Sec Page Four People Front Moves to Cripple Strike Movement in France NEW MILITANT Official Organ of the Workers Party of the VOL. 2, NO. 22 WHOLE NO. 74 NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 1936 PRICE CENTS Workers Party Calls All Revolutionary Workers to Join the Socialist Party Statement of National Committee THE Cleveland convention of the Socialist Party Roosevelt camp; comfortable, aging Philistines, stern finally smashed the Old Guard domination, and the and implacable only against revolutionists and miliOld Guard withdrew. By rejecting the Old Guard, tants. for a decade and a half these traitors poured the convention ratified the slogan of an inclusive, demtheir poison into the minds and hearts of Socialist ocratic party, open to all who stand for the goal of workers. The socialist worker, seeking a way out from socialism and who are willing to work loyally within capitalism, could find guidance, in all those years, only the framework of the party.
in the venal and corrupt Jewish Forward or its EngFrom these two significant developments we draw lish version, the New Leader. The worker or student two conclusions. seeking to learn something of scientific socialism was By breaking with the Old Guard and by opendelivered into the hands of the Algernon Lees and the ing its doors to revolutionary workers, the Socialist The Cleveland convention of the Socialist Party midst the rounded views of consistent revolutionary Rand School! Groups of workers engaged in struggle Party becomes the best rallying ground for the revo has brought to an organizational climax the internal Marxism.
against repressive administration in their unions, if lutionary forces in building the party of the American struggle which had arisen out of the Leftward develAt its last convention, the National Committee they were naive enough to bring their problems to the proletarian revolution.
opment in the party. The break with the Old Guard Taking the militant Socialists at their word, Julius Gerbers, were betrayed to the bureaucrats not shifts the center of gravity to the Left and facili closely the developments within the Socialist Party of the Workers Party was instructed to follow only by being restrained from struggle, but also by the the revolutionary workers outside the Socialist Party tates the growth and activity of the party. This, direct process of stool pigeoning. The Old Guard gave should immediately join it.
as well as the militant position the party has taken and was given full power to take appropriate action aid to not a single one of the important struggles for Acting on these conclusions, the National Committee of the Workers Party, exercising the authority exon the crucial question of imperialist war, confronts in the event of a favorable outcome of the internal democratic rights on behalf of political prisoners!
pressly given to it by the party convention, has formrevolutionary workers throughout the country with struggle. By virtue of this authority, the National They did not lift a finger to aid the organization of a new situation. The composition of the Socialist Committee herewith decides to dissolve the Workers the millions of unemployed. Under their regime, the ally dissolved the organization and all its members are Party today is no longer what it was under the Party as separate organization and calls upon all joining the Socialist Party. The Spartacus Youth Socialist Party had all the vices of the European Sodomination of the Old Guard. Into its ranks have its members to enter the ranks of the Socialist Party cial Democracy without even the advantage of being League has taken similar action to join the Young of America. It appeals to all revolutionary workers the party of the masses.
People Socialist League.
entered a new generation of class conscious miliThese conclusions, and the actions proceeding from tants, inspired by the spirit of the class struggle, to follow this example.
them, are the result of a careful and concrete analysis who want to make the party a party of revolution The comrades who have been grouped in the Degeneration of the Communist Party of the course of development of the Socialist Party ary Marxism. They represent a movement of great Workers Party join not as a separate faction, and Now the Socialist workers are freed of this horrible, during the last two years.
potentialities the cause of a mass party of soci ake their places by side with the militant parasitic excrescence. At first thought, indeed, it apist revolution in the United States.
fighters in the ranks of the with the aim of pears incredible that thousands of militant workers Turning Point at Detroit The Workers Party, formed to advance the in building it into a mass party revolutionary and youth could have joined the Socialist movement terests of revolutionary internationalism, cannot socialism. We aim to work loyally and devotedly in while the Old Guard ruled the party. They joined, of The Detroit convention of the Socialist Party in stand apart from this movement. It is fully con cipline in action. We enter the Socialist Party as the ranks of the Socialist Party and to observe dis1984 marked a decisive turning point in the history course in spite of the Old Guard. The main influx has come since 1928. That influx was only possible because of the movement. The Declaration of Principles then scious of the tremendous importance of this movewe are, with our ideas. We assume all the obligaof the degeneration of the Communist Party.
