JAMES P. CANNONON THE

WITNESS STAND- SEE PACE 3 -

THE MILITANTOfficial Weekly Organ of the Socialist Workers Party

VOL. V— No. 49 NEW YORK, N. Y „ SATURDAY, DECEM BER 6, 1941 207 FIV E (5) CENTS

18 CONVICTED UNDER ANTI-LABOR SMITH ACT; PLAN APPEAL TO HIGHER COURTSLabor Unions Fight Anti-Strike LawsRoosevelt-Sponsored Bill to Curb Strikes Is Introduced by House Labor Committee

By DON DORE

Dec. 2. — A ll sections of the American labor movement this week united in expressing opposition to the Administration and Congressional attempts to impose legislative restrictions on organized labor and its rights.

A t the forefront of the battle to halt the drive for anti­strike and com pulsory a rb itra t io n ♦*law s is the CIO, whose represents- [ b i l l now before the House, on tives summoned from a ll a ffilia ted : w h ich a vote is expected th is CIO unions convened in a special . week, is the House Labor Corn- leg is la tive conference in W ashing­to n s ta rtin g las t Monday “ to d is­cuss and take whatever action m ay be necessary regard ing anti- s tr ik e leg is la tion .”

m ittee 's "m odified” version of the Adm inistra tion-sponsored Rams-

j peck B il l.T h is la tte r b i l l was drafted in

I accordance w ith the recommenda- Committees of CIO leaders a re j tions o f Roosevelt, fo llow ing his

v is it in g W ashington leg is la tors to Impress on them the determ ina­t io n of organized labor to oppose lin y laws aimed a t cu rb ing labo r’s t ig h t to s trike .

C IO C A L L4 n emergency appeal has been

sent by the na tiona l CIO to every state, c ity and county CIO a ffi­lia te in the land to jo in the ligh t against the threatened anti-labor federal legis la tion. The call, s ign­ed by John Brophy, d irec to r of in d u s tr ia l un ion councils, de­clared: "T he emergency w ith w h ich organized labo r is con­fron te d a t th is ju nc tu re is of the gravest nature. I t muBt. bo met W ith the utm ost reso lu tion and w ith s w if t and v igorous action.”

The most im p o rta n t an ti-labor

special W h ite House conference w ith leading members of Congress la s t week. I ts p rin c ip a l measures included the g ra n tin g o f s ta tu to ry powers to the N a tiona l Defense M edia tion Board to assume ju r is ­d ic tio n over any labo r dispute and to o rder a com pulsory s ix ty - day no -s trike “ co o lin g -o ff” period fo llo w in g unsuccessful m ediation o r a rb itra tio n , and g iv in g d ic ta ­to r ia l power to President Roos­eve lt to enforce com pulsory a rb i­tra t io n on any un ion when in his op in ion, a s tr ike , fo llo w in g the "coo ling -o ff” period, is de trim en t­a l to “ na tiona l defense.”

LABO R C O M M IT T E E B IL LI n the House Labor C om m it­

tee's fina l recommendations, the section of the Ramspeck b il l giv-

in g the President power to in ­voke com pulsory a rb itra t io n was changed to give h im the power to "seize” any p lan t threatened by s trike , w ith a special government wage board empowered to f ix wages in “ seized” plants.

The p lan t “ seizure” section was substituted fo r the compulsory a r­b itra tio n clause because of the opposition of the N a tiona l Asso­c ia tion o f M anufacturers, which expressed fears tha t under a rb i­tra t io n the bosses m ig h t in some cases — no m atte r how few — b< bound to a decision considered favorable to labo r’s in terest. P lan t “ seizure” would operate s im p ly as an o u trig h t s trikeb reak­in g m ethod, preserving the profits o f the in du s tria lis ts , enabling the governm ent to smash the unions and then re tu rn the “ seized” p lan ts to the owners.

“ C O M PR O M ISE” W O U LD B E F A T A L

Roosevelt, i t is apparent, is de­term ined to push through leg is la­t io n to prevent the exercise of the r ig h t to s tr ik e and to force the unions to subm it th e ir demands to governm ent a rb itra tio n . There is a s trong tendency among the trade un ion leadership to "com ­prom ise" w ith Roosevelt to the extent of agreeing to “ vo lu n ta ry ” m ediation o r a rb itra tio n of a ll la ­bor disputes in order to avoid leg is la tive compulsion. In re a lity , th is would be a step tow ard to ta l surrender o f labor’s r ig h ts under the com pulsion o f mere threats.

USSR Scores First Major Victory In Rostov BattleBut Fate of Soviet Union Still Depends On Adoption of Policy of Revolutionary War

By JO H N G. W R IG H TThe recapture of Rostov by the Red Army — the first vic­

tory for the Soviet Union and the first major reverse for the Nazis in this war — is most welcome news to every friend and defender of the workers state. A position of great strategic im­portance has been regained. Rostov, gateway to the Caucasian oilfie lds, commands Soviet pipe , ,, , .i n . , .¿p ly ing the M i , . , .»athe indus tries w ith indispensable countries to grea r a c 1

fue l, and is the p ivo t of the south­e rn fro n t.

T h is v ic to ry gives the Red A r ­m y forces a much-needed oppor­tu n ity fo r res to ring the gravely weakened southern f r o n t ; i t has undoubtedly dealt a blow to the m orale of the German troops, and, conversely, raised the confidence o f the Red soldiers and the So­v ie t masses; i t w i l l insp ire the I

in it ia t iv e ; and i t indicates tha t i t is no t yet too late, despite the te rr ib le losses and defeats of the f irs t five months o f the w ar, to save the Soviet U n ion from des­tru c tio n .

B u t i t would be a fa ta l illus ion __ and o f no service to the de­fense o f the USSR — to believe th a t now the tide has de fin itive ly turned in favo r of the Red A rm y.

The Nazis s t i l l ho ld an enorm-

Telegrams To DefendantsFrom Civil Rights Defense Commitfee

Our Committee in conjunction w ith Civil Liberties Union starts work immediately to appeal conviction of eighteen.

The struggle for your freedom is fundamental to the pre­servation of the rights of American labor and the liberties of the American people.

GEORGE N O V A C K , Sec’y , C ivil Rights Defense Committee

From Socialist Workers PartyDecember 1, 1941

Inspired by your example we pledge ourselves to go forward in the struggle for Socialism and for the freedom of our con­victed Comrades, Leaders and Friends. Socialist greetings.

C. C H ARLES Acting Secretary Socialist Workers Party

ous preponderance on the m il i­ta ry arena. Despite th e ir reverse a t Rostov, the Nazi d rive to en­c irc le Moscow has not been les­sened bu t in tensified. The ad­vances in the K lin and Voloko-

(Continued on page 8)

M a p p in g A id fo r O ther Defendants

A cqu itted by a directed verd ic t o f the judge, these fo u r defendants in the M inneapolis “ sedi­t io n ” t r ia l , ( fro m le f t to r ig h t ) M inneapolis Loca l 5-14-CIO O rgan izer W a lte r Hagstrom , D oro thy Schultz, St. Pau l SW P organizer, Rose Seiler, an d Local 541 V ice-President George F ros ig are d is ­cussing plans to aid the f ig h t to free the rema in in g 18 defendants.

American-Japanese War Preparations HastenedRival Imperialists Hold 'Peace' Talks As They Rush Plans for War in the Pacific

By JOSEPH H A N S E NThe hasty return o i President Roosevelt to Washington

from Warm Springs, Ga., indicates that the Kurusu diplomatic episode is nearing its end even sooner than the State Depart­ment had anticipated. The economic blockade of Japan which Roosevelt organized in accordance with W all Street’s plan to hasten U n ited States en try in toW orld W ar I I has now burned lik e a fuse to the ve ry lip of the powder keg in the F a r East.

Both the Am erican and Japan­ese General S taffs understood per­fec tly how s lig h t were the chances th a t Saburo K urusu could wangle an armed truce. The basic anta­gonism between Japanese and A m erican im peria lism in the Far East has been aggravated to the degree where diplom acy requires the bayonet to po in t its demands.

ed “ peace” possib ilities in the m arble ha lls of the State Depart­ment, the Am erican m arines leav­in g China to avoid becoming host­ages of Japan were given a hu rry - up order. The gunboats Luzon and Oahu stepped up th e ir de­pa rtu re to Saturday instead of Monday and the President H a r r i­son le ft on F rid a y m orn ing in ­stead o f the scheduled Sunday.

A t Singapore a ll leaves fo r o f­ficers and soldiers o f the B r i t ­ish garrison were suddenly can-

W h ile Kurusu and H u ll explor- celled and the en tire garrison a l­

tered. W h ile re inforcem ents con­tinued to a rr iv e from other B r i t ­ish colonies and possessions, vo l­unteers were called up and sev­era l thousand m il i t ia men who have been under in tensive t ra in ­in g were m obilized. On Dec. 1, Governor S ir Shenton Thomas signed a proclam ation declaring th a t a “ state of emergency” ex­isted in the en tire S tra its Settle­ment, in c lud in g Singapore.

The U nited States naval base a t Cavite, P h ilip p ine Islands, was blacked out as a “ precautionary measure.” A t H aw a ii U. S, arm y and navy forces were placed on a basis o f continuous “ a le rt” and a special order was issued requ ir in g sm all fish ing c ra ft — la rge ly Japanese owned — to obtain spe c ia l licenses. U . S. consular o f f i­cia ls a t Shanghai warned A m eri­cans again to leave occupied China

(Continued on page 7)

Farmers Union Meets In S t. PaulST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 25. — The cooperative organiza­

tions affiliated with the Farmers Union in the Northwest states of Montana, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota w ill hold their annual convention here the week of December 8. This convention w ill bring together some 5000 delegates and fa rm er v is ito rs from among the'*'-------------------------------------------------------most progressive groups of the fa rm population.

M eeting as the coun try is en­te rin g a second W orld W ar “ to make the w o rld safe fo r democ­racy,” a w a r th a t has tem po rarily b rought some increases in fa rm income and w il l boost costs of fa rm supplies, the convention is of more than usual significance.'

W ith in the Farm ers Union (Farm ers Educational and Co­operative Un ion o f A m erica) are grouped the m a jo r pa rt of the ele­ments th a t organized th # fa rm mortgage sale stoppage under the banner o f the Farm ers H o liday Association in the early th ir t ie s .

TW O STEPS B Y F D RTo head o ff the angry farm ers

a t th a t tim e, Roosevelt, Recogniz­in g the th re a t to the cap ita lis t system in the fa rm s itua tion , took two m a jo r steps: He in it ia te d the AA A , and he sought fr ie n d ly pol­it ic a l re la tions w ith some .fa rm organizations. A fte r the most c r i­t ic a l period was over, the Su-

preme Court declared the A A A unconstitu tiona l.

M eanwhile, R o o s e v e l t un ­doubtedly knew th a t the Grange and the Farm Bureau were not the most useful organizations fo r h is purpose. The Farm Bureau, d raw ing upon the more wealthy farm ers and financed w ith govern­m ent money, had already been ex­posed to the m ore progressive farm ers as a sort ol' company union. The Grange was a horse- and-buggy organization th a t had outlived its usefulness and dege­nerated in to a social club.

B u t Roosevelt found w illin g friends among some of the lead­ers o f the Farm ers Union, p a r ti­cu la r ly th rough M. W . Thatcher, manager o f the Farm ers Union G ra in T e rm ina l association and chairm an of the ’ na tiona l legis la­tive com m ittee of the Farm ers Union. As a member o f the il l- fated Hoover fa rm board, T ha t­cher was w e ll prepared fo r h is role. As pa rt paym ent fo r d irect-

in g tho unrest o f the farm ers in to “ safe” channels, Thatcher was able to obtain a great many con­cessions fo r “ h is ” organization. He got a large finger in the pa­tronage pie of the New Deal th rough the Farm Security Ad­m in is tra tion , w h ich came to be manned in a large measure by Thatcher’s friends in the Farm ers U nion, as w e ll as financia l aid.

B u t fo r the corpora tion ru lers of the country, th is was a d ir t cheap price to pay fo r w a te ring down the program o f the progres­sive farm ers.PROGRAM W A T E R E D DO W N

The w a te ring down is shown by the fac t th a t the fanners were turned away from th e ir most effec­tiv e means o f stopping foreclo­sures, th rough the H o liday de­m onstrations, and were given as a substitu te the program of ag i­ta tio n fo r the “ Debt A djustm ent B il l . ” Th is , in form , is a good progressive b i l l ; but i t w i l l never be accepted by Roosevelt o r any other cap ita lis t p o litic ian , except under the m ost wide-spread o r­ganized m il ita n t pressure. Such m il ita n t pressure is blocked by the Tha tcher leadership.

Furtherm ore, the Farm ers U n­

ion as an organ ization has re treated on the w a r issue. A fix tu ro o f the Farm ers Un ion pro gram fo r m any years has been its opposition to cap ita lis t wars as shown by th e ir sharp figh t more determ ined than most otbe> labor o r fa rm er mass organiza tions, fo r the p rinc ip les o f th< Lud low amendment p rov id ing foi a referendum vote of the people on w a r. T h is has been dropped.

Thatcher is doing the same job of h itch in g the organized farm ers to tho w a r machine th a t Sidney H illm a n is do ing in labo r ranks.

The farm ers o f the country have am ply demonstrated that they have the desire and the figh ting w i l l to find a way to the so lu tion of th e ir problems. They w i l l lea rn through th e ir own ex­periences th a t i t is necessary, in firm alliance w ith the w orkers of the cities, to abolish the system of cap ita lis t exp lo ita tion . T h is requires a sharp break w ith a ll cap ita lis t parties, in c lud in g the w a r p a rty of Roosevelt, and the bu ild in g o f a labor P a rty aimed a t the establishm ent o f a W orkers and Farm ers Government.

All Defendants Acquitted On Sedition CountMinneapolis Federal Jury Frees Five More Of Original 28 Defendants; Appeal To Be Based On Clear-Cut Issue Of Free Speech

MINNEAPOLIS, December 2. — Eighteen mem­bers of the Socialist Workers Party and Minneapolis Motor Transport Workers Local 5 4 4 -0 0 were con­victed here last night by a federal jury on charges of violating the notorious Smith “ Gag'’ Law of 1940. Five other defendants were acquitted.

A ll 23 defendants were acquitted on a second count of “ se­ditious conspiracy” to overthrow the government by force and violence under the old C iv il War anti-slaveholders’ law.__ A ju ry composed predominantly of small town businessmen, w ith o u t a sing le in d u s tr ia l'* --------------------------------------------------------w o rke r o r un ion is t on it , b rough t t he basis fo r a fe lo n y ind ic tm ent.in its ve rd ic t a t 8 P. M . yesterday evening. The ju r y had received the case a t noon S aturday.

TO B E S E N T E N C E D N E X T M O N D A Y

Judge M. M . Joyce, t r ia l judge, announced he w ou ld pronounce sentence ne x t M onday m orn ing . C onviction under the S m ith A c t carries w ith i t a prison sentence o f up to 10 years.

M otions fo r a new t r ia l w i l l be made by defense counsel on S at­urday m orn ing . The defendants p lan to appeal the ve rd ic t to h ig h ­er courts , i f necessary, up to the U. S. Supreme Court.

Th is is the f irs t c r im in a l prose­cution under the S m ith A c t, which is the on ly federa l s ta tu te w h ich makes mere expression o f opin ion

The defendants were charged un ­der th is ac t w ith advocating the ove rth row o f the present govern­m ent, and thereby in c it in g insub­o rd in a tion in the fed e ra l arm ed forces.

D E F E N D A N T S ’ S T A T E M E N TA lb e r t Goldman, defense a ttorney,

and one o f the convicted defend­ants, issued a sta tem ent fo llo w ­in g the announcement o f the v e r­d ic t, which declared:

“ The governm ent has succeeded in w in n in g a ve rd ic t o f g u ilty aga inst eighteen members o f the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty . T h a t does no t in the least prove th a t they are g u ilty o f charges leve l­led aga inst them by the govern-

(Continued on page 2)

Some Facts On The Smith Act

A ll the leaders of the C IO could be indicted under the Smith Act of 1940, alleged vio­lation of which is the basis for the conviction of 18 defendants in the Minneapolis “sedition” case. This act, which has been interpreted by the Department of Justice to prohibit any c riti­cism of conditions in the armed forces as “incitement to m uti­ny”, could easily be made to in ­clude the CIO Convention’s pro­test against tra in ing soldiers in strikebreaking tactics or the protest of Negro and labor or­ganizations against Jim-Crow practices in the Arm y, Navy and A ir Corps.

The Smith Act was passed in the summer of 1940, in the midst of the anti-labor hysteria that followed the French de­feat. Its author is the same poll-tax Representative Howard Smith, of V irg in ia, who is spon­sor of one of the most vicious anti-strike bills now before Congress.

The Smith A ct was most widely known at the tim e of its passage as the measure to re ­quire the registration and fin­ger-printing of aliens. In addi­tion it was the vehicle fo r the Smith Omnibus Gag Law intro ­duced in Congress in 1939. This la tter measure was considered so reactionary a t that time, that it was c o n c e d e d no chance of passage. Roose­velt provided the disguise for it, when he requested his leg­islation against aliens. The pro­visions of the original Smith Omnibus Gag Law were incor­

porated into the Alien Regis­tration or Smith Act. I t was hastily shoved through Con­gress and signed by Roosevelt, despite the protest of the A m ­erican Civil Liberties Union made directly to him.

I t is sufficient to record that even so reactionary a newspa­per as the “New York Herald- Tribune”, July 31, 1939, was constrained to declare the Smith Omnibus Gag Law to be on the “stupid level of a Nazi cam­paign against the Jews.” The “New York Times”, in March, 1939, called i t “a compendium of all the anti-radical legisla­tion introduced in Congress during the last twenty years.”

The Smith A ct makes i t a penal offense to advocate a revolutionary change in the government by force or vio l­ence “or by any other means,” or to criticize conditions in the armed forces.

I t is the only federal law which makes mere advocacy of ideas, without regard for overt acts, a felony. V irtu a lly every labor and liberal organization, including the American Civil Liberties Union, has attacked the Smith Act as a clear viola­tion of the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.

The first uses of the Act have been against labor leaders. I t was used against H arry Bridg­es, president of the Internation­al Longshoremen’s Union, CIO, who has been ordered deported. The first* actual crim inal prose­cution under the act was the tr ia l of the 28 in Minneapolis.

Z [ THE M I E I I A N H DECOMBER 6, 1941

Day by Day Summary of the Minnesota Trial18 Convicted

Under Smith A ct(Continued from page 1)

ment.“ I t s t i l l rem ains a fa c t th a t the

conspirators are Dan Tobin (pres ident o f the In te rn a tio n a l B rotherhood o f Team sters),P resi­dent Roosevelt and A tto rn e y Gen­era l B iddle who have in itia te d th is fram eup fo r the purpose o f v io la t in g the w i l l o f the tru ck d rive rs o f M inneapo lis and o f s t i l l in g the voice o f the revo lu ­t io n a ry opposition to the second w o rld w a r.

“ We in tend to exhaust every step and every resource fo r ap­peal purposes. Above a ll we shall appeal to the Am erican people in an a tte m p t to convince them th a t the f ig h ts o f free speech, free press. and free assembly are in rea l danger o f suppression.”

A t the same tim e in New Y o rk George Novack, secre ta ry o f the C iv il R igh ts Defense Com m ittee, a body o f p rom inen t labo r and lib e ra l figu res , announced th a t the C.R.D.C., in con junction w ith the A m erican C iv il L ibe rties U n ion, would appeal the convic­tions in M inneapolis. The w o rk o f the C iv il R igh ts Defense Com­m ittee in m ob iliz in g pub lic sup­p o rt fo r the defendants has a l­ready been endorsed by scores o f trade unions and lib e ra l o rgan iza­tions. .

D E C IS IO N OF JU R YThe 18 defendants who were

found g u ilty by the ju r y w ere:James P. Cannon, N a tion a l Sec­

re ta ry o f the S.W .P.; A lb e rt Goldman, defense counsel; F a rre ll Dobbs, N a tion a l Labor Secretary o f the S.W .P.; F e lix M orrow , edi­to r o f T H E M IL IT A N T ; Grace Carlson, M innesota S.W.P. organ­iz e r; Oscar Coover, M inneapolis S.W.P. secretary.

V . R. Dunne; C a rl Skoglund; H a rry DeBoer; Clarence H am el; E m il Hansen; Carlos Hudson; Jake Cooper; a ll o fficers o r mcm-

B y F E L IX M ORROW

M INNEAPOLIS, Nov. 30.— As we sit here, waiting for the ju ry to come in with its verdict — I am w riting at 8:30 P. M., 32 and a half hours after the ju ry was sent out — it is in or­der to review the last part of the trial.

Readers of T H E M IL IT A N T may have been puzzled, last week, to read, in one and the same Issue, the s to ry of the testim ony o f the f irs t defense witness, James P. Cannon, and a bu lle tin an­nouncing tha t the defense had closed its case. Puzzling, perhaps, especially in view of the fact tha t fo r weeks T H E M IL IT A N T had been filled w ith a day-to-day ac count of the prosecution's lengthy presentation of its case.

The explanation Is simple. The prosecution had taken three fu ll weeks fo r its side — fifteen court days. The defense then took on ly fo u r cou rt days to present its side, th a t is, ju s t a l i t t le more than one-fourth of the tim e taken by the prosecution.

Of those fo u r days, wh ich began Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 18. the f irs t defense w itness, J im Cannon, was on the witness stand, in c lud ­in g cross-examination, fo r ju s t a l i t t le less than tw o whole days. H is testim ony is being published verbatim , beginning w ith last week’s issue of T H E M IL IT A N T

Cannon was on the stand Tues­day afternoon, a l l day Wednes­day, and (Thursday was the T hanksg iv ing ho liday) pa rt of F r id a y m orn ing.

Y. R. Dunne concluded h is d i­rec t testim ony and then was sub­jected to cross-examination by D is tr ic t A tto rne y Anderson.

Anderson devoted his tim e p r in ­c ip a lly to a ttem pting to convey to the ju ro rs the idea tha t Dunne and the other leaders of Local 544 had inc ited the d rive rs to

bers o f Local 544-CIO; andEdw ard P a lm qu is t; M ax Geld-

m an; C arl K uehn; Oscar Schoen-’ fe ld ; a ll active in the Federal W orkers Section, unemployed and W P A union a ffilia te d to Local 544-CIO.

The five defendants acquitted by the ju r y on both counts o f the ind ic tm ent were:

M iles Dunne; K e lly Posta l; Ray R a inbo lt; Ray O rgon ; and H aro ld Swanson, a ll officers or members o f Local 544-CIO o r Federal W orkers Section.

H IS T O R Y O F CASEThe prosecution was o r ig in a lly

in it ia te d to help force the M in ­neapolis tru c k d rive rs back in to the A F L Team sters a f te r they had voted to jo in the CIO on June 9. On June 13, Tobin had w ired Roosevelt fo r a id in his f ig h t aga inst Local 544-CIO. Roosevelt rep lied th a t he was d i­rec tin g the “ governm ent depart­ments and agencies in terested in th is m a tte r” to act. Tw o weeks la te r the F B I raided the SWP headquarters in the T w in Cities, and on J u ly 15 the D epartm ent o f Justice secured the in d ic t­ments.

D u rin g the course o f the t r ia l the prosecution based its evidence on the tes tim ony o f witnesses personally hostile to the defend­ants. M ost o f these witnesses were paid agents o f Tobin. The prosecution denied th a t i t was compelled to o ffe r evidence o f ove rt acts. I t based its case, in p a rt, on the fa c t th a t the Social­is t W orkers P a rty openly c ircu la ­ted M a rx is t and Socia lis t li te ra ­ture , in c lud in g classics such as the Com m unist M an ifes to a v a il­able in a ll public lib ra ries .

(A re p o rt o f the sentences handed down in th is case and a com plete sum m ary re p o rt o f the t r ia l w i l l be contained in next week’s M IL IT A N T ) .

He was followed to the stand by s ix M inneapolis tru c k drivers who had been members of the U n ion Defense Guard here in 1938 and 1939. The most solid type of workers, they made a s tr ik in g contrast to the scum used by the government as w it ­nesses. The six, te s tify in g to the fo rm a tion o f the Union Defense Guard to meet the S ilve r S h irt danger, and the fact th a t the guard ceased fun c tion ing when the fascist danger died down, ef­fec tive ly established th a t the guard was formed fo r tha t p u r­pose and no other. T h is punctured the prosecution contention tha t the guard had been designed to overth row the government.

The tru c k d rive rs were followed to the stand by two U n ive rs ity of M innesota students, who testified on w ha t they had heard defend­an t Grace Carlson say in a speech a t the U n ive rs ity . T h e ir testim ony refuted the contention o f a gov­ernm ent w itness th a t Grace C arl­son had advocated the use of force and violence in th a t speech.

In the afternoon defendant V. R. Dunne, a Local 544-CIO organ­ize r and lead ing member of the SWP, took the stand. He traced the s to ry of the rise and growth o f Local 544, defending the g lo r i­ous record o f th a t fam ous union against the slanders and innuen­does of the prosecution. He was s t i l l on the stand when F rid a y ’s cou rt session ended.

The fo llow ing is a day-by-day sum m ary of the last week of the t r ia l :

violence in the famous s trikes of 1934.

