The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 20, 1930, Page 4

4 + Published by the Comprodaily Publish Co. 1 a except Sunday, at 26-28 Uni ‘age Four are, New York City, N. Y. Telephone ay 16 Cable: “DAIWORE Address and mail all checks to the Daily Worker, 26-28 Union Square, New York, N. ¥. OPPOSITION TO SHOP PAPERS AND THE RIGHT DANGER right danger is known at our ruggle are at the tail end of the s is expressed clearly | mbers of shop yp papers. ere was a shop nucleus he reorganization of t three years ago the ques- shop bulletin came up for ist of the members of the opposed to issuing such bulletin, > hat would endanger of discussion a { ed but not in the name but under the name of a Progres- The District Executive Committee | bulletin to be issued under the | the result was wee up. dered e Roahulle Inexcusable Attitude. r ago the question came | hey will not partici- the bulletin bec r their jobs. Many meet- in trying to convince those ee of a shop bulletin | ry on effectively Communist work in the | that t would e | j Violently expressed | | | were | | ticipating | land Conve s’ discussion the first issued, but only ucleus par- cles to the three m¢ he bulletin was out t in that g news ar two comrade: bulletin. Since then there tween the section of the members of t takes about two or tl issuance’ of one nu Workers The workers in sive, radicalized, against the social t ee months between the ber and the other, Are Radicalized. hop are quits to take up the fight t industry. adership, fight is nilitant spirit of progres- show courage and milita functioning as a brake to the th worker ‘A shop con sometime ago, organized in that shop 2 at the Cleve t due to the fact thi shop nucleus failed completely to give an leadership or guidance to them, the shop com- mittee has disappeared. This manif n of rooted out from our Party members. of the Commtnist Party must either be mili- tant fighters in, the interest of the workers, or they have no place in s of the revolutionary Party. If com s are not ready to take chances with their jobs they surely will not be ready for the revolution. tatives “chwostism” must be Members Leninist Conception of Party Questions By LEON PLOTT. (Continued) Lovestone’s Social-Democratic Conception of Inner Party Democracy the revolutionary labor move- that every opportunist who defeated ‘n the Party, whose rejected by the Party mem- bership and the authoritative organs of the Party has raised, as a means of covering up , the cry of “freedom the destruction of + the oppression of the Par Lenin, on num- erous occasions, found hurled against him the charge of being a bureaucrat, suppressing in- | ner Party democracy, of not permitting criti- , ete. As back as 1901, Lenin in his famous Brochur, “What is to be done,” ex- | posed the opportunistic character of the slogan | “freedom of criticism,” advanced by the | economists in their paper, "Rabotchlye Dyelo.” | After the second congress of the Russian So- cial Dem tic Party in 1903, Lenin again exposed the meaning of the charges of the Mensheviks and Trotsky of the “destruction of inner Party democracy,” of the “reign of martial law in the Par He again ex- d the opportunistic cloak of “freedom of criticism” and fought again the social demo- cratic conception of inner Party democracy advanced by the so-called “Workers’ Opposi- tion,” at the Tenth Congress of the C. P. S. U. It therefore nothing new when | his anti-Part of aa “Every attept at independent acti- vity and thought is suppressed, every ven- ture at self-initiative is frowned upon The Party leaderships are openly con- ceived as ‘rubber stamps’ and organs of factional support eo the ruling (Stalin) group in the leading Party (Revolu- tionary Age No. 3). tone resor' membe the Party | not permit him to advocate in our ranks anti- | Party views an dto undermine the Leninist | | | | \ to this demagogy because rship and leadership did foundation of our Party which would in- evitably lead us to social democracy. During the struggle of the ,Russian Com- munist Party against Trotskyism, Trotsky, too, resorted to demagogy in order to mislead the working class and the Russian Party. Trotsky wrote “In the last few years there is taking place a systematic destruction of inner Party democracy—contrary to ehe past traditions of the Bolshevik Party, in spite of the many decisions of the various Party congresses... the rank and file member of the Party cannot openly ex- press his views. “The mass worker in the Party is being suppressed. The mass worker keeps quiet, the rank and file member is shut up. . .” (Trotsky’s Platform submitted to the XV Congress of the C. P. S. U.). king similarity of views of Trotsky vestone flows from an idendity of pur- pose. Both of them put themselves above the decisions and opinions of the Party. Both of them, tho at different periods, try to turn the Party into what Lenin called “a debating :lub,” and were consequently met with the same resistance