The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-05-07
OUR BOOK REVIEW
SECTION
Samuel Adams, BY Ralph voIney Har-
lowe: Henry Holt G. Co., 1928.

lowe: Henry Holt d Co., 1928.
l have had desire to know more
about Samuel Adams for over a year;
that is. ever since an open letter ap-
peared in the Outlook" advising the
Communist Party of America to step
out into the open and follow the
! shrewd example of Samuel Adams,
'the chief incendiary of the American
Revolution" Harlowe's volume has
satisfied this desire.
The author is an Anglophile and
Tory, out of sympathy with revolution
past or present. Official history writ
ing is rapidly passing into such
hands. His bias. however, acts, if any
thing. as dark background against
which stand out more clearly the I'M
vanished tactics of the revolution
Harlowe's theses are up-to-the-minute.
Adams was an incompetent tax col
lector who became revolutionist to
overcome an inferiority complex. The
American Revolution was material
istic." merely resolving itself into a
fight by the colonists to continue their
illicit commerce in molasses which
they later distilled into rum for the
slave trade The revolution was not
a spontaneous rising of the people,
but simply the product of propaganda
and agitation carried on by profess
sional trouble-makers. Harlowe fails
to prove these shallow propositions
But he unwittingly succeeds in show
ing that the American Revolution
in common with modern mass revolu-
Itions-required extensive preparation,
organization and capable leadership to
attain victory.
Samuel Adams was referred to by
the Tories as "that disreputable leader
of congregational and presbyterian
republicans" He was the practical
|revolutionist. the organizer. the "mani-
pulator." the agitator. the man who
above all others prepared the ground
for the outbreak of 1875. He made
shrewd use of existing governmental
machinery for his revolutionary pur-
poses. He even turned his masters
thesis at Harvard into a revolutionary
instrument. 1t was he that formed and
fostered the committees of correspond
ence. the soviets, as it were. of the
American Revolution. BY tactful work
he effected united front of the thir-
teen colonies thru the medium of these
committees. He directed the activity
Of the people step by step from the
passing of resolves" to street de-
monstrations and armed action. He
knew when to attack, but he also
knew when to retreat, as shown by
his evasion of an open conflict in the
Gaspee affair. Adams thoroughly I'M
derstood the need and method of pre-
paration. In 1872 he already feared
that the contest between the colonies
and England would end in rivers of
blood" On a rumor of war between
England and France in 1774, he began
intensive preparations for revolt,
probably on the theory that Eng
lands difficulty would be Americas
opportunity"
1t is interesting to note that revolu-
tionary tactics have not changed
much in the last $50 years. Thus the
American revolutionists put up de-
mands for the annual election of legis-
lators. the election of militia, officers
by the people, the boycott Of disloy-
alist judges, extra-legal control COM
mittees to enforce the non-importa-
ton DEGREES. Tory merchants we're
denied freedom of assembly; disloy-
alists were disarmed by the commit
tees Of correspondence while the
rebels were trained in the "art mill
tary." Power and victory were the
essentials, and our revolutionary fore
fathers we're prepared to use all
means towards this end.
There is an interesting description
of the rebellion Of bankrupt farmers
under Captain Shay in 1886. These
farmers refused to pay taxes, burned
the tax lists and dispersed the courts.
Though put down, the revolt compell-
ed the merchant government OF Mas
sachusetts to yield to the farmers q
tax in kind, sale Of public land and
a temporary paper currency law.
Mr.. Harlowe is very much put out
by the identity in spirit between the
American Revolution and the revolu-
tionary movement of to-day. The Re-
volution, he declares, was inspired not
so much thru hatred Of England by the
common people as by their hatred of
the English creditor class. The spirit
Of 1776 was basically the dwelling, the
communistic spirit. What will the
Sons and Daughters of the American
Revolution Inc saw uow7-W Y