Anderson also, fo llow ing the pa tte rn set by Assistant A tto rney- General Schweinhaut in h is ques­tio n in g o f J im Cannon, con fron t­ed V. R. Dunne w ith numerous' quotations from M arx is t lite ra ­ture, ask ing the w itness whether

t -----------------------------------------he disagreed o r agreed w ith the quotation.

Roy Orgon, Local 544-CIO or­ganizer, was the next witness. A lthough no t a member of the SWP, Orgon declared him self in complete s o lid a rity w ith the other defendants. In cross-examination D is tr ic t A tto rne y A in d e r s o n charged th a t Orgon had incited violence in the W PA s tr ik e of 1939 and introduced in to the rec­ord the fact tha t Orgon was among those convicted in the W PA s trike tr ia l.

Ray Rainbolt, Local 544-CIO o r­ganizer, next took thé stand. R a inbolt described h im se lf as not a member o f the SWP, bu t vol-

The m orn ing opened w ith the concluding section o f the cross- exam ination of M iles B. Dunne.

Grace Carlson took the stand next, p r in c ip a lly to describe the election campaigns o f the SWP in M innesota (the prosecution had sought to convey the idea tha t the “ T ro tsky is t insurrec tion is ts ” were not interested in ba llo ting ), and to re fu te the prosecution’s in te rp re ta tion of the texts of two rad io speeches made by her in 1940.

The next and last w itness fo r the defense was defendant F a rre ll Dobbs, N a tiona l Labor Secretary o f the Socia list W orkers Party. Dobbs was fo rm erly General O r­ganizer fo r the In te rn a tion a l B rotherhood of Teamsters. H t described the successful organiza­t io n of the 11-state over-the-road d rive rs ’ movement of nearly 250,- 000 truckers.

On cross-examination of Dobbs, the an ti-labor bias of the prosecu­tion was shown when Assistant A ttorney-General Schweinhaut a t­tempted to convey to the ju ry the idea th a t the SWP was con­s ta n tly fom enting s trikes by in ­s tru c tin g its fo llow ers never to accept a rb itra tio n o f any labor dispute.

In th is encounter, Schweinhaut came o ff second best, fo r Dobbs testified as an expert in th is field, having negotiated and sign­ed m any un ion contracts. Dobbs was spokesman fo r the IB T 11- state Area Committee, which signed contracts covering more than 250,000 over-the-road d rive rs and 800 employers.

SW P U N IO N P O LIC YDobbs explained tha t the SWP

trade un ion po licy favored d irect negotiations between union and employer. Nevertheless, a t tim es it. was necessary and perm issib le fo r unions to a rb itra te certa in is ­sues.

A s an example, Dobbs cited to the cou rt the case o f the present United M ine W orkers dispute

How the Draftee Army Develops InitiativeE d ito r:

M y f irs t experiences in the d ra ftee a rm y m ay g ive you an idea o f how e ffe c tiv e ly the o ff i­cers are tra in in g the men to f ig h t aga inst fascism .

The f ir s t th in g th a t was im ­pressed on us is th a t a soldier is supposed on ly to take orders and no t do any th in k in g fo r h im ­self.

W hen a fte r a long week o f d rea ry cham ber-m aid, g round- ja n ito r , k itchen-help w o rk a t our reception center, we were assem­bled to be to ld th a t we were to be sent to o u r tra in in g center nex t day, one o f us asked the na tu ra l question, “ W here are we go in g ? ”

He p ro m p tly had h is head b it o f f by the sergeant, who in fo rm ­ed h im that; i t w ou ld be tim e enough fo r h im to f in d th a t ou t when he g o t o f f the tra in . D ra f t ­ees, th e ir fam ilies and friends, he said, are no t supposed to know th e ir destina tion o r th in k about where they are be ing sent to.

W hen we were p u t on the tra in we were given a long l is t o f rules and regu la tions govern ing the conduct o f soldiers on tra in s . One o f these ru les stated th a t before a so ld ier m ay p u ll the emergency cord, he m us t f i r s t ob ta in the

unteerod the in fo rm a tio n th a t he had often con tribu ted funds to the party , subscribed to its press, and generally sympathized w ith it.

R a inbo lt was head of the Union Defense Guard d u rin g its ex is t­ence. He described how i t was organized to meet the S ilve r S h irt menace in 1938.

M iles B. Dunne, President of Local 544-CIO, was the next w it ­ness. Under cross-examination he declared h im se lf fu lly conversant w ith M arx is t lite ra tu re and a sym path izer of the SWP, in com­plete agreement w ith i t although no t a member. He was s t i l l being cross-examined when the session ended.

over the closed shop in the cap­tive mines. Due to President Roos­evelt’s th rea t to use federal troops against the coal m iners, and the attem pts o f Congressmen to push through repressive leg is la tion a- ga inst s trike rs , the m iners fe lt i t necessary to subm it th e ir case to a rb itra tio n .

Defense A tto rn e y G o l d m a n brought the defense case to a d ram atic conclusion by reading to the ju ry a colum n w r itte n by h im and published in the M arch 29, 1941, issue of the p a rty newspa­per, The M ilita n t. The a rtic le gaVe the o ffic ia l pa rty view on the a ll- im p o rtan t question of SWP a c tiv ity d u rin g war-tim e. I t said in p a rt:

“ A l l th a t we are doing now is educating the workers to our po in t o f v iew . . . So long as we do not have a m a jo r ity behind us, we are in no position to do anyth ing except obey orders . . . We are" t ry in g to convince the m a jo rity o f the w o rk in g class th a t they should take the power o f govern­m ent and the conduct o f the w ar in to th e ir own hands, bu t we defy anybody to show th a t we are do­in g a single th in g th a t helps H i t ­ler, the greatest enemy of the w o rk ing class . . . We do not be­lieve" in in d iv id u a l action nor in the action o f sm all groups. As 1 said before, u n t il we get a m a jo r­ity to accept our ideas, there is no th ing fo r us to do bu t to educate workers u n t il we get a m a jo rity .’’ . T h is au th o rita tive p a rty view

was in complete contrast to the prosecution witnesses, whose tes­tim o n y tha t the defendants ad­vocated “ armed revo lu tion ” con­sisted of alleged p riva te conver­sations w ith defendants in saloons, parked automobiles and house’ parties.

F o r the defendants, the reading o f Goldman's a rtic le was a f it t in g end to th e ir case — an a ff irm a ­tiv e presentation of th e ir firm be­lie f th a t th e ir ideas w i l l eventu­a lly w in a m a jo rity of the peo­ple.

perm ission o f an officer.Even i f he sees the tra in ap­

proaching a precip ice, he m ust ask an o ffice r fo r perm ission to pu ll the cord. T h is is how in i­t ia t iv e is encouraged in the a rm y !However, we m ay be sure th a t

the draftees, fresh fro m the fa rm s and fac to ries where they learned th a t they could depend o n ly on themselves and th e ir fe llo w -w o rk ­ers fo r the p ro tection o f th e ir in terests, w i l l n o t a llow them ­selves to be led over a precipice w ith o u t some action on th e ir own account.

R. U .

E d ito r:

A t the close o f the W ar Chest D rive on Sept. 1, 1941, you pub­lished m y le tte r po in tin g to the reasons fo r the non-fu lfillm ent of New Y o rk ’s fu l l quota in the D rive . The readers of M IL IT A N T m ay reca ll th a t by the close of the d rive we had turned in $2,- 066.08 of the $2,500 pledged. Th is amounted to 83% of ou r pledge. M y le tte r explained tha t the. d if ­ference between the $2,066.08 turned in and the $2,500 pledged was to be made up by some of our comrades who were w o rk ing out o f tow n a t the close o f the drive.

Now, despite the la te date, Lo-

The Defense Reviews Its Case

Eighteenth DayMONDAY, NOVEMBER 24

Nineteenth DayTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25

Twentieth DayWEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26

U. S. D is tr ic t A tto rne y A nder­son opened the fina l argum ent fo r the prosecution w ith a day­long speech. Under federal proce­dure, the prosecution has the p riv ilege of both opening and closing the fina l argum ent.

Ostensibly a review of the ac­t iv it ie s o f each of the 23 defend­ants in the labor.m ovem ent, A n ­derson’s argum ent was an appeal to every backward prejudice that m igh t ex is t among the ju ro rs .

Anderson urged a convic tion by the ju ry in the name of the sanc­t i t y o f the fam ily , the home, the church, the schools and the na­tion . R e fe rring to the am ount of lite ra tu re on the Soviet Union published by the Socia list W ork­ers P arty , he demanded of the defendants: “ W hy don't they go to Russia?”

U tte r in g numerous exhortations to the A lm igh ty , the D is tr ic t A t­torney urged th a t the ju ro rs go in to the ju ry-room w ith the same k in d o f sim ple fa ith in the gov­ernm ent case th a t the disciple Paul had in C hrist. “ Believe, be­lie v e !” he shouted.

Anderson to ld the ju r y in a shocked whisper th a t the defend­ants held meetings “ on the Sab­bath.”

In ask ing the conviction o f de­fendants Ed Palm quist and Roy Orgon, leaders of Local 544-CIO’s Federal W orkers Section and ac­tive in the 1939 W PA workers s trike , Anderson stated th a t the on ly conceivable purpose of the Federal W orkers Section (a W PA un ion) was to seize power, “ to take over M inneapolis.” ' “ W hy,”

he asked, “ d id W PA workers need a union? The governm ent takes care o f W P A ." Because of his ac­t iv it ie s in organ iz ing W PA w o rk­ers, said Anderson, Palm quist re a lly “ should h^ve been accused o f treason,” ra the r than ju s t sedi­tious conspiracy.

A T T A C K S S T R IK E S IN “ E M E R G E N C Y ”

One of Anderson’,s c h ie f 'c l i ­maxes was h is appeal to the “ na­tio n a l emergency.” T ha t emer­gency, he to ld the ju ry , justified the ju ro rs th a t “ you could so find ” th a t the deiendants had fo­mented s trikes fo r “ unreasonable demands” a t a tim e o f “ national emergency.” Such strikes, i f the demands were unreasonable, were pa rt of the “ seditious conspiracy.’

In the “ national emergency,” Anderson thus im plied, the w o rk­ers no longer had the r ig h t to s tr ik e fo r th e ir usual demands. Defense counsel asked the judge to s tr ik e ou t Anderson’s statement on the ground i t im p lied abroga­t io n of the r ig h t to s tr ike . The judge refused.

One defendant, Ray Rainbolt, no t a member of the SWP, had rea d ily stated he had subscribed to T H E M IL IT A N T . T ha t was enough fo r Anderson who stated th a t R a inbo lt was po llu ted and continued: “ I t would take a saint to read th a t lite ra tu re and not be poisoned by i t . ”

Leon T ro tsky was the red thread in w h ich Anderson strung h is speech. T ro tsky was the “ man who gave orders,” “ the arch-plo t­te r,” the “ gu id ing genius” and the “ fountain-head of the conspir­acy.”

Twenty-First and 22nd DayTHIRSDAY AND FRIDAY,

NOVEMBER 27-28Defendant and defense attorney

A lb e rt Goldman spoke 10 hours in two days in his fina l argum ent to the ju ry , before a packed cou rt­room.

Golman’s address was a defense o f the r ig h t of the socia list move­m ent to voice its ideas. To en­able the ju ry to understand the jus tice o f h is plea, he outlined

Labor Leader Acquitted In Texas Frame-UpTrial

HOUSTON, Texas, Nov. 23. — An attempted frameup by the local Texas Courts of Jack Frye, Regional Director of District 50, United Mine Workers, CIO, (Gas, Coke and Chemical W ork­ers) for alleged violation of the infamous W. Lee O’Daniel Anti- Strike Law, was defeated when a ju ry in Judge W illifo rd ’s court here yesterday re turned a sur-"prise ve rd ic t of not gu ilty .

The O’Daniel Law proh ib its s trike rs , under penalty of a peni­te n tia ry term , from " in te rfe r in g in any w ay” w ith "non -s trike rs” a ttem pting lo cross a p icket lino. The law is de libera te ly worded in such a fashion th a t a s tr ik e r may be foamed even fo r ta lk in g to a po tentia l scab o r fink.

F rye was accused of “ in te rfe r­in g ” w ith one, Jesse M artinez, a lum ber hand ler fo r the United Creosoting Company o f Houston. The prosecution tr ie d to establish th a t Frye, on J u ly 28, had told M artinez he would "get h u r t” i f ho crossed the p icket line before the s truck creosote p lant.

tio n revealed its in ten tions of ra ilro a d in g F rye regardless of the m erits of the case and of estab­lish in g a precedent to be used against o ther un ion is ts and labor organizers, when the prosecuting a tto rney to ld the ju ry tha t “ Jack F rye was not on t r ia l here, but a l l the Jack Fryes,” and urged the ju ry to "L e t’s make an ex­ample o f th is one.”

The prosecution’s case fe ll to pieces when M artinez and another prosecution witness got th e ir sto­ries crossed. Despite the prosecu­to r ’s open e ffo rts to coach the witnesses on the stand, and make them state th a t F rye had "th re a t­ened” them and to ld them they “ w ou ld” get h u rt, one witness

the m a in ideas of M arxism and contrasted the rea l ideas of so­c ia lism w ith the distorted version a ttr ib u te d to the defendants by the prosecution.

I t is d iff ic u lt to a ttem pt to convey in a few words the qu a lity of Gold­m an’s speech. I f an y th in g could convince th is ju ry , consisting pre­dom inan tly o f men and women from the ru ra l areas, Goldman's speech would have done it . T H E M IL IT A N T w i l l publish the ver­ba tim tex t of Goldman’s speech and tha t is the on ly way to ap­preciate it .

Goldman stigm atized as a de lib ­erate lie the prosecution charge th a t the defendants were involved in a consp ira to ria l p lo t to over­th row the governm ent by force. Social revo lu tions, Goldman ex­plained, are no t made by a few Ind iv idua ls nor even by a party. "The inexorable laws o f society, inherent in the social system and independent of the w i l l o f in d i­viduals, are responsible lo r the development o f society towards socialism .”

Goldman system atica lly refuted the governm ent charge th a t the SWP advocates violence. Instead, he stated, again quoting from his own a u th o rita tive pam phlet: “ The actual conduct of the cap ita lis t class a t the present tim e . . . con­firm s the h is to rica l lesson and jus tifies the p red ic tion tha t they, who w i l l lose th e ir w ealth and power, w i l l u tiliz e a ll form s of violence against the overwhelm ­ing m a jo rity .”

A sk in g i f the astronom er should be held responsible fo r the eclipse tha t he predicts, Goldman asked i f the Socia list W orkers Party, opera ting in the field of the social sciences, should be held respons­ib le fo r p red ic ting th a t the reac­tio n a ry m in o r ity would resist the fu tu re revo lu tiona ry m a jo rity .

Goldman urged the ju ro rs to study ca re fu lly the SWP lite ra ­ture , in troduced as evidence; th is lite ra tu re , he declared, pa rticu ­la r ly the o ffic ia l declarations and resolutions of the pa rty , should determ ine the ju r y ’s verd ict, ra th e r than the “ p riva te conver­sations” alleged by the prosecu­tio n w itness.

EXPOSES D IS TO R TIO N SHe charged tha t m any o f the

excerpts introduced by the gov­ernm ent were d is to rtions, consist-

I in g o f isolated sentences and par­agraphs, to rn from th e ir true con­text. D ra m atica lly dem onstra ting the ease w ith w ith any lite ra tu re could be distorted, Goldman quot­ed several excerpts from the New Testament. "T h in k not th a t I am come to ‘ send peace on e a rth ; I came no t to send peace, bu t a sword.” W ith th is and other iso­lated quotations, Goldman showed, C h ris t could also be ind ic ted as an advocate o f violence.

F o llo w in g the conclusion of Goldman’s address to the ju ry at 3:30 P.M. F riday , associate de­fense counsel and fo rm er Judge A rth u r LeSueur spoke fo r 90 m in ­utes, p r in c ip a lly on the c iv i l l ib ­erties issue.

Twenty-Third DaySATURDAY. NOVEMBER 29

Assistant A tto rne y G e n e r a l Schweinhaut opened the session w ith a one-liour address conclud­in g the fina l argum ent. U. S. D is­t r ic t A tto rne y Anderson had made the m ain argum ent fo r the prose­cution Wednesday in a day-long speech.

The c rux of Schweinhaut’s a r­gum ent was an attem pt to drive home to the ju ry a d irec t anal­ogy between the Bolshevik P arty , o f Len in and T ro tsky and the Socia list W orkers P arty . I t may be assorted on behalf o f the de fondants th a t they are today ? “ t in y m in o r ity ” but, said Schwein­haut, th is does not make the de­fendants less dangerous. As proof of th is he went on to c ite James P. Cannon’s testim ony th a t the Bolshevik P a rty was on ly an “ in- fin itesm al m in o r ity ” in February 1917, yet grew speedily enough to take power on November 7, 1917. Schweinhaut also cited defendant F a rre ll Dobbs’ testim ony th a t a sm all s tr ik e of te x tile women-' w orkers was the spark th a t " ig n ­ited the con flag ra tion ” tha t over­th rew Czarism.

Hence, Schweinhaut vehemently concluded, the Socialist W orkers P arty, though sm all today, m igh t make a revo lu tion soon by "p rey­in g upon the distress and despair o f people d u rin g w ar and depres­s ion ." F o r “ hung ry men” could be induced to “ in su rrec tio n .”

B A R T L E T T ’S T E S T IM O N YThe rest of Schweinhaut’s ap­

peal fo r a convic tion consisted of rebu tta l o f the ten-hour fina l a r­gum ent of defendant and de­fense a tto rney A lb e rt Goldman.

continued to in s is t th a t F rye had m erely warned them they “ m ig h t” get h u rt.

The ju r y w h ich turned in the acqu itta l included several w o rk ­ers, e ithe r un ion men or form er un ion men.

Schweinhaut’s m ain problem was to reh ab ilita te the character of h is m ain witness, Tobin-appointed A F L Teamsters o ffic ia l James B a rtle tt. Goldman had proved in a num ber o f ,key instances th a t B a r t le tt ’s testim ony had consisted o f lies and pe rju ry .

Schweinhaut’s answer was tha t perhaps B a rt le tt had made errors in statements of fact, but th a t he w asn 't a deliberate pe rju re r.

Goldman had spent most of his tim e o u tlin in g to the ju ry the m ain ideas of M arxism and con­tra s tin g the real program of so­c ia lism w ith the d is to rted version a ttr ibu ted to the defendants b j the prosecution. He spent about one hour on B a rt le tt ’s testim ony

B a rtle tt had testified th a t h t le ft the SWP ea rly in 1940 when, a fte r 3 years ’ m embership, he “ discovered” i t believed in “ force and violence.” Goldman asked the ju ry i f i t was possible to cred it B a r t le tt ’s s to ry when the tes ti­m ony revealed th a t B a rt le tt had been a lead ing member o f the Com m unist P arty in 1932-1934 and a con trib u to r to the D a ily W orker, and had read M arx is t lite ra tu re since p r io r to 1932.

B a rle tt had testified th a t he bought the m a in prosecution ex­h ib it , the mimeographed pamph­le t, "W h a t Is T ro tsky ism ,” at the SWP headquarters in M inneapolis, w h ile he was a member, ea rly in 1940. Defense testim ony estab­lished th a t the pam phlet had not been published u n t il M arch 1941, a year a fte r B a rtle tt le ft the pa rty .

* * *

The case of the 23 defendants went to the ju ry a t noon. Judge M atthew M. Joyce took an hour and a h a lf to g ive h is fina l in ­s tructions to the ju ry . He to ld the ju ry tha t i t could re tu rn a verd ic t a t any tim e between 10 A M and 9 PM, in c lud in g Sunday.

LATEST “FOURTH INTERNATIONAL” FEATURES MANY TIMELY ARTICLES

Defense testim ony showed that F rye had no t threatened M artinez, bu t had m ere ly urged h im to jo in the p icket lin e and support the s trike . He had pointed out to M ar­tinez th a t because of the in e i perienced scabs m e s s i n g u p the dangerous w ork and causing in ju r ie s inside the p lant, tha f M artinez would be tak in g a r is k in w o rk in g alongside the scabs.

M artinez did not jo in the p icke t line , bu t he did s ta rt to' re tu rn home. W h ile on his way. ho was buttonholed by the boss, who then called the police. Be­tween them, the fram eup was cooked up and F rye arrested.

D u rin g the tr ia l, the prosecu-

cal New Y ork wishes to announce com pletion of its payment o'n the W ar Chest. Since Sep.t. 1st in ad­d itio n to our o ther ob ligations we have paid a to ta l o f $250 to raise our W ar Chest payment to the fina l sum of $2,506.08.

L . Cooper,F ina nc ia l Secretary, Local New Y ork, S.W.P.

The December issue o f F ou rth In te rn a tion a l appeared th is week w ith a h ig h ly d ive rs ifie d and in ­te res ting tab le o f contents.

The lead ing a rtic le th is m onth deals w ith the M inneapolis t r ia l o f members o f the Socia list W orkers P a rty , w r it te n by W il­liam F. W arde and en titled : “ Ca­p ita lis t F ram e-U p, 1941 M odel” . I t presents a thorough analysis o f the t r ia l and its significance to the A m erican w o rk in g class in the s trugg le to m a in ta in c iv il r ig h ts in a period o f p repa ra tion fo r w ar.■ A cha rac te ris tica lly splendid piece o f w r i t in g by Leon T ro ts k y dealing w ith French po litics and appearing here fo r the f irs t tim e

in p r in t under the t i t le o f “ Edou­ard H e rr io t, P o litic ia n o f the Golden Mean.” W r it te n w ith the in im itab le c la r ity and incisiveness o f T ro tsky , the piece goes fa r be­yond a mere dissection o f the po litic ian H e rr io t to an il lu m in a ­tion o f the w averings and indeci­siveness o f “ rad ica l” pa rties and o f bourgeois pa rliam en ta rian ism in general.

U nder the heading o f “ W ho are H it le r ’s Agents in R ussia?” , G. M unis answers the slanderous w ritin g s o f Ex-Am bassador Da­vies concerning the im p lica tions o f the Moscow T ria ls .

A splendid a rtic le by M arc L o ­ris on the processes o f ca p ita lis t development, “ C a p ita lis t Econ­om y in W a r,” deals véith the

changes in c a p ita lis t p roduction preceding and fo llo w in g the f irs t w orld w a r and th e ir sequence in present tim es, inc lud ing a s tudy o f the na tu re o f fasc is t economy.

Joseph Hansen w rite s an a r ­tic le on tw o fro n ts o f the w ar, the Soviet U n ion and Japan, and John G. W r ig h t deals w ith “ S ta­lin ’s P re -W ar Purge.” C. Charles con tribu tes a t im e ly w o rk on p r i­o ritie s and unem ploym ent.

Book reviews and e d ito r ia l com­m ent com plete the issue, which can be purchased a t local news­stands and th rough the ed ito ria l offices o f F o u rth In te rn a tion a l, 116 U n iv e rs ity Place, o r fro m l i t ­e ra tu re agents, o f the Socia list W orkers P a rty . The magazine sells a t 20c.

DECEMBER 6, 1941 T H E M I L I T A N T — 3

Cannon Tells The Jury How Trotskyists Oppose All The Imperialists In The War

Q : W hat is the a ttitu d e o f the P a rty tow ards a w a r which i t designates as an im p e ria lis t war?

A : O ur P a rty is una lte rab ly opposed to a ll im p e ria lis t wars.Q: And w h a t is m eant by opposition to im p e ria lis t wars?A : B y th a t we mean th a t we do n o t g ive any suppo rt to any

im p e ria lis t w ar. We do no t vote fo r i t ; we do n o t vote fo r any person th a t promotes i t ; we do no t speak fo r i t ; we do no t w r ite fo r it . We are in opposition to it.

Q: How does the S oc ia lis t W orkers P a r ty oppose the idea o f the U n ited States en te ring in to the w a r?

A : W ell, we do i t as every o ther po litica l p a r ty promotes its ideas, on any fo re ign po licy. We w r ite aga ins t i t in the paper; we speak aga inst i t ; we t r y to create sen tim ent in any organ iza tion we can approach, to adopt reso lutions aga inst the war. I f we had members in Congress, they would speak in Con­gress, in the Senate, against it . In general we c a rry on pub lic po litica l ag ita tio n against the e n try o f the U n ited States in to war, and aga inst a ll measures taken e ithe r by the executive o r by Congress which in our op in ion lead towards active p a rtic ip a ­tion in the w ar.

Q: W hat do you mean by “ active” ?A : F o r example, a ll measures w h ich have been taken, which

p u t the U n ited States in to the w a r, in e ffec t, w ith o u t a fo rm a l declaration to th a t e ffec t.

Q: W h a t was the P a r ty ’s position w ith reference to amend­in g the C onstitu tion to g ive the people the power to declare w a r ?

FOR THE LUDLOW AMENDMENTA : F o r qu ite aw hile now we have supported the proposal

th a t was in troduced in to Congress, I th in k by Representative Ludlow , and is known as the Lud low Am endm ent, fo r an amend­m ent to the C o nstitu tion re q u ir in g a re ferendum vote o f the people fo r the declaration o f a w ar. O ur P a rty supported th is proposal and a t tim es has carried on a ve ry energetic a g ita ­tio n in fa v o r o f such an amendment to requ ire a re ferendum vote o f the people before w a r could be declared.

Q : A nd is th a t s t i l l the position o f the P a rty , M r. Cannon ?

