THE MILITANTOn Rakovsky (Extract from a Letter). . . Rakovsky is writing an enormous amount....

THE M IL IT A N TPublished Twice a Month by tbe Communist League of America (Opposition)

V ol.III,N o.30 NEW YO RK, N. Y| September 15 1930 ___________ PR IC E 5 CENTS

Issues in the ElectionsCapitalist Parties Put Up Fake Issues to Conceal Jobless Sufferings

In Stalin’s Exile

RAKOVSKY IN DANGER!

The silence o f the leadership of ou r P a rty and the In te rn a tio n a l continues to be profound. We w il l continue w ith o u t cease ou r appeal to the w orkers fo r the B o lshevik O pposition ists deported by S ta lin .

Above a ll, comrade C h ris tia n Rakovsky m ust be saved!

The w orkers m ust be in fo rm ed, and to those responsible fo r the P a rty ’s po licy, we m ust co ns tan tly ra ise the question : W ha t are you do ing to the L e ft O pposition in the U..S.S.R.?' W hy do you persecute it? J u s tify you r repressive measures i f you can!

O n Rakovsky(E x tra c t fro m a L e tte r)

. . . R akovsky is w r it in g an enormous amount. W hatever reaches us is read by a ll ; in th is sense C h ris tian G eorgevitch is doing a g rea t w o rk . H is pos ition does not d iffe r one w h it fro m ou r own ( th a t o f T ro ts k y ) ; lik e ourselves, he is res is ting the P a rty regime. Here are some extracts fro m one o f h is la s t cards:

“ A l l ou r w arn ings have been verified m uch m ore ra j j id ly aind fu l ly than we m ig h t have im agined. R ig h t now a re ­tre a t is being beaten, and the positions are being abandoned, ev iden tly by the usual zig-zags. The slogan of ‘genera lized co l­le c tiv iza tio n in three years ’ s t i l l continues o n ly fo r the purpose o f fr ig h te n in g the m idd le peasant and increas ing the re ta il p rice by its presssure. The m iddle peasant w i l l be the axis around w h ich the tu rn of 180 degrees in C en tris t p o licy w i l l revolve.

“ A fte r C en trism , w ith o u t resistance, ru ined the economy o f the m iddle peasant, i t w i l l again begin to make a fe tich o f h im , w ith the r itu a l sacrifices, n o t on the backs o f the bureaucracy— w hich everybody w ou ld have to approve-------bu t a t the ex­pense of tihe poor peasants and the p ro le t­a r ia t” . . .

Letter from Russia. . . By chance I received some in ­

fo rm a tion on the s o lita ry p rison o f N. One o f ou r comrades confined there pre ­v ious ly developed the theory of the “ fe r ­m ent” th a t is, th a t we are fe rm en t of the next revo lu tio n a ry "rise, bu t today, in his le tte r, a change is to be fe lt. Everybody w orks to deepen and increase h is theore tica l knowledge, they study and strengthen th e ir know ledge o f fo re ign languages, w ith a m arked preference fo r German. The dis­cussions go on w ith o u t cease. The 'sub­jec ts : know ledge o f the w orld , space, tim e, mechanics, the sorties o f the R ig h t w ing, the " th ird period” ,etc., etc. N o th ing m ore qan be learned o f the essence o f the d is­cussions, since a ll abstrac t considerations are censored, o r held back by the censor; even the s itu a tio n w ith regard to food is p a rt o f the m yste ry o f the s o lita ry prisons. H unger s trikes are freq u e n tly ca rrie d on. The causes are th e regime, and apparently, the food; a fte r the f irs t hunger s tr ike , they forced the perm ission to receive tw e lve le tte rs instead o f fo u r le tte rs a m onth. The s tr ik e was long, there were m any ser­io u s ly i l l . The second hunger s tr ike was a p ro tes t aga inst the basbonnades (beat­in g w ith s ticks ). As a re su lt ,the p risoners were refused a ll com m unication w ith the ou te r w orld . The old socia l democrcy le ft the prisons and places of exile m uch m ore hea lthy than the Bo lsheviks w i l l leave the s o lita ry prisons o f S ta lin ism . . . .

June, 1930. ■—N.N.

Suffic ient has occurred in the la s t few weeks to show on what) basis the tw in c a p ita lis t p a rt i es in tend to conduct the e lec tion Campaign: P ro h ib it io n — ftfr a n il aga inst! The fa ith fu l servant of Tam m anj H a il, G overnor Roosevelt, hae issued a “ courageous” statem ent fo r the repeal o l the 18th Am endment. The “ w e t” R epub li­cans o f New Y o rk are w a rn ing the P a rty h igh p ries ts th a t unless they do the same, the parched P a rty sheep w i l l f lo c k to the flo w in g brooks o f the "D em ocracy” . In I l l in o is , the D em ocratic senatoria l nominee, J. H a m ilto n Lew is, has declared th e g rea t issue to be b rin g in g the governm ent back to “ the p rin c ip le o f the fa the rs ” , w hich, i f he re fe rs to the George, W ashingtons, means cheap booze. M ich igan has a l­ready defeated tw o p rom inen t d ry Repub­lica n Congressmen in the p rim aries . V e r­m ont has g iven an unknow n “ w e t” a nom ­in a tio n over a p rom inen t “ d ry ” . The same comedy is being enacted everywhere.

M ilita r is t "re v o lu tio n s ” in South A m er­ica are o ccu rr in g w ith b e w ild e rin g fre ­quency and abruptness. F irs t B o liv ia , then Peru, now A rgen tina , and tom orrow , per- hap, B raz il. In v ir tu a lly every one o f these countries, the b o ilin g over o f con flic ting elements resu lts fro m the vo lcan ic heat generated by the w o rld ca p ita lis t c ris is . Even m ore precise ly, the “ revo lu tions” in question m irrto r the unconcealed r iv a lry between B r ita in and the U nited States. In both these im p e r ia lis t powers, th e ir an- a rc h is tic a lly organized indus tries and means o f d is tr ib u tio n are paralyzed, th e ir home m arkets s luggish and contracted, th e ir financ ia l systems in d isorder. P r im a r ily fo r these two, i t has become a m a tte r o f econ­omic existence to fig h t too th and n a il fo r a la rg e r share o f the w o rld m arke t, lim ite d as i t is. T h is s trugg le fo r m arkets, raw m ate ria l, spheres o f in fluence and the like , produces the m fi3 t v io le n t e rup tions in every corner o f the w orld , o f w h ich the recent events in South Am erica are on ly C haracteristic.

The ove rth row o f the ty ra n n ic a l bu t­cher o f the P eruv ian to il in g masses, Leguia, the W a ll S tfee t ad ju tan t who was su rround­ed by A m erican financ ia l and nava l “ ad­v iso rs ” , m arked an offensive o f B r ita in against the Yankee d o lla r— never ve ry pop­u la r w ith the L a t in A m erican masses— w h ich has ye t to say its (final word.

W ith a lm ost the p rec is ion of a m ilita ry counter-offensive comes the engineered up­r is in g in A rgen tine w ith its rem oval o f the no to rio u s ly p ro -B r it is h Ir igo ye n adm in is­tra tio n and the establishm ent o f the p ro - Am erican U riburiu d ic ta torsh ip . B o th the A m erican and ‘B r it is h im p e r ia lis t p|f6fss tre a t the event w ith a frankness fo r w h ich we can o n ly be th a n k fu l: the fo rm er greets i t w ith unfeigned glee, the la tte r w ith ap­prehension. The U n ited States, w ith its h y p o c rit ic a l “ p o lic y ” o f no t reco g n iz ir ig L a tin -A m erican governm ents th a t have suc­ceeded to power by “ v io lence” , is qu ite prepared to make an exception in the A r ­gentine case.

In a l l these “ revo lu tions", the native bourgeois demagogues have (s k ilfu lly u t i l ­ized the d issa tis fac tion o f the masses w ith the economic c ris is and ty ra n n ica l d ic ta t­orsh ip . They have used the w orkers and peasants fo r “ troops o f the popu la r revo lu -

The socalled p ro h ib itio n issue is the best one th a t could be chosen— fo r the c a p ita lis t class. I t conven ien tly cuts across p a rty lines so th a t ne ithe r s in g ly no r to ­gether can they be made responsib le fo r ayth lng. I t is an expedient gas gun fo r shooting clouds around fundam enta l and re a lly bu rn in g issues.

Is there mass unem ploym ent, m isery, s ta rva tion , suicide in the coun try? Elooze w i l l solve th a t! A re wages being cu t to the ve ry m arrow ? Booze w i l l make the w orkers fo rg e t th a t! Is a fo rm of socia l insurance needed by the w orkers? No, i t ’s beer and lig h t w ines they need! A re the w orkers clubbed d u rin g s tr ikes , bludgeoned a t dem onstrations o f the jobless, evicted fro m th e ir homes? P ro h ib itio n caused i t a l l ! Do the w orkers w a n t bread? Give them beer and they w on’t need bread! Is there a b leak w in te r ahead, a w in te r of deepened c r is is o f h o rr ib le suffering, o f food r io ts perhaps and c e rta in ly o f b it te r s trug -

tio n ” and coo lly d riven them back to a pos ition o f quiescence and sub juga tion as soon as they have seized power. F o r the masses, in a w ord these “ revo lu tio n s ” Save no progressive significance, and often a m ore reac tiona ry one.

W ha t is even m ore d is tu rb in g is the complete absence o f the Com m unist move­m ent in these a ffa irs . They appear no­where as a p o lit ic a l fac to r. They do no t even appear to a ttem pt to tu rn the guns of the masses ag ins t the m il i ta r is t puppets o f the na tive bourgeoisie and im peria lism . The tru th is : They have been crushed and rendered im poten t by the ravages o f Sta­lin ism , w h ich has v ir tu a lly dissolved the oncq p rom is ing Com m unist m ovem ent in the L a tin -A m erican countries.

The German ElectionsWe go to press too soon to re p o rt the

outcome o f the elections in Germany, and m ust there fo re leave iti to the n ex t issue to con ta in a detailed analysis o f the resu lts. In th is case, however, as in a ll c a p ita lis t (elections, the 'casting o f b a llo ts is fair fro m the decisive question. The fate of Germ any and its w o rk in g class w i l l be decided in the open fie ld o f the class s tru g ­gle. The prob lem fo r the bourgeoisie is its a b ility to unload the burden o f the nrifcis upon techpico-ln ldusltria lliy weaker coun tries and by in tens ified e xp lo ita tion of the w o rk in g class, in o rde r to c a rry out the Young P lan. The answer dependsi la rg e ly upon the Com m unist P a rty and its a b il ity to m obilize fo r s trugg le the w orkers s t i l l in re trea t. The fa ilu re o f the Com­m un is t P a rty can b rin g the same ru inous consequences to the p ro le ta r ia t as d id the fa ilu re o f the B ra n d le r leadership o f the C.P.G. in 1923. On the tem per and mood of the p ro le ta r ia t, w h ich w i l l ibe pa rtia lity guaged by the elections th is week, depends the question— in a p o lit ic a l sense— of whe­th e r the bourgeoisie w i l l go fo rw a rd w ith its "dem ocra tic ” d ic ta to rsh ip supported by the se rv ile co llabo ra tion o f the social dem­ocrats, o r prepare fo r an open Fascist) d ic ta to rsh ip . U n fo rtuna te ly , the Com m unist P a rty under the m isleadership o f its Thael- manns, Remmeles and Neumanns o ffe r too insu ffic ien t guarantee o r hope of an in te l l i­g e n tly revo lu tio n a ry leadership o f the mass­es fo r today and the com ing day.

gles to res is t the offensive o f the c a p ita lis t class? Give them a p ro h ib itio n p riz e ifig h t to d is tra c t th e ir m inds fro m woe and s tru - g le !

The d is like and to ta l Incapacity o f the c a p ita lis t parties to face the rea l problem s the masses are confronted w ith , are qu ite understandable. R epublican o r Dem ocrat — they are the ram pa rts o f the system th a t produces w ars, unem ploym ent, crises, m is­ery, c h ild labor, exp lo ita tion , in e q u a lity and opflilession w ith am evcr-inb reae ing fre ­quency and permanency. T h e ir crim es and fes te rin g c o rru p tio n are the crim es and co rru p tio n o f cap ita lism , w ith w h ich the w hole co u n try is reek ing lik e a pestilence. F o r a w o rke r to support them is to kiss the chains th a t enslave h im and w ith g ra titu d e the b low s he receives.

Reformist Aides to CapitalismThen ,should he support the S oc ia lis t

party? No. I t the R epublican and Demo­c ra tic p a rties are the ram parts o f ca p ita l­ism , the S oc ia lis t p a rty is the d itch around the fo rtre ss th a t trap s those who seek to s to rm it . The soc ia lis t p a rty has removed every m ention o f the class s trugg le from its p rogram , con s titu tio n and w orks. B u t i t has n o t le f t the class s trug g le ; i t has o n ly become an assistant to cap ita lism . I t is the p a rty o f the pe tty bourgeoisie. I t is the p a rty o f the respectable business men who fa ith fu lly manage the m un ic ipa l a ffa irs o f Reading and M ilw aukee fo r the ca p ita lis t class. I t is the devoted w orkm an who goes about h is m aster’s house, w ith p las te r and trow e l, begging fo r perm ission to coyer up the m ore u n s ig h tly holes in the decay­in g s truc tu re .

Does i t o ffer prom ises to the w orkers? C e rta in ly ! M ore even than its m asters o ffer. I t offers a M acDonald regim e in the U n ited States, a regim e w h ich has so effect­iv e ly “ solved” unem ploym ent in Eng land th a t m illio n s are s t i l l on a m iserab le dole; i t has “ solved” the oppression o f im p e ria l­ism in In d ia by m assacring tbe In d ia n people. H aven’t H il lq u lt and Co. endorsed the B r it is h "L a b o r” governm ent? A ren ’t they in one and the same "so c ia lis t” in te r ­na tiona l? A re they no t “ comrades” of Zoergiebel, the bu tcher o f B e r l 'n ’s p ro le t­a ria t, and Eoncour, the agent of the French, w a r mongers? A re they n o t in the p a rty o f the “ soc ia lis t’ trade un ion racketeers who p ractise fo r pow er by beating up and expe lling L e ft w in g w orkers? They are the gay deceivers o f the w o rk in g class, typ ified by M r. Heywood B roun and M r. N orm an Thomas, who keep the w orkers fro m iftghting th e ir class enemy by te llin g them th a t th e ir lo t can be im proved by vo tin g aga inst c a p ita lis t p o litic ia n s .

Yote Com m unist

(The w o rk e r ’s vote should go to the w o rk e r’s pa rty— the Com m unist P arty . A l l ou r differences w ith it , ou r c ritic ism s o f its in te r ila l regim e and its ru inous policies, does n o t change the fa c t th a t i t is the o n ly p o lit ic a l p a rty of the w o rk in g class in the fie ld w hich stands fo r a revo lu tio n a ry s trugg le against cap ita lism and a ll power to the p ro le ta ria t. The casting o f a paper b a llo t does no t and cannot decide the bu rn ­in g problem s o f the w orkers. B u t support fo r the Com m unist campaign draws the w orkers m ore c losely together, and enables them to trans fo rm the e lecto ra l fa rce in to a genuine f ig h t fo r the demands o f the w orkers— not in fu t i le p o llin g booths, bu t in serious class struggle.

Vote Com m unist!

A Yankee Revolution in the Argentine

An Opportunist Campaign

The Communist Party in the ElectionsGeorge Saul Tours for Opposition

Comrade George J. Saul has begun a na tiona l speaking to u r fo r the Com m unist League o f Am erica (O pposition) opening up in Denver, Colorado, w ith a num ber ef- street meetings. F rom Denver, he w i l l proceed to Kansas C ity , w ith a possible m eeting in S te rlin g en. route. In Kansas C ity , tw o o r th ree m eetings are scheduled fo r h im . One o f them is a m eeting o f the Com m unist League branch, ano ther is a pub lic m eeting in Forum H a ll, 1218 East 12th Street, September 16th , 8 p.m., on “ Boss Persecutions in the South", and a s tree t m eeting m ay also be arranged. St. Lou is is also a rra n g in g a branch and pub­l ic m eeting fo r comrade Saul in the P ub lic L ib ra ry . F rom St. Lou is, i t is expected to con tinue the to u r th ro u g h Spring fie ld , C h i. cago, D e tro it, Cleveland, Youngstown, P it ts ­b u rg h and points in the v ic in ity .

Comrade Saul was one o f the active figures in the Colorado coal s tr ike o f a few years ago, and recen tly one o f the leaders o f the te x tile s trugg les in the South. He was sentenced to s ix m onths on the chain gang in the Carolinas fo r his ac tiv ities . Hiis recent agreem ent w ith the standpo in t o f the Com m unist League b rough t about h is ex­pu ls ion fro m the o ffic ia l Com m unist P arty . On th is to u r, comrade Saul is speaking on “ Boss Persecutions in the South” , “ P rob­lems o f the A m erican W o rk in g Class” , and tihe “ P rogram o f the Com m unist League” . F u rth e r deta ils on the to u r w i l l be pub lish ­ed in fo rthcom ing issues o f th e M ilita n t.

