If we examine the role of the Communists in the major textile strikes of the past five years, we shall be able somewhat to judge just how weighty a factor in the life of the American working class today is the Communist Party. We can prognosticate how it will behave in times of revolution.

The organization of the unorganized severely exploited workers of this country into militant unions is one of the most important tasks before the radicals in the labor movement. This task can not be accomplished without long and bitter strikes. If Communists are to do their duty they must participate in and lead these strikes. The American Federation of Labor and the I.W.W. have signally failed. Upon the Communists alone rests the responsibility for they alone have the program to meet and to overcome the forces that stand in the way. If now we turn to the textile field and see the Communist Party leaders not living up to their responsibility, it is not because of lack of general program but because of lack of understanding and of will to carry out the program. In short these leaders have not behaved as Communists.

Today there are wonderful opportunities for the Communists to permeate the whole American working class. This is a period of sharpened world situations, a time of deep economic crisis. Everywhere we have severe wage cutting and worsening of workers conditions. It would surely seem that the Communist Party would have better than ordinary chances to win leadership in strikes. Yet strangely enough, should we turn for example to the textile workers we see the Communist Party unable to make the slightest headway. It has abandoned the entire field to the reactionary officials of the American Federation of Labor. Wherever important strikes have broken out, since the Gastonia strike, as for example in Elizabethton, in Marion, N.C., in Danville, Wa., in Philadelphia, Reading and Allentown, Pa., in all of these strikes, without exception, the American Federation of Labor has led the workers to defeat practically unchallenged. Only recently in Lawrence did the National Textile Workers Union step into the situation.

Worse than that, our positive achievements are being lost. In Passaic in 1926 we had 12,000 members. In 1928 we had 25 members. New Bedford, soon after the strike, had about 2500 members. By 1930 this had fallen to one hundred. In the Gastonia region in 1929 there were over 2500 members. Perhaps ten remain now. When the National Textile Workers Union was organized in 1928 there were 5000 members in good standing. Today there are about 250 at the most. Such drastic loss of membership can not be traced to an unfavorable objective situation.

MILITANT WORKERS SUPPORT COMMUNISTS

Many honest and devoted Communists have given their all to create these achievements. But here and throughout our article we draw a sharp distinction between the officials of the Communist Party and the Communist membership. Around the Communist Party are gathered the best militants in the labor movement of this country. However when we ask ourselves why the Communist movement has not been more of a factor in American life we must weigh the fact that the loyalty and untiring efforts of these honest Communists are more than mollified by the policies and practices of their leaders. It is not too much to say that every single Communist accomplishment among the textile workers was made only after intense struggle inside the ranks of the Communist Party, struggles that had to be made against practically all the Communist Party leaders! This is the astounding truth of the matter as we hope amply to show in the course of this article.

And after all, this should not be so astounding, for the fact is we have never had a genuine Communist Party in this country. Originally the Communist Party was formed by the heterogeneous groups split off from the Socialists, the Syndicalists, the Anarchists and the “pure and simple trade unionists” of the American Federation of Labor. These groups brought over with them a good part of the baggage they were supposed to have dropped—their vulgarization of theory and lack of knowledge, their lack of experience in mass struggles as revolutionists, their corrupt inner organizational practices to which they had been accustomed in their former organizations.

It is true, peculiar American conditions have presented enormous objective difficulties to the growth of a real Communist movement. However counteracting these difficulties are extraordinary opportunities. Nowhere else is the rate of exploitation so high, the relative wages so low. Nowhere else are the workers worn out so quickly. In no other developed country have the workers so little security through social insurance. In no such country is there the racial oppression that exists against the Negroes, the downright peonage of the agricultural masses, etc. A Communist Party can grow certainly, but only if it understands thoroughly American conditions and the relations of these conditions to the international situation. To become a genuine Communist Party it has to root itself deeply among the most oppressed sections of the working class, express their needs, fight their battles, recruit its forces from their best elements.

MUST WIN CONFIDENCE

The Communist Party must win the confidence of these revolutionary workers who are willing to give their lives for the movement. To win this confidence the Party must have a leadership chosen to represent the movement because of tested ability and Communist behavior in mass struggles, profound Marxist knowledge, the highest level of honesty, integrity and courage.

