Saturday, January 11, 1930 TH MILITANT Page Throughout the World of Labor The Split Danger in the French for the convention, a series of expertenties The 11th Congress of the British Communist Party coing, two unions are cut off from their federations which have established new showed the German the contrast that organizations against them. It is around existed between its theses on the radicallthem that the struggle will be concen zation of the masses and the reality.
trated.
The battle that took place at the last series of strikes led by the party and The British Communist Party held its congress of the involved an From the day after the confederal con the revolutionary trade union opposition XI Congress at Leeds. One might think inevitable sequel. Only a few weeks have gress, we pointed out the intention of the remained isolated and were concluded with that the debate would be rather animated, passed and already it is clear what it must confederal leadership to split. Comrades heavy defeats. The hope of arousing a in view of the incidents that preceded its end in. In the Parisian trade unions, the reproached us for it. They did not believe chain of solidarity strikes by simply start convocation. But there was nothing of struggle between the minoritaires and it themselves and told us: Why speak so ing strikes at certain points, collapsed lathe sort. It is true that the most importmajoritaires is intense, the latter contest soon about a split? Experience shows mentably, and had to collapse because ant things took place behind the scenes ing the most certain votes, demanding ex how difficult it is to defend oneself in such without even considering all the tactical and that the public part of the congress traordinary conventions, and when they a case and how the majority triumphs pre errore committed the radioalization had was very limited. The Right was of course are defeated, sounding the call for fac cisely because it alone knows well what it not attained, in the German proletariat, the denounced, but the Right wingers were tions but without much success. The tur wants, because it takes the ensivo and not named. It is a peculiarity of the Enmoil is complete and the restlessness lively.
degree that presupposes the leadership of systematically conducts the fight to attain glish party. The Right is always spoken the party.
The struggle is taking place between the its alm, By constant provocation it seeks of there as an abstraction; no one knows most active and earnest elements; most to drive the minoritaires into blind alleys, The leadership was incapable of draw or rather no one wishes to say who reprefrequently it passes above the masses of ing this lesson from the experiences of sents it.
it pushes them to commit mistakes which trade unionists who stay at home disrecent months but it nevertheless had to couraged.
The chiefs of the party, who did not What will happen in January it thereupon does not fail to exploit to the recognize that experiences such as that of the full.
when union cards are renewed? How many have a brilliant acounting to present, recpipe layers do not strengthen the influThe defence against the trade union ognized their mistakes and delivered will remain members of the ence of the party on the masses, but on The splits is in the air. At first it was directing center intention to split demands speeches in conformity with the orthodoxy the contrary reduce this influence substanmerely talked about. Now it is beginning above all an exact policy which alone of the day. Pollitt, who remains nationtially. It should then have had to adopt a dital enough, did not announce that England to enter into reality. few isolated cases. makes it possible to pursue the battle as ferent policy at the convention of the revoBut that is how things begin. One has a whole. It is possible that for some trade is at present before an immediately revolutionary trade union opposition, wllich lutionary situation; after having discoursed never seen trade union splitters saying unions life is possible, for a time, only ought to be the beginning of the elimina on the first, the second and the third frankly that they want the split. except in autonomy. The minority must be able for a few ultra Leftists who understand notion of new organizations; but the leader period, he finished his speech as follows: to judge. It must be able to decide the thing of the trade union movement and ship maintained its estimate of the sit If we are asked whether this country must necessary retreats, to give up, for exuation and its false evaluation of the profollow the example of Russia, we will reimagine that it is easy to create new trade ample, trade union leadership, when the cesses of regroupment in the masses; in ply without hesitation: Yes!
unions and even a new confederation. The It is only forces are substantially equal and there tactic of the majoritaires is everywhere the this way it only increased the prevailing by the social revolution and armed inare always a thousand ways to contest confusion.
same: it consists primarily in maneuvering surrection that the workers can secure adroitly so as to throw the responsibility vote, rather than to sanction a partial split.
power.
