Skip to main content

Full text of "Workers Age Vol. 3 #2 and #3 Jan. 15 - Feb. 1, 1934"

See other formats 


WORKEm 




A Paper Defending the Interests of the Workers and Farmers 



VOL. 3, No. 2 and 3. 



NEW YORK, N. Y., JAN. 15-FEB. 1, 1934 



PRICE 5 CENTS 



COJIl STRIKE ON 
DECLINE 

Wiikes Barre, Pa. 

fhe United Anthracite Miners 
Union voted unanimously, at its 
convention, for a proposal of Fa- 
ther Cumin, to call off the strike 
h District One if President Roose- 
velt will appoint a commission to 
investigate "the situation here. 

Vt the same time an attempt 
Trill be made to spread the strike 
to District Seven and Nine. 

It is already known that Rinaldo 
CappeHini. former corrupt presi- 
dent of District 1. U.M.W.A., or- 
ganized the United Anthracite Min- 
ers of Penna. They at first spoke 
of mine grievances in order to fool 
the miners into joining the new 
union. They also praised the NRA 
in the hope of receiving recogni- 
tion from the operators through it. 
After pleading with Wagner and 
begging at the door of the NRA 
they discovered that Lewis was on 
the Federal Labor Board and has 
something to say on recognizing a 
new union in the Anthracite. They, 
therefore, now demand the removal 
of Lewis. 

The strike arose out of the spec- 
ial convention held on January 13. 
The new union draws most of its 
strength from the unemployed. In 
the 31en Alden it controls half 
of the men. In other operations 
(Continued on Page 2) 



40 Join C. P. O. At 
Convention 

During the sessions of the 
National Conference, to which a 
number of leading, sympathetic 
workers from various industries 
were admitted, forty joined the 
C.P.O. 

Among these are to be found 
active and leading workers from 
such industries as mining, shoe, 
textile and needle trades. 



Silk Workers In 
Nat^l Convention 

New York City. 

The American Federation of Silk 
Workers affiliated to the A. F. of 
L. thru the U.T.W,, will meet in 
national convention on Saturday 
and Sunday January 27 and 28, at 
the Hotel McAIpin. 

The recent national strike, in- 

olving some 100,000 silk workers 

and the tremendous influx into the 

union, make.s this convention of 

outstanding importance. 

Lessons of the recent strike 
point to the necessity of establish- 
ing a closely knit federation of all 
sections of the silk industry. The 
dyers must be drawn into closer 
w^orking relations with the other 
sections of the silk. industry. The 
problem of o] ganizing the unor- 
ganized fields is one of the primary 
questions that face the convention. 



HOTEL STRIKE IS 
GALLED 



New York City, 

A general strike of all hotel and 
restaurant workers has been called 
by the Hotel and Restaurant Work- 
ers Branch of the Amalgamated 
Food Workers Union, for Satur- 
day January 27th at 6 o'clock. 

The detailed demands have not 
yet been announced but it is known 
that they w^ll center around recog- 
nition of the union, wage increases 
find improvement of conditions. 
The general strike will involve 
about 100,000 workers in the indus- 
try. 

* ♦ • 

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel was 
struck Jan. 23, some 600 work- 
ers walking out and tying up the 
hotel completely. The strike oc- 
curred because of the efforts of 
the management to force union 
members to become members of a 
company union. Several workers 
had been fired for union work. 
After negotiations with the man- 
agement had failed the workers 
were ordered to strike and respond- 
ed to a man. 

Picket lines were thrown around 
the hotel mmediately and the hard- 
boiled Waldorf Astoria manage- 
ment is due for a tougA battle. 



Shoe Union Merger 
Drives Forivard 



The recent convention of shoe 
workers in which various unions 
met to carry thru amalgamation, 
indicated clearly that the buro- 
crats would not yield their posi- 
tions without a bitter fight. The 
post convention period indicates 
that this was true and that the 
burocracy was being defeated all 
along the line. The General Co- 
ordinating Committee, elected by 
the convention, is weldi.-ig the var- 
ious sections together and is receiv- 
ing excellent support from the 
mass of the workers. 
* * * 

Haverhill, Mass. 

At a big mass meeting, called by 
the Coordinating Committee, Den- 
nis Kelieher, District Agent, at- 
tempted to keep the Coordinating 
Committee speakers out of the 
hall. In this he was defeated, the 
workers voting to admit the dele- 
gation headed by Secretary Zim- 
merman. The meeting went on 
record recognizing the Coordinat- 
ing Committee, 

Charges were preferred against 
Kelieher by a number of local 
unions and Kelieher was removed 
from office by the District Coun- 
cil. The Coordinating Committee 
recogniztjs the Distnct Council and 
Haverhill continues as a part of 
the United Shoe. 



Newberryport, Mass. 
President Nolan of the Protec- 
tive sent Fitzgerald as his com- 
missioner to exahnine tlie books 
of the local here. The local refused 
to recognize him and placed a mo- 
tion on the books to disregard all 
communications from the Protec- 
tive, recognizing only those com- 
munications received from the Co- 
ordinating Committee. 

Lowel, Mass. 
Learning that our local had 
swung into the United Shoe, Pres- 
ident Nolan sent Fitzgerald to take 
over the property of the local. We 
refused to recognize him, A strong 
delegation of workers from the 
shops are occupying our unior. 
premises to guard against any 
tricks from the discredited buro- 
crats. 

* * * 

Boston, Mass. 
All the locals here have swung 
into the anaalgamated union — 
the United Shoe — without any op- 
position whatever. Our big troubles 
are the bad economic conditions 
and the recent decisions of the 
State Board which meant an actual 
wage cut. . Steps are being taken 
to resist this new offensive against 
us. 

(Continued on Page 2) 



SOS- from Underground Germany 



The National Buro of the C. P. O. submits to you the stirring ap- 
peal for help coming from our embattled comrades in Hitler's hell. 

'■y^thin the last few months we have transmitted many hundreds 
cf dollars to assist our comrades in rebuilding the shattered ranks of 
the revolutionary movement; to aid in building, thru inter-party co- 
jperation, a new illegal trade union movement, to strengthen the pro- 

™^^ core for the struggle against fascism. 

inia Tve have done at the expense of our own developing require- 
inenu But even that has not been enough. 

Bip. ( 5 ^"^t now appeal to every friend and sympathizer of our move- 
xS- h ^^^T "'^^ ^'^° desires to strike an effective blow against the 
J zi Drtiwn plague, to rush funds immediately. No contribution is too 
nnJr^Ji^"^ '"^ *^^ *^^- ^'o contribution too small considering mass 
^employment 

York'^x'^Y^ ^^^ contributions to Jay Lovestone, 51 West 14th St., New 

NATIONAL BURO 
COMMUNIST PARTY (OPPOSITION) 



Dear e^ ^^^^^ ^*^- 21> 1933. 
*^r Comrades : 

fJi** '^ desperation that we in- 
thTrJr ^^ ^^' situation in which 
iL^ ■^^'^'''^ ^^''ty of Germany 
s r?^?^''^ ^*^^- f'^ds itself. It 
L V ^^^"^ '■''''"*^^ tJiat our group 

Kr^ c^^^^istency, clarity and 

^P to attair. cor.siderabl. 
t»cai and 



poli' 

;ults. 
the 



ship of ,. 

'nji \\^\ 'nJtiating and accclerat- 

gjnis^ and hav= .' " 

S^".5«ir org.:.,.., : .-,:£: 

^^6 haiulr \ '^ ^^* mitiator in 

^P^nanJ . ,1 ^'^^^y achieved 
..^^nant r..=n.lf« ;.. ^he most irn- 



I^naiit 



^t results 



"idustrial regions. 



This work, however, must be car- 
ried on at tremendous cost. Since 
the beginning of the fascist dicta- 
torship about 280 comrades of the 
C.P.G.O. have been arrested. Some 
of these comrades have been ar- 
rested two or three times. At the 
moment there are still over 100 \ 
comrades in the concentration 
camp.s and prisons; among them 
are 35 who have been imprisoned 
since the very beginning of the 
fascist dictatorshifj. Over 50 com- 
rades ar*' abroad. In eight dis- 
trir't-: th<.: political leaders and the 
r' ar ■ of the district organiza- 
■ ' ■ ' ' n arrested, and many 

'■..■:- ; ;-c; been terribly mal- 
!./-';ai.»;.i. Sinct: the Noveml>er 12 
election--; the group has rctuinf-d 
intact its important k;3der.ship m 
only three districts. In one dis- 
trict the f;ntire district leader.sbip, 
incJudinK' th'; technical staff, wen: 
arrtstfyl, two v/eeks ago, and the 
organization disrupted. A member 



of the national leadership of the 
C,P,G,0. was taken to a concen- 
tration camp, at the same time. 
A large number of functionaries 
has been condemned to long terms 
in prison. Among others a Leip- 
zig comrade who has been sentenc- 
ed to a year in prison and a Thur- 
ingian comrades who received a 
two year sentence. 

A majority of the comrades are 
out of work and the district lead- 
ers have an illegal status, which 
means that they can not even get a 
fe%y crumbs thru unemployment 
relief. Without a permanent resi- 
dence constantly followed by the 
spies of the Storm Troops, relying 
upon the heroic support of hungry 
members and sympathizers, they 
continue their illegal work with 
stubborn fighting spirit. The na- 
tional leadership also consists en- 



IN THE NEXT ISSUE 

JAY LOVESTONE 

Begins a series of three articles 

on the 
THE ECONOMICS OF THE 
ROOSEVELT PROGRAM 
■ 
They will appear in the follow- 
ing order. 

1. The Economic Program of the 

New Deal. 

2. Economic Consetiuences and 

Fallacies of the NRA. 
:L Ft-rKpcctives of the New Or- 
deal. 



tirely of unemployed comrades re- 
ceiving no unemployment relief. 
Under the most miserable living 
conditions they carry on the dan- 
gerous and difficult national work 
of the group. 

For the maintenance of the ne- 
cessary illegal apparatus and for 
its political and organizational 
tasks, nationally, 875 Marks a 
month are needed. 

The work of the National lead- 
ership has to a large extent been 
made possible by the donations 
from the C.RO. of the U.S.A. de- 
spite the great unemployment in 
its own ranks. This money intend- 
ed for the Foreign Committee and 
the L C. 0, had to be turned over 
to the national leadership in order 
to make possible the continuation 
of illegal activity. The political 
and organizational tasks of the 
Foreign Committee have thereby 
been made much more difficult. 

The successful work of the C.P. 
G.O. IS especially reflected in the 
regular appearance of its litera- 
ture. While in the legal period 
Arbeiter Politik appeared weekly, 
with a circulation of 1,^ to 20 thou- 
sand copies, and Gegen den Strom 



3. Rundbriefe — monthly. 
. 4. Rundschreiben of the Foreign 
Committee — monthly. 

5. Arbeiterstimme, Berlin — bi- 
weekly. Circulation 700. 

6. Einheit — Leipzig, bi-weekly. 
Circulation 600. 

7. Der Kampf— Thuringia, tri- 
weekly. Circulation 400. 

8. Einheit — Frankfurt a. M., tri- 
weekly. Circulation 400. 

9. Arbeiterstimme — Stuttgart, 
bi-weekly. Circulation 700. 

10. Der Neue Weg— West Ger- 
many, tri-weekly. Circulation 500. 

11. Neue Zeitung — Erzgebirge, 
monthly. Circulation 600. 

12. Kampfruf — Breslau, bi-week- 
ly. Circulation 500. 

13. Kampfruf — Hamburg, bi- 
weekly. Circulation 500. 

• ♦ • 

Trade Union Newspapers 

Der Metallarbeiter— Berlin 
tri-weekly. Circulation 600. 

15. Der Buchdrucker — Berlin, 
prmted. Circulation 400, 

16. Klassenkampf — Solingen, tri- 
weekly. Circulation 600, 

17. Klassenkaempfer — Stuttgart, 
bi-weekly. Circulation 800. 

18. Betrieb und Gewerkschaft — 



publkshes a larger amount of news- 
paper literature. In reading the 
figures below it must be kept in 
mind that every copy of an illegal 
newspaper is read by at Ica.^h lf> 



paper is read by at least 10 
to U workers. The following pub- 
lications appear: 
j^l. Juniusbrief— 8 page bi-week- 

2. Korre.spondent— G page bi- 
weekly. ** 



GERMAN EXHIBIT H^wil.T-.*^ ^^"^ "*»» 

New Workers School 51 W. 14 St. 



The circulation of Juniusbrief is 
between 1,500 and 2,000 per issue. 
The greater part of the papers 
appear photographed in vest pocket 
size. In addition to the above, 
various regional groups publish lo- 
cal pubhcations. From time to time 
the district and local groups issue 
l^^^f*^^ ^"*^ ^™^*' pamphlet. Prom 
iroOO to 2,000 copies of every issue 
of the printed publication, Gegen 
den Strom, are sold. In addition 
there are shipped into Germany 
printed pamphlets and the news 
service of the 1. C. O, 

The comrades of Germany, who 
{Continued on Page 2) 



n 



Two 



WORKERS AGE 



Fort Wayne CWA - A Hunger Scheme 



by Harry H. Conner 



The c ^\' A. 






h; 



pau! 



otl' 



1 Jiito lorr- 
ilon waK- 
luiral ini^ 
^ lun-y tov- 



L-o.s. Ahviuiv ^vu-kvTs ;ui- hr.'oui- 
ir.i: cii.si]lusiotu-,i ;u a aiv b.-j: niuMji 
to orgarHi'o and i'iglu in various lo- 
calitios. 

Before ane can write of the 
strug^ple?, in Fort AVayne, on the 
C.W.A. projects, it is uecossary to 
analyze the oast history oT the un- 
etiiDiiiviiviit nioxonieiit. Since the 
h- • :'u' pre^;ent crisis the 

!ic urcniployed have 
p. \oral St aires. From 

:;u'< the uneiii])h)yeti 
!: -^ rr to in"l tant ac- 

tu ■ : nie Mas there a na- 

tioEially unified nioveirient. There 
are a nuniber of reasons for thi.^ 
condition. 

The Communist Party is still in 
a pericd of lunacy and is unable 
to take ho'd of those peculiar and 
specific features of the unemployed 
niovemeni.s sj as to unify and lead 
them. The Socialist Party also has 
been proven bankrupt in this sit- 
uation. With its total dependence 
on bourgeois democracy and its 
fear of mass actions it can cer- 
tainly not lu'cunc the leader of the 
unemployed raa-sos. 

Nevertheless the organization? 
of the unemployed did make some 
projrress up to the coming of the 
New Deal. It is not surprising that 
approximately half the unemploy- 
ed left the organizations since the 
NRA CTnie into effect. This can be 
accounted for by the widespread 
belief that the NRA would give 
jobs. With the weakening of the 
NRA, all along the line, came a 
.strengthening of tlie fighting spirit 
among the unemployed. Roosevelt, 
who is the best magician ever to 
sit in the White Hous.-', pulled an- 
other rabbit out of the hat— the 
C.W.A. 

It is obvious that the C.W.A. was 
the administration's new approach 
to the question of unemployment. 
The C. P. can^e out and called on 
the workers tn re?ist the C.W.A. 
What with? You can't call a gen- 
eral strike if you are not in the 
unions, nor can you get united ac- 
tion if the worker.s are split. The 
C. P. is gu'lty of practicing both. 
The S.P. has openly praised the 
C.W.A. program. The C.P.O. has 
done very little. The Musteites 
are completely bankrupt. It is 
time we wake up and look around 
us. 

What has the C.W.A. done for 
the workers? First of all we must 
know that locally the same cliquo 
of anti-labor politicians which con- 
trolled the charities are also run- 
ning the C.W.A, program. This 
means that if the workers permit 
It, the .sanie old graft and discrim- 
ination will be practiced against 
wr.rkfe -.=:.. Over 4 000 workers have 
bf-f:r; taken off relief and put to 
work at -SI 5.00 a week This Zic- 
tu'-tlly constitutes a lowering of tha 
lining .^tandard.s of the unemployed 
in Fort Wayne. For the worker.; 
had ga'ned, thru .struggle, free 
rent, light, water and relief be.sldei 
this. Nr,w fill this is wiped out a7id 
from the $15 the worker will have 
to pay for everything. 
* * ♦ 

Tt ha,^ been the experience of 
thi.s writer that thft masses can be 
mnbiliz'-d only on the ba.sis of a 
very f-Aevnentary program touching 
on the bag'c need** of the unrrn- 
r\oy*>f\. The following are thf 
qu"«!*ion.=? that we are raiKing here. 
Wo'-kerF. are to get paid from 
the time they report. Thi.«t is irn- 
n*^rtarjt because now they are asked 
to rerjort ut 7 A. M. and are th*n 
t»-« -..snorted in frucks to their plac*- 
*i work. «r>ywhe'"e hetwe^-n G and 
20 ro'l''-? from 'he city. Thfy are 
ff^v-HHrie- on tbf-ir own time, their 
r»av Ix-ginning when they actually 
»tHrt work. Transportation shall 
be made m tlo-if^d trucks. At pre^- 
e'^t worker*; aro being taken to 
•^'nrk jr» on^n trucks and are almost 
f^nvf.fi hv the ftm'' th"y r*-afh tlieir 
dest'nation. The %16 minimum b- 



d Ida. 



vd to t^ 
nuK-h 
bitter weather. 



M, rain or shine. j\.i 
workers are simpjy ni>t 
the time- during which 
not work due to incUnuont 
Their wagrs are thus 
l-'.y diminished. We de- 
tor liot lunches in 
s, Today no hot 
ilable and workers 
t .11 the open with- 
s a windbreak, in 
We are also figtit- 
ing to have single men and women 
included in tlio work projects. 
-Aroxind such demands it is possible 
to rally many .sections of the work- 
ers, 

Ho\y did the workers begin or- 
ganizing? First a committee from 
each project had a house meeting 
at which demands were drawn up 
and taken \o the projects. . . Mass 
meetings weri? then called rallying 
hundreds i,f workers, 

A fight IS also being put up for 
free rent and extra food. Some of 
these demands have already been 
realized and the workers are en- 
tering a new phase of struggle 
with a new tactical course. 



In spite of the confusion in tlie 
revolutionary movement, the C.P.- 
O. can play an important role in 
this new turn in the unemployed 
movement. The crying need is con- 
structive, militant leadership ap- 
plying a course suitable to the pe- 
culiarities of the American work- 
ers. With this kind of leadership 
the C.P.O. can become a real co- 
hesive force in unifying the strug- 
gles of the unemployed. 

HARRl^STRINSKY 
EXPELLED 

During the recent elections in 
Local 25, oii the Amalgamated 
Clothing Workers, we found, much 
our surpri.se, that Harry Os- 
trin.^ky had run on and was elect- 
ed to the Executive Board on the 
late of th? administration of Lo- 
cal 25. This was done without 
any con.sultation either with the 
Communist Party (Opposition) or 
with the Progressive Group in the 
Local. 

Ostrinsky appeared a number of 
times before the committees of 
the C.P.O, and stubbornly insisted 
that his election on the adminis- 
tration slate was totally without 
his knowledge or consent. That he 
had made no deal with the admin- 
istration of the local and was ready 
to prove this by his work in the 
Executive Board. 

We condemned the actions of 
Ostrinsky in remaining passive and 
not protesting and demanding 
the removal of his name from the 
admini.stration slate. Ostrinsky 
pledged to prove his integrity by 
fighting in the Executive Board, 
for a program of work for the im- 
provement of the miserable condi- 
tions of the tailors and against the 
vicious burocracy with which the 
local is saddled. 

During the last several weeks 
Ostrinsky has made not the slight- 
est effort to carry out this pro- 
gram and thus condemned himself 
as a partner and a tool of the cor- 
rupt burocracy of the local and 
the A. C. W. generally. 

Harry O.^lrinsky is therefore ex- 
pelled from membertihip in the 
Ccmmunist Party (Opposition). 

We call upon all progressive for- 
ces to note this expulsion and to 
con.sid<.r ()'M.nnirky as one who has 
definitely broken with the progres- 
sive and revolutionary movement. 
National Burn 
Communist Party (OppoMition) 



GERMAN EXHIBIT 
Nazi 

PoMters. leafletH and other 
propaganda niatcriiil 

Anti Nazi 

fioinmuniHl, Social int. Trade 

Union, papcrK, pamphlefK 

etc. di-Hlribiil«'d inegally. 

JAN. 2C TO IKH. 12 

51 WEST mil STHJCKT 

New Vorw City 



SHOE UNION MERGER ADVANCES 



(Contbmcd from Page 1) 

Lynn, Mass. 
Trouble was expected here from 
former general organizer of the 
National Shoe— William Mnhnn. 
At the biggest mass meeting ol 
shoe workers here, since the war, 
he was made to toe tlie mark. Un- 
til such time as district elections 
are held, the Coordinating Commit- 
tee has designated Brother Maz- 
maninn to handle our union affairs. 
He is doing a swell job. 

