1956 — A Year of RevolutionaryStruggle

(See Page 3) It h e MILITANT

PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THE W O RKING PEOPLEVol. XX - No. 53 NEW YORK, N. Y., MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1956 Price 10 Cents

Fryer’s Book Nails Stalinists On Hungary

By John WhiteMANCHESTER, ENGLAND, Dec. 21 — Peter Fryer,

former London Daily Worker correspondent in Hungary, has now published a book, Hungarian Tragedy. It is based■on w h a t he saw in the 14 mo­m entous days o f his las t v is it to H ungary .

W hen F ry e r w ent the re on Oct. 27, the H ungarian revo lu ­t io n was less than fo u r days old. He was there w h ile the masses were flushed w ith v ic to ry a fte r th e ir f i r s t up ris ing . He saw the developm ent o f dual power, w ith the armed w o rk in g class and s tu ­dents, organized in re vo lu tion ­a ry com m ittees jealous o f th e ir v ir i le and su rg in g democracy on one side; and w ith the N agy Governm ent on the o ther side. He was in Budapest when the ■Soviet bureaucracy launched its treacherous a tta ck ; he was there d u r in g the fo u r days and n igh ts o f continuous bom bardm ent, a bom bardm ent w h ich le f t “ vast areas o f the c ity — the w o rk ­in g class areas above a ll — v i r ­tu a lly in ruins'.”

D W SUPPRESSES STORY

H e saw an u p ris in g ‘ ‘ne ithe r organized no r con tro lled by fa s ­c is t o r reactionaries b u t the com­m on people o f H u n g a ry : w o rk ­ers, peasants, students and sol­d ie rs.” W h a t he saw he re p o rt-

»-■ -------------------------------------------------ed to the London D a ily W o rke r and the S ta lin is ts who con­tro l i t ta u g h t h im another lesson when they suppressed h is d is­patches.

He le f t H u ng a ry on Nov. 10. Those 14 days decis ive ly tu rned F ry e r fro m a S ta lin is t jo u rn a lis t in to a b it te r and caustic oppo­nent o f the leadership o f the B r it is h C om m unist P a rty .

He quotes P o l l i t t ’s advice to a C om m unist P a rty member who had lived fo r a long period in Eastern Europe as a jo u rn a l­is t. On his re tu rn he to ld P oU itt — then General S ecre tary o f the C om m unist P a rty — th a t he was appalled by the th in g s he saw. P o l lit t ’s rep ly w as: “ M y advice to you is to keep you r m outh shut.”

“ The day is over when Com­m unists w i l l fo llo w such advice,” w rite s F rye r. “ N ever aga in sha ll we keep our m ouths shut. The D a ily W orke r sent me to H u n ­ga ry , then suppressed w h a t I w ro te . M uch o f w h a t I w ro te was concealed even fro m co l­leagues. B oth as a Com m unist

(C ontinued on page 2)

South A f r ic a Freedom F ighters

E ffo r ts o f the South A fr ic a n governm ent to suppress the f ig h t against, w h ite supremacy are being stepped up, bu t re ­sistance o f the freedom fig h te rs continues to grow . Above, as pa rt o f a 19.12 disobedience cam paign, South A fr ic a n s take over a ra i l car m arked “ Europeans o n ly .”

Worker, Student Protests Reported Inside USSR

Two stories being circulated in Moscow and Lenin­grad, whether based on actual incidents or not, show the kind of humor that amuses Soviet citizens these days.A s reported by Joseph C. Harsch,- C h ris tia n Science M on ito r, Dec. 22’, one te lls o f a student who asked a question in class. A no the r s tuden t in a loud w h isper gave a qu ick, pa t S ta lin is t answer. The pro fessor intoned the pat answer w ith a ll his pro fessoria l •dignity. The room bu rs t in to an u p ro a r o f laughter.

The second s to ry te lls o f a roo m fu l o f students who greeted Khrushchev w ith such loud and prolonged applause th a t he was never a£le to spy a word.

T he fa c t th a t s tudent unrest exists is ve rifie d in the com­p la in ts th a t appear in the Soviet press. H a rry S chw artz , N .Y . T im es, Dec. 24, reports a f ro n t ­page e d ito r ia l in the Komsomol- skaya Pravda, o ff ic ia l organ o f the Y oung Com m unist League. The ed ito rs re fe r to students who organized a boyco tt o f student d in in g rooms, proposed debates and raised objections to teach­in g methods.

■Students a t the Len ingrad R a ilro a d E ng inee ring In s titu te d is tr ib u te d an unauthorized pub­lica tion - called “ F resh Voices.” The ed ito ria l scolded, “ O ur p a rty w i l l never stand fo r phrase­mongers, chatterboxes and dema­gogues who th in k they under­

stand eve ry th in g and can judge eve ry th ing . There are such peo­ple among the students.”

•Besides these m an ifes ta tions o f youth rebellion, the s trikes th a t have been reported a t the K aganovich ba ll-bearing p lan t in Moscow and the e igh t-day s tr ik e a t the P u tilo v p la n t in Len ing rad are fu r th e r ind ica tions o f g ro w in g c o n flic t between the Soviet masses and the d ic ta to r­ship o f the p riv ileged bureau­cracy.

France Soir, a c a p ita lis t news­paper in Paris, reported the fo l­low ing v is it o f E ka te rina F u rt- seva, lead ing S ta lin is t woman, to the rebellious Kaganovich p lan t. A f te r lis te n in g to her speech, one w o rke r spoke up demanding to know' how much money she made each m onth. She was re ­ported to have snapped1 back, “ T h a t’s go t no th ing to do w ith the theme o f our m eeting .”

’A cco rd in g to the sources o f F rance iSoir, “ Soviet, w orkers were reported increas ing ly b i t ­te r over the continued favorable trea tm e n t o f h igh ' p a rty func­tiona ries and were said to be dem anding a re tu rn to the old system o f sharerand-share-alike.”

Defy Bus Racial Segregation In Montgomery, TallahasseeSo. Africans Fight Racial Oppression

By Fred HalsteadLast week, South A fr ic a n op­

ponents o f rac ia l segregation displayed g reat courage and de­te rm in a tio n in th e ir s trugg le against a ttem pted governm ent suppression in the c ity o f Johan­nesburg. Mass dem onstrations took place fo r three s tra ig h t days outside the courtroom where 153 leaders o f o rgan izations opposed to the governm ent’s “ apa rthe id ” (ra c ia l segregation) po lic ies wrere on t r ia l fo r “ treason.” The de­fendants include members o f a ll m a jo r rac ia l g roup ings recog­nized in the Un ion o f South A f ­r ica : A fr ic a n Negroes, A s ia tics , Coloreds (m ixed) and whites.

D u r in g the p re - tr ia l exam ina­tions, Dec. 19, proceedings v'ere drov'ned ou t by the voices o f 5,000 Negroes s ing ing “ God Bless A fr ic a ,” outside the courtroom . On Dec. 20, police fire d on a s im ila r dem onstra tion in ju r in g fou rteen people. Inside the c o u rt­room, m eanwhile, the defendants, who were enclosed in a s ix -fo o t- h igh w ire cage, joked, laughed and asked frien ds to “ feed us peanuts.” The cage was removed when defense a tto rneys th re a t­ened to w a lk, out. The fo llo w in g day, the t r ia ls were recessed un­t i l Jan. 9, as police in ju re d fiv e persons w'hile a tte m p tin g to break up the dem onstrations ou t­side the courtroom w ith a b i lly - club charge.

M ost o f the defendants had been dragged fro m th e ir beds in pre-dawn ra ids by p o lit ic a l police, Dec. 5, and charged w ith “ tre a ­son” under the Suppression o f Communism A ct. The act was de­signed by the ru lin g N a tio n a lis t p a rty spe c ifica lly to repress g ro w in g mass opposition to its “ apa rthe id ” policies. (T he N a ­t io n a lis t p a r ty represents on ly a sm all m in o r ity o f the popu lation. I t m a in ta ins its po litica l con­tro l by s im p ly d isen franch is ing Negroes and “ coloreds,” who num ber three quarters o f the 13Vi m illio n people in the U n ion of South A fr ic a .)

The po litica l police have made more than 1,000 ra ids on homes o f ind iv idua ls and organ izations opposed to “ apa rthe id ” du rin g the past year. In 1955 60,000 Negroes were d riven a t gun po in t from th e ir homes in Johannesburg in a G overnm ent a ttem p t to make the c ity p redom inantly w h ite . A “ Congress o f the People” called to pro test such aotions and a t- temled by 3,000 delegates in June 1955 was raided by police. The Congress had adopted a “ cha rte r fo r freedom ” dem anding rac ia l eq ua lity and o ther fundam ental economic and social changes in South A fr ic a .

A ccord ing to the prosecution, the present tr ia ls resulted from e ffo r ts to fo rm a na tiona l lib e ra ­tion movement b y various groups inc lud ing the A fr ic a n N a tiona l Congress— nam ely, by the Con­gress o f Trade Unions, the Colored People’s O rgan iza tion, the Congress of Dem ocrats, the Ind ian N a tion a l Congress and th e ir youth a ffilia te s .

Socialist Vote In 1956

T h e f in a l vote o ff ic ia lly cred ited to the S oc ia lis t W o rk ­ers P a rty pres identia l ticke t in the 1956 elections is 7,805 votes. The S W P candidates were F a rre ll Dobbs fo r P res i­dent and M yra Tanner Weiss fo r V ice-President. The SW P was on the ba llo t in New Je r­sey, Pennsylvania, W isconsin, and M innesota. I t was a rb i­t r a r i ly ruled o f f the ba llo t in M ich igan and New Y ork , as was the Socia list Labor P arty . N ationw ide, the SLP was cred­ited w ith 44,368 votes. I t was on the ba llo t in 15 states. The Socia list P a rty was credited w ith 2,192 votes.

J 1 — -A -■ . : ~ — — : ■ ■■ M .» n ■■ ■■ n - ij u p il j .1 . ■■ ■ ■■■■ i ■

French Trotskyists on T ria l For Defending the Algerians

By John ThayerIn fu rthe rance o f its b ru ta l

w a r o f repression in A lg e ria . French im peria lism has opened a cam paign to destroy c iv il lib e r­ties in France its e lf. Bearing the brunt o f th is a ttack at the pres­ent moment are the French T ro t­sky is ts and th e ir newspaper, La V erite .

L a V e rite has been a tho rn in the side o f the M o lle t governm ent because o f its unw avering sup­p o rt o f the movement o f th e A l­gerian people fo r independence and its defense in France of the c iv il libe rties o f A lg e ria n w o rk ­ers. La V erite fro m the ve ry be­g in n in g has opposed and ag ita ted aga inst the w a r being waged by the French a rm y aga ins t t ile A l­gerians, I t ca lls fo r an im m ediate end to th is w a r and complete in ­dependence fo r F rance ’s N o rth A fr ic a n colony.

A lth o u g h a free press is sup­posed to ex is t in France, the newspaper o f the In te rn a tion a l Com m unist P a rty (P C I) , La V e r i­te, has been repeatedly con fis ­cated by the French police and its ed itors and w rite rs constantly harassed. T h is a tte m p t to choke the voice o f F rench workers, \$ho don’t w a n t the A lg e ria n peo­ple to be colonial slaves, has cu l­m inated iVi three lega l prosecu­tions o f French T ro ts k y is ts . A l­ready one prosecution has re ­su lted in the levy ing o f a fine o f 50,000 francs. A second prose­cution charges conspiracy against the security o f the French gov­ernm ent. T h is “ conspiracy” con­sisted o f the pub lica tion o f a r t i ­cles opposing the w ar.

The th ird prosecution, which is on now, charges lib e l and pub­lic de fam ation o f the govern­ment; lit is based on an a rtic le th a t appeared in La V e rite on Nov. 18, 1955 en titled “ Soustelle, W ar C r im in a l.” Jacques Soustel­le was Governor-General o f A l­ge ria a t the tim e. U nder h im , as w e ll as under his “ S oc ia lis t” suc­cessor, Lacoste, tactics o f the Nazi Gestapo have been employed aga inst the freedom -seeking pop­u la tion . The F rench police in A l­ge ria , fo r example, ‘ re g u la r ly em ploy to r tu re aga inst those suspected o f be long ing to the in ­dependence movement. T h is to r­tu re includes a ll the inhum an re ­finem ents th a t the Gestapo used on the French resistance f ig h te rs — electric shock machines, to ta l

• im m ersion in w a te r, etc.

Though the prosecutions c a rry the th re a t no t on ly o f heavy fines but o f long prison sentences, the T ro tsky is ts have no t abated th e ir opposition to the A lg e ria n w a r one b it. Indeed, they welcome the th ird ch-arge-^that o f defam ation o f the Governor General o f A l­geria . F o r le g a lly th is charge a lL lows them to do w h a t the o ther charges severely res tric ted — to expose w ha t is go ing on in A l ­geria in the courtroom . The fo u r T ro ts k y is t defendants have p ro ­claimed th e ir in te n tio n :

“ We are go ing to prove in cou rt w h a t we have been saying about A lg e ria . . . N o th in g w il l

be le f t o u t— the police in te r­rogations, the to rtu re s , the i l ­legal im prisonm ents, the concen­tra t io n camps, the ratissages ( l i t ­e ra lly Takings— the system used in cordoning o f f a v illage o r c ity section, a rre s ting a l l the men then conducting a house-to-house ‘search’ in w h ich a ll the fu rn itu re is smashed and m any o f the wom ­en and ch ild ren beaten.)”

