The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 17, 1926, Page 6

as iRlctiemincemenctaren ~ nee i Page Six THE DAILY WORKER Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO, 1118 W. Washington Blyd., Chicago, Ii. Phone Monroe 4713 SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in Chicago only): By mail (outelde of Chicago): $8.00 per year $4.50 six months | $6.00 per year $3.60 six months $2.50 thfee months $2.00 three months Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER, 1118 W, Washington Bivd,, Chicago, IIinols aaa AO a ren et J. LOUIS ENGDAHL WILLIAM F, DUNNE f* tors MORITZ J. LOEB......nnmmemaemenenn Business Manager —<—<— Entered as second-class mail September 21, 1923, at the post-office at Chi- cago, Itl., under the act of March 3, 1879. Ze 3290 Advertising * ie on application. The Lenin Memorial It seems paradoxical that the foremost Marxist of the twentieth century, who explained the role of great men as creatures of their environment, and who all his life combatted the myth that men play the dominant role in determining history, should become the fore- most figure in the history of his time. Yet'such is the place of Lenin in history. Not only in the proletarian centers of the world where cap- italism has concentrated and devéloped great masses,of workers who are deprived of everything except their labor power is the name of Lenin revered, but the suppressed masses in. the remotest corners of the earth where capitalism has penetrated seein the memory of Lenin the symbol of all their hopes and aspirations. His influence upon the working class is feared by the capitalist plunderers of the world because in all “his strategy and tactics he kept in mind the fact that every move, even for tlie smallest ad- Why Liebknec ARL LIEBKNECHT is often re- ferred to as the leader and foun- der of the revolutionary youth move- ment. In him is symbolized the act- ivities of the new generation of pro- letarian rebels who fight in the fore- front of every-struggle, who rally to the red ‘banner the most oppressed and exploited section of the working class: the toiling youth which. has gained its political consciousness in the period of wars and revolutions. The immortal struggle of Liebknecht against capitalist militarism, the plac- ing of his hopes in the youth move- ment as the standard bearers of the battle, his incessant efforts to form and build a mass movement of the working class youth, form one of the most brilliant pages in the history of the revolutionary movement of the world. “The Future Belongs to the Youth.” To Liebknecht, the slogan of the “Future Belongs to the Youth” meant more than a casual reference to some inheritance that would go to the young generation when they came of age. The slogan had a deep political sig- nificance which even now forms one of the basic factors in the Bolshevik connection of the labor movement. Liebknecht was born in the period of the end of the long struggle for national unity in Germany and its entry into the imperialist epoch, The vancement, must be consciously directed toward the revolution. He despised the fake revolutionists who tried to furnish scientific ex- planations for the continued rule of capitalism. In his denunciation of the scoundrels of apostacy he said: “He who comforts a slave, instead of inciting him to rebel against slavery, lends a helping hand to the slave owners.” Two years have passed since the leader of the proletarian revo- Intion laid down his tasks forever, but the record of his practical application of Marxism to the stage of imperialism is the guide for those who remain to carry on the conflict and his memory will grow ever brighter as the struggle against imperialism embraces ever greater masses of mankind. When histary is finally written the names of the capitalist agents of imperialism in the first quarter of this century will be remembered only negatively to the extent that they are referred to as enemies of Lenin. : Liebknecht and the American Youth The nation-wide celebrations of the Young Workers (Commun- ist) League commemorating the heroic death of Liebknecht proved that thousands upon thousands of the youth of America are anxious to learn the significance of the life of this leadér of the German youth. At this time, when the imperialists are waging intensified campaigns to instil the poison virus of capitalist militarism into the minds of the youth of the nation, in order to prepare them for the next imperialist blood bath, the lessons to be derived from the life and activities of Karl Liebknecht have far-reaching effect. That the American youth, the most exploited section of the work- ing Class, are capable of something besides attending*ball games and jazz parties (as the capitalist press, the pulpit and uplifters gen- erally would have us believe) is evidenced by the strike of 200 young workers in Bellaire, Ohio, who went on strike to resist a wage cut of 10 per cent. These two hundred workers faced unflinchingly the assaults of the steel and coal trust owned city “administration of that city, noted*for-its brazen suppression of»every yestige of free