The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 6, 1927, Page 6

Page Six THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, M Y, JUNE 6, 1927 ARS THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT PHRASES VERSUS ACTION IN _By LOLEK. | does not permit? No. For that they LMOST five years I spent as an ac-| would have a fine of only $15 and no tive member of the Young People’s/ suspension. Their “crime” consists Socialist League and the socialist! of refusing to attend the well known party, and not until recently did Tj pro meetings against Communist realize that my place v not in the! }, ship in the trade unions. That socialist party. Nay! t only mine, ll. For the same and similar but no honest worker who thinks for somethin e 15 other well nembers were fined and su himself can belong in the above men- tioned party. It i » that quite! yp a few sincere worker till belong there, but these workers and Yipse! still fall for the beautiful phraseology of the socialist leaders. do not so that Ship 1al’s opinions without giving | a chance to a That is a small fraction of what is real- $3,000": H. H. Rogers, of the Standard Oil Co., | Henry C. Frick, of the Carnegie Steel Co, Simon| | and Daniel Guggenheim, of the American Smelt- off finds it! rg fortable to attack these in- |} py, these leaders al demo- eracy, freedom of ete? Does Socialist I convention: the Citizens’ Boy Scouts and izations? Does r go in favor of or; only working yo Yes, they ps ining milar organ- Wa Bee Te truth is they do to their resolutions. 's must all under- ions that count and not resolution: In this respect the socialist party is just like the capi- talist system, full of contradictions. Let me show you some of these con- tradictions, During the city elections, Norman Thomas, one of their main leaders, used some of the strongest words in condemnation of Matthew Woil, yet Beckerman, Cahan, Shiplakoff, etc., find nothing wrong in working in con- junction with Woll against the pro- gressive elements in the trade unions. Not only do they co-operate with Woll, but defend him against the at- tacks of the rank and file in their re- that their actior act) are contr: And we as wor stand that it t| tion and speak a little different from ly going on in the Pocketbook Work- ers’ Union not mentioning the Amal- gamated, Furriers’ a nationa! any other place where socialists have | leadership get the floor any ques- their point of view and he will find that every minute there will be a point of order, point of enlighten- | Communist origjn of all trade-union strikes. The Congressional investigation of the Na- tional Security League in™1919 showed among: the larger contributors ranging from “$700 to ing and Refining Co., J. P. Morgan and John D.}| Rockefeller. This is the group which fights radicals; why not? The material for “Professional Patriots” was gathered by Sidney Howard and John Heariey. * * * National Security League. The League functions through its national headquar- ters with a general secretary, a speakers’ bureau:sec- retary, and an educational department under a civic secretar Etta V. Leighton, a former school teacher. kers’ bureau furnishes patriotic anti- fist speakers to organizations on street meetings in New York against lism, and sends out debaters especially to colleges where the radicals and pacifists are thought to be active. Frequent speakers for the League during 1925-26 were '. Cashman, a New York lawyer, and J. Robert a professional anti-radical soap-boxer now ing chiefly before Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, and | business men’s clubs in an effort to show the During 1926 he gave valuable assistance in strike-breaking at Passaic, N. J., being well compensated by certain of the mill owners. The educational department sends out quantities of study material to teachers in schools and colleges. Chief among the pamphlets are a study program of American history, a “Catechism of the Constitution of the United ot | ment, objection, time limit, etc., and |keep it up until with parliamentary tricks stop the speaker from express- ing his view. I mentioned above that at the Young People’s Socialist League’s {conventions resolutions are passed against the C. M. T. C., Boy Scouts, | ete., but can any member show me | where and when any concrete work |was done against these organiza- |tions? Just what is the Y. P. S, | doing (not saying) against the grow- ling reaction in our country? What ‘are they doing against the miserable | exploitation of our youth in the cot- | ton fields, textile, mine and other in- | dustries? What are they doing in rder to organize youth against the | impending world war? I would not spective unions as did Shiplakoff at| be out of order to ask what are they