First of May in Madrid Papal Drugs for Labor press.
The Bourgeoisie and the Spanish Revolution mittee discredited itself a little more.
The demonstration of May first showed the Oppositon comrades in Madrid. AgruKarl Marx wrote: Religion is the pacion Communist de Madrid. that the opium of the people. MADRIDthe banners of the reformist unions led by unification of the Communist forces in Spain The most profound contradiction exist the cabinet minister, Largo Caballero. Only History is replete with examples of can be brought about only by the expelled ing between the ruling class hypocrisy. Today, 1931, feudal clerical monarchy a group of from 300 to 400 workers de.
Oppo itionists themselves. The Executive and Spanish capitalism expressed itself in monstrated under the Communist banner Committee deliberately sabotages the work Pope Pius XI well upholds that tradition.
In a radio address on May 16, the enerthe particularism of the Spanish provinces. with the hammer and the sickle of the of unification and of the construction of a transport union led by our comrades. But The bourgeois republic has inherited from unified Communist party in Spain. In this able Pope, speaking to millions of workers the former regime this political calamity, slogans issued by our comrades, their destructive work, it is assisted by the Stalthroughout the world, puts forth a prowhich constitutes one of the most serious cheers for the Russian revolution, for the inist epigones of Humanite and the gram for the people in exactly three words: obstacles to the centralization of the forces Soviets, for the arming of the people, for But their resistance is powerless and will Prayer. action and sacrifice. Prayer the of the Spanish bourgeoisie.
comrade Trotsky, etc. were taken up by the first essential. Action is the next thing have no effect. The idea of a Unification voices of thousands of workers who fol.
action of charity and of justice and of the Congress of all the groups and individual It is not only a question of Catalonia, lowed the banners of their reformist unpeace of Christ among the classes.
militants, both expelled and not expelled which itself is merely a question of the What is even more necessary than action ions.
by the Executive Committee, is making struggle between the Catalan capitalist When our contingent passed the Central headway throughout Spain and especially in is sacrifice, perseverance, method and disbourgeois and the agrano feudal Spanish Post Office, hundreds of postal employees the Catalonian federation, where illusions cipline in your work, which demand the subbourgecisie that creates the differences on greeted us with prolonged applause.
mission of your personal ideas and also All about the good intentions of the Comintern the political map of Spain. From Biscaye, demand your co ordination and subordina along the Passeo del Prado, the crowds leaders are still widespread. At Madrid, with its industrial center at Bilbao, all the tion as workers.
gathered on the sidewalks looked at our in the Agrupacion Communist which numway over to Seville, the capital of Andalittle group, determined, energetic, enthus bers bout three hundred militants expel Then the Pope branches out as an lusin. and passing through Madrid, Spain iastic, sometimes with open sympathy, led from the party, the hope for an underdiverse regions economist. Truly the man powers are of Presents a multitude sometimes with curiosity but never with standing on the part of the of the real unlimited. Says the Pope: The differwhose political traditions, especially those hostility. Our group was the only one that interests of the Spanish revolutionary ences in social conditions in the human peasantry, of the working class and the sang in barmony and with spirit the promovement is becoming ever more feeble. family, which were wisely decreed by the vary in a most surprising fashion. It is letarian hymu. the Internationale. so that The Left Opposition has shown by concrete Creator. ah. must not and cannot ever known today, after the voluminous correthe demonstrators from the reformist ninexamples from the international Commun be abolished. But It is essential that spondence of the tourists of the world ist movemnt that the acts of the Executive ions who followed behind us were several that the proletariat be enabled gradually to obthe movement proletarian times induced to sing the Internationale Committee in Spain are the model for the tain some of the advantages enjoyed by the in industrial Catalonia has for a long instead of the Marseillaise.
entire tactic of the in the whole proprietors. e. in Spain, where the time been dominated over by anarcho syn.
the whole batch of pamphlets on world. The Agrupacion de Madrid has dicalism, which was a revolutionary tenchurch proprietors appropriate a comfort Spanish Revolution by comrade Trotsky understood, and in this it is distinguished able part of the wealth of the country, and dency at outset while the workers and the were sold out in half an hour.
from the majority of the Catalonian federa the unemployed number several hundred employees of Madrid, a first rate adminiWhere was the Executive Committee tion, that in Spain, unity will be achieved thousand if they gradually enable this strative city, have been subject to the al(I use the current expression that refers against the bureaucrats of the and social dem most exclusive influence of part of the proletariat to gain some of the to the official party) on the First of May?
that no compromise with them is possible.
ocratic reformism. But if we are not conadvantages enjoyed by the proprietors why It called an unemployed demonstration at At Madrid, the Spanish Left Opposition has tent with a bird eye view alone, we will just simply enable one thousand of those the Porte del Sol, in the center of the city.