“ We sha ll reopen the dossier o f the N urem berg T r ia l, we sha ll speak o f the U N ’s Genocide Con­vention . We sha ll put. colon ia lism and its methods on tr ia l. We sha ll tu rn the accusers in to the accused.”

To Contest McDonald Dues-Hike Opponents

By William BundyThe dues protest movement in the United Steel Work­

ers of America has resulted in the firs t contest for the presidency of the International Union in its 20-year

h is to ry . The un ion ’s te lle r com-- m itte e announced, Dec. 22, th a t a ll b u t one o f a fu l l slate o f can­didates supported 'by the Dues P ro test C om m ittee fo r the un ion ’s top posts received s u f f i­c ien t local endorsements to ap­pear on the ba llo t in opposition to the M cDonald sla te in the elec­tio n ne x t Feb. 12.

The one exception is fo r the o f­fic e o f v ice-president, now held by How ard R. Hague, whose op­ponent E dw ard Revack, received enough endorsements, b u t had prev ious ly announced his w ith ­d raw a l fro m the race. H ague’s election a fte r a heated cam paign la s t yea r over Joseph M olony was the on ly o ther election in union h is to ry when on in te rn a ­tio n a l o ff ic e r was opposed.

M cDonald 's opponent fo r the fo u r-ye a r pres identia l te rm w il l be Donald C. R ir ic k , ,a grievance com m itteem an a t the U n ited States Steel Irv in W orks in M c­Keesport, I ’ a. Secretary T reas­u re r I. W. Abel w i l l be opposed by W illia m K in g . N om ina tion by 40 locals was required fo r a place on the ba llo t. R a rick received 91.

The dues p ro te s t movement, whose leaders have on ly the lim ­ited p rogram o f a reduction in m on th ly dues, began a f te r an in ­crease fro m $3 to $5 was voted in Los Angeles la s t September in

a convention he av ily packed w ith pa id o ffice rs o f the union. (M c­Donald ’s ye a rly sa la ry was in ­creased $40,000 to $50,000 a t the same tim e .) The unprecedented success o f 'th e movem ent so fa r , is ac tu a lly a re fle c tion o f the w idespread d issa tis fac tion w ith the M cDonald machine because o f the inadequate con trac t signed la s t year, and p a r tic u la r ly be­cause o f the m achine’s opposi­tion to a f ig h t aga inst speed-up.

M eanw hile in D e tro it, the U n ited A u tom obile W orke rs ’ In ­te l-national E xecu tive Board has announced th a t i t w ill recommend to the A t la n t ic C ity convention n e x t A p r i l 7, a 50-eent m on th ly dues increase over the present $2.50. The .tool-and-die u n it of F o rd Local 600 has asked fo r a re ferendum vote on the issue. C arl S te ila to , Local 600 president, has opposed the in te rna tiona l proposal on the basis th a t i t “ does no t make provis ions fo r a s tr ik e fun d to take care o f the needs o f our members w h ile they are w a lk in g the p icke t lin e .” The purpose o f (he increase, accord­in g to the U A W in te rn a tio n a l is to o ffs e t genera lly increased op e ra ting costs. Im m edia te ly a f te r the la s t dues increase in 1951, however, the o ffice rs ’ sa l­aries were increased.

Negroes Take Any Seats First Time in History; Birmingham Opens Fight

By Myra Tanner WeissDEC. 26 — Two white men sat behind ia Negro on a

bus in Montgomery, Ala. last Friday. One of the whites said loudly: “I see this isn’t going to be a white Christmas.”The N egro looked up, sm iled and® :sa id : “ Yes, s ir , th a t ’s r ig h t . ”

T h is exchange m arked the end o f bus segregation in M on t­gom ery, the v ic to ry o f 50,000 Negroes who insp ired the w o rld w ith th e ir heroic defiance o f the w h ite suprem acists. Those who had w alked fo r a yea r ra th e r than sub m it any lo ng e r to the insu lts and abuse o f d isc rim in a ­tion , boarded the buses, Dec. 21, and sat where they pleased.

In Tallahassee, F la . Negroes sa t in a l l bus-seats a f te r ending th e ir seven-m onth o ld boycott, Dec?. 24. (See Tallahassee s to ry on page 4.)

B IR M IN G H A M B O M B IN GIn the la rge in d u s tr ia l c ity o f

B irm ingham , A la . a Negro leader was bombed o u t .o f h is home, Dec. .25, • and arrested the. next day a f te r he led a group o f N e­groes in s it t in g in - f ro n t seats o f fh e 'b u ie s /F iv e persohs werb in ju re d in c lud in g tw o ch ild ren who requ ired h o s p ita liz a tio n ' in the b last w h ich demolished the home o f Rev. F . L . S hu ttles- w o rth . He is president o f the A labam a C h ris tian M ovem ent fo r H um an R igh ts w h ich de­manded, Dec 20, th a t B irm in g ­ham bus, segregation be ended im m edia te ly . A f te r the bom bing he sa id : “ I f I had been k ille d then someone else would have taken m y place.”

In the G u lf p o rt c ity o f M obile , A la . the head o f the c ity bus lines announced, Dec. 26, th a t d rive rs have been ins truc ted no t to enforce bus segregation laws.

The long w a lk fo r Bus in ­teg ra tion in M ontgom ery was over on Dec. 20 when the M o n t­gom ery Im p rove m en t • Associa­t io n m et and voted to end th e ir boycott. N o tice was received by the C ity o f M on tgom ery to h a lt en forcem ent o f c ity and state segregation laws by order o f the Supreme C ourt.

the te rro r is ts , especially a t n ig h t and on iso la ted s tree t corners. B u t they appealed in va in . The C ity Com m issioners th a t day were a tte n d in g a ra l ly o f the W h ite C itizens Council where speakers were te ll in g the 250 rac is ts present to “ rise up and say ‘no’ ” to bus in te g ra tio n .

There were rum ors th a t w h ite goon squads w ou ld roam the c ity to keep Negroes “ in th e ir place.” There were rep o rts th a t a w h ite boycott o f buses would be o r ­ganized.

On the f i r s t day o f the re tu rn to the buses, cars loaded w ith w h ite men were observed fo llo w ­in g behind. M rs. Janie R u th W il­son was assaulted b y a w h ite m an who pushed and slapped her, c u tt in g her lip , as she ' g o t o f f a bus. H e r assa ilan t then escaped, speeding aw gy in a c a r f u l l • © F a th e r w h ites .

On Dec. 23, shots w e re f ire d (C ontinued on page 4)

Scores V ic to ry

WCC T H R E A T SIn teg ra ted sea ting on the buses

proceeded sm ooth ly despite fo re ­casts o f “ blood in the s tree ts ” by the W h ite C itizens Councils. These proved to be th rea ts ra th e r than p red ic itons — th re a ts th a t the w h ite te rro r is ts have done a ll in th e ir power to make good.

There were no r io ts . B u t on Dec. 24, C hris tm as Eve, a f ifte e n -y e a r-o ld g ir l, O llie Mae C o llins, was b ru ta lly assaulted by several w h ites near a c ity bus stop. W h ite bus passengers con firm ed the re p o rt o f the a ttack, one o f whom said he saw the g ir l on her knees on the pavem ent w ith arm s upraised t r y in g to pro tect herse lf. There have been no a rrests reported.

The W h ite C itizens Council tr ie d every t r ic k in the book to p reven t the v ic to ry o f the colored freedom fig h te rs . On Dec. 19 an anonymous le a fle t appeared in the N egro d is tr ic ts p u rp o r tin g to express d iv is ion in the ranks o f the M IA . The le a fle t accused the Negro lead­ers o f r id in g in b ig cars w h ile “ we w a lk .” The le a fle t' claim ed, “ There isn ’t a chance in the w o rld o f b reak ing segregation .”

Rev. B. D. L a m b e rt reported to the police th a t his ca r was splashed w ith acid by tw o men who appeared to be w earing m otorcycle policemen’s un ifo rm s. Police C h ief Ruppenthal dropped the case “ fo r lack o f evidence.” T h is inc iden t was one o f eighteen s im ila r a ttem pts to in tim ida te the Negroes on the eve o f bus in te g ra tion .

On Dec. 19, N egro leaders appealed to the C ity Commission and police fo r p ro tec tion aga ins t

H arvey O’Connor, au thor and free-speech f ig h te r, suc­c e s s fu l^ . defied M cC arthy com m ittee . (See s to ry on page 4.)

Twin Cities Forum To Hear CP, SWP On Left Problems

Spokesmen from f iv e ile ft- w in g groups in M innesota w il l speak a t a sym posium on “ W h a t N e x t fo r the A m erican L e ft,” to be sponsored by the T w in C ities Labor Eorum Jan. 11.

P a rt ic ip a tin g w i l l be V . R. Dunne, S oc ia lis t W orke rs P a r ty ; C a rl Ross, C om m unist P a r ty ; M ichael B aker, (Minnesota Com­m ittee fo r Independent P rog res­sive P o lit ic a l A c tio n ; M u lfo rd Q. S ib ley, L ibe ra tion G roup ; and a representative , to be announced la te r, o f the S oc ia lis t Labo r P a rty .

The fo ru m w i l l be held on F rida y , Jan. 11, a t 8 p.m . in the C IO H a ll, 724 F o u rth Ave., S., M inneapolis.

T h is m eeting w il l m ark the f i r s t tim e in M innesota th a t sucli a w ide representation o f le ft-w ing - op in ion has appeared on the same p la tfo rm ; and the f i r s t tim e since 1935 th a t V . R. Dunne and C arl Ross, bo th lead­ers in the e a rly M innesota F a rm er-L ab o r P a rty , have ap­peared toge ther. V . R. Dqnne is now N a tiona l Labor S ecre tary o f the SW P and C arl Ross is S tate Secretary o f the M innesota CP.

Page 2 T H E M I L I T A N T Monday, December 31, 1956

W orker, Student A n d Soldier Youth

What was the class nature of the Hungarian youth that played such an active role in the uprising against Kremlin domination and the dictatorship of the Hungarian bureaucra tic caste? ®--------------------------------------------------------

A n a i'tic le in the Dec. 23 New Y o rk T im es M agazine by Janos K o jlo — a p a rtic ip a n t 'in the revo­lu tio n and then a refugee — provides a c lear p ic tu re .

“ W e young people [w ho partook in the u p ris in g ] comprised three m a in groups — students, w o rkers and soldiers,” The students were d ra w n m ostly fro m the ranks o f the w o rk in g class. H o llo says. “ In accordance w ith th e ir d ic ta to rsh ip -o f-th e -p ro le ta r ia t ideology, they gave preference to ch ild ren o f in d u s tr ia l w orkers fo r college education.”

“ A m ong college students you could f in d some ch ild ren o f poor peasants o r kolkhoz (co llective fa rm ) w orkers . B u t the y were n o t num erous because the gov­e rnm en t a lw ays lacked con­fidence in the peasantry, p a r­t ic u la r ly in peasants c u lt iv a tin g th e ir own land, am ong whom the sanc tity o f p r iv a te p ro pe rty was a tra d it io n in he rited by son fro m fa th e r. C h ild ren o f parents w ho were prosperous fa rm ers o r m erchants o r in te lle c tu a l occupa­tions could ve ry seldom ge t to college a t a ll. . . A ltoge the r-, 80 o r 90 per cent o f H u ng a ria n col­lege and un ive rs ity students w ere ch ild ren o f laborers and landless peasants.”

The num ber o f young fa c to ry w orkers , says H o llo , was in ­creased considerably by re c ru its fro m peasant boys and g ir ls b ro u g h t to the c itie s by the forced pace o f in d u s tr ia liz a tio n

th e ir bureaucratized unions b u t fa ile d .”

( I t is the experience o f a ll o ther great, w o rk ing-c lass move­m ents th a t the boldest, most en thus iastic and most revo lu ­tio n a ry o f w o rkers are those younger s tra ta recen tly draw n fro m the country-s ide. T h is was tru e o f the C IO movem ent in the 1930's in the U.S. and o f the Russian Revolu tion o f 1917.)■ The you ths in the H ungarian A rm y , too, came fro m the “ c h ild re n ‘ o f w o rkers and pea­sants, because, again, the gov­e rnm en t dared to a rm on ly those i t believed could be trus ted .”

Thus, H o llo ’s .tes tim ony in ­dicates th a t in the ranks o f the re v o lu tio n a ry you th , too, th a t fo u g h t aga inst S ta lin ism , i t was the w o rk in g class com position th a t was decisive.

A s to the events o f the u p ris in g its e lf, H o llo te s tifie s as fo l­low s: “ On the evening o f Oct. 22 ou r s tudent fr ie n d s d ra fte d the now-fam ous sixteen p o i n t s , se ttin g fo r th the demands o f the H ungarian people in concrete fo rm . The n e x t day one student was sent to each la rge fa c to ry in Budapest to e n lis t the w o rke rs ’ sup po rt fo r a s ile n t dem onstra­tion th a t a fte rnoon .”

