davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30

But the men who came to the top,
both as practical organizers and as
the guiding thinkers and theorists of
the new party, were deeply inbued
with the characteristic doctrine OF
British capitalism, /. e., with Liberal
ism. The most important of these
leaders was Ramsay Macdonald and
Keir Harciie, as active parliament
arians and organizers, while Bernard
Shaw, whose prominent part in the
foundation of the Labor Party is
often overlooked, and Sidney and
Beatrice Webb were the dominating
theorists.
Hence, from the very outset the new
working-clas party, the British
third party" had double character.
One, the one hand, at its base it un-
deniably represented the fact that
the British workers had grasped in
stinctively that neither Of the two
great capitalist parties could repre-
sent their interests. The very fact of
the foundation of a political party
based on, and financed by, the
Trade Unions, instead of by the
greet capitalists, marks decisive
loss Of faith by the British workers in
British capitalists.
But, on the other hand, the new
Labor Party was led and dominated
at its top by men who were still part
and parcel of the liberal tradition.
This, in turn, reflected the fact that
the British workers were only cropping
their way out of the domination of
capitalist ideas; that they were still
possessed of every kind Of Illusion as
to the possibilities of changing and
reforming the capitalist system; that
they were still easy prey to the Mac
Donalds, the Webbs, and the Keir
Hardies, who, with varying degrees Of
consciousness, used vaguely Socialist
phraseology to clothe their essen
TALLY Liberal Capitalist point of view.
The foundation Of 9 Labor Party of
this character represented the main
stream of the political consequences
which flowed from the awakening of
the British workers in the late COS
and early COS. But there was, as
have suggested, a second and antithe-
tical, though much smaller stream.
There were a certain number Of peo-
pie in Britain who from the outset
had grasped the fact that, if the
British workers were to achieve any
thing, they must free themselves not
only from the organizations of the
capitalist, viz, the Liberal and Con-
sentative Parties, but also from cap
italist ideas and capitalist economics.
These men had some grasp. though,
as 1t proved. most imperfect grasp,
OF working-class economics and phil
csophy, as they had just been scien-
tifically formulated for the first time
by Marx and Engels. Their most
Characteristic leader was talented,
If perverse. figure, Hyndman.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30
Nazi FOrgers Busy
On Evidence for
Thaelmann Trial
Also Seek to Avoid
Mistakes Made in
Reichstag Trial

BERLIN, Dec. 2e.-The Nazi forgers
and perjurers are working overtime
in feyerish preparations for the lynch
trial Of Ernst Thaelmann, leader of
the German Communist Party, now
over nine months in Jail although no
Indictment has ever been brought
against him.
These preparations are directed to-
ward avoiding the weaknesses of the
ReichStag trials, which were utilized
by George Dimitroff and the three
other Communist defendants for a
brilliant exposure of Nazi RESPONSE
bility for the Reichstag firing. To
this end, not only is the indictment
being kept secret, but the largest
possible amount of forged material
designed to implicate Thaelmann in
acts of arson, etc, is being collected
from police spies and renegades from
Communism.
In this connection, a certain Georg
Schwarg, expelled from the Commu-
mist Party in 1928, has been supply
ing material to the secret police for
some time, in the form of publica-
tons in periodicals and books, with
regard to Communist functionaries.
The latest book published by this
renegade and police spy deals in par
ticular with Thaelmann, and the
questionable revelations" concocted
by the author are likely to play q
considerable role in the impending
trial,
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30
More Baby Cannon
Fodder Sought By
Boss Governments

NEW YORK.-The governments of
France, Germany, italy and Poland
We're frantically calling today for more
baby cannon fodder in govern
ment-Sponsored ceremonies honoring
motherhood.
A United Press dispatch from Paris
declares that births are being spurred
TO grow 1850 troops-'so that In 10
to 20 years time, the babies might
be ready for war. No effort is made
to conceal the underlying motive"
The governments are rushing fran
tic preparations for war in the i'm
mediate future, and are seeking to
replace the man-power they expect
TO slaughter in the coming war. Sub
sides are paid and mothers Of large
families are brought to capitals and
feted by Premiers. The United Press
dispatch again admits:
In each case the object is to pro-
vide names for the draft lists in 1850
and subsequent years"
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30

