For the Program of Expansion On the «Sectarians. tance.
tee calls for the first step only. But it 17 the next step, and therefore the most important at the moment. Let us concentrate on this campaign and finish it before the Conference! Bigger things will follow.
Taking everything into consideration, By JAMES CANNON progress in the New York branch in the past the American section of the Opposition gave six months. And this record gives us the a good account of itself in the two years with all that, it is quite manifest that the confidence that the promise of the branch that have gone by since its expulsion from elements of cohesion are uppermost now in to raise one half of the two thousand dol As a result of the situation (in the the party. The achievements of those two our organization; that we are definitely on lar fund needed for the program of expanFrench trade union movement) a strong years modest as they are when measured in the upward grade. Our last Plenum marked sion will be fulflled to the letter.
movement for trade unity has developed in the gigantic scale of the proletarian rev. the beginning of this turn. The period From the National Committee and the the ranks of labor. Recently this movement olution will undoubetdly have a place of which has intervened since that time has New York branch spirit of accomplishreached organizational expression. comhonor in the history of American Commun registered some advances, and most of all ment will spread to the other branches. The mittee has been established, made up of ism. Their significance consists in the fact it has prepared the ground for others. organization nationally will soon begin to representatives Left wing elements in the that they represent a beginning. And be THE PROGRESS IN gird itself for another advance. Everything reformist and of opposition eleginnings always have historic impor NEW YORK argues for this confidence. The part as ments in the revolutionary U. reOur militant fight during these two The strengthening of the forces engaged signed to the various branches to make this volutionary syndicalists, supporters of the years has signified the appearance of a in the national direction of the League, and advance possible is simple, and compara Workers and Peasants Party, etc. for the counter current against the stream of retro the improvement of its functioning gener tively easy. The theory that the members purpose of developing the movement to gression in the Communist movement of ally, has already shown positive results. As of the Communist League have been over amalgate the two trade union centers and America; a small one, but a real one. was to be expected, the New York branch, loaded with responsibilities and duties is establish one trade union federation in Those who have contributed in any way which works in the most intimate contact absurd. Up to now only a handful have France. This movement has already made to this historic work may well take pride with the National Committee, reflects the really exerted themselves in a manner considerable headway. It is significant that in it. But the satisfaction which we justly improved situation first. The activities of worthy of Bolshevik Leninists, and nobody this movement has met with the determined feel with the accomplishments of the first the New York Branch have been multiplied has been hurt. The program outlined in the resistance of the Unitary Opposition in the two years does not give us the right to view at least four fold in the past six months, resolution of the National Committee only which is the shadow of the them as a completed task. Their impor and its Communist character has been calls on the membership to move one step French Trotskyites. These people always tance, as has been said before, is the im strengthened on all sides. If the fact that faster. The real march is to come.
prate of united front and of unity but portance of a beginning. Their real vin. Weisbord pitiful maneuvers could cause a THE SECOND NATIONAL when it comes to concrete questions they dication will come only If we remember flurry in the Branch was evidence of a rem CONFERENCE take a position absolutely indistinguishable that, if we build on them and multiply them nant of its earlier weakness, the vigorous The Second National Conference, already from the official I. Revolutionary in the coming months.
and emphatic manner in which it repulsed definitely scheduled for the summer, will Age, 12 20 1930.
The pioneer work has accumulated for them when the issue became fairly joined meet if we are not greatly mistaken un The Revolutionary Age of December the Opposition some resources in the form was a sign of its progress towards political der the sign of a tightening up of the or20, 1930, reported on the appeal recently of supporters, sympathizers and experiences.
stability.
ganization all along the line. Platonte issued by a group of members of the This capital, as it may be called, justines a The branch consists in large part of members who have fallen into the habit of reformist trade union federation. of program of expanston for the coming year. comrades who are new in the movement. wearing the proud badge of the Opposition the Red trade union federaWe have grounds to plan for a leap forward They have to assimilate the ABC of withont doing anything to deserve it will tion. and of autonomous union organizain 1981; and if we work wisely and harmon Communism at the same time that they be called to order. The Conferente should tions for trade union unity, the formation fously the plan will surely be realized in wage a fight over the complicated problems tell everybody that enrollment in the Op of one united trade union federation in Ite. Such is the considered opinion of the involved in the work of the Opposition. This position means not a release from party France. Whatever may be the errors conNational Committee, as expressed in the presents difficulties, but they are not insur obligations but the assumption of double tained in this appeal (a syndicalist nonresolution adopted at a recent meeting and mountable. Ignorance is fatal only for ones. The Opposition has assumed a great political orientation. the course towards published in the Militant for February 15th. those who are unwilling to learn. One of historic task which cannot be trifled with. trade union unity is certainly correct and THE TWO THOUSAND the first things revolutionaries must learn, What we want and what we must have is a corresponds to the interests of the French DOLLAR FUND if they do not want to disgrace the name, body militants for whom the revolution working class. The old leadership of the On the one side the resolution asks for is that speculation over the great tasks of 1s the most serious concern in life; for Trotskyist group hesitated a little on this a special fund of two thousand dollars, of the future not sufficient. It is necessary whom the demands of the movement stand question and seemed about to give way in which the New York branch has already to understand the task of the moment, the first and above everything.
