The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-05-08

participation in students demonstrations. In
with his mother, and there he went deeper into
MARKHAM studies He continued them the next
year in Samara which was one of the stops on
the way to Siberia. Many returned revolution
lists stayed there and participated in revolution
airy circles. Lenin was also member Of one and
barely escaped arrest.
In 1884, he had taken the law examinations In
Petersburg. He handled the cases of poor peo-
pie and Martov claimed that he would have be-
come good lawyer. But he practiced law only
little, for he became at that time active in the
daily work of the revolution.
In Petersburg.
T IENIN was now a conscious MARKHAM revolu-
- zionist and conducted successful debates with
the leading pOpulists His mimeographed pamph-
let's we're eagerly read. He proved the inaccuracy
of the theories of the populists. He showed how
capitalist conditions are growing up everywhere,
even in faraway villages. With establishment
we read how deeply the young Lenin, the twenty
four-yearold student grasped the quintessence
of MarXism. He says that the socialist youth
must cease to build on illusions; they must base
their activity on real and not wishedfOr condi-
tons in Russia The theory must be a complete
! and minute picture of the development 1t must
answer the questions raised in practice ''YOu
cannot be an theological leader without theoret-
lCd1 HOEh, JUST DIS you CduuOl NC d 1eduST WIIHOub
conducting work on practical questions without
prOpagating theoretical conclusions among the
workers and without helping them in their or
ganzatiOns," he wrote The proof Of practice
saves from dOctrinarism and sectarianism. GAS
basis for our work, there must be the general
conception of Marxists that the Russian worker
is the sole and the real representative of the
whole tOiling and exploited people of the coun-
try"
"The socialdemocrats center their attention
and activity on the working class when its fore
most representatives accept the ideas of scientific
socialism, the idea of the historical task of the
Russian proletariat when these ideas spread
widely and strong organizations are formed
among the workers. changing the present scat
tered economic struggle into a conscious polit-
ical fight then the Russian workers, rousing
themselves at the head of all democratic elements
will overthrow absOlutism and lead the Russian
proletariat together with the proletariat of all
countries) ON the straight path of open political
fight to the victorious Communist revolution"
In April, 1895, Lenin went abroad, for his
health, partly, but mainly in order to see the
veterans of the "GrOup for the Liberation of
Labor" And he brought back new energy for the
work And he brought also hidden in the walls
of his trunk books and mimeograph. He was
the leader of the "League for the Liberation of
the Working Class" He organized circles and
wrote pamphlets and manifestos. In preparing
these he always studied the subject thoroughly
and had long talks with workers in order to learn
their way of thinking and speaking. His pamph-
let about fines is as much a social study as it is
piece of propaganda He was just making up
new paper of the gathered materials when his
group was arrested on December 9.
He continued his studies in prison. He gath
cred material for his book Development of Cap
italism in Russia" and he managed to send let
ters to his comrades in other cells thru the books
of the library. With these letters-at that time
as thruout his life,-he stimulated the courage
of his comrades and, made suggestions for their
work And there he wrote the May First Mani
festo of 1896, of which 1000 copies were circul-
lated in the factories. The workers said after
wards that the big strike movements of the fol-
lowing summer had this manifesto as~thcir first