“ In o u r shop a lm ost everybody w alked ou t — even p a rty m em ­bers. And to ou r su rp rise every fa c to ry acted s im ila r ly . W e were among the f i r s t to a rr iv e a t the Bern m onum ent, b u t in h a lf an

The Role of the Workers Councils

The S ta lin is t func tiona ries tr ie d | hour hundreds o f thousands were to organize these w o rkers in | ja m m ing the square.”

Hungary Uprising Explained In New British PampheletS T A L IN IS M U N M A S K E D — R E V O L U T IO N A N D C O U N TE R

R E V O U T IO N IN H U N G A R Y . By G. H ealy. 16 pp. 25 cents. New P a rk Pub lications, London, Eng land. U.S. D is tr ib u to r, P ioneer Publishers, 116 U n iv e rs ity Place, N ew Y o rk , 3, N - Y .

T h is new pam ph le t fro m New P arks Pub lications, B r it is h pub­lishe rs o f Leon T ro ts k y and o ther M a rx is t w rite rs , w i l l be o f special in te re s t to A m erican readers. A concise account and analysis o f the H ungarian revo lu tion , i t also provides an in fo rm a tiv e p ic tu re o f the reaction o f the B r it is h labor and rad ica l movem ent to the H u ng a ria n events.

The au thor, G. H ealy, demon­s tra tes th a t the H u ng a ria n w o rk ­in g class was fro m the beg inn ing th e decisive fo rce in the s trugg le to end S ta lin is t ty ra n n y in H un:

on the H ungarian events. He con­cludes: “ I f we had re lied on the D a ily W o rke r fo r our news and p o licy on H u ng a ry , we would be forced to reason som eth ing like th is . F rom Oct. 25 to somewhere in the reg ion o f Oct. 30 the H un­ga rian events were Counter­re vo lu tio n a ry ; then they began to change to re v o lu tio n a ry .”

W ith the renewed Soviet assault Nov. 4, the s itua tion , according to the W orke r, again became “ counter - revo lu tio n a ry .” H ealy exp la ins: “ The B r it is h Com m unist P a rty leadership and the D a ily

ga ry . The eyewitness reports o f | W o rke r have one sim ple guide toLondon D a ily W o rke r correspon­den t Peter F ry e r are extensive ly d raw n upon to corroborate th is analysis. F ry e r recently resigned fro m the D a ily W orke r s ta f f a f te r i t suppressed his reports fro m H ungary .

help them w o rk ou t th e ir po licy, and th a t is ‘w a tch Moscow and the Red A rm y and suppo rt them under all' conditions.’ W hen Gero called upon the Red A rm y to f i r e on the unarmed popu la tion the D a ily W o rke r denounced the H un-

On h is a r r iv a l in H u ng ary ,| ga rian events as ‘counter-revo lu F ry e r f i r s t in te rv iew ed a fe llo w j t io n a ry ; ’ when i t appeared th a t m ember o f the B r it is h C om m unist th e N agy G overnm ent was be ing P a rty , Charu ie Coutts, who w as( supported and the Red A rm y in Budapest ed itin g the paper “ W orld Y ou th .’ Coutts to ld F ry e r:“ The H ungarian u p ris in g — the re s u lt o f e igh t years o f pent-up

w ith d ra w n , these same events be­came revo lu tiona ry , and when once m ore the Red A rm y re turned to the a ttack the y again became

fee lin g — arose fro m the re fu sa l cou n te r-re vo lu tion a ry .”o f C om m unist P a rty leaders to P resen ting a p rog ram o f inde­make rea l changes a fte r the 20th pendent la bo r suppo rt to the

H ungarian revo lu tion , H ea ly reCongress. The people did no t op­pose eve ry th ing th a t happened in th e coun try since 1945. They w anted to bu ild socialism in H u n ­ga ry . They established the basis,

po rts . There is a moveruen t a foot by r ig h t-w in g Labor leaders to cover up th e ir disagreem ents w ith the Tories on Suez and to s lip

b u t they were never allowed to in to na tio n a l u n ity behind thebu ild th e ir own socialism on it. '

H ea ly provides a devasta ting docum entation o f th e London D a ily W o rke r’s tw is ts and tu rn s

cap ita lis ts over H u ng a ry .” “ Th is ,” he declares, “ m ust be

p itile ss ly exposed and fo u g h t.”— H a rry R ing

TWIN CITIES SYMPOSIUM‘What Next for the American Left’

Speakers:

M. H. BakerM inn. Com m ittee fo r Independent

P rogressive P o lit ic a l A c tio n

V. R: DunneSocia lis t W orke rs P a rty

Carl RossCom m unist P a rty

M. Q. SibleyL ib e ra tio n Group

(Speaker to be announced)Socia lis t Labor P a rty

Friday, January I f -- 8 P.M.Hall No. 4 — C.I.O. Hall

724 F o u rth Avenue So.

M inneapo lis

Auspices: Twin Cities Labor ForumDonation 25 cents

By Murry WeissIn the cruc ia l sphere o f s tate

power, M a rx is t theory and the experience o f the Russian Revo­lu tio n have resolved th a t i t is the m ain task o f the w o rk in g class, in the course o f its socia lis t re v ­o lu tion , to o ve rth row the cap­ita lis t istate and replace i t from top to bottom w ith a com plete ly d iffe re n t fo rm o f state, name­ly , a w orkers ’ s ta te founded on W orkers Councils. But how does the question stand w ith regard to the p o lit ic a l revo lu tion o f the w o rk ing class which arises against a bu rea ucra tica lly de­generated w o rkers ’ sta te? O r m ore precisely, w ha t fo rm o f s ta te :power do the revo lu tiona ry w orkers counterpose to the bu­rea u cra tica lly deform ed w o rk ­ers’ state?

These questions were answ er­ed in advance b y the T ro ts k y is t the o ry and p rogram o f po litica l revo lu tion , bu t they are being answered even more precisely and il lu m in a tin g ly by the re a lity o f the p o lit ic a l revo lu tion in H un­g a ry and Poland. In add ition the problem is posed som ewhat d i f ­fe re n tly in the E ast European countries than i t is in the Soviet U n ion its e lf.

In the Soviet U nion, the w o rk ­ers established th e ir W orkers Councils as organs o f re vo lu tion ­a ry action aga inst the C zaris t ’reg im e and then aga ins t the bourgeois p rov is iona l govern m en t o f Kerensky. These revo lu ­t io n a ry councils (S ovie ts) con­quered the power under the lead­e rsh ip o f the Bolshevik p a rty . The w o rke rs ’ s ta te th a t emerged fro m the October 1917 ove rtu rn was founded on these Councils as w a ll as the trade unions and the p a rty . (Subsequently th is w o rke rs ’ s ta te su ffe red an ex­trem e bureaucratic degeneration. In m ak ing th e ir po litica l revo lu ­tion the Russian w orkers w i l l un­doubtedly restore the ro le o f the W orkers Councils and the o ther organs o f w o rke rs ’ democratic ru le— ch ie f o f w h ich is the in ­dependent revo lu tiona ry p a rty of the w o rk in g class. These h is to r i­ca lly tested organs o f w o rke rs ’ democracy w i l l arise in the s tru g ­gle to smash the oppressive state apparatus o f the bureaucracy and then become the ve ry basis o f the new revo lu tiona ry regim e.

E A S T E U R O P E A N E X P E R IE N C E

In E astern Europe th is process is a lready c le a rly observable in its essence. There is , however, an ex trem e ly im p o rta n t com bina­tion o f unique fea tu res th a t arjses fro m the p e cu lia ritie s o f the E aste rn European development. N e ith e r the p ro p e rty re la tions o f cap ita lism n o r the state power o f cap ita lism were removed as a resu lt o f a w o rke rs ’ revo lu tion in E astern Europe (w ith the ex­ception o f Y ug os lav ia ). C a p ita l­is t p ro p e rty was replaced by so­cia lized p ro pe rty fo rm s th rough the exc lus ive ly bu reaucra tic and m il i ta ry methods o f the K re m lin ru le rs and th e ir appointed rep­resentatives w ith in the respec­tiv e countries.

A s fo r the old c a p ita lis t state apparatus, a t f ir s t , when the So­v ie t a rm y occupied E aste rn E u ­rope, a pseudo-parliam entary, propped-up bourgeois fo rm o f the c a p ita lis t s ta te was the medium th rou gh w hich the K rem lin- bu­reaucracy and its henchmen tr ied to coexist w ith the 'East E u ro ­pean bourgeoisie. L a te r, when the K re m lin was com pelled to e lim ­inate c a p ita lis t p r iva te p ro pe rty as the dom inant economic re la ­tion in E aste rn Europe and b r in g the economies o f these countries in to line w ith the na tiona lized and planned economy o f the So­v ie t U n ion , the fo rm o f the bour­geois s ta te w ith its pa rliam en­ta ry facade was reta ined. The c a p ita lis t class was exp rop ria ted econom ically and p o lit ic a lly , 'but its tra d itio n a l p o lit ic a l apparatus, instead o f be ing abolished, was taken over b y the S ta lin is t bu­reaucracy.

W h y d idn ’t the Soviet bureau­cracy ca ll on the w o rkers o f E aste rn Europe to elect th e ir W orkers Councils a f te r i t had e lim inated East European cap­ita lis m ? The question m ay sound na ive b u t i t is in s tru c tiv e to con sider it .

B U R E A U C R A C Y F E A R S W O R K IN G M ASSES

The 'Soviet bureaucracy was m otiva ted above a l l by organic need to defend its power and p r iv ­ileges aga ins t the w o rk ing masses. A n y leeway w hatever fo r the m ob iliza tion o f the w o rk ­in g class in its own au then tic re vo lu tio n a ry o rgan iza tions en­dangered th is power. Today, the actua l o rgan iza tion o f fa c to ry and delegated reg ional W orkers Councils in H u n g a ry and fa c to ry councils in Poland con fronts the Soviet bureaucracy w ith a m orta l th rea t.

The w o rkers o f H u n g a ry in the process o f th e ir revo lu tion have given shape to the fo rm th a t th e ir regenerated w o rke rs ’ state w ill' assume. I t is the W orkers Councils, the same fo rm o f pow­e r fashioned b y the Russian w orkers in l© 17, and tested fo r the f i r s t t im e b y the H u ng a ria n

Leaders o f F irs t G ov’t Based on W orkers C ouncils

V la d im ir Len in ( le f t ) and Leon T ro ts k y , t he tw o most prom inen t leaders in Russia when dem ocra tica lly-organ ized w orkers, peasants, an I sold ie rs’ councils (sov ie ts) ru led the coun try from 1917 to 1923. T h a t was the f i r s t tim e in h is to ry th a t the w o rk in g people ran a coun try . T ro ts k y was cha irm an o f the P e trograd (now Le n ing ra d ) Soviet in the re vo lu tion o f 1905, and aga in chairm an o f the P e trograd Soviet in N ov. 11, 1917. W hen the Soviet took the power under leadership o f the Bolshevik p a rty .

w orkers in th e ir defeated revo lu ­tio n o f 19H9.

Thus the [regenerated w orkers ’ s ta le in H ungary has assumed the fo rm o f a dua l (o r com pet­in g ) power to the S ta lin is t sta te apparatus, which in tu rn has t r a ­d itio n a l s tru c tu ra l cha racte ris tics o f the bourgeois pa rlia m en ta ry system in fused w ith the content o f a S ta lin is t police d ic ta to rsh ip . The cen tra l problem o f the H u n ­ga rian 'revo lu tion is th is : which sta te w ill ga in m astery over the country, the W orkers Councils o r the S ta lin is t oppressive appara­tus. W hat is decisive in th is counterposition o f s ta te fo rm s is th a t the v ic to ry o f w o rkers ' pow­er w i l l s ig n ify a combined t r i ­umph fo r the w o rk ing class — the p o lit ic a l ove rth row o f the bu­reaucracy and the com pletion o f the unfin ished business o f smash­in g the bourgeois state appara­tus.

Conversely, the v ic to ry o f the S ta lin is t bureaucracy w il l s ign i-í j i j the crash ing, however tenus -$-9n

fro m decisive sections o f the Polish w o rk in g class w ith “ pop­u la r ” bases o f suppo rt am ong bourgeois elements (the C atholic h ie ra rchy, fo rm e r dem ocratic po­lit ic ia n s ) on the one hand and deals w ith the K re m lin on the other. Thus the basic question o f power is re fracted in the con­tra d ic to ry character o f the Go- m u lka regim e. Gom ulka is t r y ­in g to steer the revo lu tion along a road th a t w i l l n o t resolve the question o f sta te power in favo r o f the W orke rs Councils.

Gom ulka obviously regards the W orkers Councils as agen­cies o f the masses th a t w i l l sup­p o r t his reg im e; no t as the new fo rm o f state power in Poland. He continues the system o f bour­geois p a rlia m e n ta ry fo rm s, o r ra the r, the carica tu re o f these h is to r ic a lly ou tlived fo rm s. And >at every tu rn , G om ulka shows •the tendency to seek the p o lit­ica l w h erew itha l to “ d isc ip line ” the w orkers and b a it the revo lu-

ponaa-y, o f the au then tic w o rk in g class fo rm o f power and the s treng then ing the reby o f the: fo rm and con tent o f the bour- . geiois aspect o f the state in E astern Europe. F o r, w h ile the na tiona lized economy o f Eastern European countries is a fac t, i t is also a fa c t th a t so long as the w o rke rs ’ states rem ain in the g r ip o f the bureaucracy they are open to the th re a t o f ca p ita lis t res to ra tion . T h is is p a rtic u la r ly tru e in E astern Europe, in con- tnast to the (Soviet U nion, be­cause o f the “ sha llow ” bureau c ra t ic -m ilita ry m anner in which the social tra n s fo rm a tio n was ac complished.

