The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-06

HN-g AAAAAA WAAANAA GINS NAL4A
she loved and served mis-
resU. E" This is all the space
the NeA Leader would give to Debs,
and, as usual, presents him as some
sort of Jesus rather than the revo-
lutionary working class leader that
he was.
To think of Debs is to remember
that this year marks also the 4oth
anniversary of the great American
Railway Union Strike which par
alyzed all railways between Chicago
and the West Coast. Debs organ
lied the A. r. U.-an industrial
union OF railwaymen-and led it in
one Of the most militant struggles
OF American labor-the Pullman
Strike. 1t is also referred to in
American labor history as the "Debs
Rebellion"
Debs Defied Injunction
The strike was broken by the use
of all the powers of government, a
court injunction-the first Of its
kind-backed by military force.
Debs violated the injunction and
went to jail for six months at
Woodstock, Ill When the strike be-
gan he was still only a militant
trade unionist. When he emerged
from jail, he was a Socialist. Debs
himself described his theological
transformation when he told how
during the strike There were de-
livered from wholly unexpected
quarters federal troops sent by
President PIeveland) a swift sue
cession of blows that blinded me
for an instant and then opened my
eyes-and in the gleam of every
bayOnet and the flash of every rifle
the class struggle was revealed"
During the 25 years which fol-
lowed the A. r. U. strike-from the
release from the Woodstock jail till
his incarceration in federal prison
In 1919 at the age Of SIS to serve a
ten year sentence for struggle
against the imperialist war, Debs
became the outstanding revolution
airy leader in America. He partici-
pated in every major conflict dur
ing that period. He used his great
gilt Of eloquence and his trench
ant pen to rally workers for strug-
gle, to instill in them the spirit of
revolt, of class solidarity, of mill
tant organization. He fought Samuel
GomperS, Bill Green's predecessor,
and his ieutenants, for their class
colIaborationist policies. To John
Mitchell, president of the United
Mine Workers, who declared in a
newspaper debate with him in 1904
that There is no necessary conflict
between capital and labor" chow
like Bill Green and John L. Lewis
OF today, he replied 81 say there
is no possible peace between them.
Every hour Of truce is at the price
of slavery"
Debs wrote in 1912: THE S. P.
cannot remain neutral on the trade
union question. AS a revolutionary
party it cannot commit itself to the
principle of reactionary trade union
ISM" Debs stood for revolutionary
industrial unionism. He also be-
lleved in working in the A. F.. of L.
craft unions. we must bore from
within and without" he declared in
1910, but the s. P. leaders shout
from the housetopS that this for
mula was invented by the Commu-
nists.
Warned Against Reformists
Just as Debs hated and bitterly
fought reactionary trade union lead
ers, SO has he always warned against
refornist Socialist leaders who were
Worming their way into the Social
ISL Party. In an article Danger
Ahead,' he wrote in 1911: ut 1.-THE
>. III may become permeated and
corrupted with the spirit of bour-
geoi5 reform to an extent that will
practically destroy its viriIity ana eff
ficiency as a revolutionary organiza
ton" The reformist leaders would
not need Debs' warnings. They en-
vlsaged different party, a party of
liberal reform, rather than of revo-
lutionary action
The present leadership holds IN
the same view. But the spirit of
Debs seems to be arousins in the
moribund S. P. The voices that are
being heard from honest Socialist
workers, who are beginning to learn
from the experiences of the crisis
and the militant struggles of recent
years may not be as yet as deter
mined and as clear as the present
situation requires. But the general
naturalization of the masses is
bound to affect them as we'll and
the leadership and activities of the
Communist Party, especially the
struggle for the united front, will
further accelerate the process Of
their revolutionization.
If these leftward moving mem
bers Of the Socialist Party will but
listen to the call of Debs of nearly
IS years ago "tO stand squarIey on
our revolutionary working class
principles and make our fight
openly and uncompromisfngIy
against all our enemies, adopting
no cowardly tactics and holding out
no false hopes" they cannot but
free themselves from the influence
Of both the reactionary orthodox
Marxist" and militant" non-Marx-
fst really liberal -Marxist)
leaders of the Socialist Party.
For Revolutionary Political Action
r.. =