THE RESULTS O F THE

G E R M A N ELECTIONSw il l b * the subject o f the next open m eeting

o f the N.Y, B ranch o f the Com m unist

League of Am erica (O pposition)

M ax Shachtmanw il l be the speaker

Questions and D iscussion w i l l fo llo w

The m eeting w i l l be held in the

Stuyvesant Casino9 th St. and 2nd Ave. Koom 3,

Thursday, September 25, a t 8 p in , sharp

A ll In v ite d Adm ission Free

Comrade Andres Nin Expelled from RussiaComrade Andres N in, fo rm er member o f fro n tie r, w ith o u t a cent, w th o u t a document,

the P ro fin te rn secre ta ria t and leader of the w ith o u t h is fa m ily !Spanish Com m unist movement, was deprivedo f a ll w o rk and removed from his .post in He was sti11 held a few days by S ta lin 'sJ.928 a fte r his courageous speech a t the guards, and h is w ife , together w ith tw o fo u rth Congress o f the R .I.L .U . ch ild ren — one 7 years o ld and the o ther 2

years o ld— held w ith him .N in had d e fin ite ly sided w ith the L e ft

O pposition: he had excoria ted the oppor- Tbe bureaucracy o f S ta lin knows notu n is t trade un ion po licy o f the Anglo-R us- l im its. The revo lu tio n a ry w orkers m ust ask sian Committee, he had developed the in te r- the leaders -of the T.U.U.L. fo r an explana- na tiona l perspectives of the Opposition, and tio n o£ tlle case o£ N ln - o u r po in t o f v iew on the Chinese question. Upon th e ir re tu rn , the Am erican dele-

urn SiDCe ‘ t ! 11’ ^ WaS h6ld a p risoner in s a lts to the R .I.L .U . congress m ust be asked . aPPW' ^ b ls Presence ir r ita te d the fo r deta ils on the case of N in.

S ta lin is ts and they have ju s t accomplishedth e ir base aim s by expe lling h im under scan. N*n is a tested revo lu tio n is t. W ith him , dalous conditions. as w ith ou r non-R ussian comrades, as w ith

comrade S antin i who is now in Moscow, Sta- Smce hypocrisy and “ h igh p o lit ic s ” are iin and h is va le t Losovsky, do not dare to

a p a rt o f such a game, the F rench and Chin- employ the s o lita ry prison, exile, m- the r if le ese delegates to the recen tly concluded f if th s q u a d - th e y m ust l im it themselves w ith ex­congress were made to propose a reso lu tion pulsions. B u t these methods d ishonor the endorsing the expuls ion. re vo lu tio n a ry trade un ipn movement.

Comrade N in was expelled on A ugust The L e ft w in g m ilita n ts in th is coun try

l lZ T l Staam; l UlTTCr ditl0nS ' ArreSted by mUSt COnduCt a Perseve ring strugg le against ! , ? ° , : U ' he Was selzed as belng these methods w h ich not on ly p lay in to the

°„ u°“ n te r-re vo lu tio n a ry actions” by hands o f the R ig h t w ing and reaction, bu t v ir tu e o f a rtic le 58 o f the Soviet code, lik e destroy the prestige and effectiveness o f the qomrade T ro tsky, and conducted to the Com munist movement.

Two declara tions of the L e ft Oppo­s ition . in t im a te ly re lated to each other, are being confirm ed w ir.h g rea te r ra p id ity than m any expected. The f irs t is th a t C entrism has no independent o r consistent p o lit ic a l lin e of its own. The second, th a t the s to rm y u lt ra -L e ft zigzag o f C entrism is o n ly a prelude to a new rampage in the d irec tion of crass opportun ism , The con­ten tions are already being confirm ed in a ll the im p o rta n t parties o f the C om intern, in c lu d in g the Russian. In the U nited States, i t is m ost c rude ly m anifested ifn the present e lection cam paign o f the P arty .

Conditions fo r E lec tion W ork W hy and under w ha t cond itions do

Communists p a rtic ipa te in pa rliam en ta ry ac tiv ities? Am ong the m any conditions, these stand ou t: To u tiliz e the in terest aroused among the w orkers d u rin g e lection tim es fo r re vo lu tio n a ry ag ita tion and o r­gan ization o f the w orkers. To po in t out th a t the Com munists do no t seek seats in o rder to use the bourgeois state appara t­us as an in s tru m e n t of the w orkers, b u t to use i t as a fo ru m w here the decadent bourgeois pa rliam en ta rism is exposed and the illu s io n s o f the w orkers in i t shattered To u tiliz e e lection periods in p a rt ic u la r to m obilize the w orkers aga inst the s t if l in g fa rce o f the p o llin g booths and fo r tra n s ­fe rr in g th e ir demands and a tten tion ou t­s ide p a rliam e n ta ry boundaries and in to the open fie ld o f strugg les, (dem onstra­tions, s trikes, etc., etc.) To advocate such m in im um (im m ediate) demands as do not re fo rm cap ita lism ( th a t is the job of the social democrats) b u t as en tra in masses in s trugg le outside the b a llo t box decep­tion , and incessantly to combine the m in ­im um and m axim um program s o f the rev ­o lu tio n a ry p ro le ta r ia t, the im m ediate de­mands w ith , the fin a l aim o f the seizure of power. To po in t out to the w orkers th a t pa rliam en t and elections are a isham and a deception practised upon them by tl bourgeois ie anid th e ir re fo rm is t Lieuten­ants, th a t re fo rm s cannot im prove th e ir w retched lo t w h ich is produced by the sys­tem as a whole.

In the U nited States, w here so m any m illio n s of w brkers pa rtic ipa te in elections, where pa rliam e n ta ry illu s io n s are deep and strong, where re fo rm is t quackery has been so p reva len t and nefarious, and soc ia lis t re fo rm ism has assumed ( fo r decades) such a crude bourgeois character, the observance o f the above-mentioned conditons are im ­p e ra tive ly needed giurantees fo r a Com­m un is t movement aga inst a degeneration in to opportun ism . In the present elections

campaign, however, they have been honored m ore in the breach than in the observance and th a t w ith ca lam itous resu lts.

O ur ProposalsA few m onths ago, the L e ft Opposition,

th rough the M ilita n t, proposed a num ber o f concrete issues as a program of action fo r the Com m unist movement. Leading them was the need o f a campaign fo r socia l in ­surance th a t w ou ld set a broad class move­m ent go ing and invo lve masses in s trugg le . A t th a t tim e the proposal was no t on ly s tr ic t ly taboo in the columns o f the o ffic ia l P a rty press and a ll P a rty documents, bu t i t was looked a t w ith a g la r in g ly suspicious eye by the S ta lin is t m ann ik ins as som ething ak in to i f no t worse than “ social fascism ” .

We never conceived such a cam paign in the sense o f a v u lg a r pa rliam en ta ry comedy— th a t goes w ith o u t saying. We urged i t upon the P arty , w h ich f in a lly ac­cepted i t when w ord had come fijom Mos­cow th a t even in the “ th ird period” such a proposal was no t e n tire ly a bad one. I t was from then on th a t we were present­ed w ith an a lm ost incred ib le perform ance w h ich reaches new depths w ith the passage o f every day. F rom yesterday’s h a rd ly con­cealed contem pt fo r “ social fasc is t in s u r­ance” , the P a rty leaders swung around th e ir custom ary 180 degrees, and tu rned the issue — w hich can have a serious significance on ly as a demand fo r w h ich w orkers ac tua lly fig h t—in to a cheap e lecto ra l game.

To begin w ith , a “ social insurance b i l l ” was fo rm a lly d ra fted by the P arty , in the best m anner o f sk ille d parliam en ta rians. We are even ready to acknowledge th a t the b i l l is pe rfe c tly lega l and its language i r ­reproachable. Too legal and irreproachab le , in fact. I t te lls us th a t “ a na tio na l pub­l ic ( ! ) emergency now exists in the U nited States o f A m erica ” . A le a fle t o f the New Y o rk P a rty D is tr ic t in fo rm s us th a t the “ Communists o ffe r a rem edy” ( ! ) ; and the D a ily W o rke r adds: Society owes these categories o f w orkers a l iv in g .” In fact, the o n ly essential d ifference between the “ Com­m un is t B i l l ” and the S ocia lis t p a rty ’s pan­aceas is th a t the C.P. demands $25 a week per unemployed w orker, to be paid by the governm ent, w h ile the S.P. does no t de­mand so much. A ve ry cheaply purchased “ rad ica lism ” , indeed!

H ow the O pportun ists W rite o f T lie ir B i l lT h is ve ry p a rliam e n ta ry “ b i l l ” has be­

come the ve ry acme of the s trugg le fo r social insurance conducted by the P arty , the “ center of the e lection cam paign” as the D a ily W o rke r says. We re fra in from .quoting m uch fro m the D a ily W orker, bu t a few sentences m ust be cited here. They are b rea th -tak ing .

“ A vote fo r the candidate o f the Com­m un is t P a rty fe a vote fo r the enactm ent of the Unem ploym ent Insurance BH1” (8-29- 1930).

The P a rty ca lled together a “ mass un ­em ploym ent un ited f ro n t” fo r the purpose o f discussing . . . “ the enactm ent o f the W orke rs ’ Social Insurance E lill as proposed by the Com m unist P a rty ” (9-10-1930).

“ Th is b i l l m ust no t o n ly be b rought to the w orkers in the shops, trade unions, fo r th e ir endorsement, b u t the P a rty m ust also consider the u tiliz a tio n of the in it ia ­tive and referendum law s as a means of s trugg le fo r th is b i l l . ” (8-2-1930).

In w hat w ay does th is destroy the pa rliam en ta ry illu s io n s of the w orkers , o r d irec t th e ir a tten tion and e fforts to the e x tra -pa rliam en ta ry fie ld? The answer is :In no w ay! Instead o f te ll in g the w orkers b lu n t ly and honestly th a t even th e ir s im ­plest and m ost e lem entary demands can be a tta ined— not by “ b i l ls ” and b a llo t boxes— b u t by genuine mass dem onstrations and s tr ikes (we do no t mean the k in d the D a ily W o rke r organises a t its headline desks), by a rousing the mass organ izations o f the w orkers to f ig h t fo r these demands, the P a rty glues the eyes o f its fo llow e rs to a . . . b ill. W ha t has suddenly happened

to the “ th ird pe riod” , to the “ revo lu tio n a ry upsurge” , to the “ c ris is worse than 1914” , to the “ possession o f the stree ts” ? They have been dissolved in to a le g a lly perfect, irrep roachab ly worded “ b i l l ” to be present­ed fo r "enactm ent” to Congress.

T ha t is no t a ll. Combined w ith th is m is­erable campaign o f opportun ism , is s im ila r re fo rm is t nonsense, subsid ia ry in fo rm but no less ha rm fu l.

“ The funds necessary fo r such in s u r­ance,” w rites the D a ily W orke r, “ can be provided by 1. S topping arm am ents and o ther w a r prepara tions and assign ing the Ifutnds h ith e rto spent fo r these purposes to a social insurance fu n d .” (8-29-1930). No “ genuine” pac ifis t cou ld fa il to he de­ligh ted w ith such a proposal, w h ich is also advanced in the fo rm of a slogan: “ Not a cent fo r w a r.”

P e tty Bourgeois PacifismN ot once bu t a hundred tim es did Len in

excoria te the pe tty bourgeois pacifis ts in the ranks o f the soc ia lis t movem ent whb advanced these and s im ila r proposals and slogans. H is s tr ic tu re s rem ain ju s t as co rrec t today, even when they m ust be d i­rected aga inst the chameleons o f the “ th ird period” . Not so ve ry long ago, the whole P a rty was s tir re fl up against B itte lm an fo r his pe tty bourgeois slogan: “ No more cru is ­e rs !” Does the new pacifis t slogan of arm am ents and w a r d iffe r in any essential from B itte lm an 's? I t does not. L ike its predecessor, i t has no place in a Com­m un is t movement.

I t may be objected th a t these are “ is ­olated quo ta tions” . This ob jection is not va lid . The quotations are on ly typ ica l of w ha t can be read every day in the D a ily W o rke r and the res t of the P a rty press. The “ b i l l ” its e lf was d ra fted by the P arty leadersh ip— e v id e n tly w ith the prhctlsed a id o f some o f the present “ leaders” who no t so long ago studied how to be good parliam en ta rians under V ic to r Berger, A l­gernon Lee, L o u is W aldm an, M eyer London and M orris H illq u it . The ed ito ria ls cited are w r itte n by no less a fig u re than C.A. H athaw ay, graduate cum laude of the “ Len­in ” school, and now member of the a lm igh ty P a rty secre taria t. The tu rn from u ltra - L e ftism is quite offic ia l.

* * *

T h is is no t the f ir s t tim e th is has hap­pened. A fte r the F if th Congress o f the C om intern, w h ich fo llow ed the collapse of the R ig h t w in g leadership in Germ any (1923) and Czecho-Slovakia, the In te rn a tio n a l C en tris t regime also embarked on a sho rt­lived “ L e ft is t ’ zig-zag. I t was the period o f R u th F ischer and T re in t leaderships and policies, o f “ p lay ing a t so ld ie rs” as i t was la te r termed. B u t th is u lt ra -L e ft is t jag was on ly the pre lude to the w o rs t period of opportun ism in C om intern h is to ry : the ad­venture w ith Chiang Kai-Shek, w ith La- F o lle tte , w ith R ad itch and o ther “ peasant” leaders, w ith Messrs. P u rce ll and Co. The ind ica tions are tha t such a catastroph ic sw ing is to be repeated now.

Centrism has no consistent po licy of its own. I t t3 a parasite w h ich lives on the Xiieces i t b ites of from the L e ft and R ig h t a lte rna te ly , b u t i t a lways ends by s in k in g a fo o t deeper in to the swamp of opportunism . As in 1925-1927, i t is ca rry in g th rough a tu rn to the R ig h t w ith an accompanim ent of u ltra -L e ft trum pets.

A tu rn from the p re va ilin g u ltra -L e ftis t course, embodied in the spurious ph iloso­phy o f the “ th ird period” is essential fo r the P arty . B u t C entrism cannot execute such a tu rn w ith o u t sp ring ing back to its o ld R ig h t w in g positions. The vig ilance and com radely c r it ic is m o f the L e ft Op­position m ust assist the Com m unist w orkers in the ranks o f the P a rty to make the tu rn from the present lin e to the positions of M arx ism . — S— n

(The next issue o f the M ilita n t w i l l fu r th e r discuss concrete e lection problems. —Ed.)

sc rip tion ra te f^ .O ^ p e T y ^ a r^ fo re i6̂ ^ 5o° F ive c ^n t1̂ * ' ^ tw ice “ 0P th ly by tbe Communis t League o f Am erica (O pposition) at25 T h ird Avenue, New Y o rk , N. Y. Sub ice Spector A rne Swabeck Entered as so Vend Mas p r , Copy' Bundle rates 3 cents per copy. E d ito r ia l B oard: M a rtin Abern, James P. Cannon Max Shachtman, M aur

s e c to r , A rne Swabeck. Entered as se-cond class m a il m atte r, November 28 1928 a t the Post Office a t New Y ork. N. Y. under the act o f M arch 3, 1879 (T o ta l No. 55)

Our Reply to the Right Wing

Lovestone's «United Front» Maneuver(A t a recen t m eeting, the na tio na l

com m ittee o f .the C om m unist League o f A m erica (O pposition) considered the “ open le tte r” sent by the Lovestone group to our o rgan iza tion and to the o ffic ia l Com m unist P arty . The le tte r, ca llin g fo r a “ U nited F ro n t” , is published in fu l l in the cu rre n t issue o f R evo lu tionary Age, organ o f the R ig h t w ing , to w h ich in terested readers can re fe r fo r tihe fu l l te x t fro m w h ich quo­ta tions contained in the fo llo w in g docu)- m ent are taken. The le tte r w h ich fo llow s is the rep ly addressed p u b lic ly to th e R ig h t w in g by the na tiona l com m ittee o f the League.)

* » •

We have received yo u r le tte r o f J u ly 26, 1930 appealing fo r ou r “ cooperation in se tting up a un ited re vo lu tio n a ry fro n t” as w e ll as a copy o f the reso lu tion on “ T ro tsky ism ” adopted .a t the P lenum of you r group. B o th o f these documents are o f g rea t sign ificance fo r us. The reso lu tion is the re s u lt o f ou r incessant demand th a t the Lovestone group take a defin ite and fo rm a l pos ition on the p rin c ip le questions raised by the L e ft Opposition. T h is i t fa iled to do ever since its rem oval from the leadership o f tihe P arty , a po licy o f evasion w h ich ev iden tly cou ld no longer be m ainta ined even in the ranks o f th a t group itse lf. F urthe rm ore , the reso lu tion m arks a re tre a t to a ce rta in ex ten t from the pos ition m ainta ined by the Lovestone p rdup w h ile f t co n tro lle d the P a r ty r -a position now untenable fo r tihe Lovestone leadership a fte r the L e ft O pposition has had the opp o rtu n ity o f b reak ing th rough the consp iracy o f lies and m isrepresenta­tions w ith w hch tihe o ffic ia l Commufrii#t' apparatus, F oste r and Lovestone, su rround­ed the disputed points. T ha t th e resolu- tio n is permeated w ith opportun ism and continued fa ls ifica tio n is n o t the sub ject of th is le tte r, w h ich is- p r im a r ily concerned w ith the appeal fo r a un ited fro n t.

The United FrontThe tac tic o f the un ited fro n t is n e ith e r

a m aneuver n o r a t r ic k fo r us. We regard i t as a serious means o f m ob iliz in g the masses o f the w orkers n o t ye t Commun* is ts fo r a s trugg le , on the basis o f a m in ­im um program , aga inst the attacks o f cap­ita lis m and its agents in the w o rk in g class. Such a un ited fro n t we cannot re ject, a ll the more so since i t is we who have cons tan tly urged i t on the labo r movement! in general and its revo lu tio n a ry section in p a rticu la r.

