The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-11
On the
World Front
A Letter From Spain
Phrases With Spanish Sauce
General Strike" Promises
BY HARRY CANNES
A POLITICAL. general strike Of

General Strike" Promises
A POLITICAL, general strike Of
n around 100000 agricultural
workers in Spain, now in progress,
is an indication of the rapidly ma
turing revolutionary struggles in
that country. Very little news of
this strike appears in the capitalist
press, and what does appear is
heavily censored. More than 10
workers have already been killed by
the Civil Guards, the old reliable
monarchical praetorean guard which
thanks to the Socialist Party of
Spain, was perpetuated when King
Alfonso was forced to abdicate.
In fact, nearly all of the big land
lord and capitalist forces were left
intact by the coalition Socialist and
left" bourgeois government, only
to give the eXploiters a breathing
space. Now the Socialist Party of
Spain, faced with tremendous
revolutionary upsurge of the
masses, the rapid swing toward the
Communist Party, goes Norman
Thomas one better in the mouth
ing Of revolutionary phrases.
In Spain the struggle for Soviet
power is on the agenda of the day,
and despite the splitting and UNI
dermining tactics of the Socialist.
Anarchist and Syndicalist leaders.
the workers thus far have been able
to keep the bourgeoisie from at
tempting to institute their open
fascist regime.
WE have received a very Interest,"
" ing letter from Spain, writ.
ten by sympathizer of the Com.
munist Party, U. S. A. The letter
was not intended for publication
but to convey to friend a brief
and rapid review of the present
situation. BY permission we quote
from this letter:
"Fascism has received several i'm
portant defeats here. The first
fascist assembly held some time
ago in Escorial was answered by a
general strike in Madrid for "a
hours which tied everything up
tight.
There was general strike in
Saragossa for nine weeks, which
ended with victory for the strik-
ers, after the children of the strik-
ers were sent out of the city to all
parts of Spain to gain support and
sympathy for the strikers. The
metallurgical workers have been on
strike in Madrid for six weeks, and
every worker in the city is con-
tributing one days pay per week
to the strike fund, and there is a
good chance that they will win.
Every strike is revolutionary
and they are increasing every day.
1t amazes me more and more every
day to see the solidarity of the
workers.
Politically just now the situation
is quiet and the tascists have the
majority in the government chat
is to say nearly all the bourgeois
parties would support them if they
came into the OPEN, but dare not
try to take the power, as they
realize is it impossible for them to
obtain any sort of basis here among
the masses. The peasants are
now organizing a strike in answer
to the action of the Cortes (parlia-
ment) in cancelling the Terminus
Municipales.
The best sign of what is going
on is the position of the Socialist
Party, which is forced to such
demagogic phrases as trying to
make the masses believe is supports
dictatorship of the proletariat,'
'confiscation of private property
Spain must initiate Russia, and
we are going to the Third Inter
national'-sweet words, but it
shows what they are up against to
keep UP with the masses.
Life here is nothing more than
expecting one strike after another,
together with states of siege and
isolated upriSings. I saw the police
use their rifles some time ago in
Cioeles. The army, of course,
is said to be honeycombed with
Communists and Socialist workers.
:. The bravery and solidarity of
the Spanish workers will be writ
ten some day, as will the treachery
of the Socialist leaders
WHILE discussing the role of the
W Socialist leadership in the face
of threatening fascist rule we want
to recall some threats and promises
of the Socialist Party of Latvia be-
fore the present fascist dictatorship
was established. Also, this is i'm
portant in connection with the re-
cent declaration of the recent De-
troit convention of the Socialist
Party of this country about gen.
eral striking in the event of a new
imperialist war.
On June 81, 1888, commenting on
the Congress of the Latvian Social
Democratic Party, "Social-Demo-
kraten," the organ of the govern
mental party of Denmark, declared:
"The sole force ready to take up
the fight against fascism is social
democracy and its trade union
movement. The party, with its
revolutionary traditions from
Russian (czarist) days, resolved at
its last congress to meet any
putsch (uprising) on the part of
the fascists with general strike
and armed uprising. :. i. Some
thing has been learned from
events in Germany"
What was apparently learned by
the Socialists of Latvia was how to
capitulate more expeditiously.