The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 14, 1925, Page 8

(Continued from last issue) Trotsky Writes Again about Himself and Lenin Were we the only ones, in Trot- sky’s opinion, who made mistakes at the time of the October revolution? No,’ we were not the only ones, This book “contains many sensations. But the most sensational sentence in the book is one referring to the October revolution. On page 50 of his “Les- sons” Trotsky writes: “The rising on the 25 October was of supplementary character only.” There are probably many here present who took part in the October events, and these will be surprised to learn, eight years after the October 25, 1917, that the rising on October 25 was merely of a “supplementary character.” What did is supplement? We learn that it “sup- plemented” the events which had tak- en piace on October 9. The main data of the revolution are familiar to us. But when I mentioned events which occured on October 9, many will ask what happened on that date to which the October rising was nothing more than a supplement. On October 9, says Comrade ‘Trotsky’s book, a resolution was passed in the Petrograd Soviet, on the motion of Comrade Trotsky, ending with the sentence: “The Petrograd Workers’ and Soldiers’ Soviet cannot be respon- sible to the army for such strategy on the part of the provisional govern- ment, and especially for the removal of troops from Petrograd.” It need not be said that this was an important resolution; it united the garrison, which did not want to go to the front, with the Petrograd Soviet. But listen to how Trotsky describes and estimates this event of the Octo- ber 9: “From this moment (October 9) onwards we were actually in a state of armed insurrection... The issue of the rising of the October 25 was already three part pre-deter- mined at this moment. ... In all essentials an armed insurrection had already been brought about... Here we had a ‘quiet’ and ‘almost legal’ armed insurrection, one which was two thirds, if not nine tenths, an ac- complished fact ... From this moment onwards we had a victorious rising in“ the ‘capital city.” — Thus it appears that October 25 was not more than a slight supplement to the great Sth. But now the question erises: if the “victorious” insurrec- tion was already an accomplished faci to the extent of nine tenths on the October 9, what are we to think of the mental capacity of those who sat in the Bolshevist C. C. and decided in a heated debate, on October 10, whe- ther we should proceed to an insur- rection or not, and if so,-what then? What are we to think of people who on October 15 gathered together as plen- ary session of the C. C. together with the functionaries and co-workers from the military organizations, and still deliberated on the prospects of th« insurrection, on the forces of the in- surrection, and on the date of the in- surrection. Had it not been all ar- ranged on the 9th, quietly and legaliy ‘ So quietly that neither the party no: the C. C. heard anything about it. But this is merely a side issue. WTat is the party, what is the Petro- grad Committee, or the C. C. when Trotsky writes a history of the Octo- ber revolution? In this history nei- ther the C. C, nor the party exist at all as real living powers, as collective organizers of the mass movement. And there is not a word to be learned from the “Lessons of October” with regard to what took place in Mos- cow, that not only in Petrograd, but in Moscow and Ivanovo Vosnesensk there was a proletariat which was also doing something. And with reference to Lenin the book informs us: “Lenin who was not in Petrograd, did not ful- ly estimate the importance of this fact . . . Lenin, living lilegally, had no possibility of estimating ithe thoro upheaval,” etc. We see that mot one of us really knew anything about the October revolution. We had thought that it. was precisely Lenin who led. the October. revolution, and Sry creeniline cen Ge mi organ) ‘ons the party organ- ized it, But it appears that they did not appear on the sceno”at all. In order to throw even more light on the part played by Lenin, Trotsky reports as follows: “If the insurrec- tion had begun in Moscow (in accord- ance with Lenin's advice, L. K.), be- fore the revolytion in Petrograd, it would inevitably have dragged much more and the issue would have been very doubtful, and a faflure in Moscow € oe Leninism or Tr would have had a very severe effect upon Petrograd.” Whilst Lenin is engaged in impart- ing such “advice,” Trotsky, with his “quiet” but “victorious insurrection” already in his