But” a un ited fro n t o r bloc w ith the Lovestone group is noti the same to us as a un ited fro n t w ith a trade un ion or other labo r organ izations con ta in ing w o rk ­ers o f va ry ing shades o f op in ion w ith o u t a defin ite p o lit ic a l p rogram and theore tica l conception. P recise ly because the Love­stone group ca lls its e lf Com munist, the question o f a bloc w ith i t m ust be exam­ined mosti c lose ly and pre-cond itions o f a m uch h ighe r o rder m ust be required. Be­fo re establish ing these p re-cond itions, a few p re lim in a ry observations m ust be made.

The appeal reads: "The revo lu tio n a ry movem ent in th is co u n try finds its e lf weak, demoralized and divided . . . the cap ita lis ts and th e ir agents are e xp lo itin g th is d iv i­sion . . . a t no tim e w ou ld re fusa l to to cooperate in u n it in g the revo lu tio n a ry forces be m ore c r im in a l.”

B u t i t is prec ise ly the Lovestone group M>hich is ch ie fly responsible fo r th is d iv is ion , fo r its leadership in it ia te d the campaign of expulsions o f socalled “ T ro tsky is ts ” ; i'J is precisely th is leade ish ip which by its expulsion and assaults upon ou r group, its “ re fusa l to cooperate in u n it in g the revo lu ­tio n a ry forces” rendered its e lf c r im in a lly responsible. I t was th is leadersh ip th a t fa iled " to consider the broad in te rests of the revo lu tio n a ry and labo r m ovem ent” by expe lling our comrades, n o t o n ly fro m the P a rty b u t from every a u x ilia ry o rgan iza tion under its co n tro l— in c lu d in g trade unions. The fa ilu re to acknowledge honestly and openly the source and ' resp o n s ib ility fo r the movem ent’s d iv is io n and dem ora liza tion In the past and present, makes any im ­provem ent in the fu tu re im possible. One cannot wash one’s hands o f the past by a d ishonestly naive silence.

The appeal proposes the se tting up o f a jo in t com m ittee of the th ree groups in

the m ovem ent " to present the po in t of v iew o f Communism, the po in t o f v iew o f tihOse who stand by and defend the Soviet U n ion ” .

U n ity w ith “ C ounter-R evo lution is ts” ?B u t i t is the Lovestone group, together

w ith the S ta lin is t apparatus, w h ich has fo r years assailed us as “ coun te r-revo lu ­tio n is ts and the w o rs t enemies o f the So­v ie t U n ion ” , as the “ agents o f C ham berla in and Chiang K a i-S hek” . We have n o t ye t seen an acknowledgement! th a t these de­c la ra tions were in fam ous slanders w h ich constitu ted the reg u la r paym ent made by the Lovestone leadership to the Stalim - B ucha rin regim e fo r a llo w in g i t to run the A m erican P a rty . One m ay there fo re assume th a t the Lovestone leaders s t i l l re ­ta in these “ convic tions” concern ing us. How then is i t possible to appeal to coun te r- revo lu tio n is ts and enemies o f the Soviet U n ion to “ present the p o in t o f v iew o f those who stand by and defend the Soviet U n ion ” ? O r are we to believe th a t the Lovestone leaders are no t and have not been serious in denouncing us as coun te r- re vo lu tio n is ts . In th a t case, i t is necessary fo r them to ad m it p la in ly th a t they have fo r years been p ra c tis in g a d isgrace fu l de­ception upon the w o rke rs ’ m ovem ent.

I t is fu r th e r necessary fo r us to po in t ou t th a t the p rin c ip a l cause o f the present c ris is in the Com m unist movement, m an i­fested by d iv is ion and dem ora liza tion is, the theo re tica l s tandpo in t and p ra c tic a l ac tiv itie s o f the Lovestone group and its in te rn a tio n a l a llie s since 1923. I t is im ­possible to en ter a b loc w ith the Lovestone group w h ile i t re ta ins and defends these conceptions I t is im possible to t r y to solve the c r is is and overcome the d iv is io n in the C om m unist movem ent by a “ unitelfl f ro n t” w ith the elements th a t caused the c r is is .

M oreover a un ited fro n t w ith the Love­stone group— since the o ffic ia l P a rty bureau- crate can s t i l l p reven t the P a rty fro m jo in -

The Com m unist League o f Am erica (O pposition) has received a le tte r fro m B e rtram D. W olfe, head o f the W orkers School o f the Lovestone group, proposing a sym posium o f the three groups in the movement, the P arty , the Lovestone group, and ourselves. In rep ly , the fo llo w in g le t­te r was sent! to W olfe.

* * *

In you r le tte r o f A ugust 14, 1936, you declare:

“ The New W orkers School there fore inv ites the Com m unist P a rty o f the U.S.A., the Com m unist League o f Am erica, and the C om m unist P a rty (M a jo r ity G roup) to send one representa tive each to present th e ir respective v iew po in ts a t a sym posium d is­cussion under a cha irm an selected by the C iv il L ibe rties U nion where they w i l l be able free ly to voice th e ir op inions on the present c ris is in the Com m unist movement and the respective m e ritts o f the three groups proposals fo r rem edying the situ« ation.

Such an in v ita tio n can o n ly be welcomed by us, p a rt ic u la r ly since, fro m the very beg inning o f o u r s trugg le and expulsion fro m the Com m unist P a rty , we have ins is ­te n tly proposed a pub lic debate before the Com m unist and L e ft w in g w orkers, o f the groups. We issued a pub lic challenge, as tvou w i l l remember, a t the tim e B e rtram D. W olfe was le c tu rin g aga inst us im m ed ia te ly a fte r ou r expulsion. A t th a t tim e, the group you represent) was in co n tro l o f the P a rty and de libe ra te ly prevented such a discussion and debate n o t on ly by expe lling us fro m the P a rty ’s ranks, b u t by reso rting to the m ost d isgrace fu l methods o f slander falsehoods and even physica l violence. A fte r you r own expu ls ion fro m the P arty , we again proposed on a num ber o f occasions th a t you agree to debate ou r respective view poin ts. Up to now th is was refused. Such a debate, however, rem ains as neces­sary now as i t was in the past.

I t is qu ite c lear th a t the o ffic ia l Com­m un is t P a rty w i l l no t consent to p a rt ic i-

in g such a fro n t— w ould constitu te an un ­p rin c ip le d b loc aga inst the Center, i.al., aga inst the P a rty . I t w ou ld end in a m iserable fiasco (as d id the Lovestone “ un ited fro n t” in the te x tile in d u s try ), o r as a ra lly in g g round fo r a n ti-P a rty forces. We are a im ing, on the con tra ry , to restore the P a rty to a M a rx is t foundation , since itl is ou r P a rty from w h ich no c lique o f b u r­eaucrats can seperate us.

A un ited fro n t o f a ll Com m unist w o rk ­ers is esential. A determ ined effort! m ust be made to overcome the c ris is now rag ­in g in the movement!. We have advocated such a fro n t and we continue to propose i t now. Elut we do no t stand fo r an abstrac t u n ity , o r bloc, bu t fo r one th a t has a basis in p rinc ip le . W ith its present views on essential questions, and its evasion o r s i­lence on m any others, a b loc w ith the Lovestone group is ou t o f the question. Such a bloc demands ce rta in pre-cond itions w h ich we hereby pose to the Lovestone fac­tio n :

Questions to Lovestone1. One o f the reasons fo r the c ris is ,

the d iv is ion anR dem ora lM a tiion o f the movem ent over w h ich you express so much concern, has been the p reven tion o f open discussion. M eetings have been broken up, ra ids on p riva te homes conducted, com­rades p h ys ica lly assaulted. These methods are s t i l l used in the P a rty aga inst a l l Op­positions, on the basis o f the precedent o f gangsterism you established in the strugg le aga inst o u r group. There can be no issue fro m tihe present d ifficu ltie s , and no gen- n ine un ity , w ith o u t a condem nation o f these a troc ious methods, w h ich means in the first! place an open renunc ia tion o f you r own past crim es in th is respect. O therw ise no basis can be la id fo r a free and in te l l i ­gent discussionl o f the p rob lem s o f the movement.

2. One o f the m ain reasons fo r the c ris is and s p lit is the expu ls ion o f the L e ft O pposition fro m the P arty . T h is was ex)-

pate in the proposed sym posium . Since on ly tw o groups wotuld be represented, you r ow n and ours, we propose instead o f a "sym posium ” a debate. We have a lready selected ou r spokesman fo r such a debate. In add ition , we have chosen a com m ittee o f tw o to meet w ith a s im ila r comm ittee rep resen ting yo u r group, to decide on the t i t le o f the debate, the tim e, the place, the cha irm an, the auspices and a ll o ther details.

As soon as you sha ll have done the same, we are ready to m eet together and w o rk out a ll the necessary arrangem ents. Com m unist League o f Am erica (O pposition)

Socialist IndignationD u rin g the sessions o f the Second In ­

te rn a tio n a l a t Z u rich the Swiss governm ent refused perm ission to enter its borders to the inoffensive P ie tro Nenni, o f the I ta l ­ian S ocia lis t P a rty . T h is was the occasion fo r great in d igna tion among the leaders of the soc ia lis t in te rn a tio n a l who are accus­tomed to m uch m ore deference fro m bour­geois governm ents. W ith a|n academic solemn pen, they addressed a p ro test against the denia l o f “ h o sp ita lity ” by the Swiss gov­ernm ent to a proscribed p o litic ian .,

Now we know the social dem ocratic con­ception o f dem ocratic “ h o s p ita lity ” : I t con­sists o f patronage by the bourgeois govern­ments to social dem ocratic leaders. B u t i t is never to be extended to proscribed rev ­o lu tion is ts who ifight im p lacab ly against the c a p ita lis t order. Even when the social democrats themselves holjd the re ins o f bourgeois governm ent, they app ly th is hos­p ita lity exc lus ive ly to the bourgeoisie and its serv ito rs. Th is ru le was no t tra n s ­gressed by the MacDonalds and M ue lle rs in exc lud ing fro m th is dem ocratic "h o sp ita l­i t y ” the Com m unist Leon T ro tsky . B u t when the Swiss governm ent fa iled to m ain­ta in the laws reg u la tin g re la tions between the bourgeoisie and th e ir soc ia lis t footmen, the la tte r protested. T h e ir so rro w fu l and resigned ind igna tion is comprehensible.

ecuted p r im a r ily by yo u r a - ju p , a t th a t tim e in co n tro l o f the P arty . I t is neces­sary to know i f th is is s t i l l the o ffic ia l a ttitude o f you r group. E lse how can you appeal to un ite us in to a movem ent to pre­sent the p o in t o f v iew o f Communism w h ile expe lling us from the Com m unist P arty?

3. B u t ou r group is on ly the Am erican section of the in te rn a tio n a l L e ft Opposition. The expu ls ion o f these comrades, and pa r­t ic u la r ly o f the Russian B o lshev ik -Len in i- is ts , has been o f enorm ously destructive effect) to the movement, reflected in the A m erican P a rty as w e ll as elsewhere. Com rade T ro ts k y has been Reported to Turkey, and thousands o f the best B o l­sheviks exiled and im prisoned in the U.S.S.R. E lolshevik figh ters have even been assasin- ated by S ta lin . Up to now the Lovestone group has m ain ta ined a cow ard ly silence on these crim es. B u t w ithou t! the release fro m p rison and ex ile o f the O pposition ists, the re tu rn to the U.S.S.R. o f T ro tsky , and th e ir f u l l re ins ta tem en t in to the P a rty , no progress can be made in overcom ing the d iv is io n and dem ora liza tion in the move­m ent. Does the Lovestone group in tend to p re fe r a "d ip lo m a tic ” silence on th is bu rn ­in g question to a p ro tes t and demand?

4. No b loc is conceivable fo r us w ith ­o u t a re vo lu tio n a ry p o licy in the trade unions. On th is point! we have had on ly vague am bigu ities fro m y o u r group. Re­cen tly , yo u r o ffic ia l organ, R evo lu tionary Age, has g iven its h ea rty endorsement to the action o f H a ls and Co. in Czecho-Slo- vak ia in su rrende ring the independent Red un ions under th e ir co n tro l to the A m ste r­dam In te rn a tio n a l. T h is piece o f liq u id a ­t io n was labe lled by you as a step in the “ u n ifica tio n ” o f the Czech w o rk in g class. Does th a t s ig n ify th a t in the U n ited States, w here the L e ft unions are re la tiv e ly even sm a lle r than the re fo rm is t trade unions, you fa vo r a s im ila r liq u id a tio n of, le t us say, the Needle Trades W orkers In d u s tr ia l U n ion in to the re fo rm is t In te rn a tio n a l L a ­dies G arm ent W orkers Union? The " lo g ic ” o f H a ls ’ action in Czecho-Slovakia w ould seem to app ly in the A m erican instance w ith even g rea te r force— from y o u r point) o f view . As you are aware, We condemn such actions unreservedly. C la rifica tion on the trade un ion question is a sine qua non fo r any so rt o f b loc on p rinc ip le grounds.

& A un ited fro n t o f Com m unist w o rk ­ers o r groups pre-supposes a ce rta in am ount o f m utua l confidence. The whole past) course o f you r goup does no t insp ire us w ith any. Y ou r spokesmen and you r press con tinue sys tem atica lly n o t on ly to " in te rp re t” ou r position, b u t to fa ls ify i t de libe ra te ly . The reso lu tio n on T ro tsky ism o f y o u r P lenum is a ty p ic a l instance. We find there a repe tition o f the hodge-podge o f know n falsehoods, h a lf-tru th s , conscious­ly forged quotations th a t were pressed in to service aga inst the L e ft O pposition since tihe opening o f the campaign aga inst i t in 1923. We find there a cheap fa ls ifica tion , u n w o rth y o f the d ig n ity o f a Communist, o f ou r position o r t.h( dange • c ’ Therm id o rian elements in the Soviet Union. Such methods are in to le rab le , even i f they are cha rac te ris tic o f the w hole strugg le aga inst a socalled T ro tsky ism . We demand an end o f these fa ls ifica tions and m isrep­resentations o f ou r v iew poin t.

Our re p ly is d icta ted so le ly by ou r insistence upon the maintenance o f a p r in ­c ip led p o in t o f v iew in the Com m unist movement. We are l i t t le concerned w ith the noises em anating from the em pty ba r­re ls in charge o f the o ffic ia l Partly today, to the effect t h a t . the “ Lovestoneities and T ro tsky is ts are now m erged” to fig h t t)he P arty . The avowal by the Lovestone group its e lf tha t its differences w ith the C entris ts are o f a m in o r character compared w ith its d ifferences w ith the L e ft O pposition w h ich are o f a p rin c ip le charater. speaks fo r its e lf and shows th a t in its w hole p h il­osophy the R ig h t w in g stands im m easur­ab ly c loser to C entrism than does the L e ft w ing. T h is c la r if ic a tio n o f the p rinc ip le position has a g rea t value.

Nor is ou r rep ly d ictated by any desire fo r u n ity as such- and on any basis. Our a im is the re-conquest and u n ifica tion of the re vo lu tio n a ry m ovement on the basis o f M hrx ism and the liv in g experiences of Communism in the la s t tw o decades.

N ationa l Committee

Com m unist League of Am erica (Opposition)

A n Answer and a Challenge to a Debate

STALIN A S A THEORETICIANThe Peasant’s Balance Sheet of the Democratic and Socialist Revolutions

“ . . . the appearance of com­rade S ta lin a t the conference of the M a rx is t agronom ists— was ep­ochal In the h is to ry o f the Com­m un is t Acadamey. As a conse­

quence o f w ha t S ta lin said, we had to rev iew a ll our plans and revise them in the d irec tion o f w ha t Sta­lin said. The appearance o f -.com­rade S ta lin gave a tremendous im petus to our w o rk .”— (Pokrovsky, a t the 16th Congress)

In h is p rogram m atic re p o rt to the con­ference o f the M a rx is t agronom ists (Decem­ber 27, 1929.), S ta lin spoke a t leng th about the “ T ro tsky-Z inov iev O pposition” consid­e ring “ th a t the October revo lu tion , as a m at­te r o f fac t, d id no t give anyth ing to the peasantry” . I t is probable th a t even to the respectfu l aud itors, th is inven tion seemed too crude. F o r the sake o f c la r ity , however, we should quote these w ords m ore fu l ly : “ I have in m ind ,” said S ta lin , “ the theory th a t the October revo lu tion gave the pea- sean try less (?) than the Februa ry revo lu ­tio n , th a t the October revo lu tion , as a m at­te r o f fact, , gave no th ing to the peasantry.” The inven tion of th is “ th e o ry ” is a ttrib u te d by S ta lin to one o f the Soviet s ta tis tica l economists, Groman, a know n fo rm er Menshevik, a fte r w h ich he adds: “ B u t th is theory was seized by the T ro tsky-Z inov iev O pposition and u tilize d against the P a rty .” G rom an’s theory rega rd ing the F ebrua ry and October revo lu tions is qu ite unknow n to ius. B u t Groman is o f no account here a ltogether. He is dragged in m ere ly to cover up the traces.

In w hat w ay could the F eb rua ry revo­lu tio n give the peasantry m ore than the October? W ha t did the F ebruaary revo lu tion give the peasant in general, w ith the ex­ception o f the superfic ia l and the re fo re ab­so lu te ly unce rta in liq u id a tio n o f the mon­archy? The bureaucratic apparatus rem ain­ed w h a t i t was. The land was no t given to the peasant by the F eb rua ry revo lu tion . B u t i t d id give h im a con tinua tion o f the w a r and the ce rta in ty of a continued g row th o f in fla tio n . Perhaps S ta lin knows of some o ther g ifts o f the F eb rua ry revo lu tio n to the peasant? To us, they are unknow n. The reason w hy the F ebrua ry revo lu tion had to give w ay to the October is because i t com­p le te ly deceived the peasant.

