The SEMI MONTHLY ORGAN OF THE OPP OSITION GROUP IN THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF AMERICA It is necessary that every member of the Party should study calmly and with the greatest objectivity, first the substance of the differences of opinion, and then the development of the struggles with in the Party. Neither the one nor the other can be done unless the documents of both sides are published. He who takes somebody word for it is a hopeless idiot, who can be disposed of with a simple gesture of the hand. Lenin MILITANT VOL. II. No. 10 NEW YORK, MAY 15, 1929 PRICE CENTS LETTER TO THE RUSSIAN WORKERS changing them.
Foster, Pepper and Our Tasks Today!
quest.
Dear Comrades: By Trotsky majority of the workers in Europe, and especiI write to you in order to tell you again that ally in America, all still read the bourgeois Stalin, Yaroslavsky and Bros. are deceiving The Strength of the Soviet Power press. made it a condition that my articles you. They say that made use of the bour geois. press in order to carry on a struggle been propagating all over the world the stateStalin and his press have for a long time should be printed without the slightest change.
It is true that certain papers in a few countries against the Soviet Republic, in whose creation ment that declare that the Soviet Republic violated this condition, but the majoriy fulhas become a bourgeois state, that the prole filled it. In any case all the papers were comin. They are deceiving you. used the bourgeois press in order to defend the interests of tarian power is wrecked, etc. In Russia many pelled to publish the fact that, in spite of the workers know that this is a vicious slander, lies and slanders of the Stalinists, Trotsky is the Soviet Republic against the lies, trickery that is is founded on falsified quotations. convinced of the deep inner power of the and perfidy of Stalin and Company.
They asked you to condemn my articles.
have exposed these falsifications dozens of Soviet regime, and firmly believes that the times in letters which have been circulated workers will suceed by peaceful measures in Have you read them? No, you have not read the present false policy of the Central They are giving you a false, countCommittee.
erfeit translation of separate small fragments.
My articles have been published in the Rus COM. TROTSKY In the Spring of 1917, Lenin, imprisoned inside Switzerland, employed a sealed train of sian language in a special booklet in exactly the Hohenzollerns in order to get to the Rusthe form in which wrote them. Demand sian workers. The chauvinist press attacked that Stalin reprint them without abbreviations on Jay Lovestone Lenin, going so far as to call him a German agent, and address him as Herr Lenin. Imthe truth more than anything else. Here prisoned by the Thermidorians in Constantiwant to give the fundamental contents of my nople employed the bourgeois press as a sealarticles.
ed train in order to speak the truth to the The Armed Struggle Slander whole world. The attacks of the Stalinists In the resolution of the as to against Mr. Trotsky, stupid in their intemmy banishment it states that am conducting perence, are nothing but a repetition of the preparations for an armed struggle against. In the Next Issue bourgeois and Social Revolutionary attacks the Soviet Republic. In Pravda (No. 14, Febupon Herr Lenin. Like Lenin regard with ruary 19, 1929) the statement about armed contempt the public opinion of the philistines struggle was omitted. Why Vhy did Staand bureaucrats whose spirit Stalin represents.
lin not dare repeat in Pravda what was said from hand to hand. But the outside bourgeois The Banishment from Russia.
in the resolution of the Because he press believes them, or pretends to believe knew that no one would believe him. After them. All these counterfeit, Stalinist quota íalsified by Yaroslavsky, how, why, and under told in my articles, distorted and the history of the Wrangel officer, after the of the whole world as a demonstration of the what circumstances was banished from the The Stalinists are propagating Stalin to the Oppositionists with the proposal Soviet povrei inevitable. Thanks to the enrumors in the European press to the effect that was permitted to leave Russia at my own relieve that the Bolshevik Leninists, desiring to and especially that of the ormous interest of international public the broad popular massconvince the Party of the correctness of their exposed this lie. told how was sent over the border forcibly after a es, in what is being created in the Soviet Repreliminary agreement between Stalin and the Turkish is why Stalin did not dare print in Pravda what public, the bourgeois press, impelled by its was stated in the resolution of the of business interests, its desire for circulation, police. And here acted not only in the interJanuary 18th. But if that is true, why introthe demands of its readers, ests of my own personal defense against slander, but first of all in the interest of the Soviet duce this obvious lie into the resolution of the print my articles. In those articles said to Not for the but for Eurthe whole world that the Soviet power, in spite Republic. If the Oppositionists really desire to leave the borders of the Soviet Union, that ope, and for the whole outside world. Th Through of the incorrect policies of the Stalin leaders would be understood by the whole world as a sign that we consider the situation of the Soviet and daily cooperates with the bourgeois prekes powerful, and will outlive its enemies.
You must not forget that the overwhelming of the whole world, propagating his slander government hopeless. We have not the shadow of such a thought. The Stalinist policies against the Bolshevik Leninists. Stalin can in have dealt a terrible blow not only to the Chinmovement, and the whole Comin clase no other way explain this banishment and his Chicago Workers!
ese Revolution, the English innumerable arrests, except by accusing the but also Opposition of preparing an armed struggle.
Greet the National Conference to the inner stability of the Soviet regime. That With this monstrous lie he has done enormous is indisputable. However, the situation is not of the Communist Opposition to the Soviet Republic. The whole bourthe least bit hopeless. The Opposition in no geois press has discussed the fact that Trotsky, case intends to fly from Soviet Russia. categorically refused to cross the border, proBeloborodov, Muralov, Miratchkovsky and posing instead that they should imprison me.
many others who built the Soviet Republic The Stalinists did not dare resort to that meason the Stradele medinist are now preparing an armed TRUTH about TROTSKY is they made a fira id that the workers would vious how such an idea must weaken the Soviet and the ferred to make bargain with the Turkish Republic in the eyes of the whole world. In order to justify his repressions, Stalin is comIn OPPOSITION PROGRAM and they transported me to Constantie by main force. This explained to the pelled to compose these monstrous legends, whole world.
doing incalculable harm to the Soviet power.
worker Every thinking that if Stalin through daily feeds That is why considered it necessary to apRedifer Hall the bourgeois pear in the bourgeois press and say to the whole world: It is not true that the Opposi30 WELLS STREET Opposition, then was obliged to publish a refutation of these slanders.
tion intends to wage an armed struggle Lenin Testament against the Soviet power. The Opposition has Sunday, May 19, 1929 In tens of millions of newspaper copies waged and will wage a ruthless struggle for AT P. told the whole world that it was not the the Soviet power against all its enemies. This SPEAKERS: Russian workers who exiled me, nor the millions of newspaper copies in all the langu: James Cannon Arne Swabeck nor those with whom we conquered the power ages of the world. It will serve to strengthen Maurice Spector Vincent Dunne and fought shoulder to shoulder on ali fronts. the Soviet Republic. Stalin wants to strengthen his position at the expense of the Soviet ReAND OTHERS in the civil war. It was the bureaucrats who public. want to strengthen the Soviet Re AUSPICES: Chicago Communist Opposition their hands and converted themselves into a exiled me, people who have got the power into public by exposing the lies of the Stalinists.
Group CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX was compelled to harm at a Mass Meeting police, will say at on