The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 22, 1925, Page 4

Page , Organization Meetings | Workers (Com i THE DAILY WORKER venue ae munist) Party | I Social Affairs Resolutions The Basis for Communist Unity be __ By JAY LOVESTONE. IHERE can be no unity without a common political basis. Unity _-ga8ed on any other foundation is short- “ lived and very dangerous. Unity based on secret, private “understand- ings” between leaders on the top is a menace to the welfare of the party. Such unity is illusory. Such unity is phantom unity. It is no unity, It is a snare and a delusion. When there are sharp differences of political prin- ciple the writer préfers a sharp and energetic political fight to ‘settle the issues rather than mechanical, formal _Mnification, y" A Common Political Platform. FTER the last party convention and the decision of the Communist International cabled to the conven- tion the party reached the stage where it had a common political platform— a Communist political platform—for all elements which are consciously and sincerely for the Comintern, This Communist platform is today sincerely accepted and fundamentally under- stood by a great majority of the mem- bership of our party. More than that; in its most complete sense—involving the basic policies of the party—this platform is now consciously endorsed by most of the very sections of the party which formerly fought each other vigorously and at times even with impermissible means. No doubt our recent controversy ha brot quite some damage to our party. But on the whole it has had a bene- ficial effect on the development of our party. The last factional strife was a very painful, a costly, but a historical- ly necessary cleansing process for our party. The last factional fight was a stage in the process of the growth, in the process of the Bolshevization of our party, The duration and intensity of the Struggle, the character of the issues at stake, the considerable and close at- tention the American question re- eeived from the Comintern in the period of April 1924, to September, 1925 are only proof of the fact that the last factional fight grew out of serious, fundamental differences. If it were not for this struggle and the help of the Comintern, we would not yet have had the correct policies we have to- Party promotes the ideological homo- geneity and consequently the organ- izational unification of our member- ships 3. Greater Political Clarity. RU our long discussion and with the considerable help of the Com- munist International the party has been able to clarify for itself many fundamental questions. We need but cite the labor party problem. The labor party issue is not a temporary, passing issue for the American work- ing class. “Thefefore, it is a major issue, a fundamental problem for our party. Who is there today in our ranks who can deny that the party is now in a position to avoid errors from the labor party’campaigns which we will yet wage’ before we see the Amer- ican working class succeed in estab- lishing a mass*labor party, in declar- ing its political: {ndependence from the bourgeoisie? Jt is clear that, at| least for some'tfme'to come, the labor | party question will not prove a source of dispute in our ranks. With the realization of a common political vie point in its fundamental aspects towards so basic a problem as the labor party, ollr leadership and mem: |class army. bership are certainly much more firmly welded ideologically. 4. The Role of the Party. Our membership now has a far bet er understanding of the role of the party as the leader of the working Our membership today | realizes with considerably greater clarity the menace of the theory of mass spontaneity, the dangers of the} party bowing before the moods, sen-| timents and reactions of the masses. | We now appreciate more sufficiently | the need for the party’s taking into| consideration as objective factors the moods, sentiments and reactions of} the masses while at the same time} fulfilling the role of. directing, guiding | and turning these attitudes of the pro- letariat into revolutionary channels. In short, today most of the party | leadership understands better the tac-| tics and strategy of keeping closer to} the masses without at the same time; allowing ourselves to give up our po- sition of pointing out in advance to} these masses the course, of economic} and political development, We now| day. Above all, we would not have grasped, we would not “yet have ac- cepted thru understanding to the ex- tent the membership does now the _line of action we fight for today, Concretely, genuine, organic unity is possible today for the following specific reasons. 