world domination abroad. Officials Ignore New Dangers The capitalists interpret the elect- ion results as an endorsement of such an “open shop” drive against the” he result will be sed exploitation, lengthening of fours, lowering of wages, decrease in th standard of living, and “bad times” for the workers in every way. The unem- ployed workers may soon be given “employment” in the army and navy because there also follows from the election and the general economic con- ditions an intensive drive of American imperialism for the more complete subjugation of South and Central America, the conquest of the far east- ern markets, and the control of Euro- pean industry and labor thru the Dawes plan—all of which is heading the United States directly towards the central position in a new world war. The working class of America, and - especially the unemployed workers, will be told soon to protect their “liberties” by fighting for the defense and extension of the wealth of Morgan and Rockefeller. What can we expect the convention of the A. F. of L. to do in meeting these problems? The Trade Union Educational League approaches the delegates to this gathering with many misgivings. In the past, conventions of the A. F. of L. have stood solidily in the path of progress, blocking every Problems Factig i A. F effort of the militant rank and file members to strengthen the economic and political position.of the labor move- ment. Industrially, the conventions of the past have stood for division and perpetuation of the old status of pure and simple craft unionism, which is responsible for the sorry condition of the trade unions today. Politically they have adhered to the organizations that represent the program of and are dominated by the worst’ enemies of the working class, the pit tapitalists and their petty-bourgeois hangers-on. That this convention will be of the same order, is indicated by the course of events since the Portland convention of one year ago, and particularly by the events of recent weeks. That the official leadership is determined to steer just as reactionary a course, as ever is shown by their recent approval of the so-called .“‘Educational Week”: organized by the .blackest labor hating forces in America, and the principal aims of which is to bombard the work- ers, particularly the youth, with “anti- red” (which means anti-labor) propa- ganda. This “Education Week” is de- signed to educate the working youth of America to the task of strike break- ing, yet it is given the blessings of Gompers and his lieutenants. It would be Utopian to expect a con: vention that is dominated by such an officialdom to take any progressive or radical stand or any of the burning issues now before the workers. But however reactionary the offi- cials who control the A. F. of L. con- vention, it is still necessary—even more than ever necessary—that the vital issues of the workers shall be raised in El Paso sharply and clearly Not because we expect that these of- ficials will ever tread the paths of mil- itant action in the class struggle, but because by speaking to the convention we speak to the broad masses of the nembership who still accept the leaders”, placing beside their half heartedness in the struggle, against capitalism the contrasting — militant program of the left wing. ‘The masses in the trade unions must be made to see and understand the difference be- tween the program of class collabora- tion, which means surrender to the bosses and defeat for the labor move- ment, advocated by the trade union of- ficials, as against the program of class struggle, which means to consolidate the power of the working class for fighting against the bosses, advocated by the Trade Union Educational League and the Communists. A Year of Betrayal. The Portland convention of the A. F. of L. last year marked the definite establishment of “systematic surren- der” as the policy of the big officials. Major Geo. L. Berry, fresh from break- ing the strike of newspaper pressmen in New York City, was greeted by the gathering as a conquering hero, The official pronunciamento on , policy, under the high-sounding title of “in- dustrial democracy”, proclaimed the abandonment of struggle against the employing class, The seal was placed upon. the surrender by the expulsion RED SOLDIER’S MANUAL (Continued from Page 3.) from among the workers and peasants. The great advantage of the Red Army consists in the fact that its soldiers are defending their own government, their own mills and factories, their own land. Between the Soviet govern- ment, Soviet diplomacy, the command- ing staff of the army and the mass of Red soldiers there can be no conflict of interests. This fact assures the Red Army a high quality of military morale for the inevitable battles of. the future. 10. The immediate aim of war is to ~ overthrow the enemy by physical foree, to. crush him, to undermine his organization, to destroy his force, to treak his spirit and render him un- ible to fight. The outcome of war 5 decided in battle. Armies exist not ‘or military reviews, parades, exercises nd military games, but for actual yittle. Drikis, reviews and maneuvers are important only inasmuch as they’ prepare the army for battle. All other conditions being equal the ‘war will be shorter and more victori- ous, the more there is in the army determination, and the higher its ag- gressive spirit. There may be in war periods of suspense, periods of rest and retreat, but all such tactics are only preparatory measures caused by a particular situation. The final vic- tory, however, belongs to the army which is able to take the offensive, to attack and to deal a decisive, smash- ing blow, The Red Army as well as the entire country of workers and peasants wishes to preserve peace, but should the Red Army be compelled to fight, it will fight like one single soul, devoted- ly and desperately. Even if our ene- mies ere bo'tor eooinned technically, the final victory will be ours. * In the year that has elapsed since that time the officiaidom have, more openly than ever, abandoned the class struggle. Every activity entered into by the labor bureaucrats has been to- wards the development of various