The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-05-10
mooney Congress
Calls for Starting
Mass Movement

united mass movement for the liberia
ton of Mooney. The Trot7kyist oppo-
Sition led by Cannon and centering It's
attack against the Communist Party
was the conscious representative Of
this effort to leave the chasm between
white and Negro unbridged by the
Mooney Congress on the ground that
the workers are mot ready" for this
step Of unity Ca step which is already
in process as one of the most colos-
sal events of the present day.. The
effort to reduce the whole Mooney
issue to the dimensions of support
by labor of the legal defense of a case
in court was more Enthusiastically
expressed by the Lovestone group, al
though the Lovestone and Cannon
groups constantly tended to flow to-
gether in fighting against the Com
munist Party. Other groupings in
the Congress, although wavering on
several occasions were not consciously
or at least not clearly so, opposed to
the program Of broadening the great
mass demand through linking up the
Mooney case, as Mooney proposed,
with the great class struggles of the
country.
There was the question of Mooney
Day, as we'll, in which there was a
tendency simply to fix an anniversary
Mooney Day. on MONEYS birthday
or some other fixed date; proposal
which would have amounted to max
ing day of memorial" to buried"
Mooney. But this idea was Get aside
in favor Of fixing Mooney Day.
as fighting day of mass struggle to
free Mooney, the date left open to be
fixed in accordance with the needs
of the struggle, either at the time of
MONEYS trial or otherwise when it
can be most effective. Other ques-
lions shall be discussed in further ar
ticles-such as the question of the
disarming of the social fascist leaders
through united front proposals, etc.
How Much Accomplished?
To what extent was the purpose OF
the Free Mooney Congress accom-
plished? 1t has to be said plainly
that the objective of the Mooney
Congress is so tremendous that the
degree of the united front accom-
plished there is comparatively unsat-
isfactory; and we say this despite the
fact that the Mooney Congress can
surely be counted as success. The
Mooney Congress was success in the
sense that it has broken through
the iron wall of division of the ranks
of the working class set up through
long decades of trade union and So
cialist Party reformism The Moo
ney Congress succeeded in reaching
certain mass of workers over the
heads of the burocrats. The act OF
the National Executive Committee OF
the Socialist Party in the situation it
faced in its own Continental Con-
gress," in reversing its former posi-
ton and deciding to appoint COM
mittee to confer with a like commit
tee of the Communist Party on the
question Of united front for speci-
f1c actions such as the struggle to
liberate Mooney, was a vancouver to
defeat the growing movement within
the ranks of the 8. p for United
Front of struggle This was partic-
ularly significant because the So
called Continental Congress wa $
called at Washington largely for the
purpose of counter acting and de-
feating the call. issued by Tom Moo
ney for united front for the Free
Mooney Congress at Chicago.
But the success of the Free Tom
Mooney Congress was not and could
not be settled by any actions taken
in the Convention at Chicago. This
is question which is yet to be set
tled-by the action that will now be
taken in all the cities and towns OF
America in carrying out the decision;
Of the Tom Mooney Congress.
Therefore let those who sincerely
took part in the Free Tom Mooney
Congress throw themselves with the
greatest energy now into making good
their otherwise empty words by
breaking through every barrier, by
bringing about united action of all
working class organizations in spite
of hell, high. water and renegade
leaders.
The local conferences in all citiec
and towns must now be made ten
times more representative than were
the local conferences which preceded
the Free Mooney Congress. The Local
Tom Mooney Councils of Action
which will be selected by these local
conferences, must be truly the ex-
preston of the mass will of every
working class community to meet ane
defeat the growing police and fascist
terror against the working class, for.
THE united front Of labor for
the release Of Tom Mooney. Warren
Billings and the other victims Of
capitalist class justice, and for the
defense Of workers and Negroes
rights"