The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-24

their class" farmer-labor party slo-
gan, the only things tangible are the
granger farmer-labor parties, sections
Of the LaFollette movement. They
are not class" parties at all. They
are LaFollette parties. But this gives
the minority no great difficulty. They
are prepared to accept these parties
and to work within them. The whole
course Of their thesis and supplement-
airy arguments proves this.
8. A "class" Farmer-Labor Party
Policy Which Means Working
With the LaFoIIette Movement.
In reality the thesis Of the minority
proposes policy of working within
the LaFolIette movement, or third
party" an organization with which the
Comintern prohibited Communists
from even making an alliance. This
is evident from an analysis of the mi
nority policy"
Three general lines of action are
open to the advocates of the "class"
farmer-labor party slogan. These are:
I. They can remain within the
realms of propaganda and simply
advocate the principle of a "class"
farmer-labor party.
2. They can proceed to organize
such sentiment as Is to be found
for their slogan into a definite
"cIass" farmerIabor party.
TkAM ean .asnrL ..s;kkf.
Toilette movement for the reaIiza-
ton of their "cIass" farmer-Iabor
party.
The first of these is the policy of
Comrade Brandy and his group, the
second is the old Pepper-federated
policy, and the third is that Of the
socialist party. All three are unten-
able. The minority do not dare to de-
clare openly for any one of the three.
If they stood for the first one, they
would be driven out of court at once,
because in the very nature of things
such a slogan as the class" farmer
labor party demands a definite organ
national policy. If they stood for
the second policy they would fare no
better, because the Workers Party has
had its stomach full of federated par
ties. And if they stood for the third,
frankly, they would also be defeated,
for obvious reasons. It is a hard stu
alton. So the minority meet it by adj
vocating all three policies simultane-
ously and in utter confusion. In this
way they hope to avoid the issue of a
definite policy. The practical working
out of their confused proposals, how
ever, would amount in substance to
putting into effect the third policy,
that of working within the LaFollette
movement.
The Heart Of the Minority Thesis.
The minority thesis starts out with
great blare of trumpets to support
~ policy, that is of simply
propaganda of the "class" farmer-la-
Dor party slogan. They enlarge upon
its value as propaganda instrument
and minimize the organizational side.
Says the thesis, "Our immediate cam
paign must be one of agitation.
Whether the left class elements will
be eventually organized into farmer
labor party fighting the class battles
of workers and farmers, is not the es-
sential question at present" And
again, "The slogan, For a class farm
er-labor party remains our most ef-
fective means of agitation for politi-
cal action on a class basis by the
workers and poorer farmers
Having thus soft-soaped the ele-
ments in the party who realize the
futility of campaign to organize
the "class" farmer-labor party, the mi
nority thesis, by a typical example of
its not letting the right hand know
what the left hand doeth, plunges
headlong into an immediate campaign
of organization around its beloved and
belabored slogan of a "class" farmer
labor party. This time is discovers
great love for go policy and un-
blushingly advocates permeation of
the c. p. P. A., the heart of the Lar
Toilette third party movement. ~
LUZ upOh tAio ddn6ClOuo SIOuuu VI
penetration of the verboten third
party, the minority thesis does not
rest long. 1t hastily takes refuge in
(2) policy, the famous August-thesis-
Pepper-federated policy. We are told
that participation in the third party
is to be strictly limited in scope and
time. Our dose of poison is to be
small. The thesis promises us a pie
thora of splits from the G. p. p. A.
and the Inauguration of whole series
of fake federateds all over the coun-
try. The minority thesis aims to
please. In its grabbing it has little
present for every group, except the
one against the usage of the slogan
at all, the majority group. 1t pleases
those who are for the slogan for pro-
paganda purposes only, those who
foresee the glory Of new federated
or, perchance, flock of them, and
those, who are a numerous group Of
minority followers, who stand square
ly for participation in the LaFollette
third party.