Our Party Guide to Immediate Action

- SEE PAGE 3 -THE MILITANT

Official Weekly Organ of the Socialist Workers Party

VOL. V. — No. 42 NEW YORK, N. Y „ SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1941 FIVE (5) CENTS

STALIN’S POLICY MEANS DOOM OF USSRSW P Plenum-Conference Adopts Program O n Tasks For PartyLargest Conference in H istory o f A m erican T ro tsky is t M ovem ent Gives F ighting Answer to FDR's Moves to Gag A n ti-W a r Party

C H IC A G O , O ct. 13. — In answ er to RooseveR’ s a ttem p ts to te r ro r iz e and s ilence the o n ly re v o lu ­t io n a ry an ti-w a r p a rty by p ro secu tin g its leaders, de le­gates o f the S oc ia lis t W o rk e rs P a rty m o b iliz e d in Chicago th is week-end in a com b ine d P le n u m o f the N a tio n a l C om m ittee and A c tive W o rk e rs C onference.

This representative cross-section of the party, called to­gether for discussion and action on the important problems and tasks facing it in the coming period, met for two days in what was to-date the largest, most enthusiastic and inspir­ing conference in the history of the Trotskyist movement in the United States.

The Minneapolis tria l of 28 members of the Socialist W ork­ers Party and of Local 544-00 , scheduled to begin only a week la te r on October 20, and theproblem s and issues connected w ith th a t t r ia l were, n a tu ra lly , before the Conference, and con­siderable discussion revolved around them.

The m ain w o rk o f the C onfer­ence was the e laboration and adoption o f the p o litica l resolu­tion . “ The Federal Prosecution in d the Present Tasks o f the T a r ty ” , an analysis o f the gov­e rnm ent’s a tta ck on the Socia list W orkers P a r ty as p a r t o f its drive tow ard fu l l p a rtic ip a tio n in the im p e ria lis t w a r, and a s ta te ­m ent o f the p a r ty ’s po licy and p r im a ry tasks in the com ing period.

The fu l l te x t o f the p o lit ic a l reso lu tion adopted by the Con­ference w il l be found on page 3 o f th is issue o f T H E M IL I ­T A N T .

C A N N O N ’S REPO RT A re p o rt fo r the N a tion a l Com­

m ittee on the reso lu tion was g iv ­en' by James P. Cannon, N a tio n ­a l Secretary o f the p a rty , who declared th a t the “ numbers, u n i­ty and de term ination o f the mem­bers and leaders o f the p a rty in response to the prosecution are proof tha t T ro tsky is ts don’t scare easily” and th a t “ ours is a d i f ­fe re n t k ind o f p a r ty .”

The persecution of the T ro t­skyists, Comrade Cannon pointed out, is n o t a s ign o f the s treng th

o! the Am erican cap ita lis t class bu t ra th e r a sign o f its weakness and a te ll in g in d ic tm en t aga inst its pretensions o f p re pa ring to go to w ar " fo r democracy.”

The Conference, he continued, m ust lay down a line fo r the con­duct of the defense in court, “ ob­lig a to ry fo r a ll p a rty members under ind ic tm en t,” in the words o f the reso lu tion , “ and w o rth y of our m ovem ent and our tra d it io n : no a tte m p t to w a te r down o r evade ou r revo lu tiona ry doctrine, bu t on the con tra ry , to defend i t m il ita n t ly .”

The m ain pa rt of h is report was devoted to the c la r if ic a tio n o f the p a r ty tasks in the next months, and above a ll to the need fo r the members to s trugg le in defense o f th e ir r ig h t to func tion as a lega l p a rty . In th is con­nection he cited the tra il-b la z in g w ork o f the N ew Y o rk local in co llec ting 15,000 signatures in the cu rre n t m a yo ra lty cam paign, fo r the candidate o f the S.W.P.

Mere day-to -day a c tiv ity , he stressed, is no t enough especially in a period o f w a r and o f gov­ernm ent persecution. P a rty mem ­bers m ust fo r t i f y themselves aga inst the r is in g tide o f reac­tion by system atic education in the p rinc ip les o f the movement. Members m ust prepare them ­selves fo r leadership. Members

in the trade unions m ust pay g rea te r a tten tion to w e ll though t ou t campaigns and re c ru it th ru th e ir frac tion s m il ita n t w prkers in to the p a rty .

In add ition , the p a rty m ust be on the a le r t aga inst tendencies o f conc ilia tion w ith renegade and c e n tris t groups, because u n ity which is n o t based on p rinc ip led agreem ent never leads to g rea te r organ iza tiona l s treng th , but, on the con tra ry , to weakness, con­fus ion and inev itab le sp lit.

D E F E N S E OF T H E USSRIn his report, Comrade Cannon

placed special emphasis on the section o f the reso lu tion which deals w ith the bu rn ing task o f the hour, the defense o f the USSR. The T ro ts k y is t position, he declared, m ust be carried in the next period to the stunned and alarm ed members o f the S ta­l in is t p a r ty and its pe riphery . The hypnosis o f S ta lin ism , he said, can now be broken.

In th is hour o f g raves t c ris is fo r the rem a in ing conquests o f the October revo lu tion , c la r ity above a ll is required. S ta lin is d igg ing the grave fo r the Soviet U n ion ju s t as he had dug the grave fo r the revo lu tions in China, Germany, A u s tr ia , France, Spain and o ther countries. The T ro tsky is ts alone bear no respon­s ib il i ty fo r the defeats suffe red by the USSR and the debacle i t now con fronts. They alone have rem ained tru e to the program which can s t i l l save the w o rke rs ’ governm ent founded by Len in and T ro ts k y in one-sixth o f the world .

The reso lu tion , a f te r serious discussion and c la r if ic a tio n , was adopted unan im ously, a s tr ik in g and concrete exam ple o f the u n ity and firm ness o f the p a rty ranks.

Called on sho rt notice, the P le­num -Conference was nevertheless the best attended in the h is to ry * 1

W ill Support Boss W ar To 'Bitter End' - - Green

SEATTLE, Oct. 10. — The first week of the AFL conven­tion here has shown that the present AFL leaders are fu lly prepared to repeat and surpass the betrayals of Sam Gompcrs and the AFL bureaucrats during World War I.

Keynoting the convention, President W illiam Green, in his opening address on October 6, told the delegates that the AFL leadership intends to support the Roosevelt war program “ to the bitter end” and called on the AFL workers to forego the use of s trikes and o ther m ilita n tmethods in the in te rest of “ na­tio n a l defense.”

Green’s speccn was in res­ponse to a message to the conven­t io n from Roosevelt, who re ite r­ated his demand tha t there be no s trikes in “ defense” industries and urged th a t the A F L and CIO “ u n ite ” on the issue of support­in g the war.

On th is v ita l question of labor u n ity , Green made clear tha t the decrepit cra ft-un ion leadership ot the A F L stands uncom prom isingly on its tra d itio n a l pos ition : T h a t the CIO “ come home” to the A F L w ith o u t any guarantees tha t the in d u s tr ia l unions w il l be preserv­ed and extended. Under Green's term s, every c ra ft un ion ehiel w i l l be free to p ick the bones ol' the ex is ting CIO unions, c la im ing th is o r tha t section of CIO w o rk ­ers fo r th e ir own ju risd ic tion .

The character of the “ u n ity ” Green has in m ind is indicated by the fo llo w in g rem arks from his speech:

“ We are ready and w ill in g now

to meet a t any tim e w ith a com­m ittee from the dual, rebel r iv a l movement fo r the purpose of m ak­in g a complete analysis of the whole s itua tion and fo r the p u r­pose o f b r in g in g about re a ff il ia ­tion w ith the Am erican Federa­tio n o f Labor o f those who le f t us. Can we o ffe r more?

“ The home, the rooms they le ft when ihey marched out of the house of labor are s t i l l there, w a itin g fo r them to re tu rn .”

G R E E N ’S “ U N IT Y ” TERM SA ll Green and his Executive

Council have to o ffer, in other words, is the in v ita t io n th a t the CIO subm it to complete dismem­berm ent and absorption in the present c ra ft-r idd en , d ic ta to r ia l fram e-w ork o f the A F L .

The true character o f the con­vention is indicated by the fact tha t one of the ch ie f guest speak­ers was reactionary Republican Governor Stassen of Minnesota, sponsor of the notorious state “ slave-labor” law, who recently

brazenly denied the r ig h t of the M inneapolis d rive rs to a democra­t ic vote to determ ine the union o f th e ir choice.

Stassen’s presence a t the con­vention, w h ich was preceded by his address to a m eeting sponsor­ed by Dan T ob in ’s A F L Teamst-

j ers, gives conclusive proof o f the | in tim ita te personal collaboration1 between Tobin and Stassen dur- ' in g the tim e Stassen’s state con­c il ia to r B la ir was supposed to be rendering an “ im p a rt ia l” decision on the dispute between Local CU­CIO, M inneapolis m otor transport w orkers union, and Tob in ’s out­fit.

S TA S S E N ’S SPEEC HIn h is speech, Stassen declar­

ed tha t the federal government should take steps to prevent ‘sm all elements’ o f labor from ‘causing stoppages’ con tra ry to ‘the wishes of labo r’s best, na tiona l leader­ship.’

He was obviously re fe rrin g to elements lik e Tobin, czar of the racketeer-ridden A F L Teamsters, as “ labo r’s best, na tiona l leader­ship.”

The question of labor racketeer­in g provided a constant undertone to the convention.

The A F L leadership has already ind ica ted th a t i t in tends to do no more than i t d id a t the con-

(Continued on page 2)

o f the Am erican T ro ts k y is t move­ment, w ith 117 delegates and N a­tio n a l Com m ittee members and 60 ou t-o f-to w n v is ito rs fro m 24 cities and 12 states present and p a rtic ip a tin g in the proceedings.

A genu ine ly representative cross-section o f the p a rty ga the r­ed in Chicago. B oth in its compo­s itio n — the overw helm ing m a­jo r i t y o f the delegates and v is i­tors fro m the branches were trade un ion is ts — and in serious­ness, the P lenum-Conference re ­flected the f ig h t in g de term ina­tion and revo lu tiona ry w i l l o f the p a rty as a whole.

E S T A B L IS H O R G A N IZ A T IO N PRESS F U N D

The conference voted unan im ­ously to accept the recommenda­tion o f the N a tion a l Com m ittee fo r the establishm ent o f a fund fo r the maintenance o f re g u la r p a rty organ iza tion and press ac­t iv it ie s .

A tho rough discussion on th is po in t showed th a t the delegates fu l ly understood the necessity in the com ing period fo r w idespread d is tr ib u tio n o f T H E M IL IT A N T and F O U R T H IN T E R N A T IO N ­A L and fo r u n in te rrup te d fu n c ­tio n in g o f th e o rgan iz ing w o rk o f the p a r ty as a means o f p rop­e rly presen ting the news and is ­sues in the M inneapolis t r ia l to the w o rk in g class, and as a basic p a rt o f the f ig h t aga ins t the p ro ­secution. Business as usual and, where possible, be tte r than usual, is the sen tim ent o f the p a rty in a ll the fie ld s o f its a c tiv ity .

T h a t th is w i l l be realized in action was assured by the estab­lishm ent o f the p a r ty ’s O rganiza-

(Continued on page 3)

Poll-Tax Court Upholds Waller Death Decree

The V irg in ia S tate C ourt o f Appeals on October 13 upheld the death sentence o f Odell W a l­le r, 24-year-old N egro sharecrop­per convicted by an a ll-w h ite V ir ­g in ia p lan te r ju r y fo r the se lf- defense shooting o f h is w h ite landlord.

W a lle r ’s defense counsel, John F. F in e rty , pleaded fo r the set­t in g aside o f the conviction, on the grounds th a t W a lle r did no t receive a t r ia l by a ju r y o f his peers. U nder the present state law , w h ich he argued was uncon­s titu tio n a l, F in e r ty pointed out th a t in a b ility to pay a cum ula­tive p o ll ta x bars m ost people fro m the ju ry , and th a t on ly those o f financia l means are per­m itte d to serve.

A n appeal on W a lle r ’s beha lf w i l l be taken to the U . S. Su­preme C ourt, i t has been an­nounced by the W orkers Defense League, w h ich is organ iz ing W a l­le r ’s defense.

A sta tem ent issued by s ix ou t­s tand ing libe ra ls —■ A lfre d B in g ­ham, ed ito r o f Common Sense, George Counts, president o f the Am erican Federation o f Teach­ers, P rofessor John Dewey, Paul K ellogg, ed ito r o f Survey m aga­zine, Rev. A . J. M uste, secretary o f the F e llow sh ip o f Reconcilia­tion , and A . P h illip Randolph, president o f the Brotherhood o f S leeping Car P orte rs — points out:

“ In 1856 Dred Scott became the sym bol fo r the abo lition o f s lav­ery. Today another unknown Negro, Odell W a lle r, lik e th a t runaw ay slave, has in our tim e become the ra lly in g p o in t fo r those who' would abolish the po ll ta x .a n d the in justices of the sharecropper system .”

Desperate Struggle

These Red A rm y soldiers shown in shallow trenches some­where on the Eastern F ron t, are p a rt o f the Soviet, m illions f ig h t in g desperately to stem the tide o f N azi invasion. Lack o f competent leadership, due to S ta lin ’s bloody purge o f the a rm y in 1937-38, threatens to b r in g to naught a ll th e ir heroic sacrifices.

Kremlin Unable To Hide Scope O f ReversesLack o f Leadership, Due to S ta lin 's A rm y Purge o f 1937-38, Is Reason fo r Defeats

B y A R T P R EIS

T he existence o f the S ovie t U n io n now hangs in the balance. S ta lin h im s e lf can no lo n g e r conceal tha t he has led the S ov ie t U n io n to the b r in k o f ca tastro ­phe. N o lo n g e r does S ta lin — the se lf-appo in ted C om m issar o f W a r, Head o f the C oune il o f D efense, etc. — b rag a bo u t the “ in v in c ib i l i t y ” o f Sovie t arm s.

H itle r’s m ilita ry machine has already seized or immobil­ized 75 per cent of the industrial area of the USSR. Leningrad and other vita l cities, not only in the Don basin but in the very heart of the Soviet Union, are either occupied or imme­diately threatened. Nazi armies are driving relentlessly toward the political and economic nerve-center of the Soviet Union, Moscow. The Red Arm y is being forced back on all fronts.

The latest Moscow dispatches ‘are shot through w ith the panic tha t is g ripp ing the K rem lin .

Despite the r ig id censorship S ta lin has clamped down on d is­sem ination of news of the real s itua tion , Red Star, o ffic ia l organ of the Red A rm y, on October 10 had to adm it th a t on the Moscow sector “ conditions ...are serious:

Trial Of SWP, 5 4 4 -CIO Leaders Starts Monday28 Defendants Face Government Frameup "C o n sp ira cy" Charge; T ria l Part o f Roosevelt's A tte m p t to Crush A n ti-W a r V anguard

M INNEAPOLIS — The mass tria l of the 28 defendants in the government’s ' “seditious conspiracy” case against the So­cialist Workers Party and Local 544-GIO, Minneapolis drivers union, starts this coming Monday, October 20, in the Federal court here.

This w ill be the greatest tria l of labor and radical leaders since the famous Chicago tria l of the I.WAV. members during the last war. It is expected to continue for several months.

Having its background in the Daniel Tobin-Roosevelt-FBI drive to smash m ilitant Local 544-GIO after it revolted last June against T ob in ’s d ic ta to r ia l ru le in the A F L Team sters, the t r ia l is being u tilized by the w a r- mad A d m in is tra tio n to persecute and a tte m p t to crush the leading a n ti-w a r and revo lu tiona ry fo r ­ces o f the A m erican w o rk ing - class.

The charges aga inst the de­fendants are based on tw o laws which have never before been applied.

One law is a s ta tu te adopted in 1861 fo r use aga inst the slave­owners o f the Confederacy. No previous case has ever been bas­ed on the section o f the s ta tu te re fe rr in g to “ conspiracy to over­th row the governm ent by force and violence” by w h ich the gov­ernm ent now seeks to fram eup the SW P and Local 544.

The o ther s ta tu te , the Sm ith

A ct, was adopted in 1940. The c o n s titu tio n a lity o f th is act, which v io lates the free speech prov is ion o f the B il l o f R ights in the C onstitu tion , has been challenged by the A m erican C iv ­il L ibe rties U n ion and o ther o r­ganizations in terested in the p ro ­tection o f c iv il r ig h ts .

O pposition to the prosecution has been voiced by a lm ost every lib e ra l and progressive pub lica­tion in the coun try . A la rge num ber o f A m erica ’s ou tstand­ing labo r and lib e ra l leaders have jo ined ac tive ly in the f ig h t to de feat the governm ent’s fra m e ­up, and have signed th e ir names to an appeal fo r a id to the de­fendants.

General o rgan iza tion o f the de-

fense is being conducted by the C iv il R igh ts Defense Com m ittee. The cha irm an of the CRDC is the noted author. James T. F a rre ll. George E. Novack is secretary.

The com m ittee has its na tiona l offices a t 160 F if th Avenue, New Y ork C ity , and has ju s t issued a pam phlet, “ W itch H u n t in M in ­nesota” , g iv in g the f u l l de ta ils o f the case.

G ilb e rt E. Carlson and D. J. Shama are the a tto rneys fo r the 15 indicted Local 544 members, and A lb e r t Goldman, M . M eyer and fo rm e r Judge A r th u r Le Sueur arc the counsel fo r the 13 SW P defendants.

N a tion a l and in te rn a tio n a l in ­te rest in the t r ia l has already been aroused. T h is is the f i r s t

c

peace-time “ sed ition ” t r ia l to be held in the U n ited States since the A lie n and S edition A c ts o f 1798.

(The M IL IT A N T has made special arrangem ents to provide the fu lle s t weekly coverage of the t r ia l . See ne x t week’s is ­sue).

Stalinists Withdraw Own Candidate To Support Union-Buster LaGuardia

The Communist P arty announc­ed in las t Saturday’s D a ily W ork ­er th a t Israel Am ter, its candi­date fo r m ayor of New Y ork C ity, has been w ith d ra w n and tha t the party is backing union buster LaGuardia fo r re-election.

LaGuardia, under fire as a ‘red ’ from the Tam m any candidate W illia m O’Dwyer, hastened to le- pudiate his would-be allies. “ 1 have not sought, I do not seek and I do no t w ent the support of the Com m unist P a rty ," he pro­claimed in a pub lic statement. “ 1 have repeatedly stated th a t I do not w ant the support of the Com­m un ist P arty .”

In ’ one and the same breath, the Communist P arty statem ent de­clared th a t a v ic to ry fo r LaG uar­

dia would be “ a dem onstration of na tiona l u n ity behind the policies of President Roosevelt” and that,

’ “ Our position no more im plies our agreement w ith the po litica l philosophy th a t m ay be termed ‘LaG uard ia ism ’ than i t connotes LaG uard ia’s agreement w ith Com­m unism .”

T h is last piece of double-talk is th row n in to a llay the disquiet o f the rank and file w orkers of the Communist Party, who know LaG uardia to be the most vicious anti-labor, s tr ikeb rea k ing M ayor in a long line o f such M ayors.

A t the recent T ransport W ork­ers Union (CIO) convention, La G uard ia ’s campaign to smash the TW U and deny collective bargain­in g r ig h ts to the subway workers

was denounced by A llen S. H ay­wood, CIO na tiona l d irector, as “ the most brazen and outrageous a ttem pt to break a labor union th a t 1 have ever witnessed in my long career as a labor leader.”

LaG uard ia was denounced by reso lu tion a t the recent national convention o f the State, County and M unicipa l W orkers un ion. He has been denounced by other lead­ing unions and Negro groups.

“ U n ity ” w ith LaG uard ia means u n ity w ith a brazen, unscrupulous representative o f W a ll S treet and the boss class. “ LaG uard ia ism ” — th a t is, an ti-labor pro-war po lic ­ies— is precisely w hat the S ta lin ­ists support.

Now th a t the Com m unist P arty (Continued on page 3)

the danger is great; the enemy is advancing.” On October 13, i t issued s t i l l another appeal to the Soviet troops acknow ledging th a t “ our resistance is en tering a c r i­tica l phase; the enemy m ust soma- liow be slopped.”

The bew ilderm ent and panic o i the S ta lin is t tops is expressed ic th a t desperate cry, “ the enemy must somehow be slopped.” Some­how! These bankrupts adm it that they do not know w hat to do.

Since the s ta rt o f the w ar tho Soviet ru le rs have labeled a ll ju s t­ified expressions o f a la rm as "panic-m ongering” . For such state­ments as are now w ru ng from R M Star, tAe GPU ja ils and shoots Soviet w orkers and peas­ants as “ panic-mongers, spies and d iversion ists, etc.”

F o r the firs t tim e since the war began, Moscow dispatches, contain references to the appa lling losses among the re trea ting Soviet fo r­ces. “ On the Vyazma sa lien t the Russians have met w ith great losses,” reports the Moscow cor­respondent to the New Y ork Times, October 11. And the K rem lin censor dares not delete!

S T A L IN ’S BOASTSAs the Red A rm y suffers defeat

a fte r defeat, S ta lin tries to uphold his shattered prestige by b e lit t l­in g Soviet losses. A K re m lin spokesman recently claimed th a t the Nazis have suffered a three- to-one loss in tra ined manpower and a two-to-one loss in guns, tanks, etc... Hence the K re m lin boast; The more defeats, the sure r the fina l v ic to ry ! H it le r is d ra in ­ing away his forces, his resourc­es— th is has been the K re m lin ’s chief device fo r m in im iz in g the defeats.

