The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-12-19

MANY workers are very much puz-
IVA zled by the controversy now going
On in the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union. They say:
GLOW is it that Communists can
not agree with each other on a COM
mon program? Why do they fight
with each other so much? What are
they fighting about? Is it a struggle
for power between individual lead
ers? Is it question of personal likes
and dislikes, personal ambitions and
antagonisms? How do they expect to
lead the working class if they cannot
agree with each other?"
Differences on Policy.
fractional struggles within a Com
munist Party are due primarily to
differences as to the policies that the
Party should pursue. When there are
cussed and settled. Where those diff
ferences are of q fundamental char
acter, sharp controversy often results.
The individuals who are identified
with one or another policy tend to
symbolic that policy and be iden-
titled with it, and the conflict between
policies appears to those who do not
understand political events as con-
flict between persons.
Controversies in the Republican Party
kLL parties have such controversies,
A in the course Of their development
This is true not only of the working
class parties, but of the capitalist po-
litical parties as well.
Take for example, the republican
party The history of the republican
party has been history of fractional
controversies concerning policies.
This is due primarily to the fact that
the republican party is not a homo
geneous party. 1t is a combination
Of various classes, such as big bust
ness, the petty bourgeoisie, and large
sections of the farmers.
Changing conditions and the pres
sure Of these various classes upon the
political line of the republican party
cause the controversies. To mention
crly few Of the recent ones, there
was the conflict between Roosevelt
and Taft. which caused an open split
in the republican party in 1912 and
the formation of the Bull Moose or
progressive party. There was the
struggle between LaFollette and Cool
idge, which caused another break in
the republican party during the 1924
elections.
At present, there is the controversy
between the so-called progressive bloc
or insurgents and the standpatters,
which expresses itself as conflict
between the Norris Borah group and
Coolidge.
Democratic Party, Too.
The democratic party has similar
history. To mention only few re-
cent instances, there was the differ
ence between the Populist West, SYM
bolized by Bryan, and the financial
East, symbolized by such men as
Parker
In the last presidential election,
there was the Smith McAdoo conflict.
New controversies are preparing in
the democratic party at the present
time
One-Class Parties Are Not
Homogeneous.
A COMMUNIST PARTY is far more
"A homogeneous in it's class charac-
ter than the republican or the demo-
cratic party.
Nevertheless, even the working
class is not homogeneous
There are various strata or layers
in the working class. There are skill
ed workers and unskilled workers.
There are recently DECEASED jndivid-
uals from other classes, who have be-
come party of the labor movement
There are elements who have entered
the labor movement from the farm
ing population and carry with them
some of the old tendencies from the
. class which they have come. There
are elements entering into the COM
position of the working class which
come from different countries and
carry with them different traditions
and outlooks.
Workers Influenced.
Finally working class party does
not operate in vacuum, but operates
in world in which other classes exist
Some elements of working class
party are more responsive to the
pressure of the viewpoint of other
classes than are other elements.
Sometimes by reading the capital
list press, sometimes by association
with members of other classes, some
times from members of ones family
or from friends, sometimes by con
tact with the bureaucracy of the trade
unions and even while in struggle
against tin short, in all sorts of
ways, some members of the working
class parties are affected by and ex-
press the pressure of other sections
of the population upon their method