The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-20
McLeVy on Honest Police

THE open and complete desertiOn from
1 Marxism, from sound socialist prin-
ciples, by the Socialist Party leadership
could not be illustrated more clearly than
in the speech of Jasper McLevy before
the annual convention of New England police chiefs
To avoid the usual charge of SANDER" which the
gentlemen of the Socialist press use as substitute
for political defense of their anti-socialst acts
we will quote the special dispatch to the New York
Times Pertaining to McLevy in full;
NEW HAVEN, Conn. Nov 15.-"City police
must be removed from the influence of politics"
said Jasper McLevy, Socialist Mayor of Bridge
port at the annual convention today of police
chiefs of New England. He added that too often
at present the honest cop makes an honest arrest
only to be discredited in court the next day and
the guilty viOlator freed.
Politics often working through the courts"
he declared, "bslks entirely their work and makes
Joke of the law o. Interference with the opera
tion of honest laws O. makes an inefficient police
force Do not tie the hands of the police force
of your city"
Mayor MeLevy's speech was the outstanding
feature (!) of todays session. He was not listed
as speaker, but said he attended to hear the
latest methods of conducting police business He
WAS MADE AN HONORARY MEMBER OF THE
ASSOCIATION.
We will refrain from comment on McLevy as the
outstanding feature at convention of police chiefs
and on the honorary membership bestowed upon
him Such "honors' flow naturally from his speech.
"rITY POLICE" says McLevy, must be removed
from the influence of politics" Politics . .
makes joke of the law" Interference with the
operation of honest laws makes inefficient police
force"
What is the meaning of such trash? Politicsl-
but what kind of politics? Laws!-but what kind
of laws? An efficient police force-but whose?
AS Socialist leader McLevy should have heard
that society is divided into classes that there are
CLASS politics and CLASS laws. He should have
heard even that in the United states have
CAPITALIST CLASS politics as the dominant
politics and CAPITALIST CLASS laws. There is
every reason to believe that these simple facts hold
good for New England as they do for the rest of
the country.
When Mr. McLevy then prates about honest
laws and fears making "a Joke of the law" he is
talking not of working class laws Tor poiticsD
but capitalist class laws land poitcsD.
He wants the police left unhampered in their
enforcement of capitalist-made laws, unhampered
in their attacks on the unemployed on striking
workers picket lines, unhampered in protecting the
property and profits of the capitalists unhampered
in enforcing the thousands of laws designed to fur
ther the exploitation of the poor.
This is the stupid chatter of one who poses as
socialist" an outstanding leader of the Socialist
Party This is the theory that politics, laws, and
police are above classes, that the government is
neutral" in the struggle between classes that the
government is the impartial arbitrator of class dis
putes. 1t is rejection of the teachings of Marx,
Enges Lenin and every real socialist that the state
land the police are the instruments of capitalist
class oppression.
This is the theory also of Adoph Hitler and
Benito Mussolini 1t is the basis of this theory
that they build their "totalitarian state make
against Communist and Socialist organizations i'm
prison and torture working -class fighters.
1t is through such acts as McLevy's police con-
vention speech that the Socialist leaders build up
respect for capitalist laws and capitalist police
strengthen fascist theories en- the "non-class role
of the government" and prepare the way for fas-
cist dictatorship.
Every honest socialist worker has every right to
protest Indignantly against McLevys speech. Let
McLevy choose honorary membership in the New
England Association of Police Chiefs Socialist work
ers should stick with MarxiSm. They will win only
when they take the road of class struggle in a
United Front with the Communists.