1. The Expulsion of Lore. HE expulsion of Lore—who has shown himself to be an out and out anti-Communist thru his attacks on the Comintern and the party since the convention—has made it very difficult, if not impossible, for the extreme right wing elements in our party to Support one group as against another group, to occupy the pivotal point in party disputes and thus to play a role of decisive character in the party. it is true the party has not yet rid itself completely of the Loreist ele- ments. But we have already thrown out Lore, the most conscious ideolog- ical leader, and a big enuf portion of his opportunist following to enable a greatly increased number of our members to see the acute danger of opportunism to our party. This Cleansing, this riddance of extraneous elements, non-Communist elements, from our body-politic brings closer to- gether the Communists in our ranks who may have had differences in the recent past. Oyr whole system has gained much argue loss of Lore and his satellites. . _ 2. Reorganization—A Bolshevik Sieve. maa ed vigorous reorganization cam- 4 paign which the party has waged since the convention has proven to be another potent factor for the unifica- tion of the Communist elements in our eet) The reorganization process serves’ as a sort of a sieve for our membership. On the whole, those who remain in our party after reorganiza- tion have a wholesome point of view, have a desire to be Communists and _ to follow the line of the Comintern in ‘all its implications... Likewise, it can _ be stated that on the whole those who will leave the party as a result of the reorganization campaign are either » not the best material for a Commun- ist party or are unwilling to try to be- igre Communists in fact as well as in ‘Thus, the reorganization of our know better how to lead the masses, how to be in advance of the masses po- litically without at the same time los- ing contact with the army of*the pro- letariat whose vanguard we must be. Temporary downward trends of working “class political develom—ants do not today breed as much pessimism and passivity in our ranks as they did in November, 1924, after the presi- dential election. On the contrary, our leadership today, reflectng an advance in the political maturity of our mem- bership, tends to consider such down- ward trends in the political develop- ment of the working class as added reasons for intensifying the party's activities to revolutionize the work- ing class. Here we have a basic element in-the development of a correct, a homo- geneous Communist political ideology in the ranks of all the layers of our membership. This fact is of para- mount importance as a force for or- ganic unity in our ranks. 5. A Correct Trade Union Policy. \ In the main, except for a section of the former majority group, a large proportion of our membership and the decisive. majority of our leadership is now headed towards a correct Com- munist policy on the trade union field —the field of actiyities which must re- ceive our increasifg and major atten- tion, The dangerous misconception of the very purpose of Communist activ- ity in the trade unions is rapidly los- ing ground in our party. The notion that the basie objective of our cam- paigns in the trade unions is to win offices in the labor unions is losing ground, at an’ accelerating pace, to the fundamental; ‘correct Communist concept of winning over ideologically increasing sections of the organized proletariat, Concurrently with the development of this understanding of the primary purpose of our trade union work we can also notice the fact that the tend- ency in our ranks to consider trade union work as a special art of a se- lected group of experts has been ser- jously undermined. The attitude that trade union work is the monopoly of a handful off \particularly ordained comrades is only the reflex in our ranks of the craft concept which still Attention! : Chicago Party Membership Meeting | icated the line of development the left as well a8 from the right in | MY indicated the Ine lin itself is a powerful agent for unify- |ing our party ranks as well as the permeates American trade unionism, of the commodity concept of labor unionism which still pervades Ameri- can labor union officialdom, 6. Towards Stability of Leadership. The unity declaration of the central executive committee has laid the basis leadership than our party has yet had. The final leadership of our party, to the extent that one can speak of final leadership, is not yet definite. Jueader- ship must be developed thru activity, thru tests in practice. Such leader- ship our party is now only crystalliz- ing. The Comiintern and the central executive committee’s unity resolution of our leadership, but this indication leading stra 7. The Attitude to the Comintern. Wast, but not least, we find that the! new attitude which the large majority | of our party is developing towards the | Communist International makes pos- | sible the genuine