speech. : 5 . It is to such as these that the lessons of LiebEnecht come as a revelation, pointing+the way to the militant struggle against cap- italism, which alike in industry and war, takes its heaviest toll from the ranks of the youth. Werkinen's Circle Left Wing ’ Following the expulsion and intimidation policy of the reaction in some of the international labor- unions, the officialdom of the Workmen’s Circle, tried to eliminate all forms of radicalism. Like the officials of the unions it now finds itself confronted with a form- idible and definitely organized left wing. The left wing national conference of the Workmen’s Circle, held recently in New York, tried to force the right ‘wing machine to tndon its policy of wrecking branches, and making» members-at- ‘ry active branch ‘members in order to render the s inéflective, Inilitant + to budge the petrified mass ‘of reaction that is the na- tional board, of directors, the conference organized a “Verband of Progressive Branches” in order more effectively to challenge the reaction. as This is significant for the labor mévément.” If the the national board of diréctors possess the htest inteHigenee they ‘will heed the 1. 'Bhe fate. of the reactionary “officialdom of the » for existenc’ fof Sigman of the Interna- writing on the Russian Labor Increases Holidays Ww sin the Union of SbvietRepublics will average one day of rest it every four according to a recent decision of Russian trade unions. The revolutionary and“pther holidays and thé month’s vaca- tion li pay allotted to every worker brings the number of ‘idle days except Sundays up to ninety-two. When a holiday falls on Sun- day the following day willbe celebrated: This is particularly impressive ata time when the industrial despots of thé United States are devising every means of lengthening hours, reducitg wages and beating down the standard of living of the working class. Also noteworthy is the fact that it is part of the labor code which is incorporated at the request of the trade unions, which gives the lie to William 41. Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, and other red baiters and anti-Soviet propagandists in the Wuited States to the effect that trade unions do not flourish in Russia. Ther heads of the trade unions in Russia maintain their positions because they are capable of solving the problems of labor, while the American labor officialdom prospers to the degree that they can sell owt and betray labor into the hands of the capitalists, Conan “maul Crisp, democrat, of Georgia, presentedthe follow- his role in helping cancel 75%, of Mussdlini’s debt as member of the ways and means committee was under tite: “We on the American commission were not imbeciles,” ing alibt whet furious objections raised the Iron Chancellor, Bismarck, against the ac- quisition of Alsace-Lorraine and the nascent tendencies towards colonial development were already voices of a dying period. th the short span of two or three decades Germany was taking its place among the foremost imperialist nations. When Liebknecht was being tried in Leipzig for his anti- militarist book, the Austrian consul in Berlin wrote that: “Never before was economic Ger- many so entirely under the obsolute rule of a group of men, barely fifty THE DAILY WORKER in number; and in of industrial expans formula of the ‘free yj abandoned to such a degree, when the momentous decisions as to the extent of production, sales, prices, the granting of credit, the raising of new capital and the fixing of wages lay in the hands of a few persons found at the head of the jJarge banks, mammoth industrial undertakings and great cartels.” This was in 1906, Four years later, Germany was already producing twice 2 a rm >} 5 § a as much stee] as Great Britain and, ranking second only to the United States in its metallurgical power. In less than forty years after the Franco- Prussian war the pot of two of its chief banks had grown some 900 per cent, By 1907, the policy of the imperialist Kolonialverein was crown- ed by the establishment ‘of a special colonial office with the Jewish finan- cier, Dernberg, at the head. The wild scramble for colonies. in Africa, the threat’ to British imperialism of the Drang nach Osten, es “place in the sun,” growth of a mighty. imperialist na- tion, a well-rounded imperialist pol- icy—and an imper! profound consequ ranks of the wo! ment. ¢° within the “class move- The Decay of the be | Democracy. It is axiomatic the bitter ex- ploitation of the colonial peoples and the intensification of Noitation of the unskilled, ne ie masses of workers at home have their com- plement a corruption of the upper layer of the working class, the labor aristocracy and the bureaucracy. The insidious poison of — revisionism, against which the struggles of the patrons of the German social-demo- eracy became weaker and weaker with the passing of time, was becom- ing the unofficial, and even the official Policy of the huge social-democratic party of Germany. Their platform, their pronunciamentos, their activities no longer reflected the traditions o the elder Liebknecht and Bebel. Th unity of Gotha