This would have been the normal growth of the Communist Party. But the Communist Party was destined not to have that normal growth. In the United States there were large numbers of immigrants who at one time or another had felt the fist of Czarism. When the Czar was overthrown and after a few months the red flag of Bolshevism was raised these people flocked into the Communist movement by the thousands. In many countries among the poorest workers and peasants the highest enthusiasm was aroused by the events of the Russian Revolution. In America this happened as well. But in this country the Russian Revolution had a secondary effect which temporarily was decisive. For here the Russian Revolution attracted to the Communist Party many people not rooted in any degree in American conditions, who joined on a nationalist basis and who for a long time continued in their eighteen foreign language federations to lead their isolated nationalist lives. The controlling set among these members were not the coal miners, not the steel, not the textile workers but the highly skilled workers and many non-workers. Knowing they themselves could not attract the American masses these elements tried to push forward any intellectual who could speak “American” to be their “American face". Such intellectuals took the easy way out and compromised with these non-revolutionary sections of the Party. Indeed only such compromisers had any chance for leadership. Instead of entering into the serious work of winning the great mass of unskilled workers (poorest sections of the foreign born, Negroes, Mexicans, poor whites of the South, and such) the leaders were content to play around with the members the proletarian revolution in Russia brought to them. It was only with the Passaic strike that the Communist leaders were forced to make a show of organization of the unorganized. It was only when the Gastonia strike had actually occurred without their participation that any work in the South was decided on.

ORDERED TO JOIN A.F. OF L.

The Passaic strike can be traced to a wage cut of 10% handed down by the employers to an already impoverished textile proletariat. At that time I was working as a weaver in the nearby silk center of Paterson, N.J., where I had gone in order to start some organization work. Soon I was leading a silk strike in Hudson County, New Jersey. Simultaneously I was organizing in Passaic where almost a thousand members had joined the union.

Already I had, in two different “theses” presented the argument to the Communist Party center that the Communists should turn their face to the highly industrialized smaller cities of the country and should begin the job of organizing the unorganized workers. Of the millions and more textile workers, for instance, less than 5% were organized or rather disorganized in a dozen or so different unions, each small and futile, each fighting the other, each composed in the main of the most skilled workers. My program of action met with resistance.

Among the Communist Party leaders a fierce fight began to wage. One set (Foster, Browder, et. al.) took the position: To organize the unorganized was I.W.W.ism, was “dual unionism". They argued we had to work inside the American Federation of Labor only and that we could not afford to offend these A.F. of L. officials. Another set of “leaders” (Cannon-Dunne) argued if Communists were to lead strikes, the employers would never settle with the strikers, the strikers could never win. Therefore the Communists should never lead directly but must only influence the American Federation of Labor which the employers trusted. Finally, there was a third set of officials (Lovestone-Weinstone) who took no clear position. They refused to be against the organization of the unorganized but they refused to help. Their attitude was in effect: “If Weisbord wants to break his head, let him. If the strike succeeds we can claim it. We have nothing to lose.”

While the leaders argued I continued my work. Soon I was called in and told there was no more money to continue. The officialdom had reached a decision at last. I received a peremptory instruction forbidding me to issue union books and stamps and to turn over all the members to the American Federation of Labor. But life mocked their decisions. We were already on the eve of the Passaic strike. In spite of all the enormous difficulties, not the last being the conduct of the “communist leaders” the strike began.

THE STRATEGY OF THE STRIKE

The strategy of the Passaic strike was simple yet far reaching; This strategy was 1. to strike the key mill in passaic. 2. to extend the strike without undue haste but promptly to all the mills that had given the wage cuts. 3. to involve all the textile mills in Passaic, broadening and deepening the fight. 4. to penetrate into the silk and dye textile fields; 5. to extend the strike if possible into a general strike in Passaic. 6. to call the Paterson silk workers out thus eventually having 100,000 men solidly on strike in the compact Passaic County region. 7. to force an alliance with the other textile union 8. to enter vigorously into Lawrence, Massachusetts, and to coordinate with strike action there and nationally.

When one hits, one must be prepared to hit hard. Everything depended on our direct blow. We had to clean out instantly and completely the mill that was first struck. Here the employers entirely underestimated our preparations. At a given moment, our delegates inside the mill closed down their machines. The foremen dared not stop them. The eyes of all the workers were on them. Calmly they marched to a central point and together went to see the superintendent. We had anticipated the superintendent would fire them all and would try to force them to leave by the office gate. It was our job to get back to the workers and to see that all the workers came out together. When the delegation arrived the superintendent had already called in the chief of police with a dozen policemen. To their surprise however, the delegation instead of being “peacefully” shoved outside, fiercely fought off the police, and rushing back into the building called the strike. Our tactic was entirely successful. Like a vast sea the workers poured out of the mill and soon a great cheering picket line was marching in front of the mill gates. The shock troops had gone into action. In two days the Botany mill with over 5000 workers was completely tied up.

From then on the strategy worked almost according to clock. Deliberately we called out mill after mill. By the end of the first week all the textile workers whose wages had been cut were enthusiastically on strike. From the very start efforts were made to discipline and to solidify the workers and to give them confidence in their strength and power. When the strike started the union established its own proletarian police. These police wore orange bands on their sleeves and had full power to maintain order. Their work was so effective even drunkenness was stamped out for a while.

