Report Lenin Secretary Survived Statin Purge-------------------------------------------------- ®------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Could Tell How Lenin Sought to 'Bombshell' Foe

One of Lenin’s personal secretaries, L. A. Fotieva, who collaborated with the founder of the Soviet Union just before his death when he was preparing a showdowns trugg le w ith S ta lin , has been®reported by Pravdia to be s t ill a live. The Moscow newspaper recen tly included her name in a l is t o f s u rv iv in g old Bolsheviks The in fo rm a tio n appeared in this coun try in the A p r i l 3 New Y ork Times.

This sensational news is the f i r s t th a t has been heard o f F o ­tieva in many years. When her name was no t included in the 1947 lis t o f old Bolsheviks, it was assumed th a t she had per­ished in S ta lin ’s m onstrous purges.

Fotieva was one o f the two secretaries sent to T ro ts k y by Lenin — ju s t two days before he su ffe red his th ird stroke — w ith m a te ria ls fo r use against S ta lin a t the fo rthco m ing T w e lfth Congress. In v iew o f h is worsen­ing illness, Lenin had already asked T ro tsky to see the s tru g ­g le th rough . These m ateria ls were to he lp in any way possible a lthough some were in u n fin is h ­ed fo rm . Even as he faced death, Lenin was desperately concerned about the success o f the s trugg le aga inst S ta lin .

“ He to ld me,” G lyasser, the o ther secretary, said to T ro tsky , “ to tra n s m it to you the m anu­sc rip t m a te ria l which was sup­posed to have made up his bombshell fo r the T w e lfth Con­gress.”

When T ro ts k y asked w hether Lenin had come to the conclusion th a t i t was impossible to “ com­prom ise w ith S ta lin even along correct lines,” Fotieva rep lied:

“ Yes, I ly ic h does not trus t S ta lin . He wants to come out openly against him before the whole P a rty .” And she c o n firm ­'d what G lyasser had said. “ He s p repa ring a bombshell.”

Fotieva fu r th e r explained Len­in ’s la tes t actions by te llin g T ro tsky th a t “ V la d im ir I ly ic h is fee ling worse and is in a h u rry to do eve ry th in g he can.”

Am ong the m ate ria ls le ft by Lenin fo r use in the s trugg le against S ta lin , the .m os t famous today is the las t testam ent. (See fu l l te x t below.)

Fotieva could now te ll how Lenin came to w r ite th is im ­p o rta n t document: w hy Lenindecided to break o f f a ll com­radely re la tions w ith S ta lin ; and w hy Lenin asked T ro ts k y to jo in him in w a r against the s in is te r leader o f the r is in g bureaucratic usurpers.

S ta lin ’s he irs are now using a t least p a r t o f Len in ’s last testam ent in a ttack ing the “ iStal- m c u lt.” ft. is clear th a t Fotieva could prove useful to them in th is by exp la in ing the o rig in o f the testam ent and v e r ify in g the tru th about Len in ’s rea l a ttitud e tow ard S ta lin .

F o tieva could also v e r ify the tru th about Len in ’s bloc w ith T ro tsky aga inst S ta lin . T h is is the k ind o f tes tim ony th a t should be heard by an im p a rtia l In q u iry Commission, as proposed to the Com m unist P a rty by the Socialist W orkers P a rty .

t h e MILITANTPUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKING PEOPLE

Vol. XX — No. 16 '67 NEW YORK, N. Y., MONDAY, APRIL 16, 1956 PRICE: 10 Cents

Text of Lenin’s Last Testament

The fo llo w in g is the fu l l te x t o f Len in ’s Testam ent:

By the stability of the Central Committee, o f which I spoke before, I mean measures to prevent a split, so far as such measures can he taken. For, of course, the White Guard in Russkaya Mysl (I th ink it was S. E. Oldenburg) was righ t when, in the f irs t place, in his play against Soviet Russia he banked on the hope of a split in our party, and when, in the second place, he banked for that split on serious disagreements in our party.

Our party rests upon two classes, and fo r that reason its instability is possible, and i f there cannot exist an agreement between those clavsses its fa ll is inevitable. In such an event it would be useless to take any measures or in general to discuss the stability of our Central Com­mittee. In such an event no measures would prove capable of preventing a split. But I trust that is too remote a future, and too improbable an event, to talk about.

I have in mind stability as a guarantee against a split in the near future, and I intend to examine here a series of considerations of a purely personal character.

I think that the fundamental factor in the matter of stability — from this point of view — is such members of the Central Committee as Stalin and Trotsky. The relation between them constitutes, in my opinion, a big half of the danger of that split, which m ight be avoided, and the avoidance of which m ight be promoted, in my opinion, by raising the number of members of the Central Committee to f i f ty or one hundred.

Comrade Stalin, having become General Secretary.(Continued on page 3)

100 Station Wagons Needed To Help Alabama Bus Fight

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Philadelphia UE Strikers Remain Firm

By Tom DenverN E W YORK, A p r i l 9 -— The

177-day s tr ik e o f local 107, U n ited E le c trica l W orkers Union (independent) against the W est- inghouse Corp. at Lester, Pa., rem ains solid despite a ll e ffo rts o f the company and its cap ita lis t a llies to smash the s tr ik e rs ’ re ­sistance.

Local 107 remained on s tr ike a fte r the na tiona l U E agreement, w ith W estinghouse on M arch 28 because the company insisted on “ re -a rra n g in g ” the wage- s tru c ­tu re at its Leste r p lan t. The “ re ­arrangem en t” was a c tu a lly a proposal th a t the s tr ike rs firs t, accept a 20% pay cut before the national agreem ent o ffe r in g an estim ated 3% yea rly wage in ­crease w ent in to e ffec t.

Since the na tiona l settlem ent, W estinghouse has conducted an unsuccessful cam paign to iso late the Lester s tr ike and force local 107 to accept its unreasonable demands. I t is a tte m p tin g to re ­open the p la n t by Sending ca r­loads o f scabbing engineers th rough the p icke t lines. The un ion ’s s tr ik e b u lle tin charges tha t the C orpora tion is o rgan iz­ing its forem en to launch a back-to -w ork movement by v is i t ­ing- s tr ike rs homes and begging them to re tu rn . In add ition the company has file d a s u it p ro ­tes ting a ru l in g made by the state D epartm ent o f Labor and In d u s try tha t fo r e igh t weeks the Lester s tr ike was actua lly a company lockout. T h is ru lin g en titled the s tr ike rs to collect unem ploym ent co m p e n s a t i o n chocks fo r th a t period.

Two weeks ago W estinghouse's cap ita lis t a llies came to its sup­po rt. Some 70 companies, in ­c lud ing such g ian t corporations as Ford, General E lectric , U. S. Steel, Bethlehem Steel, etc., demonstrated tha t they had a stake in b reaking the W esting- house s tr ik e by f i l in g a s im ila r protest.

Despite th is union busting a t­tack, local 107 continues its m il ita n t s tr ik e and has ra llied support from im p o rta n t sections o f the A F L -C IO in the area, in ­c lud ing fina nc ia l aid from r iv a l IU E local 601.

T-Men R a id D a ily W orker and CP O ffices

T reasu ry agents staged “ tax-de linquency” ra ids on offices o f the Com m unist P arty and D a ily W orker across the country . The paper came out despite th is harassment. F a rre ll Dobbs, SW P national sec., v igorous ly protested the ra id in an open le tte r to Pres. E isenhower. L e ft, T-m en padlock CP office in I’ h ila .; ¡Right, W o rke r ed ito r John Gates studies seizure notice d ir K iir b itie ‘e<"Vrindow.'

Ceylon Trotskyists W in Big Victory in Election

By John ThayerA smashing election defeat has

not on ly sent Ceylon’s cap ita lis t class ree ling but has brought consternation to the U.S. State Departm ent. In three days of voting the people o f tha t South­east Asian country repudiated the U.S.-backed government of S ir John Kote law ala and pul in to office a n e u tra lis t re form coa li­tion pledged to na tiona liza tions o f foreign-owned tea and rubber p lan ta tions and to a break w ith A ng lo -A m erican fo re ign policy. So decis ive ly was the ru lin g United N a tiona l P a rty defeated th a t it. now does not even occupy the place o f Ceylon’s second most im p o rtan t pa rty .

The second h ighest num ber of seat« in pa rlia m en t was won br­ibe T ro ts k y is t Lanka Sam a

Saunaja P arty , which thereby be­comes the cou n try ’s o ffic ia l op­position pa rty .

E LE C TIO N RESU LTSResults o f the. po lling fo r the

95 seats in Ceylon’s House o f Representatives were as fo llow s : U n ited People’s F ron t, 51; Lanka Sauna Samaja P a rty , 14; Federal P a rty . 10; U n ited N a tiona l P arty 8; Conrmun.tet P a rty , 3; Tama" P a rty , 1; Independents, 8.

Leader o f the U n ited Peoples F ron t, which won the election and w ill fo rm the new cabinet, is Solomon Bandaranaikc. a w ealthy landowner and in te llec tua l, wtho campaigned on a p la tfo rm n m aking Sinhalese the on ly o ff ic ia ’ language, e lim ination, o f B r it is l a ir and naval bases on Ceylon estab lish ing re la tions w ith the

Soviet Union and China, m aking Ceylon a Republic and possibly fca.king lit ou t o f the B rit is h Com­m onwealth, and n a tio iw liza tion o' fo re ign - ow n ed p lajubati'o ns.

The U nited Peoples F ro n t i composed o f three groups p in ; ind iv idua l po litic ian s who j> wipe on the bandwagon. F irs t and m - im p o rtan t is Bandarana ikc ’s own pa rty , the S ri Lanka Freedi-r P a rty , which has been the sec on la rges t p a rty In pa rliam en t a r there fore the o ffic ia l « p p o s itV pa rty . Th is is a cap ita lis t party like N ehru ’s Congress P a rty i r Ind ia . I t is n a tion a lis t and neutralist.. I ts chauvinism toward Ceylon’s T am il m in o rity was shown by its “ S inhalese-only” language plank.

Second element In the U n ited (Continued on page 2)

Why Lenin Asked Trotsky to Help Him Fight Stalin[The fo llo w in g excerpts are

from Leon T ro tsky 's au tob i­ography, M y L ife , w r itte n in 1931, describ ing the events and conditions surround ing Len in ’s w r it in g o f his “ last testam ent.” Len in ’s testam ent is s t i l l sup­pressed by the S ta lin is t bureau­cracy. The fu ll te x t is pub lish ­ed in th is issue o f the M ilita n t. — E d.]