S ta lin had boasted on Ju ly 3 in his radio address from Moscow:

"Comrades, our forces are num ­berless. The overweening enemy w ill soon learn th is to h is cost.”

T ha t illu s io n of inexhaustib le manpower, w h ich S ta lin has p ro­jected to cover up the results of the complete lack o f m il ita ry leadership, is exploded.

The la test Moscow dispatches now com plain, "the Germans have num erica l sup e rio rity . . . The Germans . . . t y sheer w e igh t and num erica l s treng th have been able to penetrate the Soviet lines.” (New Y ork Times, October 9).I t is precisely a fte r S ta lin openly

assumed a ll posts, in c lud in g th a t o f Commander-In-Chief, th a t the Red A rm y lias suffered its most te rr ib le defeats. He tr ie s to b ra­zen i t out. He him self, of course, has no th ing (o say in th is hour of cris is. B u t liis Vice-CommissaV of Fore ign A ffa irs , Lozovsky, beating on a ho llow drum to t r y and drown out the repercussions of the defeats, declares:

“ A fte r every so-called German death blow the Soviet U n ion seems to grow stronger.” (New Y ork Times, October 12).

The cu rre n t S ta lin is t campaign (Continued on page 2)

8 - T H E M I L I T A N T OCTOBER 18, 1941

CP Joins W ith Bosses In Denouncing StrikesT ra ito ro u s Leaders o f the Com m unist P a r ty R eady to P la y the Role o f S trikebreakers

Birds Of A FeatherB y DO N DO RE

The Communist Party has publicly joined forces with Roosevelt, W illiam Green, Sidney Hillman and the W all Street bosses in condemning strikes.

Carrying to a logical conclusion their position of uncon­ditional support of the Roosevelt capitalist government and its imperialist war, the Stalinists, in a featured editorial in theD a ily W orker, October 10, dc-' da re d :

. .P resident Roosevelt r ig h t ly declared th a t ‘ th is is n o t the tim e to take chances w ith the na tiona l sa fe ty th rough any stoppage o f defense w ork o r defense production ’ . . .”

In unam biguous s tr ikeb rea k ­in g term s, the D a ily W orker fu r th e r stated th a t i t opposed “ an y th in g th a t in te rfe res w ith production o f needed w a r sup­plies — w hether as a resu lt o f s tr ikes o r o f delays by the em­ployers. .

The S ta lin is ts make i t c lear th a t th e ir position on s trikes and m il ita n t labo r action is iden tica l w ith th a t o f the m ost reactionary , racke teering elements in the union movement. W ith undisguised ap­proval, the D a ily W orke r quotes A F L P resident W ill ia m Green’s speech to the A F L convention when he re ite ra ted his “ no -s tr ike ” p o licy and sta ted:

“ Here and now in p la in words I ca ll upon every m ember and every un ion in the A m erican Fed­era tion o f Labor to s tay on the job and keep defense production go ing a t f u l l b last. .E N D O R SE G R E E N ’S S T R IK E B R E A K IN G PRO G RAM

The po licy o f Green w h ich the Com m unist P a rty endorses is one o f d o w n r i g h t s trikeb reak ing . Green and h is colleagues o f the A F L E xecutive Council no t on ly gave s trike b re a k in g aid to the open-shop corpora tions aga inst the CIO in the F o rd M otor, In ­te rna tion a l H a rvester, and o ther s trikes, bu t in the name q f . “ na­tio n a l defense” they supported governm ent s t r i k e breaking aga inst the A F L m ach in ists in San Francisco, etc., and curbed every e f fo r t o f the A F L w orkers to s tr ik e fo r h igh e r wages aga inst the r is in g prices. •

T h is is the po licy and record w h ich the C om m unist P a rty now approves and undoubtedly w i l l seek to surpass. H ence fo rth , the C om m unist P a r ty w i l l seek to sm other every a tte m p t o f the w orkers to f ig h t fo r th e ir r ig h ts and conditions and w i l l aid or condone governm ent s tr ikeb rea k ­ing.

T h is is the po licy th a t the Com­m un is t P a rty its e lf condemned ju s t fo d r days before the outbreak o f the S ovie t-N azi w a r, when the D a ily W orker, June 18, declared:

“ Those n ine ty-n ine labor o f ­fic ia ls who yesterday released a sta tem ent u rg in g the P res i­dent to h u rry in to the im p e ria l­is t s laughter are tread ing the path o f the reactionary A F L leaders in the last W orld W ar.

“ I t is in te res tin g th a t these 99 o ffic ia ls ca ll upon the P res i­dent to ‘go fo rw a rd ’ aga inst ‘s lavery ’ . The P resident is go­in g fo rw a rd , b u t is fo r s lavery — slavery fo r the organized w orkers a t the po in t o f a bay­onet.”

Today, however, the D a ily

W orke r cyn ica lly asserts:“ When the labo r movement

expresses such a position (ag a ins t s tr ike s ) w ith regard to s tr ikes and endorses the re ­quest o f the P resident, i t is by no means abandoning labo r’s r ig h ts . On the con tra ry , i t is s treng then ing labo r’s cause; fo r the decisive issue today is the defeat o f H it le r and the de­fense o f the na tion .”

ECHOES LA B O R ’S JU D A S E S

T his is an exact echo o f the argum ents used1 by Green, Sidney H illm a n , and a ll the o ther s tr ik e ­b reaking stooges o f the em p loy­ing class in the la bo r movement, whom the C om m unist P a rty once co rre c tly denounced as “ the m is- Ieaders o f labor o f every s tripe — the W illia m Greens, the Sidney H illm ans, w lio have tr ie d to drag Labor captive and helpless in to W a ll S tree t’s w a r.” (D a ily W o rk ­er, M ay 29, 1941).

W h ile sm earing its e lf w ith the s tr ikeb rea k ing f i l t h o f the A F L leadership, the Com m unist P a rty unscrupulously a ttem pts to cov­e r the en tire movement o f indus­t r ia l unionism , the CIO, w ith the same muck.

Thus, i t presents the no -s trike sta tem ent o f H a rry Bridges to the convention o f the C a lifo rn ia State CIO as an expression o f the en tire CIO, by fa ls e ly decla ring in the “ no -s tr ike ” D a ily W’orker ed ito ria l th a t:

“ The CIO has reg is tered a s im ­i la r understand ing o f the g ra v ity o f the s itua tion , as m ost recen tly expressed in the ve ry im p o rta n t speech o f H a r ry B ridges to the convention o f the C a lifo rn ia State C IO .”

The CIO has no t “ reg is tered” any such “ s im ila r understand­in g ” . B u t i t is transp a re n tly c lear th a t the Com m unist P a r­ty forces in the CIO, together w ith the reactionary p ro -w ar H illm a n ite s , are go ing to a t­te m p t to p u t over such a p o li­cy a t the com ing na tiona l CIO convention.

The S ta lin is t w orkers them ­selves w i l l be am ong those who w ill s u ffe r w o rs t fro m th is t r a i­torous po licy. The rank-and-file trade union members and sym pa­th ize rs o f the C om m unist P a rty have been among the ch ie f v ic ­tim s o f the s trikeb rea k ing p o li­cies o f the Roosevelt A d m in is tra ­tion and its bureaucra tic labor stooges.CP R A N K -A N D -F IL E V IC T IM S OF ST R n f E B R E A K IN G

S ta lin is t trade -un ion is ts who played a lead ing ro le in the N o rth Am erican A v ia tio n , A llis -C h a lm - ers and o ther s trikes o f the past s ix m onths have fe lt the f u l l fu ry o f the armed violence and s tr ik e ­b reaking actions o f the govern­ment.

In the period o f these s trikes

the Com m unist P a rty declared:“ Above a ll, i t is evident th a t

the President's na tiona l emer­gency is intended to curb the r ig h ts o f labor and to crush a ll popu la r opposition to his w ar program .” (D a ily W orker, June 1, 1941).N ow the C om m unist P a rty

seeks to deprive labo r o f every r ig h t and weapon w ith the in ­fam ous decla ra tion ’.ha t Roose­v e lt’s no -s tr ike p rogram fo r o r­ganized la bo r “ is s treng then ing labo r’s cause.”

The D a ily W’o rke r makes the same assertions w h ich the cow­a rd ly and venal trade union bu­reaucra ts o f the Green i lk have always made to block m il ita n t la bor action.

“ . . .Stoppages in defense in ­dustries under present condi­tions also p lay in to the hands o f those em ployers. . . who seek fo r an excuse fo r no t tre a tin g w ith labo r on equal te rm s.”

B u t when has the boss class no t sought fo r excuses “ fo r no t tre a t­in g w ith labo r on equal te rm s ? ” The Com m unist P a rty w ants to avoid g iv in g “ excuses” to the em ployers — by c a p itu la tin g to them a ltoge ther.

FOR “ PRO PER FORM S OF S TR U G G LE ”

The S ta lin is ts dare n o t state th is in so m any words. They are forced to recognize the fa c t th a t the w orkers have no in ten tions o f su b m ittin g un cond itiona lly to the boss class in the in te rests o f “ na tiona l defense.” There fore, the Com m unist P a rty includes in its no -s trike sta tem ent ce rta in proposals calculated to g ive the im pression th a t the S ta lin is ts w ant to “ p ro tec t” labo r du ring the w a r-tim e reaction.

“ Labor should f in d ways to deal w ith em ployers who seek to exp lo it the w a r to make ex­o rb ita n t p ro fits and to refuse labo r its r ig h ts — b u t to deal w ith these em ployers in such a m anner as w il l not weaken the defense e ffo r t . . . Labor lead­ers have the resp on s ib ility to find proper fo rm s o f s trugg le in the present s itua tion .”

B u t w h a t “ p rope r fo rm s o f s tru g g le ” has labo r o ther than the s tr ik e m ethod and m il ita n t mass action? W h a t “ fo rm s o f s tru g g le ” w i l l the Greens. Tobins, W olls and H illm a ns — the on ly “ labo r leaders” the D a ily W o rk ­er has in m ind — provide now, when even in peace-time they have been the u n re m itt in g foes o f a ll fo rm s o f genuine labor s trugg le ?

L e t the C om m unist P a r ty te ll the Am erican w orkers w h a t these o ther “ fo rm s o f s tru g g le ” are! I t does not, and cannot say. No others exist.

A l l th a t the S ta lin is t leader­ship te lls the w orkers is th a t they m ust “ in s is t” th a t “ the govern­m ent assume the re sp on s ib ility of seeing th a t the r ig h ts o f labor are recognized. . . th a t the com­position o f m edia tion and o ther boards be o f such a character as to guarantee th a t la bo r’s r ig h ts are respected. .■ . th a t a ll a n ti- la b o r policies o f the govern-

Help Fight The Federal Prosecution

29 people—members of the Socialist Worke rs Party and the leaders of Motor Transport and Allied Workers Industrial Union, Local 544-CIO have been indicted in Minnesota on charges of “ conspiring to overthrow the government.”

This sweeping attack upon civ il liberties and labor’s rights must be repelled! The job of defending the victims of this prosecution is up to the workers themselves. Roose­velt’s administration isn’t subsidizing this defense project.

A id the defendants by g iv in g p ro m p tly and generously to th e ir Defense Fund.

S E N D Y O U R C O N T R IB U T IO N S T O : , ,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ The Governm ent prosecution has been con-

T H E C IV IL R IG H TS D E F E N S E ! demned by the

C O M M IT T E EI v l U

Room 809, 160 F if th Ave., New Y o rk C ity | LA B O R ’S N O N -P A R T IS A N L E A G U E

I enclose........................fo r your Defense Fund I U N IT E D A U T O W O R KERS

| A M E R IC A N C IV IL L IB E R T IE S U N IO NNam e ................................................................................

I N A T IO N

Address ....................................................................... I N E W R E P U B L IC

| and o ther labor and lib e ra l spokesmen

GREEN WILL SUPPORT WAR TO 'BITTER END'

Reactionary Republican Governor Stassen o f M innesota ( le f t ) , sponsor o f the sta te ’s slave- labo r” law , in a cheerfu l, in tim a te pose w ith A F L P resident W illia m Green and D avid Beck ( r ig h t ) , head o f the Sea ttle A F L Team sters, a t the A F L convention, which Stassen addressed. Green and Beck are no doub t showing pleasure over Stassen’s help in the Dan Tobin-Roosevelt- F B I d rive to smash m il ita n t Local 5L i-C IO , M inneapolis m otor tra n sp o rt w orkers union.

Stalin's Policy Means Doom For Soviet Union

( Continued f rom page 1) to get the A llie d im p e ria lis ts to open a W estern F ro n t is fu rth e r evidence to the con tra ry. S ta lin whines and pleads w ith the "de­mocracies” to save Iris regime by -creating a m il ita ry diversion.

Ohy two weeks ago, the S ta lin ­ists were proc la im ing tha t the promised m ateria l aid from B r i­ta in and Am erican had dealt a "death b low ” to H itle r . Now the K re m lin m ust provide the Soviet masses w ith some other illusion's. A n j i l i ta ry d ivers ion — th a t w i l l

m erit be com ple te ly abandoned. . . th a t a ll appeasement and a n t i­labor forces in the governm ent be weeded out. . .”

In a word, the Com m unist P a rty is asking the w o rk ing class to th ro w its e lf on its knees before th a t an ti- la bo r boss gov­ernm ent which, in the D a ily W o rke r’s own words o f not so long ago, “ is fo r s lavery — slavery fo r the w orkers a t the po in t o f a bayonet,” and to plead w ith the governm ent to accept the workers “ no t as sec­ond-class citizens bu t as equal partners.” (D a ily W orker, Oc­tober 10).

Such craven ro t insu lts the in ­te lligence o f every w orker. Roose­ve lt by his whole po licy has am ­p ly dem onstrated th a t he has no in tentions o f accepting labor as an “ equal p a rtn e r” o f the ru lin g class, and th a t he would ru th ­lessly oppose such an “ equal” pam ersh ip.

T lie S ta lin is t leaders are per­fe c tly aw are th a t th e ir “ no s tr ik e ” p rogram is no th in g bu t the im m ediate fo re ru nn e r o f a po licy o f open s trike b re a k in g aga inst those w orkers and unions which do “ in s is t” on th e ir r ig h ts and union conditions.

B u t S ta lin ism supports un­cond itiona lly the w a r policies and aims o f A m erican im p e ria l­ism . I t cannot do otherw ise than suppo rt uncond itiona lly every phase o f the ca p ita lis t im p e ria lis ts ’ program to crush labor.

Tw in C ity Sunday Forum

E very Sunday - 3 P. M.

10c : : Refreshments Prominent Speakers

(The fo rum s w il l be held re g ­u la r ly every Sunday, ra in or shine, a t 3 P. M. th roughou t the season.)

•919 M arque tte Avenue

M inneapolis, M inn.

"somehow” save the Soviet U n ion!W hat of the “ death blow” dealt

to H it le r — on paper — ju s t two weeks ago? “ Even the fu ll tide of the v ita l economic help cannot settle any th ing . . . The United States and B r ita in m ust assume the jo in t and im m ediate respon­s ib il i ty of an active W estern F ro n t,” pleads the D a ily Worker, October 14, under ins tructions from the K rem lin . These words conceal the im plied th rea t tha t S ta lin w i l l cap itu la te to H it le r i f such action is not forthcom ing im m ediate ly.

S ta lin cannot and w il l not th is tim e evade his own respons ib ility by b lam ing the defeats on " fa ith ­less a llies,” as he did when H itle r scrapped the Stalin-Nazi pact.

I t cannot be denied tha t the Soviet Union at the beginning of the war confronted Germany w ith at least equa lity in manpower, a tremendous concentration of me­chanized equipment, a h igher level of arm y morale, and the advantages of defensive positions behind na tu ra l and prepared fo r­tifications.

The defeats of the Red A rm y, the te rr ib le blows to the USSR, are the sole respons ib ility of S ta lin .

These defeats are the end- product of S ta lin ’s bloody purge of the Red A rm y in 1937-38, when he slaughtered o r im prisoned no less than 40,000 tra ined and expe­rienced officers. S ta lin beheaded the Red A rm y. Today, th a t army- faces the fascist foe w ith o u t leadership, w ith o u t a un ified s tra teg ic plan, w ith o u t com petent d irection. S ta lin has betrayed the en tire revo lu tiona ry movement, d isoriented and cut, to pieces the vanguard o f the w orld p ro le ta ria t. He thus deprived the - Soviet Union of its m ig h tie s t weapon against. H itle r , the revo lu tiona ry

class strugg le of the European w o rk in g class.

N ot a w ord has the K rem lin issued to arouse and guide the masses of Germany and the oc­cupied countries to revo lu tiona ry combat against Nazi im peria lism . A ll the explosive powers of revo lt contained in the peoples ground under H it le r ’s heel are being dis­sipated fo r lack of leadership and organization, w h ile the K rem lin rem ains s ile n t fo r fear of offend­ing its- “ dem ocratic” a llies.

The conclusion is inescapable:Unless there is a change in

po licy, the Soviet U n ion is doomed.

Unless the USSR ceases to stake e ve ry th in g on aid fro m the im peria lis ts , and issues a revo­lu tio n a ry appeal to the w orkers o f the w o rld , inc lud ing Germ any, the w orkers s tate faces disaster.

The doors of S ta lin ’s dungeons must be opened to release the tens of thousands of pro-Soviet ele­ments now deprived o f th e ir r ig h t to defend the Soviet Union. These pro-Soviet elements — who have proved l l ie i r lo ya lty and a b ility in the C iv il W ar of 1918-20 and in the construction of Soviet in ­dustry — can make up, a t least in part, fo r the present fa ta l lack of leadership.

The democratically-elected so viets m ust he revived to g i’ o the masses in it ia t iv e , re inv igora te th e ir morale aad organize them fo r the revo lu tiona ry defense of the w orkers ’ state.

Above all. the Soviet Union must ra lly the masses of Europe fo r p ro le ta rian revo lu tionary strugg le around the on ly banner which can have hope or m eaning fo r them in th is epoch o f the death agony o" w orld cap ita lism :

For the Socia list United States o f Europe!

T h is is the on ly herald of sal­vation fo r the Soviet. Union.

(Continued fro m page- In ­vention in New Orleans las t year on the m atter o f d r iv in g the racketeers out of the A F L . Last year the convention passed a re­solution w h ich lim ite d its e lf sole­ly to "dep lo ring ” the s itua tion .

A statem ent of the -Executive Council- last Monday declared tha t i t "disavowed and repudiated' racke teering in a ll forms, bm re ite ra ted its stand of last year th a t the A F L council could! noi “ in te rfe re in the adm in is tra tive a ffa irs of an autonomous in te r1 na tiona l organ ization.”

R A C K E T E E R IN G IS S U EI t is, of course, a well-known

fact tha t the reason racketeers continue to th r iv e in the A F L because the}’ arc one of the main props o f the A F L leadership. In order to r id the unions of racket­eers it, is necessary to have trade- union democracy, w h ich enables the rank and file themselves to oust crooks and hoodlums from the ranks of labor organizations.

B ut democracy is' the Jast tilin g wh ich the Greens, Tobins. Wolls. Freys, et al. w an t in t ile A FL. And so they w il l continue tc play ball w ith the racketeers w h t support them in power.

The Executive Councils state­ment on racketeering, com pla in­ed:

“ Some colum nists and labor- ha ting newspaper publishers de­mand tha t the officers of the Am erican Federation of Labor be dicta tors, and punish men, regard less o f law and la w fu l procedure, who they believe are g u ilty of the commission o f crimes.

"They demand tha t the officers of the Am erican Federation of Labor be d ic ta tors when they feel said officers should be dicta tors, bu t denounce them i f they as­sume d ic ta to r ia l powers.”

.DO N’T W A N T TO BE “ D IC TA TO R S ”

W h ile i t is true tha t the boss papers raise the question of labor racketeering in order to d iscred it the un ion movement, neverthless i t is the ob liga tion of honest un ion leaders to expose and he ir d rive out the racketeers.

T h is self-righteous discla im er o f any desire to be '“ d ic ta to rs ” : laughable. P ut fo r th by a persoi lik e Tobin, who a rb it ra r ily sett up personal receiverships ovei local unions o f the Teamsters and attem pts to oust by fla t any loca. leaders who oppose bis policies, such as the in <qse of Local 54-). th is “ re jec tion ” of “ d ic ta to rsh ip ” is no th in g but a piece of hyp ocrit­ica l e ffron te ry .

Moreover, Green, Tobin and Co. have never fa ile d to p lay the role of “ d ic ta to r” when i t come ic ousting honest, m ilita n t un ion is t* a t the request of these same an ti labor boss newspapers.

Confronted w ith the specific case of George E. Browne, pre­sident o f the Stage Employees and M otion P icture Operators Union, who is one of the most vicious racketeers in the union movement, t ile A F L Executive Council has taken a com pletely cowardly pc s ition .

Browne, as a vice-president of the A F L , has been one of the p il­la rs o f the Executive Council. H is c r im in a l ac tiv itie s have been known a ll along to h is A F L col­leagues.

Browne is now oil t r ia l in New York on ex to rtio n charges. The case against h im is so bad tha t the A F L tops are now forced' to disassociate themselves from him .

