March 1, 1920 THE COMMUNIST The Communist Party of America tain Nuorteva repeats the accusation as against nine. Practically all our officials are unthe Communist Party in the interests of der arrest, and meetings are all broken (Reprinted from The Call, official organ of the British Socialist Party)
the corrupt and reactionary Socialist up. The American Government is deterParty.
mined to break up our party. And at have received the following state These parts of our programme concern At this moment the American Commun this moment Mr. Nuorteva tries to comment from an authorized representa mass action, destruction of the bourgeois ist Party is engaged in a life and death plete the demoralization of the party by tive of the Communist Party of America: In the Daily Herald of January 8th ap and these are copied almost word for party has been organized only four months, tives. He will fail. Neither the plots nor pears a cable from America containing cer word from the manifesto of the com but already more than 000 of our 45, 000 the machine guns of the moderate Socialaccusations against the American Com munist International. In fact, circulation members have been arrested one out of lists can break the Communist movement.
munist Party made by Santeri Nuorteva. of this manifesto was made the basis for The accusations allege: deportation proceedings against a number That agents of the Department of of comrades. Would Mr. Nuorteva assert mHE Manchester Guardian, in its issueſ to bear his share of the increased national during the Gary strike some Wasting English Money Justice organized the Communist Party months ago.
of America.
that these passages in the manifesto of That these agents dictated the parts the Communist International were dicof December 20, 1920, prints the fol burden. But if the Government are right of the Communist Party programme which tated in Moscow by agents of the Amer owing editorial under the title Sharing the in other things. The final installment of now constitute the basis for wholesale ican Department of Justice?
Burden. We observe that while the ar General Denikin subsidy, which the Govprosecutions and deportations.
ticle appears to deal with English mat ernment have not paid but are going to Mr. Hanna characterizes these accusa tary of the American Soviet Bureau, is of the sources of the impoverishment of be required to carry out in full the recomMr. Nuorteva, in spite of being secre ters, it throws an interesting light on one pay this winter, is an almost exact measa tions as astounding. They are more than not a Communist; is, in fact, still a mem the British exchequer: astounding they are criminal.
ber of a discredited and reactionary Somendations put forward by the Select Com1. That government agents organized cialist Party. have evidence which is the necessary celerity the Government a higher value upon the fostering of civil The house of Commons have passed with mittee last month. The Government put the Communist Party of America is as now on its way to the Soviet Government Bill to increase the scale of relief to be war in Russian than they do upon securtoward the Communist Party is interna engaged in a sinister plot to wreck the endorse without enthusiasm Mr. Lloyd old age pensioner at home.
tional; it is a movement determined by the Communist Party of America, and that he which members resolved upon this deeper war, by the betrayal of Socialism, and the is trying to use the prestige of the Amer dive into the purse of the taxpayer. An FRENCH SOCIALISTS QUIT SECOND collapse of the Second International, and ican Soviet Bureau in his criminal plot. other hole in a sieve makes little odds.
INTERNATIONAL by the proletarian revolution in Russia. The moderate Socialists in most coun But it is worth while to get things in their dispatch of February 29th states that The old Socialist movement has been split tries have accused the Left element of 000 a year which the Government are pre the French Socialist Party has voted to asunder, the Left elements rallying to the being agents of the government provoca pared to spend on old people who at the leave the Second International. Probably Communist Party and the Communist In teurs. The Majority Socialists of Germany end of their life work have not more than the French party will now join with the ternational It is monumental audacity, and worse, and Spartacans as agents provocateurs. it will mean a good deal less than what ference to consider unity with the Comrepeatedly stigmatized the Independents 10s. a week to live upon may seem a gen German Independents, the British to say that Government agents dictated During the Left Wing struggle in the is commonly thought to be a living wage.
munist International.
the parts of the Communist Party pro American Socialist Party the representa The Government refuse to do more on the The Paris section of the French party is gram, which now constitute the basis for tives of the Left were more than once stig right. We are all poorer, or should be, diate and unconditional affiliation with the grounds of economy. Possibly they are predominantly Bolshevist, ready for immewholesale prosecutions and deportations. matized as provocateurs; and now Mr. and perhaps the old age pensioner ought Communist International.
We Must Show an Unbroken Front to Our Enemy The capitalist class of the United States threw all the power of the government against the Communist Party of America during the first week in January.
Raids and arrests wertated out on a scale never before undertaken by any government against the working class movement. Even the Czar was outdone by the agents of American capitalism.
The capitalist government hoped to destroy the Communist Party by this unparalleled aggression and persecution.
The Victims of the Raids Deportation Imprisonment About 3, 000 members of the Communist Party Over 250 members of the party, among them the entire Central Executive are being held at Ellis Island, New York City, Deer Committee and all the Translator Secretaries of the Federations, are under inIsland, Boston, and in prisons throughout the coundictment under criminal syndicalism and criminal anarchy laws. In Illinois all the national officers of the party and the local secretaries are charged with try. These men and women are charged with being conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United States, and scores of inmembers of the Communist Party, and because of such dictments are pending against members of the party elsewhere, particularly in membership are threatened with deportation.
New York State and Michigan.
Although the capitalist government threw all its power into the effort to destroy our party, it has failed. In spite of the wholesale arrests our organization is functioning. The government has taken three or four thousand of our workers, but there are tens of thousands left who stand in their places and who have assumed their work.
The first duty of the party is to organize the defense of those comrades who are the victims of the ruling class attack upon us.
We must see that not one of our members is needlessly sacrificed. We must fight their battles against deportation and imprisonment. We must take advantage of every phase of capitalist laws to return them to our ranks and the service of the party.
To carry on this work a Central Defense Bureau has been organized.
This Bureau will have general charge of the defense of the party members everywhere. It will immediately give aid to those in localities where the defense organization is not functioning properly and as quickly as possible establish branches throughout the country to take over all defense work.
Every party unit should at once send its contributions for this defense work. Circulate the Defense Fund lists and Defense Fund Stamps.
The emergency is great, comrades, and you must make your contributions as great as the emergency. Never before has a working class organization been compelled to defend more than 3, 000 of its members at the same time.
Let us show an unbroken front in spite of this attack. Let us show the power of Communism by performing this task quickly and well.
COMMUNIST DEFENSE COMMITTEE RUTHENBERG, Sec. FERGUSON, Treas.
ROSE PASTOR STOKES JAY LOVESTONE CHARLES DIRBA Send all contributions to: FERGUSON, 138 West 13th Street, New York City (Use this address for defense fund contributions only)