THREE months after the passage OF
4 the boycott resolution, Green pro-
poses the formation of committees
ito deal with the problem in accord
ance with the economic, social and
business requirements Of each COM
munity q :" But he gives not one
directive for effective boycotting,
such aS instructions to A. F. OF L.
seamen and 1ongshoremen.
Ina long recital of the woes SUI
fered by the Socialist trade unions
whose advances were contemp-u-
ously rejected by Hitler Che said he
had no need Of them anymore)
Green makes q stab at calling for
a united front without even men
tioning the Communist Party or the
revolutionary trade unions.
Let there be no mistake about
Green's failure to fight fascism.
Labor" he says, "is not fight-
ing against any political order set
up in Germany Or against flae Ger
man people; we are asking only that
the humiliation OF German trade
unions shall cease and that the per-
secution of German working people
and of Jewish people merely because
they are Jews, shall be terminated.
All this despite his shameless adnis-
sion that st did not help the Ger
man General Trade Union Fedora
ton that 1t had called on the work
ers to participate In the Hitler dem
oretration of May istl"
The action Of Green Is not at ali
surprising, especially in view Of the
fact that the A. F. Of L. bureaucracy
(MeGrady, Lewis, ct AID is one of
the strongest supporters OF the
strike breaking, starvation wage n.
r. A., the wedge for the gradual fas-
citation of America.
Assuredly, it will not be vague
committees" which will fight fas-
ism 70 the bitter end, but only real
hard hitting united front rank and
file workers committees and organi-
cations as the Marine Workers In
dustrial Union It takes CUTS and
revolutionary ardor to stop a ship
from leaving It's pier or to prevent
scabs from unloading it.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30
Got Any PROPERTY?

NEW YORK-Have you any pri-
vate property to protect? II so. go to
the Ford Exposition Of Progress" in
the Port Authority building, III
Eighth Ave-, New York, and see the
fully equipped not car that Mr.. Ford
is selling.
Innocent.y enough, It looks Like any
Ford car that tours the streets. 1t
is only when you look inside that
you see the weapons for murder, sup
piled for the exhibition 'by courtesy
of the Federal Laboratories, Pitts
burgil, Pa"
Tucked away on one side is a
Thompson machine gun and maya
zine In q velour case. Other equip
ment includes: one 20 gauge sawed
of shotgun, one gas riot gun Of which
the placard says: "A perfect weapon
for dispensing mobS . protecting
private property used by large
industrial corporations. It Is capable
of shooting either q short range or
long range gas projectile." A gas
billie lies ON the rear seat of the car.
Six gas bombs line the rear wall, and
six gas hand-grenades line the right
wall Of the car. A gas mask lies on
the floor, and. ironically, complete
first aid kit makes up the full COM
pliment Of riot equipment.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30

United Front Committee became the
Legal Eight Hours and International
Labor League.
In spite Of these successes, however,
the forces which Engels was able to
muster were not sufficient to prevent
the disastrous divergence of the Brit
ish movement into the opposite err
rors OF Liberal oprortunism and So
cial Democratic sectarianism. In
1885 Engels himself died, and there
was no one left to CARY on his work.
This is how Fox sums up the reasons
for this failure:
There can be no doubt that the
reason why the group of able pro-
LIBRARIANS and inteilec.uals who
grouped themselves around EngeIS
in the sos and SOS failed to form
leading cadres fer the new labor
movement Was the inability TO abb
sorb the theoretical positions of
revolutionary Marxism and apply
them TO English reality. They were
drawn to Engeis by their dislike of
VIC CCtSsskksShsSskt VI bg 1tSLtbA sShu
the 5. ID. f., bat enc by one the diff
fioulties Of manoeEvcring in the sea
of English opportgnissn oyercame
them and they went back to oppor-
tuilism themselves, or even as in
the case OF John Burns, directly
into the camp Of the bourgeoisie.
Tom Mann alone. after long years
of wandering was to find his way
back again into the camp OF the
revolutionary prcletariat, the Com
munist Party of Lenin.
Lessons for American C. P.
1t is not for me to draw the lessons
which the American Party might PCS
sibly learn from this experience.
But it does seem that what may be
needed today in America is q policy
similar to that which Engels at
tempted to pursue in Britain. For
tunately there exists today in Amer
lea an organized, nationwide COM
munist Party capable Of pursuing
such a policy, instead of tiny group
of individual Marxists which was all
that Engels was able TO command.
1t may be worth while to begin to
consider the problemwhich the Amer
lean Party may be soon faced with.
1t Is possible that there will be an
attempt to create either an American
Social Democratic Party, or psuedo
revolutionary movement, which would
almost certainly contain within II
many OF the germs of Fascism.
Let us take first the possibility Of
the creation of gradualist, third
Party on the British Labor Party
model. For example. there seems a
possibility that Mr.. John Dewey
would like to play the part of theore-
teal godfather to such Party, to
play the part which Mr. Shaw played
in England. But surely even Mr.
Dewey cannot want to create an.
other British Labor Partyf Perhaps
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30

