The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-15

Tyr PreClBelyi what nave we
been cuddling to our bosoms for so
many years? The theme Of Comrade
Ruthenberg's article is that there is
only one form of working class polit-
ical action and that is thru so-called
farmer-labor united front in election
campaigns. The minority can squirm
and try to evade this indictment, but
not even so clever a journalistic
painter of images as Comrade Robert
Minor can succeed in hiding this is
sue behind fog bank Of phrases.
Comrade Fosters article is entitled;
1.-THE significance of the elections"
1t explains the absorption of the
farmer-labor party movement by the
progressive movement or the LaFol-
lette movement asst is popularity known,
LaFollette being its principal standard
bearer and theological leader. 1t is
pretty bourgeois minded and quite
happy plugging along toward the
swamp of illusions behind the petty
bourgeois Indian guide" LaFolIette.
Foster tells how the central executive
committee decided to drop the dead
farmer-labor party and the just as
dead farmer-labor party slogan. He
ICES on to give brief and lucid his.
tory of the reason why our party
adopted the slogan of For a mass
farmer-labor party in 1922. When
this slogan aroused the enthusiasm of
the workers, when it was a fighting
slogan, that enabled the Communists
to make contact with large masses of
workers and secure leadership over
them it was a Communist slogan.
When that slogan no longer arouses
the interests Of the workers when ut
leaves them cold" so to speak, it has
no value for the Communist Party.
You will gather from Fosters ar
ticle that slogans in themselves are
not sacred things to be worshipped
as an ignorant Russian peasant would
worship an ikon, or an Irish catholic
would PROSTATE himself before the
statute of saint They are means
to an end, not merely ends in them
selves. Foster does not believe in set
ting up a Gordon sanitaire Of alleged
progressives around the Workers Par
ty in order to inveigle the workers
into our red parlor as the clever
spider would seduce the fly. While
it is true that you can catch more
f1es with molasses than with vinegar,
it is also true that the Workers Par
ty is not in the fy-catching business.
1t is in the business of perfecting
political party for the overthrow of
capitalist rule. To accomplish that
purpose revolutionary workers and
not human flies are needed. Our lead
ers must not be spiders. They must
show their Communist faces to the
working class.
Another article, which goes more
completely into our whole labor party
policy than any Of the others, is one
entitled, I'm retospect" by Alexander
Bittelman. Comrades Bittelman and
Foster take the same position, in the
present controversy In the party. They
agree that the farmer-labor party is
dead and no longer serves the pur-
pose of helping us to build up the
Workers (Communist) Party. Bittel-
man, in brief, points out that we had
farmer-labor party policy when there
was a farmer-labor party movement
that is none of our business as Com
munists to create something out Of
nothing. to create two parties where
one exists now, in other words to build
party dual to and in competition
with the Workers Party. Aside from
the financial drain on our party mem.
bership OF maintaining a useless DO
litical vermiform appendix, the effects
on their morale would lead to dis
aster.
Bittelman quotes from the various
theses and C. e. c. statements writ.
ten on the subject since 1922. He
analyses our united front with Fitz-
patrick and our orientation towards
Mahoney, from Chicago to st. Paul,
then towards reality and the waging
Of an election campaign under the
banner of Communism. The last
paragraph in Bittelman's article is
herewith quoted to relieve the fears of
those who believe with Comrade Ruth
enberg and his minority faction that
the central executive committee has
dropped the united front tactic be-
cause it has spurned the illusion that
an entente with Sidney Hillman,
Mahoney, or Morris Hillquit is the
kind of a united front that the Com
munist International has :: i'd down as
the basic tactic Of its various sec
tons.
Bittelman finishes his article with
this paragraph: I'VE shall now have
no labor policy because there is no
farmer-labor party movement. We
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