and determination of our Party membership to defend the Party and aphold the Communist International. To Love- stone the Party theerfore said, in the words of Lenin: “Don’t speak of freedom and equality when you mean freedom not to tarry out the decisions of the Communist In- ternational.” (Lenin, Vol. 25, False Speeches on Freedom, Rus. Ed.). When, at the XV Congress of the C. P. 3. U., Trotsky raised the cry for more Part jemocracy ,the answer of Comrade Stalin : Workers! Join the Party of Your Class! Communist Party U. S. A. 43 East 125th Street, New York City. I, the undersigned, want to join the Commu- aist Party. Send me more information, NAME ce ssecceecesenesecetecencescneseueeee Address .,..secscessecemecers Uit¥srereeees Occupation «. Age. Mail this to the Central Office, Communist Perty, 43 East 125th St., New York, N. Y. | the Soviet Union } the success of socialist construction was therefore correct when he sa “But what does democracy mean? Democracy for whom? If by democracy is understood freedom for a couple of in- telleceuals who drifted away from the revolution to blabble without limit, to have their own printed organ and so on, then such “democracy” we do not need, because this is democracy for an insignificant min- ority breaking the will of an overwhelm- ing majority.” Lovestone’s Predictions of ehe Approaching “Thermidor” Lovestone’s conception of inner Party demo- cracy is best rounded out in the a le of Roy—the leading theoretician of the International Right Wing—as appeared in the Revolutionary Age, No. 5. Trotsky’s predic- tion of the approaching Ahermidor stage of are today being repeated Lovestone and Roy. Love- peat the jubilations of the French bourgeoisie after the defeat of the French Revolution that the: “REVOLUTION EATS ITS OWN CHILDREN.” Lovestone and Roy state that this is also true concerning the Russian Revolution: “... The bourgeoisie gleefully watches the operation of the regime of terror in- side the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. They hope... the Revolution may once again “eat its own children.” THE MARCH OF EVENTS GIVES THE BOURGEOISIE APPARENT GROUND FOR THIS HOPE.” From the above, the conclusions are to be drawn that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is not leading the Russian workers and peasants to Socialism. On the contrary, like the French Revolution, the October Revolution is appreaching its Thermidor, when the Revo- lution will be destroyed by “eating up its own children.” This slander and counter-revolu- and re-echoed by stone and Roy | tionary poison is being repeated in a period when even our class enemeis have to recognize in the p of the Com- Soviet Union under the leadershi munist Party of the U. S. S. R. What, according to Lovestone, is the “regime of terror?” The refusal of the Russian Party to accept the political platform which de- manded the slowing down of the tempo of So- cialist Construction, the slowing down of the attack of the Kulak and other capitalist ele- n the country; a platform that spreads ism and underestimates the revolution- the eSoviet Union and their- ability to build Socialism. Such platform, if accepted, would have mea ntdisaster for the proletarian state and has already today been repudiated by the leaders of the right wing themselves. Lovestone considered it as a regime o fterror when teh Comintern and the American Party refused to accept the theory that American capitalism is exempt from the general developent of world capi or that we are entering in America in a “Victorian Age,” or that the opinion of a few factional leaders is above the opinion of the Com- munist International and the Party member- ship. It is not a regime of terror in the Party when we resist with all our might against those who try, to impose upon the Party social democratic, anti-Leninist, Hoover- ian ideas, and try to undermine the very foun- dation for those unprincipled opportunists who have lost their revolutionary consciousness and are going into the camp of the bourgeoisie. In place of Leninist determination and merci- less struggle against all opportunism, Roy and Lovestone propose: “The weak and wavering can be shifted to a less difficult point of the battle- frount .. . Why submit them to the sledge hammer of terror, thus making them ir- revocably lost to the revolution?” Opportunist and anti-Leninist views, wrong political line, is not to be corrected by the Bolshevik method of openly admitting the mistakes and corercting them, but thru “shift- ing to a less difficult point.” With a leader- ship that is wavering, Lovestone thinks the Party can lead the working class in the strug- gle against capitalism. Furthermore, Love- stone and Roy also think that the Party has no right to use disciplinary measures (which they call ‘terror’) against those who refuse to accept decisions and follow the line of the Party and the Comintern, and insist on their wrong position. Comrade Lenin explained well