ALL MILLS SHUT

By the end of the fourth week all textile mills of Passaic were shut. By the end of the seventh week the strike was still sweeping forward, had enveloped the huge dye works in Lodi, had penetrated into the environs of Paterson, had laid the base for a general strike in Passaic. The crucial hour had arrived.

But the Communist leaders in New York never grasped this. They shrank from the extension of the strike. Their original pessimism resulted in a slow mobilization, a lack of national coordination, their early desire to “dump” the strike, to get rid of it in every possible way, their final ruin of the struggle.

During the first three weeks of the strike not a single person was sent to help me. The first person who was sent me by the Party (Jack Bryan) was later drove away as a labor detective and agent provocateur. No person of prominent ability was ever sent to aid the conduct of the strike itself. (All the “big” leaders stayed quietly at home or went abroad!) Only in the fourth week of the strike when all the initial difficulties were already overcome and the strike had grown to large and dramatic proportions did someone come to aid in the relief work.

FAILURE TO ENTER PATERSON

Worst of all was the failure to prepare for the extension of the strike into Paterson. By the time of the seventh week the situation in Paterson had become very favorable for strike action. At the same moment “peace” and “settlement” committees of all kinds began to spring up. Inside the Communist Party a deep controversy arose as to how to secure “peace". It was my position that the best road to “peace” under the circumstances was that of vigorous bold action in Paterson and Lawrence and that the entire forces of the Communist Party be mobilized for such an action.

It was a wonderful situation. Everyone expected this move. It was the winning move. If such a strike had been called in Paterson the whole city of Passaic would have walked out in general strike. The rubber workers were ready (about 1000 had joined our “Rubber Workers Union”, bear in mind) and there were about 10,000 rubber workers in Passaic and vicinity. The other industries, handkerchief, tobacco, clothing, etc., would have quickly followed the rubber workers. As it was, over 300 workers spontaneously quit the Garfield Manufacturing Company and struck for more wages and for better conditions. As did 250 workers who came out of the very large silk dyeing mill in East Paterson of their own accord. The strike fever was growing. Urgent calls came from workers delegations to come to Paterson. Without Paterson we could not hold effectively the 4000 dye workers out in Lodi. This was the greatest time in the history of the strike. It also marked the greatest failure of our Party. Had the Paterson strike occurred the strike would have quickly ended in a victory.

TRUSTING IN “PEACE”

Instead of this path, the Party leaders took the course of believing and trusting in the efficacy of the “peace” committees. Every rumor of “peace was magnified into a roar. Such “militants” as Robert Dunn, A. J. Muste, Sidney Hillman, Rabbi Wise, Senator Borah were feverishly consulted. Phantastic illusions were conjured up. The result was disastrous. The Paterson campaign died still born. The Lawrence campaign died of inertia. At a time when every moment counted, action was suspended. The necessary breathing space was given to the employers. They launched a terrific offensive. Almost 700 armed men entered the field. A line of bayonets was flung before the East Paterson dye mill. The union headquarters was raided. The leaflets calling for the rubber workers strike were seized. All the leaders of the union were arrested and held under enormous bail. A vigilantes’ committee headed by churchmen was formed to drive us out of the city. The sheriff declared “riot law". All meetings were broken up Picket lines ended. Civil Liberties for the strikers vanished. Tons of propaganda against the strikers were poured out from Washington, from Trenton, and from a host of other places. Red White and Blue Societies distributed constitutions to hungry strikers. National Security League red-baiters and notorious labor provocateurs appeared on the scene. The courts turned out injunctions, eviction notices and criminal convictions by the score. All possibility of any extension of the strike was wrecked and from then on we were steadily put on the defensive. The peak of the strike had been definitely reached.

LEADERSHIP IN PANIC

The first attach of the employers threw the Communist central leadership into a panic. I shall never forget the day I was called in from the field early in the strike (This was in June. The strike lasted till December-January.) The strike then was healthy and strong. Positively no workers were back at work. I was solemnly informed by Foster that a special decision (originated by “Bill” Dunne) had been made in Chicago for me to carry out: namely, “Since the Passaic Strike was lost". (these were the exact words that began the decision) the strikers should be put on a chartered boat, taken to Boston, and marched through the textile towns of New England as a “demonstration.”

This was not lunacy. It was their method-under phrases of “demonstrations” of course—of liquidating the strike of dumping it off their shoulders. Loyal as I was to the principle of strict Party discipline I refused to carry out this decision. It was never carried out.