SYM PTO M S M A N IF E S T E D B Y N A G Y R E G IM E

W e witnessed in the m ost con­centra ted fo rm the m an ifes ta ­tio n s o f bourgeois tendencies in the S ta lin is t s tate apparatus a t a cruc ia l p o in t o f the H ungarian revo lu tion . When the r is in g o f the -workers forced a section o f the H u n g a ria n S ta lin is t bureau­cracy to break w ith the K re m lin and, a f te r a period o f v a c illa ­t io n , g ive voice to the na tiona l independence asp ira tion o f the revo lu tion , the one th in g th is segment o f the bureaucracy, headed by N agy, refused to do was countenance any idea o f fu l l power to the W orkers Councils. N a g y was ready to prom ise any concession to the W orkers Coun­c ils sho rt o f g iv in g them the power. A n d when the Soviet

, A rm y began to re tu rn e a rly in November, the N agy reg im e, in ­stead o f basing its e lf more f irm ly on the W orkers Councils, m an i­fested a- sharp re fle x towards coa lition ism w ith the rem nants o f the bourgeois pa rties in H un­g a ry and even w en t so fa r as to appeal to th e W est fo r m ilita ry in te rven tion .

The K re m lin / used N a g y ’s moves m ere ly as a p re te x t fo r a re tu rn tp i ts bloody coun te r­revo lu tiona ry w o rk against the H ungarian revo lu tion . T h e ir .main ta rg e t was the w o rk in g class and the W orke rs ’ Councils. B u t th is fa c t should no t obscure fo r ns the actua l tendencies o f a N agy- type reg im e under extrem e pres­sure. These tendencies would have been overcome by the re vo lu tion ­a ry action o f th e H ungarian w orkers— b u t the tendencies were the re and m ust be poted. S ig ­n if ic a n tly , w ith th e appo in tm ent o f the K adar regim e, we witness iden tica l tendencies tow ards co­a litio n ism and bourgeois p a r­liam en ta rism by th is K re m lin -a p ­poin ted governm ent. .And in an­o th e r way we see these tenden­cies m anifested in the Gom ulka reg im e in Poland.

G om ulka also tr ies to balance th e suppo rt h is reg im e receives

B y fo rc in g the cou n try in to the m old o f the bourgeois p a r­liam en ta ry fo rm s created by the K re m lin overlo rds d u rin g the past 12 years, Gom ulka in Po­land, as N a g y in H u n g a ry , and in a d iffe re n t way, Kadar, are c rea ting the m ost favo rab le con­d itions fo r the m ob iliza tion o f c a p ita lis t forces. These forces are ias yet, re la tiv e ly feeble, in ­te rn a lly . B u t we m ust never fo r-

g e t th a t they w il l seek every way to become the lin k between w orld ca p ita l and the non-p ro le ta rian masses o f Poland and H ungary . T he m ainta in&nce o f la workers' s ta te in a backward country, w ith a low level o f p ro d u c tiv ity and a la rg e peasantry, depends on the crea tion o f a f irm union between the in d u s tr ia l p ro le ta r ia t and the poor peasantry. Once bourgeois forces are a llow ed to open the way fo r an economic re ­la tio n between the peasantry o f these countries and w o rld cap­ita lis m ; once the m onopoly o f fo re ig n trade is wrested from the g r ip o f (the workers, the door to c a p ita lis t res to ra tion has been th ro w n open.

I f the W orkers Councils are re s tr ic te d and s tif le d in fa vo r o f c u ltiv a tin g bourgeois p a r lia ­m entarism , the on ly channels o f p o lit ic a l d iscontent o f the masses are those th a t g ive d isp ropor­tiona te w e ig h t to the bourgeois and petty-bourgeo is p o lit ic a l par­ties. I f , on the o ther hand, the W orke rs Councils become the cen­te r o f a ll p o lit ic a l li fe and the founda tion fo r the new fo rm o f state power the w o rk in g class becomes the decisive fa c to r in s tee ring the re vo lu tion and com­b a ttin g a ll the forces o f ca p ita l­is t restonation.

W O R K E R S A N D P E A S A N TS A L L IA N C E IN H U N G A R Y

In H u ng a ry we w itness a re ­

m arkable exam ple o f how a rev­o lu tio n a ry a lliance can be forged between th e in d u s tr ia l workers and the peasantry. R ig h t in the heat o f the c iv il w a r the in su r­rec tio na ry workers have drawn the peasantry in to sym pathetic action in beha lf o f the s tru g g le (o r lib e ra tio n fro m the K rem lin . The peasants de livered food to the w orkers and refused to take paym ent d u rin g the fie rce s t pe­r io d o f the s trugg le . A nd the h igh m ora l a u th o r ity commanded •by the revo lu tiona ry W orkers Councils oven prevented the ap­pearance o f a pe tty-bourgeo is •black m arke t w ith in the food­scarce c itie s— a fe a t th a t aston­ished a ll c a p ita lis t observers on the scene. ( I t is on ly now. a fte r the w o rk in g class o rgan iza tions have been checked, th a t a black m arke t is beg inn ing to flou rish . K a d a r’s police is powerless to up roo t it . )

The question o f a ll power to the W orkers Councils is now posed in H u ngary and Poland w ith the same basic urgency as i t was d u rin g the Russian Revolu­tio n o f 1917. T h is is so despite the d iffe rence between the so­c ia l and class dynamics o f the tw o revo lu tions. We have a lo t to learn fro m Lenin on the na­tu re o f the W orkers Councils as the h is to r ic a lly selected fo rm o f w o rkers ’ power. The fo rm o f the w o rke rs ’ state was never consid­ered by Lenin ias a secondary or accidental question. When he an­swered the argum ents aga inst the Bolsheviks ta k in g power du rin g October 1917 he w ro te :

“ The Soviets [W o rke rs Coun­c ils ] are the new state appara­tus, vyhich, in the f i r s t place, represents the arm ed force o f the w orkers anti peasants, a force th a t is no t divorced from the peo­ple, as was the force o f the old s tand ing a rm y, bu t is bound up w ith them as closely as possible. In a m il ita ry sense, th is force is incom parab ly more m ig h ty than the fo rm e r; in re la tio n to the re vo lu tio n i t is second to none. Secondly, th is apparatus repre­sents a connection w ith the masses, w ith the m a jo r ity o f the people, th a t is so in tim a te , so in ­dissoluble, so re a d ily ve rifiab le and renewable, th a t no th ing like i t was even approached in the fo rm e r state. T h ird ly , th is a p ­paratus, because i t is elective and its personnel is subject to re ­ca ll in accordance w ith the w ill o f the people w ith o u t any bu­reaucra tic fo rm a litie s , is fa r m ore dem ocratic than were the fo rm e r ones. F o u rth ly , i t rep re­sents a f irm connection w ith the m ost diverse occupations, thus fa c il ita t in g a ll so rts o f most rad ica l re fo rm s w ith o u t any bu­reaucracy. F if th ly , i t represents a fo rm o f o rgan iza tion o f the vanguard, th a t is, o f the m ost class-conscious, m ost energetic, m ost progressive section o f the oppressed classes, o f the w o rk ­

ers and peasants, and is thus an appara tus whereby the van­guard o f the oppressed classes can elevate, educate and lead in its tra in the whole g iga n tic mass o f these classes which u n t il now have stood absolute ly outside a ll p o lit ic a l li fe outside h is to ry . S ix th ly , i t makes i t possible to combine the advantages o f pa r­liam en ta rism w i th . the advan­tages o f im m edia te and d i­rec t democracy, th a t is, un ite in the persons o f elected representa­tives o f the people both leg is la ­tiv e and executive functions. Compared w ith bourgeois p a rlia ­m entarism , th is is a step fo rw a rd in the developm ent o f democracy which has an h is to r ica l w o rld s ign ificance .”

In a fu r th e r passage in the same pam phlet, " W il l the Bolshe­v iks R eta in 'State P ow er? ” Len in w rote, “ The ,SJR and (Menshevik leaders o f the Soviets have p ro s titu te d them, [th e Soviets] have degraded them to the- role o f ta lk in g shops, o f accessories to the co n c ilia tio n is t p o licy o f the leaders. The Soviets have been ro tt in g and decaying under the leadership (o f the Mensheviks and SRs). The Soviets can on ly develop p rope rly and expand to the f u l l th e ir prom ise and capab ilities when the y assume, fu l l s ta te power, fo r otherw ise they have no th in g to do; o th e r­w ise they are s im p ly emtq-yos (and an" em bryo cannot endure too long ) o r mere p lay th ings . Dual pow er means the para lys is ! o f the Soviets.”

L E N IN IS T M E T H O D A P P L IE S T O D A Y

The t ru ly Le n in is t method and s p ir it expressed in these words app ly fu l ly to the situation, in Poland and H u ng ary today, in the Soviet U n ion and the res t o f E astern Europe »tomorrow. The dual power th a t arises in the revo lu tion w ith in the S o v ie t-o rb it countries rests., i t is true , on the social foundations b rough t about by the Russian Revolu tion . I t is a dual power o f the resurrected w o rke rs ’ democracy on the one side and the decaying bureau­c ra tic s tru c tu re on the o ther. The danger to the Soviet Union comes not fro m the v ic to ry o f th e rev­o lu tio n a ry fo rm o f (workers’ pow­er which w ill advance immeas­urab ly the w orld a n ti-c a p ita lis t revo lu tion , bu t fro m the con tin ­ua tion *>f the ru le o f the bureau­cracy. which in its m orta l c ris is d isp lays ever-m ore om inous ten­dencies to open pa thw a ys-fo r thb- pene tra tion o f c a p ita lis t reac­tion , and which shows in the acid tes t the m ost ferocious a ttitu d e tow ards the w o rk in g class w h ile i t bends before the power o f the w orld bourgeoisie.

[Second o f a series on P rob­lems o f the P o litica l Revolution. W atch fo r ne x t ins ta llm en t. — E d .]

. . . Fryer’s Book Nails Stalinists(C ontinued fro m page 1)

and as a human being I believe i t m y du ty to te ll the t ru th about the H ungarian revo lu tion . I be­lieve th is w i l l he lp b r in g about the urgently-needed redem ption and re b ir th o f the B r it is h Com­m un is t P a rty , w h ich fo r too long has betrayed soc ia lis t p rinc ip les and driven aw ay some o f its f in e s t members b y defend ing the indefensib le. T h a t is w hy I have w r it te n th is book.”

Im m ed ia te ly a f te r crossing the H ungarian border, F ry e r rece iv­ed his f i r s t shock. In the tow n m o rtu a ry a t M ag ya ro va r he was shown the bodies o f those who had been k ille d when the Secur­i t y Police opened f ir e w ith mach­ine guns and th re w hand gren­ades a t an unarm ed dem onstra­tion . W orkers , ch ild ren and even an 18-m onth-old baby were ly in g there , the dried blood s t i l l on th e ir c lo th ing .

“ A f te r eleven years o f ‘peo­ples’ dem ocracy’ i t has come to th is ,” he rem arks, “ th a t the 'S ecurity Police was so rem ote fro m the people, so a lien to them , so v ic ious and b ru ta l th a t i t tu rned its weapons on a defense­less crowd and m urdered th e peo pie who were supposed to be m asters o f the ir" own cou n try .”

‘W H IT E TE R R O R ’ 'L IEThe crowd had wreaked s w if t

vengeance on the A V H (Secur­i t y Police) a f te r H u ng a ria n sol­diers, who were to ld o f the mass •murder, broke open an a rm o ry and gave weapons to the incensed men and women.

A t th is po in t, and la te r in his book, F ry e r b lasts the references to “ ra g in g w h ite te r ro r ” w ith w h ich the S ta lin is ts a tte m p t to ju s t i fy Soviet in te rven tion in H ungary . Lynch ings the re were o f the bru ta lized, venal A V H men. B u t th a t was n o t “ w h ite te r ro r .” I t was w h a t ano the r observer called the “ fu r y o f the peoples’ revenge,” i t was the execution o f the executioners.

L is te n to F ry e r describe the A V H : “ The A V H , the oppressors •of a whole people» in c lud in g the

Com m unist p a rty . Molded andi prepared to hand over th e ir arm stra ined on the approved S ta lin ­is t pa tte rn , com plete ly lack ing in e ith e r p o lit ic a l understand ing o r common hum an ity , g u ilty o f the m ost unspeakable crim es.

“ The A V H . There were the G estapo-like to r tu re chambers w ith w h ips and ga llow s and in ­s trum ents fob crush ing peoples’ lim bs. There were t in y punish m ent cells. There were p iles o f le tte rs fro m abroad, in tercepted fo r censorship. There were b a t­te ries o f tape recorders to take down telephone conversations. There were p ro s titu tes re ta ined as po lice spies and agents pro vocateurs. A nd the young bru tes who made up th is s trong a rm o f the peoples’ dem ocra tic state w ere pa id — according to docu­ments found on th e ir dead bodies 3,000 to 4,000 fo r in ts a m onth as rilen, 9,000 to 12,000 as o f f i ­cers: th ree to tw e lve tim es the average wage. P ius lu xu rio us f la ts w h ile thousands in Buda­pest lived cramped in slums and ce lla rs.”