ANSWERING THE CHARGES RELATING TO SABOTAGEQ: W ould the P a rty take any p ra c tica l steps, so-called, to

show its opposition to w a r, o r non-support o f the w a r?A : W ell, p rac tica l steps in w ha t sense?Q: W ould the P a rty t r y to sabotage the conduct o f the

w a r in any w ay?A : No. The P a rty has specifica lly declared aga inst sabo­

tage. We are opposed to sabotage.Q: W ha t is th a t — w h a t do 'you mean by sabotage?A : T h a t is, in te rfe rence w ith the opera tion o f the indus­

tr ies , o f transp o rta tio n , o r the m il ita ry forces. O ur P a rty has never a t any tim e taken a position in fa v o r o f obstruction or sabotage o f the m il ita ry forces in tim e o f w ar.

Q: A nd w i l l you exp la in the reasons w hy ?A : W ell, as long as we are a m in o rity , we have no choice

bu t to subm it to the decision th a t has been made. A decision has been made, and is accepted by a m a jo r ity o f the people, to go to w ar. O ur comrades have to com ply w ith th a t. In s o fa r as they are e lig ib le fo r the d ra ft, they m ust accept th a t, a long w ith the rest o f th e ir generation, and go and pe rfo rm the d u ty im ­posed on them, u n t il such tim e as they convince the m a jo r ity fo r a d iffe re n t po licy.

Q: So, essentia lly, you r opposition d u rin g a w a r would be o f the same type as our opposition p r io r to the w a r?

A : A p o lit ic a l opposition. T h a t is w h a t we speak of.

ON INSUBORDINATION IN ARMYQ: D id the P a rty ever, o r does the P a rty now, advise its

members o r any o f its sym path izers, o r any w orkers th a t i t

comes in contact w ith , to create insubord ina tion in the U n ited States armed forces o r naval forces?

A ; No.Q: W ill you exp la in the reason w hy?A : Fundam enta lly the reason is the one I ju s t gave. A

serious p o lit ic a l p a rty , w h ich is a im ing a t a social tra n s fo rm a ­tio n o f society, w h ich is possible on ly by the consent and sup­p o r t o f the g re a t mass o f the popu lation, such a p a rty cannot a tte m p t w h ile i t is a m in o r ity to obstruct the c a rry in g ou t o f the decisions o f the m a jo r ity . B y sabotage and insubord ination, b reak ing discip line and so on. a p a r ty would absolute ly d iscred it its e lf and destroy its possib ilities o f convincing people, besides being u t te r ly ine ffec tive so fa r as accom plishing an y th in g would be concerned.

Q: I f any expressions have c rep t in to the papers o f the P a rty which would lead people to believe th a t the P a rty would obstruct the conduct o f the w a r, i f w a r is declared, w h a t would you say w ith reference to those expressions?

A : W e ll, I would say the reso lutions o f the conference o f September, 1940, and m y speeches to the conference which were published, which speak a u th o rita tiv e ly in the name o f the conference, as to P a rty po licy, are the line by which wc w a n t to guide the P a rty , and the line by w h ich we should be judged.

I personally do no t know o f any a rtic les o r expressions in the paper th a t d iv e rt fro m th a t line, bu t such expressions, in the lig h t o f the o ffic ia l reso lu tion, and in the l ig h t o f the o ff i­c ia l speeches, w ou ld be obviously unrepresentative o f the rea l po licy o f the P a rty .

ested in the success o f any o f the im p e ria lis t enemies o f the U n ited States.

Q : In case o f a c o n flic t between the U n ited States and Germany, I ta ly oi Japan, w hat would the P a rty ’s position be so fa r as the v ic to ry o r de feat o f the U n ited States, as against its im p e ria lis t enemies?

A : W ell, we are ce rta in ly not in favo r o f a v ic to ry fo r Japan o r Germany or any o ther im p e ria lis t power over the U n ited States.

Q: Is i t true then th a t the P a rty is as equa lly opposed to

f l i t le r , as i t is to the c a p ita lis t c la im s o f the U n ited States?A : T h a t is uncontestable. We consider H it le r and H it le r ­

ism the g rea test enemy o f m ankind. We w a n t to w ipe i t o f f the face o f the earth . The reason we do no t support a decla ra tion o f w a r by Am erican arm s, is because we do no t believe the A m erican cap ita lis ts can defeat H it le r and fascism . W e th in k H itle r is m can be destroyed on ly by w ay o f conducting a w a r under the leadership o f the w orkers.

Q : W hat method does the P a rty propose fo r the de feat o f H itle r?

OUR PROGRAM CAN BRING ABOUT THE DEFEAT OF HITLERA : I f the workers formed the government I spoke of, if

the workers’ form of government were in power, we would pro­pose two things."

One, that we issue a declaration to the German people, a

V ** *

National Secretary of the Socialist Workers Party.solemn prom ise, th a t we are no t go ing to impose another V e r­sailles peace on them ; th a t we are not go ing to c ripp le the Ger­man people, o r take away th e ir sh ipp ing fa c ilit ie s , o r take away th e ir m ilk cows, as was done in the ho rrib le T rea ty o f Versa illes, s ta rv in g German babies a t th e ir m others’ breast, and f i l l in g the German people w ith such hatred and such demand fo r revenge th a t i t made i t possible fo r a m onster like H it le r to ra l ly then\ w ith the slogan o f revenge aga inst th is te rr ib le T rea ty o f V e r­sailles. We would say to them :

“ We prom ise you th a t wc w il l n o t impose any o f those th ings upon the German people. On the con tra ry , we propose to you a reorgan iza tion o f the w orld on a fa ir soc ia lis t basis, where the German people, w ith a ll th e ir recognized a b ility and th e ir genius and labor, can p a rtic ip a te equally w ith us.” T h a t would be our P a rty ’s f ir s t proposal to them.

Second, we would also say to them, “ On the o ther hand, we are go ing to bu ild the b iggest arm y and navy and a ir fo rce in

the w orld , to p u t a t your disposal, to help smash H it le r by force o f arm s on one fro n t, w h ile you re v o lt aga ins t h im on the home fro n t.”

I th in k th a t would be the program , in essence, o f our P a rty , which the W orkers ’ and F arm ers ’ Governm ent o f Am erica would advance so fa r as H it le r is concerned, and we believe th a t is the on ly way H itle r is m w il l be destroyed, on ly when the G reat Pow­ers on the o ther side can successfully p re va il upon the Germ an people to rise aga inst H itle r , because we m ust n o t fo rg e t —■

M R. S C H W E IN IIA U T (p rosecu to r): Y ou have answered the question, M r. Cannon.

Q: Now, u n t il such tim e as the w orkers and fa n n e rs in the U n ited States establish th e ir own governm ent and use th e ir own methods to defeat H itle r , the Socia list W orkers P a rty m ust subm it to the m a jo r ity o f the people — is th a t r ig h t?

A : T h a t is a ll we can do. T h a t is a ll we propose to do.Q: A nd the P a r ty ’s position is th a t the re w i l l be no ob­

s truc tion o f ways and means taken by the G overnm ent fo r the e ffec tive prosecution o f its w ar?

A : N o obstruction in a m il ita ry way, o r by m in o r ity revo­lu tio n ; on the con tra ry , the P a rty has declared p o s itive ly aga inst any such procedure.

THE WAR WILL BE FOLLOWED BY REVOLUTION

Q: W h a t is the op in ion o f the P a rty as to the re la tionsh ip between w a r and a possible revo lu tio n a ry s itua tion ?

A : W ell, w ars fre q u e n tly have been fo llow ed by revo lu ­tio n ; w ars themselves are the expression o f a te rr ib le social cris is, wh ich they are unable to solve. M ise ry and s u ffe r in g g row a t such a tremendous pace in w a r, th a t i t o ften leads to revo lu tion .

The Russo-Japanese w a r o f 1904 produced the Russian revo­lu tio n o f 1905. The W orld W ar o f 1914 produced the Russian revo lu tion o f 1917, the H ungarian revo lu tion , near-revo lu tion in Ita ly , and the revo lu tion in Germ any and A u s tr ia ; and in general, a revo lu tiona ry s itua tion developed over the whole con tinen t o f Europe, as the re s u lt o f the f irs t W orld W ar.

I th in k i t is h ig h ly probable th a t i f the w a r in Europe con­tinues, th a t the mass o f the. people, especially in Europe, w i l l undertake to p u t a stop to the s laugh te r by revo lu tio n a ry means.

Q: So th a t i t would be correct to say th a t a re v o lu tio n a ry s itua tion is created by a w ar, and no t by the Socia list W orkers P a rty , i f a revo lu tiona ry s itua tion w i l l arise?

A : I would say i t is created by the p riva tio ns o f the capL ta lis t system, w h ich are trem endously accelerated by a w a r.

Q: W ha t is the ch ie f method used by the P a rty to spread its ideas?

A : We publish a press and —Q : W ha t press ?A : W e have a w eekly paper, and a m on th ly magazine. We

publish lea fle ts , pam phlets and books — no t so m any books, bu t as m any as we are able to.

Q: IIo w are the ed itors o f the publications designated?A : They are appointed by the N a tion a l Com m ittee as a

rule.Q: W hat, i f any, con tro l does the P a rty have over the con­

tents o f those publications?A : W ell, the N a tion a l Com m ittee is responsible fo r the

publications and exercises genera l supervision over them.Q: W ell, w h a t methods are used by the N a tion a l Com m ittee

to exercise th a t general supervision ?A : The m ost im p o rta n t one is the appo in tm ent o f editors.

The Com m ittee, as a whole, does not ed it the paper. They desig­nate ind iv idua ls to do it .

Q: A nd those ind iv idua ls are responsible fo r the general contents o f the papers?

A : F rom issue to issue, yes.Q: W ha t were the publications o f the P a rty a t the tim e

o f the ind ic tm ent?A : The M il ita n t —Q: T ha t is a wreekly paper?A : Yes — and the F ou rth In te rn a tion a l, a m on th ly m aga­

zine.Q: And was i t a lways called the M ilita n t?A : No, a t one tim e i t was called the S ocia lis t Appeal.

INTERPRETATIONS OF EVENTSQ: W ha t is the po licy o f the P a rty w ith reference to pe r­

m it t in g various opinions and in te rp re ta tion s o f cu rre n t events in the P a rty ’s publications?

A : W ell, i t is no t proh ib ited . U sua lly , in d iv id u a l members o f the P a rty w r ite a rtic les w ith a certa in s lan t, on cu rre n t events, th a t is not necessarily shared by the m a jo r ity o f the Com m ittee.

Q: A nd does the P a rty take any steps to p reven t such ex­pressions o f op in ion con tra ry to the m a jo rity ?

A : No. A s I say, i t is no t proh ib ited . W e do no t have a com plete ly a ir t ig h t u n ifo rm ity , about every question, in the press.

Especia lly, we have co lum n ists-to w r ite columns. They are g iven a ce rta in la titu d e fo r personal expression, w ith in ce rta in lim its . O f course we would no t p e rm it anyone to w r ite aga ins t socialism in the paper, o r aga inst the basic princ ip les, unless i t was when a p rinc ip le was being considered p r io r to a convention.

Q: W ith reference to pred ictions o r opin ions about fu tu re occurrences, would you say the P a rty is more lib e ra l in g ra n tin g th a t freedom ?

A : Yes, i t m ust necessarily be, because predictions are no t verifiab le , com plete ly, u n t il a f te r the event, and d iffe re n t op in­ions a r is e . We have had in the P a rty , especially since the o u t­break o f the W orld W ar, c o n flic tin g opin ions as to when th e U n ited States would make fo rm a l e n try in to the w a r, o r w hether o r no t the U n ited States would en ter the w a r. There were no t ve ry m any th a t doubted th a t i t would, bu t I heard some people in the P a rty express such opinions.

DIFFERENCES OF OPINIONQ- And would you say th a t the op in ions o f P a rty members

w ith reference to a possible fu tu re revo lu tiona ry s itua tion is in th a t category o f opin ion, concerning which there are m any d i f i ferences o f op in ion?

A : Yes, there m ust necessarily be.Q : Do you include in th a t category also, p red ictions as to

w hether the revo lu tion would be accompanied by force o r not?A : W ell, w ith in lim its , w ith in lim its . There is more agree­

m ent among the educated leaders o f the P a rty who have studied h is to ry and M arx ism — there is more agreem ent on th a t question, than on such a question as to the prospect o f e n try in to the present W orld W ar.

Q: B u t there can be, and there are, d iffe rences o f op in ion as to the exact tim e o f the revo lu tiona ry s itua tion and the ap­p rox im ate development o f it?

A : As to the tim e o f a revo lu tion , th a t is absolute ly specu­la tive . There isn ’t anybody in the P a rty th a t has an y th in g m ore than a ten ta tive op in ion on th a t question.

Q: Does the leadership o f the P a rty make any d is tinc tio n between ed ito ria ls , and columns, and signed artic les , in the press ?

A : Yes, I th in k a d is tin c tio n is made among a ll three o f them .

Q: W h a t d is tinc tio n is made?

THIS IS NOT “A WAR OF DEMOCRACY AGAINST FASCISM”Q: W ill you state the reasons w hy the P a rty would not

supnort a war. conducted by the present Governm ent o f the U n ited States ?

A : W ell, in general, we do no t p u t any confidence in the ru lin g cap ita lis t group in th is country . We do no t g ive them any support because we do not th in k they can o r w ill solve the funda­m enta l social problems which m ust be solved in order to save c iv iliz a tio n from shipwreck.

We believe th a t the necessary social tra n s itio n from the present system o f cap ita lism to the fa r more e ffic ie n t order of socialism , can on ly be brought under a leadership o f the workers. The w orkers m ust organize themselves independently o f the cap i­ta lis t po litica l parties. They m ust organize a g re a t p a rty o f th e ir own, develop an independent w o rk ing class p a rty o f th e ir own. and oppose the po licy o f the c a p ita lis t parties, regardless o f w hethe r they are called the Dem ocratic o r Republican, o r any­th in g else.

Q: W h a t k in d o f a w a r would you consider a w a r waged by the present G overnm ent o f the U n ited States?

A : I would consider i t a c a p ita lis t w ar.Q: W hy?A : Because Am erica is today a c a p ita lis t na tion . I t is

d iffe re n t fro m the others on ly in th a t i t is s tronger than the others and b igger. We do n o t believe in c a p ita lis t po licy. We do no t w a n t to conquer any o the r country . We do no t w a n t to ga in any colonics. W e do no t w a n t bloodshed to make pro fits fo r Am erican cap ita l.

Q: W h a t is the "P a rty ’s position on the cla im th a t the w a r aga inst H it le r is a w a r o f democracy aga inst fascism ?

A : We say th a t is a subterfuge, th a t the c o n flic t between Am erican im peria lism and German im peria lism is fo r the dom in­a tion o f the w o rld . I t is absolute ly tru e th a t H it le r w ants to dom inate the w orld , bu t we th in k i t is equa lly tru e th a t the ru lin g group o f A m erican cap ita lis ts has the same idea, and we are no t in fa v o r o f e ithe r o f them.

We do no t th in k th a t the S ix ty Fam ilies who own A m erica w a n t to wage th is w a r fo r some sacred p rinc ip le o f democracy. W e th in k they are the g reatest enemies o f democracy here a t home. Wrc th in k they w ould on ly use the o p p o rtu n ity o f a w a r to e lim inate a l l c iv il libe rties a t home, to ge t the best im ita ­tion o f fascism they can possib ly get.

Q: W h a t is the position o f the P a rty w ith reference to any im p e ria lis t o r ca p ita lis t enemy o f the U n ited States, like Germ any or I ta ly ?

A : We are no t pro-Germ an. W e absolute ly are no t in te r ­

A : A n ed ito ria l is more au th o rita tive , and the P a rty bears g re a te r resp on s ib ility fo r i t than fo r a signed a rtic le . I f an a r­tic le is signed by an in d iv idu a l member, the po ss ib ility exists a t.a n y tim e th a t i t is no t fu l ly responsive to the o ffic ia l opin ion o f the P a rty , o r the opin ion o f the ed ito ria l board. Colum nists have more la titu de than w rite rs o f signed artic les . Columns are no t to be tam pered w ith by the ed ito r, unless there is som ething o f a ve ry fundam enta l na tu re raised aga inst them.

Q: W ha t would be the a ttitu d e o f the P a rty towards co l­umns o r signed a rtic les w r it te n by older and more responsible members o f the P a rty , and columns and signed a rtic les w r itte n by less w e ll-know n members o f the P a rty ?

A : W ell, so fa r as th e ir im pression on the P a rty its e lf is concerned, a column th a t is w r itte n by a prom inen t leader o f the P a rty is taken w ith g re a te r w e igh t than columns w r itte n by un­known colum nists. We have such colum nists and have had in the past humorous columns, some o f which depart more o r less fro m the re g u la r line o f though t o f the P a rty , b u t they are no t as a ru lg taken w ith the w e ig h t o f a u th o r ity th a t w ou ld be given to a colum n signed by the m ost p rom inen t leaders o f the N a tion a l Com m ittee.

Q: So th a t a column or an a rtic le signed by you would

necessarily represent g re a te r a u th o r ity than one signed by an unknown m em ber o f the P a rty ?

A : Yes, o r one signed by you.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR SOME MATERIALQ: W ould you make any d is tin c tio n between o ffic ia l reso­

lu tions o f the P a rty and ed ito ria ls?A : Yes. A reso lu tion is a fo rm a l document, approved by'

the N a tion a l Com m ittee its e lf, o r by a convention. I t is tho ugh t put, and becomes an o ffic ia l s ta tem ent o f the P a rty . In m y opin ion th a t can-ies and should c a rry a g re a te r w e ig h t than an, ed ito ria l wh ich m ig h t be knocked ou t by an e d ito r w h ile he is rush in g the paper to press, and is n o t w r itte n w ith the same care and preciseness o f expression w h ich obtains when a reso lu­tion is fo rm a lly signed by the N a tion a l Com m ittee.

Q: Is i t the custom o f you, o r o f m yse lf o r anybody else in a u th o rity , to look over every e d ito r ia l w r it te n fo r the press?

A : W e ll, I presume th a t would be the ideal w ay, b u t . i t does no t w o rk out, because the paper goes to press every week, and fre q u e n tly the ed itors who are im m ed ia te ly responsible fo r the paper rush copy over to the p r in te r to keep h im satis fied , w ith o u t g iv in g i t the necessary b lue-penciling . T h a t happens

(Continued on Page 4)

EDITORIALS, SIGNED COLUMNS AND ARTICLES IN OUR PRESS

“OUR PARTY IS OPPOSED TO ALL IMPERIALIST WARS”

Last week’s issue of T H E M IL IT A N T printed the first part of the testimony by Comrade James P. Cannon on the witness stand at the government’s "seditious con­spiracy” trial against 23 members of the Socialist W ork­ers Party and Local 544-00 .

In his testimony on Tuesday, Nov. 18, as the first witness for the defense, Comrade Cannon, on direct ex­amination by chief Defense Albert Goldman, himself one of the 23 defendants, told of the formation of the T ro t­skyist movement in this country and its history and ac­tivities up to the formation of the Socialist Workers Party and the present day.

He declared that the aim of the Party was the estab­lishment of a socialist society that would abolish imperial­ist war, fascism and unemployment.

Now go on with Cannon’s testimony on Wednesday, Nov. 19, printed below:

Q (B y MR. G O L D M A N ): M r. Cannon, w ill you te ll us the position o f the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty on the causes o f modern

f> \war?A : Modern wars, in the op in ion o f our P a rty , are caused

by the co n flic t o f im p e ria lis t nations fo r m arkets, colonies, sour­ces o f raw m ateria l, fields fo r investm ent and spheres o f a c tiv ­ity .

Q: W ha t do you mean by “ im p e ria lis t” , M r. Cannon?A : Those c a p ita lis t nations wh ich d ire c tly o r in d ire c tly ex­

p lo it o ther countries.Q: W ha t is the P a rty ’s position on the in e v ita b il ity o f wars

under the c a p ita lis t system?A : As long as the c a p ita lis t system rem ains, and w ith i t

those conditions wh ich I have mentioned, wh ich f lo w au tom atic ­a lly from the operation o f the c a p ita lis t and im p e ria lis t system, wars, re c u rr in g wars, are inevitable .

Q: A nd can anybody’s opposition, inc lud ing the opposition o f the Socia list W orkers P a rty to w ar, prevent wars under the ca p ita lis t system ?

ECONOMIC CONFLICTS CAUSE WARA : No. O ur P a rty has always stated th a t i t is impossible

to prevent wars w ith o u t abolish ing the ca p ita lis t system w hich breeds w ar. I t m ay be possible to delay a w a r fo r aw hile, bu t eventua lly i t is impossible to p reven t w ars w h ile th is system and its con flic ts o f im p e ria lis t m ations, rem ains.

Q: Then is i t tru e th a t the P a rty is o f the op in ion th a t wars are caused by in te rna tiona l economic con flic ts , and no t by the good-w ill or ba d -w ill o f some people?

A : Yes. T h a t does no t e lim ina te the po ss ib ility o f in c i­dental a ttacks being caused by the acts o f th is o r th a t ru lin g group o f one coun try o r another; bu t fundam en ta lly wars are caused by the e ffo rts o f a ll o f the ca p ita lis t powers to expand in to o ther fields, and the on ly w ay they can ge t them is by ta k in g them away fro m some o the r power, because the whole w orld has been divided up among a sm all group o f im p e ria lis t powers. T h a t is w ha t leads to w a r, regard less o f the w ill, o r not, o f the people.

W e do no t m a in ta in th a t the ru l in g groups o f any o f the im p e ria lis t powers now a t w a r re a lly desired the w ar. W e have stated m any tim es th a t they would have been glad to have avoided i t ; bu t they could no t avoid i t and m a in ta in the c a p ita lis t sys­tem in th e ir country .

A : Yes, th a t is incorporated as one o f the po in ts o f prac­t ic a l da ily po licy, in the ed ito ria l masthead o f our paper. I f I am no t m istaken, i t appears on the e d ito r ia l page as one o f ou r cu rre n t princip les, and every once in aw hile there appears an ed ito ria l o r an a r t ic le in the paper a tte m p tin g to revive in te res t in th is idea.

Q: I f the U n ited States should enter in to the European con flic t, w ha t fo rm would the opposition o f the P a rty take to the w ar?

A : W ell, we would m a in ta in our position.Q: A nd th a t is w hat?A : T ha t is, we would no t become supporters o f the w ar,

even a fte r the w a r was declared. T h a t is, we would rem a in an opposition po litica l p a rty on the w a r question, as on others.

Q: You would no t support the w a r?A : T h a t is w h a t I mean, wo w ould no t support the w a r,

in a p o litica l sense.

WHAT THE m a y W OULD d o d u r in g w a rT H E CO U R T: M ay I ask you to develop the significance

o f th a t la s t sta tem ent?MR. G O LD M A N : Yes.Q : W hen you say, “ non-support o f the w ar,” ju s t exactly

w ha t would the P a rty do du rin g a war, which would indica te its non-support o f the w ar?

A : W ell, in so fa r as we are pe rm itted our r ig h ts , we would speak aga inst the w ar as a fa lse policy th a t should be changed, in the same sense, from our po in t o f view, th a t o ther parties m ig h t oppose the fo re ign po licy o f the Governm ent in tim e o f w ar, ju s t as L loyd George, fo r example, opposed the Boer W ar in public addresses and speeches. Ramsey McDonald, w h o -la te r became P rim e M in is te r o f England, opposed the w a r po licy o f England d u rin g the W orld W ar o f 1914-1918. W e hold our own po in t o f view , which is d iffe re n t fro m the po in t o f view o f the tw o po litica l figu res I have ju s t mentioned, and so fa r as we are pe rm itted to exercise our r ig h t, we would continue to w r ite and speak fo r a d iffe re n t fo re ign po licy fo r Am erica.

THE RELATION OF THE PARTY TO OUR PRESS

4 — T H E M I L I T A N T DECEMBER 6, 1941

We Want M i l i ta r y T ra in in g Under Control O f The UnionsOur M ilitary Policy Alone Provides The Kind Of Training And Leadership That Can Destroy Fascism

Q: Now w il l you please exp la in w h a t is called the m ilita ry po licy o f the P a rty?

A : The m ilita ry po licy o f the P a rty is incorporated in the decisions o f the conference a year ajio, in September, 1940. A t th a t tim e we called a special conference o f the P arty , in connec­tion w ith a p lenary m eeting o f the N a tion a l Com m ittee, to con­sider th is p a rtic u la r question, our a tt itu d e tow ards conscrip tion and the fu r th e r progress o f the w ar s itua tion , and there we adopt­ed, a reso lu tion subs tan tia lly as fo llow s:

P o in t 1: A s long as conscrip tion has been adopted as the law , and once i t was law , re fe rr in g to the Selective Service A c t, a ll P a rty members m ust co m p ly w ith th is lawr, m ust reg is te r and m ust no t oppose the re g is tra tio n o f others. On the con tra ry , the P a rty specifica lly opposes the position o f such, groups as conscientious objectors. W h ile we adm ire the courage and in ­te g r i ty o f a ra th e r h igh o rder th a t i t takes to do w h a t the con­scientious objectors have done, we have w r itte n aga inst th e ir po licy and said i t is w rong fo r ind iv idua ls to refuse to reg is te r when the g re a t mass o f th e ir generation are go ing to w a r. So fa r as we are concerned, i f the young generation o f Am erican w orkers goes to w ar, our P a rty members go w ith them, and share in a ll th e ir dangers and hardships and experience.

