The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-08

SITUATION IL IS Important TO reallzc
clearly that certain elements whom
we have in our midst are only there
because we possess monopoly Of
legality.
This, comrades, is the approx
mate structure of our farty.
1t is upon this structure that our
attitude towards the formation Of
fractions is based. You are aware
that during the whole epoch of the
Second international, practically
every party had its fractions. Rosa
Luxembourg, Lenin and Clara Zet-
kin; what were they but fraction
of the Second international? They
represented the left wing Of the
Second International.
Every patty had its Left and its
Right; everywhere there was strife.
This is to be different in the Third
international. Fractions can only be
tolerated in exceptional cases. Other
wise the Third international cannot
fulfill its historical task, We all
regard the Third international as an
organization which must be cast in
one piece.
Danger of Fraetionism.
It's historical mission is entirely
different to that Of the Second In
ternational. 1t must not represent
conglomeration of tendencies,
shades of opinions, etc. This would
be entirely unbelievable for Party
such as ours, ruling the state appa-
ratus as it does, and possessing the
internal structure which / have just
briefly sketched.
This explains our attitude with
reference 10 fractions. Try to re-
alize the actual position. Consider,
for instance, the younger members
Of the Party. Here we have five to
six Party generations: One genera
ton until 1905, one until 1917, one
belonging to 1917, one belonging to
1918, one belonging to 1919 and
1920; about 5 generations. If you
then add the division according to
occupation, involving at least ten
groups; workers, small holders,
economists, Red Army soldiers,
ETC., you win find that you have al
ready arrived at so possible COM
binations in the Party. And all this
has to be held together by one
single knot, the knot of Party
discipline.
If you allow these so combina-
tons the liberty of forming frac-
tions, you will certainly give rise to
five further possibilities of combin-
alton within each of these so divi-
sions, that is, you increase tho
danger Ave fold and a general disso-
luton would be the inevitable
result.
Thus the formation of fractions
within our Party is a thousand times
more dangerous for US than frdc-
tionism in any other party.
And again, try to realize what
the formation Of fractions would
mean in the Red Army, for instance.
Two fractions in the Red Army
SIGNIFY that there is no Red Army
whatever, two fractions in the G.
P. U. political I Administrative
Headquarters) signify that there is
no G. p. u. And yet even this has
been attempted! 1t need not be said
that the attempt was unsuccessful
Can 1t Be Permitted?
In the course of our present dis
cussion I was, for instance, Obliged
to spend two nights with the COM
rades of the G.. P. u at meetings
where 1000 comrades were gathered
together. And what was the ques-
ton in dispute? The question, COM
rades, was whether we were 10 pass
vote of confidence in the Central
Committee or net. The same thing
occurred among the military stud
ents in the Hrcmlin, the same in the
army staff academy of the Red
Army. These are facts. The min
GRITTY fought for a vote Of nom
confidence. We were victorious! But
just imagine the fact or contests in
these three institutions!
If you really want to understand
what our Party is, comrades, must
beg you to keep before your minds
eye the scheme of the Party struc-
ture which have here drawn up.
To be sure it is easy enough to
declare, like the Menshevil:i: "Just
look at this party! What number
of groups and sub-groups it has,
and how few workers from the
Shops and factoriesl This is no
Communist Partyl" This is, of
course, silly chatter.
We are OF the opinion that Cor a
party in possession Of power, and
faced by extraordinary difficulties
and placed in ar extremely compli-
Gated situation, the Bolshevist core
Of the Party-tkose workers who
were maturing during the % years
Of preparatory work, and were DO
tential members attaining actual
membership in 1917-19ls-forrns the
element representing a cement hold
ing the Party together, and without
which all the above named strata
would fall to pieces within a very
brief period.
Our Problems.
With such constitution of the
Party, the demand is now raised
within the Party for the workers
democracy. Workers democracy il
a relatively simple problem as far