By LE O N TR O TS K YIn the in te rva l between his

f irs t and second strokes, Lenin could w ork on ly h a lf as much as before. S lig h t but none the less ominous w arn ings from his blood-vessels reached him o ff and on th roughou t th is period. A t one o f the meetings o f the Politbureau, as he got up to hand some one a note— Lenin always exchanged notes th is way to speed up the w ork— he reeled a li t t le . I noticed i t on ly because his face changed expression in ­s ta n tly . T h is was one o f many w arn ings from his v ita l centres.

Lenin had no illus ions on th is score. He kep t pondering from a ll po in ts o f view how the work would go on w ithou t h im , and a fte r him . I t m ust have been then th a t he fo rm u la ted m enta l­ly the docum ent th a t la te r be­came known as his “ W ill . ” And i t was a t th is tim e— d u rin g the la s t weeks before h is second

stroke— th a t Lenin and I had a long conversation about m y w o rk in the. fu tu re . Because o f its p o lit ic a l im portance, I im m ed i­a te ly repeated th is conversation to a num ber o f people ( Rakov - sky, I. N . S m irnov, Sosnovsky, P ryeobrazhensky, and o thers). I f on ly because o f th is repe tition , the conversation has been very c learly recorded in m y m em ory.

I t came about in th is way. The centra l com m ittee o f the union o f educational w o rkers sent a delegation to Lenin and me w ith the request th a t I take over the com m issaria t o f education in ad­d ition to m y o ther duties, in the same way th a t I had taken charge o f the com m issaria t of tra n sp o rt fo r a year past. Lenin wanted to know w h a t I though t about it . I to ld h im tha t in the educational fie ld, as in every other, the d if f ic u lty would conic from the ad m in is tra tive appa r­atus.

“ Yes, our bureaucratism is som ething m onstrous,” Lenin re ­plied, p ick ing up my tra in of thought. “ I was appalled when 1 came back to w ork . . . I t is jus t because o f th is th a t you should not— or a t least I th ink so— get drawn in to any depart­mental work besides the m il i­ta ry .”

Lenin proceeded to state his plan w ith passionate conviction.

He had a lim ite d amount o f s treng th to g ive to the w o rk of d irection . He had three deputies. “ You know' them. Kamenev is, o f course, a clever po litic ian , but what so rt o f an ad m in is tra to r is he? T zyurupa is i l l . Rykov is perhaps an ad m in is tra to r, bu t he w ill have to go back to the Su­preme Economic Council. You m ust become a deputy. The s itu ­ation is such th a t we m ust have a rad ica l rea lignm ent o f per­sonnel.”

“ S H A K E UP A P P A R A T U S ”A ga in I pointed out the “ ap­

pa ra tus” that made even my work in the w a r departm ent in ­creasing ly d ifficu lt.. “ W ell, th a t w i l l be you r chance to shake up the apparatus,” Lenin retorted qu ick ly , h in t in g at an expression I had once. used. I replied th a t I re ferred to the bureaucracy not. on ly in the state in s titu tio n s , bu t in the p a rty as w e ll; tha t the cause, o f a ll the troub le lay in the com bination o f the two apparatuses and in the m utual shie ld ing among the. in flu e n tia l groups that gathered round the h iera rchy o f p a rty secretaries.

Lenin listened in te n tly , and confirmed m y suggestions in tha t deep tone which came s tra ig h t fro m the chest, a tone th a t would break th rough in him on ly when, sure th a t the person

he was ta lk in g to understood him com plete ly, he would dis­pense w ith the conventionalities o f conversation, and touch open­ly on what, was the m ost im ­po rta n t and d is tu rb ing .

A f te r th in k in g i t over fo r a moment, Lenin pu t the question po in tb lank : “ You propose then to open fire no t on ly aga inst the. state bureaucracy, bu t against (.he O rgan iza tiona l Bureau o f the C entra l Com m ittee as w e ll? ” I couldn’t help laugh ing, th is came so unexpectedly. “ T ha t seems to be i t . ” The O rgan iza tiona l B u­reau m eant the ve ry he a rt of S ta lin ’s apparatus.

“ Oh, w e ll,” Lenin w'ont on, obviously pleased that we had called the th ing by its r ig h t name, “ i f (h a t’s the case, then I o ffe r you a bloc against bu­reaucracy in general and against the O rgan iza tiona l Bureau in p a rtic u la r.”

“ W ith a good man, it is an honor to fo rm a good bloc,” I replied.

We agreed to meet again some tim e la te r. Lenin suggested th a t 1 th in k over the organ ization end o f the question. He planned to create a commission attached to the C entra l Com m ittee fo r fig h tin g bureaucracy. We were both to be members. Th is com­mission was essentia lly to be the lever fo r b reak ing up the S ta lin

faction as the backbone o f the bureaucracy, and fo r crea ting such conditions in the p a rty as would a llow me to become Len­in ’s deputy, and, as he intended, his successor to the post o f chairm an o f the Soviet o f Peo­ple ’s Commissaries.

L E N IN ’S W IL LO nly in th is connection does

the fu ll m eaning o f the so-called “ W il l” become clear. Lenin names on ly s ix people there, and sums them up b r ie f ly , w e igh ing each word. U nquestionably, his ob ject in m ak ing the w ill was to fa c ilita te the w o rk o f d irection fo r me. He n a tu ra lly wanted to do it w ith the least, possible amount o f fr ic t io n . He ta lks about, every one most guardedly, so ften ing the most devastating judgm ents. A t the same tim e he qualifies w ith reservations the too definite ind ica tion o f the one whom he th in ks en titled to f irs t place. O n ly in his analysis o f S ta lin does one feel a d iffe re n t tone, a tone which in the la te r pos tscrip t to the w il l is no th ing short o f an n ih ila tin g .

O f Z inoviev and Kamenev, Lenin w rites , w ith an e ffe c t o f casualness, th a t th e ir cap itu la ­tion in 1917 -was “ not an acci­dent” ; in o ther word«, i t is in th e ir blood. O bviously such men cannot d irec t the revo lu tion , bu t

they should not be reproached fo r th e ir pasts. B ukharin is no t a M a rx is t bu t a scholastic; he is, however, a sym pathetic per­son. Pyatakov is an able adm in­is tra to r, but. a ve ry bad p o lit i­cian. I t is qu ite possible, however, th a t these two, B ukharin anti Pyatakov, w ill s t i l l learn. The ablest, is T ro ts k y ; his defect is his excess o f self-confidence. S ta lin is rude, d is loya l, and capable o f abuse o f the power tha t he derives fro m the p a rty apparatus. S ta lin should be re­moved to avoid a sp lit. T h is is the substance o f the “ W ill . ” It. rounds out and c la rifies the pro­posal th a t Lenin made me in our las t conversation.

L E N IN A N D S T A L INLenin came to know S ta lin

re a lly on ly a fte r the October revo lu tion . He. valued his f irm ­ness and his p ractica l m ind, which is three-quarters cunning. And yet, a t every step, Lenin s truck at S ta lin ’s ignorance, a t his ve ry na rrow po litica l h o r i­zon, and his exceptional m ora l coarseness and unscrupulousness.

S ta lin was elected to the post, o f general secretary o f the pa rty against the w ill o f Lenin, who acquiesced only so long as he h im se lf headed (he pa rty . But a fte r his f irs t stroke, when he

(Continued on page 3)

Dobbs Urges Unions To Respond to Appeal By Opening Up Purses

I t w ill take 100 station wagons to operate an effective transportation system for the Negro people in Mont­gomery, according to Rev. M. L. King, leader of the buspro test movement in th a t c ity . S -------------------------------------------------------

In an in te rv ie w w ith a s ta ffw r ite r fo r the weekly A ifro-Aaner- scan, the Rev. M r. K in g disclosed th a t the M ontgom ery Im prove­m ent Association had applied fo r a “ jitn e y service” franch ise . In answer to a query by the A fro - Aim eric an reporte r, the. Rev. M r. K ing , president, o f the M IA , said;

“ Wo were turned down and plain to app ly again. I f the fra n ­chise is not. granted, perhaps we w ill run a free ji tn e y service.

“ I th in k th a t we could do w ith aibrwt 100 sta tion wagons. We could operate the free transp o r­tation system through con tribu ­tions in our churches.”

F a rre ll Dobbs, N a tion a l See- "o ta ry o f the S oc ia lis t W orkers P a rty , now on lo u r in support of the bus p ro tes t movement, is eriipnasSztn'g bhernéed. fo r / s ta tion wagons to bu ild the M ontgom ery car pool. He is ca lling on union members and leaders to express ‘he :r support in the fo rm o f co l­lection« to buy s ta tion wagons fo r the freedom figh te rs o f M on t­gomery.

Ait. his f irs t public m eeting ir D e tro it, sponsored by the SWP, a com m ittee was established to raise funds fo r the purchase c ' one or more sta tion wagons fo r M ontgom ery.

GOP Baits Campaign Hook For Negro Votes

---- By George Lavan------In a cyn ica l election - year

maneuver to fu r th e r d iscred it the Democrats and to lu re N e­gro voters to the Republican P arty , the E isenhower A dm in is ­tra tio n sent three c iv i l r ig h ts proposals to Congress.

N e ith e r E isenhower n o r any­body else expects the b ills to bo passed— th a t isn ’t the po in t a t a ll. They do expect, however, tha t the b ills w i l l p u t the Dem ­ocrats on the spot. N o rthe rn Dem ocrats w i l l have to vote fo r o r aga inst them and e ithe r way they w ill be in troub le—w ith the Negro vo te rs o r w ith the D ix ic - e ra t w ing o f th e ir pa rty .

On the o ther hand the Repub­licans figu re that, in troduc tion o f th is c iv il r ig h ts “ p ro g ra m ” even a t th is late date— Congress is th ree -quarte rs over— w ill en­able them to cam paign as the

(Continued on page 4)

Do CP Leaders Really Wish to Expose Stalin?

NEW YORK, April 9 — At this writing no reply has been received by the Socialist W’orkers Party to its April l letter to the Communist Parly of the U.S. proposing thatboth o rgan iza tions jo in “ in in -® -it ia t in g a demand fo r the con­s titu tio n o f an im p a rtia l Com­mission o f In q u iry in to S ta lin ’s purge tr ia ls w ith in the Soviet Union and elsewhere,"

The SW P le tte r cited an ed i­to r ia l in the D a ily W o rke r con­dem ning the. “ fram e-up o f Ra jk and o ther H ungarian Communist leaders” as a “ be traya l o f the socia list m ovem ent” and assert­ing the “ r ig h t to demand tha t the investiga tions in H ungary and the Soviet. Un ion sha ll be fu l l and complete and shall b r in g to book those responsible fo r in jus tice no m a tte r bow high th e ir position was.”

The fram e-up and execution of LaszJo R a jk was p a rt o f a ser­ies o f “ confession” tr ia ls in Eastern Europe in 1949. R a jk , who was H ungarian fo re ign m in ­is te r, “ confessed” to hav ing con­spired w ith M arsha ll T ito o f Yugoslavia . Recently, as p a r t of the K re m lin ’s cam paign repud i­a tin g the S ta lin cu lt, Ra jk was declared the v ic tim o f a fram e- up by H ungarian S ta lin is t lead­er M atvas Rakosi.