adopted, despite the ambiguity and confusion of its ment for the future of the American and internations and duties of party membership and ask no The revolutionary workers have been joining the Soformulations, made a sharp break with the classical tional working class of the fact that this cialist Party since 1928 because the relative autonomy reformism of the post war Social Democracy, and gave movement can be advanced more speedily and special privileges. On the basis of equal duties and of state and local organizations made it possible for evidence of a determination not to repeat the terrible consistently in the direction in which it has traveled equal rights we obligate ourselves to work loyally them to function in it, even though under fearful hanmistakes and crimes of the parties which had led the only by the closest, most loyal and direct contact and devotedly to build the Socialist Party into dicaps. In the Communist Party, they could not funcAustrian and German masses to the yoke of Fascism. with it.
powerful, united organization in the revolutionary tion at all. It is no mere coincidence that the Socialist The Waldmans, Pankens and Oncals rightly characstruggle for socialism.
terized the document as a break with democratic Unlike the Communist (Stalinist) Party, which Party has grown precisely in the years since the ComNATIONAL COMMITTEE, munist Party, yoked to the national Socialism of Socialism, e. the cowardly and treacherous Social has sunk deeper and deeper into the mire of reformWORKERS PARTY OF THE Stalin, ceased in actual fact to be a party. It is no Democratic reformism of the war and post war years. ism and social patriotism, the Socialist Party has accident that the growth of the Socialist Party began Though the leftward tendency of the Socialist Party freed itself from the strangulating domination of in the same year that we, then the Left Opposition, has not achieved programmatic clarity and, in some the Right wing and has advanced towards the posiwere expelled from the Communist Party. The respects, retrogressive steps were taken at Cleveland, tion of revolutionary Marxism on a number of basic became nothing more than a rigid apparatus clique; nevertheless the general trend of the party, as mea questions, notably on the question of war, the cenThe National Committee of the Spartacus Youth even the memory of party democracy disappeared sured by the activities of its membership and the intral question of our time.
League endorses the declaration of the Workers scoundrels and nonentities were appointed by Stalin creasing violence of its collisions with the extreme Party. By the authority of the last convention, and consecrated overnight as beloved leaders party right wing of the party, is undoubtedly progressive. Unlike the Communist Party, in which the bu the National Committee hereby formally dissolves policies are infinitely closer to those of the Old Guard This is to be seen, for example, in the fruitful work of reaucracy has stifled every last remnant of party the Spartacus Youth League and calls upon all its than to those of militant Socialism. From this repelthe Socialist militants among the unemployed a field democracy, outlawing all views contrary to those members and sympathizers to take their place in the lent caricature of a revolutionary organization, an orcompletely neglected in the past; in the tendency to imposed upon the ranks by an appointed officialdom, ranks of the Young People Socialist League.
ganization neither revolutionary nor a party, thoucoordinate the work of Socialists in the trade unions, the Socialist Party openly takes a stand for internal sands of revolutionary workers recoiled. Instead, they despite the resistance of party reactionaries allied with democracy, welcomes revolutionists into its ranks NATIONAL COMMITTEE, joined the Socialist Party. From the first they chafed the trade union bureaucracy, in the firm stand of the and offers the possibility of putting forward in its SPARTACUS YOUTH LEAGUE. at the Philistine passivity imposed by the Old Guard, Left Wing in breaking with the hidebound reactionary and now they have smashed through the Old Guard.
