The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-06-06
CONTINUED from last issue)
~. The Character of our Press

fuence over millions, it must speak
the language Of the masses. This is
pIatitude, and almost every Commun-
list editor would be indignant if any
one thought it necessary to mention it
to him. And yet the Communist press
sins greatly in this respect, though in
two Numerically opposite directions:
There are Communist newspapers
whose endeavors to adopt popular
tone have led them to speak the Ian
guage of the masses to such an extent
that the masses themselves reject
them. And again there are other Com
munist organs who understand their
mission of raising the masses onto a
higher level in such a sense that they
address themselves to the masses in
a language which is not even compre-
hensihle to the whole of the Com
munist Party. (This danger is the
greater at the present time when a
great part Of the Communist press is
plunged into the profoundest reflec-
lions on the role to be properly played
by the party, only too often forgetting
that the role of the party becomes an
empty phrase if not played actually
among the masses.) The majority Of
our Communist newspapers can be
classified under this heading.
It is the task Of the Communist
press to speak in a language compre-
hensible to the millions Of the work
ing class, and yet increasingly empha-
sizing the leading role of the Com
munist Party.
Write to us on the conversation
held in the workers circles, on the
character of these conversations, on
the subjects selected for instruction,
on the questions put and replied to
by the workers on the organization of
propaganda and agitation, on the con-
nections with society, with the army,
with the youth; write most OF all
about the complaints which the work
ers most often raise against us social
democrats, about their questions, pro-
tests, etc." Lenin: How can we
make our newspapers real organs of
the labor movement?")
Why is it not possible to speak in
of simple, general, well known, OBJ
20 10 100 lines, instead of 200 to 400,
vious matters, already fairly digested
by the masses, such as for instance
the despicable treachery on the part
of the Mensheviki, the servants of the
bourgeoisie. 6. or the scornfuI grim
Of the American millionaires at Ger
many, etc." Nenin: Bhe character
of our newspapers.")
IF we take Lenin's second warning
to heart, we shall have space
enough in our press to observe the
first and shall find the way of solving
the problem of how to speak in the
language Of the masses without shar-
ing their decisions, of coping compe-
tently with mass movements and or
ganizing them under the leadership
of the Communist parties. The first
task OF the Communist press is agita-
ton. not propaganda, that is, it must
explain Communist policy to the mas
ses on the basis OF visible facts, not
on that Of Communist theory.
Among the greatest enemies OF Com
munist policy in our own ranks, and
not only Of policy, but of press agita-
ton. we must count the revolutionary
phrase.
"The revolutionary phrase consists
of the repetition of revolutionary slo-
gans. without taking into account the
objective circumstances of the pres
ent curve Of events and the present
situation. Wonderfully captivating and
Intoxicating slogans, without any firm
ground beneath them, are the essence
Of the revolutionary phrase" Ienin:
"The revolutionary phrase.O
TWO different things may be COM
= pretended under revolutionary
phrase In the Communist press. There
are Communist papers which invari-
ably follow the princinIe of emnIovine,