The SW P le tte r pointed out that “ any investiga tion carried out. by those c lea rly associated w ith the im prisonm ent and exe­cution o f innocent persons would ca rry no w e ight w ith w orld w o rk ­ing class op in ion.” I t was the re­fo re urged th a t “ an im p a rtia l Commission o f In q u iry composed o f men and women o f unques­tioned in te g r ity who command the confidence and respect, o f the w orld w o rkers ’ m ovem ent” would be required “ as a basic p re­requis ite o f a ‘fu l l and com plete’ inves tiga tion .”

This week another v ic tim of the E ast European a n ti-T ito is t

purge, fo rm e r deputy P rem ier o f B u lga ria , Taieho Kostov, has been “ reh ab ilita te d .” Kostov was executed in 1949 on the charge of h igh treason. R ostov’s case was notable fo r the fa c t th a t he repudiated his “ confession” in .court. A f te r he was hanged the S ta lin is t a u tho ritie s announced th a t ju s t before the rope was placed around his neck, he “ ad­m itte d ” his “ crim es.” Now the. C entra l Com m ittee o f the B u l­ga rian Com m unist P a rty has de­clared K ostov innocent.

The admission tha t the con­fessions o f both Ra jk and Ros­tov were m onstrous frauds, sharp ly poses the necessity o f a review o f (he in fam ous Moscow “ confession” tr ia ls o f the T h ir ­ties. A t these show tr ia ls v ir ­tu a lly the whole leading s ta f f o f (he Russian Revolution o f 1917 were accused o f “ espionage,” “ sabotage.” “ te rro r is m ” a n d ‘‘counter - revo lu tiona ry p lo tt in g ,” and were put to death on the evidence o f th e ir own ‘confes­sions.’ Loon T ro tsky , who was la te r murdered by a Stalinist, pick-axe assassin in his Mexico exile, was the ch ie f ta rge t of these staged confession tr ia ls . Tens o f thousands o f re vo lu tio n ­ary workers, who never came to tr ia l, were im prisoned and exe­cuted.

The present K rem lin leaders, who were closely associated w ith S ta lin in the pe rpe tra tion o f his crimes, w a n t to l im it th e ir ex- nosures to the absolute m in im um . The proposal o f the SWP fo r an im p a rtia l Commission o f In q u iry w ith fu l l power to review a ll the pe rtine n t records is the on ly way to achieve a “ fu ll and com­plete” inves tiga tion as the D a ily W orke r ed ito ria l o f A p r i l 2 de­manded.

Page Two T H 1 M I L I T A N T Monday, A pril 16, T956

The "Elements” Pravda Fears

By Tom KerryIn an article bristling with denunciation of “rotten

elements," Pravda, official organ of the Russian Com­munist Party castigated critics in the Soviet Union whopresumed to so beyond the lim - !> its imposed by the K rem lin bureaucracy in the discussion organized to demolish the “ S ta l­in cu lt.” The A p r i l 5 issue o f the paper lashed out in a ll d irections showering derogatory ep ithe ts on those who sought to take advan­tage o f the “ discussion” to c r i t i ­cize p a rty po licy and leadership.

C r a c k i n g the bureaucratic w h ip , Pravda called fo r “ B o l­shevik m a rt ia l ir re c o n c ila b ility tow ard these a n ti-p a rty sallies.”“ The p a rty organ,” says a Mos­cow dispatch in the A p r i l 6 New Y o rk T imes, “ gave no indica tion o f w h a t had been said by the c r it ic s beyond accusing them o f echoing ‘hackneyed slanderous inven tions o f fo re ign reactionary propaganda.’ ”

The language o f Pravda under Khrushchev is l i t t le d iffe re n t fro m th a t employed under the m urderous S ta lin reg im e. The language is s im ila r bu t the s it ­ua tion is a ltoge ther d iffe re n t.U nde r S ta lin , also, there were period ic cam paigns o f “ c ritic ism and s e lf-c r itic is m ” usua lly te rm ­in a tin g in a bloody purge and a re s h u ff lin g o f the bureaucracy.S ta lin a lways found convenient scapegoats fo r the crim es o f the bureaucratic caste.

M O U N T IN G PRESSUREThe g rin d in g repression and

savage b loo d le ttin g under S ta lin was no t e n tire ly the resu lt o f one m an’s personal aberra tion , as the present day S ta lin is ts would have us believe. On the con tra ry . I t was the re fle x o f a m an who person ified the bureau­cra tic K re m lin caste reacting lik e a barom eter to the m ount­in g pressure o f the dissatisfied and discontented Soviet masses.

The death o f S ta lin , the t re ­mendous in d u s tr ia l expansion o f the Soviet U n ion w ith its con­c o m itta n t increase in the size and social w e ig h t o f the w o rk ­in g class, the extension and s treng then ing o f the S ov ie t bloc, the rise o f the colon ia l revo lu ­tio n and the weakening o f w orld im peria lism , a ll b ro ug h t increas­in g confidence and self-assurance to the Soviet masses.

The mass pressure fo r a ra d i­cal change acquired explosive proportions. S ta lin ’s very name was a curse and a m alediction. As the pe rson ifica tion o f the bureaucracy he r e p r e s e n t e d eve ry th ing th a t was hated and rev iled . An im ated by the de­te rm in a tio n to preserve th e ir power and p riv ileges at a ll costs, the bureaucracy seized upon S ta lin ’s m um m ified corpse as a scapegoat fo r th e ir crimes. B ut there was no change in basic po licy or method, and on ly a

Reaction of the Fringe Stalinists To Moscow’s Ending of the Cult

re luc tan t easing o f the bureau­cra tic vise.

Concessions were made g ru d g ­in g ly and on ly under extrem e compulsion. As under S ta lin a ll decisions w e r e “ unanimous.” S ta lin was made fa ir game and open season was declared on the “ S ta lin c u lt.” B u t the sacrosanct “ general line ” could be question­ed on ly under pa in o f cou rting bureaucratic displeasure. The lim its prescribed by the bureau­cracy are circum scribed and fixed . Such is the “ dem ocratic” discussion in the Soviet U n ion as Khrushchev and Co. would have it.

T ID E O F D IS C O N T E N THowever, the s ig n if ic a n t th in g

about the abusive Pravda a rtic le is no t on ly th a t i t accurate ly re flec ts the S ta lin is t m e n ta lity bu t tihait i t also records the I r ­res is tib le pressure to break th rough the a rb it ra ry l im its im ­posed by the bureaucracy. H av­in g opened a crack in the top bureaucratic crust the pa ras itic K rem lin caste w il l be unable to stem the pent-up mass d issa tis ­fac tio n b o ilin g up fro m below.

One can surm ise the nature and extent o f the long-repressed grievances fro m comments ap­pearing in t lie S ta lin is t press. S ta lin was indicted fo r the f r ig h t fu l losses su ffe red in the la te w a r w ith Soviet casualties estim ated a t fo r ty m illio n . S ta l­in was g u ilty o f m urdering thousands o f innocent people S ta lin was responsible fo r the un to ld m isery and repression v is ited upon the Soviet w orkers and peasants. A ll o f wh ich is true , bu t —

Even S ta lin is t s ta lw a rt, W il­liam Z. Foster, head o f the Am erican Com m unist P a rty , is constra ined to re p o rt th a t “ w o rk ­ers everywhere,” are in s is te n tly dem anding “ to know w h a t the present leadership, fo r the m ost pa rt, who w orked side-by-side w ith S ta lin fo r m any years,” were do ing when a ll o f the lis ted crimes were com m itted. The an­swer is obvious. Side-by-side w ith S ta lin they pa rtic ipa ted in pe r­p e tra tin g the m ost m onstrous crimes, in the annals o f h is to ry .

“ T h is fra n k discussion,” w rites the Moscow correspondent o f the D a ily W orker, M arch 25, now tak in g place in the Soviet Union, is “ triu m p h a n t p ro o f” tha t “ a fte r a lapse o f 20 years, tru e de­mocracy has been restored.” Not qu ite ! B ut having embarked on the road o f s trugg le against the bureaucra tic K re m lin gang we can be certa in th a t before they stop “ tru e democracy” rea lly w ill be restored in the Soviet Union.

By Daniel RobertsD u rin g the last several weeks

The M ilita n t has reported the reaction in the S ta lin is t press to the ju n k in g o f the S ta lin cu lt in the Soviet Union. On the fringes o f the S ta lin is t movement there are group ings tha t proclaim themselves “ independent socia l­is ts ” a lthough sym pathetic to the CP. T h e ir view poin ts are ex­pressed in several publications inc lud ing M on th ly Review and The Am erican Socia list. How do they r<*>ct to the 20th Congress o f the Com m unist P a rty o f the Soviet Union? How do they ex­p la in w hat happened? W ha t do they propose socialist-m inded w orkers should do to hasten the destruction o f the S ta lin cu lt?

The A p r i l M on th ly Review, greets the 20th Congress w ith u t te r silence. T h is is not to be wondered at. In ju n k in g the S ta lin cu lt, the K re m lin bureau­crats were compelled to expose the fram e-up character o f a number o f blood purges eng i­neered by S ta lin . Tihis happens to place the M on th ly Review edi­to rs — Huberm an and Sweezy— in a h ig h ly em barrassing posi­tion . F o r they endorsed every one o f the S ta lin fram e-ups from those in Moscow in the late 19,30’s — in which a whole revo lu ­tion a ry generation was destroyed — to the purge trdlals in Eastern Europe 1949-52, to the fram e - up o<f the Soviet doc­to rs in Janua ry 1953 on the eve o f S ta lin ’s death. They p roc la im ­ed a ll "confessions” genuine, a l­though the Dewey In te rn a tion a l Commission o f In q u iry had a l­ready exposed in 1987 the mech­anism whereby fa lse “ confes­sions” have been extracted.

ON T H E RECORDNow S ta lin ’s accomplices —

the present Soviet ru le rs — say confessions in a num ber o f tr ia ls were fake . The se lf-s ty led “ in ­dependent” ed itors o f M on th ly Review have fo r the tim e being no th ing more to say. A s w ith th e ir support o f S ta lin ’s fram e- ups so w ith th e ir adulation o f S ta lin . In 1953, echoing the p ro ­nouncements o f the S ta lin cu lt, Huberm an and Sweezy stated, “ There can be l i t t le doubt th a t h is to ry w ill . . . honor him as long as the human race survives.” B u t even S ta lin ’s he irs — le t alone the hum an race — are now re v il­in g h im , and th is on ly three years a fte r h is death.

