Evening star., 1928-10-11
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

Speaking of work among co-opera-
tives (page III: "In the United States
of America, the party controls COM
paratively strong positions and uses
them successfully to spread its ideo-
logical influence. The sphere OF &C
tivity there remains, so far, restricted
to national minorities."
AS to tactics in the United States
(page 33O:
"The majority drew the conclusion
that the former chief slogan Of the
party. For the formation of a Farmer
Labor party!' had to be abandoned as
useless. This conclusion was incorrect.
The minority was right in having con-
fidence in the vitality and future OF
the Labor party movement. The Com
munists need not demand, nor even
expect. that the Labor party will i'm
mediately be revolutionary, iad1cal
party of workers, in which the Conln1u-
nists will have to take the lead.
AS to the slogan the resolution states:
g" Our slogan itself should now be re-
vised, in so far that we no longer ag.-
tate for a Farmer-Labor party, but only
for Labor party, since, IN the changed
conditions, the premises for the forna-
ton of joint party OF workers and
small farmers is lacking"
paigns":
"a vigorous campaign was launched
against the American war on Nicaragua,
under defeatist slogans, in which for
the first time in American labor history
the Marines were appealed to on the
necessity of fighting against their own
Government. Attempts were made to
reach the forces in the navy yards, and
a number of w. Y. l.. were arrested.
The party supports the All-American
Anti-Imperalist League, a united front
organization with its headquarters in
Mexico City and branch in the United
States, as we'll as in the chief Latin
American countries. This organization
is concentrating its efforts on fighting
the spread of the influence of the Pam
American Federation OF Labor, and Is
mobilizing anti-imperialistic sentiment
throughout Latin America to resist the
encroachment of Yankee imperialism"
(Somehow that seems to explain
Gov. AL Smiths attack on the Wood
row Wilson policies of intervention in
Haiti, Santo Domingo, Mexico and
Nicaragua, which he promises viii not
be carried out if he be elected. This
declaration of Candidate Smith was
discussed in this column last Saturday
and Tuesday-before this official book
of the Communists, had been discov-
ered)
The official book also d1scloses:
''The campaign for the protection Of
the foreign-born is conducted by a
large, Nationwide front organization in
which the party plays an important
role. Its aim is to fight all exceptional
laws against the foreign-born workers.
At the Second National Conference of
this organization, held at Washington,
D. c., delegates were present represent
ing 100000 workers. The party has a
special department for work among the
foreign-born, in the central apparatus,
as well as in every district. The
unemployment now so widespread in
America is the subject of special party
campaign. Unemployment councils
have been formed in a number Of
towns, notably New York, where OPEN
air demonstrations have been held and
relief kitchens established; in Cleveland,
where the unemployed invaded the
meeting of the city council and de-
manded work Of relief; and the same
is true of San Francisco, Denver. etc.
The unemployed are being drawn into
trade union organization campaigns,
and since its last convention in Decenl-
Der, 1927, also into the organ of the
Trade Union Educational League"
There follows report of communistic
activities in the coal strikes and the
textile strike at PaSsaic and the furriers'
and cloakmakers' strikes. For agitation
in these disturbances the Communists
expended 100000.
X y X X
It adds: -Four years ago there were
not more than 200 students in workers
schools, divided between New York and
Chicago party schools. Today. there
are schools established in IL cities, with
a student personnel of close to 1000.
All important street nuclei in New
York, for example, have from one to
four neighborhood courses, as have also
various outlying districts. This is also
true of other centers. In the
Buffalo district upper New York; q
travelling instructor was furnished for
six study classes which have an at
tendance of 108 students. In some of
these cities, there has never been any
form of educational activity before. The
Agitprop department has just establish
ed national party school, consisting
of three-month course. 1t has 80
students, of whom come from the
Canadian party"
4 + X
"The party has IL dailies in 9 differ
ent languages and IL weekly publica-
tions, besides a number of papers and
over which the party has a
big influence. The total circulation OF
the party press is estimated at over
ITO ,000"
The official statement reviews efforts
to influence the negroes of both North
and South, but without significant srlc-
cess, for many timid elements were
frightened away by the vicious attack
launched against the Congress by the
American Federation of Labor official
dom. AT the present time the
are aiding in the building Of a negro
central labor body, which seems to be
developing successfully.
The work among housewives In the
United States shows:
"In February. 1928, the Workers
party had 10000 dues-paying members
and about $4,000 members on its lists"
y y X \
These quotations are but samples of
The disclosures in the official review
published by the Communists in Great
Britain and never intended to reach the
general public.
This weeks issue Of the Soviet Union
Review, published in Washington, d. c.,
publishes a long article containing the
protest of M. M. Litvinov, acting peo-
,leS commissar for foreign affairs of
he u. S. S. r. (Soviet RUSSIA, ad-
iressed to the Preparatory Disarmament
Commission Of the League of Nations.
Iitvinov analyzes and criticizes the
xellogg-Briand multilateral treaty out
awing war as a national policy except
n self-defense. Litvinov presses argu-
nents for immediate and total disarna-
nent of all nations and ridicules the
igners OF the treaty against war. The
losurd inconsistency Of the Soviet atti-
ude in pretending to want all nations
o disarm, even while its official dis
closures in this book demonstrate its
continued conspiracies to stir up unrest