Page Six THE COMMUNIST Zimmerwaldites and their American Prototypes August 2, 1919 By Alexander Stoklitsky thorough study of the international labor movement can leave no doubt in the mind of the student that questions of organization cannot be separated from political and theoreNo; the unwillingness to wait two months longer is not tical questions.
the cause of the split in the Left Wing, though it is high time to In 1903 the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party split two months may mean as much as two years in normal, peace.
understand that in critical times, when the old is breaking into bolsheviki and mensheviki. At that time it was thought down to make room for the construction of a new movement, by many that the split was the result of mere insignificant mixed company of the Left Wing because we decided once ful times.
tactical controversies. No one then saw how inseparable from We split from that many colored, unprincipled, and dependent are questions of tactics and forms of organifor all to break with the party of the American social traitors, zation upon theories and principles. It remained for history.
the Socialist Party, and also with the American prototypes of our best teacher, to prove it. And the history of the revoluthe German Independents. Among the Majority delegates we tionary struggle in Russia since that split has proved that we found brethren of the Zimmerwaldites whose mental cowardcannot and must not separate these questions.
ice repulsed the revolutionary and creative forces of the class The persistent policy pursued by the German Social Deconsciousness proletarians.
mocracy to ignore organization controversies resulted most Comrade Lenin, in his article The Crisis in the Zimmerdisastrously for the revolutionary consciousness of the German wald International says: The Zimmerwald Inaternational assumed from the very first a hesitating, Kautsky like center proletariat. Franz Mehring, in his open letter to the bolsheattitude which compelled the Left to stand by itself, to sepaviki, gives the following charcteristic description of the rate itself from the rest and to come forth with its own maniGerman Independent Social Democratic group: festo. Our Left Wing also, from the very opening of the The Independent Social Democratic Party lacks the reConference, took the vacilating position of the Center. This volutionary energy that will arouse and carry a way the proforced the communist left to immediately break away and letarian masses. Nothing can be said against its members as come forward with the communist call.
individuals. All of them desire the best for the movement. The fatal weakness of the Zimmerwald International, There are efficient people among them. But the party itself which brought about its fiasco (from a political and intelwas born under an unlucky star.
lectual viewpoint it was already a fiasco. continues Lenin, The same may be said of the Left wing of the Socialist was its hesitancy, its lack of decision, when it came to the Party, from whom we split because of their Centrist position practical and all important question of breaking completely with the social patriots and the social patriot international at the very first conference held in New York. The split was headed by Vandervelde and Hysmanns at The Hague.
the direct result of controversies relating to question of orga These very defects we found in the Majority delegates. As nization and tactics, which indicated that the Left Wingers the Zimmerwaldites, their American prototypes hesitate and at the Conference absolutely lacked that revolutionary energy are irresolute in the most impartant, practical, all determining which is so much needed to arouse and lead the proletarian question to completely break away from the traitorous Somasses.
cialist Party, the party which sent delegates to the Berne Con The Independent Social Democratic Party, continues ference.
Mehring, endeavored all the time to prove that they did not We cannot remain with our feet in the Zimmerwald want to split the party, although they had been partly driven mud, continues Lenin. There is nothing to expect from the out of the party by the government socialists. But the resuiu Zimmerwald Kautskians, more or less allied with the chauof this very policy of hesitation, of doing things by halves, was vinistic International of Plekhanov and Scheidemann. We the complete alienation of the masses, because it strengthened should, however, remain in Zimmerwald for one purpose only, the belief that the Independent Social Democracy is respon to obtain more information.
sible for the division in the ranks of Social Democracy.
Nothing could present a more vivid picture of what took Do we not hear the same cry here in this country? Do not place at the Left Wing Conference than these words of Lenin.
our Left Wingers speak with the lips of the German Inde If the split at the Left Wing Conference was not caused by pendents?
the question of the split of the Second International, it was the The Left Wing uses every possible means to prove that question of the resolute determination to once and for all leave they did not want a split in the party. The Left Wing tries the American supporters of the Second International the to bring tears to the eyes of the membership by pointing to the American Scheideman Party.
injustice of the E. The Left Wing, whom this same In the caucus held by the communist Minority of the ConN. has partly driven out of the party, like the German ference we empathically declared that we could no longer work centrists, wants to force all to run after the party of the trait with the Left Wing swamp. We remain with you we ors. This Left Wing (why they still continue to call them stated openly and frankly to the ority, to all informaselves Left Wing is known only to them) possesses so little tion possible of your proceedings.
vision that it can not see that in its jump over the impedi This was the only course left to us.
ments it has almost lost its armor.
However, our peace makers give us no rest. Is it not the In the movement of any country there are weak spined ele fact, they ask us, What the program you adopted is almost ments who cannot distinguish black from white. These ele the same as that adopted by the Majority? Hence it is not a ments fell into a fit of weeping when the Socialist Party split question of principle which caused the split. You, they bawl, into Rights and Lefts. They became hysterical when they left because we want to take part in the convention called found that the Left Wing had also split into communists and by the Socialist Party, in order to win the masses over.
centrists.
Let us answer this charge in the words of Lenin: These elements would like to make peace between the It is not so much the question of numbers; it is a question various groups into which the Socialist Party has split. They of expressing correctly the ideas and policy of the truly revolare those, who under other conditions, are the peace makers utionary proletariat. Never mind about proclaiming interbetween the wage slaves and the capitalist class.
nationalism; the essential thing is for us to be, even when the When the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party split, times are most trying, real internationalists in our deeds.
the Russian conciliators shouted at the top of their voices: To wait for international conferences and congresses is Does it pay to divide the organized ranks of the workers for simply to betray internationalism. Real international socialists such fiddle faddle controversies? Is it right to split the party are not allowed to meet at Stockholm because of a difference of opinion as to the question of mem Let us not wait, let us at once organize a Third Interbership or of how to build the party?
national The peace makers of America ape their Russian brethren As if in a mirror, the words of Lenin, full of revolutionary the mensheviks. With tears in their eyes and sobbing voices meaning, reflect the events in the American movement.
they turn to the builders of the communist party in America Deep, practical and organization controversies separate and bawl: You left the majority delegates at the Left Wing us from the prototypes of the Independents and ZimmerConference only because you did not want to wait two months waldists.
longer. You split because of nonsensical tactical differences.
These controversies are not accidental. There is no doubt An old, familiar song, indeed!