BourgeoisieCivil WarCominternCommunismCommunist PartyOpportunismWorking Class

THE COMMUNIST PAGE NINETEEN Communistic Practices in Japan.
in spoken reformist leaders in the party, the Communist International. To these who, by all their activities show that the trade unions and associations, has revolutionary workers the United Com they have no understanding of the essence not been shown, although six months of munist Party of Germany announces and fundamental tactics of the discussion in the Italian Party of the clearly and definitely, that the Communist political acts of these elements has clearly Party of Italy (Group of Bordiga, Gen The Central (General) Committee of demonstrated their reformist character. nari, Missiano) has conclusively decided to the of Germany, therefore 6) Even now the leaders of the Serrati place itself upon the basis of the declares that the winning over of the and that accordingly it is the only party proletarian masses still under the inGroup are in opposition to the on in Italy which is to be considered as the fluence of the Serrati Group to a clearer decisive, fundamental questions: Italian Section of the Communist Inter communist policy, can be brought about a) On the question of the relations national and must be powerfully support only by the Communist Internasional of the party to the trade unions ed by all affiliated parties in the making it impossible for the Serrati The creation of a strong, the Serrati Group represents the centralized, Group to hide their opportunism behind same position as that taken by the powerful Italian section of the I, is the sign board of the That the Turati Reformists, the French Reonly possible by a determined struggle adopt an attitude of sharpest antaformists and Centrists, namely: the against the opportunist leaders of the gonism to the leaders of the Serrati autonomy of the trade unions and Serrati Group.
Group, and in every case where action their independence of the party.
arises, to put the question of joining the The Central (General) Committee of practically before them in the shape b) While the Italian bourgeoisie the United Communist Party of Germany, of definitely recognizing and joining carries on, in fact, the civil war therefore approves of the proccedure of the Communist Party of Italy as the against the proletariat, for which it the representative of the of the has organized and is still organizing, at the Congress in Leghorn. Nothing only section of the in Italy, and the Serrati Group sabotages, in prac else was possible but a determined rupthat the shall give this Party untice, the organization and political ture with the leaders of the Serrati Group, limited support.
preparation of the working class for the waging of the civil war and for defense against the counter revolution.
By Sen KATAYAMA c) On the agrarian question, the Serrati Group refuses, practice, TE read in the history of Japan incidents of cultivating land and harvestto support the most important and that the rulers when the people ing crops in common which, am sure, openly revolutionary acts of the still lived in a primitive way still exist.
farm workers, small peasants, and again and again abolished and prohibited Land Tenure in Loo Choo Islands tenant farmers, which have culmiprivate ownership of land.
Almost perinated in the actual seizing of the odically they confiscated land and property (Okinawa ken)
warehouses. The Serrati Group is of the rich. Then, the entirely land practiopposed to the partitioning of the cally and in reality belonged to the peoOkinawa ken consists of a group of large estates among the small far ple. Legally, however, it belonged to the Islands in the southern part of Kinoshino mers and peasants, which Italian rulers.
originally belonging to China but for sevexperiences themselves have shown eral centuries governed by the Japanese During the feudal regime which lasted feudal chiefs is historically inevitable in the tranUntil very recently these sitional period.
about three hundred years, the idea of islands were kept on a communistic basis land ownership took precedence. The by the villagers living on them.
Each d) To this day the Serrati Group right of tenancy was sold and bought by villager owned land as a unit and was has not taken a clear cut position the farmers, although the real owners of responsible for the taxes and rent on the on the National Question.
the land were the feudal chiefs. There land. The land was equally divided among were three kinds of land in Japan distin the male of the village for a certain pee) The Serrati Group holds firmly guished by the nature of ownership: first, riod, and at the end of the period the land to so called autonomy in the prac cultivated land and forest practically was redistributed. The division was exetical application of the principles owned by the common people; second, cuted by lots. There seemed to be no and decisions of the Communist common land which we still possess; third. difficulty in that. The people of the island International which means the adgovernment land. The cultivated land of took good care of the land, for they herence to the basis of an opportu the people was fixed quite heavily by the looked upon it as something sacred. The nist policy under the shield of the feudal chiefs, but the tax on forest was duration of tenure ranges from to 13 Communist International.
insignificant. Common land which be years; this differs in each island.
Under 7) All attempts on the part of the longed to a particular village or group or the communal land system there were no groups of villages was not taxed. This representative of the of the very poor people nor were there any very common land played a great part in the rich ones. The land was neither salable.
and of the Italian Communists, to reach village life of the people during the feudal transferable nor subletable. Each island an agreement with the Serrati Group on regime. The villagers, under certain re owned a banana orchard as common prothese decisive questions of communist tactics have been shattered. The concesgulations, would get as much as they could, perty, the proceeds of which were set sions which the Serrati Group were presuch as opening common land, cutting aside for famine. The common ownership pared to make were always only apparent grass or shrub in the spring for fertiliza of land in villages was abolished only tion, and otherwise the land was used and purely formal.
after the Russo Japanese War, for the perfectly free by all. In some places even government wanted to introduce capitalThere are still revolutionary working during the feudal period, we find that the ism into the islands. However, so far masses in the Serrati Group who are entire land of a village was owned in as know, on account of long years of possessed of the most sincere and honest common and divided for the purpose of custom to hold land as sacred property desire to place themselves upon the foun cultivation according to the ability of the of the villages, hardly any farmer would dation of the principles and discipline of families. Of course, there were many sell his land to an outsider.