I t was the A V H w h ich fire d on the crowds outside the Buda­pest rad io s ta tio n on Oct. 23. T h a t ac t sparked o f f the f i r s t arm ed up ris ing .

“ W here did the a rm s come fro m th a t found th e ir w a y so speedily in to the hands o f the w o rkers and students o f Buda­pest? ” asks F ry e r. He takes up the S ta lin is t answer: “ A ccord ing to K a d a r (London D a ily W o rk ­er, Nov. 20) the re were ‘hidden arm s’ on the S Z A B A D S A G H E G Y (L ib e r ty H a ll) and ' the young people had been to ld a t m idday, before the dem onstra tion , to go to a ‘ce rta in place’ where they would f in d them .”

‘ ‘T h is viersion,” F ry e r says, “ o f the a rm in g o f the people sidesteps- the whole question o f the a ttitu d e o f the H u ng a ria n Peoples’ A rm y . The troops in Budapest, as la te r in the p ro v in ­ces were o f tw o m inds: there w ere those who were prepared to jo in the people and f ig h t a long­side them . The n e u tra l ones (pnobably th e m in o r ity ) were

to the w orkers so they could do b a ttle aga inst the A V H w ith them. The others b ro u g h t th e ir arm s w ith them when they jo ined the re vo lu tion .”

“ F u rthe rm ore , m any spo rting r if le s were taken by the w o rk ­ers from the fa c to ry arm ories o f the H u ng a ria n V o lun ta ry De­fense O rgan iza tion . The ‘mys­te ry ’ o f how- the people were armed is no m yste ry a t a ll. No one has ye t been able to produce a s ing le weapon m anufactured in the W est.”

F ry e r gives a p ic tu re o f the revo lu tiona ry com m ittees a t w o rk com m enting on “ th e ir s tr ik in g resemblance a t so m any po in ts to the soviets o r councils o f w o rke rs ’, peasants’ and sold iers’ deputies wh ich sprang up in Rus­s ia in the 1905 re vo lu tion and again in F eb ru a ry 1917.”

“ These com m ittees, a ne tw ork o f w h ich now extended over the whole o f H ungary , were re m a rk ­ab ly u n ifo rm ,” he adds. “ They were a t once organs o f in su r­rec tion — the com ing toge ther o f delegates elected by fac to ries and un ive rs ities , mines and A rm y u n its — and organs o f popu la r se lf-governm ent, which the a rm ­ed people trusted . A s such they enjoyed tremendous a u th o r ity and i t is no exaggeration to say th a t u n t il the Soviet a tta ck o f Novem ber 4 the rea l power in the coun try la y in th e ir hands.” (M y emphasis — JW )

LO C A L LE A D E R S He rep o rts ’ a com m ittee a t

w o rk in G yor Tow n H a ll. “ There were deputa tions a r r iv in g here, de legations de pa rting t h e r e . There was noise and bustle and, outside on the ba lcony d u rin g m ost o f next day, constant speech m aking . A t f i r s t glance one m ig h t have seen o n ly flag s , a rm - bands, r if le s s lung over shoul­ders, a jo s tl in g th ron g o f people in room a f te r room : o r heard on ly up roa r and a rgum en t and ja n g lin g telephone bells.”

“ B u t each room had its p o in t o f re s t: one o r tw o calm , p a tie n t f ig u re s engaged in tu rn in g near­

chaos in to som eth ing like o rder, s o rtin g th in gs out, soo th ing the hasty tem pers o f men who bad­ly needed sleep, o rgan iz ing , ad­v is ing , b u ild in g an appara tus to preven t above a ll, hunger and dem ora liza tion . These were the leaders — some o f them Com­m unists who had a t la s t found the revo lu tion o f th e ir dreams, some o f them Socialists, m any o f them in d iffe re n t to p o lit ic a l d is ­tin c tio n , since a ll H u n g a ry w as now un ited around tw o simple, demands th a t even the ch ild ren o f s ix were shouting. [A b o lit io n o f the A V H and the w ith d ra w a l o f Soviet troops — J W ]

“ A s they took me to see the pres ident and v ice-pres ident of. th is com m ittee n o t y e t 48 hour3 old I caugh t s ig h t o f a p o r tra it ' o f Len in on the w a ll, and I could a lm ost fan cy his shrewd eyes tw in k lin g ap p ro v ing ly .”

F ry e r quotes the Soviet com­m unique o f Nov. 5 : “ Soviettroops are re-estab lish ing o rd e r . . . W e Soviet o ff ic e rs are yo u r selfless friends.” C om m enting on th is , he w r ite s : “ I t was the p ro ­le ta r ia t o f H u ng ary , above a ll, th a t fo u g h t the tanks w h ich came to destroy the revo lu tio n ­a ry o rder they had already es­tab lished in the shape o f th e ir w o rke rs ’ councils.”

Hungarians Invent New Anti-Tank Trap

“ W hen a Russian tan k penetrated Budapest i t found inverted soup pla tes on the stree t. The tan k stopped, a so ld ie r emerged to see i f these were te lle r mines. A H un­g a ria n darted fro m she lte r, lik e a b u llf ig h t band ilfero , and fastened n a tion a l f la g s behind the tu r re t . W hen the

•next Soviet tan k appeared and saw w h a t looked Kke a rebel vehicle, i t shot i t up.” Re­ported by New Y o rk T im es co lum n is t C. L . S ulzberger w r it in g from P a ris Dec. 21.

T H E M I L I T A N T Pape 3

M M o rtp tlo n M par ye a r: «.BO fo r t roonpi». For e lm : ft.00 par y e a r; f2.So fo r 6 months. C anad ian : $3.GO par re a r : 11.75 fo r 8 m onths. Bundle O rd e r*: 5 o r more ooplM 9o each In U .8 .. 7o each In fo re ign oounirlea.

t o e MILITANTPublished W eekly In the In terest« o f the W o rk in g People THE MILITANT PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 118 ü n lre rs lty P L , N . Y . 3. N . Y . Phone: A L 8-7468

E d ito r: D A N IE L RO BERTSBusiness M anager; A N N E C H K S TK B

■Urne* e rtic i«« by oomtrUV- otore do n o t neceesarlly r«P-¿eaent The » l i t e n t s pollato*. These are espresse* In ite e d ito rie la.

“ Entered a» «scorai o laat mattar M arch 7, 1944 e t ths Post O ffice e t New Y o rk . N .Y ., under thè ac t o f M arch %. 1879.*’

VoL 20 - No. 53 M onday, December 31, 1956

The World in Review — 19561. Soviet Orbit in Ferment

1956 was a year of great beginnings. Throughout the world oppressed peoples and classes engaged in revolutionary strug­gles or struggles of revolutionary signifi­cance. These struggles give promise of reaching greater heights in 1957 and in some cases winning victories that will advance humanity a giant step toward world socialism.

The most important developments of ’56 took place within the Soviet orbit. The mounting pressure of the popu­lations of the USSR and the East Euro­pean countries had been revealed in June 1953 by the summer lightning flash in E. 'Germany followed by the strikes in the Vorkuta and Norilsk prison-labor camps. In 1956 the storm broke with all its fury. The bureaucracy attempted to forestall the explosion with its campaign of “ de- Stalinization,” carried to its heights at the 20th Congress, and with promises of self-reform. But the masses were not to be placated or deceived. Instead they were emboldened.

Another lightning flash — this time in Poznan, Poland — was not followed by the calm of official law and order but by a steadily mounting political agitation that pushed a formerly outlawed wing of the Polish Comrpunist Party bureau­cracy into office in defiance of the Krem­lin. Had the Kremlin not capitulated to the Gomulka cabinet, a general insur­rection, led by the working class, would have followed.

This is precisely what happened in Hun­gary and is still going on. The pattern of coming revolutions for socialist demo­cracy in the East European countries against the Kremlin bureaucracy and their local satraps has been clearly delineated in Hungary. Indeed, many of the features of the approaching political revolution in the USSR itself has been shown there in preview. Despite the confusing picture that a revolt by an entire population gainst foreign rule presents, one feature

is salient — the role of the working class as backbone and leader.

This leadership achieves its highest ex­pression in the Workers Councils. The creation of the Workers Councils in Hungary demonstrates that these are the natural organizational forms of a revolu­tionary working class.

The Polish and Hungarian events and the rumblings now heard from the work­ers and youth of the USSR are conclusive proof of the correctness of the revolution­ary perspectives of the great Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky and the movement which he founded.

2. Arab World in RevoltWorld capitalism had its share of revo­

lutionary troubles in 1956. The revolu­tionary wave in colonial and semi-colonial countries, having engulfed the Far East in the post-war period and reached the heights of social revolution in China, con­tinues to roll on. A t present it is pounding against the walls with which imperialism divided the Arab world to facilitate inten­sive exploitation.

Considerable but limited independence victories were won in Tunisia and Moroc­co in 1954 and 1955. The year now be­hind us witnessed an even fiercer struggle in Algeria which all the military resour­ces of French capitalism have proved un­able to suppress. The year ahead will see continuation of this freedom fight and possibly its triumph.

While in North Africa the waning power of imperialism is being demon­strated in long, drawn-out battle, this de­cline was exhibited in sudden, dramatic focus in the total collapse of the British- French blitzkrieg against Egypt, which had been conceived as a punitive expedi­tion against the Nasser regime.

Egyptian military resistance prevented the rapid occupation of the Suez isthmus. Instead of toppling, the Nasser regime was immensely strengthened by mass sup­port. The inability of the two great co­lonial powers to fight the kind of war that the colonial revolution today imposes on imperialist invaders, revealed not only the diminished power of France and B rit­ain but their desperate economic and diplomatic dependence on U. S. imperial­ism.

This at the same time reveals the re­sponsibility of U. S. imperialism for the misrule and exploitation of French and British imperialism in those parts of the world they still dominate. The U. S. holds a veto power over the French and British capitalists. Only with Wastiingtap’s. ap-

What Stalinist Press Admits

proval can the barbarities in Cyprus, Kenya, Equatorial Africa and other lands held in colonial bondage continue.

In 1957, the colonial revolution will con­tinue to rise, as the political revolution for workers’ democracy continues to rise in the Soviet orbit. Thus 1957 should be a momentous year in the history of man­kind’s struggle for freedom.

3. Class Struggle in U.S.And what of the workers of the United

States ? Though the narcotic of the boom, based on the armaments economy and dis­tended credit buying, has dulled the edge of the economic class struggle, 1956 has been a historic year. I t was the year of the emergence of the Negro people of the South onto the stage of open, organized struggle. The heroic and magnificently or­ganized bus boycotts in Montgomery, Ala­bama, and Tallahassee, Florida, revealed to the Negro masses themselves and to the whole nation, the power and calm readi­ness for struggle of the most exploited and insulted section of the population. This bears incalculable promise not only for the fight against Jim Crow — that important economic and social pillar of American capitalism — but for a m ili­tant alliance of labor and the Negro peo­ple.

1956 also was a year of the slow ac­cretion of legal victories on the civil lib­erties front. While no single great advan­ces were scored, the combined effect was the retaking of some positions held by the witchhunters since the height of Mc- Carthyism. Among notable cases won were those of James Kutcher in regaining his pension and job and retaining his home in a federal housing project; the freeing of Steve Nelson; the abandonment of the crude frame-up against Carl Braden and other opponents of Jim Crow; the dismis­sal of the contempt citations against Cor­liss Lamont. Harvey O’Connor and others. Yet re-establishment of the Bill of Rights has just begun: over a hundred victims still are in prison, thousands fired from jobs and smeared, the Smith Act and other repressive legislation still on the books.

1956 began with high hopes that the newly united labor movement would pro­duce great results in organizing the un­organized and in enhancing labor’s politi­cal power. But, at the one-year mark of AFLdC'IO unification, these hopes have been bitterly disappointed. The blame must be borne by the labor bureaucracy to whom progress is secondary to its pri­vileges and plunder. The movement they sit on with such assurance today, is be­ginning to stir. Two forces guarantee that the American unions will not remain as the bureaucrats want them to. These are the capitalists and the rank-and-file work­ers. The 156-day Westinghouse strike that dominated the labor scene for the firs t months of 1956 show that both forces are very much alive and will push the bureau­cracy aside to get at one another.

As Westinghouse and numerous local strikes revealed that the militancy of the American workers is still there, so the current movements against dues increas­es reveals the gulf between union bureau­cracy and ranks. Inevitable is an open struggle between them for control of America’s labor movement.

4. Realignments on the LeftAs in the rest of the world, the develop­

ments in the Soviet sector had great re­percussions in the left-wing in the U. S. I t was a healthy reaction marked by the beginning of discussions among members of different parties and widespread senti­ment for regroupment of the left. In. ad­dition to discussion and some party-to- party debates, many individuals including Vincent Hallinan and Clifford McAvoy, former leaders in the Progressive Party, joined this new outlook to their belief in independent .political action for labor by supporting the presidential campaign of the Socialist Workers Party. Response to the SWP campaign throughout the country clearly demonstrated heightened receptivity of workers, farmers and the Negro people to a militant socialist pro­gram.

