The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-07

to our party, but the international pro
letariat as we'll, and to the Commur
list Parties of all countries. And thu
it is not a matter of private opinion
but political conflict concerning tn
whole party. Should any comrade:
maintain that the conflict aroused b.
Comrade Trotskys book is merely a
conflict between Trotsky, Bucharin,
Zinoviey, Stain and Kamenev, a diff
ference of opinion between literates,
these comrades would prove that they
are unable to grasp the real interests
Of the party. Comrades holding such
an opinion can only do so because
they would like to utilize the party
conflicts for the purpose of forming
some third group based on the slo
gan: The literates are Quarreling
among themselves, but it has nothing
to do with us"
No one has the right to stand aside
in this conflict. 1t concerns one of thu
most far-reaching questions of our in
ner life, and of the life of the Comm
tern. The question is: Can the part
recommend the proletariat to accer
the lessons as taught by Conrad
Trotsky's book, or should the part,
exercise the whole of it's authority
in warning the proletariat against tn
teaching of the Lessons of October?
| am not DESTROYS of here entering
into long controversy with this ar
ticle of Comrade Trotsky's. Conrad
Trotsky is ar excellent writer, and hi
gifted pen has done the party much
valuable service. But here it serve.
interests hostile to the party, here
does not serve bolshevism, but the
cause of those seeking to disintegrat
and discredit Bolshevism-both the
Bolshevism embodying the theology of
the proletarian revolution and the Boil
shevism organizing the fighting force
Of the proletariat. And ComradC
Trotsky does this by means of an ex
ceedingly artistic, but essentially in1
correct and inaccurate description
the whole of the events between Feb
ruary and October | have no doubt
but that the party will call upon q
number of its writer's, among thos
who participated in the events of thi'
period and took immediate part In the
struggle leading up to the October
revolution, and that these will refut
the various Misrepresentation made
by Comrade Trotsky with reference tc
decisive moments in the history of on
party during this epoch.
The April demonstration is misrep
resented, the April conference is mis-
represented, the events in June
and July are misrepresented, the
events in connection with the prelim.
mary parliament are misrepresented
and finally the course taken by event;
in October itself are misrepresented
Here | cannot dwell upon the details
required for the restoration of histori
cal truth, or on the confronting
Comrade Trotsky's assertions by doc.
umentary evidence. What wanto tc
deal with here is the general question
OF the social and political import 0
the attitude adopted by Comrade Trot
sky, and the significance OF this atti
tude when considered in the light
the previous positions taken up by
Comrade Trotsky, and Of the rolt
played by Comrade Trotsky.
We have hitherto abstained from
putting this question, for easily com,
prehensible reasons. But now we car
avoid IL no longer for Comrade Trot
sky, in thus raising the question OF
October. the question OF the rol,
played by our party and by Lenin In
the creation OF the theology underly
ing the October revolution, himsel
forces US to deal with the question
from all the standpoints which have
been adopted by Comrade Trotsky
during the history of the Bolshevist
Party. g~8S.l
am thus obliged to deal with the