P o in t 2: In our reso lu tion is th a t our comrades have got. to be good soldiers, the same way (ha t we te ll a comrade in a fa c to ry th a t he must, be the best trade un ion is t and the best mechanic in order to gain the confidence and respect o f h is fe l­low -w orkers. We say, in the m ilita ry service, he m ust be the best so ld ie r; he m ust be m ost e ffic ien t in the use o f whatever

weapons and arm s he is assigned to, and subm it to d iscip line, and be concerned about the w e lfa re o f fe llow -so ld iers in order to establish his position in th e ir respect and confidence.

T H E CO UR T: M ay I inqu ire w hether o r n o t th is is an o ra l o r a w r itte n po licy th a t M r. Cannon has ju s t g iven?

EXHIBITS RELATING TO THIS POSITIONMR. G O LD M A N : W e ll, I th in k the Governm ent has in ­

troduced —MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : L e t the w itness answer the ques­

tion .MR. G O L D M A N : The C ourt is ask ing me the question.T H E C O U R T : Yes, I am asking you. I was hoping you

m ig h t develop i t fro m the w itness.MR. G O L D M A N : W e ll, the Governm ent in troduced the ex­

h ib it re fe rred to by M r. Cannon.T H E W IT N E S S : I th in k m y speeches a t the conference

in Chicago las t September were introduced as exh ib its here, some extracts fro m them a t least.

M R. G O LD M A N : Yes, ,1 am sure they were.T H E W IT N E S S : This po licy was developed there, and the

speech was an o ffic ia l speech I made on beha lf o f the N a tiona l Com m ittee a t the conference.

MR. G O .LD M AN: I am no t in troduc ing m any th ings, be­cause the Governm ent has introduced them fo r me.

T H E C O U R T: M r. M yer, you should be able to pu t you r finger on those p a rtic u la r exh ib its , I believe.

M R. M Y E R : I th in k they are exh ib its 116 and 186.

sary equipm ent fo r the tra in in g o f a la rge num ber o f business and professional men who were u ltim a te ly to be officers in the arm y.

We cannot see w hy the w orkers should no t have the same r ig h ts . We th in k i t is pe rfe c tly fa ir and reasonable, ce rta in ly i t is com patib le w ith the ex is ting laws. As I said before, i t is a leg is la tive proposal on our pa rt. We would i f we could, incor­porate th a t in to the law o f the country.

T H E CO UR T: We w ill take ou r m orn ing recess a t th is tim e.

(M O R N IN G RECESS)Q: I ca ll your a tten tion , M r. Cannon, to the tes tim ony o f

some witnesses fo r the prosecution to the e ffe c t th a t certa in P a rty members to ld them to jo in the A rm y , and then to s ta r t to k ick about the food, and create d issa tis faction . W ha t can you say w ith reference to the P a rty po licy about th a t?

A : In the m il ita ry forces, as fa r as ou r in fo rm a tio n goes from members who have been dra fted and fro m others whom —

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : Now, ju s t a moment. You are not answ ering the question a t a ll. He asked you w hethe r the P a rty had a po licy, w hether i t dees o r does not. I f so, te ll us w hat th a t po licy is, not w h a t you heard fro m people in the service.

T H E W IT N E S S : I w an t to exp la in w hy our po licy is w ha t i t is.

T H E CO UR T: We have not heard th a t there is a po licy yet.Q: Is there a po licy?A : Yes, we have a po licy on eve ry th ing.Q: W hat is th a t po licy?A : The po licy is not to support o r to in it ia te any ag ita tio n

about food. I w an t to te ll yo.u the reason.So fa r as our knowledge goes, fro m members o f the P a rty

vho have been d ra fted and whom we have seen on fu rlo ug h , and

Q: Now, on the question o f m il ita ry tra in in g under trade union con tro l —- you were.speaking about P la ttsb u rg a t the tim e o f the recess. W ill you continue and exp la in fu r th e r the po licy on tha t?

A : I used th a t as an illu s tra t io n o f how special camps were in s titu ted and governm ent ins truc to rs provided to tra in business and professional men in the period s h o rtly p r io r to our en try in to the la s t W orld W ar.

In the Spanish C iv il W ar a ll the parties and unions no t on ly had th e ir own tra in in g camps authorized by the governm ent, but even supplied th e ir own regim ents, in the f ig h t aga inst the fas­c is t arm y o f Franco.

Q: Now, the present trade unions are no t under the con tro l o f the P a rty , are they?

A : 'No, they are under the con tro l, essentia lly o r p ra c tica lly com plete ly, o f leaders who are in harm ony w ith the present Roosevelt adm in is tra tion .

Q : As I understand, the P a rty favo rs m ilita ry tra in in g un­der trade union contro l?

A : Yes. The idea is to g ive to the unions as they are, a w ider a u th o rity and supervision over th e ir people.

Q : And th a t po licy is no t dependent upon the P a rty con­tro ll in g the trade unions?

A : No. We can only take our chances th a t we w i l l be in the m in o rity in those tra in in g camps, as we are in the unions.

WE WOULD INTRODUCE IT INTO CONGRESSQ: W hat measures do you propose in order to effectuate

the po licy o f m il ita ry tra in in g under trade union con tro l?A : As I th in k I said before, i t is a proposal fo r a leg is la ­

tive program . We would have such a b il l in troduced in to Congress and passed, i f we had the power, o r i f we could ga in the support o f Congressmen who arc opposed to us on o ther grounds, bu t who would agree to th is . T h is is a p rogram th a t is no t neces­s a rily socialist.

Q: I f any member o f the P a rty would e ithe r a tte m p t to obstruct the Selective Service A c t, o r advise the obstruction o f it , w h a t would the P a rty do about tha t?

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : T h a t is objected to on the ground th a t there has been no evidence offe red by the Governm ent th a t the P a rty a ttem pted to obstruct the Selective Service A c t.

MR. G O L D M A N : Then the Governm ent adm its th a t the P a rty has-not a ttem pted to obstruct the Selective Service A c t?

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : We have no t a ttem pted to show th a t there was any a ttem p t to in te rfe re w ith the Selective Ser­vice A c t.

MR. G O LD M A N : I gathered th a t questions were asked a num ber o f witnesses, as to th e ir age, and the necessity o f th e ir go ing into- service, w ith an in ten tion on the p a rt o f the prosecu­tion to prove th a t we, somehow o r another, tr ie d to in te rfe re . I f the Governm ent says, “ N o” , I w i l l drop tha t.

SCHWEINHAUT “CLEARS ATMOSPHERE”MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : We w i l l c lear the atm osphere on

th a t r ig h t now. We do no t con tend 'th a t the P a rty attem pted to- keep anybody fro m reg is te rin g fo r the d ra ft, o r in th a t respect to impede thè progress o f the Selective Service A ct. W ha t our evidence tended to show was w ha t the P a rty members were sup­posed to do a f te r they go t in to the arm y.

MR. G O LD M A N : W ell, th a t is cleared up, then.Q: I f any P a rty member, a f te r en te ring the Service, o r be­

fo re en te ring service in the a rm y, would a tte m p t to obs truc t in any way the fun c tion ing o f the arm y, o r would advise any such a ttem p t, w h a t would be the po licy o f the P a rty w 'ith reference to such a P a rty member?

A : T ha t would be a v io la tio n o f the P a rty po licy.Q : A nd w ha t measures would be taken, i f any, to deal w ith

th a t p a rtic u la r P a rty member?...A : W ell, I th in k he would be advised to change his atti->

tude, o r a t least to discontinue h is action.Q: A nd i f he persisted in such a po licy , w h a t would the

P a rty do?A : There would no t be any a lte rna tive except to make

clear th a t the P a rty has no resp on s ib ility fo r such action, and possib ly we would expel h im fro m the P a rty .

Q: D id you hear a w itness fo r the Governm ent te s t ify th a t he was to ld by some P a rty member to go to F o r t S ne lling and create d issatis faction ? I th in k th a t was the g is t o f the testim ony. D id you hear tha t?

A : Som ething to th a t e ffec t.Q: W hat is the P a rty ’s po licy w ith reference to any cre­

a tin g o f d issa tis fac tion in F o r t S ne lling o r any o ther m il ita ry camp?

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : I ob ject to tha t, because he has answered w h a t i t was a t least tw ice . ‘

T H E CO URT: O bjection sustained.MILITARY TRAINING UNDER DIRECTION OF TRADE UNIONS

HOW WE SEEK TO PUT MILITARY POLICY INTO EFFECT

THE PARTY’S POSITION ON THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONQ: Now, were there a n y o ther po in ts discussed and adopted a t th a t conference, w ith reference to the m il ita ry po licy o f the P a rty?

A : Y e s ...W e came ou t in fa v o r o f the idea o f conscrip­tion , un ive rsa l m il ita ry tra in in g . T h a t is predicated on the idea th a t a t the present tim e the whole w orld is in arm s, th a t a ll decisions nowadays are being made by arm s, o r w ith the th re a t o f arm s. In such a s itua tion , we m ust recognize th a t the w o rk ­ers m ust also become tra in ed in the m il ita ry a rts . We are in fa v o r o f un ive rsa l m il ita ry tra in in g , according to our o ff ic ia l de­cis ion; bu t we are no t in fa vo r, th a t is, we do n o t g ive p o lit ic a l support, to the method th a t is used by the present cap ita lis t governm ent.

We propose th a t the w orkers should get m ilita ry tra in in g in special camps under the d irection o f the trade un ions; th a t the governm ent should fu rn ish a pa rt o f its m il ita ry funds in appropria tions to equip those camps w ith the necessary arms and m ateria ls and in s tru c to rs , but the camps should be under the auspices o f the trade unions.

CAMPS TO TRAIN WORKERS AS OFFICERSThere should be also special camps set up under the auspices

o f the unions, fo r the tra in in g o f W’orkers to become officers. Governm ent funds should be appropria ted fo r th is purpose, so th a t a condition can be created to remove one o f the greatest defects and sources o f d issa tis fac tion in the present m ilita ry appara tus: th a t is the social g u lf between the w o rke r o r fa rm e r- soldier, and the o ffice r fro m another class, who does n o t have an understand ing o f the so ld ier’s problem and does n o t have the proper a tt itu d e towards him .

We believe the w orkers are en titled to have as o ffice rs men ou t o f th e ir own ranks whom they have learned to respect in the course o f th e ir w ork and common s trugg le w ith them, such as p icket captains, leaders o f unions, men who have d is ting u ish ­

ed themselves in the a ffa irs o f w orkers ’ organ izations, and who come from the rank and file o f the workers. Such men as o f f i­cers would be much more concerned about the w e lfa re o f the rank and file o f soldiers than a college boy from H a rva rd or Yale, who never saw a fac to ry , and never rubbed elbows w ith the w orker, and considers h im an in fe r io r being.

T ha t' is, I would say, the heart o f our m ilita ry proposal, o f our m ilita ry po licy.

CIVIL RIGHTS FOR THE SOLDIERSQ: W hat is the position o f the P a rty w ith reference to c iv il

r ig h ts in the arm y?A : Oh, yes. We stand also fo^ sold iers’ c itizens’ r ig h ts .

We do no t agree w ith the idea th a t when you take a m illio n and a h a lf young men ou t o f c iv il life , th a t they cease to have the r ig h ts o f citizens. We th in k they should have a ll the r ig h ts o f citizens. .They should have the r ig h t to pe titio n Congress; they should have the r ig h t to vote; they should have the r ig h t to elect com m ittees to present th e ir grievances; they should have the r ig h t to elect th e ir own officers, a t least the m in o r officers, and in general they should have the dem ocratic r ig h ts o f citizens, and we advocate tha t. We advocate leg is la tion to con fer upon the soldiers those righ ts , and do ing aw ay w ith the present in e ffi­c ien t m il ita ry set-up.

Q: D id the P a rty o ff ic ia lly , o r to you r knowledge, d id any P a rty member now in the service, ever a tte m p t to create insubor­d ina tion in the ranks o f the arm ed forces?

A : N o t to m y knowledge.Q: I f the re have been incidents o f insubord ina tion w ith in

the la s t year, o r since the Selective Service A c t was passed, did the P a rty e ithe r know about it , o r p a rtic ip a te in the creation o f th a t insubord ina tion?

A : So fa r as m y knowledge goes, the P a rty has no t had any knowledge o f any such incidents, except in so fa r as they m ay have been reported in the da ily press.

Q: Does the P a rty have an o ffic ia l position on the Russian Revolution, M r. Cannon?

A : Yes.Q: W ha t is th a t position? Has i t ever been adopted in

the fo rm o f an o ffic ia l reso lu tion?A : I t is incorporated in the D eclara tion o f P rincip les.Q: W ha t is th a t position?A : T h a t the P a rty supports —M R. S C H W E IN H A U T : Jus t a m om ent. I w i l l ob ject to

th a t on the ground th a t, the w itness hav ing stated th a t i t is incorporated in the D eclara tion o f P rinc ip les, the re fore , i t speaks fo r itse lf.

MR. G O L D M A N : A n exp lanation o f the D eclara tion o f P rinc ip les is in order.

T H E CO UR T: He m ay answer.A (C o n tin u in g ): We support the Russian Revolution o f 1917.

W e consider th a t i t embodies the doctrines and the theories o f M arx ism which we uphold.

Q: How m any revo lu tions were there in Russia in 1917?A : There was a revo lu tion in F ebruary according to the

Russian calendar, in M arch according to the modern calendar, w h ich developed in to the p ro le ta rian revo lu tion o f Novem ber 7th according to the modern calendar.

“MOST PROGRESSIVE EVENT IN HISTORY”Q : W hat is the general position taken by M arx is ts w ith

reference to the Russian Revolution?A : The one th a t I have given here, in support o f the revo­

lu tion .

A : The Czar and Czarism were ove rth row n in M arch by an up ris in g o f the masses, o f the people in the b ig cities, and the peasants.

Q: Was the Bolshevik P a rty responsible fo r th a t u p ris in g in any way?

A : No-, the Bolshevik P a rty was a ve ry in fin ite s im a l group a t the tim e o f the M arch revo lu tion .

Q: W ha t is the m eaning o f Bolshevism?A : The w ord “ B o lshevik” is a Russian w ord m eaning

“ m a jo r ity ” . I t acquired a p o lit ic a l m eaning in the Russian Social-Dem ocratic Labor P a rty . In the Congress o f 1903 a con­tro ve rsy developed w hich divided the p a r ty in to groups, the m a jo r ity and the m in o rity , the m a jo r ity called the Bolsheviks and the m in o r ity called Mensheviks.

Q: Those are Russian words, m eaning m in o r ity and m a jo r­ity ?

A : Yes. They s p lit up, and divided in to parties. Each ca ll-

Q : A nd what does “ suppo rt” mean?A : W ell, th a t is a ra the r m ild — i t would be a m ild descrip­

tion o f our a ttitud e . We consider i t the greatest and m ost p ro ­gressive event in the en tire h is to ry o f m ankind.

Q : And I th in k you said in your rep ly to a previous ques­tion. th a t you consider the doctrines embodied in th a t revo lu tion as M a rx is t doctrines? E xp la in tha t.

A : The theory o f .Marxism in our op in ion was com plete ly v indicated in the Russian Revolution, and the theory o f M arx ism , which is the establishm ent o f a governm ent o f w orkers and peasants, which undertakes to b r in g about a social tra n s fo rm a ­tion fro m cap ita lism towards socialism — a ll th is wras under­taken in the Russian Revolution.

Q: T ha t is, in so fa r as the Russian R evolution pu t the w o rk ­ers and peasants in power, and exp rop ria ted the cap ita lis ts , we support th a t revo lu tion ?

A : Yes.Q: T h a t is the special m eaning o f th a t revo lu tion?A : T h a t is the essence o f the m atte r.Q: Now, can you te ll us a n y th in g about the le g a lity o f th a t

revo lu tion ?A : Yes.T H E C O U R T: Judged by w hat standards?MR. G O L D M A N : W h a t I mean by th a t is to have h im

exp la in exactly how the revo lu tion occurred, because counsel fo r the Governm ent tr ies to present i t as. a v io len t upheaval o f the m in o rity aga inst the m a jo r ity , and the facts are the ve ry con­tra ry . I w an t the w itness to exp la in the na ture o f th a t revo­lu tion .

ed its e lf the Russian Social Dem ocratic Labor P a rty , and in parentheses on the end “ Bolsheviks” or “ Mensheviks” , as the case m ig h t be.

Q: ' Now, w i l l you proceed and te ll the ju r y w ha t happened d u rin g the October revo lu tion , o r in our calendar in November, 1917.

A : W ell, to show the chronology:

SOVIETS ESTABLISHED EVERYWHEREWhen Czarism was ove rth row n by the masses o f the people,

the whole s truc tu re o f th a t ty ra n n y was destroyed. A new gov­ernm ent was constitu ted, bu t the new governm ent m ach inery was based on the Soviets, wh ich sprang up spontaneously in the revo lu tiona ry upheaval. Soviets o f w orkers and soldiers were established everywhere. In P e trograd , the w orkers and soldiers sent delegates — deputies — to the cen tra l council or, as they

(Continued on page 5)

THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION OVERTHREW CZARISM

THE POSITION WE ADOPTED ON CONSCRIPTION

(Continued from page 3)I th in k fre q u e n tly on any pub lica tion th a t is o f frequen t is­suance.

Q: A nd , fre q u e n tly you and I are aw ay fro m the office fo r m onths a t a tim e?

A : Yes. We tra v e l a g re a t deal.Q: A nd the paper goes to press w ith o u t us?A : Yes, they don’t m iss us much in th a t respect.Q: Does the P a rty accept o ff ic ia lly a ll opinions expressed

in signed artic les , o r even ed ito ria ls?A : No. I would say, no t o ff ic ia lly , no. Signed artic les by

prom inen t leaders o f the P a rty , in the m inds o f the P a rty mem­bers, have a t least a sem i-o ffic ia l status, I th in k , bu t they do no t have the w e ig h t o f a fo rm a l reso lu tion o f the Com m ittee, o r o f a convention.

CIRCULATION OF THE PARTY PRESSQ: W ha t is the c ircu la tio n o f the .M ilitan t, the weekly

organ o f the P a rty?A : I th in k i t is between 15,000 and 20,000 a t the present

tim e.Q: W hat is the ' c ircu la tio n o f the F ou rth In te rn a tion a l?A : I th in k about 4,000. T h a t is the magazine.Q: Now, besides the M ilita n t and the F ou rth In te rn a tion a l,

you said th a t pam phlets are published ?A : Yes.Q: Have you any idea how many pam phlets have been pub­

lished in the la s t year o r so?A : Oh, I im agine h a lf a dozen — no t more.Q: R e fe rring to the D eclara tion o f P rincip les, w ha t is you r

best estim ate as to the num ber o f those pam phlets published?A : I th in k the f irs t ed ition was 5,000 o r 10,000 — I am rio t

sure which. T h a t was published in 1938.Q: W ere there any subsequent ed itions?A : No.Q: So when you say “ the f irs t e d itio n " you mean the on ly

ed ition ?A : Yes, th a t is correct. The amendments th a t were made

were no t incorporated in a new edition. They were on ly p rin ted in the press.

Q: And w h a t is you r best op in ion as to the tim e when th a t D eclara tion o f P rinc ip les was fa ir ly w e ll exhausted, and no more copies le ft , to g ive to the various branches fo r sale?

A : W ell, as I reca ll it , the g re a t bu lk o f them were sold o r d is tr ibu te d in the f irs t period. T he re a fte r they were sold in

dribb les to the branches. W hether the whole ed ition was sold o r . exhausted, I re a lly don’t know. I don’t remember.

Q: D id the P a rty continue to sell the D eclara tion o f P r in ­cip les subsequent to its suspension?

A : No. There was an order issued by the P o litica l Com­m ittee to the lite ra tu re departm ent no t to send out any more a fte r the decision o f the December convention.

Q: B u t copies th a t were le f t in the possession o f the branch­es rem ained there fo r sale, did they not?

A : W ell, in the branches where there are book stores, they sell eve ry th ing . In fac t, they are encouraged to sell h is ­to rica l documents and pam phlets and books o f o ther parties.

INTERPRETATIONS OF PARTY POLICYQ: W ould you say th a t there is a d iffe rence between gen­

era l P a r ly po licy, which may o r m ay no t be m is in te rp re ted by members o f the P arty , and a decision o f the P a rty w ith reference to doing som eth ing concrete?

A : Yes. One is much clearer than the other.Q: E xp la in th a t, w i l l you please.A : W ell, fo r exam ple —M R. S C H W E IN H A U T : T h a t expla ins itse lf, I th ink .MR. G O L D M A N : No, I don’t th in k so.A (con tinued): To make a decision o f the P a rty to p a r t i­

cipate in a g iven election — in th a t event, the P a rty members have to get ou t and ga the r signatures to p u t a candidate on the ba llo t. T ha t has to be done once the decision is made. On the o ther hand, a declaration o f po licy about the co n flic t between the A F L and the CIO is not so easily assim ila ted. A s a m a tte r o f fac t, i t is a con tinua l question o f d iffe rence o f in te rp re ta tion , which arises even among members o f the Com m ittee a fte r the po licy has been made.

I can cite, as an illu s tra tio n , th a t since we were here fo r th is t r ia l we have had occasion — those o f us who are here — to com pla in about artic les and some ed ito ria ls in the paper on the trade union question. We though t i t did no t exactly fo llow the la s t reso lu tion o f the P a rty . We had occasion to com plain also about th e ir hand ling o f the German-Russian w ar. We though t th e ir approach was not e n tire ly in accord w ith the reso lu tion as we in te rp re ted it .

Q: So even when an o ffic ia l reso lu tion is adopted, there are always, subsequent to the adoption, d ifferences o f opin ion as to the in te rp re ta tio n o f th a t reso lu tion?

A : Yes, th a t is possible a t any tim e. I t does no t always occur, but i t is qu ite possible.

from other investiga tion , the re is not much d issa tis fac tion w ith the food in the present set-up.

Q: And i f there is any d issa tis fac tion w ith food,, w h a t would you say i t was caused by?

NO GRIEVANCES WITHOUT FOUNDATIONA : So fa r as our in fo rm a tio n goes, there are on ly isolated

cases now. W e do no t propose to k ick about the food i f the food is sa tis fa c to ry . I f the food is bad, the soldiers w ill k ick about i t themselves, and they should k ick about it .

Q: W ha t would you say about the tes tim ony o f these wit*- nesses —

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : I ob ject to tha t.MR. G O L D M A N : S trike i t out.Q : Then w ill you sta te de fin ite ly , w ha t is the po licy o f the

P arty w ith reference to c rea ting d issa tis fac tion in the arm y, when causes fo r d issa tis fac tion do not exist?

A : I do ne t know o f an y th in g in the P a rty program or P arty lite ra tu re th a t proposes to inc ite grievances w ith o u t foun­dation. Where causes fo r d issa tis fac tion ex is t,'They create the d issatis faction , not the P a rty .

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : Jus t a moment, please.Q: I f there have been grievances, and i f there has been

d issatis faction , is the P a rty in any way responsible fo r th a t?A : No, I don’t th in k so, in any way a t a ll. T ha t is the pres­

en t s itua tion .Q: A nd the people who have charge o f feeding the a rm y

are the ones responsible fo r th a t, o r fo r the grievances?M R. S C H W E IN H A U T : W ell, th a t is leading.MR. G O L D M A N : W ell, he has no t objected, so you m ay

proceed and answer it.MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : Then I w i l l ob ject to i t now.T H E C O U R T: I w i l l susta in the objection.

THE CAUSE OF GRIEVANCES IN THE ARMED FORCESQ: In you r op in ion, i f the re have been such incidents, w ha t

is the cause o f them ?A : W ell, I th in k there are a num ber o f causes o f discon­

te n t and d issa tis fac tion in the conscrip t a rm y. T h a t is a m a t­te r o f pub lic com m ent in a ll the newspapers and magazines, and various opinions and theories have been expressed as to the reasons fo r it .

Q : How does the P a rty propose to rea lize the demands fo r com pulsory tra in in g under trade union con tro l?

A : W ell, ou r p rogram is a leg is la tive program . E ve ry th ing we propose we would have incorporated in to law . I f we had a de legation in Congress, they would in troduce a b ill, o r a series o f b ills , p ro v id in g fo r the incorpo ra tion in to the law o f the coun try o f these proposals, these m il ita ry proposals o f ours.

Q: D id any a u th o rita tive leader o f the P a rty ever re fe r to P la ttsb u rg as an example?

THE EXAMPLE OF PLATTSBURGA : Yes. In fa c t, th a t was p a r t o f the o r ig in o f the idea.

As I said before, the ch ie f sore po in t in the m il i ta ry set-up is the class d is tinc tio n between the officers and the ranks. W e know th a t in the period p r io r to the f ir s t W orld W ar, special camps were set up fo r the tra in in g o f business and professional men to be officers in the arm y. P la ttsb u rg was one o f these. T h is was a p a r t o f the so-called preparedness cam paign, before the U n ited States f in a lly go t in to the w ar. The governm ent ap­p rop ria ted some funds, and some business men donated funds. The governm ent provided in s truc to rs , and fu rn ished the neces-

DECEM BER 6, 1941 T.-H E M I L I T A N T - 5

The Possibility Of Peaceful Revolutions(Continued from page 4)

called it , the Soviet; s im ila r ly in Moscow and o ther places. This body was recognized as au tho rita tive .

