Sir THE COMMUNIST May 1, 1920 (Continued from page 3)
the highly important work that our Inter the same position as the Bolsheviki took at and to call a conference of party officials to view is nothing but the regurgitation of national Secretary has accomplished abroad that time; while our friends of the inor elect a new the attitude of the heroes of the infamous in the interest ofthe Communist Party of ity are innocently repeating the arguments The reasons for their opposition the 2d International America particularly and in the interest of of the Mensheviki. was their displeasure with the maIf there is one outs ding difference be the Communist movement in general.
Language Federations.
tween the 2d and the 3d International The report of the Holland Conference is As the climax of the differences between jority of the based upon the aside from the vital difference in principles eloquent testimony on this score. Suffice it the majority and minority, as expressed charges which have been mentioned in the and tactics it is that the 3d Communist to mention his thesis on Unionism, which in the field of organization problems, the course of this statement and need not be International, must be, and is a living and he introduced by instruction by the question of language federations recently repeated here.
vital organism, actually functioning in the and which has contributed greatly towards came to the front again. This time it came The Council authorized the Secretary to in the form of an attempt to change the world revolutionary movement, guiding and clarifying that question.
shaping the policies of Communist Parties His thesis on Social Patriots and Unity method of selling ducs stamps to the Fed go to Chicago and gave him full power to in all countries.
of the Party has also been of tremendous cration branches, through the District Or deal with the situation, to come down upon According to this, the only real Commun importance, clearing up the attitude of the ganizers, instead of through the Central them with both feet, as he himself exist point of view, not only must the Com 3d International towards the Centrist par Executive Committees of the Federations. pressed it.
munist Party see to it that it has actual ties which seek to swamp it and thus de This was intended to be the first step in At the next meeting of the Council the physical contact with the 3d International. stroy its revolutionary effectiveness. The the process of abolishing the federations, Secretary returned and made a verbal rethrough the sending of its full quota of adoption of this thesis shuts the door to as frankly stated by the Executive Secre port, to the effect that the secessionists delegates to all Communist International the Independents of Germany, the French tary of the party, himself the proud author had withdrawn their contemplated course of Conferences and Congresses but it is one Centrists led by Longuet, the Labor Party of this motion. It will be well to bear in acion on the promise of complete immunity of the highest duties to the 3d International of Great Britain, the American Socialist mind that this is exactly the method of to all concerned.
to make every efort to be actually repre Party, the Socialist Labor Party of Amer paying dues adopted bythe which, The Council, not satisfied with the report, sented, and actively participating in the ica, etc.
as is well known, differs fundamentally and the terms of the settlement, passed a work of, those conferences and congresses.
Lastly, the instruction to the Communist with the Communist Party, on the question motion to send a special representative to These Conferences and Congresses un Party to organize, provisionally, a Pan of federations.
Chicago to investigate and clarify the situdoubtedly affect the policies and tactics of American Bureau, is a direct result of the This proposition was defcated both in the ation, and to remove the Chicago District Communism in all the countries affiliated International Secretary presence there. Executive Council and in the Central Ex Organizer, if he found that he could not with it. They not only provide for exWere it not for the foresight of the ma ecutive Committee. This defeat intensified be entrusted with carrying out the policies change of information and experience at jority even the International Secretary the bitterness and opposition already exist of the At this point, the Secretary, their meetings, but on the basis of this, trip would have been cancelled and the ing towards the majority in the ranks of acting as the spokesman of the secessionformulate policies and a common course of party would have had no representation the minority.
ists, stated, that if this motion was passed action for all Communist parties. The at that Conference whatever.
Needless to say, like typical Centrists, and carried into effect he would withdraw Communist parties of all countries must be But the minority even at this time, in the minority in their fight against the from the meeting and decide what course nothing more or less than branches of one, spite of the services rendered to the party, majority evaded the fundamental differ of action to pursue. The motion passed and strong, highly centralized, harmoniously by the participation of the International ences with them, as described above. In the Secretary withdrew from the meeting.
working proletarian International.
Secretary in the Amsterdam Conference, stead, they preferred to wage a vicious At the next meeting of the Council the Inthis International, mere correspondence dares to continue its attacks and slanders campaign of personal slander and villifica Secretary returned and read a statement, and red tape cannot replace actual phys on the majority, and even upon the In tion a method of attack which is charac reciting in detail the charges of the Chiical meetings of delegates. Only the merest ternational Secretary himself as one of the teristic enogh not to need any comment. cago District Committee, claiming that he tyro, the unsophisticated neophite in the majority.
Their oposition to the stand of the ma agreed with those charges, and ended with Communist movement can hold a different Mass Action.
jority on principles was camouflaged by the following threat: point of view.
Another vital and fundamental difference reducing them to technicalities of adminis Should it (the Council) persist in the In conformity with this point of view, that arose between the majority and tration routine. Their opposition to fed course of action determined upon at the the Communist Party of America at its minority was on the question of Mass erations, for example, was never expressed last meeting and this result in the removal first convention elected an International Action.
as such, but was screened behind the tech of the Chicago District Organizer and reSecreta. ad four International Delegates.
By this, the Communist Party showed that as of some nebulous economic power of the ing dues.
