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94 THE WORKERS COUNCIL June 15, 1921 JUNE 15, 1921 THE WORKERS COUNCIL 95 time will have the power to save society from utter In spite of the existing confusion and the discord destruction, by abolishing every trace of capitalist ex in the ranks of the Socialist and Communist parties ploitation and laying the foundation for a Socialist in America, large sections of the workers in America society; that while such a program cannot be carried are awaiting the organiation of a movemnt which will out unless the majority approve of it, the party must answer their needs. The war, the liquidation of be ready to act when it has the masses with it. The labor following the war and the ever increasing unproletariat as the new ruling class must be prepared employment have helped materially to disillusion them to safeguard the new Socialist order and be ready to as to the nature of American freedom and de crush all opposition. Only in this way can be realized mocracy. Many workers have learned the lesson of the ideal of democracy, a free people in a free land, the class struggle. They have been and are face to living by free labor.
face with it. They are ready to enlist in the ranks The party must engage in all political campaigns, in of the revolution. They are ready to serve in the cause order to utilize them for the purpose of carrying its of Socialism. Likewise thousands of comrades scatmessage to the workers. Its elected officials must not however use their positions in the legislative chambers tered throughout the country who were at one time for the purpose of securing the passage of reforms.
members either of the Socialist party or of the ComIf they are numerically insignificant they will not be munist parties are anxiously awaiting the oportunity.
able to do more than merely introduce them; if they to get into the movement once more.
are numerically powerful, they will not waste time The time is ripe for laying the foundation of a truly passing reform bills. The elected officials should use their position rather as forums for Socialist propaganda.
revolutionary movement in the United States. The The Party must make clear to the workers that in the programs of none of the existing groups or parties can struggle for the abolition of the wage system, the fill the need of the hour. The members of the Socialist economic organizations of the workers are a most imParty have it in their power to decide whether the portant factor, and that to be most effective, labor must be imbued with the spirit of the class struggle; Socialist Party shall be used as the medium for the must aim at the complete abolition of the capitalist inauguration of such a movemnt in the United States system; must work for the re organization of labor along industrial and class lines to meet with equal tionary elements in the country. a movement which will unite all the truly revoluforce the ever extending inter industrial forces of capThe alternative facing the Socialist Party is decay italism, and that it must be aggressive in its tactics and methods.
and death. Which shall it be? Formula for Social Revolution built upon the erroneous assumption that the proletariat the liberals, have conceded it. Why, then, does is a large majority, means to condemn the American SoHourwich scare us with that majority ghost?
cialist movement to remain a perfectionist sect.
And then. The proletariat was not a majority in The Syndicalists reject the political method. They 1920. It was only 50 per cent. But the Hourwich hold to the view that the proletariat has already the statistics would give the proletariat in the United economic power to eliminate capitalism from indus States 55 per cent in 1930. In fact, at this writing, try. So they tried to work in Italy but they failed, if the Hourwich statistics operate regularly, and and Comrade Hourwich does not honor the Syndi presumably they do, the proletariat is well nigh calists view.
above 51 per cent of the gainfully engaged populaAgain the Communist position of bringing about tion. Furthermore, in his calculations of the numSocialism by the forces of the proletariat alone bers of the agricultural and industrial proletariat, through a dictatorship of the proletarian minority, Comrade Hourwich eliminates the class of serydoes not suit our friend any more than the Syndi ants, somewhere between and per cent, and the calist panacea.
professional persons, of whom a goodly half, anWhat remains, then, is either of two courses. One other per cent, could be safely placed in the prois the German majority mode of procedure of coaletariat column. Or, is there any good reason why lition with the bourgeois parties typified in the a civil engineer working for the Interborough, or a United States by the Milwaukee policy of seeking draftsman, or a teacher in the New York City an alliance with the Farmers Nonpartisan League School system, or even a servant could not be in(capitalistic in its own politics) and the Farmer duced to accept Socialism sooner than or as soon Labor Party (non existant in politics, non socialistic as a railroad clerk?
in principle and opportunist to the core. The al If the industrialization and proletarization of ternative is the present policy of the Socialist Party, the people of the United States should proceed at that is, neither for dictatorship by a proletarian the same ratio as Hourwich establishes, to wit 10. minority nor for a combination, alliance, or fusion per cent for a period of ten years, then in 1930 we with other political groups, but just waiting with shall have a pretty good working majority of prolefolded arms until the working class will become tarians to usher in the Co operative Commonthe majority.
wealth. And nine years is by no means too long to Comrade Fourwich has no patience with this polwait for it. But isn there something to be said about the Socialist education of the masses? Will icy of a perfectionist sect, as he calls it. What, Comrade Hourwich ignore this side of the problem?
then, does he propose? The Milwaukee method?