The alleged theory o f the O pposition on the advantages o f the F eb rua ry revo lu ­tion over the October is connected by S ta lin w ith the th e o ry “ rega rd ing the socalled pcissors” . B y th is he com ple te ly betrays the sources and aim s o f his ch icanery. Sta­lin polem icizes, as I w i l l soon show, against me. O nly fo r the convenience o f h is op­erations, fo r cam ouflag ing his c ruder d is ­to rtio n s , he hides behind Groman and the anonymous “ T ro tsky -Z in o v ie v O pposition” in general.

The rea l essence o f the question lies in the fo llo w in g . A t the 12t)h Congress of the P a rty ( in the sp ring o f 1923) I demon­s tra ted fo r the f ir s t tim e the th rea ten ing gap between/ in d u s tr ia l and a g ric u ltu ra l prices. In m y report, th is phenomenon was fo r the f ir s t tim e called the “ price scissors". I warned th a t the con tinua l lagg ing o f in d u s try w ou ld spread apart th is scissors and th a t they m ig h t sever the threads connecting the p ro le ta r ia t and the peasantry.

In F eb rua ry 1927, a t the P lenum o f the C entra l Committee, w h ile considering the question o f the po licy on prices, I a ttem pt­ed fo r the one thousand and f ir s t tim e to prove th a t genera l phrases lik e “ the fa c^ to the v illa g e ” m ere ly avoided the essence o f the m atte r, and th a t from the standpoin t o f the “ Sm ytchka” (a llia n ce ) w |th the peasant, the problem can be solved funda­m en ta lly by co rre la tin g the prices o f a g r i­c u ltu ra l and in d u s tr ia l p roducts. The tlrouble w ith the peasant is th a t i t is d iffi­c u lt fo r h im to see fa r ahead. B u t he sees ve ry w e ll w ha t is under h is feet, he d is t in c tly remembers the yesterdays, and he can d ra w the balance under his exchange o f products w ith the c ity , w h ich, a t any given moment, is the balance-sheet o f the revo lu tio n to him .

The exp rop ria tion o f the landowners,

erated the peasant fro m the paym ent of a sum am ounting to fro m five to six hundred m illio n rubles (about $275,000,000— E d .). T h is is a c lear and ir re fu ta b le ga in fo r the pea­sa n try th ro u g h the October— and n o t the F eb rua ry— revo lu tion .

B u t alongside o f th is tremendous plus, the peasant d is t in c tly discerns the m inus w h ich th is same October revo lu tio n has b rough t h im . Th is m inus consists o f the excessive rise in prices o f in d u s tr ia l p ro ­ducts as compared w ith those p re va iling before the w ar. I t is understood th a t i f in Russia cap ita lism had m ainta ined its e lf the p rice scissors w ou ld undoubted ly have ex­isted—th is is an in te rn a tio n a l phenomenon. B u t in the f irs t place, the peasant does no t know th is . And in the second, nowhere d id th is scissors spread to the extent th a t i t d id in the Soviet U nion. The great losses o f the peasantry due to prices are of a tem pora ry na ture , re fle c tin g the period of ‘“ p r im it iv e accum u la tion ” o f state indus­try . I t is as though the p ro le ta ria n state borrow s fro m the peasantry in o rde r to repay h im a hundrecl-fo ld la te r on.

B u t a ll th is re lates to the sphere of theoretifcal considera tions and h is to r ic a l p red ictions. The thoughts o f the peasant, however, are em p irica l and based on facts as they appear a t the moment. “ The Octo­ber revo lu tio n libe ra ted me from the pay­m ent o f h a lf a b ill io n rub les in land ren ts ,” re flec ts the peasant. “ I am th a n k fu l to the Bo lsheviks. B u t state in d u s try takes away fro m me much m ore than the cap ita lis ts took. Here is where tihere is som ething w rong w ith the Com munists.” In other words, the peasant draw s the balance sheet o f the October revo lu tio n th rough com bin­in g its tw o fundam enta l stages: the a g ra r­ian-dem ocra tic ( “ B o lshevik” ) and the in ­d u s tr ia l-so c ia lis t ("C om m unis t” ). A ccord­in g to the f irs t , a d is t in c t and incontestable p lus ; accord ing to the second, so fa r s t i l l a d is tin c t m inus, and to date a m inus con­s iderab ly g rea te r than the plus. The pas­sive balance o f the October revo lu tion , w h ich is the basid of a ll the m isunderstand­ings between the peasant and the Soviet power, is in tu rn m ost in tim a te ly bound up w ith the iso la ted pos ition o f the Soviet U n ion in w o r ld economy.

A lm ost th ree years a fte r the o ld d is­putes, S ta lin , to his m is fortune , re tu rn s to the question. Because he is fa ted to repeat w ha t others have le f t behind them , and at the same tim e to be anxious about h is own “ independence,” he is compelled to look back apprehensive ly a t the yesterday of the “ T ro ts k y is t O pposition” and . . . cover up the traces. A t the tim e the “ scissors” between the c ity and the v illa g e was f irs t spoken of, S ta lin com ple te ly fa iled to un ­derstand i t fo r five years (1923-28), he saw the danger in in d u s try go ing too fa r ahead instead o f lagg ing behind; in order to cover i t up somehow, he mum bles some­th in g incoheren t in h is rep o rt about “ bour­geois prejudices ( ! ! ! ) rega rd ing the socall- ed scissors” . W hy is th is a prejudice?' W herein is i t bourgeois? B u t S ta lin is u'hder no ob liga tion to answer these ques­tions, fo r there is nobody who w ould dare ask them.

I f the F eb rua ry revo lu tio n had given land to the peasantry, the October revo­lu tio n w ith its p rice scissors could n o t have m ain ta ined its e lf fo r tw o years. To p u t i t m ore c o rre c tly : the October revo lu tion could no t have taken place i f the Februa ry revlolultion hg /i been capable o f So lv ing the basic, agra rian -dem ocra tic problem s by liq u id a tin g p riva te ow nersh ip o f land.

We in d ire c tly reca lled above th a t in the f ir s t years a fte r the October the peasant obstina te ly endeavored to con tras t the Com­m un is t to the Bolsheviks. The la tte r he approved of— precise ly because they made the land revo lu tio n w ith a de te rm ina tion never before known. H u t the same peasant was d issatisfied w ith the Communists, who having taken in to th e ir own hands the fac­to ries and m ills , supplied com m odities a t h igh prices. In o the r words, the peasant ve ry reso lu te ly approved o f the ag ra ria n revo lu tion o f the Bolsheviks bu t m anifested a larm , doubt, and sometimes even open h o s tility tow ards the f irs t steps o f the so­c ia lis t revo lu tion . V e ry soon, however, the peasant had to understand th a t Bo lshevik

and Com m unist are one and the same P arty ,

In F ebrua ry 1927, .th is question was raised by me a t the P lenum o f the C entra l Com m ittee in the fo llo w in g m anner:

The liq u id a tio n of the landowners opened up la rge cred its fo r us w ith the peasants, p o lit ic a l as w e ll as economic. B u t these cred its are no t perm anent and are no t inexhaustib le . The question is de­cided by the co rre la tio n o f prices. Only the acce lera tion o f in d u s tr ia liza tio n on the one hand, and the co lle c tiv iza tio n o f pea­sant economy on the other, can produce a m ore favorab le co rre la tio n o f prices fo r the v illage . Should the co n tra ry be the case, the advantages o f the ag ra rian revo lu tion w i l l be e n tire ly concentrated in the hands o f the K u la k , and the scissors w i l l h u rt the peasant poor m ost p a in fu lly . The d if ­fe re n tia tio n in the m idd le peasantry w il l be accelerated. There can be b u t one re ­su lt. The c ru m b lin g o f the d ic ta to rsh ip of the p ro le ta r ia t. "T h is year,” I said, “ on ly e igh t b ill io n rub les w o rth o f comm odities ( in re ta il p rices) w i l l be released fo r the domestic m a rke t . . . the v illa g e w i l l pay fo r its sm a lle r h a lf o f the comm odities about fo u r b ill io n rub les. L e t us accept the re ta il in d u s tr ia l index as tw ice the p re ­w a r prices figure , as M ikoyan has reported . . . .The balance (o f the peasant): ‘The ag rarian-dem ocra tic revo lu tio n b rough t me aside fro m eve ry th ing else, five hundred m illio n rubles a year (the liq u id a tio n of ren ts and the lo w e rin g o f taxes). The so­c ia lis t revo lu tio n has m ore than covered th is p ro fit by a tw o b illio n rub le deficit. I t is c lea r th a t the balance is reduced to a de fic it o f one and a h a lf b ill io n .”

Nobody obected by as m uch as a w ord a t th is session, b u t Yakovlev, the present People’s Com missar o f A g ric u ltu re , though a t th a t tim e on ly a c le rk fo r special s ta tis t i­cal assignments, was g iven the job o f u p ­se tting m y ca lcu la tions a t a ll costs. Y a k ­ovlev did a ll he could. W ith a l l the le g it i­m ate and ille g itim a te corrections and qua l­ifica tions, Yakovelev was compelled! the fo l­lo w in g day to adm it that) the balance-sheet o f the October revo lu tio n fo r the v illage is, on the whole, s t i l l reduced to a m inus. L e t us once m ore produce an actual quo ta tion :

" . . . The gain fro m a reduction of d ire c t taxes compared w ith the p re -w ar days is equal to app rox im a te ly 630,000,000 rub les . . . In the la s t yea r the peasantry lost! around a b ill io n rubles as a conse­quence o f its purchase o f m anufactured com m odities no t accord ing to the index of the peasant income b u t accord ing to the re ta il index o f these commodities. The un ­favorab le balance is equal to about 400,- 000,000 rub les .”

I t is c lea r th a t Yakovlev's ca lcu la tions essen tia lly confirm ed m y op in ion : Thepeasant realized a b ig p ro f it th rough the dem ocratic revo lu tio n made by tihe Bolshe­v iks bu t so fa r he suffers a loss w h ich fa r exceeds the p ro fit. I estimated the passive balance a t a b ill io n and a ha lf. Y akovlev —a t less than a h a lf a b illio n . I s t i l l con­sider that) m y figure , w h ich made h o t pre ­tension to precis ion, was closer to re a lity than Y akov lev ’s. The difference between the tw o figures is in its e lf ve ry considerable B u t i t does not) change m y basic conclusion. The acuteness o f the g ra in co lle c tin g d iffi­cu lties was a con firm a tion o f m y ca lcu la ­tions as the more d isqu ie ting ones. I t is re a lly absurd to th in k th a t the g ra in s tr ike o f the upper layers o f the v illa g e was caused by p u re ly p o lit ic a l motives, th a t is, by the h o s t ility o f the K u la k tow ards the Soviet power. The K u la k is incapable of such “ idea lism ” . I f he d id no t fu rn is h the g ra in fo r sale, i t was because the exchange became disadvantageous as a re s u lt o f the price scissors. That) is w hy the K u la k succeeded in b rin g in g in to the o rb it o f his in fluence the m iddle peasant as w e ll.

These ca lcu la tions have a rough, so to speak inc lus ive , character. The component pa rts o f the balance sheet can and should be separated in re la tio n to the th ree basic sections o f the peasantry; the K u laks, the m iddle peasants and the poor peasants. However, in th a t period— the beg inning of 1927— the o ffic ia l s ta tis tics , insp ired by Yakovlev, ignored o r de libe ra te ly m in im ized the d iffe re n tia tio n in the v illage , and the po licy o f S ta lin -R ykov-B ucharin was d irec t­

ed tow ards p ro tec ting the “ p o w e rfu l” pea­sant and f ig h tin g aga inst the “ sh iftle ss” poor peasant. In th is way, the passive ba­lance was especia lly onerous upon the lo w ­er sections o f the peasantry m the v illage.

Nevertheless, where did S ta lin get his con tras ting o f the F eb rua ry and October revo lu tions, the reader w i l l ask. I t is a leg itim ate question. The con tras t I made between the agrarian-dem ocra tic and the in d u s tr ia l-s o c ia lis t revo lu tions, S ta lin , who is abso lu te ly incapable o f theore tica l, th a t is, o f abstrac t thought, vaguely understood in h is own fash ion : He s im p ly decided tha ( the dem ocra tic -revo lu tion— means (he Feb­ru a ry revo lu tion . Here we m ust pause, be­cause S ta lin and h is colleagues’ old, t ra ­d itio n a l fa ilu re to understand the m utua l re la tions between the dem ocratic and so­c ia lis t revo lu tions, w h ich lies a t the basis o f th e ir whole s trugg le aga inst the theory o f the perm anent revo lu tion , has a lready succeeded in doing g rea t damage, p a rt ic ­u la r ly in China and Ind ia , and rem ains a source o f fa ta l e rro rs to th is day. The F eb rua ry 1917 revo lu tion was greeted by S ta lin essentia lly as a L e ft democrat, and n o t as a revo lu tio n a ry p ro le ta ria n in te rn a - t iin a lis t. He showed th is v iv id ly by h is w hole conduct up to the tim e Len in arrived . The F ebrua ry revo lu tio n to S ta lin was and, as we see, s t i l l rem ains a "dem ocra tic ” revo lu tion par excellence. He stood fo r the support o f the f ir s t p rov is iona l governm ent w h ich was headed by the na tiona l lib e ra l landow ner, P rince Lvov, had as its w ar m in is te r the na tiona l conservative m anu­fa c tu re r, G utchkov, and the lib e ra l, M iliu ­kov, as m in is te r o f fo re ign a ffa irs . F o rm ­u la tin g the necessity of supporting the bourgeois landow n ing p rov is iona l govern­m ent, a t a P a rty conference, M arch 29, 1917, S ta lin declared: “ The power has been divided between tw o organs, no t one of w h ich has the complete m astery. The roles have been d ivided. The Soviet has ac tu a lly taken the in it ia t iv e in revo lu tio n a ry tran s ­fo rm a tions ; the Soviet— is the revo lu tio n a ry leader o f the rebe llious people, the organ w h ich bu ilds up the p rov is iona l govern­m ent. The p rov is iona l governm ent has ac­tu a lly taken the ro le of the conso lida to r of the conquests o f the revo lu tio n a ry people . . . In so fa r as the p rov is iona l governm ent consolidates the advances of the revo lu tion — to th a t extent we should support i t . ”

The “ F eb ru a ry ” bourgeois, landow ning and tho ro u g h ly coun te r-revo lu tiona ry gov­ernm ent was fo r S ta lin no t a class enemy b u t a co llabo ra to r w ith whom a d iv is ion of labo r had to be established. The^ w orkers and peasants w ould make the “ conquests” , the bourgeoisie w ould “ consolidate” them. A l l o f them together w ou ld make up the “ dem ocratic revo lu tio n ” . The fo rm u la of the Mensheviks, was a t the same tim e also the fo rm u la o f S ta lin . A l l th is was spoken o f by S ta lin a m onth a fte r the F eb rua ry revo lu tio n when the characte r o f the p ro ­v is iona l governm ent should have been clear even to a b lin d man, no longer on the basis o f M a rx is t fo re s ig h t bu t on the basis o f p o lit ic a l experience.

As the whole fu r th e r course o f events demonstrated, Len in in 1917 did no t re a lly convince S ta lin bu t elbowed h im aside. The w hole fu tu re s trugg le of S ta lin against th e 'p e rm a n e n t revo lu tion was constructed upon the m echanical separation o f d;he dem ocra tic revo lu tio n and soc ia lis t con­s truc tion . S ta lin has no t ye t understood th a t the October revo lu tio n was f ir s t a dem ocratic revo lu tion , and th a t on ly be­cause o f th is was i t able to realize the d ic ta to rsh ip o f the p ro le ta ria t. The balance between the dem ocratic and soc ia lis t cqn- quests o f the October revo lu tio n w h ich I d rew was s im p ly adapted by S ta lin to his ow n conception. A fte r th is , he puts the question: “ Is i t tru e th a t the peasantsd id no t get any th ing ou t o f the October revo lu tion? ” A nd a fte r saying th a t “ thanks to the October rtevolutlon the peasants were libe ra ted from the oppression o f the landow ners” (th is was never heard o f be­fore, you see!) S ta lin concludes th a t: “ H ow can i t be said a fte r th is th a t the October revo lu tio n d id no t g ive any th ing to the peasants?”

H ow can i t be said a fte r th is— we ask— th a t th is “ theo re tic ian ” has even a g ra in o f theore tica l conscience?

( To Be Continued )

By L. D. T R O T S K Y

N O T E S O F A JO U R N A L IS T By A L F Awords appear on the same day in the M insk Rabotchi?

We know w e ll enough how a ll the in ­fo rm a tio n about the Congress is edited. N ot a s ing le lin e leaves the boundaries of the Congress w ith o u t a v isa fro m the Press Commission. T h is means th a t tihe in fo rm ­a tion about the T ro tsky is t-dese rte rs could never have been invented in M insk. I t had to be sent fro m Moscow w ith the seal o f the Congress Press Commisksion. B u t then, once more, w hy were these lines om itted fro m Pravda? T ha t is the f ir s t question.

There Is also a second question. “ Tw o qua lified rec ru its w ent over to the enemy,” we are to ld by B luche r o r by somebody supplem enting h im . “ Both o f them turned out to be T ro tsky is ts .” These w ords are p rin ted in the M insk jo u rn a l in bold face type. N a tu ra lly ! B u t here is w ha t is incom prehensible. Between the F ifteen th and the S ixteenth Congresses, accord ing to the w ords o f B lucher, the a rm y was com­p le te ly purged of tihe rem nants o f T ro tsky ­ism . W hy wasn’t i t purged of these two also? E v id e n tly they were no t know n u n til the m om ent o f tiheir flig h t. H ow d id B lu - cher fin d out th a t they were "T ro ts k y is ts ” , a fte r they had fled? “ Both o f them tu rned ou t (?) to be T ro tsky is ts .” W ha t does he mean “ tu rned o u t” ? H ow sftid on w hat po in t? The w a te r is dark, so da rk th a t i t

looks lik e a stagnant • pool. A nd i t also looks as though someone had been splash­in g around in th a t pool.