pocket, is executing ton extensive maneuver.” “We succeed- ed” he writes trumphantly “in luring our enemies into :the trap,.of Soviet legality.” Lenin, calculating much more upon. the workers, sailors, and soldiers than upon Comrade Trotsky’s “maneuvers,” wrote at this tim “It is a crime to hesitate; it is a piece of childishness and formality to wait for the Soviet Congress, a betrayal of the revolution.” But Trotsky refutes Len- in’s words with an air of victory at the close of his description of the roles played by him and by Lenin in October: “It is one thing to organ- ize an armed insurrection under the bare slogan of seizure of power by the party.” Trotsky instructs Lenin: “but it is something very different to prepare and realize an insurrection under the slogan of the defence of the rights of the Soviet congress.” Here the figures are shifted from their actual positions: Lenin is illegal, unable to make a correct estimate of the situation, omits . te observe that nine tenths of the insur- rection has already been accomplish- ed, advises that the rising be com- menced in Moscow, although this ob- viously condemns the revolution to failure. Trotsky, on the. other hand, brings about a “victorious insurrec- tion” by October 9, carries out a definite but cautious maneuver by which he “lured the enemy into a trap,” and “prepares and realizes the victory” under a slogan comprehensi- ble to the broad masses, the slogan of “defence of the rights of the Soviet congress.” What do these “Lessons of October” endeavor to teach us? That in the spring Lenin was obliged to alter his attitude, to abandon his old theory, and that in October Lenin endeavor- ed unsuccessfully to lead the insur- rection which Comrade Trotsky was destined to lead to victory. We have to choose what we are to learn and to teach. Either this his- tory of October, this history of Trot- sky’s,,or_of.the history as given inthe works of Lenin. : In the question of the Constituent Assembly Comrade Trotsky quotes my and Zinoviev’s letter.of October 11, in which we wrote: “The Constituent Assembly will be able to lean upon the Soviets only for aid in its revolution- ary work. The Constituent Assembly and the Seviet form the combined type of state institutions towards which we are advancing.” Trotsky comments as follows: “It is extremely interesting for the char- acterization of the whole line adopted by the right to note that the theory of ‘combined’ state institutions unit- ing the Constituent Assembly with the Soviets, is one which was repeat- ‘a one or two years later in Germany *y Rudolph Hilferding, an oppon- ent of seizure of power by the prole tariat.” Zinoviev’s and my letter_was writ ten on October 11, and I take Lenin’: trticle written on October 6. Leni: writes as follows: “During the transi- tion from old to new combined types are possible at times (as the Work- ers’ Path rightly pointed out a few days ago), for instance Soviet Re- public and Constituent Assembly.” What does this imply? It implies that in the case before us Lenin re- sembled Hilferding. Historical truth is of little importance to Trotsky. The alteration of tactics at moments when the situation alters from day to day is of no interest to him; what inter- ests him is to discredit Bolshevism by every possible means. A final example, again in two words. In this same letter of October 1917 we wrote: “These masses of the sol- diery are not supporting us for the sake of the slogan of war, but for the slogan of peace... Should we find ourselves in a position, after seizing power, in which the international sit- uation obliges us to resort to a revo- lutionary war, the soldiery will turn away from us. The best of the youth among the soldiers will remain true to us, but the great mass will leave us.” The historian may judge in how far this estimate was justified. But what does Comrade Trot ky dof He writes: “Here we see fundamental arguments in favor of the signing of the Brest Litovsk peace.” Thus it appears that the Brest Lit- ovsk peace, signed by the party on the urging and iron pressure of Len- in, against Trotsky, was substantiat- z 2 - otskyism : ed by “fundamental arguments” sup- the case. plied by us, the “right,” the followers of Hilferding. It is not to be won- dered at when our enemies, who have avery fine feeling for anything wrong, comment on such books about Lenin by remarking that it is diffi- cult to distinguish whether they have been written by a co-worker or a rival of Lenin. Leéninism Against Trotskyism. The results may now be summed up. We are the monopoly party