DECEMBER 16, 1939 SOCIALIST APPEAL In This Corner Negro Question Page from Finnish History Wholesale Massacre of Finland Workers Made Republic Possible LABOR WITH CHESTSELY WHITE SKIN The WAVE LABOR WITH BLACK SKIN 1S BRANDED KARL MARX by MAX SHACHTMAN By JOHNSON The Hue and Cry About Periodically one comes across statements in the Negro press, more often one hears remarks from individual Negroes, which betray with what Poor Little Finland facility some Negro politicians slip into racial chauvinism to cover political bankruptcy. The By VICTOR SERGE latest addition to the list is Roy Wilkins. Concluded from last week) efforts at organization, from Jan milies, and often all their meagre who were murdered we mention tion between the reformists Roy Wilkins is the editor of The Crisis, writes a weekly column in the Amsterdam News, and is (Finland secured its indepen uary 15 until April 1, resulted in possessions with them. It was the editor of the Social Demo whom the victorious bourgeoisie a workers army of about sixty more a migration than an army. crat, Jukho Raino, and the writer, no longer needed and the revo Almost everybody is joining the pack in a hue known everywhere as a progressive person. dence as a result of the OctoHe, with other Negro intellectuals, was a great and cry over Poor Little Finland. Mr. Hoover is ber Russian Revolution. Fatal thousand men (thirty thousand These masses, who easily became Irmani Rantmalla, who while be lutionists.
friend of the Stalinists in the days when they ly misunderstanding the laws of them in reserve. and in hu rout, could hardly maneuver. ing led to his execution by boat collecting funds: President Roosevelt With law and order re estabmerous partially successful bat The Whites raked them with threw himself te verbe ard venting lished, the Finnish bourgeoisie are yelping for a breaking off of relations with granting were rooting for Room walk on, a moratorium on the Finnish debt: Congressmen their cloaks of the class struggle, the sotles.
in the mud for Eleanor cial democrats set up an Ideal shrapnel. Although surrounded, to drown, but his coat preventing began to consider and fraternizing with Negro bishops and Father Democracy which left unRussia: Alexander Kerensky is stoutly for the inDivine as the future leaders of Negro emancipadependence of Finland, the Finnish White Guards touched the property and, con ernment, Svinhufvud, obtained days before they surrendered. killed him in the water with gun family. The more and more presequently, the power of the the help of the Kaiser. Twenty managed to open a retreat to total number massacred. Current however, put an end to the plan.
Several thousand of the men fire. There are no figures on the carious situation in Germany, tion. All these rascally tools of Stalin were after in this country are loading recruits for Finland on to ships; and the liberals and social democrats was to get America into war with Hitler, then bourgeoisie. Kuusinen, who, at Stalin enemy. The moment Stalin came to the head of the social demoare pouring out a sea of tears on which to float von der Goltz disembarked at Ha ward the East. The surrender estimates run between ten and TO CRIPPLE THE WORKERS terms with Hitler, the Stalinists began to see crats, led the Finnish workers goe, Helsingfors and Loviza, tak was followed by a massacre. The twenty thousand.
the ships The rearguard is brought up smartly by FOR MANY DECADES Norman Thomas and the editor of his official orthat the war against Hitler was not so good after all, that in fact it was a very bad war. It was gan, who are ready to fight it out for Finland to It would not be an exaggeraKuusinen who now heads Stal capture of Helsingfors, after a rule. There remained the ten PEACE TAKES ITS TOLL an imperialist war. They opened fire on the death in hand picked government stubborn street battle in which thousand prisoners, who were in IN THE PRISONS tion to say that more than one Eleanor, Murphy, and all their old friends, and in Finland. In both roles he exThe official figures for the num hundred thousand Finnish work.
the Germans and the Whites used terned. Vyborg fell on May 12 Without exception, all the friends of Finland sure as day they are going to instruct Ford, emplified his hostility to the workers wives and children as a Several thousand of the Red ber of Red prisoners interned in ers were struck down by the Patterson, Richard Moore and the other Negro are serving one objective: the whipping up of a real socialist revolution. Man cover (one hundred were killed. Guard took refuge in Russia. concentration camps was seventy White terror, either shot or given chauvinistic war spirit for the democratic imBrowders to pour a special stream of abuse on nerheim, who led thousand. Famine, vermin and long sentences altogether about Whites was followed by ferocious repris. FINNISH CULTURE EXperialists and Walter White, Roy Wilkins, and the other Negro epidemic ravaged the prisons. one quarter of the working class.
