Page THE MILITANT Saturday, December 7, 1929 Stalinists Raid the Co ops The Thieves Fall Out in the Miners Union Before the Capitulation struggle against this policy of the Party is hold important positions, or a narrow union not sufficient or an end in itselt. Unless established only on the conditions of acthis movement is enriched with a program cepting a leadership holding Party memberwhich sees the roots of the difficulties in ship cards, even if mechanically imposed. broader field than the cooperative move The former is the only possible form that THE PARTY WINS ANOTHER «VICTORY» IN SUPERIOR! ment, which sees them in the whole pre can succeed, particularly at this juncture.
sent course of the leadership of the Com This is proved by all working class history By Vincent Dunne munist International and its American coun and by the very response of the miners, terpart, it will inevitably lead in the wrong whereas the introduction of the latter narThe Communist Party in the Minneap complete control of the Cooperative Cen direction olis Superior district has just committed the tral Exchange which is also under armed row conception immediately led to a split crowning blunder of the long series since guard. The Party has lost the control and No Turning from the Left!
situation only narrowly averted, the expulsion of the Opposition. Not that sympathy of the cooperatives, with their It is not difficult for this movement to If these methods are persisted in by It is a district matter alone; far from it. 20, 000 members. The control of the Tyomies become under the provocations of the Sta the Party leadership it can result in It is merely the scene, because of the loc is at best a doubtful one.
linists and the maneuverings of the Allanes nothing but complete forfeiture of the preand other outspoken Right wing elements Ation of the cooperative movement in Sup The situation is extremely tense and sent splendid possibilities; and, what is erior and it makes Karl Reeve, Party dis an anti Communist movement, which will unless the proper steps are taken there can worse yet, the creation of a situation in end in transforming the cooperatives into trict organizer, the official splitter of the be grievous consequences for the whole lawhich rank and file coal miners in large a plaything of the reactionaries and dismovement and places heavy responsibilities bor and revolutionary movement in this crediting its leaders. The entirely factional numbers, who are ready to give their utupon the comrades of the Communist Leasection of the country at least. Most of most for the triumph of militant unionism and reckless policy of the Party for years gue here.
will be driven to anti Communism.
the workers have broken away from the As is already known, the Party, behas led up to this climax. The militants Party essentially because of its wild and The National Miners Union has not yet cause of the Third Period, must secure a have the hard job of preventing a move in devil may care policy of arbitrary, mechstranglehold upon all the auxiliary organ anical control or destruction. But the this direction and guiding it instead into reached a point of facing its greatest and izations. The bell has been sounded now healthy working class channels.
most formidable enemy the coal operators.
It is perfectly well known that while the for the cooperatives. The Party operators prefer their own trusted henchfore mobilized its most reckless crusaders men from the old union to the they and marched into the North country.
many times more prefer no union at all.
The Hi Jackers at Work No moment should therefore be lost in The professional disrupters and faction taking up immediately the struggle for The destructive fight now ravaging the agents, Minor and Stachel, were sent towhich side wins in this contest, which will pressing every day needs of the miners as United Mine Workers Union in the Illinois gether with a host of others to demand be decided by the operators.
a means of organizing and preparing them that the Cooperative Central Exchange not district between the John Lewis interHowever, the pressure of economic for the bigger fights to come. That will only donate 3, 000. 00 for the national administration and the Harry conditions, of increased mechanicalization decide the leadership of the union. Only convention and 5, 000. 00 for other Party Fishwick district administration is prov of the mines with increased speed up, inby applying a corect policy can the Comwork, but in addition that a yearly assessing to the hilt all the charges made by creashed unemployment and deterioration muntsts prove the superiority of their conment be levied by the Party upon the Exthe Left wing and progressive forces durof working conditions and the standard of ceptions and make themselves worthy of change to the amount of one percent of ing the years of struggle against these corleadership living, is growing and driving them forARNE SWABECK the gross sales, which would amount to rupt officials. One more serious blow 18 about 17, 000. 00 this year. Also, that all now being administered to the badly shatward to seek their first solution in the the employees of the Exchange and its memtered remnants of this union, thus indibuilding of a new union capable of fighting for their interests.
ber stores should be Party functionaries, cating a once glorious organization coming to an inglorious end.
that is, the salesmen, truck drivers, clerks, Now the question Possibilities of New Union Continued from Page etc. must devote the major part of their of building anew upon the ruins of the Thus the possibilities for building the trism are doomed to defeat. purging time to the organizing of the iron miners old becomes the real burning one. National Miners Union are excellent. Yet, without real democracy in the Party 18 and Party units, and in spare time, build What this fight really is about is as reported in the last issue, the methods transformed into an uproar, a lottery, a the cooperatives.
