TROTSKY 12 SOVIET YEARS POUR The Weekly Organ of the Communist League of America (Opposition)
MILITANT The Illinois Miners Struggle VOL. II. No. 18.
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 30, 1929 PRICE CENTS Crashinthe Stock Trotsky Greets the Weekly Militant Market The Conference at Belleville The Vote. Warning Sign Dear Comrades: You cannot, in my opinion, better mark the Twelfth Anniversary of the October Not all of the soothing assurances of Revolution than by transforming The Militant into a weekly. It is a great step forward.
Herbert Hoover and the other spokesman semi monthly gave the possibility of assembling the first cadres of the faction.
of the ruling class can conceal the fact that The weekly creates the possibility of direct and permanent intervention in the life of the stock market crash was a sharp blow the whole working class.
to American capitalist stability, that reThe weekly, in turn will have to prepare the road to the Daily. But isn it vealed the anarchy and weakness of the industrial and financial structure of the presUtopian to speak of it now? do not think so. For it is in this direction that the road of development is leading.
ent system. The heavily inflated stock market, the accumulation of the growth since In the in Germany, in France, the Left Communist Opposition America entry into the World War, burst represents a faction that is fighting for influence upon the proletarian nucleus of the like a punctured windbag.
official Party. Belgium, the situation is quite different. The official Party there is entirely insignificant. Well, the Belgian Opposition can and must lead to the role of The Causes of Crash an independent Party. Upon it devolves the task of fighting for the proletarian nucleus The Wall Street crash was not due solely not of the Communist Party but of the Social Democratic Party, to the speculative mania, which only aggraIn America, the situation is closer, to that in Belgium than to that in vated the situation, Its roots go deeper. Germany. The essential task of the American Communists consists of direct action Since the end of the World War, the United upon the revolutionary elements of the class; the struggle for the workers who belong States became the world banker. Easy to the official Party or who are misled into the Right Wing not having a great money made possble an embarkment on importance. That means that the Communist League in America has all the necessary a road of production increase such as has elements for developing into an independent Party. And if such is the case, the not had its parallel in history, acompanweekly can and must become a stage on the road towards a daily.
led by an unprecedented export of capI am sending you for the irst number of the Weekly my article on the Twelfth Ital.
Anniversary of the October Revolution, and at the same time my promise of the most The tremendous productive capacity and active collaboration and the assurance of my devoted support.
output of American Industry did not, howConstantinople, October 19, 1929 ever, entirely correspond with the growth TROTSKY of the American home market. At the same time, with the world market growing narrower, European economy, rehabilitated largely by American dollars, continued to hammer at the doors of the American market with a demand for entry.
The world and its markets, however, The vote in the New York municipal ning up 4, 923. In the election for Goverhave certain physical limitations. The elections was not surprising or noteworthy nor in 1926, after the Lovestone wrecking by the fact that the loyal son of Tammany, struggle for this market becomes keener crew had taken over the Party, Gitlow reJames Walker, was re elected to the Office every day. American capitalism must have ceived 4, 425, with Crowley of the of mayor with an overwhelming vote, or an ever increasing share of this market comgetting 1, 967. In 1928, Foster running for mensurate with its top heavy industrial that the prize demagogue of the Republican President, got 9, 214 votes, and Reynolds for (and yesterday of the Socialist) Party, structure. It must either go forward which the 769. For Governor, William LaGaurdia was so heavily snowed under.
means the inevitable arried conflict priF. Dunne (C. got 9, 058 and Carregan That was to be expected. What does come marily with England for a new division of (S. P. 2, 725. Not once did the as a humilating blow is the unusually low of the world market, or else It must vomit come within a thousand votes of the vote of the official Communist Party. To up the indigestible over capitalization of This year, under the new leadership and Its Industry induced by frenzied speculation find a figure that will match the vote re the new line. Weinstone lost 3, 436 votes ceived by Weinstone, the candidate and investment. This is what happened.
compared with Dunne vote last year, for mayor, one must go back more than five while Johnson, of the gained 3, 877 It does not follow, of course, that the years, and even then a comparison is dif votes over last years candidate.
collapso on the stock exchange is to be folcult.
Elections are not decisive for the lowed immediately by a collapse of AmerWeinstone, standard bearer of the Par working class struggle; they are only barican Industry. The ups and downs of stock ty, received 5622 votes throughout the city. ometers of the sentiment of the masses.
market speculations do not directly reflect This stands in sharp contrast not only to As a barometer of the Communist Party the conditions of industry, where money the 174, 391 votes received by the Socialist strength, this year vote indicates a pitiful changes hands under bull or bear incandidate, Thomas, or the socalled weakness and is a crushing blow to all fluences without producing anything or. straight Socialist vote for Solomon for the bombast, fakery, exaggeration and difrequently affecting values. It has been eviComptroller, but also to the 6, 602 votes rect falsification with which the present dent for months that American industry has polled by Olive Johnson, candidate for the Party apparatus men feed the remnants of entered a stage of depression in some of Socialist Labor Party. Even the mounte the Party membership.
its most important branches.
bank Enright, with his Square Deal Party Why the Falling Vote!
Where the Will Press got 334 more votes than Weinstone.
