The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-19
Discussion of Our Party's Immediate Tasks
COMRADE BEDACHT CALLS FOR ACTION

That is laudible ambition, for surely
a Communist Party must do every
thing in it's power to organize the un-
employed, and to make unemployment
burning political issue. But how to
do it, that is the question.
Unluckily for the minority, their
record as the discoverers of the I'M
employment problem is not clear;
their claims to copyright are voided
by the documents of record It was
a member of the present majority
(then minority who drew up the first
document Of our party last year point
ing out the approaching unemploy-
ment and warning of the necessity
for action. Comrade Bedacht should
know this, for he was consulted about
the document before its adoption, and
made no amendments of suggestion.
And year before this, the same com
rade of the present majority had
drawn up program of methods to
combat unemployment. So we knew
about the problem--and knew it be-
fore the present minority-and drew
up documents to deal with it which
they did not propose to amend.
Documents! exclaimed Comrade Be-
dacht in disgust. What about action?
Well, both minority and majority
proposed resolutions. Both we're docu-
ments. And action comes from the
party-not from the g. E. C.-even
Comrade Bedacht himself, noted cham
pion of action, has but rarely been
seen upon the barbados. He is much
more at home with a !. comfortable
golume Of Greek mythology or mem
oirs of the French revolution, (not
hat hold this against Comrade Be-
lacht; / only envy him his ability
to enjoy his studies so well when
there is SO much work to be done).
But what was in the documents?
The Lovestone-Bedacht combina-
ton Of actionists said; Throw aside
all other work upon the industrial
field, including the slogan of ANAL
gamation which is obsolete, and pro-
coed at once to make. the !lnrnedia ate
organization of unemployed councils
the central point of the entire party
life.
The c. E. c. majority said: Gently,
comrades, gently pray! Don't be in
such hurry to scrap our whole pro-
gram, tiresome as it may be to you.
We will proceed to tackle the unem-
ployment problem in a rational man.
ner and without unnecessary hyster-
les. We will study all the facts of I'M
employment, propagandize about it in
the press, lay out the slogans upon
which a campaign must be organized.
and CALL UPON THE ENTIRE
PARTY TO BEGIN ORGANIZATION
WORK AS QUICKLY AS CONDT-
TIONS PROMISE ANY RESULTS.
That was almost a year ago. In
the meantime, we have educated our
party to- an appreciation of the unem-
ployment problem, have circulated
10000 pamphlets on unemployment
lin which Comrade Ruthenberg him
self could find..eRly 1.-TWO Incidental
errors" which turned out to be- after
all, not errors), and finally, ONE
YEAR AFTER the minority demanded
unconditional abandonment Of every
thing else for "action'' in organizing
unemployed councils, we are at last
approaching, still rather slowly, the
period when organization of the I'M
employed may really begin to be a
practical immediate problem. And
as this action develops we feel assur-
ed that, because of our careful prepar-
alton and education of the party, such
action will not be the sterile futility
which the famous unemployment
movement was that Comrade Amter
led in 1921.
Actions, not words, says -Comrade
Bedacht on behalf of the minority. We
agree, Comrade Bedacht, and we ask
you and your associates to come down
from your rosy clouds of fantasy,
wherein you are dreaming about mani
pulating the millions Of the American
masses with dignifed waves OF your
collective hands, and begin to take a
constructive part in the American
class struggle. It is not so easy as
making opposition motions in the C.
e. c., which is the sum total of your
actions" for the past year, but it
will bring us a few steps nearer to
our goal Of the proletarian revolution.
Which. is more than your farmer-la-
Dor dreams will do.