I have mentioned in passing how every effort was made to drive the leadership out of the strike. Employers, government, churches, vigilantes’ committee, and even the officials of the American Federation of Labor tried their hand at it, but to no avail. In the meantime as the strike wore on we made efforts to get into the American Federation of Labor. We had a two-fold purpose: first to unite with the millions of workers inside the A.F. of L. and second to throw out those officials who separated the workers and with their class collaboration policies served as labor lieutenants of the employers. In the course of events we had raised a huge movement to compel the officials to affiliate us to the American Federation of Labor.

The A.F. of L. officials were not averse to taking in our members. They desired nothing better than to go into Passaic and to choke off the strike. The employers knew this. That is why they themselves tried in every way to get the A.F. of L. into the situation. But one thing stood in their way, the Communist leadership in the field. The mill owners then declared they would treat with the A.F. of L. but not with the Communists. The A.F. of L. officials declared they would take in the strikers, but Weisbord would have to leave.

This bait the Communist Party leaders in New York swallowed hook, line and sinker. Their gloom turned to glee. They declared the terms of the A.F. of L. to take in the strikers but to throw out the Communists spelled victory. They declared they had positive guarantees the mill owners would settle with the strikers if I left and that the American Federation of Labor officials would not break the strike, that it was a “recognition” of the Communists in the labor movement, etc.

Led to believe settlement depended only on my withdrawal, led to believe that I would soon return to Passaic and would come back to the union at the earliest possible moment, I felt it necessary to retreat. The Communist Party officials had united on a motion to the effect that our affiliation to the A.F. of L. with the removal of the Communist leaders “was a distinct victory for our policy". This I voted against. I proposed the following: “The proposal to join the United Textile Workers in form and manner decided is a retreat. If it was not a question of facilitating this kind of a settlement (just and speed settlement) we would not at this time and in this manner join the U.T.W.” This motion was defeated. The Communist Party officials had their way. No settlement came. The strike dragged on four more weary months. Soon the textile organizations collapsed.

NEW BEDFORD STRIKE

A year and a half later, in April 1928, the New Bedford strike broke out. At that moment I was in Russia, 4000 miles away, when I received a cablegram that a strike had broken out and that I must return to America to participate in it. All of the Communist officers were in America at the time but not one would enter into the strike. These leaders had worked out a convenient theory of “division of labor between brain and brawn". They could no longer deny the necessity of organizing the unorganized but they violently fought against their doing it. They were too big for the work, to brainy for such low tasks.

Thus when the important New Bedford strike broke out these leaders were only too glad to allow two honest rank and file Communists who were in the field and who wanted to do such work, to carry on alone. These two organizers aided by the local Communists in Boston did the best they could under the circumstances. Indeed it was their untiring work that at the crucial moment really compelled the officials of the independent union there to count the strike vote before the eyes of the voters and to announce the strike was on. (This independent union, the American Federation of Textile Operatives, soon joined the A.F. of L.)

The first immediate problem was what should be our relations to the union in the field, now in the American Federation of Labor? Here the Communists in the field at once adopted a correct policy. Since the A.F. of L. union had but 2,500 out of the 30,000 strikers, our job was to go in directly to organize the unskilled workers not admitted into this union. Since the A.F. of L. officials refused picket lines, etc., we ourselves were to carry on the militant work of the strike. Since the A.F. of L. heads had at first refused to organize relief or defense for anyone but their own members, we were to undertake this. All the time however, making it clear that, far from disrupting the strike, we were really organizing it in every possible way. Far from bringing disunity we urged united picket lines, tried to cooperate with the members of the A.F. of L. union.

PARTY LEADERS INTERVENED

How different was the situation in Paterson later (winter 1928) when the New York leaders of the Communist Party personnel intervened. In Paterson also there was an independent union, the Associated Silk Workers Union. Before the strike (continuing the false policy of Passaic), our comrades had actually tried to get the independent union to join the A.F. of L. This move the officers of the Associated resisted on the ground that the A.F. of L. was too reactionary. Thus it was not the Communists but the really conservative officers of the union who appeared radical. Matters were made worse by the Communists declaring against the coming strike, while the officials posed as being for it. In reality these officials were against the strike and as soon as the strike began, they told the workers quietly to go back to work. Now the original blunders of the central leadership of the Communist Party were intensified. No effective efforts were made to expose the Associated officials. Instead of mobilizing the workers, the New York Communist Party leaders attempted to win over the Associated officials. To show their friendship to these officials, the Communist Party heads actually forbade the National Textile Workers union, whose secretary I then was, to go into Paterson to organize the non-unionized silk workers there. When I proposed that the National Textile Workers Union start organizing work in Paterson, to organize those not in any union only, and through pressure from without as well as pressure from within to push aside the conservative officials and to allow the workers in Paterson a chance to win their strike, I was told that to organize the unorganized was to break the strike!

