The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-09-13
EXIT HoGLUND.

place at the time OF the national con-
vention of the Y. G. L. of Sweden,
May, 1921. had just come from Ger
many, where the G. p. was in the
throes of a bitter internal struggle
arising out of the now famous March
Action" of that year. Paul Lew, who
up to then, had been the leader of
the German party, had denounced the
party and the central committee for
it's participation in the uprising At
a time when large sections Of the
workers in central and southern Ger
many were rising in armed revolt
and when, more than ever before, it
was necessary for the party to act as
unit, Levi resigned from the central
cisions and issued articles and pam
phlets attacking the party. Hoglund
became an ardent supporter of Levi.
In long leading editorials in 4Politi-
ken" he attacked the German party
executive and praised Levi to the sky.
At the Swedish League Convention he
followed the same policy, using the
Levi case as means of attack
against the more aggressive and mill
tant elements within the league who
demanded more revolutionary poll
cy. We were called foolish and ir-
responsible youngsters" "putschists,
suffering from Bakuninism," ETC., etc.
But the Y. C. L., despite the thunder
ings and threats of Hoglund took the
road of the Comintern.
| Just at that time there was a great
deal Of unemployment in Sweden.
The party of1icialdom was not doing
any too much to cope with the stu
alton, altho the unemployed were not
only willing but anxious to be given
leadership and program. They came
in thousands to hear the Communist
speakers. 1 spoke with Strom, the
party secretary, about the unemploy-
ed problem. To my surprise he told
me that the G. P. could get $4,000
members directly from the ranks of
the unemployed at any time if it
only made an attempt to get them.
wanted to know why the party was
not drawing them into its ranks. He
replied, "They can't pay any dues, so
we won't let them in"
l had expected almost any other
answer but this. Imagine, not allow
ing workers to join the party because
they were unable to pay dues! How
can Communist party become a
mass party under such conditions?
Last winter when was in Sweden
this same party secretary, as the lead
er Of the Communist group in the
Stockholm city council, brought in a
motion to the effect that the city of
Stockholm take the initiative in ar
ranging for an Inter-5aItic States Elk
position in 1885, They wanted to ad-
vertise to the world the white-guard
states like Finland, Latvia, Esthonia,
Lithuania. OF course, the motion car
ried. But it seems unbelievable that
Communist should vote for such a
motion, much less introduce it. Never
theless, it was Hoglund's right-hand
man and most staunch supporter who
did this. At about the same time
there appeared two particularly re-
markable articles in the Saturday sup
plements of "Politiken," official organ
of the G. p, and Of which Hoglund
was the editor. The first was two
page laudation of American prisons,
but of Sing Sing in particular. Why,
it was enough to cause anyone to
want to go to the United States for
the special purpose Of gaining admis
sion to Sing Sing. I wonder what
some of our comrades who have made
shorter or longer involuntary stays
there have to say about it The sec
ond article Clipped directly from a
big bourgeois sheet in Great Brittany
dealt with the wonderful work done
by Scotland Yard in Britain and the
Pinkertons in the United States. They
were held as two of the greatest and
finest achievements Of mankind. Not
word was said about their role in