This terrific defeat for the Communist The New York vote is a warning BigBut the United States is still in a suffiParty must be examined in the light of the nal to the membership of the Party. The ciently strong and arrogant position in world following facts: There is an increasingly efforts of the Dally Worker to conceal the economy and politics to endeavor to overradical sentiment among the workers, and shameful defeat with outrageously false come its economic difficulties at home by this militant mood has been played up and headlines about the doubled vote of the pressure on two points on the workers exaggerated enormously by the Daily will only serve to deepen the crisis in the form of a more intense drive to Worker and the rest of the Party press in the Party instead of creating the enlightlower wages, lengthen the work day, speed For weeks before the election, the Dally ment necessary to overcome it.
up the workers, and on Europe, in the form Worker shouted Itsit hoarse with the boast As for the Socialist Party, It has no of a decreased ration for France, Germany, that the workers are ready for Communist special cause for Jubilation. In the perItaly, England and the rest of the world Party leadership, that they are leaving centage of total votes, Thomas received market.
their betrayers in the unions and flocking less than Hillquit did in 1917, despite the From both of these points, United States to the revolutionary trade union center, fact that Thomas campaign was as fearcapitalism will meet with increased resist the T, U, that the Communist cam fully respectable and as far removed from ance. The attempt to issue out of its own paign is to be waged fearlessly in the name socialism as that of any liberal reformer.
difficulties at the expense of the American of class against olags.
The deeply mired was dragged a yard workers, and particularly of European capiS, LP, Beats further down into the swamp of capitalist talism, will involve it in the most violent In the face of all this vapid prattling, degeneration by this year campaign.
collisions. The American worker, accust the elections showed that the Communist The post election heated discussion omed to a relatively high standard of living. Party received a smaller vote for the first between Hillquit and Thomas shows where will fight, if not to raise it, at loast to retain time in many years than the anaemic and the is going. It is not a Party of the 1t. The European countries especially Eng hopelessly sectarian Socialist Labor Party, working class and does not want to be one.
land, will be pushed by the force of events which has no influence upon the American It yearns for the classless liberal and the to fight back, at first around peaceful working class and pretends to none! dignity of the peanut stand owner adherconference tables and in the end on the bat The course of the Communist Party ence. The workers who follow Thomas tlefield of imperialist war.
is very instructive: In 1924, Foster re and his party will serve as vote contribThe factors making for war are already ceived 4389 votes in New York City in his utors and nothing more. Unfortunately, the resent in embryo. They are inaturing rap Presidential run and Johns of the Socialist Party will continue to get worklly. The crash on the stock market is a 2226; Cannon, running for Governor, got ing class votes also, so long as the Comtarbinger of the coming catastrophe. 7, 813 votes with the candidate run munist Party continuer it minous policy.
By Joseph Angelo The news as reported in the Dally Worker on the Belleville convention of the Illinois National Miners Union is just as far from the truth as that carried in the capitalist press. What the convention was in actuality will be given here. Convention of Speeches The first day of the convention (Saturday) began with speech making and ended with speech making. First Voyzey spoke, then Corbishley, then, following one one arter the other, Boyce or indiana, Guynn of Ohio, Kelley from Chicago on the Kelley 18 a new one to me, looks more like a business man than a worker a typical Babbitt. and Allard. Thus the first day of the convention ended with six Communist speakers and after adjournment the rank and file delegates stood outside the convention hall, some with stoical faces and others full of resentment. The miners of Illinois are in revoltThey have had enough of speech making at home, They came to Belleville help outline plan of action to build the National Miners Union, to fight the coal operators and their funkeys, the fish wicks and Lewises, but not to listen to a lot of gibberish from second hand peddlers. So the first day of the convention created a smoldering volcano.
When came into the convention hall for the second and last day of the convention (Sunday) my first impression was that was either in Chicago or New York attending Communist Party affair. There they were with their important looking brief cases Sklar, Tashinsky, Gebert, Bentall, the great zig zag Foster, the Toohey, Prokoff (another Party official in Illinois)
and others whose names don know nor did care to find out. Evidently this crew of Stalinites were delayed for some reason or other, therefore all the speechmaking and no action on Saturday.
The second day session came to order with Corbishly reading off a list of names that he said were selected by a small committee for the various committees, the resolution, constitutional, finance, credential and wages and demands committees. Corbishly asked for the adoption of his report The report was amended by the convention adding a rank and Alle delegate here and there to the various committees. When we got to the wage and demands committee, placed the name of John Watt in nomination: Immediately the Stalinites present began to protest. Their argument was that the national office should not interfere in district affairs. this from Slinger and Allard. Then raised the question of Freeman Thompson who is a National Board member and whose name was select ed by the small commtttee for the wage and demands committee. The Stalinites realizing that they had made a mistake in their work moved that all national offlcials act as an advisory Committee in all committees After this Toohey took the floor for one of his long winded speeches which took over two hours, criticizing John Watt for his socalled operators neutrality theory (which is bunk. Toohey ended his long tírade with a resolution on policy, wage and demands and asked for the adoption of the resolution. Immediately, Voyzey put the motion for adoption before the house and the motion was accepted without discussion of any kind from any delegates.
Before the delegates knew what happened the resolution had been adopted. Shades Contine Page