The minority conceives of Mass Action nical detail of changing the method of pay fusal of the Chicago District to further Their opposition to sending recognize the authority of the Executive it wesired to take its rightful place in the working class, organized industrially and delegates to the International Communist Council and the Central Executive Commit3d International IN FACT, and not mere exerting pressure industrially on the capi Congress or Conference was masked behind tee until the convention, it will be impossible ly by resolutions on paper. So strong was talist system, in order to topple it over. the objection to the use of party funds for for me to continue to work with the presthis attitude, that the convention elected They believe that the use of FORCE (arm junketing trips. They were op ent majority of the Executive Council. it full quota and not merely a perfunctory ed revolution and civil war) may or may posed to the because the convention will continue to conduct the work of the one or two. It even elected its full quota not be necessary in order to accomplish was packed. because the National Head office of Executive Secretary and Acting of alternates, in case some of the delegates the overthrow of the capitalist state, de quarters were removed from Chicago to Party Editor and will carry on the work elected would, by unforseen circumstances, pending upon circumstances. They are op New York, because Wicks had been elimi of the party through the District Organbe prevented from attending.
posed to propagating the inevitability and nated from the because Langley izations, including the Chicago District OrIn this connection it should be borne in consequently, the necessity, when the time had been removed from the Council and ganization as now constituted, holding all mind, that the meetings of the 3d Interna will come, of the USE OF FORCE to replaced by Andrew, etc. etc. ad nauseum. funds and report of my work for subtional which the capitalist governments use conquer the power of the state. as preFailing in their attempts to change the de mission to and disposal of by the conevery means from taking place cannot be mature at the present time. They claim cisions of the to which they were vention.
held at stated times. Travel is long and they are not even certain on that score, opposed, they resorted to personal misrepre The Council, immediately after the readdifficult under these circumstances, and in and therefore object to propagating this sentations and nasty insinuations against ing of this statement, called for a special formation regarding such meeting must, of doctrine to the workers. Mass Action to the majority members of the meeting of the Central Executive Commitnecessity, be at hand at the earliest possible them means only the use of general strikes feverish talk conspirators. politicians tee, inviting all District Organizers and time, and be secret, in order to facilitate and mass demonstrations they contend who were making a plaything of the party Secretaries of the Federations to attend.
the realization and success of the meetings, that Manifesto and Program, adopted at self seekers, and similar terms were Another motion was then passed removing and to protect the delegates and the meet Chicago, nowhere implies anything else be only a few of the epithets hurled at the the Executive Secretary as Acting Party ings as well.
yond this point.
heads of the majority. They kept up a Editor, pending the decision of the Nevertheless the minority strenuously With this conception of Mass Action the ceasless campaign of villification and abuse, because he could not represent the views opposed the sending of the International majority completely disagrees. Our con which for venom and bitterness, outdid the of the in the party organ.
Secretary immediately to establish connec ception of Mass Action, is that expressed attacks of the itself.
As another Kornilov revolt, the Chitions in Europe and go on to Moscow. by the Manifesto of the 3d International. The minority having control of the cago insurrection besides Kornilov, perbut were overruled by the majority. At We maintain, that if the lessons of the his party organ and the organization machinery, sonified by the Chicago District Organizer, the same meeting of the again in tory of all revolutions and particularly, spread their slanderous campaign among had also its Kerensky in the person of spite of the opposition of the minority, the proletarian revolutions means some party units, thus hoping to create a re the Executive Secretary, who returned to to send two of the delegates elected by thing and teaches us anything (lessons vole and dissention in the party, leading the Council, not as its representative, but the convention as those who should pro which the 20 International completely failed to the elimination of those members of the rather, as the spokesman of the Chicago ceed to Europe as soon as further proof to learn. we must propagate to the work who stood against them. as if the prooi at hand was insufficient) ers the USE OF FORCE as the ONLY majority position was never presented, his return from a parley with Kornilov, he The District Committee, but like Kerensky upon was received that a meeting was to be held. MEANS of conquering the power of the neither in the party organ, nor among thc announced his terms of settlement comThe motion to send them abroad immedi state and establishing the dictatorship of party units.
ately was defeated. And it is these trips the proletariat. And that, instead of repletely immunity to the Chicago insurto Europe, to attend the International Com maining silent on this question, we must Chicago Affair.
rectionists and denial of the right of the The Chicago insurrection came as the Council or the to remove their munist gatherings, that the minority constantly STRESS it, in order to show climax to this campaign of personal at agent who had proven to be a traitor to characterized at that time and character the workers the utter futility of hoping for tacks, slander and villification.
izes even now as junketing trips of in any peaceful revolution, accomplished The secession movement came to the ternational politicians for their own pleas either through the parliaments, as the op attention of the Executive Council about Meeting.
The Central Executive Committee meeture, and against the interests of the party. portunistic Socialists teach or, by mere the 1st of April. The Executive Secretary, ing opened with the reading of the minutes The International Secretary finally went general strikes, as the syndicalists teach.
abroad. But, by various machinations and at this meeting reported that a serious sit inf the previous meeting. At this point Those familiar with the discussion in uation had arisen in Chicago the Chicago seven members of the submitted intrigues the minority succeeded in pre the Russian Social Democratic literature District Committee was going to hold a a written protest against the distortion and venting other delegates from following him on the same subject (some years ago. will meeting at which an attempt would be made method of preparation of minutes on the Surely we need not recite here in detail easily recognize that the majority takes to repudiate the authority of the question of UNITY as the minutes on his trust.