September 25, 1937 SOCIALIST APPEAL Who Does the Constitution Belong To?
Should the Working Class Celebrate Its Birthday or Prepare Its, Funeral. of the upper The Constitution of the United the legislative, executive, and the striking railroad workers in revolutionary representatives of the social and political problems States is one hundred and fifty juducial, the greatest contribution 1893.
of the people.
that confront the working class years old. Last week all the of the Constitution to statecraft The Stalinist defenders of this It would be foolish to take a under capitalism.
worshippers at the shrine of and to stable government. The democratic document forget purely negative attitude toward When the capitalist and slavebourgeois democracy held birth Republican Senator has a keen that this article affords full the Constitution, either from the holders, the original authors of day parties its honor. The class sense. The tripartite system legal warrant for a military dic historical or the practical political the Constitution, could no longer Republican presidential aspirant, of checks and balances was tatorship of the capitalist over standpoint.
live together in the same house, Vanderberg, swore to defend this expressly designed to strangle the working class!
It accomplished the task that and contended for its exclusive citadel of capitalist conservatism legislation unfavorable to the Such from all assault. The Democratid governing group. What could not the real character of the popular masses proved unable possession with arms in hand, was nullifled.
President rejoiced in the wisdom be maimed or miscarried in Con the Constitution as it was, as it to perform by themselves, the the Constitution wrote a new himself to defend it against its President; what the Chief Execu lican in form, anti democratic in into a single government. It le one; the Union suspended its own, essence.
gitimized a bourgeois democratic and then amended it to insure misinterpreters. The most tive (of the ruling class. could republic and made impossible a the dictatorship of the bourstalwart, the most belligerent not put out of the way, the SupBill of Rights?
monarchial restoration. For all geosie.
champions of the Constitution reme Court could kill. No cleverer, its reactionary features the Cons When the combat between the were the Stalinists, who called no more efficient machinery for But, the Stalinists expostulate, titution and the state system it reactionary bourgeosie and the upon wall liberty loving Ameri obstructing the expression of the the Bill of Rights! True, it was set up was the most advanced revolutionary American workers cans to fight for this palladium popular will in a republic has offered as a bribe to dissident of its day, and served as a model matures, the capitalist reaction of their rights against the ever been devised.
elements to facilitate adoption for the progressive and demo will scrap the Constitution and princes of privilege.
and initial operation of the Cons cratic forces of the early nine the proletarian revolution will The monied and mercantile Why Two Houses titution. But the primary pur teenth century.
write a new one.
men, who together with the pose of the Bill of Rights (i. e. Today, however, it An important cog in this sys the first ten amendments) was ly obsolete. The Stalinists are thorough Southern planting aristocrats, Our Constitution framed the Constitution; the tem is the bicameral Congress to safeguard state rights. They guilty of criminal folly in idealizslaveholding oligarchy who em with its upper and lower houses, are limitations on the Federal ing, glorifying, and defending The new Constitution of the that the their peculiar institution. ana French Republican bourgeoisie erwernment, but not on the states, this document in competition with worker state will not sanctify, Until the due process clause of the outright spokesmen of the private property, appropriation, the industrial and financial bour copied it. By requiring the con the Fourteenth Amendment be capitalist regime. The American and accumulation; it will elimigeoisie who have ruled the country currence of both houses for the came the bulwalk Since the Civil War, each of these passage of Legislation and at the Article ivthe most radical of the people; it is the property It will not be based upon a pargoverning minorities has found same time allotting two Senators sounding of the Bill of Rights of the reactionary Hourgeois et liamentary form of government the Constitution adequate to en to each state regardless of popu was the instrumentality for pro is no bulkwark of democratic designed to frustrate the will of sure their souvereignty over the lation, the control of the law tecting property, especially slaveights, it is the ultimate Tegal the majority but upon a flexible was concent property.
entrenchment of the ruling class system of workers and farmers and a few subject peoples to boot. rated in the hands of the masters What did Article One, Section councils, democratically elected house. Thereby the One of the Bill of Rights, gua How to Fight and controlled, sensitive to the Undemocratic slave oligarchy prolonged their ranteeing freedom of speech and needs, demands, and interests of While it is necessary to fight the masses. It will not create a For the Constitution is essen rule long after they had lost of the press mean to Eugene tially an undemocratic document. popular support. Moreover, bien Debs in Atlanta prison? What for the maintenance of all those national state but will envisage It was the product of a period nial election of one third of the did the right of the people to political rights that have been itself as one among a federation of reaction in the development Senators facilitates peacefully assemble, mean to the wrested from the ruling classes of world socialist republics.
Not to defend the outworn of the first meri revolution, clique control of the Senate Southern Negroes, the abolition in a century and a half of strug the climax of a protracted strugº through rotten borough states ists, the workers in company gle, and to support any genuine Constitution that will be the first gle for power between the petty but also allows time for popular towns, striking workers, meetings ly democratic reform of the cons victim of the coming revolution, bourgeois farmers and artisans, protest or indignation to expend broken up by the police. Almost titution, the workers must al. but to mobilize the forces in a who composed the mass of the itself or be extinguished before every state has laws today res ways remember that these can struggle for a new socialist constricting or denying Article Two: be obtained under contemporary titution and society. Such is the nation, and the Southern planters the Senate can be changed.
and Northern capitalists, who the right to keep or bear arms conditions only as the result of task and the outlook that revolusucceeded in suppressing them. Indirect Elections shall not infringed. What did the most intransigeant struggle ionary Socialists set for themIt is a truism for Marxists that Article Four, asserting the right and direct mass action, and that selves on this birthday of the such constitutions Elections were as indirect as of the people to be secure in their all together they will not solve bourgeois Constitution.
are always possible. The President was to be persons, houses, property, and (as Marx put it) a compromise chosen by an electoral college. In effects mean to the thousands among conten link factions of case of tie or a disputed election involved in the Palmer raids?
the ruling class. which allow the election was thrown into the The whole Bill of Rights has them to continue the struggle House of Representatives where been worth less than five cents between themselves and at the each state was given one vote. on the dollar in wartime, as the same time to keep the exhausted Judges were to be appointed by Civil War and World Was ex(Continued from page 1) to the New York State Election masses of the people out of it. the President and ratified by the periences demonstrate. And the out of the city. He has time and his name from the ballot as canLaws, automatically eliminates it sanctioned the monetary vic. Senate.
formal political right of the again openly praised Mussolini didate for any City Office. The tory of the old society over the revolution.