As a result of the many errors of the Communists in charge and of the clever maneuvers of the conservative officials, the strike petered out very soon in Paterson. To cap it all the Communist Party chiefs decided to tell the workers to go back to work while the strike officially was still on. The left-wing made up of Communists and sympathizers,—found itself entirely isolated. When the officials of the union eventually forced a split relatively very few workers came with us.

Fortunately no such policy as the above was pursued in New Bedford. And the result was entirely different. Here we were able to take the leadership in this valiant struggle lasting six months. Thousands of unorganized workers flocked to our banner.

In the wage cutting campaign of 1928 in the cotton mills of New England the employers had adopted the following line of attack. First to give wage cuts to some of the outlying places. There was some discontent but no adequate resistance. Then the wage cut was given in March to 28,000 cotton workers in Fall River. Then wage cuts came to New Bedford, the very heart of the cotton industry of the north.

WERE UNPREPARED

When the wage cutting first reached Fall River the militants were caught without preparation, since the Passaic strike the Communist Party bureaucrats (represented by Ballam) had abandoned all textile work, and the workers were forced to accept the wage cut without struggle.

When the indignant resistance of the New Bedford workers forced the strike it was plain what our strategy had to be namely (1) to re-open agitation in Fall River and to mobilize all forces to extend the strike there. (2) to penetrate into the valleys of Rhode Island and with the extension of the strike into Fall River to coordinate this action in Rhode Island and in all the mills where wages had been cut. (3) to mobilize all forces into a national movement to support the New Bedford strike.

This time no resistance was offered in the Communist Party center to this line. And for a very good reason. Practically every single Communist Party leader of importance had packed up his bag and had gone to Moscow. The Center was deserted. Perhaps it was better so. The blunders that were committed in Paterson later were not committed then in New Bedford. Nevertheless without these leaders nothing could be done on a national scale. The result was no effective extension of the strike in Fall River could take place. There was no one to pay any attention to our desperate plea for capable organizers to be sent into the field in time into Fall River and elsewhere. The organizers already overburdened in New Bedford had to take upon themselves the job of preparing strike action in Fall River as well.

In Fall River we accomplished truly heroic work but due to our isolation and lack of national support and due to the very excellent preparations of the employers when the strike in Fall River did break out and over a thousand workers did brave the holocaust of terror that burst upon them the strike was ruthlessly, murderously crushed. And the only hope of extending the New Bedford strike and thus forcing an early victory came to an end. Let us hope that the boys in Moscow turned at least once in their sleep when they heard the news.

In New Bedford, too, sharp events were taking place. The nearby towns of Massachusetts were emptied of police to reinforce those of New Bedford. From Fall River, from Taunton, from Brockton, from Quincy, from all over it seemed, they poured into the strike area. Hundreds of strikers were arrested at a time. Even the militia were called out. For the property of William Morgan Butler, of the Republican Party, sir, was at stake. However, the strikers’ lines held firm. Their spirit remained good. The militia were soon won over by the strikers. They began to murmur against their service. They were withdrawn.

NO NATIONAL SUPPORT

The national support of the strike was so poor as to be worse than useless. In the matter of relief not only was it poorly handled but actually a decision passed which prevented the strikers from getting relief from any point outside of New England and a few other cities. In regard to defense even worse decisions were arrived at. Although almost 1000 arrests took place, no real national campaign was started. But far worse was the local policy. In a crucial moment of the strike the two local leaders who had carried on the work from the beginning (Murdoch and Beal) were arrested and faced trial. Our representative actually made a deal with the state prosection (so he confessed later) not to appeal the case of one of the organizers (Murdoch) provided the latter would be sentenced to two months in jail on one count instead of the possible maximum of six months on the three counts of the indictment. Most outrageous of all, the other leader Beal was actually ordered by the I.L.D. representative to plead guilty when he was innocent. And thus in the midst of the strike the principal Communist local leaders were jailed "by agreement". In the Communist center, I demanded we publicly repudiate this dastardly agreement. No public repudiation ever came from Cannon, I.L.D. head, or anyone else. An agreement was an agreement and though it cost but $100 to appeal the case, this was not done, though the strike be broken!

With such “national support” what could we do in the field? It is no wonder we could not win a full victory but only a partial one. There came a time when the workers became quite weary, when the A.F. of L. officials took a vote of their own members to return to work (although two more weeks out would have meant complete victory) when this vote failing the officials brought the greatest pressure to return to work, when the whole city was organized to crush the Communist forces in the strike, when a second vote was foisted on the workers and counted by the officials as a vote to return to work—at this time we could not hold the ranks of the workers longer. They had seen their leaders jailed “by agreement” with the Communist Party officials, they had seen themselves cut off from national relief “by order of the Communist Party leaders” they had seen the kind of national support they had received and in spite of their great respect and admiration for these organizers, they broke ranks, followed the A.F. of L. and returned to work. The strike was over. One hundred thousand workers got back 5% of the 10% of the wages that had been cut.

