The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 25, 1928, Page 4

Page Four eed ay : DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 235, 1928 Continued from Preceding Page The vote getting, parliamentary, and legistic features of our cam- paign; 5. The lilly white methods of campaigning of the Party or- ganization in the south; 6. Failure to reach the workers in the shops due to the deplorable state of the Party organization, the almost com- plete disappearance of shop nuclei, etc. The Party must correct fun- damentally these errors of the Central Committee. The attitude of the farmers in the Presidential elections indicates the following; a. The farmer capitalists together with the well to do middle farmers have consciously supported Hoover and the Republi- ean Party. This support became possible, not-withstanding the great dissatisfaction among them with Coolidge’s opposition to the McNary-| Haugen bill, because of the tendencies towards alliance between big capital and the farmer capitalists at the expense of the small, agri- cultural workers, working and poor tenant farmers; b. Because of the domination of the farmer capitalist and agents of big capital in the existing farm organizations, large sections of the small farmers have been drawn into the support of Hoover and the Republican Party in the elections; c. Lack of organization and political leadership among the large masses of small and working farmers is primarily respons- ible for the absence of a strong movement among them against big capital, and ag: t the two old parties. Considerable numbers of these elements have voted for Smith in protest against the Republican Party’s opposition to farm relief; d. The failure of our own Party to build the Communist Party organization on the farms by recruiting into its agricultural workers and th emore conscious elements of the working and tenant farmers, and its wrong agarian poling is some of the chief reasons for the lack of political leadership among the semi-proletarian elements and the working and tenant farmers. The course and results of the Presidentia lelections show that big capital was straining all efforts to maintain the so-called two Party system which has proven successful in preventing the dissatisfaction of the masses from finding mass political expression against the capi- talist parties. In these efforts big capital was successful to a con- siderable degree inasmuch as the nomination of Smith drew into the following of the democratic party large masses of dissatisfied work- ers, urban petty-bourgeoisie, and considerable numbers of poor farm- ers. The break away of several southern states from the democratic to the republican party is significant only in this respect that it reflects the crystalization of a considerable bourgeoisie in the South, (due to the continued industrialization) which finds the republican party responding more effectively to its needs, as for instance, on the question of tariff. However, big capital is not going to abandon the strategy of the two party system. On the contrary the sharper the class relations and class struggles become, the more will big capital hang on to the two party system. Only in the face of growing dis- satisfaction of the masses it will find it advisable to allow the demo- cratic party more of a “progressive” appearance in order to be able to fulfill its role in the two party system more effectively. THE PARTY’S CONCRETE TASKS The concrete tasks of the Party for mobilizing the masses for the struggle against the war preparations and rationalization drive of American imperialism, are as follows: A. To develop consistent agitation campaigns among the masses, unorganized and organized, with special concentration on the shops, on the issues of: fight against the war danger, the program of naval construction now before the senate, big navy, and war preparedness, Kellogg treaty and other pacifist maneuvers, against the military invasion and imperialist subjugation of foreign countries, for the defense of the Soviet Union, for the complete emancipation of the Negro race, and for the right of self-determination, against wage cuts, speed-up, unemployment, against the fake unemployment scheme of Hoover, against the open shop and for the organization of new unions under militant leadership, struggle against the bureaucracy in the old unions and their program of transforming the labor move- ment into an adjunct of the capitalist war machine, against pacifism and reformism, etc. These must be related to the central organ of the campaign which is mobilize to struggle against the war danger and against capitalist rationalization. B. It shall be our aim to crystalize organized mass struggles and mass organization on these issues. We shall sytematically de- velop campaigns of introducing resolutions in the shops and in labor organizations ‘bearing on these issues. We shall aim to develop mass protests, mass street demonstrations, and strikes, always linking up the economic struggles of the masses with