Socialist-m inded w orkers and youth in the Com m unist p a rty or periphery who are m aking the end o f the S ta lin cu lt a s ta rtin g po in t fo r serious exam ination of revo lu tiona ry po litics have no th ­in g to learn from the M on th ly Review. These “ independent so­c ia lis ts ” know only how to ta il- end the K re m lin line.

I f Huberm an and Sweezy are d riven in to tem po ra ry silence because o f th e ir previous over-

P icket C ircus

Members o f the In t i. B rotherhood o f Team sters and the Am erican G uild o f V a rie ty A r t is ts p icke t the R in g lin g Bros. Barnum & B ailey C ircus outside M adison Square Garden in d rive to organ ize c ircus employes. In ju n c tio n ordered pickets removed fo r the opening n ig h t perform ance o f the show’s one-month stand in New Y ork .

zealous p rom otion o f the S ta lin cu lt, no t so the ed itors o f the Am erican Socialist. I t is true th a t Cochran and his colleagues say no th ing about th e ir desertion fro m revo lu tiona ry socialism when they s p lit in 1953 from the Socia list W orkers P a rty . This included abandonment o f revo lu ­tio n a ry opposition to S ta lin ism . B u t happ ily fo r them th e ir pub­lic reconcilia tion w ith S ta lin ism took place a fte r S ta lin died. There is no th ing on the record ty in g them to the S ta lin cu lt. They fee l a ll the more free to snuggle up to the present K rem ­lin ru le rs and t r y to re fu rb ish the d ic ta to rsh ip o f the bureau­c ra tic caste.

The Cochranites preach con­fidence in Khrushchev, Bulganin and the res t o f S ta lin ’s fo rm er henchmen w ith a c la im th a t they are in the process o f c a rry in g

lou t a se lf-re fo rm . The 20th Con­gress has sent them in to ecstasy. “ The T w en tie th Congress repre sents the c lim actic p o in t in the new leadership ’s a ttem p t to re ­vam p the archaic s truc tu re , to s tab ilize the pos t-S ta lin reg im e on viab le foundations, and mod ernize its w o rk ing s a ll a long the line in tune w ith the new prob­lems and rea litie s ,” they rh a p ­sodize.

“ . . . W ith Russia’s rise as the second in du s tria l power, the harsh po litica l reg im e is begin-

When the Storm Broke in CeylonH A R T A L ! By Colvin R. de

S ilva. Ceylon. 20 pp. 15 cents. Am erican d is tr ib u to rs : PioneerPublishers.

The masses o f Ceylon, to the d ism ay o f the U.S. S tate D e pa rt­m ent, have ju s t kicked out o f o ffice the c a p ita lis t U n ited N a ­tio n a l P a rty in a landslide elec­tion . A p rinc ip a l agent in the debacle o f the U N P was the T ro ts k y is t Lanka Sama Samaja P a rty (LS S P ), w h ich has em erg­ed fro m the election as the cou n try ’s second p a rty and lead­in g representative o f the w o rk ­in g class.

The Am erican reader has no b e tte r w ay o f understand ing the recent election and the con tinu­ously un fo ld in g social revo lu tion in Ceylon than by read ing the

PamphletsAbout Ceylon

•Recent Publications

of theLANKA SAMA SAMAJA

PARTY •

H a rta l! (The s to ry o f the 1953 general s tr ik e ) by Colvin R. de S ilva — 15 cents

The D ifferences Between T ro t­skyism and S ta lin ism by ■Leslie Goonewardene — 25 cents

The C ris is o f Local Governm entby Edm und Sam arakkody — 10 cents

L e ft D isu n ity — A Reply to a C r itic by Colv in R. de S ilva •— 10 cents

T he ir P o litics — And Ours byC o lv in R. de S ilva — 25 cents

•O rder from

PIONEER PUBLISHERS116 U n iv e rs ity Place New Y o rk 3, N . Y .

pam phlet “ H a r ta l! ” The author, C o lv in R. de S ilva, is a founder and leader o f the LSSP. D u ring W orld W ar I I he was im prisoned by the B r it is h fo r his uny ie ld ing demands fo r Ceylon’s independ­ence and denunciation o f the im ­p e r ia lis t s laughter. He and o ther LSSP leaders made a d ram atic escape from prison and carried on th e ir revo lu tiona ry w o rk fro m Ind ia . A f te r the w a r he, w ith o ther LSSP leaders were elected to Ceylon’s pa rliam en t. There, as w e ll as in the s trugg le to un ion­ize w orkers and educate them to socialism , he has done b r i l l ia n t w ork . In A ug us t 1953, on the LSSP general s ta ff, he helped lead the h a rta l — the greatest class ba ttle the A sian is land has ye t seen.

D IR E C T C O N N E C T IO NThe d irec t connection o f the

h a rta l w ith test week’s momen­tous elections is stated in the pam phlet’s opening parag raph : “ The vast upsurge o f the masses which A ugust 12th w itnessed in

Book - A - Month Plan

A p r i l Selection

Fettered FreedomA Discussion of Civil Liberties

andSlavery in the U.S.

(1830 to 1860)By Russel B. Nye

Published at $4.00 Special A p r i l price

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•P IO N E E R P U B L IS H E R S

116 U n iv e rs ity Place New Y ork 3, New Y ork

v illa g e and tow n together, re p ­resented no th ing less than an active vote o f no-confidence in the U N P governm ent and a de­mand th a t i t should res ign im ­m ediate ly. I t was a notice served on the U N P governm ent th a t the people could to le ra te i t no longer.”

The ca p ita lis t U n ited N a tio n ­al P a rty , backed by B r it is h and U.S. im peria lism , tr ie d to chedt h is to ry bu t succeeded on ly fo r a year and a ha lf. The police re ­pressions and reprisa ls and a ll the p o litica l tr ic k s and b rib e ry serv­ed on ly to re in fo rce the people o f Ceylon in the resounding ve r­d ic t they had given in the 1953 h a rta l— out w ith the U N P gov­ernm ent. La s t week’s election was b u t a fo rm a l re g is te r in g on ba llo ts o f w ha t the masses had dem onstrated phys ica lly a year before— out w ith the U N P gov­ernm ent.

H a rta l is an Ind ian word m eaning non-cooperation. B u t i f anyone has been m isled by paci­f is t and Quaker w ish fu l th in k in g in to be liev ing th a t th is method o f s trugg le developed by the masses o f A sia is passive o r pa- c ifis tic , a read ing o f “ H a rta l,” w i l l soon disabuse h im . Am ong w orkers the equiva lent o f the h a rta l is the general s trike . A nd in Ceylon’s h a rta l, the w o rk in g class shut down the fac to ries and workshops and prevented scabs fro m go ing in . B u t in Asian countries there are g rea t masses o f sm all peasants, shop­keepers, etc. These and o ther elements— unemployed, students, houswives and others w ith o u t unions— p a rtic ip a te by engaging in the h a rta l.

The h a rta l means a cessation o f a ll w o rk and transp o rta tio n as a means o f po litica l pro test. Those engaged in the h a rta l stop tra in s and buses— by pacific means, i f possible, by f ig h tin g back, i f attacked by scabs, police o r troops.

A sian h a rta lis ts do no t tu rn the o ther cheek, b u t defend themselves m ilita n t ly . In Ceylon the f ig h tin g reached a lm ost in ­

su rrectionary he ights in m any pa rts o f the island.

The g re a t h a rta l was p re c ip i­ta ted by the deceit o f the cap i­ta lis t U N P which had held o f­fice since the coun try achieved po litica l independence. S ho rtly before, the U N P had won the general elections on a program o f promises i t had no in ten tion o f keeping. On the con tra ry , i t tr ie d to solve the problem o f the cou n try ’s creaking ca p ita lis t econ­omy a t the expense o f the poor. Food and c lo th in g prices were increased, the rice ra tio n cut, the free lunch and m ilk p rogram fo r school ch ild ren was abolished, the price o f rice was increased fro m 25 to 70 cents a measure.

STORM B R E A K SThen the storm broke. A ll

classes, except the na tive cap it­a lis ts , and a ll races, castes, and re lig ions, except the w h ite fo r ­eigners, were drawn in to the h a rta l.

T h is pam ph le t no t on ly des­cribes the course o f the h a rta l, how the U N P cabinet h id in g out on a B r it is h w arsh ip in Colombo harbor, tr ie d to m aster i t w ith m a rtia l law , b u t how the LSSP succeeded in fo rg in g a un ited f ro n t o f a ll w o rk in g class parties and unions to sponsor the g rea t s trugg le .

The recent election resu lts bear ou t the conclusions reached in 1953 by the au thor, a few samples o f w h ich fo llo w :

“ Thus on A u g u s t 12th a new fa c to r reentered ou r po litics. Th is is the fa c to r o f d irec t mass in te rven tion in the p o l i t i c a l arena; its e lf the basic fa c to r in the revo lu tiona ry process. O ur po litics can never be the same as before. The sense o f mass power generated in the masses themselves as w e ll as in th e ir opponents ensures th is . . .

“ B u t the U N P governm ent has been s truck a b low from which i t can never recover. A ug ust 12th no t on ly set i t ree l­in g bu t also shattered its m ora l basis. A ug ust 12th also narrowed its mass -base -irre pa ra b ly .”

n ing to m ellow . . . the trend is in the r ig h t d irection . . H is ­to r ic a lly , the new reg im e has to be considered a trans ien t stage tow ard the establishm ent o f a fu l l p o lit ic a l democracy o f so­cia lism . . . W hen enough c ir ­cumstance in the fo rm o f peo­ples understanding, h igh level o f cu ltu re and economic ad­vancement m ature , the irre p re s ­sible desire fo r freedom w il l break th rough and demand sa tis ­fac tio n .”

These words were no sooner

(•¡uttered when the “ m e llow ing” K rem lin overlords began to crack down on w ha t they called “ ro tten elem ents” — namely, the Soviet masses — who are no t sa tis fied w ith paper p rom ­ises o f democracy and a bureau­c ra tic a lly conducted liqu ida tion o f the S ta lin c u lt bu t w ant gen­uine p o lit ic a l freedom . (See a r t i ­cle by Tom K e rry elsewhere in th is issue.)

The Cochranites present an e n tire ly perverted p ic tu re o f the true re la tions between the So­v ie t masses and tlhe bureaucracy. They present the K re m lin d ic ta ­to rs as se ttin g the pace in the tra n s itio n to p o litica l democracy and the people as eventua lly ca tch ing up. B u t re a lity shows th a t i t is the Soviet w o rk in g people who are fed up w ith the d ic ta to rsh ip o f the bureaucratic caste. They are fo rc in g the K rem lin to make concessions, which the bureaucrats hope w ill stave o f f its overthrow .