There were 1122 delegates at the confor the split back upon the minoritaires.
We know what weight the position of the vention, of whom 27 were from enterprises The little palace revolutions that had French experience is quite recent and it railwaymen had at the time of the time employing from three to ten thousand work agitated the summits of the party for the must look back upon it at the moment of the first split; the break among them was ers, and 25 delegates from big factories of last few months were terminated by the when history secms compelled to begin made precisely under these conditions. But more than ten thousand workers. But the return of Gallacher to the political bureau all over again.
all this is impossible unless the minority great majority of the delegates had not where he will again find Campbell, HorJouhaux never declared openly that the is given a solid basis at the outset.
been elected by genuine workers meetings ner, Pollitt; Bell and Cox who had kickau split was necessary and that he was going We are convinced that the minority has but merely chosen in small meetings of the him out.
to carry it out. Quite the contrary. He weakened itselt by the position it has takdid not cease repeating that it was Mosopposition where, in most of the instances, It is not, of course, the kind of a conen; It has shown itselt primarily anxious cow that wanted it, even when he capped only a fraction of the workers in the fac gress that could give the party a new about numbers, as was demonstrated by his maneuver by having the first expulsions tory were present. It is therefore a great spirit, and it is very significant to noto its publicly affirmed solidarity with the executed. He did not precipitate the operthat in a situation as favorable as tbo six municipal councillors of Paris. a exaggeration to say that these delegates reatlon until the minority became so strong presented two million workers, present as a result of the general disconstrange political action on the part of men that the normal course of trade union deNevertheless, the convention although tent provoked among the workers by the mocracy would have sufficed to drive him who make use of the name of revolutionpolicy of the Laborite government it does entirely dominated by the party, could have ary syndicalism. But whatever may be the not succeed in growing.
from leadership, Even the bourmarked the beginning of a broad front of He had no lack of advisors strange mistakes committed by the minority and geois journals are not sparing in their proletarian defense against the serious ofralllery towrds the British party and even to the trade union movement to push him those it will be led to commit tomorrow fensive of capital, on the condition that the Communist International. One of them onto the road of split. They even found it would none the less hold true that the rethe situation were correctly estimated.
that he was delaying too long and sermonsponsibility for the split would devolve enunder the title Starving Credo. writes: The principal report was made by the famized him publicly, asking whether he tirely upon the confederal leadership and Three years ago the British Coinous trade union strategist, Merker, memwould foolishly allow the leadership to be that it would be the result of the incohermunist Party boasted of having more than ber of the Central Committee of the taken away from him.
ent and pernicious policy of the last few 10, 000 members. It no longer has even a He duly outlined the progress of raThe leaders of the are in a years. That there should be Right wingquarter of them today, and what remains tionalization, the brutal offenpive of the is rent by internal dissension, personat similar position. Even though the votes ers in a trade union organization, even of bosses but he had nothing to say of the and political The final disaster, over of the confederal congress appear to leave the type of the is inevitable; revolutionary wave. of the powerful pro which there was so much lament at Leeds, them a wide margin and consequently per a trade union is not the party and even the letarian counter offensive, of the stormcoincided with the new policy imposed by mit them to wait not to press events needCommunist parties find it hard enough ing battles of the working class that the Moscow. It is really time that the Com.
lessly they know well enough that this po to eliminate their Right wingers. The Wedding Congress of the Party still an munist International stopped discoursing sition is insecure and may change very right policy for the consists nounced in June. The delegates had still and discussing on the decline of capitalism rapidly. In the present organization, they precisely in educating and winning progres less to say about it. Their speeches indiand took note of the fact that what is real.
no longer have a solid basis. They know sively the timorous and too prudent ele cated a profound fury against the reform ly declining in the world is Communism, that there are still many panic mongers ments, and to increase constantly the bum ists, the terrible consequences of the bruThese journals are burying Commun, among those who voted for them at the ber of trade unionists fully conscious of tal employers dictatorship, they showed ism too soon. But it is certain that the in.
congress and that as a result they run the the revolutionary task they must accom everything save the impetuous drive of the risk of seeing their majority give away plish. Its present leaders have believed masses of which the leadership of the par coherent policy of the Communist Inter national has been disastrous to it. Now abruptly. The trade unions are not the that they can lead the trade unions as ty speaks dally.