A nd f in a lly there is a th ird question: W hy did the “ T ro tsky is tb ” have to flee to the camp o f the Chinese coun te r-revo lu ­tion? A t its head stands Chang Kai-Shek. He was never ou r a lly . He was the a lly of S ta lin . He came to S ta lin fo r negotia tions, A week p r io r tio the bloody coup d fE ta t of Chiang K a i Shek in A p r i l 1927, S ta lin in the H a ll o f the Colum ns vouched fo r the lo y a lty o f Chiang Kai-Shek. Chiang K a i- Shek’s p a rty belonged to the C om intern w ith a consu lta tive vote. The O pposition fough t aga inst th is in trans igean tly . S ta lin and R ykov exchanged photographs w ith Chiang K a i-S hek in A p r i l 1927, S ta lin in ceived a p ro tra it o f Chiang K a i-S hek from the office o f the Com intern w ith the request th a t he give h is own p o rtra it to Chiang Kai-)Shek in exchange. T ro ts k y re tu rned the p o rtra it and refused to give h is own. S ta lin taugh t th a t Chiang K a i-S hek ’s Kuo M in Tang is a subs titu te fo r Soviets. The Opposition revealed the a lliance between S ta lin and Chiang K a i-S hek as a be traya l o f the revo lu tion . W ha t grounds, then, could the “ T ro tsky is ts ” have had fo r flee ing to the camp o f Chiang Kai-Shek? And w ou ld i t no t be be tte r fo r you, m y good s irs , to rem a in s ile n t about th is?

We do no t know who fe ll in to th is f i t o f babb ling: B lucher, o r the ed ito r o f h is speech, o r botih o f them. B u t i t is c lea r th a t somebody here fe l l in to a f i t o f babbling exceeding the m ost exceptional norm s o f ve ris im ilitud e . T ha t is w hy Pravda re f used to p r in t these words. I t was decided there, and n o t w ith o u t cause, th a t th is is too stupid. B u t a t the same tim e the Press Commission o f the Congress was re luc ta n t to th ro w them out): maybe somebody w i l l f in d some use fo r them. A nd re a lly —such an a llu r in g m orse l: On the one hand, no t a s ingle deserter, w h ich is such an excel­le n t tes tim on ia l to the arm y. On the o ther hand, fu l ly tw o deserters, and both o f them “ T ro ts k y is ts ” ; and th is is s t i l l be tter, fo r i t reveals the d ire c t connection between the O pposition and Chiang Kai-Shek. A p ity to th ro w i t ou t: Perhaps i t w i l l come in handy in M insk.

In conclusion, there s t i l l rem ains to take a look a t the com position o f the Press Commission. I t includes the fo rm e r Social R evo lu tion is ts , B erdn ikov, who is prepared fo r any service; S ta lin ’s fo rm e r secretary, Nazaretian, who has qu ite a d is t in c t and w ell-earned re p u ta tio n ; the fo rm e r Men­shevik, Popov, who supplements B erdn ikov; the ch ie f cook o f the Bureau o f P a rty H is ­to ry , S av iliev ;and S ta lin ’s fo rm e r secretary, Tovstukha. T h is ought to be enough fo r anybody.

The Sermon on CockroachesIn h is conclud ing rem arks, S ta lin

spoke about how R ykov, B ucha rin and Tom - sky becames frigh tened as soon as “ a cock­roach s tirre d somewhere, before i t even craw led ou t o f its ho le ” . . . .The speech, ev iden tly re fe rred to the d issatifled K u la ks and m iddle peasants. F u rth e r on, however, the above-mentioned cockroach tu rn s out to be “ feeble' and m oribund” . T h is com pli­cates m atte rs somewhat. I t m ay be th a t a feeble cockroach can s tir , bu t so fa r as a m oribund cockroach is concerned— we w ou ld say fra n k ly th a t we have ou r doubts. We are quite in accord w ith the m ora l th a t even live cockroaches should no t be feared. B u t on the o ther hand we assume th a t under no circum stances should a cockroach be ca lled a ra is in , as an econom ical fa th e r once d id when a baked cockroach was d is­covered in h is bread. Nevertheless, some people— “ econom ists” i f no t “ econom ical” — believed and taught others, beg inning w ith 1924, th a t the K u la k is a m yth a ltogether, th a t socia lism can ve ry w e ll be reconciled w ith th a t “ pow erfu l m iddle peasant” — in a w ord, fo r fo u r years they a rd e n tly convert­ed the cockroach in to the ra is in o f na tiona l socia lism . T h is too should have been avoided.

A Self-Portrait of YaroslavskyThe irrep laeab le colleague, Yaroslav­

sky, in the in te rests o f se lf-c ritic ism , read a t the Congress a descrip tion o f a Commun­is t g iven by a ce rta in o rgan iza tion in a forsaken lo c a lity : "C onsistent, p o lit ic a lly lite ra te , has no firm convic tions o f h is own. A w a its w ha t o ther w i l l say.” The rep o rt records “ la u g h te r” . B u t i f one stops to th in k , i t is no t a t a ll a laugh ing m atter. I t is on ly too true . And maybe th is is p rec ise ly w hy i t is so Iudric ious. The p ro ­vince has h it the m ark, describ ing not a man bu t a type.

Yes, even i f we take th is same Yaro­slavsky. In 1923, he w ro te panegyrics to T ro tsky . In 1925, he w ro te agreeing w ith Z inov iev ’s “ L e n in ism ” , w h ich was d ire c tly e n tire ly aga inst S ta lin . In 1927, he w ro te th a t B ucharin has no deviations whatever and th a t he is educating the youth in the s p ir i t o f Len in ism .

B u t can i t be said th a t Yaroslavsky is inconsis tent? Nobody w il l say tha t. H e is qu ite consistent, even too consistent. P o lit ic a lly illite ra te ? No, o f course not. A t w o rs t— he is sem i-lite ra te . Has he h is own firm convictions? I t appears th a t he has not. B u t w hy should convictions be firm ? T hey are no t m eta llic . B u t how is i t th a t Yaroslavsky, w ith o u t f irm convic­tions, m ain ta ins h im se lf a t the top? V e ry simple. He “ aw aits w h a t others w i l l say” .

No, the Congress laughed fo r noth ing. The descrip tion f its perfectly .

A Reply To Comrade W eisbordThe speech o f comrade W eisbord a t the

p lenum o f the Lovestone fa c tio n is s ig n ifi­cant as an example o f a s trong trend in the Com m unist movem ent to consider again the fundam enta l p rinc ip le questions in dispute, and to d raw closer to the M arx is t standpoin t o f the L e ft Opposition. .The recent adher­ence to ou r group o f some o f the best m ilita n ts in the o ffic ia l P a rty , the w in n in g o f a section o f the you th comrades who fo r ­m e rly fo llow ed the Lovestone group, and the present a ttitu de o f comrade W eisbord, for. years a supporte r o f the Lovestone fac tion, —these are incontestable facts w h ich demon­stra te th a t the L e ft O pposition in the U nited Sates continues to be the ra l ly in g banner fo r ever-increasing num bers o f revo lu tion ­a ry Communists.

They are facts w h ich by themselves are su ffic ien t answer to the p it i fu l declara tions in the camp of the R ig h t w ing and the Cefi- t r is ts about ou r “ d is in te g ra tio n ” , repeated so le ly fo r the purpose o f re ta in in g dom ina. Mon over m ilita n ts whom the barrage o f a n ti- “ T ro tsky ism ” alone has prevented from endorsing o u r views.

In th is sense, the Com m unist League of Am erica (O pposition) welcomes tihe sta te­m ent o f comrade W eisbord. A t the same tiime, i t is im pera tive to ind icate some ex­trem e ly serious defects in it , also typ ica l o f a ce rta in confusion th a t exists in the ranks of m any m ilita n ts who are d raw ing closer to o u r po in t o f view . I t is no t a question here o f a num ber o f re la tiv e ly m in o r differences o f op in ion, w h ich are qu ite admissable w ith in the ranks o f the Opposition itse lf. N o r do we raise the ques­tio n o f c ritic ism s made by comrade W eisbord, w h ich, in any case, can be discussed and solved on tihe basis o f com radely argum ent and in te rn a l democracy. More fundam enta l questions are involved.

The Need fo r C la r ity

The Com m unist League is the L e ft w ing o f the Com m unist movement, a fa c tio n f ig h t­in g fo r the recon s titu tio n o f the Com m unist In te rn a tio n a l on the unshakable foundations o f M arx and Len in w h ich have been sys­te m a tica lly underm ined by S ta lin ism . As a faction, its base is necessarily n a rro w e r than th a t o f the o ffic ia l P a rty and its requ ire ­ments more s tringen t. W ith o u t w asting a r­guments on the p h ilis tin e contentions o f the R ig h t w in g concern ing o u r alleged “ sectar­ian ism ” (i. e., ou r insistence upon revo lu ­tio n a ry p rin c ip le ), we m ust establish a t a ll costs a thorough c la r ity in a ll fundam enta l problem s o f the movement, since w ith o u t th a t i t is im possible to po in t the co rrect road fo r the movem ent and help the revo lu ­tio n a ry w orkers in and around the Commun­is t P a rty tread th is road by un load ing tiheir a r t if ic ia l ly appointed “ leaders” and th e ir baggage o f pern ic ious theories. T h a t is why, p a rt ic u la r ly in the case of W eisbord, a com­

rade who has occupied p rom inen t posts in the w o rk o f A m erican Com munism and is no t in the same position as a new-com er o r ra n k and file w o rke r in the movement, a ll u n c la r ity and confusion m ust be energet­ic a lly opposed,

They ex is t in W eisbord ’s views on the problem s o f the In d ia n and Chinese revo lu ­tions and the re la tions o f the various groups in the movement. W ha t comrade W eisbord e n tire ly fa ils to see in connection w ith the g u e rilla w a rfa re in C hina is the character o f the period. I t is n o t a question of “ r ig h t” o r “ w rong ” in the Chinese g u e rilla w arfa re , b u t o f w ha t period we are experiencing in China. N e ither S ta lin ism no r the Lovestones recognize th a t th e ir M enshevik polic ies d u r­in g 1925-27 led to the ' v ic to ry o f counter­revo lu tion , tfie recession of the revo lu tio n ­a ry wave, and the v ir tu a l decapita tion of the Com m unist m ovement

Because they consider the defeat o f the Chinese revo lu tio n as a passing o r a lready passed “ episode” , the po licy o f putschism is sys tem atica lly advocated o r condoned by them. They fa il to see the need, p a rt ic u la r ly now in a period o f depression o f the w o rk ­ers, o f re-aw akening them, re -g roup ing them by means o f dem ocratic slogans, cen­te rin g around the demand fo r a C onstituent Assembly. A t the same tim e th is cheap “ L e ftism ” is supplemented by the o u tr ig h t M enshevik perspective o f the “ dem ocratic d ic ta to rsh ip o f the p ro le ta r ia t and peasant­r y ” , i.e., a new K uo M in Tang scandal, a new Kerenskyism .

I t is these questions o f s tra teg ica l and ta c tica l sign ificance th a t m ust be decided in the Chinese revo lu tion . O nly by estab­lis h in g a sound foundation on them can the present g u e rilla w a rfa re be estimated co rre c tly , in its p roper place, and not in the ambiguous m anner in to w h ich comrade W eisbord fa lls .

A n Am biguous P os ition on In d iaThe same am b igu itv exists in W eis­

bo rd ’s words on In d ia . Side by side w ith pe rfe c tly co rrec t fo rm u la tio n s are to be found pe rfe c tly confused ones, p a rt ic u la r ly on the re la tions of the p ro le ta r ia n move­m ent w ith the na tio na l bourgeoisie. The p rim a ry problem o f the In d ia n revo lu tion is no t one o f an a lliance w ith the na tiona l bourgeoisie, b u t o f how to sha tter every b it of. fa ith o f the masses in th a t leader­ship, how to make them re ly upon them ­selves exclus ive ly , to d rive the na tiona l bourgeoisie (Ghandism in a ll shades) re ­len tle ss ly out o f the movement. The na­tiv e bourgeoisie is the p rin c ip a l brake on the popular masses; i t is the la s t and most substan tia l prop o f B r it is h im peria lism in Ind ia .

The economic and p o lit ica l needs of

( Continued on Page 8 )

Two or Not Even One?(Blucher’s Enigmatic Speech)

One o f the f ir s t sessions of the S ix­teenth P a rty Congress was greeted by the commander of the F a r Easte rn a rm y, B lu - cher. Th is fa c t in its e lf h -s no p o lit ic a l sign ificance and w ou ld h a rd ly deserve men­tio n . N e ither has the fa c t a P a rty s ig n ifi­cance: I f , as a so ld ier, B lucher is fa rin fe r io r to Budenny fo r instance, then in a P a rty sense he is ve ry l i t t le superio r to h im . Besides B lu ch e r’s speech o f greetings was edited beforehand in tihe office o f V o rosch ilov and there fore ve ry bad ly ed it­ed. B u t the s p ir it o f the f lu n ke y who fa lls in lin e a t command was consis tent to the end. There were the enraptured accla im of S ta lin and the a rden t greetings to V oro­sch ilov, and several jabs aimed a t the R ig h t w in g before whom B lucher stood a t a tten­tio n on ly the day before. E ve ry th in g is in order. There is also an in te re s tin g ad­m ission: “ In the period between the F if ­teenth and S ixteenth Congresses, ou r P a rty and Com m unist Y ou th o rgan iza tion in the a rm y ca rried on a successful s trugg le aga inst coun te r-revo lu tiona ry T ro tsky ism .” The F ifte e n th Congress, as was said in its day, drew the fina l balance u n d e r the “ s trugg le agd inst T ro tsky ism ” and liq u id ­ated i t com plete ly. Now we hear from B lucher th a t “ a successful s trugg le against T ro tsky ism ” was ca rried on in the a rm y fo r the las t tw o and a h a lf years, between the F ifte e n th and S ixteenth Congresses. We m ust assume th a t a t the Seventeenth Con­gress we w i l l find out not a l i t t le o f in s tru c ­tive value concern ing the fu rth e r course o f th is s trugg le w h ich is no sooner ended than i t s ta rts anew. I f we live — we sha ll hear about it.

B u t we have paused a t B lu ch e r’s speech no t beacuse o f th is admission, no r because o f its general tone, w h ich can be expressed in three w ords: A t you r service! In th is speech, o r at any ra te in the reports o f it , there is one po in t w h ich Is o f serious significance— not as a cha racte riza tion of_ B lucher bu t as a characte riza tion o f w hat fs now being done in the P a rty and what is w hat is now being done to the Party .

A cco rd ing to the rep o rt in Pravda of June 28, 1930, B lucher declared:

“ We, the figh ters in the Red A rm y, can p ro u d ly rep o rt to you th a t d u rin g these battles we d id not have a single defection, no t a s ingle deserter to the enemy. The a rm y showed a h igh p o lit ic a l and class devotion to soc ia lis t construc tion .”

E ve ry re v o lu tio n is t can o n ly welcome th is in fo rm a tion . U n fo rtuna te ly , however, we have a second vers ion o f th is po in t In B luche r’s speech w h ich underm ines a ll ou r confidence in the w hole report. In the jo u rn a l, R abote lil, w h ich Is the da ily organ of the C entra l Committee of the W h ite Rusis- ian Com m unist P arty , the quo ta tion from B luche r’s speech is reported as fo llo w s :

“ We can p ro u d ly re p o rt to you that) we had no defections n o r a s ingle deserter to the camp o f the enemy. W e have on ly tw o dark, sham eful s ta in s : tw o qua lified rec­ru its who were to serve fo r a pe riod of n ine m onths went over to the enemy. B o th of them tu rned o u t to be T ro tsky is ts .”

The woyds we underlined are com­p le te ly absen,t fro m the Prwvda report. W ere they spoken by B lucher o r not? I f we are to judge by the te x t we w ould have to conclude th a t these words were a rb itra r ­i ly and incong ruous ly inse rted in to the rep o rt a fte r i t was made, as a re su lt o f w h ich we have an Obvious, absurd ity . A t f irs t i t says th a t there was not) “ a single deserte r" and then i t is reported th a t there were tw o of them. Obviously, there is some­th in g fo u l here: I f there is no t a single one, then where d id the tw o come from ? And i f there re a lly were tw o deserters then how can one say “ no t a s ingle one” ? But) le t us assume th a t i t was n o t B lucher h im se lf who made the ends m eet: In the speech u n fo rtu n a te ly , there is; genera lly more a rdo r tihan sense. B u t then w hy did the Pravda rep o rt om it such tem pting in ­fo rm a tio n about tw o deserters? W hy did Pravdla conceal the countier-revo lu tionary betraya ls o f the “ T ro tsky is ts ” ? I f P ravda d id not conceal anyth ing, i f B lucher did no t even say th is , then how is i t th a t these

Problems of the Revolutionary Movement

A Statement of Views on Some Disputed Questions(Th is is the fin a l in s ta llm e n t o f the

speech made before the Lovestone group plenum by comrade W eisbord in w h ich he present h is views. The re p ly o f the Com­m u n is t League Is appended.)