American participation in the against the Reds in 1918, leads als. Artillery bombarded the bar deswedish PRESSED TO THE DEFEATED report signed by the well known. Every organized worker has ei: world slaughter on their side.
New Dealers, whom not four months ago the the Finnish Army today Edi Workers House.
Stalinists flattered and fawned upon.
tors. newspaper published the follow WORKERS Finnish doctor. Tigerchtet, ther been shot or imprisoned. Kerensky Somewhat Belated The victors massacred the van stated that, From July to July write the Finnish communists in The Bedfellows Part The bourgeoisie displayed ing arms, were led out on the ice wars have always been the most camp and the neighboring prison This information permits us to men, who were said to be carry guished. Since ancient times class 31, 1918, the number of prisoners the early part of 1919. As we recall it, Mr. Kerensky, head of the Russian Provisional Government some twenty two Now the New Dealers are bitter. Eleanor, in much greater realism than the and shot without trial.
years ago, was then not quite so strenuous in his particular, is very bitter. She says the Stalinists social democrats. It immediately than three hundred dead were bloody and atrocious victories of the prisoners 2, 347 died in on the White terror, which has ought to go to Russia. One day she will even demand for the independence of Finland from send a letter to David Lasser of the Workers Muscovite rule. In fact, he fought both the Bolthan the victories of reactionary these twenty six days and the since been confirmed in Hungary the backbone of which was the picked up in the streets.
Alliance, resigning her honorary membership, sheviks and the Finnish nationalists who demand27th Jaegers battalion of the SOCIAL DEMOCRATS ASSURE dicted on the Paris Commune by average mortality among the Bulgaria, nely, etc. The White ed the right of self determination for Finland. We unless Dave Lasser first expels her. All the liberGerman army, composed of THE WHITE VICTORY als, once friends of the Stalinists, are now howlfurther recall that it was the Bolsheviks under young Finns about five thou.
The moderate tendency in the had not seen anything the French bourgeoisie, the world prisoners reached compar. per 1, 000 per week. On July 25, the frenzy of battle, by the vioing for their blood. And high among them is Lenin and Trotsky who, soon as they were in sand altogether. former gen: social democratic government, able to the horrors of Finland, there were still 50, 818 revolution ence of class hatred, or by any Roy Wilkins. He cursed the Hitler Stalin paceral of the Russian army, a represented by Tanner, prevented From the first shot of the civiluomber of the same year. 25, 800 war psychosis factor. The dence. Mr. Kerensky love for Finland is a little power, promptly granted Finland its indepenists in Finnish prisons. In Sep. other and now, in his column in the Amsterdam News Swede by birth, Mannerheim. rigorous measures against the war, belonging to a workers oronly plays sec of November 9th, he denounces the invasion of ondary role. In reality it is the how shall we say? belated.
Finland and the lies of Molotov.
took command of these troops Whites in the interior until it was ganization in white territory were still waiting trial.
and promised to re establish law too late. The courts frequently meant arrest; to have been an The Fourth International denounces and will For a time the bourgeoisie necessity. The victorious owning Where Were Roosevelt Co. Then?