the broader political issues. C. The struggle against unemployment and against Hoover's fake schemes must be made a central phase of struggle in the com- ing months on the basis of the Party’s program. The worsening of the depression will make it necessary for the Party to resume the organization of councils of unemployed at the opportune time. D. We must press to the foreground more than ever the struggle against American imperialism in Latin-America and for the com- plete unconditional independence of U. S. colonies, semi-colonies, and protectorates. A basic feature of this struggle must be constant and active support to the masses of Latin-America in their fight against American imperialism. Close collaboration with the Communist Parties of Latin-America (joint conferences, exchange of delegations, joint literature, etc.) must be maintained at all times. We must render active support to the Latin-American Trade Union Secretariat. E. As an essential part of our struggle against the war danger, we shall systematically combat intervention in and partition of China and fight for the defense of the Chinese Revolution and colonial up- risings. We shall maintain close contact with the Communist Party of China. We must give active support to the Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat. . F. Our Party jointly with the Communist Parties of Latin- America must prosecute an energetic struggle against the demand of the A. F. of L. bureaucracy (New Orleans convention) to exclude Latin-American*workers (Mexicans) from the U. S. We must initiate a campaign for the organization of the Mexican and Latin-American workers in the U, S. into trade unions and intensify the recruiting of the class conscious elements among them into the Communist Party. G. The policy of the united front from below must be followed ‘in all these struggles. It shall be our aim in these campaigns to develop our Party as the political Party of the American masses, to accelerate the organziation of the unorganized into new unions under militant leadership, to strengthen the left wing in the old ‘unions, to actively assist the TUEL to establish itself as the leading center of militant industrial unionism, the RILU center in the U. S., ‘to build the conference of working women, to help build the Ameri- can Negro Labor Congress, and to strengthen the I. L. D. and the W.I.R. H, The struggles for the recognition and defense of the Soviet Union is an integral and major part of our fight against the war danger. The disarmament proposals of the Soviet government and ‘the growth of socialism in the Soviet Union must be contrasted with the armament campaign and capitalist rationalization of U. S. im- perialism. We must carry on an intensive campaign to build up the U. S. section of the “Friends of Soviet Russia.” I. Anti-militarist work among the U. S. armed forces must be made a major phase of our activity particularly among the forces in colonial service. J. We must systematically build the U. S. section of the All- America Anti-Imperialist League into a mass organization on a broad labor and poor farmer basis. K. It shall be our policy to initiate joint demonstrations against imperialism and the war danger with the Communist Parties of Eng- land, Canada, France, Germany, China, Latin-America, etc., close col- laboration with the Communist Party of Canada in the struggle against the war danger (U. S. and England.) L. The Party must prepare immediately to meet the develop- ing attack of the government (as part of its war preparations) upon the legal existence of our Party by building up an effective under- ground apparatus, and by providing all necessary means for com- bining legal with illegal work. M. The Party must carry on this basic struggle against war and capitalist rationalization along the lines of the Comintern pro- gram, i. e., under the slogans of defeat the “home” imperialist country, transform the imperialist war into civil war, to overthrow the rule of the capitalist class and to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat. The organizational and ideological strengthening of the Party (build- ing shop nuclei, proletarianization of Party leadership, raising of theoretical level, consistent struggle against Right danger and Trot- skyism) is a basic condition for an effective struggle against the war danger and capitalist rationalization. 