CapitalismCommunismLiberalismOrdzhonikidzeSocialismSocialist PartySovietWorkers Movement

THE WORKERS COUNCIL (JUNE 15, 1921 85 JUNE 15, 1921 THE WORKERS COUNCIL 84 if the rank and file will not get in a year what the the Plumb Plan. With them, for the same reason, Grand Chief will get from the workers in a month? stand the Railroad Brotherhoods.
It evidently mattered not at all, for the press dist Finally there is another element that has joined the patches state that Wage reductions ordered by the chase. It consists of those who, for various reasons, Railway Labor Board were not discussed. The coni are up in arms against Gompers hostile attitude vention closed without even a discussion of the most against Russia, reasons that are by no means either important facing the railway worker evidently for revolutionary or idealistic. They simply maintain lack of time; the delegates were too tired. They had that the United States, in keeping up a virtual blockade just enough time to raise Stone salary a bit. against Russia, has cut off a valuable market for AmeNothing more clearly indicates the utter bankruptcy rican products, and insist upon the reopening of trade relations with Soviet Russia because such a step would of the present leadership of the American Trade Unions than this one incident at Cleveland.
mean employment for hundreds of thousands that are idle to day. Not only Johnston and Lewis, both of theni candidates for the presidency, but also Timothy LORD GOMPERS, THIS IS YOUR FIGHT! Healy, the erstwhile Crusader against everything that Since the publication of our last issue the fight was socialistic, who has turned over a new leaf since against Gompers in the American Federation of Labor his recent trip to Europe showed him how deep the has assumed proportions that are as astounding as chasm is that yawns between capital and labor, are they were unexpected. In the past twenty five years among his bitterest adversaries.
the election of the President of the of was In this connection the position of the Jewish Unions little more than an empty form which was repeated is not without interest. They who always flaunted year after year with practically no opposition. What the red flag of radicalism to the world, but never voted opposition there was usually came from socialist dele against Gompers in American Federation of Labor gations which now and again screwed up their courage conventions, they who, in spite of their little tin God, sufficiently to make a perfectly harmless attack upon Meyer London, have always supported Soviet Russia, the invulnerable Trade Union Czar. To be sure Gom have until now, so far as we have been able to dispers too had his enemies in the organization. But the cover, steadfastly refused to take sides. Not even the grand old man is, if anything, a shrewd politician, diplomacy of the Irish element, who persist in calling and has developed, in the years of his presidency, an Gompers a Britisher, because they fear that too much extended system of patronage that effectively bought stressing of his Semitic origin would antagonize this off every disgruntled opponent before he became powerful element, has succeeded in drawing them out.
really dangerous. He watched over every position In America it is dangerous to judge the size and to be filled in the Federation itself. The government strength of a movement from the noise that it makes.
in Washington has always sought Gompers recom And it is by no means an established fact that the mendation in filling certain offices and commissions. convention, whose delegates have always been elected International, and even local unions, have been trained under the paternal eye and the guiding of the all to wait upon the word of the Grand Chief before powerful Gompers machine, will register the dissatisappointing their most important officers, in return for faction of the membership or respond to the noisy very definite favors for the organization.
protestations of his opponents. But for the first time But evidently Mr. Gompers has overreached him since he assumed the presidency of American orgaself. The opposition to his presidency, which only a nized labor, Gompers is rocking on his throne. And few weeks ago seemed a weak and unorganized up it will take all the cleverness of which the old fox is rising on the part of a few dissatisfied gentlemen, is capable to keep it from turning over.
spreading like wild fire, and draws one group after: the other into line. First of all there are the Irish, FREE PRESS AND THE NEW YORK CALL who form a strong numerical contingent of the American Labor movement, and who are up in arms over The New York Call and the Milwaukee Leader Gompers opposition to the cause of Irish freedom, have at last won their fight for the restoration of after it had found indorsement in two consecutive con second class mailing privileges. The Call signalventions. They accuse him of pro British sympathies, ized its victory by printing on its first page a eulogy and interpret his unqualified support of the League of the glories and greatness of a free press, holding of Nations as a pro British act.
that without such freedom brute force must rule There are, furthermore, the Republicans, who stood and not the force of ideas, Let those who will.
little chance, under the regime of the Democratic it declared, sneer at freedom of the press and Gompers, of participating in the division of the spoils. speech. This is of course strictly in line with the They realize that there are certain government offices Jeffersonian attitude of the Call.
of importance that have always been filled upon the The New York Evening Post comments on this recommendation of the American labor chieftain, and editorial. It subscribes to this admirable plea for are eager, consequently to remove the Democratic Mr.
freedom of thought, and adds that it looks forGompers in order to put one of their own choice in his ward to the day when the Call will hasten to invoke place.
those principles not only for capitalistic America There are, moreover, the mine workers who have but for Soviet Russia. And the Evening Post, it now united upon a program of nationalization, for must be admitted, is at least logical. One cannot which they can hope no sympathy from the Mr. Gom quite well sing the glories of free speech and at the pers who so effectively side tracked the agitation for same time either expressly or by implication approve the suppression of counter revolutionary The court stands squarely with the Constitutionai papers by Soviet Russia.