won quite a bit of ground for revolutionary unemployed every year and in a mere sevdiscover that the industrial proletariat of But in this demonstration, as in all of its activity. The tasks of vanguard the eral hundred years unemployment will have Bilbao has always been affiliated to the reactivity. the Executive Committee was all revolutionary events in Spain are becoming been solved. formist social democracy and led by Prieto, alone completely isolated. When our conclear and precise. The Left Opposition of the present socialist minister. while the tingent passed the asseo Recoletos, a dozen Spain is growing in the same degree as Now then, how is the Pope going to backward labor movement of Andalusia is or so demonstrators from the Porte del the exploited Spanish masses are awakenAccomplish all this? By raising the wage at present influenced to a certain degree hy Sol joined us, since the unemployed had not ing to the struggle.
of the worker. Evidently, friend Pope is the Communist party. Yet, despite these not exactly a Marxist. Or he would know showed up. That day the Executive Com May 3, 1931.
contrasts and this diversity of influence in OBIN. that the only time in history that the workrespect to place, a sentiment exists, a class ing class has ever gotten a raise, in wages instinct. which unites all the exploited has been when it has organized and fought masses of Spain and of Catalonia and that militantly for it against the ruling class of is: their vague, indistinct would say its time and the Catholic Church, one of Bearing down all their weight to bridle amorphous sympathy for Communism. for The republic was first proclaimed in the biggest of property owners even to day, the revolutionary movement and to hold Soviet Russia.
Spain in the hamlets and in the provinces. constitutes one section of that ruling class.
the masses in check, the socialist republi Catalonia instituted its own government deFurther, that an economic law operates The Communist party has not been able can leaders brought about a change of ré. fore the provisional government seized pow. which causes a mysterious rise in prices to capitalize on this sympathy and to give gime as, a consequence of the municipal er in Madrid. This is the only nationalist whenever such a raise does occur. The It an organized and durable form. From elections held the twelfth of April. The act to be registered for Catalonia, and at illusion on the score of wages, was quite the beginning of the discussion within the revolutionary movement in Spain had ac that it did not proclaim its independence. adequately explained by Karl Marx in Vol. which was accompanied by persecuquired such force that the course of future The masses, under the illusion of the rep of Capital. much better than the Pope tions against the Left Opposition, the Comevents depended entirely upon the strength public and under pressure from the bour could dream of doing it.
intern bureaucracy has pursued only one the class that assumed the hegemony of geoisie, from the very first started to acaim in Spain, and that was to keep up at the movement. All the republicans from And more of such rot as: class colclaim order and turned this act into a big all costs, even at the price of expelling the ultra Right to the socialists who have laboration instead of class war, etc.
celebration. Only in Seville was the ofwhole organizations, a little hand of loyalabsolute control and leadership in the fensive asumed and led by the Commun Finally, why does the ope suddenly ities. The Comintern bureaucracy has realG. the reformist General Union of come out with his little speech? Because ists but immediately the republican authized its aims: at present, the adherents of Workers) united their forces for the sole it is in the interest of the church as well orities came out with a proclamation of the in Spain are limited to the Expurpose of cutting of all opportunities as of capitalism that the masses must be martial law.
ecutive Committee of what once used to be from the working class movement. On the handed out their opiate. Especially when the Communist Party of Spain. When one other hand, the anarcho syndicalists who The absence of a Communist party we witness the uprisings in Spain and speaks in Madrid or in the rest of Spain have almost full power over the makes itself felt at the present moment with when international capitalism views with of the official Communist party, one says (National Confederation of Labor) have particular urgency. Only a Communist increasing alarm the growth of the crisis the Executive Committee. This expres.
given their support and reinforced the bourparty can offer a solution to the different and the rising mood of rebellion on the sion has become the synonym everywhere geois republicans: their anti politicalism problems with which we are contronted. part of the masses.
for the official party, because the Execuhas its usual caused them to capitulate at But to the shortcomings of the Spanish tive, with the support of the has The historical difference between the the decisive moment before the policies of Communist movement issuing from a long two is that the church speaks of prayer expelled the entire Catalonian federation, the enemy class, without even employing period of persecutions, must be added the the entire Madrid federation and does not and sacrifice and capitalism spenks of demthe demoyogle revolutionary phrases that stupidities of the official Communist party accept the adherence of the federation of ocracy and of freedom. The common basis characterized the anarcho syndicalist moveaffiliated to the Comintern. It has brought Duero and of the numerous militants in about internal disorder into the Communof the two is the exploitation of the masses ment up to 1923. No it happened that the Bilbao and elsewhere who have expressed one in the interests of an ecclesiastical republican bourgeoisie itself practically ist ranks, a factional struggle which may their solidarity with those expelled.