the reasons why the Party must fight against those who inisst on their wrong political plat- form, why the Party must determinedly fight even against the slightest deviation ‘and mis- take: “A small difference may acquire TRE- MENDOUS significance if it becomes the starting point for definitely erroneous views and if these erroneous views, being reinforced by fresh differences, are ac- companied by anarchistic action WHICH MAY LEAD TO A SPLIT IN THE EES. ROARS: | | Central Organ of the Communis LIEBKNECHT—Merciless Fighter Against Imperialism Party of the U. S. A. On Jan. 15, 1919 the socialist betrayers of Germany, the government of Noske, Ebert and Schiedemann, murdered this great leader of the proletariat. By JAMES W. FORD. ENERAL J. Christian Smuts, former — Pre- mier of South Africa, speaking recently in New York to an audience which included some of the “leading” Negro misleaders of Amer- ica, made a remark characterizing the native PARTY.” (Lenin, “One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward.) To cover up their opportunisri and their at- tempts to turn the Communist Party into a so- cial democratic organization, Lovestone and Roy come to the conclusion that Lenin himself gave his approval to the prepetuation of fractional- ism in the Party, to be lenient’to wrong poli- tical views, to grant the right to every Party member to follow an independent wrong po- litical line instead of the accepted line of the Party, Roy writes: “Lenin had combatted deviations to the right as wel as to the left ideologicall yon the basis of proletarian defocracy, but he neyer advocated violent suppression of op- posing views.” While it is true that during a period of dis- ion of certain queseions facing the Party it permissable to have different political opinions on the same question, however, after the discussion is over, and a decision given, the political line accepted by the Party is the line everyone has to follow. Any resistence to this line, any attempt to resort thru fac- tional means in the struggle aguinst the political position of the Party, must be merci- lessly combatted, even to expulsion from the Party. Lenin, more than dnyone else, insisted on merciless struggle of the Party against fac- tionalism, violation of discipline, not hesitat- into to use even expulsion, by “To establish strong discipline within the Party, and to achieve e greater measure of unity thru the elimination of factionalism, the Congress instructs the Central Commiteee, in case of any viola- tion of discipline or the revival of faction- « alism, to take all measures against it. even expulsion from the Party.” (Lenin in a resolution at the X Congress of the C. P. S. U. against, the factional activities of the “Workers’ Opposition.”). E Thus, inner democracy is a means thrus which the Party membership participates in the work and execution of all tasks facing the Party, correcting the mistakes of the Party and thereby strengthening our influence among the wide masses of workers. How- ever, those who consider Party democracy as a cloak for. their anti-Party activities and spreading social democratic views, must be mercilessly combatted with all the means at the disposal of the Party. Those incurable opportunists, like Lovestone, who refuse to subordinate themselves to the Party and the Comintern, by their very actions, put chem- selves outside the Communist Party. The Party must therefore be continuously on the look-out against any attempt to turn the Party into “a Debating Club,” or under the excuse of “freedom of criticism, demand the right to adyocate anti-Leninist theories. Of such individuals the Party must rid itself by all means, or it will cease #» be a Communist Party. “The Party is an organization based on voluntary membership, which would in- evitably fall apart, first ideologically, and later physically, if it would not clean it- self of such members who advocate anti- Party views.” Lenin, “Party Organization. and Party Literature,” Rus, Edition.) Negro Workers of South Africa and American Negro Misleaders masses of South Africa as “patient jackasses.” His aim since being in America has been to obscure the real conditions and the situation of the toiling masses of South Africa and the growing revolutionary struggle. These re- marks have called forth a number of “rebukes” from the Negro misleaders. General Smuts, the outstanding exponent of imperialist ex- ploitation of the natives of South Africa and a-war monger, has played his role well; the Negro misleaders have played their role equally as well. But the Negro workers as well as the white workers of America are very much concerned and interested in the situation in South Africa and the growing struggles of the working class, which is closely connected with their struggles in America. * What is the real situation in South Africa? South Africa is in economic crisis and chaos, the contending capitalist parties are pressing down harder and harder