3. FOR A SHARP STRUGGLE AGAINST THE RIGHT DANGER e AND TROTSKYISM, In the statement of the Minority “For a Correct Bolshevist Line in the American Party against the Right Danger, and Against the Cannon-Trotskyist Opposition,” (published in the Daily Worker, December 8, 1928) a correct basis for a determined struggle on two fronts against the Right Danger and Trotskyism is clearly laid down. In this statement the Minorjty shows the objective basis for the de- velopment of both Right and “Left” deviations and their concrete manifestations in our Party, and calls upon the Party to wage the sharpest struggle against both. THE BASIS FOR THE RIGHT WING DANGER. In this document the Minority correctly states that the basis for the Right danger in our Party is the following: “The maturing of the inner and outer contradictions of Ameri- ean capitalism, which takes place under conditions of continued up- ward development of U. S. imperialism, highly sharpened world im- perialist rivalries and the wget danger, impose upon our Party the j k of reoritatating its general line to a perspective of sharpening relations and class struggles. “The Party must formulate a general line, on the basis of the changing objective conditions, which would enabte it to mobilize most effectively and lead the masses in the forthcoming struggles. In order to achieve this end, the Party must guard both Right and Left deviations, “Certain sections of our Party are proving to be too. slow and even unwilling to reorientate the Party's general line to these chang- ing objective conditions. This tendency gives rise to Right wing sence and is at the bottom of the Right danger in the American arty.” This slowness and even unwillingness to reorientate the line of the Patty is most clearly shown in the policies of the Political Committee majority anf is primarily due to the following: 1.—The reflection in our Party of the reformist, pacifist and “prosperity” ideology so prevalent in America, especially among the labor aristo- cracy, and to the growing ideological and political fusion of the A. F. of L. and socialist party bureaucracy and sections of the labor aristocracy with the bourgeoisie. (The reflection in our Party of the “bourgeoisification” of the labor aristocracy). 2—The poor social composition of the Party and of the Party’s leadership (insufficient proletarian elements in the Party and its leadership, the high percent- age of non-proletarian elements and highly paid skilled workers as compared with the lower percentage of the more militant unski and semi-skilled workers from the basic industries, the negli number of native American workers, ete.) 3.—The low theoretical level of our Party and the lack of a sound Bolshevist leadership, These factors are the basis for Right mistakes and in the present period of war danger and sharpening class struggles, make the Right danger the main danger in our Party. THE STRUGGLE AGAINST TROTSKYISM. In the same document, we point out, that arising from the same objective conditions, the basis for the Cannon-Trotskyist Opposition is as follows: “There are on the other hand certain elements in the Party and on its fringe who have become so pessimistic as to the possibility of developing the revolutionary class-struggle in the U. S., that they Practically capitulate before the existing difficulties under Sover of Left phrases. This tendency gives rise to Leftist deviations. The Cannon-Trotskyist Opposition, in the face of the existing difficulties, having lost hope in the possibility of building a Commu- nist movement in the United States, as well as in the possibility of Socialist construction in the U. S. S. R. and in the outlook for the world proletarian revolution, it goes over to Trotskyism and joins in the “Left” fight of the Trotskyists against the Comintern. As Left- ists this group conducts the fight against our Party. This estimate of the basis for the two dangers, the Right and the “Left,” now confronting our Party, is correct. This analysis affords the only basis for the isolation of these dangers and for the devel- opments of a successful struggle for the complete liquidation of both the Right danger and Trotskyism. In the latest letter from the E. C. C. I. to the C. E. C. of our Party, the Comintern declares that the Right danger is the main danger is the main danger in our Party. Speaking of the decisions of the Sixth Congress on the American question, the Comintern clearly states that: ; “The Congress emphasized that the Right danger is the main danger for the American Party. The next Party Congress must in- vestigate the objective sources of the Right Danger and the struggle against it, discussing all Party problems from the viewpoint of the struggle against the Right danger inside the Party and the social reformists’ influence among the workers.” (Emphasis Ours). POLITICAL COMMITTEE REFUSES TO FIGHT RIGHT DANGER. The Political Committee Majority refuses to accpet this position. In their two statements on the Right danger and Trotskyism, the Majority fails to explain the basis for these dangers. A list of Right mistakes is presented but no effort is made to explain their causes, their nature or the responsibility for them. The Political Committee Majority sums up this list of errors by declaring that: “Trotskyism, in its last stage of development is the summing vp, is the unifying force of all these opportunistic Right dangers.” (D. W. 11-16-28). In its later statement, published in the Daily Worker on Dec. 7th, the C, E. C. majority again declared that: “Since the return of the delegation, the Party has intensified its fight against the Right danger, of which Trotskyism is today the crass¢st