and order in fifteen days. condemned counter revolutionists official continue to denounce the At the beginning of hostilities to nothing more than a fine or to meant execution. The massacre power of its prisoners. law can only assure their domination the part of Messrs. Hoover, Roosevelt and Co. in in such organization thought of exporting the labor classes realize clearly that they in the working which remain the chief obstacle of Moscow, We do not recall any very vigorous activity on class on the road of the world revolution and only fitteen hundred poorly arm. If there were any summary ex. tlons that it ended by interesting ment of those condemned to hard battle by inflicting a blood bath tria, Spain and other victims of reactionary asthe emancipation of the workers. But we are no ed men. The Whites, who were ecutions, they were entirely on no one. At Kummen, where 13 tabor to foreign countries. Ger on the proletariat that will crip sault.
geoisie, who in 1918 1919 massacred Finnish masters of the Bothnian Gulf ci the initiative of the Red Guard. Red Guards fell in battle, nearly many. depopulated by the war, ple it for years to come. And as supporters of Mannerheim and the Finnish bourties in addition to the agrarian The indecision of the government. Ave hundred persons were exe was ready to exchange chemical the working class is much more workers by the thousands. No word of this apWhen the Imperialist gangsters were cutting heim against Stalin, Wilking is no revolutionary along front that stretched from fusal to push forward with the ecuted at Kotka, a town of thir penal labor force. The German the number of victims must be out bothering to inquire of the wishes of those pears in Wilkins comment. He is for Manner provinces, took the offensive differences among the leaders, recuted. There were hundreds ex and mineral products for this numerous than the owning class, up the world map to suit themselves, and withthe Gulf of Bothnia to Lake La revolution, the half heartedness teen thousand inhabitants. They revolution halted the project.
and has the same ideas about politics as the of the agrarian reforms, and the didn even ask their names; they This social purge continued for very large.
they were carving into greater empires, we heard Roosevelts, Attorney General Murphy, and the doga.
There were Russian garrisons effect of the Brest Litovsk treaty just led them away in groups. months in every section of the the advanced and intelligent eleThe total extermination of all barely whisper from all the Congressmen, whole gang of New Dealers, white and black.
in the cities of Sveaborg. Vyborg weakened the Reds. The arrived At Raumo, according to a bour country. On May 16 warrants ments of the proletariat is the statesmen and other illustrious citizens of our What, however, is most revealing is the last Great Democracy. They did not then demand the paragraph of his column. In It he says: Baltic fleet was anchored in Hel them to this moment.
Cepower prisoners captured on May 15 got social democratic deputies who Thus a defeated revolution rebreaking off of diplomatic relations with Italy or Aside from everything else, this means Germany. And for good reasons. Muss that the dark brother in America, who had singfors.
Mannerheim surrounded Tam: same day. April is in Toeloe, a revolutionists had already perish will always cost the proletariat done throughout its existence, and continues to do Smilga and Dybenko had formed Hitler were, after all, only doing what every imbeen hoping for the emergence of some international leadership sympathetic to his Bolshevik organizations among merfors, where ten these troops and sailors. The Rus Reds under Russian officers re dred Red Guards were killed with committed suicide in prison revolution, no matter what hardproblems, must turn elsewhere, for the opsian garrison at Tammerfors. Sisted furiously. The city was machine guns. The Reds were during the night of July doz ships and sacrifices the latter portunism of the Stalinites is on a par with But didn the liberals and socialists of the the opportunism of the Republican party.
New Leader and the Nation and the Socialist officer Svechnikov, repulsed Man eral day battle. Two hundred Many women perished. At Svea: death. The supreme court upset One more observation. The fascist bandits carried out their abominations Both have tossed the brother overboard as Call protest then? Yes, they protested when the soon as they got what they wanted from nerheim first attacks. Thus pro Russians were shot. Several thou bore the public executions were this decision in January, 1919, slaughter in Finland took place But not even from them was there a word of rected by the Russians, the Fin sand of the besieged got away: set for Trinity Sunday. In the and passed one death sentence in April, 1918.
Until this time the protest against the similar abominations of the him.
nish Red Guard could have armed two thousand were shot or mas neighborhood of Lakhtis, where six sentences to life imprison Russian Revolution had shown Wilkins Deceives the Negroes and organized. But at this me sacred; five thousand were made preso Whites elek minchine sunt ment, four twelve year sentences magnanimity toward its enemies democratic bandits.