rather difficult to ascertain. There cer pursued by the Communist Party leaderfarce, and in most cases falls short of The Party hi jackers demanded as a tainly are no principles involved. But ship threatens it with being still born, alits aim. Before Jumipng out of the window first step that George Halonen. as the out the Illinois section still has a dues paying most creating a split situation before the the Bessedovskys pass happily through all standing Right winger. be removed from membership bringing in a revenue for union has taken on organized form. The the censuses, all the purgings, and all the his post as Educational Director of the which both groups of per capita absorbers delegates who walked out in disgust from unanimous votes.
Exchange. This suggestion was not well are willing to go to bat. Both administrathe district convention held at Belleville, All the Oppositionists who followed received by the Executive Board. In fact, tions have already mutually removed one Oct. 27, were precisely the most substantial Radek and Smilga have fallen to the lowest the Board of 13, believe voted unani another expecting the miners to pay the section of the delegates. They were nonlevel. They have no perspectives The mously against it although there are seven bills out of their starvation wages. Each Party members, representing mainly the leading capitulators have left either for Party members on this body. The administration its paid scribes to edit Staunton sub district which has been in the cout homes for watering places, issued a statement for publication in its respective journal, hurling invectives forefront during this long struggle against abandoning the ranks of the capitulators Tyomies, the official organ of the Ex at one another, In this respect, Oscar the corrupt old union leadership, the terri to themselves. Certain of those who left change. At that time the Party had some Ameringer of the Illinois section so far has tory in which the most militant strike us find themselves being refused work and what a better (or worse. crew in the edge with such choice bits as referring picketing was carried on last year and from even unemployment benefits. Certain capicharge of the paper who not only refused to Lewis Deadest duck this side of the which the most substantial locals Joined tulators are returning to us. Some of the to publish the statement but came out with milky way: defender of the fat; marshal the in a body. Fortunately, these Sapronovists signed the declaration of Raa long and vicious statement against the of the Meal Ticket Legion, sublime keeper delegates, although they left the convenkovsky. Smirnov is in Moscow. His Board in general and Halonen and Ronn in of the swag; imitaton Mussolini; the dud tion, are still determined by all means to declaration is finally agreed to, but it particular.
the carcass of Lewisism; union wreck build the National Miners Union, a decision has not yet been published in the press; As its next move, the Executive called er; traitor.
which members of the Communist Opposi evidently, signatures have to be picked seven sub district meetings of the coopers tion were able to influence in a consider up.
Wrecking a Great Union atives which were, of course, attended by able measure.
The material conditions of the deporthundreds of members, at which their stateNothing could speak more eloquently ees are very harsh. The high cost and lack What was the issue at the Belleville ment was read, discussed and indorsed overabout the wreckage wrought by John convention responsible for the delegates of food are very great. The deportees are whelmingly.
Lewis in the of than the memleavng.
bership figures emanated from bis own ofOne of principle, program, form doing a great deal of theoretical work.
Reckless Party Adventure am informed that a new group of Opof organization, attitude toward the old fice. According to reports submitted by One might think that these developunion officialdom or the coal operators?
positionists deported from Leningrad (tenthe Federal Bureau of Mines, 153, 829 mine ments would give the Party pause. Not at No, the issue carried to the point of an twelve comrades in all) have just passed all. It seems that they were overjoyed.
workers are employed in the soft coal fields of Pennsylvania (of course not working incipient split was John Watt, the presthrough Tashkent.
October 21, 1929 Had not these cooperative comrades proved regularly. The of today has ident of the known to the rank and that they were agents of the capitalista?
file miners as one who earnestly endeavors a dues paying membership of 1, 374, ID Of course. Then more pressure, still more West Virginia 119, 799 miners employed to build the union and ascepts its program.