THE GASTONIA STRIKE

The last major textile strike was the Gastonia, N.C., in 1929. The significant story of Gastonia should be told. It cannot be told in this issue.

Certain painful conclusions force themselves upon us. The battle has to be waged on two fronts. At every crucial moment of the strike we have not only external, but internal struggles. Often the internal struggle is more costly. On the one hand we see the textile workers acting with the greatest courage and fortitude overcoming the obstacles, the brutality and cunning of the mill owners place in their way. We see the Communist Party members striving loyally to help them. On the other hand we see a little clique of men calling themselves Communist leaders in reality neither Communists nor leaders. Resembling the officials of the Socialist Party or of the A.F. of L., they, like old men of the sea, ride on the back of the workers movements, strangling its every effort.

But there is no need to despair. Let the Fish Committee howl as it may. The American workers are not so backward. There will be formed through the course of such struggles and in a hand to hand conflict with these old men of the sea, the necessary Communist Party which the workers must have to be victorious.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

That the limitation of armaments and all other so-called peace conferences are just for domestic consumption in the respective countries is again proven by the announcement of the United States War department made public on May 13.

The plans of the War Department call of an immediate drafting into the army all workers between the age of 18 and 45 as soon as war is declared, of the draft law which has already been drawn up for presentation!

The plan as announced by the War Department is worked out to the smallest detail including the demobilization of the troops after the war is ended.

Workers! The capitalist class of the United States as well as the capitalists of every other country are preparing for another world wide blood bath. When war is declared it is the duty of all militant and class conscious workers to conduct activities for the defeat of their own imperialist masters at the same time fraternizing with the worker-soldiers of the other countries (the allies of the United States and the so-called enemy).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cannon took a chew of our theses and the result was political indigestion followed by a gaseous emission in the form of Shachtman’s article in the Militant of May 15th. Poor Shachtman get so excited, my! how excited. And well he might, for his members are beginning to realize his fight against the Fosters and Lovestones is like the fight between Tweedledum and Tweedledee:

“Tweedledum and Tweedledee agreed to have a battle.
For Tweedledum took Tweedledee’s nice new rattle.”—or something like that.

“Honest Jim” Cannon, filled with “principles” is very angry we use the title “Adhering to the International Left Opposition". By what right? he asks. By far more right than you have to say you are part of the Communist International, by the right of our political line, by the right of our deeds.

To the marionnette Max, our theses contain nothing “new". Now, Maxie, isn’t it “new” to have a group, adhering to the International Left Opposition, to take a clear stand on such questions as the “Struggle for Negro Emancipation” for example? Where is your position? Why did you wait over a year after the crisis began before even letting others write an unemployment program for you? Did you not yourself admit once that only our group had been correct in analyzing the situation in the U.S. as one containing the premises of quick and sudden radicalization depending to a very great extent on upon what we, that is, the Communists, did?

But “Honest Jim” cannot answer these questions. He must resort to drawing red herrings, Shachtman starts the article in his usual “smart alecky” style by claiming we have “a baker’s dozen of supporters". One would think reading Shachtman that hundreds of thousands of workers were rallying to his banner! Actually the membership of the Cannon group is not many times larger than the Communist League of Struggle. Besides, we shall grow, Maxie dear. And your argument is just like that of Lovestone and of Foster.

The old bogy of Urbahns, Paz, etc., is taken from its dusty nook in the garret and waved as a flag to prove that we are the supporters of the positions of those individuals. What nonsense! Then Maxie (suddenly a left winger) hollers “No united front with the right wing against the Party!” Does Morgenstern and Goodman agree to this? The Party will not defend them. What do you propose to do to save them? Why don’t you call a united front? When will you do it, when it is too late? If Morgenstern and Goodman go to jail it will be due as much to your treacherous conduct as to the I.L.D.’s. Yes, we are ready to make united fronts with all right wing groups, even with you.

In the second place, as we pointed out in the previous issue of the Class Struggle although Cannon and his colleagues are quire insistent in opposing a united front against the official Party, they periodically make a gesture in that direction (Cannon’s agreeing to speak at Bert Miller’s united front meeting on India, at which other scheduled speakers included Miller, Bert Wolfe, Lore, Budenz, etc.)

We can quite correctly claim that Cannon and Shachtman’s refusal to participate in the day by day struggles of the workers is a fundamental part of their general orientation, not a development since they have attempted to hide under the cloak of Trotsky’s prestige. Examine the record of Cannon and Shachtman in the party, and what do you fund? neither of them (and they are the leaders of the Cannon group) have since they joined the Communist movement participated in any struggle of the workers—major or minor.