* • •18. In d ia . The basic slbgans fo r the

C om m unists today in In d ia m ust be L e n in ’s “ Three P il la rs ” , th a t is , a basic slogan fo r the p ro le ta r ia t (say the e igh t hou r day) a basic slogan fo r the peasantry (confisca­t io n o f the land) and the slogan o f Dem ­ocra tic Republic. To these “ three p il la rs ” the slogan “ Freedom fo r In d ia ” m us t be added. O nly around a ll these slogans can the masses be e ffective ly m obilized. I t w ou ld be a gross e rro r fo r the Communists to stress the s logan o f Freedom fo r In d ia alone as does the n a tio n a lis t In d ia n bou r­geoisie. The slogan fo r “ C onstituen t A s­sem bly” by its e lf is no t in co rre c t b u t is incom ple te and m ay be dangerous fo r i t does n o t take in to consideration the fa c t th a t B r it is h Im pe ria lism can m aneuver so as to make the slogan o f C onstituen t As­sem bly a S U B S TITU TE fo r a dem ocratic repub lic . The slogan C onstituen t Assem bly can be need co rre c tly on ly in con junc tion w ith the slogan fo r a D em ocratic Republic.

The Slogan of SovietsThe slogan o f Soviets can be app ro p ri­

ate on ly when a su ffic ien tly acute revo lu ­tio n a ry s itu a tio n has been engendered a round the “ three p il la rs ” , when the class strugg le and c iv il w a r rages in the v illages and towns. In th is connection i t m ust be emphasized th a t Soviets can be b u ilt even w ith the slogan o f C onstituen t Assembly. The tw o slogans o f C onstituen t Assem bly and Soviets need no t be an tagon istic at a l l tim es. B u t w h a t m ust be stressed is the actual organ iza tion o f c iv il w a r in the v illa g e and tow n and the leadership o f the p ro le ta r ia t in th is c iv il w ar. O nly the d ic ­ta to rsh ip o f the p ro le ta r ia t in In d ia can m ake perm anent its revo lu tion .

The Com munists m ust make p la in to the masses the ro le o f the n a tio n a lis tic In d ia n bourgeoisie and the ro le o f Ghandi as an agent o f th is class. N ot o n ly the experiences o f 1921 m ust be gone o ve r,'b u t a l l the treacherous actions o f the present G handi cam paign (the salt) campaign, the anti-m ach ine movement, passive resistance, opposition tio w orkers , record a t the Na­t io n a lis t Congress, etc., etc., et.) m ust be elaborated. S im u ltaneously mass move­m ents in to w n and countryside aga inst na­t iv e usurer, gen try , ku lak , bourgeois, m ust be effected. B y no means m ust the Chiang K a i-S hek disaster be repeated. The c r im ­in a l negligence o f the C.I. in fa il in g to b u ild the Com m unist P a rty b u t in b u ild in g w orker-peasant pa rties ins tead m u s t be speedily liqu ida ted. I t is c lear i t is no t OUE business to organ ize peasant parties.

I t is c le a r th a t the m ain task o f the Com m unists m ust be the s tim u la tio n o f the masses around the “ three p i l la r ” and free ­dom slogans. These movements are d i­rected aga inst both native and fo re ig n r u l­ers a ifd bourgeoisie who may desire a na­t io n a lis t re fo lu tio n a ry m ovement under the sole s logan o f "Freedom o f In d ia ” fro m the B r it is h . Nevertheless, and th is is m ost im p o rta n t to understand, so long as a sec­tio n o f the nationalist) In d ia n bourgeoisie is fig h tin g B r it is h Im pe ria lism under the slogan o f Freedom o f In d ia fro m Im p e r ia l­is t ru le , so long as th is movem ent unleashes the energy o f the masses w h ich otherw ise cou ld not) be unleashed and so long as the masses have n o t been ac tive ly m obilized around th e co rre c t slogans and w h ile the exposure o f the na tive bourgeoisie is bu t in its inc ip iency, i t w ou ld be m an ifes tly in ­co rre c t fo r the Com munists no t to enter o r to s trugg le fo r a na tiona l revo lu tio n a ry f r o n t aga inst B r it is h Im p e ria lism even though th is na tiona l revo lu tio n a ry f ro n t w ou ld te m p o ra rily conta in sections o f the n a tio n a lis t revo lu tio n a ry bourgeoisie (whom the masses fo llo w ) even though the sole slogan were “ Freedom fo r In d ia ”1 fro m B r it is h Im p e ria lism and even though la te r the un ited f ro n t w ou ld have to be broken by the developm ent o f the class s trug g le in the v illages and towns o f Ind ia . The

By ALBERT WEISBORDcenter o f a ttack m ust be aga inst B r it is h Im p e ria lism and its conscious reactiona ry agents w ith in Ind ia .

The crim e o f the C.I. in C hina (and th is op in ion is n o t in co n tra d ic tio n w ith the basic opin ions o f comrade T ro tsky , i t seems) was NOT th a t the C.P. o f China jo ined a na tiona l revo lu tio n a ry fro n t, bu t th a t the C.I. S U B S TITU TE D the K uom in - tang fo r the C om m unist P a rty , succumbed to Sun Y a t Senism, in troduced class co llab ­o ra tion aga inst the class s trugg le , sacrific ­in g the class s trugg le to th is na tiona l rev ­o lu tio n a ry front) aga inst fo re ign im p e ria l­ism , fa il in g to ra ise the “ Three P il la r ” slogans and thus lead ing the c iv il w a r in v illa g e and to w n on concrete demands o f the masses aga inst the na tive exp lo ite rs as w e ll. The po licy today must! be: a na­tio n a l revo lu tio n a ry fro n t w h ich la te r w i l l be broken by the progress o f the class s trug ­gle in In d ia under the leadership o f the p ro le ta r ia t (th rough its Com m unist P a rty ) in a lliance w ith the peasantry on the road to the strugg le fo r the d ic ta to rsh ip o f the p ro le ta ria t.

The Problem in China14. Here too the slogan o f the Con­

s titu e n t Assem bly is s t i l l co rrec t, a lthough i t is apparen tly in co rre c t to state th a t the Chinese revo lu tio n is s t i l l on the wane. Here the m ob iliza tion o f w orkers and pea­sants on concrete issues can lead to such an acute revo lu tio n a ry s itu a tio n th a t So­v ie ts can be form ed.

I t is dubious to say, as do some mem­bers o f the In te rn a tio n a l L e ft Opposition, th a t the present g u e rilla w a rfa re go ing on in China today is w rong and n o t to be supported. Under the present conditions, i f the facts are th a t masses o f desperate peasants are ready to take up c iv il w a r in the coun trys ide , the Com m unists m ust s tim ula te , support, organize and lead such a movement. On the o ther hand, i t m ust be c lea r th a t no m a tte r how m uch the Im ­pe ria lis ts and na tive Chinese ru le rs m ay be weakened, armed peasant bands cannot take the place o f mass peasant upris ings, the peasant movem ent can n o t take the place of a p ro le ta ria n strugg le , and pea­sant “ Soviets” cannot replace the d ic ta to r­ship o f the p ro le ta ria t.

15. The co lo n ia l re vo lu tio n a ry s itu a ­tions in China and In d ia are of the greatest im portance to the res t o f t)he w o rld , and to the U n ited States especia lly. H ow can we foresee th a t the U nited States w i l l “ w eather tihe economic s to rm ” and “ reach new peaks” unless we foresee aleady the complete and sudden crush ing o f the revo lu tio n a ry wave in the F a r East. I t is the rankest oppor­tun ism to fa i l tio connect in the m ost in t i­mate w ay the revo lu tio n a ry s itua tions in the E ast w ith the im m ediate perspective of the U nited States. A l l o f the Com m unist groups su ffe r from th is opportun ism more o r less. Unless th is v iew is corrected i t w i l l be true th a t the revo lu tions w i l l be defeated, bu t i t w i l l be the Com munists who w i l l have aided unconsciously the hangmen both in the East and in the West.

16. The s logan Soviet U n ited States o f Europe today seems dubious. Len in was opposed to th is slogan. Today, i t m ay tend to a id reac tiona ry schemes lik e those of B riand . I t should be remembered thatl among the ca p ita lis t na tions the sharpest basic antagonism s are no longer between European nations buti between Europe and Am erica.

17. The s itu a tio n w ith in the Soviet U nion, ou r fa therland , m ust be of the u t­m ost concern fo r us. The d ifficu ltly and del­icacy o f the sub ject m ust n o t lead to less discussion bu t to more. There is no ques­tio n b u t tha t, on the whole, here comrade T ro ts k y was co rre c t both in stressing in ­d u s tria liza tio n and the necessity o f a “ p lan ” , and in proposing an in tes ifica tiqn o f the w a r on the ku lak . W hen there is’ reca lled B uch a rin ’s slogan to the peasant­ry “ E n rich yourse lves” and how there was so lem nly discussed in Russia the possib­i l i t y o f the “ ku la ks g row ing in to socia lism ” , when there is reca lled the argum ents th a t

any p lan o f in d u s tr ia liz a tio n was “ too pre ­m a tu re ” and w ou ld lead to te rr ib le catas­trophes and “ w ar in the v illa g e ” , when there is reca lled how backw ard the o rig in a l in d u s tr ia liz a tio n plans were and how fa r the masses ou tstripped the “ P a rty leaders” , then the conclusion is ripe th a t the a ttack on comrade T ro ts k y on th is question on ly h id the R ig h t opportun ism o f the S ta lin - B uch a rin regime.

The Five-Year PlanThe five year p lan, belated as i t was,

and its speedy execution, m ark a trem en­dous step fo rw a rd . The in d u s tria liza tio n o f the Soviet State m ust tend g re a tly to strengthen the revo lu tio n a ry m ovem ent and tend to hasten the end o f cap ita lism . B u t the economic progress o f the U.S.B.R. does no t BY IT S E L F NEC ESS AR ILY lead to an advance o f the w o r ld revo lu tion . I f w ith such an economic advance there should be fastened upon the Com m unist P arties s t i l l m ore the theory o f b u ild in g socialism in one coun try , i f th is should lead no t to an in te rn a tio n a l b u t a n a tio n a lis t view-4 po in t, i f th is should in tu rn lead the C.I. leadership to p lay ing w ith and a sacrifice of fo re ign sections of the C.I., i f th is should fasten the ho ld of the bureaucrats s t i l l more, i f th is should lead to T ro ts k y deportations and E llum kin m urders and vio lence to every Com m unist opposition movement, then in ­deed i t is possible to state th a t unless the Com munists th roughou t the w o rld (aided by the ve ry economic advance o f the Soviet U n ion) can guard aga inst th is degeneration fro m Len in ism i t is possible to have an economic advance o f the Soviet U n ion s i­m ultaneous ly w ith a setback to the w o rld p ro le ta ria n revo lu tion . T ro ts k y ’s exposure o f the elements .of T he rm ido r generating w ith in the Soviet U n ion is abso lu te ly cor­rect.

’(section D . 18..The C om intern today is in a p ro found c ris is . The n a rro w in g down and g rea t loss o f p restige o f the C.I. and the mass expulsions show how deeply op­po rtun ism was part) o f the Com m unist move­m ent. The fo rm a tio n of th ree d iffe re n t sep­a ra te ly organized in te rn a tio n a l Com m unist groups speaks of the d is in te g ra tio n o f tihe movement. B u t i t also m arks a step fo r ­w ard since such a s itu a tio n exposes the rottenness in a ll groups, hardens t(he rea l Len in is ts and prepares the w ay fo r new advances.

We owe i t p r im a r ily and above a ll to L .D .T ro tsky fo r exposing the s itu a tio n since L en in died, fo r b rin g in g to lig h t the Testam ent o f Len in w h ich the other leaders had de libe ra te ly hidden, fo r exposing the forgeries o f L e n in ’s w r it in g s attempted, and fo r b rin g in g to lig h t m any facts of P a rty h is to ry concealed by the bureaucrats fom the membership.

However it , seems th a t comrade T ro t­sky is in co rre c t in designating the strugg le between B ucha rin and S ta lin (and the na­tio n a l groups around them ) as one between “ R ig h t” and “ C e n tris t” tendencies in the Com m unist movement. I t is in re a lity a s trugg le between tw o fo rm s o f the “ R ig h t” . Both ph ilosoph ica lly and p o lit ic a lly the 'conception o f a “ C e n tris t” COMMUNIST w in g is w rong. C entrism can be used as designating Socia lists b u t n o t Communists. T h is was L e n in ’s usage o f tihe term . P rac­t ic a lly , i t gives the illu s io n th a t the “ Cen­t r is ts ” are m ore to the “ L e ft” than the “ Riighit” and th a t “ C en tris ts ” are m ore easily swayed and have no rea l p o licy of th e ir own.

19. In tihe U nited States, the d is in teg­ra tio n o f the Com m unist P a rty has ex­posed th ree groups w ith defin ite R ig h t w in g tendencies. The putschism o f the o ffic ia l Com m unist P a rty fac tiona lis ts is n o t the w rong estim ation o f those too im p a tie n t and too eager to s trugg le , bu t a deliberate make-believe to conceal th e ir u tte r R ig h t w in g bankrup tcy. The theory of b u ild in g socia lism in one coun try , th e ir a ttitu de on co lon ia l questions, th e ir de liberate iso la ­tio n from the masses, t l je ir conception tha t leaders of a Com m unist P a rty can be lia rs and fakers try in g to b lu ff both Moscow and the mem bership, and can reach leadership w ith o u t ever having been called to ca rry

ou t responsible mass w o rk in a Com m unist m anner before becoming leaders, th e ir v io ­lence against C om m unist groups, these are some o f the th ings th a t show on w hat road th is c lique marches.

The C om m unist “ M a jo r ity ” group (Lovestone) shows ju s t as bad tendencies. The fa ilu re to analyze in te rn a tio n a l ques­tions (China, Russia, etc.) and to l in k up these questions in the closest degree w ith 'questions of the I 'n i t eel States; the “ R ig h t” lin e when these questions are approached, the w rong estim ation both o f the whole present period of post-w ar cap ita lism and of the present s itu a tio n inside and outside the U nited States and the complete fa ilu re to understand the m any R ig h t w in g m istakes ( in c lu d ing the methods o f dea ling w ith the T ro ts k y opposition) th a t were com m itted by the leaders o f th is group as leaders o f the P arty . These are b u t p a rt o f the evi­dence to show how f irm ly rooted the R ig h t tendencies o f th is group have become.

The Com m unist League (O pposition) also has shown defin ite “ R ig h t” tendencies. B u t the R ig h t tendences have NOT flow ed fro m comrade T ro ts k y and the In te rn a tio n a l L e ft Opposition— now th a t the true position o f the “ T ro ts k y ” opposition ils know n— bu t are pecu lia r to its A m erican seetton. The M ay 1929 fac tio na l p la tfo rm , the pas­s iv ity and sectarian leanings, the absolute and complete la ck o f se lf-c r it ic ism and fa i l ­ure to see-that the Cannon fac tion w ith in the P a rty was as u n -L e n in is t as any o f the others, these defects flow ed fro m the fa c t th a t the Am erican section o f tihe L e ft In ­te rn a tio n a l O pposition was too close to bu t a reconstitu ted Cannon fa c tio n in the be­g in n in g of its fo rm a tion . However there m ust be adm itted the g rea t service such a fa c tio n did render in the pub lica tion and popu la riza tion of the p rinc ip les o f the L e ft In te rn a tio n a l Opposition.

The c ry in g need o f tihe hou r today is absolute ideo log ica l in transigeance, p lus the w o rk in g together o f a l l Com m uni t groups. One o f the crassest fo rm s o f opportun ism was the fac tio na l u n ity attem pted in the P a rty in 1928 ( and before) and w h ich was o n ly the obverse side o f the unp rinc ip led fac tiona lism th a t had existed before m ere ly in another fo rm . The co rrec t so lu tion of the momentous questions o f the day on the basis o f Len in ism stand above a ll questions o f fo rm a l d isc ip line .

A t the same tim e a ll Com m unist groups m ust w o rk • together on the basis o f the recogn ition o f the Com m unist characte r o f each group. The Com m unist “ M a jo r ity ” op­position group and the Com m unist League group by w o rk in g together can help to re­establish mass w o rk and to res is t the v io ­le n t tiactics o f the P a rty offic ia ldom . They can help to separate the Com m unist move­m ent as a whole from the M ensheviks and can deal a death b low to the theory o f "fasc ism ” and “ socia l-fascism ” thus w in ­n ing the advanced w orkers to a L e n in is t conception o f p a rty democracy. O nly such a w o rk in g together o f Com m unist groups can raise those fundam enta l p rinc ip les of L e n in is t o rgan iza tion th a t can reconstitu te an In te rn a tio n a l o f Lenin.

(SEE PAGE F IV E )

Number 1 4BULLETIN OF THE RUSSIAN OPPOSITION

(E ntirely In Russian)

P a rtia l ContentsW ho W il l Pevail?— N.M.: "N ew s” in the P a rty j—The P o lit ic a l B iography o f S ta lin . —A L F A :N o te s o f a Jo u rn a lis t— A .T .: Col­le c tiv iza tio n as I t R ea lly Is (L e tte r fro m the Russian coun trys ide ).— N .M A R K IN : The Persecution o f the Bo lshevik-Lenin istis as the P rin c ip a l E lem ent in P repa ring the 16th P a rty Congres.— LE T TE R S FROM THEU.S.S .R .r L e tte r from Moscow; A le t­te r fro m ex ile ; On Rakovgky; etc., etc.— L .D .T ro tsky : S ta lin as a T heo rtic ian—L.D. T ro tisky: On the “ Defenders” o f the October R evo lu tion— And numerous o ther features.

