The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-10-24
Rx WILLIAM 2. FOSTER
Workers -Party candIdate for PresId.


illusion This is the greatest obstacle
to the development of working class
conscious of it's interests and pre-
pared for serious struggle with Amer
lean capitalism.
The LaFollette program accepts
capitalism as its starting point. 1t
completely ignores the fact that all
the ills of the working class spring
from the capitalist system and can
only be abolished with the system
that causes them. LaFollette wants to
tinker around the capitalist machine
and repair it. He wants to soften some
Of it's more glaring evils and make
it more beautiful and palatable to the
masses. He wants to extend the demo
cratic forms, and lead the workers
to look to their reforms for relief, in
stead of struggling to establish their
own power to control society
Never, however, does LaFollette or
his program touch the vital question
Of power-which class is to rule. He
throws a mask over the brutal and
obvious fact that the present system
| is a dictatorship of the capitalist
class. He does not propose single
measure that so much as hints at
overthrowing that dictatorship.
No Blows at Capital
LaFollette's hackers boast that Is
out of Is measures formerly advocated
by him have been enacted into law
They were all of the same sort that
he advocates now One would think
from the boasts of the boosters, that
these measures had been blow at
the rule Of capital. Nothing of the
sort. Capitalism is stronger today by
hundred times than it was when La
Toilette began his work, and his
measures, so far from weaking the
capitalist dictatorship have strengh
ened it.
Take, for example, the direct cleo
ton Of senators. Formerly senators
were elected by the legislatures, and
the corruption, the open purchase and
sale of votes by means of which the
capitalists determined who should fill
the offices, constituted a fostering
sore and an Indictment to revolt to
the masses. LaFolletteism cured"
this sore, but did the capitalist lose
their control of the Offices? Not a
sit of it, With their control of party
machinery, Of the press, of the schools,
of the ideas and the means of spread
ing ideas to the masses, with their
complete and undisputed control of in.
dustry-the capitalist class continues
| its dictatorship undisturbed, while
the masses are fooled into thinking
that something has been fundamental
~ changed. But it is the same old
capitalist system, fitted out with a
new dress by LaFolletteism.
1t is a great mistake to suppose
because the big capitalists oppose La.
Toilette now, that this proves LaFol.
lette represents the workers. Capt.
talism is still arrogant, and thinks it
can rule thru a Coolidge. German
capitalism also used to oppose the
social-democrats of Germany; they
bounded and outlawed the socialists;
but when Gheir hour of crisis came.
and capitalism could have been over
thrown in Germany, the ruling class
turned to the social-democracy which
deliberately saved capitalism, which
shot down revolving workers by the
thousands, and turned to patching up
the shattered system. The capitalist
class Of America will similarly turn
to LaFollette, and LaFolIette will per-
form the same service for them in
America that Ebert and Scheidemann
performed for the German capitalist
class.
"War Referendum" Is Joke
LaFollette says he is against war,
but his program leads directly to war,
Just the same as that of Coolidge or
of Davis. He proposes referendum
on war, but not the slightest move to
control and remove the cause Of war,
capitalism. Such referendum is more
than CHASTITY joke; It is designed as
an instrument Of war itself, for it will
become merely means of more ef-
fectively mobilizing the masses for
the coming world imperialist war, by
fooling them into thinking that they
have something to say about the de-
cision.
Even now, so early in the game, the
capitalists are quite widely beginning
to recognize how valuable LaFoliette
is to their class interests, and their
antagonism to him is being softened
great deal, while a few big ones,
like Spreckles and Vanderlip, actually
go along and receive decisive voices
in LaFollette's councils. But the work.
ers are building up a Frankenstein, by
supporting LaFollette, that will turn
and devour them, just as did the mon.
ster Of social-democracy with the Ger
man workers in 1918.
Again all this reformism and class
| COlla hOrQffon tho vVorkaro Dorfxy