The daily worker., 1925-08-29

campaign was defeated. Why? The
answer is very simple. Because the
forces that were bringing to the sur
face the LaFollette movement, the
economic and political conditions that
made this movement big and influ-
ential in those months, were much
stronger and much more powerful
than the influence that our party could
exert. l do not need to go here into
detail to explain why those condi-
tions were more powerful than our
party. The LaFollette movement as
it functioned in those months found
great sympathy, had great attractive
power precisely among those sections
of the workers who were beginning to
think politically. Precisely among
those sections of workers whom our
party was trying to attract and it
goes without saying that in those
months and even now at the present
state of development of capitalism in
America, the petty bourgeois. progress
sive, liberal movement which has the
backing of the official labor move
ment, will be much more successful
in winning the masses at the present
moment than Communist Party can
be. And so the June II convention
did not produce what our party was
striving for. Thus in May, 1894, our
party was confronted with a very seri-
GUS proposition. But before 1 come
to that must recall to your atten-
ton a very important event that took
place in the life of our party in
May, 1924, something that must not
be overlooked when you are study
ing the report of the Central Exceu-
tive Committee. Namely, the deci-
sion of the Communist International
which nullified our proposition for
third party alliance. This is very
important. Why? Because from jan
uary until May, until the Communist
International decision became known
to us our party was basing its policy
on the third party alliance. 1t is
true that the last party convention re-
ferred the matter to the G. /. but
that did not help matters very much
ifrom January until May for the rea-
son that the Central Executive Com
mittee and the party as whole had
to function. Political life does not
stop for Communist Party to make
up its mind and the Central Execu-
tive Committee had to function dur
ing those months politically and the
only basis on which 1t could function
was on policy in which It believed
in. The Central Executive Committee
was nearly unanimous in believing
that the policy of the third party
alliance was the policy to apply un-
der these conditions. All our tactics
all our literature. all Of our slogans
formulated during the months of Jam
uary to May were based on this gen.
eral idea Of the third party alliance
and then at a certain moment the Com
munist International said to our par
ty, you cannot do it, and the Central
Executive Committee was confronted,
comrades, with very critical situa-
ton. | am sure every member of
the Central Executive Committee will
be able to recall now very vividly
the situation we found ourselves in
at that particular moment, We were
confronted with the necessity of COM
pletely reorientating ourselves prac-
tically within "a hours, and comrades,
a reorientation which was to take
place was in the close study of your
library, not in your own room, re-
orientation Of political party on the
open political arena, under the very
fire of the enemy, because you must
remember that at about the same time
LaFollette and Gompers opened their
attack on the June II convention and
against the Communists. We main
tain that the ability of our party to
reorientate itself quickly under these
conditions Is a tribute to the Com
munist quality of our party. To have
changed within one day, almost, fun
damentally, our main political line un-
der the very fire of the enemy with
out In the least demoralizing our