* * + 

New York City. 

The efforts of the Coordinating 
Committee to carry thru the ac- 
tual fusion here of the various 
unions, has temporarily been block- 
ed by the Shoe and Leather Work- 
ers Industrial Union. They have 
proposed steps which would in 
practice mean not an amalgama- 
tion but rather the joining of all 
members of other organizations, in- 
to the Industrial Union. This was 
rejected by the other unions as not 
in line with the convention deci- 
sions. 

It is expected that the Coordina- 
ting Committee will take further 
measures to bring about the amal- 
gamation here in a manner accept- 
able to all parties concerned. 

* * * 

Brockton, Mass. 

The Brotherhood of Shoe and Al- 
lied Craftsmen, which was not re- 
presented at the amalgamation 
convention, due to the manipula- 
tions of the local burocrats, is tak- 
ing .steps to affiliate wdth the Unit- 
ed Shoe. In his own leading boards 
Goodwin — the Czar of the organi- 
zation — was defeated and an of- 
ficial committee was elected to 
meet with the Coordinating Com- 
mittee in Boston. This meeting 
has taken place and arrangements 
have been made for a speedy affi- 
liation. Tiie report of this com- 
mittee is (.doming up for final ac- 
tion at the Control Board of the 
Brotherhood, which meets Satur- 
day, Januajy 20. 

A number of locals hero — Las- 
ters, Cutters, Vampers, Edgemak- 
ers — have threatened to secede 
from the Brotherhood unless amal- 
gamation is put thru. 



The Daily Worker of January 12, 
carries the following hcndlino: 
"Hard Coal Miner-^ Threaten 
.Strike Despite L-aders. Maloney 
Tr-es To Hold Men Back, Wnlk- 
„„t Due Saturday." This, is of 
course, favorable for a strike. Bu!. 
a strike for what? Here is Malon- 
ey's statement on tin; purpose of 
liie strike. 

"1. Recognition of the union and 
local union committees. 2. Full in- 
ve.-^tigation by a suitable National 
Lal)or Board Commission. 3, Rein- 
statement of all our discharged 
members. I. Abolition of the check- 
off." 

So, we ace that there is no word 
on the actual demands of the min- 
ers for mine conditions. 

Miners can expect no good out of 
this strike. Organizing now union:^ 
plays into the hands of the coal 
operator.s and of Lewis. Lewis 
comes out stronger and the pro- 
gre.^sives weaker. 

At the present time there arc 
also some strikes of U.iM.W.A. lo- 
cal unions. Those are without offi- 
cial sanction but for such demands 
as employment preference for old 
employees and against wage reduc- 
tions. — Frank 



HARD COAL STRIKE 
ON DECLINE 

(Continued from Page 1) 
in District 1 it has hardly 25 S^ . 
The response to the present strike 
was even weaker than the iibove 
figures would indicate. In the 
Glen Aldcn many workers walked 
out, who were not with Cappellini 
but were opposed to working un- 
ler police protection. 

On the news of the pending 
strike, District President Boylan 
called a meeting of all mine com- 
mittees in District One. There, 
plans wore made to block the 
strike. 

What a situation! One union 
calls workers on strike. Another 
union tells them to work. The of- 



ficials of both unions say they are ! i.ii, ,"':." ' .'/' ')" 
for peace and prosperity for the j J';'^''/"'*' ^'- '".' '-^ 
minors. While miners are clubbing ' ' ■■-!f'!ij>ni/,t ., ,>■. 
each other and are being clubbed 
l>y the state police, the operators 
"lack ;ind laugh. 



DELICIOUS FOOD? 
GOOD SERVICE? 

go to 




R [1 S :■ A U R A N T 

52} Sixth AvenuK 

N. Y. C. 



S-O-S CALL FROM 
GERMANY 

(Continued from Page 1) 
with heroic spirit carry out their 
communist duties under the most 
impossible conditions, now issue a 
cry for help. The terror of the 
brown bandits is becoming more 
vicious than ever before. The 
spying of the Gestapo becomes ever 
more highly developed. The losses 
of our group during the past sev- 
eral weeks have become very high. 

The I.C.O. and all our sipnpn- 
thizers 77iust send us- iheir material 
support at once to enable to carry 
on the illegal fight in Genyiawi. 
The successful work of the C.P. 
G.O. will be jeopardized if help 
does not come at once. The all-im- 
portant question, however, is thai 
financial assistance will make se- 
cure the leading comrades of the 
national leadership and the various 
district and guarantee them at 
least a minimum of security from 
persecution and arrest in this ser- 
ious situation. 

Comrades of the I.C.O..' 

Shoiu your revolutionary solidar- 
ityl 

Do not leave your fifjhtimj cmn- 
mf/cs of Germany in the lurch! 

Asfiure the activity of the C.P. 

Thru your prompt 
prevent further an-e. 
comrades! 

Send us munitions. We urge you 
to appeal to all friends and sym- 
pathizers. Approach those emi- 
grants, who, abroad, can in safety 
play the role of exiled anti-Fas- 
cists but who do nothing at all to 
.1- j_j.jj^ noble title. 

hour of need we direct 

to all sections and 

O. Wv appeal 

■ . - Ael on this 

nppral (vn-ytrh. rv. Do lecrythinq 

m your puu-u\ Help m Immediate- 

il)' 

I WHO of the LCD. 



assistance 
its of our 



deserv 

In our 
this S.O.S. 



LITEHmyRt 
Department 

COMMUNfST PARTY 

(Opposition) '^• 
ni Went Mth Strn-t 
New York, N. y 

WhatlstheCommunUt 
Opposition? ' 

Second Knlargcd Vau:^ 

The NRA and American 
Laboi' 

by WILL HERIJERG 
Price 5c 

■ 

Marx and America 

by BERTRAM D. WOLPp 
Price 25c 

■ 

The Heritage of the 
Civil War 

by WILL HERBERG 
Price 5c 

■ 

I Accuse 

by M. N. ROY 
Price 10c 

■ 

On. Dialectics 

by AUGUST THALHEIMER 
Price 10c 
■ 
JUST OUT 



JUST_qUT 

Where We Stand 

Volume 1 

Contains programmatic docu- 
ments of the International Com- 
munist Opposition— The inter- 
national platform and basic 
resolutions. 

■ 

Where We Stand 

Volume 2 

Contains the ba.sic documents 
of the Communist Party U. S. 
A. (Opposition)— Resolutions on 
Economic Situation, The NRA, 
Trade Union Question, Trotsky- 
ism etc. 

25c per volume 
■ 

Geg-en Den Strom 

Underground central organ of 
the Communist Party of Ger- 
many (Opposition). No. 9 jnal 
arrived. 

Price 25c 

Special bundle rates for 10 or 
more copies 



LEAGUE HITS AT WAR 
PREPARATIONS 



It U I L D 

WORKERS AGE 

51 W. 11 St. New York City 

Official Organ 

Communist Party V. S. A. 

(OpiM)sition) 

■ 

For CrunniiiniHt Unity in th( 

ICi-voluticnuiry CIuhs Struggle 



S (J I, s i 
U.2r> a ye; 

Name 

AddrcNH , , . 

("i(y 

Sfati- 



r i b f N (» w 

r — . 7.')c-(t monllis 



.Ar„,v7;d Nav/lo'TXo}"»»"^' 



volt and the 



against war approprmtions. j^_ 

The (lelegation gouig io J ^^ 

,. ,r i.l fMi-.M-llHin o>... 



Cluiirninn 

Ag:il| 



\m 



^Donald ■Heml^rh! 



uig 

J. P. M-.diY 

rVmericaii I^c; 

imi Fa^icism; 

and Franci.s A. 

Loague'.s secrotarir-, 
■av, of tlu' Coninunitst ^ 

Charle.s S. /'i""ni'*'".';,'''' p [. (.'AV'-^'' 

Manager oC f.otMl -U, . • " . no- 

Nevin Sayre. I'Vlin^vs Ini ' ' ^vo- 
.nciliation; Dorothy i^'y_; for 
.•n's Interniition;U ^''''f vfci"''"^ 
.;,ce and Freednj:.; ■"''', '|,,.irttr 

Swoetiand. of tl''^ ^r';? ' tnu'V'' 

League for Iiidii^fM.'' i ; Y„ik, 
The ma.'^K ni.-tuig I" 'Yw .^p.,!:! 

will b.. h.-ld at St. j\H- >"i" 

nil Monday January ^.'. _^ 



Nt>\v York aiy- 

In a call, issued ^'^f '!*!j, ^,1.1 
.American League Agauis^Unr 
Fascism, calls for n»t'«"-^:;|,7u in 
mon.strations on January ^-'^ >^^ 
order to give ma.s.s sV^^^'" ,,;,h is 
united front delegntum ^ '^if'ije. 
appearing before President n ^^^ 



PATRONIZE BRADLEY'S CAFETERIA. 535 6th Ave. -14 St.. M 



WORKERS AGE 



Thre* 



Dual Unionism Among the Miners 



The United Mine Workers Union 
is in- convention now in Indiana- 
polis/lt is (iiftk-ult to imagine that 
this oonvontion wilt make any 
seriou.. attomrt at a solution ol 
the probloiiis now confronting the 
„ia?s of the miners, for this con- 
vention wjII be under the thumb 
of the old burocracy with John L. 
Lewis at its head. Nor is it to be 
expected that there will be suf- 
ficient progressive forces at that 
convention to seriously challenge 
the rule of ruin which this present 
leadership has made the lot of the 
miners. The powerful progressive 
movement, which seriously threat- 
ened the leadership of the Lewis 
clique, in years past, has been ! 
wrecked, largely, thru dual-union- 
ist adventures, and the bitter re- 
sentment and hostility to the 
leailorship of the union is in the 
inain unorganized and leaderless. 
Yet, conditions in the mine fields 
call tor progressive struggle as 
they never did before. 



Some Lessons from Recent Fiascos 

by George F. Miles 



The U. M. W. iMisses An 
Opportunity 
The N.R.A. and the ensuing or- 
ganization drives brought thou- 
sands of hitherto unorganized 
minei-s into the U. M. W. Mine 
fields which in the past had re- 
mained unorganized despite bitter 
battles fought and many miner's 
lives lost were now swept into the 
union. It looked as if nothing could 
stop this tidal wave of organiza- pimers Union. As a matter of fact 
tion among the miner.*. These the National Miners Union has 
miners as one man were ready to | completely disappeared from jthe 
fight and mainly for one demand 



verse has occurred. D!.?integration 
and dual unionism are once again 
raising its liead. To the dual-union- 
ist Progressive Miners of America 
outhern Illinois nnist now be 
added the United Anthracite Min^ 
ers of Pennsylvania and a numbei 
of revolts in western Penna., Ohio, 
Virginia and in the South West 
states. In the case of the Anthra- 
cite, it is Rinaldo Cappellini fresh 
from a two year "stretch" in the 
jug for incendiarism, who steps 
forward as the stixlwart defender 
of the interests of the anthracite 
miners. The benevolent neutrality, 
of a number of important coal 
companies towards Cappellini's op- 
position union, creates more than 
a mere suspicion as to the relation 
between them. Cappellini's old re- 
cord as president of Distr'ct 1 
still fresh in the mind.s of most of 
the miners. Most of the other re- 
volts however have their roots in 
the refusal of the union burocracy 
to fight and their complete sub- 
mission to the anti-labor NRA 
decisions. 



National Miners Union — A Memory 
It is not insignificant to note 
that all these revolts in the coal 
fields are in no way connected with 
the T.U.U.L. or with the National 



— recognition of the union. But this 
movement has now been checked 
on the one hand by the determin- 
ed stand of the coal barons against 
recognition of the unions (The 
Frick interests) and on the other 
by the NRA and the Lewis Buro- 
cracy which successfully scuttled 
the movements in defiance of the 
NRA orders and suppressett the 
strikes called in a nuniber of coun- 
ties in western Penna. The results 
for the union have been disastrous. 
Not only has the union missed a 
golden opportunity to make a clean 
sweep of the industry but the re- 



mine fields, it is no more than 
memory. Frank Borich, secretary 
of the National Miners Union has 
the following to say in the Daily 
Worker of October 17: 

" . . . . The National Minei-s 
Union has made its cause the 
cause of the miners. It is sup- 
porting the fight of the miners 
for recognition of the U.M.W.A. 
It is supporting the miners in 
their fighv for organization. 
But the National Miners Union 
is alive. It lives in the ex- 
perience of tens of thousands of 
miners . . . . " 
The official Communist Party 



recognizes clearly the complete col 
lapse of its outpost in cne coal 
fields and altho here and there 
they may play with some develop- 
ing opposition union (The Cappel- 
lini outfit in the Anthracite), its 
main approach today is as an op- 
position in the existing union. This 
is borne out by a whole series of 
articles in the Daily Worker by 
former leaders of the N.M.U. The 
C.P., however, failing to draw the 
proper conclusions from its defeat, 
does not give up its basic course 
of dual-unionism. The present 
change of front is merely an ex- 
pedient for the preparation of a 
new exodus from the U.M.W.A. 
Says Jack Stachel, acting national 
secretary of the T.U.U.L.: 

"It is also true that w'e have 
received a set-back in the min- 
ing industry and In other indus- 
tries as regards building the 
T.UU.L. unions, so that our 
main work in these industries 
takes on for the moment mostly 
the form of a revolutionary op- 
position." (Emphasis mine — 
GFM) — Communist, December 
1933. 

We thus see how one force, 
which might render significant as- 
sistance in reviving the struggle 
to make the U.M.W^.A. an instru- 
ment for struggle, continues to 
stumble along, despite its defeats, 
3n a dual unionist road. 
* * * 

Musteites, Socialists Turn "Left" 
The official communists are not 
the only ones who refuse to learn 
from experience. Many months ago 
the miners of southern Illinois re- 
volted against Lewis and, under 
the leadership of a group of 
Socialists, Mu.-^teites and Trotsky- 
ites (now Musteites), launched the 
Progressive I\Iiners of America. 

The P.M. A. was pryss-agented 
as the acme of progressivism, as 
the solution of all the evils of the 



miners. If the miners would only 
Join! What has the P.M.A. 
Drought? Defeat and bitter diKii- 
lusionment; blui^dy, fratricidal war 
in which mine worker.-, on buth 
sides have paid with thtjir livt'..--. 
On the economic field, undfrbid- 
tlmg the U.M.W.A. un wage r^calor^, 
in a frantic effort to get agree- 
ments signed. And where are these 
"leaders" of the P.M.A. to-day? 
All are expelled by a burocratic 
and reactionary clique which now 
rules the organization. 

What becomes of the sneers at 
the "Lovestoneites," who refu.-eU 
to become partner.s in this merry 
jamboree? The P.M.A. is a crass 
example of dual unionist adventur- 
ism. It further shows that dual 
unionism is not necessarily the 
monopoly of official communists. 
* * * 
Lessons Not Learned 

We pick up "The Fighting Min- 
er," the organ for the Miners 
Educational League, sponsored and 
supported by Gerry Allard, Tom 
Tippett, Powers Hapgood and 
others, and we read: 

**The Progressive Miners of 

America, product of a militant 

and heroic struggle against 

Lewis and the rotten conditions 

of a frantic industry, is no 

longer a force of enthusiasm for 

the impoverished coal miners." 

Some of these people were the 

leaders of the P.M.A. Yet, this is 

all they have to say. But why is 

the P.M.A. "no longer a force of 

enthusiasm"? They comiiletely fail 

to see that the excellent movement 

of opposition, which could have 

been used as a base, for a national 

movement against Lewis, was 

destroyed, when they permitted or 

.ided in shunting it off on the 

dead-end" of dual unionism. 

There, it is vegetating and rotting 

to-day, isolated from the mass of 

the miners, a prey for burocratic 

buzzards. 



'The Fighting Miner" (Decem- 
ber 15, lU'.itj.} Ceirnes a program- 
matic declaration of the Miners 
l>JucalJoji;(J l-.'at^ur-. The fitat de- 

inari'l ]',r ',vhi<h ih'; League pledges 
to lij:;ht is "I'ur one umtfjri clas-s 
HlrUL'K-le L'nion." VJa jnif/ht H':c^,;tt 
thi.^ ;;i a v/orthy Hiii\ in h L-Ui .~.o 
rnplete with r^^voiU ;ii.d opp^s;t)on 
uni(;n-, were it ii.jL s.o dt'h^/hu'uUy 
vague. For cluriiy and hint; Jrar.k- 
nes.^ we are indfibu fi to Of.rry /\i- 
lurd (Trot.^kyjttj, Ind-p^-ndf^nt-Com- 
munist, Musceitej. In his swash- 
buckling manner, thi;; "former" 
editor of the Progres.Hive Mjner 
says: 

"But hell, a fiddle and a cup 
is a more efiective instrument 
for class war than that relic 
they call the U.M.W.A." 
So, with one fell swoop, Allard 
destroys the U.M.W, and relegates 
the remnants to the museum. Ger- 
ry also exposes, simultaneously, 
the demand for ''one united class 
struggle union," as a fraud by 
means of which new opposition 
unions are to be foisted on the 
mmera. 

* * * 

For A Fighting Opposition In The 
U.M.W. 

Far too many times have the 
struggles of the miners, to make 
the U.M.W. a genuine instrument 
for effective fight for their in- 
terests, been disrupted by the 
periodic tapping of their militant 
and fighting forces. No agent of 
Lewis could do more than these 
well meaning "revolutionaries," 
who lead insurgents out of the 
U.M.W. and up a blind alley. 

We have had enough, too much, 
of this. The need of the hour 13 to 
bring back into the U.M.W.A. all 
those who have left. To rid the 
miners of both well-meaning dual- 
unionists and such outright coal 
company agents as Cappellini. To 
weld, into one solid, fighting front, 
all the progressive forces for a 
determined stand against Lewis 
and his henchmen. To rid the union 
of the whole burocratic clique and 
make of it a pou-erfui, militant 
union. 



Decision on 
Local 9 Case 

New- York City. 

After weeks of hearings on the 
charges against the so-called left 
administration of Local 9, I.L.G.W. 
U., the General Executive Board of 
the Union was forced to come to 
the rescue of its own investigat- 
ing committee, which was evenly 
divided. The G.E.B. has ordered 
the ousting of the Local 9 admin- 
istration. 

At a membership meeting of 
Local 9, in Beethoven Hall, called 
by the G.E.B. to inform the w^ork- 
ers of the decision and take nomi- 
nations for the new administration, 
little was accomplished. The ma- 
jority of the workers present were 
clearly opposed to the ousting. No 
questions or discussions were per- 
mitted. 

At another meeting, called by 
the local administration, when 
many workers were not admitted 
into Beethoven Hall, a resolution 
was adopted, calling upon the G. 
E.B. to place the ou.ster decision to 
a referendum vote of the whole 
membership of the local. The 
resolution stipulates that the ref- 
erendum shall be conducted by a 
eomrnittee from the labor move- 
ment to be agreed upon by the 
pre.sent local administration and 
the General Executive Board. 
. Brother Zirlin, who pursues an 
independent course in Local 9, pro- 
posed the acceptance, under pro- 
test, of the G.E.B. decision. That 
a demand be made for an honest 
election and that preparation be 
fll ^^^^,^^" appeal to the conven- 
tion of the I.L.G.W.U. Other lo- 
url'.,?V^' ;-L.C.W.U. were to be 
arm! 1 "^ endorse and support this 
appeal jn the convention. 

Dressmaker.s Local 22 adopted a 
molution which, dissociating it- 
SrJr-"" '^V''^^^^^^^ 1^-ft admin- 
coi.« i ^^^^^ '^' "t^verthelesB 
tomes out m sharp opposition 
rSrV^ the G.E.B. decLsion"; The 
resoiution claims that the begin- 
ning of a campaign of ousters and 



25,000 in Dress Stoppage; Local 22 In 
Protest at Code Authority Ruling 



DRESSMAKERS FIGHT 
FOR UNION SCALES 

New York City. 

Over 25,000 dressmakers came 
out in a most effective and disci- 
plined stoppage here two weeks 
ago in a determined effort to pre- 
serve the minimum wage rates 
guaranteed in the collective agree- 
ment and to beat back the at- 
tempts of the jobbers to bring back 
sweatshop conditions in the trade. 
Practically all the workers in con- 
tractors shops working on. low- 
priced drosses were called out by 
the New York Dressmakers Joint 
Board of the I.L.G.W.U. The re- 
sponse of the workers and their 
spirit were splendid. After a few 
days of manipulations and negotia- 
tions the jobbers gave in and ar- 
rangements were made for a sys- 
tem of payments that would guar- 
antee the minimum wage scales. 
Large sections of workers received 
considerable wage increases at the 
very outset of the new season. 

