The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-05-17
By. MURPHY

nation OF the Imperial War into the
civil War Of the Classes, Commonly
called the subject nation of Ireland
to war upon the Empire.
I'VE shall continue in season and
out of season to teach that the far
flung battle line of England is weak
est at the point nearest its heart, that
Ireland is in that position of tactical
advantage that a defeat of England
in India, Egypt, the Balkans, or Elan
ders, would not be so dangerous to
the British Empire as conflict of arm
ed forces in Ireland, that the time for
Ireland's battle is now, the place for
Ireland's Battle is Here"
Both watchwords were fundamen-
tally sound in relation to the war
on Imperialism. Both men with tire
less energy pursued their tasks, but
there is a difference in the means of
operation. Both agreed in that they
must call into operation the sum to-
tai of the forces they could muster
against the imperia1ist, but one had a
highly developed party as an instru-
ment to gather the forces and MAIN
tain the proletarian hegemony, the
other had no such Revolutionary par
ty understanding the role of the pro-
letariat in predominantly agricul-
tural country. Lenin was farther a.
head than Connolly and with the Boil
shevik Party not only led the work
ers as the vanguard of the mighty re-
evolutionary movement of workers and
peasants, but crystalized and express
ed the experience that the world
should see and hear and read and un-
derstand. Connolly had not such a
party. He appealed to the !. T. w.
u, the citizen army. He led his re-
cruits to the very forefront of the
national struggle and by these acts
stamped upon the pages of Irish his
tory the role of the proletariat of Ire
land in its war OF liberation. But, al
tho he created the impression that he
would not hesitate to turn against
some Of his colleagues in the national
war if they would not proceed to car
ry out the socialist measures for
which he fought, / do not find any
clear defining of the role of the prole-
tariat or his aims as that of the die
tatorship of the proletariat or what
part a revolutionary party must take
in relation thereto. His deeds pro-
claim the answer and one feels con-
WINGED that had Connolly not been
murdered by the Asquith- Henderson
combination and had he lived to see
the Russian Revolution and the emer-
gence of the Communist Information
al, he would have completed his writ
ings in full accord with the decIara-
tons of the Communist international.
1t is this incompleteness which
gives rise to the claims of partisans.
Ryan speaks Of his departure from
his original Marxism" when in reali-
ty he was manifesting firmer grip
Of its essentials in contrast to the
formal expression passing in the name
OF Marxism whether via Kautsky or
De Leon. This was the case on more
than the struggle of subject nations.
He grasped the essentials of working
with the peasantry, and of using the
co-operatives whilst the followers of
De Leon were concentrating on in
dustrial unionism and the ballot box.
He learned his industrial unionism
in the industrialized countries Of Eng
land and America, but he had to ap-
ply his philosophy in an essentially
agricultural country dominated by a
powerful nationalist spirit because OF
its subsection to England. Fearlessly
he faced these problems which did
not press upon the De Leonists of
Britain and America and as he grap-
pied with them he felt the big differ
ences that lay between him and his
old associates. That is why he ex-
claimed, "The socialists will not un-
derstand why am here" Could he
have seen the succeeding years-wel-
coined the Russian Revolution and felt