E V A D IN G T H E IS S U EThe devious means they in tend

to employ to r id themselves of the com prom ising Browne, is by reducing the number of posts on the Executive Council from 15,. to 13, w ith Browne being dropped.

The offic ia l exp lanation o f th is move is not that, the A F L leaders find it expedient to r id them ­selves o f the stench o f th e ir as­sociation w ith Browne, hut that, as Tobin stated, i t would "re su lt in greater efficiency.” I t seems, tha t since the Council was expan­ded from eight to 15 in 1934 they have had d iff ic u lty in “ ge tting a quorum .”

T lie continued prom inence of the racketeering isSuc in the A F L is in m arked contrast to the s i­tua tion in the CIO, where the question "o f racketeering has never had to be raised.

The on ly debate so fa r occurred over the recommendation of the Council to reduce the per-eapHa ta x o f tw o cents paid to the A F L treasu ry to l ' - i cents fo r unions w ith over 300,000 members.

Representatives of the sm aller unions protested th is d iscrim ina- to ry action a rgu ing th a t th is re­presented a move on the p a rt of the leaders of the b i6 unions to fu r th e r extend th e ir rig itfc con­tro l over the A FL.

W H Y T O B IN W A N T S R E D U C E D P E R -C A P IT A

Tobin took the floo r to support the per-capita tax amendment — his un ion and the Carpenters are the on ly unions large enough fu benefit by the measure — and claimed that lh is reduction was necessary because the A F L Teams­ters are “ figh ting on every fron t in the cou n try ” against “ subvers­ive elements, not real un ion lead­ers but men w ith drunken, b lind am bitions.”

Tobin was obviously speaking o f the g row ing revo lt in the ranks o f his un ion aga inst his ra ck ­eteering d ic ta to rsh ip . T h is revo lt, in itia te d by Local 544-CIO, is be­g inn ing to make big inroads into T ob in ’s “ k ingdom ” and his s ta te ­m ent is an ind ica tion th a t he feels h is throne to tte ring .

So far, not a single constructive proposal fo r the benefit of labor has occupied the a tten tion of the convention. I t doub tfu l tha t any w i l l be considered, except in th« m ost pe rfu nc to ry and indecisive fashion.

The bu rn ing issues con fron ting labor in w artim e — wage freez­ing, soaring prices, government: in te rven tion , an ti-labor legis la­tion , the g row ing assault on la ­bor’s r ig h ts — w i l l undoubtesly

p a ignored or passed o ff in mean­ingless resolutions-.

Subscriptions have been coming- in s low ly th is week. T h is is no doubt due to the fact tha t most of the p a rty ’s leading activ is ts have been a ttend ing the p a rty ’s plenum-conference in Chicago.

This week, however, we expect the p a rty members, spurred on by an in s p ir in g conference, to sene in so m any new subs th a t w e’l l have a hard tim e hand ling the in ­creased m a iling . B u t we won’i m ind th a t problem at a ll.

The record fo r our previous sub drives d u rin g the past period was so excellent tha t it leaves no doubt in ou r m inds tha t the p a rty w ill rise to the occasion in the pre­sent d rive to obtain 500 subs. A fte r ge tting nearly 2,000 subs at the beginning of the year, the pa rty should find th is new quota a cinch.

T h is week we received a very encouraging le tte r from the South Our M IL IT A N T agent in Mem phis, Tennessee; reports the in ­creasing in te rest w ith wh ich the M IL IT A N T is being received among w h ite as w e ll as negre trade un ionists.

U n til recently, the bu lk of our readers in M emphis have been Negro workers who, because of

th e ir special exp lo ita tion , have been more responsive to our ideas.

“ Several m ilita n t w h ite CIO boys are reading the paper re ­gu la rly now,” our Memphis cor­respondent reports. “ One, a boai- man, who is seldom in town gets a paper from me whenever fie Is in town. Another, who is very active in the CIO and seldom has much tim e to ta lk , always asks me i f I have a paper whenever he sees me. The last tim e I saw h im , he was ta lk in g to a group and p reparing to s ta rt a union meeting, but stopped to come over and ask me i f I had some IN ­D U S TR IA L ORGANIZERS which he wanted to give out to trnek drivers, and to get a M IL IT A N T .”

I f o tir people in the terror- ridden South can get such a good response to our paper, surely, In the com para tive ly freer atmos­phere of the N o rth and West, our comrades should have no groat d iff ic u lty in spreading the voice of the pa rty and se lling more subs.

DO Y O U H A V E A SUBSCRIP T IO N ? LO O K FO R OUR

S P E C IA L O FFE R

OCTOBER 18, 1941 T H E M 1 L I T A N T 9

Our Party's Guide To Immediate ActionText O f The SWP Plenum Resolution On " The Federal Prosecution And The Present Tasks O f The Party "Resolution Adopted by the P lenum-Conference o f the Socia list

W orkers P a rty , Oct. 11-12, 1941, in Chicago, 111.The prosecution launched aga inst our p a r ty by the Roosevelt

ad m in is tra tion can be understood in a ll its ram ifica tions on ly in the lig h t o f the h is to rica l s itua tion o f the A m erican im p e ria l­ists whom Roosevelt serves.

The A m erican bourgeoisie has v ir tu a lly dragged the un ­w ill in g Am erican people in to the w ar. Roosevelt’s rea l w a r aim s are expressed not in his dece itfu l 8 -po in t program , th'at shrive led carica tu re o f W ilson ’s 14 po ints, b u t in the recent declaration by Secretary o f N avy K nox th a t A ng lo -A m erican im p eria lism m ust police the w o rld “ fo r the next hundred years.” Roosevelt’s a im o f w o rld conquest, like H it le r ’s, is no t a sign o f s treng th bu t a m ark o f the desperate p lig h t o f w o rld cap ita lism and o f every one o f its component na tiona l states. The g ig a n tic de­velopm ent o f the forces o f production is d r iv in g a ll the im p e ria l­is ts to goals which lie beyond th e ir power o f a tta inm en t. H it le r and Roosevelt are a tte m p tin g to establish th e ir sway over a de­composing c a p ita lis t system — a system to rn by incessant im ­p e r ia lis t con flic ts , shaken by colossal social convulsions and head­ed fo r economic ru in and catastrophe.

The perm anent perspective o f m onopoly cap ita lism is w ar. U n t i l now cap ita lism evolved th rough periods o f peace punctuated by occasional w a rs ; henceforth in te rva ls o f peace, i f any, w i l l m ere ly punctuate the continual clashes o f the im p e ria lis t powers. None o f the im p e ria lis t ru le rs have any fa ith in th e ir fu tu re . Hence th e ir desperate methods o f c rush ing every fo rm o f oppo­s itio n a t home. Fascist te r ro r is not' an Ita lia n o r German weapon; the A m erican bourgeoisie w i l l likew ise a tte m p t to re ­s o rt to it . The w a rtim e repressions aga inst the labo r movem ent w i l l prove to be no t tem po ra ry expedients d icta ted by w a rtim e conditions, b u t the fo re ru nn e r o f d ic ta to r ia l and fasc is t move­ments o f the A m erican bourgeoisie.

I t is in the l ig h t o f th is perspective — the perspective o f an epoch o f wars and revo lu tions — th a t we m ust consider the problem s which con fron t the p a rty as a resu lt o f the Federal prosecution.

THE PROSECUTION AND THE DEFENSE1. Th is prosecution arises im m ed ia te ly ou t o f the federa l

governm ent’s in te rven tion on the side o f A F L Team sters’ C h ie f Danie l Tobin aga inst Local 544-CIO. B u t the M inneapolis d rive rs

and Tobin clashed in the f irs t place over the re fusa l o f the T ro t­sky is t leadership o f Local 544 to go along w ith Tobin in subord in­a tin g the trade un ion movement to the w a r p rog ram o f the Roosevelt ad m in is tra tion . Thus the governm ent’s “ in te rven tion ” is on its own behalf. Th is b low aga inst our p a rty is b u t the f irs t o f many to come aga inst every section o f the labo r movem ent w h ich resists the reactionary consequences o f the governm ent’s w a r program . We are the f irs t to be attacked because we are the on ly genuine a n ti-c a p ita lis t p a r ty and the re fo re the on ly genuine a n ti-w a r p a rty . The object is to d rive the p a rty in to il le g a lity and, i f possible, to silence it .

The po licy o f the p a rty in defending its e lf in court, ob­lig a to ry fo r a ll p a rty members under ind ic tm ent, can on ly be one th a t is w o rth y o f our movement and our tra d it io n : no attem pt, to w ater down o r evade our revo lu tiona ry doctrine, bu t on the con tra ry , to defend i t m ilita n t ly . A t the same tim e we m a in ta in th a t we have a legal r ig h t under the B il l o f R ights to propagate our princip les.

2. The legal defense in cou rt and in the arena o f public opin ion is strengthened by the fa c t th a t both the Socia list W o rk ­ers P a rty and Local 544-CIO and a ll the defendants have agreed to the launching o f a broad defense cam paign by the C iv il R ights Defense Com m ittee. Such a un ited defense w i l l obviate m any d ifficu ltie s . I t w il l d ram atize the fundam enta l connection be­tween the r ig h ts o f our p a rty and the dem ocratic r ig h ts o f the trade union movement.

3. Despite th is prosecution and others w h ich m ay fo llow , our p a rty w i l l no t surrender its r ig h t to fun c tion as a legal p a r­ty . The Plenum Conference emphasizes to a ll p a r ty members the fundam enta l im portance o f a determ ined f ig h t fo r the p a r ty ’s le g a lity . The question o f w hethe r the p a rty is lega l o r ille g a l w i l l no t be settled fo r us by a conviction in th is M innesota case.

4. Qne o f the m ain methods o f defending the p a r ty ’s lega l­i ty is to p a rtic ip a te wherever possible in elections. The excellent election cam paigns a t present being conducted by our New Y o rk and N ew ark organ izations are an example o f w ha t can be done in th is period. We m ust record the fa c t th a t too o ften in the past we have neglected electora l a c tiv ity . We m ust now g ive p rim a ry a tten tion to p a rtic ip a tin g under our own name and w ith our own candidate in election fig h ts . T h is w i l l serve no t on ly to b rin g our p rogram before the masses, b u t render more d if f ic u lt the governm ent’s a tte m p t to repress us.

INTERNAL PREPARATION OF THE PARTY5. A n in tensive cam paign is required fo r the in te rn a l p rep­

a ra tion o f the p a r ty to w ith s ta nd the blow o f the federa l prosecu­tion . The on ly people who can stand up under th is k ind o f gov­ernm enta l pressure are people who have an h is to rica l outlook and a pro found understand ing o f w h a t they are f ig h t in g fo r. M ere activ ism , sometimes su ffic ie n t fo r day to day w ork , is no t enough to stand up under the blows o f persecution. We have on th is score the negative example o f the I.W .W . cadres a fte r the la s t w ar. O ut o f 150 or more I.W .W . men who w ent to Leaven­w orth , on ly a sm all hand fu l re ta ined th e ir a c t iv ity in the move­m ent a fte rw a rd . T h is was n o t because they were poor m a te ria l; the y were genuine m ilita n ts , ve ry courageous people. B u t they lacked the theore tica l equipm ent to comprehend the com plexities o f the w a r s itua tion . The ph ilosophy o f the I.W .W . proved in ­adequate to susta in them and they fe ll by the wayside. The d iffe rence between a trade union m ilita n t and a p o lit ic a lly edu­cated T ro ts k y is t is im m easurable; i t is qu a lita tive . The best o f yeste rday’s trade union m ilita n ts are today succum bing under the pressure o f the w a r s itua tion . O nly those w i l l surv ive who are no t on ly ro-oted in the w o rk in g class movement b u t who have the M a rx is t ou tlook to see beyond the present d ifficu ltie s to the new horizons.

6. The revo lu tiona ry p a rty , in order to successfully meet a l l serious tests, requires such an education o f the p a rty m em ­bers and such a selection o f its lead ing people th a t the p a rty can rem a in f irm under a ll conditions. . T h is requires h igh stand­ards fo r p a r ty m em bership: standards o f a c tiv ity , o f d iscipline, o f financia l con tribu tions, o f devotion to le a rn ing the h is to ry and theo ry o f the movement, etc. I t requires even h igh e r stand­ards fo r its leading s ta ff. The p a rty wh ich aim s a t the conquest o f power fo r the socia lis t tra n s fo rm a tio n o f society cannot op­era te w ith casual members and d ille ta n te members. Members and leaders a like m ust conduct themselves as d isc ip lined soldiers in the a rm y o f the p ro le ta rian revo lu tion . Leaders m ust set the example o f com m unist devotion, lo y a lty and discipline.

System atic education o f the p a rty is d icta ted by the needs fo r new p a rty leadership. New cadres m ay have to take the place o f im prisoned comrades. The new opportun ities open to the p a rty demand an expansion o f the leadership o f the p a rty . Given new responsib ilities, comrades h ith e rto unnoticed w i l l prove themselves w o rth y o f positions o f leadership. U nder the tes t o f fire , new leaders w i l l come fo rw a rd .

7. The Plenum-Conference calls the a tten tion o f a ll p a rty members to the necessity fo r system atic p o litica l w o rk and re ­c ru it in g fo r the p a r ty in the fac tories , the shops and in the unions. In the previous period we have successfully ca rried th rough an extensive movem ent in the p a r ty to in te g ra te our young comrades in in d u s try and in the unions. In th a t period

o f pene tra tion in to the fac to ries and unions, i t was necessary to caution young comrades no t to be too p re c ip ita te in th e ir p a rty - p o lit ic a l a c tiv ity u n t il they had f irm ly established themselves in th e ir new environm ent. T h is cam paign has been ca rried through successfully. W e have ra d ica lly changed the cha racter o f the com position o f the p a rty . Today we can say th a t the average m ember o f the p a r ty is a trade un ion is t. However, hav ing suc­ceeded in in te g ra tin g themselves in to in du s try , and the trade un ion movement, our comrades are now en te ring a new stage in th e ir w ork. A type o f a c tiv ity th a t does no t rise above trade un ion levels cannot be a perm anent task. Once the comrades are in tegra ted in the unions they must begin serious and sys­tem atic p a rty -p o lit ic a l w ork.

Mere trade union w ork , in its e lf, does no t am ount to much — especially in th is epoch o f w ars and revo lu tions. W e have to begin re c ru it in g fo r the p a rty . T h is can on ly be done i f the p a rty fra c tio n s w o rk system atica lly and re g u la r ly . There are no ex­ceptions to th is law . A l l comrades, wherever there are tw o o r more together, m ust w ork as a fra c tio n . The aim o f fra c tio n w o rk is not m ere ly the w o rk in g ou t o f positions on the “ h igh p o lit ic s ” o f the unions but, more concretely, the task o f teach­in g fe llo w w orkers and union bro thers the princ ip les and g rea t goal o f communism and re c ru it in g them in to the p a rty .

AGAINST CONCILIATION W ITH RENEGADES8. O ur p a rty m ust be absolute ly un re len ting in its w a rfa re

aga inst any ex is ting o r a r is in g c e n tris t groups (Shachtm anites, etc.) Lenin, never much o f a u n ity shouter, became especially in tra n s ig e n t d u rin g the f irs t w o rld w a r as the fundam enta l cleav­age between the Bolsheviks and the M ensheviks revealed its e lf more c learly . So now m ust we m a in ta in the cohesion o f the genu­ine revo lu tion is ts du rin g th is w a r. T ro ts k y said the f ig h t be­tween the p ro le ta rian m a jo r ity o f the p a r ty and the pe tty -b ou r­geois opposition was s im ila r in m any respects to the h is to rica l s trugg le between the Bolsheviks and the M ensheviks in the Rus­sian movement. In jus tice to the Russian Mensheviks, T ro ts k y also said, they appear as revo lu tiona ry heroes in com parison w ith the w retched fac tio n o f Burnham , Shachtman and Co.

We m ust educate cadres who are n o t a fra id o f iso la tion and who do no t seek fic tit io u s s treng th th rough numbers a t the ex­pense o f p rogram m atic c la r ity . There are m any members o f the p a r ty who did no t live th rough the experiences o f ou r in tra n s i­gent program m atic f ig h t in iso la tion (1928-1934). T h a t iso la tion was d ic ta ted by the necessity to consolidate the revo lu tiona ry nucleus on the basis o f a program . Ill-considered “ u n ity ” m aneuv­ers could on ly have compromised th is basic task. The Lovestone- ites in those years approached us again and again fo r “ un ited fro n ts ” , “ common action” , etc., as a bridge to u n ity . Had we

Plenum Greetings Sent To Natalia Trotsky

The fo llo w in g is the message o f s o lid a rity sent to N a ta lia Sedov T ro tsky in Coyoacan, M exico, by the N a tion a l P lenum - Conference o f the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty , m eeting October 11- 12 in Chicago, I ll in o is :

“ W e are closing th is evening the best attended and most enthusiastic conference in our h is to ry . The unanimous vote on the po litica l reso lu tion which is based on the li fe teachings o f Comrade Leon T ro tsky expressed our f irm un ity . A s we success­fu lly conclude our w ork, we send you our w arm est comradely greetings.

C. C H A R LE S , Chairm an o f Session, P lenum-Conference Socia list W orkers P a rty ”

Uhitcd w ith these rig h tw a rd -m o v in g Centrists in the illu s o ry hope o f g a in ing s treng th by numbers, oUr forces would have been weakened, no t strengthened. When actua l opportun ities fo r u n ity on a sound basis did occur, w ith the Am erican W orkers P a rty (1935) and w ith the le f t w in g o f the S oc ia lis t P a rty (1936-1937) we proved able, thanks to our p rog ram m atic firm ness, to- take fu l l advantage o f the opportun ities to streng then the revo lu tiona ry ranks. Th is can be the case also in the fu tu re w ith groups o f S ta lin is t w orkers who tu rn tow ard the re vo lu tio n a ry road. The cond ition fo r a f r u i t f u l in te rven tion on ou r p a rt in a re vo lu tion ­a ry development among the S ta lin is t workers, o r the po litica l aw akening o f any o ther group o f serious w orkers, is the p ro h ib i­tion in ou r own ranks o f any sen tim ent o f conc ilia tion tow a rd the degenerate petty-bourgeo is clique o f Shachtman and Co.

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST WAR AND FASCISM9. The s tru g g le aga inst the im p e ria lis t w a r overshadows

a ll o ther questions. The coun try is being maneuvered into- w a r by the Am erican im p e ria lis ts and th e ir governm ent, and the labor bureaucracy is successfully th ro t t l in g any mass labo r opposi­tion . R evo lu tionary M arx ism has always recognized th a t the s trugg le aga inst im p e ria lis t w a r is iden tica l w ith the s trugg le aga inst cap ita lism , and th a t the on ly w ay to do aw ay w ith w a r is to do- aw ay w ith the c a p ita lis t order. Th is fundam enta l con­ception is con firm ed by the w ay in which, despite the desires o f the overw helm ing m a jo r ity o f the country, the c a p ita lis t reg im e is succeeding in d ragg ing the coun try in to w a r. O n ly by the ove rth row o f cap ita lism , by the establishm ent o f a W orkers and Farm ers Governm ent, can th is cou n try be led ou t o f the w a r to a peace based on socialism .

10. O ur P ro le ta rian M il ita ry Policy, adopted by our las t Plenum-Conference (Septem ber 23-27, 1940) w ill provide the p rac tica l basis fo r ag ita tio n when “ shooting w a r” begins. To the demand o f the chauvin ists in the labo r movement th a t the coun try m ust be defended aga inst fascism, we answer th a t the best way to defend the w o rk ing class against both fo re ign and domestic fascists is th rough m ilita ry tra in in g under con tro l o f the trade unions. We do not place any tru s t in the “ a n ti-fa sc is t” pretensions of; the ca p ita lis t governm ent. O nly the w o rk in g class can smash fascism. W e do ho t t ru s t the reactionary o ffice r caste. We demand federal ap p rop ria ­tions fo r m il ita ry tra in in g camps to be operated under the con tro l o f the tiad e unions, and special o ffice rs ’ tra in in g

camps operated under the con tro l o f the trade unions where w orkers can be tra ined as officers. O ur P ro le ta rian M i l i ­ta ry Policy serves to educate the workers, to bridge the gap between th e ir present confused bu t a n ti-fa sc is t sentim ents and our program fo r the e x tirp a tio n o f fascism and its cap i­ta lis t roots. The Plenum-Conference in s tru c ts the N a tion a l Com m ittee to republish in pam phlet fo rm our Resolution and o ther published m a te ria l on P ro le ta rian M il i ta ry Policy and to conduct a system atic a g ita tio n to popularize it .

TASKS IN THE TRADE UNIONS11. A s the w a r develops, ever more s ig n ifica n t w i l l become

the s trugg le fo r the independence o f the trade unions in re la tion to the ca p ita lis t sta te and the s trugg le fo r trade union democracy.

