The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 6, 1924, Page 5

- At-the head of the English goverm - to slander us..But a few months passed oS ¢ power when it pene- trates the masses.” —Karl Marx. SPECIAL MAGAZINE SUPPLEMENT THE DAILY WORKER. DECEMBER 6, 1924. SECOND SECTION This magazine suppte- ment will appear every Saturday in The Daily Worker, The Lessons of MacDonaldism Speech of Comrade Zinoviev: at the Opening of the Course of Instuction for Party Functionaries. (Concluded from last Saturday) The Coming Together ofthe English and Russian Proletariat. It would have seemed as if-the sit- uation for us was. most .unfayorable- ment the bourgeoisie had placed one of the most cunning leaders of the Second International and a hater of the Soviet Union. Before he came to be the head of the government, MacDonald had written in one of his articles -on the international policy of the labor party that when he suc- ceeded to power he would not permit any monkey tricks on the part of So- viet diplomats. In the same agticle he wrote that only through the firm and well-grounded position of the Second International, which had taken up the whole weight of the struggle against bolshevism in the period of its greatest strength, would it be possible to get rid of these injurious elements. Regarded from this standpoint we were placed in a very unfavorably position. A furious campaign was con- ducted against us in which use was made of every possible “fact” in order and what has been the result? In spite of everything there has been an “approachment of the working class of} * - our country with the working class of England. It is true that this was only a substitute for what could have ‘been if we had an alliance of two ‘real governments. < OTTELLS But the workers of both countries understand one an- other. However moderate the trade unions may have been, however much they may have been bound by tradi- tion, this approachment has undoub- tedly taken place. When the polit- cians attempted at the last moment to wreck, the treaty between Great Britain and the Soviet Union the Eng- lish working class, as everyone knows, exerted pressure and compel- led MacDonald to sign it. It is ‘well known that the adherents of MacDonald hate our trade unions. When, however, the representatives of the Russian trade unions appeared, the representatives of the English trade union movement, even the lead- ers, welcomed our delegates with un- exampled enthusiasm. We have heard of touching scenes, how old workers have accompanied our delegates to the station and given over to them various simple gifts as kéepsakes. There were genuine and _ sincere scenes of fraternisation. The English Working Class Has Grown Politically. So moderate, so much inclined to opportunism as the English workers may be, they have nevertheless, after their manner, understood the fact that the labor party has become a govern- ing party. They understand that if a labor government came into power, the? would be able to exert pressure upon the rich, to compel them to dis- gorge some of their wealth in order to help the unemployment, that they will be able to proceed to nationalize the mines and railways, etc. They have ye their class yaaa eran akecoiens own hands. However much MacDonald tried to twist and turn and to serve the bourgeoisie, the working class began sent “labor” government is the gov-|} ernment of his majesty, but the Y S = ena an the greater part in favor of signing bourgeoisie has been called to recogn- ize us, that. means therefore that we constitute a force. And the workers instinctively.160k round for allies, and they find them. Where? Of course in our country; in the Soviet Union, They are beginning seriously to think ‘w it would be if they had a. genuine workers’ government: . This process has developed in the course of, nine months. The ~ Comin: tern had predicted it.’ However the heads might be inclined, whatever parliamentary combinations they play- ed, there went on the objective pro- cess of the revolutionizing of the working class of England, of course only slowly up to now. And now when Lioyd George and Curzon per- ceive that the masses are beginning to speak of a real power of the work- ers, they decide that it is time to put an end to this game. MacDonald has been squeezed out by them like a lemon and the continuation of this game has become dangerous on ac- count of the left tendencies of the masses. bi fooling. They are not inclined to jest over the question of who ig to rule and who is to be ruled. They have a very keen class instinct and are pre- pared to make every sacrifice for it. MacDonald in the Unaccustomed Role of an Impartial Witness on the Posi- tion of Affairs in the Soviet Union. What will be the result of the struggle of the parties in the election campaign? What will be the attitude of the labor party? As we have said. MacDonald has no particular sym- pathy for us. He had his hand in the Georgian affair; as a leader of the Second International he considered it his chief task to prejudice the ideas of Communism in the eyes of the work- ers. In spite of that, in the present election campaign the leaders of the MacDonald labor party will be compel- led to tell the truth regarding the Soviet Union, in other words, to make propaganda for‘the Soviet Union. They have no other course open to them. The relation of forces is such that the worst leaders of the Second International will tell at least some truths regarding the Soviet Union, the home of the Third International. Even the English bourgedis press makes pretty clear allusions to MacDonald's ambiguous position. Something similar has occurred to our Russian mensheviki. Abramo- vitech and Zereteli recently gave a re- port at a sitting of the national ad- ministrative council of the. indepen- dent labor party upon the “cruelties” in Georgia. At the end the question was put to them: Shall the treaty between the Soviet Union and Great Britain be confirmed or not? And the honorable Messrs Abramovitch and Zereteli replied: Of course it must be confirmed, ‘Thé Russian mensheviki are in every respect dependent upon the leaders of the English labor party. They know that the latter cannot do otherwise than confirm the treaty be- cause the masses so will it. Thus it is that we witness an interesting his- torical paradox, as the chief section of the Second International is com- pelled by the whole course of hjstory to conduct the election campaign for the treaty. The events which are now developing confirm this. Campbell Has Also to be Defended. I will now deal with the Campbell affair, which was the pecpiton: Sef. 54 to. the: Magiiot. hetehann editing