with the von Schweii zers was coming to its full blossom carefully fertilized by a steady stream of imperialist profits which dribbled into the pockets of the labor aristo cracy, The party.of Kautsky and Scheidemann was becoming a labor adjunct to German imperialism, an al- liance to which they sang shameless ‘ hymns of joy in the great betrayal of August 4th, 1914, Why wonder, therefore, that Scheid- emann loftily waved aside the anti- nmiilitarist proposals and agitation of Liebknecht with slander and cheap wit? It was therefore a piece of knavish consistence that» led the guardians of the social-democracy to fight against Liebknecht’s efforts to form a youth movement, which, while Politically led by the party, would be orgahizationally independent from it. The youth was not corrupted by im- perialism: it suffered from it, The youth did not acquiesce in the milit- arist development of the empire: they revolted against the bitter months of compulsory service under Prussian lieutenants and the prospects of work- ing class corpses strewn over foreign plains for the greater glory of Deutsche Bank and the Disconto Gesellschaft. The youth néeded no theoretical disproof of Bernstein's de- claration that the conditions of the workers were improving under capit- alism; the burden which grew heavier on their shoulders every day, in the shop and outside of it, was sufficient. The youth, forming one ot the most compact sections of the working class which was ready and eager to enter into the struggle against militarism and imperialism, became, with Lieb- knecht, a natural basis for his work. The healthy instincts of Liebknecht, revolting against the opportunism and servility of the party officialdom, turn- ed him to years of great work for the youth. And while he did not forget, as none of us can, that among the Liebknec By JOHN WILLIAMSON, HE outstanding contributions of Liebknecht to the working class was his analysis of capitalist militar- ism and his energetic struggle against it, despite opposition from both the capitalist class and his own party, the social democracy, Secondly, his ener- getic struggle to organize the youth, first nationally and finally interna- tionally. At the time of Liebknecht’s entry ‘into the socialist movement, ¢apitalist Surope was undergoing a period of xpansion and colonization. Such vents as the Spanish-American war; he Russ-Jap war, the Boer war, the xtreme tension in relations between Germany and England, were all sur- face indications of the development of that period, This expansion and colonization po- licy brought with it increased budgets for the armed forces of capitalism. Practically every country in Europe had compulsory military training for every able bodied youth between the ages of 21 and 23. This fact made the issue of militarism of particular inter- est to the youth, ht’s $1 Liebknecht poin character of militarii on behalf of impe side and secondly, its use against the working class “at home.” He further emphasized that mfMta¥ism was a necessary part of the whole capitalist system, and while capitalism must be eliminated before capitalist militar- ism can go, nevertheless the form of this capitalist militarism necessitated a definite struggle against it thru specific forms. Altho not as clear as it might have been,;t attitude was far in advance of thesaccepted social democratic policy. Linking up his struggle against militarism with the organization of the youth, we find Liebknecht becom- ing one of the outstanding figures, standing for the definite establishment of a young socialist international, parallel and as a segtion of the so- cialist (2nd) internatfonal. It had taken years of strugélejto make the social democratic pi 8 recognize the dual . of its. use the necessity of orga ig the youth into a separate orga ition and -the struggle was nearly difficult’ to overcome the oppositjon to an inter- national, Karl | Lieb Ba golgotha of the working class has not yet ended, but the day of salvation approaches. The day of trial for Scheidemann, Noske, and for the capitalist rulers who hide behind them comes. Events rise high to the sky; we are used to being thrown from the heights to the depths, but our ship continues its ‘straight course firmly towards its goal!” On the dey before his foul murder at the hands of the social-democrats, on Jan, 15th 1919, Karl Liebknecht wrote these stirring words. The revo- lution of the German workers had been choked in blood, the ranks of he revolutionary leaders had been smashed during those “days of blood,” ind still the indomitable spirit of knecht - - were confronted with the relentless crises that must come about within capitalism, they likewise inevitably crashed upon the roek of the class struggle. Having renounced the neces- sity of revolutionary struggle and or- ganization they could do no other than fall foul of working Class needs and interests. Thruout tl period before and during the war, @he left wing of the. social-democra party led by Karl carried on the theoretical and practical struggle of fae true Marxist against the revisionists, And it is for this that we, especialfy the