expression in the United States.” (Our Emphasis). The C. E. C. Majority thereby declares that Trotskyism is the main danger in our Party. The Majority calls upon the Minority to unite in the struggle ngainst Trotskyism as the Right danger. This proposal is a smoke screen to cover up the present concrete Right danger, to prevent the isloation and defeat of the Right danger and to paralyze an effective struggle against both the Right danger and the Cannon-Trotsky Opposition. | TROTSKYISM—OPPORTUNISM COVERED WITH LEFT PHRASES. It must be made clear to our entire Party, that while Trotskyism and the Right danger are both movements away from the correct Communist line towards opportunism and social democracy, each fol- lows a different road. The Trotskyists pretend to be more revolutionary than the Comintern. While appealing to the masses to join them in a “real revolutionary” struggle against the “opportunist” and even ‘“Thermi- | dorian” policies of the Russian Communist Party, actually the Trot- skyists lead their followers into counter-revolutionary struggles against the Soviet Union end the Communist International. The results of their policy is Menshevism; but they arrive at Menshevism under cover of a “left” attack against the Communist movement. In the United States, the Cannon-Trotskyist group is fighting the Party and the Comintern on the basis of the Trotsky platform and by means of the Trotsky method. This group pretends to be to the “Left” of the Comintern and is appealing to the membership of our Party to join their “realr evolutionary”—their “real Leninist” struggle against the Party. It is on this basis that Cannon has been able to deceive a number of workers and draw them outside of our Party. This Leftism must be exposed as mere empty phrases used to cover their retreat from the revolutionary class struggle into the arms of social democracy. The sharpest struggle must be waged against Trotskyism. Leading Party members and non-proletarian elements accepting Trotskyism must be dealt with organizationally, including expulsfon. The opportunism which covers itself in left phrases may deceive some ideologically weak proletarian elements (among them Amer- icans) inside and around our Party because these elements, while sincere in their hatred of capitalism and militant in their desire to struggle against it, at the same time lack a firm Communist ideology #nd close familiarity with the struggle of Leninism against all varieties of opportunism, particularly against Trotskyism. The experience of the Party with some of these valuable elements shows that they easily fall into opportunist errors in their practical mass work (those of them who stand in the foreground of our mass work) when the Party’s line lends itself to such mistakes, or when the Party's line is vague and unclear. (Farmer Labor Party policy in Minnesota. mining situation in Illinois). The CEC Majority method of dealing with these elements is to cover up the defects of the main line of the Party and to throw the full weight of the responsibility for such errors on the comrades it the field instead of.clearly analyz- ing the wrong main line as the chief source of the error, and correct- ing this main line, and thus helping to correct the line of these comrades. The Cannon Trotskyist Opposition is particularly concentrating on these proletarian elements, in the belief that their lack of firm Communist ideology and their grievances against the mistakes of the C. E. C, Majority will dispose them to react sympathetically to the leftist attacks and will make them easy prey for the Trotsky Opposi- tion. The Party must make all efforts to save these elements for the revolutionary class struggle of our Party, by patient and per- sistent ideological clarification, by a consistent struggle against the Right danger and Trotskyism, by the frankest self-criticism by the Party leadership of its own responsibilities, and by the ruthless extermination of bureaucratism end dilletantism in the handling of the Party’s mass work. Every effort must be made to win all pro- letarian elements for the Party against Trotskyism and the Right danger. SHARP STRUGGLE AGAINST RIGHT. But distinct from the small number who can be drawn away from the Party to opportunism by such “real revolutionary.” In*tiat, phrases, there is a serious Right danger in our Party. This Right danger is aided by the objective conditions cited above and manifests itself in the innumerable Right mistakes made and being made in all sections of our Party. The serious mistakes brought to light by the minority and discussed in Moscow and here are only the most out- standing examples of the kind of errors which are being made in every section of the Party. In every district leading comrades and lower functionaries of all grounings are making Right mistakes, (Cali- fornia, Detroit, ete.) especially the supporters of the C. E. C. maiority, (Pittsburgh and Boston injunction cases, District 6 on Labor Party ete.) where the minority comrades fought against these