From the very beginning Local 
22 was the drive behind the whole 
movement in defense of the work- 
ers interests. It was the delegates 
of this local who raised the ques- 
tion in the Dressmakers Joint 
Board and who fought thru until 
decisive action was taken. 

THE RESOLUTION OF 
LOCAL 22 

New York City, 
In the last issue of Workers Age 



expulsions will harm the union and 
v/ill strengthen rather than weak- 
en dual-unionism in the union. 



we reported on the efforts of the 
Dre<s Code Authority to revise the 
Dress Code and thus force certain 
concessions for the employers. At 
the protest meeting of the mem- 
ber.-;hip of Local 22, on December 
22, 1933, the resolution printed be- 
low was adopted. 

» * » 

WHEREAS, the Dress Cede Au- 
thority has issued a ruling permit- 
ting sample-makers to work one 
hour a day overtime for a period 
of three weeks, a ruling approved 
the same day by the Board of Di- 
rectors of the Joint Board and la- 
ter by the Joint Board itself; and 

WHEREAS, such a ruling is in 
clear violation of the collective 
agreement concluded after our re- 
cent general strike; and 

WHEREAS, this collective 
agreement cannot be modified or 
amended by any authority or pow- 
er, including the Code Authority, 
which we deem subordinate to the 
agreement; and 

WHEREAS, if this ruling of the 
Code Authority is allowed to go 
unchallenged, the way is opened 
to other modifications of our agree- 
ment, which nullify our hard-won 
gains and make the agreement it- 
self a mere scrap of paper; and 

WHEREAS, the Executive 
Board of our Local, at its meet- 
ing held December 19, 1933, unan- 
imously rejected the decision of the 
Code Authority and issued instruc- 
tions to the sample-makers not to 
work overtime; now therefore be 
it 

RESOLVED, that the member- 
hip of Dressmakers Union 



Thursday, December 28, 1933, at 
Webster Hall, express indignant 
protest against the usurpation of 
power on the part of the Dress 
Code Authority and against the 
yielding and compliance of the 
Joint Board leadership; and be it 
further 

RESOLVED, that we express 
our disapproval of the stand taken 
by the Joint Board and by the 
Executive Boards of the three sis- 
ter Locals in acquiescing to this 
high-handed decision, in utter 
blindness to the serious dangers 
involved; and be it further 

RESOLVED, that we whole- 
heartedly endorse the position tak- 
by our Executive Board and 
that we pledge ourselves to go 
forward under its leadership in de- 
fense of our agreement and fori 
the maintenance of the minimum 
wage scales and the 35-hour week; 
and be it further 

RESOLVED, that copies of this 
resolution be transmitted to the 
General Executive Board of 
LL.G.W.U., the Joint Board 
the press. 



the 

and 



cal 22, 
special 



I.L.G.W.U., assembled 
protest demonstration 



LOCAL 22 HITS LOCAL 
9 DECISION 

New York City. 
The following resolution was 
adopted by the Executive Board 
of the Dressmakers Union, Local 
22, I.L.G.W^U., on January 9, 1934: 
The Executive Board of Dress- 
makers Union Local 22, I.L.G.W. 
U., protests against the action tak- 
en by the special committee of the 
Lo- [G.E.B. in removing the entire ad- 



'ministration of Local 9 from office 
{Contituied on P(ige 7) 



JAY LOVESTONE rlrrs p.m.,*S w^S^^x! 



Terror in Fur 
Market 



New York City. 
A veritable reign of terror broke 
in the fur market this past week. 
The occasion was the distribution 
of leaflets and manifestos by a 
group of 200 members of the Joint 
Council. 

No secret of these distributions 
had been made and for a whole 
week the Fur Department of the 
Needle Trades Workers Industrial 
Union mobilized all its resources 
in the way of strong arm squads 
and made frantic appeals thru the 
Daily Worker and the Freiheit to 
all its supporters to turn out into 
the fur market. 

The result was a veritable blood 
bath in the market. Workers dis- 
tributing leaflets for the Joint 
Council were slugged and brutally 
assaulted. The most peculiar event 
was that, in the main, the police 
was exceptionally active against 
the members of the Joint Council, 
many of whom w^ere arrested. 

The most active in the slugging 
for the industrial union are well 
known in the market as profession- 
al thugs. These ai-e now on the 
pay roll of the industrial union, 
not as business agents either, apd 
showed that they are earning their 
money. These facts are significant 
because the progressives and lefts 
have always fought vigorously 
against gangsterism in the unions, i 
The industrial tmion's use of these j 
sluggers does not make the slug- 
gers any more respectable but it | 
does show to what lengths the . 
chronic union splitters will gO S 
when in despair, when they feel ■ 
that their base is being under- 
mined. 

Gangsterism in the fur market 
has never stopped the fur workers 
before and it will not now, stop 
the A. F. L. workers from build- 
ing and strengthening their union. 
What it will do, is expose the fic- 
tion of "pure" unionism as preach- 
ed so very loudly by the leaders 
of the industrial union. 



WORKERS AGE 



What Must We Learn from Lenin? 



We are so accustomed to saying 
that, tho dead, ben in iives in his 
worK and teachings, that we are in 
danger ot alJi'Wingr ihis prolound 
mea to be aegraaed into a trite 
commonpiace, niecnamcaiiy repeat- 
ed by rote. Vet never did this 
phrai^e represent a more vital antl 
s^miicant truuh than today. To- 
day, ten years iifier the aeath of 
\. 1. Lenin, tne revolutaonary iabor 
movement oi the world has more to 



On Centrism and Sectarianism Today 

by Will Herberg 



tions may be. It is not so much „ 
half-way house to Communism a;, 
a dam, a barrier, to the unhamper- 
ed development of the leftward 
moving masses. If centrist organ- 
izations and ideologies are allow- 
ed to crystallize, they inevitably 
become the vehicles by which the 



learn irom the experiences and '"^^ellious masses are led back to 
teachings of this great Marxist r"^ bosom of Social-democracy. In 



time m its l^'^^f^ to liberate these masses from 
Isuch barriers, in order to make 



than perhaps at any 

history; certainly it is in more ., , --- .- 

acute need of clear and eifective jpossible their systematic develop- 

guidance than ever before. Today, P^^^^ 'o revolutionary Communism, 

11 ever, let us learn from Lemn! F'^^ centrist organizations and tht 

* ♦ ♦ centrist ideology must be destroy- 

"Lenin, The Scourge Of The ?^' Lenin was never tired of re- 

Opportunisis" iterating this fundamental truth. 

The political axis oi Lenin's life K^^ ^^'^ ^^ Communism lies over 

was the struggle lor the ideologic- *^? corpse of centrism. 



aJ and organizational independence 
of revolutionary Marxism, for its 
Ultimate and final separauon from 
reformAStic Socialism of every 
stripe. It is only necessary to re- 
call Lenin's unremitting and suc- 
cessful fight against JLconomism i'. 
and Menshevism in the Russian 
labor movement. It is only neces- 
aary to recall the period oi Lenin's 
most intense political activity, the 
years of war and revolution. It is 
only necessary to recall Lenin's 
early years in the Communist 
Intemauonal, particularly his pro- 
grammatic appearances at the se- 
cond and third congresses. ''Lenin, 
the scourge of the opportunists!" 
— none other than Paul Levi is res- 
ponsible for this thoroly apt 
characterization. 

In his unwearied battle against 
the poison cf reformism in the 
labor movement, L^nin faced the 
problem of centrism at every point. 
In characteristic form, "reform- 
ism in left guise," as he dubbed 
it, reappeared at various stages in 
the history of the Russian move- 
ment — as early Menshevism, as 
Trotskyism, as the Martov ten- 
dency. But it was during the days 
of war and revolution that the 
problem of centrism became par- 
ticularly central and acute and that 
Lenin's political attitude to it as- 
sumed its classical aspect. 



Lenin placed the greatest em- 
phasis upon ridding the young 
Communist movements of every 
remnant of reformism and centr- 
ism. The whole second congress of 
the Communist International was 
conducted under this sign. The 
famous "twenty-one points" (con- 
ditions for admittance to the Com- 
munist International) were framed 
and did serve to detect and to re- I 
ject every form of centrist influen- 
ce. Again and again LL>nin em- 
phasized that any effoctive and 
Iruitful united front work with the 
reformist and centrist organiza- 
tions was absolutely conditioned 
upon a clear and unequivocal polit- 
■cal differentiation from them. 



those who are unable to penetrate 

to the reformist essence of centrism 
and who therefore virtually capit- 
ulate to it; indeed, there are those 
-the Trotskyites and others — who 
even look upon the new centrism 
as the basis tor the creation of a 
"new labor movement"! The entire 
struggle of the Communist Opposi- 
tion against these forces of ideolo- 
gical demoralization in our move- 
ment has been based on the funda- 
mental principles laid down by Le- 
nin as to the relations between the 
Communist party and the other 
tendencies in the labor movement. 



A Leninist Groundwork For 
Communist Parties 

The rooting of the movement in 
the tried and tested principles of 
revolutionary Marxism (Commun- 
ism), untainted by any reformist 



I uniform and unchangeable dogmas. 
I 2 in each country, revolutionary 
tactics must be rooted m the speci- 
tic aad cnaracter»stic leatures of 
tne social-historical structure oi 
tnat land and not in those more 
general, and therefore mure ab- 
iract, features common to an coun- 
tries. Lenin was tne arch-"excep- 
cionalist", to use tne cuirent po- 
liucai slang. With withering con- 
tempt, did ne annihilate tnose who 
keep on repeating their principles 
m religious fashion but are com- 
pletely incapable of lindmg the 
road to the realization oi these 
principles in their own lands. "The 
levoiution will proceed along a dif- 
lerent road and at a duferent tem- 
po m America than in Russia," he 
instructed us but this very lunda- 
mental truth is even more unin- 
telligible today to the bulk of 
American Communists than it ever 
was. 

It goes wthout saying that 
Lenin vigorously opposed the con- 



and factional fjghts in the R,. . 
party into the Communist r^^'^ 
tional and its parties? tJ"^^^ 
struggle against 



the 



The ! 



The General Features Of Centrism 

What are the general features of 
Lenin's estimate of centrism ? With 
unexcelled Marxist acuteness, he 
probed the social processes basic to 
the realignment in the labor move- 
ment. The forces of radicalization, 
unleashed by the events of the war 
and after, were naturally reflected 
in the Social-democratic organiza- 
tions, producing a profound dis- | 
satisfaction with the utterly shame- 
less political treason of the official 
labor leaders. Millions were drawn 
into this forward movement, which 
soon broke the bounds of formal 
Social - democratic organization. 
Two tendencies appeared. The most 
advanced and politically clear ele- 
ments pursued their course to its 
logical conclusion and laid the 
foundations of the world Com- 
mtmist movement. But more 
numerous were those who could 
not effect their full emancipation 
from reformism, who proved un- 
able to complete their organiza- 
tionai break with the Social-demo- 
cracy by an even more thorogoing 
ideological break. They remained 
stranded in an "in-between" posi- 
tion, the truest reflection of their 
political immaturity. At the head 
of thin centrist tendency appeared 
leaders who were "in-betweeners" 
by profession, who systematically 
tried to "combine" principles 
mutually exclusive — chauvinsitic 
Soeiali.'sm and re-/olutionary inter- 
nationalism, bourgeois democracy 
and proletarian dietatorship! Tl-ieir 
centrism did not represent an ar- 
rested stage of development to- 
wards Communism but rather a 
coTigealed and fixed dogma, pre- 
tending to be "something dif- 
ffcTfcnt" from both Social -democracy 
and Oommanism. 

Ceatr'mm An Reformism In "Left" 
Form 

C«ntrigm, I.,errin always insisted, 
i« reftfrmism in a characteristic 
"left" form. It presCTves the es- 
sential point fjf view and doctrine.s 
of reformism, no matter what the 
form bT the secondary modifica- 



The Revival Of "New" Centrism 

Can any one fail to see the "liv- 
ing significance of these principles 
today? Under entirely different 
circumstance.^ there is taking place 
today another revival of centrism, 
much more restricted scale 



open form or hidden behind the 
screen of a dummy international 
apparatus, A genuine Internation- 
al must be a federation of parties 
.standing on the basis of real equal- 
ity, each guaranteed its proper 
spnere of political autonomy 



[being enough to guarantee the 
development of an effective revolu- 
tionary mass organization, especial- 
ly en a world scale. More than 
once, Lenin laid down in unm.'stak- 
able form, what he conceived these 
prerequisites to be. 
1. Marxist realism in analysis 

and the ruthless rejection of everj^ 

form of "wishful thinking", of ro- 
mantic phrase-mongering, were 

unceasingly emphasized by Lenin 

as vital necessities. Revolutionary 

tactics, he pointed out, are to be 

framed on the ba.sis of a specific 

examination of the class forces and 'totally different conditions. Still 

other factors involved and not in |iess did he allow the demoralizing 



"Workers Opposition" in fo^'^I'^d 
against the Trotsky-Bukhir ^"^^ 
conceptions on the trad/ ^'*' 
question in 1920-1921 wenf k ^"'^'i 
out any attempt to stimJtf^- 
tions m other parties nr + ,^*c- 
the whole C.I^Xh^U'r^'^w 
panic. So It was in LeniT.'f;i ^"'^ 

4. It is surely unneces'arVf^'' 

call Lenin's unremitting 1^° ^^ 
against sectarianism and fnr^?^'* 
effective revolutionary tJZ .^^ 
have.cometobearhilnamf «fat 
c assica pamphlet on *"i:Z\r^ 
tile Sickness of Leftism br'^' 
munism" will always rei 'f 
mdispensable manual of ^^ 
Communist revolutionist %'J^ 
whole subsequent development of 
the labor movement has t^LI 

5. Centralism and party d^m„ 
cracy were always emphSzed T 
Lemn as the two foundSL^ pU^ 
^^?.f P^rty organization, wfth 
out the former, the latter k hJ,;h 

\i'^^ ,to anarchistic pa a^JsTs 
without the latter, the toA;I ■' 

bound to degenerate 'iSiV^r'SSary 

burocracy. But organically ^ 

bmed they guarantee both tt 

umted fighting power and the de 

^^ mocratie selfdetermination of S^e 

necessary to it if it is ever to be- but thaT1wl''°°^^''l ''"^^ ^hat 

come the actual vanguard of the fj"^ wherlhv 1^.'^^^^' °^^<^h^"- 

working masses. Lemn never tol- f'L iff nS. ^^^^ '^° ^^^^ 

erated the mechanical transference disrTiDHv/^f,'^''^f '?*'^' °^^ate 

of tactics and methods from the I eSe "Lufne Ti "^-^^^^^^^ ^^- 

Russian party to the Communist ( Sure no^?H^n^;™'^'''''° ^^ 

parties in the capitalist world, ^T^flT P^Jli^L^H? ^"^o a real van- 

orking and fighting under such 



influence, is basic but no one real- ception of a Communist Interna- 
ized better than Lenin that mere ' tjonal as the tail-end of the Rus- 
firmness in principle was far from sian Communist Party, either in 



it i-, h-np To^^,, +„ lu '^-"'-> -^"^^^/"'-'-"^^ Jiivuivuu ana not in less am ne aiiow tne demoralizing 
true, ioday, too, there are .compliance with certain alleged [artificial introduction of disputes 



The Farm Revolt And The Communist Movemeat 

HOW SHALL WE APPROACH THE AMERICAN FARMER? 



by E. B. 

Omaha, Neb. 

The Iowa Cow War of 1931 was 
an incident that marked the end of 
a twelve year period of discontent- 
ed muttering and the beginning 
of widespread action amongst the 
farm masses of the United States, 
particularly those of the midwest. 
So we see that the farm revolt was 
born no later than the summer of 
1919 and that it is not a movement 
inaugurated by any special group 
or party, but it is a general reac- 
tion _ that grew out of economic 
conditions alone. Long periods of 
ever increasing oppression and 
misery are resented first in words 
then in deeds. 

The farm revolt has been grow- 
ing in volume and strength since 
its birth. The period of "Coolidge 
Prosperity" did not check or delay 
its growth, A majority of midwest 
farmers found themselves deeper in 
debt than ever at the end of that 



J'lifo Articles 



in a purely militant way. Whili 
practically all of the fighting 
against foreclosures, sheriffs sales, 
etc., took place after the Wash- 
ington conference, it was not due 
to the "fact" that the farm dele- 
gates had gone to Washington and 
learned how to fight from a few 
groups of communists who were 
there to "instruct" them. The 
farmers march to Washington was 
a general move. It arose out of dis- 
content. It was a demonstration of 
discontent and it was not a demon 
stration of (or controlled 



will be much more of it. True 
they give the enemy a chance to 
show what he can do at times, but 
the farmers are not beaten, they 
have just started. 



*k« ^"ui- - ^ ^"^ figh^-and 

the fighting has not ceased — there 



and they learned before they left 
Washington that they would get 
^^ ,,,^^ nothing. The farmers were bright 
period in spite of nearly seven <^"0'^^b to see the situation with- 
years of frugality and self denial °^* having any special group or or- 
carried on in an effort "to pay off g^m^ation point out what had hap- 
the mortgage and other debts P^ned to them. The midwest farm- 
while times are good." "Coolidge ?>^s canie back silent and determ- 
prosperity" was never anything ^"^J*. ^^.^^ ^"^^ that there was 
but a couple of mythical words to ".°^"ir'? ^*^^ to do but fights— and 
the farm masses of the midwest 
and it did not take four years of 
Hoover administration to demon- 
strate to midwest farmers that 
"good times" were apparently as 
far away as ever. 

The Iowa Cow War was the first 
impressive demonstration of action. 
To those not familiar with the farm 

movfement, the farm rr-volt begins JiTrrr^TiPi? xj/^m/ I 

with the Iowa Cow War. The fir.st REGISTER NOW I 

farm strike (\'J'42.) followed. Next 
came the First Farmer.H National 
Relief Conference in Washington, 
D. C. 

Many different bodies (radical 
and conservative) are inclined to 
credit their stparate organization 
with much of what the farmers, an 
a general mass, have dor • for 
themselves. Such a rnirftakt 
amongst the radical element comt.-.^ 
from the fact that these radicals 
did not (and do not now) rtjalizc 
how far the farmer had advanced 



Today some of the best posted 
communist leaders fail to under- 
stand and appreciate the advanced 
character of the first militant 
phases of the farm revolt. Here 
and there we read and hear from 
communists the idea of "unioniz- 
ing the midwest farmers." We are 

forced to wonder what would hap-, ^.....g 

pen today if the farmers had been an almost contemptuous disregard 
._.. organized into a thousand little of their practical meaning. ^Vhat 
by) union locals Would they be dab-Nve need, what is today virtually a 
The|blmg around with isolated strikes (life-and-death necessity for the 

.n«« „of«. „.„ ^vorl^ Communist movement, is a 

^,^,.. -r !-• ^ "r -".^=11.11 genuine understanding of the prin- 

nouses for higher prices from in- ciples of Leninism and a conscien- 
dividual concerns m the same man- " 
ner as industrial 



guard organization enjoying the 
support and confidence of masses 
of workers. 

♦ * + 

For An Understanding Of 
Leninism 

The vital relevance of aU of 
these fundamental conceptions to- 
day is too obvious to require argu- 
ment. The official Communist 
movement, in this country and in- 
ternationally, stands defeated, in 
ruins organizationally, discredited 
and impotent politically, precisely 
because of its criminal violation 
of these principles. The whole 
struggle of the International Com- 
niunist Opposition is essentially 
aimed at securing the recognition 
of these conceptions in practise on 
the part of the official Communist 
movement, whose gross disregard 
of _ them is rendered the more 
odious by the formal, purely ritual 
respect for Lenin's memory. 

What we need is not this brand 
of hollow religious worship, which 
characteristically combines the 
mouthing of haflowed phrases with 



any party or organization. ^,,^ . ^^^^^^ 

farmers had been fed up on Hoov-'^t packing house gates,"'cre'ame'ry 
er promises. They wanted a show "^oo^s and in front of commission 

do\\m. They got it. They met the """ 

capitalist government face to face 



The New 
Workers School 

REGISTER NOW 
FOR WINTER TERM 

Special Lenin Anniversary 
Courses 

Courses in Marxist theory, hi.'it. 

ory and problemN of the 

labor mt/vement, etc. 

WRITE FOR CATAXOGUE 

51 West 14 Street 

New York City 




--- workers strike 
around individual steel mills, auto 
factor les and coal mines? What 
do these communists think they 
gam by "unionizing the farmers?" 
i5eing so steeped in trade union 
considerations in regard to eastern 
industries these communists are of 
the opinion that there is no ele- 
ment in the working class that can 
do better without the union. 