Moscow Worker (No. 209, September pressure! The cooperatives must be saved with 77 dues paying members. In Indiana An issue artificially created. Whatever 11. In the Faucil and the Marteau facor destroyed! Reeve, Pobersky, Bernick, 24, 352 with 10, 609 dues paying members.
might be said about mistakes made by tories (formerly Goujon. in the construcPuro, Heikkinen and a dozen more small Watt, one thing is sure; His long time tion shop, the Trotskyists defended their In Ohio 35, 543 with 1, 061 dues paying fry, together with an un named representmembers. In Kentucky 64, 747 with 77 dues opposition to the entirely false methods ative from the Party center, and TWO represolution at the workers meeting, and pursued by the Party leadership in imposall the members of the Party and the resentatives of the Comintern, were wheeled paying members. At the time when Lewis ing a complete mechanical control upon Youth, instead of accepting battle with into position. The conferences and meettook ofifce as president in 1921 there were this new union movement from its very in them and counter attacking them in a dea total dues paying membership in the ings which had been going on almost withsoft coal ception has largely been both a very nat manner, simply went long. There fields, not including exonerated out number were pushed on to new and ural and correct one. It caused him to re is still tolerance towards Trotskyism.
higher levels the situation growing more members nor the districts of Canada, ot sign his Party membership about last sum Moscow Worker (No. 208, September 365, 740. In 1929 this membership in the tense and the Party steadily losing ground.
mer (a reaction which Communists will not 10. Trotskyism formerly flourished in The Executive Board had in the meansame territory has dropped to 84, 369 of endorse. But the retallation by the Party the Red October factory, and it is not yet time prepared the Pyramid Bunder, the which Illinois has 53, 088.
leadership to this step has become a far stifled today. In the Frunze factory we monthly organ of the Central Exchange, The Fishwick administration in trying to worse one; as a matter of fact, one which have examples of hidden Trotskyists Issucontaining the statement of the Board. outdo Lewis, now makes an open bid for threatens the interests of the coal miners. ing leaflets and certain Communists look The B, however, is printed in the the support of the operators by charging With a situation like the one now exupon it in a conciliatory manner. It Tyomies plant. Now it seems that the Stathat Lewis did not have the courage to Isting in the Illinois coal fields, when the none of my business.
lin men had not thought of this until it was accept responsibility for an orderly reMoscow Worker (No. 210 September already being run. am sure that the nat treat such as main campaign should be the building of they claim the economic the new union on a mass basis, consolida12. In the Kamovniki district there are ural and orderly processess of publication conditions demanded, but instead, they say, tion of its rank and file support, an enerstill some Trotskyist elements. During were somewhat hurried by the workers in isued ihs slogan of no backward step. getic fight against the Lewis and Fishwick teh period of activity that extended from the plant who are to a man in sympathy And yet there have been nothing but reMarch to September, 27 Trotskyists were In treats and sell outs, on both sides. union wreckers, and against the coal operwith the Executive Board. At any rate, about expelled.
ators to recapture lost conditions, the main It must not be forgotten that out of the thousand copies were carried July 1928 Lewis made his infamous de.
campaign is made against Watt. To make a there exist remnants unimportant, it is away by individuals in private cars while cision destroying the last vestige of a natrue of Trotskyism. Report of the Concase, the Daily Worker is resorting to outthe Stalin boys were on the lookout for the tional union by ordering each district to right fabrications as, for example, that trol Commission to the district conference Executive truck.
obtain whatever terms on working condiWatt is calling conferences in opposition to of the Party)
When they finally came to and discovtions It pleased. In Illinois, Fishwick put Youth Pravda (August 25. The rem.
ered what was going on, Reeve, with through a substantial wage cut with a loss those called by the district organization, that the Staunton locals repudiated Watt, nants of a Trotskyist organization has been group of members and a few others, of practically all remaining union condietc.
uncovered in a few Youth nuclei (Chvororushed the plant and succeeded in burning tions and declared it carried in a refer.
stin, Starostin, Petrovsky and Armature endum vote in which a later check up some of the remaining copies. free forWhat kind of a New Union factories. By a decision of the regional all started in which Reeve and the others showed that it was defeated at least three The question that must be answered committee, 23 members of the Youth have were driven up the street with heavy to one. The Fishwick administration is by the Party leadership is what sort of been expelled, among them many members losses.
further taking steps toward a new national union is intended? mass organization in of the committee. of the Party formally, Result: Superior is an armed camp. Guards union of its own which elements who are not Party mem and actually of the Opposition. The Buof the Party are posted in the Tyomies There could be nothing whatever bers but willing earnestly to accept the reau of the Petrovsky factory nucleus has and the Hall. The other comrades have ever inspiring to the miners no matter militant union program, can participate and been dissolved.
THE MILITANT, Vol. 11, No. 19, December 7, 1929. Published weekly by the Communist League of America (Opposition) at 25 Third Avenue, New York, Subcription rate: 00 per year; foreign 50. Five cents per copy. Bundle rates, centsper copy. Editorial Board: Martin Abern, James Oannon, Max Shachtman, MauIce Spector, Arne Swabeck. Entered as second class mall matter Novembor 28, 1928, at the Post Office at New York, under the act of March 3, 1879.