The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-13
On the
World Front
- By HARRY CANNES =
GrenOble Shows the Way
Reject General Strike
What the Enemy Sees
Rr HARRY CANNES

class struggles have ale
ways been fought out to their
finish, is now witnessing tre-
mendous developments in the
fight against fascism. The
central question is the united
front of the workers against the
fascist gangs and their aide-de.
camps, the Doumergue government.
It is in France now where we can
see in the boldest relief the role
of the Socialist leaders, the yellow
trade union leaders, and of the OPP
portunist, factional Doriot in the
Communist Party, in the fight
against the united front.
Last Sunday this struggle was
brought to a higher stage in two
chief actions. In Grenoble, Social
list rank and filers and Communists
joined hands in three hour battle
against a fascist meeting of Deputy
Henriot. Henriot is the most brazen
Of the fascist speakers in France,
having behind him the open SUPP
port of the Doumergue government,
Five hundred police and a heavy
troop mobilization we're gathered at
the Grenoble meeting hall to insure
henriot the governments protec~
ton. The Communist Party menu
bers led the offensive on Henriot's
meeting place, which was heavily
barTicaded. The Socialist Party
members joined in enthusiastically
valiantly. Together they were forced
to retreat to a church, barricaded
themselves in and shouted slogans
against fascism, fighting off the
police, calling on the soldiers to
join them, raising the slogan of a
workers and peasants government,
of Soviet power.
THIS was the united front
l achieved, the united front that
is disturbing the capitalist govern
ment, offering definite resistance to
fascism. This is the united front
that is a model to all workers, re-
gardless of party utilization. This
is the united front, which when
translated to national and inter-
national scale, will defeat fascism
and lead to the overthrow of capi-
talisnl. But the Socialist leaders do
not want such a united front, and
behind them they have the support
of the Trotzkyites and the DoriotS.
On the day when the Socialist
Party members in Grenoble and
other cities were shedding their
blood along with Communists fight
ing the fascist hounds, the leaders
of the revolutionary Unitary Con-
federation of Labor proposed to the
reforrnist, Socialist-led Confedera-
ton that a general strike be called
against the decree-laws of the
Doumergue government. This was
repetition of the Communist
united front proposals to extend
the action against fascism. More
than that, it was a definite, neces~
sary action against the rapidly pro-
crossing fascist measures of the
Doumergue government, measures
similar to the Bruening and Won
Papen DEGREES in Germany that
laid the basis for Hitler's victory.
The Socialist Party leaders def
initely refused the united front
general strike because they want
to protect and support the Dou-
mergue gOvernment-On the
theory again of the 'lesser evil"
1t was on the theory that the
Socialist Party leaders in Ger
many rejected the united front
general strike proposal of the
Communist Party on July ~,
1892; it is the theory that led the
Austrian Socialist leaders to sup
port DolIfuss as against the Nazis,
only to nurture Dollfuss into the
Austrian Hitler.
GO obviously treacherous and
y against the interests of the
united front of the French working
class was the rejection of this pro~
posal of the revolutionary trade
unions of France, that the New
York Herald Tribune correspondent
in his news story comments as fol-
lows:
although Socialists and CorAs
munists fought side by side in
Grenoble today, the powerful
Confederation General du Ira
vail, which is closely identified
with the Socialists, refused to join
the Unitary Federation, Com
munist organization, in a united
front for general strike against
Premier Doumergue's decret-lois
decree laws)."
The relationship is obvious even
to the enemy. Rank and file fight
on the barricades. Socialist lead
ers reject the general strike in ac-
ton against fascist DEGREES. What
comes of the Socialist leaders talk
of general striker" In Latvia the
Socialist leaders were "for" the gen.
eral strike against fascism. Did
they call it? Of course, not. They
had control of the unions. General
strikes, they know, arouse the work.
ers into action against fascism.
They strengthen the bonds of unity
from below. The Socialist leaders
do not want that. They do not
want to undermine or upset capi-
talism. When the Trotzkyites yelp
about united front from above"
they throw protective screens
around these lickspittles of the
lesser evils" the social-fascist bull
wark of capitalism.
In France the issue is crystal