action in Britain may be of interest
to American Marxists today. In
many respects there seems to me to
be q striking analogy between the
America OF today and the British of
the last decade Of the Nineteenth
Century. It seems probable that
America will go through a period in
which all sorts of new and ostensibly
working class parties and groups,
such as, the Independent Labor
Party, the Social Democratic Fedora
ton, the Socialist League and finally
the Labor Party itself, arose in
Britain forty or fifty years ago.
1t seems to me that American
Marxists today might be helped in
avoiding the opposite dangers OF OPP
portunism and sectsr;anism, which
necessarily confront every Commu-
mist Party in such q situation, by
study Of the tragic experience which
the British working class movement
went through.
Historical background OF British
Labor Party
The crisis Of British capitalism In
1889 produced q rapid grt With Of
trade unionism in Great Britain,
somewhat similar to what appears to
be happening now in the United
States.
Unfortunately the resulting move
ment towards independent working
class political action split up from
the very outset into two divergent
streams. Two antiti1etical and COM
Elementary errors quickly developed.
First, the majority of those who felt
the need for new working-c class
party in Britain seem to have felt
that need instinctively rather than
nationally. They knew that new
third party" was needed, but they
did not seem to have realized what 1t
was needed for. In other words,
though they rejected the existing
Liberal Party, which the organized
British workers had hitherto mainly
supported, they had no clear concep-
ton of what to put in its place, They
had rejected the Liberal Party, but
they were quite unable to free their
minds from Liberal principles and
Liberal ideas.
1t was such men as these who
founded, in 1882, the Independent
Labor Party. Eight years later, In
1900, the Trade Unions, the Fabisn
Society, and other advanced bodies,
came together with the Independent
Labor Party and made an all
inclusive merger. This was the
foundation Of the present British
Labor Party. From the outset its APP
parent success was very great. The
Trade Unions provided adequate
funds, and in the very first General
Election in which it took an active
part, that Of 1905. no less than fifty
labor representatives were returned
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30
By SAM DON

