The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 28, 1928, Page 5

t ft * the birth pains of the American re- WASHINGTON WAS QUITE A DULL GUY GEORGE WASHINGTON: Rebel and Patriot. (1762-1777) Vol. 2. By Rupert, Hughes. William Morrow & Co. $5. Reviewed by JIM CORK, \ fee book has been highly praised by the pundits and damned by the patriots. It is easy to see why the latter have raised such fire-tipped brimstone around the premisés;* As an individual, Washington is restored to a three-dimensional figure—far removed from the beloved and haloed “Father- ”; and a pretty dull and uninteresting sort of duffer he proves to be. A “gentleman farmer,” who spent most of his time pottering around his land, horses, pigs and what not, meticulously jotting down all his expenses, even the veriest trifles; a man who loved his fox hunt- ing, his table, his wine, his women, his dancing, his theatre, his jokes and stories, especially if they were spicy. He could spend a terrific amount of time and energy doing the dullest and most trivial things imaginable. A typical case in point is his counting of the number of timothy seeds in @ pound—the number being 298,000. Whew! He never seemed to read a book worth a damn! He didn’t seem to care what was going on around him, even with empires tottering and public already in evidence. Compared to: intellectual” giants like Madison, Hamilton and Jefferson, he seemed the veriest tyro. But to acknowledge the value of this three-dimensional antidote to the patriot puffers is to be finished with whatever of value there is in the book. The portrait he has done, but —“only that and nothing more.” * * *. The typical petty-bourgeois mind and mode of analysis is nakedly re- vealed throuout. Hughes has des- troyed the Great Hero of the one hundred percenters; kicked him out of doors. Truth has forced him to this iconoclasm. And his chest comes ap like a. pouter-pigeon’s. But the petty bourgeoisie needs its heroes badly and so Washington is let in thru the back window in different guise. There {is dramatic soul devel- opment. Somehow Washington, un- er the adversity and setbacks of his new (and unexpected role) of com- mander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army, is. molded into a superman. Hitherto a nincompoop, he finds new flepths in his soul. Over the Revolu- Hon and its child, the Republic, the spirit of Washington is made to hover , like a hen over the-ege has just created. We are made to feel that somehow: Washington, more than any other man, more than any- thing else, is responsible for the suc- tess of the Revolution. This is pur- est bankruptcy. It is essentially a great man theory of history, plus some poetic mysticism between the tines. The Revolution as a social movement, as a gigantic class strug- gle, as a civil. war, making revolu- tionary taeties necessary and desir- able if success were to be obtained, escape Hughes completely. It follows from this, inevitably, that his interpretation of the treat- ment of the Tories, of the revolu- tionary terror and dictatorship, of the role of the Committees of Cor- Creates New Myths | Rupert Hughes, whose book on Washington has brought unnecessary fright-to the one hundred percenters. To those who questioned his own “patriotism” following the publica- tion of the book, Hughes pointed to his part in the last ‘imperialist sutchery. hint even of that unparalleled mag- nanimity that kept him clean of all selfish ambition, led him to fight without pay, refuse all reward, and retire to his farm at the war’s end until he was recalled as the one soul able to reunite the quarreling col- onies in a bond of peace.” “Never before, if ever since, did any soul of such flawless patriotism appear upon the dirty pages of history. Besides, Washington had, in a measure, to build the altar on which he laid the sacrifice of his complete devotion.” Trivialities are assigned as causes of important events. For instance, in the case of the Revolution: “Add then, to the causes of the Revolution, Pitt’s gout.” In the case of Howe, whose role is completely misunder- stood: “Howe, who was an ingenious strategist, always whipped Wash- | ington in battle and always failed to follow up his victory. His eager- ness to return to the arms of Mrs. Loring was blamed for this. His enormous addiction to gambling was flso to’ blame. . .” (Emphasis mine—-J.C.) On révolutionary tactics, terror and dictatorship: “The story of tarrings and featherings, riotings and bur- nings, becomes monotonous.” “They were disgraced by an ugly gang that displayed its patriotism in disgusting cruelties to helpless citizens.” “But there. was more cruelty than humor in much of this war of torture.” “The excesses grew so disgraceful .. .” ““The Boston Tea Party’ is one of the incidents of which every school- boy knows. Once glorified as a fear- less defiance of tyranny, it is now regretted as a wanton destruction of private property.” * * One pundit has predicted that this biography of Washington, which seems to promise to run to