The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-08-23
De Leon and the Dictatorship

The Socialist-Labor party, heir of the tradition
of Daniel De Leon, is opposed to the DICTATORSHIP
of the proclamation America, altho admitting
it may be necessary for Russia-and bases it's posi-
ton upon the supposed teachings of De Leon.
is interesting, therefore, to know Just what De Leol
really thought about the question of constitution
alism" versus Dictatorship" and to consider il
he would have approved of the ultralegality tha
characterizes his latter-day followers
In an editorial entitled "On to the Dictatorship
in the Weekly People, June II, 1910, page 1
De Leon has the following to say:
"GoV. Hughes calls special session Of the egls-
lature of this state for the purpose Of passing law
which he thinks should be passed, and which the
regular session Of the legislature rejected.
"The issuing of such call might not be
for wonder Chiefs may and do, at times, slop over.
The remarkable circumstance Is that the call Is
appIauded by some, and that those who
denim 1t, condemn It not upon principle but upon
the ground that the specific legislation demanded
by the Governor, the Direct Nomination system, is
undesirable.
1.-THE theory of the government set UP by the
American revolution of checks and balances.
That theory served the mould for all the state
constitutions. According thereto the government
consists of three coordinate departnents-the Legs-
Iative, to enact the laws; the Executive, to carry
them out; the Judicial, to Interpret them. Each of
these departments attended its own business The
executive could and authorized to suggest
legislation, and it could and authorized to veto
the same. Nevertheless its veto qualified. That
the executive be oVerruIed by the proper Iegs-
latve majority ls evidence enough that the
tlVe's authority to suggest not authority to
dictate legislation.
"Thls Notwithstanding have Iattery Presi
dents holding legislative seances at the White House,
and thereby exercising direct legislative functions
We have latterIy these Presidents 90 even fur
Their, and virtually constitute themselves into legs
tive chamber Of one. Finally the Governor of
the Empire State ordering the enactment of law
and the legislature having refused obedience, calling
them in extraordinary session to do his bidding
AND WE SEE ALL THIS WITHOUT A NOTE OF
PROTEST.
BESIDES the economic conditions to warrant the
phenomenon it requires two things for the dictator
shp-the dictator and the dumb dlctatorees. The
latter to be there; the former taking shape.
And yet bourgeois pundits are earnedy explaining
the necessity of the dual legislative chamber sys-
tenn They had better try and their own precious
legislatures. Close behind the bourseosie dictator
comes the dictatorship of the proletariat."
De Leon we see in this editorial, in spite of his
dogmatism, was enough of Marxist to avoid the
pitfalls of theory into which his followers have
fallen today. The inevitable development of bour-
geois democracy into open dictatorship, he saw
clearly, and also that close behind comes the die
tatOrship of the prOletariat" Why does the So
,ialistLabor party forget this today?