the direction of trade union unity. But pledged to raise one half. On the other accomplishment of which will lead us a The Communist League is not yet such Trotsky discovered this deviation from step nearer to the bigger ones of tomorrow, an organization, and it cannot become such side, with this special fund, the National Trotskyism in time. Revolutionary Age, Committe will undertake to guarantee the and to attack it resolutely. Not to pass a over night. It will be the task of the Con 14 1931.
holding of our national conference: to es resolution on it and then forget it; but to ference to say resolutely that we are going So much for Lovestone, who frequtablish a publishing concern which will ex pass a resolution, and mean it, and do it. to move in that direction. The program of ently over reaches himself in his anxiety pand and systematize our publis activ In this respect, we have already seen a great expansion adopted by the National Commit. to find allies for mass work. for unity. Itles; to return the Militant to weekly pub and for the liquidation of Communism.
lication; to found a theoretical magazine; We learn from him that the new moveto strengthen the staff of the national or ment for surrender to French reformism is following a course which is certainly corganization and provide for a field organizer. The following letters were written by under the sun, culminating with frantic to organize at least two national lecture rect despite a trifling error or so while a prominent member of the British Commun calls for a revolutionary workers governthe infernal Trotskyists who always prate tours; and to bring out the International ist Party to the editor of the Daily Worker ment.
Bulletin in English regularly. These are of unity are the only fly in the sweet oh tof London. That the letters did not sue If comrade Poilitt ever frantically called all tasks which cannot be postponed.
ment of unity. Now let us hear from Herr ceed in passing through the Stalinist cen for a revolutionary workers government To many people this argument may apBrandler, Lovestone German colleague, sorship does not affect their validity in the we can be sure that it was only when he who, if he is not less anxious to liquidate pear, at first glance, as an impossible barleast; on the contrary, it indicates the was so instructed. We have not forgotten Communism in the interests of reformism, gain. But it isn so, as we will prove when bureaucratic fear of criticism which fills the the frantic calls for street activities on the fund is provided. Every item on the is at least a good deal more cautious than British representatives Stalinism, when August the First! What is the basis for side charged to the responsibility of the Lovestone, especially since he has more confronted by the first voices of discussion this sudden about turn? Distrust of the National Committee will be made good. The than half an eye cocked towards a possible emanating from Left Oppositionists in workers! The Pollitts argue: The workers items in the program do not stand separreconciliation with the Stalinist apparatus.
England, who are beginning to advance in did not respond to our frantie calls in In the German Right wing organ, we read ately. They dovetail into each other, and the necessary strength and clarity required August, therefore they want a reformist the following about this same French move the realization of one will help the realizafor the constitution of a firm core of Br Charter and we, the leaders of the workment which inspired Lovestone to such tion of the others.
tish Marxism which has been made a mock ing class, must give it to them.
praise: No one should dismiss this resolution ery of by the Murphys, Pollitts, Bells and The Left trade union reformists of the If the theoretical basis of the trade lightly as a mere gesture made in a fit of the other leaders who, under instructions Pollitt class do not learn from the history union unity agitation of the 22, as they temporary enthusiasm. We have never been from the International Stalinist apparatus, of the working class (though of course they are generally called, is thus thoroughly Inclined to leap over the barriers of cirhave reduced the promising Communist are very susceptible to changes taking place false and indistinct, then its action in the cumstance and to promise the unattainable; Party of England to a shadow. The letters in the policy of the International, being present situation leads to nothing less than and the experience of the Opposition strug of comrade Davis follow. Ed. ready to jump this way and that at the a capitulation before the reformism of the gle have not been calculated to nurture such The Editor, Daily Worker slightest hint from above. majority of the leadership and to a tendency. The difficulties of the fight and Dear Comrade: It is only in periods of ascendancy, or, the enlistment in the anti Bolshevist front the hard blows we took have beaten a sternI ask you to publish the following: just after such periods, when the masses of imperialism together with the whole er realism into our heads. The resolution In the central organ of the party, the are flushed with suocesses and the repres Second International. The struggle is only of the National Committee is not a mere Daily Worker of today date, appears a sion is only just beginning, that the workers one sidedly conducted against the leadershiy paper resolution. It is a realistic plan of short résumé of comrade Pollitt activity. spontaneously make strong economic de of the Communist Party of France and the action which can be fulfilled in every point. The article purported to show that com mands. But after a long series of defeats, but in no case against reform And, unless we sadly miscalculate the ac rade Pollitt could maintain his claim to be with capitalism, also in a period of deep ism in the It is not only the tual possibilities and the spirit of our move the only workers candidate in the White depression, the working class needs and re wrong manner of intervention of the present ment, it will be realized without imposing chapel by election which of course he is. sponds to calls which may be termed fran Comintern and leadership in the an undue strain on the members and symBut, how did the party organ try to tic by the Pollitts but which give expres affairs of the organizations, that is attacked, pathizers of the Communist League.
