Inday, December 21, 1918 THE REVOL. heviki, are the expression of this revolutionary of state it became our duty to quell the resistance of tivity by the Soviets which were first created in tradition in the life of the American people. This the exploiting class. We are proud that we have done by the gigantic upheaval of the masses. The tradition originated in the war of liberation against it, that we are doing it. We only regret that we did men and Peasant Soviets are a new type of sta the English in the 18th and the Civil War in the 19th not do it, at the beginning, with sufficient firmness new highest form of Democracy, a particular forn.
century. Industry and commerce in 1870 were in a and decision.
the dictatorship of the proletariat, a mode of conmuch worse position than in 1860. But where can We realize that the mad resistance of the bour ducting the business of the state without the bourgeoisie you tind an American so pendantic, so absolutely geoisie against the Socialist revolution in all countries and against the bourgeoisie. For the first time de Justic who would deny the revolutionary and pro is unavoidable. We know, too, that with the develop mocracy is placed at the service of the masses, of the gressive significance of the American Civil War of ment of this revolution this resistance will grow. But workers, and ceases to be a democracy for the rich, as 1860 1865?
the proletariat will break down this resistance and in it is, in the last analysis, in all capitalist, yes, in all The representatives of the bourgeoisie understand the course of its struggle against the bourgeoisie the democratic republics. For the first time the masses very well that the overthrow of slavery was well proletariat will finally become ripe for victory and of the people, in a nation of hundreds of millions, are worth the three years of Civil War, the depth of de power.
fulfilling the task of realizing the dictatorship of the struction, devastation and terror that were its accomLet the corrupt bourgeois press trumpet every mis proletariat and the semi proletariat, without which paniment. But these same gentlemen and the reform take that is made by our Revolution out into the world. Socialism is not to be thought of.
Socialists who have allowed themselves to be cowed We are not afraid of our mistakes. The beginning by the bourgeoisie and tremble at the thought of a of the revolution has not sanctified humanity. It is Let incurable pedants, crammed full of bourgeois democratic and parliamentary prejudices, shake their revolution, cannot, nay will not, see the necessity and not to be expected that the working classes who have heads gravely over our Soviets, let them deplore the righteousness of a civil war in Russia, though it is been exploited and forcibly held down by the clutches fact that we have no direct elections. These people facing a far greater task, the work of abolishing cap of want, of ignorance and degradation for centuries have forgotten nothing, have learned nothing in the italist wage slavery and overthrowing the rule of the should conduct its revolution without mistakes. The bourgeoisic.
great upheaval of 1914 1918. The combination of the dead body of bourgeois society cannot simply be put dictatorship of the proletariat with the new democThe American working class will not follow the lead of its bourgeoisit. It will go with us against the into a coffin and buried. It rots in our inidst, poi racy of the proletariat, of civil war with the widest bourgeoisie. The whole history of the American sons the air we breathe, pollutes our lives, clings to application of the masses to political problems, such people gives me this confidence, this conviction. the new, the fresh, the living with a thousand threads a combination cannot be achieved in a day, cannot be recall with pride the words of one of the best loved and tendrils of old customs, of death and decay.
forced into the battered forms of formal parliament leaders of the American proletariat, Eugene Debs, But for every hundred of our mistakes that are ary democracy. In the Soviet Republic there arises who said in the Appeal to Reason at the end of 1915. heralded into the world by the bourgeoisie and its before us a new world, the world of Socialism. Such when it was still a Socialist paper, in an article ensycophants, there are ten thousand great deeds of a world cannot be materialized as if by magic, comtitled Why Should Fight? that he would rather heroism, greater and more heroic because they seem plete in every detail, as Minerva sprang from Jupiter be shot than vote for war credits to support the pre sc simple and unpretentious, because they take place head.
sent criminal and reactionary war, that he knows in the every day life of the factory districts or in While the old bourgeois democratic constitutions, only one war that is anctified and justified from the secluded villages, because they are the deeds of peo for instance, proclaimed formal equality and the right standpoint of the proletariat: the war against the cap ple who are not in the habit of proclaiming their every of free assemblage, the constitution of the Soviet Reitalist class, the war for liberation of mankind from success to the world, who have no opportunity to public repudiates the hypocrisy of a formal equality wage slavery. am not surprised that this fearless do so.
of all human beings. When the bourgeoisie republiman was thrown into prison by the American bour. But even if the contrary were true, know, of cans overturned feudal thrones, they did not recognize geoisie. Let them brutalize true internationalists, the course, that this is not so but even if we had com.
the rule of formal equality of monarchists. Since we real representatives of the revolutionary proletariat. itted 10, 000 mistakes to every 100 wise and right here are concerned with the task of overthrowing the The greater the bitternes and brutality they show, cous deeds, yes, even then our revolution would be bourgeoisie, only fools or traitors will insist on the the nearer is the day of the victorious proletarian great and invincible. And it will go down in the his forinal equality of the bourgeoisie. The right of free revolution.
