The daily worker., 1924-11-01
The Injunctionites Win

Considering the 1. w. w. convention as whole,
it has exhibited abysmal confusion and irresolu-
ton. 1t has been scared to death Of taking clean
cut and positive revolutionary stand. The very
word revolution" is unwelcome, hated by some
who are purely reformists, and avoided by others
who fear to face struggle for program of revo-
lutionary action in which they believe, but which
they do not know how to formulate and fight for.
The revolutionists, grouped around the agricul-
tural workers with scattered additions from other
unions, who have built the whole /. w. w., have,
indeed, done their utmost to attain unity. But in
doing they have left to chance the equally
sary fight for unequivocal plans for actual revolu
tionary struggle against capitalism.
For sixteen long days the convention has sat.
Time, far in excess of any sensible allotment to
conclude similar business, has been consumed in
the laborious democracy of using convention pile
driver on a lot of constitutional tacks If we look
for results of positive nature, we see nothing.
Everything done is to avoid doing something Often
something revolutionary. 1t has not even expelled
the injunctionites, but left it to referendum.
For fifteen days the delegates idded around
waiting for Rowan to give them some chance to
compromise Quite naturally, he told them to go
with them, they compromised with him. They will
fool nobody by saying, eve expelled the injunc-
tionites"
The reformist jobunionist caucus laid its plans
well. The trusting left wing of rebels, unwilling to
solidify ITSELF and unable because of that fact to
stifen the center by demanding guarantees of sup
port on revolutionary issues, went down to defeat
and even split on the fine demagogic trick of com
bining the motion to expel with motion to leave
it to referendum, as advanced by Oates
Oats is the wellknown food for jackasses, and
much braying about democracy" will be heard
from the longeared tribe in every quarter partic-
ularly from those who, by denying all workers
democracy themselves, and by exercising a perni-
cious personal censorship, have kept and continue
to keep the membership from being informed of
anything but what they choose to tell them and
therefore unable to decide a referendum intel
igently
The Communists have continually pointed out
that censorship begun against the advocates of the
R. /. L. o., was perilous. 1t has proven so. Yet
the convention has done nothing effective to re-
move this danger. On August 13 the Communists
and Red Internationaists insisted that this con
vention be called before either side would admit
it was needed. But it declared in addition that
'no mere doctering of constitutions could settle
the issues and that unless theological matters are
threshed out, nothing will be settled
Nothing has been settled thus far, for that
reason. Tho in the past the I. w. w. found Sand
gren and Varney embarrassing company, it retains
the complete counter-revolutionary theology they
advocated, and neither in its press or on its
rostrum, does not permit the r, 1. L. U. to dispel
their lies and the confusion of anarcho-syndical
ism, Sandgren and Rowan have won. Will they
hold the victory?