The governm ent th a t was constitu ted a fte r the ove rth row o f the Czar was headed by Prince Lvov, w ith M iliu k o v as Fore ign M in is te r; i t de rived, its a u th o r ity fro m the Soviets o f W orkers ’ and Soldiers’ Deputies and the Soviets o f Peasants’ Deputies.

In A p r i l they had a N a tion a l A ll-R uss ian conference o f the W orkers ’ and Soldiers’ Soviets, and there they elected an A ll- Russian C entra l Executive Com m ittee o f the W orke rs ’ and Sol­d ie rs ’ Soviets. In M ay, the Peasant Soviets had an A ll-R uss ian Congress and elected an A ll-R uss ian C entra l Executive Com m ittee o f the peasants.

Q: W ha t p ropo rtion o f the popu la tion did those Soviets represent?

A : They represented the people, the g re a t mass o f the people. I th in k i t was im possible even to speak in te rm s o f m a jo r­ities or m ino ritie s . They were the masses themselves. The peas­ants and the soldiers and the w orkers were the people; those tw o bodies, the A ll-R uss ian C entra l Executive Com m ittee o f the W orke rs ’ and Soldiers’ Soviets and the A ll-R uss ian C entra l Exe­cutive Com m ittee o f the Peasant Soviets, form ed a jo in t body which was recognized as the m ost a u th o rita tive and representa­tive body in Russia. I t was by th e ir consent th a t the govern­m ent cabinet ruled.

The A ll-R uss ian Executive Com m ittee o f the Soviets repud i­ated M iliuko v , who was the leader o f the bourgeoisie. The So­v ie t body opposed h im because o f his fo re ign po licy, in vo lv ing secret trea ties th a t had been exposed. He the re fo re had to resign, because w ith o u t the support o f the Soviets, a u th o r ity was lack­in g ; and 1 th in k th a t could be likened, as an analogy, to the French system o f the resignation o f the P rim e M in is te r when there is a no-confidence vote in the Chamber.

Q: So th a t the Soviets constitu ted the a u th o r ity r/f the people o f Russia ?

A : T h a t is r ig h t.Q: In w ha t way did the Bolsheviks progress to power?

THE ROLE OF THE BOLSHEVIKSA : I w ish to go on w ith the chronology, i f you w il l p e rm it

me.F o llow ing the fa l l o f M iliu ko v , Kerensky rose — the re is

a popu lar im pression in th is coun try th a t he became P rem ier w ith the fa l l o f the Czar. T h a t is no t so. K erensky became P rem ier in Ju ly . He was made a M in is te r and even tua lly P re­m ie r because he was a member o f the Social R evo lu tionary P a rty . T ha t was the Peasant p a rty , w h ich then led the Soviets. He was also supported by the w o rke r element, because he had been a labo r law yer. T h a t was the basis o f K erensky ’s office ; th a t is, h is a u th o rity was derived d ire c tly fro m the Soviets.

N ow in th is period the Bolsheviks were a sm all m in o r ity . They did no t create the Soviets. The Soviets were created by the masses; they were in it ia te d by the masses. N e ithe r the Bolshe­v ik P a rty no r any o the r p a rty could do an y th in g w ith o u t the support o f the Soviets. In the m idst o f the revo lu tion o f 1905 and again in the overth row o f the Czar in 1917, the Soviets sprang up spontaneously.

The m ost in flu e n tia l one n a tu ra lly was in P etrograd, which was the seat o f governm ent. The Bolsheviks were a sm all m inor-

It Exists Until Ruling Class Resorts To Violence

FARRELL DOBBS, Labor Secretary of the Socialist Workers Party and former General Organizer for the International

Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Testimony on Page 2)i t y in th is Soviet a t the t im e 1 o f the ove rth row o f the Czar. When K erensky became P rem ier, the com bination o f his Social R evo lu tionary P a rty and the M enshevik Socia lis t P a rty — those two pa rties together had an overw helm ing m a jo r ity in the So­viets, and ru led by v ir tu e o f th a t. The Bolsheviks were an op­posing fac tion .

D u rin g th a t tim e Lenin, as the spokesman fo r the Bolsheviks, said over and over again, “ As long as we are in the m in o r ity in the Soviets, a ll we can do is p a tie n tly exp la in .” The B o l­shevik P a rty opposed any a ttem p t to seize power by a putsch.

Q: W hat is a putsch?

HOW THE BOLSHEVIK PARTY CAME TO POWERA : One po in t m ore f ir s t . A m onth o r so la te r, a special

A ll-R uss ian Congress o f the .'P easan t ¿.Soviets m et, and the re also the Bolsheviks had a m a jo r ity . Then the m in o r ity w ith ­drew fro m those a u th o rita tiv e bodies o f governm ent, and began an opposition s trugg le aga inst the B olshevik governm ent.

Q: W hat violence, i f any, occurred, and who in itia te d the

P a rty w i l l have when a m a jo r ity o f the people in the U n ited States adopt its po licy.

T H E CO UR T: There are too many elements o f speculation in tha t. Objection sustained.

“CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER” DOCTRINEMR. G O L D M A N : 1 w ant to urge th is , Y ou r H ono r; one o f

the elements in th is case is, as Your Honor knows, the “ clear and present danger” doctrine. 1 ought to be pe rm itted to develop the size o f the pa rty now, and the approxim ate size in the opin ion o f experts, th a t the P a rty w ill have, m ust have, at the tim e a m a jo rity adopts the program o f the P a rty , to show. I subm it, the re la tive position o f the P a rty at the present tim e. I f , fo r instance, i t would be necessary to have a pa rty o f three m illio n o r fou r m illio n , and at th is tim e there is a pa rty o f 2.000, you could readily see how the doctrine o f “ clear and present danger” ap­plies to tha t s itua tion .

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : I t c learly calls fo r speculation, as to events in the fu tu re , th a t no one can possibly know about now’.

T H E CO UR T: I do not see any tang ib le fa c to r th a t has

been suggested by the w itness, o r is involved in the question, th a t would ju s t i fy the assum ption th a t he could answer th a t w ith o u t in du lg ing in a g re a t deal o f speculation. I w i l l adhere to the ru lin g .

Q : On the basis o f the p ropo rtion o f P a rty members to wage w orkers in the Russian revolution-, have you an op in ion as to the probable p ropo rtion o f P a rty members to wage w orkers in the Unitedi States a t the tim e a m a jo rity ' adopts the program o f the S oc ia lis t W orkers P a rty?

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : Same objection.MR. G O L D M A N : “ Have you an op in ion” — th a t is a ll I am

asking now.MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : W ha t good is his op in ion? How

can he answer th a t w ith o u t in du lg ing in a g re a t deal o f specula­tion ?

T H E C O U R T: Do you object to it?MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : Yes.T H E CO UR T: O bjection sustained.MR. G O L D M A N : Exception.

W hat is (he P a rty m em bership a t present, M r. Cannon? A bout 2,000.Then the figu re tes tified to by B a r t le t t was correct,

Q A Q:

about ?MR. S C H W E IN H A U T :

H onor please.I object to th a t question, i f Y ou r

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TROTSKY AND STALINMR. G O L D M A N : A ll r ig h t — question w ith d ra w n .Q: W ill you te ll the C ourt and ju ry w hat d ifferences arose

between S ta lin and T ro tsky subsequent to the Revolution?MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : I ob ject to tha t, because I do not

see any m a te r ia lity o r relevancy in it.T H E CO UR T: I would like to have the question read, please.(Question read by' the R eporte r).MR. G O L D M A N : The prosecution has contended, and I

th in k M r. Anderson has made many statem ents, to the e ffec t th a t T ro tsky , being the arch-conspira to r in th is case, had certa in ideas and certa in doctrines. I th in k the ju ry is en titled to know in a general way— it is im possible to go in to g rea t de ta il— but the Government has opened up its case in such a way th a t i t is es­sen tia l fo r the ju ry to know at least some o f the basic princip les o f T ro tsky , who i t is alleged was one o f the arch-conspira tors.

T H E CO UR T: W ell, i f you w ill agree to l im it i t to a reason­able am ount o f testim ony.

MR. G O LD M A N : I ce rta in ly w i l l— otherwise, we m ig h t be here tw o years.

M R. A N D E R S O N : A l l we ever b rough t out, on T ro tsky , was some lite ra tu re and speeches and pam phlets, in the P a rty press.

M R. G O L D M A N : I should th in k th a t a fte r the prosecution takes three weeks, th a t they should give me a week at least to t r y the case.

T H E CO UR T: I don’t th in k i t is necessary to t r y i t th a tway.

MR. G O L D M A N : M r. Schwcinhaut made various rem arks—T H E CO URT: M r. Schweinhaut has made very few objec­

tions to the d irec t exam ination, w h ich has covered a trem end­ously W'ide field.

” Q: W ill you describe b r ie f ly the fundam enta l d ifferences th a t arose between S ta lin and T ro tsky subsequent to the revo­lu tion ?

STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACYA : I mentioned the o ther day th a t the f ig h t o rig ina ted in

the s trugg le over democracy. T h a t was the o r ig in o f the figh t, re a lly inspired by Lenin, d u rin g his las t illness, in co llabora tion w ith T ro tsky . Lenin did n o t survive to take p a rt in the figh t,

and T ro tsky had to lead it . T h is soon developed fu rth e r.I t soon became apparent to c r it ic a l observers, th is tendency

o f S ta lin to crush democracy in the pa rty , and in the li fe o f the coun try genera lly. I t was based on S ta lin ’s desire to change the program and the course o f d irec tion o f the revo lu tion , which could on ly be done by th is means. T ro tsky s trugg led fo r free discussion o f the problem, w ith the confidence th a t the m a jo r ity o f the workers in the p a rty would support his program . S ta lin and his group represented, in our op in ion, the conservative ten ­dency, based upon a certa in s tra tum o f the p a rty and the govern­ment, th a t had acquired o ffic ia l positions and p riv ileges and wanted to stop there.

Q: S ta lin then represented in you r op in ion the p a r ty o f the bureaucratic ?

A : The bureaucratic and conservative. A s a m a tte r o f fac t, T ro tsky designated i t as the bureaucratic-conservative faction , a t one stage in the strugg le .

Q: In terested in w hat?A : I t was in terested in preserv ing its p riv ileges, and no t

ex tending and developing the benefits fo r the g re a t mass o f the people.

Q: W hat fo rm did th is d ic ta to rsh ip o f S ta lin assume?

OBJECTIONS BY SCHWEINHAUTA : I t assumed the fo rm o f crush ing democracy inside o f the

Com m unist P a rty and estab lish ing a d ic ta to r ia l reg im e there. F o r example —

M R. S C H W E IN H A U T : W ell, w h ile M r. Cannon is pausing; may I ob ject now to th is line o f testim ony because i t is im m a­te r ia l and irre le v a n t to the issues here? I t is im m a te ria l w h a t fo rm o f governm ent S ta lin set up in Russia. W ha t do we care?

T H E CO UR T: I do no t see any reason w h y he should go in to a ll the details. I th in k you should recognize th a t, M r. Gold­man. I w an t to g-ive you every oppo rtu n ity , every reasonable op­p o rtu n ity , to present you r theory o f the case before th is ju ry , bu t I do th in k th a t there is much here th a t is im m a te ria l and unne­cessary.

Q: W h a t is the position o f the P a rty on the Soviet U n ion a t present?

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : I ob ject to th a t, Y o u r Honor.

violence?A : T h a t began fo llo w in g the armed s trugg le aga inst the

governm ent.

HOW SOVIETS WERE ELECTEDQ: W ho began it?A : The Czarists, the W h ite Russian element, the bourgeoisie

genera lly, the deposed cap ita lis ts and others. They undertook a counter-revo lu tion , and the c iv il w a r th a t ensued lasted u n t il a lm ost 1921. The c iv il w a r lasted so long because the W h ite Guard and bourgeois elements received the support, f irs t, o f the Germans, and then o f E ng land and France, and even the U n ited States sent an expedition.

The Soviet governm ent had to f ig h t against the whole cap i­ta lis t world , on top o f f ig h tin g against th e ir own opposition a t home; and the fa c t th a t the Bolsheviks represented the g reat m a jo r ity o f the people was best evidenced by the fa c t th a t they were v ic to rious in th is c iv il war, no t on ly aga inst th e ir opponents a t home, bu t also against the outside powers who supplied the opposition w ith arm s, soldiers and funds.

Q: How were the Soviets in those days elected?A : They were elected in the fa c to ry w o rke rs ’ m eetings;

th a t is, the fa c to ry w orkers w ould ga the r to elect th e ir delegate. Each Soviet constitu ted a u n it o f governm ent, and the comDina- tion o f Soviets constitu ted the governm ent.

In the Soviet system, the fac to ries select delegates, according to th e ir number, cme fo r each 1,000, o r w hatever the p ro po rtion m ay be. The sold iers’ reg im ents do the same; the peasants o r d ir t fa rm ers do the same, so th a t the governm ent established in th a t way, by those Soviets, represents the whole mass o f the people who are involved in productive a c tiv ity .

Q : W hat was (he number o f members o f the Bolshevik P a rty a t the tim e o f the Russian R evolution in November, 1917?

A : W ell, the m ost a u th o rita tive figu re I have seen given is 260,000, o r a qua rte r o f a m iiyon . T h a t seems to be the figu re th a t has the best a u th o rity .

BOLSHEVIKS SUPPORTERD BY GREAT MAJORITY

Q: And w h a t p ropo rtion o f the popu lation supported the Bolshevik P a rty a t th a t tim e?

A : W ell, in m y opin ion, the g re a t m a jo r ity o f the w orkers, peasants and soldiers supported them a t the tim e they took power and a fte rw a rds .

Q: F rom which group o r class o f society did the Bolshevik P a rty ge t m ost o f its members?

A : F rom the w orkers. I t was a w o rkers ’ p a rty , a p a r ty o f in d u s tr ia l w orkers and a g r ic u ltu ra l laborers. There were some peasants in the p a rty , b u t the p a rty was p r im a r ily constitu ted o f in d u s tr ia l w orkers in the c ities, a g r ic u ltu ra l laborers and some in te llec tua ls , soine educated people who had pu t themselves a t the service o f the w orkers in the pa rty .

Q: W ha t is the best a u th o r ity as to the num ber o f w orkers in Russia a t the tim e o f the revo lu tion— by “ w o rkers ” m eaning in d u s tr ia l w orkers?

A . 5,000.000.Q: A nd the m a jo r ity o f the popu lation consisted o f peas­

ants?A : Peasants, yes.Q: W ha t is you r op in ion as to the num ber o f members th a t

the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty w i l l probably have when the m a jo r ity o f people in th is coun try adopt the p rogram o f the p a rty ?

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : I ob ject to th a t, Y o u r Honor.T H E C O U R T: W h a t is the basis o f you r objection?M R. S C H W E IN H A U T : He is ask ing th is w itness to guess

today as to the num ber o f members th a t the Socia lis t W orkers

T H E CO UR T: He may answer tha t.A : W ha t do you mean, how we characterize it?Q: How you characterize it , and exp la in the character­

ization.A : W ell, the characteriza tion we make o f the Soviet Union

as i t is today, is o f a w orkers ’ state, created by the revo lu tion o f November, 1917, d is to rted by the bad present reg im e, and even degenerated, bu t nevertheless re ta in in g its basic character as a w orkers ’ state, because i t is based on nationalized in du s try , and no t on priva te p rope rty .

MR. S C H W E IN IIA U T : The answer proves th a t m y objec­tion is good. I t is no t re levan t in th is case. I w i l l ob ject to it , the re fore , Y our Honor.

MR. G O L D M A N : A lo t o f evidence was introduced w ith reference to the Soviet Union, and our defending the Soviet Union.

T H E CO UR T: Yes, th a t was w hy I allowed th is to go in. There has been testim ony here th a t, in the event o f a w a r in which the U n ited States was involved, th is P a rty would defend the Soviet U n ion. U nder th a t testim ony, I fee l th a t you are en titled to show the reasons why, i f th a t is true .

MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : I agree w ith tha t, th a t they should have th a t r ig h t, bu t I don’t see how the la s t answer has an y th in g to do w ith it .

T H E CO URT: W ell, perhaps i t doesn’t, bu t i t may stand.

BECAUSE IT IS A W ORKERS STATEQ: Now, w hat is the position o f the P a rty towards the de­

fense o f the Soviet Union, and why?A : We are in fa vo r o f defending the Soviet Un ion against

im p e ria lis t powers fo r the reason I ju s t gave, because we consider i t a progressive development, as a w orkers ’ state, th a t has na­tionalized in dus try and has elim inated p riva te cap ita lism and landlord ism . T ha t is the reason we defend it.

Q : T h a t is, you consider the Russian o r the Soviet State, a state based on the exp rop ria tion o f p riva te in du s try fro m the cap ita lis ts ?

A : Yes, the operation o f in d u s try as a nationalized in ­dustry .

Q: A nd you are defending th a t k ind o f a state?A : Yes.Q: Is n ’t i t a fa c t th a t S ta lin has k ille d m ost a ll o f the so-

called T ro tsky is ts in Russia?A : Yes. We are aga inst S ta lin , bu t no t against the Soviet

fo rm o f in d u s tr ia l production. ■Q: W ill you exp la in w hy a v io len t revo lu tion is necessary,

fo r a Russian revo lu tion?MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : Do you mean now?MR. G O L D M A N : Yes. Y ou r Honor, I th in k i t has a ve ry

im p o rta n t bearing.T H E CO UR T: Do you mean in the past?

NEED FOR POLITICAL REVOLUTION IN USSRMR. G O L D M A N : No, r ig h t now'. The prosecution tends

to argue th a t because we are in fa v o r o f a v io len t revo lu tion , and the governm ent exh ib its I th in k w i l l show' it , in the Soviet U n ion and in Germany, the re fo re we are in fa vo r o f i t here in th is country . I w an t h im to exp la in w hy a v io le n t revo lu tion is ab­so lu te ly necessary in Russia and Germany and th a t i t m ig h t not be necessary in the U n ited States.

T H E CO UR T: He m ay answer, bu t is th is lik e ly to be an extended discussion?

M R. G O L D M A N : Yes, I th in k so, Y o u r .Honor.

(H e a rin g resumed pu rsuan t to recess a t 2:00 P. M .)T H E C O U R T: Proceed, gentlem en.

JA M E S P. C A N N O Nresumed the stand, having been prev ious ly du ly sworn, and te s ti­fied fu r th e r as fo llow s:

D IR E C T E X A M IN A T IO N (Continued)B y M r. Goldman:Q: I th in k I asked you when we closed th is m orn ing , M r.

Cannon, to exp la in to us the position o f the p a rty on the neces­s ity o f a v io len t revo lu tion in the Soviet Un ion aga inst the S ta lin reg im e, and why.

A . We are in fa v o r o f a p o litica l revo lu tion in the Soviet U nion. T h a t is, as d istinguished fro m a social revo lu tion , in th a t we would no t change the p ro pe rty fo rm s, on ly the governm enta l superstructure . We wrould re ta in the nationalized p ro pe rty and the collectiv ized fa rm in g system.

W e propose to ove rth row the S ta lin reg im e by revo lu tion , and in the Soviet U n ion th a t revo lu tion m ust necessarily be a v io len t revo lu tion .

LACK OF WORKERS’ DEMOCRACIESQ : W hy?A : Because there is absolutely no democracy pe rm itted un­

der the S ta lin regime, no freedom o f speech, press, o r assembly, no poss ib ility o f o rgan iz ing the people in a peacefu l way o r reach­ing them in a dem ocratic process, and under those conditions in Russia, as in H it le r ’s Germany, one cannot conceive o f any pos­s ib ili ty o f the masses find ing libe ra tion from these d ic ta torsh ips, except by a v io len t revo lu tion .

Q: A nd in w h a t w ay —A : There can’t be any a m b ig u ity or a lte rna tives about i t ,

ju s t as the Czar could on ly be ove rth row by a v io le n t r is in g o f the masses.

Q: A nd is there any d is tinc tio n in the conditions o f those countries fro m the condition in the U n ited States?

A : There is , c e rta in ly a t the present tim e, in so fa r as the w o rk ing people and the m in o r ity pa rties here have the opppr- tu n ity to p a rtic ip a te in elections, to pub lish th e ir papers, to con­duct th e ir meetings. You can ve ry consis ten tly and lo g ica lly undertake to proceed a long th a t peaceful dem ocratic road as long as the op p o rtu n ity is offered.

' Q : And the p a rty would exh au s t.a ll the poss ib ilities fo r a peaceful tra n s fo rm a tio n i f the dem ocra tic r ig h ts are given to the w o rk ing masses?

A : In my opin ion, to the very end, yes.Q: Even to the end o f t ry in g to amend the C o ns titu tio n o f

the U n ited States, as provided fo r by the C o nstitu tion o f the U n ited States?

A : I f the dem ocratic processes are m ain ta ined here, i f they ,are no t d isrupted by the in tro du c tion o f fasc is t methods by the governm ent, and the m a jo r ity o f the people suppo rting the ideas o f Socialism can secure a v ic to ry by the dem ocratic processes, I don’t see any reason w h y they cannot proceed, continue to proceed, by the dem ocratic m ethod o f am ending the C o nstitu tion to f i t the new' regim e.

N a tu ra lly , the amendments would have to be o f a very d ras tic (Continued on page 6)

A : A n arm ed action o f a sm all group. The Bolshevik P a rty demanded, w ith Lenin as th e ir spokesman, th a t the Social Revo­lu tio n a ry P a rty and the M enshevik P a rty take complete con tro l o f the governm ent by rem oving the bourgeois m in is te rs and make i t a com plete ly labo r and peasant governm ent, and they Issued the prom ise th a t, “ I f you do th a t, we prom ise th a t as long as we are in the m in o rity , we w i l l not t r y to ove rth row you. We w il l n o t support you p o lit ic a lly , we w i l l c ritic ize you, bu t we w il l no t undertake to ove rth row the governm ent as long as we are in- the m in o r ity .” T h a t was the po licy o f the B o l­sheviks in the M arch days o f the revo lu tion against the Czar, and in to Ju ly .

In Ju ly the w orkers in P etrograd staged a dem onstration w ith arm s, aga inst the advice o f the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks advised against i t on the ground th a t i t m ig h t undu ly provoke the s itua tion , and tr ie d to persuade the w orkers in P etrograd no t to go in to th a t action. I t was not a rebe llion ; i t was s im p ly a parade w ith arm s. T h is action,' carried ou t by the Petrograd w orkers aga inst the advice o f the Bolsheviks, b rough t rep res­sions against the w orkers on the p a rt o f the K erensky govern­ment.

Then the Kerensky governm ent undertook to d iscred it and fram e-up the Bolshevik P a rty . They accused Len in and T ro tsky o f being German spies. T h is was the predecessor o f S ta lin ’s Moscow T ria ls . They accused Lenin and T ro ts k y and the B o l­sheviks o f being German spies. T ro ts k y was th ro w n in to ja il, Len in was forced into- h id ing , and repressions continued aga inst the Bolsheviks, bu t i t did no t do any good, because the po licy and slogans o f the Bolsheviks were g ro w in g in po p u la rity . One by one the g re a t factories and sold iers’ reg im ents began to vote in fa v o r o f the Bolshevik program .

THE ATTEMPTED UPRISING OF KORNILOVIn .September an a tte m p t a t eoun te r-revo lu tion was made

under the leadership o f General K o rn ilo v , who could be p rope rly described as a Russian M onarch is t-Fascis t. He organized an a rm y and undertook to ove rth row the Kerensky governm ent in P etrograd, w ith the idea o f res to ring th e old regim e.

The Kerensky governm ent, th a t had p u t T ro ts k y in ja il, had to release h im fro m prison to g e t the support o f his p a r ty to f ig h t down the coun te r-revo lu tiona ry a rm y o f K o rn ilo v .

T ro ts k y was b rough t fro m prison, and w en t d ire c tly to the M ilita ry -R e v o lu tio n a ry Com m ittee, in w h ich governm ent men also sat, and there drew up w ith them plans fo r a jo in t f ig h t against K o rn ilo v . K o rn ilo v w as' crushed; the coun te r-revo lu tion was crushed, p r im a r ily by the w orkers under the in sp ira tio n o f the Bolshevik P a rty . They tied up his ra ilro a d tra in s ; he could no t move his tro o p s r his best troops were induced to f ig h t aga inst him , and his coun te r-revo lu tion was crushed.

As th is was go ing on, the Bolsheviks became more popu la r a ll the tim e, as the genuine representatives o f the revo lu tion . They gained the m a jo r ity in the P e trograd Soviet, the m ost in flu e n tia l Soviet in the coun try , and in Moscow and others. The Kerensky governm ent was losing ground because i t was no t so lv ing any o f the problem s o f the people. The Bolsheviks’ slogans o f “ B read” , ' “ Peace” , “ Land” , and o ther slogans — those were the slogans th a t the masses wanted.

On Novem ber 7th was held the Congress o f the A ll-R uss ian Soviets o f W orkers and Soldiers. The Bolsheviks had a m a jo r ity there, and sim ultaneously w ith the m eeting o f the Soviets, where the Bolsheviks had a m a jo rity , they took the power fro m the governm ent.

VIOLENCE AND THE OCTOBER REVOLUTIONQ: A nd was there any violence connected w ith the g a in ­

in g o f the m a jo r ity by the Bolsheviks?A : V e ry l i t t le — ju s t a l i t t le scu fflin g , th a t ’s a ll.MR. S C H W E IN H A U T : T h a t was in P etrograd?T H E W IT N E S S : In P etrograd, yes. T h a t was also where

the Czar was overth row n.Q: A nd subsequently to the ga in in g o f the m a jo r ity by the

Bolsheviks w h a t violence, i f any, occurred?

