The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-08-09
RY AGO.

tional has taken up Cooperative work
as a component part of political work.
AS is known, the II. International at
its congress in Copenhagen in 1910
dealt with the Cooperative question
from the point of view of the class
struggle, and for its work within the
Cooperative movement drew up the
ses of an ambiguous character with
the result that in certain countries
very radical phrases could be made
use Of, while in other countries, on
the ground of the same theses, the
most blatant opportunism was pos
sible.
Now after three years there exists
in the III. international a clearer plan
which accords with the Cooperative
resolution which comrade Lenin sub
mitted as member of the Cooperative
Commission of the II. International in
1910. In order to meet before hand
the reformist danger of the individual
party members acting as they wish in
this important section Of party work.
the Communist cooperative theses
lay it down as the absolute duty Of
every Communist to be a member of
a cooperative society and at the same
time to form nuclei in the numerous
cooperative societies in order that a
systematic work by party discipline is
assured.
Already in November 1922 there
took place in Moscow the first Inter-
national Conference Of Communist CO.
operators, whose task it was to lay
down a theoretically based attitude
for the class conscious proletariat
with regard to the cooperative ques-
ton and at the same time to approve
the tactics by means Of which the CO.
operatives under reformist leadership
could be got into the hands of the
class conscious proletariat. This task
which the conference undertook, was
completely accomplished and was
embodied in the cooperative theses of
the ". World Congress. The En-
larged Executive at its sitting in June
1923 extended the cooperative theses
in comprehensive manner and ex-
pressly called the attention of the
sections of the Comintern to coop
erative work.
From the 18th to 18th of July there
took place in Moscow the second in
ternational conference of Communist
Co-operators, in order on the one hand
to sum up the results of the COOP
erative work accomplished in tho
various countries and on the other
hand to state in concrete terms the
practical work lying ahead. The con-
ference was attended by 43 delegates
from II countries and 10 institutions.
To the presidium were elected Com
rades Chintchuk, Algo and Marian.
The conference dealt with a very ex-
tensive agenda which included the re-
port of the section and the reports
from the various countries. The first
two speakers dealt with 'the role Of
the co-operatives in the present
period of proletarian revolution, while
comrade Algo dealt with the role and
the task before the capture of politi-
cal power by the proletariat. The
co-operatives can not only serve as
tribunes for revolutionary propa-
ganda among the masses of proletar-
ian housewives and the politically in
different among the broad strata of
the petty bourgeoisie, but they also
have the possibility to render moral
and material support to all trade-un-
ion and proletarian campaigns and to
act themselves as class organs by
setting up strike funds and acting as
suppliers of provisions for the fight
ing working class AS regards illegal
work there are many possibilities Of
fered within the cooperative organ
izations, whilst cooperative work is
admirably suited for the important
task OF the proletarian united front
from below for the notwithstanding