The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-08

revolutionist, this means that this
supreme law :s the success OF the
revolution. And should the sue
cess of the revolution require the
temporary limitation of the appli-
cation Of this or that democratic
principle, then it would be q crime
to hesitate to carry out this lim!-
tation.
"It is my personal opinion that
even the principle Of universal
suffrage is to be condemned from
the viewpoint of the above men
toned fundamental principle Of
democracy. 1t is possible to mag
inc a hypothetical case in which
we social democrats would he op-
posed to universal suffrage.
cat one time the bourgeoisie
of the Italian republics deprived
representatives Of the nobility of
political rights. It IS possible
that the revolutionary proIetariat
could limit the political rights Of
the upper classes in the same
manner. The fitness of such a
measure could be judged solely
from the standpoint of salus revo. i.
lutionis supreme lex.
eve should have to be guided
by the same viewpoint in the
question Of the maintenance of
parliament. Should the people
elect very good parliament
description OF chambre introuvable
las the result of the commence
ment Of revolutionary enthusiasm,
we should have to make it our en-
deavor to keep this parliament in
office as long as possible. But
should the result Of the election
prove unfavorahle, we should then
have to make il our endeavor to
drive out the parliament again
within two weeks if possiblo-and
not wait for two years"
Thus Plekhanov in 1903. Ard we
are still holding fast to this view
point. But there are many semi
petty bourgeois elements, not yet
fully freed from Menshevism, and
still cherishing the idea Of democ-
racy as such. This can only be
comprehended if we regard things
from the class standpoint. The fact
must be realized, that we are living
in an agricultural country with con-
siderable strata &C petty bourgeoisie.
Why Fractionism Is Contested.
l believe, comrades, that after
hearing the above remarks you will
no longer worder that the question
of the formation of fractions is so
holly contested amongst US.
We declare: Two fractions in the
Party is synonymous with the germs
of two governments; two Fractions
in the Red Army is synonymous
with the germs of two armies. The
same applies 20 the G.. P. u, and to
the whole state apparatus. AS you
all know, the state apparatus is, Of
course, formally completely in our
hands. The leading positions
everywhere are held by Communists.
But as matter of fact the leader
ship is still partially in the hands of
the elements of the old regime ex-
aggeratedly designated our state APP
paratus as an old "Czarist" ap-
paratus.
But in actual fact it is still in
part a Czarlst apparatus. And this
apparatus is nSw listening to our
discussion with the intensest interest
All the specialists, the engineers,
etc, the pricking up their ears and
waiting impatiently for what is
coming. It goes without saying that
a fraction struggle in our Party,
possessing as it does state power,
signifies the beginning of the forma-
ton of two governments.
If even in bourgeois countries, as
in England, for instance, a contest
within the Liberal party leads with
the utmost rapidity to the formation
of two governments, how much more
certainly would this occur in our
case, since we have no democracy,
but the dictatorship o. a class, and
this is a country whose population
consists mainly Of peaants.
""N. Lenin. zone Step Forwards,
Two Steps Backwards" Geneva,
1904 (Russian).
"*"Rosa Luxembourg. "organiza-
ton Questions in Russian Social
Democracy" (''Neue Zeit," l904.)
Ito. be Continued Wednesday,