The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-01-05

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The developments that the Party
hass so far witnessed have already
amply demonstrated the correctness
of the Comintern's analysis of Trot-
skyism as having developed to Men
shevism. Examining the supporters
Of Cannon, we find such elements
as Lore and Eastman, who were ex-
PEELED from the Party years ago as
social democrats; Calverton, a typ
ical petty bourgeois intellectual who,
with a small circle of other bour-
geois intellectuals around him, is en-
deavoring to revise Marxism-Le
inism; Askeli and Sulkanen, who for
years have been the leaders Of the
Right wing in the ranks Of the Fin
nish comrades, the former of whom
had to be removed from all leading
Party work as far back as 1925 be-
cause of his -Comintern posi-
ton.
Coming to the more recent ad-
herents 'of Cannon, we find Swa-
beck, who in 1926-27 proposed the
theory that the Russian Revolution
can no longer serve as a source of
inspiration for the American work
ers. Viewed in the light of later
developments, it can be clearly seen
that this theory already contained
the germs of Trotskyism. The adj
herents of Cannon in Minnesota are
the people who, while members of
the Party, declared that the discip-
line of the labor party is as high as
the discipline of the Communist
Party and who refused to carry on
a struggle against Shipstead, who
was openly selling out the workers
and farmers of Minnesota to the re-
publican party.
Cannon, himself, in the labor
party activity of our Party in 1928
"a went so far to the Right that he
was condemned by the Comintern as
"having failed to maintain the Com
munist position" Just before his
expulsion, and before the Sixth Con-
gress of the Comintern, Cannon, who
had always maintained a skeptical
and cynical attitude toward the
Party and its achievements, devel-
oped the theory of ILDism-the
theory that at the present stage Of
development Of the American class
struggle it is only possible to draw
the workers into the most elemen-
tary form of working class activity,
but not into direct struggles against
the capitalist class and the capital
list government.
Charges Counter Revolutionary Role
1t is thus easily seen that the
American representatives of Trot-
skyism are far over to the Right of
the Comintern, and their endeavors
to pass themselves off as "left"
group can only make the proverbial
"cat laugh" fStalin). Much more
serious, however, is the endeavor of
the Opposition in the Party and
League to characterize the Ameri-
can Trotskyites as left, and the Can
nonites as executing Trotskyite
maneuver."
When at the same time these
comrades maintain that the main
danger is the Right danger, and
then characterize Trotskyism as
something else, it means that either
no struggle, or only an incidental
struggle should be conducted against
Trotskyism, and this at time when
Trotskyism is making serious at
tempt to split the Party. Not only
that, but the statement OF the Party
Opposition, which was endorsed by
the League Opposition, calls for a
fight against the Central Executive
Committee in such terms and char
acterizes the C. E. c. in such o tone
as they do not use even against the
Trotskyites.
The Opposition statement de-
clares: 'These tendencies, which
constitute the line of the Contra
Committee of our Party, have the
effect of paralyzing the fighting
ability of our Party, retarding its
activities for developing mass strug
giles and mass organizations anc
hence are weakening the working
class and Strengthening its enc.
mics" Not only does the Party OPP.
position go beyond the charge that
The Communist Party acts as a
brake on the working class 0ike
Trotsky on the British Party, but
it declares that the Party is weak
ching the working class and
Strengthening its enemies; in other
words, that the Party is playing a
counter-revolutionary role.
N. E. C. Condemns Opposition.
The National Executive Commit
tee can only condemn in the sharp.
est form such criticism, which serves
not to help the Party but to
destroy it. Such statements do not
struggle against the Right danger,
they help the Right danger by en-