mistakes. Except for factional reasons, no real struggle has been waged to correct these errors by the Poleom Mafority. Much factional use has been made of the California “Open Le'ter” to the Socialist Party, and Raymond’s article on the election campaign. But many other J cases effecting Majority comrades have been systematically sup- pressed. Comrade Wolfe, who instructed the California comrades to send the “Open Letter” to the Socialist Party, was not corrected. Instead of correcting mistakes, the Polbureau Majority continues to multiply their Right mistakes and to defend them before the Party. In our document on the “Right Danger in the American Party” we list the main mistakes of the Party since the past convention. In our document of December 3rd, the Minority enumerates these mis- takes as follow: “The grow by the fresh Right errors made by the Majority of the CEC in re- cent weeks. The following are the most outstanding mistakes: Fail- ure of the Political Committee to direct the Party fraction to urge the National Miners Union to assume leadership in the sporadic miners’ strikes (Illinois, Wyoming, Kansas); to build the new union, and to fight for the defense and improvement of the workers’ con- ditions; resistance of the Polcom to direct the party fraction to fight for the new textile union functioning as an active factor in the silk strike in Paterson; lack of faith in the possibility of organizing a new textile union under militant leadership with the resulting failure to prepare thoroughly the National Convention; failure to help the TUEL to step forward as a leading factor in the struggles of the workers and in the organization of new unions; failure to press energetically that the Party fraction fight for one union in the needle trades; almost complete abandonment of the trade union work during the election campaign; the persistent opportunist line in the co-operatives; and failure to connect the parliamentary struggle with the economic struggles of the workers; the appointment of Scott Nearing, who has strong pacifist and non-Leninist conceptions on imperialism to a very responsible position in our anti-imperialist work, failure to connect the war danger with the effects of the eco- nomic depression and capitalist rationalization (unemployment, wage- cuts, speedup, etc.); and failure to make those the outstanding issues in the election campaign; an outright opportunist and fatalistie an- alysis of the result of the presidential elections, which grossly under- estimates the manifested discontent of the workingclass and which develops a perspective that excludes the possibility of workingclass mass political struggles, short of a revolutionary crisis in the United States, as shown in the Daily Worker editorial of Nov. 8, and in the article of Comvade Pepper in the Daily Worker of Nov. 10, ete.” Since that was written the policy in the nedle trades has been * corrected by the C. I. after an appeal was made by the Minority. In all the Language sections, particularly the Jewish Fraction, a consis- tent Right Wing policy is being followed. The Majority of the Poleom is stubbornly pursuing its right wing policy and resisting correction. Prior to the VI Comintern Congress, the Majority openly re- sisted the decisions of the Ninth Plenum of the Comintern and the 4th R.I, L. U, Congress. Now the Majority organizes an open strug- gle against the Young Communist International. The Y. C. I. de- cision, which in agreement with the Comintern, is based upon a line of determined struggle against the Right danger, in the American Party, was held up by the Polcom Majority, and the N. E. C. of the League was refused nermission to send it out to the League units, with the consent of the majority leaders of the N. E. C. (Zam, Kap- Jan, etc.). Finally when they were compelled to send it out, by cabled instructions from the Y. C. I., the Polcom Majority sent an accompanying letter attacking the decision and declaring that the Y. C, I. is following a line contrary to the Comintern. RIGHT ERRORS OF THE MINORITY. The extent and seriousness of the right danger in the American Party can be seen from the fact that no section and no group in the Party is able to escape fully the making of right errors, with the objective and social factors making for the right danger we have dealt with above. The cause of the right danger is the reformist ideology dominating the labor movement of the U. S., the reflection of the influence of the corrupt aristocracy of labor upon the work- ingclass within our Party, the lack of heavy proletarian composition in the Party, weak contact with the most oppressed sections of the working class, insufficient training in Leninist ideology of the Party as a whole. The minority has discussed before the 6th World Congress of the C. I, the Right Wing errors which it has made. We refer here again to our wrong proposal to send an open letter to the S. P. which was unanimously accepted by the Poleom, which was correctly condemned by the C. I. as an opportunist error. We also refer again to our hesitation in putting into effect the R. I. L. U. and C. I. line on the question of new unions. This hesitation becomes even Jess excusable considering the fact that the Minority’s general line was fully in accord with the need of a new orientation in all fields of Party activities including the trade union field. We also wish to point out our share of the reesponsibility for the Party's failure to appreciate the vital imnortance of the Negro question and Negro work, but must also indicate that we responded readily to the cr! cisms and demands for a new line that came from the C. I. and Pro- fintern on the question. 