Cannon was always a swivel chair warmer while in the Party and a mighty poor one at that. Shachtman was first an office executive (like Herberg, Zam, and Darcy of the Young Communist League (editor of the Young Worker)). While later he held a similar position in the International Labor Defense (editor of the Labor Defender). It would be surprising indeed if men with such a background would take the initiative or even become the tail-end of any serious struggles on the part of the working class.

Shachtman weeps how Weisbord helped Lovestone expel him and his aides from the Party in 1928. While we are on the question of expulsion, where were Cannon and Shachtman when Trotsky was attacked by Stalinist henchmen in the year 1923?

At that time Cannon was a member of the Political Committee, the leading body of the Communist Party of the U.S.A. That body as well as the Central Committee of which Cannon was also a member on many occasions discussed the differences within the C.P. of the S.U. It was not until 1928, five years after Trotsky was attacked do we find Cannon “convinced” that Trotsky is correct and Stalin wrong. Although not in any way near such a strategic position as Cannon to read the necessary documents, Comrade Weisbord came out for the Left Opposition only one year later than Cannon and Co. Why did it take Cannon and Shachtman five years to “discover” Trotsky is correct, even though they had the opportunity of examining his program before anyone else in the American movement?

Nowhere in his article does Shachtman even make a serious attempt to answer the points raised by us. He merely mentions some of our charges and calls them untrue. They include the role of betrayal of Cannon in the New Bedford strike and Cannon’s political relationship to Bill Dunne. Further elaboration of these two points are to be found on other pages in this issue of the Class Struggle (see Current Comment and Weisbord’s article on textile strikes, pages 4 and 5).

The Cannon-Shachtman group realizes that it has no leg to stand upon. Its role in the American Communist movement (with the exception of printing some of Trotsky’s works) is a purely barren one. It has no historical excuse for existence and will disappear from the political scene much sooner than many workers realize. --P.

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Riot and Revolution. These words signalize the political situation throughout the world. The developing Revolution in Spain still remains as the most important event during the past month. An analysis of the Spanish developments will be found in another place of this issue.

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In Egypt, Cairo was turned into a shambles when close to 600 people were shot down by the governmental troops. The workers and students are in the lead in battling the forces of oppression.

In China, nothing the imperialists do can prevent the disintegration of the central Nanking government. Civil war among the military cliques has broken out again. The ruling class again is showing that it cannot rule The masses plunged into the greatest conceivable misery are striking back. The Communist movement gathers strength. In the cities now the proletariat also is stirring. What must be effected is a conjuncture of proletarian and peasant forces under the leadership of the proletarians. This will insure the moving forward of the whole chain of revolutionary events in China .

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Two sets of antagonisms mark the struggles in Latin America; on the one hand the titanic rivalry between the two imperialist giants, U.S. and British imperialisms, on the other hand the struggle of the colonial masses for liberation from all imperialist rule.

In Argentina the wildest rumors prevail. Another palace revolution is brewing against Uriburu. The last such revolution resulted in the successful U.S. imperialism replacing Britain’s favorite, Irogoyen, with its own puppet Uriburu. With the Prince of Wales’ trip to Argentina, what more natural event than that a new “revolution” against the U.S. puppet dictator should result? The Price of Wales is, of course, a revolutionist, but not at home, thank you. However, the masses of Latin-America are growing more and more weary of the role they have to play. The anti-imperialist struggle increases with greatest intensity.

In Lima, Peru, the strike of the taxi men as spread to Callao and to other parts of Peru where all workers are participating. Police shot into the strikers killing one and wounding several. Martial law has been declared.

The valiant Nicaraguan rebels have been reinforced by active troops in Honduras. The situation is of great importance, much underestimated by the 13th street Communist Party in the U.S. A disciplined revolutionary army is built up in the heart of Central America. Important battles are being won. Secretary Stimson is beginning to squeal. We must aid these rebel forces. Let us get together all forces willing to send money or supplies or to aid in way to defeat the imperialist murderers, especially the Yankee government ones, of the Latin-American toiling masses.

The New York Times of May 16th reports the situation in Cuba as follows: “Rebellion in Cuba reported to Capitol. Havana hears country is on verge of outbreak.” The bloody dictatorship of Machado, tool of Wall Street, plus the increased resistance of the masses, greatly influenced by events in Spain and in Latin America, are bringing things to a head.

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The biggest situation in capitalist Europe, outside of Spain, remains the growing struggle between Germany and France. The German-Austrian Anschluss has been buttressed by a pact including Hungary and Italy. Against this alliance, France is mobilizing all resources for the sharpest kind of a fight. All the old war hatreds flare forth as before. The last imperialist robber war solved nothing. The next imperialist war now being prepared must be met with civil war of the toilers against all exploiters.