25cents a copy 18 cents in bundles

O rder from

G. C larke, 25 T h ird Ave., Rm. 4, N.Y.C.

S H A N G H A I—The year 1982-29 m ay he described as

a period o f a ce rta in economic re v iva l o f the Chinese bourgeoisie. Three conditions aided the bourgeoise to restore its econ­om y: a prosperous gain in a g ric u ltu ra l h a r­vest in the second h a lf o f 1927 and Hhe f ir s t h a lf o f 1928;. the ebb tide of the s tr ike movem ent as a resu lt o f the p ro le ta r ia t’s defeat; tihe tem pora ry cessation o f the c i­v i l w a r and the res to ra tion o f in la n d com­m un ica tion . The Chinese bourgeoisie, ta k ­ing advantage o f th is good s itua tion, re ­stored its economic power. Up to 1930, tihe bourgeoisie had w h o lly recovered in the facto ries destroyed by the w ar. The gen­e ra l p ro fit o f the p rin c ip a l in d u s try— te x tile — had surpassed the record a fte r the w ar, w h ile the im p o rt and export o f m erchant ships had increased by 20 percent h ighe r than before, and domestic and fo re ign trade had increased p roportiona te ly . Elut the rise came to an end w ith the c iv il w a r and ag­ra r ia n fam ine a t the beg inn ing o f 1930.

In 1929, the w a r between Chiang K a i- Shek and the K w angs i c lique broke out. In 1930i, the Chiang-Yen Slh-Shan w a r broke out. In the considera tion o f the la t­te r, there are tw o d iffe re n t op in ions: the one of Lee L i-san , the present leader of the Chinese Com m unist P arty , the o ther is th a t o f the L e n in is t Opposition.

A ccord ing Oo Lee L i-san , th is is a w ar of the classes, th a t is, the revo lu tiona ry h igh wave, because, accord ing to h is “ ana l­ys is ” , the pa rtic ipan ts in the c iv il w a r rep ­resent d iffe ren t classes: Feng Y u-H siang represents tihe pe tty bourgeoise; K w angsi, the land lo rds ; and Chiang the na tiona l bourgeoisie.

The N ationa l A c tion Committee o f the Chinese B o lshev ik-Len in is ts (O pposition) has a lready declared th a t such w ars are un ­avoidable resu lts a fte r the fa l l o f the p ro le t­a ria n forces. The im p e ria lis ts in China and th e ir agents, the Chinese bourgeoisie are in tox ica ted w ith the desire to s p lit up China s t i l l fu r th e r because the loca l governm ents established by these sp lits are the on ly safe guarantee fo r the exceptional power and in te rests o f the im p e ria lis ts and the governm ent o f Chiang K ai-Shek is the “ p rov is iona l governm ent” supported u nan i­m ously by the im p e ria lis ts and the loca l bourgeoisie as w e ll in o rder to suppress the revo lu tio n a ry forces a fte r the exhaustion o f the p ro le ta r ia t and the forces under its leadersh ip ; bu t the fu l l a tten tion o f the im p e ria lis ts and tihe w hole loca l bourgeoi­sie is concentrated on the s p lit t in g up p ro ­cess: the c iv il w a r is on ly a means fo r the purpose o f spliti.

Since the “ p rov is iona l governm ent” (N ank ing ) has succeeded in its ro le and task o f suppressing the re vo lu tio n a ry forces, then its pow er m ust be weakened by c iv il wars to the leve l o f the fo rm e r Peking governm ent, w h ile tihe loca l powers m ust also be reduced to the “ T uchun ” period before 1925. A l l these are n a tu ra l phenom­ena under the regim e o f d iffe ren t im per­ia lis ts . The tem pora ry (and on ly tem por­a ry ) res tra in in g o f the m ilita r is ts fro m c iv il w ars is possible o n ly qnder the most reac tiona ry regim e w h ich suppressess the w orkers and peasants com pletely. B u t th is is a tem pora ry re s tra in t w h ich on ly means the p repara tion o f new and more v io le n t wars. The complete e lim in a tion o f c iv il wars among the m ilita r is ts is conceivable on ly th rough the seizure o f pow er by the p ro le ta r ia t In the com ing, th ird re v o lu tio n ­a ry up ris ing .

U nder the cond ition o f perm anent c iv il w ar the masses are im pelled to recognize the rea l p o lit ic a l countenance of the Com­m un is t P a rty and to tu rn tow ards the Le ft.

I t is inev itab le th a t d u rin g th is period the bourgeois groups in opposition to the one in power, w i l l h ide themselves more cu n n in g ly behind the “ L e f t ” m ask in order to be tray the masses. Here one may as­sume tw o a lte rna tives fo r the near fu tu re : The “ reorgan iza tionsts” and the “ W est H i l l Conference g roup” w i l l pu t aside th e ir own re fo rm is t p la tfo rm s in o rde r to un ite w ith Yen Sih-Shan, Feng Yu-H siang, K w angs i w ar lords, and organize a governm ent whose

p o licy w i l l become m ore reac tiona ry than Chiang K a i-S hek ’s. The C entris ts of the Kuo M in Tang like the socalled board of “ New L ife ” * w i l l su re ly stand in opposition to th is bourgeois governm ent under the m ask of a “ L e ft” tu rn . Or some o f them w il l s p lit fro m tjie ranks o f the “ re - o rgan iza tion is ts ” to oppose the p o licy of W ang Chin W ei and Co. T h is is the f irs t possible a lte rna tive .

The o th e r one w ou ld be more danger­ous to the p ro le ta r ia t. The L e ft bourgeoisie w ith its ex is ting o rgan izations and under the m ask o f an “ u ltra -L e ft” tu rn w i l l con-

. ................................................. .Th is le tte r represent the p o in t o f view

o f the “ O pr W ord ” group o f the L e ft Op­pos ition in China. The M ilita n t disagrees se rious ly w ith a num ber o f statements and opin ions expressed by comrade Peter in es tim a tin g the present s itu a tio n in the coun try , w ith p a rt ic u la r regard to the g u e rilla w a rfa re , on w h ich we have a lready w r it te n and w i l l continue to w r ite in fu ­tu re issues. Nevertheless, the firs t-hand account o f the s itu a tio n in China w h ich th is le tte r offers makes i t pub lica tion in the M ilita n t of g rea t in te re s t and value.

sent to the bourgeois dem ocratic revo lu ­t io n and to the “ democratic d ic ta to rsh ip of the w orkers and peasants” , to the slogan “ U n ite w ith the Soviet U n ion ” o n ly under the cond ition th a t the p rop e rty o f the C hin­ese bourgeoisie is no t confiscated. Then, under th is maisk, the “ u lt ra -L e ft ” bou r­geoise w i l l again be able to be tray the p ro le ta r ia t and get m a te ria l support from the Soviet* Union.

"Can i t be considered th a t the revo lu ­t io n o f 1925-1927 has a t least p a rt ly sa t­isfied the basic in te rests o f Chinese c a p ita l­ism ?” said comrade T ro ts k y in his c r i t i ­cism o f the C om in te rn program . “ No. China is now ju s t as fa r fro m na tiona l u n ity and fro m customs independence as i t was p r io r to 1925. B u t as a m a tte r o f fac t the creation o f one home m arke t and its p ro tection fro m cheaper fo re ig n goods is fo r the Chinese bourgeoisie a question o f life and death. I t is a question o n ly second in im portance to th a t o f m a in ta in in g the basis o f its class dom ina tion over the p ro ­le ta ria t! and the ru ra l poor. B u t also fo r the Japanese and fo r the B r it is h bourge­oisie, the m aintenance of China in its co­lo n ia l state is a question o f no less im p o r­tance than the question o f economic in ­dependence is fo r the Chinese bourgeoisie. T ha t is w hy the Chinese bourgeoisie w i l l s t i l l d isp lay m any zig-zag moves tow ards the L e ft In its fu tu re po licy. F o r those w ho lik e un ited fro n ts there w i l l s t i l l be m any chances in the fu tu re .”

The present task o f the Chinese Op­position is to avoid the tw o dangers men­tioned above by a ll means. So th a t the m ost im p o rta n t w o rk to be ca rried out is the slogan o f a' na tiona l (Constituent!) As­sembly th rough w h ich we m ay sha rp ly d is ­close a ll the deceivers o f the “ opposition ” bourgeoisie. On the o ther hand, w ith the aid o f th is slogan, we m ust t r y ou r best to c a rry on a propaganda fo r the d ic ta to r­ship o f the p ro le ta r ia t and na tiona liza tion o f the means o f production , establish ing f irm ly tihe rea l program o f the p ro le ta r ia t w h ich w i l l be co n tra ry to the o b je u fe “ bourgeois dem ocra tic” p la tfo rm o f the S ta lin is ts .

In the PartyIn recent months, the o ffic ia l Commun­

is t P a rty , w ith the opportun is t program adopted by its s ix th congress under the leadership o f the U ltra -R ig h t w inge r Lee L i-san , came to an agreement w ith the re- o rgan iza tion is ts , com prom ising the s trugg le between the poor peasantry and the K u lak. B u t under the “ L o f t ” tu rn o f S ta lin , th is u ltra -R ig h t po licy was w iped out by d ip lo ­m atic decree of the C om intern. Chi Chiu-

* Theore tica l organ of the Kuo M in Tang C entrists, whose task is to expla in th e ir theories by a "m a te r ia lis m ” and “ M arx ism ” o f th e ir own.

B a i and M if, a fte r th e ir a rr iv a l in China, fo rm a lly c rtic ize d the fo rm e r p o licy o f ag­reem ent between Lee L i-san and the reo r- gan iza tion is ts . Nevertheless such a “ L e ft” a ttem pt does no t co rrec t the fundam enta l p rin c ip le e rro r o f the P a rty line , since w ith a course based on the “ bourgeois charac­te r ” o f the revo lu tion , “ te m po ra ry ” agree­m ents w ith the lib e ra l bourgeoisie are a n a tu ra l conclusion.

A t present, the P a rty regim e is s t i l l under the in fluence o f the Lee L i-sans. T ha t the pow e rfu l Lee agrees to pub lish the c r it ic is m o f Chi C h iu -B a i and M if in the o ffic ia l P a rty organ is on ly a fa lse dem onstration to the C om intern. B u t i t does show thati the u ltra -R ig h t s p ir i t o f Lee L i-san has p reva iled s tron g ly in the w hole P arty . F o r instance, the serious s trugg le between Tchu-Deh and Mu Tse- tong in the Red A rm y. Comrade Mu Tse- Tong is more to the Lefti and m ay stand on the side o f the P a rty masses against Tchu-Deh. B u t the C entra l P a rty regim e o f the u ltra -R ig h t w in g has decided Ho replace comrade M u Tse-Tong w ith the fo llo w e r o f Lee L i-san , Y un T a i- in .

The h is to ry o f the Russian revo lu tion teaches us th a t in tihe ranks of Menshevism there were m any differences, especia lly on the question o f re la tions w ith the cons titu ­tiona lis ts . The M ensheviks were divided in to cooperators and opponents. B u t on the fundam enta l problem s o f the revo lu ­tio n they unanim ously opposed the B o l­sheviks. So does Chinese Menshevism. The reo rgan iza tion is ts are c le a rly no o the r than the Chinese C onstftu tliona lis ts , the m ost dangerous enemy o f the p ro le ta ria t. There­fo re on the question o f re la tions w ith the Chinese C onstitu tiona lis ts , w hatever d iffe r­ences ex is t among the Chinese M ensheviks lik e Chi C h iu -B a i and Lee L i-san the B o l­shevik O pposition can never come to agree­m ent w ith them. They are fo r the road o f the “ bourgeois cha rac te r” o f tihe revo lu ­tio n and the “ dem ocratic d ic ta to rsh ip ” , w h ile we are fo r the p ro le ta r ia n d ic ta to r­sh ip and na tio na liza tio n o f the means of p roduction.

The Red Arm yThe Red A rm y in China is an ever

disputed question. In the ranks o f dis­guised O pposition ists in China, the a ttitude tow ards the Red a rm y has been fa ls ified by saying' th a t i t is s im p ly “ an unorganized d isturbance o f bandits, vagabonds and v i l ­la in s ” (Tchen Du-S iu and L iu rze groups). The S ta lin is ts are o f the opin ion th a t the Soviets o f tihe occupied provinces are the p ro le ta ria n power, and the Red A rm y the 100 percent m ilita ry force o f the la tte r.

As a m a tte r o f fact, the present Chinese Soviets are no t established on the basis o f the class s trugg le between land lo rds and peasantry, not to speak o f the leader­ship of the p ro le ta ria t. The present Soviets are on ly the jobless grouped in the v illage in order to obta in a liv in g . T h e ir a ttitude tow ards the peasants a t w o rk takes the fo rm o f a conqueror, so th a t the Soviets are no t considered by the peasant as his own organ ization. The Soviets can make agreements w ith the upper classes in the v illa g e because o f th e ir separation from the sym pathetic support o f the peasant mass­es. In m ost o f the Soviet d is tr ic ts , the leadership does no t accom plish the d iv is ion o f the land, confiscation o f the m erchant shops, but, on the con tra ry , ca rries out the slogan o f “ P ro tect the m erchant shops and m oney-lenders” . The leaders, fu r th e r , more, do no t d isarm the bandits in order to arm the poor peasantry, b u t perm its them to rob free ly .

B u t a lthough the Soviets under the leadership of the S ta lin is ts are n o t the pow er o f the w orkers and peasantry, they are peasant w a r groups, depending upon the a c tiv itie s o f th e ir leaders, lik e the group under Hong Siu-Chuan, the Taip ings leader. Such groups are able to ex is t even in the period o f the greatest consolidation o f the reactiona ry reg im e; m il i ta r is t c iv il w a r makes th e ir fu r th e r g row th possible.

In these peasant w ar groups, the p ro ­

le ta r ia t m ust by a ll means acquire the lead­in g position. B u t the leadership can easily be captured by “ popu lis t” parses, w h ich seek to make the peasants independent fro m the w orkers. The S ta lin is ts are he lp ­in g the [development o f such “ p o p u lis t” parties. F irs t, they a ttem pt to organize p u re ly peasant Soviets under the slogan of the “ dem ocratic d ic ta to rsh ip o f the p ro le t­a ria t and peasantry” . Secondly, they do not te ll the peasants th a t the revo lu tio n a ry s itu a tio n has weakened, b u t p lay up to the na rrow -m inded and p ride fu l thoughts o f the peasantry th a t the w orkers in China are m uch more backw ard than the peasants. T h ird , they do n o t develop the independent s p ir it o f the p ro le ta ria n strugg le , b u t spread exaggerated news about the Red A rm y in th e ir organ w ith the la rgest type as i f its v ic to ry were the road ou t fo r the w orkers . In a, word, a ll the propaganda o f the S ta lin ­is ts obective ly inc ites the “ pop u lis t” ideas o f th e peasant’s independence fro m the w orkers. F rom our po in t o f view , the Sta­lin is ts in China are undergo ing a process o f “ Social R evo lu tiona riza tion ” .

To w an t to e lim ina te such peasant So­viets and th e ir s trugg le in no w ay co in ­cides w ith the standpo in t o f the Opposition. Despite the fa c t th a t they are no t w o rke rs ’ and peasants’ Soviets under the leadership o f the p ro le ta ria t. they are fa r be tte r fo r us than the pow er o f the land lords. In the fu tu re revo lu tio n a ry r is in g wave, such -pea­sants’ Soviets w i l l be ve ry easily tu rned in to a w o rke rs ’ and peasants’ Soviet pow ­er, p reparing fo r the p ro le ta ria n d ic ta to r­ship. I t is w ith o u t doubt th a t du ring the reac tiona ry period, the o rgan iza tion d£ w o rke rs ’ and peasants’ Soviets is imposs­ib le ; bu t the existence of iso lated peasant w a r groups in so widespread a co u n try as China is qu ite possible. I t is the rem ain ­in g sp u rt o f the v illage revo lu tion o f 1925-27. The duties o f tihe present leadership are to ag ita te fo r the more extensive develop­m ent o f the c ity labo r movement, to lead i t and to p ro long itis existence before i t is com ple te ly exhausted and destroyed by re ­actionaries.

The Chinese B o lshev ik-Len in is ts (Op­pos ition ) recognizes th a t the sign ificance of the peasant w ar groups is qu ite d iffe ren t fro m th a t o f the w o rke rs ’ and peasants’ Soviets. Elut ou r sym pathy is w h o lly on the side o f such peasant wars. We in s is ­te n tly p ro test aga inst the shameless stories about them spread by the land lo rds and the bourgeoisie. We speak to the w o rk in g classes th a t these Soviets are peasant w a r groups, much m ore advanced than those o f land lo rds and th a t the w orkers should un ite w ith them. Bet we do no t be tray the w orkers lik e the S ta lin is ts do by saying th a t these are the ve ry Soviets o f the fu tu re p ro le ta ria n d ic ta torsh ip ,

The capture o f Changsha, cap ita l o f H unan province, by the Red A rm y has given a g rea t im petus to the dem onstration on Augusti 1st in Shanghai. We d is tribu ted ou r lea fle ts w ith an “ Appeal to the W o rk ­ers, Peasants and Soldiers o f the Red A rm y fo r the capture o f Changsha” . There we declared th a t the capture o f Changsha by the hero ic m ilita n ts in the peasant w a r de­serves the praise o f the w o r ld p ro le ta ria t. The hero ic Red A rm y should no t on ly make fu r th e r attacks on the bourgeois m ilita r is ts bu t should also c a rry outi the confiscation o f p roperty , Chinejse and fo re^n , d iv ide the land o f the K u la k and land lo rds among the poor peasants In spite o f the S ta lin is t opportun is t lin e etc., etc. We hope to send you a repo rt on the Changsha s itua tion, the present s tr ike movement, etc., w itih in the next few days.

