Page Four THE COMMUNIST ber 6th, 1919 On Which Side of the Barricade are You?
INCE the advent of the Bolshevist By George Andreytchine. more practical, at least in part than Bolparty as the controlling power of the shevist State Communism.
Soviets in Russia some two years ago. Reprinted from The Industrial Worker. We must remember the shrewd defense much ink has flown and much foam has that the yellow syndicalists used against been spouted against it by all the combined much doubt in the mind of the revolutionary revolution, which regret to say resembles forces of the exploiters of the working mas worker who has learned to turn every day very much the wise sayings of Fellow ses, as well as by their dupes, the yellow sotowards the great East and inspiringly say: Worker Sandgren. Here is what the ex ancialists, yellow anarchists and yellow syndi Hold fast, toiling masses of Red Russia, we archist Jouhaux said, apologizing for the calists.
are coming to your rescue! Your struggle is treacherous abandonment of the general The Industrial Workers of the World our struggle, your victory our victory and strike, set by himself and his colleagues for knows too well the effects of the calumnies, your noble ideal our ideal!
July 21st, to save the Russian and Hungarian insinuations and perfidious lies sent broadRevolutions: cast against its organization, tacties and In reprinting the article of Fellow Worker In our opinion the should aim principles. In spite of all these Bitter les Andreytchine, also that of Fellow Worker at practical results beyond those commonly sons we have learned in our turbulent ex Davidson which appeared in The Communist conveyed by the word Revolution with a istence, we are resorting to the methods of last week, the editor takes sharp issue with big, well rolled R! It is justly said that the characterization of the Communist our sworn enemies in dealing with the new Party as among the adversaries of the revolution is a more word since for the scape goat of the plutocrats the BolsheI.
majority of us there is nothing beltand it.
viki of Russia, Hungary and Germany. The opposition voiced in this paper and But what should it stand for? Is is the cataperusal of the pages of the One Big Union on the public platform has been to the of stroplic act which determines the collapse Monthly will convince the curious reader ficial propaganda which Fellow Worker of a system? Or is it the long evolutionary Andreytchine himself attacks, citing the that we are not very good friends of the support of 100 other members of the process which little by little penetrates the Bolsheviki. whom he has personally interviewed. system the action which has sapped a Here is the latest panegyric of its editor. In so far as there are differences in regime and developed within the regime itThis is from the October number, headed theoretical understanding betweon the self the organism which is to succeed it. Communism in Hungary. and Communist Party, these do not That is revolution, and has always been represent an opposition of the Communist The Bela Kun government was comParty against the The members revolution as the understands it. munist only in name. Not as if the mem of the Communist Party are among the most have remained faithful to the old idea of bers of this government and the party stand ardent supporters of revolutionary in Proudhon: The workshop will displace ind behind it could rightly be accused of saildustrial unionism of the character.
government. We will replace the direction Indeed, the two articles respectively reing under a false flag. Unquestionably their printed show every prospect of approach to a of persons by the administration of things.
intention was, if they had been left in peace, single, unified propaganda by these two But this is not to be done by mere street to gradually substitute for private owner organizations.
lighting, by barricades, even by the general ship and control of property, ownership and strike! One must have a clear conception, control by the people. And there is no reason to believe that they would have suc. pressed, persecuted and bleeding workers We have championed the cause of all op ready to apply and well understood by those who are to apply it, of the new organization ceeded worse or better than the Bolsheviks under the lashes of Moloch Capital. And which is to be crected, of the possibility of of Russia. If the Allied powers had not atnow when all the revolutionary proletariat development into an increase of well being facked them and laid obstacles in their way and not into a famine. For we shall do well is bent on aarting bloody invasion of the they would in all probability lave estab territory of the Russia of the Soviets, we are to realize very clearly that revolution which lished a tirm dictatorship and gradually eduends in famine is not revolution but the decated and organized the people to the levei occupied in seconding the long heralded lie. that Bolshevism is a failure.
