Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-23
CONTINUED FROM Third page.l

| NOIlkuuUlSI0 ike I0OnS
archy, stands for imposition Of q mi
nority viii upon the masses Of the
people.
The American Federation Of Labor,
In common with every other free trade
union movement, has always stood for
human freedom. BY this it means the
largest possible degree of individual
freedom. coupled with freedom of the
people as q whole, to decide public Is
sues by majority expression Of will.
Communism's Aggressive Attitude. d.
Communism must be at the throat of
every government that Is not Commu-
mist. The moment that aggressive at
tack ceases Communism begins to decay
and must soon perish as q force In
human affairs. The conflict between
Communism and democracy, or, II you
will, between Communism and capital
ism, Is fundamental, complete, tmpossi.
bic OF compromise or adjustment.
The Communists are concerned with
establishing q social order, willy-nilly.
To that end Communism repudiateS and
d1Savows what we know as our code of
ethics. The Communist repudiates the
obligation to tell the truth or to keep
an agreement with the nom Communist
world. He admits Of no obligation the
reputation OF which would beneflt his
cause.
Now I am perfectly well aware that
there are prevaricators, criminals and
diSreputables In our own society. They
are exceptions, and are at once branded
Is such. They violate our code. It Is one
thing to have exceptions; another to
transpose the exceptions into the rule
Communism rejects the idea that II
must be honorable In talking with or
dealing with Communist peoples
That Is why the agreements reached
between the Communists and European
nations, including France and England
have been quite meaningless. The Com
munists broke them whenever 1t became
advantageous to Communism to break
them.
Condemned by Labor Federation.
The American Federation Of Labor
views every real issue from q point OF
view exactly opposite to that held by
Communism. The federation supports
our Government because 1t believes that
our Government is founded upon RICH,
principles. Our movement believes IN
democracy, knowing perfectly well that
democracy may and does make mistakes
but knowing also that humanity has
an inherent right to make mistakes
and the power to correct them.
The Federation Of Labor knows thai
our system Of government does not offel
perfection. That has nothing to do with
the principles involved. The federation
stands for and is a proud part Of the
American social system because of the
principles upon which 1t is established
because Of the rights it bestows and
the opportunities 1t offers for correc-
, ton.
It is not possible to discuss the differ
enceS between the American labor
, movement and the Russian labor
movement, because in Russia there Is
no such thing as a labor movement
The Communists speak of their regime
as the dictatorship Of the proletafiat
They admit dictatorship and, indeed
, they could not well disavow 1t, because
it Is basic in the philosophy Of Com
muniSm. But to call It dictatorship
of the proletariat is nonsense and mis-
, representation. Communism Is q be-
lief-call 1t doctrine, or philosophy, OF
what you will. It does not neceSsitate
the hands Of toll.
Russia Under Dictatorship.
What we observe in Russia is dc
tatorship of the Communist party;
Stain Is no more q member c. the
| proletariat than Is President Hoover
!, Stain, in so far as he functions in the
Russian system, Is an executive, work
ing with his brain. Surely the head Of
. the Amtore Trading Corporation In
New York Is not member of the pro-
letariat nor, for that matter, Is w
2. Foster, though perhaps once he was
, 1t Is the dictation of regime, not Of
. a class. Communism Is the dictator
not the proletariat.
The American Federation of Labor
works for the recognition of the rights
Of wage earners, but 1t sees fulhllment
Of the aspirations of wage earners, as
well as Of executives and bankers, with
in the American social order. 1t is In
the sharpest kind of conflict with Com
munism upon this order. It Is In the
sharpest kind Of conflict with Commu-
nism upon this additional vital point:
The federation does not concede that
In our social system there is O state
proletariat-a perpetual working class.
We can observe changes from day to
day occasioned by several thinss-op-
portuntty ambition, thrift, machinery,
pure chance.
: Communism takes for granted a static
proletariAn class and insists that 1t
must never be otherwise. The Com
rnuniSt philosophy makes necessary ad-
mission by the individual that he Is
an in1lnovable item in fxed total.
CLASSIFIED as Peasants.
As with the Industrial proletariat, 50
, with the peasantry. The word peasant
Is not used in the United States as
applying to Americans except by Com
munists, but in European use 1t implies
something more than the status Of an
employed worker on the land. It i'm
plies q mean social status, q mean in
tellectual level and something very close
to Serfdom. It connoteS position OF
definite inferiority which must be rec
ogni0ed in q very definite way by the
employee. Communism takes for granted
and would make permanent q definite
peasant status, minus any chance for
individual ownership.
Communism, bringing all the threads
together again, stands for the suprem-
acy Of the state under the control Of
q political faith--and there must be no
challenge Of that faith. Dictatorship is
the word.
Let us remember that Communism is
the only political faith permissible un-
der q Communist regime. Communism
Is supreme. Not even minorities Of dis
! senting factions within the Communist
party are tolerated. Does any one ques-
Communist? Trotsky Is not allowed
within the borders Of what Is fatuously
and improperly called the United So
cialist Soviet Republics.
U. 8. Government Held Superior.
In the United States we have q Gov
eminent that Is superior to all political
parties-supreme over them all. Many
foolish persons-and include in this
category some Of our most noted Gin
ellectuals'-would have US think there
Is q Russian government. That Is so
much clap-trap. Let 1t be made clear
that the Communist party is the active,
acknowledged, ruling power In Russia.
The Soviet government is no more than
q bureau Of the Communist party.