The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-05-26

NdpltdiSI democracy anu the Wv
ent-Strikebreake
Many workers foster illusions as
to the possibility of achieving their
emancipation from the oppression and
exploitation of capitalism through the
election of a majority of the members
Of the legislative bodies and eXecu-
tive officials of the capitalist govern
ment. The American Federation Of
Lebor and the Socialist Party help to
maintain these dangerous and futile
illusions The national platform of
1.-THE Socialist Party states: ''By intel
ligent use of the ballot, aided if need
be by industrial action, all class di-
visions and class rule can be abOl-
ished." 1t is one of the foremost du-
ties of the Communists to destroy
such illusions and to expose all those
yellow Socialist misleaders Of the
workers who help to create these il
lusions.
The present government is a gov
eminent OF the capitalists. It cannot
be transformed into a government Of
the working class, and it's sole pur-
pose is to defend the interests of pri-
vate properly and Cypress the work
ers, working farmers, the Negro
masses, and the colonial peoples.
The Constitution of the United
States was drawn up by bankers, big
landowners, and rich merchants of
1887, admittedly against the working
masses. AS Madison, the "Father of
the Constitution" put it, the Gov
eminent ought ito protect the min
GRITTY of the Opulent against the ma
jority. 1t is an illusion to think that
the majority of the people of the
United States can change the Consti-
tuition. The vote of two-thirds of the
members of the legislative bodies of
three-fourths of the forty-eight states
| is required to initiate any movement
| for an amendment On this basis
one-fourth Of the States, which may
be the smallest ones and in which
there may live only one-fourteenth
of The population, can prevent any
change of the so-called democratic"
Constitution.
The Constitution contains a whole
series of notorious "checks and bal
ances" for the sole purpose of MAX
ing it impossible for majority an
tagonistic to the ruling class to make
its will effective. The members of
the House of Representatives are
elected every two years, the Presi-
dent every four years, and the mem
bers of the Senate every six years,
SO that a complete change of Govern
ment can be made only through cleo
tons spread over six years. The
elections are not at the same time,
because the Father of the Constitu-
ton wanted to give chance for the
cooling off" of any mass discomfort
which might express itself in the
elections. The Senate has veto over
the decisions of the House. A special
joker of the Constitution is that a
newly elected Congress cannot come
into session until thirteen months
after its election, thus giving a chance
to the repudiated Congress to in
trench its will by new legislation.
The President can veto the. actions
of both houses of Congress, and over
and above the House, the Senate, and
the President stands the Supreme
Court, which can nullify laws which
all three have passed, declaring these
laws unconstitutional.
C Al 1911
titled to vote participate in the cleo
lions, and large sections of the popu-
lation of voting age are disfranchised.
In the South the 81 million Negroes
of voting age are today as much dis
franchised as in the darkest days Of
chattel slavery The 63 million for
eign-born, unnaturalized workers Of
voting age are disfranchised because
they are "aliens." The DISTINGUISHED
Negroes and foreign-born workers to-
gether constitute almost 20 per cent
of the population of voting age. The
youth between the ages of 18 and
81 is entirely DISTINGUISHED. The
hundreds of thousands of migratory
workers, who cannot comply with the
residential qualifications, are likewise
robbed of their elementary political
rights.
The two-party system, which in the
South is in reality only a one-party
system, is again one of the props of
American democracy, preventing the
splitting-off of the bulk of the work
ing class and working farmers from
the parties Of big business.
Elections are very expensive in this
country. Campaign funds are huge;
they run into millions, and big bust
ness is able to buy as many and as
high offices as it likes. On the other
hand, working class parties, which
rely only on the support Of the ex-
plotted workers and farmers, are poor
and are not able to compete with the
rich capitalist parties.
Big business controls thousands Of
newspapers. Thirty million copies of
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