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Page Four 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. Continued from Page 3)
As the war continued and the betrayal of Socialism The Socialist Party carried on an active campaign became more apparent, and particularly as the Amer against intervention in Russia. However, this camican comrades learned of the revolutionary minority paign did not emphasize the revolutionary implications elements in the European movement, there was a revo of the situation in Russia, as making mandatory the relutionary awakening in the Socialist Party, strength construction of the Socialist movement. campaign ened by new accessions of proletarian elements to the against intervention must proceed as a phase of the party. The first organized expression of this awakening general campaign to develop revolutionary proletarian action.
was the formation of the Socialist Propaganda League in Boston, in 1916, issuing a weekly organ which after3. The Left Wing Develops.
wards became The New International, with Louis During 1918 the Socialist Party was in ferment.
Fraina as Editor and Rutgers as Associate. The The membership was more and more coming to think League emphasized the necessity of new proletarian in revolutionary terms. Then came the armistice and tactics in the epoch of Imperialism. In April, 1917, was the German Revolution. The response was immediate.
started The Class Struggle, a magazine devoted to On November 7, 1918, a Communist Propaganda International Socialism. In the State of Michigan, the League was organized in Chicago. On November anti reformists captured the Socialist Party, and car Local Boston, Socialist Party, started to issue an agitaried on a non reformist agitation, particularly in The tional paper, The Revolutionary Age. This paper Proletarian.
immediately issued a call to the party for the adoption The enormous exports of war munitions, the devel of revolutionary Communist tactics, emphasizing that opment of large reserves of surplus capital, and the asthe emergence of the proletariat into the epoch of the sumption of a position of world power financially by world revolution made absolutely imperative the reAmerican Capitalism forced the United States into the construction of Socialism. In New York City, in Febwar. There was an immediate revolutionary upsurge ruary 1919, there was organized the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party. Its Left Wing Manifesto in the Socialist Party. The St. Louis Convention of the and Program was adopted by local after local of the Party, in April, 1917, adopted a militant declaration Socialist Party, the Left Wing acquiring a definite exagainst the war, forced upon a reluctant bureaucracy pression. The Left Wing secured the immediate adby the revolutionary membership. But this bureau hesion of the Lettish, Russian, Lithuanian, Polish, cracy sabotaged the declaration. It adopted a policy of Ukrainian, South Slavic, Hungarian and Esthonian Fedpetty bourgeois pacifism, uniting with the liberal Peo erations of the party, representing about 25, 000 memple Council, which subsequently accepted Presi bers. The official organs of the Federations did splendent Wilson 14 points as its own program. did work for the Left Wing.
Moreover, there was a minority on the National In January, 1919, the National Executive ConExecutive Committee in favor of the war; in August, mittee of the Socialist Party decided to send delegates 1918, the vote in the E. stood to on to the Berne Congress of the Great Betrayal. This acrepudiation of the St. Louis Declaration. The Socialist tion was characteristic of the social patriot and centrist Party only representative in Congress, Meyer London, bent of the party administration. There was an imopenly supported the war and flouted the party decmediate protest from the membership, the Left Wing laration against the war; but he was neither disciplined using the Berne Congress as again emphasizing the nenor expelled, in fact secured a renomination, Morcessity for the revolutionary reconstruction of Socialris Hillquit accepted the declaration against the war, ism. In March we received a copy of the call issued by but converted it into bourgeois pacifism, being a promthe Communist Party of Russia for an international inent member of the People Council. In reply to a congress to organize a new International. The Revoquestion whether, if a member of Congress, he would lutionary Age was the first to print the call, yielding have voted in favor of war, Hillquit answered. The it immediate adhesion; while the Left Wing Section of New Republic, December 1, 1917. If had believed New York City transmitted credentials to Rutthat our participation would shorten the world war and gers to represent it at the congress. Local Boston inforce a better, more democratic and more durable itiated a motion for a referendum to affiliate the party peace, should have favored the measure, regardless of the cost and sacrifices of America. My opposition with the Third International; this was thrown out by the national administration of the party on a technito our entry into the war was based upon the conviction cality; but after much delay another local succeeded that it would prolong the disastrous conflict without in securing a referendum. The vote was overwhelmcompensating gains to humanity. This was a complete abandonment of the class struggle and the Socialist coningly in favor of the Third International. The Left Wing was now, although still without a ception of war. The war was a test of the Socialist Party and proved it officially a party of vicious cendefinite organization, a formidable power in the Socialist Party. Previously all revolts in the party were trism.
isolated or consisted purely of theoretical criticism; The Russian Revolution was another test of the now there was this theoretical criticism united with party. Officially, the Socialist Party was for the Menshevik policy and enthusiastic about Kerensky; while a developing organization expression. There was not, the New York Call, Socialist Party daily newspaper as yet, any general conception of the organization of in New York City, editorially characterized Comrade a new party; it was a struggle for power within the Lenin and the Bolsheviki, in June, 1917, as anarchists.
Socialist Party.
About this time the call for the new Socialist The party officially was silent about the November Party elections was issued. The Left Wing decided Revolution; it was silent about the Soviet Government upon its own candidates. The elections constituted an proposal for an armistice on all fronts, although the National Executive Committee of the Party met in Deoverwhelming victory for the Left Wing. The nacember and should have acted vigorously, mobilizing tional administration of the Socialist Party, realizing the party for the armistice. But the revolutionary the impending disaster, decided upon desperate measures.
membership responded, its enthusiasm for the BolBranch after branch and local after local of shevik Revolution being magnificent. This enthusiasm the party, which had adopted the Left Wing Manifesto forced the party representatives to speak in favor of and Program, was expelled. Morris Hillquit issued the Bolsheviki, but always in general terms capable of a declaration that the breach in the party had become interpretation. After the Brest Litovsk peace, there irreconcilable, and that the only solution was to split, was a sentiment among the party representatives for each faction organizing its own party. At first the war against Germany to save the Russian Revolu expulsions were on a small scale; then, the danger be(Continued on page 8)
tion.