Montana labor news., 1937-07-08

LII ALA41OAt lNIx w -
the reactionary leaders of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, while des-
perately fighting hand in hand with
employers and their company unions
against the progressive industrial I'M
ions of the Committee for Industrial
Organization headed by John l..
Lewis, are forced by their member
ship to join in support of the Roose-
welt plan in this fight, except for a
few extreme r~eactionaries like Viii
liam Hutcheson of the Carpenters
Union. Organized labor, in the midst
of great strikes and organizing cam
paigns, in which it faces the courts
as its most dangerous enemise, rallies
like one army to support the fight
to curb these courts and exercise
over them at least a minimum of
popular control.
In this fight the Communist Party
has militantly taken its stand Shout
der to shoulder with the organized
workers and the forces of popular
democracy. Without sharing any of
the illusions about the ability of
Roosevelt's policies to solve the fund
amentally political and economic
problems of the country, the Com
munist Party recognized unqualified
ly that in this battle the forces of
reaction, fascism and war, are con-
centrated more and more in the camp
opposing Roosevelt's plan, while the
forces of a popular democracy, and
first of all of the labc1 movement,
are rallied in its support. In such
a lineup there is but one possible
place for the Communists, on the
side of democracy.
When the masses of the country
are aroused to battle against en-
trenched privilege, monopoly CAPT
tai, and political reaction, there is no
third or neutral position.
This is all the more true since the
leading forces in both camps so
clearly proclaim the fundamental is
sue. Roosevelt has placed this case
upon the foundation of a Solemn
assurance that in a world in which
democracy is under attack" he is
seeking ito make American democ-
racy succeed"-"political and eco
nomic democracy"-which he has
defined as "one-third of a nation ill
nourished, ill-clad, ill-housed, who
must be well-nourished, we'll
clothed, and well-housed." That is
only a statement of aims, good as
that may be, and not a program for
attaining these aims-but the attack
against the judicial dictatorship is
the first practical step in any effec-
tive program to those ends-a step
which can and must be supported
with all energy, and all forces that
can be modified.
On the other hand the reaction
aries, while using the most extreme
demagogy in their desperate defense
Of the Supreme Court dictatorship,
campaigning under the banner of
progress as defenders of liberty and
democracy, are at the same time
speaking openly and frankly of their
fascist aims. 1t is no accident that
Republicans, Liberty League Demo-
Gratis, William Randolph Hearst,
Morgan, the DuPonts and miscelIa-
neous reactionaries, are proclaiming
their Crusade against Communism
in terms that would make Roosevelt
also n of the hated Reds. 1t is no
accident that from such a meeting
recently, on April IS, we have re-
ports in the New York Times from
which such quotations as the follow
ing can be cited which sound like
they came from Hitler Germany:
George U. Harvey, an aspirant
for the Republican Mayorality nom
nation, who spoke before Mr.. Al
Smith (Democrat), told the wildly
cheering audience that if he con-
Continued to Page AZ