Page Eight THE COMMUNIST August 23, 1919 Capitalizing Debs Imprisonment To aid in sending a prominent individ Throughout the entire war that alleged tactics have been vile they are now im.
ual in the revolutionary movement to a socialist publication besmirched and tra measurably infamous, as at the present federal prison and then to use that im duced any and all socialists who did not time it is using the name of Debs, the prisonment as a means to cajole money meekly submit to the czaristic tactics of man it helped to imprison, in order to out of the gullible public is about the the imperial government of the United boost its subscription list. In connection lowest tactic to which any institution can States. It supported the imperialistic with its subscription campaign it is tryClescend. Yet that is precisely what war as a measure of self preservation, ing to make its readers believe it has The Appeal to Reason. that notorious knowing full well that the same admin sufficient political influence with the petty bourgeois and jingo paper, is re istration it supported would have sup government to secure amnesty for Debs.
sorting to at the present time in order to pressed it had it been a real socialist pa Has the ruling class thrown aside this vile swell the bank account of the adventur per. In that respect, however, it acted crew now that it is through using it for ers who manage and edit it.
quite in harmony with its previous re a time, or is the fake amnesty campaign While the war was on the Appeal formistic attitude. Although recognized it is waging merely another manner oi denounced as pro German every crit as an organ of socialism by that travesty serving its masters? Is the Appeal icism, no matter how justifiable, of the upon socialism, the Socialist Party of in a position to know that the governwar policy of the United States govern America, it has never in its whole exist ment is boon to grant amnesty to its poment. It rendered effectual service to ence been a Socialist publication, but sim litical prisoners, and is it using its arathe American jingoes by arousing the ply an organ of petty bourgeois reform. nesty campaign so that it can claim anspirit of hatred against the socialists of Not a single editor of the Appeal ever other of its alleged victories for the this country who stood true to the prin had understood even the fundamentals working class when amnesty is granted, ciples of internationalism. In that re of socialism. Wayland, its founder, thus placing it in a position to again respect it was even more vile than the rest and Fred Warren, for years its editor, ceive the support of imperialistic capof the capitalist press. Did the capitalist were as rare a pair of muddleheads as italism when that capitalism finds it conpress print a deliberate lie about a revo one would be likely to meet in a life venient to use it?
lutionist or some one else who had in time. The present editors and mana The revolutionist is also anxious to se.
curred the enmity of the capitalist class gers, Louis Kopelin and Emanuel Halde cure amnesty for political prisoners, but the Appeal magnified the lie a hun man Julius, combine their muddlehead he realizes the utter futility of appealing dred fold. In the case of Debs, its action edness with a sinster viciousness that to any capitalist government for anywas the same as in other cases. When places them in a distinct category as thing. The only tactics that will open Debs delivered his Canton, speech enemies of the working class. It is that the prison doors before the capitalist and was arrested and charged with vio sublime pair who directed the war pol State is willing to open theme is a manilation of the infamous espionage act, did icy of the Appeal. They were unique festation of power on the part of the the Appeal denounce it as an official in one respect: No journalist prostituted working class. An appeal to a capitalist crime? No, indeed! Instead of de. to capitalism could sink so low that the government is not a manifastation of nouncing the acts of the petty officials Appeal outfit could not crawl beneath power, but a confession of weakness. Inof the United States government and the him. Kopelin and Julius could grovel stead of making overtures to the governhigher officials at Washington as des lower and lick longer than any other ment, the revolutionist will urge the pots drunk with power, this loathesome lickspittles the world has ever seen. It workers to use the political strike for the publication printed a scurrilous attack would take them both a thousand years liberation of class war prisoners.
upon Debs, written by that asinine as to remove the corns acquired upon their The Appeal to Reason is a true serre sumption of humanity, Allan Benson, bellies while crawling before their masant of the ruling class and a subscription wherein it was insinuated that Debs was tel sent to that publication is merely a the victim of a fanaticism which resulted But in the case of Debs it has plumbed dagger placed at the heart of the in giving aid and comfort to the impe absolutely the lowest strata in the ag workers.
rial German government.
gregation of degenerates. If it previous Is the Syndicalist Movement Revolutionary?
The first principle of present day The anti political propaganda of the position of the ruling class, such as work.
syndicalism is no politics. To the syndi syndicalists dates from the year 1900, men compensation laws, the shorter calist, politics is a bourgeois delusion, when Millerand, one of the leaders work day, old age pensions, right to work unworthy the serious consideration of a of parliamentary socialism, entered the bills, sanitary workshops, heavy prorevolutionist and, as he considers him bourgeois ministry of Waldeck, Rosseau gressive income taxes, etc. and through tell the revolutionist par excellence, he and Gallifet. Since that date the open an indefinite continuation of such reforms leares politics for children and idiots to antagonism between syndicalism and pars within the capitalist state, finally legisexhaust themselves upon.
liamentary socialism has been a feature late the capitalist class out of existence.
The word syndicat is of French or of the labor movement throughout the These changes are to be realized by electigin and is applied to any combination of world.
ing reform socialists to the various legisindividuals. Up to the time the idea of Both the syndicalist and the reformist lative bodies who are sworn to work dilfyndicalism began to influence the work: socialist claim to be evolutionary, and igently for such reforms, or to poll suck ers of the United States the word syndi although they have hitherto bitterly op a large socialist vote that the capitalist cate here was taken to mean a combina posed each other, their conflicting tac political parties will be compelled to tion of capitalists. In most European tics are not impossible of reconciliation, grant the socialist demands. The recountries the word now applies to a cer as events transpiring in European nations form socialist parties, of which the Sotain type of industrial unionism, which conclusively prove. Both of them fall cialist Party of America is an example, aims at the abolition of the capitalist sys into the fallacy of attempting to accom draw up long platforms, containing tem. This goal is to be obtained by the plish the revolution by the working class many demands upon the capitalist state direct action of the unions, without par within the confines of the capitalist and the politicians at the head of such liamentary or any other kind of political state.
organizations are always elated when a ection. Union activity is considered suf The typical reform socialist, while de capitalist political party steals some of ficient in itself to accomplish the com siring the abolition of capitalism, imag its planks. Instead of a reorientation plete transfer of industry from the hands ines the revolution to be an extremely of their position in order to find out why of the capitalist exploiters into the hands gradual, almost imperceptible move a capitalist political organization should of the workers, organized into industrial ment, culnrinating in the peaceful trans desire part of their program, they conunions.
fer of control of prevailing institutions sider themselves flattered and boast of Anti political syndicalism dates from from the hands of the capitalist class the fact that the public is beginning to the syndicalist congress, held at Amiens into the hands of the working class. This accept part or the socialist program.
in 1906, when the vast majority declared transformation is to be accomplished by That brand of political action can only in favor of a motion proclaiming the abso. making certain demands upon the state result in one thing state socialism, or, lute separation of the political move. that will strengthen the position of the more properly speaking, state capitalism.
ment (of socialism) and syndicalism. working class and gradually weaken the The dominant socialism of the United