a recent meeting of the Pocketbook! doing, outside of hiking, running Workers. They cannot see the con-| dances (and giving loving cups for tradiction of passing resolutions in| the best Charleston dance) and dis- favor of recognition of Soviet Russia| cussing current events at their meet- and at the same time boosting and|ings? If you cannot do anything else, defending Kerensky during his stay|then why call yourself a socialist or- in the United States. In the unions / ganization? they find that its quite within their} Now it seems to me that the sooner understanding to fine and embers for fighting for In the Pocketbook ’ Union, where Shiplakoff is anager they have the audacity to ‘oye 18-year-old youngsters and sus- pend them from the union meetings |the workers who are still in the so- cialist party and the Young People’s |Socialist League will realize that |beautiful and revolutionary phrase- | ology are meaningless unless followed | by deeds the sooner these workers | will help build the Workers Party and and add a fine of 99 dollars, which they must pay up in a 10 per cent weekly deduction of their $20-25 aver- age weekly wages. Now what did these youngsters do? Did they scab PORT: At the opening of the ball sea-} tual face-lifter, Gene Tunney: fon, we picked the Pittsburg Pirates “I have been asked by to lead the National League. After many people what my reac- a wobbly start they have finally hit tion as a professional athlete their stride. It isn’t likely any other is to Capt. Lindbergh’s | team can beat them to the world achievement, series and a share of the profits that “He continues to give a} are the plums of professional base- lesson to us all. He has| ball. We don’t ask credit for being ahibien ‘iat dhe will Rogan ig a prophet in this. It’s the sweetest unconquerable when com- looking ball club that ever cussed an bined with netaral qualifica- |the Young Workers’ League, which | today embodies the real immediate |and future demands of the American | working class, and that way be on the right road #) our final emancipation. | signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt. States,” and some printed speeches of former Solicitor- General James M. Beck. The object of this work in the schools is to instill a knowledge of the form of gov- ernment and a reverence for the Constitution in order “to offset ignorance, radical criticism and apathy.” The League’s program is specific as to its conception of Americanism and constitutional government. It ad- vocates: “The enforcement of laws to punish, and in the case of aliens to deport, all who seek by word or deed the overthrow of the American government. “Laws to control immigration so as to permit the ad- mission only of the right kind of raw material for American industrial progress, “The promotion of 100 per cent American shops an& factories . . . through employees’ meetings to explain American ideals and expose radical fallacies. “The assurance that foreign-language newspapers shall at all times actively and faithfully support the Constitution. ® “The prohibition of the use in all public and private schools of any language other than English as the basic medium of instruction.” It also advocates universal military service and a bigger army and navy. Typical of the League’s’ concerns was its agitation upon the discovery in 1923 of a boy of 11 in New York who was a member of the Youfig Workers’ League, a Communist organization. Leo Granoff had been ar- vested wandering around late at night, because his mother had gone to a show and had forgotten to give him the key to the house. His membership card in the Young Workers’ League, found on him, raised a storm of indignation from the Security League officials, Mr. Solomon Stanwood Menken and Miss Etta V. Leighton. Said Miss Leighton: “The pity of it is that Leo doesn’t stand alone. All over the country bright boys and girls are victims of the reds, who lose no chance to preach vile doctrines that destroy personal morals and civie probity. How long are these fiends to be allowed to exploit the souls of little children? How long are they to be left free to warp the lives of our little children and teach them hate of the land that offers them freedom and oppor- tunity.” Leo was of course released by the Children’s Court: But he was not forgotten. His heresies were made the basis of a very touching appeal for the Boy Scouts The educational and propaganda work of the League is indicated by the list of its publications in the biblio- graphy of this volume. | “IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHANG TSO-LIN” The “Pravada” on the Raid on the “Arcos.” Moscow, 14th May, 1927. b haa leading article of the “Pravda” this morning entitled, “In the Footsteps of Chang