Throughou t the w orld , in a ll the c a p ita lis t countries d u rin g the period since the f irs t W orld W ar, we have seen a “ g ro w in g tog e the r” o f the state w ith the trade unions. W hether “ n e u tra l” , Social-Dem ocratic, S ta lin is t, or A na rch is t, the trade union lead­ersh ip has adapted its e lf to the c a p ita lis t s ta te and seeks its co­operation. In the eyes o f the trade union bureaucracy, the ch ie f task o f the unions liej> in the utop ian p rogram o f “ fre e in g ” the ca p ita lis t s tate fro m the embrace o f cap ita lism and p u llin g the state over to the side o f the labor bureaucracy. T h is has hap­pened also in A m erica, to both the CIO and A F L . T hrough the N LR B , the N a tion a l Defense M edia tion Board, federa l conc ili­ators, etc., close links have been forged between the state power and the trade union bureaucracy. A n in te g ra l p a rt o f th is tend­ency are the steps taken jo in t ly by the governm ent and the labo r bureaucracy to w ipe ou t in the unions a ll fo rm s o f trade union democracy and to expel a ll revo lu tion is ts fro m the unions. These are the on ly conditions under which m onopoly cap ita lism , w ith its centra lized command both in economic li fe and govern­m ent, can p e rm it the continued existence o f the trade unions. Thus the s trugg le fo r independence o f the trade unions and fo r trade union democracy becomes in creas ing ly a s tru g g le w h ich on ly the revo lu tion is t can lead.

The trade unions o f our tim e can e ither serve as in s tru ­ments o f im p e ria lis t cap ita lism fo r the subord ina tion and d isc ip lin ing o f workers or, on (he con tra ry , the trade unions can become ins trum en ts o f the revo lu tiona ry movement o f the p ro le ta ria t. No th ird a lte rn a tive is open to the trade unions in th is epoch. The n e u tra lity o f the trade unions tow ard the ca p ita lis t sta te is com plete ly and ir re tr ie v a b ly a th in g o f the past, gone together w ith tra d itio n a l bour­geois democracy.

The s trugg le in the trade unions is essentia lly a s trugg le fo r in fluence over the w o rk in g class. Despite the tendency to ­w ard degeneration o f the trade unions and t h e ir ‘g ro w in g together* w ith the im p e ria lis t state, our w o rk w ith in the trade unions be­comes even m ore im p o rta n t than before. F o r the trade unions rem ain the m ain arena in which the re v o lu tio n is t can contend w ith the agents o f the bourgeoisie fo r the leadership o f the w o rk in g class. The agents o f the boui-geoisie cannot b u t appear henceforth as exponents o f state dom ination o f the unions and opponents o f trade union democracy. We become the banner bearers fo r the freedom o f the unions and fo r woi-kers’ democ­racy w ith in the unions. P recise ly because m onopoly cap ita lism is less and less w ill in g to- reconcile its e lf to the independence o f trade unions, the labo r agents o f m onopoly cap ita lism w i l l become less and less able to m a in ta in th e ir in fluence over the g re a t masses in the unions. T h a t is w hy we sha ll succeed in p ro v in g our r ig h t to the leadership o f the trade unions as defend­ers o f trade union independence and trade union democracy.

FOR DEFENSE OF THE SOVIET UNION12. O ur s trugg le aga inst the w a r p rogram o f Am erican

im p eria lism and its consequences is a lready m eeting w ith in te r- est and response in the ranks o f the S ta lin is ts . The catastrophic consequences o f S ta lin is t leadership in the N az i-S ov ie t w a r m ust increase the present fe rm e n t among the w orkers h ith e rto in f lu ­enced by S ta lin ism . The S ta lin is t move tow a rd a un ited f ro n t w ith H illm a n and the A F L bureaucracy aga inst a ll opponents o f Roosevelt’s w a r p rogram is extrem e ly d is ta s te fu l to the m any Com m unist P a rty m ilita n ts who see no reason to change th e ir opin ion about H illm a n , W illia m Green and Co. The fu r th e r consequences o f the Roosevelt w a r p rogram — s trike -b reak ing , a ttem pts to place a ce ilin g on wages, p r io r it ie s unem ploym ent, etc. — w i l l make the S ta lin is t line increas ing ly repugnan t to the thousands o f genuine m ilita n ts whom the Com m unist p a r ty s t i l l has w ith in its ranks. These m ilita n ts w i l l f in d in us, i f we on ly take the troub le to reach them, the re vo lu tio n a ry a lte rn a tive to the S ta lin is t be traya l.

13. O ur p rogram fo r re vo lu tio n a ry defense o f the Soviet Un ion has made its w ay in to the S ta lin is t ranks despite a ll the f ra n t ic a ttem pts o f the K re m lin ’s h ire ling s to p o rtra y us as ene­mies o f the Soviet U n ion. O nly our program expla ins to the per­plexed S ta lin is t w o rkers why, despite a ll the heroism and the su­p e rio r m orale o f the Red A rm y and Soviet masses, the N az i w a r machine has continued to w in v ic to ries over the Soviet U nion. T ro ts k y ’s analysis exp la ins to these w orkers how S ta lin beheaded the Red A rm y and le f t the Soviet U n ion leaders ih in d u s try and a g ric u ltu re ; every day’s headlines on ly con firm the T ro ts k y is t

Plenum-Conference Inspires Party Ranks(Continued from page 1)

tio n Press Fund, am ounting to $13,000, to be collected th rough subscrip tions fro m the branches.

TO H O LD R E F E R E N D U M ON D E C L A R A T IO N OF P R IN C IP L E S

A revised d ra ft o f the Declara­tio n o f P rinc ip les was presented by the N a tion a l Com m ittee fo r the consideration o f the C onfer­ence. The Conference did no t take fina l action cm the d ra ft bu t adopted the N.C.’s recommenda­t io n to subm it the d ra ft as amend­ed to a discussion and re fe rend­um vote by the p a r ty m em ber­ship.

I t was recalled th a t a special Convention in New Y o rk la s t De­cember had revoked the Declara­t io n o f P rinc ip les a fte r the pas­sage o f the reac tiona ry Voorhis A c t and th a t the N a tion a l Com­m itte e had been ins truc ted to prepare a revised d ra ft.

Ir t the new d ra ft , the Declara­t io n was strengthened and im -

proved, b rough t up to date in the lig h t o f recent events and in ­cluded the la s t g re a t theoretica l con tribu tions o f Comrade Leon T ro ts k y on the tra n s itio n p ro ­g ram , labo r p a rty , m il ita ry p o li­cy, and the tasks o f m ilita n ts in the labo r movement in the period o f im p e r ia lis t w ar.

A ltho ug h the p a r ty had been forced by reac tiona ry le g is la tio n to d is a ffilia te fro m the F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l w h ich i t had helped to create as the w o rld p a rty o f •ocia list revo lu tion , the new Dec­la ra tio n o f P rinc ip les re a ffirm s the P a rty ’s adherence to the p r in ­ciples o f in te rna tiona lism and s o lid a r ity w ith the w o rkers o f the w orld .

E N C O U R A G IN G REPORT ON A ID FRO M CRDC

The p o lit ic a l reso lu tion adopted by the Conference pointed ou t th a t the lega l defense o f the 28 defendants in the M inneapolis t r ia l has been g re a tly s treng th -

ened “ by the fa c t th a t both the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty and L o ­cal 544-CIO and a ll the defend­ants have agreed to the launch­ing o f a broad defense cam paign by the C iv il R ights Defense Com­m ittee .”

T h is was verified in an in fo rm a ­tion a l re p o rt to the delegates on the cam paign fo r the defendants being conducted by the C iv il R ights Defense Com m ittee and the g ro w in g response i t was re ­ce iv ing in trade union and libe ra l circles especially.

N o t on ly have a la rge num ber o f p rom inen t ind iv idua ls jo ined the N a tion a l Com m ittee and lo ­cal branches o f the defense move­ment, and n o t on ly is the A m e r­ican C iv il L ibe rties U n ion co-op- ei-ating w ith the C iv il R igh ts De­fense Com m ittee on th is case, bu t also a la rge num ber o f trade unions and trade un ion leaders have expressed th e ir so lid a rity w ith the defendants by g iv in g , and p ledg ing to g ive more, m a­

te r ia l and financ ia l support to th e ir defense.

In the opening session, the P le­num -Conference sent a te legram to C lara Dunne, w idow o f G ran t Dunne, expressing the sorrow o f the delegates a t h is death and th e ir desire to aid and com fo rt her who had been “ the life lo n g companion o f ou r fa lle n com­rade.”

In the concluding session, an­other te legram was sent to Comrade N a ta lia Sedov T ro tsky , in w h ich the delegates conveyed th e ir revo lu tiona ry greetings and pledged to c a rry fo rw a rd the s trugg le fo r socialism .

REASO N FO R T H E H IG H M O R A LE

The delegates and v is ito rs who sat th rough the sessions o f the Conference le f t w ith a fee lin g o f unqua lified confidence in the fu ­tu re o f the p a r ty and its a b ility to cope w ith the g re a t tasks be­fore it . T h is fe e lin g was n o t the re s u lt o f “ pep ta lk s ” o r ex trava ­

ga n t overestim ations o f the p a r­ty ’s forces and in fluence, fo r there was no trace o f e ithe r in the en tire Conference. On the con tra ry , everyone present under­stood th a t a serious f ig h t was ahead, and th a t the forces a r ­rayed aga inst the p a r ty are po w ­e rfu l, determ ined and vicious.

The s p ir it o f revo lu tio n a ry op­tim ism perm eated a ll the p ro ­ceedings and a ll the discussion. F o r the delegates knew th a t the Socia list W orkers P a rty rep re ­sents the fu tu re society w h ile its enemies represent the ba nkru p t­cy o f the present c a p ita lis t order; th a t i t has the on ly co rrect p ro ­gram fo r f ig h t in g aga inst w a r and fascism , and th a t i t has a l­ready collected toge ther under its banner a group o f serious men and women who hesitate a t no personal sacrifices to c a rry out th a t p rogram fo r the libe ra tion o f m ankind.

The com ing months, they knew,would provide the test fo r the

A m erican T ro ts k y is t movement. They were confident th a t the p a r­ty w ould rise and meet th a t test in the best re vo lu tio n a ry t ra d i­tion , and then move fo rw a rd , w ith increased support and respect fro m the w o rk in g class, to the fina l s trugg le fo r socialism .

C. P. Backs La Guardia

(Continued fro m page 1) lias taken its place where i t has always r ig h t ly belonged, — openly In the camp of the boss class —- the workers o f New Y ork can have no doubt about w h ich can­didate supports the in terests of labor and represents tho indepen­dent class program of the w o rk ­ers. He is James P. Cannon, our T ro tsky is t A n ti-W a r nominee fo r mayor.

contention th a t S ta lin ism is incapable o f defending the Soviet U n ion. O nly our analysis o f the a n ti-re vo lu tio n a ry character o f S ta lin ism expla ins to the w orkers w hy the K re m lin has refused to arouse the masses o f Europe and underm ine H it le r in Ger­m any by the revo lu tiona ry weapons w h ich Len in and T ro ts k y so successfully employed in 1917-1920.

When the w orkers now under S ta lin is t in fluence rea lize the extent o f the continuous defeats sustained by the Soviet Union, there is g reat danger th a t they w ill f a l l in to despair and pass iv ity , fo r they w ill be unable to exp la in to them ­selves why the w orkers sta te is unable to defend its e lf suc­cessfu lly against a fasc is t regim e. Unless these w orkers are reached in tim e by us, th e ir d is illus ionm ent may lead them to drop ou t o f the revo lu tiona ry movement a ltoge ther. We have the u rgen t task o f saving these w orkers fo r the revo­lu tio n a ry movement by p repa ring them ideo log ica lly in due tim e.

14. O ur p rog ram fo r the revo lu tiona ry defense o f the So­v ie t U n ion has been confirm ed no t on ly aga inst the S ta lin is ts , bu t also aga inst a ll the pe tty-bourgeo is renegades who denied the Soviet U n ion its cha racter as a w orkers s tate and Who refhsed to defend it . The unparalle led m ora le w ith which the Red A rm y and the Soviet U n ion masses ra llie d to the defense o f the w o rk ­ers s tate can on ly be expla ined by ou r analysis o f the class char­acte r o f the Soviet U n ion. The Soviet masses, despite the op­pression w h ich they are under fro m the K re m lin bureaucracy, proved to be w ise r p o lit ic a lly than the “ cu ltu red ” pe tty -b o u r­geois snobs who abandoned the Soviet U n ion ; the masses were able to d is tingu ish between the Soviet U n ion and S ta lin ism even i f the Eastmans, Hooks, Burnham s and Shachtmans did not. The Soviet masses th re w themselves in to the s trugg le aga inst the N azi w a r machine as no “ dem ocratic” coun try — France, E n g ­land, Czechoslovakia, N o rw ay, etc. — has been able to . The So­v ie t masses understood th a t H it le r was a ttack ing , no t m ere ly the K re m lin , bu t the nationalized p ro pe rty established by the Oc­tober revo lu tion . T ha t th is unprecedented upsurge o f m orale has proved in su ffic ie n t to h a lt the Nazi w a r m achine is a tra g ic con­firm a tio n o f the fa c t th a t on ly under a revo lu tiona ry leadership can the w o ike rs s tate be saved. B u t i f the Soviet U n ion should fa ll, th a t loss w il l only, crown the crim es o f the pe tty-bourgeo is renegades who tu rned th e ir backs on the Soviet U n ion in its hour o f danger.

15. The h is to ry o f the las t tw o decades dem onstrates th a t the Am erican w o rk in g class w i l l have its chance to conquer state power before the rise o f a mass fasc is t movement. The rise o f fascism and its seizure o f power has occurred on ly where the conservative labo r parties (Socia l-D em ocratic and S ta lin is t) p re ­vented the p ro le ta r ia t fro m u t il iz in g a revo lu tiona ry s itua tion . B u t f ir s t came revo lu tiona ry s itua tions in I ta ly (1919-1921) and Germ any (1918-19, 1923-24, 1929-31). O n ly when the w o rke rs ’ parties fa iled to lead society ou t o f the impasse did i t become possible fo r the fascists to re c ru it mass movements w ith which to crush the w o rke rs ’ o rgan izations. T h is is the h is to rica l law w hich is dem onstrated by the h is to ry o f th is epoch o f w ars and revo lu tions.

A nd th is law provides the answer to the question w hethe r fascism can be prevented by the A m erican w o rk in g class. Fas­cism can and w i l l be prevented by the bu ild in g o f a s trong revo­lu tio n a ry p a rty able to to u tiliz e the revo lu tio n a ry op po rtu n ity . T h a t is the g re a t h is to ric task o f the Socia list W orkers P a rty . W e sha ll have our chance. A n d we sha ll no t m iss i t .

— 4 — T H E M I L I T A N T OCTOBER 18, 1941

A Farewell To Grant Dunne -- Worker-Warrior" W e Shall W rite His Name O n The Banner O f His Union And His Party" , Says Dobbs In Funeral Address

(Speech o f F a rre ll Dobbs, N a tion a l Labor Secretary, S.W.P., a t the fun e ra l o f G ran t Dunne, M inneapolis, October 7, 1941).

G ran t John Dunne was born June 21, 1893, on a fa rm east o f L it t le F a lls , M innesota. He w ent th rou gh e igh th grade in a one-room schoolhouse in the country . Soon a fte r the tu rn o f the cen tu ry the Dunne fa m ily moved to M inneapolis. G ran t w ent to South H igh school fo r one year, and then, like so m any sons o f the w o rk in g class, had to forego schooling and go to w ork . He got his f i r s t job as a b i ll c le rk fo r the R a ilw ay E x ­press company. D u rin g the nex t few years he held various jobs in M inneapolis.

On February 6, 1918, ho was m arried to C lara Houck. They had fo u r sons, C la ire , John, R ichard and Russell. F ive m onths a fte r his m arriage G ran t was inducted in to the 3rd P ioneer In fa n try , and one m onth la te r he found h im se lf in the f ro n t ­line trenches in France.

H is f irs t g re a t lesson in li fe he learned fro m the im p e ria l­is t w a r, w h ich broke up his life , took h im fro m h is w ife who was w ith th e ir f irs t son, and propelled h im , un tra ined, in to the m aelstrom o f w ar. G ran t served in the f ro n t line a t the A r - gonne sector fro m September 26, 1918, to the A rm is tice .

On the ve ry eve o f the A rm is tice he was tra n sp o rtin g m un itions to the f ro n t lines when he was caught w ith o ther soldier's in a te r r if ic explosion a t an am m un ition dump. G ran t sustained a severe case o f shellshock. He was hospita lized in France and brought back to the U n ited States on a stre tcher.

On October 21. 1919, G ran t was released fro m F o rt S ne lling w ith an honorable discharge. H is recovery fro m his w a r wounds was slow, and he su ffe red m any relapses, especially in the la s t year o f his life when the existence o f another W orld W ar b rough t back to h im the su ffe rin g s he saw and experienced in the f irs t W o rld W ar.

In 1920 he obtained em ploym ent as an office w o rke r in M inneapolis. He was ve ry conscious o f the fa c t th a t his lack o f fo rm a l schooling was a handicap, and he took up the task o f self-education. D iscovering a ta le n t fo r figures, he im m ersed h im se lf in the study o f m athem atics. L a te r he entered the construction in du s try , w o rk in g his w ay up to the post o f execu­tive secre tary o f a la rge construction f irm , then serv ing the firm as branch m anager in St. Louis and W ashington, D. C. S t il l la te r, he was employed as an expert es tim a to r w ith a p lum b ing supply company in St. Louis, where his expert kno w l­edge o f the in d u s try was fre q u e n tly consulted by others.

A Victim of Capitalism, in Peace and WarThen came the economic crash o f 1929. G rant, lik e m illio ns

o f o ther persons, was th row n in to the ranks o f the unemployed. In 1918 he had been a v ic tim o f the f irs t im p e ria lis t W orld W ar. In 1929 he became an economic v ic tim o f th a t same system th a t b rought about the F irs t and Second W orld W ars. He searched everywhere fo r w ork, b u t no w o rk was to be found.

In 1931 he b rough t his fa m ily back to M inneapolis. T he ir savings were gone. The fa m ily w en t on re lie f.

How did i t come about th a t he and m illio ns o f others wanted to w o rk bu t could find no' w o rk to pe rfo rm ? G ran t asked h im se lf th is question. He again applied h im se lf to study. He found' the system o f cap ita lism to be responsible fo r the g rea t il ls o f m ankind. He found the answer in the w orking-class movement. He came to understand the need fo r trade unions and fo r trade un ion s trugg le . He came to- see the necessity fo r w ork ing-c lass p o lit ic a l action. Fearless ly he th re w h im se lf in to the task o f bu ild ing the union movement, o f s treng then ing the w o rke rs ’ p o lit ic a l movement. He devoted the rem a inder o f his years to these tasks. He helped o ther w orkers find the so lu tion to th e ir problems.

In 1933 G ran t fin a lly landed a job as coal d rive r. He ap­plied his knowledge. He was one o f the pioneers who helped launch the cam paign to organize the M inneapolis d rive rs , who helped bu ild th a t o rgan iza tion which la te r came to be known as Local 544.

A Fearless Fighter fo r LaborThere is scarcely a w o rke r in the c ity o f M inneapolis today

who can compare his present wages and conditions w ith those e x is tin g in 1933, w ith o u t re a liz in g th a t he has bettered h im se lf to some extent, in some way, thanks to the fa r-rea ch ing re ­su lts o f the w o rk o f Local 574 and la te r Local 544. The g re a t d r ive rs ’ s trikes o f 1934 drove the C itizens A lliance back in to the shadows and li f te d the w orkers to th e ir fee t. G ran t played a b ig p a r t in the successful o rgan iza tion o f the d rive rs . Seldom in the fo re fro n t, so fa r as the pub lic was concerned, G ran t made heavy con tribu tions to h is union. He served i t as a s k il l­fu l organ izer. He was especially ve rsa tile in com m ittee w ork. He played a b r i l l ia n t ro le in presen ting tes tim ony on the w o rk ­ers’ movement and the needs o f the w orkers and the unemployed,

SWP Sends Expression o f S ym p a th y to C la ra Dunne

The following is the message of condolence wired to Clara Dunne, widow of Grant Dunne, by the National Plenum-Confer­ence of the Socialist Workers Party held in Chicago last week­end :

“As we mobilize for the struggle against the Roosevelt- Tobin persecution, we honor the memory of Grant Dunne, prole­tarian warrior who fell victim to capitalist persecution. We share your sorrow and grieve with your four sons who have lost their father. We stand ready to do all we can to comfort and help you who have been the lifelong companion of our fallen comrade.”

to various governm enta l bodies in W ashing ton. F o r years he served the Federal W orkers Section as its ass is tant fro m the General D rive rs Unio-n.

G ran t would always rise to his fu lle s t s ta tu re a t the tim e when his organ iza tion was fac in g its g rea test crises.

In the sum m er o f 1934, when G overnor Olson’s na tiona l guards were on the streets o f M inneapolis, were tu rn in g loose the trucks w ith m il ita ry pe rm its , were b reak ing ou r s tr ike , ra id ­in g our s tr ik e headquarters, a rre s tin g our leaders and our p ic k ­ets, G ran t more than any o ther person helped tu rn the tide o f ba ttle . He appeared before the governor and before the co l­onels, fo rc in g the release o f the arrested union leaders, fo rc in g the guardsm en to evacuate the union headquarters.

A l l d u rin g these years G ran t su ffe red pe rio d ica lly fro m his w a r wounds. O ften i t was hard and sometimes impossible fo r h im to function .

G ran t d id the g reatest in d iv idua l service fo r me th a t any­one ever perform ed. He picked me ou t fro m behind a coal p ile in 1933, where I was shoveling coal fo r 35c an hour, bewildered and confused by life . G ran t set m y fee t on the h igh road o f the w o rkers ’ p o lit ic a l movement.

