The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-03-07
By HARRY CANNES.


IF the Soviet prosecutor Krylenko could put
Hillquit on the stand in the present trial of
the IA MensheVik Observation-Disclosures, new
chapter could be written on the preparations for
armed intervention against the Soviet Union.
The record would read something like this:
KRYLENKO: Mr.. Hllqmt, as good CAPT
talist lawyer and staunch supporter of capital
ism, you do not like the Soviet regime and did
what you could to aid in its overthrow?
HILLQUIT: 81 cannot say too strongly that
regime is not socialist regime. The present
regime does not represent even partial realiza-g
ton of the socialist ideal. 1t is distortion and
a caricature of everything the socialists hold
highest" New York Times, Tues, Nov "a,
1880.
KRYLENKO; Then you felt justified in COM
batting the Soviet republic by Whatever means?
HILLQUIT: "Its reign is almost as abhorrent
as war among nations" Chimes Nov. "a, 1900
KRYLENKO: Then imperialist war against
the Soviet regime which is so abhorrent to you,
as well as to the imperialsts would be abso-
lutely justified?
HILLQUrT: Yes; we went even further. we
organized our forces to aid the Russian social
democrats who now admit they worked directly
for intervention and war to destroy the Soviets.
In every way we supported Abramowitch and
Dan. In 1923, I greeted Abramowitch, aided his
tours throughout the United States. when he
spoke at over SO of our meetings, collected funds
for counter-reyolutionar work in the Soviet
Union. The Jewish Socialist Verbund gave him
$4,000. In the early part of 1880 Abramowitch
came here again. He told us about the plans in
Soviet Union and we helped him all we could.
I cannot tell you how much money / personally
gave him. But that wasn't all. I did all else
I could.
KRYLENKO: Give us few of the details of
your association with Abramowitch.
HILLQUTT: We banquetted Abramowitch. We
praised him in our press. We arranged inter-
views with the capitalist press. He got wide
reception. Abramowitch told the New York
Times (Jan. H. 1890, that 'sthe next year or so
will bring great surprises to those people who
have become persuaded that the Bolshevks will
remain in power forever" IKnew, of course, he
referred to his visit to the Soviet Union where
he talked to the IA Mensheviks now on trial He
arranged the details of cooperation of imper-
ialist intervention, and the great surprise" was
to be the outbreak of hostilities which we would
support along with the Second International.
KRYLENKo: Did you do anything else?
HILLQUTT: OF course. Being an ardent
l do capitalism which has been very bountiful
to me, would not stop there
For instance. Abramowitch wrote pamphlet
against the Soviet Union in the early part of
1880, before he came here The New Leader
quoted from this pamphlet as follows: 1.-THE
Labor and Socialist International will not cease
from attacking this system (the Soviet Union)
until the chains have been broken and the VIC
Tins of the cruel terror which has lasted in the
Soviet Union for IL years, and is now tending
towards new climax, have been released" (New
Leader, April 10, 1900 For this new climax"
Abramowitch came over here to enlist our aid
In March, Matthew Vol issued a brilliant at
tack against the Soviet Union. He does it crude
ly, it is true, but then our end is the same.
Abramowitch, with our full approval voiced his
agreement with Vol. He said everything that
Woll stated about the Soviet Union was true.
Later, as Will show you, myself pointed out
how close our relations were with Vol and other
men of his type But as the previous witnesses
in this trial pointed out, the Second Interna-
tional and the Russian Mensheviks, favored COL
liberation with the Industrial Party and all the
other wreckers. We were perfectly justified in
allying ourselves with Wol Fish and the White
Guards in America. For details, see every issue
Of the Socialist Forward since the october revo-
luton.
KRYLENKO: You fully approved the Second
International Manifesto calling upon the workers