3 Our own lack of clarity and consistency in the following out of the new line which we have militantly fought for immediately be- fore and since the February, 1928, Plenum of the C. E. C. is respon- sible for the fact that we have participated, in a larger or lesser degree, in several of the right errors of the Majority, namely; failure to bring the T. U. E. L. into the struggles and organization cam- paigns of the workers, failure to press hard enough for the estab- lishment of the local T. U. E. L. groups, the very serious failure to bring the R. I. L. U. in the foreground as the leader of militant trade unionism throughout the world (no R. I. L. U. section and other international sections, such as on Latin America in Labor Unity, ete.), acquiescence in some of the opportunist errors con- tained in the Party 1928 election platform, notably the agrarian section, and on the agrarian question generally, failure to fight with sufficient persistence against the Right wing line of the majority in the needle trades, lack of a clear understanding of the required strike strategy in the mining situation, lack of clarity on the need of having a definite class struggle declaration in the constitution of the new miners’ union. We ‘must also assume our full share of responsibility for our failure to compel the C. E. C. Majority to place before the Party the question of its slow growth, the deplorable state of the Party organization as much, and concrete measures for radically improving the situation. The minority does not wish to shirk responsibility for its failures and mistakes. On the contrary, the minority has already discussed its shortcomings before the Sixth World Congress and is now dis- cussing them with the Party. We fully accept the mandate of the Sixth World Congress which calls for the most thorough self-criticism, the exposure of mistakes and their causes for the purpose of correct- ing these mistakes. The way to correct these errors is the rejection of all remnants of reformist ideology in our midst, and to be con- stantly on guard against the reflection in our own ranks of the ideology of the corrupt labor aristocracy. POLCOM FIGHTS MINORITY The Polcom Majority refuses to correct its Right line and refuses to fight against the Right danger, the Majority fights primarily against the Minority, while pretending to fight Trotskyism. In all its statements on the Right danger and Trotskyism, the Majority devotes one sentence to declaring that the Minority are not Trotskyists, and paragraphs to prove that we are. This attack is factional demagogy carried out to conceal the Right danger in the Party. The Right danger—the carrying out of open opportunist policies—in spite of these smoke screens must be exposed as clearly in oyr Party as the ‘Trotsky danger has been exposed in the Comintern. The Right danger is the main danger before the Party. It is necessary to wage a determined struggle on two fronts against the Right danger and Trotskyism and for a correct Bolshevist line. THE COMINTERN AND THE RIGHT DANGER IN OUR PARTY In the latest letter of the E: C. C. I. to the C. E. C., referring to the declaration of the C. E. C. majority on the American decision, the C, I. declares: “In this declaration the C. E. C., does not put clearly before the Party membership the decision of the Comintern Congress its criticism of the Right mistakes of the American Party, and the proposals for enlarging the proletarian content of its membership. As you are aware, the chief direction to all sections, particularly the American Party, was for more self-criticism, but the state- ments of the C. E. C. enly enumerate the right wing mistakes criticized by the Congress. It makes no attempt to give a more detailed analysis and show the Party how to overcome them. This is absolutely insufficient. Instead, the declaration contains a certain amount of unwarranted self-praise for example, quoting the decisions of the Congress as ‘victory’ for the Party.” The E. C. C. I. has been consistantly and determinedly trying to correct the line of our Party. At the 9th Plenum of the C. I. and the R: I. L, U. Congress emphasis was placed on the organization of new unions by our Party and the T, U. E. L. In the letter of April, 1928, the E. C. C. I. emphasized the growing possibilities for struggle in the U. S. and corrected the line of our Party with regard to the socialist