Grant Dunne'’s Greatest ContributionG ran t has s ta rted hundreds o f o ther w orkers on th is same

path, the on ly pa th th a t leads to the u ltim a te so lu tion o f a ll

our m a jo r problem s. G ran t has opened the eyes o f hundreds to the rea litie s o f our economic and p o lit ic a l system . T hrough these men G ran t Dunne w i l l continue to serve the w o rke rs ’ movem ent u n t il the fina l v ic to ry is won. Th is is his g rea test con tribu tion to hum an ity .

In recent years, G ran t has seen the w o rld again enveloped in another bloody w a r caused by the forces o f im peria lism . He has seen the heavy hands o f Roosevelt press on the w o rk in g - class, sm ashing a t every element o f m ilita n c y in the movement, d r iv in g the masses in to w ar.

G ran t had seen the deep in jus tices com m itted aga inst his union by Governor Stassen. He had observed the ja cka l ro le played by Tobin, be tra y in g the w orkers as he a lw ays has.

G ran t saw a ll the young men o f the present generation being shoved in to the m aw o f the w a r machine. H e saw the Roosevelt ad m in is tra tion lash ing ou t aga inst the un ion th a t G ran t belonged to and aga inst the p a rty , the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty , th a t G ran t belonged to. He saw h im se lf one o f the v ic ­tim s o f the vic ious w itch hunts th a t a lways precede and accom­pany im p e ria lis t w a r. The governm ent and the un ion bureau­cra ts were persecuting, in G rant, a man who was h im se lf a v ic ­t im o f the F ir s t W orld W ar.

A s G ran t saw the approach o f A m erica ’s entrance in to the bloody s trugg le fo r m arke ts and colonies and p ro fits , he looked upon his three sons o f m il ita ry age. He tho ugh t o f the s u f­fe r in g th is w a r m ig h t b r in g to them, as the e a rlie r w a r had b rough t to him . He s a y his firs t-bo rn , C laire, a w a r baby, now grow n and about ready to m arch o f f to another w ar.

These sad burdens aggravated the wounds in flic te d upon h im in m ind and body a t the A rgonne. A l l o f th is was m ore than he could bear.

W e are gathered here to say o u r la s t fa re w e ll to G ran t Dunne. W e sha ll cherish his m em ory. W e sha ll love h im fo r the good he has done. G ran t gave a ll th a t he had to g ive to the cause th a t m eant more to h im than li fe its e lf. He risked his life m any tim es w ith o u t g iv in g i t a second though t. He was a good f ig h te r.

We sha ll w r ite his name on the banner o f h is un ion and his p a rty . A nd here a t his fun e ra l le t us s tr ik e up once 'aga in the fo rw a rd m arch to c a rry th a t banner onward — in sp ite o f e ve ry th in g — to the fina l v ic to ry o f the w orkers and the free w o rld o f emancipated labor.

Canadian Labor Fights W ar RepressionStrike Struggles Answer A ttem pts o f Boss Government to Beat Down W orkers ' Unions

CANADA — Despite the growing severity of government attempts at repression, in the past six months Canadian labor has made notable headway in cracking the boss front. Strikes are flaring up and spreading. The Canadian workers are once again, as in the days of the Winnipeg Soviets after the last war, awakening to their power. The tremendous demand for labor to operate the new British-American subsidized war in­dustries has given the w orkers a new m orale and confidence a fte r ten years o f unpara lle led unem ­p loym en t and m isery.

Thousands o f w o rke rs h ith e rto untouched by un ion ism are being organized. T h is developm ent is especially s ig n ifica n t because it is occu rring d u r in g w a r-tim e , in the face o f the p a tr io t ic lynch cam paign o f the bosses and the rigo rous a n ti- la b o r measures of the governm ent.

The w orkers o f A rv id a , St.Catherines, H am ilton , Nova Sco­tia , and elsewhere, who have been on s tr ik e w ith in the recent per­iod, have no con s titu tion a l g u a r­antees o f any so rt to p ro tec t them, such as the B i l l o f R igh ts is supposed to a ffo rd the w orkers in the U n ited States. A ltho ug h the A m erican governm ent over­rides the B il l o f R igh ts and the D eclara tion o f Independence, as in the present prosecution o f the S ocia lis t W orkers P a rty in M in ­nesota, s t i l l these documents do ex is t and th e ir p rinc ip les are a t least fo rm a lly recognized. Can­adian labo r has r ig h ts on ly to the exten t th a t i t can ga in them in day-to -day s trugg le .

IN D U S T R IA L D IS P U T E S A C T

Since the outbreak o f the w ar, the Canadian governm ent has pu t in to e ffe c t a num ber o f oppres­sive laws aimed a t h a m -s tring ing labor. One o f the harshest o f these is the In d u s tr ia l D isputes A c t now applicab le to a ll v ita l services, “ v ita l services” being in te rp re te d to cover -v ir tu a lly a ll in du s try .

N o t on ly m ust the w orkers, un­der th is act, a rb itra te before ta k ­in g s tr ik e action, b u t they cannot even app ly fo r a rb itra t io n before a conc ilia tion board u n t il they do take a s tr ik e vote. B y th is de­vice, the unions a rc blocked from g e ttin g any consideration fo r th e ir demands except when they com m it themselves in advance to s tr ik e action.

T h is com pulsory procedure goes a long w ay tow a rd b locking s trikes. I t pe rm its the conc ilia ­t ion boards to dawdle and delay o ften three and fo u r m onths in th e ir decisions, long enough fo r the bosses to exe rt th e ir in f lu ­ence to dem oralize the w orkers, to c a rry ou t d isc r im in a to ry acts aga inst the m ost m il ita n t union elements, to sca tte r a fe w crumbs by w ay o f b r ib in g the weaker in ­

d iv idua ls and to bu ild company unions.

Despite a ll th is , the Canadian w orkers have conducted many la rge and m il ita n t s trikes w ith ­in recent months.

A n example o f the fa ilu re o f the In d u s tr ia l D isputes A c t to curb m il ita n t s tr ik e action, is the case o f the w orkers o f N a tiona l Steel Car, H a m ilton , O ntario . These w orkers applied on Feb­ru a ry 3 fo r a board o f conc ilia ­tion to se ttlx th e ir grievances.

I t was no t u n t il M arch 10 th a t the establishm ent o f the board to handle the case was announced. M eanwhile, the com pany had fired a num ber o f union mem­bers.

On A p r i l 19, the board issued an in te r im re p o rt recom m ending the re ins ta tem en t o f the union lo ca l’s president, pending a fina l aw ard. The bosses refused the re insta tem ent, and the workers w en t ou t on s tr ik e A p r i l 26.

The governm ent im m ed ia te ly in te ivened and appointed a con­tro lle r over the p lan t. The con­tro lle r re insta ted the f ire d un ion­is ts and the s tr ik e was called o ff.

W O N ’T N E G O T IA T E W IT H A N Y U N IO N

B u t the governm ent con tro lle r refused to negotia te w ith the union, ju s t as the em ployers bad, in sp ite o f a governm ent O rder- in - Council d irec tin g em ployers to do so.

The conc ilia tion board, on Ju ly 2, f in a lly issued a sta tem ent to the e ffe c t th a t “ the con tro lle r advised the board he w ould no t en te r in to any negotia tions or collective ba rga in ing w ith any union, bu t stated he would ask the employees to appo in t a rep ­resentative com m ittee .”

T h is had a ll the odor o f an a ttem p t to establish a company- union com m ittee. So the w o rk ­ers aga in w ent o u t on s tr ike . To ave rt fu r th e r troub le , the govern­m ent was forced th is m onth to appo in t a new con tro lle r and con­tinue a rb itra tio n . B u t the powder keg rem ains prim ed.

The N a tion a l Steel Car s tr ik e is bu t one o f m any s im ila r s trikes in in d u s tr ia l O n ta rio and Quebec, in vo lv in g thousands o f workers in key w ar industries, which have occurred over the question o f union recogn ition .

O ther b it te r con flic ts have re ­

sulted fro m the e f fo r t o f the gov­ernm ent to f ix m axim um wage levels. A t the ve ry ou tbreak of the w ar, the governm ent issued an o rder-in -council, P. C. 7440, which declared:

“ W age ra te levels established by agreem ent o r p ractice in any in du s try o r trade n a tio n a lly or lo ca lly d u rin g the period 1926-29, o r h ighe r levels established the re ­a fte r bu t p r io r to the date here­of, sha ll be considered genera lly fa ir and reasonable, etc. . .”

F R E E Z IN G W AG ESThe an ti- la b o r character o f th is

o rder was dem onstrated in the dispute la s t s p rin g a t the Peck R o lling M ills , M on trea l. These m ills are owned by the Dom inion Steel and Coal C orpora tion , which also contro ls m ost o f the Nova Scotia coal mines th a t have been paralyzed fo r the past 5 months by slow-downs o f g ig a n tic p ro ­portions.

The basic pay-ra te a t the Peck M ills was 30.7 cents an hour, w ith 15 cents a day bonus. F if ty per cent o f the w orkers were earn ing 32 cents an hour o r less. T h is was in con tras t w ith the rates o f 40 to 46 cents an hour

id fo r the same type o f w o rk in p lan ts o f o ther concerns, and even in p lan ts o f the same con­cern in O ntario and Nova Scotia.

The conc ilia tion board found th a t 32 cents an hour was h igh ­e r than w h a t was pa id in the same p la n t in the 1926-29 period and the re fo re ru led aga inst any raise in pay fo r the Peck M ills w orkers.

Sometimes, however, the gov­ernm ent has been unable to aid the em ployers w ith in the lim its o f th is law . I t then has to in ­troduce fu r th e r measures to re ­in fo rce any weak spots in its a n ti- la b o r lega l a rm or.

T h is is illu s tra te d by the gov­e rnm ent’s actions in the M cK in ­non Industries s tr ik e a t St. C a th­erines. The M cK innon Industries is a General Motors subsid iary, b u t the St. Catherines w orkers were rece iv ing wages much be­low wages pa id GM employes in the Oshawa and W indsor plants, and as much as 20 cents an horn­less than w orkers ge t in G M ’s A m erican plants.

A f te r go ing th rough a ll the long d ra w n -o u t procedure o f a r ­b itra tio n required by law , the St. Catherines w orkers w ent out on s trike . A s a resu lt o f m a te ria l shortages, the Oshawa GM p lan t discontinued operations, laying- o f f 5,000 w orkers.

M O RE REPRESSIONSThe governm ent thereupon is­

sued a new order-in -council. Th is order declares th a t even a fte r a

m ed ia tion board b ring s in find ­ings u n sa tis fac to ry to a union, the un ion m ay n o t s tr ik e u n t il the

governm ent takes a vote o f a ll the w orkers involved. The deci­sion on w h a t w o rkers are in vo lv ­ed is le f t to the D epartm ent o f Labor.

In the St. Catherines case, i t m ay be held th a t the 5,000 w o rk ­ers in Oshawa, 100 m iles aWay; ire involved, and th a t they m ust f ir s t vote perm ission fo r the' 3,- 500 St. Catherines w orkers to

Canadian G ov't Deports CIO O ffice rThe Canadian government is

all for “international solidar­ity” when it comes to support­ing the war alliance of Ameri­can and British imperialism. But its hatred of internation­al working-class solidarity has no bounds.

The CIO NEWS, October 13, reports that CIO Vice-presi­dent Reid Robinson, head of the In t’l Union of Mine, M ill & Smelter Workers, was arrest­ed in Toronto, Canada, while en route to address a union meeting at Kirkland Lake, and on October 9 was ordered de­ported from Canada.

Reid Robinson “was virtual­ly shanghaied by Canadian im­migration officials and thrown into the governor’s dungeon at Toronto,” reports the CIO NEWS, and adds:

“Refusing to let him com­municate with his union or with a lawyer., the Canadian officials stripped and searched him, then threw him into a cell with 17 drunks.”

s trike . A ltho ug h the M in is te r o f Labor has stated th a t th is measure is intended to prevent one departm ent o r a sm all group o f “ m alcontents” (un ion men) fro m ty in g up a whole p lan t, the order-in -council pe rm its a much broader in te rp re ta tio n , w h ich w il l no doubt be used aga inst the w orkers. Inc id en ta lly , a l l workers who are absent fro m the vo tin g are considered by the governm ent as vo tin g aga inst the s trike .

Severe penalties are decreed fo r those who do no t w a it to go th rou gh the la b y r in th o f s tr ik e prevention regu la tions. Anyone who is charged w ith “ in c it in g ” o r encouraging such an ille g a l s tr ik e is liab le to a f in e o f $500 o r 12 m onths im prisonm en t o r both.

A few m onths ago the General E lec tric w o rkers in Toron to w ent on s tr ik e a fte r v a in ly a tte m p tin g to meet w ith the management. Im m ed ia te ly , 14 shop stewards were arrested and each fined $20 a day fo r the seven days o f the s tr ike , a to ta l o f $1,960. The un ion ’s president, C. Jackson, was whisked aw ay and has been in ­

terned in a concentra tion camp fo r the du ra tion o f the w ar.

A L U M IN U M S T R IK E9,000 w o rkers a t A rv id a , em­

ployed in the la rge s t a lum inum p la n t in the w o rld , recen tly w ent on s tr ik e fo r f iv e days. N o t a scrap o f news appeared about th is s tr ik e in the px-ess, a lthough the p la n t was com ple te ly shut down.

The A i-vida w orkers escaped the penalties imposed on the General E le c tr ic w orkers on ly be­cause the R oyal Canadian M oun t­ed Police were unable to p in re ­spo n s ib ility fo r “ in c it in g ” the s tr ik e on any ind iv idua ls.

A t a Royal Commission held to investiga te the A rv id a stoppage, the RCMP was unable to sub­s tan tia te an accusation o f the M in is te r o f Supply th a t the s tr ike was the x-esult o f sabotage and “ f i f th colum n” a c tiv ity . T h is was an ap pa ren tly spontaneous s tr ike , since there was no union involved. The w orkers in the p la n t took the en tire in it ia t iv e in the action. M oreover, i t was shown th a t 18 per cent o f the s tr ik e rs had been members o f the conservative N a ­tio n a l Catholic Syndicate o f A lu ­m inum Workei-s.

In th is s tr ike , D om in ion troops fro m the V a lc a rtie r m il ita ry camp were used aga inst the s t r ik ­ers. N e ithe r P i-em ier Godbout o f Quebec nor M in is te r o f Justice Lapo inte a t O ttaw a dared send in the pi-ovincia l o r fedex-al po­lice fo r fear of a lien a tin g the French-Canadian popu lation by use o f force aga inst F rench-Can­adian w orkers.

The M in is te r o f Defense, ac ting under w a r-tim e powers, was fo rc ­ed to do the d ir ty woi'k. The D om in ion governm ent has since passed an o rder-in -council p e rm it­t in g the use o f troops in the event o f a threatened cu rta ilm e n t of production in any w a r indus try .

Judge White-Washes Aluminum Trust In Government’s Monopoly SuitC a p ita lis t Court Ignores M ou n ta in o f Evidence in Freeing N a tion 's T igh test M onopoly; A lcoa Controls V ita l W a r M e ta l

M IN E R S ’ SLO W -D O W NThe m ost im p o rta n t o f a ll the

ille g a l s trikes continues unabat­ed. F o r f iv e m onths now, 10,000 m iners in the Nova Scotia coal fie lds have been conducting a slow-down s tr ike . Coal produc­tion has fa lle n 6,000 tons da ily . In one co llie ry , d a ily ou tpu t has been reduced fro m 1150 to 850 tons a day.

The governm ent has so fa r proved unable to stop th is slow ­down. The governm ent and the m ine owners are t r y in g to pass o f f th is s trugg le as an in te rna l union dispute and n o t a wage is­sue, because the action fo llowed lie repud ia tion by the m iners o f

a con trac t signed by S. B a rre tt. In te rn a tio n a l V ice P resident o f the U n ited M ine W orkers o f A m ­erica. The w orkers had no t been consulted in the nego tia tions nor were th e y pe rm itte d to r a t i f y

After fotir years of a tria l against the Aluminum Co. of America, Federal Judge F. G. Caffey has fina lly handed down a ruling completely white-washing this huge monopoly.

The Department of Justice had sought to “ divide” Alcoa into sub-companies; but such a proposal would in no way have fundamentally changed the monopoly set-up of this vast Mellon

the con tract. They have repud ia­ted both B a rre tt and his con tract.

The D om in ion governm ent, w h ich in peace-tim e gave a $2,- 000,000 annual subsidy to the Nova Scotia coal operators, is a id ing the D om in ion Steel and Coal corpora tion .in every w ay possible to- keep the w o rkers from ga in ing th e ir ju s t wage demands. The governm ent is p e rm ittin g the coi'pora tion to re fuse lam ps to the slow-down m iners in the hope th a t th is w i l l px-ovoke some fo rm o f action w h ich w ould serve as an excuse to send in the troops, and impose fines and in ternm ents. On September 20, the w orkers o f some o f the co llie ries agreed to a 30-day truce on a prom ise by the governm ent and un ion o ff i­cia ls th a t nego tia tions fo r wage increases would be held.

C A N A D IA N LA B O R ON T H E M A R C H

The Canadian bosses are w o rk ­in g overtim e to h a lt the g ro w th o f un ionism . They have closed the border to A m erican union o r­ganizers; organized and arm ed a v ig ila n te group, The F ro n tie rs ­men; and a rc f in g e r -p r in t in g the w orkers and t r y in g to force them to sign yellow -dog contracts. B u t a ll in vain.

The Canadian trade union movement is g ro w in g and ga in ­in g in power. T h is is a develop­m ent s im ila r to th a t o f the las t w ar, when, fro m 1917 to 1919, Canadian trade union m em ber­ship grew from 205,000 to 375,000.

A t the annual convention o f the Canadian Congi'ess o f Labor, which is the am a lgam ation o f the Canadian CIO and A ll-C an a ­dian Congress o f Labor, the re were 50 per cent moi'e delegates than la s t year. The Trades and Labor Congress, though impeded by ju r is d ic tio n a l disputes and a r ig id , conservative leadership, re ­ports a s im ila r g ro w th . The op­pressive laws, intense p a tr io t ic appeals, and the be traya ls o f the conservative un ion leaders have no t been able to h a lt the organ­iza tion o f the unorganized and m il ita n t class s trugg le s in Can­ada,

in te res t. T h is is proved by the classic case o f the so-called “ d i­v is ion” o f the S tandard O il mono­po ly in to fake “ com petitive ” com­panies; the R ockefe lle r in te rests continued to con tro l the various “ com peting” groups and re a lly strengthened th e ir monopoly.

Judge C a ffe y used a f lim s y le­ga l t r ic k o f d iv id ing the charges in to 36 sections, and then crassly asserted th a t the vas t mass o f evidence aga inst A lcoa was no t de fin ite enough on any one spe­c if ic charge.

B u t the fac ts o f the m a tte r a re : A lcoa, headed b y A r th u r V . D av­is, and A lu m inu m , L td . o f Can­ada, manned by h is bro ther, have since th e ir founda tion in 1895 m ain ta ined a com plete m onopoly o f raw m ateria ls , pa tents and w a­te r power r ig h ts fo r production o f a lum inum . They secured the passage o f a t a r i f f la w to m a in ­ta in th e ir monopoly.

They own fo re ig n 'a lum inum companies and dom inate fo re ign soui'ces o f bauxite (the m in e ra l ra w m a te ria l o f a lum inum ). They ai-e a ch ie f p a r t o f an in te rn a ­tio n a l ca rte l to d iv ide the w o rld a lum inum m a rke t between the com petitors in such a w ay as to insu i’e the p ro fits o f each com­ponent na tiona l company.

They have spent m illio n s o f do lla rs in propaganda, b ribe ry and pressure to preven t compe­t it io n , to continue con tro l o f im ­p o rta n t w a te r power fa c ilit ie s . They have consis ten tly m a in ta in ­ed a h igh price fo r a lum inum and res tric ted the q u a n tity produced in oi’der to guarantee’ supe r-p ro f­its .

Y e t the tons o f fac tu a l m ate­r ia ls and tes tim ony w h ich were adduced to prove th is were a ll th row n ou t the w indow by Judge C affey. Thus the courts do ser­vice to the la rge m onopo ly-p ro f­iteers.

O N L Y PR O FITS IN T E R E S T A LC O A

One o f the m ost im p o rta n t as­pects o f th is t r ia l aga inst A lcoa is the present shortage o f a lum inum which is so v ita l to the w a r p ro ­duction o f the Roosevelt govern • m ent. In the pas t several years, a t the same tim e th a t one section o f the governm ent was t r y in g to show th a t A lcoa was a m onopoly,

S te ttin iu s and o ther “ do lla r-a - y e a r” m en were issu ing ly in g statem ents to cover up the th re a t­en ing a lum inum shortage.

A t a tim e when A m erican ca­p ita lis m is spending b illions o f do lla rs fo r w a r m ateria ls , the A l ­coa po licy o f re s tr ic t in g ou tpu t in o rder to m a in ta in exo rb ita n t prices and o f e lim in a tin g compe­t ito rs , has con tribu ted to a d is­ru p tio n o f the w a r e ffo r t.

The T rum an Com m ittee o f the Senate uneai'thed add itiona l in ­fo rm a tio n to prove th is . A s the lib e ra l correspondent I . F. Stono declares:

“ The testim ony before the T rum an Com m ittee showed th a t the Defense Commission, and la te r the OPM, seem to have done th e ir best to help A lu m inu m Company hide the tru e s itua tion fro m the country and to prevent the governm ent o r o ther business concerns from go ing in to the production o f a lum inum .”