The attitude of the English delegate it discovers that what is needed is a daily party something they have completely for they lead the party. The resistance did paper. When one knows what an enormrepresenting the Red International of Lab gotten and a leadership that practises a not take long in making itselt telt, and in or Unions who, at the beginning ous enterprise a daily paper is here, the supposedly revolutionary gymnastic which order to save themselves, they now want of the congresse was not yet huge sums it requires, one is stupefied by is only incoherence, stupidity and incompe to break up the But that is acquainted with tte tactical reversal, this new folly. What is needed to bring the tence, cannot be imposed from above for what they must be prevented from doing.
proved very well how surprising was the party out of its atrophy, is a deepgoing exam.
long, for each trade unionist measures the. ROSMER.
ination of the situation and the policy fol.
sharp turn and consequently, how disconconsequences of it. Communist nucleus Paris, December 13, 1929.
lowed since 1925. But such an examination certing: the new zig zag of the Executive can be a fiction and exist only on paper Committee of the Communist International would show that if the British Commun ists have made mistakes, the ones princithere are more than one of them but in came so brusquely as to thwart the plans of a trade union there must be members, and New Turn in German Trade Losovsky who had first intended to come pally responsible are not they but the when it is deprived of them, it is not easy to the convertion himselt. Under these leaders of the Communist International to rebuild it.
Union Tactics conditions, the tarn that has just been and naturally this will not be done.
Besides, the Confederation leaders have acknowledged was not a renunciation of At a by election held in Scotland, the seen what happened in Czecho Slovakia The convention of the revolutionary the false tactic of the and of the Communists presented a candidate, Isobel not so long ago, where, all of a sudden, the trade union opposition met in Berlin on of the German Party. Added to the wrong Brown, who received 1, 448 votes, the electesimate of the situation, which is not aban ed Laborite having 18, 465 and the conser.
minority found itselt the majority and turn November 30 and December doned, pinned on a system of erroneous ed the leadership out of doors.
vative 13, 270. The figure of the Commun.
This convention, which the German methods that prevent the mobilization of ist vote is relatively respectable it one conAlso, events are proceeding with an many Communist Party prepared for the masses, this reversal leaves the door siders that it was the first time the Comaccelerated rhythm. Where three years months, hed at tho beginning, a very speopen to any kind of an interpretation and munists faced the struggle in this district were necessarily in Jouhaux time, not even cific 2! It was that of creating in Gerto all adventurist and opportunist digres. However, it should be remembered that three months are needed now. The Con many a sort of minority movement in the sions.
Scotland is now the reddest part of the federal congress was held the middle of trade anlons, of reuniting into a red bloc Berlin, December, 1929 United Kingdom and that in the other dis.
September. At the beginning of December, the opposition existing in the various or KURT LANDAU tricts the Communist candidates in the the decisive move is already begun. There ganizations and thus to establish the first general elections received far from similar are sharp conflicts, actual splits. At Tour condition for the creation of new trade votes. Nevertheless, the deposit of 150 unions in Germany, pounds sterling (about 730. 00) was lost, But in the course of the preparations IN THE NEXT ISSUE Confederation Generale du Travail, the the number of Communist voters being less Left Wing trade union federation under than one eighth of the votes cast. The new leadership and control of the Communlet Leaders of the French Right wine, electoral tactic, which should be studied.
ROSA LUXEMBURG as a whole, thus remains pretty expensive.
Party, against whose mechanical, arbitrary led by Louis Sellier, who recently quit the and erroneous policies a growing minor. Communist Party and ranks of Commun ty has rebelled Ed.
lom Ed.
London, December 10, 1929.