The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-31
Communists Make Big Gains in Sweden
By Fred Ellis


plotted for. several weeks in the most
infamous way by bourgeois and So
cial democrats alike. The police in
vestigation showed the complete
baselessness of the charge, as was
proved by the fact that the prisoner
was released after three days and
the charge dismissed. Instead of
proclaiming the truth and withdraw
ing their accusations, however both
the bourgeois and the social demo-
Gratis continue their attacks on Rus
STA. One of the reactionary news
papers of the capital published an
idiotic article on an intended trial
mobilization" Of the Communists,
which, incredibly stupid as it was,
was reprinted word by word by the
central organ of the social demo-
cratic party.
Develop Towards Left.
All this, however, did not suffice
to impede the advantage of the Com
munists, which shows a welcome
development towards the left on the
part of the Swedish working class.
Nevertheless, the fanatical anti-Bol-
shevist campaign was not without
results. 1t reused an incredibly large
proportion of the indifferent" and
increased the participation in the
elections by 20 per cent. Hundreds
of thousands of these new voters
were driven by their fear of Boil
shevism to vote for the right, re-
garding this as the best means of
banishing the spectre of Commu-
nism, as were even many who had
hitherto given their support to the
social democrats. This outcome also
lies at the door of the social demo-
cratic leaders themselves.
The success of the Communists is
all the more to be appreciated if
we consider that they had to fight
under far more unfavorable condi-
tons than had their opponents. Thus
the Communist Party with its 10000
members has only two daily papers,
one of them in the capital and the
other in northern Sweden, so that at
Gothenburg, the second city of
Sweden. with a typically industrial
population, the Party is restricted
to an insignificant bi-weekly publica-
ton, while it's opponents have at Co.
thenburg. alone five big dailies at
their disposal. In the whole country,
which is almost as large as Ger
many, the bourgeois parties run $50
dailies, besides innumerable weekly
and bi-weekly publications, while the
social democracy, subsidized by the
trade unions, run 80, partly i'm
portant, dailies. Thanks to the col
lective affiliation of the trade unions,
this party also receives annually
several hundred thousand crowns for
propaganda purposes, while the Com
munists are obliged to raise the bulk
of their funds by voluntary collec-
tons, though it is not intended to
deny that in this instance it received
more than usual from the local trade
unions whose sympathy it enjoys.
The increase in the number of
Communist votes, amounting in all
to more than 100 per cent, is I'M
equally divided. It is greatest in the
typically industrial areas of central,
north, and west Sweden, where in
some cases it figures at 800 per cent,
while the social democrats have in
those parts gained but little, even
losing a few hundred votes in one
particular district. The social demo-
Gratis have gained most in purely
petty-bourgeois regions and among
the working class of Gothenburg
which is still greatly influenced by
the church.
The next result of this unexpected
outcome of the elections will presum-
ably be the replacement of the petty
bourgeois government, which has for
the last two years maintained office
only be constant vacillation be-
tween the right and the social demo-
Gratis, by pronounced government
of the right, which will naturally
help to clear the general situation.