upon the millions of toiling native workers and poor sections of the white workers who are in open revolt and struggle against capitalist an] imperialist op- pression, - The intensified struggle between the Na- tionalist and South African parties during the | recent elections in‘ South Africa was but a re- | flection of this situation. The Nationalist Party, the party of the Boer farmers, wishes | to deprive the natives of the most limited privileges which they already enjoy, reducing them to a position of voiceless serfs, driving them off the land into the cities and towns where they undergo more intense forms of in- dustrial exploitation. The South African Party, the party of the imperialist chambers of mines and the new city industrial bourgeois wish to use more subtle methods in the exploitation of the na- tives. Their methods is bribe and conclude an agreement with the upper sections of the na- tive intelligentsia. Thus they have intro- duced certain native bills which grant small privileges to the native intelligentsia against the interests of the native toiling masses. , The imperialist group (mining) who make their profits by exporting coal, etc., outside of South Africa, overseas, depends upon securing a cheap labor supply recruited from the tural sections. Thus the three cornered struggle between them goes on. The object of both parties, the South African and the National, is to check the developing native movement and to preserve imperialist exploitation in South Africa. The struggle going on between them is merely over the methods to be used go achieve this end. The downward trend of standards of the white workers anl the appearance of unem- ployed white workers with: miserable pay be- cause of the growing importance of the skilled native lavor is drawing the white and native workers closer together for common struggle ‘against exploitation. All of these conditions are producing intense class battles in South Africa. The recent Durban riots, the increased num- ber of strikes, including joint strikes of na- tive and ‘white workers, the development of trade unions under Communist influence as well as the growth of the Communist Party on the road to a mass native party are all signs pointing to more intensified class strug- gles and strike waves throughout South Africa. Role of the Native Intelligentsia and Reformists, 4 The fact is that the native intelligentsia has been small and weak still it is exerting a re- formist influence over the movement. During the trials of the natives who participated in the Durban riots last May Gumedi made a By Mati (in New York City only): By Mall (outside of New York City 7 Liebknecht a SURSCRIPTION RATES: 0 a year; > $6.00 a year; $4.50 six months; $3.50 six months; $2.50 three months $2.00 three months LENIN ON THE ROLE OF A COMMUNIST PARTY NOE: The excerpts printed below are taken from Lenin's famous brochure, “What is to be done?” which is included in Volume IV of the Collected Works of V. I. Lenin, just published by the International Publish- ers, 881 Fourth Avenue, New York. This vol- ume, published in two parts, includes all the writings of Lenin between 1900 and 1902, and covers the formative period of the Rus- sian Bolshevik Party. * ” * A “vanguard” which fears that conscious- ness will outstrip spontaneity, which fears to put forward a bold “plan” that would compel universal recognition even among those who think differently from us—are they not con- fusing the word, “vanguard,” with the word “rearguard ?” ; ; * ee] It goes without saying that we cannot guide the struggle of the students, liberals, etc., for their “immediate interes but this is not the point we were arguing about, most worthy Economists! The point we were discussing is the possible and necessary participation of various social strata in the overthrow of the autocracy; not only are we able, but it is our duty to guide these “activities, of the various opposition strata,” if we desire to be a “van- guard.” Not only will the students and our liberals, etc., take care of the struggle that will bring them up against our political regime; the. police and the officials of the autocrat government will sce to this more than any one. But, if “we” desire to be advanced democrats we must make it our business to stimulate in the minds of those who are dis- satisfied only with university or only with Zemstvo, ete., conditions, the idea that the whole political system is worthless. We must take upon ourselves the tasit of organizing a universal political struggle under the leader- ship of our Party in such a manner as to ob- tain the support of all opposition strata for, the struggle and for our Party. We must train our social-democratic practical workers to become political leaders, able at the right time to “dictate a positive program of action” for the discontented Zemstvo, for the discon- tented religious sects, for the offended elemen- tary school teachers, etc. For that reason Martynov’s