The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-11
BY JAMES p. CANNON.
FIRST ARTICLE.
How the Minority "Fought" Lore
When They Controlled the

When They Controlled the
Party,
THE outstanding characteristic of
1 the right wing always and every
where is its political cowardice. This
has been demonstrated so often in
the international Communist move
ment that it can be laid down as an
axiom. Opportunism is so foreign to
Communism that it instinctively feels
itself to be an intruder and tries to
conceal its identity. The right wing
never has the courage to stand UP
and fight directly for its policy, but
tries by devious ways, by indirection,
and by shifting issues, to advance it's
influence and smuggle in its policy.
At least tendency in this direction
is manifested in the article of Com
rade Ruthenberg in the DAILY
WORKER OF Dec. 8. In this article
Comrade Ruthenberg runs away from
the central and immediate issue Of the
"class farmer-labor party" which has
already been SO badly shattered in the
party discussion. He attempts to
divert the discussion from the real,
issue of our present and future policy
in regard to the labor party question:
to the question of who was right and
who was wrong in the past on a num-
Der of questions. BY raising the issue
of the opportunistic errors Of Comrade
Lore he evidently hopes to avoid fur
Their discussion Of the opportunistic
policy the minority sponsors now.
We welcome the occasion to dis
cuss this issue Of 'Loreism" openly
before the party. But we will not
oblige Comrade Ruthenberg by sepa-
rating it from the present issue of the
opportunistic policy of the minority on
the "class farmer-labor party" On
the contrary, we will link them up
together and show that the attitude of
the minority toward the opportunistic
errors Of Lore has been itself, from
first to last. an example of opportun-
ism.
The Lore question has history and
to deal with it adequately and get the
true perspective we must go back a
little Comrade Lore's mistakes did
not begin since the present central
executive committee took Office. AS
Comrade Olgin points out in the
DAILY WORKER of Dec. 6, they be-
gan in the early days Of the Comm
tern. They arose from faulty con-
ception OF some of the essential ele-
ments of Leninism and for that reason
they have been repeated in quite
systematic manner.
The Lore of this year is no more
out of harmony with the main line of
the Communist international than the
Lore of last year, when the Pepper
Observation-Disclosures group were in
control of the party. In fact, as | shall
prove in these articles, Comrade Lore
is today closer to the Comintern than
ever before. AS a result of the c. |.
decision, and the theological struggle
of the G. E. c., he has publicly admit
ted number of his past errors, which
Is the first necessary step towards cor
recting them. This does not please
the minority, but we are sure it
pleases the Comintern.
Therefore, let us have a real and
thoro discussion of the Lore question.
Let us review it at least for the past
two years. Such retrospect will re-
veal some very interesting facts.
The thesis Of the minority says:
Contrary to the decision of the
Communist international, the Fos-
ter-Cannon group, in place of carry
ing on a struggle against the ten
dency has maintained an organiza-
tional alliance with it,"
Comrade Ruthenberg repeats these
accusations in practically the same
words.
In these articles I will not only
show the falsity Of both these accusa-
tions, but l will prove the following:
1. The Pepper-R uthenberg group it.
self had both an organizational and
political alliance with Comrade Lore.
2. The Pepper-Ruthenber group
never once uttered word of criticism
Of Comrade Lore. to say nothing of
making a fight against his ideas, dur
ing the whole year in which they con-
trolled the party, altho some of his
greatest mistakes were made during
that time.
3. The Pepper-Ruthenberg group
did not utter a word Of criticism of
Comrade Lore during the last party
convention, but, on the contrary,
sought his help in their fight against
us.
4. Their fight" against Lore began
only after the last party convention,
not as an honest theological struggle,
but as a fractional maneuver against
the G. E. c.
The Minority Attitude Toward Lore
When They Controlled the Party.
In the hectic days of 1923, the year
Of the boom, when the party was
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