R evo lu tionary socialists have every reason to welcome the ju n k in g o f the S ta lin c u lt as an ind ica tion o f the pow erfu l s t i r ­r in g o f the Soviet w o rk ing class and as a ha rb inge r o f a p o lit i­cal revo lu tion . They do no t f la t ­te r the cynical bureaucrats who seek to perpetuate the bated d ic­ta to rsh ip , bu t make ever grea te r demands upon them . M ore ex­posures o f fram e-up tr ia ls ! More reh ab ilita tion s o f S ta lin ’s v ic ­tim s inc lud ing the ch ie f v ic tim s, the T ro ts k y is ts ! M ore economic concessions! G ran t p o lit ic a l l ib ­e rty to a ll w o rk in g class tenden­cies!

The revo lu tiona ry socialists believe in the regeneration o f the Soviet Union and have s tru g ­gled fo r it unw avering ly since the emergence o f S ta lin ’s bloody ru le. B u t un like the Cochranites and o ther apologists fo r S ta lin ­ism, they do no t look to S ta l­in ’s heirs to accomplish the task. They re ly solely on the revo lu ­tio n a ry action o f the Soviet and in te rna tiona l w o rk ing class.

General Strike In Spain

APRIL 11 — A general strike is in progress in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona, capital of the Navarre region. Thousands of workers are defying the Francoreg im e’s labor laws which fo rb id ®-------------------------------------------------------•

’ lo ry over the Fa lang is ts (F ranco fasc is ts) in elections fo r leader­ship o f the students’ union. P reviously the F ranco d ic ta to r­ship also showed its e lf to be w ith ­out student support a t the U n i­ve rs ity o f Barcelona. Despite arrests o f opposition leaders, the revo lt has continued to grow in the u n ive rs ity d is tr ic ts .

A lready in 1951, a general s tr ike in Barcelona over bus-fare increases showed th a t the Spanish w o rk in g class had recovered fro m tire defeat in flic te d by the fa s ­cists in the C iv il W a r o f 1936-37. The Franco regim e survived the Barcelona s tr ike by means o f repressions. B ut ju d g in g from developments d u rin g the la s t months, police measures have now lo s t th e ir effectiveness. The Spanish w o rk in g people are p lac ing the ove rth row o f the f a s c i s t d ic ta to rsh ip on the agenda.

R E A D Y TO STR U G G LE R e fe rr in g to an e a rlie r m an i­

fes ta tion th is year o f the Spanish people’s readiness to s tru g g le , the Jan. 9 M il ita n t said: “ T hroughou t the w orld th is re p o rt o f the in ­dom itab le revo lu tiona ry tem per o f the Spanish people w i l l be jo y fu lly received by a ll those fig h tin g to e lim ina te ca p ita lis t oppression. B y the same token i t comes as the w orst k ind o f news fo r the foca l po in t o f w o rld reaction — the A m erican c a p ita l­ist class and its governm ent. . . . The U.S. governm ent has poured m illions o f do lla rs in to a des­perate e ffo r t to m a in ta in the ‘s ta b ility ’ o f F ranco’s hated re g im e .. . The rep o rt fro m M adrid constitu tes due notice th a t W a ll S tree t’s reactionary e ffo rts , in th is case as in many others, 'is

them to s tr ike .A ccord ing to today ’s New Y ork

T imes, the Pam plona s tr ike is spreading to o ther towns o f the region. F urthe rm ore , “ i t is ex­pected th a t la te r today the maim centers w ill have fo llowed the Pamplona lead.”

S H U T DO W N T IG H TEveryth ing- in Pamplona is shut

down t ig h t. The s tr ike began yesterday when several hundred workers in shoe fa c to rie s q u it in p ro test aga inst a too meager wage increase granted by the governm ent. In fasc is t Spain, the governm ent regulates wages.

Then the s tr ik e spread to 35 o-ther fac to ries and in d u s tria l en terprises inc lud ing a construc­tion company em ploying 2,000 workers. Stores are dosed down and tra n sportaifcion suspended services when bus conductors qu it.

The present m ilitancy o f Spain’s workers was c lea rly foreshadowed last August at a na tiona l labor congress. Even though handpicked by the governm ent, the union leaders yielded to the pressure o f the w orkers and voted demands fo r a m in im um liv in g wage, grea te r pa rtic ip a tion in p ro fits and a voice in management po licy. These demands have not been met by the governm ent.

M O U N T IN G U N R E S TThen on Jan. 1, D ic ta to r Franco

h im se lf disclosed the m om iiliog rebellion aga inst his reg im e, who: he devoted h is en tire New Y ea r’s message to the need fo r ‘ ‘na tiona l s o lid a rity .” He adm itted tha t there was un res t among w o rk ­ers, students and in te llec tua ls .

A t M adrid U n iv e rs ity , las t F ebruary , an independent, slate o fcandidates won a crush ing vie- headed down the d ra in .”

. . . CEYLON TROTSKYISTS(Continued from page 1)

Peoples F ro n t is a Buddh ist pa rty , led m ostly by monks, and using a name w h ich trans la tes to “ Language F ro n t.” As its name indicates its m a in p lank is to make Sinhalese the cou n try ’s on ly o ffic ia l language despite the fa c t th a t on ly 70% o f the popu lation is Sinhalese.

The th ird component o f the U n ited Peoples F ro n t has regu­la r ly been described in the ca p ita lis t press o f the U.S. ami G reat B r ita in as a “ T ro ts k y is t p a rty .” T h is is incorrect. Known in Ceylon po litics as the P h ilip Gunawardene group, i t is a sm all p o lit ic a l fo rm a tio n grouped about Gunawardene, who m any years ago split, o f f fro m the T ro tsky is t Lanka Sauna Samaja P a rty . Since then h is group departed from T ro tsky ism onto the tw is tin g road o f opportunism . Am ong o ther th in g s he collaborated w ith the Ceylonese S ta lin is ts and ac cepued an o ffic ia l in v ita tio n to to u r the Soviet U n ion. D u ring the recent wave o f com inunatism which tu rned Sinhalese w o rke r against T am il, re lig io n aga inst re lig ion , and caste aga inst caste, his group bowed to the pressure. Now i t has ended up in a coa lition w ith a libe ra l ca p ita lis t p a rty w ith a reactionary stand on the v ita l language question.

T R O T S K Y IS T PROGRAMI t m ust be emphasized th a t the

rea l T ro ts k y is t p a rty o f th is Asian island was not p a r t o f the U n ited Peoples F ro n t but ran independently and has emerged as the main opposition pa rty . I ts program was one o f class s tru g ­gle and unsw erving opposition to the reactionary com m unalist frenzy. The LSSP fo rt itu d e in bucking both Sinhalese and T a m il chauvin ists, who would force th e ir language on one another o r p a rtit io n the Country in to separate nations has been the p rinc ipa l fa c to r in the abatement o f the frenzy.

The LSSP stood fo r abo lition o f E ng lish as the o ff ic ia l language since th a t is the language im ­posed on the coun try by the fo rm ­er B r it is h ru le rs and is spoken only by the sm all upper class and sections o f the m iddle class w ith fo rm a l education. Instead o ' “ Sinhalese on ly ,” i t called fo r m aking both Sinhalese and T am il o ffic ia l languages w ith equal status.

LS'SP speeches and papers ham ­mered on the theme th a t unem ­p loym en t -meant the same in botl- languages, th a t the p rice o f food was no lo w e r w hether i t was asked fo r in Sinhalese o r T am il, th a t i t was the soc ia lis t du ty o f the Sinhalese m a jo r ity (70% ) to respect T am il m in o r ity r ig h ts , as i t was the T a m il w o rke rs ’ dig to re jec t chauv in is t plans of secession to jo in Ind ia . The LSSP’s long and heroic record o f s trugg le aga inst im peria lism , its yeoman w o rk in o rgan iz ing unions and fligh ting f o r the w el­

fa re o f the peasants, its w e ll- remembered ro le as leader o f the g re a t H a rta l o f 1953 (see book rev iew on th is page), as w e ll as its able cam paign ing served to b r in g the w o rkers o f bo th na­tio n a lit ie s to th e ir senses.

Though Ceylon is a sm all country — i t is a lm ost as b ig as Ire land and has three tim es as much popu lation — i t is .s tra ­teg ica lly and p o lit ic a lly im p o rtan t. I ts complete re jection o f Prime M in is te r S ir John Kotellawala, the da rlin g o f U.S. and B r it is h im ­peria lism , has already had a pro found in fluence 1 in Asia . Kotelawiala was denounced du rin g the cam paign fo r h is ro le ait the Bandung Conference where he served UJS. im peria lism by his a ttacks on Com m unist China. Secretary o f S tate Dulles tried to bu ild up K o te law a la ’s prestige by v is it in g Ceylon- in the m idst o f the election cam paign. The v is it probably cost Kote law ala even m ore votes.

Ind ica tive o f W a ll S tree t’s reac­tion to the election was the New Y o rk T im es ed ito ria l o f A p r il 8, a fte r the f irs t day ’s vo tin g in ­dicated the landslide. E n title d “ setback in Ceyion,” i t began: “ We may as w e ll face the un­pleasant fac ts in the case. We cannot g ree t the election re tu rn fro m Ceylon, a t th is po in t, w ith an y th ing sho rt o f dfeimiay.” A news s to ry in the same issue o f the N. Y . Tim es co rre c tly p red ic t­ed: “ Today’s p o llin g threatened to push the G overnm ent p a rty even ou t o f second place. The T ro ts k y ite Ceylon E q u a lity p a rty [LS S P ] won five more seats and I ts to ta l stood a t nine. . . The second m ost im p o rta n t po litic ian in the coun try now m ay be Dr. N. M. Perer-a, the T ro ts k y ite leader, and fo rm e r m ayor o f Colombo.”

Communal ism, as the H indu - MosJem rio ts in Ind ia have so tra g ic a lly dem onstrated, is the greatest th re a t to the progress o f t lie w orkers and peasants o f Asia . The LSSP’s p rinc ip led stand fo r so lid a rity o f a ll peoples and na­tion a l m in o ritie s ’ r ig h ts can best be appreciated When the com- nvunalist wave which threatened to engu lf Ceylon is described.

K ote law ala called the elections when the com m unalist frenzy was at its he igh t in the hope o f r id in g back to power on the “ Sinhalese- on ly ” issue. Both his U N P and the U n ited Peoples F ro n t tr ie d to make language and re lig ion m ain issues. There were th rea ts bo send the T am ils “ back to In d ia ,” to refuse them jobs, p revent them from buy ing land. M oreover ca p ita lis t elements among the T a m il m in o r ity re ­sponded w ith th rea ts o f seces­sion. The LSSP, which has long been attacked as anti-B uddh ist and irre lig io u s , was denounced as a p a r ty o f T am il-lovers. The LSSP no t on ly s tuck to p rinc ip le and helped abate the frenzy bu t was vind ica ted a t the pollis.