^.n»,f^, "■""''' ^°^^y is fighting 
wnth the government-the central- 
ized power of the capitalists. Some 

"Z^'fT"'-.^'''? ^^y to th?s? 
tW fl ridiculous! Don't tell us 
that the midwest farmer of today 
s ahead of the industrial workei- 
StLf"''^^ r^^t^^t way!" And 
tL h- . "^ """^Jy- ^^^t element in 
1^1 ^.!^:t^<^.^T,«f the United States 



tious and single-minded application 
of these principles to the great 
problems of the contemporary la- 
bor movement. This, in brief, is 
the program of the International 
Communist Opposition. 



of the steel workers, the miners 
or the textile workers? 

The midwest farmer may totally 
lack a Marxian-Leninist theoretic- 
al understanding. This weakness 
is partly due to the fact that the 
midwest farmer has had no chance 
to see anything but the capita ' 
ists' propaganda. The few Ameri- 
can Marxists have been too aos- 
matic in classing the tractor-ag« 
American farmer with the ^vood«i 
age-European peasant. i«^ 



!,,,„ : *-■', "\ '-"^ unitea states have considered the Amencw 

ntf inlf '''^ ^^"^ ^°'="'' state and farmer as an unimportant e ement. 
^?P.. ^.PX^'"'?"'''"*^ to such a de- Considering the revolutionary 
ih?- rr.n }^'/''' protests, as has movement in America as a whj^^ 
i^^!!!'*^y^^t farmers? Staffs, de- we find that the industrial el^ 
ment of the working class tias y 



whar^of' /"^,-^«P^rtm7nty and 
Sculturnl . "^rf ""^th midwest 
*igiicultural problems alone have 

ernrnVnf *'^"", ^^*' "f^tional gov- 
ernmf-nt i.s working night and day 
planning new schemes to save capi- 
talism from the rapidly organ z- 

them.dweBt. Can the same be said 



ider 



. . orking - 

just very small numbers a"' 
communist leadership. A"" "' 
this leadership free from gJJJ 
misunderstanding and gross " 
application of Marxian-Lernj'% 
principles to American proW«i ' 
With the midwest fanner so i»^ 
advanced in a militant way, « , 
not sensible to admit that the nu 
{Continued on P(^8» '^^ 




CONVENTION SUPPLEMENT 



Workers Age 3 



VOL. 3, No. 2 and 3. 



NEW YORK, N. Y., JAN. 15-FEB. 1, 1931 



PRICE ty CENTS" 



C.P. O. CALLS FOR UNITY OF LABOR 



To all members of tho Communist Party! To all com- 
munist synipatliiztrs! To all workers! 
The Fourtii Xatimial Conference of the Communist 
Party (Oppositiun) inded on New Year's Day. It was 
an event of no small moment in the development of the 
American labor movement, especially of the revolutionary 
fwces, the communist ranks. 

Delegates from the hard and soft coal fields, from the 
textile centers, from the garment factories, from the 
shoe plants, from the metal and machine shops, from the 
fields of class battle from Los Angeles to New York, re- 
ported on the strug-fflcs of the American working peo- 
ple in recent months. The problems and tasks facing 
labor in the U. S. and the world-over were approached 
objectively, in a healthy, critical spirit, in the light of 
the rcvtilutit.Jinry t-:cientific teachings of Marx and Lenin. 
It was iirsnrins' to learn how the C.P-0., despite its 
poverty ot Jnir-'.i and paucity of funds, was able to lend 
leadership to workers and to mobilize them against the 
employers and the government under the banner of the 
N.R.A. It was particularly instructive to learn of the 
growing effectiveness of our members and ever-growing 
number of sympathizers in their struggle against the re- 
actionary, and often corrupt, trade union officialdom. It 
was most cncomai-iin.';- for us to be able to register our 
marked progre^■:^ iii (icfcatiiiu' the destructive dual-union- 
ist drives oif the official C.P. and thus not only save the 
name of communism from being discredited in the eyes 
of thousands of striking workers but also to get these 
masses to move left and to enhance the influence and 
prestige of communism as the only force which spells hope 
and shows the way out for the exploited and oppressed in 
the world-shaking crisis. 

C.P.O. FORGES AHEAD 
More than that. The year behind us, was a year m 
which despite alt mistakes and shortcomings, many of 
which have been costly, we extended and consolidated our 
communist position and influence. The number of re- 
cruits we have won, (especially those witli great influ- 
ence in the ranks of organized labor) tlic notable progre.^s 
of the New Workers School, as the outstanding centre 
of Marxist-Leninist education in the country, our clarifi- 
cation and solution of burning issues confronting the 
world communist and labor movements, our successful 
struggle against Trotskyism and centrism, our strength- 



Join Communist Opposition 

cned determination to fight for the reconstruction and 
unification of the American and international commu- 
nist movements— all of these will surely serve as a great 
stimulus to an improvement and intensification of our 
own work, to an even firmer welding of the solidarity of 
our sympathizers and workers, fighting shoulder to 
shoulder T.vith us, against capitalist reaction and its ris- 
ing tide of war and fascism. 

But we do not rest here. We have made only a be- 
ginning. More unified than ever, more clear in our 
tactics and objectives, more experienced and determined, 
thru years on the firing line of the workers against ths 
bor,ses and their agents, we, with more effective organi- 
zation and steeled morale, now appeal to the workers to 
close their ranks and fight harder than ever against 
hunger and war, against misery and fascist reaction. 

UNITY IN FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER AND WAR 
Our call for unity in the revolutionary labor movement 
goes out especially to our comrade^- in the C. P. How lonj 
will you, comrades of the Communist Party, allow the 
.Vinerican and international communist movements to be 
broken in pieces by the stifling system of inner party 
life and leadership and by the sectarianism paral\-zing 
our party in the face of countless opportunities for 
gi-owth and influence? Comrades, our convciition has re- 
affirmed our devotion to communist unity and our de- 
termination to hasten its realization, l^t not our appeal 
fall on deaf cars! Let us learn, even from our mo.st 
disastrous defeats, as well as victories. Let not the 
tragedy of Germany be repeated cKscwhere, even in a 
limited form. Let us fight together for a return to the 
tactics of the first Four Congrcs-ses of the Comintern 
under the leadership of Lenin — to the tactics of the unit- 
ed front, to the strategy of fighting for the transforma 
ion of the trade unions into militant agencies of working 
class struggle. Let us join hands for unity in the revo- 
lutionary movement, for communist unity, as the first 
step towards unity of the v.orking cla>.s. 

To the members of the Socialist Party we say: Com- 
rades, it is high time that you break with the false prin- 
ciples of reformism, which have brought incalculable dam- 



age to t)if r:, „.,-,_. ,,j^^j Austrian working classes and to 
tlie WO! - 

^*^*^*'- !■- in the labor unions 1 We are with 

yju a- >,,■-. i-r a light for decent conditions, for clean 
and niilitaiit ui;ioni.sm. 

Toiler.^ on the land and in the mills, in the mines and 
in the facloricH! Theso are cn'tTcal and decisive hours. 
Under the flag of the NRA and the New Deal the rul- 
ing class of this country is strengthrining the giip of 
trusts and is preparing new heavy blows against us all, 
preparing to lower our standards of living and to deny us 
even the right to organize and str',k(\ 

What we need most, today, is u, r— -militant 

united action by the oppressed tn . .gro work- 

ers, by the impoverished fanner-, rktTs in the 

cities— against their common enemy— the boss class, the 
rulers of industry and agriculture, the owners of the'gov- 
ernment. 

» * * 

RALLY TO THE C.P.O. 

The C.P.O. is that section of the communist movement 
v.-hich resolutely adheres to the principles of world com- 
munis.n, the principle;; enunc.ated by Marx and Lenin, 
the i>rinciplrs on which the Soviet Union is founded and 
in which socialism, a classless society free from all ex- 
ploiUiticn, is now l>cing constructed- We stand for tac- 
tics rooted in the soil of American conditions and the 
Ixist of American revolutionary traditions as well as 
the experiences of our comrades and brothers in other 
countries. 

We ask you to fight side by side with us. We ask yon 
to join our organization. We urge you to take place in 
our ranks, as members, to help us hasion the unity and 
rebuilding of the communist and revolutionary inove- 
nienls, to speed up and insure the unity of the exploited 
ajrainst the exploiters and the victory of a new, a social- 
ist, day in the United States. 

Our convention keynote and message to the workers is: 

Fortrard to unity ttgainst cujAiutist reaction and im^ 
ij< rinliit witrl 

Foruard to nolidanly uith ih£ V.S.S.R.—the socialist 
fnthcrlaml of the icorkhig chifs of the }v<>rM.' 

Forimrd to a victorious icorkiug class! 

FOURTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE 
COMMUNIST PARTY U. S. A. (Opposition) 



Decisions of Convention 



1. Resolution.s on Tlie Economic 
Situation in the U. S. A., and on 
The NRA and the Labor Move 
nient. Adopted unanimou.-dy as 
amended by the National Buro. 

2. International Reports. Love- 
stone for the Buro Majority and 
Zam for the Minority. For the 
majority — 45; minority — 7; absten- 
tions— 1. 

3. Resolved, that we condemn 
Trotskyism, in its new phase, as an 
extension of the doctrine of Ther- 
niidor to the Communist Interna- 
tional and as the ideological lead- 
ership of new centrism. Voting for 
— 41; Against — 2; Abstentions — 4. 

4. Resolved, that we condemn 
the Trotskyist position and premi- 
ses for a new party and a new 
Communist International. Voting 
for — 44; Against — None; Absten- 
tions — 5. 

5. To repudiate the conception 
that the centrist parties, like the 
S.A.P. of Germany, O.S.P. and I. 
S.P. of Holland, P.U.P. of France 
and the LL.P. of England, as a 
whole, as an intact organization, 
and the "Bolshevik Leninist-Left 
Oppo-sition" (Trotskvites) can 
«erve as the basis for' the new C. 
i . s and a new CI. 

Centrist parties, as types of re- 
Jormist parties, have to be liquidat- 
ed m order to make it possible for 
the workers adhering to these par- 
ties to advance to communiMn. 

However, in view af the great 
tlifferences which exist among the 
centrist parties, their YwH-rofxvn- 
eous composition and the different 
conditions in which they ari.se, in 
individual cases it may become nec- 
essary for us to conduct our work 
Tor winning the workers of these 



parties to comnuinism by organ- 
izing and supporting inside a 
struggle for wiiiiiing or transform- 
ing the centrist parties. 

This means to conduct our ac- 
tivities for winning the workers in 
centrist parties for communism by 
having them organize themselves 
inside their party for turning their 
party into a revolutionary party. 
Tho, as communists we realize that 
the organization of such a struggle 
inevitably involves a split with the 
centrist leaders and thus means li- 
'quidation of the centrist party. 
lYet, we under.stand that with such 
I tactics we can facilitate our win- 
ning the workers from the influ- 
ence of the reformist leaders for 
communism. 

The I.C.O., and its affiliated or- 
ganizations stands ready to unite 
with any working class organi- 
zations which are in agreement 
with us on the fundamental prin- 
ciples of communism and on our 
strategical, tactical line, regard- 
less whether such organizations 
are made up of former members 
of the Communist Party or work- 
ers who were never in the com- 
munist movement. Such a step 
would not be a substitute for na- 
tional and international Communist 
unity, but an important means ot 
increasing our strength as the 
Communist Op]5osition and llierc- 
by towards accomplishing that end. 
Adopted unanimously. 

6. To recognize the Soviet Union 
as the base for the world revolu- 
tion and to conclude therefore, that 
jvv'e cannot have an new Comintern 
without the party leading the vic- 
torious proletariat — the G.P.S.U. — 
being part of it. Voting for— 42; 



Convention Greets 
Jailed Leaders 

The Fourth National Conference 
of the Communist Party, U, S. A. 
(Opposition) sends its warmest 
fraternal greetings to the seven 
leaders of the Communist Party of 
Canada, now incarcerated in Ports- 
mouth Prison. 

This convention is unanimous in 
its approval of the inner prison 
struggles led by the comrades in 
protest against the holding of Com- 
rade Cacic for a longer period than 
his sentence called for, and against 
the deportation planned and car- 
ried out by the Canadian authori- 
ties. 

This convention looks forward to 
the day when our Canadian com- 
rades will rejoin the ranks of the 
revolutionary party of the work- 
ers, and we i>Iedge ourselves to 
work for the unification of the 
Communist parties under the ban- 
ner of one international to the 
end that the revolutionary forces 

II the better be able to provide 
communist leadership for the work- 
ers and farmers in their struggles 
against the dangers of fasci.^m, ini- 1 
perialist war and the repressive I 
measures of the existing enpitali.st ' 
tate. I 



Report of Convention 



Against — 6; Abstentions — 1. 

In the voting, on motion 3, 4 
LUid G, tho comrades supporting the 
minority voted for specific sec- 
tions of the minority resolution 
which in their opinion expressed 
their attitude. 



The Fourth National Conven- 
tion of the C.P.O., during intensive 
three days of work (December 30. 
-■{I and January 1st). ct'Tisidered 
the economic situation ii i!-.i' ^muh- 
try, the NRA as a rii, >vcf.v iuju?- 
ure amt its effect upon tho hibor 
movement, went exhaustively into 
the condition and status of the 
Comintern, SecoTid I r.ur national, 
the I.CO. an.^ ■'.'.■: •'..■- I'M-for- 
ence, and sfi: ^ : ■ , ■ : r-i. d [ho 
mass work mid .'rL':L".'.::.,::..i;;al tMr.- 
dition of the C.P.O. in the U. S. 
The conference also discussed in 
groat detail, the proposal of tho 
minority for a reorientation oi ilio 
C.P.O. and the I.CO. in tho direc- 
tion of building new Comiminist 
Parties and a new InteniatioTial 
and overwhelmingly dtfcato.: this 
proposal and endorsed tl;e present 
course of both the C.P.O. and the 
I.CO. (See detailed decision else- 
where in this issue). 
♦ ♦ ♦ 
Composition Of The Convention 
There were 53 accredited dele- 
gates sfatcd. :U of these, troin 1 
N\'w Yurk and 22 from ui;t ot" : 
town distrtcls. In the latter is in- 
cluded delegations from Tn>\-. An- j 
thracite IMino Ku-iun, l,,>s An-eKs. | 
Hartford, Chirau>', riltsluiruh, 
Fort Wavne. Pliila.k'lphia. W^^wn, 
Brookwocd and :Mi'ntrval and Tor- 
onto in CaiKula. The Detroit dele- 
gation arrived after the couven- 
lion was closed. This wa-^ due to 
an a'.iti'inehile accident on l!ie 
road. The San Antonio and ^"an 
Wert or^^anizat ions wiM*e net vo- 
preseiiteti. There were also pres- 
ent 21 aUernates (15 from New 
York and G from out of town) as 
well as fraternal delegates from 



Penna., Paterson, Passaic, Omaha 
and Washington. 

Herberg Reports On Economic 
Situation And NRA 

In the absence of Comrade Love- 
stone, who was then addressing the 
Student Congress in Washington, 
D. C, Comrade Benjamin got the 

convention under way and intro- 
thieoi! I Vie reporier on tiie Economic 
Sit.nuio-. and tho XRA and The 
Liibea- I\lovement. 

Comrade Herberg's report was 
delivered to a hall packed not on- 
ly with lielegates and C.P.O. mem- 
bers but also with a large num- 
ber of workers sympathetic to the 
C P.O. Comrade Herberg's report 
was based upon the document on 
these question, previously printed 
in Workers Age. 

This was followed by special 
field reports. Art. Oens'ow repori.- 
ed on the shoe industry: Ben Lif- 
shitz on tho situation in. ilie uietal 
trades; Kli Keller dealt wiili the 
recent national silk strike: G. Peter 
explaried ih.e recent developments 
jn the anthracite: Sasha Z.'mmer- 
Nnan diseu-sed tb.e r.vcdle trades 
situation an.d especially emphasiz- 
• d the dressmakers' recent suc- 
cessful strike and the present 
tasks; Comrade Miles rejiorted for 
Tn.' Trade Union Departmt^tt of 
tlie C.P.O. 

About 20 comrades, active in 
\uriiius iM.lustries and in tho pres- 
! lU sf.-;ke ^v■,l^■e. d"scusse«l their ox- 
n. r:ei!.'. -^ in tlie light of the re- 
pert. \\'\\:\i oinerireu fi^ ni the day's 
n, ports and di>cn<sions was the 
proof of the \ir.liiy of our trade 
union in the labor movement. 
{Continued on Page 2) 



Pmge Two 



CONVENTION SUPPLEMENT 



For the Line of the I. C* O. 



by Leon Lemer 

The minority in our 'group h.i- 
definitely stated its viewpoin; 
that it proposes we adopt as our 
main objective' the "working for 
the laancfaing of such a (new Com- 
Baimist) party when we believe 
the forces are sufficient and that 
this is our main orientation. . . ". 
It proposes, therefore, a reorienta- 
tion tow^jnds a new Communist 
party in the U. S. A., additional 
Comniunist parties thruout the 
world and, in fact, a new Fourth j 
International. 

It seems that^ as the represen- 



]ThL^ 15 not so. tho the fact, that 
•..:.;:• ;>,-.' most favorable condi- 
: : KTOwth the official Com- 
: .^; -; : -irty failed to advance, 
! snows tne correctness of our line. 
This does not mean that we must 
orientate ourselves towards a new 
Communist party, and thus bewild- 
er the working class, for our group 
has no right to do so if it is to con- 
tinue to adhere to a correct line- 
There is no cause for defeatist 
attitudes, no cause for despair. 
Our primary job is to check the 
tactical errors of the C, I. of the 



tative of our group in its attempt 
to bring the Proletarian Party 
closer to us, something happened 
to Comrade 2am and he himself 
became a staunch adherent of the 
idea of a dual Communist party. 
What Comrade Zam says in his ar- 
ticle (Workers Age. November 1, 
19S3) regarding the I.L.P. in Eng- 
land is no doubt what he also 
thinks of the Proletarian Party 
in the United States. With his 
present views. Comrade Zam can- 
not sincerely fight for the Prole- 
tarian Party to join our group, 
since his "views are that our group 
fmght to become a Communist par- 
ty in opposition to the existing of- 
ficial C. P. Therefore,- quoting 
from the article referred to, Com- 
rade Zam writes: "We cannot pro- 
■pose to a party which is in the pro- 
cess of becoming a Communist 
Party, that it act only as a fac- 
tion of a much smaller partj^ or as 
a faction of an International which 
inefuses it admittance." Accord- 
ing to this, the minority holds the 
view that we cannot propose to the 
Proletarian Party, which claims 
to be a Communist Party, such as 
it is, to join our group, since we 
are also a faction of an Interna- 
tional which refuses us admittance. 



official Communist party, to show 
up its mistakes and the results of 
such mistakes, to lead the way with 
a correct Leninist line and event- 
ually bring about a change of line 
in the Communist Intematicnal. 
How long will this take, no one 
can tell. Comrade Zam says we 
have failed to win over the mem- 
bership of the C. P. That is true, 
of course, if "winning over the 
membership" means their whole- 



DISCUSSION ENDS 

With the two articles on this 
page, we close the discussion on 
the "new" party and '"new" In- 
ternational. Elsewhere, in this 
issue will be found a report on 
the National Conference and lis 
decisions. 

Now. that the National Con- 
ference has spoken, al! comrades 
must turn to with a will, for a 
vigorous and effective execu- 
tion of the decisions. 



For A New Perspective 



ment to the credit of our group, 
and have the faith that eventually 
these comrades will not only listen 
and learn but also act. We know, 
also, what has occurred in Ger- 
many; there, we are not a party 
and yet entire sections of the offi- 
cial Communist party have joined 
our group thru a realization of our 
correct line. 

As I see it, the need is not for 
a new Communist party, not for a 
Fourth International, but for a 
continued application of our correct 



by Alexander \J^^:^r!L'l^£':^^^ 

Fo. four ye.r. th. CX h.s b«. jl;"- t^.^by .he J^Hri^i^ 

C. L are suicidal. It -a-ouU ^^ 
tainly be a victory for th«> , 
-ition in G»?rmany. But ho ' 



sale leavmg the Communist Party. I policies, for' taking the lead in the 
But when we recall that only yes- dav-to-dav struggles of the work- 
terday we were "social-fascists'" erg and for continuously and mer- 
and "Hoovers agents", according cilessly exposing the wrong tactics 



to the party leadership, and today 
Communist Party members attend 
our meetings (New York, Chicago^ 
Montreal), not to heckle and break 
them up but to listen and learn 
and draw conclusions, surely we 
can count this as an accomplish- 



of the party. Finally, the need is 
not for a new C. P. here, but ra- 
ther for a Labor party — a broad 
Labor party where all sections of 
the labor movement would belong. 
The Communists would play an im- 
portant role in such a party. 