four vol- umes of seven hundred pages, or so, each, will probably become the stand- ard American biography. It may well be. Certainly it would not be sur- prising. It provides a safe and sane respondence, will be shot thru with the usual petty-bourgeois pacifism— the throwing up of the hands in hor- vor at the needless cruelty of it, etc. * J * Now Jet us get ‘some statistical evidence: On Washington: “There was no interpretation, a different kind of hero, who may the more readily be hugged close by the liberals and pet- ty-bourgeoisie because the cherry tree stories of old Parsons Weems have been removed. The king is dead! Long live the king! VITAL BOOKS ON U.S.S.R. “Tlustrated | History of Revolution” Ready 'EN years of the establishment ofan investigation into the subject of the Soviet government, and the progress made in its various depart- ments, are reported in the first vol- ume of the “Illustrated History of the Russian Revolution ($2.50), published by International Publishers, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York, on April 25. _ Hundreds of photographs of per- sonalities and events, most of which have never been published before, are distributed throughout the book. The background of the 1917 Revolu- tion, beginning with the March Rev- olution, through the Kerensky period, to the establishment of the Soviets} » in November, 1917, is given in inter- esting accounts which are also pro- fusely..illustrated. The story of the Constituent Assembly, the figit for “peace, the period of Military Com- munism, the Civil War, and the intro- duction of the New Economie Policy by Lenin, are all related in the rem- iniscences of those who took an active part in establishment of the Soviet State. The book is altogether an un- usual souvenir volume, quarto in, size, containing much material hitherto unpublished. Many prominent’ Rus- sian leaders collaborated in the pre- paration of this volume. * . ° protection accorded to Russian workers employed in industry and trade is described in “Labor Protec- tion. in Soviet Russia,” by Dr. Geo, M. Price, just issued by International. Dr. Price, author of several stand- ard books dealing with factory .sani- tation and industrial hygiene, and at Hosa head of the Board of Scientific Por f the garment industry, paid a visit to Soviet Russia and conducted labor legislation and the administra- tion of labor laws there. The author also studied the system of social insurance whieh has been developed to a large extent in Soviet |- Russia, ‘and has compared present standards of safety and sanitation with those which prevailed under the ezars. Art and Economics: e the view of nature and of social relations which shaped Greek im- agination and Greek art possible in the age of automatic machinery, and railways, and locomotives, and elec- tric telegraphs? . . . All mythology | American masters and dominates and shapes the forces of nature in and through the imagination; hence it disappears as soon as man gains mastery over the forces of nature. What becomes of the Goddess Fame side by side with Printing House Square (or Times Square)? ... Looking at it from another side: fs Achilles possible side by side with powder and lead? Or is the Iliad at all comparable, with the printing press and steam press?” (Karl Mara, “Critique of Political Evconomy.”) H Ds caceeaceeaetcaarae mae meee TO “The tree of liberty must be re- freshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and. tyrants. It is its natural manure.” —THOMAS JEFFERSON. { YHE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, APRIL @, 1928 WHO ENJOYS ART UNDER BOSS RULE? ER capitalism, talent is looked upon as the private property of its immediate possessor, and is re- garded as a means of enrichment. ln capitalist society, the product of tal- ented activicy is a commodity which! can be sold for one price or another, and thus becomes the possession of the person with the longest purse. A work of genius, a thing with in- finite social significance, and one | whose essential nature is that of a) collective creation, can be purchased | by a Russian named Kolupayeff or| by an American named Morgan, and| the buyer is then entitled to change it or destroy it as fancy dictates, If Tretyakoff, the famous Moscow merchant, had one fine day made up his mind to burn down his picture gallery instead of presenting it to the town of Moscow, there was no law in capitalist society by which he could have been called to account. As a result of the private purchase and sale of works of art, rare books, manuscripts, ete., many of them are’ rendered inaccessible to the broad masses of the people, and these rari- ties become the exclusive Possessions , of members of the exploiting class, The Soviet Republic has declared all works of art, collections, ete. to be social property, and it removes every obstacle to their social utiliza- tion. The same purpose is served by! the decrees aiming at the withdrawal | from private ownership of great lib- raries, so that these also have be- come