struction of revolution.
of industrial organization by means of which Far from being a new convert to BolsherTwo days after this pompous pronuncithey would have taken over and carried on production. In a few years Communism ism, which could be said of many of the pres amento of the pontiff Jouhaux, the Bela might have been a reality in Hungary.
ent leaders of the hysterical political chap Kun government was overthrown with the as it was. Communism in Hungary lim els, who alone represent the only teachings shameless co operation of the labor unions, of Communism, who are aping Lenin to ab headed by men of Hillquit ard Berger ited itself to a few proclamations on paper surdity, still remain a partisan of indust type Garami and Weltner. Does Sandgren and a few experimental compulsory mearial unionism and syndicalism, as opposed mean endorsement of the ignoble coup sures, more or less at random, measures to political Communism of the brand repd etat. which under the circumstances worked for Much has been said against the Bolshevist resented by the Michigan Messiahs. What dissolution and weakness, rather than for order and strength. They no doubt did the urge Fellow Worker Sandgren and his policy towards labor unions and much of this criticism may be legitimate. They were best they could, but what was to be done? partisans to do is to abandon the mud slingnot organizing industrial unions, not because Only that government can survive which has ing tactics which some day will bring us beit in its power to satisfy the people needs of fore the revolutionary tribunal of the pro they were opposed to them, which is denied food, clothing and shelter and the other necletariat of the world, in case the Russian by Lenin statement to Minor, The Industrial Union is the basic unit of the future Revolution is drowned in the martyr blood essaries of life. During the prevailing state of war the so called Communist government of peasants and toiling masses and capitalism order of society, but because it was a phystriumphs a new, under an indictment read ical impossibility to do so. Also it is true coul not do this. For this reason they lost ing: What have you done to avert the that most of the unions in Russia today the support of the starving masses. It was downfall of the glorious achievement of the have been organized by members of the found more practical to go back to old methW. who returned to their native land Russian proletariat?
ods, at least in part. Boldface mine This in regard to Hungary and the Bela haux, Legien, Branting, Henderson and their We must beware of the tactics that Jou after the March Revolution. Robert Minor and John Reed say that the coal miners inKun administration. In other numbers we cohorts have pursued, veiling them with a dustrial union of the Donctz region had 60. have read similar remarks slung at the Bolred scarf. European Syndicalism com000 members, all carrying cards sheviki of Russia. They have provoked pletely capitulated before the imperialists and endorsing our preamble. Then, Minor and served them dog like while the war says, the Germans came and with the aid of merbership, particularly the boys in the lasted and now they use it as smoke screen, the Ukrainian bourgeoisie shot most of the Leavenworth Prison, who indignantly greetmilitant members of the union, closed the as barage fire, in attacking Soviet Russia.
ed the much more sympathetic words of Robert Minor. have questioned carefully Jouhaus, Dumoulin, Bourderon and MerrThe old idols or the French working class. halls, suppressed their papers, bulletins, in one word, smashed the whole magnificent more than 100 members of the and heim, the last two delegates to the famous achievement of the valiant members of the recorded them all as opposed to the attitude Zimmerwald Conference, ex enemies of the Industrial Workers of the World.
of Fellow Worker Sandgren. As for our ad capitalist system, during the last congress of Under the Bolsheviki they were left 1117versaries, of the Communist Party, Communist Labor Party, etc. we cannot answer the General Confederation of Labor (C. molested, nay, received the co operation of the people commissaries.
them when they ask On which side of the were leagued with the bandits who are barricade are you!
secking the overthrow of the Bolshevist Bill Shatov, once a member of the Yes, on which side of the barricade are government, which inevitably will lead to Win America, and now an ardent worker we! The statement in blackface above puts the Czar, with his Siberia, gibbet rope, pris. ustry has been taken up by amazingly many ons, pogroms, and which Sandgren calls (Continued on Page