Convention of 1787 which, speaking through Gouver No one will seriously claim that thought and neur Morris, held that life and liberty were generally speech should not be free, that is, that all people said to be of more value than property. An accurate should have the right to freely express their ideas view of the matter would, nevertheless, prove that and thoughts. But our thinking has been so warped property was the main object of society.
by the notions of liberalism, that it is impossible The courts stand ready to protect property that for a great many, including the editors of the Call, is, the capitalist system. They make no efforts to dist to realize that when a government refrains from guise their intention and purpose. And will allow suppressing Socialist newspapers, that does not as no such notion as freedom of the press to stand in the a result gives us a free press; nor does it make the way.
press free. Such thinking leaves out of consideraBy this time, the New York Call is perhaps somet tion the fact that in order that there really be a free what disillusioned about its great victory.
press, all classes must have the material necessities for the maintenance of a press. Such means are at present, in every capitalist country, exclusively the NOTE possession of the capitalist class. This class conThe editors wish to make it clear that The Work trols the press, and it actually owns it.
Not only is it impossible for the workers at presers Council is not the organ of the Committee on the Third International of the Socialist Party or ent to possess a press of any importance, but the of any Left Wing of the Socialist Party or of any power of the government is always ready at hand to suppress any Socialist paper which, in the opin organized political group.
ion of the executive committee of the capitalist It has given its columns freely to the Committee class, is guilty of printing matter which is seditious, on the Third International, and it stands ready to do that is, matter which the ruling class would rather the same for any group which is attempting to spread not have circulated.
a knowledge of the principles and policies of the Third The policy of the new postmaster general, Mr.
International and which is helping to mould revoluHays, is by no means a victory for free speech, even tionary Socialist opinion in this country, in the liberal sense. Under the new policy, papers that fall afoul of the law as interpreted by Mr. INCREDIBLE MENSHEVIK ATROCITIES Hays, will be barred entirely from the mails, inThe Revolutionary Military Council of Soviet Georgia stead of enjoying the blessings of the third class has issued the following for publication: rates when judged unworthy of the second. Let the whole world, let the workers of all countries It is childish, nay worse, to talk about the press know of the vilanies committed by the Georgia Governbeing free under capitalism. free press, like the ment, at the time of their shameful flight from Tiflis.
rest of our liberties, is a purely political right, Amongst the several thousands of workers and peasants that were seized by the completely demoralized bands of and without any economic power behind it, it is not Mensheviks during their retreat, were a number of innocent worth very much. The fact that workers may send women, who were subjected to torture. These tortures their paper through the mails will not give them were carried out by these Menshevik executioners, by the orders of Rezheze: Rizsheshvilly, Subagvilidze, Pagany press to send through the mails. The right of chunya, and others.
assemblage, when all the halls are owned by the masters, will not avail very much.
Their savagery went to such extremes that at the retreat from Katais, they brought out several Communists: MerdaThe press will not be free until the workers not leishvile, Ackloff and others, from prison, and after savonly have the right hut also the material means agely torturing them, shot them dead. In order to hide all at their disposal with which to make the exercise of trace of their crime, they saturated the corpses with benthis right possible. This is a condition we can look zine and burned them. One of the victims of the Menshevik executioners is Comrade Luckian Tabukashvili, a warrior forward to only when capitalism has been finally of the Workers and Peasants Red Army, the commander abolished. The press will not be free during the of the armored car column of the late Ukraine Soviet Red transition from capitalism to socialism. The work Army, a bearer of the Order of the Red Flag and other distinctions.
ers dictatorship will have to defend itself against counter revolution just as the capitalist dictator Comrade Tabukashvili, since last autumn, has lived unship defends itself now hy sending to jail Debs, interruptedly in the house of his brother, in one of the vil.
lages in the Katais Gubernia, where he came for a rest Larkin, Gitlow.
and Ruthenberg, Ferguson from Soviet Russia. Comrade Tabukashvili lived in Georgia Winitsky for expressing and printing ideas which during the Jourdine Government, and he kept entirely the capitalist dictatorship thinks dangerous to its away from politics. In the night of March 6th he was rule.
taken out, first tortured and then shot. According to comrades who were with him, he died a heroic death, worthy of The decision of the District of Columbia Court a Red Warrior. The Government of the Socialist Soviet of Appeals of June 6, sustaining Burleson exclusion Republic of Georgia has decided to give Comrade Tabuof the Call from the second class mails, came just kashvili a state funeral in Tiflis.
a week after the Call somewhat premature celebra Long live the memory of the warrior hero of the tion of Hays order as a victory for a free press. Workers Peasants Armies! Long live the great Red Army, The class conscious Court of Appeals understands the defender of the laboring masses! Long live the World Proletarian Revolution!
quite fully the need of muzzling the worker press.
Signed: Macharadze, President of the Revolutionary It has the power to do so and will allow nothing to Military Council of Georgia. Ordzhonikidze, Member of stand in the way, not even the so called guaranty of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Caucasian free speech contained in the First Amendment. Front.