tive machinery to its scrutiny, and
to the approval or diSapproyal of
the administration" (Our empha-
sis, S. D.
What then is the purpose OF lAe
textile code and all other codes? 1t
is to maintain high prices by avoid
ing destructive competitive prices"
It is the purose Of the textile code,
as that Of all other codes. to solve
the problems Of over capacity and
overproduction" not by reducing
prices, SO that a ragged population
is in a position to buy, but to "con-
troll and regulate" overproduction so
that production will be restricted in
order that prices are kept up high
starvation wages for the workers as
producers, high prices as consumers
and mounting profits for the handful
of trust and bank magnates This
is the social function and social
vision" Of the N.R.A. code.
Lenin on Monopoly Capitalism.
AS far back as 1916 Lenin spoke of
the American trusts "aS the highest
expression of the economies of i'm
perialism or monopoly capitalism"
The NR.A., the organ 'of the eco
Monies of imperialism" in THIS period
Of the general crisis of world capt.
ta1ism was created for the purpose
Of Fastening the process of trusti-
fication and strengthening the death
grip of monopoly capitalism. Lenin,
in his Imperialism" written as far
back IS 1917. said:
"Crises of all sorts and in par
ticular these of an economic ma
ture strengthen to Tremendous
extent the tendencies TO concentra-
ton and monopoly"
How eXactly, to detail, one might
say, does the MIRA. confirm Lenin's
analysis contained in his immortal
work imperialism"
To rive few examples to Illus
trate further the nature of the NRA.
in the light Of Lenin's teachings.
Mergers to Increase Profits
Willis B. Rice, a lamp manufac-
turer, voicing the opinion of the
small producer, said the following at
the hearings on the electrical code:
THE electrical industry is DOM
mated by five big corporations.
They have IS per cent of the bust
ness. The code tends to perpetuete
the monopoly and might easily be
designed to eliminate the indepen-
dent manufacture"
And the Commercial and Financial
Chronicle, in its issue on July 10Th,
wrote as follows: ITO US it seems
altogether probable that the scheme
Of the blanket code for increasing
mass employment viii result in
decreasing the number Of those in
gainful occupations, instead of in
creasing them, inasmuch as If en-
forced in the way indicated, it will
drive many of the store keepers
and shop keepers out of business,
thereby offsettng the number of
extra workers who will find en-
ployment through the reduction in
the number Of hours of those now
at work"
A recent announcement of the
merger Of the telegra Nh, telephone,
and radio companies is in line with
the general purposes of the N.R.A.
The Journal of Commerce in it's Dec.
18th issue, tells us that this pro-
posed merger Sc. >. wcu,d doubtless
tend to advance the rate level Tread
raise prof1ts) for some or all of these
communication services"
Only few comments are neces-
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30

CARELESS Of what your pious wishes
are, 1t creates in the words Of Lenin,
"a military prison for the workers"
| and a paradise for the bankers"
And no more striking example
Of "a military prison for the workers"
and paradise for the bankers"
can anywhere be found than in the
N.R-A. as it is developing.
Take the NR.A. as it was conceived
! and as it operates. The supreme
purpose and effort OF the MIRA. is
to assure the regular flow Of profits
| in the midst of growing human mis-
cry. This and nothing else is the
social function" Of the MIRA. In
short, the NR.A. was conspicuously
created as the instrument Of monop-
oily capitalism.
N.R.A. Has Not Failed Wall Street
Has the MIRA. failed monopoly
capitalism? By no means. But be-
fore we prove this point, let us an
Swer the question whether Roosevelt
and his administration conceived of
the N.R.A. as the instrument of
trusts, banks, Of finance capitalism,
or whether the huge profits made
by finance capitalism is due to the
fact that there are chiselers and that
labor is not taking advantage of the
MIRA.
Let us consider a few programmed
ic statements made by the President
| and the press. On June 10th the
President declared:
mo employed and no group Of
less than all the employers in a
sinTle trade could do this alone
and continue to live sn business
competition But if all employers
in each trade now band themselves
faithfully in these modern guilds,
without exception, and agree to act
together and at once, none will be
| hurt"
What is the substance of the
Presidents statement? Let Mr..
Samuel Untermeyer explain. 1.-THE
antitrust laws will be virtually
strapped and trade combinations
and sTsoeiations instead of being
prescribed, dissolved, and punished
as crimes, will come under govern
mental supervision with price fix
ing and restrictions Of production,
which is the antithesis Of the pres
ent Jaw and system" (Our empha-
sis, S. ID
Ha5tening classification
Mr.. Untermeyer is quite right. The
N.R.A. is to regulate economic life"
in s1'"h a manner that it will hasten
justification i'll order to curb COM
petition, restrict production, so that
monopoly capitalism can fix prices.
AL for what purpose? To exact
exorbitant profits from the toiling
masses in world of falling prices!
If you examine the individual
codes of fair competition" the rob-
ber's hand Of monopoly capitalism
crabs you by the throat. Take the
first heralded textile code. The Ian
guage is quite clear.
We read, ut projects the deyel-
opment of an open trading aeso-
citation through which, as in the
case of commodity exchanges,
prices and terms of trading would
be reported by all companies with
a view to avoid and eliminate I'M
fair and destructive competitive
prices and practices. 1t further
proposes to fashion instruments Of
self government for dealing with
the problems Of over capacity and
overproduct;on by subjecting the
installation of additional produc-
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30