Tso-lin,” points out that the events in “Asiatic” Peking have repeated themselves in a town with a thousand years of “European” culture. The laurels of the bandit Chang Tso-lin, declares the “Pravda,” have been captured by Joynson-Hicks. The connection of the raid with the general in- tensification of the international situation and the events in China is beyond question. The raid on the “Arcos” is nothing but a link in the chain of Cham- berlain’s provocative game, in the swash-buckling policy of sabre-rattling which might have such fa- tal consequences for the peace of the world. The British imperialists are provoking and challenging the Soviet Union. The provocation in Moorgate Street was perpetrated because the provocation in Peking had failed in its object. The Conservatives are not satisfied with the hanging expedition to China alone. They are doing their utmost to pro- voke an artificial conflict between Great Britan and the Soviet Union although neither the people of Great Britain, nor the people of the Soviet Union are interested in such a conflict. The conservative robbers have not even been able to think of any half- way reasonable grounds for their action. The only. excuse is that a search is being made for some “document” or other. This excuse could be used to justify any sort of meanness. If the police spies have been given instructions to find documents, then they would certainly find them, for such things as forgeries are not unknown to the world. It is clear that the raid had been carefully pre- pared. According to the reports of the British press many conservative leaders knew previously of the intended raid. The raid was proceeded by a furious anti-Soviet campaign on the part of the reactionary press. The events in London clearly show the dif- ference between the robber policy of British im- perialism and the peaceful policy of the Soviet ‘Union, the state of the workers. We, declares the “Pravda,” conclude treaties of peace and non-ag- gression; they, military conventions and criminal military blocks. We are in favor of a better life for the workers of all countries; they suppress the Working Class Movement and pass anti-trade union laws. We are in favor of the emancipation of the oppressed peoples; they charge the international sit- uation with explosives. We want peaceful trade re- lations, and they do their utmost to undermine this peaceful work with their bandit raids. We are in favor of a policy of consolidation of friendly rela- tions, and they are step by step preparing a break with the Soviet Union. We are for peace and they are for war! The workers of the whole world must recognize this. The British conservatives are sow- ing the wind, they must not be astonished if they reap the whirlwind. (To be continued.) nee tions. EXTRA! EXTRA! Here is a choice bit of hooey, given {gratis) to the press by our intellec- His conquests stand as a great moral lesson to| us all. “GENE TUNNEY.” ,When a prize-fightetr begins to preach morals and “the will to suc-| cess” it’s time to get out a shovel| jand a wagon. It must have made} Billy Sunday madder’n a hornet. TINY LAD WITH MIGHTY LEAP inches, and hopes to better thi: mark in the interscholastic mee at Chicago June 3-4, One pho- to shows him standing under the bar placed at the record height. The other shows his form, READ THE DAILY WORKER EVERY DAY " ‘ah ARE AE i A ” Bill Carr, sixteen years old and only five feet, six inches tall, has set a new scholastic ‘igh jump record of 6 ft, 3-4 s t CAUTIOUS CAL IS VERY MUCH WORRIED POLITICAL SENTIME NT By H. C. STEVENS (Plebs, London) 192 was almost as momentous a year in the development of Soviet fiction as it was in the eco- nomic and political spheres. It was the year in which Seifullina’s Virinea | and Babel’s Cavalry Army were pub- lished, and in many ways it marked a definite turning-point in the develop- ment of fiction. But, above all, 1924 was noteworthy for the publication of Fyedin’s Towns and Years. Constantin Fyedin had begun writ- ing immediately after the war, and had attracted attention by such shorter stories as The Orchard, in| which his later development finds its | early indication. But he had not caused any great stir, and Towns and Years came as a distinctly fresh con- tribution to the degzlopment of the Soviet novel. Indeed, if we exclude such stories as Pilnyak’s Naked Year, and others which are novels only in| length, then Towns and Years was| really the first Soviet novel to be| written. | Professional Patriots| New Literature in the Soviet Union a desperate war with the local Com- munist elements, is dispersed and re- duced to submission by a force sent down from Moscow, among which is the other brother, Pavel. Yet it is not so much the armed forces of the