This is one of the most mischievous and despieforced the Soviet Republic to At Tavestehus, between Tam worked several hours a day. on five nine year, Airteen eight year, turn to the Red terror. We have graciously ceded to Turkey the Syrian province Not murmur, for example, when France so able misstatements that could be made by a man withdraw its troops.
mertor and Helsingfors, the de one day alone twowhundredi dwuos and two seven year sentences mentioned bloody episodes during of Alexandretta a short time ago, purely for the in Wilkins position. In what way have the Stalinists, scoundrels though they are, tossed the GERMANY TURNS THE TIDE OF BATTLE to twenty five thousand Reds bullets; pieces of flesh flew in ev taya wrote, were social demo they were exceptional. The vicblack brother overboard when they got what they Anglo French imperialism. The people of Alexanwanted from him? Stalin and the bureaucrats There remained only a thou concentrated on this point, driven ery direction.
cratic traitors to socialism, who torious bourgeoisie of a tiny dretta, non Turkish in their majority, were of exiled Trotsky, a white man, and murdered near sand or so volunteers incorpor. back from the North by Manner At Vyborg six hundred Red had spent all their lives serving country, that was counted among course not consulted by either the Turks or the ly every member of his family. They shot Zino ated in the Red Guard. Svechni heim and from the South by von Guards were lined up three deep the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoiste minded the Russian workers that the most advanced in Europe, re French, any more than the Syrians as a whole viev, Kamenev, Rykov, Tomsky, Bucharin, Yago kov together with a Finnish so der Goltz. Their retreat to the in front of the fortress moat and were ever consulted about being put under the da, and thousands upon thousands of other Rus cialist, Ero Happolinen, directed East was cut off. In defiance of coldly picked off with machine revenged itself blindly. As usual, Death to the Vanquished! is the heel of the French army and the French banks.
sians, all white men. As Wilkins knows, they mas the operations. The government orders they had brought their fa guns. Among the intellectuals the White terror made no distinc law of social war.
sacred the Spanish revolutionists, white people First Things First all. When they wanted to push America into war The year 1917 was the high MP against Hitler, they became New Dealers, they At Least Know Why Am Dying. In another place, a general The protestations of our great American patripraised the democracies, they said they would tension point of the last war. The had been hustled and assaulted. ots and war mongers, from Hoover through make capitalism work, they shook hands with peoples of all the belligerents Elsewhere, a regiment equipped Roosevelt to Gerry Allard would sound a spot Wilkins and presented their foreheads to be bless were war weary, the armies were with motor trucks, on which more convincing it they prefaced their activity ed by Father Divine and the behinds to be kicked fed up. There were strikes and were mounted machine guns, by a declaration that their first and main fight is by Walter White.
peace demonstrations in Berlin, had been stopped in the at. against the violation of national independence Now that they want to keep America from go London, Paris. The socialist tempt to march on Paris. They and sovereignty which is perpetuated by their ing to war with Hitler, they abuse Roosevelt, peace conferences of Stockholm had stated their intention of own ruling class, that is to say, by American they curse the New Deal, they condemn capital and Zimmerwald that year dramgoing to the Palais Bourbon imperialism in Puerto Rico, Samoa, the Phillipine ism, they use phrases about socialism, and they atized the issue. The German and presenting their demands Islands and elsewhere.
open up a big drive in Harlem to recapture the fleet was paralyzed by a long to Parliament. These manifesdrawn out mutiny. In Russia the tations of revolt were accomnatural militaney of the Negroes. All this is part And once they made such a declaration, it strikes and of the Staliniat policy nutinie: ledt actual panied by seditious shouts of would be obligatory for them to add a similar But how can Wilkins say that they have spe revolution. And in the spring of Down with the war! Down statement with reference to their allies, that is, cifically used the black man and now want to that fateful year the French Ar two weeks before the offensive the first. Divisions were not re revolution of Soviets.
