The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-06

establishing bond between a labor
party and the poorest elements of
farmers. have developed in the United
States. thanks to the peculiarities of
historical evolution, as one problem.
namely, the building of a common
party of workers and exploited farm
ers.'"
In other words. Comrade Ruthen-
berg hit the ball so hard and fast that
he walked home" to make "home
run" He added that: "Comrade
Foster and with him the majority
group of the central executive COM
mittee does not analyze the prevailing
economic and political conditions
from MARKHAM standpoint, whether
these conditions do or do not demand
for class political action on the part
of the workers and exploited farmers
political action in the sense of or
ganizing an aH-embracing political
party of their own, as a power against
the capitalist parties, ETC., but Com
rade Foster bases his conclusions on
what he cares to see on the surface.
Marxians must base their policy"
pointed out Comrade Ruthenberg,
upon the scientific analysis of the
question affecting society, and there
fore, if the conditions in the United
States have been such as to develop
movement for independent political
action on the part of the workers and
exploited farmers a year or two ago.
and if these conditions have not
changed for the good of the working
class, but to the contrary, have grown
for the worse. then why argue that
the farmer-labor movement is dead
and buried? 1t is our Communist
duty to take the leadership of the
movement and make it serve to build
the Workers (Communist) Party. We
can do that by rallying the workers
and exploited farmers around us thru
campaign with the slogan: FOR A
CLASS FARMER-LABOR PARTY"
This nailed the head of Fosters ar
guments down fast, and remained
nailed down for the whole evening,
and are still there, as far as we are
concerned. There remained some of
the tails" of Fosters arguments still
wagging, and in the next few minutes
Comrade Ruthenberg stopped the
wagon (wagging) by burying them.
dead.
Foster Speaks Second Time.
When Comrade Foster arose to
speak for the second time. one could
see that he felt defeated. H did not
have an argument, a real argument
to advance. He was picking flowers"
little one here and there. When
pressed for an answer why he had
ordered the militant trade unionists in
Canonsburg. Pa, representing a dis
trict of 10000 miners who had placed
in their program a demand for a
| farmer-labor party, to take that de-
mand out of their program and sub
stitute in it's place negative propo-
sition of Independent POLITICAL
action" Foster, at first, denied having
done anything of the kind; that he
did not know of anything of the kind,
but then turned around and asked:
What if did?" The fun of the matter
is that Comrade Foster was asking
for proof" that the sentiment for a
| farmer-labor party expressed itself
anywhere, now; right after, just a
few days, after the presidential elec-
tions.
The decision of the A. r. of l.. at
FL Paso. Texas, was interpreted to
mean that the Gompers machine is
getting ready to join forces with the
LaFollette movement which was to be
another reason why the Communists
have no business to monkey with the
slogan for a mass, class farmer-labor
party.
Ruthenberg in Rebuttal.
When Comrade Ruthenberg took the
floor again he pointed out the illogical
way Of reasoning by Comrade Foster,
when speaking of liquidation that
when there was large mass farmer
labor movement then there was no
danger of liquidation, but now, when,
according to Foster, there is no
farmer-labor movement, much less a
sentiment for 1t, then there is a dam
ger to liquidate the Workers Party"
The point scored was, that Comrade
Foster with his own arguments admits
that there is a sentiment, a deep
rooted need for a class farmer-labor
party. Otherwise, "why be afraid
that something which is not there will
liquidate our party?"
Ruthenberg wound up the discussion
by appealing to the Lettish comrades
to help Bolshevize the party by advo-
eating the participation of our mem
bers in the everyday struggles Of the
American working class, let it be
strikes, lockouts, protection Of foreign
born. amalgamation of craft unions
into powerful Industrial unions, un.
employment councils, recognition Of