opposition to the United Front; and in the steadily It is extraordinary, indeed, to contemplate the diaincreasing interest of the party membership in the lutionary conception of the nature of the proletarian its break with the ossified Old Guard. We have often lectics of this swift development. The Socialist Party pointed out what, in our opinion, has constituted the is left an empty shell by the surge of revolutionists to above all in the consistent development within the so struggle against war. In this field the Cleveland convention made its most important theoretical contribu main weakness of the fight against the Old Guard: it the Communist Party in 1919. But the Communist cialist Party on the question of the struggle against tion, adopting a detailed resolution which goes further was permitted to look like a purely organizational Party becomes a stifting apparatus, Workers recoil in the direction of a Leninist position against war than fight between groups contending for power, while the and enter the Socialist Party and give it new life. But any Socialist party has ever done.
basic programmatic issues underlying that struggle in the process they have also transformed the party The Question of War Naturally, it remains to be seen to what extent this were not clarified. Fighting for corrupt and reaction and driven out the Old Guard Democrats who condeveloping position on war has been and will be as ary principles the Old Guard, nevertheless, has formu trolled it. Thus the drive of the proletariat to revolu. War is the most crucial issue of this epoch. On this similated by the party membership. Undoubtedly, this lated the issues more clearly than its opponents. But, tionary organization asserts itself in spite of all obquestion the Social Democracy foundered and col position will not become fully integrated into the ac fortunately for the future of the working class movelapsed in 1914. On this question, today, both the in tions of the Socialist Party without a systematic edu ment, the break was irrevocably made at Cleveland and Party Democracy ternational Social Democracy and the degenerate cational campaign. Such an educational campaign the Socialist workers are free to develop their destiny Third International reveal their ideological bank will scarcely be complete unless it involves all the basic without the deadening influence of the Old Guard. That drive is, of course, not completed. It is just ruptey and their readiness to betray the working class questions which are inextricably involved in the war And what a noxious, poisonous influence the Old beginning and will not end this side of the American to the imperialists. It is this question that divides the question the international nature of the class strug Guard was! What a debilitating influence the Wald proletarian revolution. The Socialist workers are now proletariat today into the two camps: those who will gle, the road to power, the nature of the workers state, mans and Pankens exerted on a generation of Socialist in a state of evolution toward a consistent Marxist conand those who will not fight against imperialist war.
Alone of all the important parties in the Second etc. questions on which clarity in the Socialist ranks workers! In ideological solidarity with the Scheide ception of their tasks. Not the least of the forms that lags considerably behind the development of the war manns and Noskes who slaughtered the German revodialectics takes is the conflict, the give and take, of International, the Socialist Party of America took a issue.
lutionists and delivered the European working class ideas about theory, strategy and tactics. Only that firm and courageous stand against capitalist governback into the hands of capitalism; repudiating every which is dead like the prison regime of the Old Guard ment sanctions. Alone of all these parties, the The Break With the Old Guard vestige of Marxism which remained imbedded in the and the caricature of monolithism which is the ComAmerican party repudiated the fictitious distinction Social Democracy even in its opportunist years pre munist Party provides no arena for ideological difbetween peaceful and aggressive capitalist na Indeed, the most basic and far reaching gains made ceding the war; either part of or allied with the class ferentiation. The mature revolutionist seasoned in the tions. In spite of the terrific barrage of Stalinist pres by the Socialist Party do not yet lie in the realm of collaborationist trade union bureaucrats not to speak front lines of the class struggle, conscious of the mansure, the Socialist Party has continued to develop theoretical clarification. The revolutionary potentiali of all the outright racketeers among the Old Guardifold practical problems of the party and the signifimore clearly and decisively toward a genuinely ties in the Socialist Party have been best expressed by and even now trailing Dubinsky and Hillman into the (Continued on Page 3)
war.
revoWHY WE ARE JOINING THE SOCIALIST PARTY Friday Evening, June 12, 1936 SPEAKERS. JAMES CANNON (A. MUSTE MAX SHACHTMAN, CHAIRMAN IRVING PLAZA HALL NEW YORK, N, 15th STREET IRVING PLACE o clock