The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-11-21

the operators, the government and
the union bureaucracy were modified
against the party. Public meetings
were broken up and speakers arrested.
The party was fighting for the
miners demands thru the public meet
ings which it was holding. The sup
preston of the party's open activities
confronted it with the question of a
free speech fight. If the party, had
initiated a free speech fight for its
right to hold public meetings after
this attack, it would have isolated
itself from the striking miners and
their demand to carry on a fight for
the right of the party to hold meet
ings. The c. E. c. realizing this dan
ger decided against the policy of max
ing free speech fight and decided
to direct the activities of the party
to the work of raising in the local
unions the demands for calling out
the maintenance men and a 1000
strike, that there should be no settle
ment without wage increase for the
miners, that general strike of all
coal miners, including the bituminous
miners, be called, and for the resist
ance of a settlement by arbitration.
In spite of the fact that the coal
operators, city officials and union
bureaucrats have whipped up a red
hysteria in order to prejudice the
miners against the Workers (Com-
mnnisD Party, the party influence
uL~- the miners has been increasing.
The party has had three organizers
in the anthracite practically con-
tinuously since the strike began In
spite of all prohibition these organ
izeFs have been addressing meetings
of the miners and presenting a pro-
gressive program for the winning of
the strike. Besides the party mani
festo, three leaflets voicing the pro-
gressive demands have been dis
tributed in the anthracite. Recently
the G. e. G.. sent Comrade Dunno to
the anthracite fields to write a series
of articles for our party press on the
situation in order to arouse the work
ers generally to the Importance of
this strike and bring them to the
support of the miners.
Criticism has been made of Com
rade Gitlow's article in the November
issue of the Workers Monthly. The
criticism is based upon the following
section of one of the paragraphs of
this article, which covers three and
a half pages of the Workers Monthly:
THE anthracite coal strike is a
conspiracy between the officials and
the coal operators. 1t will benefit
only the coal interests. The strike
will not benefit the miners out on
strike. 1t will cause untold hard
ships to the workers in the east
ern states that depend upon an
thracite coal. The anthracite strike
is the logical outcome of class col
alteration
These sentences, taken by them
selves, are incorrect and a wronE in
depreciation of the party policy could
w lnClus IlGBdIul6SS OIL
the treacherous aims of the bureau
Gratis the strike of the workers must
be regarded as a manifestation of the
class struggle. With the correct mol
icy the strike can be developed into
powerful offensive against the cap
italists. 1t is quite true that the strike
policy of the union bureaucrats will not
benefit the miners, but strike based
upon the policies of the Progressive
Miners Committee makes the strike a
real struggle in the interests of the
workers. Such strike is in the in
terests of the workers no matter how
much suffering may be incident there
to for the strikers or other groups of
workers.
The sentences referred to must be
read and connected with the whole