The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 5, 1927, Page 8

The Semi-Sympathizers HE District Organizer was rather tired, and his nerves were a bit on edge, A_ sixteen-hour working day—sometimes an eighteen-hour one—is bound to tell on you, after a while. There were so many things to think of, he re- flected, as he walked along the quiet street, with its roomy comfortable houses, behind tree-shaded gardens. And, when the Party is illegal—“under- ground”—the work is so much more harassing. One has to make appointments on street-corners, and in remote restaurants; one must continually be on the hunt for meeting-places. One is hampered at every step by the technical requirements of illegality. His day’s work was done—all but one thing. He had attended conimittees; he had interviewed party officials. He had covered miles, by street-car. and on foot. He was feeling worn out. But still there was one more thing to do, and an important matter it was. It held all his attention, the strained-atten- tion of his wearied will; he must find a meeting- place for this evening! There were only two hours in which to do this, and to let the comrades know, by telephone and messenger where it was. The delegate had arrived in the city from an important convention, he had to leave tomorrow. Tonight, he must meet the dozen leading comrades of the city, and report_to them on the congress; and give them their new directives. It was up to the District Organizer, to find the place. They were waiting for him. . .they were waiting for him. Here was the house he had been seeking. A large, middle-class dwelling, it was. There were lights shining through all the front windows. Through the open windows of the ground floor, one could: hear music, laughter and a hum of con- versation. Guests were arriving, as he approached. This is an ideal place, thought the Organizer. He entered; the door that always stood open, in this Bohemian household. There were about thirty people, in the large tastefully furnished rooms. Groups were discus- sing avidly subjects of high literary, artistic, or political import. Someone was playing the piano; he was the well-known professor at the Conserva- toire. * The master of the house came towards the Or- ganizer, his eyes glinting welcome, through his pince-nez. “IT am so glad you came,” he said.~ “This is really a pleasure. Ha! You will enjoy some of the pecple here; they have absolutely no comprehension of our cause.” He led the Oragriizer towards a corner of the room. ; “My dear,” he said to his wife. “Look~ whom we have with us.” The lawyer’s wife rose, and hurried towards the Organizer, her hands extended. “Oh, how glad I am,” she said. “So good to see you again. Come, there are some interesting peo- ple you must mect.” And, before the Organizer could protest, she steered him into the thick of the crowd. . Dimension. “This is Mr. Gobinsky,” she said, presenting the Organizer to a stout solemn gentleman, “who has made such interesting researches into the Fourth Mademoiselle Fancsin, the well-known cyclist, who has done so much for the emancipation of women.»And this is our dear Flor Stax, the founder of the Flamboyant School of poetry. My friends, I want you all to meet Mr. Strauss. Shhh! Let me warn you--he is one of those terrible Bol- sheviks! But you know how I feel about that! He must tell you all about his experiences in prison. Two-and-a-half years of it! Just think—in these so-called enlightened days!” A murmur of appreciation arose. They eyed the Organizer with expectancy. One young lady ecstatically said: “How I envy you your martyr- dom!” The Organizer was in agony. He forced an amiable smile. “In a moment, ladies and gentle- men,” ke said. - “But first, may I beg our host to show me where I can telephone?” * “By all means,” said the hostess, leading the Organizer from the room. “I must speak with you and your husband at once, for a few minutes,” said the Organizer, as soon as they were alone. “Why, of course,” said the hostess breathlessly. “Oh, is it something very exciting?” In the privacy of an upstairs bed-room, the Or- ganizer explained his errand.~ “It is a very important meeting,” he said, and it must be held at nine” o’clock this evening. All we want is a room—any room upstairs will do. There’s only a dozen of us.” The lawyer, pursing his lips, looked doubtfully at his wife. “I really don’t know . . .” he said. His wife—for once—was silent. —wNorth in the Washington Post. The Imperialist League . HERE is an article in last week’s “Nation” by H. N, Brailsford, who is considered to be the ' chief theoretician of the British I. L. P. (Independ- ent Labor Party). His discussion of the League of Nations is penetrating, and he shews its wordy cloak of peace and internationalism to be mere camouflage. But like all bourgeois socialists, he fails to draw reasonable conclusions from his analy- sis. He recalls Smyrna, Damascus, the war against the Riff in Morocco, the British ultimatum to Egypt, and he has not forgotten that “as China entered the League’s Council, British gunboats fired their salvo of welcome at the city of Wanhsien.” Nor has Europe become a garden of peace, for he notices that the armies are as large and even larger than before; the armament works are smoking bus- ily; while the great chemical industries in each country are being reorganized into the most power- ful weapons of attack and defense yet known. Any milk and water pacifist or liberal might say this much. Brailsford goes further. Lord Ce- cil, he says, explained in a speech in London why Great Britain could not reduce her armaments. “The army barely suffices to police the empire.” “That speech revealed,” continues Brailsford, “as plainly as any hostile diagnosis, the motives of a great power’s armaments. The defense of one’s home ter- ritories has become the least of the excuses for heavy armaments.” Recalling that “there are at this moment fifty-five British naval units in Chin- ese waters, engaged, in the last analysis, in main- taining against the will of the Chinese nation cer- tain privileges” he sees clearly that “these imperial policemen