youth, re- vere his name, “Who Has the Youth, the Army.” Particularly do we attention to his work among the! ung workers. “Who has the youth has the army,” “onthe. out-, Liebknecht expressed ftself in this | wrote Liebknecht, He recognized the n1eoric passage. need of rescuing theyouth from the We are somewhat familiar with the4 toils of the imper: its and making life of Liebknecht. We have all heard | them a fighting unit gor the struggle of the teemendous fight that he waged against the Junker lords. and the piti- less warfare he carried on with Red Rosa against the reformists. The story cannot, however, be repeated too often. Not in a sentimental and romantic way do we idealize and glori- fy his name; rather to the contrary. Certainly he was of a heroic temper, but above all that, we must analyze his actions for the purpose of learning thereby the true role we must play in this gigantic struggle. Red Versus White. In the words above expressed by Liebknecht is foretold the doom of the betrayers of the German revolu- tion, Together with their doom is forejold the consequent victory of the working class, That is the kernel of the lesson we must learn from the life and work of Karl, Thruout his life he, together with other militant work- ors, carried on the struggle against re- formism, against the reactionary pol- ley of the social-democratic party of Germany, The inevitable occurrence of the world war and the revolutions that followed were the rocks upon | whioh the old partlog split; when they| is being set for ' ’ of the working classg The actions of Liebknecht brot wu his head the hate and venom bof of his fellow party members and fe Junkers. | But his work went on. attention was paid by the old partigs of the Second International to the militant organiza- tion of the proletaria{ youth. Not re- cognizing the need foY a revolutionary mass organization as we do, they had no conception of the youth as an act. ive anti-imperialist factor in the work- ing class movement, Liebknecht was the pioneer of this work, Around him rallied tle youth of Germany; he was the storm center that carried on, dur- ing the war, effective work and pro- paganda among the soldiers, The task of the young Communists in relation to anti-imperialist activity is a very important one, Naturally they are bound closely together, And the pion- eer of this program that we at pres- ent have was Liebkpecht. “Prepare for the Future.” New wars are coifing. Slowly but surely the imperial nations of the world arming preparing for hter, Gradually the stage * | - | However, in’1906, the Young Social- ist League of Germany commissioned Henry DeMan together with Lieb- knecht and other sympathetic com- rades, to undertake the task of calling an international congress ijmmediate- ly after the international congress, in Stuttgart, 1907. The congress was held with representatives from 13 coun- tries present. The chief points on the agenda were: Anti-militarism, reported on by Karl Liebknecht. Our minimum economic program, reported on by A. Alpiri. Working class education for the youth, reported upon by Roland-Holst. The international in itself only loosely connected up the various young socialist leagues. The execu- tive elected comprised DeMan, Lieb- knecht, Warshevsky, Roland-Holst and Muller, Here was laid the basis of the youth movement on an international scale. But Liebknecht’s interest in the youth did not stop here, Altho no longer a youth in the sense of age, he realized that they had within them that force which would be the driving wedge within the old 2nd international, be- By Leslie Morris spite of all their efforts to the) con- rary the capitalist nations will soon fly once more at each others throat. And what part will the young workers of this “glorious” country play in that time? ‘What will we be able to do when that day comes, as it surely will? It is not sufficient to say that we will “follow in the footsteps of Lenin and Liebknecht.” We may re- iterate that “the future belongs to the youth,” but that is not sufficient. The German revolution of 1919 can teach us many lessons, one of the most im- portant.of which is the necessity of an organization that has its basis deep in the masses of the workers, To the extent that our work in times of peace goes on will depend our influence among the masses in times of war, The day-by-day work that we carry on now must be intensified. The work of basing our organization upon the basis of places of work must be doubled. Our propaganda must reach larger and larger sections of the young workers, Our theoretical train- ing within the organization must “go on apace, In this way we can effect- ively carry out the work that Lieb- kneeht so heroically and successfully began, We Must Build Well. It is seven years since Liebknecht and Luxemburg were foully done to death. It is seven years since the workers and the young workers of Berlin were martyred. The German workers have learned their lessons at terrible cost. But the sun of the Communist International is rising and dry-rot, stagnation and decay is eat ing out the heart of the Second Inter- national and