The bourgeoisie said: enough of this: on them to refuse to fire upon striking workers, For this he was arrested. In the"“meantime the English workers found it was only right that soldiers should ‘hot fire ‘on: striking workers. The MacDonald government was com- pelled to have-him released, and with- draw the charge brough against him. This was. the, ‘thing - over which MacDonald tripped, The liberals and conservatives accused him of! with-| drawing the prosecution as Py result of pressure. It mow appears. that MacDonald and Co. must prove to the working class that it was impossible to hold Campbell under arrest and bring him before the court. MacDonald has been commanded by the bourgeojsie to persecute the Communists. He persecuts them. The day before his defeat he carried through a resolution for the expulsion of the Communists from the labor party. It is true it was. only carried through by an insignificant majority, with 1,800,000 against 1,500,000 votes. MacDonald at the last moment per- formed this service for the bourge- oisie. But it was already too late. The English bourgeoisie said: it is not enough that you are prepared to persecute the Communists if the workers are not prepared to do so. Thus the Times in its issue of Oct. 8 declared: “The difference in the size of the last from the preceeding majorities is striking. The explanation is no doubt to be found in the fact that the Communists have strength in the trade unions, where they are exeeding- ly active and where they are entitled, by the payment of their trade union subscriptions, to all the rights and privileges of membership. They are more prominent in some unions than in others and have seats on the ex- ecutive committees of several. The miners recently elected one who had been identified with Communism to fill the office of general secretary of their federation. _It is evident from the figures that there was on the part of a large section of the conference an unwillingness to proscfibe the Communists altogether. But the majority is large enough to settle the party’s policy on the matter, and if yesterday’s resolutions are observed there can be no Communists in next year’s conference, no Communists pos- ing as official labor candidates, and no Communists whatever in the local labor parties. But the resolutions make no difference to the status of Communists in the trade unions.” “How the Elections Will Turn Out. tt is of course difficult to be a prophet, especially when dealing with a fereign country. As far as can be judged at present, I believe that MacDonald will hardly be returned to power, but this does not exclude the possibility that his-party will be in a position to furnish ministers and for a long time to be a factor in’ goévern- ment combinations. The English bourgeoisie has not driven out MacDonald in order immediately to let him return to power. We must not expect that in one form or an- other there will be a bloc of the con- servatiye with the liberals, MacDon- ald will not obtain an absolute major- ity in parliament. He may perhaps obtain the relative majority. The workers of England are still behind .. He has not yet compromised himself with the workers as he has with the colonial peoples. According to English parliamentary procedure the class danger arises, then of course all parliamentary usage will be laid aside. On the other hand the. English bourgeoisie fear the workers, If the, workers were'to obtain a great elec: tion, victory, they would perhaps not venture to overthrow their govern- ment and. would be compelled to recall MacDonald to) power. What.ts more likely, however;} is that the liberal party -will be ground between’ the millstones of ‘the conservative and labor party. We must expect an in- crease of votes by the convervatives and by the labor party. A portion of the liberals will go to the conser- yatives, a portion to the labor party. A section of the liberals have already gone to the labor party because they see that the labor party is carrying on their policy. It is possible that there will be set up a conservative government with the support of a certain wing of the liberals, or a labor party government, likewise with the support of the liberals. In either case the revolutionizing of the working class will proceed slowly but steadily forwards. If MacDonald is defeated in the elections and Curzon is returned to power, there is no doubt that a move- ment will set in in the ranks of the English working class, for they will not put up with the conservatives so easily as they have before. For the desire for power. has already been awakened and the self-confidence of the workers hs been increased. For the first time in their history, the English working class have believed that their people are in power. A con- servative government means the dan- ger of a new war, increase of unem- ployment, a policy of blood and ad- venture and a capitalist offensive against the workers. But this will be a dangerous game, which will stir up the masses, revolutionize the work- ers, and prove the correctness of Com- munism, “If, however, MacDonald comes again into, power, ‘there will no longer be the ‘same “labor government” as. be- fore, MacDonald himself will remain the same and Will kow tow even more before the bourgeoisie. But the work- ers will not be the same. They will be stronger, more resolute, because they will have seen that by an elec- tion victory they will have once more placed a labor government in office. In either case“ the revolutionizing of the workers will proceeded slowly, but surely forwards, It must not be supposed that in England there is a serious political crisis, and that the ground is giving way beneath the bourgeoisie. This is not the case. The English bourgeoisie is experienced, is rich, is still firmly rooted in the home country; and in addition possesses a great number of colonies, in which the national revo- lutionary emancipation movement is not yet strongly developed. In spite of this the first blows are falling, and in this respect the English menshe- viki are working for us, as Vladimir llyitch predicted at a time when there was no prospect of a “labor govern- ment.” Our English brother party is advancing with the slogan: A real la- bor government with a fighting class program. History !s Working on Our Behalf. One of the chief slogans of the labor party will obviously be the following: The whole treaty between the Soviet Union and Great Britain must be con- firmed without alterations and dele- tions. Over a year ago Curzon sent us an ultimatum in which he threaten- ed to crush us if we did not give back a fishing boat which was confiscated (Continued on page 8)