The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-15

tifying ourselves completely with
their plans and not disclosing the
fact that we are Communists. In
aur great, wholesome desire to
build up a great class farmer-labor
party, we may easily put our soul
into the movement, make its pro-
gram our own and gradually swing
over to reformism. This is not
likely to be true Of the Workers
Party, which is made up of healthy
proletarian elements-but it is true
Of single members and of large
numbers ct them. Owing to the diff
ficulty of defending a new party
against the big capitalist parties
and of presenting our criticism of its
aims and methods; and in view of
our wish to demonstrate to the
workers and farmers that we are
earnestly endeavoring to build up
the new party, some members may
very easily steer into reformist
channels and actually get lost to the
Communist movement
Concrete Examples of Degeneration.
This is not only theoretically pos
sible but has actually taken place in
two drastic instances in recent his
tory. The Communist Party of
Germany sent three of the best
members of its Central Executive
Committee into the Socialist-Com-
munist government of Saxony. 1t
seemed as if this government might
be the starting point of the Prole-
tartan Revolution in Germany. But
these three right wing Communists
completely demoralized the Com
munist forces of Germany Whether
the German workers were ready to
fight or not, the spectacle of these
three Communists carrying on
propaganda and acting in such
fashion that they were not to be
differentiated from the left social
democrats confused the revolution
airy masses. who were waiting for
action. These supposedly tried
Communists were really corrupted
by contact with the reformists and
forgot their Communist program
and aims.
In Great Britain, again during
the recent elections, several Com
munist candidates on thea Labor
Party ticket even refused to state
that they were Communists. Their
election addresses played up all the
reformistic illusions that still fill
the minds Of the working masses.
Imbued with the false idea that it is
their prime duty to build up the
Labor Party against the capitalist
parties, and not that they must de-
fend it and still mercilessly criticize
it for the weaknesses of its program
and the falsity Of its methods, they
adulterated the Communist propa-
ganda. Thereby they made the
whole Communist Party responsible
for propaganda and acts that a Com
munist Party must repudiate if it
does not wish to be completely
discredited.
Our Duty.
Let no one think that the task is
simple: To defend party and criti-
CHE it! 1t is extremely difficult
especially for membership that is
not trained in such maneuvering.
The struggle throws us into this
action and the membership must be
prepared for it. If the members do
not retain their physiognomy, if the
Workers Party does not retain its
identity, both in propaganda and ac-
ton as a Communist Party, it will
be lost in the struggle and disinte-
CRATE.
There is the other danger that
the party may forget its duty to
defend and build up the new party
as the only means whereby the
masses of workers and working
farmers will be separated from the
big capitalist parties. 1t is an illu-
sion to hope that the masses of the
workers and working turner's viii,
at the present stage of the struggle
in the United States, turn to the
Workers Party as their political
leader. But to stand aside from the
struggle and from participation in
the party, even a third party
under certain given conditions
means to isolate ourselves, to be
totally discredited as leaders Of the
revolutionary working class. 1t