schemes of class collaboration. The killing of the labor party, labor banks so-called, B. & O. pians, discrimina- tions and expulsions against the left wing, selling out of strikes under cov- er of “arbitration awards,” and count- less other acts of treachery, and oj union with the’ enemy class, marked this period. — A united front with the bureaucrats of the labor movement for struggle against capitalist exploitation: is an impossible thing, because they have accepted the-capitalist system as final and to be protected at all costs, even against the labor movement. Any pretence of struggle organized upon such a basis is doomed to defeat and betrayal, because it is a basis of as- sumed common interest between work- ers and capitalists, between exploited and exploiters, between the victims and the robbers—a common interest which does not exist. The problem of working-class solidarity, the building of a united front of labor, can, there- fore, not come from the top. It must up from the bottom. This must be accomplished by uniting the lower units of organized labor for the com: mon struggle. One of the principal means to this will have to be the for. mation of shop and factory councils in which the organized and unorgan- ized workers come together and joint- ly act for their common protection thus eventually bringing the unorgan- ized workers into the.general labor movement. Prior to the capitalist offensive of 1921-22, the labor movement had been on the upgrade. It had reached its highest-peakin_membership and achie- vement. It had been moving aT for some time, The morale of the membership was good, it had confi- dence in its own strength. In spite of its lack of class consciousness and the inherent weakness of its craft form of organization, it was in comparit- ively good shape to do battle. Even the unorganized workers were in a fighting mood, as shown by such incidents as the strike of the Fayette County (Pa.) miners in 1922 during the general coal strike. The army was deserted, however by its officers: John L. Lewis be- trayed the miners when they were on the point ofa great victory; he aban- of Wm, F. Dunne, Communist deleg- ate from the Silver Bow (Montana) Trades and Labor Asfembly. have Unfurling Banner of Soviet Republic in China. = mt vcermane ga doned the splendid opportunity also to organize the unorganized sections of the industry. The railroad union officials gave up the national agree- ment without a struggle, and, retreat- ing from point to point, were finally forced by an outraged rank and file to call a strike which, first sabotaged by the leaders, finally crumbled under the infamous Daugherty injunction. On a smaller scale the same experi- ence was’ gone thru in other indus- tries. This organized betrayal’ by the leaders aided the attack of the capital- ists materially. The destruction of labor organizations and the wage slashes that followed, resulted in a demoralization of the entire labor movement from which it is suffering to- day. The unions are weaker now in every way than they were in 1920. But the employers have been strength- ening themselves, and preparing for a new “open shop” attack upon labor. Side-Tracking the Protest Millions of workers were growing restless and discontented with” the course of affairs. One manifestation of this was the growing weight and volume of the demand for a farmer- labor party. In this the Communists and the Trade Union Educational League were playing a leading part. Gompers and his official family saw a great danger to their domination in this movement. This was undoubtedly one of the major reasons that brought Gompers finally and unwillingly to the support of the LaFollette movement in the presidential campaign, risking a split in his official machine. This action was forced, on the one hand by the pressure of the rank and file de- manding a new policy, and on the other by the cynical repudiation of all pretence of consideration for labor by the two major parties of capitalism. Gompers, the C.P.P.A., and their allies, were able to divert the threat- ening ‘farmer-labor party movement into the LaFollette stream. after the election, the LaFollette mo- vement stands without its expected victories—but this does not mean the defeat of LaFollettism which, on the political field, corresponds with the latest fads of class collaboration ma- chinery in industry. Millions of work- ers voted for LaFollette—more than were counted—in spite of the fact that LaFollette “forgot” to give even lip- service to the cause of labor in his campaign. LaFollette is accepted by large numbers of the confused work- ers as their spokesman. Great masses ef workers are stil, however, under the domination of the old capitalist parties, as shown by the big vote of Coolidge and Dawes. The working class is still at @ very low political level. Large num- bers of working class votes were ga- |thered for the strikebreaking puppet of Wall Street, Coolidge, and the ex- ponent of the “open shop” and Fa- scism, Dawes, thru the crude terror- ization symbolized in the slogan of “Coolidge or Chaos”, with the threat of closed factories and unemployment should the candidates of America im- perialism not be elected. A Struggle for Spoils. But LaFollettism defeated is more dangerous to the labor movement than LaFollettism victorious at the polls. The latter event would have disillu- sioned masses of workers and prepar- ed them for’ the inevitable step to class action. In defeat the middle- class politicians will be more radica} with their phrases and in condemna- tion of big capital, thus confirming their hold upon the confused workers. At the samhe time the sense of defeat, where victory was expected by many, will cause a reaction away from all political activities, strengthening syn- dicalist and indifferentist tendencies. Confusion reigns in the ranks of the labor movement on the question of political action. Reaction has won in the swallowing up of the labor party movement. What we will witness in El Paso on the political question will be a wild scramble of the bureaucrats for polit- ical merchandise to sell to their mas- ters, One group—and a strong one— . (Continued on next page.)