The daily worker., 1924-07-29
Communist Candidates and the mer-LabOr Party

lutionary victory of the workers, but
also for all their immediate struggles
which lead towards it,-that is, an in
dependent revolutionary Party which
stands up at all times for the inter
ests of the working class as a whole
and which leads the way at every
stage of the fight.
If the United Front fails in this, the
United Front is failure and all our
work is failure.
The comrades of the western branch,
lacking the complete information
which determined our recent actions,
found fault with what they considered
a lack of frankness on the part of our
Party, and apparently have been infiu-
enced somewhat by the charges OF our
enemies that we have played some
kind Of a clever game with other
groups in the Farmer-Labor move
ment.
There is no foundation for such an
opinion. The Communist Party always
draws up it's policy independently of
all other groups and parties, in ac-
cordance with what it considers to be
for the best interests of the working
class and the advancement of the rev.
olutionary struggle. OF course this
does not preclude an agreement on a
given line of action with other groups
willing to make a sincere fight to-
gether with us. But we cannot put
aside our own judgment when ques.
tions arise which so vitally affect the
welfare of the working class as the
present election campaign. There is
no secret about what we have done or
why we have done it. 1t is no breach
of faith with any honest elements in
the labor movement, but proof Of
loyalty towards the movement as a
whole.
The comrades seem to be somewhat
concerned as to whether we have not
done grave injustice" to some of the
leaders in the Farmer-Labor Party
who have not completely understood
and agreed with our action at first.
Communists need not be so sensitive.
1t is incorrect to come to the con.
clusion that the subordination of our
own Party is always the correct thing
to do. We have had to ask ourselves
quite seriously a number of times il
the many concessions and compro-
mises we have been making in order
to maintain the unity in the Farmer
Labor movement have not lead num-
Der of our own comrades to consider
that the Communist Party is in it's
proper place only when it is sitting
in the back seat. The true function
of the Communist Party is not to "go
along" but to go ahead.
The Communist International never
tires of dinning into our ears that our
first reaction to all political manouv-
ers must be this: How does it in
crease and extend the influence of the
Communist Party over the laboring
masses?
Comrade Zinoviev told us once at q
session of the Enlarged Executive: do
mot forget that we are not merely a
workers party; we have to be a
shrewd workers party" Commun-
lists must never forget that we are
dealing with all kinds of enemies in
the labor movement, with all kinds Of
agents of the bourgeoisie, and with
muddle-headed people who will lead
the workers into the ditch if we allow
their false conceptions to prevail.
We have to see to it that the Com.
munist Party knows how to take
advantage of every situation to
strengthen the Communist influence
over the masses and to strengthen the
Communist Party. Only when we
are doing this can we say that we
are leading towards the final revolu
tionary struggle.
The proletarian revolution is the
only solution of the labor problem and
the Communist Party is the only
Party aiming at this goal. The
Farmer-Labor Party, as such, does
not do this and it cannot, under any
circumstances, be regarded as an enc
in itself Our work in the Farmer-La.
Dor Party, in the United Front in al
its aspects, in fact, must be regarded
by Communists as the Communist In
ternational regards it: a means
revolutionary agitation and mobiliza
ton. The German events and thu
verdict of the Communist Interna
tional on them has settled this ques
tion for all time.