The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-10-01

liberties" / have read in old American books that
in the northern states supporters of slavery who in
public places, aye, in beerhouses, claimed free
dom OF speech and freedom of opinion often went
home with numerous bruises on their bodies and I
must say that your complaints concerning the viola
ton of freedom of speech today arouses in very
little sympathetic response. AS far as the southern
democrats" concerned, it was not an infrequent
occurrence that they tarred and feathered the OPP
ponents of slavery The abolition of Negro slavery
/. e., its substitution by wage slavery" was not
achieved by free exchange of opinion but by civil
war. We are now fighting for the abolition of wage
slavery, for the destruction of capitalism This
question is much more important and difficult than
the abolition of the slavery of few million Ne
groes. The whole of humanity is divided into two
main camps on the one hand the revolutionary
proletariat; on the other, the imperialistc bour-
geoisie. Those who hover between will, when the
critical moment comes, join the one camp or the
other. The fight does not cease for single day
1t is not question of abstract freedom-abstract
opnons-lt is question whether this country shall
be socialist or capitalist And l must tell you in
all frankness that we are disposed to reward with
genuine proetarian punches whoever tries to divert
us into the path of capitalism If people in America
say that we violate freedom we answer that in do
ing SO we resemble the actual fathers of American
freedom. History has invented no other means of
getting humanity forward. Human society, torn as
1t is by class antagonisms, is not debating club
In the fight each class avals itself of every means
OF persuasion and compulsion. We are the pioneers
. OF new order OF society. Our enemies are in
comparably more numerous, richer and better
EQUIPPED than We They waylay us at every STEP
Ihey have invented clever tricks whereby to deceive
the Masses and call these tricks rules of democracy
whenever there is question of fundamental mat
ers Oh the protection OF property, they themselves
never respect these rules. In the athletic ring one
can a1ord TO Wreste IN accordance with the estab-
llshed rules. But when it comes to a question of
Danger to human life, when man is defending
that which he cherishes most highly, he will bite
scratch butt and kick without the slightest regard
Tor the rules of the rng-and he is right In order
70 acnleVe the ends for which they fighting our
enemies need this so-called democratic freedom
We Will not give it to them We shall steadfastlv
de1end with every of persuasion and comnui
sion at our disposal the dictatorship of the nrole
taraf as the sole path to the new and actually free
order of society
H. however, our friends present or absent
would promise to do away with the dominion of the
Danks' trusts, armies, dreadnoughts aeroplanes-
on land, on the water and in the air-on the same
day. we would promise to grant complete and I'M
restricted freedom to all parties and all persuasons
And now for another question which was not
included IN the original list and which-as also the
critical Intersections of the president of the delega
ton-relate to the Communist Parties in England
and America. 1t has here been said that in America
there exists hostility towards Communism "as
they allegedly, in contract to the Communists of
the Soviet Union, do not work creatively but de-
structively. am afraid that we could not arrive
at agreement on this point. Before we had seized
power, we Russian Communists were also accused
OF destructive tendencies and the same accusation
is made even today. The complaints about the
wrong methods" of the British and American Com
munists receive with civility in accordance with
the rules Of hospitality; but must saw that. AZ a
Communist, regard myself as member of the
international Communist Party, and all reproaches
ievelled at the American or English Communists
a11ect every Communist and, therefore, me- too. If
among us, among the Russian, English or Amer
lean Communists bad" morals and usages prevail
and offend certain people, weIl-we SHAH be pre-
pared to turn over new leaf in the course of
time, and In any event we shall not be tarder in
doing SO than our class-enemies Is
! think have now exhausted the list of cues
tons. II the answers do not satisfy you, the cir.
custance IS In part attributable to the fact that
the questions you put were extremely difficult ones