! crumbling away at a fast rate- 
'The Czechoslovakian Party ha~ 
lost sore of its membership; Great 
Britain's Party has dropped from 
1^000 to 2,000: France dropped 
from .50,000 to 45.000; Sweden 
from 18.000 to 2,000; The C- P. 
U.S-A. had 15,000 members in good 
standing, today it has 13,000 of 
which half are in good standing; 
South Africa last 90 ^c of its mem- 
bership; India has no official par- 
ty to speak of. 

The decimation at one stroke of 
of the C.P.G. was the sharp crack 
that warned us that the entire edi- 
fice is in danger of giving way. 
It is this circumstance that says to 
us: "Patience with the incorrigible 
C.I. is not always the correct tac- 
tic. Prompt action is needed for 
the formation of a correct (demo- 
cratically organized) Communist 
International." 

Patience is what we need, ac- 
cording to some comrades, now- 
more than ever, because of the 
present "accessibility" of the party 
comrades. At the rate with which 
re are making headway in the 
arious parties thruout the world 
there \%ill be no Comintern left 
by the time w^e win over the Con- 
intern membership. 



Report o£ the C. P. O. Convention 



(Continued jrom Page 1) 
In his summary remarks Com 
rade Herberg pinphasized the ne 
cessity of building a base for a na- 
tional progressive and left wing 
movement in the trade unions. 



True, Comrade Zam, as the lead- 
er of the minority, does not at pres- 
ent advocate an additional Com- 
umnist party in the Soviet Union 
and, on this point, his program 
differs from that of the Trotsky- 
ites. If the minority actually suc- 
ceeded in establishing a new party 
and a new Communist Internation- 
al, it would be interesting to know 
what disposition they would make 
of the anti-Soviet "left of the 
lefts", the Trotskyites, vrho are 
also for a new Fourth Internation- 
al, growing out of almost the same 
viewpoint as that of the minority 
(complete bankruptcy of the C. I., 
complete bankruptcy of the exisi 



Convention Greeted By LC.O. And 
German Communist Opposition 

At this point there was read 
to the convention a letter of greet- 
ings from the Buro of the Inter- 
national Communist Opposition. In 
a clear and concise manner this 
document (printed in this issue) 
takes a firm stand on many ques- 
tions agitating the revolutionary 
movement. 

It is inevitable" concludes the 
LC.O. letter, "that this tremend- 
ously deep process of transform.a- 
tion (in the labor movement — Edi- 
tor) embracing dozens of countries 
millions of workers, and a consid- 
erable period of time, should be j 



ing Communist parties, the belief ko^^^^^ted with all sorts of signs 
that it is impossible to win over P^ disintegration, vacillations and 
the Communist Party membership, errors in the camp of the working 
etc.) but who also believe in « ^^^^^^ 



new Communist party in the Soviet 
Union. Ck)mrade Zam dees attack 
the Trotskyites, it is true, but so 
did Comrade Gitlow, and yet Git- 
low today is openly negotiating 
with the Trotskyites with a view- 
to joining them. 



[. C. O. 



"Would the Fourth Internation- 
al of th;s new- "minority" in cur 
irroup admit the Trotskyites, hav- 
ing in mind their objective of a 
new C. P. in the Soviet Union, and 
also bearing in rnind their theory 
of Thermidor? This Comrade Zam 
hzs failed to explain. Or, since 
the Trotskyites are a step ahead 
of otir minority in the prcprjsed or- 
ganization of a Fourth Interaa- 
tional and also the eritablishment 
orf dual Communist parties, wouii 
the minority's program then call 
for a Fifth International? 

It is foolish to believe that a 
Fourth, Fifth or Tenth Interna- 
tional is the .%lution for Com- 
nrnnist unity. The idea of a Fourth 
International comes from the min- 
ority's belief that "our efforts to 
Win the party to a Leninist line 

^o^rrnf't-oSd ?;rt^-;„?'7 -^''it'-i^'' Conference; The Comintern. 
1^3'.:'I'\l?.?i'^ .^f'/!^.'""^ ^■^'^'- N-'.Hp^cially in the light of the defeat 



"Communist inflexibity, firm- 
ness and clarity are necessary, at 
such a time, in order to set right 
comrades who are vacillating, to 
clear up confusion, in order to pre- 
pare to win the final victory." 

A letter was also received from 
the German Communist Party (Op- 
nosition) in which the advances of 
the C.P.G. in the U.S.A. are greet- 
ed. Thf; letter also depicts the ex- 
treme difficulties under which cur 
German comrades are conducting 
revolutionary pronaganda under 
the Nazi terror regime. This let- 
ter will appear in the coming issue 
of Workers Age. 



Lovestone Reports On 
Conference 

Tho main political report was 
delivered by Jay Lovestone, In 
his report lasting over three hours 
Lovestone discu.ssed the Confer- 
ence of the Intematicnal Commu- 
nist Opposition and the condition 
oi its various section.-; Tb'- disin- 
tegration in the camp of the Sl-c- 
ond International; The Paris Co 



, Communist Parties and eventually 
[a new Communist International. 

The discussion in which about 25 
comrades participated, was thoro- 
going in every sense and on a high 
political level. The position of the 
minority being defeated by a vote 
of 45 to 7. 

Benjamin Reports On The 
Organization 

The final report at the conven- 
tion on the condition of the organi- 
zation, was made by D. Benjamin, 
head of the Organization Depart- 
ment. He dea'lt with the necessity 
to build the C.P.O. on the premise 
of our excellent mass work; Insist- 
ed on intensifying our trade union 
work especially out of town; Urged 
greater activity in united front 
work; Extension of our excellent 
work on the youth and Negro 
field; Further penetration of C.P., 
S.P. and P.P. with our program; 
and the conversion of Workers 
Age into a weekly. He concluded 
by an appeal for tightening up 
the ranks and for more educational 
activities to arm our group for 
greater efforts and a more rap'd 
advance. 

* * * 

Comrade Herman reporting for 
the Resolutions Committee urged 
the adoption of the following reso- 
lutions: 

1. An appeal to the C. P. and 
its members, for communist unity. 

2. A call to the members of the 
Proletarian Party to afxiliate with 
the C.P.O. 

-3. A letter of fraterral greetings 
to our fighting Communist Party 
of Germany (Opposition). 

4. Communist greetings to our 
comrade Manabandra Nath Roy, 
.serving a six year sentence in In- 
dia for leading the struggle 
against British ImperiaLsm. 

5. Greetings to Tom Mooney 
serving his eighteenth year behind 
bars. Our pledge, to intensify cur 
work for his liberation, and aid in 
developing a genuine united front 
m his behalf. 

C. A IfcUer to the Swedish Com- 
inuni.st Party (Opposition) to 
-^Lrengthen those valiant comrades 
fightmg to keep the S.C.P. on the 
communist path, 

7. Greetings to_T_*m Buck and six 



ale of the C.P.O. was never higher, 
and the prospects for extending 
our influence never better. 

Those who have engaged in idle 
speculations on the disruption of 
the C.P.O. can secure little com- 
fort from the results of this con- 
vention. We go forward, reinforced 
by many fighting recruits in the 
last several weeks, conscious of 
and determ.ined to achieve our aim 
— the unity of the communist 
movement for proletarian victory. 
—JIM CORK 



effect would it 
the line 



hav 



e m phanj 






^gmg 



line of the C.L? If aluC^'"^ 
backs that the C. I. ha? rpc!'^" 
until nov,-, have not inriu<>n,-S^^' 
position, why should one ^,o-p a^ 
fection cause a change'' t j * 
the "C. I. is back in the third >^^^^ 
iod lunacy of 1930.31.. '^^/^^^r- 
there does not exist thf .]: IV""-'" 
sliver of reason to beliei^e Vv ;'''^^'^- 
C. I. is changing its 'linV^n^P^ 
tne pamphlet of Piatnitsky o*f!^ 
aiiv hope? ' "^^^i" 

The_ C.P.O. has the perspectiv 



STUDENTS IN NAT^L 
CONFERENCE 

Washington, D. C. 
The National Conference on 
Students in Politics was held Dec. 
29-31, at the Chamber of Com- 
merce in Washington, D. C. The 
ostensible purpose of the groups 
participating— such as the Nation- 
al Student League, League for 
Industrial Democracy, National 
Student Federation, Y.M.C.A. stu- 
dent organizations — was to answer 
the question whether students 
must take a political stand. Over 
a period of six sessions, onlv one 
of which was devoted to voicing 
of the student delegates' opinions, 
various prominent speakers of di- 
verse fields, including Norman 
Thomas, Robert Minor, Jay Love- 
stone, E. Meyers, presented their 



of influencing the C. I. to cS''^ 
its course and thus to ef^Wr . ^-"^ 
ty. What influence has th^c' p' 
0. coniparable to the powerful \Z' 
sons of the German debacl»"> Tt • 
necessary to abandon this iersaJf 
tive entirely and to proceed to U?^ 
logical development of the secomt 
perspective as indicated in the fnl 
lowing motion adopted at the 36^^ 
ember VJZ2 conference- "Th^ 
C.P.O, clearly understands that t 
any single country onlv one Com 
munist Party must exist and o^v 
one can exist over a long period 
of time. .In the present critical 
situation m the C. L it i= J^ 
ble for situations to develop Sheil 
there will temporarily be two Com 
munist Parties, where it would be 
desirable, provided there are suffi- 
cient forces, for launching an op- 
position party as well as the recor 
nized party. In such a ease oir 
mam objective would be the -^anie 
—to bring about the unificatior 
of the communist movement." 

We have been asked, what guar- 
antee have you that we shall grow- 
faster if we adopt the perspective 
of a new international? (Not de- 
clare ourselves the new interna- 
tional, as some comrades think.) 
It is silly even to think of guaran- 
tees. 

Comrade Miles, however, goes. 
too far when he says that such a 
new perspective would repulse 
those who are now close to us be- 
cause of our own strenuous and 
well directed efforts. Miles says 
that those 30,000 who dropped out 
of the C. P., since we were ex- 
pelled, did na.t join us because- 
they did not care to strengthen a 
group that declared itself in op- 
position to the official party. 
Therefore there would be even less 
likelihood of these joining a group 
that declared itself for a new par- 
ty and a new international. I be- 
lieve that this is not at all the 
case but that the more discerning 
of the former C, P. members and 
such potential C. P. members, as 
exist in the LL.P. and other or- 
ganizations, realize that the C. l-i 
is discrediting the entire commu- 
nist movement, with its narrow | 
lectarian line. They would join an I 
independent communist movement | 
which would have for its objective 



individual proposals or analv=;es on h-l. ^ ,- - - ;« 

such leading Questions as Revolu" ^^|i ^^^t^^^tion of communism m 
tion, War, etc. It was presumed h^^^^?"'^^ «nd prestige. The fact 
one mav infer tbit n ,^ ^/tr^ ' remains that the communist move- 
une n.ay^ intei, that out of such a 1^,,^^^ ^^ ^ ^^.^^^^ ^j^^^^^^ ^^e world 

has not gained in sti-ength. Irt all 
probabili'ty there are many times 



tegraling, would become a mare \w. c, ..^ ^u 1 i- .1. ^■u ,° — ^-^ o.nu. i,u 

'«beir. . , ." ~ havfe camplnely fc ^ ^'"f"^= ^«1"*:T T'""- ''i ^^""^ ''^^*'''* "members of the Central Com- 

failed. The cornra^les wl^.^m^il Irnt ^/^''ttf' ^^"^ .de.b.g.c foca mittee, Communist Party of cZ 

point for the new cenln.sm" and ad; 



The comrades who make 
«ach proposals at this time have 
taken a defeatigt attitude, pure 
and Kirnple. From such defeatist 
Viewfc corne theories of new parties, 
»ew Internationals, v,ith the rerjult 
that workerg becorne so confused 
that they prove easy targetg ioi 
toe capJtahiEt partiea. 

The minority would appear to 



Party of Can- 

.._... n^nv serving sentence in Ports- 

the fallacies of the "new" Parly mouth penitentiary. 

A number of other resolutions 



new 
and^ "new" Comintern adherent-i. 

Comrade Zarn, u% the rtpoflf-r ,„.,.,.,. „,^,-__„,i .„ .,^ . --—■-— 
for the minority, poh-rnized again.t | u ' ^ij^BurT *^' '"'""^'"^ ^^- 

*^'- pofsition pre-,e;(tf;d by Love ' 



Ktone- He in;vi ted that we had 
failed in our dual jjer^p'-<rtive i.e. 
had neither v.on the party to a 
correct line nor had we, ourBelve 



W,^.i^ n;.v r ""'■ ^''-'if'f', "^'^^ "^^^f^^-me the party. In the light of 
v^ f^tab],3hed, we specified one .all development/in the labor rn'ove- 
year or four years m wnich the ments it waa necessary, he argued, 
^:.^\^\fl '*- ^^"«5te'J its er- to reorient the C.KO. and ICO 
ror», would become a "mere shell", 'in the direction of building new 



C.P.O. — United For Struggle 

r- '^^?. *?;^'P' c^it-^'Sed inin its 
i'ourth National Conwjntion, ideo- 
logically and organizationally uni- 
fied. There was a spirit of en- 
thu.•^laBm which accurately reflect- 
ed the vitality of our group and 
our growth in influence. The mor- 



one-sided approach the students 
were to reach certain definite and 
precise conclusions. 

Prior to the main conference, 
the L.I.D. and the N.S.L, held their 
respective conventions out of which 
came the decision that both groups 
work together for the adoption of 
a common minimum program based 
on tne fight for academe liberties, 
against racial discrimination, R.O. 
i.e. and War, and retrenchments 
m education. At the Saturday 
evening session, this united pro- 
posal was overwhelmingly accept- 
ed by the delegates. When the 
convention went on to instruct its 
Gxecutive committee to carry out 
tnis program in some written form, 
the chairman, Prof. Eagleton of n! 
Y U informed the gathering that 
such a procedure was impossible in 
View of the fact that the Chamber 

tLr^.Tl'"'"'^ }'l'> Sriven instruc- 
tions that no definite, affirmative 
hlTIf ^ ?"^^. ^^ a^lopted within 
its walls. A pnmer les.son in bour- 
geois democracy for the uninitiated 
•it the conference! 

In connection with L.LD.— N.S, 



more communists cutsMe the \ 
ranks of any communist organi2a- 
tion than within it. For in- 
stance in the C.P.U.S.A. there is 
a yearly influx and efflux of lOr 
000. Moreover it is the best ana 
oldest members of the C.P.U.S.A. 
{Continued on Page 4) 



ed out that the N.S.L. had prasent- 
-' -•• proposal to the L.I.D.'^^onfer. 

calling for the liquidation of ,0.,^ 
orgam^ation« and the setting leges. 



up of a new, unified student or- 
ganization. (This proposal comes 
after 2 years of a sectarian, w- 
tra-left position on the part of tne 
N.S.L.) In answer to the proposal, 
the L.I.D. decided that the present 
was not appropriate for complete 
amalgamation. The L.I.D. coun- 
terposed that both organiza- 
tions participate in united front ac- 
tions over a long period of ''"^j 
with the ultimate objective of uni- 
fication. Such an approach re 
ceived concrete application at y, 
general conference, which is ii ^'^ ' 
come step. 

As an extra-conference even ^ 
the L.LD. and the N.S.L. had a 
joint demonstration in the shacio^ 
of tho White House protesting 



ence "c-nirintr r^V t'C" ,"""^; ^umer- against R. 0. T. C. any ^-— , 



CONVENTION SUPPLEMENT 



P«gg Tbre» 



ICO Greets Communist Opposition 



//'(' pub!hh MoK- the letter rtrchai from the Buro of 
the Imernatiiiual Comrtuimst Opposition to the rtcettt 
fourth national convention of the American Communist 
Opposition. This letter, htariily approved i?y the ^ ra- 
tional Committee, outlines a course that our group has 
mamtaincd for matiy years and ivhich the convention 
wenvhelminffly endorsed. — Editor. 

To the National Conference of the C.P.O. of the U. S.: 
Pear Comrades: 

The Buro of the LC.O. sends its comradely revolutionary 
rreetinirs to your conference. We are glad to know that 
vou have gained a number of significant and fruitful vic- 
tories as a result of the working-out and application oi 
correct communist tactics. We welcome the fact that m 
vour theses on the N.R.A. and the labor movement you 
have attempted to formulate a program, enabling you to 
utilize the preseiit upsurge of mass activity in America 
manifesting itself in an influx into the trade unions, the 
A. F. of L. and a wave of strikes, for the organization oi 
successful revolutionary action and the winning-over of 
masses to communism. You have shown that you make 
every possible effort to realize this program in action. 
You "have succeeded in gaining influence in mass strikes; 
you have informed the workers at mass meetings of th'j 
true character of the N.R.A. fraud. You have created 
a cenier for the Marxist training of American workers in 
your New Workers School. You have been able to gain 
sjnnpathy for correct communist tactics in the ranks of 
the followers of the official C.P., and for communisL 
principles among the social-democratic workers and non- 
party workers because you applied the correct tactics for 
the defense of these principles. 

We especially welcome the fact that you have tried suc- 
cessfully to arouse and strengthen the spirit of interna- 
tional solidarity among the American workers. Your cam- 
paign against German and international fascism and your 
solidarity with the unfortunate victims of the Nazi terror 
have been exemplary. 

We are especially thankful to you for your splendid ef- 
forts made to support financially the extremely difficult 
illegal work of the C.P.O. in Germany and the activities 
of the Foreign Committee of the C.P.O. Your efforts in 
this field will serve as a stimulus to other sections of th3 
LC.O. 



Letter Outlines Tasks 

SIGNIFICANCE OF GERMAN DEFEAT 

We are convinced that on the lino which you are follow- 
ing vou will soon gain further political and organizational 
victories. Do not slacken in the struggle, however difficult 
it may be. Everyone of your forward steps is of great 
international significance; it is a material and moral 
strengthening of the labor movement in other countries; 
an encouragement of the illegal fighters in the fascist 
states, especially to the heroic fighters of the C.F.G.O. 

The events of the last few years and the defeat of the 
German working class in particular have shown how ab- 
solutely necessary the struggle of the I.C.O. is. If the pro- 
letarian revolution is to succeed in those countries which 
are at pi'esent capitalist, the working class needs com- 
munist parties which are capable of discovering and work- 
ing out the concrete tasks and the concrete road of the 
proletarian revolution corresponding to the particular 
class relations of each country and to prepare and organ- 
ize them accordingingly, as was done in Russia. The 
aim that the I. C. 0. has pursued and is following, with- 
out being disconcerted, is to reform the C.I. so that its 
sections will be able to fulfill these tasks. The way in 
which the leading bodies of the C.I. reacted to the defeat 
of the C.I. can only be effected in the way in which the 
I.C.O. has persisted from the very beginning: namely, 
from below, thru acting as a nucleus which unites loyalty 
to communist principles with a correct tactical applica- 
tion of these principles and gathers the members of the 



The Party Discussion 

A call has been issued for the eighth convention 
of the Communist Party and discussion in the units 
is beginning. Simultaneously comes the news that 
the Seventh Congress of the Communist Interna- 
tional is to be held in November. 

The C.P.O. will participate actively in this discus- 
sion. The first article on 

THE THIRTEENTH PLENUM RESOLUTION 

OF THE E.C.C.I. 

by B. Herman 

will appear in the forthcoming issue. 



C. I. around itself and in this way wins over the C. I. 
sections. 

For the I.C.O. tu fulfill its task it is necessary that it 
guard against any concession whatsoever to such commu- 
nist elements which like the Trotskyites organize a strug- 
gle against the Soviet Union and the C. I. under a sup- 
posedly communist banner; who v,-ant to build a centrist 
party and a centrist international and to further the de- 
sertion of workers from the camp of communism and 
,keep social-democratic workers from going over to commu- 
nism. 

* * * 

INTERNATIONAL LABOR MOVEMENT IN CRISIS 

The crisis which the international labor movement is 
going thru, as a result of the defeat of the German pro- 
letariat, has not left the I.C.O. untouched. The I.C.O. has 
had to break with the C.P. of Sweden because its leader- 
ship has gone over to centr ism-Trotsky ism and because 
they have acted contrary to the most elementary princi- 
ples of international communist discipline. But precisely 
as a result of its irreconcilable struggle against all cen- 
trist and Trotskyite tendencies has the C.P.O. been able 
to continue its work successfully and united in that coun- 
try in which the labor movement has suffered the severest 
blows. In Germany after the victory of fascism the C.P. 
O. has made progress in winning-over the members of the 
C.P. Thru its work it has forced the leadership of the 
C.I. and the C.P.G. to undertake a series of corrections of 
their ultra-left tactics. The German experience also 
shows that the objective of winning-over and reforming 
the C. I. makes it possible for the C.P.O. to gain followers 
and sympathy among the social-democratic workers, dis- 
appointed with reformist policies. Moreover, your own ex- 
perience in the U. S. has proved that the policy of the 
C.P.O. as a communist tendency does not hamper but fur- 
thers the independent organization of mass activities and 
the independent approach to reformist and non-party 
v/orkers. 

