The daily worker., 1925-02-14

Whilst Lenin is engaged in impart-
ing such advice" Trotsky, with his
quiet" but victorious insurrectionp
already in his pocket, is executing Fan
extensive maneuver." "We succeed
ed" he writes trumphantly "in Turing
our enemies into the trap of Soviet
legality" Lenin, calculating much
more upon the workers, sailors, and
soldiers than upon Comrade Trotsky's
"maneuvers," wrote at this tim 1T
is a crime to hesitate; it is piece of
childlshness and formality to wait for
the Soviet Congress, betrayal of the
revolution" But Trotsky refutes Len
in's words with an air of victory at
the close of his description of the
roles played by him and by Lenin in
October: ''It is one thing to organ
ize an armed insurrection under the
bare slogan of seizure Of power by the
party" Trotsky instructs Lenin:
"but it is something very different to
prepare and realize an insurrection
under the slogan Of the defence of the
rights of the Soviet congress"
Here the figures are shifted
from their actual positions: Lenin
is Illegal, unable to make a correct
estimate of the situation, omits to
observe that nine tenths of the insur-
rection has already been accomplish
ed, advises that the rising be com
menced in Moscow. although this OBJ
viously condemns the revolution to
failure. Trotsky, on the other hand,
brings about a victorious insured
ton" by October 8, carries out
definite but cautious maneuver by
which he '1ured the enemy into a
trap" and prepares and realizes the
victory" under a slogan comprehensi-
BILE to the broad masses, the slogan of
defence of the rights of the Soviet
| congress-"
What do these Lessons of october"
endeavor to teach us? That in the
spring Lenin was obliged to alter his
attitude, to abandon his old theory,
and that in October Lenin endeavor-
ed unsuccessfully to lead the insur-
rection which Comrade Trotsky was
destined to lead to victory.
We have to choose what we are to
learn and to teach. Either this his
tory of October. this history of Trot-
sky's., or of the history as given in the
works of Lenin.
In the question of the Constituent
Assembly Comrade Trotsky quotes my
and Zinoviev's letter of October ii, in
which we wrote: "The Constituent
Assembly will be able to lean upon the
Soviets only for aid in its revolution
ary work. The Constituent Assembly
and the Soviet form the combined type
Of state institutions towards which
we are advancing"
Trotsky comments as follows: "It
Is extremely interesting for the char
acterization Of the whole line adopted
by the right to note that the theory
Of combined state institutions unit
ing the Constituent Assembly with
the Soviets, is one which was repeat
d one or two years later in Germany
by Rudolph Hilferding, an oppon-
ent of seizure of power by the prole
tariat."
Zinoviev's and my letter was writ
ZEN on October IL, and l take Lenin''
,rticle written on October 6. Lenir
writes as follows: During the transi-
LiOu lIOlu Olu 10 new COIuDlH6u types
are possible at times (as the Work
ers' Path rightly pointed out few
days ago), for instance Soviet Re-
public and Constituent Assembly" Z
What does this imply? It implies
that in the case before us Lenin re-
sembled HiIferding. Historical truth
is of little importance to Trotsky. The
alteration of tactics at moments when
the situation alters from day to day
is OF no interest to him; what inter
ests him is to discredit Bolshevism
by every possible means.
A final example, again In two words.
In this same letter Of October 1917
we wrote: "These masses Of the SOL
diery are not supporting us for the
sake of the slogan of war, but for the
slogan Of peace. Should we find
ourselves in a position, after seizing
power, in which the international sit
uation obliges US to resort to a revo-
lutionary war, the soldiery will turn
sxrav from ne The heaf nf fha vOuth