assertion that “with regard to ARL LIEBKNECHT—that name brings fear into the hearts of the enemy, but a steeled determination to. carry on the fight in the hearts of millions of young workers in the ranks of the Young Communist Interna- tional. Karl Liebknecht was murdered Jan- uary 15, 1919, by the socialist betrayers. But he lives in the fighting spirit of the revolu- tionary proletarian youth the world over who are today conducting a bitter struggle against capitalist exploitation and the coming war. Karl Liebknecht is the founder of the revo- lutionary youth movement, From the moment he began his revolutionary activities he recog- nized that the youth must be drawn into the class. struggle. Despite the resistance of the social democrats, it was thru his efforts that the first congress of the revolutionary youth was held in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1907. There in a four hour fiery address he exposed capi- talist militarism and called upon the youth for an organized struggle against it. When at the outbreak of the World War, the “threat” to call a general strike it was merely a bluff to delude the native masses and to stifle their growing mass protests. It is this upper section of the natives that the South African bourgeoisie intend and are beginning to use to check and stifle the movements of the exploited native masses. In the same way the trade union movement i-trade union, semi-political movement, led by Kadalie has been dominated by the reformist policies of Kadalie who has now become a rank opportunist, Recently, dur- ing 1928, the Independent Labor Party of Eng- land sent down to South ica a. white re- formist by the name of Ballinger to further betray the native movement and to make it a harmless body against imperialism. He has fairly succeeded, the 1.C.U. has been split into numerous parts. The natives are becoming fairly acquainted with the tactics and role of the native reformists of the type of Kadalie who affiliated the I.C.U. to the rank labor- hating Amsterdam early in 1927. They are also loosing their illusions about the labor pol- icies of the Independent Labor Party of Eng- land as well as the British Labor Party. Rise of Revolutionary Native Trade Union Movement. During 1927 there was created, under the leadership of the Communist Party a revolu- tionary left wing trade union movement under the name of the Federation of Non-European Trade Unions of South Africa. This organiza- tion was affifated to the Red International of Labor Unions and has conducted many strug- gles of the natiye workers, principally in > Johannesburg exerting some influence in other parts. | The revolutionary movement i; prepgring a counter-offensive which will lead into open struggle againts the whole political system. The Communist Party of South Africa has put forward the slogan: For a Native oSuth African Republic. The white population is be- ginning to see that the domination of the white imperialist over the black natives is a vrop which upholds the exploitation of the white workers as well, whose conditions are becom- ing worse daily, and that with the imperialist domination removed the situation would be en- tirely different. This rising mass ‘native revolutionaiy move- ment in South, Africa is the thing that is throwing fear into the hearts of the South African and the British imperialist exploiters. General Smuts being the outstanding agent of imperialism in South Africa is raising the alarm; not only in South Africa but throughout the world, At the same time General Smuts, a war monger, and whose ‘long service as a member of the League of Nations places him in a fav- orable position to carry out the plans of pre- paring for war. This was being on the one hand for the division of the colonies and pro- mises to center in Afgica and on the other these we can come forward merely in the nega- tive role of exposers of abuses... we can only dissipate the hopes they have: in various government commissions’ —is absolutely wrong (our emphasis), By- saying this, Martynov shows that he absolutely fails to understand the role the revolutionary “vanguard” must really play. Is there scope for activity among all classes of the population? ... We would be “poli- ticians” and social-democrats only in. name (as very often happens); if we failed to real- ize that our task is to utilize every manifesta-~ tion of discontent, and to collect and utilize every grain of even rudimentary protest. This is quite apart from the fact that many mil- lions of the peasantry, handicraftsmen, petty artisans, ete, always listen eagerly to the preachings of any social-democrat who is at all intelligent. Is there a single class of the popu- lation in which no individuals, groups or cir- cles are to be found who are discontented with the state of tyranny, and therefore ac- cessible to the propaganda of social-democrats as the spokesmen of the most pressing general democratic needs? To those who