Thus the heritage of 1956 to the new year is one of revolutionary struggle in the Soviet orbit and colonial world. Though the tempo in America is slower the accelerated development of the Negro struggle, stirrings in labor’s ranks, the slow but sure counter-offensive against the witch hunt, and the new atmospherq on the left augurs we|l.

1957, year of hope and struggle, we wel­come yo.u with enthusiasm!

By C. R. HubbardDespite a ll R adar’s cla im s th a t

in repressing .the H ungarian rev­o lu tio n he was defending social­ized p ro pe rty aga inst cap ita lis t, res to ra tion is t elements, i t is qu ite apparent, even from S ta lin is t ac­counts tha t h is ch ie f problem has been how to overcome the op ­position o f the W orkers Councils o f H ungary.

Press releases frb m Prague and Budapest, trans la ted in to Eng lish ■by the New China News Agency, reveal the real s trugg le th a t is go ing on between R adar’s gov­ernm ent and the W orkers Coun­cils, couched ic the tra d itio n a l doub le-ta lk o f the S ta lin is t bu­reaucrats.

E L U S IV E C-R ’sA m eeting between Janos R a­

dar and 19 representatives o f the C en tra l W orkers Council on Npv. 14 is reported fro m Prague (N'ONlA, Nov. 19). R ada r is quoted a t g re a t leng th t ry in g to convince the de legation th a t a danger o f coun te r-revo lu tion ex­is ted . "Janos R adar then sa,id th a t though coun te r-revo lu tion is crushed its forces continue f ig h t ­in g ve ry s k i l lfu lly . Nobody w ill declare h im se lf p u b lic ly as a coun te r-revo lu tiona ry bu t in his demands coun te r-revo lu tionary aim s m ay c learly be recognized. Such as, fo r instance, the demand th a t there should ex is t no P a rty o rgan iza tions in enterprises. . .

“ R e fe rr in g to the s tr ike , Ra­dar said th a t he requested the members o f the delegation to

consider the s itua tion . Subse quen tly they would rea lize th a t i f the s tr ik e continued, i t would •bring in fla t io n .”

The Prague release concludes, “ W'ben 'they [th e w orkers ’ dele­g a tio n ] subm itted the demands o f the w orkers to P rem ier Radar, they declared tha t the W orkers ’ Council would s tr ic t ly defend the social ownership ¡of the means o f production on the basis o f the princ ip les o f socialism .”

A second m eeting between the tw o opposing powers was re­ported fro m Budapest (N O N A , Nov. 20). Kiadar once more ,tr ie d to convince the delegation th a t there /was a danger o f counter­revo lu tion : “ Radar stressed to the delegates th a t the counter-revo­lu tion a rie s had taken p a rt in the past three weeks’ events. . .

“ R adar said th a t the s tr ike had become unpopu lar because w o rk ­ers knew i t would lead to ru in . . . One o f the delegates sa id th a t i t was d if f ic u lt to resume w o rk be­cause w orkers considered the s tr ik e was the on ly weapon they possessed. I f they stopped s t r ik ­in g , they would have no g u a r­antee th a t th e ir demands would he fu lf i l le d .”

R adar prom ised his govern­m ent “ should and would sa tis fy a ll the reasonable demands o f the w o rk in g c lass.'. . B u t they should know th a t the m ost im p o rta n t th in g now was th a t the state should stand up. . .”

The delegation, however, was no t to be p u t o f f w ith promises. “ To restore o rder as qu ick ly as

possible, the w o rke rs ’ delegates suggested th a t they should assist the governm ent and select the best men fro m am ong the w o rk ­ers to organize w orkers arm ed un its and police force.

B id R ada r obviously d idn ’t w a n t the w orkers to guarantee order. He answered: " th a t the governm ent w o u l d organize arm ed self-defense corps o f the w orkers. P a rt o f the w orkers would be given weapons rand would pa rtic ip a te in m ilita ry tra in in g . The governm ent would f i r s t establish re g u la r troops and s treng then the police. . . Radar also stated th a t the f i r s t na tional defence a rm y corps had begun to assum e' its duties.”

Iro n ic a lly , the Budapest release concluded, “ The w orkers dele­gates expressed confidence in the governm ent and asked the gov­ernm ent ito place confidence in the Budapest ¿Central W orkers Council.”

On Nov. 21 a Budapest release (N O N A Nov. 22) announced th a t “ the H ungarian W orkers and Peasants R evo lu tionary G overn­m ent in a s ta tem ent broadcast by Budapest Radio called on the W orkers Councils to co-operate w ith the local councils,” ev ident­ly the ins trum en ts o f the S ta li­n is t governm ent rule.

R A D A R ’S ‘C O U N C ILS ’In another Budapest release on

the same day, the R adar forces announced, "p rovoca teurs in the name o f w orkers and members o f w o rke rs ’ councils spread slogans am ong the w o rk in g people, pu r-

A H ig h lig h t o f 1956

P art o f the hundreds o f thousands who hailed E g y p t’s President Nasser (cen te r) In C a iro las t Ju ly fo llo w in g E g y p tia n na tion a liza tio n o f the Suez Canal Co. The power o f the A rab mass movem ent aga inst co lon ia lism , sym bolized by th is scene, pushed back B r it is h and French im peria lism in 1956 and trans fo rm ed a B rit is h -F re n c h -Is ra e li a ttack on E gyp t in to a fiasco.

“ The decline o f 1 B r ita in ’s ] im p e ria l power,” says the Dec. 22 N .Y . T im es, “ h ith e rto gradua l, undram atic , alm ost painless, now entered a su Iden, v io len t and more em barrassing stage as her dependence upon U. S. d ip lom atic and fin a n c ia l support was advertised fo r a l l to see.”

" The Pattern in Hungary”(The fo llo w in g e d ito r ia l appeared in the Dec.

15 M idwest Labor W orld , published by Locals 668, 610 and 405 o f the Team sters Union in St. Lou is. — Ed.)

W h a t happened in H u ng a ry seems to be th is : T h a t the trade unions suddenly fe l t th e ir s treng th and became fre e unions. The same th in g happens in A m erica when a company (o r independent) union revo lts and jo ins the ranks o f le g itim a te unions.

F irs t , the H ungarian w o rkers pu lled a na ­tion -w ide general s trike , then a na tiona l s it- down. No m a tte r w ha t happens in the fu tu re , th in gs can never be the same again. The w o rk ­ers o f H u ng a ry have won the r ig h t to run th e ir country .

I f the Russians w in th is round, enough les­sons w il l have been learned by the w orkers to make another round sure. A nd i f —: by an unexpected tu rn o f events — the “ western powers” should ge t a say-so in H u n g a ry and in s ta ll the a ris to c ra ts and business men back in power, the re ’ l l be another round too.

H A IL TH O S E W H O S T A Y E DEveryone feels so rry fo r the refugees who

crossed the border. T h a t is fo r the g re a t hu lk o f them.

(O f course we are suspicious th a t a few bums slipped across the border a long w ith the o ther refugees. By bums we mean fo rm e r a r is ­to c ra ts who lost th e ir “ socia l pos ition ” and p ro pe rty when the Com m unists nationalized H ungarian in d u s try . P re -w ar H u ng a ry was lousy w ith such creatures, who led the na tion ^nto w a r on H it le r ’s side. Being forced to w o rk 'fo r a l iv in g m ust have been ve ry p a in fu l to these bums, and you know they were scared when the labor union people took charge o f the H ungarian re v o lt; more scared than they were o f the Russians.)

B u t the brave trade un ion is ts who stayed in H u ngary and ran a s tr ik e in the face o f Russian bayonets and tanks — these are the people to whom o u r adm ira tion goes. T h e ir s o lid a rity should be an in sp ira tio n to p icke t­in g w o rkers a ll over the w o rld .

* <* *

The above, wh ich says w h a t m ost people have been saying, and a l i t t le more, was w r it te n

in la te November. B u t we w ithhe ld it , because an inv is ib le l i t t le b ird kep t w h ispe rin g in our ears th is message: “ When everybody says the same th in g , w a tch o u t; th e y ’re ta lk in g fro m th e ir emotions. T h in k i t over and t r y to guess w h a t’s m iss ing fro m the p ic tu re .”

So we watched the papers, t r y in g to trace a pa tte rn in the flood o f facts, rum ors, charges and counter-charges th a t make up the news stories. . . We noted the strange delays in U n ited N ations debates. . . We noted the in fo rm a l ta lks between the top Russian d ip lo ­m at, Shepilov, and the western d ip lom ats, a fte r w h ich he ch e e rfu lly re tu rned to Moscow, leav­in g h is second-stringers to handle a ffa irs a t the U n ited Nations. . . We noted and wondered a t a ll these th ings, and continued to study the news.

Then Came a hunch. W ha t w ou ld the top guys o f Europe th in k about a governm ent be­in g overturned by s tr ik e action ? W h a t were the b ig bankers, in d u s tr ia lis ts , conservative po litic ian s , and the generals th in k in g ?

O f course they w a n t to see Com m unist power destroyed in H ungary , p re fe rab ly by an invad­in g a rm y fro m the west, b r in g in g in a blue- ribbon, blue-blooded governm ent, hand picked in a London bank, and w ith a tre a su ry con­s is tin g o f a " lo a n ” fro m A m erica .

A C O N TA G IO U S D IS E A S EB u t would they w a n t to see Communism

overturned by s tr ik e action? O rd in a ry s trikes, like measles, are “ ca tch ing .” S trikes to en­force po litica l demands on governm ents m ig h t be “ ca tch ing” too, and p a r tic u la r ly successful s trikes.

There m ust have been serious though ts o f th is k ind , because Europe is headed fo r tro u ­ble. The boom is fad ing . C om petition between the na tions th a t live by fo re ig n trade is be­com ing fierce . Spots o f unem ploym ent are show ing up. The chances are n o t good th a t A m erica w i l l pour money in to Europe lik e i t did in M arsha ll P lan days. . . Suppose when cris is h its — now, a year fro m now, maybe longer — th a t western European w o rkers were to s ta r t ac tin g lik e H ungarian w orkers.

W as th a t one o f the th in g s the in v is ib le l i t t le b ird was t ry in g to te ll us?

posely d is tu rb in g the n o rm a li­za tion o f w o rk in Budapest.” An A greem ent between t)ie :l G overn­m ent and the Budapest W orkers Councils is re fe rre d to hu t the na ture o f th is agreem ent is not revealed.

Then, as i f W orkers Councils d id no t a lready ex is t and were s t i l l a m a tte r fo r the fu tu re , a Budapest release, Nov. 24, (N O N A , Nov. 26) announced, " A decree concern ing the o rgan iza ­tio n o f w orkers councils in fac ­to ries and mines was p ro m u l­gated here yesterday by Is tva n Dohi, P resident and Is tvan R ris to f, Secretary, o f the P resi­dium o f the H ungarian People’s Republic. . .

“ The. decree s tipu la te s th a t w o rkers councils can on ly be elected in fac to rie s and mines w h ich d ire c tly c a rry on produc­tion . No w orkers councils are to be organized in governm ent o r­ganizations, com m unications and pub lic u t il it ie s departm ents. . .

"T he decree fu r th e r s tipu la tes th a t w orkers councils m ay make decisions on the m ost im p o rta n t questions concern ing the en te r­prises and d ire c t th e ir ac tiv itie s , guarantee the fu lf i l lm e n t o f ob liga tions to the state, decide on the pro jects o f the en te r­prises, the w o rke rs ’ wages and the finances o f the ' en terprises.”

W A G E S IN C R E A S E DThe S ta lin is ts a ttem pted to o r­

ganize new, more con tro llab le w orkers councils. A n o th e r decree, announced in the same release, s tipu la ted th a t “ Governm ent rep­resentatives w il l he sent to b ig en­terprises. . .¿Their task is to take care o f poduction so th a t i t w i l l be carried ou t w ith o u t obstruc­t io n and to urge the observance o f lega l regu la tions. They are also authorized to se ttle d isputes between the w orkers councils and the d irec to rs o f the en te r­prises.”

A ccord ing to N O N A corres­pondent L i Nan, Nov. 23, "T he governm ent has announced a 10% to 15% increase in wages, abo lition o f the no-child tax and the a g r ic u ltu ra l produce p rocure ­m ent system. . . The governm ent has prom ised to g ive w orkers g re a te r power in the fa c to ry managem ent. The w o rke rs ’ com­m ittees m ay decide on im p o rta n t questions o f the fa c to ry . In ­fle x ib le s tipu la tions fo r em p loy­m ent o f labo r have been can­celled.

W H A T W O R R ER S D E M A N DF rom now on, w o rkers who

q u it jobs o r are dismissed m ay be employed aga in b y state enterprises. . . To a llev ia te hous­in g shortage, the governm ent has prom ised to em pty certa in governm ent o ffice b u ild in g s fo r use o f inhab itan ts . I t has been decided to re p a ir a t governm ent expense a ll pub lic and p riva te houses w h ich were damaged d u rin g the suppressidn o f coun­te r-revo lu tiona rie s .”

F rom th is release some o f the demands o f the w o rke rs ’ delega­tions begin to become clear. The release is also compelled to s ta te : “ The masses s t i l l have m isg iv ings and rem a in in con­fus ion .”

