The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-13
By ISRAEL RLANKENsTElN.


issues and slogans. If it's aim-to
mobilize the working class masses
against the capitalist class and to ex-
tend the influence of the Communist
Party-is to be realized, it must be
based on live issues and on slogans
that find widespread and active re-
Spouse among the masses Of workers.
Is the "class farmer-labor party such
a slogan at the present time? The
minority contends, what was good in
1928 is good in 1925. n'1
To be sure, in July, 1924, even the
majority of the minority, was forced
to admit that the class" farmer-labor
parties were drowned in the third
party" This was not unexpected even
to the minority. The Perpendicular
berg thesis on the labor party policy
adopted by the last party convention,
and which the minority seems to have
forgotten, declared:
"The workers and exploited farm
ers of the United States have for
so many years supported the repub-
Iiean and democratic parties that
any organization which breaks away
from these old parties will have a
tremendous appeal for them and
they will not differentiate between
such a general third party move
ment and the class farmer-Iabor
movement There is great
danger that (the existing
class farmer-Iabor groups) will be
swept into the third party move
ment and thus the whole movement
for class labor party will be halt
ed FOR SOME YEARS TO COME"
This assertion is repeated over
and over.
"Uness there is a national crys-
utilization of the labor party move
ment there will be NO
HOPE for organizing a class labor
party or national scale FOR SOME
YEARS TO GOMEZ. And again,
more emphaticaIly: "UnIess such a
class farmer-Iabor party is organ
lied on national scale for the 1924
election the whole movement will
be dissipated and DESTROYED FOR
YEARS TO COME" Second Year
Of the W. p, pages 81 and 52.)
This prediction has come true de-
spite the formation of the st. Paul
national farmer-labor party" not to
mention the minority's miscarriage
the f.. +. L. p But to the minority
CLASS faFmer-labor party" has become
a magic phrase that can at all times
draw the workers close to our party
rhe minority thesis instructs us very
profoundly: eefa 4aT ss ss
1.-THE experiences of the workers
and poorer farmers in the struggle
against capitalism will produce
even stronger movement for indie
pendent political action than has
existed in the pastp
Sure, sure. We know it. We even
know that experience will teach the
workers and poorer farmers that only
thru revolutionary action and under
the leadership Of the Communist
Party, etc. 80 That's very nice
But how will these Communist plat
tudes help US to find the correct pol
icy to hasten this process? Comrade
kuthenberg expatiates on the theme
of experience in a whole article, with
equal results, The sharpening of the
class struggle in the postwar period
forced the, workers and poor farmers
to leave the old parties. There are
new and intenser class conflicts com
ing in the near future. Therefore,
concludes Comrade Ruthenberg, large
sections of the workers and farmers
will break with the LaFollette move
ment, and our agitation for class
farmer-labor party will hasten this
process and will help build our party.
Is the situation quite so simple as
the minority tries to paint It?
The experiences Of the workers in
the struggles of 1919-1922 were the
climax to similar experiences of many
years which revealed the republican