in our country. We gather together in our ranks every organized worker in the country; but we must not forget for a moment that we are surrounded by elements foreign to our elass, and that these elementary forces do not diminish, but will multiply and be- come politically more enlightened. They do not possess the form of legal organization. Petty-bourgeois intel ligence will also grow on the soil pro- vided by the development of industry, ef the works and factories, and of trade. All these petty-bourgeois ele- ments, finding no open means of ex- pression in any social organization, are naturally endeavoring to further their aims thru the medium of our party itself. The petty bourgeois el ements, in exercising this pressure upon our party, naturally seek the weakest link in the chain, and as naturally they find this weakest link where people have entered the party without being assimilated to it, and are possessed by a secret conviction leaving them no peace, that they are more in the right than the party, and that it is mere narrow-mindedness on the part of the party, mere conserv- atism, tradition, and adherence to this or that clique in leading positions, which prevents the pa ty from learn- ing from its real saviors, such as Com- rade Trotsky. It is with great regret that I state this, and the whole party will echo this regret, but it has to be said: Comrade Trotsky has become the channel thru which the elementary forees of the petty-bourgecis find their way into our party. The whole character of his advances, and his whole historical past, show this to be Madison Pharmacy INC, BETTER DRUGS Light Luncheon Served | 1154 Madison Street, Corner Ann OPEN DAY AND NIGHT Four Phones Chicago Even if you a single note lution” by J. Ramirez (M. 1113 W. Washington Blvd. NT Fe ant ee | nla al At Ad Ldn tit Rt tne nn ee You will join in the crowd when they sing the splendid tunes from “THE MARCH OF THE WORKERS” 2 Edited by Rudolph von Liebich : This new revolutionary song book contains all the old favorites, songs from Russia and tantalizing tunes from that gay little Bolshevik operetta “The Last Revo- music by Rudolph von Liebich. Words and music (Cloth Cover)............ OTe UY FEE IEE. BECAME TA socasovsbescgaphascecsbaeedeceseedts Lyrics (without music) of “The Last Revolution”... .10 THE DAILY WORKER Literature’Department — Ss oe ne ee ee L. Kamenev In his contentions against the party he has already become a symbol, all over the country, for ev- rything directed against our party. This is a fact which it is most im- vortant for Comrade Trotsky to grasp. If he will grasp this and draw the ne- cessary conclusions, then everything can be made good again. Whether he wants it or not (and assuredly he does not want it) he has become, for all who regard Communism as their greatest enemy, a symbol for emanci- pation from the thrall of the Com- munist Party. This is the regrettable but perfectly inevitable conclusion of all who are accustomed to judge po- litical events from the standpoint of actual analysis of class relations, and not from the standpoint of mere words. I'am aware that in Moscow, a city particularly receptive for all manner of rumors, “perfectly reliable” in- formation is already being spread abroad to the effect that firstly Com- rade Trotsky’s beok has been pro- hibited, and secondly, that Trotsky's exclusion from the party is contem- plated and Trotsky himself is no long- er in Moscow. All this is naturally mere gossip, It has not occurred to anybody to prohibit Comrade Trots- ky’s book; no single member of the Cc. C. has raised the question of any reprisals against Comrade Trotsky. Reprisals, _expulsion, and the like would not enlighten anybody, but would on the contrary render en- lightenment more difficult and at the same time give opportunities to those brewers of confusion who would like to sow the seeds of schism in .the party, and prevent the real funda- mentals of Bolshevism being explain- ed in their differentiation from Trot- skyism; and it is this explanation which is of fundamental importance at present. It must be perfectly clear to every conscious member of the party that for us, the Bolsheviki, and for the in- ternational proletariat marching for- ward to victory, Leninism is suffici- ent, and that it is not necessary to substitute or improve Leninism by Trotskyism.. (Enthusiastic applause). END —_— ee CS ee Get your tickets for Red Revel Ball, February 28. 2426 Lincoln Avenue One-half ent: am Imperial a CHICAGO haven't got in your throat! Gomez) and M. Gold, with +25 Chicago, Illinois