On the same day Budapest Radio announced an agreem ent between R adar and representa­tives o f the w orkers councils. "A cco rd in g to the rad io broad­cast, P rem ier R ada r stated th a t the w orkers council should be recognized as an adv isory or gan iza tion fo r the so lu tion o f problem s concern ing w o rk in g conditions. The d irec to rs and the managers o f the fac to ries could be elected by the w orke rs .”

W h a t prom pted these conces­sions? The re p o rt makes the reason c lear: “ The s tr ik e occur­red because the representatives o f the w o rke rs ' council tr ie d to hold a m eeting a t the Budapest S tad ium on 'November 21 b u t w ere prevented fro m do ing so. I t is learned th a t the m eeting was scheduled to be held to

s tud y questions concern ing the estab lishm ent o f a H u n g a ria n N a tio n a l W orke rs Council. The G overnm ent considered th is as ille g a l and refused to le t the w o rkers go to the S tad ium . A s a resu lt, the representa tives w en t to the o ffice o f the Budapest T ram ear Com pany, the head­quarte rs o f the Budapest w o rk ­ers council, and m e t fo r f iv e hours there.

“ A t the in s tig a tio n o f some reactionary elem ents,” according to the S ta lin is t, version o f the events, “ the m eeting decided a f te r heated debate to ca ll on w orkers in a lt indus tries in Budapest, except the food in ­d u s try to hold a tw o-day general s tr ik e beg inn ing on N ov. 22. B u t a c tu a lly the s tr ik e on ly lasted 24 hours ; i t was called o f f on the 23rd. F o r a w h ile i t did a ffe c t live lihood in Budapest. T ram and bus t r a f f ic w h ich had ju s t

British Communist Party Expels FryerP eter F ry e r, fo rm e r London

D a ily W o rk e r correspondent whose book “ H ungarian T ra ­gedy” is reviewed on page 1, has been expelled from the B r it is h C om m unist P a r t y. F ry e r, who resigned from the CP paper a f te r it suppressed his dispatches fro m H u ng ary , was suspended fro m the P a rty a fte r g iv in g a press in te rv ie w on the s itu a tio n in H ungary . A ccord ing to the Dec. 27 D a ily W orke r, his expulsion is based on the charge th a t since his suspension he “ has carried ou t a pub lic cam paign aga inst the P a rty .” The re p o rt says F ry e r w i l l appeal the expulsion.

Hungary No Longer A Peasant CountryThe w idespread misconcep­

tion th a t H ungary is s t i l l an ove rw he lm ing ly peasant coun­t r y where the w o rk in g class is a sm all m in o r ity was an­swered in a le tte r to the Dec. 2 N . Y. T im es m agazine sec­tio n by Robert M a jo r, fo rm e r d ire c to r o f the H ungarian Economic Association.

M a jo r w r ite s : “ By 1941, m ore than ope th ird o f the popu la tion lived in c ities o r towns w ith more tha n 20,000 inhab itan ts . Peasants cons ti­tu ted considerably less tha n one h a lf o f the popu lation and th e ir ra t io decreased be­tween 1941 and 1945. G reat- Budapest was the b iggest in ­d u s tria l center in Europe, east o f V ienna.”

Since 1941, H u n g a ry has developed in d u s tr ia lly even fu r th e r .

resumed opera tion were again suspended; m a n y in d u s tr ia l en terprises became id le .”

On Nov. 28 a Prague release (N C N A Nov. 30) announced th a t "T he S oc ia lis t W orke rs P a r ty o f H u n g a ry [th e re-organized Com­m un is t P a r ty ] is se ttin g up a p rov is iona l lead ing apparatus to overhaul p a r ty organ iza tions in Budapest and various provinces and d is tr ic ts o f the coun try . Renewal o f re g is tra tio n requ ired o f P a rty members has begun.”

H ungarian S tate M in is te r M arosan, Nov. 28, a t a press conference in the Budapest P a r­liam en t, according to the Czecho­slovak News Agency, (N C N A , Dec. 4) “ re fe rred to the nego tia ­tions between the G overnm ent and representa tives o f the p rov is iona l w o rke rs ’ councils and said th a t the eventual estab lish­m en t o f a na tiona l p roduction Council was be ing considered. . . Fasc is t elements and c r im in a ls th a t had worm ed th e ir w ay in to the w o rke rs ’ councils w ould be unmasked, and cleared o u t as p rope r elections w ere held in the fac to rie s , he said.”

In a speech on Dec. 1 Is tva n Dohi, P resident o f the H ungarian P resid ium , po in ted o u t th a t "E v e ry ho u r spent in s tr ike s m eant less bread fo r the w o rk ­ers. O n ly when the fac to rie s were adm in istered by the w o rk ­ers’ councils in a w ay th a t b ro u g h t m ore and 'be tte r p ro­duction than the old system o f the past could the w o rke rs rea lize th e ir desires. . . Tested w orkers should be b ro ug h t to the fo re ­f ro n t to w o rk in the w o rke rs ’ councils and trade unions accord­in g to th e ir ta le n ts .”

The R adar governm ent has obviously been compelled to engage the W orkers Councils in alm ost continuous nego tia tions. The S ta lin is ts m a k e m any prom ises. They maneuver. They s l a n d e r the w orkers. They th rea ten . B u t i t is c lear beyond a shadow o f doubt — even fro m th e ir own accounts o f the events —- th a t the opposing forces in H u ng a ry are the w o rkers and the S ta lin is t bureaucra ts. The cou n te r-revo lu tiona ry na tu re o f S ta lin ism is dem onstrated fu lly .

The events described above by the S ta lin is ts themselves provide a good enough background fo r an understand ing o f the Dec. 11-12 general s tr ik e th a t was- organized in the face o f m a rt ia l law . The bureaucracy under the leadership o f R ada r is engaged in a l i fe and death s trugg le w ith revo lu tio n a ry w orkers. The v ic ­to ry o f the W orkers Councils alone can b r in g soc ia lis t de- cracy to H ungary .

America’s Road to Socialism

b yJAMES P. CANNON

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The N e g ro S tru g g le______________ By George Lavan -------------------------

A Candidate for the Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer prize for journalism this

year should go to William Worthy and the Afro-American, the paper for which fee is foreign correspondent. Worthy has done what none of the big press association or big newspaper reporters dared do. He has defied the State Department’s ban on U.S. newsmen going to China and writing the news from there as they find it.

The State Department, after years of propaganda deploring the iron curtain which kept American newsmen out of China, now finds it to its advantage to forbid U.S. reporters to go there. Of course the State Department’s action and its threats of reprisal against Worthy are unconstitutional. But respect for the liber­ties of the American people do not weigh much in Washington.

The Big Business press, which loves to contrast its “ free” status with that of government-controlled papers in other countries, has docilely submitted to the State Department’s ukase with only a few editorial mutterings. I t is quite in keeping with the mentality of the lords of the press in this country that Frank H. Bar­tholomew, president of the; United Press can make a speech (Dec. 26), praising “ the free and unfettered U.S. reporter, prying into all sorts of things which are ‘none of his business’ and ‘not in the public interest’” fo r keeping the American public informed, without referring to Worthy and the State Dept. ban.

The Negro press is to be complimented on the courage displayed by Worthy and the Afro-American. Especially since i t is acting in the face of great government pressure.

An example of this pressure was re­vealed last month by Alice Dunnigan, the

only accredited White House reporter of the Associated Negro Press. A fter trying to comply with the special rules and regulations set up by the White House for her conduct at Eisenhower’s press con­ferences, she decided to inform her read­ers about the shameful rigamarole.

Here is her account of the firs t press conference after the elections: “ I must have been on my feet at least two dozen times. He (Eisenhower) recognized re­porters behind me, in front of me, along­side of me. but carefully avoided calling on me. The situation . . . was so irritating because it has been repeated again and again over a period of at least a half- year.

Miss Dunnigan told how earlier in the year she was asked “ quite confidentially by White House officials to refrain from asking the president any questions with­out firs t clearing them with the White House. . . I agreed to do this although I knew it was both unconventional and unethical. But the very thing happened that I expected. When I informed a White House official of a question that I was about to raise at the next conference, he politely asked me to withhold the question until some later date . . . consequently I never got to ask that question.”

The Negro press is not only perform­ing a great service by bringing to light thousands of stories about discrimination and segregation that the Big Business press would prefer to ignore or hush up, it is revealing much about the hypoci’isy of the “ free and unrehearsed” press con­ferences of Eisenhower and the State Department’s attempt to screen the news that reaches the American people.

Rev. King Hits Gov’t PolicyNEW YORK — “ I t is very strange that

the Government of the United States righteously condemns the repression of the Hungarian people, but utters not a word about the repression against the American Negroes,” said Rev. Martin Luther King, president of the Mont­gomery Improvement Association as he addressed a Dec. 16 luncheon at the Hotel Commodore of the National Committee for Rural Schools.

The NCRS is an organization which helps to provide material support for the Negro victims of economic reprisals in the South. In addition to armed violence and intimidation, the White Citizens Councils have waged a campaign to prevent Negro sharecroppers and farmers who stand up against Jim Crow from obtaining vitally needed food supplies, seed and farm equip­ment. The WCC has been particularly active with this form of reprisal in Clarendon County, S. C.

In addition, the racists in many cases have made it impossible for Negro farmers and business men to receive the loans and credit necessary for their functioning. The NCRS tries to meet the needs created by this emergency. As a beginning it has set up a co-operative store in Clarendon

County and has been shipping food and clothing to WCC victims throughout the South.

The NCRS has been sparked primarily by the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. I t has won the support of numer­ous organizations including representative bodies of such unions as the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and the United Auto Workers.

A t the luncheon meeting, Dr. King described the Montgomery bus protest movement and h it out at the “ separate but equal” concept. “ There can be no quantitative equality.” he. declared, “ w ith­out qualitative equality.”

Hailing the rise of the world colonial revolution, Dr. King pointed to its ex­pression in this country as manifested by the struggle of the Negro people for equality.

In a deeply moving conclusion, Dr. King told his audience, “ I f integration is to become a reality, we must not depend on the legal means alone, but also upon protest against segregation wherever it is found. And this protest will come. I t will come from every mountain top and plain, from every city and village, from every farm and factory!”

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i t SpecialHow can a w o r k e r be tte r his economic conditions

and f ig h t fo r la s tin g peace? How can the N egro people and o ther m in o ritie s advance th e ir s trugg le fo r complete p o litica l, socia l and economic eq ua lity? W h a t is the p ro g ra m o f the S oc ia lis t W orkers P a rty ? F o r c lear-cu t answers to these questions ge t a th ree-m onth in tro d u c to ry subscrip tion to The M il i ta n t fo r on ly 50 cents.

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the MILITANTV O L U M E 20 M O N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 31, 1956 N U M B E R 53

. . . Defy Segregation On Buses(Continued fro m page 1) <»'

in to the home o f Rev. M a rt in L u th e r K in g , one o f the leaders o f the M IA . Several m onths e a rlie r his home was the ta rg e t o f a bomb a ttack. F o rtun a te ly no one was in ju re d . B u t b u lle t holes and shattered glass te s ti­fie d to the m urderous in te n t o f the racists. The police, as usual, fa ile d to apprehend the crim ina ls .

The new ou tbreak o f te r ro r fa iled com plete ly to in tim id a te the Negroes. T h e ir courage and s o lid a rity which won them the support o f m illio ns o f people th roughou t the w orld , yielded them the v ic to ry .

Ride Up Front In Tallahassee

By Henry GitanoTallahassee’s f ig h te rs fo r equal

r ig h ts ended the seventh m onth o f th e ir bus boycott on Dec. 24 by s it t in g where they pleased in defiance o f c ity and state segre­ga tion laws. In te g ra tio n on the buses was accomplished w ith o u t incident.

Rev. C. K . Steele president o f the In te r-C iv ic Council, o rg an iz ­ed to d ire c t the bus pro test, to ld me in a telephone in te rv ie w , Dec.

25: “ O ur people were g re a tly encouraged. The bus d rive rs were cord ia l and fr ie n d ly . F o l­lo w in g in s tru c tion s , they asked us to please move to the rear. B u t when we refused they drove on in good s p ir its . One w h ite man made a derogatory rem ark but a group o f young w h ite peo­ple laughed a t h im .”

W h ile Negroes rode buses a ll day w ith o u t opposition, the T a l­lahassee C ity Commission d ire c t­ed the C ities T ra n s it Bus Co. to enforce local segregation laws. Iiev . Steele com m enting on th is ra c is t action said: “ Were g re t th a t the C ity Commission m eeting fo r seven hours behind closed doors admonishes the bus company to enforce segregation. T om orrow , we’l l e ith e r be on the buses choosing ou r own seats or we’l l be o f f the buses p ro te s t­ing. B u t we’l l s tay on the buses t i l l w e’re d riven o f f . W e are Confident we have been r ig h t and are r ig h t , despite the c ity com m ission’s de te rm ina tion to segregate us and herd us to the rea r o f c ity buses. W e’l l r id e the buses and make choices o f ou r seats. W e’re ready to s u ffe r and die fo r freedom .”

The bus com pany announced th a t in v iew o f the Supreme Couflt r u l in g b a rr in g segrega­tio n on M ontgom ery buses i t

A group o f lead ing members o f the M ontgom ery Im provem ent Association.

w ould seek a co u rt decision on the v a lid ity o f the segregation requirem ents o f its franch ise .

