The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-17
Menacing Symptoms
BY ALEXANDER BlTTELMAN

II you want TO KNOW what tuS rear
position Of the minority is, read the
articles of the followers Of the minor
ity and not Of the leaders. The lat
ter are sufficiently trained in party
controversies to know what not to
say. The leaders Of the minority,
whatever their Marxism and Bolshe-
vism. have been long enough in our
movement to understand that certain
things are simply incompatible with
Communist conception Of our tasks.
But the followers don't know all these
things, and when they attempt to ex-
press an opinion as to what they un-
derstand the position of the minority
to be. they frankly and openly tell
the whole truth. 1t is therefore,
thru these open statements Of the
followers of the minority that we
learn Of the really menacing nature Of
the minority position.
Capitalism Is In Existence, Therefore
We Must have Farmer-Labor Party
Read the article by Comrade w. ].
White, entitled "The Defeatist Thesis
Of the Majority" published in the
DAILY WORKER on Dec. II. Read
It carefully and try to understand the
Psychology Of the comrade. He is
SO much overwhelmed with the magic
slogan of the minority that he simply
cannot imagine the class-struggle in
America without farmer-labor party.
To him class-struggle and farmer
labor party have become one and the
same thing. His reasoning runs, there
fore along short, straight line. If
you are opposed to the farmer-labor
!. slogan, you are opposed to the class
struggle. | maintain that when Com
munists get into such state Of mind,
. there must be something radically
wrong with them.
Listen to the question that Comrade
White asks of the majority:
HAS this election presidential
election) given the landless farmers
back their land? Has the pressure of
capitalism been removed from the
shoulders of the proletariat in the
mills and mines? Is the robbery of
these workers any less today than it
was before the votes were cast?"
4 This is the question. You would
imagine by the nature of the question
that Comrade White is trying to con-
vert a worker in his shop to the idea
of class-struggle, You might also
imagine that Comrade White is try
ing to prove the existence Of capital
ism and the necessity for an organ
ICED struggle against it. And, finally,
you might also get the idea that Com
rade White is putting up this question
in order to prove the necessity of the
Workers fCommunisD Party as the
only possible leader of the proletarian
struggle against capitalism.
But, no! This is not Comrade
Whites intention. Comrade White
has already outgrown the illusion that
the Workers (Communist) Party is
the leader of the proletarian struggle
against capitalism. Comrade White
knows better. He has another party
q farmer-labor party-to conduct these
struggles. Comrade White shouts at
the majority the above question in or
der to destroy the majority thesis
which denies the usefulness of the
farmer-labor slogan in the given situa-
ton.
Comrade White is not a defeatist.
No. He is huoyant, hopeful, and op-
limistic for the farmeiSlabor party.
But the c. E. G. is defeatist because
1t is huoyant, hopeful and optimistic
for the Workers (Communist) Par
~. This is the substance of Comrade
Whites article.
Diluted Communism for the Masses
Comrade Anton Bimba is following
the minority. He published an
article in the Daily December 10TH
entitled Where do You Stand?" And
among other things, this is what he
says:
by raising the slogan for farm
er-labor party, which Is much easier
for the masses to digest at the
present time.- we. the Workers Par
ty and under the name Of the Work
ers Party Immediately advance to
them and acquaint them with the
leadership Of the Workers Party"
Comrade Bimba may not know it as
yet, but little thought will convince
him to the truth of the following pro-
\ position: That the position OF the
MINORITY is nothing else but proposal
ta fool the masses into following our
IoaoeSshlp by giving ourselves another
name, y
According 10 Comrade Bimba the
masses win digest easier the slogan
"for Q farmer-labor party" than they
& will the slogan for Communist