The position of Ramsay MacDonald, “labor” bloodhound for the British robbers is a delicate one. One the one hand, in any really critical situation England must support France against Germany. On the other hand, French imperialism must be countered on the continent, Germany must be put in a position to pay its war debts to England, etc.

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For the last ten years Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria has been receiving large sums of money from the German government. This has just been exposed by a Communist member of the Reichstag.

It seems that the Kaiser had promised Ferdinand 25 million marks for his own personal use if Bulgaria should enter the war on the side of Germany. The bloody tyrant agreed, war was declared and the “human cattle” delivered for slaughter. After the war Ferdinand demanded payment. The Republican Government of Germany carried out the agreement.

But this did not yet satisfy Czar Ferdinand. The inflation period in Germany wiped out the purchasing power of what he had received. So he demanded a new payment in gold. From 1924 to 1926 three million gold marks were paid him. In February 1931 the Bruening government agreed to give him 500,000 gold marks annually.

Only one thing more remains to be said. The “socialists” raised not one word in protest! --A.W.

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HELP SUSTAIN THE CLASS STRUGGLE

The Communist League of Struggle wants to publish the Class Struggle regularly. At the present time its regular appearance is of major importance to the Communist and Left Wing forces. Without the support of the workers we will not be able to issue the paper on time. Do not delay! Send in your contribution today!

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LOST AND FOUND DEPT.

Lost strayed or stolen—the “third period.” Finder kindly return to Stalin and Molotov, Moscow, U.S.S.R.

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The Executive Committee members of the Communist League of Struggle have a good record in the revolutionary movement. They are Albert Weisbord, Vera Buch, Sylvan A. Pollack, Sam Watts and Kurt Ahrens.

Albert Weisbord was a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party before his expulsion. He was leader of the Passaic strike 1926 and directing organizer and Party representative in the New Bedford, Fall River and Paterson textile strikes (1928) and in the Gastonia strike (1929). Comrade Weisbord was arrested many times for sedition, etc., In 1926 he was sent as delegate to the Fourth R.I.L.U. Congress and in 1929 was the Communist Party and Trade Union Educational League representative to the Mexican Red Union Convention. When expelled, he was secretary of the National Textile Workers Union. He was one time acting District Organizer of the Workers (Communist) Party in Philadelphia and Detroit District Organizer of the Party in Michigan.

Vera Buch joined the Communist Party in its very first days in 1919. She was an organizer in the Passaic strike, coal strike (1928) and Gastonia strike. In the course of the Gastonia strike she was one of those indicted for murder and faced electrocution. She was a member of the Communist Party Political Committee in the Detroit District and was women work director in that district and in the coal strike of 1928.

Sylvan A. Pollack was a member of the left wing of the Socialist Party and a foundation member of the Communist Party. At various times he was on the editorial staff of the Daily Worker, editor of Solidarity, organ of the Workers International Relief and national publicity director of the International Labor Defense. Comrade Pollack has also participated in many struggles in the capacity of the W.I.R., I.L.D. or publicity representative (Passaic, New Bedford). He was also the I.L.D. District Organizer in the Anthracite coal fields. Comrade Pollack was arrested numerous times, including the time of the Palmer Red Raids in 1919 and in the coal fields in 1920. He is now out on bail awaiting trial on a sedition charge.

Sam Watts was an “active” in the Young Communist League. He is in the movement since 1925 and has headed various plumbers helpers youth organizations and helped organize a number of strikes in New York City.

Comrade Watts and Comrade Pollack were expelled from the Young Communist League and the Communist Party respectively for “Trotskyism.”

Kurt Ahrens was a member of the Communist League (Opposition) and was expelled in March 1931 for protesting against the refusal of the Cannon group to participate in the struggles of the workers. Comrade Ahrens is now working as an automobile mechanic.

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“Nowhere is there a more deplorable and contemptible spectacle than that presented by unorganized workmen … They are worse than cowards and parasites; they are traitors—traitors to the working class and themselves. They bite the hand that feeds them… The worse enemy of Labor is not the employer, but the unorganized workingmen … Out of their colossal ignorance and stupidity are forged fetters for the whole working class. Were it not for their treason, the exploiters would be helpless … The unorganized are the real enemy of Labor; the true obstacle to Liberty.” pp. 26-27-28 of Wm. Z. Foster’s pamphlets “Trade-Unionism—the Road to Freedom” published by the International Trade Union Educational League. This was the spirit of Foster in the Steel Strike and the Stock Yard Strike; this was how he organized the unorganized! This pamphlet is quoted approvingly by Foster in his book “The Great Steel Strike” published in 1920. A few months later Foster was a “great Communist leader"!

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