party, the F. L, Pfand the election campaign. At the 6th Congress the Right mista’ of the Party, the social com- position of the leadership were criticized and a new line laid down for Negro work. The Y. C. I. in its decision also corrected the N. E. C. and advised a critical attitude to the Right mistakes of the Party Executive. Since the Congress, the E. C. G. I. has sent a cable correcting the mistake of the Party on the needle trades convention and has now sent a letter criticizing the statement of the Polcom g Right danger in our Party is concretely shown ~ { Majority on the Comintern decision and their claims regarding Comintern support for their group. The Comintern is striving to correct the Right errors of our Party and is striving to bring about the erystalization of a Bolshevist proletarian leadership for our Party. The Party must be unified in the struggle against the Right Danger and Trotskyism, for an effective struggle against the war danger and rationalization on the basis of the rejection of the Right line of the majority of the C. E. C. and the proletarization of the Party and Party leadership, ATTITUDE OF C. I. TO PARTY GROUPS. Congress gave them political support and in their declaration of Oct. 2nd Majority declared: “The minority has put forward the demand that the Congress should send an open letter of criticism to our Party and change its leadership. This demand has been rejected. The Congress FIDENCE IN THE C. E. C. THE COMINTERN IS CON- TINUING ITS POLICY OF SUPPORTING POLITICALLY THE PRESENT MAJORITY.” (emphasis ours). Tha E. C. C. I. corrects this false statement of the Polcom Majority as follows: “The formulation could easily lead to the interpretation that the Congress has expressly declared its confidence in the Majority in contrast to the Minority. BUT THIS IS NOT SO. THE CONGRESS REFRAINED FROM EXPRESSING ITS OPINION IN FAVOR OF ONE GROUP OR THE OTHER. ON THIS QUESTION NOWHERE IS THERE TO BE FOUND ANYTHING IN THE DECISIONS OF THE CONGRESS.” (Emphasis ours). This proves that the Comintern supports no group in our Party. The Cemintern then further declares: “The E. C. C. I. fears that the various limitations stipulated for the discussion in your declaration, particularly in view of the present situation in your Party, could lead in practice to a false interpretation and inadmissable restriction upon freedom of dis- cussion. The E. C. C. I. decided in its session of November 12th that: “THERE SHOULD BE COMPLETE FREEDOM OF DISCUSSION WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE DE- CISIONS OF THE COMINTERN AND THE PARTY STATUTES.” (our emphasis). “Moreover, the E. C. C. I. deems it necessary to declare that it will defend the Minority from any organization measures directed against it during the course of the discussion. “To ensure a sufficient period of time for discussion, the E. C. C. I. frther decides: “The Party C. E. C. is recommended to postpone the Party Congress till February, 1929, and to open the Party discussion in the beginning of December of this year.’ “By postponing the Party Congress the E. C. C. I. desires to give the whole membership an ample opportuntiy to examine and thoroughly discuss all the problems concerning the American Party.” All of this clearly proves that the Comintern insists upon a seri- ous political discussion of all Party problems from the point of view of the fight against the Right danger. The Minority fully endorsed this effort of the E, C. C. I. to force a full discussion of these prob- lems as a means for a correction of the Party line. At the 6th Comintern Congress in our document the “Right Danger in the American Party,” we fully enter into the problems before our Party, the errors that have been made and the objective and subjective basis for these errors. Following out its correct analysis, the Minority arrived at the conclusion that the present leadership of our Party—the Lovestone group leadership was a Right wing leadership. On the basis of the policies carried out by the Poleom Majority since the 6th Congress, the Minority is con- vinced of the correctness of this estimate. The E. C. C. I. stated in its decision, that: “The E. C. C. I. is of the opinion that the charge against the Majority of the C. E. C. of the Party of representing ‘a Right line is unfounded. The E. C. C. I. does not want to imply hereby that some errors, among them Right errors, have not been committed by one side as well as by the other side; it thinks, however, that this, as well as other contentious questions of the Party, can be bent examined and decided at the next Party Con- gress of the Workers Party of America.” The Comintern decided that the Right danger is the main danger in our Party, that a struggle must be carried on against the danger and that fresh proletarian elements must be drawn into the Party leadership. The E. C, C. I. urged a full discussion of all disputed problems to be taken up by the Party in the discussion and in the Party Convention. 