jts parties, Truly Lieb- Knecht worked well; it is now our task to study his work, to act upon his conception of the bitter nature of the Class struggle; above all, how- ever, We can best remain true to his work and memory by devoting oursel- ves to building up that nature of a mass organiation that will effectively lead the workers to victory over the w contest, Indead body of capits’*-~ dult workers also there were great ections which would fight against im- verialism, he gave his attention to the outh as a section of the working vlass which was most energetic, least weighed down by hoary tradition, and it to carry on a militant battle against che enemy. The struggle led by Liebnecht did not die on January 15th, 1919, Lieb- knecht was essentially a man of the movement, With the knowledge that: the organized, working class alone could carry: out" its, emancipation did) he work, to transform the social-de-: mocracy into, a révolutionary party and to build up a revolutionary youth movement, His work and the work of countless, nameless revolutionary heroes the world over, have born their fruit. The inheritors of the best tradf- tions of Liebknecht are the Commun- ist International and the Young Com- munist International, the latter of which inherits not only the organiza- tion which Liebknecht helped to found in 1907, but its militant spirit, intensi- fied and clarified by Vladimir Ilyitch Lenin. The anniversary of the murder of Liebknecht and Luxemburg is a call to the working class youth of the world. New world wars hang like menacimg clouds on the—horizon of the people, The constant, anxious, and futile conferences, called every month by the desperate rulers of the capitalist. nations of the world find themselves confronted by their own helplessness in the face of growing revolutionary movements and sharpen- ing crises in their imperialist policies. As in 1914, the innate sores of imper- ialism are coming to a head. The workers are threatened by a new inun- dation of imperialist war, with its slaughter of the working class youth and the destruction and misery of millions of the people. On the shoulders of the youth falls the task of carrying on the struggle against militarism and imperialism. In America, the most powerful im- struggle Against Militarism coming more reformistic: went by. With the declaring of the war, the true character of the socialist interna- tional was exposed. The “overwhelm- ing majority of the parties and the leadership became the right hand sup- porters of the government. The com- mon cause of opposition to the estab- lished government, which had held the various extreme elements together within the international, was now broken. The leaders of the socialist international became the “statesmen” of capitalism, The Young Socialist International received a terrible shock, as did the entire working class by this base act of betrayal. But they soon rallied and deposed their traitorous secretary, Dannenberg and in his place put Com- rade Willi Munzenberg, today one of the leaders of the German Communist Party. As the years rolled swiftly by, the Young Socialist International, carried on its opposition to the war incessantly. However, even then, the line was not clear. Pacifism still col- ored the propaganda, Only with the keen intellect of Lenin, where he stat- ed in his reply to this propaganda, “so- cialists cannot be against every war without ceasing to be socialists,” pointing out the colonial wars against the imperialists, the civil wars be- tween the oppressed and oppressors, ete, and ending with this quotation ag the years ‘MBRRURNEE Ye IT REE esa) CURLER Cee [Liebknecht and Our Revolutionary Activities (Continued from page 3) military organizations, but also by the other attributes of militarism’ which manifests themselves when militarism carries out its tasks. —_ “Militarism is not only a means of defense against the external enemy; it has a second task, which comes: more and more to the fore as class contradictions become more ‘marked and as proletarian class consciousness keeps growing. Thus the. outer form of militarism and its inner character take a more definite shape; its task’ is to uphold the prevailing order to” society, to-prop.up capitalism and all reaction against the struggle of the working class for freedom. Militari; manifests itself here as a mere too! in the class struggle, as a tool in the hands of the ruling class.” Thus we see militarism as an in- evitable phenomen ef capitalism which constitutes one of \lts strongest weap- ons for domination, Liebknecht could see militarism poisoning the minds of the young workers, winning them ideologleally and organizationally over to its fold, hence his strong efforts for the founding of the revolutionary youth movement. Militarism in this the imperialist era of capitalism is being used more and more to curb the revolutionary actions of the prole- tariat and to safeguard the prevailing wage slave system, The struggle against capitalist mil!