♦ * * 

I.C.O. FOR OUR LINE 

For that reason the Buro of the I.C.O. fully agrees 
with the resolution of the majority of the National Com- 
mittee on "The new party and Trotskyism". The reso- 
lution proposed by Comrade Zam as a minority report of 
the national committee, on the other hand, contains a 
series of fundamental concessions to centrism and Trot- 
{Continued on Page 4) 



Blue Eagle Over Latin America 



{Continued from Page 5) 

somewhere, some demogogic, bom- 
bastic declamation that would 
sound good in print, it might re- 
lieve mass pressure at home, tem- 
porarily at any rate. And so these 
cliques hoped that at Montevideo 
they might at least be given a 
chance to discuss — to discuss what 
seemed the most vital problems for 
their countries — cuiTency stabili- 
zation, debts, tariff walls. 

But the answer came with curt 
finality from the mouth of Roose- 
velt. All that the United States 
contemplated discussing at Monte- 
\-ideo was the Pan-American High- 
way, towards the completion of 
which the American Government 
was willing to give $500,000; that 
this was the only order of business 
for the conference — all other ques- 
tion.s would be "embarrassing to 
the United States at the present 
time." 

This blast had a very bad sober- 
ing effect even upon Latin Amer- 
ica'.s cynical politicians. Since the 
Havana Conference in 1028, the 
depression had come; political 
re\'olutions had taken place in al- 
most every land to the South of 
u.s; Machado, the butcher of Cuba, 
had been overthrown; cut throat 
bankers refused to renew large 
loans; all through the hinterland 
—mass mi.=«jry and starvation — 
and all that the United States v;as 
willing U) discuss at such a mo- 
ment was the Pan-American High- 
way. The Latin press launched 
an ai;Uck against American dicta- 
torship. Some of the countries 
seemed actually detfirmined to 
place their problem.s before the 
Conference. To prevent .such ac- 
tion Roosevelt and Hull called pre- 
liminary conference.^ v/ith individ- 
oal repreaentatives at Was^hington, 
Wgng them not to bring up 
troublesome questions at Monte- 
vidM, Especially did they plead 
With Puig Casauranc, of Mexico, 

ThJ^^- "^K T u*^^ ^^^'^ qu-istion. 
iJi«V msieted that it v/ould be ex- 
ceedingly embarrassing to air all 
^ II j^" the midst of nice, decent, 
xuu-dresg gentlemen, but Puig in- 



sisted and sailed for Montevideo. 

Hull sailed too. He was instruct- 
ed to make as many friends on the 
way as possible, and he did, judg- 
by the final line up at the 
Conference. 

Foreign Minister Lamas of Ar- 
gentina (although essentially the 
country leading Latin American 
sentiment against the United 
States) did most of the pinch-hit- 
for Hull. Evidently some- 
thing big had been promised him. 

Puig Casauranc brought up the 
debt question all-right because like 
he "gentleman of honor" that he 
s, he could not go back on his 
word but he did not fight very 
hard when his motion died an ex- 
pected death in a smaller commit- 
tee. 

Cuba and Haiti brought up the 
question of Yankee intervention 
and Haiti asked for the withdraw- 
al of the American Financial Re- 
ceiver and the American Officers 
from their country. But this em- 
barrassing question was postponed 
to the next conference. Interven- 
tions y.e have always with us. Be- 
sides in Pan-American conferences 
pohitponemonts have become tradi- 
tional. Each one postpones vital 
problems to the next. It is the of- 
ficial way of handling all touchy 
problems. Due however, to the 
-pecial pressure of several of the 
smaller countries, a sub-confer- 
fjnee is being called to meet in the 
summer of VJ?A at Santiago, Chile 
to discuss (the agenda for each 
conference is always frozen in ad- 
vance and if naw problems should 
arise in the interim, well its just 
too bad for those problems) : 

1- Establishment of inter-Amer- 
ican currency and banking 
systems 

2, Inter-American debt prob- 
blems 

3. Inter- American economic or- 
ganizations. 

The Conference in Santiago will 
consist of a small group, working 
in secret ae-ssions, v/hich the Unit- 
ed States will run. Any problems 
ornbarrassing to the United States 
will again be postponed until 1&38 



and thereafter. Here, the U. S. 
can work with less delicacy — there 
will be little publicity trained on 
its activities. 

At Montevideo the work of the 
conference was distributed among 
eleven committees. These met in 
public ses.sions, made grandiloquent 
speeches about civilization and bro- 
therly love and had their pictures 
taken. At these conferences they 
permitted the League of Nations 
observer and the Spanish and 
Portuguese observers to sit in, lis- 
ten and they also let them get into 
the pictures. Then the eleven larg- 
er committees were broken up into 
27 smaller sub-committees, which 
carried on the work in secret ses- 
sions at which no ob.servers were 
permitted. It is here, in the small 
committees, that the dirty work of 
.American steering was carried on. 
And so effectively was this hand- 
led that the ruling press of every 
Latin-American country hailed this 
as the greatest love feast in Pan- 
American adventures. 

The conference had set up an 
"effective" peace machinery and 
had "settled" the war between Bo- 
livia and Paraguay (which war, of 
course, broke out again as soon 
as the conference terminated its 
sessions). 

And all that the Latin American 
politicians could take back home 
with them from Montevideo were 
Cordell Hull's honeyed words about 
civilization, sincerity and fellow- 
ship; all about the evils of war 
and how it must be forever ban- 
ished from the Western Hemi- 
sphere. Talk was cheap and the 
politicians had to make the most 
of it. The Latin press went into 
ecstasies over the "accomplish- 
ments" at Montevideo. 
^ "El Nacional" (the organ of 
Calles and the present Mexican 
government) stated that "Presi- 
dent Roosevelt's declaration will 
remain engraved on the interna- 
tional conscience of Latin Ameri- 
ca. . , President Roosevelt has 
wiped out all unfavorable recol- 
lections on Mexico's part. The 
past is forgotten and we now, with 



love and trust, join our powerful 
northern sister, for we believe in 
her." The kept press of other 
larger Latin American countries 
echoed similar sentiments. 

Opposition Forces At Montevideo 
But despite all these honeyed 
words the Montevideo conference 
did not terminate on a note of uni- 
ty. The Caribbean countries, clos- 
er to the United States and more 
oppressed by it, with economic in- 
terests separate and distinct from 
those of the larger South American 
countries, came away disgruntled, 
determined to form a Caribbean 
Union of some sort, to defend their 
common needs. And just as the 
conference was breaking up in 
such a spirit of "peace and har- 
mony" a despatch in the New Yirk 
Times on December 27, reported 
that the delegates from Cuba and 
Haiti and Nicaragua were seek- 
ing to establish a bloc of eleven 
nations: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, 
Costa Rica, San Salvador, Panama, 
Colombia, Santo Domingo and pos- 
sibly Venezuela. They are determ- 
ed to call a preliminai-y meeting 
shortly, on the initiative of Cuba, 
to formulate a joint economic pro- 
gram for presentation at Santiago 
next summer. These countries cri- 
ticized Argentina and Mexico for 
having swung over to the side of 
the United States at Montevideo, 
for deserting them in the struggle 
against American imperialism, 

What will come of all this, re- 
mains to be seen. Such unions 
have been contemplated many 
times in the past and nothing has 
come of them. The odds against 
them are too great. 

The seventh Pan-American con- 
ference at Montevideo marked a 
big step forward for American di- 
plomacy in pacifying its rear in 
preparation for the coming war. 
But beneath the surface, the deep- 
er-lying forces of dcincs.-ion and 
oppression are constantly at work 
undermining the achievuinents of 
Yanketi imperialism. And it is 
these forces that must be guided, 
strengthened, organized for the 
coming struggle. 



MONTREAL GREETS 
GERMAN WORKERS 

Montreal, Canada 
To the German Proletarian Fight- 
ers against the Hitler Terror: 

Dear Comrades: 

A few weeks ago, Jay Lovestone 
of New York reported on Germany 
under the rule of the Nazi hang- 
men, to a large meeting of over 
900 workers and intellectuals in 
Montreal. The first-hand informa- 
tion brought to us by Comrade 
Lovestone who had recently return- 
ed from Europe, gave us a graph- 
ic picture of the awful terror in- 
stituted by the Nazis and also of 
the superhuman, heroic struggle 
being carried on by the front-line 
fighters of the revolutionary pro- 
letariat in Germany. 

We, the workers of Montreal, 
together with the workers of all 
countries, extend our hand to you 
in proletarian solidarity. Unfor- 
tunately, our contribution to your 
struggle at the present moment is 
extremely small in comparison 
with your heroic fight. But every 
one of us must aid you and with 
joy we are sending you $100 that 
was collected at our meeting. 

The workers of Canada and es- 
pecially of Montreal are already 
experiencing the effects of Hitler's 
bloody rule in Germany. Here too 
the backward petty bourgeois and 
some layers of the backward work- 
ers are trying to ape the Nazis in 
(Jermany. A Fascist movement has 
begun to appear. It is being tol- 
erated and even aided by the gov- 
ernmental institutions. The work- 
ers here will have to organize 
their forces into a common united 
front to carry on a staunch strug- 
gle before it be too l;it«'. Our strug- 
gle against Fascism he re and our 
moral and financial aid to you, we 
hope will hasten the day of the 
complete downfall of Fascism and 
its master, finance capital. That 
will come with the victory of the 
proletariat. 

Workers Assembled in Mass 
Meeting Montreal, Canada, 



Page Foyr 



roNVKNTfOK SUPPLEMENT^ 



R. R C. Against "New'' International 



The Revolutionary Policy Com- 
mittee of the I.L.P, has recently 
clarified its attitude to the Com- 
munist International and also to 
the proposed organization of a 
"new" International. 

In a bulletin issued in the early 
part of December 1033, they say: 
"The Revolutionary Policy 
Committee cannot agree that 
there is any justification for 
formation of a now Inter- 
ional, and urcces members of 
I.L.r. to oppose most stren- 
islv any tendency that may 
-widen the existing; gap between 
any sections of the revolution- 
ary movement and the Comnui- 
nist International. 

"It docs not, liowever. consid- 
er that unconditional associa- 
tion with the CI. will in tlio 
present circumstances be most 
advantageous in the develop- 
" " -workinET-class struggle. 
■ _jests^that the I.L.P. 
iicome the suggestion 
_., the C.L of association 
as a syjnpathetic body on the 
basis of the Twenty-One Condi- 
tions, if it is satisfied that the 
correct interpretation of those 
conditions is as outlined above." 
jaration coming, as it 
heels of the mostfran- 
[at the or,iianization of 
tei-national (The Paris 
,nd the later efforts 
is indeed to be wel- 
^lecially is this so in 
iat Brockway, Maxton 
'tend to look upon the 
ireiicc as a sort of up- 
;e version oi the Zimmerwald 
Conference and will in the coming 
Easter congress of the I.L.P. at- 
tempt to commit the Congress to 
a policy definitely favoring the es- 
tablishir.ent ui a new internaticnal. 
Revolutionary Policy Com- 
is to be congratulated on 
m and clear stand which it 
.ken for the unity of the 
revolutionary forces as 
^ ;t the intensification of the 
Seal confusion now existing in 
the revolutionary and communist 
movement. 

It is quite significant that the 
London Dally Worker in which 
this report is printed (December 






The Road to Revolutionary Unity 

by G. B'. M. 



IS, 1933) has no comment to make 
on the above quotation. It does, 
however, wax vei*y indigiiant at 
another quotation from the same 
bulletin, dealing with the trade 
union question. The bulletin of 
the R. P. C. quotes Lozowsky as 
follows : 

"In creating the Red Trade 
Union organizations, have you 
strengthened the trade unions? 
Do you want to strengthen 
them? So long as we do not 
weaken and disrupt them (The 
reformist trade unions — G.F.M.) 
before the niases, so long as we 
do not disrupt their discipline, 
so long as the trade union ap- 
paratus is not destroyed, so long 
will they keep back a portion of 
the workers." 

To which the London Daily 
Worker remarks that the quota- 
tion is one 'Svhich every good re- 
formist trade unionist now knov.-s 
h\ heart." Finally, in order to al- 
lav any further suspicions on the 
pirt of the R.P.C. it says: 

"... Why not examine Con;- 
munist practice in the trade 
unions in Great Britain during 
last 12 months. 



But what guarantee is there that 
this course will not once again be 
changed. Just so long as the Com- 
intern and the R.I.L.U. do not 
openly and frankly condemn dual 
unionism aiui union-splitting, and 
return, on an international scale, 
to Leninist tactics on the trade 
union field; just so long is there 
a legitimate and real basis for sus- 
picion as to the course also of 
the C.P.G.B. 

Does the C.P.G.B. maintain that 
its trade union line today is^al^o 
the general trade un-oii line of thc: 
R.I.L.U.? Then what has hap- 
pened in Germany before the Xazij 
came to power? Was it not tlu- 
course of the C.P.G. to build the 
R.G.O. as a dual center to the re- 
formist mass unions? Is it not a 
fact that even today when the sup- 
pressed and tortured German work- 
ers are organizing underground 
inter-party trade unions, it is tiie 



Workers League 
Set Up in Canada 



_,, . , , •, -^^ I ■ I A new organization, known as 

This It niust^be aclmitted is an j^,^^ Canadian Workers League, has 



argument worthy of notice since 
the C.P.G.B. during the course of 
the last year has pursued a more 
or less constructive policy in the 
trade unions and has not applied 
the disastrous union-splitting line 
which became the official course 
elsewhere in the Comintern. 

We must ask, however, why ex- 
amine the trade union line of the 
C.P.G.B. only during the last 12 
months? Why not before? Why 
not also the trade union line of 
other sections of the Comintern? 

The answer must be apparent to 
every revolutionary worker. Also 
the C.P.G.B. had begun to prac- 
itice a dual unionist course but rc- 
I versed itself in time on thc basis 
I of its own disastrous experiences. 
On that score we have no quarrel. 



just been established. This organi- 
zation will meet a burning need of 
ilie Canadian workers, especially 
since various revolutionary groups 
have been declared illegal and have 
been suppressed by the govern- 
ment. 

From the programmatic state- 



C P G which is blocking unity of 
action thru its insistence on the or- 
ganization of "pure red unions to 
be affiliated Avith the R.I.L.U.? 

As for the U.S.A., here the de- 
structive trade union Ime of the 
R I L U. has been carried out witli 
appalling results which havo 
brought discredit upon the name ot 
Communism. Yet the C-P.u.^A. 
persists in that attitude and con- 
stantly repeats that the building 
of the' red trade unions is the mam 
task of thc Party. 

The doubts of the R.P.C. on the 
trade union question are fully jus- 
tified m the light of the vrhule 
course of the Comintern. If Com- 
rade Pollitt feels that the trade 
union line of the C.P.G.B. can not 
be challenged it is his job to see 
that that line becomes the rule and 
not the exception, in the tactical 
course of the Comintern. 



Workers Age 



ment it is clear that the Canadian 
Workers League is a revolutionary 
working class organization, fight- 
ing for the iibolilion of capitaPsm 
and for a workers republic. 

In its relation to other working 
class parties, the C.W.L. is against 
the reformist policies of the Social- 
ists as well as against the sectar- 
ian course of the Communist Party 
of Canada. 

Internationally, it is definitely 
opposed to the organization of a 
"new" centrist International as well 
as against the Trotskyist efforts 
to -set up a Fourth International 

The C.W.L. pledges to cooperate 
with such organizations as are 
striving for a tmification of all 
revolutionary and communist 
forces on the basis of a correct 
tactical line. 

The organization wilv begin, 
soon, to publish a monthly paper. 

In a future issue of Workers 



Is an accurate source of informa- 
tion on the course of developments 
in the international labor and revo- 
lutionary movements. 

To keep pace with the rapidlvi m a lULure las-ut; ui. vvuiKCib.-- - - ^- -— -- — - , 

changing events you should read! Age wo will deal, more exhaustive- j <^nough mass groups thrucu^ tae 
it regularly. A subscription is thelly, with the program of the Cana- p^'^Ji'ld tc 
best guarantee for receiving it. dian Workers League. ' qu'^^stion. 



^ NEW PERSPECTIVE 

(Continued frctn Pa^p^ 2) 
that have left its ranks. 

Recently Comradf BrrrV-.,,, 
said he believed that '■ ■ ' 

ty was that the I. L. ; 

ciare itself for a ne- . ■ - ] 

al unless the C. I. v.o'^ld ^oon un- 
dergo a drastic change-. He v.a- 
against an oppo.^ition party in the 
C.P.S.U. and against a return lo 
the \\'c'imar Con.stituticn for (Jer- 
rnany. This fact and li; fac- ',<■ 
the Swedish C.P.O.".- " 

fairlv good evidejicf- ^ • 
C.L would get off -< 
in providing the u: 
so much needed, to . i 

munist elements out-. :■-.. 

cial parties. By not jiuttir.g oj.r- 
selves in the forefront of the fight 
for a new C. L we are m.erely Al- 
lowing Trotsky to mishandle the 
movement in his own sweet wav. 

jMnch has been said about "the 
logic of positions*' and the inevit- 
able road to Trotskyism. Sincp 
Gitlow and Trotsky had the same 
premise (Becker spoke to me of 
new Kronstadt rebellions) a lexi- 
cal course brought Gitlow close to 
the Trotskyites. But if Herberg is 
going to prove by logic that Ism 
will take thc same course wheii 
Zam starts from a different preni- 
i.^c (Zam says the C. I. is not a 
traitor to Communism) then Ms 
logic is powerful indeed. Can 
Herberg iirove that when Zam 
says, no opposition party in tii.-^ 
Soviet Union, he really means the 
opposite? If Herberg can prove 
this his entire fight is won. 

One mere point was raised by 
Brockway. If it is permissible, in 
certain circumstances, to call for 5 
new party then why not a new in- 
ternational? If such new parties 
were formed on a democratic basis 
would it be wrong for them to con- 
stitute themselves a new intema- 
tional? It would seem that the C 
P. 0. is thankful that it has not 



make tliis a burning 



LC.O. GREETS COMMUNIST OPPOSITION 



[Conliriucd from Page 3) 

skyism, the acceptance of which would have disastrous 
consequences for the C.P.O. The C.P.O. cannot adopt the 
view-point of Comrade Zam, that in relation to the cen- 
trist parties we use a "tactic aiming at the conversion of 
these parties to communism — rather than their destruction 
and the alisorption of their masses in the communist par- 
ties" without giving up its character as a communist or- 
ganization. The centrist parties are reformist organiza- 
tions even if they have separated themselves organization- 
ally from open reformism, and the winning-over of their 
members for communism is impossible u-ithoiit an organi- 
zational break with the reformist elemci^ts. It is not our 
task to guard the organizational unity of centrist parties. 
On the contrary, we must do every ihing so that their 
members will break with the centrists and will adhere to 
^t principles and correct communist tactics noi 
swords but in deeds, i.e. to the Communist Op- 



The founding of a new party which Comrade Zam pro- 
poses must lead to capitulation before centrism and Trot- 
skyism and to ilie destruction of the hopeful beginnings 
which our .\merican organization has made towards win- 
ning over members of the official C. P. The organiza- 
tions of the C.P.O. mui^t strive lo become the communist 
parties uf thfir countries, but only thru gathering around 
tkt:ih-c!i-i s thc communist workL-r.s of Tb.i-ir countries, thru 
winniiif: over the official sections of the C. L in capi- 
talist countries. 



The L C. O. Letter 



this struggle and show themselves to be the ablest fight- 
ers for communism. 

WE ADVANCE IN GERMANY 

Our German organizations, thc C.P.G. 0. has become, 
despite the most difficult conditions, a recognized factor 
in the illegal German labor movement. The ranks which 
our illegal literature reaches are greater than the num- 
ber of readers we had during the time of legality. In 
America our organization has also strongly increased. If 
this work continues, if everything is done thru interna- 
tional cooperation and mutual ideological and material 
support in order to secure its progress, then, the LC.O. 
will gain prominence in other countries too. 

