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

uuStfldl department OF the party was
not the auxiliary OF the party, but
the party became the auxiliary Of its
industrial department. Whenever Com
rade Pepper or another member Of
the minority tried to give the indus
trial activities Of our party political
significance, when motions were made
to bring out into clear relief the pur-
pose of our industrial activities In
the promotion OF political action, then
the cry was raised that the minority
belittles Industrial action. The pres
ent minority has consistently support
ed Comrade Foster in all his plans
for the industrial activities Of our
party. Comrade Pepper was indefa-
1 tigable in squirting the party on to
more and still more Of Industrial &C
tivities. But in addition to these in
dustrial activities there were propos-
ed at all times slogans and actions
to link up the industrial activities
with the paramount task Of our party.
And this paramount task is not, as
the majority seems to believe, the
lndustrlalIzatIon Of our party, but It is
the pclltIealizatIon of the working
class.
But" says Comrade oFlaherty.
every struggle Of the working class
lgainst the capitalists, whether It be
IN an election campaign or in strike,
is a political struggle" Well, Com
rade O'Flaherty, this is "as you see
It," In reality the political potential
tiles Of strike are not worth even
a passing mention by columnist if
they are not brought out into the open
by systematic action Of revolution
airy party Of the workers, by the Com
munists. AS long as the application
OF political power in the strikes is
confined to the capitalists, the strike
is not a political struggle. It must
be made one by conscious action.
And the political character Of a strike
lies not in the naked fact of the strike
itself, but only in the potentialities
OF the strike in that the experiences
Oh the strikes drive home to the work
ers the necessity Of a political strug-
gle and thus tend to turn strikes (not
every strike, but strikes in generaD
into political struggles against the
bourgeois state. These struggles will
then take on many forms and not
merely that of political strikes.
The task Of our party is not to be
merely active in the industrial strug-
giles Of the working class, but It is to
develop in all instances the political
potentialities Of such struggles. Not
merely participation in these strug-
giles is our aim. but participation with
a purpose. And it is on this point that
we invariably collided with the ma
iority. Political slogans in strikes
were declared to be out Of order. as
in the instance Of the Garment Work
ers' strike in Chicago. Instructions
that speeches, delivered at certain oc-
casions about our demands and slo-
gans should bring out the political
scope OF these slogans and demands.
were considered as sabotage of indus
trial work, as in the case of Fosters
speech on amalgamation in the Deca-
tur convention. In the preparation of
convention resolution for trades union
conventions everything was conscious
ly eliminated that could raise funda-
mental and political issues. In one
case for instance such an elimination
was made on the ground that If left
In, the bureaucrats Of the convention
may switch the issue to that of Mos
COW agents.
At the bottom Of this controversy
there is a fundamental difference OF
conception. This difference makes H.
self felt in the consideration OF all
questions. The majority is even con
scious OF this difference. But II Is
careful to conceal it. After the ma.
iority has fought in each concrete in
stance the proposals to push 10 the
foreground every political Potentially
In economic struggles Of the work
ers, the same majority proposes TO
the Prohntern program containing
such demands in almost the Identical
words of the original minority propos-
ais. But. after the program is adopt.
ed, everything remains as Il Is. The
program is an alibi. helping the ma
jority, but II does not help the par
" to increased political activities.
The Issue Of Liquidation.
The majority, having in it's midst
an expert on slogans, decided that
what its case lacks in quality may be
made up in viciousness Of IT'S sermons
and slogans against the minority.
Thus, the well-known slogan OF liqui.
dalton was resurrected. polished up
and parades as perfectly new and re.
liable.
Let us look at this little closer.
Who Is 70 liqu!date and what?
The Workers (communist) Party
was engaged in campaign for a Ia.
Continued on Page ~
II