The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-12
BY p. MIECIAISIEY

antry. This idea he brought before
the Russian revolaLionists at the
very moment when it was being re-
jected by the social democratic
party of Germany, ut the time the
most powerful group ir the Second
international, which unit! yerv re
Gently has doggedly followed this
method of carefully avoiding in It's
congresses the problem of the
peasantrv.
Not only did Lcnin bring ..h;s
question squarely to the fore: NJ
made it the basis Of his program, and
the cornerstone of his policy Be-
fore the revolution. rs well rs ~Si,.
1t was going on. he watched carr
fully to see that this problem, vas
not overlooked and 70 insure its ra-
tional solution.
Marvellous strategist and pccrlass
prophet that he was. he had rea,i.c
that the proletariat would Gain y
powerful ally in the revolution il
the party adopted policy of f1ir.
ness towards the aaaaantrr NH
that, on the other hand. i wollIi as.
suredly be crushed if it wcro n cus
itself off from the masses IN The
country.
Lenin was the autsor O, tho
agrarlan program of the Communists
Party. He understand the tremen-
dous Importance of such n program
Tor the Russian revolution. And II
the iirst program of tho EusSisr ST..
clal democratic groun, sdopte4, at
the Second Congress, was to n Great
extent an adoption of the program
of the social democrats IN Germany.
the same cannot be SqiI OF the
agrarian program.
Nevertheless it was no. or .as
program itself TINT Iea;n cnrcen-
trated his attention, mr. able ar
ganlzer, eminently mar of attn.
ne gave all his attention to conceal
ship. After various trials. ho
Pointed out the obligation Chr, Tho
party would be under ot revising lis
agrarian program according 20 The
frontier and the extent of the pegs
ant revolution.
From the beginning Of HIS ac,iyc
service, Lenin busted himself with
the formation of special grogrs %
peasants for the purpose of ssr.
thering the revolution and OF acs-
ting its victories on q firm basis. In
the very first agrarian program.
written by his own hand, no urea
the organization Of the peasant. irto
committees. In such organization
he sees "a practica. policy s0-
nropasanda and 3 means Of orren;z-
ing the farmer movement ana ct
it articulate."
And, altho imperfecs and tirn;a in
the extreme in its exclusively ar-a-
rian demands. this program Is ;n.lis-
pntahly imbued with the spirit o.
the revolution.
Altho the second agrarian pro-
gram, adopted at the Fourth Corr
gress, seemed to include demands
more fundamental, it was evrsfye
and opportunistic. Prepared under
the influence of the Mensheyil5i. il
had lost every trace of revolutionary
spirit. 1t narrowed the possibility
of agtarian reform to the demo
cratic "zemtvos' and to the landed
proprietors. not to the working
peasantry.
In no way did it satisfy the revo-
lutionists Of the party, and Icria
continued to fight for the national
ization of the land" which was TO
be accomplished thru the peasants
committees.
Realizing the tremendous import
ance Of the agrarian question for
the coming revolution, making every
effort to give fair trcntrucnt 20 the
rroletariat and to the .Bolsncyiki
Lenin, after the first revolution.
turned his 2ttention to this urob-
lem. He was rounding out its
theory and celebrating It's practice
when war overlook him IN Austria.
It was during this period that M
wrote his best work on the ag,srian
question. With painstaking carr no
criticized tho "municin4s:zat;on If
the land"-a movement whose r,ccst-
bourgeois character he laid bvs.