— PETER

I f the num ber on you r w rapper is

55then you r subscrip tion to the M ilitant has

expired. Renew im m edia te ly in order to

avoid m issing any issues.

A Letter from Shanghai

W h a t Is Going O n In China?

Stalinist Party Folly in St. LouisIn the Party

W h y I Joined the Left Opposition

Comade Sylv ia Blebker, organ izer of Of the Needle Trades W orkers In d u s tr ia l U nion, and one o f the oldest members of o f the P arty , whose case we spoke o f in the M ilita n t, tw o Issues agoi, has been expelled fo r “ T ro tsky ism ” . She sends us the fo llo w in g dec la ra tion :

* * *The statem ent by the P a rty C entra l

C ontro l Commission on m y expu ls ion (D a lly W orker, 9-8-198#) need® fu r th e r ex­p lanation. I t was no t m ere ly a statement o f m y expulsion but a slander and m isrepre­sentation o f m y re la tio n to the s trugg le in general. And w h ile I am sure th a t every w o rke r o r member o f ou)r Union wh,o read i t fe lt repelled by such contem- tib le slander, I nevertheless w ish to make a few exp lanato ry rem arks.

Records Needs No ApologyM y record of w ork , ac tiv itie s and devo­

tio n to the Needle Trades W orkers Indus­t r ia l U n ion and the P a rty needs no apology. I t has been know n to the w orkers fo r a lm ost 10 years. A n y w o rk assigned to me was ca rried o u t fa ith fu lly and flaw less­ly . A nd were i t no t fo r m y agreement w ith the p la tfo rm o f the Com m unist League, the P a rty w ou ld s t i l l speak of m y loya lty .

M y adherence to the “ T ro tsky Oppo­s it io n in no w ay eradicates m y fo rm e r record. On the con tra ry , i t is a log ica l consequence o f m y serious and v ita l concern w ith the polic ies o f the C.I. and its A m e ri­can section.

Since when is one a good Com m unist who doesn’t th in k , question o r disagree? Since when has i t become bu r s logan : Obey and no t ask questions? The Com m unist P a rty is no t a re lig ious sect (and even th e ir h is to ry is fille d w ith “ periods o f ques­tio n in g ” ). The P a rty is the p o lit ic a l weapon o f the w orkers in the (fight aga inst the cap­i ta l is t system, and i t is tihe d u ty o f every Com m unist to use th is weapon to its m ax­im um effectiveness. We need the Commun­is t Partly to lead the w o rk in g class in a ll its strugg les ; we need i t to f ig h t and expose re fo rm is t in fluence among the w o rke rs ; we need i t to b u ild the ke rne l o f the p ro le ta r­ia n revo lu tion . No sooner do the polic ies o f the P a rty fa i l to live up to its h is to rica l ro le than every Com m unist m ust p o in t i t ou t, c r it ic iz e and i f compelled, organize a ta c tio n to co rrec t these policies.

Tha't is exactly w ha t comrade T ro tsky has been doing, and th a t is exactly w ha t the A m erican L e ft Opposition is doing at present. The c r it ic is m made by comrade T ro tsky fro m 1923 to now, w hether na tion ­a lly o r in te rn a tio n a lly , has been e n tire ly confirm ed by events, m uch m ore than any o f us expected. A nd i t is because o f the ve ry correctness o f h is prognoses th a t he doesn’t stand alone b u t has a movement of devoted class-conscious w orkers behind h im . E very day b rings new groups of adherents to the course o f Len in ism as aga inst th e po lic ies 0 f S ta lin ’s regim e, w h ich is lead ing the P a rty in to the abyss.

A Contemptble SlanderThe C.C.C. statem ent th a t I “ covered

m yse lf w ith the c loak o f T ro tsky ism to es­cape fro m the s trugg le ” is a despicable s lander. No serious w o rke r believes i t now and w i l l su re ly no t believe i t in the fu tu re . I rem a in in the ranks o f the class conscious w orkers and w i l l w o rk together w ith them regard less o f d ifficu ltie s . B u t true to m y p rinc ip les , I sha ll never agree w ith e ither the present o ffic ia l po lic ies o f 'th e P a rty w h ich are d isastrous, n o r w ith the bureau­c ra tiza tio n o f the P arty . The average member in ou r P a rty is becoming a mere cog and no t a sober, conscious figh te r. T h is is no t a fa u lt o f the Com m unist ideal but o f the present P a rty leadeship.

The frequen t changes and unce rta in ties In the P a rty and trade un ion polic ies, w ith ­o u t any broad discussion a t tihe un its , the P a rty frac tions , in troduce confusion, ap­a th y and general loss of fa ith by the ra n k and file . Reorganizations take place at such a tempo th a t i t is no longer possible to fo llo w tihem up. These constant reorgan­iza tions are resorted to as a substitu te fo r co rrec t polic ies, b u t they are abso lu te ly w rong and su ic id ica l. The fa c t is th a t the attendance a t P a rty fra c tio n m eetings has

been reduced to a fo u rth o f the mem ber­ship. The m echanical in tro d u c tio n o f po l­icies, th e ir m echanical execution, a bo lition and re - in trod u c tio n (as in the Am alga­m ated C lo th ing W orkers) are ruinous.

E lections in the P a rty are becoming a w ord o f the past. Secretaries and financ ia l secretaries can no longer be elected, on ly appointed by the bureau!

Can or should a rea l Com m unist over­look a ll th is? Is i t no t tim e to make an end to a ll these ru inous polic ies? Regard­less of w ha t the o ffica l apparatus does— expel, slander, te m p o ra rily iso late us, beat us up, break up meetings— i t is our tu rn to speak . A Com m unist who keeps quiet now when danger is fac ing ou r P a rty is a cow­ard and a slacked against the w o rk in g class. The differences in the Com intern can no longer be concealed. The p la tfo rm o f the L e n in is t Opposition can no longer be m isrepresented o r m isquoted. The facts are out in the day ligh t.

Communism Weakened by E xpuls ionsBy expe lling us fro m the P a rty ’s ranks,

o u r s treng th is o n ly weakened. By d r iv ­in g us o u t o f active w o rk in the trade '.unions and a u x ilia ry o rgan iza tions, the P a rty o ffic ia ls are de libe ra te ly h u rt in g the cause o f the w orkers. We w a n t to be in the P arty . We w an t to be in the trade unions. We w a n t to be in every class struggle. We are ready and w il l in g to sac­r ifice as we have proved in the past. V i­cious a ttacks and slander w i l l n o t solve the problem .

We ask fo r a broad and genuine d is­cussion o f the problem s we are now facing. We demand th a t a h a lt be ca lled to the unheard o f repression and persecution of th e O pposition comrades in the Soviet U nion. The bureaucrats cannot and w i l l no t tea r us away from the ranks o f Com­m unism and the w o rk in g class!

— S Y L V IA B LE E K E R

( Continued fo rm Page 5 ) the native bourgeoisie leads them in to a dispute w ith the B r it is h im p e ria lis ts w h ich “ unleashes the eneregy of the masses” . B u t so d id K erensky “ unleash the energy of the masses” . And lik e h im , the Ghandists a t the same tim e fe tte r the energy o f the masses. A genuine un leashing— and proper d irec tion— of the energies o f the masses can happen on ly by fig h tin g as m erc iless ly aga inst the na tiona l bourgeoisie and fo r the independence o f the p ro le ta r ia t (w h ich alone enables i t to lead behin/1 i t Ithe peasantry) as the Bolsheviks fough t against the K erensky and M enshevik compomisers in 1917. Th is m us t be repeated and re ­peated u n t i l i t penetrates every fibe r o f the In d ia n revo lu tion is ts .

I t is w ith comrade W eisbord ’s propos­als on the various groups in the movem ent th a t the L e ft O pposition has its sharpest disagreement. Advocacy o f such views by a leading comrades is con tra ry to a l l we stand fo r. “ A ll Communists groups m ust w o rk together on the basis o f the recogn i­t io n o f the Com m unist character o f each group. The Com m unist ‘M a jo r ity ’ group and the Com m unist League group by w o rk ­in g together can help re-estab lish mass w o rk . . . they can help to separate the Com m unist movem ent as a w hole fro m the M ensheviks” , etc., etc. Th is is fa lse from beg inning to end.

We recognize the Com m unist character of the R ig h t w in g on ly inso fa r as i t s t i l l groups a num ber o f good Com m unist w o rk ­ers whom the incom petent C en tris t bureau­cracy was unable to hold. We contend th a t the R ig h t w ing now occupies a pos ition m idw ay between social democracy (Men- shevism ) and Communism— not fo r long, i t is true , as is shown by the passage o f some o f its lead ing s tra ta d ire c tly in to the camp o f Am sterdam fend the in te rn a tio n a l ot A ugus t 1914. H ow can we, the M arx is t w in g o f the movement, u n ite w ith th is sem i-M enshevik w in g (a bloc w h ich under present cond itions w ould mean a movement d irected aga inst the o ffic ia l Oom m unist m ovem ent), in o rder to “ seperate” the Com­m un is t movem ent as a w hole fro m the M ensheviks” ? H ow can a bloc w ith the R ig h t w ing “ re-estab lish mass w o rk ” , when i t is the whole ph ilosophy o f the R ig h t w in g th a t has b ro u g h t the Com m unist m ovem ent 'in to such iso la tio n fro m the

ST. LO U IS—Since the expu ls ion o f the Opposition,

the C.P. has pra u ic a lly ceased to exist in th is te r r ito ry . W ith the loss o f its best members i t no longer has any contact w ith the trade unions. Jealous o f Opposition in fluence in the trade unions the P a rty f in a lly succeeded by underhanded methods in g e tting our members expelled from them. In consequence, a l l m ilita n t L e ft w in g ele­ments have been barred fro m p a rtic ip a tio n in the unions, leav ing the Held e n tire ly in the hands o f bureaucratiifc reactionaries!. W e ll know n m ilita n ts lik e M acM illan and Goldjberg have been expelleJd becaus of these m alic ious and* senseless P a rty tactics.

Opposition Organizes UnemployedThe Com m unist O pposition wes; tihe

f ir s t in th is te r r ito ry to organize an U n­employed C ouncil w h ich led a mass demon­s tra tio n o f 1,500 on January 3rd th rough the business section of St. Lou is. The P a rty was in v ite d to p a rtic ipa te butl refused on the grounds th a t they were no t the organ­izers.

Seeing ou r success and in o rde r n o t tlo be outdone, the P a rty f in a lly organized its ow n oounc il The Opposition, know ing th e ir counc il was in fa c t no th ing b u t a name, nevertheless, sent delegates asking fo r a un ited fro n t o f a ll w o rkers aga inst unem ploym ent. T h is the P a rty n o t on ly refused bu t th re w ou r delegates outt Be­cause o f th is action, the one o r tw o mem­bers whom the P a rty had succeeded in ga in ing, le ft and came over to ou r group.

Rem em bering ou r success in demon­s tra tin g , the loca l S ta lin is ts decided to a r­range a series o f dem onstrations o f tiheir own. These tu rned ou t complete fizzles, each being a b igger fa ilu re than its p re ­decessor. The P a rty speakers, instead of

masses (Chinese revo lu tion , B r it is h gener­al s tr ike , Ind ia , etc., etc.) in to opportun is t swamps from w h ich C entirsm is now try in g ineffective ly , to issue by means o f the U ltra - L e ft is t rope?

Road to R u in , N ot to V ic to ry

Such a po licy, combined as i t is w ith comrade W eisbord ’s e n tire ly fa lse estimate o f C entrism (his den ia l o f it , in fac t) is the shortest road to destruction fo r the L e ft Opposition and a disavowal o f its h is ­to r ic a l fu n c tion T h is is c lear from a ll the experiences o f the Opposition In Europe. Our road is n o t th a t o f U rbahns, P o llack and Paz who on ly d iscredited the Opposi­t io n and reduced w h a t they con tro lled to hopeless sects.

* * *

On the basis o f h is present views on a num ber o f v ita l questions, the na tiona l comm ittee has decided th a t i t cannot accept comrade W eisbord fo r m em bership in the League. A t the same tim e i t expressed

SINCE LENIN D IE D by Max Eastman,Labour P ub lish ing Company, London,1.925, 15S pages.

The fa c t th a t th is book earned the con­centra ted scorn o f the la tte r-d a y C om in te rn leadership, should im m ed ia te ly in te re s t a ll Communists su ffe ring under the deluge of “ an tl-T ro ts jky ifc t” verbiage d is tr ib u te d ife recen t years under the guise o f Lenin ism . A sp iran ts to leadership, in a l l E n g lish - speaking countries, fro m R othste in to B row der, fin d in g the th o rn y pa th o f f ig h t aga inst cap ita lism n o t so prom is ing, have tu rned w ith enthusiasm to s ling ing m ud at the Russian Opposition and its leader, com­rade T ro tsky . B u t the a u th o rity o f these slanderers o f the revo lu tion is sho rtlived . T h is book is one o f the na ils in th e ir po­l i t ic a l coffin.

Coming fresh fro m the T h irte e n th P a rty Congress o f the Russian P a rty (May, 1924) and the hys te rica l campaign lead ing up to T ro ts k y ’s res igna tion as president o f the R evo lu tionary M ilita ry Soviet in January, 1925, M ax Eastm an was the f irs t to pub lish the au then tic documents of the con troversy in E ng lish . He was in Russia d u rin g the whole developm ent o f the figh t, w itnessed the conso lida tion o f the, shady opponents

ta c k lin g the p rob lem o f unem ploym ent tu rn ­ed th e ir m eeting in to a n ti-T ro ts k y meet­ings, w h ich o f course m eant no th ing to the ra n k and file unemployed. The w orkers, d isgusted w ith such tactics, le f t and are now in ou r ranks.

A fte r tw o m onths of strenous e ffo rt the P arty , succeeded w ith the co-operation o f the Opposition, in m uste ring about 200 dem­onstra to rs fo r the Sacco-Vanzetti p ro test meeting. The S ta lin is ts , instead o f expos­in g the system w h ich burned Sacco and V anzetti, tu rned th is m eeting also in to an a n ti-T ro ts k y a ffa ir. They also decided to devote th e ir ta len ts to a strenuous a ttack on the one poor w ilte d Lovestoneite in the c ity c a llin g h im among o ther th ings a so­c ia l menace and a Sacco-Vanzetti lyncher, m uch to the amusement o f the spectators.

In sp ite o f P a rty persecution the Op­pos ition goes fo rw a rd . 'W ith the exception o f the offic ia ls, the ra n k and file members have been neutra lized. T h is has occured in sp ite o f the fa c t th a t members are ex­pelled when caught ta lk in g to O pposition sym path izers o r when found a ttend ing Op­pos ition meetings.

A case in p o in t is the recent expulsion of the secre tary o f the Y.C.L., F ra n k W a ll, one o f the m ost active o f the League mem­bers when caught by P a rty spies a ttend ing Shachtman’s lecture . He was sum m arily “ dismitesed” . I t seems th a t i t is no longer necessary to endorse the Opposition p la t­fo rm fo r expulsion, b u t expulsions are now in o rder fo r members d a ring to associate w ith “ T ro tsky is ts ” .

W h ile the P a rty goes onw ard in its path o f complete iso la tion , the Opposition grows in m em bership and in fluence among ra n k and file w orkers . The L e ft w in g m ilita n ts continue in th e ir task of c a rry in g fo rw a rd tru e Com m unist education, co-op­e ra tin g w ith a ll w orkers, and a id ing the sale o f the M ilita n t. The M ilita n t now has a la rg e r subscrip tion lis t in th is c ity than the D a lly W orke r. The sale o f K lo rk e it also is n o t sm a lle r than the sale o f the Jew ish M orn in g Fre iheiti. Consequently w ith the com ing o f the fa l l cool w eather we expect to make even b igger s trides and s t i l l m ore successes.

— H .L . GOLDBERG

the hope and desire th a t fu r th e r reflection and discussion w ou ld make i t possible fo r comrade W eisbord to find h is place as a fig h te r— and a va luab le one—in the ranks o f the Opposition. We have welcomed th is discussion and the c r it ic ism s made by comrade W eisbord, p a rt ic u la r ly because i t offered the o p p o rtu n ity fo r a recap itu la tio n o f ou r po in t o f view . A t the same tim e, the na tiona l com m ittee decided, in v iew o f W eisbord ’s closeness to the views o f the Opposition, to in v ite h is co llabo ra tion In fie lds o f w o rk con fo rm ing to h is position.

N ationa l CommitteeCom m unist League o f Am erica (O pposition)

o f Len in ism under tihe c ra fty leadership o f the "T r iu m v ira te ” . The book is va luable to us now because in i t are published the o rig in a l documents, theses, le tte rs and press a rtic les o f the period. These documents have a lready been supplemented, am plified and a thousand tim es verified in tihe w r i t ­ings o f comrade T ro ts k y and o ther leaders o f the Russian Opposition. A lso by the shamefaced confessions o f Z inoviev, K am ­enev, etc. when they were no longer o f use to S ta lin .

Eastm an w i l l be remembered fo r unsw erv­in g courage and de te rm ina tion in the face o f (Jhe so lid mass o f h o w lin g bureaucrats, to speak the tru th and prove it . He has the honor o f being one of the f ir s t to be expelled fro m the A m erican P a rty fo r sup­p o rtin g the Russian Opposition. He cer­ta in ly was the f irs t to b r in g the documents and p la tfo rm o f the Russian O pposition out o f the “ i l le g a lity ” imposed by S ta lin and in to the l ig h t o f day. — C AR L COWL

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A Reply to Comrade Weisbord