The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-02-04
9Th Session of the Central Council
OF the Red International OF
Labor Unions

they have leaders who will be able to carry this
strike through
Finally still another essential question is the
extension of the struggle. At the time of the
same strike of tramway workers, the majority
of the members of the strike committee were
arrested Notwithstanding all the measures of
precaution. But the comrades at once put for
ward the demand Of releasing the prisoners
This demand was Fundamentally supported by
the strikers and served as basis for the ex-
tension of the struggle. Such tactics entirely
and completely conform with the decisions of
the " Congress which pointed out that new
demands, especially political slogans, must be
linked up in the closest manner with the struggle
We have the experience of the heroic struggle
of the French textile workers during which our
comrades showed that they are also able to
fight. They formed barricades and ably organized
pcketing. The fact that they carried out this
work not badly is proved by this that they sue
ceeded in winning for the C.GTU. 5000 new
members. But this notwithstanding they we're
not able TO achieve decisive political successes
because their contact with the masses was still
exceedingly weak and they had not yet learnt
how to lead the masses
On the question of the struggle against the
reformists. Comrades It is wrong to declare,
as is often done with us, that the refornists
never take part in strikes. In Germany, for in
stance, the reforrniss took part in the strike of
the Berlin metal workers, the Duisburg port
workers and others, as the pressure of the masses
was very great. But does this mean that the
reformists want to lead the workers into the
struggle? Not at all. And we make mistake
when we say that the reformists lead the
struggle of the workers so as to secure
promise from the employers At the time OF the
strike of the French textile workers Our CON-
rades said to the workers: the reformists fight
only up to the moment when they will be able
to come to an understanding with Laval (the
Minister of Labour) What did that mean7 It
meant that the reformists in any case wanted
to fight. But this is profoundly untrue. They did
not carry nor do they carry on struggle;
on the contrary their object is to demobise
the workers, and they betray them from the very
first steps. This is what we must lay stress upon
continuously and what we must explain to the
workers. We must expose the treachery of the
reformists even when they, for the sake of ap-
place themselves at the head Of the
united front of the workers In the struggle so
as to consolidate their influence. After every
strike we must wage special campaign for
the exposure of the tactics Of the reformists.
At the same time, we must criticise also the
manifestations of opportunism in our own ranks.
Unfortunately there are still not few of these
manifestations among us. Even at the time of
the tramway workers strike in Warsaw, which
was carried out so we'll, there was moment
after the arrest Of the strike committee when
the refornists proposed to send a deputation
to the authorities, and comrades did not
know how TO oppose them. In the Ruhr, our
comrades at present have called upon the work