social property. The Commun- ist Party must see to it that the state authority continues to advance along} such lines. Furthermore, in the in-! terests of enlightenment, and in ordcy to secure for the widest possible number of persons the opportunity of visiting the theatre, all the the- atres have been nationalized, and thus in an indirect way there has ah t x al ( Page Five “Build Party,”HeUreed A LE ADER’S| WRITINGS & CHARLES E. | Volume 10 in SPEECHES OF RUTHENBERG. “Voices of Revolt” series. With an introduction by Jay Lovestone. International Pub- | lishers. $.50. } Reviewed by BERT MILLER. i bene! publication of this book marks |* an important step in the direction of the building up of a body of his- \torical tradition around the Commu- \nist movement of America. Due to ‘the objective conditions underlying the development of American capital- ism, due to the comparative youth of the American socialist and Commu-; nist. movement, we have not yet been ‘able to duplicate the rich fund of so- \eialist and Communist literature, of ‘history and biography, which we find, { {for instance, in Russia, Germany, France and England. Such a back- ground is essential to give inspira- ,tion and stability, to establish Party }pride and confidence. This book be- }gins to do for the American move- |ment, what the continental countries have been doing for many years. | In his introduction to the book, Jay Lovestone, executive secretary of the Workers (Communist) Party, gives a C. E. Ruthenberg, founder of the comprehensive and searching analy- Workers (Communist) Party, whose sis of Comrade Ruthenberg’s main writings and speeches are reviewed contributions to the American labor om this page. movement, aS an organizer, as a ————— | fighter against imperialist war, as a been achieved the socialization’ of Propagandist and as a leader of the dramatic, musical, and vocal art, |Party. The introduction serves at By degrees, therefore, all the|the same time as a key to the inter- workers of science and art—which Pretation and evaluation of the vere created in the first instance by |Speeches and poe pemich follow. roduced at their en RS ed now | head and shoulders above his prede- | been restored to. the real ownefa, jeessor, Debs, in theoretical clarity. | z "| Disearding the Debsian use of rhetor- (From “The A.B.C. of Commun- jal flourish and sentimental appeal, ism.” Workers Library Publishers, Ruthenberg hammers home the fun- New York.) damental truths of Marxism in the “WEVD BROADCASTING” The Socialists and “Fyeedom of Speech” By SENDER GARLIN. “The activities of the Military Order of the World War, Key Men of America, and other professional patriotic organizations wil! be dis- eussed from Station WEVD by Sender Garlin, of The Daily Work- er staff, tonight at 10.40. He will talk on ‘David Gordon and the Dol- lar Patriots.’ : “For writing a satirical poem, ‘America,’ Gordon is now serving an indeterminate term of three years in the New York Reform- atory.” (From Daily Worker, April 24, 1928.) Time: Tuesday, April 24, 10.40 p. m. Place: Station WEVD, Top Floor, 3 West 16th St., New York City. Dramatis Personae: G. August Ger- ber, manager of WEVD, the Debs Memorial Station; Sender Garlin. The first scene opens upen a sumptu- ous reception room, heavy rugs, rich- ly upholstered divan, walls painted orange. Walnut table, several chairs. In the center of the room is a bust | of Eugene V. Debs,;the last revolu- | tionist of the American socialist party, | in whose “honor”: the radio station was established. 8. G. enters. He is introduced by companion who says, “You know .. .”| G. A. G. accepts proferred hand with | apparent friendliness and says, “Oh, yes, I used to know him.” Gerber is broadcasting the weekly talk of Carl Thompson, head of the Government Ownership League. - Sc that it is shown that taxation has been reduced in many cities -” Next is the weekly program of the ‘Rebel Pocts’ and Mr. Sender Garlin of the Daily Worker will talk on the Gordon case. Mr. Gordon’ is serving three yea in the reformatory for having wri ten what has been adjudged an ob- scene poem . . .” TWENTY MINUTES LATER. Gerber: You have just finished listening to Mr. Garlin, a man who is associated with an organization which, durine the 1% or 14 months that Sta- tion WEVD has been established, has never Irst an opportunity to attack it, Nevertheless, the speaker was permitted to utilize this station free of charve and uncensored. Once more Station WEVD shows itself to be a trail-blazer in the cause of free speech...” (Gerber returns to reception room. Garlin, het in hand, says: “Thank you, Mr. Gerber, good night,” and prepares to leave.) Gerber: Hey, there, wait a minute, wait a minvte! Garlin: What’s the trouble? Gerber: T want your notes! Give me your notes! (Showing anger.) We need them for our records. Garlin: I’d rather not give you my notes. It was not my understanding that I was to give them to you. Gerber: Well, goddamit you better give them up. It’s just like you god- dam Communists. You've got a