WHY WE BEFEHD THE SOVIET UNIONT H E CO UR T: The ju r y w i l l keep in m ind the adm onition

he retofore g iven them, and we w i l l recess now u n t il tw o o’clock th is afternoon.

Wednesday, Novem ber 19, 1941 (A F T E R N O O N SESSIO N)

T H E M I L I T A N T DECEMBER 6, 1941

The Part Comrade Trotsky Played In Our MovementOur Party "Regarded Him A ll The Time As The

Theoretical Inspirer and Teacher O f Our Movement"

(Continued from page 5)character, b u t parts o f the C onstitu tion I would be w illin g to w r ite in to the program o f the p a rty at any tim e — th a t is the B il l o f R ights , which we believe in.

T h a t section o f the C onstitu tion which pro tects p riva te p rop­e rty r ig h ts , we th in k , would absolute ly have to be changed in the society which we envisage, which elim inates p r iva te p ro pe rty in in d u s tiia l enterprises o f a large-scale nature .

Q: B u t i t is you r be lie f, is i t not, th a t in a ll p ro b a b ility the m in o rity w i l l not a llow such a peaceful trans fo rm a tion ?

A : T ha t is our opin ion. T h a t is based on a ll the h is to rica l ' precedents o f the unw illingness o f any p riv ileged class, no m a tte r

how i t is ou tlived, to legve the scene w ith o u t t ry in g to impose its w ill on the m a jo r ity by force. I c ited examples yesterday.

Q: W ha t is the —A : I m ight, g ive you another example on the same point.

F o r example, the Bolshevik revo lu tion in I lu n g a ry was accom­plished w ith o u t the sheading o f one drop o f blood, in a com plete ly peaceful manner.

Q: When was tha t?A : T ha t was in 1919. The governm ent th a t was established

Q: W ha t is the position th a t the p a r ty gives to K a r l M a rx and his doctrines?

A : K a r l M a rx was the o rig in a to r o f the theories and doc­trines and social analyses, which we know as sc ientific socialism , o r M arx ism , upon which the en tire movem ent o f sc ientific socia l­ism has been based since his day.

In the Com m unist M an ifesto o f 1848 his ideas were sketched, and then in o ther b ig volumes, no tab ly in C ap ita l, he made a m ost exhaustive sc ientific analysis o f the laws govern ing the; opera tion o f c a p ita lis t society, showed how the con trad ic tions w ith in i t would lead to its dow n fa ll as a social system, showed how the co n flic t o f in te rests between the em ployers and the w orkers would represent an un in te rrup ted class s trugg le u n til the w orkers gained the upper hand and in s titu ted the society o f socialism .

So K a r l M arx can be viewed not on ly as the founder o f our movement, bu t as the m ost a u th o rita tive representative o f its ideology.

Q: Does the p a rty accept a ll o f the statem ents found in a ll o f the books w r itte n by K a r l M arx?

A : No, the p a rty has never ob ligated its e lf to do tha t. We do not consider even M arx- as in fa llib le . The p a rty accepts his basic ideas and theories as its own basic ideas and theories. T ha t does no t p ro h ib it the p a rty o r members o f the p a r ty fro m d is­agreeing w ith th ings said or w r itte n by M arx w h ich do not s tr ike a t the fundam enta l basis o f the movement, o f the doctrine.

Q: And you in te rp re t M arx, o r you app ly the M arx ian theories, under conditions th a t p reva il a t the present tim e, is th a t r ig h t?

A : Yes. You see, we don’t understand M arx ian theory as a reve la tion , as a dogma. Engels expressed i t by saying our theory is no t a do-gma b u t a guide to action, which means th a t i t is a method w hich the students o f M arx ism m ust understand and learn how to apply. One can read every le tte r and every line w r itte n by M arx and s t i l l n o t be a usefu l M a rx is t, i f cme does no t know how to app ly i t to the conditions o f h is own tim e. There have been such people, whom we ca ll pedants.

Q: You are acquainted w ith the Com m unist M anifesto, are you not? [|( ,

A : Yes.

THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO OF 1848Q: And you rem em ber — I th in k i t is the la s t clause o f the

M anifesto, where M arx and Engels, co-authors, say: “ We disdain to conceal our a im s,” and m ention som eth ing to the e ffe c t about v io le n t revo lu tion . Do you rem em ber th a t?

A : W ell, i t says, “ We disdain to conceal ou r aims. We openly say th a t they can be achieved on ly by the fo rc ib le over­th ro w o f a ll e x is ting social in s titu tio n s .”

Q: W hen was the Com m unist M an ifesto w ritte n ?A : 1848.A : Subsequent to the w r it in g o f the C om m unist M anifesto,

did M a rx over w r ite an y th in g w ith reference to the poss ib ility o f a peaceful revo lu tion in dem ocratic countries?

A : Yes.Q: W here was th a t w r itte n , and exp la in to the ju r y w ha t

was said.A : W e ll, the m ost a u th o rita tive place where i t is stated

and expla ined is in the in tro du c tion to the f irs t volum e o f M a rx ’s m aster-w ork, called C ap ita l, the in troduc tion by F rede rick E n ­gels, who- was his co-w orker, who was the co-author o f the Com­m un is t M anifesto, and is recognized un ive rsa lly in the movement as com ple te ly id en tified w ith a ll o f M a rx ’s ideas and theories, who as a m a tte r o f fa c t edited and compiled the second tw o volumes o f C apita l, a f te r the death o f M arx .

Q: W h a t did he say in th a t in troduc tion?A : T h is was the E ng lish tra n s la tio n o f C ap ita l and the

in troduc tion was in tro du c ing the volume to the E ng lish public, and he stated — I th in k I can quote a lm ost li te ra lly — th a t he th inks the w o rk o f a man who, d u fin g his en tire life , was o f the op in ion th a t the social trans fo rm a tion in England, a t least, could be effected by pu re ly peaceful and lega l means — he th o u g h t such a book should have a hearing fro m the E ng lish

A : No, no t in ou r view.Q: Is i t true th a t there is Communism in the Soviet Union?A : No, there isn ’t any Communism in the Soviet Union.Q: Is there Socialism in the Soviet Un ion?A : No — w e ll, I would like to c la r ify th a t now. Socialism

and Communism are more o r less interchangeable te rm s in the M a rx is t movement. Some make a d is tinc tio n between them in th is respect; fo r example, Len in used the expression Socialism as the f ir s t stage o f Communism, bu t I haven’t found any qther a u th o r ity fo r th a t use. I th in k th a t is Len in ’s own particular- idea. I , fo r example, consider the term s Socialism and Com­m unism interchangeable, and they re la te to the classless society based on planned production fo r use as d is tin c t fro m a system o f cap ita lism based on p riva te p ro pe rty and production fo r p ro fit. 1

Q: Could there be a Socia lis t society and a d ic ta to rsh ip like S ta lin has a t the present tim e?

A : No. A ccord ing to M arx and Engels, as you approach the classless Socia lis t o r Com m unist society, the governm ent, instead o f becoming more o f a fa c to r in human a ffa irs , becomes less and less and eventua lly w ith e rs aw ay and disappears, and is replaced o r evolves in to an ad m in is tra tive body th a t does no t em ploy repression aga inst the people.

So the ve ry te rm governm ent im plies, in our te rm ino logy , a class society, — th a t is, a class th a t is dom inant and a class th a t -is being suppressed. T h a t holds tru e w hether i t is a c a p ita lis t governm ent, w h ich in ou r views oppresses o r sup­presses the w orkers and the fa rm ers and represents the in te r ­ests o f the b ig cap ita l, o r a w o rke r^ ’ and fa rm e rs ’ governm ent im m edia te ly fo llo w in g a revo lu tion which represents the in te rests o f the w orkers and fa rm ers and suppresses any a tte m p t o f the displaced c a p ita lis t class to res is t its a u th o r ity o r to re-estab­lish its ru le.

fo llo w in g the w ar, o f w h ich Count K a ro ly i was P rem ier, came to w ha t i t considered the end o f its resources — i t could no t con­t ro l the country, did no t have the support o f the masses, and Count K a ro ly i as head o f the governm ent, on his own m otion, w ent to- tne head o f the Bolshevik p a rty , o r the Com m unist P arty , ra th e r, o f H ungary, who was in prison, and summoned him to take charge o f the governm ent in a peaceful, lega l manner, like the change o f a cabinet in the French P arliam e n t — o f course, p r io r to the Retain regime.

Then th is Soviet governm ent, having been established in th is way, peacefully, was confronted by an up ris ing o f the priv ileged class, o f the land lords and the b ig owners, who organized an armed fig h t against the governm ent, and eventua lly overthrew it . The violence on a mass scale fo llowed the change o f the govern­ment, did not precede it .

public. T h a t is ve ry close to a li te ra l re p o rt o f w ha t he stated in th is in troduction .

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND EUROPE

Q: A nd w hy did M a rx have th a t op in ion w ith reference to England ?

A : W ell, he had th a t opinion w ith reference to England as d is tin c t fro m the au tocra tic countries, because o f its p a r lia ­m en ta ry system, its dem ocratic processes, and c iv il lib e rta ria n method o f po litica l procedure.

Q: So a t the tim e th a t M arx and Engels w ro te the Com­m unist M an ifesto in 1848, there was no democracy in existence on the European continent, is th a t r ig h t?

A : The whole o f Europe was seething w ith revo lu tions a t th a t tim e.

Q: And no dem ocratic processes were available?A : A t least no t in the stable system th a t had been estab­

lished in England.I th in k I should add. to get the whole p ic tu re o f th is in ­

troduction th a t I am speaking of, th a t Engels said, a fte r he had made th is rem ark which I have reported, he sa id : “ T o be sure, M arx did no t exclude the poss ib ility o f a pro-slavery rebel­lion on the pa rt o f the outmoded and dispossessed ru lin g class.” T ha t is, a fte r the tra n s fe r o f power.

Q: W hat would you say is the re la tionsh ip o f the D eclara­tio n —

T H E CO UR T: Pardon me, M r. Cannon. W ould you be good enough to elaborate a b it upon the significance o f th a t p ro -s lav­e ry phrase?

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WART H E W IT N E S S : Yes. I th in k he had in m ind the A m e r­

ican C iv il W ar. M a rx and Engels a tte n tiv e ly fo llow ed the A m e r­ican C iv il W ar, w ro te extensive ly about i t in the New Y o rk T ribune . A collection o f those w ritin g s , both p o lit ic a l and m il i­ta ry , have been published as a book, w h ich is a classic in our movement, and w h a t M arx undoubtedly had in m ind when he spoke o f a “ pro -s lave ry rebe llion ” ,.was an analogy w ith the A m e r­ican C iv il W ar, which he had characterized as a pro -s lavery rebellion on the p a rt o f the Southern slave owners. O f course, he did no t m a in ta in th a t the E ng lish bourgeoisie ax-e slavehold­ers in the same sense, bu t th a t they exp lo it the w orkers.

Q: Now what, in you r opinion, is the re la tionsh ip between the D eclara tion o f P rinc ip les o f the Socia list W orkers P a rty and the theories o f K a r l M a rx?

A : W ell, I would say th a t in so fa r as we understand M a rx ­ism and are able to app ly it , i t is an app lica tion o f the M arx ian theories and doctrines, his whole system o f ideas, to the social problem in Am erica.

Q: T h a t is, the Declara tion o f P rinc ip les is based then upon the fundam enta l theories o f K a r l M arx ?

A : Yes, we consider i t a M a rx is t document.Q: W ha t is the position th a t the p a r ty gives to Lenin?A : Lenin, in our judgm ent, was the g reatest p rac tica l lead­

e r o f the labo r movement and the Russian Revolu tion , b u t no t on the plane o f M a rx in the theore tica l field. Len in was a d is­c ip le o f M arx , no t an innova to r in theory. To be sure he con­tr ib u te d ve ry im p o rta n t ideas, b u t to the end o f his l i fe he based h im se lf on M arx , as a d iscip le in the M a rx is t movement o f the w orld . He holds a position o f esteem on a level w ith M arx, w ith th is d is tinc tio n between the m erits o f the two.

Q: Does the p a rty , o r do p a rty members agree w ith every­th in g th a t Len in ever w ro te and published?

A : No. The same a ttitu d e applies to Lenin as to M arx. T h a t is, the basic ideas and doctrines practiced, p rom ulgated and carried ou t by Lenin, are supported by our movement, which does no t exclude the p o ss ib ility o f d if fe r in g w ith h im about th is o r th a t p a rtic u la r w r it in g , o r o f in d iv idu a l members o f the p a rty d if fe r in g w ith Lenin on im p o rta n t respects, as has been the case more than once in our pa rty .

Q: B y the way, is i t true th a t there is a C om m unist gov­ernm ent in the Soviet Un ion?

B u t once the resistance o f the old ou t-lived exp lo itin g class is broken, and its members become reconciled to the new society and become assim ila ted in it , find th e ir place in i t ; and the s trugg le between classes w h ich is the dom ina ting fa c to r in a ll class societies is done aw ay w ith , because o f the disappearance o f class d is tinc tions ; then the p r im a ry func tion o f governm ent as a repressive in s tru m en t disappears and the governm ent w ith ­ers aw ay w ith it . T h is is the pro found conception o f M a rx and Engels th a t is adhered to by a ll th e ir disciples.

BLANQUISM AND OUR MOVEMENTQ: D id Len in ever use the te rm “ B lanqu ism ” to designate

a certa in type o f movement?T H E CO UR T: W ha t is tha t?MR. G O L D M A N : B lanquism . .T H E W IT N E S S : Yes, he w ro te more than one a rtic le in

the course o f the Russian Revolution, more than once he w ro te , “ W e are no t B lanquists .”

Q: Now, w h a t is m eant by “ B lanquism ” ?A : B lanqui was a figu re in the French revo lu tiona ry move­

m ent who had fo llow e rs in the Paris Commune o f 1871. B lanqui had his own conception o f p a rty and o f revo lu tion , and his ideas are known among the students o f the h is to ry o f the labo r move­m ent as B lanquism .

Q: W ha t are his ideas?A : B la nq u i’s idea was th a t a sm all group o f determ ined

men, t ig h t ly d isciplined, could e ffec t the revo lu tion w ith a coup d 'e ta t.

Q : W hat is a “ coup d ’e ta t” ?A : T h a t is a seizure o f power, a seizure o f sta te power by

armed action o f a sm all, determ ined, d iscip lined g roup ; they would, so to speak, make the revo lu tion fo r .the masses.

Q : A nd w h a t did Lenin say about tha t?

A : Lenin opposed th is view and his artic les were w r itte n in answer to opponents who had accused the Bolsheviks o f a im ­ing to seize power w ith o u t a m a jo rity . He said, “ We are no t B la n ­quists. We base ourselves on mass parties and mass movements, 8nd as long as we are in the m in o rity , our task is to pa tie n tly ex­pla in the problems and issues u n til we gain the m a jo r ity , and as long as we are in the m in o rity we w il l no t t r y ' t o overth row you. You le t us have our freedom o f speech and press, g ive us the op po rtu n ity to expound our ideas, and you don’t need to fea r any B lanqu is t putsch on our p a rt.”

Putsch, as I explained before, is an a ttem p t o f a sm all group to seize power by surprise tactics.

Q: So Lenin depended upon mass parties and upon ga in ing a m a jo r ity fo r those mass parties, did he?

THE SUPPORT OF THE MAJORITYA : Yes, in the ea rly days o f the Com m unist In te rn a tio n a l

— i t is a period th a t I am fa m il ia r w ith th rough close study and personal p a rtic ip a tio n in the movem ent — he hammered a t th is idea a ll the tim e, no t on ly aga inst h is c r it ic s in Russia, bu t aga inst various ind iv idua ls and groups who came tow ard support o f the Russian R evolution, and had some d is to rted idea.

In G erm any, fo r example, in 1921, the German p a rty , which

Q : W ha t was the nature o f the discussions th a t you held w ith T ro ts k y w h ile you were there?

A : A l l the im p o rta n t problem s o f the w o rld movement.Q: A n y p rob lem s,o f the A m erican labor m ovement?A : Yes.

Q: D id you ever discuss the question o f U n ion Defense Guards and Local 544 w ith h im ?

A : No, I personally had no discussion w ith h im about 544 Defense Guards. We discussed w ith h im the question o f Defense Guards in General. This, I th in k , was in ou r v is it in 1938.

,Q : Do you know o f you r own knowledge w hether T ro ts k y had m any v is ito rs?

A : Yes, I know th a t he did. I know th a t he had m any v is ito rs , because in m y capacity as Secretary o f the P a rty I f re ­quen tly was called upon to g ive le tte rs o f in tro du c tion to people who wanted to- v is it h im . He was vis ited, no t on ly by ou r mem­bers, bu t by jo u rn a lis ts , by school teachers, a h is to ry class 'which used to tou r M exico, and he was v is ited by pub lic people o f m any kinds and opinions w h ile he was there.

Q: Then the discussions th a t you had w ith T ro ts k y re ferred, and re la ted to general p o lit ic a l questions, did they not?

A : Yes — yes, questions o f the w a r, o f fascism , trade un ion­ism —

Q: B u t they had no th in g to do w ith p a r ty ac tiv ities , branch­es, o r o f p a rtic u la r sections o f "the p a rty?

A : No, I don’t reca ll th a t T ro ts k y ever in terested h im se lf in the detailed local w o rk o f the p a rty ; I don’t reca ll tha t.

TROTSKY’S WORKQ: How busy a man was he?A : W ell, he was the busiest man I ever saw. T ro tsky , in

add ition to a ll his p o lit ic a l w o rk and his enormous correspond­ence, and his jo u rn a lis tic w o rk — and he w ro te innum erable artic les and pam phlets fo r us — he w ro te fo r magazines and newspapers, such as the New Y o rk T imes, S atu rday E vening Post, L ib e rty , and o ther magazines — and in addition to th a t, he produced in the eleven years since his exile to T u rkey in 1929 to h is death in 1940, a lite ra ry ou tpu t g re a te r by volum e than th a t o f the average w r ite r who does no th in g else bu t w rite .

He w ro te the three huge volumes on the Russian R evolution w h ich, fro m the po in t o f v iew o f li te ra ry labor, could be con­sidered a li fe task by any w r ite r . He w ro te a fu ll-s ized book

Next week's issue of T H L M IL IT A N T w ill conclude the testimony of Comrade Cannon on direct exatnina- tion by Defense Attorney Goldman, and cross-examina­tion by Assistant Attorney-General Schweinhaut. livery worker who is interested in the issues in this tria l w ill want lo read the full transcript of this historic debate between the National Secretary of the Socialist Workers Party, representing the interests of socialist ideas and m ilitan t unionism, and the carefully picked spokesman for Roosevelt and Biddle, representing the interests of the warmongering politicians and capitalists.

had recently been organized, a ttem pted an insu rrec tion w ith o u t hav ing the support o f the masses; th is became fam ous in the lite ra tu re o f our in te rna tiona l movement, as “ the M arch action .” The tactics embodied in it , the conception o f some o f the German leaders th a t they could force the re vo lu tion by th e ir ow n de­te rm in a tio n and sacrifices — th is whole idea, the M arch ac tion and a ll the ideas embodied in it, were condemned by the Second Congress o f the Com m unist In te rn a tio n a l a t the insistence o f Lenin and T ro tsky . They re fu te d th is theory , and they counter- posed to i t mass parties, mass movements, ga in in g the m a jo r ity .

They pu t out the slogan to the German p a rty th a t i t should aim to- have a m illio n members. Z inoviev, who was Chairm an o f the Com intern, on the German question made th a t one o f his leading ideas, th a t the task o f the German p a rty was no t to ge t im p a tie n t o r to t r y to force h is to ry , bu t to be busy w ith a g ita ­tion and propaganda and have the goal o f a m illio n in the pa rty .

Q: These m illio n members would no t by themselves make any revo lu tion , w ould they?

A : N a tu ra lly no t — Len in d id no t expect to have a m a jo r­ity o f the popu lation become members o f the pa rty , bu t to- sup­po rt the pa rty . B u t the ve ry fa c t th a t he proposed — o r ra th e r, Z inoviev who was the lieu tenan t o f Lenin, ac ting as Chairm an o f the C om m unist In te rn a tio n a l proposed — as a slogan, “ A, m illio n members in (he German P a rty ,” ce rta in ly was a power­fu l ind ica tion th a t they did no t expect to ge t a m a jo r ity o f the people u n t il they had a nu m erica lly po w e rfu l p a rty .

Q: Now, w ha t re la tionsh ip , i f any, did Leon T ro ts k y have to the Socia lis t W orke rs ’ P a rty ?

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MARXISM IS OUR PARTY’S CUIDE TO ACTION

A WORKERS STATE WILL LEAD TO CLASSLESS SOCIETY

RELATION OF TROTSKY TO THE SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTYA : W ell, our movement in 1928 — when ou r fac tio n was

expelled fro m the Com m unist P a rty — we had adopted the p ro­gram o f T ro tsky .

We supported his program from the ve ry beg inn ing — and th is was long before we had any personal contact w ith h im , he had been expelled fro m the Russian p a rty and was exiled in the A s ia tic w ilderness a t a place called A lm a A ta . We had no com m unication w ith him . We did n o t know where he was. w hether he was dead o r alive, bu t we had one o f his im p o rta n t p rogram m atic documents w h ich was called, “ The C ritic is m o f (he P rogram o f the C om inte rn .” T h is book, elaborated his the­ories as aga inst those o f S ta lin a t g re a t leng th and in fun da ­m ental respects. Th is was adopted by us as ou r own program and fro m the ve ry beginning we proclaim ed our fac tio n as T ro t­sky ’s faction .

We worked fo r about s ix m onths here w ith o u t any com­m unication w ith h im , u n t il he was deported to Turkey, Constan­tinople, and then we established com m unication w ith h im by m ail.

La te r, various leading members o f the p a rty v is ited h im . We had very extensive correspondence w ith h im , and in th is co r­respondence and in v is its by in d iv idu a l members, we had an ex­trem e ly close re la tio n to h im and regarded him a ll the tim e as the theore tica l in sp ire r and teacher o f our movement.

Q: W hen d id you f irs t v is i t T ro tsky?A : I v is ited h im in France in 1934 — th a t is, fo r the f irs t

tim e a fte r ou r expulsion fro m the Com m unist P a rty .Q: And w ha t role, i f any, did T i-otsky p lay in fo rm u la tin g

the doctrines o f the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty?A : W ell, he p layed a ve ry im p o rta n t role. A ltho ug h he

did n b t w r ite ou r p a r ty documents, his ideas in te rp re tin g M a rx ­ism in ou r tim e were the source fro m w h ich we g o t ou r m ain concepts and rew ro te them in Am erican terms, tr ie d to app ly them to A m erican conditions.

Q: D id he w rite any a rtic les about conditions and develop­ments in' the U n ited States in those days?

A : I don’t reca ll th a t he w ro te much in those days about Am erica.

Q: D id he a t any tim e in those days te ll you as to w hat p rac tica l action should be taken in the U n ited States by your group ?

A : Yes. One o f the subjects o f controversy in our ea rly

days was w h a t k ind o f a c t iv ity we should occupy ourselves w ith .He supported the idea o f a pu re ly propagandistic a c t iv ity

in our e a rly days — th a t is, as d is tingu ished fro m w h a t we ca ll mass w ork. We were so few in num bers, we could no t hope to do an y th in g except to t r y to publish a paper and convert some people to ou r basic ideas; a ve ry , ve ry modest task o f rou tine propaganda was assigned by the necessity o f the s itu a ­tion to ou r group a t th a t tim e, and he supported th a t.

AFTER TROTSKY CAME TO MEXICOQ: When did you f irs t make frequen t contact w ith T ro tsky?A : He was driven ou t o f F rance and then ou t o f N o rw ay

and fin a lly received asylum in Mexico by the action o f P resident Cardenas. I f I am correct as to the exact m onth, I th in k i t was January, 1937.

T he re a fte r he lived in M exico u n t il A u g u s t 21, 1940, when he was assassinated. In the period th a t he was there wo made frequen t v is its to him . I personally was there to see h im tw ice , once in the sp ring o f 1938 and again in the sum m er o f 1940. O ther p a rty leaders and p a rty members v is ited h im fre q u e n tly . I personally m ain ta ined a ve ry active correspondence w ith him , and so did o-lher members o f the p a rty , and I would say we were in ve ry , ve ry in tim a te con tact w ith h im a f te r he came to Mexico.

Q: W ha t did the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty do w ith reference to he lp ing T ro ts k y guard h im se lf, and also w ith reference to a id ing him in h is expenses?

A : W e know th a t T ro tsky was m arked fo r assassination by S ta lin , who had k ille d o f f p ra c tic a lly a ll the im p o rta n t lead­ers o f the revo lu tion th rou gh h is mass tr ia ls and his purges and fram e-ups and so fo rth . We knew th a t T ro tsky , as the g rea test o f a ll the opponents o f S ta lin , was m arked fo r assassination, and we undertook to p ro tec t h im . W e set up a special com m it­tee w h ich had the sole purpose o f co llec ting funds to support th is endeavor.

We supplied guards, we supplied money re g u la r ly and sys­te m a tica lly fo r tra n s fo rm in g h is house in to as close to a fo rtre ss as possible. We collected and supplied the funds to buy the house fo r h im . * W e supplied the expenses o f the guards w ho were sent there, and in general, in every w ay possible, extended ourselves to p ro tec t his li fe and fa c il ita te his w ork.

