The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-07

workers that defiantly face the political
power of the state in strikes and lockouts in
industry are deprived of exercising the fran
chise, hence the election returns are not a
perfect barometer of the degree of class-con-
seriousness of these workers. Add to this the
millions of Negroes who are deprived of
franchise through race discrimination In the
south, and we have huge mass of workers,
the most exploited sections, who have no
means of registering their resentment at the
polls.
One of the factors in the overwhelming de-
feat of Smith was the industrialization OF
the south that has been proceeding apace
within the past decade. The industrialists of
the south are far more politically aggressive
than the old land holding class and maintain
many newspapers that preach the gospel of
the Fordney -McCumber high protective tariff
as against the traditional free trade policy of
the democrats.
The poor showing of Smith, in contrast
to the noise raised during his campaign, is
a subject for lamentations in the Tammany
press of New York about the Woefully be-
nighted voters who were swayed by "in-
tolerance" and "bigotry." They have the
happy faculty of apparently ignoring the fact
that there is no fundamental difference be-
tween the two major capitalist parties. Both
parties speak for the same interests. 1t is
impossible to ascertain any boundary line
that separates the democrats from the re-
pubicans; likewise no one can distinguish
the dividing line between the democratic
party and the party of spurious socialism,
headed by the Rev. DR.. Norman Thomas At
nd bn WV with tho
republicans; it's liberal middle class wing
merges at the other end with those who be-
foul the name of socaism-thus there ex-
lists capitalist front from Hoover to Thomas.
The one party that alone represents the
interests of the masses of workers and i'm
poverished farmers is the Workers Com
munist) Party. Regardless of whether the
total vote of the candidates of the little party
of capitalism masquerading under the name
socialist exceeds that of the Communist
candidates, nevertheless it is significant that
in many of those working class centers where
the infamy of the socialist leaders as part
ners of Tammany courts, police and strike
breaking bosses is known the Communist vote
surpasses the vote cast for Thomas and
Maurer. In sixteen precincts of the sixth as
sembly district of the Bronx, the vote for
Foster and Gitlow was 634 as against 394 for
Thomas and Maurer.
Compared to previous elections in New
York the socialists lost heavily. A portion of
their middle class and liberal following went
to. Smith, while many workers who formerly
supported them, went to the Communist can
didates.
For the first time in history nationwide
uncompromising revolutionary campaign was
waged by the Workers (Communist) Party
and countless thousands of workers and
farmers were reached with the message of
Communism. The election campaign was
utilized to expose the capitalist class and all
its agents of every variety as enemies of the
workers and farmers.
Now that the campaign and election is over
it is essential that those masses who sup
ported the Communist banner at the polls
rally to its revolutionary standard for the
continuation of the political struggle through
other forms and in more intensive and de-
termined manner.
Let every worker and farmer who in full
consciousness supported the Workers Com
munist) Party become member of the
party of his class and aid in the struggle to
build an invincible political power that can
meet and defeat the exploiters of labor in