The daily worker., 1924-11-07

Treaty and developing into a frenziec
fight against Communism, there can
not be the slightest doubt that the
fury of the onslaught means more
than the imminence of the revolu-
tion in Britain.
AS matter Of fact that latter is
so near or so far, that we need waste
any time discussing it at this juncture
and concern ourselves with the other
reasons governing the anti-bolshevik
campaign.
When the conservative party lead
ers decided on a general election in
1928, two outstanding problems faced
them. First, to secure unanimity in
the acceptance of the Dawes plan
then in process of completion and sec
ond, the consolidation of the forces
Of capitalism against the rising class
feeling amongst the workers due to
the prolonged unemployed crisis. The
capitalist leaders knew quite well
that if they came forward with the
Dawes report as the basis for "Eu-
ropean settlement" that the labor
party leaders would pounce upon it
and make the utmost political capital
from its proposals as means of ad-
vancing the labor party
Labor Party Got Job.
They knew that the only party that
could get this plan accepted in Britain
was the labor party without the
Dawes report they also knew things
were going from bad to worse for they
had no plan apart from it. Looking
back over the last twelve months, l
think we are driven to the conclusion
that all other explanations for the sur
render of an overwhelming party ma
jority in the parliament have to take
second place to this determination to
secure the acceptance of the Dawes
plan, the nature of which they alone
knew at that time BY the time Mac
Donald was safely installed the plan
was practically ready for him to op-
crate.
The manner in which the conserva-
tive leaders carried out their strategic
retreat is worthy of study. Choosing
the most imperialist of programs aris-
ing from the imperial conference-tar
if war against foreign competition,
empire development, colonial prefer
ence, etc, Baldwin cut free from the
limitations and commitments Of his
predecessor, Bonar Law, and at
once took bold stride forward to-
wards the solution of the second out
standing problem-the consolidation
of the forces of capitalism against the
rising tide of working class discomfort.
Immediately he succeeded in bring
ing back into the fold of the conserya-
tive party leadership those who had
been cold shouldered because of their
coalition leadership viz: Birkenhead,
Chamberlain and Co. He drove the
liberal sections together on the basis
of free trade, and once having done
that used the results of the election as
an opportunity to modify the party po-
sition on the question, of tariff war as
a means of easing the relations be-
tween the conservatives and the Ii
berals ready for the next step when
the united forces of the two parties
would be required to dispense with
the services of the labor party.
Between Two Parties.
In this task he was aided by the at
titude Of Churchill who, standing first
in between the two parties as the
rallying force against the labor party,
developing the cry which both Bald
win and Asquith echoed at the proper
moment for a united front against the
labor party. 1t was easy for him to
do this as free lance and to take
the right step on to the conservative
platform at the proper moment
The moment of the election in 1924
completes the process. The conserva-
tive party was never more united. The
whole of the conservative press is una
nimous in the application of the unit
ed front policy against labor while the
pact for the elimination of three cor
nered contests where these are deem
ed to endanger either liberal or con-
servati1e seats is a consumation which
it would have been risky to prophesy
to happen nine months after the 1923
election.
But these developments do not con-
stitute the limits of the strategy. Be
sides committing the labor party to
the Dawes plan and involving it in
every phase of imperial responsibility
the aim thruout has been to split the
labor party. This the conservative
party in particular has had in view
all the time, taunting Macdonald and
his right wing colleagues on their
association with Communism and
those who sympathize with It, How
could all their denials be accepted SO
long as they did not prove their words
by dissociating themselves from these
people. The more the labor party
leadership developed along the lines
OF liberalism and imperialism, in their
efforts to gather elements from the H.
beral party and to capture liberal
votes at the coming election, the more
they were urged to cut the painter.
But the time was tOO ahOrt altho Mac.