- tarism is of paramount importance for us in the United States. America left the last world war the creditor nation of the world. To a greater ex- cles of American imperialism are spread- ing themselves thruout the colonial and semi-colonial countries and are gripping by the throat the nations which left the world war its debtors, |turned his face to the youth because perialist nation in the world, the Young Workers (Communist) League, the American section ofthe Young : Communist International, must be in the forefront of the struggle, and pot only in words. The danger is an im- mediate one and calls for swift, ener- getic action. To unite’ the entire working youth, and the farming youth, and the students of America behind a unified struggle against imperialism is now a main task of our league. The call for a concerted battle must go to every factory, every shop and mine, to the fields; to every working class youth organization and every working class organization in general; to every progressive student body. And while we work for the unifica- tion of all forces in a united front against militarism, let us not forget our other tasks in this fleld. Let us not forget that we have not begun to carry onward, no, not even with the most meager attempt, the isolated work which was started by our com- rades Crouch and Trumbull: the build- ing of Communist nuclei in the army and navy, the great Leninist task of shattering the most deadly and hated weapon of the bourgeoisie, Even in the darkest days Liebknecht did.not omit the conducting of this work, and we, who pride ourselves on following in the spirit of Karl Liebknecht, should materialize our pride in carry- ‘ing on this work which is already to- the glorious credit of our brother leagues in Germany, France, Italy, Bulgaria, the Baltic, yes, and even in Anglo-Saxon England. The burden of militarism rests on the youth: the youth must lead in the struggle against it. Liebknecht it was uncorrupted and a potential militant fighter against imperialism. The youth must fulfill the spirit and work of Liebknecht and its greatest master, Lenin, Our work will be of one piece with the great revolution- ary traditions which have been given to us. which became a basis for the youth from that time on—"An oppressed class which does not strive for the knowledge of arms, for the practice of arms, for the possession of arms, such an oppressed class is only wor- thy*to be oppressed, maltreated and regarded as a slave class.” He con- tinued pointing out “we must trans- form the imperialist war into the rev- olutionary civil war.” / During these stormy years of war and revolutions, Karl Liebknecht, to- gether with Luxemburg and the other leaders of that little group which founded the Spartacusbund, (today blossomed into the powerful Commun- ist Party) closed their term of activi- ty in the socialist movement. They were murdered by the social demo- eracy in cold blood. But those prin- ciples for which they stood are still alive and live today, enriched with the theory of Leninism, in the work- ing class youth—in the Young Com- munist International. The bourgeoisie, thru their spoke- man, the social democracy, proclaim- ed, “order is established in Berlin.” The subsequent events bring to mind the triumphant declaration of Rosa Luxemburg on the day of her death, “Order is established in Berlin!—You fools! Your order is built on sand! Tomorrow.the revolution will arise again majestic and_to your terror an- mounce with a voice of thunder: ‘I was, I am, I am to be!’” It.is the dominant force in the redivi- sion of the world, Coupled with the struggle against capitalist militarism, we must struggle against the pacifist illusions which are being generated in the minds of the American youth by a whole host of Pacifist organizations. We must point ‘Gut that pacifism is a hopeless utopia, , ‘The cry generally of disarmament, means the disarmament of the strug- gling proletariat in the face of the armed’ forces of imperialism, We must point out by the examples of all former revolutions, that the struggles for the conquest of power were essen- tially armed struggles, Our work against the citizen's mill- tary training camps, ete., both from ‘within and without, must not be let up but be intensified. Our struggle against the compulsory. capitalist mili ¢ tary training in the schools must be turned from the channels of’ mere pacifist sentimentalities, to one of. alliances with the working and peas- ant youth for an effective struggle. against capitalist militarism, We must start the task of building a net work of nuclei in the armed forces of Am- erican imperialism and link up the struggles for the immediate demands of the soldiers and sailors with the economic and political movements of the working class, We must gain connections with the masses of young workers and peasant youth in the colonies of American imperialism and arrange joint actions. Our internal educational work on the Leninist cons ception of our anti-militarist struggle must become a systematic and regular part of our work. In all these tasks all the parts of our organizational ma- 5 chine, the press, ete., must play e part. In this way the spirit of Lieb Knecht lives and strives in our revolu ; tionary activity, é Be