N o th in g bu t en thusiastic re ­ports have been com ing in from a ll over the coun try on the ex­

ce llen t a r t i e les be ing p rin ted in The M ilita n t.

Ruth A a r o n says: “ San F ra n ­cisco and O ak­land have re a lly been p itch in g re ­cently. La s t week fo u r o f us sold 21 papers on the s t r e e t s of a w o r k i n g class

area. Last Sunday a t a m eeting in Oakland called by the M in is ­te r ia l A lliance tog e the r w ith the N A A C P a to ta l o f 232 M ilita n ts and 87 Desegregation pam phlets were sold by ten people. F rank B. was tops w ith the sale o f 55 papers, and B il l M organ headed the pam phlet sellers w ith a to ­ta l o f 35. The m eeting was c a ll­ed in s o lid a rity w ith the A la ­bama bus boycott. We go t a te r ­r if ic response to both the paper and the pam phlet.”

H ow ard M ayhew w rite s fro m Chicago th a t everyone the re is de lighted w ith the exceedingly fine q u a lity o f the recent issues. They have been do ing w e ll enough in tha t c ity to have sent rush orders fo r 500 copies o f one issue, and a thousand o f an­other.

Here in New Y o rk , John T a ­bor reports th a t “ 300 papers were sold a t the M anhattan Cen­te r m eeting. The s p ir it o f M on t­gom ery seemed to be la ck ing here. However, E. D. N ixon was given the m ost applause because he was the sym bol o f s trugg le .”

Los Angeles “ sold 554 copies o f the M arch 19 issue w ith 24 salespeople, three o f whom were tops. The w o rk th a t had been done on s tree t sales and o ther meetings showed up here. M any people knew The M il ita n t and were pleased to see us. We were

asked to sell the paper to one o f the trade unions. We are a ll pleased as Punch w ith the re ­su lts .”

F rom Seattle Helen B a ke rw rite s : “ The bundle a rrived in p len ty o f tim e to cover the m eeting. N e ll M cGrew and I sold th irte e n on the street be fore the m eeting and 20 in our re g u la r Sunday w ork . A nn M a rt in sold a to ta l o f 24, I sold 17.”

“ Last week-end 140 copies o f the M arch 19 issue were sold in fro n t o f churches and un ion m eetings,” w rite s John C ollins fro m D e tro it. “ 360 copies were d is tribu te d on W ayne U n iv e rs ity campus.”

W in ifre d Nelson w rite s fro m the T w in C ities : “ O ur sales o f the M arch 19 issue o f The M il­ita n t seem re a lly im pressive to us and no t a sm all p a r t o f i t was the w onderfu l eye-witness account o f the M on tgom ery Im ­provem ent Ass’n. m eeting th a t W illia m Bundy w ro te about so m ov ing ly . I t was an im pressive account o f an im pressive m eet­ing o f a group th a t is m ak ing h is to ry — and th is s tir re d the salesmen who sold, as w e ll as the people we sold to . Seven o f us a t fo u r churches in iSt. Paul and M inneapo lis sold a to ta l o f 105. The reaction was ve ry good. One old man said: ‘ I know a ll about w h a t’ s go ing on in M on t­gom ery bu t when you r people are he lp ing m y people, I Want to help you.’ W h ile some o f us were a t the churches others were knock ing a t doors in ne igh­borhood w ork , se lling 97 th is way. A no the r 42 were sold in the shops and union. A lto g e th e r we sold a to ta l o f 265.”

“ A l l o f us here were ve ry glad to see Cannon’s speech on the death o f the S ta lin c u lt p rin ted in The M ilita n t, and a ll o f the o ther stories on the same top ic .”

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Name ................................................................................S tree t .................................................................................................

C ity ..........................................................................................—

State ............................................................ Zone.........w.

R a lly o f Ceylon T ro tsky is t P a r ty

The Real Question Facing Ranks o f the CP

... Text of Will

W ill Eisenhower Send U. S. Troons?

The Negro Struggle------------------------- By Fred Hart --------------------------

Uncle Toms AbroadA t the beginning of the capitalist era

S i r . John Wotton, a famous English diplomat, gave a definition which has lived in history. “ An ambassador,” he wrote, “ is an honest man sent abroad to lie for has government.” In our epoch we are seeing more and more Negroes sent abroad as officia l or unofficial “ good w ill” ambassadors. This is because U.S. im­perialism’s propaganda that its foreign policy is motivated solely by the pure desire to spread democracy is disbelieved by foreigners who know about and abhor this country’s undemocratic Jim Crow system, . ^

While a foreign audience frankly dis­believes speeches o f white “ good w ill” ambassadors denying that U.S. Negroes are second-class citizens, the same denials from American Negro speakers carry more weight.

The New York Times and the Negro press has recently carried accounts of statements made in the Soviet Union by Negro Bishop D. Ward Nichols of the AME Church. In a speech to Russians, translated sentence by sentence, he said such things as, “ U.S. Negroes lived as well as any other racial group,” and, “ The Supreme Court, the highest court in our land has made i t possible fo r every Negro to attend school anywhere in the United States of America.”

These statements are on a par w ith

the infamous utterances of Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, the jackrabbit politician, at the Bandung Conference that Jim Crow was a thing of the past in the U.S. and instead of being a social stigma in the U.S. it was now a distinction to be a Negro.

Bishop Nichols was lying fo r “ his” gov­ernment at the expense of his people. For he surely knows what the census reveals i f he hasn’t understood what his eyes have seen. U.S. Negroes on the whole receive much lower pay than whites and have poorer jobs; Negro housing is predomi­nantly overcrowded, overpriced, dilapidat­ed, ghetto housing; Negroes, because of the lower standard of living forced on them and lack of equal medical attention, have shorter lives than other Americans.

While Bishop Nichols was saying that Negroes could now go to any school in the U.S., Miss Lucy was risking being lynched in her e ffo rt to enter Alabama University.

Public opinion against American Jim Crow is widespread in Asia, Africa, and Europe. I t is a powerful ally of the Negro people in the ir struggle fo r equal rights here at home. Any Negro — official, un­offic ia l or self-appointed — who goes abroad to tell foreigners they are wrong to condemn American Jim Crow is scab­bing against the Negro struggle jus t as much as i f he were riding the buses in Montgomery.

For a Great Roar!------------------------- By Harry Ring -------------------------

American labor is offered good food fo r thought in the A pril issue o f The Educator, organ of the Mechanics Educa­tional Society, AFL-CIO. A fu ll column editorial, levels solid criticisms against the politics o f the AFL-CIO offcialdom and spells out the need fo r a labor party.

Labor w ill be compelled by sheer neces­sity in the next few years to work out a fu ll scale lis t of demands, the editorial points out. The very words “ automation,” “ high prices,” “ Taft-Hartley,” “ R'igbt-to- work laws” and a host of others indicate how true th is is.

The Educator is on firm ground when i t predicts: “ Inevitably labor w ill not be satisfied w ith the lim ited support i t w ill receive from the Democrats and w ith a loud fanfare of trumpets a Labor Party w ill be bom.”

The Educator is also looking ahead clearly when it points out “ even this w ill be dangerous i f Labor forms a Party without a program.” The experience of the B ritish Labor Party over the past decade, we think, demonstrates the correctness of the point.

In 1945 the British Labor Party was swept into office and had the chance to end the capitalist system of wage slavery. Eleven years later the English workers are s till compelled to “ pull in their belts” to maintain capitalist profits. This situa­tion is a direct result of the fact that the conservative leadership of the party has fought all efforts to elaborate a genuine socialist program fo r the movement.

The Educator takes a hard-headed ap­proach to the problem of leadership fo r

the coming party. I t explains, “ W ith a clear cut radical program, calling for a complete change in our economy, a Labor Party would have a long, rough road be­fore it and it would be d ifficu lt to visual­ize some of the fa t cats of the big unions trampling along this rocky road.”

Once the wheels are in motion, we don’t th ink the job of the Labor Party w ill be extremely d ifficu lt. But there’s no arguing tha t i t would certainly be a rough haul for the “ fa t cats.” For example, George Meany, who boasts that he’s never walked on a picket line in his life, most likely wouldn’t have the legs or stomach for the haul. But this isn’t too big a problem. The odds are that once the ranks of labor get on that road they won’t be looking to the Meany’s to lead them.

Another article in the same issue of the Educator declares, “ I t is time to throw o ff the cloak of company unionism (in poli­tics), to stand on our own feet. . . We of the M.E.S.A.-AFL-CIO are ready — cer­tainly we do not stand alone. President Meany has stated he hears no cry for a labor party. We say ‘Let him hear it — Let him hear it w ith a great roar!’ ”

We vote for that and would like to sub­m it an amendment that w ill help carry it out. Formation o f an independent labor party and the establishment of a Workers and Farmers government in the U.S. is the central plank in the platform of Farrell Dobbs, Presidential candidate on the So­cialist Workers ticket.

A significant vote for Dobbs w ill really add to the roar in Meany’s ears.

BOOKS BY LEON TROTSKYOn the Soviet Union and Stalinism

" Is i t norm al that, having lived almost 40 years a fte r October we do not have e ithe r a b r ie f o r a complete M a rx is t-L e n in is t textbook on the h is to ry o f the October R evolution and the Soviet sta te , which would show, w ith o u t va rn ish ­ing, not on ly the facade bu t the whole many-sided li fe o f our Soviet F a the r- land? ” M ikoyan, F ir s t D eputy P rim e M in is te r, a t 20th Congress o f the Russian Com m unist P a rty .

What accounts for this self-admitted bankruptcy of the Kremlin bureaucracy? The answer can be found in the writings on the subjects listed by Mikoyan that the Stalinist bureaucrats have suppressed — namely, the works of Leon Trotsky.T H E F IR S T F IV E Y E A R S OF T H E C O M IN ­

T E R N — Dodutments and ¡speeches o f the f ir s t fo u r congresses o f the Com m unist In ­te rn a tio n a l before its S ta lin is t degeneration. 2 vols. Vol. I (c lo th on ly ) $3.50

Vol. I I (parper o n ly ) 3.00 B oth fo r 6.00

T H E R E V O L U T IO N B E T R A Y E D — Ananalysis o f the social re la tions w ith in the Soviet U n ion, the rise o f the S ta lin is t bu­reaucracy, the S ta lin cu lt, the pos ition o f the w o rk in g class, the peasantry, etc.

c lo th $2.50 paper 1.50

S T A L IN An A ppra isa l o f the Man and H is In fluence (O r ig in a lly published a t $5.00) Special p rice $3.50

S T A L IN — a b iog raphy (c lo th ) $3.50

T H E D R A F T PROGRAM OF T H E CO M ­M U N IS T IN T E R N A T IO N A L — a c ritic ism o f fundam enta l’s ( w ith exp lana to ry notes), T ro ts k y ’s basic w ork on the S ta lin is t theory o f socialism in one coun try (paper) $.25

S T A L IN ’S F R A M E -U P SYSTEM A N D T H E MOSCOW T R IA L S $1.00

E U R O P E A N D A M E R IC A — (includes “ P er­spectives o f W orld Developm ent” and "W h ith e r Europe” ) $ .50

IN D E F E N S E OF M A R X IS M — A n exposition o f the Soviet Un ion in W orld W a r I I , its class na ture and the ro le o f the S ta lin is t bureaucracy. c lo th $2.50

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116 University PlaceP I O N E E R P U B L I S H E R S

New York 3, N. Y.

the MILITANTVOLUME XX M O N D A Y , A P R IL 16, 1956 NUMBER 1C

D a iry Farm ers S trike

S tr ik e leader Sam B a ilo ta lk s to d a iry fa rm ers in the Im la y C ity , M ich, area, who cu t D e tro it ’s m ilk supply to a tr ic k le before an in jun c tion ended the nine-day stoppage. M any trucks were overturned and gallons o f m ilk were dumped by the fa rm ers who s truck fo r a raise in the price o f m ilk to them from the creameries.