town which break up the band and aver- come the peasantry; it is the very logic of events, the iron necessity of history working itself out, as Pavel tells Simeon in a strange lonely meet- ing in the forest. ‘You'll come over to us all the same, and not merely be- cause we're defending your land. No, without us there’s no road the village ean take, you'll see.” And Simeon is constrained to admit that it is so, and goes out alone to submit to the new and the inevitable. In some respects, and especially judged from the purely literary point of view, Leonov’s Badgers is the greatest work of art yet produced by a Soviet novelist. * * * Fyedor Gladkov’s Cement, published in 1926, is also a novel of conflict, the third great struggle that the workers of Soviet Russia are waging. While * * ry \the earlier part of the story deals Nor is its distinction confined to|With the civil war and the struggle to this, or to the peculiar form which maintain the conquests of the revolu- Fyedin chose to take as his medium. |tion, it is chiefly concerned with the Such mechanical devices as placing Gece tone and ee the last chapter at the beginning andj the return to life and activity of a lit- other displacements of time sequence, | tle town and its cement works, Chief as well as minor inversions of plot Parts in the work of reconstruction, development,,may be disregarded by 88 in the task of repulsing the white us as being merely an attempt to ob- | forces, are played by a young worker tain striking effects. It is the con-' Soldier, Gleb Chumalov, and his wife tent, and not the form, of Towns and| Dasha, and through these two and Years which is of interest. joehee characters Gladkov reveals the The story is in the main a psycho-|TeVolutionary fervor and determina- logical study of four principal char-/tion which overthrew the old order acters, and theif interplay of person-|#nd kept it at bay, being flung whole- ality, seen against the background heartedly into the restoration of eco- of war and revolution in Russia and 70mic life. He reveals, what neither Germany. Andrei Starkov may be | Fyedin nor Leonov reveal, the ability taken as personifying the pre-war fy-| UE she oe neta ae pull down tellectuals with his Chekhovian irre-|8%d destroy, but to build up and cre- solution, his continual vacillation and|%e; he reveals the last. great conflict his inability to subdue his impulsive | that faces the workers, the conflict emotional reactions to any informed With nature and life itself, the final will and purpose. In strict contrast §truggle with the slavery of economic to him is Kurt Van, a German artist | conditions, and their ph hry subjugat and Communist, whose every action| tion to the corporate will of man, And and thought is dominated by the cause | because this is so, because Gladkoy and ideals to which he has devoted | outers profoundly and sympathetically his life, whose character knows no !Dto the creative spirit of the work- vacillations or hesitancies even when |€'S: because he discerns a synthetic it is a case of delivering his friend | Process at work in the revolution, and Andrei to revolutionary justice for his has the eye to see not only the over- mistaken and sentiment-inspired pbe-| throw. of the old order but the birth trayal of the Communist cause. But f the new, Cement is a’great achieve- the real protagonists of the story are (pert. via pad either Towns and not Andrei and Kurt—Andrei is| Years or The Badgers, even though merely a foil for the third character, from ~ thie der fecige: it Markgraf Schroenau, who is the in- '@0KS not so high. Gladkov, who carnation of the most malignant as Works at the office of the Soviet also the most intelligent and purpose- | Pde Union General Council in Mos- ful element of the old order. It is be- COW, has written the finest inte~pre- tween Kurt and the Markgraf that | tation of Soviet Russia’s creative ef- the real struggle takes place, and forts yet given to the world. Andrei’s position is that of the man} * * * between the upper and nether mill-/ One need hardly say that Soviet stones. The same is true of the hero- fiction is still in a stage of formation ine, Mary Ulrich, who embodies the! emotional protest of modern youth! against the domination of the old and all its horrors, yet who fails to see any straight and narrow way to its overthrow. * * * The story ends (in the first chap- ter!) with the elimination of Andrei, and the temporary defeat of the Mark- graf and his withdrawal to Germany. But while the revolutionary forces thus triumph, Fyedin leaves the ul- timate issue in doubt, while making it! |clear that the elimination of the pur-| poseless and uncertain elements of ‘the old order merely leaves the stage! and development. The past years have