hierarchy: the other in the interests of an dominated over both trade union centers be said to have relegated the Communists industrial hierarchy. The common solution This stupid tactic of Stalinist cretinism in Spain, although it did not by that at to the fringe of recent events. Reorganizato both is the action of the mases for has in a certain measure brought positive all overcome its fear of the masses.
tion is especially difficult as the different results for Communism in Spain. This is factions do not want to organize themselves the overthrow of both; the economie emannot at all paradoxical. The Spanish workNevertheless, it was only natural that outside of the Communist cipation of man, with the uitimate aboliInternational ing masses have not experienced the victhese guarantee were not suflicient tion of classes and therefore of all hierfor which, with its customary bureaucratic Issitudes of the criminally false policies of the republican bourgeoisie. They are oblig nonchalance is doing absolutely nothing to archies.
the after 1923. The members of the ed, due to the resistance of the monarchist settle the conflicts between the factions.
It is indeed interesting to note a statehave appointed Executive Committee recamp, to use force, which from the very ment in the same issue of the Times by mained unknown to the masses of workers moment the regime was overthrown foreThe provisional republican government Louis Waldman. New York State Chairman has not promulgated any and this fact has spared the Spanish prole cast even more profound results. That is democratie re of the Socialist Party wherein he views tarint the disastrous experiences of Con.
why it exerted every effort to avoid the forms of even the slightest importance, so the Pope attack Socialism as most intervention of the masses. Although they that all the problems remain unsettled.
trist adventurism, particularly those of the amazing and Ill founded. He concludes: had a liberal distaste for the interference Only a Communist party can solve them There is nothing inconsistent between suc third period.
of military people in politics, still it was and the ground has become particularly ialism and Catholicism or any other orCommunism, as the inspiration of the them that they entrusted the armed favorable for the creation of a Communist ganized religion. One deals with the af.
exploited masses. herefore remains unimsrtuggle in December, reducing the masses party. In this undertaking the Internation fairs of the State and the other with the paired by Stalinist decadence as far as to the role of extras. The failure of the al Left Opposition, today numerically small, affairs of the Spirit of God. We welcome Spain is concerned. This is a fact that can revolutionary attempt in the month of Dec.
will play important role, for it is the the Pope conversion to the doctrine of be established here, everywhere and at all ember is due primarily to this very fact.
only force that possesses a firm revolution labor, but we regard his attack as illtimes. In my first letter, spoke of the ary line. Despite all the obstacles, our founded.
sympathy of the people in Catalonia for After the election of April 12, the ideas are gaining ground, because they are Communism. In Madrid the situation is forces which had supported the monarchy, Also in the same issue Matthew Woll, indispensable, because they are the only equally if not even more favorable: the big bourgeoisie, arch demagogue and reactionary labor leadthe aristocrats, the ones that bring clarity into the confusion On the eve of May first an important clergy, had become convinced that it would er par excellence, is pleased that Pontift that reigns at presnt in the Spanish Comspontaneous demonstration took place be be best for their own interests not to put up reaffirms workers rights and endorses his munist movement.
fore the Portugese Consulate view that neither capital nor tabor has a to protest any resistance to the republic and its de cidedly conservative leaders. In view of the FERSEN.
against the suppression of the insurrectionright to demand all the fruits of their col.
ary movement in Portugal. Nearly three results of the vote, these elements sald: laborate labor.
Madrid May 1930 thousand demonstrators, workers and stu We monarchists and republicans must unThe working class learns slowly but dents, expresesd it will learn to place alongside of the Pope their indignition with ite to save Spain from chaos. These were cries of down with dictatorship as its most insiduous enemies, the figures Long the words La Nacion, hich was formerlive Communism. and Long live the Sovof Wolland Waldman the of ly the organ of Primo de Rivera and which WATCH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION NUMBER!
lets. lives with the support of the big bourge leaders and their class collaboration. and the Socialist party with its ballot box The first of May also was splenoisie. In the last moments, that is, late in This issue of The Milltant is No.
did demonstration and peaceful evolution theories.
for Communism. In the day of April 14, even the king was con If the number on your wrapper is less than speaking of Madrid, we must distinguish vinced that the best thing for him to do To the words of Marx ou religion we All 66, you should send in your renewal.
add the words of Lenin on the Social Demwas to leave the road clear for the republic.
between the organizations and the fighting The provisional government took the re expirations are cut off the mailing list unspirit of the Madrid proletariat. Almost ocracy: They are the agents of the bourthe entire demonstration, in which nearly geoisie in the ranks of the working class sponsibility for the absconding of Alfonso less the renewal is received before the next 200, 000 people participated, marched ander of Bourbon. HERBERT CAPELIS.
issue goes to press.
70 a