The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 20, 1924, Page 12

ec (Continued from page 7) of the “German events” according to Comrade Trotsky. But here we have before us mere schematizing and grey abstraction. Comrade Trotsky elaborates how his- tory would have been written if the opponents of the revolt had been in the majority in the Russian C. C.; it would then have been said that the forces were too limited, that the ene- my was fearfully strong, etc. All this is only outwardly convinc- ing; yes, it is probable that history would have been written in this man- ner. But that is in no way a proof that the forces of the German revolu- tion in October, 1923, were not over- estimated. It is false to say, the moment was a “classical” one. For the social demo- crats proved themselves to be far stronger than we thought. An analogy with the Russian October is quite out of place here. In Germany there were no armed soldiers who were for the revolution. We could not issue the Slogan of peace. There was no pea- sant agrarian movement. There was ne such party as ours. But apart from all that it proved that social democ- racy has not yet outlived itself. These concrete facts had therefore to be dealt with. At the time of the de- cisive events the E. C. C. I. declared itself in favor of the October policy. Now as, owing to the objective condi- tions this suffered a defeat, and as, thanks to the right leaders, this de- feat was “greater than necessary,” Comrade Trotsky, who has in fact al- ways supported the right opportunist wing which is inclined to capitulation and opposed the left, now gives a “profound” theoretical basis of his con- ception, and thereby launches a blow against the leading circles of the Com- intern. Such lessons must not be drawn either from the Russian or the German October. It is also quite inadmissable to cling to many errors to which Comrade Trotsky still clings. One of the lessons, (the actual les- sons) of the German October is, that before action the most far-reaching mobilization of the masses is neces- sary. This work has been greatly neglected. In Hamburg, for example, during the revolt there were no coun- cils and our party organization was not capable of drawing the ten thou- sands of strikers into the struggle. Thruout the whole of Germany there were no Soviets; according to Com- rade Trotsky’s opinion that was right, as the Soviets were substituted by the factory councils. As a matter of fact, these factory councils could not replace the Soviets, as they did not comprise the whole population, includ- ing the most backward and indifferent, as the Saviets do in the critical and tense moments of the class struggle. The book of Comrade Trotsky calls for a study of October. This slogan does not contain anything new. It is appropriate for the members of our party as well as for our foreign com- rades. Comrade Trotsky’s book, or to be more correct, his preface, claims to be a guide in this study. . To this we must say, in the most definite man- ner: it cannot fulfill this role, It will, however, mislead the comrades, who, behind the exterior fine style, will not observe the complete lack of pro- portion, the distortion of the true party history. That is no mirror of the party but a caricature, The publication of this ‘tcaricature” is by no means a chance event. Af- ter what we have said above it is How One Should Not Write the History of October BDFD EPR OER CE EE Oe SE Re ENE SIE SBOE ares SAA eee R RSM fe RENE SNS 3 not difficult to perceive to what the conclusions indicated by Comrade Trotsky lead. In fact, if, as Comrade Trotsky falsely states, in October, 1917, some- thing’ correct could be carried thru only against the C. C. is it not possible that such a situation may arise again? What guarantee is there that the leadership will be the right -one? And whether it is correct at the pres- ent time? The sole “test” is Octo- ber, 1917. Can one trust those who have’ not stood this test? And did not the Comintern suffer a defeat in Bulgaria, and in Germany in conse- quence of these leaders? Is it not necessary to study the October in such a way that just these problems are more closely investigated? That is the essence of those prob- lems which Comrade Trotsky, after the failure of his frontal attack in the past year, brings forward for the attention. of his readers. Comrade Trotsky can, however, be quite con- vinced that the party will understand how to judge rightly and in good time this quiet undermining work. The party wants work and no fresh dis- cussion. The party desires true Bol- shevist unity. COAL MINER KORT Revolutionary drama in four acts by A. Chunin. (Review) By M. A. SKROMNY. LONG with political and economic advancement the Soviet Republic is also advancing in art and litera- ture. It is true, the new art and lite rature of Russia is devoted mostly to the working class. But this is just what the world needs most today. Too much art has been devoted to sat- isfying the ruling class, to the sex question and other questionable things. The working class, more than any other class has been lacking at- tention from the artists and writers of today. The reason—there wasn’t much money in it. Nowadays art and literature is in most cases the hand- maid of capitalism. It is for sale to the highest bidder. And the working class did not have the price. In Russia it is different. There along side with the new life they are creat- ing new art and new literature. Among the new plays produced in Russia during the revolution is that of “Coalminer Kort.” It is a story of the class struggle with a thrill in it, as the story runs thru the civil war that raged in Russia until 1920. The story begins in 1917, in a coal mining village of the Ural mountains. The owners of the mine want to raise’ the price of coal and for that purpose they cut down production, as many of the coal operators in this country are doing. Many people are thrown out of work and an attempt is made to cut down the wages of those who are