The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-07-30
fElnauGt's Political Program Of Intervention
Against the Soviet Union)
By N. BUCHWALD.

By N. BUCHwALD.
IT'S NOTHING. Hil1quit himself says it's
nothing. He assures us that his suit IN
New York court on behalf of q gang of czarist
oil nagnates based on the contention that the
Soviet Government . wrongfu1ly. unlawfully
and by force of arms seized possession of all
the plaintiffs oil-lands" that this suit is "of
no political significance and that 1t is one of
the ordinary cases involving disputes over prop
erty rights"
Hllqut says It's nothing and Norman Thomas
says that Hillquit ought to know
Morris Hillquits standing as 1awyer,-says
reverend Thomas,-his great intelligence and
long devotion to the party make hesitate
to disagree with him in a case of this sort"
Quite SO. Hillquit knows what he is talking
about When he says that the Soviet govern
nnent has 'wrongfully, unlawfully and by force
of arms seized possession" of czarist oiI-robbers'
properties, he means every word of it. He
means to say that the proletarian revolution
IN Russia is both wrong and unlawful and that
the gang Of czarist capitalists whom he has the
honor to represent, are lawfully entitled to
the possession" of the Soviet oil-industry We
are not exaggerating the least bit. Hillqut
plainly asserts the lawful title" of his clients
to have oil lands of the Soviet Union Article
XVI of his affidavit reads as follows:
4,
luton occurred in Russia and the supporters
of the said revolution, acting together under
6he designation of the Federated So
cialiSt Soviet republics of Russia or Soviet
Government of Russia, thereafter wrongfully,
unlawfully and by force of arms seized pos
session of all of the plaintiffs oil lands, wells
buildings, fixtures, machinery, plants, cisterns.
and pipe lines above described by virtue of
an alleged decree of naturalization or con-
producing business in Russia. and have there
after WRONGFULLY, UNLAWFULLY AND
FORCIBLY RETAINED AND MAINTAINED
POSSESSION of the said lands, wells build
ings, fixtures. machinery, plants, cisterns and
pipe lines WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE
OWNERS THEREOF and of the PERSONS
LAWFULLY ENTITLED TO THE POSSES
SION OF THE SAME, INCLUDING THE
PLAINTIFFS"
We have UNDERSIGNED the telling phrases In
Hillquit's affidavit, his main arguments upon
which he builds his case against the workers
revolution. If these contentious "are of no
political significance" then all the counter-re
evolutionary activities of the czarst enigres of
the Mensheyiks, the imperialst bankers, and the
General Stats Of the anti-Soviet intervention
also "of no political significance" Hill
quits complaint constitutes the POLITICAL
PROGRAM Of all the ormter-revolutionary
anti-Sovlet bands the world over, as well as
the program of the Second International of
which Hillqut is outstanding leader.
When their inlperialst powers IN 1919 invaded
Russia in order to strange the workers revolu-
ton they were aetuated by exactly the same
principles as those expressed in Hillquits af-
hdavit Kolchak, Denikne, Yudenich, Wrangel,
Semyonov,--all the leaders of the white bands
who drenched the Russian soil with the blood
OF the workers and the peasants did SO in the
name of the very principles solemnly pro-
claimed and sworn to by Morris Hillquit. They,
too, maintained that the Bosheviks seized the
properties Of the capitalists and the 1andown-
ers "wrongfully. unlawfuly and by force of
arms" and they proceeded to regain these prop
critics with the kind aid of the 1perialist armies
of intervention This was their political pro-
gram and it remains the political program of the
anti-Soviet counter-revoution to this very day.
IN fact, there is no other program back of all
the intervention plots and mperialist anti-Sov-
let drives.
Morris Hillquit chooses his words with care
He uses the word "Wrongfully' with calculated
intent He means to say that the workers revo-
luton is not only unlawful by the legal tenets
Of capitalism, but it is wrong well,-that the
rule Of the workers and the peasants constitutes !
a moral wrong. He means to say that even if
most of the capitalist governments are forced
to recognize the Soviet Union and hence-the
legality" of the revolution, the rule of the work
ers and peasants still is "wrongfully' because
1t violates the most sacred" capitalist institN-
ton Of private property
In his statement defending his suit on behalf
Of the czarist oil-bandits EMlluuit saws that
"the actions do not involve any question of
socialist principle" Again Norman Thomas is
right in his assurance that Hillquit knows what
he is talking about. Who is better qualified to
Judge of Socialist" principles than Morris Hill
quit, chairman of the American Socialist" Par
ty, its International Secretary and member of the
Executive Committee of the Second Socialist"
international? Who knows better than Hillquit
that the attempt of the former Russian capital
lists to regain their possessions by means of mil