The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-05-20

THE letter of the PoIit Secretarat of the
L Executive Committee of the Communist In
te,,nationaI to our Party lays down the 1unda-
mental line of our cooperative work; 1t cate
eyoricallv condemns the right line of Haonen
and his followers, which manifested itself IN
Halonens policies as Educational Director OF
Cooperative Central Exchange, where he re-
placed revolutionary class education by "edu-
cation" on how to sell groceries, how to be-
come effective business men, in revision OF
a revolutionary class policy in cooperauVes IN
the direction of petty bourgeois retormlsm.
C2) In Halonens position as &C cooperative
fraction secretary, he entirely neglected to
build up Communist fractions in the coopera-
tives. (3) In Ronns participation IN the
Coolidge exception committee, with the knowl-
edge of Haonen and leading cadres of Central
Exchange. az In Haloncn's open defiance OF
the Party and in his efforts to publish an open
attack against the Party in the Party organ,
"Tyomies,' and wrest the control of "Iyomles.'
The letter of the CT also throws light on the
grossly opportunist mistakes made by group
of Finnish comrades IN responsible positions
in cooperative work. who did not take def
mite stand against Halonen's betrayal OF
class line in the cooperative work. The letter
of the Poht Secretariat calls the attention of
the Party members to the great Importance OF
a genuine revolutionary, MarXist, Lenlnlst,
standpoint on all questions connected with the
cooperative movement, and facilitates the APP
plication of such a standpoint in our general
cooperative work.
While the letter of the Polit Secretariat
fully endorses the political line of the Party
in the fight against Halonen's betrayal, 1t
criticized the Party, however, especially IN
that the Party was too slow in starting the
fight against Halonens right wing opportunist
line When it did start the fight the Party
dil not carry on sufficient theological prepara-
tions, and also made certain tactical mistakes
(too sudden organiZational measures, which
were not understood by the masses because of
lack of theological clarfication). Ronn's (gen-
eral manager Of the Central Cooperative EX-
change) participation in the Coolidge Recep-
ton Committee was sufficiently alarming, so
that the Party should have given immediate
attention to our cooperative leadership and
should have made decisive changes at that
time. Instead, Rom was quietly expelled
from the Party, without publicly conforming
his line land without starting a strong ideolo-
gical campaign against the right wing line and
leadership in the Central Cooperative Elk
change This was neglected for fractional
reasons.
While the question of Halonen's removal was
already discussed year ago, and many times
during the last summer, the Party was too
busy" with other matters and so this impor-
tant matter was left over until last fall. Much
good time was lost and as stated in the CT
letter time which Halonen used in preparing
his fight against the Party, which he knew
was coming.
Finally, when the &C started the fight, this
fight was hampered and weakened not only by
the Party mistakes but to an even greater eX-
tent by the vacillatng and conclliatory stand
taken by many leading comrades. These com
rades hesitated to take up the struggle against
Halonen's petty bourgeois opportunist line.
and instead tried to eXaggerate the Party's
mistakes and occupied themselves with criti-
cism against the Party. This Vaclllaton by
many leading comrades created confusion
among the rank and file Of the membership in
the cooperatives and even among the weaker
elements in the Party.
However, the Party's energetic fight against
Halonen's right opportunist line forced him to
come out openly, not only as an enemy of the
Party and the Communist International, but
also as class enemy of the revolutionary prole-
tariat and poor farmers, against whose real
interest he fought In this fight, the Party
exposed Halonens efforts to make workers
and poor farmers cooperatives into only petty
trade institutions, as opposed to developing
them into organs of struggle against capitalist
exploitation and the capitalist system. This
great difference between Halonen's political
and class neutrality and between the revolu-
tonary class struggle line of the Party, has
been clarified in this fight for the great num-
Der of workers and poor farmers in the CO.
operatives, who have during this struggle,
come closer to the Party.
This Struggle against the right wing oppor-
tunsts in the cooperatiVes is part of the fight
against the incurabe opportunist elements in
every COMMUNIST Party during this third per-
Tod, and regardless OF FORMER groupings, all
those who have taken up struggle against the
Communist International are now making al
liances in their fight against the revolutionary
line of the CT. For example, we see Lovestone
and Halonen formerly bitter enemies, now
supporting each other.
Halonen's betrayal was finally and unmis-
takaby exposed in the annual convention of
Che Cooperative Central Exchange, where his
phrases about democracy" and neutrality"
were unmasked. All of the enemies of the
Communist Party and the working class
church people, social fascists, former IWW-
ties, Alanne Ohrn and all the rest of the rene
gades against the Communist and Revolution
airy Opposition were united by Haonen. Ten
hunen, Corgan, and Vainionpaa, founders and
builders of the Finnish Workers and Poor
Farmers Cooperatives and founders Of the Co.
operative Exchange itself, were removed from
fhn hoard Rpactionarv and rpnepade elements