May 1, 1920 THE. COMMUNIST Two Editorial Page of the Communist So we see that this internal struggle jailings of workers who dare to fight. The statement prepared by the CenMay Day 1920 openly IN YOUR FIGHT in your tral Executive Committee and printed within the Communist Party of Amer.
The proclamation issued by the Third struggle with the enemies of your class elsewhere in this issue, outlines these ica is not peculiar to this country alone.
Are you satisfied with the cost of fundamental differences. We do not It is evidently a universal phenomonen International calling for a May Day Demonstration Strike for Peace with food the high rents, the cost of intend to deal with them here. What which appears in all revolutionary Soviet Russia, marks a new epoch in clothes? Are you satisfied with your we do want to point out is the larger movements at a certain stage of their the world revolutionary movement, and miserable wages with the miserable aspects of this cleavage as it affects the development.
This cry of contact with the masses also marks a new policy in proletarian increases which your labor fakers have course of the Communist movement, its tactcis with regard to aiding Soviet procured for you are you?
propaganda and agitation in the United holds in itself the seeds of future comAre you satisfied to continue to toil States.
promise, vacillation and betrayal. It is Russia.
The question resolves itself to this the cry of confusionists and sentimenBefore the advent of the Third Inter with sweat and blood to fill the pockets national, May Day had lost whatever of your bosses, your union grafters and what kind of propaganda shall the Com talists who seem to think that a Com of revolutionary significance and char your government officials, who use that munist Party of America promulgate munist Party must have contact with the masses at all stages of its developacter given to it by its promoters. It stolen wealth which you create to crush to the workers in this country?
was intended to be a day of general you and starve you and shoot you when When we have answered this ques ment. They do not see, that if they atstrike all over the world it was in you go out on strike?
tion, all others will be answered the tempt to run after the masses, at a tended to be a day when the interna Are you satisfied to stand idly by form of organization, its aims and timew hen the masses are not ready for them, they will, in their zeal, reduce tional proletariat would raise the threat while this gang of international mur method of achieving those aims.
of revolution before the eyes of the derers destroys the only working class The secessionists believe that sub Communism to a theory and practice Master Class but, instead of trying to government in the world the Soviet scribing to the three fundamental and that will meet with the approval of the give revolutionary character to this Day Republic of Russia. basic policies of the Third Interna politically immature masses.
They of Promise, the defunct Second Inter You are not.
tional, namely, Proletarian Dictator will compromise principles and tactics national consciously turned it into We know you are not. We know you ship, Mass Action and Soviet Power, in order to get contact with the massthe channels of speech making and are stirring. We know you are dis is sufficient in itself upon which to build es.
merry making and away from revolu contented. We know you are striving a Communist movement in this country Is it necessary to have contact with tionary practice. This corrupting pol blindly to change this state of things. The next step in their opinion, is to the masses at all times? Let us put icy corroded every principle and theory But you dont know where or to whom procure contact with the masses. the case more concretely. Is it absoof the class struggle, until Capitalism, to turn.
to give the Communist Party a mass lutely necessary to have contact with class conscious to the core, incorporated Everybody you have trusted has be character to relate it up with the im the masses in America at the present not only May Day demonstrations into trayed you.
mediate and every day struggles of the time, when the economic and political its normal life, but the whole Second Wilson has betrayed you.
working class.
forces are as yet undeveloped to bring International movement as well. The Government has betrayed you. With which we quite agree. The dif with it that degre of class conscious and But the rise of the proletarian dic The American Federation of Labor, ference comes in when the problem is revolutionary faith which will compel tatorship in Russia, the establishment supposed to be your union, has be tackled, when the manner of adapting the masses to accept Communism?
of a Soviet Republic the formation of trayed you.
Communist tactics is applied to the For what will happ if we sacrifice a new Communist International, free The newspapers, the church, the pro given situation. No Communist is our Communist policies (as the sefrom the corrupting influences of the fessors, the liberals, the reformers have foolish enough to want to keep the party cessionists are willing) in order to get old International, has changed the all betrayed you.
detached and isolated from the masses. this contact?
course of the international revolution Even the Socialist Party has betrayed that way lies stagnation and failure. Of course, our opponents will say ary movement and turned it back into you.