It must be remembered that people to be secure in their and Hitler, and declared that La Guardia Socialists do not The Constitutional Convention the Constitution was a compact persons, property and effects, strong arm methods are the only even have the courage of the mockery during peace ones to use in dealing with com Stalinists was a self constituted group of between the slaveholders and remains presenting in large property holders, who had capitalists. It therefore legalized time in a social system which munists. Probably no man in and forthright slavery and although slaves were condemns the masses to perpetual the country can point to a more unambiguous no mandate from the people.
They met to consolidate their given no right whatsoever they exploitation, periodic destitution, consistent anti working class re Progressive candidate manner, the Republican Fusionvictory over masses; to safe formed part of the basis of re and deprives them of the oppor cord.
as their very own. They have guard themselves against further presentation and taxation. It re tunity of obtaining the material The endorsement of Harvey decided instead to give him their assaults from within and from quired a revolution to root out means of that security. brought immediate howls from full support in the most apolowithout; and above all to promote slavery from the Constitution.
Class Instrument the La Guardia Communists. and protect their own immediate getic and hypocritical manner the La Guardia Socialists. and conceivable.
Amendments Balked and narrow social interests. This The point is that the Consti the La Guardia Laborites. Israel Despite Thomas withdrawal conspiratorial clique conducted The method of amendment was tion must necessarily be interp Amter, State organizer, from the ticket, the revolutionits affair in the dark. No hostile made as cumbersome as possible. reted and administered by the and Alex Rose, secret ary socialists are determined to intruders, no direct representa Amendents could be made only ruling class and in its interests. ary, were keenly disappointed carry on the best tradition of tives of the farmers and artisans by the consent of three fourths The Dred Scott decision which Norman Thomas, in anguish, the elass conscious labor movewere admitted to the sessions of the states. That means today legalized the extension of slavery told the press that the news will ment, and to make sure that in held behind closed doors; no notes that five percent of the popula throughout the country was the come as a great shock. this election, the New York of the proceedings were allowed tion in thirteen states can frus mast glaring instance before the to be published. The final draft trate the demands of ninety five Civil These gentlemen, apparently, workers will have the opportunity, War. The Fourteenth are shocked and keenly disap of expressing their class posiwas forced down the throats of percent of the population. Amendment did not give either pointed when one capitalist de tion by vote for a working class the states by gerrymandering, Witness the fate of the Child social equality or political rights magogue endorses another. candidate for Mayor.
electoral frauds, and conventions Labor Amendment.
to the Southern negro. And for with the most hasty and restrictFinally, a most interesting every decision the Supreme Court Thomas to Withdraw ed representation. The whole article which we quote in toto: has rendered in defense of civil procedure was in effect nothing Article IV, Section The United liberties under the Fourteenth will have time to get over his No doubt, however, Thomas SOCIALIST APPEAL but a coup etat. So much for States shall guarantee to every Amendment, it has rendered ten shock by Saturday. As is Vol No. Saturday the circumstances of the origins State in this Union a Republican to safeguard the rights of cor known, the La Guardia socialSeptember 25th, 1987 of the Constitution.
Could one expect that this Form of Government, and shall porate property.
ists have already decided to Published every week by the protect each of them against bastard child of reaction, con. Invasion; and on Application of the Constitution of the United party candidate for Mayor in According to the Daily Worker, withdraw Norman Thomas as the Socialist Appeal Pub. Assn.
ceived by usurpation, brought the Legislature, or of the Execu States and the Stalinist Consti order that they may be able to forth in illegality, and adopted tive (when the Legislature cannot tution are the two great juridical complete their sell out to the Published at Room 1609 by main force, could be a demo100 Fifth Avenue, New York cratic document. be convened) against domestic monuments that mark the prog bureaucracy and the La Violence.
ress of the human race at dif Guardia machine.
Subscriptions: 00 per year; Some Features Washington and Hamilton used ferent epochal historical pe The withdrawal the Appeal is 00 for months. Bundle this clause to send Federal troops riods. But the Stalinists refrain in a position to state will go orders cents per copy. Single volume would be necessary against the so called Whiskey from revealing all the traits of through on schedule and will be copies cents.
to enumerate and describe all of Rebellion in 1794, the first at similarity between the two do effected in a particularly shameits anti democratic features. Let tempt of the bourgeois state to cuments. Both were the offspring faced manner. Thomas is to be All checks and money orus limit ourselves to a few of the suppress its own citizens. It was of usurping and ders should be made out to most important.
used against the railroad strikers cliques, granted to the exhausted nominated by his clique as can the Socialist Appeal.
Vandenberg sces in the division of the 1870 It was used by revolutionary masses by their didate for the delegate at large Application for entry 28 of the government into three se. Democratic President Cleveland benevolent masters rather than to the State Constitutional Conparate and autonomous branches, to send Federal troops against formulated and adopted by the vention, a move which, according second class matter is pending.
LaGuardia for Harvey in