are not the guardians of the common good; THEY ARE THE DEFENDERS OF OWN- ERS’ PRIVILEGES” (my emphasis, A. M.).. And in concluding the first part of his article he says, “While it hesitates to face this problem of economic imperialism, the League is . . . etc., ete.” With this statement Brailsford reaches complete absurdity. It is as impossible for the League “to face the problem of economic imperialism” as it is for a man to stop his heart beating and still live. For if the League is considered as an organization of sixty or seventy sovereign and independent na- tions, trying to bring peace and cooferation by legal and evolutionary methods, its behavior since its foundation is contradictory and inexplicable. But if it is considered as a League of the Great Imperialist Powers—England, France and Japan, surrounded by their satellites, its entire past behavior becomes rigorously logical» ~ : The League of Nations is not a “misprint in history” as Brailsford claims. It is a definite’ ex- pression of the evolution of capitalism into the stage of financial imperialism. It is merely a more [SuSE SSS On Hearing the Internationale Voice of Labor mighty! Rolling, thund’ring, surging, Crashing, batt’ring, dirging A chant of Capitalism’s Tyre and Nineveh. Voice of Labor mighty! A psalm of Mankind’s happiness. foréver. ‘ Song of lusty giant! Wail of new-sprung infant! Tearing Ignorance’s vitals, | Rending Dollar Kingdom’s titles, A hymn that age-old chains shall sever. Wail of new-sprung infant! _ SIMMONS GUINNE. 4 an By CHARLES ASHLEIGH “Tt is quite safe,” urged the Organizer. All his harried nerves were shrieking to him to get the business done. “ iveryone knows you hold frequéily these literary and artistic soirees. People come and go, all the time, during them. No one will think anything, when my comrades drop in, in ones and twos. And they can just quietly go upstairs, and no one will be the wiser. Half your guests don’t know the other half, so there is nothing to fear from that quarter, either.” He explained it all, with weary patience, reassuring them. “T was sure you would agree,” added the Dis- trict Organizer. “You are so interested in our movement. And I have always known you to be among the most valuable and helpful of our sym- pathizers,” “Of course; we are interested,” said the lawyer. “We would do anything possible to help you. But—.” - “My. Strauss,” the hostess interrupted, “I really don’t think it fair of you to ask us to do this. Con- sider our position! With your party illegal, it is not safe! If there were any arrests, we should be in a terrible position. My husband and I, as hosts— as inspirers,-I might even say—of so many men and women of talent and ideas, have practically a_ public ion. Can we endanger it?” She glanced. nervously. at her husband for confirmation. “That is so,” said the lawyer. “We really must consider ‘the gréatest good to the greatest number, you know. And my position as a professional man --it is not as though I had nothing to lose. If it were discovered that the meeting was held here, it might seriously damage—. Really, while I sympa- thize with your ideals, as I have often said, I do not think you should come to me with this pro- posal.” The District Organizer was silent. He gazed at them cooly, meditatively, appraisingly. “Tt is not fair!” burst out the little lawyer, petu- lantly. “Ts this the first time we have asked you to do anything to help us?” asked the Organizer thought- fully. “Yes,” said his host. “But you see how it is. . .” “Yes,” said the Organizer, “I see how it is, Good evening!” = Flutteringly, his host accompanied him down- stairs. Re Je He was out upon the street again. Only an hour and a half left now, in which to find a place. He must find a place; he must find a place. It was expected of him; the comrades were waiting. The Party expected it of him! He must find a place. He ran over, in his mind, the list of Party sym- pathizers living in this neighborhood. There was So-and-So; he had a smaller place, in a poorer street. There was more risk. But still, he wasn’t known to the police. . . “Yes, I'll go there,” he thought, brightening with decision. “He’s a good sympathizer; and I don’t think he’ll refuse. He’s a workingman.” And he hurried on towards the lamp-lit corn where the street-cars stopped. ; ' By ALAN MACLANE highly developed means of exploitation. It is the political equivalent of the vast trustification of in- dustry, such as the Continental Steel Cartel, or the, British Chemical Combine. It glosses over the crudi- ties of modern imperialism with a smoke cloud of committees and councils, and a wailing about demo- cracy, ideals and self-determination. .As such we can see why Russia will have noth- ing to do with it. On the other hand, America be- gins to feel out in the cold when opposition to her imperialism in Panama, Nicaragua or China de- velops. Jome financiers are beginning to realize this, and the financial section of Saturday’s “New York Times” bears a quarter page advertisement by a - prominent firm, entirely devoted to the League of Nations. In bold headlines it asks “Can American investors afford their country’s twilight zone posi- tion on the League of Nations?” It says that “To- day America is the outstanding creditor nation of the world. American investments abroad, including our government’s loans to foreign nations, total more than $25,000,000,000. We _contend that with this amount of our money scattered over the face of the globe a continued national policy of smug isolation is outworn.” 4 Ah - Finally it concludes, “We believe today a pre- psn gr ati ie colin ag thine ai { and agency for world peace and good-will. We ve Americans remain re- sponsive to ethical and altruistic argument. But if self-interest must be a concomitant of action, then for the sake of and in the fame of “dollars and cents” we suggest an accounting of cost, and an indictment against further delay in America join- ing the League of Nations.” , As for the workers, this ‘matter of fact state- ment of the self-interest of Wall Street, should help. Ho nec the League’s true position in modern