Montana labor news., 1936-08-20

oSb4Oh Soii NC ueledleu ana QemO-
cratic rights can be preserved. But
to achieve this aim, which is the
aim of the overwhelming majority
of the people, it is necessary that
the people organize their forces
1t IS necessary that labor, the farm
ers, the impoverished middle
classes, all progressives, shall come
together and create an enduring
alliance. 1t is necessary to have
what the people of France and
Spain found necessary to defeat
Fascism-a peoples front. We can
see such a peoples front arising,
taking shape, growing stronger, in
the United States, where we call it
the Farmer-Labor party. 1t is the
chief aim of the Communist party
in this campaign to hasten the
building of the Farmer-Labor party
into a major factor in American
politics. We want to speed-up the
process of the people breaking away
from the old capitalist parties.
The issue today is democracy
or Fascism-the peoples front
against Wall Street-an issue for
which the people are prepared,
which they can understand, around
which they can be organized to
fight and defeat reaction. That is
why we say that the issue today is
not between Socialism and capital
ism, as some people tell you, a
choice which the progressive forces
are on the whole not ready to
make. In this situation, Norman
Thomas, Presidential candidate Of
the Socialist party, has brought for
ward the same slogan as the reac-
tionaries, Socialism or capitalism,
demanding that the fundamental
lineup in 1886 shall be on this is
sue, and refusing to associate him
self with other progressive forces.
He refuses to see any immediate
menace of Fascism, and is indif-
ferent to the need for a broad united
front to defeat the re~actionaries.
As between reaction and demo-
cracy, Roosevelt is striving to fol-
low a middle course. He therefore
wavers between the pressure from
the r~eactionaries (both Republican
and Democratic) and the pressure
from the progressive forces. Dur
ing the past year, he retreated
steadily before the reactionary at
tack; but in the election platform
and his acceptance speech a pro-
gressive note was struck. Thus
the Roosevelt administration COM
bines forces of both sides, and fol-
lows a zig-zag purse 1t is against
this indecisive position of Roosevelt
that the re%actionaries rage. They
demand a frontal attack against the
living standards and democratic
rights Of the people. They demand
decisive steps toward Fascism and
war. At the same time, it is this
indecisiveness of Roosevelt which
shows clearly that he is no bulwark
against reaction and Fascism. 1t
shows how impossible it is for the
progressive forces to rely upon
Roosevelt to defeat reaction. The
progressive forces must organize for
independent political action in a
Farmer-Labor party, which is the
specific American form Of the peo-
pies front.
The platform of the Union Party
which was cooked up by Coughlin
and Hearst, makes use of vague
phrases designed to attract the
farmer and worker, but it is silent
on the most important questions of
higher wages, trade union organi-
cation, old-age pensions, relief to
the unemployed and the needy
farmers. In its abject submission to
the irresponsible rule of the Su-
preme Court, and in its war-pro-
voking jingoism, it is more openly
reactionary than the Republican
: platform. The best indication of the
real program of Coughlin and
Lemke is their savage attacks
against anything with the slightest
tinge of progressivism. The clear
aim Of this Coughlin-L stunt
is to make use of the discomfort
with R~oosevelt's concessions to re-
action in order to bring full victory
to reaction by electing Landon. A
vote for Lemke is a vote for Landon
and Wall Street.
The Communists stand for unity
in the labor movement. The action
Of the Executive Council OF the
American Federation of Labor in
suspending the ten big unions OF the
!, Committee for Industrial Organi-
cation, is threatening to split the
trade unions. We declare this is a
colossal crime against the interests
of the workers of all unions as well
as the unorganized masses. It
brings joy to the American Iron
and Steel Institute, to Wall Street,
to the open shoppers and reaction
: aries; it rouses indignation and pro-
test among the workers. 1t is at
the same time a clear violation Of
the laws of the A. F. of l.. itself
and shows with what contempt the
: group Of reactionary leaders, who
arrogate supreme power to them
selves, look upon the democratic
rights of the union membership.
This attempt to split the ranks of
labor must be repulsed and de-
feated by the prompt and energetic
protest and action Of unions and
their membership everywhere. The
members Of the craft unions, whose
officers misrepresent them in this
action, must join hands with the
membership of the c, /. 0. unions,
to fight uncompromisingly to main