The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-01
VIM. z. Foster
The Socialist Party's "COmrade"-
AL Smith

Of course there is nothing more Social
istic" about the multi-millionsires' presi-
Dental candidate on the democratic ticket
than there is about the multi-millonaires'
candidate on the republican ticket Nor is
there anything remotely resembling socialism
in Al Smith, Raskobs friend, any more than
there is of tropical temperature in the region
of the North Pole
Yet it is an open secret that the socialist
party is worried sick about the inroads being
made by the Tammany orators among the
New York followers of the socialist party
since Hoover made his little joke about Al
Smith as Estate socialist" The smaller fry
among the Tammany orators on the East Side
of New York have been given their orders to
use "socialistic" terms in describing Smiths
alleged 'progressiveness." It is an actual fact
that in the New York working class districts
in which the socialist party has hitherto re-
ceived its biggest vote, speakers for the big
capitalist democratic party are addressing
their audiences in some cases as comrades"
Democratic party speakers in at least two re-
cent New York meetings have limited that
the way to get Socialism is to vote for the
head of the reactionary, crime-soaked, Wall
Street-supported machine of Tammany In
at least one instance a Tammany speaker has
told his audience outright that Smith is a
socialist"
This is what worries the yellow socialist
party. The explanation is easy. The New
York State candidates of the socialist party,
like their candidates of other fields, are pre-
senting a program that cannot be dis
tinguished in any essential way whatsoever
from the reactionary program of Tammany
Hall. For instance in a recent debate Louis
Waldman, candidate of the socialist party for
governor of New York, vehemently declared
himself to be conservative socialist" after
a Tammany speaker before the same audience
had declared Smith to be progressive and
"socialistic"- both speakers gave the
identical program of public ownership" (by
the capitalist state) as the program of each
of their respective parties.
While it is completely idiotic to think there
is anything "socialistic" about the democratic
party (whose orators in non-working-class
districts sing the opposite song), it is equally
absurd to claim there is anything remotely
approaching socialism in anything done or
said by the socialist party.
The socialist party has in fact been forced
by the logic of its own actions into the posi-
ton of openly fighting the working class on
a hundred fronts, into fighting and SANDER
ing the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics in
a brazen and naked way where it formerly
covered itself with fig-leaves, into more and
more open visible corruption with both the
capitalist employers and the Tammany
machine. This has compelled it to declare it.
self openly as conservative" In fighting the
workers the socialist party has been obliged
to declare itself opposed to the class struggle
(although of course it participates actively in
the class struggle on the side of the en-
ployers). Waldrnan, as it's candidate for gov
ernor. is logically compelled to say in his
speeches 81 am not red,' while the Reverend
Thomas, as candidate for president, is COM
PEELED to write that he is mot an orthodox
Marxist." And all of them are driven to fight
openly against the idea of working class rule
and to defend what they are pleased to call
american democracy" Capitalist class
rule).
Many more thousands of workers this