demonstrate to the workers that Pollitt was sion to the class hatred of the masses for but in reality the conceptions of CommunFor some months now it has been evireally a revolutionary worker?
the bourgeoisie. This does not mean Stal ism. The French working class must dent that the Communist League has been By pointing to his trade union activity Inist adventurism and ultra Left zig zags, have its attention called to the fact that turning the corner and overcoming the and NOT ONCE mentioning his role as a but steady propaganda in the factories and the road of Monatte and his comrades leads slump which took place in our activity at leader of the Communist Party!
among the unemployed. Propaganda which o reformism, to anti Bolshevism and by that ter the first big push. For a time we suf This is an ultra Right line. hiding lays bare and exposes the cause of the work to the struggle against the proletarian revfered from a certain stagnation which was from the workers that leadership of the ers oppression, which sharpens the class olution in France and other countries.
not without internal difficulties and symp Communist party constitutes the highest hatred of the workers and at the same Gegen den Strom, 14 31.
toms of crisis in the organization. The claim to be representative of the workers. time gives assurance of ultimate victory. The contributor to Gegen den Strom has weight of objective circumstances pressed The article is an open denial of the leading The propaganda of international soll his own reasons for taking the position he down upon us and our movement seemed to role of the party.
darity and final aims among the masses, the does. For the moment it does not concern progress at a snail pace. In such condlFraternally yours, encouragement of discussion in the party us here, except to remark that the German tions frictions are always accentuated, and David Davis of fundamental problems around present af Right wing observations on the French difficulties assume abnormal proportions. Just in this period, when the working fairs in the International. These are the situation reek with hypocrisy, when one conIsolation puts endurance to the test. Only class is in a trough of depression, just when tonic needed.
siders its fervid flirtations with the French those groups which have a firm base in the working class is going through a period This has nothing common with Au which such a staunch supporter principle, which are bound together by uni of bitter disappointment and realizing the gust the First adventurism! To take part of the new movement towards reformism.
form conceptions can hold out against it. treachery of the trade unions and the La in the daily struggle of the workers means What does concern us here is the characIt is thanks to the vitality of our prin bour party, just at the very crucial moment a daily struggle against pessimism, but this teristic attitude of Lovestone, which is is eiples in the first place and to the abit the workers the tonic effect of has nothing in common with the reformist no essential different from that of the Right of collective work which we brought with a call to vigorous action against the bour Charter of Pollitt which springs from the wing slides back another pace from Con us from the struggles the past, that we geoisie, Pollitt comes forward with his re womb of pessimism.
munism towards reformism, it covers were able to emerge from this stagnant in formistic program! It might be remarked that after this retreat to the social democracy by terlude without fatal convulsions and Pollitt is deliberately leading the party the August First adventure followed the barrage of criticism of. the Trotsky splits. Other sections of the Interna into tail endism. He has sunk into the Charter of pure reforms, unlinked with sectarians. In truth, it is now axiomo tional Left Opposition have not been mood of the masses and is dragging the any political issue. Then, after this arti that whenever you read an attack upon so fortunate, as we know, and for party with him Hence his sneers: In the cle was written, the British issued, a Left Opposition sectarianism in the reasons inherent in the concrete conditions past, we have thought it treachery if we few weeks ago, a manifesto which ended Right wing press, you may be certain that which gurrounded them. Nor are we insured ever put forward demands that did not in a call for a Soviet Britain! Slaps from the Right wing is seeking to conceal a neve against such convulsions for the future. But go the whole hog and include everything the Left, slaps from the Right. Zig zag! step in the liquidation of Communism.