The is a striking example of that they defy us to show them where sevi. OWO LLUA UI Where shall you tuin?
such decay. But, likewise, one must they intend to sacrifice Communist Today, the Third international, van If you want to be free, if you want to beware of the danger that lies in try policy in order to get this contact with guard of the class conscious proletariat get rid of this rotten capitalist govern ing to come to the masses at a time the masses. Well, we shall show them.
of the world, is calling for a Demon ment; if you want to help your worker when the masses due to apathy The leaders of the secessionists stration Strike for Peace with Soviet comrades in Russia to maintain their and inertia before the full reaction to have expressed themselves already, unRussia and the working class of the great working class government; rise capitalism appears are not receptive wittingly perhaps, on this very quesworld are thrilled with the message and to the true status of men and women; to the message of Communism. This tion.
making ready to respond by the tens of turn to the Communist party of Amer is the very rock upon which the Second They have stated in the course of dismillions to this rallying cry of revolu ica, the only party which aims at the International was smashed to pieces. cussions in the Central Executive Comtion.
destruction of this damnable capitalist This is the lesson which the Third In mittee as a close reading of their arThe European proletariat are prepar government and the establishment of ternational has learnt and learning, ticles and leafflets will substantiate, ing feverishly for this day. Crushed, the Communist Society, through the guides its course away from this dan that a real vital fundamental difference starving, degraded by the infinite trage dictatorship of the working class.
gerous shoal.
existed as to their conception of mass dy of the late world war, they mean to Do you want to own and control the We must not isolate ourselves from action, and as to the manner of propaend the rule of Capitalist Imperialist industries in which you work. the masses. That has ben the cry of gating it to the workers. They have exploitation and set up workers repub Do you want a workers government the Second International in the last stated openly, that there are times when lics in place of the bourgeois republics in America. and monarchies that guide and shape decade and especially during the world. it is advisable to keep silent on the Do you want a Soviet Republic of war. And in attempting not to iso USE OF FORCE (armed revolution the destinies of humanity today. The the United States, in which you, the late themselves from the masses they and civil war) as the means of overInternational Demonstration Strike for workers, rule?
were drawn into the vortex of imperial throwing the cayitalis state.
Peace with Soviet Russia on May Day Show your solidarity, your strength, ist ambitions because they kept too will be the first step in this direction. your determination to act like soldiers close to the masses and followed them compromise and opportunism already There you have the deadly seeds of May Day 1920 will be the beginning of the working class revolution when to their own destruction.
of the realization of the hopes and as the time comes stop work on May germinating in the Communist moveThat is the struggle between the two ment. There are times, they say, when pirations of the European masses. Day quit your shops and factories wings of the Communist Party of Ger it is advisable to propagate the USE But what of the American workers? and mines and stores pour out on the many today. The very same. One OF FORCE and there are times when Are they ready to strike a blow for streets by the millions and show your group retains its representation in the it is best to kep silent. Undoubtedly, Peace with Soviet Russia are they enemies that you are demonstrating bourgeois Ebert government betriebes one of the times to keep silent, is when ready to strike a blow for their own for peace with Soviet Russia.
emancipation are they ready to fol.
rate (Workers Councils) on the plea you are trying to get contact with low in the foot steps of their European that it does not want to isolate itself the masses, before they are ready to comrades?
The Party Crisis from the masses. the other, calls for accept the full implication of CommunAre the American workers satisfied the Communists to withdraw from these ist theories and tactics. The Communist Party is facing its brougeois government institutions and with their conditions and with their first internal crisis. On the surface it urge the formation of revolutionary swamped with these politically immaAnd when the Communist Party is government?
seems to be nothing more than a re Workers Councils free from the curse ture masses, they will clog and hamper Are you satisfied with your high volt against the authority of the Cen of government control.
wages which cannot even buy nough tral Executive Committee.
the revolutionary effectiveness of the food for your wives and children?
If that In England today, there are four Communist Party, holding it back when Are you satisfied with your govern son, the situation would not be serious. negotiating for unity into one com masses flocking to the party when it were the real reason, or the only rea Communist groups which have been the time for real action arrives. These ment use of injunctions, troops and But underneath the surface there is munist Party for more than a year, was silent on the necessity of the USE machine guns to break your strikes?
Are you satisfied with your gove. cies and tactics of the Communist Par prevented the unity of these four state will refuse to accept that tactic basic disagreement with the very poli but as yet without success. What has of FORCE to overthrow the bourgeois ment intervention and blockade of ty itself, as laid down at its first con groups? The British Socialist Party when the revolution comes.
Soviet Russia. vention. The cleavage goes down into refuses to withdraw from the Labor mean that these masses, having not yet It will Are you satisfied with your govern the very structure and foundations of Party on the plea that it does not want cut the Gordian knot which binds them ment attacks, raids, deportations and the Communist Party.
to isolate itself from the masses. Continued on page 8)