Stone is in te rested in he lp ing the im p e ria lis t w a r plans as much as possible. B u t w h a t is im p o r­ta n t fro m a w o rk in g class stand­po in t is th a t the v e ry p ro f it - m ongering hand fu l o f cap ita lis ts , w h ich is seeking to d ra g the cou n try in to the im p e ria lis t w ar, sabotages its own w a r e ffo r ts by pu rsu ing a po licy o f choking p ro ­duction in the in te re s t o f mono­po lis tic super p ro fits .

J u s t as in the case o f France, where the a lum inum companies were se llin g tons o f a lum inum to G erm any fo r the production o f bom bing planes, so here too the b ig ca p ita lis ts dem onstrate th a t they are n o t in terested in f ig h t ­in g fascism , b u t are on ly in te re s t­ed in p ro fits fo r w a r m ateria ls, and w a g in g the w a r fo r more p ro fits .

Thus the action o f the court in w h itew ash ing A lcoa and its policies on ly gives fu r th e r proof o f how the b ig cap ita lis ts run the coun try and use the courts and press to do th e ir b idd ing, in th e ir own in terests.

I t is fu r th e r p ro o f th a t the on ly rea l w ay, the on ly success­fu l w a y to smash fascism is fo r the A m erican w orkers and fa rm ­ers to th ro w ou t th is sm all hand­fu l o f c a p ita lis t exp lo iters and th e ir agents and to establish a W orkers and Farm ers Govern­ment, based upon the needs o f the vas t m a jo r ity o f the A m e r­ican people, th a t would re a lly wage a re vo lu tio n a ry w o rk ing class w a r aga inst fascism .

OCTOBER 18, 1941 T H E M I L I T A N T 5

Negro StruggleBy A L B E R T P A R K E R

S ta lin is t PropagandaO ur comrades in N ew ark, N . J'., have sent us

a copy o f a le a fle t issued by the Com m unist P a rty in th a t c ity , en titled “ A U n ited Am erica Can D efeat H it le r ” and addressed p r im a r ily to the N egro people.

In i t the S ta lin is ts fo llo w the example set by the w a rm ongering po litic ian s who have taken ad­vantage o f L ind berg h ’s Jew -ba iting speech in Des Moines to t r y to make the w ar-m ongers ap­pear as advocates o f ra c ia l eq ua lity and equal op po rtun ity .

B u t, as in m any o ther fie lds , the S ta lin is t p ro ­paganda is so crude and obvious in th is lea fle t, w h ich is qu ite typ ica l o f m ost S ta lin is t propa­ganda, tlr<it i t gives th e ir game away com plete ly.

“ One look a t H it lb r ’s friend's in th is coun­t r y shows th a t they are also the preachers o f hatred fo r the N egro people. L indbergh and his pals are spreading the phony ‘rav c ia l’ theories which H it le r has- spread over Germ any. . . I t is no accident th a t Southern po litic ians like Senator Reynolds have lined up w ith H it le r . They see eye to eye.”

Now ce rta in ly Reynolds is an enemy o f the Negro people and o f the whole labo r movement. He has fo r m any years been associated w ith the red -ba iting opponents o f the trade unions, and was the o rgan izer o f a super-“ p a tr io t ic ” move­m ent known as the “ V ind ica to rs ” w h ich spent m ost o f its energy w h ipp ing- up a ttacks on fo r ­e ign-born w orkers. B u t in these respects there is no th in g to «distinguish- h im fro m m ost o f the o ther po litic ians fro m the p o ll- ta x states o f the South.

There is on ly one th in g th a t d istinguishes him from the o ther Southern congressman, and th a t is th a t he belongs to the “ iso la tio n is t” group, ra th e r than the in te rven tion is t. A t the present tim e, he is w illin g , fo r the sake o f b u ild in g up a pro -A m erican fasc is t movem ent now and a fte r the w ar, to exp lo it the honest a n ti-w a r sen ti­ments o f the masses. He is o f course no rea l f ig h te r aga inst w a r; he stands wholehearted ly fo r the preservation o f the system o f cap ita lism which causes w ar.

B u t when the S ta lin is ts speak about Reynolds, w orkers w i l l n a tu ra lly ask themselves, “ W hat about the o ther Southern po litic ians who do not pretend to be opponents o f the w a r, who are as a m a tte r o f fa c t, the m ost rab id advocates o f the w a r program in W ash ing ton? W here do theystand on the ra c ia l question? W ith whom dothey see eye to eye?”

The answer, o f course, is w e ll-know n to the S ta lin is ts , who published i t hundreds o f tim es o n ly a few m onths ago when the y were s t i l l op­posed to the Roosevelt w a r program .

The W arm ongers And the Negroes

Famous A m erican Labo r T ria ls STATE OF CALIFORNIA VERSUS MOONEY AND BILLINGS

W ho are these o ther Southern po litic ians who are ho w ling fo r the w a r? They are, a lm ost to a man, cu t in the mold o f Pepper, Dies, Connally, e t a l. They are men who are elected year a fte r year on ly because they deny the g re a t mass o f the w orkers, Negro and w h ite , the r ig h t to vote. They are the men who by th re a t o f f ilib u s te r and o ther k inds o f pressure have prevented any k ind o f an ti-lynch leg is la tion fro m being enacted by Congress.

O n ly recently , Pepper, th a t g re a t advocate o f a “ w a r fo r democracy” , arose on the f lo o r o f the U n ited States Senate to declare:

“ W hatever may be w r itte n in to the Con­s titu tio n , whatever may lie placed upon the s ta tu te books o f th is nation, however many soldiers may be stationed about the ba llo t box-es o f th e Southland, the colored race w ill no t vote.”

W hat do the Southern warm ongers th in k about the J im Crow laws o f the South? W ha t do they th in k about the laws and customs th a t segregate the Negro people in jobs, in church, in the armed forces, in every economic and social sphere and excludes them com ple te ly fro m p a rtic ip a tio n in po litics ?

To ask these questions is to anw er them. These p ro -w ar Southern po litic ians no t on ly strengthen and bo ls ter segregation, bu t they are ready to stage another c iv il w a r i f any serious a ttem p t is made to destroy J im Crowism . They did th is long before the name o f H it le r was heard o f in th is country. They in tend to continue i t long a f te r H it le r is gone and fo rgo tte n .

These people see eye to eye w ith H it le r too, or perhaps i t is more correct to say th a t Hit-lep sees eye to eye w ith them . N o t on the w ar, i t is true , b u t c e rta in ly on rac ia l questions. To pa ra ­phrase the S ta lin is ts , “ one look a t H it le r ’s ” im ­p e r ia lis t enemies “ in th is coun try shows th a t they are also 'th e preachers o f ha tred fo r the Negro people.” In th is respect there is no d iffe rence w hatever between them and men lik e Reynolds.

The S ta lin is ts t r y to ge t support fo r the w a r by showing th a t the “ iso la tio n is ts ” are enemies o f the Negro people. T h a t th is is a false w ay o f posing the question is shown by the fa c t th a t the in te rven tion is ts are no less enemies o f the Negro people.

O nly we, the T ro tsky is ts , can speak the tru th on th is question. W e are opposed to1 2 3 4 a ll the enemies o f the Negro people, and we don’t have to t r y to defend any o f them.

We cite th e ir records no t to w in support fo r a reac tiona ry position, as the S ta lin is ts do, but to show the hypocrisy behind th e ir p ro testations about democracy and rac ia l equa lity , and to show how th<j S ta lin is ts serve the cause o f a certa in section o f the enemies o f the N egro people.

TH O M A S J. M O O N EY W A R R E N K. B IL L IN G S

Sentenced at San F ranc isco in Jan., 1 91 7 , to death fo r M ooney and' l i fe im p ris o n m e n t fo r B illin g s .B A C K G R O U N D OF T H E CASE

In Ju ly , 191G, the U n ited States verged on w a r. W ilson had been re-elected to the presidency on a p a c if is t program , bu t the A m e r­ican invasion o f M exico to- p ro ­tec t A m erican o il in te rests in d i­cated the actua l tendencies o f the ad m in is tra tion . F ee ling fo r and aga inst w a r n a tu ra lly expressed its e lf s tro n g ly in class te rm s: s trikes and lockouts; open-shop drives;, flo u r is h in g business fo r s trike -b rea k ing agencies. The “ A m erican P lan” — a fancy te rm fo r a na tiona l open-shop policy — was pushed by boss agencies.

San Francisco was the sGcne o f a labor upsurge. S trikes tied up the w a te rfro n t, restauran ts, au­tomobile- machine shops. The C ham ber o f Commerce a t once raised the “ Red” issue and a howl went up fo r an assault upon labor unionism . T h is how l emanated loudest fro m the m ouths c f the owners o f U n ited Railroads — con tro lle rs o f San Francisco t ra f - fic — and a llied e lectric-pow er in terests, among whose em ploy­ees a cam paign o f union organ­iza tion was go ing fo rw a rd .

Charles M. F ic k e rt, a profane, obscene, vicious ignoram us whose S tan fo rd U n iv e rs ity associations had enabled him to advance from s tr ike -b rea k ing in the San F ra n ­cisco tru c k in g in d u s try to the Ca­lifo rn ia bar, was p u t in to office as public prosecutor by U n ited R a ilroad money.

A 33-year-old le ft-w in g labor organ izer, Thomas J. Mooney, a n d h i s automobile-mechanic fr ien d , W arren K . B illin g s , were h i i l i ta n t ly engaged in the organ­iza tion o f U n ited R a ilroad 's street ca r employees. B y Ju ly . 1916, they had staged one abortive s tr ik e in th e ir cam paign.

On Ju ly TO. the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce held a notorious m eeting to lay out a

strategy w h ich would smash u- nionism in th e ir c ity . Captain Ro­bert D o lla r here delivered h im self of the g u id ing slogan to symbol­ize the “ noble” w ork : “ I f a law- ab id ing w ork ingm an is beaten up, then beat up two s tr ik e rs !”

Aroused to a fever of enthus­iasm by such ta lk , the bosses at the m eeting voted to raise $1.000,; 000 fo r the cause of a titi-unipm sm . A spectacular aspect o f the plan, was to be a “ Preparedness Daj Parade.”

BAS IS OF T H E F R A M E -U P

J u ly 22 was chosen fo r t'lu- great pro-war, an ti-labor pa rade. The provocative nature of th is dem onstration was recogniz­ed by everyone in the c ity . L ibe­ra ls condemned i t fo r its “ m il i­ta r is t ic ” im p o rt;. th e laho f unionr unanim ously denounced i t as an "open-shop parade.” Business clubs, veterans’ organizations; some non-union w orkers and the jin g o is tic public offic ia ls jo ined the Chamber of Commerce in sup­po rt of it .

Great tension and feverish exci­tem ent were whooped up and de veloped to a po in t of mass hyste­r ia by the day of the parade. In the two weeks preceding Ju ly 22, more than 200 notes — a ll w r i t ­ten by the same obviously de mented person — were deceived by various ind iv idua ls , threaten­in g disaster and violence i f the parade were held. No attem pt to find the w r ite r was made by the police.

A t 1:30 P. M. the parade swung out o f the Embarcadero in to M arke t Street. A t 2:06. a bomb went o ff at M arke t and Steuart Streets, k il l in g 10 people (6 out­r ig h t) and in ju r in g 40, inc lud ing on-lookers as w e ll as paraders. The bomb was ev idently a home­made ins trum en t of re la tive ly sm all force (as bombs gp),. but Us actual composit ton could never be

determ ined, for, a t 3:30, the police turned a firehose on the street and sluiced down the sewers every speck of m ateria l evidence• experts m ig h t have used to establish the o r ig in of the bomb.

T H E ARRESTSA certa in Mat t in Swanson, ex-

P inke r'on man employed a t the tim e of the bomb outrage as, p r i­vate detective fo r the ' United Railroads, had lo r some tim e bad Mooney and B illin g s constantly shadowed. On the 23rd of July, Swanson appeared a t F lc k e rt’s ol- fice and was hired, as a special investiga tor on the. Preparedness Day case.

Im m ediately,, the tone of the ho rro r stories about the bombing took on a new tone. “ A n a rc h is ts '. “ fanatics,” “ labor te rro ris ts !’ be­gan to be featured«. A huge reward, was offered fo r I he one who could. do most to stop- “ anarchy.” A fte r several days of well-planned, anti- labor hysteria-rousing, three a r ­rests were made and i t was an­nounced th a t Mooney and his .wife, also sought fo r arrest, had fled.

The arrested- were E dw ard No­lan and Israel W einberg, bo th friends of Mooney and associat­es in h ie la bo r activ ities , and: W arren K. B illin gs ; who was a r­rested a t Lane Hospital,, where Swanson knew he’ had an appo int­m ent ( fo r trea tm ent fo r a minor: a ilm en t). None of the arrested offered any resistance. A l l were held incommunicado

Mooney and I lls ’ w ife , on vaca­t io n a t ,'Montesano; Californ ia ', read, of th e ir hav ing “ fled; arrest” as they were- row ing on a. r ive r S t il l dressed in f ba th ing suits; they walked to the nearest te le­graph office and w ired the San Francisco chief of police of them re tu rn by the firs t available tra in Upon th e ir a rr iv a l in the C ity they were arrested w ith o u t w ar­ran ts and also he ld incom m uni­cado.

T H E T R IA L SOn August 2', a n ,’ind ic tm ent for

n ine m urders each, ..was brought against the prisoners. The tr ia l

was set fo r s ix weeks la te r. The newspapers increased th e ir howl against “ labor te rro r is ts ” and ' ‘anarch ists," rem em bering sud­denly that Mooney had once w r i t ­ten an a rtic le fo r an anarch ist paper, 77m: Klaxt.

B illin g s was brought to tr ia l firs t. I t was expected tha t convic­tion in l i is case would hasten conviction fo r Mooney. B illin gs had once before' been put on tr ia l fo r h iv in g a llegedly transported explosives on a public conveyan­ce and had been convicted; th is record was held against h im now A s tr in g of “ fixed” witnesses \va: brought to te s tify ; but the pro seoutor, m is tru s tin g iris own case did not aide- fo r death although the charge was serious enough to w a rran t his; doing so. The jury- a fte r a few hours’ de liberation returned a verd ic t of g u ilty , am; B illin g s was sentenced to life in i prisom nent.

Mooney’s t r ia l began on Jan uary 3, 1917. T lie prosecutor, de­term ined" to get' a death sentence fo r his prisoner, spent a good deal of tim e and energy bu ild ing ills case. A fan tastic theory was concocted, in vo lv in g the moving of W einberg’s tax i loaded w ith five persons and a suitcase fu ll of dynam ite against the stream of the parade fo r three-quarters of a m ile, the p lacing of the suit- ease against <1 w a ll and tlie rapid escape of a il five c rim ina l! through a dense mass of human­ity .

A lthough it was obvious from the testim ony presented by the prosecution tha t every move ol the two im portan t prisoners was known to Swanson and F ickert. not one single detective took the stand to tes tify to the wlierea | bouts of the men on the day of t lie bomb outrage.

Not on ly was the. te s tim o n y of the witnesses fo r the prosecution m u tu a lly con trad ic to ry in many instances, bu t the people theiri- selves who appeared to do th e ir b it fo r F ickert. and the Chamber of Commerce were an amazing lo t: a p ro s titu te ; a, convicted p e rju re r; the unbalanced inmate

Class Rule I n Army Shows I t Will Not Fight For Dem ocracy

the o ffice r corps, and i t is the A rm y ’s ju s tific a tio n fo r a tte m p t­in g a to ta lita r ia n reg im en ta tion o f the d ra fte e ’s life .

The foundation o f th a t bourge­ois “ democracy” , w h ich we are to ld we are p repa ring to defend, is freedom o f expression. B u t freedom, o f expression is non-ex­is ten t in the A rm y . T h a t is the f ir s t th in g impressed upon us when we en ter the A rm y . Upon being inducted, we were warned aga inst “ a g ita to rs ” and to ld to re p o rt men who are “ beefing” . M ore recently , we were in s tru c t­ed no t to ta lk to “ outs iders” , not even to members o f our own fa m ­ilie s about the conditions we face in camp. “ I t is none o f th e ir business,” is the o ffic ia l A rm y v iew po in t. The dra ftees who gave the in fo rm a tio n which form ed the basis o f the artic les on a rm y con­d itions in L ife and other m aga­zines have been v ic ious ly con­demned by the officers.

The o ffic ia l a rm y regu la tions are so designed as to th ro tt le any a tte m p t o f the draftees to speak ou t fo r im proved conditions. A ny concerted action o f th is so rt would ’ re su lt in courts m a rtia l, as a v io la tio n o f the A rtic le s o f W ar, and the im pos ition o f se­vere punishm ents.

O FFIC E R S T R Y TO K E E P FACTS FRO M T H E P U B L IC

The o ffice r caste is p a rtic u la r­ly fe a rfu l o f any m ovem ent am ongst the c iv ilia n population designed to aid the draftees. In order to prevent knowledge o f ex­is t in g A rm y conditions becoming ‘ub lic and thereby arousing c iv i­

lian support fo r the draftees, the A rm y leaders are t ry in g to im ­pose a complete censorship on the draftees. We hope th a t the e ffe c t o f th is censorship w i l l no t lead the outside pub lic to th in k th a t there is no need fo r such a c iv i­lia n movement. There is. A long

th is line, I hope the M IL IT A N T w il l continue its e ffo r ts to en lis t the support o f the trade unions. No o ther outside force could be i f more assistance to us. P er­haps some unions could be in ­terested in the se ttin g up o f in ­dependent com m ittees to in ve s ti­gate conditions in the A rm y camps.

One o f the res tr ic tio ns which p a rtic u la r ly ga lls the men here is the p ro h ib itio n o f the r ig h t to c ritic ize governm ent o ffic ia ls and policies. The men, however, v io ­la te th is ru le on every occasion. The language o f the M IL IT A N T is m ild in comparison w ith the term s used by m any dra ftees in denouncing the w ar-m ongering o ffic ia ls . In some cases th a t I know of, soldiers have been th row n in the guardhouse when they made the m istake o f con­dem ning the P resident in the presence o f officers.

A dra ftee v io la tes A rm y re g ­ulations when he w rite s a le tte r to a Senator o r Congressman com p la in ing about conditions or p ro te s ting proposed leg is la tion a ffe c tin g his w e lfa re . I t has been one o f the g rea test shocks to the draftees to- learn th a t the ex­ercise o f even th is sim ple i .g ilt o f c itizensh ip is proh ib ited in the

A rm y and is punishable by se­vere penalties.

“ E Q U A L IT Y ” IN A R M YT lie to ta lita r ia n is m o f the A r ­

m y extends n o t on ly to w hat wo­rn ay no t speak about o r lis ten to, bu t also to w h a t we- m ust lis ten to. We are com pered ‘.O' lis te n to ce rta in types o f p o lit i­cal propaganda, and ire the- same fashion as H it le r compels the German people to lis ten to his propaganda. I have reference specifica lly to the- fa c t th a t we- were forced to lis ten to a rad io broadcast by the S ecre ta ry o f W a r on the occasion o f th e ex­tension o f the d ra ft te rm .

A no the r one o f the basic dem­ocra tic p rinc ip les which is v io la ­ted in the A rm y is th a t which declares “ a ll men are created free and equal.” The M IL IT A N T has already presented a w ealth o f evidence as to the c rim in a l trea tm e n t o f Negroes in th is a r ­m y o f “ democracy” . There also is a caste d iv is ion set up between the w h ite o ffice rs and the w h ite soldiers. There are r ig id rules concerning, the sa lu tin g o f o ff i­cers and p ro h ib it in g soldiers and officers d r in k in g together o r hav­in g any social re la tions, a ll de­signed to create “ d isc ip line” .

T h a t the A rm y m ust employ such measures is p ro o f in its e lf th a t the o ffic ia ls know th a t the draftees cannot be discip lined by the on ly e ffec tive means, the con­v ic tion th a t they arc f ig h t in g in

a cause w h ich is in th e ir in te r­ests. * 2 3 4

F ifth A nnua l Series o f the Twin; C ity Sunday Forum

opens on

Sunday, October 19, a t 3 P, M . JAMES P. C A N N O N

National Secretary, SWP speaking on

W H Y ARE WE ON T R IA L?at

919 M A R Q U E T T E A V E N U E , M IN N E A P O L IS . M IN N .

Admission 10c

ST,1THMENT 01'' T tlK OWNCRSHH'. »ANAOUMENT, H lW B U n M i. ETC.

k e <b 't h e i> b v t h e a c t o r c o n - CRB9H- o r A-tFfiWST 24. 1012.

O f T H E M IL IT A N T published weekly a t N ew Y o rk . Mow Y o rk for October 1. 1941. S tate of N ew Y o rk County of New Y o rk .

Before me. a n o tary public in and for the S tate and county aforesaid, person* a l ly appeared L yd ia Beidel. who. h av ­ing1 been duly sworn according to law . deposes and says th a t she is the business .manager o f the M I L I T A 'N T and that' *fte fo llow ing is. to tlie best of her knowledge and Relief. a tru e statem ent o f the ownership, managem ent (and if a dally paper, the* c ircu la tio n ), etc., of the aforesaid publication fo r th e date shown in th e above caption, required b y the A’ct o f August; 24. 1912. embodied in section 111. P o s ta l Law s and R e g u la ­tions. printed' on the reverse o f this fb rn i, to w it:

Publisher T H E M IL IT A N T P U B L IS H ­IN G ASSO.. 11(1 U n ive rs ity Plaoo.

