The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-11-26
lContinned from Paee 81


Toilette. The farmerlabOr party
movement thus lost its mass char
acter, and the organization formed
at st. Paul soon found itself reduced
to little more than the Workers Party
and q comparatively small circle Of
sympathizing organizations. It was
RECOGNITION Of the fact that the farm
er-labor movement had been absorbed
by the LaFollette movement, and that
the former no longer had the proper
lions of a mass movement, that die
tated the action of the Workers Party
GA July s in withdrawing its support
from the farmer-labor presidential
candidates and nominating candidates
of its own
The events Of the campaign have
abundantly proved the correctness Of
our analysis Of the situation and the
policy we adopted for the campaign.
It has strengthened the revolutionary
morale OF our membership. it has won
for our party the sympathies and sup
port of every class-conscious worker
in America, and it has established the
Workers Party as the only working
class political party in the United
States.
The fundamental conditions deter
mining the attitude of our party to-
ward the farmer-labor movement are
the same now as at the beginning of
our experience In this field on the bas-
is Of the united front tactics Of the
Communist international. At the time
when the farmer-labor movement was
developing a mass character, moving
In the direction of an independent
party, it was correct for our party
itself to raise the slogan Of "a farmer
labor party" and participate actively
in the movement for it. When, as
became apparent in July, 1924, and as
it is apparent now, the idea of farm
er-labor party lacks mass support and
appeal among industrial workers and
poor farmers, the basic reasons for
our support of this movement are not
in existence. The Workers Party,
therefore, cannot advantageously pro
mulgate the slogan of "farmer-labor
party at the present time. The fur
Their development Of the class strug-
gle may eventually again create a
mass sentiment for the formation of
farmer-labor party. In sucn case the
Workers Party may find it advantage
Gus to again raise the slogan for such
a party and actively participate in the
movement for it. Our attitude to-
ward it will depend on the advantages
it offers to the Workers Party from
the standpoint of promoting indepen-.
dent political action on a mass scale
and of building the Workers Party in
to a mass Communist Party.
We are not opposed to the labor
party in principle. Neither are we
bound to the theory Of the historic in
evitability of the labor party in Amer
lea. Still less do we hold the opinion
that the labor party is the only med
ium through which independent class
political action Of the working masses
can find expression. We approach
this problem from the point of view
of whether the labor party slogan can
now be used as means of mobilizing
masses of workers for immediate
class political action, and we say that
neither for the present nor for the
the immediate future can the labor
party slogan be employed successfully
for this purpose.
The formation of labor party be-
comes inevitable and possible only in
asmuch as the economic mass organ
izations of labor are compelled to join
hands for independent political action.
But when the leaders of these organ
izations enter into a permanent al
lance with the petty-bourgeoisie, and
when such an alliance with the LaFol-
lette movement receives the recogni-
ton and support of almost the entire
organized labor movement, then the
question of forming a labor party
loses its basic foundation and ceases
TO be a fighting issue for immediate
pnsctical use.
The Communist International and the
Farmer-Labor Party.
1t is claimed by the comrades who
insist upon the farmer-labor party
slogan continuing as the major slogan
of our party, that the Communist In
ternational is in favor of their posi-
ton. This is not correct. The Com
munist international has not yet pas
sed judgment on the present disagree
ments in our party. The Central Elk
ecutive Committee is seeking the adj
vice of the Comintern on the labor
party policy, which will become
known in due time.
However, on all those occasions dur
ing the past three years when the
Comintern expressed itself in favor
OF a farmer-labor party policy for our
party, 1t always based its position on
the following two grounds: (1 that