Page Three THE COMMUNIST October 11, 1919 Report of Louis Fraina, International Secretary of the Communist Party of America, to the Executive Committee of the Communist International.
As International Secretary, make application for dustrial Workers of the World, organized in 1905 an admission of the Communist Party of America to the event of the greatest revolutionary importance. The Bureau of the Communist International as a major indicted craft unionism as reactionary and not in accord with the concentration of industry, which party.
The Communist Party, organized September 1, wipes out differences of skill and craft. The 1919, with approximately 55, 000 members, issues urged industrial unionism, that is to say, a unionism directly out of a split in the old Socialist Party. The organized according to industrial division: all workers new party represents more than half the membership in one industry, regardless of particular crafts, to unite in one union; and all industrial unions to unite in the of the old party.
general organization, thereby paralleling the indus1. Socialist Party, Socialist Labor Party, trial structure of modern Capitalism. Industrial unionThe Socialist Party was organized in 1901, of a ism was urged not simply for the immediate struggle merger of two elements: 1) seceders from the Social of the workers, but as the revolutionary means for the ist Labor Party, like Morris Hillquit, who split away workers to assume control of industry.
in 1899 largely because of the uncomproPrevious movements of revolutionary unionism, mising endeavors to revolutionize the trades unsuch as the Socialist Trades and Labor Alliance and ions; 2) the Social Democratic Party of Wisconsin, the American Labor Union, united in the The a purely middle class liberal party tinged with SoSocialist Labor Party was a vital factor in the organizacialism, of which Victor Berger was representative.
tion of the Daniel De Leon formulating the The Socialist Labor Party, organized definitely in theoretical concepts of industrial unionism. Industrial 1890, acted on the basis of the uncompromising prounionism and the conception of overthrowing the parliletarian class struggle. Appearing at a period when amentary state, substituting it with an industrial adclass relations were still in state of flux, when the ideministration based upon the industrial unions, was reology of independence, created by the free lands of the lated by De Leon to the general theory of Marxism.
West, still persisted among the workers, the Socialist Labor Party emphasized the class struggle and the class The Socialist Party repeatedly rejected resolutions character of the proletarian movement. Realizing the endorsing the and industrial unionism, alpeculiar problems of the American movement, the Sothough supporting strikes by money and pubsocialist Labor Party initiated a consistent campaign for licity. The Socialist Party supported the of revolutionary unionism and against the dominant craft and craft unionism, rejecting the revolutionary implicaunionism of the American Federation of Labor, which, tions of industrial unionism the necessity of extrarepresenting the skilled workers. aristocracy of parliamentary action to conquer the power of the state.
labor sabotaged every radical impulse of the workAfter the panic of 1907, there was an awakennig ing class. The was a party of revolutionary So of the American proletariat. New and more proletarcialism, against which opportunist elements revolted. ian elements joined the Socialist Party. Industrial unThe Spanish American War was an immature exionism developed an enormous impetus, and violent pression of American Imperialism, initiated by the re tactical disputes arose in the party, particularly in the quirements of monopolistic Capitalism. movement Northwest where the new unionism was a vital factor.
of protest developed in the middle class, which, unit These disputes came to a climax at the Socialist Party ing with the previous impulses of petty bourgeois and Convention of 1912. The tactical issue of industrial agrarian radicalism, expressed itself in a campaign of unionism was comprised in the problem of whether anti Imperialism. There was a general revival of the parliamentarism alone constituted political action.
ideology of liberal democracy. The Socialist Party exwhether parliamentarism alone could accomplish the pressed one phase of this liberal development; it revolution or whether extra parliamentary means were adopted fundamentally a non class policy, directing its indispensable for the conquest of political power. The appeal to the middle class, to the farmers, to every Socialist Party Convention, by a large majority, emastemporary sentiment of discontent, for a program of culated the Marxian conception of political action, limgovernment ownership of the trusts. The Socialist iting it to parliamentarism; an amendment to the party Party, particularly, discouraged all action for revoluconstitution defined political action as participation in tionary unionism, becoming a bulwark of the Gomperelections for public office and practical legislative and ized of and its reactionary officials, the labor administrative work along the lines of the Socialist lieutenants of the capitalist class. This typical party Party platform. That year the Socialist Party, by of opportunist Socialism considered strikes and unions means of a petty bourgeois liberal campaign, polled as of minor and transitory importance, instead of develmore than 900, 000 votes for its presidential candidate; oping their revolutionary implications; parliamentarism but thousands of militant proletarians seceded from the was considered the important thing, legislative reforms party in disgust at the rejection of revolutionary indusand the use of the bourgeois state the means equally for trial unionism, while William Haywood, representawaging the class struggle and for establishing the Sotive of the industrialists in the party, was recalled on cialist Republic. The Socialist Party was essentially referendum vote as a member of the National Executive a party of State Captialism, an expression of the domiCommittee.
nant moderate Socialism of the old International.
The organization of the Progressive Party in 1912 But industrial concentration proceeded feverishly, made progressivism a political issue. The Socialist developing monopoly and the typical conditions of ImParty adapted itself to this progressivism. But this perialism. Congress parliamentarism assumed an progressivism was the last flickering expression of aspect of futility as Imperialism developed and the radical democracy: Theodore Roosevelt harnessed proFederal government became a centralized autocracy.
gressivism to Imperialism and State Capitalism. new The industrial proletariat, expropriated of skill by the social alignment arose, requiring new Socialist tactics.
machine process and concentrated in the basic industry, The War, the Socialist Party and the Bolshevik initiated new means of struggle. The general conditions of imperialistic Capitalism developed new tacRevolution.
After 1912, the party officially proceeded on its tical concepts mass action in Europe and industrial unionism in the United States, the necessity for extrapeaceful petty bourgeois way. Then the war, and the parliamentary means to conquer the power of the state.
collapse of the International. The official representatives of the Socialist Party either justified the betrayal The old craft unionism was more and more incap of Socialism in Europe, or else were acquiescently silent, able of struggling successfully against concentrated Capitalism. Out of this general situation arose the Inwhile issuing liberal appeals to humanity. Continued next page)