unification of our |} party on a correct political basis. The basic political line of demarcation di- viding our members today is to be found in the attitude towards the Communist International. On the one hand, the decisive majority of our membership now, more and more, views the Communist International as a world party placing at the disposal of every one of its sections the com- | posite lessons and experiences of all its sections—as the real leader of the entire international Communist move- ment. On the other hand, a decreas- ing section of our membership still takes an incorrect attitude towards the Comintern, views Comintern de- cisions thru social democratic spec- tacles. The experiences of the var- ious parties with such fundamentally wrong estimates of the role of the Communist International show beyond question that this attitude, if main- tained, logically leads away from the Communist International. To a larger number of our members than ever before, acceptance of Com- intern decisions now means execution in deed as well as adoption in words by means of a resolution, There can be no greater driving force for the unification of our membership than tion. al The Danger From the Right. §. ‘The danger from the right neces- sitates the unification of all Commun- ist elements. Lore and company are spending most of their time mobifizing — 4 } against the Comintern and the party. for'a far broader composition of party | Only the other day Lore joined hands with the reactionary Jewish Daily For- ward crowd and the vilest opponents of our movement in his attack against the party for its attitidé'to the refusal of the left wing at thé! Furriers’ con- vention to be hoodwinkéa by the black Kaufman clique and fts*fraudulent pro- gressive allies. The ¢fiemies of the Comintern in the rarfks’of the Italian workers are marshalling their forces, as evidenced by the recent issuance of an Italian daily posing as a radical, fighting proletarian dtgan, [Sse our own party'the right wing is also working o¥ertime. Certain elements of our party’ ate fighting fev- erishly against the creation of a cen- tralized party apparatus and thorogo- ing party reorganizat c. at the same time: some of these élements are tak- ing the first step towards completely deserting the Comintern by protesting against “Moscow interference” in the American party. Un such circum- stances it is no accident to find that these “anti-Moscow” e ements are of- ten rallying to the support of that section of the former majority follow- ing the leadership of Comrade Foster. These elements which do not have the correct attitude to the Comintern are, only temporarily, not putting all their cards on the table in the expectation of a reversal of the last Comintern decision. | The Economic and Political Situation. | 6. The developing economic and} political situation is a further pressing | argument for the necessity of Com- munisf unity. There are multiplying | signs that the end fy our present period of so-called prosperity is fast approaching. The building boom has seen its best days. rican world trade supremacy is sae challenged with ever-greater seriousness. A gi- gantic trade war is on and assuming larger proportions aféng the imper- jalist powers. Lows sight for our work union is now under American Industries,’ the National Assoefi “of Manufac- this new, correct orientation for many of our members in their The Need for Party Unity. Communist elements requires no emphasis. Specifically the factors pressing for the organic unity of the PARTY UNITY AND TRADE UNION WORK uesday, December 22, 1925, 7 P. M. | SCHOENHOFEN HALL, 1224 MILWAUKEE AVENUE is (Milwaukee and Ashland Aves.) ij a This meeting, In place of'the section meetings, is of the utmost importance. Every i party member must be present, Only party mem- who are either in a shop nucleus or street nucleus and members mission by membership card only. itive Committee of the Workers resolution of'the C. E. C. for party are the following: Unification—The Road to Recon- struction. 1. The party has been weakened considerably by the recent struggles over policy and leadership. The party cannot recover and advance un- less unification of all the elements standing for the line of the Comintern Proceeds at full speed. 