The victory of fascism in Germany, the growing fas- 
cist tendencies in other countries, the open bankcruptcy 
of reformism in Germany, which was the strongest pillar 
of the Second International, the effects of the economic 
development and of the capitalist attempts to get out of 
the crisis — all these present new and complicated problems 
to the communist world movement and the international 
labor movement. They can not be solved by the ultra- 
left methods. They can certainly not be solved by the 
centrist-Trotskyite methods, which, consciously or uncon- 
sciously, lead to the destruction and liquidation of Com- 



The propf =:;! of Comrade Zam to epiabli?h a new C. I. 
without tl.i ('.r.F.r !- f:> Mi ili-- -i:.U'\i> ■'.:•.• :f c ■juinuiiist 
principle- 1 ,.;.■'... • 'i ;:. ■<■ > ..: '-■ i-- ' :..unist In- 
tematioM.-i .■ ';.-■■. ■■:.^ :l,..;;_j- ;:..!:.. ■ :' 'r. ■ ■:.v:-\ prole- 
tarian dictaior.-n.p. i-^vMi i-.iur the iA;.0. suect eds in 
winning over a number of important sections of the C.i. 
it cannot found a new international without thc C.i'.S.U. 
It w,U remain even then a conununist tt-iuiincy striving 
for a reformed C.L, i.e. the cooperation of the C.T.S U. 
on the basis of correct communist tactics and the tiiutiiia- 
tion of thn mf,noj)oly of leadership by this partn. 

The proposal for tire international broadening of the 
I. CO. is that its organizations in individur.l ccuntries 
figkt as the C.V.O.. figlit as the advance guard for tht' 
reform of the C.I., tl...: ihty win pnutical successes m 



NEW WORKERS SCHOOL 


DANCE 

to be ho!d at 

IRVING PLAZA 

Irviug I'hvco and I'lth Street 


Vv'ediicsday Evening, February 21st 

(eve of Washington's Birthday)' 


Vernon Griffith's Orchestra 


Tickets— "lOo each— ;iri' on :.;ilo at the 

NEW WOUKl KS St IIOOL 

51 West 11 .Streoi. Ni'« York City 



munism. The solution of these problems call more th^^^ 
ever for the greatest exertion of critical and positive avo- 
by the C.P.O. This work is progressing and is proving t 
be fruitful. 

AGAINST CENTRISM IN GERMANY 
In Sweden the leadership of the CP-S. has gone ON-e^ 
to centrism and opportunism. On thc other hand, °^^ 
the intervention of the I.C.O. the fundamental P^*-'''^^^^ 
of communist tactics in the world today have been pi 
before the membership of the C. P. of Sweden and 
world of labor in general. Thus criticism from the nm- 
of the members of the C.P.S. has already begun to set • 
The inconvenient insistence of the I.C-0. against ^^>, ^Jg 
portunist deviations or vacillations has ^'^"^^^ ^ j^^e 
aroused forces which oppose them, has- "^*^^'^^ .-Qns 
authority of the LC.O. and has created new <'0"j;^'^:^j:o, 
in several countries (England, Denmark. H^^t - ■ ' 
France). ^ ^ 

CLARITY AND FIRMNESS— THE NEED 01 i"*^ 

HOUR . ,j^ 

The international labor movement is at P^^^*^." \}ii-u 
process of great fermentatioji and transformation ^^^ 
which transformation the lahor : - \o **^'^*^,.^,p 

ability and readiness to lead ti,. -^^'^^^ *^ ^ii 

further, to fight for a new bi- ::.-.. •"-'' ^^^'^^yV 

front. This involves the decline i^w iiqr.iJatvon J^^ ^ 
formism and the raising- of the eomnmnist parties ,^ 
higlior .tage of nviturirv un.i .:^h:v to struggle- i 

.luvi-aMe ih:.- -,. process of tr^- 

fonr^r.ion e:v ;. millions of ^^■C'■K 



cd with all > 

and errors ii. 

Cominunii.; 

^ary at m;c1i .i 

'IlLuin- 1 



in th.e linul viL'tory. 



should i^ <'^""^;*: 

:.aticn, vacillating 

:..:...... .-:ia^ity«renec^ 

der to set right comraae* 
cli ;ii- up confucion, in order to pr^t 



b., 



^\e hope, eonu-ades. that vour conference ^^■^*' ,j^> 
forward with now proposals for the successful st^^"*-*^ 
ot the C.P.O. in the U.S.A. and for the LC.O. 
With conununist errcetimrs. 

""HELXRICH BRANi;! t > 

For the BurO of tn. , 

,, . ^ Imornat;onal Ccmmu:.isc OpP-^^^- 

lans. Dec. 10, i;)>-^;i 



WORKERS AGE 



The Blue Eagle Over Latin Americi 



The world background ha^ ; 
changed considerably since the 6tn i 
Pan-American Conterence met at 
Havana in.392S.^Thj. depression [^^.^^ ^^^ ^^^^^.^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^p, 



has brought years of hunger to 
millions of workers and peasants. 
It has bred revolutions and top- 
pled governments. It has forced an 
even more aggressive struggle for 
the world's shrunken markets. It 
has so deepened the economic con- 
tradictions and so intensified na- 
tional hostilities that today we are 
on the br.nk of a new %vorld war. 

In the Western hemisphere the 
principle struggle takes place be- 
tween Great Britain and the Unit- 
ed States for economic domination 
01 that vast hinterland — Latin 
Amer.ca whose economic map 



Pan-Americanism at Montevideo 

by Ellen Ward 



ments in the Monroe Doctrine. The 
i-'an-American "Union is an organ- 
ization composed of the accreaited 
representatives of the Latin Amer- 
ican governments in Washington, 
ihe American Secretary of State 
is its permanent chairman. Dr. 
i.eo S. Kowe, an American, has 
been its Jilxecutive Secretary for 
over a quarter of a century. The 
permanent seat of the Union is m 
ashington. If you examine its 
perjodic publications you will find 
cnem steeped in "brotherly love". 
ihe pages are replete with photo- 
graphs of cactuses, llamas, coffee- 



hke the old-fashioned crazy quilt j beans, Indian festivals, blue-blue 
and whose politics is anything but lakes and picturesque Indian 
homogeneous. All of Latin Ameri- maidens. Eacn photograph trans- 
ca {colonial as well as semi-colon- [plants you to a patch of earthly 
iai) is based on an agricultural paradise — no class struggles, no 
economy with just the faint be- hmperialism, no starvation, no mis- 
ginnings of modern industry in ery, no peonage, no exploitation — 
countries like Mexico, Argentina all just beauty, happiness and per- 
and Chile. Mexico, to live, must 'feet peace. 
sell its oil and its minerals; Chile 



nitrates; Argentina its beef; 
Brazil its coffee, the Caribbean 
countries, their sugar and fruit. 
But the depression has slowed up 
the wheels of industry and we re- 
quire fewer raw materials and pay 
incredibly less for them. Latin 
America, In turn, purchases less 



[ Piatt Amendment it is obvious 
I vr'hat it sanctities in the rest of 
about its existence, recognize its j ^atin America, 
full implications and are ready in 1904 came Theodore Roose- 
and willing to demonstrate against velt's famous Corollary (in his aji- 
it — as they actually did in gigantic nuai message to Congress) 
demonstrations ail througn Cen- strengthening the Root declaration 
tral and South America during the ^ of luui. 'ihe first Roosevelt sum- 
sessions of the 6th Pan-American , niarized his views on the Monroe 
Conterence held in Havana in 1&28, hjoctrine as follows: Internal dis- 
in protest against American in- ordexs in Latin American coun- 
tervention in Nicaragua; and as tr.es give the United States the 
they would have protested in 1933 j right of police power. It is the the- 
if there had been any effective ory of the Corollary that has been 
communist leadership to guide |gjven as the justification for 
them. It is only the governing , American intervention in Nicara- 



to prevent Spain (with the aid 

of the Holy Alliance) from recap- 

The Pan American Union was turing her former colonies in the 

inaugurated in 1889 and has just 'New World" and to prevent other 

celebrated its 35th birthday. It j European nations from settling in 

holds full conferences every five the 'W'estern Hemisphere. 



cliques who, cynically, play thi 
game with our State Department 
because it is to their personal in- 
terest to do so. 

m * * 

The Monroe Doctrine 

The Monroe Doctrine is the sa,- _ 
cred cow of the Pan-American ' the League of Nations to meddle 
Union. It was originally hatched in the affairs of the Western 
Hemisphere. It is under this 
"theory" that Cordell Hull fore- 
bade the League of Nations observ- 



gua, Honduras, Cuba, Haiti, Pana- 
ma, and Santo Domingo. 

America's imperialist "philoso- 
phers" have also added to the 
meaning of the Doctrine in the 
post-war years. They insist that 
the spirit of the Doctrine forbids 



years and has just terminated the 
7th at Montevideo. The 8th h 
icheduled to take place at Lima, 



from us. Thus Argentina, for ex- , Peru in 1938 Its structure 1^ Pm\ 
ample took in 193U, $129,000,000; ^plufft^^' x^t.^.f^.f' i 
;^ iQQi c:;9nnnnnn X«j ;», mooi ■'^""^ iitted as an effective lever 
m 1931, So2,000,000 and m 1932! of American Imneriali^m All nf 



only $31,000,000. Our millions of 
unemployed eat little meat, drink 
less coffee and take no fruits. In 
addition we have raised our tariff 
walls so high that the lands to the 
south of us find them difficult 
to scale. All this has immeasur- 
ably intensified the hostility 
against the Yankee, and the more 
independent countries, like Argen- 
tina, have turned to Europe in an 
attempt to find solution for eco- 
nomic problems. Great Britain 
sent Sir Otto Niemeyer, Vice-gov- 
ernor of the Bank of England, to 
Argentina as economic adviser in 
1932 and in 1933 England signed a 
trade treaty calculated to elimin- 
ate American products almost com- 
pletely from the Argentine mar- 
ket. The same Sir Otto went also 
to Brazil and after his extended 
"studies" of the financial situation 
there advised Brazil to default on 
her debts to the United States. 
The U.S.A. after helping to blow 
up the London Economic Confer- 
ence last year turned more eagerly 
than ever to Latin America for the 
little that could be reaped. 

* * * 
The Pan-American Conference 



Latin America recognizes it as 
such. Xormano, a Brazilian, at the 
recent conference held at Williams- 
town, Massachusetts, stated frank- 
ly that "Pan-AmericaniKm exists 'ban=: virtv 
only m Washington ... The Latins ! Department 
call it a Congress of r' ' ' ' ■ -- - ' - ■ 



But with the advent of Ameri- 
can imperialist policy the doctnne 
has been stretched to sanction all 
all aggressive acts of the United 
States. Secretary Root, discussing 
the Piatt Amendment of Cuba in 
1901, said: "The Piatt Amendment 
is merely the Monroe Doctrine in 
treaty form." Incidentally, the 
Piatt Amendment makes the Cu- 
slaves of our State 
It gives the right to 



nvn. h. a ..f " TV. "'!"'*> presided the Unitf d States to intervene 
Tr\uL%i ^ T^e students, the m Cuba's internal affairs on the 
so-called liberals the workers and 'slightest provocation. If the Ddc- 
those peasants who know anything trmt^can be stretched to cover the 



for aid everywhere. Now, mare 
than ever before, Latin American 
markets and alliances are of vital 
importance. What can be done to 
win them? Make a play to the 
Latin-American galleries! "Re- 
vise" the hated Monroe Doctrine I 
The post-war years have seen ac- 
tive opposition to the Doctrine led 
by Honduras, Salvador, Costa 
Rica and Mexico (on and off). 
This opposition, plus England's ag- 
gressive drive for Latin American 
markets, have served to disgiiise 
America's big stick. President 
Roosevelt now covers the big stick 
in bright shining velvet in his Wil- 
son Dinner speech on December 
28th. He assures Latin America 
that he is willing to confer on the 
revision of the Piatt Amendment; 
that the definite policy of the 
United States from now' on is op- 
position to armed intervention . . . 
"It is only if and when the fail- , 
ure of orderly processes affects the 
other nations of the continent that 
it becomes their concern, and in 
such an event, it becomes the joint 
concern of a whole continent in 
which we are all neighbors." And 
all our liberals shouted paens of ' 



er from sitting in, at any of the Pf^f t ^^\ v'^'" ^'^° ^^^^ ^^^ 
secret sessions of the Conference "-^f f^ Y^° Relieves m words is 
at Montevideo (and most of the : ?, ^.''.';'^- /3^\^^ Montevideo when 
sessions were of course, secret). JJf.':' ^"^ P"^^ P^f^^^d ^9^ a reso- 
But the unwelcome League n.uscled\\^Xf ^^f^^f^^^^^ they 

in througn the representatives 
from Spam and Portugal. Only 



after a few words from Hull it 
was "decided" that they too would 
be excluded from the Executive 
sessions. 

* * » 

In 1933, Franklin Delano Roose- 
velt, the keenest instrument of 
America's baffled ruling class, be- 
came President. In his attempt to 
meet the problems of the depres- 
sion and prepare a safe hinterland 
for the coming war, he cast about 



The Future Of Children In Industry 

WILL THE NRA WIPE OUT CHILO LABOR? 

by Saul Held 



December 1933 was the date 
scheduled for the Pan-American 
Conference to be held at Montevi- 
deo. "What can we do to calm the 
atmosphere? To set the stage 
properly? To convince these Latins 
that this time we really mean what 
we say?" 

Presto! President Roosevelt took 
down the Pan-American Union, 
blew on it, polished it up until, he 
said, it fairly shone with love and 



Will the N.R.A. codes abolish 
child labor? Will the bright scar- 
let of children's blood be wiped off 
the social ledger? 

The Blue Eagle administration 
while preparing to strangle Amer- 
ican labor in its talons, made a 
magnanimous gesture — it threw a 
bone to labor; it proposed to abol- 
ish child labor in industry thru 
specific provisions in the codes. 
How has child labor fared under 
the wings of the Blue Eagle? 
* * * 

Looking Backward 

Looking backward, we find that 
the salient facts in regard to child 
labor are these: "In 1900 there 
were 1,750,178 children from 10 to 
Id years of age gainfully employed, 
or 18 per cent of the population of 
this age, as compared with G67,- 
118, or only 4.7 per cent, in 1930. 
In 1900 the number of children en- 
gaged in mining was 24,000, 



tnomic plague in 1929? Concurrent- 
ly with the extension of the do- 
oi*.^«-^„ II 1 -., , main of King Hunger which flood- 

o/ri^ "''^^1'^°'™, Y''^ ^''^- ?"^ ^d the lalwr market with youth 
exception: the new labor specif ica- laborers, we have witnessed the 
\VW ^°^\/'^tionai2ed industry, unceasing forging ahead of tech- 
Walter .VPnl f ^l^^^<^^t'°"^? Mr.'^ieal innovation. Reporting to the 
summnri^'l f>?t '^^' correctly Society of Industrial Engineers in 
tpTnf .nlir ^^- ^",^^^'"ed ^t- 'the Spring of 1933, Walter N, Po- 
tention, correct perception, quick lakov and ' 
reaction. All too often have radi- ."Since 19-?9 

tho%vr=l.''''''T'l'i71 ^^"^i.b^^^'i duction was decreased, 
the existence of child labor in 



good-neighborliness. Then he pull- IfXn ^ "'''''^ i'^^^ ^" ^^^0, and 
ed out the Monroe Doctrine, made „!?„„:.„. ^" manufacturing and me- 
a few passes 



chanical 



pursuits as compared 



See, it hn'Crelny as bad aT'^ou 'jl^^ only 68 2CG in 1930. In ad 
■ - For example^ ^ft'Z'"' ^"'^ ^^' following signi- 



occupational distribution 
iidustry and agriculture: 
ricuHure, 17.5% 



Latins think it is. 

there's a revolution in Cuba now; Uptw 

We don't mtend to send our mar- i ?non 

ines. Let's all sit around this big '•,, ^ . . -^ -.-..• 

table and talk things over. YoS " "^f i."f^cLuring and mechanical 
see, I ask your advice-we are all l,'!?"' ^^f^^ 'J! ^ 1930-70.4% in 
pod neighbors. We should all join |^^f'c^>*'^i-e, 10.2% in manufactur- 
together for whatever action may '^ ^"."^ mechanical industries. The 
te necessary in Cuba. The Latins h „ r^ basic factors making for the 
^arne. they sat, they listened, they £"V" ?hd^ ,^1^°^ were: 1) new 

journed. The next day our battle- if L'"'^"!^^^' V P^-^v^lence of a 
ini^f.'^'"'"" in Cuban waters pot 'iT^.^"^*T^^ ^^&^ standard of liv- 

fvmerican delegation sailed for' .,?" ««""ection with the last noint 



his committee said: 
as the bulk of pro- 
reased, so was de- 
']ticfr,r „r,^^ *.i, "' ;r"-\"^ "^: creased the use of power, equip- 
Iabo7p "?°". wftho^P^^i;'^^'T. "' "^^"t ^"^ '''^Ses, but the a^Uca- 

the fict That -Tbpiti"? ^ ""1 "/<^^^'^^ C07itmued," The fact that 
ncieaih?^ Jlj.^-" '""Y^^^'^^ .this process eliminates child labor 
is a renPt ?n. ?.r ' "^^^hmery ;from industry was recognized a 
by clatter ThT In l^V'^'^T^''^*^^ Eoodly number of years afo bv the 
sLe thS'^ ovei^fnd nv ^ "' ^^A ^'''^-^''°^ Society as we havl pointed 
t H ^""^S ovei and over, amid out on a nrevious occa-sion 
rhythmic sounds, in an atmosphere I t^ P'^^\'°''^ occasion. _ 
frequently stale with oil or dust" ' ,. ,^^'^® ^"^ general situation 

and that the adolescent does not T '^ , Industrial Codes were 
possess the above mentioned quali- ■rr""^^ ^ P"^ ^"*^° operation. \Vhen 
fications, particularl}/ in such a !u i?"^!^^''^'^^ ''^'"^ formulated 
production eiivironment, seems to I ^^^ between the representa- 
have been completely forgotten ^ 1^ . ^'^^ ^^^"^^ industrialists 
The years between IS and 25 are small ones broke out on the 

the most desirable years for the •?.'i^2*^°" "^ ^^hild labor abolition, 
rationalized industries as may be ' IJ^^x, P^'^^sure of big industry 
seen from all statistics i ttightmg to eliminate competition) 

* * * * found definite form in the "Blan- 

What Has NRA Brouirht' n^^ ^°^^" ^^'^'^^ stated: "After 
Now, we can ask. wh.t W „.._ \^'^..^''..'^> ,^-^ 'o employ 



were both defeated. Cordell Hull 
told our benighted brethren that - 
while the United States is ready ' 
and willing to renounce interven- 
tion to protect property, it could 
not renounce intervention to "bring 
about evacuation of foreigners." 
This is the Doctrine's new 1934 
dress and it has full skirts and it 
hides many reservations. 
V * * 

The Play At Montevideo 

Although the depression weighs 
like an Alp on the world's workers 
it rests even more heavily upon 
the toilers of the colonial countries, 
for they live under a system of 
double exploitation, their own and 
that of the foreigner and because 
of their intense exploitation, and 
great poverty, the pressure of the 
masses is greater on the ruling 
cliques. These cliques are not in- 
terested in alle\'iating the condi- 
tions of their %vorkers and peas- 
ants. None-the-less, they feel that 
if they could make a public speech 
{Continued on Supplement Page 3) 



JNow, we can ask, what has haD- \rsv x^f^l'<n.■,\^t.AZ' ^r \\ ^^^j^vm made m the recent co 
pcncci since the coming of the eel eTop't^tha ZtL' „S" f//„!,' I^.^.^'V--!™"-'-"- 



coming since the inauguration of 
many of these Codes? The National 
Child Labor Committee reports 
that more than 100,000 children 
have been eliminated from indus- 
try- since the Blue Eagle began its 
actual flight. Altogether 50,000 
boys and girls between 16 and 18 
"will soon be removed frcm hazard- 
ous emplo>-ment. Bituminous coal 
industry has set a 17-year age 
limit. "With a few exceptions all 
bar the employment of children un- 
der 16 years. The exceptions are 
the codes for the legitimate thea- 
tre and motion picture industries 
. . and the codes for the retail 
trades, including drug and grocery 
stores, which permit the employ- 
ment of children between 14 and 
16 years for 3 hours a day (or one 
Shour day a week) between 7 a.m. 
and 7 p.m. but not during school 
hours." In view of the fact that 
stricter measures to safe-guard 
learners and apprentices, and to 
make impregnable an attack on the 
child labor provisions, have been 
made in the recent codes, the Blue 



Montevideo with'an^easy heart. 

