8 THE COMMUNIST again admission to the International. The problem may be put this way; Communist parties or groups in almost every country have affiliated with the Communist International; but, the old International now being broken in pieces, there are Socialist parties in some of these countries seeking admission to the Communist International the Left Wing Independents of Germany, the American Socialist Party, the Left Wing of the Independent Labor Party of England, the Socialist Party of Spain; and others who may seek admission, such as the French Socialist Party (Longuet Majoritaires. etc. What shall be done with these? The spirit of the discussion and thesis of the Conference mean to doublebolt the door of the Communist International to these undesirable Centre and wavering elements.
This answer to the problem is emphasized by two declarations issued recently by the Executive Committee of the International in Moscow, one to the Independent Socialist Party of Germany, the other to the Socialist Party of France, in which these organizations are condemned in severe style, and informed that they are mistaken if they imagine they can enter the Communist International without purging themselves of the social patriots and the social traitors.
Imagine the Socialist Party of France being admitted to the Communist International without having first disposed of the centre and the Right, of Jean Longuet as well as Marcel Cachin. Sympathy for the Russian Revolution or deciding to join the Communist International are not enough: there must be acceptance of revolutionary principles and practice.
Imagine the American Socialist Party being admitted to the Communist International while it repudiates Communist fundamentals mass action, Soviets and proletarian dictatorship; and while it is still dominated by Morris Hillqvit, Victor Berger, Meyer London, Seymour Stedman, by all its infinite variety of opportunists and social patriots! On this problem the Communist International will act uncompromisingly, ruthlessly; it will meet the problem by rigorous exclusion.
The Conference met at a moment of intense agitation in the International, serious problems of immediate policy and practice pressing for consideration and answer. The conference met these problems in a style that places the Conference definitely in the Left Wing of the International a circumstance of supreme importance in the development of our movement.
What kind of Party. Continued from page The single concrete proposal which the minority has made in regard to the Federations is the change in the method of dues payment, and this it believes is a logical and necessary change. It does not believe that a change in the method of dues payment will destroy the Federations as propaganda organizations for their particular nationality. What form the party organization shall take in the future it was and is willing to leave to the party convention, and since this convention will be made up allmost exclusively of Federation representatives, it is certain the form of organization adopted will be the one that the Federations themsedves desire.
AS TO LEGALITY.
One of the most amusing things in the manifesto of the majority group is the appeal to legalism made by this group. This body (the majority of the together with alternates elected at the last convention, who fill vacancies created by the withdrawal of those who bolted, is the only legal Central Executive Committee.
The majority of the has forfeited its right to recognition by the misuse of its power which has resulted in disruption and disunity, and no appeals to legalism will yield back its power in the organization.
SPLITTING THE PARTY The present division of the membership into factions is something which the majority group and not the minority is responsible for.
When it appeared in the negotiations between the two groups that no agreement during the interim before the convention could be reached, the minority made the following written proposal. That we discard any further discussion of the questions under controversy and proceed with the work of organizing a convention in which both groups will be represented by such delegates as they may be able to elect through the district conventions.
The majority group refused to consider this suggestion to preserve the party. Since that time the following letter has been addressed to the same group: New York, April 22, 1920 To The Majority Group of the Communist Party Comrades: At the conference between your group and ours we submitted as a final proposition to avoid in the unity of the party the following proposal. That we discard further discussion of the questions under controversy and proceed with the work of organizing a convention in which both groups will be represented by such delegates as they may be able to elect through the district conventions.
Our group has already issued a call for a party, convention and the date has been fixed, but we are still prepared to come to an agreement on the matter of having both groups come to one convention, in order that the membership may, through their delegates, themselves act upon the existing con troversy. We therefore propose to you joint action in call.
ing one convention of the party and are prepared to take up discussion of details regarding this convention.
Fraternally yours, DAVID DAMON, Executive Secretary.
To this proposal the majority made no reply. The minority is therefore proceeding with the organization of a party convention in which the bulk of the membership will be represented and through which the party will be reorganized for actlve propaganda of the principles of Communism. PARTY OF ACTION The majority group believes that all that is necessary for the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party to do is to seal itself in some dark room, wait for the revolution, and then come out and assume the leadership of the masses in the struggle for power. It scorns contact with thhe masses.
The minority group believes that the party must participate actively in every struggle of the workers, endeavoring to give such struggles Communist meaning and understanding. Geo. Lansbury, editor of the London Daily Herald, who recently returned from Russia, quotes Lenin as giving similar advice to the English Communists.
The party must and will remain a party of clear understanding of principles. But such a party is valuless unless it applies those principles to the life struggles of the workers and develops the progressive stages of mass action that culminate in the social revolution itself.
Contrary to the majority theorizing, the minority does not believe that Communism can only be propagandized when the revolutionary consciousness of the masses has arrived. We believe that Communism has important applications to every stage, no matter how primitive, of the workers struggle against capitalism. We believe that we must not wait for revolutionary consciousness, but must develop and inspire this consciousness by education and agitation.
Already the membership of the party grasps the real significance of the present party struggle and is repudiating the barren, sterile policy of the Central Executive Committee majority and supporting the convention called by the Executive Secretary according to the completed plans of the full This convention will mean the definite reorganization of the party.
It will give the membership the opportunity to express their views of the existing controversy. Out of the convention will come stronger party, with clearer principles and a more definite program of action.
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