The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-06-17

iH9IoiAmcul VI Ine leICeI from the
Communist International to the Ger
man Communist Party Frankfort
Conference in April, on the trade
union question. Yesterdays INSTALL
ment closed by quoting the resolu-
ton on that subject drawn up in
January. The letter then continuously
|NNLY short time has elapsed
~ since this. What has changed
since then?
l. The Party has become legal: The
future will show how long this legality
will last. ct need not be said that we
must retain our illegal apparatus,
which we shall still require.)
2. The leaders of German Social
Democracy, and the leaders of the
ADGB. General German Trade Union
Federation), are working with per-
serving determination at provoking a
split in the trade unions, and are en-
deavoring to bring this about by
means of explosions and similar
measures.
3. Within the CP. itself the Left has
won decided victory.
A. The Reichstag elections are fixed
for the beginning of May.
These are the most important
changes which have taken place since
the time during which we collabor-
ated with the delegation Of the Left in
drawing up the welI-known resolution
in the trade union question.
Reaetionarles Want Split.
The fact that the leaders of the
ADGB. are working perseveringly to-
wards split in the trade unions, and
are resorting to the most despicable
provocations in pursuit of this object,
naturally adds greatly to your diff
ficulties. And yet this fact does not
by any means create a perfectly new
situation. Similar provocation has
often enough been offered in the past
and will be offered again in the future.
And as regards the other above men
toned political factors, these could
not in any case form a basis upon
which we could undertake revision
of our tactics in the trade union ques-
ton.
We are we'll aware that there are
conditions under which a split in the
trade unions becomes inevitable, and
we have no intention of binding our
selves in principle in this respect in
Germany more than anywhere else.
We kn0uy fhof eoovo, - Io4n,. A. -
formist leaders will bring about split
in the trade unions, as they have done
for instance in France. But on the
other hand we know equally well that
we communists are interested in pre-
cisely the reverse, in the maintenance
of unity in the trade union movement.
AS already mentioned above, the
question of the tactics to be pursued
towards the trade unions by the Com
munist party is a question of the
fate of the German CP. as the mass
party Of the revolutionary proletariat.
The question at present raised in the
CP. regarding the trade unions can
only be properly solved if taken in
combination with the question of the
future prospects of the German revo-
luton. Systematically considered, two
possibilities exist:
al Either more or less rapidly
maturing of fresh revolutionary up
lift, bringing about the decisive strug-
gle within few months, or, let us
say, in the course of one to two years,
b. Or somewhat longer drawn out
period, extending over a number of
years.
In the first case, the errors commit
ted by the German CP. in the trade
union question would naturally be OBJ
liberated by victorious revolution,
whilst in the second case mistake
made by the German CP. in the trade
union question would unquestionably
and certainly lead to disaster.
We have already stated that the
German CP., whilst doing its utmost
to increase the chances of the first
possibility, must at the same time so
regulate its tactics as to be armed for
the second possibility.
Must Stay In Unions.
In the case of speedy victory of
the proletarian revolution we should
naturally at once find large number
of new and rapidly effective measures
securing us the allegiance of the trade