The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-09

mart mas dCC6pJcu the COOuuBe dBTl-
cultural program. Senators like Nor
ris of Nebraska who were on the fence
during the election are now further
away than ever from associating with
an organized political insurgent move
ment like LaFollette planned when
he entered the campaign.
The American Federation of Labor
trade union bureaucracy, at the height
Of the LaFollette movement, appar-
emily pulled out only the toe of one
foot from its quagmire Of ''non-parti-
san" political action when it endorsed
LaFollette last July At the FL Paso
convention this bureaucracy came
back with both feet into the timedis-
honored political morass of reward
ing friends and Furnishing enemies"
The railway union official supporters
of the Wisconsin senator are now hest
STEP William H. Johnston the guild
ing spirit of the conference for pro-
gressive political action, refused to
make even the weakest sort of a pre-
tense to fight for his pet political or
ganization at the American Fedora
ton of Labor convention. He did not
| lift a finger or raise his voice to help
line up labor sympathy for the organi-
cation of party at the January con-
ference of the conference for progress
sive political action. This tends to
decrease the likelihood of any attempt
being made to organize third, petty
bourgeois party at the conference for
progressive political action in January,
1926.
Today the sundry component ele-
ments of the LaFollette army tend to
be apart at poles ends At best this
movement is still in the process of
disqualification At such times it be-
comes doubly imperative for the Com
munists to help clarity the presently
vague and confused groupings of the
masses and to direct their unclear
wants into the most practicable, the
most possible class channels.
The Communist Task.
In view of the marked trend toward
a farmer-labor united front for the
past few years it becomes plain that
the slogan for a mass farmer-labor
party and not the comparatively un-
heard of labor congress" slogan as
put forward in the majority thesis can
today serve the Communists as a most
effective means for clarifying the de-
veloping class detectives Of the
masses. 1t is a paramount task Of all
Communist parties TO lend clarity Of
purpose and plan to the wants and
demands of the laboring and poor
farming masses. 1t is the foremost
duty of Communist party to precipi-
tate the development of class con
seriousness among the working masses
in order to separate these masses
more effectively from the reactionary
trade union bureaucracy ami petty
bourgeois leadership. Not until we
have succeeded in thus separating
the masses from their present mis-
leaders will we be able to establish
our Communist leadership over them.
What Means the FarmerLabor
Slogan?
With this analysis of the situation
as background let us turn the
searchlight on some of the evidence"
the Foster-Cannon group gives us to
prove that there is no longer a mass
demand for a united front of the work
ers and poor farmers thru a farmer
labor party. Let us examine the fol
lowing gem from the Bittelman
thesis:
THE formation of labor party
becomes inevitable and possible
only inasmuch as the economic
mass organizations of labor are
compelled to join hands for indie
pendent political action. BUT
WHEN THE LEADERS OF THESE
ORGANIZATIONS ENTER INTO A
PERMANENT ALLIANCE WITH
THE PETTY BOURGEOISIE, AND
WHEN SUCH AN ALLIANCE, THE
La GILLETTE MOVEMENT, RE-
CEIvES THE RECOGNITION AND
SUPPORT OF ALMOST THE EN-
TIRE ORGANIZED LABOR MOVE
MENT, THEN THE QUESTION OF
FORMING A LABOR PARTY
LOSES ITS BASIC FOUNDATION
AND CEASES TO BE A FIGHTING
ISSUE FOR IMMEDIATE, PRAC-
TICAL USE" (Our emphasis)
We will spend little time with so fal
lacious concept of the class struggle
As the 'inevitability" of a labor party
70 us the question Of the Communist
use of the farmer-labor movement is
a question of Communist strategy for
the enhancement of Communist influ
ence. To US, the farmer-labor united
front movement is not an end In IT,
self as II has been, for many months
to those who entertain the ridiculous
illusion that the Gompers trade union
bureaucracy could or would In the
: present imperiaIlst era organize OF
r tolerate mass farmer-labor party
} To us the farmer-labor united front
J movement appears as an effective
means Of Fastening the establishment
(. of Communist leadership over the
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