The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-08-30

Oh JOnu ,hSeu. he was no outsider
/ in the revolutionary movement In the
bitterest factional struggle, in the
days Immediately after the Russian
revolution when there was no clarity
closely involved in every fight as was
the most hard-boiled worker. Many
of US who were in the left wing, in
the Communist Labor Party, ETC., will
undoubtedly remember the athletic
hulk of John Reed, which had given
him football fame in exclusive Har-
ward, pulling his trousers up and
Tightening his belt in preparation to
delivering broadside against one or
another faction within the Commun-
ist movement.
We do not pretend that he was a
theoretician. His revolutionary spirit
was born out of a deep sympathy for
| the oppressed but because he was not
a theoretician we cannot afford to
underestimate the role he played in
our movement. Today, we lead the
workers struggle in the clear light of
the teachings of Marx and Lenin but
it was not always so. Many a revolu-
tionary figure who has played noble
role and has made sacrifices which
have emblazoned his name forever in
history did not understand fully the
class forces at work in a particular
historic era or the relation of that era
to other eras and the developing
forces in their influence and in their
results. Thus we must understand
John Reed for what he was, noble,
fearless fighter whose healthy in
stincts made him fight with the work
ers and against capitalism and who
did not hesitate to pay any price nee
essary to carry that struggle to a
successful end.
Made Revolution Live In Words.
The revolutionary events in Russia
would not let him rest in the United
States, and it was not long before he
passed through the blockade and en-
tered the First Workers Republic.
The stories of, his adventures from
America to the scene of the Russian
revolution as told both by himself and
many others who participated would
in themselves make book and must
be found elsewhere than in the space
of this article. However, after he
landed in Russia, his activity on be-
half of the revolution was without
limit. He was among its publicists,
writing to the workers of the world,
the wonderful story of the revolution
as he saw it through his youthful
eyes unhampered by traditional con-
servative ideas. He was among its
best fighters helping to organize revo-
lutionary regiments both of foreign
ers and Russians in order to go to the
front and fight in defense of the revo-
luton. He was one of the best SYM
bols Of the Russian revolution in that
he helped to complete the interna-
tional character of that world-shak-
ing event. And possibly, greatest Of
all he was one Of those who organized
the revolutionary forces against the
counter-revolution among the workers
and peasants in those heroic strug-
giles against the blockade, counter-re-
volution and economic breakdown. He
travelled through all of Russia in this
work.
Brought Workers Message to u. s.
In series of articles that he wrote
for the "Liberator" in the middle of
1920 he tells of the suffering and sac
rifice of the Russians who were work
ing with him. Throughout his articles
it seemed never to have occurred to
him that he was going through these
struggles with the same heroism that
he was crediting to the Russian
masses. In one of these articles he
says:
"And when was done saluting
them in the name of the American
revolutionists lin meeting of vii