2. Unless we secure unity without reservation of.all those who hold the Comintern above everything else, we will not be able to break the isolation in which our party still finds itself, We will not be able to mobilize our full resources and energy for major mass activities, for activities by our members in the ranks of the non- Communist proletarians, unless we end the period of our-party’s life in which the center of attention of our members is found in the field of inner party controversy. The long period of factional strife has tended to develop an ingrown, a subjective, outlook in our ranks. We must turn our eyes toward the masses. No trade union campaign, no labor \party campaign, no trade union unity campaign, in short, no campaign in which large numbers of non-Communist workers are to be stirred into motion, can be even attempted, let alone succeed, without the unification of our mem- bership on the basis of unqualified ac- tive support of the Comintern’s polic- ies in every field. > 8. Our party has, until the last con- vention, been for many months in a state.of factional siege. We must re- store Communist normalcy in our party.. Democratic centralization will remain “A hollow phrase unless all of the elements having a correct attitude turers, for September} 1925, announces attitude }the preparation of °# renewed and towards the Communist International.J most intense open “Shop ‘campaign. While the steel in .is at the height of prosperity for the bosses and Ne need for the unification of all} steel prices are rising,vwage cuts are | taking place in the nails. « T is clear that anvattaek on the Communists will bé the first order of business on the #fogram of the Wall Street clique. “Phe Communists are the most advanééed but also or- ganizationally still ote! of the weak sections of the organised working class. An attack omthe Communists serves only as a prelide-to an attack against the whole working class cam- ouflaged by the smoke séreen of preju- dice and misrepresentation, The uni- fication and the strengthening of our party are imperative on the eve of such developments. 7. Finally, only unification of all e Communist forces will enable the arty to measure up to its urgent tasks in the near future. Labor party sehtiment is reviving. The spirit of resistance is increasing among the workers. The trade, union unity move- ment and the movement for an American trade union delegation to Soviet Russia are assuming important proportions. The only guarantee that the party can have for success in these campaigns is @ rebuilt party, a unified party—on thd/basis of the line of the Comintern—with its roots sunk deeply in the prole masses found in the workshops, } , to Aid.Daily Worker 4 — ae DETROIT, Mich, Dec, 20—The DAILY WORKER Press Club has ar- ranged with the Repertory Theater Players for a prese tation of Elmer Rice’s satire, “The Adding Machine,” in the Auditorium the House of the Masses, 2646,.St. Aubin, on Christmas Eve. , a Radicals will thoroly enjoy this sat- towards the Communist International are unified, are working on a basis of cauaity) Consequently, the normaliz- ing a democratizing of our party are a prerequisite to the success of our party’s campaigns which require the full mobilization of our best forces. It is immediately necessary to uproot every vestige of the state»of factional siege which may still be found in cer- tain sections of our membership. More elements should and must be drawn into party work. New ‘party workers must be developed if our party is to grow. We must develop an intense spirit of party work and party loyalty. It i8 absolutely necessary to have unity in order to achieve these essential results, 4. Without organic Communist unity in our ranks, reorganization of the party will prove a dismat failure. Reorganization is a deep-going, polit- ical change. He who has doubted this before the*convention of our party need but look at the enemies of ow party crystallizing their forces to ire, on home life,, industry, religion and all the other copventions dear to the heart of the babbittry, Admission is 75 cents and $1, i@ proceeds |will be devoted to ‘The DAILY WORKER, pe ae Pullman to Have Workers’ School —- 5, ‘The first meeting of the Workers’ School in Pullman will take place on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 27, at 2 o'clock at Stancik’s Hall, 205 Bast 116th St. The school will offer two, courses: one, iff the A, B, F and a course in thé The first meeting will an organ- ‘izational meeting. St roll and elect a ¢ém: charge of the sch The school will begin to. function the early part of Ja y Members of thé *we munist) Party and sy; urged to join the s¢ large extent against party reorganiza-! warty GRAND RAPIDS HEARS WICKS ON LOCARNO Shows Imperialists as They Are = (Special to The Daily Worker) GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Dec, 20,— Before the largest audience that has attended a labor meeting in Grand Rapids in years, H. M. Wicks, editor- ial writer of The DAILY WORKER delivered his “lecture on “Locarno” here today. Reviewing the varfous pacts of Hu- rope since the close of the world war he showed how the very conflict of interests between the victorious coun- tries made them mere scraps of paper, until the conference of Locarno, which he showed was a desperate ef- fort on the part of the imperialist _ ATTENTION NEW YORK LEAGUERS! Where and When to Report at Section Membership Meetings: ‘OU are to report abosuletly to one of the following section membership meetings in the sections listed below according to your place of work. ALL UNEMPLOYED shop, factory and office workers go to the section membership meetings in the sections in which the place of their last employ- ment is located. BUILDING TRADES WORKERS will attend the section meetings in the sections in which their contracting shop is located. 