Our Readers Take the Floor

Takes Exception to Automation Article By Robert ChesterE d ito r:

I f i t were true th a t A u tom a­tion did no t represent a “ Second In d u s tr ia l R evo lu tion” Robert Chester’s argum ents “ A utom a­tio n : New In d u s tr ia l Revolu­t io n ? ” The M ilita n t (M arch 26, 1956) by no means prove tha t po in t. In fac t, several o f his key statem ents lead to the opposite conclusion: “ A u tom ation . . . is the fina l stage o f a process be­gun w ith the ‘F ir s t ’ In d u s tr ia l Revolu tion . . . ” “ A u tom ation m arks a new qu a lita tive stage in the process o f production.” W hat Chester does prove is som ething qu ite d iffe re n t: th a t th is New In d u s tr ia l Revolu tion does not make cap ita lism progressive, does no t g ive cap ita lism a new life , a new reason fo r go ing on. The confusion in th is a rtic le is the resu lt o f a lack o f c la r ity in term s, th rough which a sound argum ent is addressed to the w rong issue.

As a re su lt o f th is approach, he seems to have equated the F irs t In d u s tr ia l Revolution w ith cap ita lism to the degree o f m ak­in g i t a k ind o f alpha and ome­ga o f the ca p ita lis t epoch.

He m is taken ly identifies au to­m ation w ith autom aton. The te rm , autom ation, is o ften used in in d u s try and engineering to indica te autom aton - ism. T h is carelessness is due p a r t ly to ig ­norance and p a r t ly sales-bologna — a w ay o f dum ping fancy gad- g e try in to the too ling program s o f naive m anufactui-ers. M arx ists, however, m ust make more care fu l d istinctions.

The F ir s t In d u s tr ia l Revolu­tion is defined s im p ly as th a t p a rt o f the ca p ita lis t process in which the m uscular power o f the w o rke r was replaced w ith the mechanical application o f power in a machine, a process in which the w o rke r rem ains to supervise and contro l the in d iv idua l stage o f production as an appendage o f the machine. T h is process evolved fro m the oapaitelist sys­tem o f hand-tool m anufacture.

Now, as Bob co rre c tly states: "A u to m a tio n m arks a new qua li­ta tiv e stage in the process o f production.”

A utom ation — fo r w a n t o f a be tte r te rm — produces a qu a lita ­t iv e ly new re la tionsh ip between the productive process and the w orker, a re la tionsh ip fu l ly as new, even more rad ica l than the change effected by the F irs t In ­du s tria l Revolution. F rom the s tandpo in t o f d ia lectic r ig o r, i t would be in to le rab le to accept the F irs t In d u s tr ia l Revolution and deny the Second. A t the same tim e, i t is im p o rta n t to recognize th a t th is emergent- in ­du s tria l revo lu tion is s u ffe r in g v io len t d is to rtions and deform a­tio n because o f the burden o f dead cap ita l and the ca p ita lis t p rope rty re la tionsh ips in wh ich i t emerges. I t is necessary to make a d ia lectica l d iscrim ina tion between the em ergent fo rm and the d is to rtion imposed upon it .

The Second In d u s tr ia l Revolu­tion represents a process by which ind iv idua l machines, fac ­tories are successively combined to fo rm one m achine— up to the po in t th a t the en tire productive economy becomes “ one machine.” W h ile the “ f ina l,” “ perfected” re su lt is some tim e d is tan t, the im m ediate possible resu lts in th is d irec tion are no less than tita n ic . T h e ir po ss ib ility is dem­onstrated by several principles:

(1 ) The app lica tion o f “ feed­back” and oitber techniques ¡to make machine-processes stable and even u ltra -s tab le fo r an in ­defin ite num ber o f variab les and inde fin ite degrees o f va ria tio n .

(2 ) The a b il i ty to program these applications in to increas­in g ly “ vas t” .¡and complex fu n c ­tions.

(3 ) The de term ination o f the po ss ib ility o f designing se lf-re ­p a ir in g , se lf- im p ro v in g machine- complexes. -

T h is Second In d u s tr ia l Revolu­tion , as i t absorbs en tire indus­tries , w i l l make meaningless the whole system o f p riva te owner­ship, as i t requires destruction o f the “ lines” o f p r iva te owner­ship o f in du s try . The p lann ing and construction o f vast assem­blies w i l l m ake a p it i fu l, o u t­w orn joke o f the c a p ita lis t bank­in g and finance system and w i l l requ ire a socia lis t conception o f c red it and p lanning. The in tro ­duction o f se lf-re p a ir and se lf- im provem ent w i l l reduce the am ount o f socia lly necessary la ­bor power to the p o in t th a t an economy based on a system o f use-values m ust arise. The p ro ­g ram o f the Second In d u s tr ia l R evolution is the In d u s tr ia l P ro ­g ram o f the Socia lis t Revolution.

A Second In d u s tr ia l Revolu­tion has begun to emerge in the fina l phase o f the ca p ita lis t epoch. Now, we are w itnessing a desparate bu t fu t i le a ttem p t by the ca p ita lis t machine to contro l th is revo lu tion , to ' “ tam e” i t to ca p ita lis t ends. The task o f the socia lis t is, f irs t, to understand th is Second In d u s tr ia l Revolu­tion in its h is to rica l perspective. Second, to exp la in the contrad ic­tions between i t and its ca p ita l­is t environm ent. T h ird , to ex­p la in its ro le in the In d u s tr ia l P rogram o f the Socia list Revolu­tion .

L . M.New Y ork

* * *

Answer to Problem Of South Is Found In The Militant

E d ito r:The f irs t th ir ty - f iv e years o f

m y li fe were spent m ostly in the South. I developed in to a class conscious w o rke r and some­th in g o f a soc ia lis t under ty p i­cal southern conditions. I have fe l t fo r a long tim e th a t social­ism was the on ly answer to the problems o f the South, b u t m y m ind has a lw ays been filled w ith too m any questions and too few answers when I tho ugh t about southern problems. The atm os­phere is so d iffe re n t fro m any­th in g else I have ever seen o r read about.

La te issues o f The M ilita n t have been supp ly ing the answers I have long looked fo r . Keep up the g rea t w ork.

R. C.St. Louis

Michigan Farmers Gain In Militant M ilk Strike

By William BundyThe discontent o f the sm all

fa rm ers has taken m ilita n t o r­ganiza tiona l fo rm in M ich igan and resulted in a m ilk s tr ik e here which was more successful than alm ost anyone expected it to be.

M ilk is one o f the few m a jo r a g r ic u ltu ra l com m odities th a t is s t i l l produced la rg e ly by sm all independent fa rm ers. P rac tica lly a ll o f tihe 1,300 m ilk producing fa rm ers in the D e tro it m ilk shed belong to a m a rke tin g o rgan iza­tion called the M ich igan M ilk Producers Association. Th is o u t­f i t operates the rece iv ing s ta ­tions w h ich take m ilk fro m the fa rm ers and d is tr ib u te i t to the la rge da iries in the cities.

The M M P A is supposed to be a cooperative o rgan iza tion ow n­ed by its fa rm e r members. A c ­tu a lly the fa rm ers c la im th a t i t is a “ company un ion” contro lled by the ric h fa rm ers and the da iries. Said one fa rm e r: “ We are supposed to ge t about $4.41 per hundredw eight fo r f lu id m ilk , bu t by the tim e the M M P A takes its cu t we end up w ith around $3.75. Then, too, we don’t ge t the fu l l price fo r a ll ou r m ilk . The M M P A decides how much o f our m ilk is surp lus and pays us less fo r th a t p a r t o f it . W e have to pay income ta x on the ‘ share’ o f the M M P A th a t we are supposed to own, bu t we never ge t any dividends.”

S T R IK E IS C A L L E DThe m ilk s tr ik e was called by

a rebel group called the Fail- Share B arg a in in g Association w h ich was form ed la s t Septem­ber. I ts m ost p rom inen t leader is Hom er M a rtin , ex-president o f the U A W . M a rtin now oper­ates a sm all fa rm outside o f De­t r o i t and holds the position of “ adviso r” in the FS B A .

On Sunday, M arch 26, the F S B A announced th a t i t would p icke t tw o m a jo r da iries in De­t r o i t and asked a ll fa rm ers to w ithho ld m ilk fro m sale to the a ffected plants. The tw o p lants, Borden and I ra W ilsons and Sons D a iry Co. were p robab ly chosen because they are each organized by one o f the tw o m a jo r unions in the in du s try , the Team sters and the CIO U n ited D a iry W o rk ­ers. The F S B A appealed fo r help fro m the labo r movement in its s trike . I t demanded $6.50 per hundredw eight.

Monday m orn ing hundreds o f fa rm ers showed up in f ro n t o f the s truck plants. The response was beyond the expectations even o f the FSBA leaders. The s tr ik e qu ick ly spread to the other dairies. P ickets were dispatched fro m the FSBA o ffice on the o u tsk ir ts o f D e tro it. Farm ers fro m a ll over the state te lephon­ed in to find ou t w ha t they could do in the s tr ike . T h e ir p a r t ic i­pation varied fro m s im p ly no t

a llow in g any m ilk to leave th e ir fa rm to b a ttlin g p o lite and M M P A s trikeb reakers on the highways. M any o f the fa rm ers stayed up fo r days a t a tim e, rush ing fro m one troub le spot to another, s topp ing m ilk trucks, and p icke ting plants.

The m ain M M P A rece iv ing sta tion was com ple te ly con tro l­led by FS B A pickets a t the h igh point o f the s trike .