NATURE OF DISCUSSIONS WITH TROTSKYcalled, “ The R evolu tion B e trayed ," and he w ro te his au tob iog­rap hy and innum erab le sm a lle r books and pam phlets and a r ­tic les in th a t period.

Q: The p a rty , then, never bothered h im w ith m in o r ques­tions o f po licy and ac tiv itie s?

A : N o t to m y know ledge; I know I never did.

DECEMBER 6, 1941 T H E M I L I T A N T

r r i 1 ‘LABOR WITH A WHITE SKIN I l l O CANNOT EMANCIPATE ITSELF

X J .I C WHERE IjABOR WITH A BLACK SKIN IS BRANDED” — KARL MARX.

Negro S truggleK<æ By Ernest Williams

Negro Workers and ihe CIO Convention

The recent convention of the CIO in D e tro it mapped plans tha t arc of v ita l im portance to Negro workers throughout the country. By la t­t ile most s ign ifican t was the decision to launch an organ izationa l d rive of the CIO in the deep South.

W ith the m a jo rity of mass production indus­tries in the N o rth now organized, the next step is the' organ ization of the underpaid Negro and w h ite laborers of the South.

I t is rough ly estimated tha t there are w e ll over 200,000 Negro workers already in the CIO. The largest p roportion come from the United Mine W orkers, the United Autom obile W orkers, as well as steel, meat-packing, etc. Now conies the drive to organize the Southern in d u s tr ia l workers and {lie cheated and underpriv ileged share-croppers and the a g ricu ltu ra l workers.

These plans were greeted w ith great enthusiasm by the delegates, and p a rtic u la r ly the Negro del­egates who understand th a t the Negro people w il l benefit v ita l ly through such a drive.

I t was stressed by many Negro delegates tha t such a d rive by the CIO would help in the figh t to abolish the po ll tax in the South. In fact, many insisted tha t on ly th rough the cooperation o f the CIO was there any hope o f w ip in g out these reactionary laws.

The a ttitud e of Negro w orkers toward the CIO and its plans to organize in the South was prob­ably best expressed by Rev. Owen I I W h itfie ld o f M issouri, a delegate from UCAPAW A and rep­resentative of the cotton field workers of A la ­bama and Arkansas. He declared:

“ We Negroes in the South don’t fea r H it le r bombings because we haven’t an y th in g to be bombed. However, we are in terested in the CIO because we believe th a t the CIO is more ap t to g ive the N egro a square deal than any o ther o r­ganized labor group in Am erica. W e, in the South, are expecting the CIO to come to our rescue, to do in fact, w ha t the New Deal has been able to do on ly in theory .”

Resolutions of InterestThe CIO once again reaffirm ed its a ttitud e of

welcome toward Negro workers and toward the active p a rtic ip a tion of Negroes as un ion leaders and field organizers. I t endorsed a resolution condemning the practice of lynch ing and endors­in g the p rinc ip le o f Federal a n ti- lyn ch in g leg is ­la tion .

A nother reso lu tion condemned a ll rac ia l and re lig ious d isc rim in a tio n in defense jobs and in the A rm y, and called upon a ll CIO a ffilia tes t ' use th e ir resources to stamp out d iscrim ina tion .

Then a reso lution was adopted on the' u n ity of Negro and w h ite workers, s ta ting th a t the funda­m ental in terests o f both are the same, and rea f­f irm in g th e ir opposition to any and a ll form s of d isc rim in a tio n and pledging to w ork fo r the e lim ­ina tion of outworn prejudices in Am erican life both among employees and employers.

Attitude Toward WatA t the same tim e th a t plans were made fo r an

•organizational d rive in the South, M u rra y and other CIO leaders issued statements in fu ll sup­po rt o f the Roosevelt A dm in is tra tion and its pro­w ar policies. There was an obvious contrad ic tion here. To organize the South, the CIO w il l have to figh t b itte r ly against those same Southern poll- taxers and landlords who contro l the leg is la tive anfl m un ic ipa l powers of the South and who are the leading advocates o f w a r in th is country.

However, the Negro delegates a t the conven­tion , representing those to whom th is “ w ar fo r democracy” is the greatest deception, had some­th in g a l i t t le d iffe re n t to say.

W a lte r Harden o f the U A W stated: “ W h ile H it le r is a menace to the w orld , d isc rim in a tio n tha t existed against Negroes before the H it le r menace came, cannot be forgotten. The on ly d if­ference between the Jews of Germany and H it ­le r ’s government, and the Negroes res id ing below the Mason and D ixon line in Am erica, is tha t in Germany the Jew has som ething tha t can be taken away.”

O ther stEitements were made to the effect tha t “ i f we are fig h tin g fo r democracy abroad, i t would be bette r to also figh t fo r democracy at home, o r to be assured^ firs t, tha t democracy exists here in the U n ited States.”

Need for Militant ActionA real d rive to organize workers in the deep

South can be successfully carried out on ly through m ilita n t action. Not on ly m ust the figh t he conducted against the reactionary landlords and employers, but it. m ust also figh t tooth and n a il against th e ir lyn ch in g and poll-tax methods o f te rro r iz in g arid .silencing the masses o f people.

The m ilita n ts o f the CIO m ust guard against any attem pt to abandon th is organ iz ing d rive in the South on the plea o f “ na tional u n ity .” The on ly u n ity w o rth w h ile is the s o lid a rity o f the w o rk in g class, Negro and white , Southern as well as N orthern , throughout the country.

Announcing

HARLEM LABOR SEFEiSE S « y

T H IS S A T U R D A Y N IG H T D E C E M B E R 6, 1911

with

M OVIES! DANCING ! HOT FOOD! REFRESHMENTS!

Harlem hdqrs. 72' West 125th St.Socialist Workers Party New York City

Southern Drive Is A Key Task Of CIOOrganizing Campaign in South, Voted byConvention, Will Meet Violent Opposition

By JOE A N D R E W SIn spite of the strong pro-war stand of the CIO convention

and the general political retreat of the leadership, the discus­sions and decisions at Detroit dealt in a progressive way with many important and crucial problems of the American workers. Outstanding organizational decision of the convention was thefirm resolve South.

to organize the-* -

Vieiv o f C IO C onvention

Delegates representing 5,000,000 organized industrial workers are shown in this general view, looking towards the speakers platform, of the C ÎO national convention held November 17-22 in Detroit.

The reso lu tion unanim ously adopted on th is po in t, pu t the CIO invasion of the reactionary, po ll-tax and open shop South a? po in t num ber one on the CIC agenda fo r the com ing year.

O ther m il ita n t reso lutions which gate the convention a progressive aspect, such as attacks on t in po ll tax system, against Negrc d isc rim ina tion , against lynch ing and the lik e are linked w ith ar a ll-ou t campaign to crack the v ig ilan te Bourbon d ic ta to rsh ip in th< South.

The CIO, w ith its a b ility to in spire a ll the exploited, has a! ready made its f irs t successes i r the South. The v ic to ry of the United M ine W orkers in abolish in g the wage d iffe re n tia l in South ern mines, served to b r in g a ray o f hope to Southern workers black and w h ite , who have been given the d ir ty end of the s tick in th is country. The closed shoo contract achieved by the h is to rica l Ford s tr ik e v ic to ry , established the CIO in Dallas. C ities such as Memphis, B irm ingham , A tlan ta and N o rfo lk , have been success­fu lly opened up fo r organized la­bor by the CIO v ic to ries in m in ­ing, auto and steel.

Sounding the tocsin fo r th is d rive to b r in g in d u s tr ia l un ion­ism to the w h ite and Negro w o rk­ers in the South, President P h ilip M urra y said to the CIO degelates, “ T ha t is your job . . . Nobody else is go ing to do it . Yes, the slogan o f the N a tiona l CTO fo r the en­su ing year is going to be one of o rgan iz ing the . . . Great S ou th . . . the great South m ust be organized before th is convention meets next y e a r!”

M urra y fu r th e r said, " in s o fa r as the CIO is concerned, there is not going to be a n y th in g to stand in our w ay o f organ iz ing the South d u rin g the cu rre n t year. We have to do it , we are going to do i t . ”

D E L E G A T E S C IT E S O U TH E R N C O N D IT IO N S

Delegate a fte r delegate rose to h is feet to support th is bold slo­gan. And m any CIO organizers, who had fought the un ion figh t the hard way, du ring the past couple of years in the South, re ­counted tales o f an ti-un ion b ru ­ta li ty equalled on ly by the labor-

smashing violence of H it le r ’s storm troopers.

Delegate M itch , of the Steel W orkers O rgan iz ing Committee fo rm erly o f the M ine W orkers to ld o f the M ine W orkers cam paign in Alabama, in .which or ganizers were shot and k illed where companies had th e ir gun­men stationed at every m in e - in the state. He pointed out that i t was the po ll tax senators in Congress, representing t h o s e areas where the w orkers were un­organized and terrorized, who were the strongest advocates of vic ious anti-labor leg is la tion.

"W hen we ta lk about democ­racy,” said M itch , “ we are not ge tting democracy here in our own country. We w ant democracy here . . . and we w an t to wh ip H it le r . . . hu t we w an t to w h ip these other H itle rs in th is coun­t r y . . . ”

A lthough a s ta rt has been made, the deep South is today large ly unorganized. I t is s t i l l the domain of low wages, lynch ing, in tim id a ­tion , and an ti-labor te rro r, ruled w ith an iro n hand by the South­ern employers and landlords. As one delegate pointed out, “ In the South there are m illio n s of w o rk ­ers in tex tile , fu rn itu re , wood­w o rk in g and in fa rm labor that have had no chance to jo in the fo ld o f the CiO. We are going to be confronted w ith a m ig ra tion o f N o rthern in d u s try in to the South i f som ething is not done to b r in g organ ization to (hose workers.”

Delegate Baldanzi of the T ex tile W orkers, pointed out, “ I t m ust be a double-barrelled campaign, we m ust c a rry the figh t against the po ll tax, we m ust ca rry on a fig h t fo r leg is la tion, we m ust see to i t ou r organizers are not beaten up and ta rred and feathered. The w orkers in the South are ready fo r freedom, i f we can provide leadership.”

T h is delegate h i t upon the kernel o f the problem of organ­iz ing the South. That i t is the most im portan t organizational problem con fron ting the labor movement is unquestionable. But t lie fu ll im p lica tions go fa r be­yond an o rd ina ry organizational campaign.

A ny serious struggle to smash the open shop ru le of the South­ern land and in d u s tr ia l barons.

w i l l in e v ita b ly lead to a clash w ith the whole apparatus of the U n ited Stales Government, in ­c lud ing President Roosevelt h im ­self.

The whole ' apparatus of the Roosevelt ad m in is tra tion is loaded down w ith labor-ba iting po ll tax Congressmen from S o u t h e r r i states; these Congressmen are in the fo re fro n t of the cu rre n t cam­paign in Congress to shackle and manacle the labor movement, and th e ir purpose is above a ll to keep the labor movement out o f the South.

The Roosevelt p a rty ’s firmest base is these Southern Democrats, who fo r years have been the most pow erfu l force In tha t p a rty ’s ap­paratus. Roosevelt has refused to push the A n ti-Lynch B il l in Con­gress, because he has feared a revo lt on the p a rt of these poll tax Democrats, whose support is so necessary fo r his w a r p ro­gram. A CIO drive in the South would mean therefore, opposition from the Roosevelt adm in is tra ­tion , in response to the demand? o f the Southern Congressmen and in du s tria lis ts .

Added to th is fact, the CIO w ill face in the South the same a n ti­labor campaign under the guise of “ na tional defense” w h ich has characterized every m ajor s trug ­gle to b r in g ba rga in ing r ig h ts and union conditions to w ar indus­tries in the recent period.

The steel, a irc ra ft, m un itions

and ordnance industries are spreading throughout thè South precisely because the big business interèêts seek out the sections w h ich o ffè r low wages, the open shop, and the pro tection of openly reactionary, te rro r is tic state and m un ic ipa l governm ental agencies.

S O U T H E R N W ORKERS R E A D Y FO R D R IV E

The Southern workers are more than ready fo r the CIO campaign. Just as the Ford workers, who lived under the w h ip fo r so many years, answered the CIO campaign by flood ing the ranks of the CIO and by conducting a b r i l l ia n t m il­ita n t f ig h t fo r un ionism , the Southern workers, Negroes and w h ite a like, w i l l spring in to the ba ttle fo r un ionism at the firs t sign o f a real campaign by the CIO.

B u t no h a lf measures w i l l suc­ceed in the South. A fig h t to o r­ganize the South means a battle w ith the governm ent; i t means m ilitan t, action to defend the very lives o f the w orkers in the union. Tt mèans a strugg le w ith Stand­ard O il, whose agents pa tro l the streets o f Southern cities, guns in hand, ready to m urder the organ­izers and members of the union.

Thè delegates to the CIO con­vention who unanim ously voted fo r the Southerri d rive as the most im portan t organ izationa l task fo r the next year, are m istaken i f they believe tha t Roosevelt, whose w a r policies the convention up-

held, w i l l prove h is “ fa irness” by repaying th e ir support o f h is fo r­eign po licy by a id ing them to o r­ganize the South. Roosevelt w i l l act as he acted on the Anti-Lynch B il l . He W ill support the p o ll tax Congressmen, the Rockefellers and the Bourbon in d u s tria lis t- landlords, and figh t the CIO every inch of the way.

B u t the m ilita n t membership of the CIO demands th a t the task he done, and i t is equal to the task The Southern m illions , deprived o f th e ir economic and po litica l lib e rty , are equal to the task.

The most uncerta in factor bear­in g on the u ltim a te success of th is d rive is the po litica l tie of the CIO leadership to the Roos­evelt ad m in is tra tion and its w ar program . T h is p o lit ic a l a ttitude confronts (he CIO leaders w ith a fundam ental con trad ic tion . In the showdown figh t th a t m ust en sue in any effective un ion organ­iza tion drive in the South, they w il l in a ll like lihood meet the opposition o f the government. The CIO has the choice o f successfully organ iz ing the South and smash in g the greatest reservo ir of open shop strength, thus facing s break w ith the A d m in is tra tio n , or w a te ring down the drive and re­trea tin g on the basis of the CIO leadership’s p o lit ic a l c o m m i t ­ments.

(A th ird a rtic le in th is series on the resu lts o f the CIO N a tio n ­al Convention w il l appear in next week’s M IL IT A N T ) .

A merican-Japanese War Preparations Hastened

(Continued from page 1) and both the B r it is h and Dutch began c learing the port, of th e ir ships.

In A us tra lia , P rim e M in is te r John C u rtin summoned an emer­gency m eeting of the W ar Cabinet to discuss developments in the F a r East. Sidney was described o ffic ia lly as “ now a w a r s ta tion .”

A t Hongkong B r it is h troops were held in "an advanced state o f preparedness” fo llo w in g a three day test of defenses. A ll leaves were cancelled and navy men were ordered to stand by.

From Batavia came the report th a t the Netherlands East Indie? A rm y A ir Force was ordered mo­b ilized. The Dutch Java-China Japan Shipp ing L ine announced suspension of its services tr Shanghai and Japan th u s -cu ttin g o ff d irec t sea com m unication.

Tha iland sent a “ m il ita ry rep resentative” to Singapore to con Per w ith the B r it is h F a r Eastern H igh Command.

A R E A S A L R E A D Y M IN E DDispatches to the N avy D epart­

ment in W ashington disclosed that the sea around V lad ivostok ha? been procla im ed a proh ib ited are» by the Soviet government. Thi? was understood to mean tha t the area has been mined.

The Japanese governm ent ha? revealed th a t the approaches t r Yokohama, Kobe, and o ther port? were m ined. V ir tu a lly a ll the Jn panese in Hongkong le ft on Dec 2 v ia steamer fo r Canton. T h r lin e r F u ji M aru sailed from th r Netherlands East Ind ies w ith more than 1,000 Japanese subject? .fqr the homeland. The Tokyo

newspaper A sa lii asserted tha t th r c losing of Japanese consulates in the U n ited States was im m inen t A heavy flow o f Japanese troops and m ateria ls in to Southern Indo China was reported, w ith B rit is h arm ies in Malaya massing fo r ac­t io n in the event of Japanese in ­vasion o f Thailand. F o r the firs t tim e in seven m onths Japanese planes bombed the B urm a road. M an ila reported th a t a Japanese flee t headed by 16 cruisers and some a irc ra ft ca rrie rs was near B r it is h and D utch Borneo.

“ P E A C E F U L IN T E N T IO N S ”F or domestic consumption in

Japan, K urusu insisted on the peaceful in ten tions of the im pe­r ia lis t Japanese government. For domestic consumption in the United Stales,. H u ll insisted on the peaceful in ten tions o f the im ­pe ria lis t Roosevelt government. W hat was actua lly discussed be­hind the closed curta ins of secret dip lom acy can on ly be surmised. Tt was perm itted to “ leak out” to the Am erican press t.ligt K u r ­usu was in s is tin g on the po licy of Japanese expansion whereas H ill! was in s is tin g on W a ll Street dom ination o f the rich natura l resources o f the F a r East.

The Chinese representative was “ un fo rtuna te ly ” la te at the first conference of the A llied powers in W ash ing ton because o f “ i l l ­ness.” In the opening stage of W orld W ar I I . i t w i l l be recalled the B r it is h im peria lis ts closed the Burm a road fo r some m onths and turned over a huge sum of Chi­nese funds to Japan in thé hop? o f reaching a deal w ith the Jap­anese im peria lis ts .

We m ay surm ise th a t the

Chinese governm ent feared K u r usu had brought a proposal fo r “ peace” a t the expense of China. K urusu qu ite conceivably propos ed a deal th a t would have divided the F a r East inc lud ing Siberia between W a ll S treet and the Jap­anese im peria lis ts .

As demonstrated by the m il i ­ta ry moves o f the past period, tile economic blockade also seems to have forced Japan in to m oving

southward fo r the tim e being, di- ec tly across A ng lo -A m erican im ­

p e ria lis t in terests. H e r re la tive ly sm all reserves in face of the en­ormous requirem ents o f a m ajor war have rive ted her eyes on the fabulous w ealth o f the East In ­dies. Here is o il enough fo r her m il ita ry machine, here already developed are a ll the na tu ra l re­sources she requires fo r hèr in ­dustry . On top of th is there is the prospect o f easy p lunder and loot, not to speak o f the largo stores o f food supplies th a t could be shipped im m édià tè ly to Japa'n tò qu ie t the unrest a t home.

A ga inst th is it ì thè eVerit of "N o rthw a rd expansion,” she must measure the no to rious ly severe

Siberian w in te r weather, the fact tha t a Red A rm y comparable in streng th to her own available forces is entrenched there. The resources o f S iberia are large ly undeveloped, especially o il. On top of th is is the ca lcu la tion that S ta lin w i l l eventua lly be forced to w ith d ra w the Red A rm y force? from S iberia to strengthen the European fro n t. B y w a itin g long­er, Japan hopes to seize Siberia “at a much low er price than would be possible a t the present time.

W hichever d irec tion of expan­sion Japan takes, however, one th in g is clear. W a ll S treet’s plan to u tiliz e the F a r East to hasten e n try in to W orld W ar I I is rap­id ly nearing its fru it io n .

WITCH HUNT IN MINNESOTAThe Federal Prosecution of the Socialist Workers Parly and

Local 544-CIO by

GEORGE E. NOVACKforeword by

JAMES T. FARRELLAuthor of ‘Studs Lonigan’, etc.

— is it treasonable to oppose the war?— has the Bill of Rights been abolished?— what was the Minneapolis Union Defense Guard?— how does the Administration fight the C. I. O.?— how does the Justice Department serve Daniel J. Tobin?— have workers the right to choose their own union?

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W hy Did Hitler Resurrect The Anti-CominternPact? By Jack Weber

Why the Pact Is Now RevivedW hy did H it le r feel i t necessary to b ring out

and po lish up the Anti-C om in tern Pact a t th is tim e? Most people considered th a t pact w e ll buried a t the tim e the H itle r-S ta lin Pact was signed in 1939. F o r tha t reason H it le r ’s bid to be con­sidered as a super-W’rangel a t the m om ent he invaded Russia, fa iled com pletely of its purpose. W hy the second stag ing o f th is poor comedy’

The most obvious reason fo r its resurrection has to do w ith the German masses and th e ir a ttitude towards the war. One of the overhead expenses o f d ic ta torsh ip is tha t the masses are a lways taken by surp rise by the sudden moves of the Fuehrers. The s ign ing o f the pact w ith S ta lin came as such a surprise, but a t least i t was probably a more or less pleasant surprise in one sense, since i t seemed to assure the Germans tha t at least there would be peace w ith Russia so tha t any w a r m ig h t be a short war.

The sudden invasion of the Soviet U n ion was again a surprise, th is tim e a most unpleasant one, p a rtic u la r ly in view of the fac t th a t Germ any was s t i l l a t w ar w ith an unbeaten England. The in it ia l surprise has turned in to dism ay and now in to gloom everywhere in Germany as the masses become aware of the te rr ib le and unending losses of men and m ateria l deep in the steppes. The renewal o f the A n ti-C o m in te rn P act was a weak a ttem pt a t keeping up m orale as the prospect of the end o f the w ar fades in to the d im fu tu re . Goebbels and H it le r were try in g to reassure the masses th a t the w ar m ig h t be long bu t the v ic to ry would sure ly be the irs . See! H it le r was saying to the masses, a ll these countries sign th is pact because they believe, whether they lik e i t or not, th a t we w i l l w in the w ar.

The German people m ust have fe lt l i t t le com­fo r t however in seeing the new s ig na to ry powers— F in land, Denm ark, Slovakia, Rum ania, B u lgaria . C roatia and Nanking-China. These weighed l i t t le in th e ir m inds against the en try of the U. S. on the side o f the enemy. The Nazis fa iled m iser­ab ly in th is f irs t aim , to reassure the Germans and to present them w ith some concrete f r u i t of the much-touted "new order” in Europe.

Effect On Japan-U. S. CrisisA second a im was to press Japan back in line

and thus d is rup t the W ashington conference be­tween H u ll and K urusu. B ut B e rlin need not c red it its e lf w ith the breakdown o f the attem pt a t compromise. T ha t breakdown was due ,to the fundam ental na ture o f the im p e ria lis t conflic t. H it le r w i l l be elated at the spread of the w a r to' the Pacific because i t w i l l weaken the enemy in the A tla n tic . B ut the Germans masses w i l l get l i t t le com fort over the thought tha t th is means the extension and pro longation of the war.

The pact did serve H it le r ’s purposes in the case o f F in land . T h is was the Nazi method o f fo rc ing F in land to give an unequivocal negative answer to W ashington and London in th e ir a ttem pt to have her drop ou t of the w ar. I t seems lik e ly as a resu lt th a t England w i l l declare w a r on F in land, as w e ll as Rum ania and H ungary, as demanded by S talin.

I t is possible tha t H it le r also had in m ind w hat m ig h t happen a fte r L itv in o v a rrived in W ashington. He wanted to lay f irs t cla im to the A n ti-C om in te rn Pact! F o r i t is no t impossiblè tha t the A llie s w i l l yet sign th e ir own Anti-Com ­in te rn Pact. Is seems safe to p re d ic t th a t L itv in o v , tha t League o f Nations advocate of de­mocracy, is ready to make concessions on beha lf of S ta lin lo ok in g towards the "dém ocra tisation” o f the Soviet Union — a fte r the war. S ta lin seeks in th is w ay to obtain externa l support fo r the continuance o f h is regime, a support th a t w i l l be la ck ing com pletely inside the Soviet U n ion when the w ar ends.

N ot fo r no th ing did Roosevelt t r y to persuade the Catholic cle rgy here th a t Russia allowed per­fect freedom of re lig ious worship. Not fo r no th ing did H opkins f ly to Moscow and come away " th r i l le d ” to give the signal fo r a complete re­h a b ilita tio n o f the K re m lin d ic ta to r in the eyes of the Am erican masses. Davies’ in fam ous a rtic le in the A m erican magazine f its in to th is same scheme o f th ings. The A llies propose to extract p o lit ic a l concessions fo r th e ir aid, and S ta lin is not u n w illin g .

Intervention and InterventionDemocracy — to the cap ita lis ts — is som ething

en tire ly d iffe re n t from pro le ta rian revo lu tion . The Soviet Union — they say — has no business in ­te rfe r in g in the a ffa irs o f other countries. S ta lin has agreed to tha t, as h is speeches c lea rly in d i­cated. Not on ly h is speeches, bu t h is endorse­ment o f the "A tla n tic C harter.” The Com intern, o r ig in a lly designed fo r w o rk in g class in te rven­tion wherever the workers needed aid, designed then also as the in s tru m en t fo r ra l ly in g p ro le t­a rian aid fo r the Soviet U n ion prec ise ly in a s it ­ua tion such as the present one, m ust be p u b lic ly sacrificed. Since the C om inte rn under- S ta lin long ceased to be the in s tru m e n t fo r the p ro le ta ria n revo lu tion , no th in g rea l w i l l be sacrificed by th is concession.

The democracies propose in th is fash ion to make clear to the workers th a t they have no r ig h t to in tervene anywhere in the present w orld s itua tion — as a class. The workers m ay th in k i t strange tha t th is notice should be served at the very moment when the im peria lis ts o f a ll lands show how necessary i t is fo r them to in ­tervene in every corner of the earth — fo r th e ir own interests. B u t the re "is in te rven tion and in ­tervention . A t the least,-the present s itua tion is pregnant w ith p o lit ic a l lessons fo r the workers.