1—Battery to Houston E & W, 105 Eldrige St., Mon., Deg. 21, 6 p. ms 2—Houston to 14th St., 105 Eldrige St., Tues., 3—14th St, to 23rd St., 108 mies inae ae Wed. ues., 14th St., Wed St., 64 East 104th St., Wed. Van Court and Pk., mM. VAY 56 Manhattan Ave., Tues., Dec. 22, 6 p..m. 1844 Pitkin Ave., . Mm. Bath Beach, Boro Pk. and Coney Island, 1940 Benson 4—23rd to 34th St., 108 E. 14th St., 5—34th to 59th St., 108 E,. 6—59th St. to 129t! 7—129th to Bronx Pk:, and December 22, 6 8—Williamsburg 9—Brownsville (All), 10—South Brooklyn, Ave., Wednesday, Dec, 23, 6 p. m. Dec. 22, 6 p. m. Dec. 23, 6 p.m. 22, 6 p.m. . 23, 6 p.m. » Dec. 28, 6 p.m. 1847 Boston Rd., Tuesday, De Wed., Dec. 23, 6 p. ALL THOSE WORKING IN JAMIACA WILL ATTEND MEETING IN BROWNSVILLE. AL! THOSE WORKING IN ASTORIA, LONG ISLAND u CITY. AND CORONA WILL ATTEND MEETING OF SECTION 5, 108 East 14th St. ‘ STUDENTS WILL ATTEND SECTION WHERE THEIR SCHOOL IS powers to stabilize Europe and revive the sinking currency. He particularly emphasized the role of the government of the United States as the agent of the House of Morgan and explained how the press- ure of this government as the money monopolist of the world brought pres- sure on the European nations forcing them desperately to strive to set their houses in order so that further loans from Wall street could be secured. Since imperialism desires to crush the workers’ government in Russia, the Locarno conference took the form of an attempted alignment against the Soviet Union. Explains Syria and Turkey. In a masterful manner he explained tue events following Locarno, which proved the stupid pacifist rejoicing over the dawn of an era of peace to be myth. Many in the audience had read Wicks’ articles and editorials on world politics, but in an nour and a half, they obtained a picture of the tical forces that would take them weeks to receive thru reading. The speaker's conclusion, showing the developing power of the working class in the big capitalist countries and the colonial countries was a pic- ture of a world-wide movement that will never be forgotten by those who heard it. The place of the Communist Inter- national and the various Communist parties of the world in relation to the great events now transpiring was por trayed so that it seemed indispens able to the working class, s 6 4 Speaks in Detroit Tonight. Tonight Comrade Wicks speaks in Detroit at the House of the Masses, 2646 St. Aubin street. On the next night, Tuesday, Dec. 22, Jhe speaks at Buffalo, N. Y. Sunday, Dec. 27, he delivers the lecture on “Locarno, a New Threat Against the Soviet Union” at the open forum con- ducted by the Workers (Communist) Party every Sunday evening. His other dates thus far arranged are: Baltimore, Dec. 28; Washington, Dec. 29; Richmond, Virginia, Dec. 30; Pittsburgh, at the Labor Lyceum, 35 Miller street, Saturday, Jan, 2; Cleve- land, at the Insurance Center Bldg., Sunday afternoon, Jan. 3, and Toledo, Ohio, in the evening of the same day. The place is to be announced later. Comrade Wicks is well known in the labor movement in the cities and will undoubtedly draw good crowds to hear his lecture on the world situation at the present time. Detroit Young Workers Will Hold Liebknecht afternoon, Jan. 10, at 2 o'clock Memorial Celebration DETROIT, Mich., Dec. 20. — /To commemorate the martyrdom of com- rades Liebknecht and Luxemberg and to demonstrate our solidarity and de- votion to the cause for which they lived and died the Young Workers (Communist) League is arranging a mass meeting here to take place Sun- in the House of the Masses, 2646 St. Aubin. ‘ This meeting will be addressed by nationally known speakers and there will also be music, mass singing and revolutionary plays. After the mass meeting which will last until five o'clock there will be supper served and a general social hour for all present until eight when the dancing will begin. During the supper hours there will be many side attractions including the All-Imper- jalist Base Ball Team, Los Angeles Workers Arrange Costume Ball for New Year’s Eve LOS ANGELES, Dec. 20, — The Workers (Communist) Party and the Young Workers (Communist) League are jointly ‘ing a costume ball to celebrate the reorganization of the party. The international costume ball will be held on Thursday evening, Dec, 31 at the Co-operative Center, 2706 Brooklyn Ave. A tumber’ of valuable pr! will be given to those who have the best costumes, _ Tf you want to thoyoughly un- it great conflict of economic and poli- | LOCATED. SECTION WHERE THEY RESIDE. SALESMEN AND AGENTS WILL ATTEND MEETINGS IN ALL SECTIONS MEET AT 6 P. M. SHARP. 