The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-11-26

workers and poorest sections Of the
farmers. is definitely out Of the range
Of practical politics for the immediate
future.
8. The United Front and Our La
Dor Party Tactics.
We accept the conception Of the
united front tactics as outlined and
interpreted by the Fifth Congress Of
the Communist International We
look upon the tactics OF the united
front as a means Of exposing the
treachery Of the trade union reaction
aries, the class collaborationists, and
social patriots, and as means Of win
ming over the masses for the struggle
against capitalism under the leader
ship Of the Communist Party, in
short as the central means Of build
ing the Workers Party into the mass
Communist Party Of America.
Three years ago our party adopted
the position that labor party policy
was the only way Of applying the tao.
l.
conditions Of America. To this de-
cision our party was moved by the
following considerations: The exist
ance of the strong mass movement in
the direction Of farmer-labor party
as evidenced by a large number OF
local and state farmer-labor parties,
and also by the formation Of the c. P.
P. A., which we interpreted as the re-
suit of this same mass pressure to-
wards independent political action. We
also realized that, unlike the Commun-
ist Parties of Europe, our task was
not to win away the masses from
reformist mass political parties speak
ing in the name of labor, because
there were none at that time in the
United States, but to compel the re-
dictionary trade union leaders to break
with their old non-partisan policies and
to lead the unions into the political
struggle as labor organizations; that
is, to promote among the masses the
growing movement in favor Of indie
pendent political action, and thus COM
pei the trade union bureaucracy to
either form a labor party or expose
themselves before the masses as en-
emies Of the working class.
Our conception of labor party was
that Of a political party based upon
the trade unions OF America, with the
Workers Party functioning within it
as its most conscious and militant
section, striving to win the mass
movement to the revolutionary class
struggle and to the leadership Of the
Workers Party. We held to the cor
rect idea that the formation of a labor
party becomes possible and inevitable
! only inasmuch as the economic mass
I organizations Of labor are compelled
: to join hands for Independent polit-
/ ical action. Because of the existence
Of such a. movement, and because Of
, the glaring~ bankruptcy and total in
, effectiveness OF the non-partisan tao
! tics Of Gompers and the C. P. P. A.,
I our labor party slogan soon became
/, real lighting issue in the labor move
ment, appealing to wide circles OF
! workers and poor farmers, and thus
: aiding us in our task Of exposing the
labor reactionaries and STRENGTHENING
Z the influence OF the Workers Party.
The first serious departure from
this policy was made when tie former
! majority of the Central Executive
Committee abandoned the idea OF a
: labor party based upon broad masses
Of organized workers, and adopted in
!. stead the policy of a labor party COM
, prising only the Workers Party and
its close circle Of sympathizing or
CARNATIONS. This policy was later
' crystaIlized in the Federated Farmer
Labor Party and developed into a
theory by the august thesis" adop-
ted at G. E. C. meeting in August,
1923. This theory of a labor party
consisting only Of the Workers Party
with its immediate circle Of SYM
pathizing organizations contained the
: menacing tendency Of liquidating the
!, Workers (Communist) Party and sub
: shutting for it a non-Communist or
ganization. It further carried with 1t
the isolation of the Workers Party
: from the mass movement for a farm
er-labor party. For these reasons it
was relentlessly combatted by the for
, mer minority, now majority. OF the
Central Executive Committee Of the
. Workers Party.
AS the farmer-labor movement de-
|, veloped the LaFollette third-party
movement developed simultaneously
and threatened to absorb it. This
raised before our party the problem
Of how to save the theological and or.
ganizational independence Of the farm
er-labor movement To solve this
I problem the c. e. c. adopted the
policy OF the third party alliance"
which, however, was not put into eff
feet, by advice Of the Communist In