4, TRADE UNION WORK. The Capitalist Offensive. ‘The capitalist offensive in industry is being intensified. Wage cuts have been effected in many industries chiefly among the semi-skilled and unskilled (mining, textile, metal, shoe, oil, rubber, clothing, ete.). The speed up is being constantly more widely and drastically applied. Unemployment bears heavily upon the workers. An intensified cam- paign of class collaboration illusions is developing. Fierce attacks by the employers, fully supported by the Government, and delivered against the workers wherever they make an organized stand, (smash- ing of the U. M. W. A,, attacks on the new unions in the mining, textile, needle industries). Under this capitalist pressure discontent spreads among the workers, especially among the great masses of unorganized semi- skilled and unskilled. hhis reaches open expression in the bitter struegles in all sections of the mining industry; strikes in the textile industry (New Bedford, Paterson, Kenosha, etc.); shoe industry (Lynn); rubber industriy (Mass., N. J.); auto industry (Flint); steel industry (Canton); ete. With a sharpening of the industrial - depression within the coming months, bringing fresh attacks upon the workers’ standards, ¢he perspective is for a deepening and widen- ng of the workers’ discontent and an intensification of their strug- gles. The A. F. of L. leaders do not and cannot organize and lead the discontented masses. The A. F. of L. leaders constitute one of the main obstacles for the organization of the unorganized. The old trade unions degenerate and crumble in,the face of the employers’ offensive. The recent convention of the A. F. of L., the most reac- tionary in its history, marked a fresh stage in the company union- ization of the trade unions. Registering the breakdown of the Miners Union, and an actual decline in membershin (despite contrary claims), It surrendered more than ever to American imperialism by full en- dorsement of the government’s war program, complete acceptance of capitalist rationalization, failure to take real steps to organize the unorganized, and by intensification of the war against the left wing. In this reactionary conrse the Socialist trade union leaders have now become practically indistinguishable from the Green-Woll clique. The old trade unions continue their decline, The situation characterized by a growing discontent among the workers and a total failure of the old unions to crystalize and lead this discontent, demonstrates the correctness of the line laid down for our trade union work by the last plenum of the E. C. C. I. and then by the 4th WorldCongress of the Profintern, that our main orientation mvt be based upon organizing the unskilled and semi- skilled, that this work of organization falls upon the left wing (T. U. E. L.), led by the Communists, and that for its accomplish- ment we must establish new unions in the unorganized and semi- organized industries, without however, slackening our work in exist- ing mass trade unions. The launching of the new unions in the mining, textile and needle trades industries marks 2 new era in the American class struggle. THE RIGHT LINE OF THE C. E. C. IN TRADE UNION WORK. The C. E. C. majority follows a right wing line in trade union work. Because of its pegsistent underestimation of the discontent of the workers and their willingness to struggle, it fails to utilize the opportunities to organize and lead the workers in struggle. Concretely this right wing line expresses itself, by (a) failure to push aggres- sively the building of the new unions, (b) abandonment of the strug- gle in th old unions, } In th mining industry a most ser‘ous error was the failure to answer Lewis’ proposal to accept wage cuis by launching a general campaign to win away the masses from the U. M. W. A. and for the N. M. U. to assume directleadership i nthe struggle for the best possible local wage settlements. The C. E. C. ignored the miners’ im- mediate economic struggle and allowed the Lewis machine to par- tially reconsolidate its forces, thereby making the progress of the new union vastly more difficult, Other errors and wrong tendencies were, (a) practical abandoment of mining struggle (dilettantism) in face of present difficulties, (b) no Party building in campaign, (c) substitution of Party fractions for union committees, (d) vague organization programs, (¢) failure to build real unions on dues paying basis—tendency to linger on as a sort of loose propaganda organization, (f) crass factionalism, ete. Serious shortcoming and mistakes in building the new textile union were, (a) tote! lack of Party nuclei ond Left wing building by Boston District in New England tetile centers, consequently we had to go into the New Bedford strike without organization, (b) failure to build mill committees during strike (result no real grip on masses) (c) insufficient preparation for convention (helter skelter gather. ing of “delegates”) instead of securing a delegation on the basis of @ campaign to build mill committees, (d) factionalism in selection Continued on Next Page ‘ 4