Voice of action. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1933-1936, 1935-03-08

for the nucleus of the Labor Par
OF course they have their allies
such as the poor farmers, the I'M
employed, the unOrganized work.
ers, and the liberal and radical
elements in the lower middle
class and the professions. These,
too, must be modified around
the Labor Party, but the nucleus
must be the organized workers.
Never before has there been
such favorable basis for the
formation OF a Labor Party.
Many signs point to this fact. In
the first place there has been
mass establishment with the
policies of Roosevelt. In the last
congressional elections, for ex-
ample, millions Of voters stayed
away from the polls who had vot-
ed in the presidential elections
for the New Deal. They could
not stand the Republicans who
are clearly bankrupt and they
were too disillusioned to vote
for the alternative, Roosevelt.
Left Wingers Poll Vote
On the other hand, wherever
there existed any left wing ten
dency, however bogus, the masses
showed an interest proved by the
increased number who voted.
Such was the case of Upton Sim
clair in California, Olson in Min
nesota, LaFollette in Wisconsin,
and Huey Long in Louisiana.
Likewise there has been a
marked change of opinion shown
in the ALL unions. Not only has
the militancy of the union men,
bers increased, but it has taken
a direction in opposition to the
New Deal. The decision against
labor in the Jennings case, the
arbitrary extension of the Auto
mobile code without consulting
labor, the increasing use of force
against strikers, the practical
and recentely the legal denial of
Section IA of the NRA, have at
tackled the very existence of or
ganized labor. On top of all this,
the attack on wages hidden in
the inflationary rise in prices and
the presidents work relief bill
have forced even the top bureau
Gratis like Green to come out OPP
emily against Roosevelt and to
threaten the formation of a labor
party.
These facts, as well as many
others, show that there is a
spontaneous movement to the
left. As yet this tendency is un-
Organized and not conscious OF
it's goal. Therefore, there are
great dangers that this mass dis
content may be captured by some
fake leader such as Huey Long,
or by the progressive third party
which will fail it, as has been
done time and time again nj the
past.
That Huey Long is faker in
his program to share the wealth
is proved by a recent article on
him In the Business Week, a
reactionary business magazine.
This article says, in effect, that
his laws in Louisiana have not
hurt business at all, because
they have not been enforced or
have contained jokers which null
lifted their liberal pretense.
Blind Alley
That the type of a liberal third
party represented by LaFollette
in Wisconsin, or by Olson in Min
nesota, under the disguised name
of Farmer-Labor, is nothing but
blind alley must be clearly dem
onstrated to the workers. Such
parties are trying to save cap
italism just as earnestly as is
Roosevelt. In order to save cap
italism they will be forced to use
troops against strikers, to cut
wages, to give starvation relief,
just as Macdonald did in England
or Olson in Minnesota or the La
Follettes in Wisconsin.
Another possible type of party
that may try to capture the mass
discomfort will be a workers par
ty, but dominated by the union
bureaucrats. Such party will
have all the weaknesses of a
party organized from above. 1t
would have to learn painfully
what the workers in the unions
have learned, that only a healthy
rank and file control can prevent
a compromise or a sell-out that
will defeat the very purposes of
the party.
The Communist Party will
fight all such third parties as the
ones mentioned above, but it will
support and fight for a real La
Dor Party built from below. Only
such a party will be true labor
party. Any leadership from above
cuts itself off from the masses
and forgets their interests as has
been proved again and again.
But if the workers make their
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