hell- uva nerve using this radio station after attacking us, Garlin: You mean you object to The Daily Worker printing a story about WEVD permitting J. Robert O'Brien, of the’ National Security League, a notorious strikebreaker, to talk from its station recently in favor of war on Nicaragua? Gerber: (looks menacing, shakes his finger threateningly)—After attack- A ® “ simple, logical and forceful style of which he was a master. He speaks jnot as the abstract, closet theoreti- (cian, but as the active revolutionist, ! knows how to link up and explain se truths with the concrete de- {mands of the struggle, such as for |instance social insurance, accident in- ing us us yellow socialists, then com- isurance, ete. ing here to use our radio, some damn nerve, let me tell you Garlin: I did n thru subte did I? Iw Poets,” and is asked me to talk about s sm grew directly out resentment and revolt against the brutal attacks of the government ine the great stri in which he rite some lively stories about your backing down on the thing. Gerber: Yes, that’s what yon guys think. nothing but a bunch of morons listen- ing in on our programs. (With con- Garlin: Well, that! richt. We uttack the Ne a ieien. > don? siderable heat): Fact is, some damn B Epe NaN ars t ines, BOY ice people are connected with the we? And we'd never tur | A ‘ front-pare publicity in The Teed station. Lota of them fave contrib- realize that the socialist party, especi- | uted money fo the thing. eae hie ally since the recent convention. has Communists have been responsible for more in common with The Times than keeping hundreds oF yorkersi0e ae we have. But the socialists have|the fence, neither Communists nor never, I’m sure, turned down ‘al ists—from contributing cash. chance to get space in that paper. in: Well, I think that’s a good ie “R, » its director, | Dave Gordon Gerber: It’s just like you Com- munists, attacking as. and then A A vs thing. Gerber: That's just it; the New Gerber: (Infuriated) You've got a York ei mes’ doesn’t attack us in news helluva nerve coming here.... stories; it may im editorials. Why ... what’s the matter with Garlin: Isn’t that precis i at you did tonight? You let me talk, not bechuse of any abstract love of free speech, as you professed in your ro- marks to the radio audience after I| support to station WEVD. had concluded, but because you want-| Garlin: (Surprised) Is that so? ed to show how virtuous you were! Why, isn’t Baldwin a member of the and how terribly bad we Communists Garland Fund; chairman, isn't he? | are, And did he vote against giving you Gerber: Would you let a socialist fellows m ney? talk on your radio station, if you Gerber: Eh? yes, he voted with the Communists owned one? rest. Roger Baldwin? of directors. And that whole damn Garland Fund, influenced by the Com- munists, voted to a man not to give Garin: Well, we would no more| Garlin: Well, Baldwin is sure ad- think of providing 2 forum for a soci-| vancing. alist, or J. Robert O’Brien, than we| Gerber: I'll be damned if I can keep | would for any other enemy of the! up with your kind of stupid logic. working class. if T-can use the facilities of station! for the record. WEVD for Communist propaganda,| (Garlin: I don’t think I'll give them why, I’m tickled to death to do so. | to you. I don’t trust you. { don’t Gerber: That shows what kind of] knuw what you might transform them ethics Communists practice. I could| into. Your friend, Eddie Levinson of | have prev ed you from talking to-| the “New Leader,” IT understand, fol- | night, but since thru some misunder-]} lov reporters of the capitalist press | standing on the part of someone els connected with the station you atta snnounced, we decided to go thru with it.. I could have stopped you, couldn’t 1? munists who refrained from register- ing-for the draft in the last war .. Gerber: (sneeringly) Be sure and write a story about this in your dirty Garlin: I suppose you could But| sheet. And send me a copy. you probably felt that you could come CURTAIN eff better by Jetting me talk and bd * x then boasting of your impartiality] (P. S—This is the story. The con- before your middle-class audience| versation reported above is substanti- ally accurate in every detail—S. G.) LITTLE RED LIBRARY Eleven Copies for ONE DOLLAR . than hy giving us a good chance to 1, TRADE UNIONS IN AMERICA. 2. CLASS STRUGGLE VS. CLASS COLLABORATION. | 3. PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNISM. 4. WORKER CORRESPONDENTS. 5, POEMS FOR WORKERS. | 6. MARX AND ENGELS ON REVOLUTION IN AMeRICA. || 7. THE DAMNED AGITATOR AND OTHER STORIES. | 8. 1871—THE PARIS COMMUNE. } 9. HOW CLASS COLLABORATION WORKS. 