The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-20
The War Department and the
Young Communist League

The sudden decision of the War Department
to try to break up the work of the Young
Workers Communist League among the SOL
diers, sailors and marines can be taken as
something of a landmark Of progress made by
the Communists. The reaction of the militar-
lists at Washington is reaction to real sit
uation and such real situation did not exist
a few months ago. The wrathful concern of
the St. Louis millionaire who is secretary of
war in the Teapot Dome cabinet for the ideolo-
gical condition of '''his" armed forces can be
taken as one among several indications that
the Young Workers (Communist) League is
maturing its understanding of how to do its
duty in that Supremacy important field-anti-
mitarst work.
Inherited traditions of pacifism have had
peculiarly virulent growth in the United
States. So far as the socialist party and the
Young Peoples Socialist League paid any at
tention to questions Of miitarism, it has been
along the lines of supine pacifism expressed
chiefly in such lamentations as are to be found
in Kirkpatrick's "War, What For" That sec
ton of the Young Peoples Socialist League
that showed itself partial exception to this
during the actual test of war, long ago split
away from the yellow socialist organization
flowed into the Young Communist movement
and rapidly matured from conscientious OBJ
lection" to constantly rising level of revolu-
tionary view. But still the old traditions were
hard to Danish The nondescript, unorganized
and anarchistic wave of conscientious objec-
ton that swept the country during the war
seemed still to represent "anti-nilitarist' ac-
tivity among workers close to the influence
of the Communist movement. 1t has been a
considerable task to instil the correct view that
pacifism and individualistic personal protest
have nothing in common with the revolution
airy activity of a Communist. But up until
very recently there have been traces Of the
old tradition persisting. This made it difficult
to establish and maintain consistent and eff
fective line of revolutionary activity among the
armed forces of American imperialism.
The danger of pacifist theology is always
great, but at the present time of rapid develop
ment toward the second and greater imperialist
world war, the danger is intellectually greater
than ever before. Therefore we are especially
pleased that the Young Workers (Communist)
League is piing up honor to itself when it
masters the art Of successfully reaching the
armed forces of the strongest and most i'm
mune" imperialism of the world. 'lt can't hap
pen in Amerca"-but the war department, by
its fright and its threats Of reprisals and re-
pressive laws designed to prevent human con-
facts with soldiers and sailors, admits that it
&c in t0
believe that the Communist anti-rnilitarist
work has reached higher stage.
Whatever action the war department may
take toward preventing contacts of civilians
with soldiers and sailors and the expression of
political thought among the armed forces them
selves, whatever laws to this purpose may be
discussed and passed-provided the Commun-
lists continue and improve and enlarge their
work-may be inconvenient and troublesome,
but in the long run will help to develop the sit
llation~lan with it the revolutionary Commu-
mist activity to the next higher stage.
In this connection it is interesting to note
that General Preston Brown attempted, with
some success, to have the capitalist newspapers
suppress the news of the glaring and sensa-
tional acts of bureaucratic tyranny of military
authorities in the case Of John Porter. This
also is Syssiphus task, even though it is pos
sible to silence the capitalist press The Com
munist press will give the news, and the more
exclusive the news may be, the greater func-
tioning of the Communist press.
We congratulate the Young Workers Com
munist) League The incident must be made to
sharpen the attention of the entire Communist
movement toward the supremacy important
anti-nliltarist work.