to those on whose side they are asking us to with incapable leaders! And drop him when they have no more use for him?
fight, England and France. They would have to my was swept by a series of muwas scheduled to begin. Even lieved. They died, and new divi The electric current of revolt the red flag was displayed.
at their height, insay, it seems to us, that before they presume to Negro meme in hinteenis army say a word in protest against the violation of volved hundreds Finland independence by Stalin, they denounce Why Wilkins Raises the Race Issue French Army reported 509 deser Germans bearing on his person Dames were won few miles of from regiment to regiment. Soon it looked to an insider in Paris, whole divisions were infected. Michel Gorday describes another the continuing violation of the independence of Today, in the world crisis we face, we need India, Indo China, Syria, Algiers, most of Africa tions in 1914. The 1917 total was either through gross blundering shell scarred land.
21, 174. So general was the riot, or actual treachery the detailed According to Winston Church then brigades, finally entire army mutiny: and all the other colonies, protectorates and unity in the working class, particularly between order of of the French Crisis, it corps. Colonel Herbillion in Four hundred men barri spheres of influence of British and French imthemselves, this one Stalinist, the other one so of the World War, that, accord to make any change in his plans. George who insisted on continu wrote President Poincare in his perialism caded themselves in the village cialist, another Trotskyite, etc. But against the ing to the Minister of War, only Don get hysterical, he ad ing the massacre. When he learn. Journal. Men have refused to go of Missy le Bois. They were It goes without saying that they will do nothcapitalist class and their capitalist war we must two divisions in the Champagne vised his staff. You won find a ed that the French high com into the trenches. Order is surrounded by loyal cavalry. ing of the kind. They are too busy working up the be united. We of the Fourth International know and in places the trenches werely want to be off! And when, at and stop the slaughter, Lloyd fever is spreading. At Doreverywhere.
The The soldiers were fed by the campaign for American participation in the war the Stalinists for the treacherous corruption that villagers. After four days, ne to bother with such trifles. How does the fate of a scarcely even guarded.
they are. We point out their political crimes, the the zero hour, aviators reported George went Paris and ad man a few days ago soldiers cried gotiations began. Then three sol. few hundred million Indians compare with so The immediate cause of the the German defenses had not dressed to the wavering French out: Vive la Revolution! Down diers, who were priests serving political reasons for them, and we ask the worknoble and idealistic a goal as mutintes was the failure of the been effectively destroyed by the strenuous exhortations to con. with war!
ers to break with them.
in the ranks (according to the Nivelle offensive in April, 1917. bombardment, Mangin is said to tinue the offensive. Even statt TORTURED BODIES CRY: But Wilkins, who ought to know better, says to Catholic who told me the safe for democracy a second time the world. It General Robert Nivelle had suc have answered: Pooh! said officers cannot be as generous WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!
story) broke out and denounced It all very clear and simple. You can commit ing the Negroes again. While some Detroit Neg ceeded the incompetent Joffre would take my afternoon tea in with other people lives as a In an excellent chapter on the organizers of the mutiny. any crime in the calendar of Stalin or Hitler or early in 1917 as the commander Laon. Come along!
really idealistic liberal politician. these world war mutinies in her The whole company surrenderroes printed leaflets and distributed them to the Mussolini on one condition: just call yourself a in chief of the French armies.
Negro workers telling them not to scab on the ed on the fifth day. Six men They came along. By night THE POILUS TIRE book, Day, Rose Stein quotes democrat. It will not only sanctify whatever you Nivelle was a dashing soldier who white workers, thereby building up class solidara description of a typical mutiny were shot. Picked troope car do, but constitute an unlimited license to conwon fame at Verdun and whose call of the first day, the French OF DYING ried out the execution.
ity, Wilkins goes out of his way to make the demn your opponent in world politics for doing from a book by Jean de Pierreslogan was, Speed! Force! Bru should have advanced six miles. Upon the very day of the conteu, a French staff officer exactly the same thing.