8 — T H E M I L I T A N T DECEMBER 6, 1941

THE MILITANTForm erly the S O C IA L IS T A P P E A L

V O L. V — No. 49 Saturday, December 6, 1941

Published W eekly byT H E M II.IT A N T P U B LIS H IN G ASS’N a t 116 U n ive rs ity Place, New Y o rk , N . Y.

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“ Reentered as second class m a tte r February 15, 1841 a t the post o ffice a t' New Y o rk , N . Y ., under the A o t o f U arch 3. 1879.“

JOIN US IN FIGHTING FOR:1. M ilitary training of workers, financed

by the government, but under control of the trade unions. Special officers’ training camps, financed by the gov* eminent but controlled by the trade unions, to train workers to become officers.

2. Trade union wages for all workers drafted into the army.

3. Full equality for Negroes in the armed forces and the war industries— Down with Jim Crowism everywhere.

4. A peoples’ referendum on any and all wars.

5. Confiscation of all war profits. Expro­priation of all war industries and their operation under workers’ control.

6. For a rising scale of wages to meet the rising cost of living.

7. Workers Defense Guards against vig­ilante and fascist attacks.

8. An Independent Labor Party based on the Trade Unions.

9. A Workers’ and Farmers’ Govern­ment.

They Fear CP Ranks W ill Learn The Truth

W ith lies and slanders, the Stalinist Sunday Worker, November 30, in an article, "Trotskyism Continues to Give Its Services to H itler,” seeks to misrepresent the Trotskyist program for an in­ternational revolutionary class-struggle defense of the Soviet Union as "striving to hand over the Soviet Union to H itler."

Articles of this type are intended as a "preven­tive” barrage, to keep the Stalinist rank-and-file from even reading the Trotskyist press by v il i­fying and falsifying our program. Our analysis o f the Kremlin’s responsibility for the losses and defeats of the Red Army, and the resultant peril confronting the Soviet Union, provides too logical and truthfu l an answer to the questions that are rising insistently in the minds of thinking Stalin­ist workers.

The Stalinist article alleges that our press “ preaches ‘doom’ for the Soviet Union and gives a helping hand to the fiction of the ’inv inc ib ility ’ o f H itler.”

These flufikies of Stalin call it “ preaching 'doom’ ” to tell the truth about the terrible plight of the Soviet Union that has resulted from Stalin’s policies. They call it giving a "helping hand to H itler,” when we correctly point out that the

• Soviet Union can be saved only by the revolution- ! ary action of the masses of Europe, especially of Germany, and not by reliance on Stalin’s anti- Soviet imperialist allies.

Those who actually read our press know that wc are not "preaching doom” for the USSR when we state that a continuation of Stalin’s policy of staking the fate of the Soviet Union on aid from the democratic imperialists — who have no real interest in saving the workers state — w ill lead to disaster. We are warning the workers of the greatest danger to the defense of the Soviet Union and pointing out the methods of struggle which w ill achieve a Soviet victory. Far from support­ing the notion of H itle r’s “ inv inc ib ility ” , we keep hammering away at his vulnerability to revolution­ary attack.

The Sunday Worker emphasizes above all that we Trotskyists seek "to block fu ll support by the labor movement of a second m ilita ry front — which could turn the tide against H itler — by opposing any move by America to engage in m ili­tary cooperation with the Soviet Union and Great Britain.”

The crux of the Stalinist charge that we are "agents of H itle r” is the fact that we consistently oppose support to the imperialists in this war, and appeal instead to the workers o f the world to form the only "second front” which can defeat H itler and save the Soviet Union, the international class front of proletarian struggle.

Which party has been proved right in its analysis of the character of the aid which the British and American imperialists would give the USSR, the Socialist Workers Party or the Gommunist Party?

For more than five months, the Soviet Union has borne the overwhelming brunt of H itle r’s m ili­

tary attack. What material aid have the Allied imperialists given the Soviet Union in all that time? Not even the Stalinists have dared to claim that that aid has been more than a trickle.

Material aid alone cannot save the Soviet Union, the Stalinists are compelled to admit, and the Kremlin pleads with the Allies to open a “ second front” . A ll that Churchill has done, however, is to start a relatively snYall-scale offensive in the North African desert, an offensive that the Stalin­ists nowhere dare to describe as a "genuine” sec­ond front. And Churchill has made it clear that no other "second front” is contemplated until "pos­sibly” in 1943.

By this plea for a “ second front” , the Stalin­ists admit that the aid of outside forces is neces­sary to defeat the H itler invaders. What outside forces can and w ill give the needed aid? Stalin continues to sow the illusion that an imperialist "western front” w ill be forthcoming to save the USSR. We, however, maintain that decisive aid to the Soviet Union w ill come only from the pro­letarian masses of Europe and the world, espe­cially through a revolutionary upsurge among the peoples of Germany and the Nazi-occupied coun­tries.

Is our program "aid to H itle r” ? On the con­trary, even the Stalinists have to acknowledge, in the veFy article distorting and slandering our pro­gram. the tremendous revolutionary ferment in the occupied countries. The Stalinists, however, pro­pose to channelize this upsurge into a struggle for the aims of British and American imperialism. We want to fan this revolutionary spark into a flame that w ill drive all imperialism from the face of the earth and ensure victory for the Soviet Union and the socialist emancipation of the European masses.

It is a sufficient commentary on' the wholesale falsifications in the Sunday Worker article that the author, Uouis Budenz, does not dare to quote d i­rectly a single entire sentence, much less a para­graph, from our press. The Stalinist workers must ask themselves, why does Budenz fear to quote us; why must he resort to falsifications?

To these slanders we offer the most conclusive refutation. We invite the Stalinist workers to se­cure copies of the articles mentioned,- but not quoted, in Budenz’s article. We invite them to compare what we actually profess and write with what the Stalinist leaders falsely claim is our pro­gram. We are confident the Stalinist leadership w ill be unable to "answer” the questions then raised by Stalinist workers.

USSR Scores First Major Victory In Rostov Battle

(Continued from page 1) lam sk areas, adm itted by the K rem lin , im p e r il s t i l l fu rth e r Moscow’s lines of com m unications and supply. Only three such sup­p ly routes are now actua lly open. Leningrad rem ains besieged, and the recent Nazi advance in the T ik h v in area endangers not on ly Leningrad its e lf but also Moscow, since T ik h v in is d ire c tly on the road to Vologda, the capture of w h ich would cu t a v ita l supply route to the capita l.

IL L U M IN A T IN G A D M IS S IO NOne o f the most s ign ifican t as­

pects of the Rostov v ic to ry is the admission by the German General S ta ff th a t the workers of the c ity played a cruc ia l role in d riv in g back the invad ing troops. Far from conquering the c ity , the in ­vaders had entered a liv in g in ­ferno — the flames o f the Revolu tion , w h ich is s t i l l alive, were lic k in g a t th e ir heels. I t Is hardly su rp ris in g th a t the German H igh Command pours ou t its venom at these w orkers; th a t i t resorts to b e s t i a l th roa ts of "reprisa ls against the c ity ’s c iv ilia n popula­tio n .”

I t is equally understandable w hy the Nazi propaganda agen-

' cies suddenly dropped th is "ex­cuse” fo r the re trea t from Rostov, and produced a d iffe re n t a lib i. N o th ing is more dangerous to H i t ­le r than th is news tha t the revo l­u tio na ry w orkers of Rostov have stripped his m il ita ry machine of its m yth o f in v in c ib i lity in which the Nazi propaganda machine has so long sought to envelop it . Once again h is to ry is rea ffirm ing the greatest lesson of a ll, namely, tha t the key to the whole s itua tion in the Soviet U n ion as in Europe, Germany and the whole w orld is in the hands o f the workers them ­selves.

W hat is necessary to spread the v ic to ry o f Red Rostov ,to the en­

t ire fro n t, and, above a ll, to H i t ­le r ’s rear?

There is on ly one way, and tha t is by re tu rn in g to the po licy and methods of revo lu tiona ry w ar em­ployed by the Soviet masses un­der the leadership of Len in and T ro tsky in the days of the C iv il W ar and im p e ria lis t in te rven tion . The Red A rm y was v ic torious then because the soldiers openly fought under the bannner of so­c ia lism and In te rna tiona l solidar i ty ; because the Soviets, repres­en ting the w orkers and peasants functioned dem ocra tica lly behind the lines; because the revo lu tion ­a ry propaganda disintegrated the m orale o f the enemy armies.

The German H igh Command who have not forgotten how th e ir U kra in ia n arm ies o f occupation were "poisoned by the v iru s of Bolshevism ” m ust trem ble at even the though t o f a repe tition o f th a t struggle and strategy on th e ir arm ies today.

S ta lin ’s g reatest crim e is h is re ­jec tion of thiB po licy of revo lu­tio n a ry w a r in favo r o f a po licy of dependence on aid from the "dem ocra tic” im peria lis ts .

W H A T H O LD S G E R M A N S O LD IE R S B A C K

A s long as the hu lk o f the Ger­man arm y continues to believe tha t on ly another Versailles Treaty, o r som ething fa r worse, is in store fo r them in event of defeat, they w il l continue to sup­po rt the w ar. S ta lin ’s policies en­able the Nazi leaders to te ll the German masses th a t the workers state and the B r it is h E m pire are one in th e ir w a r aim s to crush Germany. Goebbels is able to ham­m er away a t th is po in t a t the moment when the German gen­erals are t ry in g to re form the ranks o f th e ir southern arm ies and to b r in g up reinforcem ents. Even now as the cruc ia l battle fo r Moscow continues unabated,

the m ain weapon of the German H ig h Command in w h ipp in g up the s p ir it o f the soldiers is th is th re a t o f w h a t w i l l happen to1 the German people a t the hands o f the im p e ria lis ts i f the German arm ies are defeated.

In th is way the effect of the. Rostov defeat upon the m orale ol the German troops is in large measure dissipated. N a tu ra lly , m ilita ry defeats are bound to have repercussions, the soldiers begin to th in k and the seeds of doubt are planted. B u t on ly an appeal to the German workers and soldiers, pledging them sol­id a r ity and support in th e ir strugg le against H it le r and the German ru lin g class, pledging them aid in the strugg le against “ dem ocratic” im peria lis ts , and against another Versailles, can have the necessary explosive ef­fect on the German masses.

S T A L IN S U R R EN D ER S T H IS W E A P O N

S ta lin has surrendered th is de­cisive weapon In re tu rn fo r promises of aid fro m C hurch ill and Roosevelt. W hat these prom ­ises am ount to were shown In C h u rch ill’s recent statem ent that S ta lin can expect no m il ita ry aid from B r ita in u n t il possibly 19-43. T h is means — as we have per s is ten tly pointed out — th a t the Soviet Un ion w ith its adm itted shortage o f tanks and a irc ra ft, can depend on ly on the aid of tho revo lu tiona ry masses o f Ger­many and Europe.

W ith S ta lin 's policies and the S ta lin is t leadership the Rostov v ic to ry , in s p ir in g as I t is, can re­m ain on ly an episode.

I f the necessary steps are taken, i f the po licy o f re vo lu tion ­a ry w a r and revo lu tio n a ry appeal to the European masses is adopt­ed, the v ic to ry a t Rostov could im m edia te ly be u tilize d fo r the tu rn in g po in t in the w ar.

'C o n tro llin g ' PricesThe outbreak qf the war in September 1939 was

the signal for the industrialists and speculators to start boosting prices in anticipation of m ilking unlimited profits out of the war preparations. This year, as American war production hits its stride, prices are. skyrocketing in earnest.

Although strike actions have been able to secure wage increases in many industries, price rises al­ready have wiped out, or threaten to wipe out, these increases.

Price increases thus become a constant factor in compelling the workers to strike for higher wages. Because it wants to quiet unrest, the Ad­ministration is attempting to secure some control over prices.

Moreover, in war time, when each individual capitalist or corporation scrambles for war orders and seeks to hold up the government and other manufacturers for a maximum price on war mate­rials, unregulated prices become a serious threat to war production. Unrelieved cut-throat profit­eering might reduce production to utter chaos. In­dustrialists are already holding up delivery of war goods to secure increased prices and profits.

For the past six months, the government has tried to establish the authority of an administra­tive agency empowered to fix price ceilings. This agency, the Office of Price Control Administration, has proved completely ineffective. Its decisions have been openly flouted by a united front of in­dustrialists.

On November 28, the House approved a water­ed-down version of the Administration’s price- control b ill. This measure simply sets up another administrative agency, scarcely different in func­tion and powers from the present one, authorized to fix prices in certain restricted fields and at certain minimum levels. These levels are so high as to guarantee the maintenance of extortionate prices. Moreover, the b ill establishes a review board to which manufacturers can appeal against the decisions of the price-fixing agency.

it is generally admitted that this b ill w ill no more be able to control prices than a pebble can halt .an ocean wave.

Prices can be controlled and fixed only when production is planned and regulated. But capital­ism in its very essence represents unplanned, an­archic production. A disordered price structure is a reflection o f capitalism’s individualistic, dog- eat-dog methods.

The only way the workers can offset the im­mediate worst effects of price rises is by a con­stant struggle for higher wages and for a rising scale of wages to meet rising prices.

In the final analysis, however, there can be no definite control of prices under capitalism. Such regulation can be effected only when the war in­dustries are removed from the control and owner­ship of the monopolies to be managed instead in a planned and coordinated fashion under the con­tro l of the worke

Behind The Scenes Of “America First"

B y M Y R A W A R DThe American First Committee was officia lly formed on

September 19, 1940. It represented a conglameration of con­gressmen, financiers, fascists, and a few "liberals” . Its purpose was ostensibly opposition to an immediate war against Germany. However, as last week’s article pointed out, the group lacked the e lem entary g u id ing p r in c i- * pies necessary to conduct a rea l s trugg le aga inst the w ar.

I t is im p o rtan t tha t those w o rk ­ers and sincere libera ls who sup­po rt the Am erica F irs t Com m it­tee know w hat goes on "bokind the scenes” of the organization.Because they l'ear such exposure, the leaders of the Com m ittee m a in ta in the s tric tes t secrecy concerning th e ir records, finances, etc. They are care fu l to avoid as­sociations w ith people who are openly known as enemies to the masses of A m erican people.

H enry Ford, fo r example, was suddenly dropped from the Na­tion a l Committee of the Am erica F irs t Committee, and his name was qu ie tly erased from the le t­terhead o f o ffic ia l s ta tionery. A ll ind ica tions show th a t he th o r­oughly agrees w ith the Com m it­tee, and is one of its m ain fin ­ancia l supporters. B u t the name 1 A M E R IC A F IR S T LE A D E R S

th a t th e ir financia l interests, th e ir p ro fits , w i l l s u ffe r th rough A m e r­ica ’s en try in to the war.. N a tu ra lly , these are no t the steel magnates, the coal owners, the m un itions makers who reap fortunes from im p e ria lis t wars, and are p ra c tica lly w ho lly in the " in te rv e n tio n is t” camp, behind the Roosevelt A dm in is tra tion .

Those in the " is o la tio n is t” group la rge ly represent thos?

i industries w h ich depend on the farm ers and the o rd in a ry "con­sumers” , ra th e r than on a rm a­m ent orders.

Also, through the means of p r io ritie s , production o f these con­sumers’ goods industries often is curta iled . Consequently these in ­dus tria lis ts seek some channel th rough w h ich to oppose the w ar program , and U. S. p a rtic ip a tion in w ar.

a heavy con trib u to r to the organ iza tion .

On the N ationa l Committee are figures such as W ill ia m Regnery, Chicago m u ltim illio n a ire , Clay Judson, w ea lthy Chicago law yer etc. John Cudahy, one o f the lead­ers and speakers o f the America F irs t Committee, belongs to the fa m ily w h ich owns the Cudahy m eat-packing company.

A lso in the " is o la tio n is t” camp is Robert R. M cCorm ick, publisher o f the famous Chicago Tribune, and in h e r ito r of the M cCorm ick reaper in d u s tr ia l dynasty.

o f th is notorious labor-hating, re­actiona ry in d u s tr ia lis t was dan­gerous to a group which hopes to ga in w ide popu la rity among the masses.

A ve ry Brundage was s im ila r ly dropped because of his open pro- Nazi sympathies, and anti-S em itic views. M erw in K . H a rt, another known fascist, was to ld by one of tho leaders of Am erica F irs t, tha t an open connection would be “ dangerous.”

L indbergh h im se lf a t f irs t was considered r is k y because o f hiS past friendsh ip to tho Nazis. But i t was hoped th a t h is reputation as an "A m erican hero,” and his m id-W est o r ig in would g ive h im prestige and fo llow ing .

W HO F IN A N C E S A M E R IC A F IR S T?

The A m erica -F irs t Committee has a huge payro ll of directors speakers, secretaries, etc., in va­rious pa rts of the U n ited States I t m a in ta in a sizeable m a ilin g lis t, issues bu lle tins, p r in ts leaf lets and speeches. There are no dues o r assessments; contribu tions are pure ly vo lun ta ry .

The Committee seems to ob ta ir a ll its money from a sm all grour o f in d u s tria lis ts and financiers M any o f them belong to A m erica ’; S ix ty Fam ilies. A ll o f them feel

Thus we find th a t the chairm an o f Am erica F irs t, General Robert E. Wood, is also a manager of Sears, Roebuck and Co. wh ich carries alm ost en tire ly low-priced consumers’ goods. The d irec to r of the A m erica F irs t Committee in Chicago is R. Douglas S tuart, who is the son o f the f irs t vice-presi­dent of Quaker Oats, Inc. S terling M orton, owner of M orton Salt, is

The Am erica F irs t Committee does not publicize these and many other revealing facts because i t does no t dare. I t hopes to gain the support o f the masses of the Am erican people, the w orkers and farm ers. How can i t reveal to these people th a t i t receives fin ­ances and d irec tion from m illio n ­aires, labor-hating and reaction­a ry owners of in du s try , pub lic u t ilit ie s , etc. ? T h a t these c a p ita l­is ts are in the " is o la tio n is t” camp because a w a r w i l l cu t down th e ir pro fits? T ha t they are no t in ­terested in tho common people, in th e ir genuine sentim ent against the w a r — th a t they w i l l tu rn aga inst the w orkers and fa rm ers whenever th e ir p ro fits are th rea t­ened by the m ilita n c y of the com mon people. How can the Am erica F irs t Com m ittee reveal these facts? I t would collapse in a mo­m e n t

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New Y ork Mass M eeting P ro tes ting The M inneapo lis T r ia l

H e a rDOROTHY SCHULTZone of the 28 defendants ROGER BALDW IN

Director, American C ivil Liberties Union JAMES T. FARRELL

- Noted AuthorGEORGE NOVACK i

Secretary, C iv il Rights Defense Committee O T flE R PROM IN E N T SPEA KERS

H O T E L D I P L O M A T108 W E S T 43rd S T R E E T

Monday, December 15, 1941, 8 P. M.VUSPIGES— C iv il R igh ts Defense Com m ittee— A D M IS S IO N 25c

The Crimes O f Stalin

— By Lydia Beidel—Stalin Goes 'Left' — 1928-33B A C K G R O U N D :

By the end o f 1927, S ta lin and the Com m unist Parties were s u ffe r in g the blows which the oppor­tu n is t course o f the preceding several years had brought. To cover up bis c rim in a l mistakes, S ta l’ n now forced a v io len t and extreme tu rn to the le ft, no less disastrous in Its effects than the period before it.

In the USSR: S ta lin ’s concessions to the richpeasant (ku la k ) and the sm all trade r (Nepm an) had enhanced the re la tive strength o f these cap ita lis t ele­ments, w h ich were m enacing Soviet economy. S ta lin now swung away from them and launched a program of forced collectiv ization against the peasantry as a whole. T ro tsky , exiled to A lm a -A ta , warned against the danger o f th is pseudo-left tu rn of S talin, both fo r the Soviet Union and the parties of the Com- . m un is t In te rna tiona l.

In the In te rn a tio n a l: Despite the opportun is tic alliances fo rm ed by S ta lin , he was in a pos ition o f iso la tion by the end of 1927. The B r it is h trade un ion leaders had broken from the Anglo-Russian Com m it­tee, a fte r using i t fo r th e ir own purposes; Chiang K a i Shek had crushed the Chinese Com m unist P arty and the Chinese revo lu tion.

I n the cap ita lis t w o r ld : Capita lism was p lung ing headlong in to the greatest economic cris is o f its h is ­to ry , b rin g in g mass unemployment, s ta rva tion and unrest to the workers and the poorest sections o f the m iddle class.

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T H E “ T H IR D P E R IO D ”The Stalin ist, bureaucracy abandoned fo r the tim e

being the po licy o f collabora tion w ith cap ita lis t groups tha t had proved so ru inous in the period between 1924 and 1927, went in to reverse and adopted a po licy which in effect excluded united action w ith even woYking class organizations.

In Ju ly . 1928, the S ix th W orld Congress of the C. I. convened and its theoretic ians la id the -basis fo r the "T h ird P eriod” . They discovered th a t the post-w ar era was divided in to three periods, and tha t cap ita l­ism would never surv ive the “ th ird period.” Accord ing to th is scheme, the firs t, from 1917 to 1924, was the period o f cap ita lis t collapse and the f irs t wave of p ro le ta rian revo lu tions; the second, 1924 to 1929, was the period of the s tab iliza tion of cap ita lism ; and the th ird , fro m 1927 on, the period o f successful w o rke rs ’ revo lu tions.

Tho "T h ird P eriod” was characterized by the adop­tio n o f a series of u ltra - le ft tactics by the parties of the C. I . and the abandonment of a ll a lliance w ith non-Com nuinist elements in the w o rk in g class and peasantry. Purges in the In te rn a tio n a l removed the leaders of the "Second Period,” the righ t-w ingers, the fo llow ers o f B ukharin , o f whom Lovestone-Gitlow- W olfe were the Am erican representatives.

S ta lin enunciated tho theory w h ich form ed the basis o f the "T h ird P eriod” tac tics : the theory o? Social-Fascism, according to w h ich "fascism and the Social-Democracy are not antipodes, but tw in s .” W ith one gesture, the Nazis and the large numbers of w orkers who s t i l l fo llowed the leadership or the Sec­ond In te rn a tion a l were lumped in d isc rim in a te ly to ­gether. As a m atte r of fact, the m ain blows o f the Com m unist organizations were directed against the Social-Democratic and o ther w orkers ’ parties in th is period, fo r according to the S ta lin is t theory, they were the m ain obstacle to the overth row o f cap ita lism .

“ U N IT E D F R O N T FRO M B E L O W ”The Second Congress o f the C. I. under Len in and

T ro tsky had developed one o f the m ost valuable tac­tics in the possession o f the revo lu tiona ry pa rty , the united fro n t — to w in support o f the masses s t i l l unprepared to accept revo lu tiona ry leadership.

A vu lga r perversion o f th is tac tic was now dished up by S ta lin , under the name of the "u n ite d fro n t f i om below. T h is was to operate by appealing to the Social-Democratic masses to desert th e ir p a rty leaders and fo llow the C. P. I ts effect was to n u ll i fy the en tire po licy o f the un ited f r o n t (in tended to sw ing masses o f organized w orkers in to jo in t class action against common enemies and fo r common ob­jectives) and substituted fo r i t an exaggerated re c ru it­m ent campaign em ploying a ll the w rong methods, which resulted on ly in rep e llin g the w orker Socialists from the Com m unist Parties and leaving th?m fu l ly under the in fluence of the treacherous .re fo rm is t leaders.

E F FE C TS OF T H E S T A L IN IS T L IN ETn t lic USSR: B y 1930, S ta lin ’s po licy o f forced

co llec tiv iza tion had driven the peasants as a class in to open revo lt. They refused to grow gra in and the Soviet Union faced fam ine. In h is a rtic le , "D izzy W ith Success,” S ta lin f in a lly called a ha lt, hu t too late to fo resta ll the h o rro r o f mass s ta rva tion w h ich descended on the Soviet Union in 1931-32.

7)i the un ions : Com m unist workers were ordered to w ith d ra w from the large trade unions under the contro l o f re fo rm is t o r Socia list leaders and were organized in to separate "Red Trade U n io n s ” As a resu lt, Communist and progressives were isolated

h i the In te rn a tio n a l: As economic conditions worsened in te rn a tio n a lly from 1927 to 1933, class an­tagonism increased and the need fo r real un ited w o rk ­in g class action (the un ited fro n t) became im perative .

Tn China, the Com m unist P a rty retreated to the remote provinces, there to operate w ith o u t a base in the p ro le ta ria t, and consequently w ith o u t any rea l in fluence.

In England, Am erica, France and the o ther coun­tr ies where the Com m unist Parties existed, the mem­bership o f the parties now stood isolated and discre­dited, w ith o u t in fluence among the workers

B u t the false and ru inous policies of "T h ird Period” S ta lin ism , a t a tim e when the u n ity of the class fro n t in the struggle against fascism was indispensable had succeeded on ly in fu r th e r d iv id in g the ranks of the w o rk in g class and confusing them as to the m ain enemy and th e ir m ain tasks.

A t a tim e when cap ita lism was in the throes o f its gravest cris is, the vanguard of the w o rk in g class betrayed by S ta lin ism and the Social Uemocracy, was pi evented from ta k in g Advantage o f its h is to ric op­po rtu n ity , and »fascism was pe rm itted to come to the rescue o f the decaying social order.