Team sters and U D W o ffic ia ls conferred w ith F S B A leaders bu t gave no rea l support to the em battled fa rm ers . A few U A W locals voted m ora l support to the s tr ike , and some U A W men were seen on the p icke t lines, bu t the un ion leadership fo llo w ­ed a hands o f f po licy. W here p icke t lines were strongest, both A F L and CIO drive rs refused on th e ir own to cross the lines, b u t union p la n t w orkers and de liv ­e ry men continued to w o rk on orders fro m th e ir leaders.

George M c L e a n , secretary treasu re r o f the CIO M ilk D r iv ­ers Local 83 summed up the a t­t itu d e o f the bureaucrats in a s ta tem ent Tuesday, M arch 27: “ The fa rm ers are no t members o f an organized labo r o rgan iza­tion . O ur members cannot v io la te th e ir contracts by re fu s in g to cross p icke t lines p u t up by peo­ple no t d ire c tly connected w ith the com pany.”

Said one young fa rm e r on the p icket line in fro n t o f Borden’s D e tro it p la n t: “ I f th a t ’s the la ­bor movement, I ’m disgusted w ith it . Reuther runs a ll over the place m aking speeches about how the labor movement is the fr ie n d o f the fa rm e r and when i t comes to the tim e when he can show it , he le ts CIO drive rs cross our picket lines.”

Said another: “ We g o t m ora l support fro m the Team sters bu t th a t’s a ll. The guys in there (he pointed to the d a iry ) are w ith us; they te ll us so, bu t they can’t do an y th in g w ith o u t the un ion ’s ok. I f the labo r m ovem ent would re a lly help us, th is th in g would be over in 24 hours.”

S T R IK E E F F E C T IV EIn sp ite o f the fa ilu re o f the

labo r bureaucrats, the s tr ik e was e ffec tive . The M M P A m eeting in convention du rin g the week was forced to th rea ten a s tr ik e in its own name dem anding $5 a hun­dredw eight. B y F rid a y , M arch 30, the m a jo r da iries had g ra n t­ed t>he $5 demand. The F S B A p rope rly claim ed — and go t — c red it fo r the increase, b u t con­tinued the s tr ik e and the de­mand fo r $6.50.

O ver the weekend, the state police escorted la rge numbers o f m ilk tankers in to D e tro it ( in sp ite o f the prom ise o f Demo­c ra tic G overnor W illia m s th a t state troopers would not be used as s tr ikeb rea ke rs ). On Monday, A p r i l 2, a fte r the F S B A b lock­ade had been broken a t a cruc ia l

p o in t by police and 500 specia lly recru ited M M P A “ supporters,” the FiSBA called o f f the p icke t­ing.

M any o f the fa rm ers were in tears as they broke up th e ir p icke t lines. A m eeting was c a ll­ed fo r th a t n ig h t in B righ ton , about 40 m iles fro m D e tro it.

T ha t n ig h t the streets o f B rig h ton were filled w ith fa rm ­ers’ cars. On some were chalked the w ords: “ F a ir S ha re !” and "O n S tr ik e !” In f r o n t o f the A m erican Legion hal! where the m eeting was to be held a sound tru c k b lared the song “ 16 Tons.” Inside the h a ll there was stand­in g room only.

S U R P R IS E D W O R LD“ Y ou’ve surprised the w o rld ,

the state o f M ich igan, and even yourselves,” said F S B A p res i­dent Roland Brengle as he open­ed the m eeting. “ The $5 is en­t ire ly due to you r e ffo r ts .” The crowd cheered assent. “ Today we la id the g roundw ork . . . the FS B A is go ing to be here fro m now on . . . We are go ing to ge t ou t pub lica tions . . . nex t tim e we take action we’ l l be w e ll o r - ’ ganized.”

In the audience tw o teen-age fa rm boys nodded to each o ther at th is . Said one: “ They never would have got a tru c k th rough here i f we’d have been a l i t t le be tte r organized. We were w a lk ­in g over those deputies fo r a w h ile .”

Leo Van Bom , Chairman o f the s tr ik e com m ittee spoke. “ O ur ob jective is a con tract. Collective ba rga in ing is our p r im a ry p u r­pose. I t is no t a lo s t cause be­cause I know you arc here to support fu r th e r action.” Cheers.

H om er M a rt in was the main speaker. He ou tlined plans fo r b u ild in g a na tiona l d a iry fa rm ­ers o rgan iza tion . “ You’ l l be los t i f you don’t organize. T h is is the la s t stand o f the sm all fa rm e r. L e t ’s ca ll i t w h a t i t is. People ca ll w h a t you did ‘economic ac­tio n .’ W ell, i t looked like a s tr ik e to me; I ’m go ing to ca ll i t ju s t tihat>—a s tr ik e !”

M a rt in spoke ve ry long. Said one w h ite -h iiire d fa rm e r to has companions: “ T h a t a lw ays was his troub le . He doesn’t know when to shu t up. I th in k th a t’s w hy they kicked him ou t o f the C IO .”

M a rt in ended the m eeting w ith a prayer. A collection was taken up (the F S B A has no dues y e t) , and people passed ou t o f the ha ll. They were in a serious and question ing mood. Said one young m an: “ W ell, I guess we a in ’t dead ye t.”

“ Do you th in k th e y ’l l get any­w here?” asked another. “ W ell, som eth ing’s g o t to be done,” soneone answered. “ I ’m no t ex­ac tly fo r unions, bu t som eth ing’s go t to be done. I ’d fee l a lo t be t­te r about i t i f w e’d go t some help from D e tro it.”

. . .GOP Baits Hook

Detroit Fri. Night Socialist Forum

THE EASTER WEEK REBELLION

Com m em orating the 40th an­n ive rsa ry o f the heroic Ir is h s trugg le led by the socia list James Connolly.

F rida y , A p r il 20, a t 8 P. M.•

At 3000 Grand RiverRan. 207

Donation 25c.F ree fo r Unemployed

(Continued from page 1)“ tru e ” frien ds o f the Negro people.

Phony and cynical as the ad­m in is tra tio n m aneuver is, there is no question bu t th a t i t w ill fu r th e r damage the Dem ocratic P a rty which is a lready in deep cris is over the c iv il r ig h ts issue.

The E isenhower proposals arc ne ither deep-going o r new nor intended to p reven t recurrence o f the T i l l lynch ing o r the Miss Lucy case. Specifica lly they call fo r : 1) c reation o f a six-m an b i-pa rtisa n commission w ith sub­poena power to investiga te a lle ­gations th a t Negroes are being deprived o f the r ig h t to vote and are s u ffe r in g unw arranted eco­nomic pressure; 2) m aking the present c iv il r ig h ts section o f the D epartm ent o f Justice in to a d iv is ion w ith its head an as­s is tan t a tto rn ey genera l; 3) broadening the present law fo r ­b idd ing in te rfe rence w ith the r ig h t to vote and m ak ing such in te rfe rence subject to c iv il suits by the in ju re d p a r ty o r the A t ­to rney General in federa l courts.

How good are these propo­sals ? Since there have been no c iv il r ig h ts law s passed by Dem ­ocrats o r Republicans in the las t 80 years, any proposal m ay look good to some people. A c ­tu a lly they represent a re tre a t fro m the c iv il r ig h ts program the Negro and labo r movements have been advocating fo r the last tw o decades. L e t’s examine them one by one.

F ir s t is the proposal fo r a new s tudy commission. Though un like previous com m ittees and commissions i t would have sub­poena power fo r its investiga ­tion , i t would nonetheless be lim ite d to s tud y ing “ a llega tions” and m ak ing a re p o rt w ith in two years. Everybody in the country

knows th a t Negroes in M issis­s ipp i and o ther pa rts o f tihe South are being prevented fro m vo ting . The need is no t fo r “ s tudy” o f th is b u t fo r action to stop it . Even present laws would pe rm it the ad m in is tra tio n to take some action i f i t wanted to, bu t i t p re fe rs to make demagogic elec­tion -yea r proposals instead.

Second, the present c iv il r ig h ts section o f the D epartm ent o f Justice would be made a d i­v is ion w ith its head an assistant to the A tto rn e y General. T h is in its e lf would mean absolute ly no th ing except a few more jobs fo r some lawyers. Even the present c iv il r ig h ts section has had tim e to k i l l because E isen­hower’s A tto rn e y General ( lik e T rum an ’s) has never g iven i t any rea l w o rk o r perm ission to go ahead. Instead o f using ex is t­ing c iv il r ig h ts laws, weak as they are, to in tervene in the South the c iv il r ig h ts section has been used to f ig u re ou t legal a r ­gum ents fo r federa l no n -in te r­vention.

ASK C IV IL S U ITSProposal num ber three would

broaden e x i s t i n g leg is la tion which is supposed to guarantee the r ig h t to vote. The ex is ting law provides fo r c rim ina l penal­ties. E isenhower proposes th a t c iv il suits also be allowed. This could mean asking fo r in ju n c ­tions, damages, etc. M oreover, the present la w applies on ly to in te rfe rence by state o ff ic ia ls and th e ir agents. The new p ro ­posal would cover inteiTerence by anybody. F in a lly , suits could be in s titu te d in federa l cou rt by the in ju re d parties o r the A t ­to rne y General before the case had gone th rough the state courts.

While some minor improve­

ments in the present weak and inadequate law are proposed there is also a dangerous re trea t from the p rinc ip le th a t those preven ting a person from vo tin g should go to ja il. In his accom­panying le tte r to Congress, A t ­to rney General B row ne ll w ro te : “ Today every in terfe rence w ith the r ig h t [ to vo te ] should not necessarily be treated as a crim e . . . C rim ina l cases in a field charged w ith em otion are e x tra o rd in a rily d if f ic u lt fo r a ll invo lved.”

Should th is proposal be made a law , i t is possible to foresee, in v iew o f the “ enforcem ent” the c a p ita lis t pa rties have given c iv il r ig h ts laws heretofore , com­plete d ropp ing o f the c rim in a l penalties and a system by which Southern counties “ purchased” the - r ig h t to prevent Negroes fro m vo tin g by undergoing c iv il su its and pay ing a few fines and damages.

B u t the th ird proposal is no t even intended to get to the f lo o r o f Congress. Senate Republican leader K now land gave reporte rs the t ip -o f f when he predicted th a t the f irs t tw o proposals would get as fa r as a vote. The im p lica tion is c lear — proposal num ber three w il l die in com­m ittee.

U nder te rr if ic pressure from the aroused Negro masses to do som ething about the b lind a lley in to w h ich 20 years o f suppo rt­in g the Dem ocrats has go t the c iv il r ig h ts f ig h t, m any N egro leaders w il l undoubtedly use Eisenhower’s feeble and phony “ p ro g ra m ” as the excuse to de­clare fo r the Republicans. I f so, they aid the game o f m aking c iv il r ig h ts a p o lit ic a l foo tba ll. The on ly road is a break w ith both J im C row, B ig Business parties.