1,000 Parents for School Strike Move Y. W. L. AND WOMEN’S COUNCIL IN LEAD Protest Transferring Children NEW YORK CITY—At a meeting of the parents of children in public school 148 presided over by Clarence Miller the following resolution was adopted unanimously: “Whereas a situation has developed in P. S. 148, Brooklyn, which is arousing the active and just resentment of the parents of the neighborhood and P. S. 148 is to be transformed into a junior high school and the pupils in lower grades are t@ be transferred to other schools, and » “Whereas, this mechanical transfer may appear on paper as a simple and reasonable affair, but in actual fact it is an outrage against the welfare of the transferred children, forcing them to travel unreasonable distances, in some cases about 16 blocks, and cut ieross traffic in order: to reach the schools to which they have: been as- signed and thereby endangering their lives, and “Whereas, we recognize that this vill effect mostly working class par- mts who form the majority of the ‘esidents in this section who are al- eady overburdened with hardships in -heir struggle for a living. 1,000 Parents Speak Up. “We, 1,000 residents of Brooklyn, mostly parents of the children con- cerned gathered at a protest meeting December 8 at Amalgamated Temple, therefore “Resolve, to protest against the ac- tion of the board of education and call upon ail organizations and in- dividuals interested to join with us in this protest and help us in our en- deavor to keep the children in P. S. 148.” Y. W. L. in Leadership. The chairman, a member of the Young Workers (Communist) League, is opening the meeting pointed out the general conditions prevailing in ‘the schools in the working class sec- tions and how six children were killed crossing one of the streets in the neighborhood, Broadway, and called upon. the mothers to stand together A RUSSIAN KOMSOMOL and fight for the lives of their chil- dren, Women’s Council Supports Move. Kate Gitlow, representing the. wo- men’s council in the neighborhood then addressed the meeting in. the name of her organization promising. their just demands. This was greeted with great applause, Outline for Campaign. A collection was taken up in order’ to cover the expenses of the campaign,’ The following outline for the cam- paign was proposed: To picket PS. 148, the board of education “and ‘the mayor. A petition is to be gotten’ up protesting against this action of the board of education, Appeals are to be sent to organizations for support and then if the decision is not withdrawn a general school strike will be called. Mrs. Zlott and Mrs, Kaplan, two mothers most responsible for organ- izing the mothers, also spoke ex- pressing the sentiments of the au- dience. There were about ten speakers in all from the floor, COLLEGE PRESIDENT LEARNS TRAGIC TRUTH THAT WORKERS CAN THINK In a speech at Amherst some time ago, President Hopkins of Dartmouth University told how he discovered that workers without a college edu- cation had a» wider knowledge of social theories than many of the rah- rah boys. The New Student, writes of this incident as follows: “President Hopkins called,this a tragic circumstance, ‘in which thou- sands of the youth who had not gone to college had, thru fuller knowledge of various contentions and longer con- sideration of these, acquired a lead which made the college men, who ought to have been their intellectual peers, actually inferior and Weak when THE STAR IN THE EAST Glasgow Young Workers Pinched. LONDON, England—in Glasgow the it comés to a discussion of these ques-| Young Communist Leaguer Gillies was tions. The college men, just out of the} sentenced to three months’ imprison- various institutions of learning, had} ment because of a speech made at no knowledge of arguments and so-|an unemployed demonstration in which cial theories on which thousands of|he urged the police who were present these boys and young men had whet-|to make common cause with the work- ted their minds for year: Come Ahead Into the Young Workers ixieacl ers against the government, What Do the Young Communists Want During December, the Economic ' Trade Union Month? ‘This question answered in an entire page of The DAILY WORKER on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23rd. 7 S and shops. - The page will be effited by tthe League. ‘. SEND IN SPECIAL Bundle orders for league and party units 2c pap copy. ORDERS FOR THIS ISSUE. will appear on various phases of the conditions of in industry and their special activiti in the unions rs (Communist) Young wore