The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-02-26
What is theReUoL4tiondr4
Militia?
From the @Mmdo obrero," cen&rwE orxzn q
the Communist Party of Spain)

/ From the SMundo obrero" Centres orxzm a
the Communist Party Of SPAIN
| ANEW, the armed forces Of capitalism heve
- attacked the toiling masses that dafemsA.,
| less were unable to respond to the aggression
| AS In Seville and Barcelona, the recent eyer1tw
| In Gijon, Jlena and zaragoza make clear tina
! urgent need Of the proetariat and peasantry to
organize their defense, OF furnishing themselves
| instruments and organs of combats for their
| struggles.
This necessity is felt most pressing when va
observe the rapid course taken by the counter
revolution in the organization Of its offensive
No one doubts that in the center Of our as-
ton, as a principal task, must be the eetab-
hslment Of united revolutionary front directed
against the ruling classes and castles; q united
front whose organic expression in the present
moment are constituted by shop committees and
the revolutionary militia of workers and peas.
ants.
The meaning and Importance Of the snoss
committees have been already analysed by %
in several articles, and we will continue to tres4
OF them Today we will speak Of the nniltsss
formations. What are these, and for what DO
they serve?
Always, when the question is proposed ct zav=
ing the workers struggles determined forms Of
organization, it is necessary to seek those tEemE
have very broad character and that Commits
the entire or the greater part of the masses
1t would be absurd to conceive that the struggle
against reaction and the armed forces Of card
tallsm must or can be carried out with organiSa=
lions that embrace only minority be this min
GRITTY Communists, anarchists or Sindicalist5
The defense of the masses the attack against
our enemes, relies upon the masses themselves
lhey ahre the ones who must act, mobilize them
selves to go into the struggle and to decide it's
result. 1t is our duty to organize them, to lead
them, TO assign them the concrete detectives:
but never to Supplant them.
In the present situation confronting rev&-
luton that develops; possessing its motive forces
in the proletariat and peasantry the organs that
are created have to express this same relation
OF classes. Therefore the militia formations
must express the revolutionary alliance OF the
workers and peasants.
These workers and peasants organize their
militia to participate in all struggles offensive
and defensive. The fact that the final obiec-
tive Of all is the conquest OF power, and that
the militia is born in revolutionary situation.
is not to say that they are created exclusively
for the final assault and seizure of power. II
would be as absurd as to say that the Soviets
are only the political organs of the Instruction
The militia is created, in the first place for
defense against the counter revolution to give
the masses an arm of combat against fascist
bands of whatever type, to prevent the unpsrss
ished murder of our brothers, to guard deusors
STATIONS and to see that half dozen poles.
armed with clubs do not break them up
This is not sufficient. The militia exists for
something more. The peasants will never havs
land by the voluntary concession OF their land
lords They will have to take it and to defend
it. The workers have to enforce their demands
and to destroy the privileges Of the plutocrats
Finally, the workers and peasants have to en-
force their own government and this Is not at
tanned with paper ballots, nor with peaceful
demonstrations. It is question OF war that
has to be decided in the streets; and for this
militia is necessary, not Of small goups bot
large contingents that embrace al that Is min
tant and revolutionary In our clsss-AEadrts
Dec IL 1881