E d ito r F E IJ X > M O R R O WBusiness M anagers L Y D IA B E T D E L2. T h a t the ow ner is: (Ilf o -nod by a

corporation, its nam e and address must be stated and also im im ediately there­under' the names and; add:ea« o f stock­holders owning or holding one per cent or more o-f to ta l am ount o f stock. I f not owned by a corporation, the names and address of' the ind iv idu al owners m ust be-given. I f owned by a- firm ', company, or other unincorporated concent, its name and address’, as- well as those of ea/*h individual'/ member; reu^t be given)-.

M IL IT A N T P U B L IS H IN G A S S O C IA ­TIO N1. 110 U n ive rs ity Place.

F E L IX M O R R O W . 110 U n ivers ity- PI.L Y D IA B E ID E L . 11(1 U n ive rs ity Place.3. T h a t the known', bondholders, m o rt­

gages.. and other security holders own- 0 «” o r'bo ld ine 1 per ern t or more of tota l

a-mount of bonds-; ’m ortgages, or other securities a re : ( I f there a re none, so state.)/

N O N E .4. Th a t the two paragraphs next above

g iv ing the names o f the owners; stock­holders. and security holders, i f any. contain not only the lis t o f stockholders and sec u rity holders as they appear upon the books of the company but also, in cases where the stockholder o r se­cu rity noledr ai-i>ears upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fidu ciary i,e latibn . the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is g iven; also th a t the said tw o parag raphs contain, statem ents' em bracing a f f 'a n f s fu ll knowledge and- belief as to the circum stances and con­ditions' under which stockholders and security holdovs *• ho do not aooear upon the books o f th? cemvnany as trustees. Im ld stock and securities in a cap ac ity o th er than th at o f a bona fide ow ner: and this a f fb m t has- no reason to believe th a t any o lher person, association, or corporation has any interest direct or ind irect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so .stated by h im .

L Y D IA tHETF'E'T., Business- M^na-ver.Sw orn to and subscribed before me

: this* 30 day of September It)41.IR V IN G S C H E E R . N o ta ry Public.

(M y commission c-xpires M arch 30 1942).

of a ch a rity lodging house who died la te r w ith $83,000 on his per­son; two re lig ious maniacs w ith a ' “ giit-of-tongues” ; a s y p h ilit ic convicted w ife deserter.; and a weak-minded de re lic t who was la te r condemned by another court as a “ psychopathic lia r .”

T lte cream of the crop, however, and the s ta r witness- fo r the sta­te, was one F ra n k C. Oxman, an “ honest Oregon cattlem an” whose widc-open-wea tiler-beaten conn ten ance and homely d raw l seemed the very essence of unimpeach­able' in te g rity . He claim ed he not on ly saw Mooney and B illin g : and the rest, get out of a taxi and place a suit-case against the w a ll o ’ a bu ild ing , but lie even— w ith a foresight ev idently pecul­ia r to Oregon cattlemen — took the license num ber of the tax :; i t was, “ of course” , W einberg's car!

Ox-man’s testim ony cinched the ease. The ju ry took i t and sho rt­ly re turned w ith a verd ic t ot g u ilty punishable by death by hanging.

H a rd ly had the echo of the sentence died when Oxman w as disclosed as a p e rju re r o f the highest order. Not on ly had it- not seen the bombing, but lie had been ac tu a lly in Woodland, Ca­lifo rn ia u n t il n ine m inutes a fte r the explosion occurred. He had done liis best to persuade a friena to perju re liin tse lf by substantia t­in g his s to ry but the friend had declined. I t was ib is fr ie n d ’s hor­ro r at tlte ve rd ic t that made him denounce Oxman. The labor u- nions of I ll in o is (where the friend lived) took up the figh t to dis­close Oxman's c r im in a lity and lea the figh t to have the man tr ie d j and convicted of subornation of pe rju ry and pe rju ry .

Rena Mooney, Nolan and W ein­berg were released fin a lly afte i spending a year or more in prison w ith o u t having been convicted.

W O R LD PROTESTNow began the twenty-one-year

struggle of organized labor in every pa rt o f the w orld to open the ja il, door fo r Mooney and B il­lings. So loud and dem onstrative a protest rose im m edia te ly upon the convictions tha t f irs t the governor of C a lifo rn ia , was fo rc­ed to issue a reprieve of Mooney t death sentence from October to December 13, 1918 and la te r to commute the sentence to life im ­prisonment.

President W ilson was forced to intercede fo r clemency since the case had; as lie put it, “ assumed an in te rna tiona l im portance.” Two government commissions were ap­pointed to review the case and each reported tha t the evidence- did not w a rran t conviction. A ll attem pts on the part o f the de­fense to have the case reversed o r to effect a pardon met w ith fa ilu re . As in the Sacco and Van- zetti cases to fo llow , the bourgeois state machine was stubborn in its de term ination not to perm it la'oor to w in a v ic tory .

T H E P AR D O N SB y 1938 the Mooney-BiRings

case had become so outstanding an issue th a t the gubernatoria l elections in C a lifo rn ia featured promises made by the candidates concerning th e ir behavior toward the two famous prisoners i f they were elected. Culbert L. .O lson, who was elected, had promised th a t the release of Am erican labor’s two most famous liv in g prisoners would be one o f his f irs t ad m in is tra tive acts. On January 7, 1939, Mooney le ft his prison cell, followed on October 17, by his fe llow w orker, B illings .

Thus did Mooney and B illings , v ic tim s of the anti-labor, pro-wai bosses in W orld W ar I, f ina lly gain th e ir freedom on the eve o* W orld W ar I I .

Pioneer Publishers118 University Place

New York City

Petty Bourgeois Opposition Shows Its Bankruptcy

B y JA C K W E B E RI t would be hal'd to find a more bewildered

group o f ind iv idua ls today than those who s p lit aw ay fro m the S ocia lis t W orkers P a rty to fo rm th e ir own l i t t le o rgan iza tion , the so-called W o rk ­ers P a rty . The September issue o f th e ir theore­tic a l organ, the New In te rn a tio n a l, contains a “ M an ifes to ” on the W a r in Russia. We ca ll a t­ten tion to i t here in order to illu s tra te once again the u tte r po litica l bankruptcy w h ich resu lts when events catch up w ith u t te r ly fa lse theories.

You w i l l look in va in fo r any exp lanation o f the w a r in tenus o f “ Russian im p e ria lism ” , o r S ta lin is t “ im p e ria lism ” , the “ idea” th a t m o tiva ­ted th is group to fo rm its own p a rty . Forced to recogn izer the m ost obvious facts, the m anifesto waxes alm ost ly r ic a l concerning the f ig h t o f the masses aga inst fascism . This, we are to ld takes place in sp ite o f S ta lin and a ll h is works. B ut the Lebruns and Co. are no t to be moved!

The m ain question th a t faces every conscious po litica l person a t the present tim e is : w h a t stand should be taken on the w a r? In a m an i­festo devoted to the war- in Russia, su re ly one would expect a simple, c lear answer to' th is s im ­ple c lear question. In tru th , however, the m an i­festo is w r itte n precise ly w ith an eye to evad­in g th is question, and to s lu t all-com ers.

“ W hatever m ay be the end o f the Russo-Ger­man w ar, the reg im e o f the S ta lin is t buroeracy is doomed. Russian v iq to ry aga inst H it le r would on ly be made possible by a pro found revo lu tion o f the masses and the consequent res to ra tion o f the conquests o f October and o f the r ig h ts and benefits to the Russian w o rk in g class th a t the Bolshevik revo lu tion sought to g ive them in its beginn ing.” A nd p r io r to th is s ta tem ent we have: “ In the Soviet U n ion, more than in any o ther country , v ic to ry in case o f w a r w i l l be assured m a in ly by the power o f its ideals, by the in te r­na tiona l s o lid a rity o f the w orkers , by the revo lu ­tio n a ry prospects in o ther countries, and no t by the Russian guns, tanks and planes alone.” B u t fo r reasons th a t are c lear on ly to the W P, S ta lin alone is made custodian o f the revo lu tiona ry p ro ­cess. “ These ideo log ica l weapons have been squandered by S ta lin .” Hence we m ust d iscard a vain hope.

The “ Logic” o f the Petty-BourgeosieOne would suppose th a t w ith these as the prem ­

ises fo r Soviet v ic to ry , the re could he no two choices in the m a tte r: one m ust be fo r the v ic ­to ry o f the Soviet U n ion a t a ll costs, fo r even w ith v ic to ry S ta lin is doomed. S hall we a t least make the e f fo r t to meet these conditions fo r the advance o f the w o rke rs ’ revo lu tion? We quote the logic o f the m an ifesto on th is cruc ia l po in t. We have,,©m itted.na step in the reasoning, no th ­ing is le f t out. “ I f th is fa ils to come, w h a t the Soviet U n ion m ay expect is de feat by H it le r ’s guns or, possibly, dism em berm ent even in ease o f an A llie d v ic to ry . There is the re fo re no place in th is w ar fo r defense o f the present Soviet reg im e under S ta lin ’s d ic ta to rsh ip ” . How did th is . conclusion sneak in?

T ru th to to ll, the w r ite r fo rge ts w ha t lie w ro te from one sentence to the next. H a v ing been in ­form ed th a t the S ta lin reg im e is doomed no m at­te r w hat the outcome o f the w ar, we go back and read th is in te res tin g h it o f a rgum enta tion : “ I f the bureaucratic gang were able to go th rou gh the whole process o f the present w a r un in ju red , then the establishm ent o f à new social class, based on a collective fo rm o f p ro pe rty , w ou ld be the c le a rly v is ib le cu lm ina tion o f Russia’s p o lit i­cal and economic evo lu tion .” T h is cannot be.

Nevertheless, the w r ite r then bases his conclu­sions on prec ise ly th is b it o f conditiona l reason­in g th a t s im p ly cannot be. H it le r ’s v ic to ry w i l l accomplish ( fo r the w o rk in g class, i f the w r ite r is to be understood) one g re a t progressive task ; namely, the destruction o f the S ta lin is t to ta l i t ­a rian reg im e.

The End-Product o f Soviet DefeatismW hen i t comes to obscurantism , the w r ite r o f

the m an ifesto y ie lds no th in g to H it le r . Coveve'd over under these phrases is the d e s ira b ility o f a Russian defeat because i t w i l l ove rth row the Sta­lin is t regim e. One w ould suppose th a t the ve r­iest ch ild would understand th a t th is means k i l l ­in g no t on ly the S ta lin is t reg im e b u t the Oc­tober R evolu tion as w e ll.

To get around th is fa c t the m an ifesto resorts to the purest fo rm o f m ystic ism . H it le r ’s v ic ­to ry w i l l a t the same tim e mean his defeat! How come? The Russian p ro le ta r ia t w i l l then revive, H it le r hav ing rendered them the proper a id fo r the purpose by g e ttin g r id o f S talin.. In ­credible, hu t here i t is : “ A ssau lting Russia, the m ost he can do, besides g e ttin g some im m ediate m a te ria l advantages in case o f an over-pow ering bu t tra n s ie n t v ic to ry , is to destroy a decayed reg im e and crush S ta lin ism . B u t the Russian land in its im m ensity w i l l absorb h is exc lus ive ly m il ita ry v ic to ry and m eanwhile the people, who are tem pered by the tra d itio n s o f th e ir g re a t revo lu tion and b rough t up in a n ti-fa sc is t hatred, are im m une fro m in te rn a l poisoning by means o f ass im ila tion o f the conqueror’s ideology. B y de­s tro y in g w ith his guns the S ta lin is t to ta lita r ia n regim e, H itle r , like the sorcerer’s apprentice o f the fab le, w i l l have set loose the forces o f h is ­to ry , b r in g in g fo r th the to rre n ts o f revo lu tion .”

I f the Russian w orkers were unable by them ­selves to th ro w o f f the S ta lin is t incubus, ju s t how w il l they be enabled to th ro w o f f the more po w e rfu l H it le r a fte r his complete d ispersal o f a ll Soviet forces and in s titu tio n s ? Please do no t expeet any k ind o f answer fro m the m anifesto. I ts th in k in g is on a plane a ll its own, fo llo w in g no laws o f e ith e r o rd in a ry log ic o r o f d ialectics, bu t a schematism th a t f i t s an unrea l w o rld . The question rem ains: aside fro m canvassing, even in its own pecu lia r way, a ll the poss ib ilities o f v ic to rv o r defeat,, is the W P. fo r o r aga ins t Rus­sian v ic to ry , o r is i t com ple te ly in d iffe re n t? O n ly shame-faced cowardice keeps the manifesto- fro m g iv in g a sim ple answer to th is s im ple question.

The

By A D R A F T E EA great many draftees entered the Army with the illusion

that they were going to be trained to defend democracy. They are fast learning differently, and it is the Army regime itself which is educating them to a considerable extent on this score.

The draftees are learning that the Arm y itself is not a democratic institution. “ Discipline” is the incessant theme of

By Lydia Beidel

T H E M I L I T A N T OCTOBER 18, 19416 —

" Why We Left The Petty Bourgeois Opposition"Statem ent o f 12 Former W orker Party Members W ho Broke W ith the Shactm anite Group and Rejoined the Trotskyists

THE MILITANTFormerly the SOCIALIST APPEAL

Vol. V.— No. 42 Saturday, October 18, 1941

Published Weekly by T H E M IL IT A N T P U B L IS H IN G ASS'N

a t 116 University Place, New York, N. Y.Telephone: Algonquin 4-8547

Editor:F E L IX MORROWBusiness Manager:LYD IA B EIDEL

B u b sc r lp tio n a : *2.00 per y e a r ; *1.00 Tor s ix month». Vm-oifra : *2.00 per year. *1.00 to r s ix m onths. B u n d l* « d o r s : t cents pe r copy In the U n ite d S ta te s ; 4 oents per copy In a l l fo re ie n countries. S ing le co p ie s : i cents.

JO IN US IN F IG H TIN G FOR:1. M il i ta r y t ra in in g o f w o rke rs , financed

by the gove rnm en t, b u t u n d e r c o n tro l o f the trade u n ion s . Specia l o ff ic e rs ’ tra in in g camps, financed by the gov­e rn m e n t b u t c o n tro lle d by th e trade u n ion s , to t ra in w o rke rs to becom e o ffic e rs .

2. T ra d e u n io n wages f o r a ll w o rke rs d ra fte d in to the a rm y .

3 . F u l l e q u a lity f o r Negroes in the a rm ed fo rces and the w ar in d u s tr ie s — D ow n w ith J im C row ism everyw here .

4 . A peop les ’ re fe re n d u m on any and a ll wars.

5 . C on fisca tion o f a ll w a r p ro fits . E x p ro ­p r ia t io n o f a ll w a r in d u s tr ie s and th e ir o p e ra tio n u n d e r w o rk e rs ’ c o n tro l.

6 . F o r a r is in g scale o f wages to m eet the r is in g cost o f liv in g .

7. W o rk e rs D efense G uards against v ig ­ila n te and fasc is t attacks.

8. A n In d e pe n de n t L a b o r P a rty based on the T rade U n ions.

9 . A W o rk e rs ’ and F a rm ers ’ G ove rn ­m en t.

W hat The Prosecutions Cannot Accomplish

“ The party has been killed recently, which no doubt accounts for its extraordinary activity. There is nothing that helps the Socialist movement so much as receiving an occasional death blow'. The oftener it is killed, the more boundless, the more active, the more energetic it becomes.”

These words were spoken by Eugene V. Debs in his famous Canton Speech dli June 16, 1918, the speech expressing his uncompromising opposi­tion to World War 1 for which he w;as placed on tria l before a federal court in Cleveland and sen­tenced to ten years in ja il.

Debs’ words apply just as well today to the situation of our party.

Next Monday, October 20 (by a coincidence the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Debs), 28 members of the Socialist Workers Party and of Motor Transport and Allied Workers Industrial Union, Local 544-00 , w ill face a federal judge in Minneapolis for their opposition to imperialist World War II.

The first national meeting of Trotskyists since the indictment was held in Chicago on October 11-12. I f the government expected, by the blow it struck in indicting the 28 defendants to cow or demoralize or frighten the Socialist Workers Party, it received only a surprise and a disappointment.

For not only was this Plenum-Conference the largest ever held by the American Trotskyist movement, but also the most enthusiastic, the most determined, the most spirited.

This was not because the delegates lighl-minded- ly underestimated the seriousness of the imposing machine arrayed against them.

The delegates took this fu lly into consideration, but they looked deeper than the surface, and they were not dismayed by the government’s prosecu­tions because they saw in them not a sign of the strength, but of the desperate weakness of a de­caying capitalist system.

The representatives of this dying social order may try, and they may succeed, in imprisoning or otherwise removing some of its opponents. But be­cause their system can produce only war and fas­cism and hunger, they can never destroy the op­position to that system itself.

The Socialist Workers Party, of course, does not desire prosecutions. But neither is it afraid of them, and neither w ill it back down on a single thing it stands for'because of them. This was shown by the spirit and decisions of the Chicago Plenum-Conference. It w ill be further shown by the conduct of the defendants in the Minneapolis court room, and by the future party activity.

Discarding A FictionRoosevelt has taken another major step to

drag this country into the imperialist war, by demanding the repeal of that section of the Neu­tra lity Act which bars the arming of American merchant ships.

As in almost every other instance when Roose­velt has sought Congressional action, this, latest step is intended merely to give legal sanction to measures he has already taken.

American merchant ships — under cover of.Pan­ama registry — arc already travelling armed on the high seas. It has been revealed that the Pink Star, which was recently sunk, was one of these armed ships.

The arming was done secretly on orders of the

Navy Department. Scores of other ships — how many is not exactly established, but it is known to be a large number — have been sim ilarly armed.

It is by such tricks and evasions that the Ad­ministration has consistently violated the clearly established intent of the Neutrality Act, which has not yet been repealed.

In calling for the amendment of the Neutrality Act to permit arming of merchant ships, Roose­velt is simpty discarding one more legal fiction.

From first to last, Roosevelt has regarded the Neutrality Act with utmost cynicism. He has permitted it to be flagrantly violated, and has aided and abetted these violations.

So long as he was able to carry out his war-like measures within the framework of the Neutrality Act, Roosevelt preferred it. I f the Act did not, in fact, prevent him from sending arms to belliger­ents in American ships, if it did not prevent him from arming merchant vessels or taking all the other steps he has taken to involve this nation in the imperialist war, that was all to the good. Then the fiction of “ neutrality” was useful in conceal­ing his war designs behind a screen of "peaceful intent.”

But the Neutrality Act no longer serves this purpose for Roosevelt. I t has become an impedi­ment to him. He is preparing for all-out war, and soon.

So, as fast as he is able, Roosevelt is scuttling even the legal fictions of the Neutrality Act. In the meantime, he continues to arm American mer­chant ships — under a Panama flag.

How the CP 'Aids' USSRThe terrible losses and defeats in the Soviet

Union — which make it clearer than ever that Stalinism is incapable of leading the workers state to anything but disaster — have had but one ef­fect on the Communist Party in the United States: to intensify and deepen their support of the Roose­velt war program as the only means of defending the Soviet Union.

In a single day, for example, on Friday, Oc­tober 10, the Stalinists came out with the demand that the United States enter the war (“ Open the Western Front as the jo in t m ilita ry undertaking of America and Brita in” ) ; threw their fu ll weight behind the drive to shackle the labor movement to the war machine ("Anyth ing that interferes with production of needed war supplies — whether as a result of strikes or of delays by the employers — can only help H itler and weaken the defense of the United States'’ ) ; and withdrew their own mayoralty candidate in the New York C ity elec­tions in favor of the union-buster LaGuardia.

The Stalin regime in the USSR has staked all its hopes on 'a id ’ from the ‘democratic’ imperial­ists, and has shaped all its policies accordingly. It has refused to make any kind of appeal to the German masses to overthrow capitalism and es­tablish a Soviet Germany — the policy of revolu­tionary war successfully followed by Lenin and Trotsky in the early and dark days of the work­ers state. The Kremlin has not even dared to prom­ise the German workers that it w ill fight side by side with them against another Versailles treaty and by silence on this question has permitted H it­ler to hold on to the demagogic vtcapon that wins support for his war in Germany.

The Stalinists in this country arc not carrying on their warmongering, anti-labor activities be­cause they like imperialist war or because they get pleasure out of strike-breaking. It is simply that they are implementing and supporting Stalin’s re­actionary line and its American off-shoots.

And the American working class w ill hold the Stalinists responsible not only for their vicious domestic policy, but also for the part they are playing in helping Stalin to lead the Soviet Union to the very brink of catastrophe.

Whitewashing Jim Crow"Col. Charles B. Elliot, commander of the na­

tion’s largest army camp at Fort Bragg. N. C., has been removed after his flagrant anti-Negro policies led to the needless death of a Negro and white soldier,” says an editorial entitled “ A Vic­tory for Negro Rights — and National Defense” in the D aily Worker of Oct. 11.

But this was not a victory for Negro rights — i t is only an attempt by the Stalinists to win sup­port among Negroes for the Roosevelt war pro­gram by distorting the facts to make it appear a victory.