The ICC over the past few weeks has been p re p a rin g T a l­lahassee’s 15,000 freedom f ig h t ­ers fo r a re tu rn to the buses. A t the la s t mass m eeting a pan­tom im e was presented to show how to act and respond in case o f unpleasant incidents. The ICC p rin ted le a fle ts reg a rd ing the cou rt order: “ The Federal C ourt o rder ou tla w in g segregation on pub lic c a rr ie rs has a rrived a t the federa l courts in Tallahassee. Upon rece ip t o f the order by the cou rts a i l la w s p e rta in in g to segregation are dead. F rom here on in ' i f a N egro s its in the back o f a tra n s ie n t c a rr ie r he o r she is v o lu n ta r ily seg rega ting h im ­se lf. In order to break the seat­in g p a tte rn w h ich we have

grow n accustomed to , we are requesting th a t you re fra in fro m s it t in g in the rea r end o f the bus unless the re are no o th e r seats ava ilab le .”

The Council to ld its members th a t i t would p rov ide legal assistance to any N egro arrested fo r s it t in g in the f r o n t o f a bus.

One woman, who drove her car fo r the boycotts ’ car-pool fro m 7 to 10 in the m orn ing , and p u t ou t the new sle tte r, ICC D ia ry (besides a tten d in g to h e r re g u la r teach ing jo b ) , said la s t m onth th a t she th o u g h t “ we should ju s t a ll go back on the buses lik e the Supreme C ourt says, and s it w herever we please.” The ne x t th in g on the agenda she declared was “ doing som eth ing about these underpaid domestic w orkers. You can’t live on $3 a day.”

Tallahassee’s Negroes have acted w ith firm ne ss and d ig n ity , m a in ta in in g th e ir s o lid a r ity in the face o f a rrests and in t im id a ­tion . In teg ra ted seating has been

effected w ith o u t un tow ard in ­c ident, b u t the a rro g a n t C ity Commission is desperately a t­te m p tin g to m a in ta in rac ia l oppression on the buses. The ICC is s t i l l appealing the case o f 21 boycotters w h ich resu lted in fines to ta llin g $11,000 and 60- day suspended ja i l sentences aga ins t each defendant.

The boycott began M ay 28, 1956. The sen tim en t o f the boy- co tte rs fro m th.at day on was: “ W hen you are choking me, I say to you, tu rn me loose now, n o t g ra d u a lly .”

Tallahassee’s Negroes f ig h t in g fo r a be tte r w o rld have showft rem arkab le courage and se lf- confidence. They have demon­s tra ted a w illingness to s u ffe r fo r freedom . The need to back them up in the face o f arrests, th rea ts , legal and economic per­secution, rem ains ever im p o rta n t. F in a n c ia l a id should be m ailed to the In te r-C iv ic Council, 803 F l o r a l S tree t, Tallahassee, F lo rida ,

A group o f leading members o f the Tallahassee In te r-C iv ic Council. (Rev. C. K . Steele a t r . )

77 Child Workers Died In Accidents Last Year

By Joyce CowleyIn its 52nd A nnua l Report is ­

sued la s t m onth, the N a tiona l C h ild Labor Com m ittee calls a g ric u ltu re “ the last strongho ld o f ch ild labor.” I t is estim ated th a t 600,000 ch ild ren o f m ig ra to ry fa rm 'workers “ labor in the fie ld at arduous to il unprotected by state labor regu la tions and in ­adequately safeguarded by Fed­era l laws.” Q uoting from a study made by the U.S. C h ild ren ’s Bu­reau, the report says “ Few o f the m ig ra to ry ch ildren ever see a doctor, a teacher, a ch ild wel­fa re w o rke r o r a nurse.”

C h ild ren are fre q u e n tly k ille d o r in ju re d w h ile opera ting tra c ­tors. “ F ra g m e n ta ry reports culled fro m . the na tio n ’s press la s t yea r,” sta tes Sol M a rk o ff, Sec­re ta ry o f the Com m ittee, “ show th a t 235 boys and g ir ls were in ­volved in serious accidents la s t year. Am ong th is group, seventy- seven were k illed and the rest badly cripp led. The m a jo r ity of these youngsters were under 14 years o f age.”

GOOD FOR T H E IR H E A L T H ?In Pennsylvania and New Y ork,

b ills to re s tr ic t ch ild labor were recently in troduced in state legis­la tu res. In Pennsylvania, the b ill would have p ro h ib ited the labor o f ch ildren under tw e lve on large com m ercial fa rm s. One le g is la to r opposing i t shouted: “ I t ’s good fo r these children to be ou t in the f ie ld a ll day in God’s pure sunshine and fresh a ir .” The b ill was defeated. In New Y o rk , an a ttem p t to set a s ix teen-year m in im um age fo r pa id fa rm w orkers opera ting trac to rs and hazardous machines was also de­feated.-

C h ild ren as young as fiv e w o rk in the summer heat as long as ten hours a day, s ix days a week. T h is k ind o f outdoor l iv ­ing is no t so beneficial, espe­c ia lly when i t is combined w ith an inadequate d ie t— usua lly con­s is tin g o f beans and s a lt po rk— and the m iserable housing and san ita tion o f the m ig ran t labo r camps.

We m ust f ig h t fo r leg is la tion to p ro h ib it ch ild labo r on the fa rm s, bu t th is is ju s t an in it ia l step. C yrus H . K a rra ke r, in an a rtic le , “ F o rgo tte n C h ild L a ­borers,” calls fo r a' na tiona l ne t­w o rk o f day-care centers fo r m i­g ra n t ch ild ren and po in ts ou t th a t: “ E ve ry year, under the So­c ia l S ecu rity A c t, Congress ap­p rop ria tes federa l ch ild w e lfa re funds fo r use by the w e lfa re de­pa rtm ents o f the states to operate program s fo r dependent ru ra l ch ild ren . . . every year these de­pa rtm e n ts have been re tu rn ing ' a

la rge p a r t o f the money to W ash ing ton unused. On J u ly 1, 1955, ten states re turned h a lf a m illio n do lla rs . . . every cent o f th a t money could have been spent fo r m ig ra n t ch ild ren .”

One reason, he says, th a t no measures are taken to assist these ch ild ren is fea r. “ C ivic leaders and county w e lfa re o f f i ­cials hold back on any proved rem edial measures because these m ig h t o ffen d the growers, who are men o f in fluence in th e ir lo ­ca lity . F o r the same reason, the local c le rgy v iew tim o ro us ly any service to the m ig ra n ts w h ich is no t s tr ic t ly re lig ious. The state o ff ic ia ls also p lay safe w ith the g row ers.”

W H A T GROW ERS F E A RThe grow ers, too, are a fra id .

T h e y “ dread a v is i t fro m the -build­in g inspector. They are a fra id of un id en tifie d v is ito rs who m ig h t be newspaper reporters, and they

are even suspicious o f the chap­la in fro m the council <of churches ■because he m ig h t reveal to the public w hat he has seen.”

I th in k observers fro m the U n ite d N ations — which cla im s to be h o rr if ie d b y cases o f •brutal exp lo ita tion o r oppression — should undertake a v is it to the b ig com m ercial fa rm s o f New Y o rk , Pennsylvania and other states. B u t -I doubt th a t such ob­servers would ge t in , because i f the shocking conditions were w ide ly publicized, leg is la tion m ig h t be passed to p ro h ib it the labo r o f these ch ild ren ami p ro ­v ide decent education and daty care fo r them. The growers w ill take every possible measure to prevent th is . A« one o f them said, these youngsters don’t w an t to go to school and can’t get any­th in g ou t o f i t anyw ay . . . and w ith o u t th e ir labor, he [th e g row ­e r) would have to go ou t o f bus iness.

No Tim e to P la y

A ten-year-o ld C a lifo rn ia cotton p icke r is shown d ra gg ing a 35-pound sack o f cotton. F o r the product o f h is fo u r hour’s laboil in 1955, he collected $1.15, g iv in g his a wage o f less than 30c. an hour. Such conditions are s t i l l common in a g ric u ltu re th rou gh ou t the U n ited States.

THE MILITANT ARM YN o te w o rth y in th is week’s

m ail box is the exce llen t sales reports o f M il ita n t d is tr ib u to rs

w ho have also been se lling the In te rn a tio n a l So­c ia lis t Review. O akland branch li te ra tu re agen t

M ild re d Carson w rite s : “ I S R s are se lling good. W e need 35 ad­d itio n a l copies o f 'the f a l l issue.” The m ain fea ­

tu re o f the m agazine’s f a l l is ­sue is an a rtic le on the reg roup­m ent question.

John T abo r o f N ew Y o rk re ­p o rts : “ Enclosed are 3 M il ita n t subs. W e sold 20 copies o f the ilSR a t one o f the fo rum s a r r a n g e d b y A . J. M uste.” M anuel Stone o f C leveland w rite s th a t the M il i ta n t g o t a good re ­ception when d is tr ib u te d a t a m eeting w here Russel Jones ( la s t A m erican re p o rte r o u t o f H u n g a ry ) spoke. People came ou t o f the m eeting requesting copies o f the paper. In add ition , the branch asked fo r a bundle o f 10 e x tra f a l l issues o f the ISR . The Los Angeles branch has begun to re a lly push the m agazine and th e ir lite ra tu re agent, A t Johnson, w rite s as fo llo w s : “ The L . A - branch has decided to g ive some serious a tte n tio n to b u ild in g up the sub­scrip tion l is t o f the ISR . You w i l l f in d enclosed a money order fo r 5 subs.”

“ L a s t n ig h t we had a ve ry in s p ir in g experience. A t a mass m eeting sponsored by the N a ­tio n a l G uardian we sold 25 ISRs. Lee sold 14 and A1 sold 11. T h is proves th a t the magazine is a ve ry m arketable Commodity. B y g iv in g serious e ffo r ts to popu­la r iz in g the IS R and b u ild in g a la rge subscrip tion lis t, the road to a m on th ly magazine o f scien­t i f ic Socialism w i l l be realized. O ur com radely ad m ira tio n to the con tribu to rs , ed ito r, business m anager .of the IS R fo r th is w onderfu l issue. Please rush 20 add itiona l copies.”

San Francisco reports th a t the frien ds w ho w ro te in d u rin g the election cam paign fo r f u r ­th e r in fo rm a tio n about the So­c ia lis t W orke rs P a rty are now being v is ite d . F ra n k B arba ria w r ite s : “ W e are m eticu louslyv is it in g each and every one who w ro te in and are g e ttin g subs to the M ilita n t. W e are also m eticu lous ly v is it in g a ll o f the 200 o r more persons to whom ’fre e samples’ o f the paper have been sent and are p ress ing 'them fo r a sub. T h is w o rk and Contact developm ent constitu tes the m ain task a t th is t im e .”

Seattle lite ra tu re agent w rite s about new active sub-getteus fo r the M il ita n t, who were “ sold” on the paper a fte r ta k in g a three- m onth t r ia l subscrip tion . They had p rev ious ly sym path ized w ith the CP. The w ife sells papers on the s treet, and she has placed the M il ita n t in tw o business es­tab lishm ents in her ne ighbor­hood. Between he r and he r hus­band they managed to sell 13 o f the subscrip tions we sent in .” The T w in C ities M il ita n t d is tr ib ­

u to rs have been do ing well' a t sales a t un ion m eetings. B i l l F . sold ten papers a t a W ard Local in St. Paul and W in ifre d Nelson sold e ig h t a t a Ford local. A lto ­ge ther 28 M il ita n ts were sold la s t week a t un ion m eetings in the T w in C ities,

Harvey O’Connor Wins Reversal in Contempt Case

H arvey O’Connojr, a u th o r o f O il and o th e r stud ies o f thecapita/Iist. system , scored a new v ic to ry aga inst the w itch hun t w ith a Federal c o u rt decision,Dec. 20, se ttin g aside h is con-tem pt-o f-C ongress convic tion fo r de fy in g Senator M cC arthy ’s in ­q u is ito r ia l tactics.

O’Connor had draw n a one- yea r prison te rm and a $500 f in e fo r re fu s in g to answer M c­C a rth y ’s question as to w he the r he was “ a m ember o f the Com­m un is t conspiracy.” The vete ran free-speech f ig h te r re fused to answer on the ground th a t the question v io la te d the F ir s t Am endm ent o f the U.S. Con­s titu t io n guaran tee ing f r e e speech, press and assembly.

In reve rs ing O’Connor’s con­v ic tio n the c o u rt dodged the issue o f the F ir s t A m endm ent, basing its decision on the fa d t th a t M cC a rth y ’s no to rious “ a re you a m em ber” question was so im precise and am biguous th a t i t was no t a crim e to re fuse to answer it .

Com m enting on the decision, O’Connor said he was “ de ligh ted th a t i t is now possible fo r an A m erican c iitzen to have con­te m p t fo r Joe M cC arthy w ith o u t go ing to ja i l fo r i t . ”

Detroit Fri. Night Socialist Forum

announces a series o f ta lk s on

PROBLEMS OF THE LEFT

•“ In Search o f a P rog ram ”

F r i. , Jan. 4 — 8 P. M.

Speaker: M a r t in M itchn ick

•“ Can the U N B rin g Peace?”

Friday, Jan. 1 1 - 8 P.M.

•E U G E N E V . D EBS H A L L

3737 W oodward, 2nd F lo o r