The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-06-18

Thomas becomes little more de-
finite, and now is advising the labor
party cabinet to declare for (not
a workers government in India, of
courseD but for more leniency, for
including Gandhi in a round table
conference, for amnesty, etc. Since
Thomas serves American, not Brit
ish imperialism, he cautiously puts
forward the idea of dominion status
as an ideal solution, "even if it Gusts
the labor government" though, evid-
emily he would be satisfied with
less.
But the editors of the New Leader
can not go as far as that. They
remember the Hoover official posi-
ton; however much we hate our
rival British imperialism, we must
not encourage the idea of revolts by
the colonial peoples. We have col
onies too"
Double Bookkeeping.
So, though even the Milwaukee
leader can dare to .ask Macdonald
breathlessly, "for a little more
idealism in India" the New Leader,
official organ of the American So
cialist party, must straddle, as does
the international socialist executive.
1t lets Thomas talk, unofficially on
the front page-that may catch a
few workers votes. But inside, for
the benefit of interested capitalist
allies of the socialist party, it lets
others talk, in quite a different
strain. For example, Edmund Seidel,
in the New Leader of June IA: at
would seem to me that it behooves
every socialist to familiarize him.
self with these factors with view
to approaching the situation on both
sides rather than to pass off hand
judgments on the British labor
party.
st do not think that the labor
government could or would act diff
ferently under the circumstances if
it had a government majority"
Then he quotes Reynolds, Gandhi's
secretary, as saying that Gandhi
was forced into his present position
by "unscrupulous people and hot
heads" (quite evidently by the pres
sure of the masses among his own
followers, and those greater masses
he wished to win away from the
desire for a revolution).
Then, for another example, we
have Brailsford, New Leader, May
II:
"But when all is said, it (the
labor party government in Eng
land), has the ordinary duty of every
administration. 1t must preserve
order. 1t must maintain the usual
services of civilization which in
turn, demand revenue. 1t short, it
must govern"
'Must Govern"
Here, l think, you find the true
policy of the American socialist
party, such a policy as it would use
against Filipinos OF Nicaraguans
if it were called to the government
in a time of capitalist difficulty
Even the fact that American social
list leaders serve, not just any I'M
perialism, but American imperial
ism, as Macdonald serves British
imperialism, fails to do more than
to divide the voices. There are
many who have great fellow feel
ing for the murderers of the Indian
workers. 1t is their misfortune that
they can not officially speak plainly
what they think, but have to leave
it to individuals. 1t is great
nuisance that their honest imperial
list aims are such horribly bad pro-
paganda material for building So
cialist party.
They have to just make the best
they can of it, and meanwhile be
as non-commital as possible. The
last state convention of the socialist
party. held in Reading, Pa, recent
ly, did not vote congratulations to
Macdonald for his efficient murder
regime in India, but it did vote down
the usual resolution for freedom of
colonial peoples. That resolution
was all right in normal times, but
now it might be, as Delegate Cohen
of Philadelphia argued, construed as
an attack on the colonial policy of
the British labor party leaders.
Only the COMMUNIST Party stands
unreservedly against capitalist i'm
perialism, in India, or in the Philip
pines, and rouses the workers of
capitalist countries to support the
STRUGGLES of the colonial masses