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

conscious farmer part knows clearly
what it wants and has learned from
the history of the past movements,
and particularly of the Nonpartisan
League, that it can only get what it
wants from class party. They
have also learned that farmer
movement alone will result in fail
ure-it will be crushed as the Non
partisan League was crushed. The
history of Bulgaria demonstrates
the same facts in Europe. Hence
these farmers have united with
revolutionary and radical workers
in the formation Of the Federated
Farmer-Labor Party and the many
State farmer-labor parties.
The other section of the farmers,
less class-conscious, but demanding
that change in political affairs
be brought about, still believes in
good" ."honest" leaders. When
such leaders appear, who have no
intention Of adhering to a class
party, as La Toilette, Shipstead and
Johnson, these farmers follow in
their trail in the futile belief that
these st. Georges VIII be, able to
kill the dragons of the old big CAPT
talist parties. Their immediate eco
nomic interests may not be SO close
ly bound up with those of the work
ers-or when they actually are, they
still cherish the belief that all
Americans are "free citizens" and
are alike at the polls; and especially
that the American electors control
the government.
The workers are held back by
many influences. Suffering from
the same illusions as the farmers
and petty bourgeoisie, they are i'm
prisoned by leaders who, because of
associations, lean in two directions.
Gompers, as a member of the Ma
tional Civic Federation, is merely an
appendage CT the capitalist class
and is trying again to chain the
workers to the wheels Of the capital
ing, Fitzpatrick, ct al, whose at
tachments are not so strong-altho
once they were exponents Of sep
arate farmer-labor party-are ready
to barter. Today they have strong
leanings to the "good" candidates Of
a big capitalist party. But the
revolutionary and progressive work.
ers, who have seen thru the sham
of the game and have learned at
least part of the lessons that were
pounded into their heads in the past
few years, but especially since 1922,
demand the formation Of a class
party, together with the working
farmers.
Dangers. of Third Party Movement.
The question before rs in this ar
ticle is not whether the result of
the conflict Of interest at the St
Paul convention will be a class
farmer-labor party or third party.
The problem is: What is to be our
attitude toward either one of these
parties? What is to be our action
as Communists?
Our action must always be Com
munist action. We must never for
get that we belong to Communist
Party, with Communist program.
Not alone are we bound by the disci-
pine of a Communist Party, but we
nave 10 PROFOUND the principles OF
Communist Party. How then shall
we be able to stand for both the
Workers Party and the National
Farmer-Labor Party or a third
party program
Two dangers confront us: In the
propaganda. in the shops and union
meetings, at public meetings and on
the street corners, we may either en-
tirely forget the fact that we are
Communists and promote the pro-
gram and platform of the reform
party alone; or we may remember
we arc Communists so strongly that
we bitterly attack the reform party
platform.
Both methods are wrong-altho
there is far greater danger that we
shall forget our own definite aims
the aims of the Workers Party-and
identify ourselves completely with
the reformistic policy. IN our zeal
to secure the cooperation of pro-
gressivc trade union leaders, in the
needle trades and elsewhere, there
was danger at one time of our iden-