The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-02-28
By JACK STACHEL

death of Chas. E. Ruthenberg, the
leader of our Party from the date
of its birth until the day of his
death. The whole history of the
development and growth of our
Party from the beginnings of the
left wing in the Socialist Party
through the various stages in the
formation and consolidation of the
Communist Party can not be sepa-
rated from the life and work of
Ruthenberg -during this period.
Ruthenberg was true revolution
list. 1t was his great devotion to
the cause of our class and his
confidence in the masses that
steeled him in the struggle and
made it possible for him to mas
ter every storm in which he found
himself in the history of our
Party. 1t was his deep under
standing of the international char
acter of the working-class struggle
for emancipation that made him
the loyal defender of the Com
munist International, which ex-
pressed itself particularly in criti-
cal moments in the history of our
Party. 1t was his hatred of CAPT.
talism that made him the mortal
enemy of every shade of reformism
which tended to divert the
struggles of the masses away from
the revolution. 1t was his clear
understanding of the class
struggle in all its aspects that
placed him at the head of the
revolutionary workers in this
country in the struggle against
imperialist war and the pacifist
phrase mongers. That placed him
side by side with the Bolsheviks,
with Karl Liebknecht and the
other small groups of revolution
aries in a number of countries that
held high the red banner of the
revolutionary class struggle when
the Socialist Party here and the
world over was serving the master
class of its respective countries
whether THROUGH open jingoism of
the Compassionate tyne of the
opportunist pacifism of the Hill
quit Thomas tyne.
Comrade Ruthenberg associated
as he was with the history and
DEVELOPMENT of our Party made
contributions to its theoretical de-
velopment and definition of its
tactics. His contributions in the
work of the trade unions, among
the Negro masses, and numerous
other problems Of other Party
were great. But greatest of all
wah his contribution in the field
of organization and the correct
emphasis on the role of the Party.
His contributions in organization
were of the greatest significance
in the formation and consolida-
ton of the left wing.
Builder Of Communist Party
But particularly important were
his contributions to the building of
the Communist Party. This was
not an easy task. With more than
Is different language groups form
ing the basis of the Communist
Party, with lack of clarity as to
the course of the left wing and
later the Party resulting in the
organizations of many Communist
currents, with the persecution of
our PARTY which drove it under
ground the organizational prob
lens were as difficult as they
were important. 1t was through
the great services of Ruthenberg
and his wide experience that many
Of these problems were solved. He
was enabled before he died to see
the Party under his guidance and
the direction. Of the Comintern
welded together into one unified
Party, with the language fedora
tions abolished, and the Party on
the road to reorganization on the
basis of shop nuclei.
One of the last important arti-
cles written by Ruthenberg before
his death was on the subject How
to Strengthen the Party written
abou two months before his death
in December, 1925. This article
can be of great service to US at
the present time in the Recruit
ment Campaign. It was originally
written in the Daily Worker but