working. The miners are forced to defend themselves. They present their demands to the manager. He flatly refuses to deal with them and tele phones for a company of soldiers. He receives some bad news over the wire and hangs up the receiver with dis- gust. The October days are here and soldiers can no more be used for shooting strikers. The civil war be- gins. The “whites” capture the vil- lage. The old management with the aid of “white” officers are avenging themselves. The parents and families of the strike leaders are being sub- jected to insults and attacks. All the young people of the village are gone. They. organized a partisan detachment and are fighting the “whites.” Finally they recapture the village, but Kort’s son is killed while leading his men, The workers take over. the manage- ment of the mines and. Kort, as the most experienced miner, is elected manager. He starts work on 4 new strip mine which the old management refused to exploit. ‘That helps the workers a great deal. The workers’ and peasants’ government awards him AZA NAMGOVA Russian actress who will participate in the play, “Coal Miner Kort,” to be given at the Soviet School, Saturday, Dec, 27. the badge of the order of Red labor. The play will be presented at the ‘Soviet School, 1902 W. Division St. next Saturday, Dec. 27, at 8 p. m. un- der the direction of the well-known Russian actor, Anatoly Pokatilov and with the participation of Aza Nam- gova, an actress of the Moscow Meyer- chold theater. The scenery for the mine scenes ia being painted by Lydia Gibson, ee os UL UA NAA URE ' EDUCATE YOURSELF FOR THE STRUGGLE _ ‘THE WORKERS PARTY FORUM (Lecture, Questions and Discussion)’ Every Sunday Night at 8 o’clock, Season 1924-25 SUNDAY, DEC. 21—MANUEL GOMEZ a gaa and Lecturer; Student of Imperialist Development in the Western World, will speak on The Monies Doctrine and American Imperialism, a Study of the Fanart Policy of Wall Street. OPEN Ashland hiudiarlern, » Maal hen Ave. and Van Buren St, Take Metropolitan “L” to Marshfield Sta., or surface lines on Van Buren Single admission 26¢ Tickets good for any three admissions, 500 By ALFRED V. FRANKENSTEIN. OSEPH BRINKMAN, 8 young local pianist, was soloist with the Chi- cago Symphony Orchestra at Orches- tra Hall. The Society of American Musicians has, in the past two years, put on two contests for young mu- sicians. Recently a sub-contest of the winners of the first and second prizes occurred, and Brinkman was chosen from the four to play as soloist in this concert, He played the Liszt Hungarian fan- tasia for piano and orchestra. (We recently made the statement that this work is the first Liszt concerto un- der another name, an error produced by a lamentable confusion of two tunes.) This fantasia is practically an arrangement of the fourteenth Hun- garian rhapsody, and, like the world famous and ever played second rhap- sody, starts with a slow movement and ends up in a whirlwind, with a peculiar, wild Magyar flavor thruout. To say that Brinkman played it bril- liantly would be'putting it mildly. He got one of the longest ovation we have ever witnessed, and- deserved all of it. He is a young man, and now his repu- tation is made. Which proves that contests do a lot more good than is popularly supposed. Two French compositions opened the program, the overture to “Gwen- doline’ by Emmanuel Chabrier and Vincent D’Indy’s second symphony. Like the “Bouree Fantasque” and the “Joyeuse Marche” that Mr. Stock so frequently plays, the Chabrier work is one bubbling over with liveliness and good spirits. It should be played oftener, D'Indy’s erashew is a work of a different sort. It consists of some exceptionally beautiful and moving themes worked out to a great length with every ‘ee: device in a 8 CR A Ee ae et nT ce en ph ene i : musical science. But, unlike the sym- phonies of Brahms, to which it might be compared, it never gets dull and pedantic. The performance of it was superb. The program concluded with a suite of dances from Stravinski’s early ballet, “The Fire Bird.” In a way this music is disappointing. Compared with the same author’s “Song of the Nightingale,” it. is conventional and rather stale. But coupled with the fairy tale ballet for which it was writ- ten it probably is quite appropriate. Two years ago the name of Igor Stravinski meant next to nothing in these parts. Within the last year Mr. Stock has played three of the com- poser’s four major works. First there was “The Song of the Nightingale,” then “The Rites of Spring,” played quite recently, and then this repeti- tion of “The Fire Bird.” There re mains only “Petruchka” to be played, but “Le Sacre du Printemps” is said to be the masterpiece of this most important composer of the day. GRAND OPERA DATES Next Week’s Opera Program. The repertoire for the eighth week of the Chicago Civic Opera opens Sunday matinee, Dec. 21, with the last performance of Tannhauser this sea- son. In the cast will be Forrai, Van Gordon, Lamont, Schwarz, Kipnis, Oukrainsky; Milles, Elisius, Milar, Nemeroff, Shermont and corps de ballet. Conductor, Weber, Monday night will bring a third per- formance of Traviata with Muzio, Hackett, Schwarz, Defrere, Oukrain- sky; Miles. Milar, Shermont and corps de ballet. Conductor, Cimini. ; Tuesday night, Lakme will be sung for the second time with Pareto, Schipa, Baklanoff, Oukrainsky; Mlles. Elisius, and corps de ballet. Conduc- tor, ers. Wednesday evening, Christmas Eve, the first performance of Louise will be given with Garden, Claessens, Ansseau, Baklanoff and exceptional supporting cast. Conductor, Polacco. Thursday evening, the Barber of Seville will be sung for the second time, with Elvira Hidalgo making her debut with the Chicago Civic Opera company. Others in the cast include Claessens, Schipa, Rimini, E and Trevisan. Conductor, Cimini. Friday brings the first performance of Othello this season with Raisa, Perini, Marshall and Schwarz. Con- ductor, Moranzoni. Get an “Ad” for the Dally Worker, 4 iitSnal , Moran- +. / ¢ Mm SRN u | POE