10. CONSTITUTION OF THE U.S. S. R. 11. JIM CONNOLLY AND IRISH FREEDOM. | | Important Questions treated by outstanding leaders of the American Labor Movement. Order From WORKERS LIBRARY PUBLISHERS 43 East 126th Street, New York City. ] LEGACY TO ¢ HIS CLASS, You think that weve got} He’s on our board} On the other hand,; Bow abcut those notes, we need them| 4 around town with lowdowns on Com- i} | Laying the Cornerstone A) pi One of the many irreverent draw- ings by Art Young, whose book, ‘Trees At Night,” oublished. participated. He was a _ powerful pioneer who helped to educate thou- sands of workers to realization of their interests as a class in capitalist society. He was the expression of proletarian revolt during the period of expanding American industrialism. limited, when American capitalism developed still further into its pres- ent imperialist stage, and he failed to adapt himself to the fundamental change which had taken place. His erroneous views of the efficacy of the ballot, on dual unionism, and on thé socialist party, are expressions of Debs’ theoretical shortcomings. _ * * * Ruthenberg, on the other hand, was the expression of the American revo- lutionary and labor movement, in the period of transition from industrial- ism to imperialism. As Lovestone puts it in his introduction, he “fol- lowed the most consistent and logical line of revolutionary development throughout his participation in the revolutionary movement.” The pas- sages in the book on the Ballot Box, Reformism, Election Campaigns, the Labor Party, the United Front, Im- perialist Wars, the national and i ternational political and economic sit- uations, all these indicate the line of this development. Ruthenberg’s chief contribution, with which he is most closely iden- ied, is embodied in the slogan on his lips when he died, “Build the Party.” His indefatigable emphasis on this central aim is expressed in a number of articles on the role and aims of the Communist Party, The book is a necessary part of that sul tial library of 100 per cent American-Communist literature, which we all need and which we are expectantly looking forward to. Gary at Midnight A steel hydra With a dragon’s mouth Spurts fire With a horrible likeness To the striking Gary slaves Spurting blood From Gary’s seabbing guns. —DAVID GORDON. has just been| For that reason his usefulness was | SONGS FROM SEA, FIELD AND CAMP | FRONTIER BALLADS J. Finzer. Co. $3.50. Reviewed by WALT CARMON. )TREeR are the songs the author |#* has learned in his “vag” days from prospectors, sailors, cowboys, hard-cases who were beach-combers; smugglers, sealers, bartenders and 4 |long list of other deviations from ari orderly life. The long list, a bit bom- bastic, is straining after effect that {makes the reader a bit resentful. The songs, many of which are crude af- |fairs, despite the author’s assurance |that proper environment is neées- sary, are also nothing to write home | about. | * * * By Charles Doubleday, Doran & Among these ballads, there are, however, a good many old favorites, }and accompanying music makes them more welcome. Here are “Jess@ James,” “Blow The Man Down” and other oft-sung old-timers you prob- | ably have wanted to’ learn. Most of them in the book are song® to be sung around a camp-fire, on board ship, among sentimental hard cases, in a manner allowing for ges- ture, a pull at a pipe, or “copious expectoration” as the author puts it to assure us of his hard-boiled back- ground. Despite the atthor’s insistence in his introduction that workers in dif- ferent trades do not sing songs of their occupations, but only sentimens tal ballads of love and marriage and what-not, he does include songs cowboys, sailors—even prize-fighters, . . . This collection, gathered among wanderers, are songs that these hard- boiled fellows, who are most senti- mental sob-sisters at heart, would sing, about mother, love, virtue, songs with a moral—and some with a little dirt since the old boys were not always sweetly sentimentak These, incidentally, are among the | best in the collection,, The original | versions, not printed of course, would | make this book well worth the mon- ey. * The circumstances under which thé author has first heard them sung make the book interesting reading and with less bombast ald have been much better. Paul Honore hag a number of wood-cuts that brightes this volume. | Series orders. to us. Beethoven: Quartet in D Major, Op. We have pretty good results from the “Daily Worker.” would like to know, if there are more readers, who are delaying their We would like to hear from them, and invite them, to write This would enable us to keep our advertisement in the “Daily Worker.” \\ Masterwork Of All The Great Players Bat we MASTERWORKS SET NO. 75 18, No. 3, By Lener String Quartet of Budapest. In Six Parts, on Three 12-inch Double Dise Records, with ATbum. $4.50 Complete. Beethoven: Leonore Overtw : No. 3. By Sir Henry J. Wood and New 67350-D. By Albert Sammons. In Four Parts, on 17002-2>- fwo 20033F 00TLE 20074F 20089F 2031B 9088 64000F 20110F 20068F 20000F Karie Glaski (& Lapti) R Pol nm Potpourri & Songs anushka & I was there 12053F 20070F 59039F Poet & Peasant—Overture Light Cavalry—Overture Gold & Silver—Vienna Lite Kirpitchiki—Dwa Arshina Ech ty Doha, Moya Dolin Volgie HOW I CAME TO AMERICA Song by N. Dancsenko ‘Words by BE. 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