E lliot carried out consistent anti-Negro policies while he commanded Fort Bragg, and it was these policies, not E llio t alone, which were responsible for the murder of Private Ned Turman, Negro draftee whose last words after defending himself against brutal attacks by m ilita ry police were “ I ’m going to break up you M P’s beating us col­ored soldiers!”

And this policy was not originated by Elliot, it was only carried out by him. This Jim Crow m ilita ry policy came from a higher source even than the officer commanding the fort — it came from Washington, from the office of the command­er-in-chief of the armed forces, from Roosevelt himself, that great “ democrat” whom the Stalin­ists now support.

Further proof that this was no victory for Ne­gro rights lies in the fact that while E llio t was dismissed from command of Fort Bragg, he w'as not dismissed from the army. He was only trans­ferred to another fort, where he w ill be able to continue to carry out the same practices and poli­cies he carried out at Bragg.

A ll the whitewash in the world w ill not be able to hide the truth that Roosevelt is determined to use only a Jim Crow army in his crusade for “ democracy” . I t was so before the Nazi-Soviet war began, it is so today. The only difference is that the Stalinists exposed it before, and they try to cover i t up now.

(The fo llo w in g statem ent, which we publish in condensed fo rm , was issued a t the recent conven­tion o f the so-called W orkers P a rty , the pe tty bourgeois opposition which s p lit fro m the SWP la s t year. The statem ent is signed by twelve fo rm e r W P members who conducted a s tru g g le w ith in th is o rgan iza tion fo r the defense o f the Soviet Un ion and fo r the princ ip les o f T ro ts k y ­ism.

These tw elve revo lu tion is ts are predom inant­ly fac to ry workers. A m ong them are trade union organ izers and o ffic ia ls . A l l these p a rty a c tiv ­is ts and serious m ilita n ts , a fte r announcing th e ir resignation , a ffirm e d th e ir in te n tio n to jo in the ranks o f the SW P, where a ll sincere re vo lu tion ­is ts belong, and where they can always find th e ir place).

A year and a h a lf ago, toge ther w ith the pres­ent leadership o f the W orkers P a rty — defections excepted — we took the resp on s ib ility fo r s p lit ­t in g the re vo lu tio n a ry movem ent in A m erica. We did th is w ith the f irm convic tion th a t we were fo llo w in g the pa th o f re vo lu tio n a ry M arx ism and were ac ting in the best in te rests o f the w o rld p ro le ta rian revo lu tion .

Today, we f in d th a t no t on ly were we serious­ly m istaken, b u t' th a t the W orkers P a r ty has trave led • so fa r fro m M arx ism , th a t i t is in a deep, insoluble in te rna l c ris is . A t th is po in t i t m ust e ith e r run its course to complete rev is ion ­ism or fa l l apart fro m its own c e n trifu g a l force. . .

The a ttitu d e o f any group in the w o rk in g class movement towards the Russian Revolution, the character o f the Soviet state and the defense o f the USSR fro m im p e ria lis t a ttack is the touch­stone o f its a tt itu d e tow a rd a ll fundam enta l, p r in ­cipled problem s con fro n tin g the in te rna tiona l w o rk in g class. M ore than once has th is been said and proved bu t i t is doub tfu l w he the r i t has had a more eloquent con firm ation than the course o f the W orkers P a rty since the outbreak o f the Soviet-Q erm an w ar. . .

U nder the im pact o f th is b low , the superfic ia l cohesiveness o f the W orkers P a r ty has been sha t­tered and its in te rna l s tate o f chaos revealed. . .

Before the Soviet-G erm an w a r, the d issident tendencies expressed themselves w ith in the P a rty thus; F irs t , in the sham efu l desertion o f B u rn ­ham, a leader o f the O pposition (and, inc iden ta l­ly ,-o r ig in a to r o f the po litica l theories w h ich are today m aking the greatest headway w ith in the P a rty ) . Then, in the defection o f a crude op­p o rtu n is t tendency among the youth, the Sher­manites, who made th e ir w ay in a s ing le leap fro m the W orkers P a rty to the p o lit ic a l degen­erates o f the Socia list P a rty . Then, in the endless debate between the P. C. and M acDonald, who fin a lly gave up t ry in g to disprove T ro ts k y ’s p re­dictions as to his fa te and jo ined B urnham in p o lit ic a l ob liv ion . A nd th roughou t th is en tire period, a ll the tendencies vied w ith one another in a hasty re tre a t fro m the fundam enta ls o f M arx ism as they have been accepted and under­stood h is to r ic a lly in the revo lu tiona ry movement.

Since the Soviet-G erm an w a r, the P a rty has entered a new stage in the pe rpe tua l in te rn a l s trugg le . In the N a tion a l Com m ittee, the re are no less than fo u r separate tendencies -—- a ll rep­resenting a re tre a t fro m the basic doctrines o f M arx ism and Lenin ism .C U R R E N T T E N D E N C IE S

C arte r, who repo rted ly has a la rge fo llo w in g in New Y o rk and thereby in the na tiona l organ­iza tion , cyn ica lly adm its th a t T ro ts k y was r ig h t in posing the question o f the cha racter o f the USSR as the fundam enta l question and then p ro ­ceeds to discard v ir tu a lly eve ry th ing else o f s ig ­nificance in T ro ts k y ’s w r it in g s and theories. Aside fro m the fa c t th a t he s t i l l rem ains in the movement w h ile B urnham is out, C a rte r has no o ther d ifferences w ith his ideolog ica l m entor. He holds the en tire rev is ion is t concept o f Burnham . I t is on ly a m a tte r o f tim e before he is faced w ith B urnham ’s adm itted choice: w in the p a rty over to rev is ion ism o r leave it . U n like B u rn ­ham, C a rte r m ay n o t have to leave; fo r he is w e ll on the w ay tow a rd success in w in n in g the p a rty over to his a n ti-M a rx is t p rogram already.

Johnson covers his rev is ion ism in the m ost ac­cepted s ty le — by long quotations fro m M arx. B u t his characteriza tion o f the USSR d iffe rs from B urnham ’s on ly academ ically. I t is on ly a m a tte r o f tim e before there is a t least a tem ­po ra ry truce between Johnson and C arte r. The content o f th e ir characterizations o f the USSR is iden tica l and the y w i l l undoubtedly be driven over the hurd le o f te rm ino log ica l diffe rences to achieve fac tio na l u n ity aga inst the cen tris ts . . .

Shachtman continues to oscilla te in the rea lm o f his a n ti-M a rx is t fo rm u la tio ns on “ the charac­te r o f the w a r,” repea ting his perform ance o f a year and a h a lf ago. l ie no tifie s the Russian workers, who are w ag ing an heroic ba ttle against im peria lism , th a t th is tim e he w i l l be a de feat­is t ; a lthough — g re a t consolation -—■ on another occasion he may be a defensist. Thus, in practice, he finds agreem ent w ith the rev is ion is ts , a lthough fo r some m ysterious reason he continues to find ju s tific a tio n fo r h is be traya ls o f the m om ent in prom ises o f lo y a lty in the fu tu re . So in f ile meantim e he figh ts i t ou t w ith C a rte r and John­son to settle the basis on w h ich to be a de featis t. This, w ith reference to the USSR, where Shacht­man heatedly insists there is som eth ing w o rth defending and a t a tim e when the-som eth ing- w orth -de fend ing is be ing destroyed by im p e ria l­ism !

W ilson, E. Lund, etc., are in the m ost ludicrous position o f a ll. They agree to agree on tactics w ith o u t f i r s t considering the fundam enta l, p r in ­c ipa l question involved. They agree on the de­fense o f the USSR w ith o u t f i r s t answ ering the question o f the class na ture o f the state they are defending. Thus they re-enact the trage dy o f the f ig h t w ith in the SW P as a comedy. I t does not take g re a t powers o f p red ic tion to fo recast th a t the unprinc ip led tendency o f so-called “ con­

d itio n a l defensists” w i l l find common ground w ith Shachtman. In practice these people w il l cap itu ­la te to the defeatists by find ing the fo rm u la o f u n ity w th them aga inst the uncond itiona l de- fensis^.s. A s the whole experience o f the bu ild ­in g o f the F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l shows, cen tris ts who are m oving to the r ig h t in v a ria b ly fo rg e t th e ir ostensible agreem ent w ith the M arx is ts on fundam enta l, p rinc ip led questions in fa v o r o f o r­gan iza tiona l com binations w ith the a n ti-M a rx ­ists. . .

One year and a h a lf a f te r the s p lit fro m the SWP we are forced to say c le a rly and w ith fu l l knowledge o f the im p lica tion th a t the W orkers P a rty is a p e tty bourgeois c e n tris t conglom era­tion o f tendencies tra v e lin g aw ay fro m M arx ism .

The Soviet-G erm an w a r and its im pact on the p a rty is fo r us the c ruc ia l test. I t places before the in te rn a tio n a l w o rk in g class the task o f the revo lu tiona ry defense o f the Soviet U n ion . In the face o f c lear evidence c o n firm in g the whole thesis o f the F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l — fro m its foundation documents to the fa c tio n a l s trugg le of two years ago — has the leadership o f the W o rk ­ers P a rty indicated the s lig h te s t in te res t in re ­eva lua ting ou r a tta ck on th is thesis? On the con tra ry , the Soviet-G erm an w a r has been w e l­comed by the P a rty leadership no t as the occa­sion o f a step tow ards M arx ism bu t ra th e r as an o p p o rtu n ity to accelerate the headlong re tre a t towards the m ost naked fo rm o f revis ion ism . T R O T S K Y ’S T E A C H IN G S FO R G O TTEN

I t is am azing how m any o f T ro ts k y ’s basic con tribu tions to the re v o lu tio n a ry movem ent have a lready been fo rg o tte n w ith in the W orkers P a r­ty . . .

( I t should be noted th a t some o f the rev is ion ­ists — Johnson and C arte r, no tab ly — are a lready developing the ra tio n a liza tio n -th e o ry th a t “ T ro t­sky has been w rong fo r f if te e n years.” A t the tim e o f the s p lit, T ro ts k y was on ly w ro ng on the question o f the day. N ow , when they are d iscard­in g a ll the basic princ ip les o f the T ro ts k y is t movement, they conclude th a t T ro ts k y has been w ro ng a ll along. The ne x t step is th e ir inevitab le conclusion, a f te r they are forced to rea lize th a t they are deserting M arx ism , th a t M arx, Engels, Lenin, etc., have been w ro ng a ll a long too , . .)

To re fresh the m inds o f those who have fo r ­go tten too soon:

On the na tu re o f the Soviet U nion, its class character and the S ta lin is t bureaucracy: TheRevolu tion Betrayed. Does i t seem s trange to name th is w ork , an accepted classic in the move­ment, as recommended read ing fo r everyone? Y e t i t answers q ll the questions raised by C arte r and Johnson and accepted by a la rge p a r t o f the P arty . . .

On the deense o f the USSR fro m im p e ria lis t a t­tack — The USSR and the W ar. Th is , some o f the present defeatists m ay reca ll, is the thesis w r itte n by T ro tsky a t the outbreak o f the second w orld w a r and published in the New In te rn a tio n ­al. Perhaps they w i l l also reca ll th a t i t was ac­cepted, by and la rge, by the M in o r ity Fac­tion both du rin g and a f te r the fac tio na l s trugg le . In th is document, T ro ts k y antic ipates B urnham ’s m anageria l revo lu tion , Johnson’s c a p ita lis t socie­ty theory and Shachtm an’s new social class. None o f these re fu te d the document o r even tr ie d to d isprove it . B u t w h a t is m ost im p o rta n t is th a t T ro ts k y ind ispu tab ly proves th a t h is re fu ta tio n o f these rev is ion is t theories flow s fro m the ve ry princ ip les w h ich made the October Revolution. . .

On the na tu re o f the W orkers P a rty , w r itte n before the P a rty was ac tu a lly fo rm ed and borne ou t by the experiences o f the past tw o years — A P etty Bourgeois O pposition in the S.W.P. and F rom A Scratch T o Gangrene. A lso fa m il ia r names? To m any o f the comrades in the W o rk ­ers P a r ty they are a lready fo rgo tte n . B u t the c la r ity w ith w h ich they analyze the W orkers P a rty — in advance! — and the accuracy w ith which they p red ic t its course cannot be g a in ­said. . .

T h is is the p rogram on w h ich we m ust take ou r stand and th is is the ideolog ica l basis fro m which we derive our program . W e cannot stand w ith f l ic rev is ion is ts , whose m o tion is in a s tra ig h t line aw ay fro m re vo lu tio n a ry M arx ism . The p a r ty which adheres to and advocates T ro t­s k y ’s ideas and T ro ts k y ’s p rog ram is the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty and w ith i t we find p o lit ic a l so lid­a r ity .

To- the comrades o f the W orkers P a rty , we re ­peat over and over aga in ; W atch the develop­ments w ith in the P a rty and see where they lead. F rom W ilson — to Shachtm an — to C a rte r — to Johnson — to MacDonald and B urnham . F rom “ cond itiona l defensism ” — to “ conditiona l de feat­ism ” — to uncond itiona l defeatism — to re jec tion o f the class strugg le . F rom the re jec tion o f M a rx is t (class) c r ite r ia — to the re jec tion o f T ro tsky ism — to the re jec tion o f Bolshevism — to the abandonment o f the revo lu tion . How m any tim es has th is fa ta l course been traced. . .

To the comrades o f the W orkers P a rty who see th is tendency c le a rly and understand its im p li­cations, we u rge : Jo in us! Jo in the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty and hafp bu ild the p a r ty o f revo­lu tio n a ry M arx ism !

JO H N BO RDEN , A c tin g O rgan izer, Los Angeles and M em ber o f Sec­tio n E xecutive Com m ittee.M IK E B A R T E L L , M em ber SectionE xecu tive Com m ittee, Los Angeles.E D IT H M A N N , M em ber SectionExecutive Com m ittee, Los Angeles.A B E M A Y E RD A V ID M A N NM A R Y O L IV E RB U R T R A N DDO LO RES H IL L S O NL E O N A J. (San Francisco)R O N A S H E R M A N (Y .P .S .L .)FRED KENT M ILTON A LV IN

B y M IC H A E L CORTThe German m il ita ry machine is conducting the

m ost extensive rea r guard action in m odern m il ita ry h is to ry . T h is action is no t confined to the im m ediate rea r o f the Germ an-Russian ba ttle lines; i t extends fro m the U kra ine w estw ard to the A tla n tic and fro m the A rc tic C irc le south to the M editerranean and A fr ic a . The whole o f occupied Europe, seething w ith re vo lt aga inst Nazi ru le , is in a continuous process o f being “ mopped-up.”

Since June o f th is year 70,000 persons have been searched and questioned in P a ris alone, according to s ta tis tics issued by the N az i forces o f occupation th is week. O f the persons questioned, 1,000 have been arrested. T h is is exclusive o f the mass round­ups o f Jews and the house-to-house searches fo r revo lu tiona ry lea fle ts and arm s. These fig u re s fo r a sing le c ity g ive an idea o f the ex te n t o f the p re ­ventive measures w h ich the N az i have found i t nec­essary to take in order to m a in ta in th e ir ru le th rou gh ­out Europe.

Sum m ary courts in Prague sentenced to death 15 persons la s t Saturday. Open w a rfa re is be ing waged in C roatia between the N azis and na tive gu e rrilla s . E n tire reg im ents o f Roum anian troops have revo lted when ordered in to ba ttle on the Odessa fro n t. F ive G erm an reg im ents m arched th rou gh B u lg a ria th is week on th e ir w ay to Greece to aid the Ita lia n s who have been unable to keep order in th a t coun try . B u l- gars and Danes and Dutchm en and N orw egians are a ll s tr ik in g a t th e ir Fasc is t oppressors, though they face ce rta in death whenever they ge t caught.

The methods o f te r ro r now being employed to sup­press th is unrest, are no t the m ethods th a t H it le r v o lu n ta r ily chose as the means fo r sa feguard ing his ru le — they have been forced upon h im by the des­perateness o f his position. He w ould much p re fe r to obtain the v o lu n ta ry cooperation o f the conquered peoples. Such cooperation w ou ld re lieve the Reich o f enormous costs in men and m ateria ls . B u t H it le r ’s “ co llabora to rs” , his Q uislings and Peta ins, have be­come increas ing ly im poten t, and so he is forced to. use his own soldiers and his own gunpowder. IN V A S IO N OF USSR IN S P IR E S R E V O LTS

The present wave o f a n ti-N a z i dem onstrations and sabotage in occupied Europe had its inception w ith the outbreak o f the N az i-S ov ie t w a r. T h is is a s ig ­n ifica n t fac t.

The European masses did n o t rise up to s tr ik e a t the N azis when Denm ark fe ll, o r N o rw ay, o r France, o r the Balkans. W hen Eng land faced w h a t appeared to be certa in invasion, she found l i t t le sym pa thy o r support on the C ontinent. I t was on ly when the Ger­m an Fascists tu rned on the Soviet U n ion th a t they experienced rea l d iff ic u lt ie s in th e ir rea r.

The blows now being s truck aga ins t the German forces o f occupation are la rg e ly blows in the defense o f the Soviet U n ion. The persecuted masses tu rn in s tin c tiv e ly to the w o rke rs ’ S tate fo r leadership in the hour o f th e ir darkest need. Th is action is spon­taneous and in s tin c tive on ly because no ca ll fo r revo­lu tio n a ry s o lid a rity has ye t come fro m the bureauc­racy ru lin g the Soviets. The K re m lin gives no con­scious ¡proletarian revo lu tiona ry d irec tio n to the s trugg le .

S ta lin has conducted his a g ita tio n on a s tr ic t ly n a tio n a lis t p a tr io t ic level. A n y th in g else w ould have offended his im p e ria lis t a llies in London and W ash­ington, who fe a r w o rke rs ’ revo lu tion as much as H i t ­le r. A nd yet, in sp ite o f the lack o f rea l revo lu tion ­a ry leadership, the European w orkers show th e ir un­derstand ing o f the d iffe rence between a w o rke rs ’ state and a c a p ita lis t state. They know th a t in the Soviet Un ion there are no c a p ita lis t land lords and bosses. They also know th a t the A llie d powers, like the Nazis, are w a rr in g on ly fo r the bene fit o f the ca p ita l­is t basses. They know th a t to e lim ina te ca p ita lis t w a r they m ust e lim ina te those who p ro fit fro m i t — and th is has been done on ly in the Soviet U n ion. T h a t sim ple fa c t tu rn s the oppressed peoples o f the occupied countries in the d irec tion o f the f irs t w o rk ­ers’ state.“ D E M O C R A C IE S ” DO N O T A ID RE V O LTS

The N azis recen tly ceased the practice o f labe ling a ll saboteurs “ Com m unists” and o ften re fe r to them now as “ agents o f B r ita in .” O bviously these brave men and women are no t agents o f B r ita in , otherw ise they would have s tru ck when B r ita in was m ost im ­periled — no t when the Soviet U n ion is f ig h tin g fo r its life . C hurch ill, however, g la d ly accepts the “ re ­sp o n s ib ility ” fo r the up ris ings. He would lik e the B r it is h and A m erican w orkers to th in k th a t these g ro w in g revo lts are m an ifes ta tions o f suppo rt fo r the “ Democracies” and he would like to s ide track the un rest aw ay fro m the d irec tion o f a class revo lu tion .

Each tim e C h u rch ill takes c red it fo r a wrecked tra in o r a slow-down s tr ike , he lands a b low aga ins t the peoples now s tru g g lin g to th ro w o f f H i t le r ’s yoke. C h u rch ill is an enemy o f H it le r ; b u t overw e igh ing th a t is the fa c t th a t he is the enemy o f the German people. He represents another V ersa illes T re a ty w ith a ll its m ise ry fo r the conquered. How ever much the German people m ay hate H it le r , they hate and fe a r no less the r iv a l B r it is h and A m erican im p e ria lis ts who would shackle the defeated peoples to a system o f fo re ign oppression more v io le n t even than th a t imposed by the m onstrous T re a ty o f V ersa illes.

Each tim e C h u rch ill c la im s c red it fo r an ac t o f a n ti-N a z i sabotage, lie tends to alienate the German and French and Greek people fro m the saboteurs. He d iscred its the m otives o f the a n ti-N a z i #figh te rs and in tu rn increases the prestige o f H itle r , who bases much o f his propaganda upon the ve ry rea l in jus tices done the people o f the C ontinent by the T re a ty o f Versa illes.

B u t, in sp ite o f C h u rch ill’s h a rm fu l a ttem p ts to g ive a “ dem ocratic” im p e ria lis t co lo r to these re ­vo lts , the rcsistence to H it le r increases. W ith l i t t le hope o f d ire c t m il ita ry aid fro m the A llie s , the mass­es nevertheless take up arm s and challenge the in ­vader.

A l l th is occurs in sp ite o f the past be traya ls o f re vo lu tio n a ry s itua tions by the K re m lin ; in sp ite o f the lack o f re vo lu tio n a ry leadership in the present cris is. I f the Russian Soviets are rev ita lized , i f S ta­lin ism is replaced by Bolshevism , i f the Soviet U n ion issues an in te rn a tio n a l revo lu tio n a ry appeal, the E u ­ropean masses w i l l respond in a m anner th a t would explode Europe and d rive German and A llie d im ­p e ria lis ts a like o f f the face o f the w o rld .

“ Reentered as second class m atter February 13. 1341 at the post, office at New York. N . Y.# under the Act of March 3. 1879/»

W hat Has Inspired The Growing Unrest In Occupied Lands?