however, he thinks that, even though
an American third Party were
founded in the same way as the
British Labor Party, by a fusion OF all
socialist bodies, Of the farmers or
CARNATIONS, and of the trade unions,
it might turn out very differently.
Perhaps he or his supporters think
that our unfortunate experience was
rot owing to any factors in the Labor
Party's policy, but to the personal
faults and shortcon1inT IS Of our Brit
ish Labor leaders-of Webb, Shaw,
Kerr, Hardie, or Macdonald. I be-
lieve this to be complete misleading
of history. I certainly hold no brief
for the leaders of the British Labor
Party. But I believe that it was
events which nodded them, not they
who nodded events.
Third Party Developments
Alternstively it may be suggested
that the American farmer Labor third
party which it is hoped to create will
be a fundamentally different type Of
organization from the British Labor
Party; that there can be no analogy
between the British and American
situation: that the farmer-labor party
viii be in fact revolutionary in
method. and far-reaching in aim,
avoiding only the alleged "doctrin-
aire and sectarianism" of the Com
inmist Party. which it is charged
antagonizes the all-iinportant lower
middle class, the farmers and small
urban producers, and drives them
towards fascisn. Indeed if we may
judge from the speech Of Mr.. Thomas
Amlie, the chairman Of the new
Farner-Labcr Political Federation,
reported in tho . opcr number OF
Common Sens tI~ cream Of the
third party movement, the methods
of the present leaders OF the farmer
labor movement are TO be avowedly
revolutionary.
When we come, however, to the
aims Of the new movement, we find
that Mr.. Anlie defines them as the
carrying, by force, of an amendment
TO the American Constitution forbid
ding absentee ownership" Of any
part of the means of production, and
providing for their public ownership
and operation. The effect Of such
a law would be, of course. to nation
alize all large-scale, and indeed med
ium-scale, production, leaving in
private hands only such small-scale
enterprises as could be conducted by
a man and his family without hired
help.
The political objective Of this de-
mand is obvious. Mr.. Amlie hopes to
swing thel lower middle class to him
by the promises that he is attacking
"big husirA ess" alone. Immediately,
however, Mere leaps TO mind the
fact that Mr.. Amlie is not the first
to make thAs promise. Who was it
who conducted the most violent and
apparently Ultra radical propaganda
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-30

the trusts under the protection Of
the Blue Eagle. (The question Of the
RIG. subsidies will be discussed
later.)
Indeed, as Lenin has prophesied,
larger profits for the bankers,
near famine for the toiIers."
Stain on Monopoly Capitalism
The purpose Of monopoly capital
ism to raise prices is clearly stated
by Comrade Stain at the 18th Party
Conference of the c. P. s. q. held
two years ago. He said:
Present day capitalism, as dis
tfnct from the old form of capital
ism, Is monopoly capitalism, and
that determines I'm advance the In
evitabilty Of . struggle on the part
of the capitalist associations for
the maintenance of the high monop-
oily prices OF their commodities,
despite the existence Of over-pro-
duction. 1t does mot need to be
stressed that this circumstance,
which makes the crisis particularly
distressfuI for the masses of the
peop,e-who are the chief consum-
ers of commodities and impoyer-
ishes them, necessarily leads 10 a
protraction Of the crisis and must
hinder its normal solution"
It is precisely the purpose Of the
NR.A. to help the maintenance OF
high monopoly prices, despite the
existence Of Overproduction" and It is
exactly this which makes the crisis
particularly dfstre5sfuI for the masses
of the people who are the chief con-
sumers Of commodities and impover-
ishes them"
Is it not clear that to see "any
striking likeness" between what Leniil
wrote in his pamphlet on The
Threatening Catastrophe and How TO
Fight Tt and the MIRA. Is really TO
obscure the striking difference be-
tween the N.R.A., the organ Of op-
pressing, murderous monopoly capt
talism, and Lenin's program. the pro-
gram Of struggle against monopoly
capitalism.
In our next and last article we
shall deal with the question Of state
monopoly capitalism and the role
of the state, and the distortions
which the liberals Of the Nation and
the New Republic nave made OF
Lenin's writing on these questions.
Their Qualification of the MIRA. and
Roosevelt Is based on the distortions
If Lertn's teachings on state capi-
salis1n and the role Of the state.