Stalinist crimes a race question and thus accenttality. Not until too late was according to Nivelle plans.
These accounts are typical. The uate racial differences it discovered he was a romantic Their actual advance WA8 six ference in Paris, writes Church regiment ordered to the mutinies were orderly, the men 111, there had occurred a deeply front line had sent delegates to showing that same capacity for Every Negro worker, with three hundred years of oppression behind him, is naturally inclined dreamer who liked to pose as a hundred yards, at terrible col disquieting incident. French di troops were their Colonel to inform him spontaneous organization the out any centralized direction and largely without The mutinies were sporadie, spontaneous, with to see race prejudice in every political move. That man of action. His right hand The attacking man was General Mangin, known trapped in a web of machine gun Yusion ordered into the line re that they refused to obey. At is understandable. We must explain. Wilkins deRussian mutineers showed at La It was the the same time, similar incidents Courtine. Except when they were fire, writes Hart. The Senegal fused to march.
political leadership. They had more the character liberately confuses. And why? Because he is not to his troops as The Butcher.
ese broke and fled, even storming first drop before the downpour. occurred in other units. In one of sit down strikes than of revolutionary overattacked, there was no bloodshed.
a Marxist; he is not a revolutionary. He is bourKOTHING DISTURBS THE hospital trains in their anxiety to tures.
This first drop was the 120th place, a collection of mutineers general was tied up and forcgeois to the bone. He, like so many others, want. GENERAL PEACE OF MIND get away. And the Senegalese infantry regiment which on May had fortified a village, formed ibly taken into the front line The mutineers demanded more pay, more freNivelle promised nothing less were shock troops.
leader, trenches, a major was deprived go up to the front. The 128th in and set up a sort of indepenquent leaves, a relaxation of discipline. But their being revolutionary with the Stalinists. But the than a complete break through of his trousers, some of one simple, basic demand was that war be Stalinists have only one god Stalin. They get and the speedy end of the war. PRODIGAL LIBERALITY fantry regiment was ordered the dent government. They took their orders and they leave all the New Dealers He planned to smash the German WITH WORKERS BLOOD next day to take the place of the provisions from the shopkeep ters by ficers were shut up in their quart stopped. We have had enough. It was an erupnaked. Wilkins has nothing to fall back on. But lines at a single stroke by a sud The second day was almost as mutineers, and also refused.
mutineers, others tion of deep human disgust with months and by regularly drawn up were told to go home. The othhe knows one cry which will always catch the hours and bad. And the third. And the Down with the war! cried the requisitions. Their delegates cers, writes Jean de Pierrefeu, years of slaughtering and being slaughtered, of den attack in 24 or living like animals in burrows, of organized, ears of Negroes. Race. They do it because we to achieve the destruction of fourth. However, writes ranks. Death to those who are imposed conditions on the of though no longer obeyed, were. senseless, barbaric destruction. We have had the principal mass of the enemy. Wintringham in Mutiny, Nivelle sending us to death! We ve had aren reality the racial traitor is not the Stalinist. His reply to all doubters was the persisted. His plans in ruins and enough of being killed! We ll leave periods, and guarantees with rare exceptions, respected enough. In his first report to the Council of who twists his policy for reactionary political same: La victoire est certain! his finest troops pounded into the hold the line but we won at that attacks would not be They were told: You have fought comandmer in chief, came to the point right enemy as well as we. We do not wish away: the want peace, he reported. WE self, who uses the race issue to cover up his po turbed when the Germans cap. after division into new attacka, Soldier orators began to talk of trenches and wire had been de you any harm, but we have had HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
litical bankruptcy.
tured his complete plan of attack almost as futile and disastrous as ending the war, of the Russian stroyed.
enough. The war must stop. To be continued in next issue. MUTINY!
The 1917 Mutinies in the French Army by Spartacus Wilkins has committed a great erime against the tried Whindre at the thousands of when, a few days later, a ser sions poured through them, until ran through the whole army, dar