been years of experimentation, with new forms and with new content, and this has left its impress of chaos and great disunity on the literature, its one common characteristic being realism. Yet even in its realism there has been development, and whereas the realism of the early days was severely uncompromising and analyt- ical, leaving nothing whatever to the imagination, already this has largely yielded to more imaginative treat- ment, which, itself more synthetic, calls the reader’s own imaginative faculties into requisition, and gains its effect by suggestion as well as by free for the renewal of the far great-| plain, downright matter-of-factness. er struggle between the old purposes The writers are clearly no longer and the new. | Apart from its content, Towns and) Years is noteworthy as a masterly/ merely setting up their memories in type, but are becoming more creative. Modern Soviet fiction has complete- study in modern psychology, and by ly broken with the past, and its real- taking a psychological line of ap-| ism is only a reflection of the writers’ proach to his characters Fyedin has | (and workers’) attitude to life. They “|in a sense returned to the manner of | are intensely concerned with events, the classic Russian novel. But it has|and comparatively little with sub- to be emphasized that it is not strictly | jective mental reactions to them. For a return, rather is it an advance; for|them man is master of the event, and his psychological treatment is not) not event the master of man, as’ it comparable with the intensely sub-, was in the old writers. The ominous. jective psychological analysis which | brooding fatalism of Chekhov and characterizes the old writers. It is|Dostoyevski is dethroned; the en- a more scientifically objective analy. | slaved wills have been unshackled; sis, a dissociation-of the author from|the characters are not continually his characters, and this enables him | talking about going to Moscow to- to avoid the futilities of the old in- | morrow or next month; they pack up tropection and to carry the story on their things and set out without more to a definite conclusion and achieve-|ado. Conflict—man’s conflict with ment. \man, with nature, with life itself—is | the dominant note not only of the Lenov’s Badgers, certainly the out- three typical novels above mentioned, standing novel of 1925, takes a very but in every serious story of any im- different ‘conflict for its theme: the Portance during the last ten year),. conflict of town and country. Deal- not excluding even those of Enpe, .é ing in particular with the life of two burg! f young peasant lads, Simeon and Pavel, ‘a “A * who come to Moscow and work there! Conflict, and man’s 4: | until the outbreak of war, its general set free by the revoluti theme is the innate antagonisms he- pling with the fatalism/and inertia tween the village and the town, espe- inherent in the old ordery in things, in cially as accentuated and intensified the mechanics of life itself, the ir during the period of civil war and tense self-confidence arid the creati- grain requisitions, Partly perhaps by ability of the worker once he } reason of temperament, Leonov paints taken his destiny into his own har the struggle in sombre colors (there his overthrow of the walls and ge is the very smell of decay in his pic- of his social and econo prison, ture of Moscow back-street life in pre-|exploration of new realms of soc war days) and with the aid of a re- relationships and his setting out markably pictorial style, by means of the journey to the land of his dreai which nature itself is made to play and desires—these are the themes and an almost living part in the story, he fundamental conceptions in Soviet brings home all the blind misery and fiction. Like the country itself, it is * * * when confronted by the mysterious out of the shadow of the old into the ‘land unknown, instinctively dreaded greater hope and freedom of the new. forces of the town. The peasant mind It is early yet to prophecy what. paths is revealed with remarkable and sym- it will take in the future or what ite pathetic insight, and almost one feels ‘ultimate achievement will be, but one that Leonov is at heart on the side thing is certain beyond all doubt: it 4 of the village. But for him also the | will never return to the old attitude immediate, and even the ultimate re-|to art or to life, And judging by what sult of the conflict is indubitable, the it has already done, it gives the prom- fate of the village is inexorable, and ise of an achievement in the future the band of it las with still greater than that of classic Rus- Simeon at their head, which has waged sian fiction. inarticulate despair of the village still in a transition stage, still passing .