desire to have a clear idea of what the political agita- tion of a social-democrat among all classes and strata of the population should be like, we would point to a political exprosure in the broad sense of the word as the principal (but of course not the sole) form of this agitation. We must “arouse in every section of the population that is at all enlightened a passion for political exposure” I wrote in my article “Where to Begin” (Iskra, No. 4, May, 1901), with which I shall deal ni greater detail later. “We must not allow ourselves to be discoyr- aged by the fact that the voice of political exposure is still feeble, rare and timid. This is not because those who are able and ready to expose have no tribune from which to speak, because there is no audience to listen eagerly to and approve of what the orators say, and because the latter can nowhere perceive among the people force to whom it would be worth while directing their complaint against the ‘omnipotent’ Russian government ... We are now in a position to set up a tribune for the national exposure of the czarist government, and it is our duty to do so. That tribune must be a Social-Democratic paper...” nd Communist Youtn social democrats betrayed the interests of the working class and became the open supporters of the capitalist. butchers and the “defenders of the fatherland,” Karl Liebknecht fought on more bitterly and determined’than ever. The revolutionary youth following his leadership called a special conference April, 1915, and there adopted a program of class against class in the struggle against imperialist war. Liebknecht did not,rest for a minute.. When drafted to serve in the army, he carried on his work within the armed forces’ forthe defeat of the capitalist class. On May 1, 1916, he came out dressed in civilian clothes to hold a huge demonstration against the war. He was arrested and sentenced to four and a half years’: imprisonment: “No general has ever worn his uniform with ‘so much pride as I will wear the prison garb. I am here not to defend myself but to accuse you. Not civil peace, but civil war is my slogan. Down with ‘the war!) Down with the government.” hand directed at the Soviet Union, the general quite logically raises the question of the “Red” revolt and the “Bolshevization” of the African natives... General Smuts served imperialism well during the last war by giving up African soldiers to the cause of imperialism. But also the natives are awakening and in South Africa have raised the slogan: Defend the Soviet Union. , : Negro Misleaders—Pickens Et Al. These are the things that General Smuts wishes to obscure from the workers of America at the same time utilizing the American Negro misleaders to assist in the obscuring. His main aim is to win the reformist Negro lead- ers of America in an alliance for influencing the movement of the Negro natives of Africa into reformist channels. The new rising Negro bourgeoisie and the Negro. intelligentsia of America are in a position to render this service to imperialism. Depriest, the millionaire Negro Congressman in the United States Congress, re- cently made his maiden speech in favor of and supporting “humane” and “civilizing” mission of the U. S. marines in Haiti: Professor Pickens. Another Negro misleader, more. dangerous, because of his subtle manner of issuing radical phrases, is Professor William Pickéns."At th® Second World Congress of the League Against Imperialism Professor Pickens astounded every- body by making a written declaration. to the congress which read in parts as follows: - “It is extremely futile to call for. ‘imme- a evacuation of Africa.’ That will not e, and it is certin that it would not be good for Africa or for anybody else. The ultimate evacuation of Africa by the military powers is desirable. The immediate. evacuation is not only impossible, but undesirable.” (em- phasis mine.) oe Not only this. Recently Mr. Pickens refers to General Smuts as the “most benevolent ex- ponent of this terribly cruel system” (of im- perialism in Africa). How. cruel itis, is. well’ known but how much these misleaders: have beén doing to keep it so is’ also becoming well known, And in their profession as lackeys to imperialism and to. General’ Smuts no better defenders could be found: in America than in the ranks. of the Negro niisleaders of Pickens, Depriest, Moton, DuBois, Johnson, ete, etc. But the revolution in’ the-world is: rising. Already the toiling masses of India have cried: Up with the’ revolution! They are kicking out the petty-bourgeois misleaders. In China too the toiling masses have had their experiences with the misleadets. The Negro toilers are also getting their wisdom from the same school of experience. The answer of the toiling masses of South Africa to General Smuts and to the American Negro migleaders and lackeys is: On‘with.the revolution! Down with imperialism! Out with the Negro reformist lJackeys! For a aetive South African Republic! ec ry *