a THE COMMUNIST legislation; we have yet to use this important episode for the not merely that a committee shall make plans for the revolanti parliamentary and pro soviet propaganda for which our ution.
program calls.
Whatever else is to be said about the there can be no question but that it is an organization of potential reWe have said next to nothing about the persecution of the volutionary character, a primary medium for Communist Communist movement by American capitalism and how it agitation. It will become Communist in expression only by shall influence our tactics. We have not used these events for compulsion of Communist understanding in the rank analysis of the sham democracy of capitalism; for an analysis and file. The way to develop this is for our members to join and propaganda as to the hollow mockery which the whole the wherever.
parliamentary system has become in the United States, particularly since the beginning of 1917. The Dictatorship of the The Socialist policy of boring from within the of capitalist class now openly asserts itself through dictatorial was vicious in that it was only an indirect and hypocritical exercise of executive power, brazenly ignoring Congress as method of supporting an inherently reactionary labor organmore or less entertaining debating society. Capitalist domization. Communist who must belong to the of on account of absolute job necessity should seize every opporination even expels and excludes the toothless, cringing labortunity to voice his hostility to this organization, not to re reformist opposition from this sort of Congress, so contempform it but to crush it, because its basic character is counter tuous is it of working class power in this country at the present revolutionary. Opposition to the of must not be purely time. Large masses of workers are voteless; the labor movenegative, as it has heretofore been in our party propaganda. ment, even in its trade union aspects, is becoming rapidly outThe is the obvious, compelling medium for giving our lawed. One of the most important items of Communist propaadvocacy of industrial unionism an affirmative character. We ganda in the United States is the destruction of constitutional must hold up the as against the of we must illusions among the American masses. Now that the Socialist help build a stronger at the same time as we carry Party has become the arch supporter of these illusions, with on our work of Communist education within the the name of Debs to bulwark betrayal of the class struggle, the burden of the Communist Party in this vital respect is The Russian Bolsheviki have helped build the classgreater than ever.
conscious workers unions in their country, penetrated into them and make them a medium for revolutionary political There is no doubt that we must make use of the slogan: propaganda, but the American parody of Bolshevism. the Boycott the elections not because we are on the eve of majority group. isolated the party from the inrevolution. We must use this slogan as a challenge to the dustrial movement in this country, paralyzed every initiative impotence and fraud of parliamentarism. Down with the parof the membership in this respect, showed a determined hostility liaments, hail to the Soviets this must be our election to every action compeiled by the party program with regard platform. And if, as in Russia, the turn of events (by the beto industrial unionism and participation in strikes.
ginning of the revolutionary class struggle) gives us the Communist Party and Parliamentarism opportunity actively to enter into the elections, we must not Our party program is clear in the general appreciation of cease to proclaim: Down with the fraudulent democracy of parliamentary action. The program says: Participation in capitalist rule, hail to the Dictatorship of the Proletariat and parliamentary campaigns, which in the general struggle of to the real democracy of a workers communist republic.
the proletariat is of secondary importance, is for the purpose Meanwhile, eight months have gone by of complete silence of revolutionary propaganda only. But it is an absolutely on the part of the in the many important election literal truth that the has not spent one moment even campaigns, in Seattle, Milwaukee, Davenport, New York, and to consider a policy of action in fulfilment of this program. a dozen other cities where labor campaigns have been carried Many important events affecting Communist tactics with on. Not a word to indicate the contrast between laborism and regard to elections have occurred since last September. We Communism; not a word to account for our non participation had no word to say as a party about the November elections; in these elections.
except to allow two or three members of Local New York to shout about a boycott of the elections, suported by the unParty Organization controlled editorial expression of the Party Editor, on the Only a centralized party, closely uniting all its territorial ground that this was a time of revolutionary conflict unand industrial units, can concentrate its Communist propaganda suited for our participation in the elections. How profound was and revolutionary action in one decisive stroke of action. Only this analysis is revealed by some of these same persons defenda truly centralized party can enforce real discipline and real ing a policy of party inaction on account of the apathy and cooperation between the executive staff and the rank and file inertia of the masses six months later.
of the organization.
We had no word to say either as to the Berger election or The Communist Party, accurately speaking, exists as yet expulsion, although these were important occasions for deonly in name. We have never been a party, only a rather loose veloping the differences between Communist and Socialist po federation of federations, with a few non federation members licy. contrast between Socialist reformism in action and no as semi intruders, or at best as technical agents of the Fedaction at all is not much to brag about.
erations.
What have we said about the Albany expulsions of the Socialist Assemblymen, except as the party paper has taken The Federations, though constituting almost the entire account of the yellow defense? This affair at Albany was a party membership, have done their work independently of the political event which challenged the attention of the whole world; party and of one another. Their publications have been primait was an event of highest significance for our future party rily nationalistic organs, only remotely related to the Communist Party. The knew nothing and dared ask nothing policy, yet the Communist Party had no word to say about it.
We have yet to say anything about the New York exception as to the policies and work of the Federations, until the members of the Russian Federation insisted upon an invest