The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-07-09
BY EARL BROWDER.

in consultative capacity, the Seventh National
Convention of the Communist Party of U. 5.
A. spent five days from June 20 to To- con-
soldating and sharpening its political line IN
preparation for the greater class struggles I'M
mediately ahead of us. What were the main
characteristics and lessons of this convention!
Tasks of Open Letter Accomplished.
Most important was the fact that the con-
vention worked upon a firm foundation-the
accomplishment of the tasks laid down by the
Open Letter of the Communist International
one year ago Thos tasks were: (1) The cor
rection of the political line of the Party, and
the elimination of opportunist theories; ~
the abolition of factionalism, and the unifica-
ton of the Party upon the basis of the Comm
tern line; and (3) the entrance of the Party
as a whole into serious mass work. These
tasks have been carried out.
1t is we'll to remind ourselves of the circum-
stances under which that Open Letter of the
Comintern was written The Sixth National
Convention of our Party, under the leader
ship of Lovestone, Gitlow and Co., had been
modified against the Comintern; at the same
time the Party was locked in long standing
fractional struggle, which paralyzed its activi-
ties and corrupted its political line. With our
Party in this deplorabe condition, the U. S.
as well as the whole world, entering a
period of rising revolutionary tide with new
struggles, new tasks, facing all sections of the
Comintern In the American Commission of
the Comintern. in May, 1922, Comrade Stain
deceived
"The American Communist Party is one of
those few Communist Parties in the world
upon which history has laid tasks of a decisive
character from the point of view of the world
revolutionary movement. You all know very
well the strength and power of American
capitalism Many now think that the general
c-iss of world capitalism will not affect
America. That, of course, is not true. 1t is
entirely untrue. comrades. The crisis of world
capitalism is developing with increasing rapid
ity AMI cannot but effect American capital
ism. | think the moment is not far off
when a revolutionary crisis will develop in
America AMI when a revolutionary crisis de-
veops in America, that will be the beginning
of the end of world capitalism as a whole
/ is essential that the American Communist
Party should be capable of meeting that his
torcal moment fully armed and of assuming
the leadership of the impending class struggle
in America"
It is in the accomplishment of the tasks set
4 v the Open Letter that our Party has shown
that it understands and agrees with the esti-
pate of the Comlntern as stated by Comrade
S'"lin. Realizing the decisive historical tasks
Ia uoon it. our Party resolutely applied the
veHtng a decisive turn to the new tasks, uni
fed is ranks on the line of the Comintern
add threw its forces into the organization
and leadership of the rising mass discomfort
ed ectvity of the workers. With the help of
tha CoHlinteln, our Party made this historical
tu"n-iust in time. Almost before the turn
co2ld he be~un, came the outbreak of the
general crisis Of capitalism in the United
S--ee. The prognosis given by Stain has been
thoroughly corrobo-ated by events.
Estimation Of the Crisis and its Perspectives
For the hammerng out of the correct poll
tel line in the fast-developing crisis, the
convention realized the necessity to struggle
on two fronts, against the right wing under
estimation of the economic crisis, as we'll as
against the cleft" opportunism which, under
cover of phrases about "bottomless crisis"
resuwects the mechanical theories of catas-
trophe, of the automatic breakdown of CAPT
talism Both deviations lead to the same pas
sivity, both lull the Party to sleep, and differ
only in form. The Convention alarmed the
Party to struggle against both right and
cleft" deviations
The right wing deviation picks up the
theories Of BOURGEOIS economists, to the effect
that the economic crisis is not very serious,
that it will soon be over, that it will have no
deep-going consequences, and that before long
everything will be as it was before the crisis,
that prosperity" will return. Against this
conception, the convention established the
perspective of deepening of the crisis, in the
U. S. and a world scale, and its develop
ment into revolutionary situation for world
capitalism, which will also affect the United
States very deeplv. The objective factors of a
revolutionary situation in the United States
develop at a rate of speed far higher than
that of the subjective factors, the degree of
consciousness, militancy. organizations, and
Communist leadership of the working class.
1t is precisely for this reason that it is neces-
sary now to emphasize above all the necessity
TO hasten the mobilization of the proletarian
forces. to bring their organization and I'M
derstanding into relation with the development
of the class struggle, and awaken the working
class to the historic tasks awaiting solution
by it.
The "leftst" conception that the crisis
automatically" deepens and brings about the
collapse of capitalism that the bourgeoisie is
in a "hcreless position" acts as a barrier to
the solution Of these problems Of the mobiliza-
ton and organization Of the working class. by
minimizing the importance of this solution.
b. putting forth the idea that history will de-
velop entirely independently of the revolution
airy action Of the working class. Ger Bo
shevik Party knows, however, and must make
clear to all Workers that the force of revolu-
ton is embo lied in the workers, and can only
be expressed in the organized revolutionary
action of the workers as class, under the
leadership of the Communist Party. To ac-
complish this leadership, the Communist Par