Hourwich establishes the rate of increase for the An alliance with anti Socialists for the purpose of proletariat to be 10. per cent in 10 years. The ratio bringing about Socialişm? Comrade Hourwich is of increase of the Socialist sentiment for the whole a better logician than that. Yet he offers no way out. Why?
of the United States, as evidenced by the Socialist Party vote, hardly justifies even so much optimism.
Yet, without being unduly sanguine, we may acWere Comrade Hourwich of the mental make up cept, with a fair degree of accuracy, that we are of most of the regular Socialist Partyites his at likely to attain a majority vote, by due process of titude toward majority and minority could be easily law, that is considering the stealing of our votes, discerned. Why, the constitution prescribes ma elimination of our candidates by imposing upon jority rule. So claim our constitutionally consti them long prison terms, etc. some time between tuted good Socialist comrades. Won you please 1998 and 2084. Encouraging as such an outlook wait until we are the actual majority? In fact wait may be, it is on the whole too far off to be taken until we attain an actual majority of votes. We are into account for any practical purpose.
not law breakers. But Hourwich knows that the great American democratic political machinery Hourwich Repudiates Syndicalism. The idea of which is operated upon the principles of majority dictatorship of a proletarian minority is not to his rule was never brought about by a majority of the liking either. The Socialist theory of inactivity as people. Hourwich knows American history. Fur practised by the American Socialist Party he disthermore, our democratic political machinery cards as perfectionist sect stuff. He does not acnever was operated or controlled by the expression cept the Milwaukee Socialist Party plan of trading of the will of the majority. Hourwich knows this Socialism either. What, then, does he propose?
too well. It is the minority that always ruled. At Nothing so far but discussion. But how does it hapbest the minority claimed that it was speaking the pen that Hourwich of all should turn to be fruitless will of the majority. Ordinarily, that classical defi at an atempt to solve this all important problem: nition of government by the Irishwoman is to the Hourwich knows thoroughly, as few do in the point: Them few gentlemen at Washington sees United States, the working of our political machinwhat is best for themselves and do it for the ery of democracy. He has at his finger tips the inpeople. Hourwich knows more about the essence dustrial development of our country. And he holds of government than his statistically corroborated no illusions as to the value of our common carriers fears would betray. He knows that no actual ma of political democracy, such as the Farmers Nonjority ever ruled this boss made world and none Partisan League, the Farmer Labor Party, our Libever will rule if our glorious democratic political erals, Radicals, Prohibitionists, ei tutti quanti. If machinery is to prevail. Even our political babes, he thought so he would not fear to state openly that By SALUTSKY Comrade Isaac Hourwich is worried beyond From 1900 to 1910 the relative number of the prolemeasure over the fact that practically nowhere, tariat of the United States increased by 10. per cent.
not even in the most industrial countries, do If the same ratio be applied to France, its proletariat canthe proletarians form the majority of the populanot represent to day more than 45 per cent of all adult males, which is still short of a majority.
tion in the cities and villages. Here are some of the data submitted by our comrade.
Applying the same method of calculation to the In the United States, in 1900, the proletariat, inUnited States for the period of 1911 to 1920, we cluding hired farm laborers, made up 41. per cent find that the proletariat of the United States will of the total number of persons engaged in gainful breadwinners, and that it will have gone over the represent in 1920 50. per cent of the total sum of occupations. The industrial wage earners alone for the same year composed only 34 per cent of the same top. In order to meet Comrade Hourwich and his category argument we shall, however, ignore the one half of The figures for 1910 show an increase of the proper cent and we shall take it that the wageletariat in the ratio of over 10 per cent. The census earners represented in 1920 just one half of the ac, of 1910 gives the industrial wage earners 38. per tive population, a sort of a political No Man Land sui generis.
cent and the whole proletariat of both city and farm 45. per cent of the total number of persons Now, what worries our comrade in view of these engaged in gainful occupations. France, as Comstatistical data, he states in a recent issue of the rade Hourwich tells us in the last issue of The Socialist Review, and to that statement the article Workers Council, is even less proletarised. There, in The Workers Council supplies but further arguHourwich calculates, the agricultural ment. Says Comrade Hourwich: wageearners, together with the industrial proletariat, The proletariat is not yet a majority in this highly represent about 40 per cent of all breadwinners.
developed idustrial country. That means that the democratic political machinery which is operated upon the The census of 1911 is the basis for the above. The inprinciple of majority rule furnishes to the proletariat dustrial proletarians alone represented 26 per cent no means to enact Socialism. What, then, is to be done?
of the active population.
Pointing to the solutions of the problem ofThere are no available figures for 1920 as yet. fered respectively by the Syndicalists, the ComBut Comrade Hourwich gives an approximate esti munists and the moderate or reformistic Socialists mate of what these figures may be, basing his cal. German majoritaire and the Milwaukee branch in culations on the established and certain ratio of in the United States. Hourwich concludes: crease of the proletariat as compared with the other One can argue for and against every one of these groups of the active population. He states: three policies. But to cling to the old tactics, which were