tory of the world as unconquerable. For the first assemblage is not worth an iota to the workman and We are accused of having brought devastation upoa time in the history of the world not the minority, not to the peasant when all better meeting places are in Russia. Who is it that makes these accusations? The alone the rich and the educated, but the real masses, the hands of the bourgeoisie. Our Soviets have train bearers of the bourgeoisie, of that same bour. the huge majority of the working class itself, are taken over all usable buildings in the cities and towns geoisie that almost completely destroyed the culture building up a new world, are deciding the most diffi cut of the hands of the rich and have placed them at of Europe, that has dracred the whole continent back cult questions of social organiaztion from out of their the disposal of the workmen and peasants for meeting to barbarism, that has brought hunger and destruc own experience and organization purposes. This is how our right tion to the world. This bourgeoisie now demands that Every mistake that is made in this work, in tais of assemblage looks for the workers. That is the we find a different basis for our Revolution than that honestly conscientious co operation of ten million meaning and content of our Soviet, of our Socialist of destruction, that we shall not build it up upon the plain workingmen and peasants in the re creation of constitution ruins of war, with human beings degraded and brut their entire lives every such mistake is worth thoualized by years of warfare. o, how human, how just, sands and millions of faultless successes of the ex Soviet Republic, whatever misfortune may still lie in And for this reason we are firmly convinced that the is this bourgeoisie!
ploiting minority in outwitting and taking advantage store for it, is unconquerable.
Its servants charge us with the use of terroristic of the laboring masses. For only through these mismethods. Have the English forgotten their 1649, the takes can the workers and peasants learn to organize from the powers of madly raging imperialism, every It is unconquerable because every blow that comes French their 1793? Terror was just and justified their new existence to get along without the capitalist new attack by the international bourgeoisie will bring when it was employed by the bourgeoisie for its own class. Only thus will they be able to blaze their way, purposes against feudal tion. But terror benew, and hitherto unaffected strata of workingmen comes criminal when workingmen and poverty strick through thousands of hindrances to victorious So and peasants into the fight, will educate them at the cialism.
en peasants dare to use it against the bourgeoisie.
cost of the greatest sacrifice, making them hard as Mistakes are being made by our peasants who, at Terror was just and justified when it was used to put steel awakening a new heroism in the masses.
one exploiting minority in the place of another. But one stroke, in the night from October 25 to October terror becomes horrible and criminal when it is used 26 (Russian Calendar. 1917, did away with all priWe know that it may take a long time before help to abolish all exploiting minorities, when it is emvate ownership of land, and are now struggling, froin can come from you, comrades, American Workingmen, for the development of the revolution in the different ployed in the cause of the actual majority, in the month to month, under the greatest difficulties, to cause of the proletariat and the semi proletariat, of correct their own mistakes, trying to solve in practice countries proceeds along various paths, with varying the working class and the poor peasantry.
the most difficult problems of organizing a new social rapidity (how could it be otherwise. We know fullwell that the outbreak of the European proletarian The bourgeoisie of international imperialism has state, fighting against profiteers to secure the possesrevolution may take many weeks to come, quickly as sion of the land for the worker instead of for the succeeded in slaughtering 10 millions, in crippling 29 it is ripening in these days. We are counting on the millions in its war. Should our war, the war of the speculator, to carry on agricultural production under inevitability of the international revolution. But that oppressed and exploited, ainst oppressors and exa system of communist farming on a large scale.
ploiters cost a half or a whole million victims in all Mistakes are being made by our workmen in their does not mean that we count upon its coming at some definite, nearby date. We have experienced two great countries, the bourgeoisie would still maintain that revolutionary activity, who, in a few short months, revolutions in our own country, that of 1905 and that the victims of the world war died a righteous death, have placed practically all of the larger factories and of 1917, and we know that revolutions cannot come that those of the civil war were sacrificed for a crim workers under state ownership and are now learnneither at a word of command nor according to preinal cause.
ing from day to day under the greatest difficulties.
arranged plans. We know that circumstances alone But the proletariat, even now, in the midst of the to conduct the management of entire industries, to have pushed us, the proletariat of Russia. forward, horrors of war, is learning the great fruth that all reorganize industries already organized, to overcome that we have reached this new stage in the social life revolutions teach the truth that has been nanded down the deadly resistance of laziness and middle class reof the world not because of our superiority but beto us by our best teachers, the founders of modern, action and egotism. Stone upon stone they are buildcause of the peculiarly reactionary character of RusSocialism. From them we have learned that a sucing the foundation for a new social community, the sia. But until the outbreak of the international revo cessful revolution is inconceivable unless it breaks the self discipline of labor, the new rule of the labor orlution, revolution in individual countries may still resistance of the exploiting class. When the work ganizations of the working class over their members.
ers and the laboring permants took hold of the power: Mistakes are being made in their revolutionary ac. Continued on page