The Structure Of The Pan- 
American Union 

I'^^ntd at MoritcvK >;f> or for i)X\ 
' ^ructure of the Fan-American 



It IS one of the utmost importance 
to be aware of the fact that the 
bulk of child labor exists in those 
b^cctions of the country with a tra 
ditionally lower standard of living 
fToi'^l. '^.'"^I""^^'*^' ^""^^ modern 
inn"va't?on.'''"'P""^ °^ ^^^^--> 
* * * 

TV. ^J*" .^''^ Ileguiremenfs 
Ihe facts enumerated above are 



ON DIALECTICS 

Two chapters from a larger 
work by the leading communist 
theoretician 

August Thalheimer 

Translated into English for the 
first time. 

Neatly mimeographed. 
Printed Cover. 

PRICE 10 CENTS 

Order from 

NEW WORKERS SCHOOL 

•>! West 14 St., New York. 



^.i-nnv;*. +u J. „ t i "i~ "»~' I ^t^o^c ituiiiuiistration means busi- 

l?fi v?l^? .f ^n ^°"' ^'^k''^" ^1 ^"^ "ess on this proposition. In this 

(but not ?n lftuP\ *"• employed connection it is important to note 
L^u"^:f„°^.i^"^™^?*^t.^»''^e/>.^«»^^ the Kiplinger W^ashington 



chanical industries) for not to ex- Letter for Julv 1, 1933, was in'er- 

hours betX'n r: t^'^ 7i *^"'' P-^^ ^^'^^'^ it ^^^ote of a tacit under- 
tin soeh wn.? 7 -n ^"d.7P-"^- 'standing between the Administra- 

with bn,,r.f f i "?t^ ^"terfere tion and manufacturers to permit 
'^; H^^?^ /^'^''^'''^°,°^- Sut ad- child labor "in cases of families 
\tdic\t "^^°^"^^t^°" '^^^X not yetkvhere the maintenance of decent 

Wnii .victory for the mdus- standards of living required em- 

as vet n„;^n'Tf S'^'^r r""^''' 'ployment of minors/' Both the fact 
'^L«hn..= \- M ^^ T ^"""^^-^ a^'^that in October the Federal Relief 
rieN\sboys, juvenile workers m re- [ Administration urged relief admin- 



I'tail trades, farm 
servants, 
ers and 

I trades have been th« most stubborn 
opo]5nents of child labor provisions 
in their respective codes. Today, 
loO industrial codes have been ap- 
proved. 

* ♦ ■» 

What results have been forth- 



3, farm workers, domestic istrations to accord special atten- 
etc. Newspaper publish-! tion to families that might be suf- 
the rulers of the retail fering because a child wage earn- 
er had been removed from industry 
under the N.R.A. codes, and the 
overwhelming adherence to the 
code in the cotton textile industry 
(which contained tlie bulk of in- 
{Continued on Page 7) 



I 



I 



su m 

WORKERS AGE 9 

?^?X?Ey «nthe Ford Empire 

idustriaj JLiaperor Henrv ForH Tu.t" f"^^- . i^^® '**^«^i^°Jn& to question the mprib? h.nr.nv r.z-.^aa./.r, r...... ,..,.-„ ^.... Nation of the schonl *..,_: ^^* ifivL 



-'-*j (-uijier oi tue globe, fron 

every part of these United States," I ^°^^' ^^ ^^eats them all aTAisT^r f"^^^^^ ^^e Ford officTaFTr "tv^ar r*"""^'^ empire. "Just in case they 
were drawn to this ^n.t R^.^i fi^ies, which of course Ts eLTtlv TT""^ ^ the samrthe officfalW T^t- "|%°ed" expiamed the Ponce 

Emoeror Pn.^ ^../l.^'^^^"^ of the Ford controlled small Jl^!^. r^'^"^- ""^ Lincoln i^ark co a Council 
where the workers Jive "^^^^s meeting of hjs town, afuer worK- 

■ Let some nettv f^^^f i,„i_i,r^^ ^" ^^^^ t^^n haa bitterly pro- 



cvcr> part 01 tbes _^ ^,^^^^ 

S^l'^r'i^ ^^'^ 1^°*^- Because r"'"; J;^"ic^ ot course is , 
RivS^nx, ^""T" '^^^ *^^ h'^^e t\ ^^P^^^^ ■F'o^d desires. 
River Hon.. .,... „. .._ " ' ' :he?e%f.^"r^if;!^-^ ?^ ^-t of 



week 
-i-iic A^c*.iuii, ^wjige w^re On hand 
iatherin^^r'Xhhwl^' '^^^ particular biood bath o. 
■'- evef' ^1^,^^,^?^' the workers. There were also pres- 

>?fVtl?^?,'";i^Jp-rd'5 empire. -Just m case they 
°^j:.>^f^^'^iwere neeaed" explained the Ponce 

of Liincoln Kjirtr rn o ( /-.tiTinii 



r--uring irom the Board J"^*^' C 
delegation waa s«vt ,,5^^ 'ocm n 
fed by two hunXn? ?^^ ^^ 
tentiai murder*>rs n ^^^^ L« 
was permanently ' ini^rl "^^'"^ 
this slugrfest tL 2xS J^^^ 
son struck home. T?."^^*^ hi 
were taught that the 1^^^ 
meetings were a iSjh 
keep away from! ^ *^ 



\r«V ^^""ge Plant of the 

motor company needed men- that T"^^^ service police <;nip<: ^^-^ ~~ i -^^t some nettv tvT^-r,i- i, i i,!""" "^ 

if^^L"!^ P;™2 «« i" Ditroft. r ^PPalmS one ' Sett 'hal '"?'' "'««=oyvi„^S^''?'=W tested. 

It might be better to locate on Se H"'^wn them from the Drf,?^. ? rebellious workers and P^J. ^ r"'=<' 

«mthwestadseofthecifa^"d,al *= ^''"-orld of e^ery^W Y"= """^ i^^tMsiSLin/lo""!^ ' 

J^^Hernraldis^ctsof Kenj -Pef rirc-dit".S KiSS^^^^ 



RiverR.„ ™°'?' "■" ""^ h"f= Tl, '='"'?=■■« Fo^d desires. ' {"V"^ l^'^ controlled small tTOTis "'^Hr 

§orrcXV'rd^'.t^.^tSI?the?e%l?r''X°1p?lsr'^ bTH-='" 

»?t-Lt''i™?SfooSe"oi^tSl5-w??h1S^f-t:^ We-T^Xr-^ 

J^ord about one year ago, while t^f"^'^ empire, terrorisfi; k' ^ 

.,rr,.„ ,-^ his poHce officl L^n?^,. a-?/'Night fiid?r.'. ^^'^'-^ 

* * - I take timid ■work^-r. ,-: " They 






Terror Bands Are Lew j 

In Dearborn ntS^L^^^ 

fit calling itseH "The Kni^? ^'^t' 

This same police cn.ei f 5"^? ^^^^ ^''e the bacSWe «f^^^ 
employment agent ior UV^^"^ ^tion. We al.,7 L°^ this 



As To The Right Of Free 
Speech 



.take timid worker^ V;" 

and amidst the glar"r. -" '" 

headlights in the '^ 

waving of flags, 'the-' V, " 

! Bu..f' to _swear to^'d^o^'-jj 



ajids* of real, 

Americans. W aize 

llY%' '^gljrSaxon blood cam< 

Si;. ""^ '^^ H^l *™«= ^" their ex- 

istence, connected with " "~i-- > • 

job in a modem indc^ 

came, jnth al] their prejudices! ''''°"&^t intL _.,,„ ^,o„ 
Donnshed and handed doL'm thep'^. h^s his own m^sdical 
iuU country; they came, despisinJr"*^ ^^^<^ his own hosnitll v! 
the Don-English speaking "for ^^ts out of this iSSL . ''^'''' 
eigner." with a loathing ^for the'r^"^'^ ^^^ Ford ^Moi," g. *^ ^"^- 

fSS *?;, ^°rship towards Henry Came The Present CrU; J"^® '^ ^■'>rth Jivinfr"7"qn";r"l Present 



re^ hundred-perc^t 'y„^J'--ted to the dlfnity^rdt L^°^i™r''''^r= ^^ °" ^and'to' Kd' During November 1982. the or- i eS'ni*'^. 
■iJi ^ S^P^' °f riv L =''^"«S' ''ave their star han- "^ ^"^ "'"■''^'- l"™. On such oc- Ka^'zed unemployed, in add,tion to ' SS i*"" 

^^^'--^MrdJS^^^^^^^^^ -'^.^^..all Ir ,r^ -ault and terror al w'-^rto^Vd-i-t^ef ^^^^^^^ 

me, despismg „^.*t ^^^^ his ow-n hospital. No new J ""'^^'>' occurring This nofi^ hates. Thev were told thtt^r^lt ^ ^^^ unemployed a T°T^ 

I ^hJ: ,-f il'i'^^^,?". Detroit, whire ( ^^^ of the Board, you wUl have t^ itt!: ^^^7 _^f ^^>llet h^j^ ^ 



the Don-English'" s7eaSng^"for°| -^^s out of this institution' to"^'"' 

ei^er." ^'tK . ,„..u..„ .. . thep^^^^^ the Ford Motor Compan'J-. I ^e^e ItT^^K ^°""*^ hut rishtl^^^^- I" any c.a.e, said the^ch^aT^- Igi^'t^" ^5 he left hiTb.Z' 
'^""' - * ' ^iS f J."i'^J^,f". Det^^oit, whire h^^ of the Board, you will have to the head w-^ ^ ""^^^^^ ^^^^ 

. they P^-^sei^t a written petition with in a 'fel n-P^''''''^ *^^ n^^ S^ 
Ford's h^^es of tax-payers on it, in cal nnlS? °^ "^^'^^^ ^^^d- The^' 
_ ^, nronAi- frit-rv, u/^ „.„„ ._, > , '., L^^-' poiice were •'Kr.^-n.j,. -^"e 10- 



"- ■ ' V- h^H ^JIZ ?. , ° 9^^^' tens of thousand.? of forces tr ^,,1 ^^PJ^c, send armed p^^'®S:ati on that a petition would be 
V had ever uorker, in this industna" ^mlire gerf V^a^f H '^' ^"^^ siug-N^^wn up and presented at thi 



""=> travea — steady i 
wages bigger than they __ 

Fo?d wf^ S"^?^- . "" ^'^1hav;'been"laS^or"p"^' empire,|gers in beating do ^7 ■ 

^onps of automofilf n^akWa'be- entSri^T^^^^P'^^^^^^ntopres- 
out ...... _...., ^^he lent ^^^^ .d us trial co^^ 



The Dearborn M^c^cr^ .- , . 

On March 7th 1^^9 -P. ^. ' - ^^^^^« 
^^^^ ^vn, 1932, Ford's pri- ■' They were there 



.-lu ^lic^ixman ±-4ynn: by these t^rr.t^' * ^-^ ^^^^ hnrned 
and when you come homes nf.f^^^ ^" ^^^^t of t5 
I with the American erT''i?rJdi?%K^? ^.^^^ -orS 



l*;Very we*I], -... „.,,, ^,^ come fhon 

|IU meet you with the American jars,"" M^dertSs ^^^^^^^ 



^•--..J-^TS»ff-riSi^" 






p'?lv2ni^.<'t-I-.^_,-?««^d1mt|Xf=h^n"d''^l''^-£.?.'.¥' A year ago in „„r „.„-._. . l''°-<i We pSld^S^lt^lf -HSSricTlofn'rc^o^^^?"^" 






• 



am;^tinTo7/iferr^S'1«e„t\^ 

ModdT rf,, '^.^ ».''' "" Lizzie of 

on?'ftiJgtly'4°s1he^'%r' *^' 
the Ford Sr Th/ ',"^,«atter with 

took later 
this clear. 



*ru'theinSr,l!cr1sis'^-&r-'; 
™|een ^and is eviryXe"'"^ 

J he mayor of that . 
^'A the plant is locate 

^e/anmenrak":^?^''?"- 
i'th the noS I'^r^Z..^'""?, 



A year ago in „„ campa^n t r7'- ''^ P^i""^ o Llt\,f „^„'^ SicTlofn'?'? '"^f^- -."t.': 
.i..re. [organize the shoe wvfrtlt ^ °" to past experiences with 1^7 v:.^ eral rn^ , Council and the Gen- 

spies of type of leaders waT fr. ^^^^tam tion. Was he impartial nr^H ^ l" this iL ""^ ^ ^'^S^ increase for 
-^ n^nners of a C^^r' -'V"" ^"— ^ ^^em both "^P^^^" He handicap yet, on th'. '"..^.-^?^' a consider the maUer ol /.??^!> ^^^f^^^eason. 

,^.- „.; v. list £-5 s^a-;=:b;?.;fe SSSSes^'-ii'^s' fn.5ES~'SS™ 

y speak Of the fo^me^dfpart^r""*.-".-"- in Wheret? Se'f.?f.f-'i'5"?'r.! 



^iS'S^S^? . Y'\ ^P-d-P S>ou^Srthat"l ^^-'^X'^ S .^alJ^;^- ^= ^ -"I' -0 file «gan!?oTVe^^S?u7a- After the deVs" examp^^a/'th'^ ^fiUn'sIf' " '" 

tt, an ey-lf*^Ba,v,„ .^ -T-as another con- ment fnr « i "^he recent mov^ U^^^en to the «>, r. J i^"^ heen Proposal, ijtill ihc^.r n " \~ 

,?h%l,l°£t^4-'edtd?aSfLT„^^^^^^^ 

;°±"f.A" ^'ddi. Hve co^c^r^lar 'S IT.'T":; 



*lXery first „"T°1"^P: From 



S4tS^- J4° tt "> '■-F<>^°3id°L?i^no"irT'"' '^^^^^^^ was con./-- sellers to Wc 

and .„..jyit 'i!^ »derworld|public »„ -.-^---h regardinJb„...,l»^. -ned out s.^^^^^^^ 

r.^hf. il.^'M The wLw£!".^f" per cent. play into the h. h' ^'^'^ .'"'"^' ^'^ 



— "'mi».i,jt»j(g With the .4 

»in Sj.^h^'^?^-,'?, ^,^/oit. Alkid he; "Tcanl-r,^''''^'""'"^"*' hu^ | the" "na7t n'f ?l?^ ^'"^« interesPon pionarcut^oTfifVl.r'"''^''^ ^^ ^^di- |tive concreTe^Dl^^'ne '"'^a '°"''^'' 
labor-hatir/;- " -r ^ ^^ 'l^^^ with minutea, who ^'1,^ T^' ^" «^« the ?ery Lh^ ^T^^^^hip.'F.om ^^^ workers a^ ff T^' \^^^^ ^"*o the & S'^..'""'' '' 

Situation. What are ' Je anr ..T^'^ ^ determined stnig- 
>bl.,.„ u..^i^^ ^^^1 detoat the attempts ot the 






a» a police K^f^- ^^- ^hey act 
h</«t^ if th^^^f?. 6ver-g^,r^, and 



NR A and Child Labor 



• J , , v.-,,j.' h\ 1 Worker of Autrust 

(Contnu:.-a from Faff. t» !^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^,j ^j^^^ 

mistrial chiUi labor), indicate that .^^^,^^^.^, ,,^,, ,,„tvar: 
this statemPT.yv.'^yHir. . 
SIRE than a F.-^Ll. 



; of a DE- 



Child Labor 



It IS the opmicvn of the ^^Titer 

'*Vw fv-'- .odes will 

speedup t_^- .^ ^,^ 

tior-a J>rc^^^, :^^ ;^^^ decades. 



ticni. 



10. W^S, It 
available evi- 
to this conten- 
.1 vi^ry fonvoiiit'iitly he poi=t- 
poTies the ''systemitization" and 
growth of child labor to a future 
date: "For a short period of time, 
there will be a temporary exclu- 
sion of some children under 16 
from the factories. Tlien, these 
same children, because they must 
live (!), will be bootlegged back 
into industry, \mder assumed 
acres." 
i' -^^ cif^te^ for .several aecaue.-. I ^Vhat evidence is brought forth 
v"n without the codes, the exist- to boUter this contention tlmt child 
^JJ^orln ever c,nnvin\r armv of labor will be extended at a later 
ence of an, e%er j:n J techno- date? Is it ''because they, must 



uneniploved. continuins: _ 

Iwrical progress, and proving re- live' ?—5mce^vh 
^"tl„,„v,+ o^iongst workers agamst j decide mdustna . 

i-hile millions of work- | basis of humanitarian 



ivhen does capitalism 
SnWt amongst workers against jdecide industrial policies 



child labor 
ers are 
industrj- 
bor unions 



the 
impulses 



permanently displaced from Or, is the answer, mdustrial hon e 

^rgr^win^ 'pressure of la- work", or is it code ;'lo<^P- l«\e. . ' 

iHu unions to eliminate a source as Gil Green believes? But tins 

child labor) of cheap labor tend- prophet has stated hm^="^^ ^^^^ 

ine to lower adnlt watro levels, jthis could app y to hu 

would in itself continue the process tries" only. And genci 



stated himself that 
"light indus- 
would in itself continue the process tries" onl>'. ^ ^^"^^^ ""^^ 
of eliminating child labor. It is mi- summg that this is ^.^"f- ^^ "° 
portant to note that only in a few |stretch of the imagination can this 
cases have the learner's clauses ,be an argument for the extention 
in the codes been used to smuggle of child labor on a wider rmle thayi 
in child labor; in a majority of \m fhe past This loop-hole here or 
ca^es thev have been used to fire there in "light industries , with- 
adult workers and then rehire them [out an examination of the O'^sic 
H< "learners" at learner's pav. Bad tendencies relative to capitalist 
as some of the learner's clauses production, can only result m the 
are in several codes (iron, steel, above weird conception quoted, it 
and textile) thev have not been is our viewpoint that in ind-iistrtf 
used to smuggle 'in child laborers. \as a whole, the process is, and will 
The iron and steel industries hav- continue to be, toward the elimi- 
ing slight use for such labor under 'nation of child labor regardless of 
any conditions. On the other hand .the success or failure of the codes, 
are some codes with carefully safe- \ Codes rigorously enforced can but 
guarded exemptions which not only hasten an already swift process, 
limit the apprenticeship period to 
six weeks, and the number of learn- 
ers to 5 per cent of the employees, 
but fix a minimum wage rate for 
learners. Some also carry provi- 
sions designed to prevent the dis- 
charge of learners after the learn- 
ing period is over, or their employ- 
ment by another firm as learners 
when they have once completed a 
learning period anywhere in the 
industry. 



{Continued from Page 6) 

any and all workers engaged in 

educational or organizational work. 



The most stupid estimate of 
child labor under the Blue Eagle 
came from the sanctum sanctorum 
of the young Communist League 
thru the pen of its seer, Gil Green : 

"Capitalism has always used 
youth and child labor for great- 
er exploitation; for deriving of 
greater profits. But never has 
this policy of_ the manufactur- 
ers been so fijiely syfitematized, 
and officially blessed, as in the 
Natioiml Recovery Act and its 
varicnis indwitrial codes " (our 
emphasis) . 

In the same article in the Daily 



The Fear Of Capitalism 

What capitalism fears most is 
that the abolition of child labor 
will set a precedent, a principle, 
against low-paid labor and ex- 
ploitation of any tirpe! Both the 
smallness of the existing child la- 
bor force, and its continual de- 
creasing value for rationalized in- 
dustry, hardly make it a priceless 
possession that must be bitterly 
fought for. While it is true that 
the U. S. climbed to industrial su- 
premacy in part thru the wide- 
spread use of child labor (after 
the reconstruction period), its 
problems today are not of the same 
character. 

Only the px^oletarian revolution 
can wipe out the child exploitation 
and labor as it has existed, and 
exists, under capitalism; and thru 
an early linking-up of productive 
work with education, transform so- 
ciety. 



WORKERS AGE 

GERMArEXHIBIT 
OPENS IAN. 26 

INew york City. 

Beginning Jan. ?.fi and contimi- 
inc thru Feb. 12, the* New Work- 
orf School. 51 West 14 St. on 
whose wails Diego Rivera has 
painted twenty-one murals, is ^^tag- 
ing an exposition nn Germany, 

Actual underground literature 
now being distributed in Germany 
bv the Communists, Socialists and 
tiie new illegal trade unions will 
be put on display. A special fea- 
ture will be the showing, for the 
first time in this country, of a com- 
plete series of photographic papers 
of the Communist Party of Ger- 
many (Opposition) now havmg 
wide circulation in underground 
labor circles. 

The exposition will also have on 
display Nazi posters, cigarettes, 
"war 'stamps", stickers, leaflets, 
showing how Hitler stole commu- 
nist slogans and songs with wh'ch 
to win workers aw^ay from the 
Communist and Social Democratic 
ranks. An elaborate map showing 
the location of concentration camps 
and number of prisoners in each, is 
part of the exposition. Hitherto 
unpublished pictures of "special" 
Nazi activities will be displayed. 

The exposition, which will be 
open daily from 11 A, M. to 8:30 
P.M. will open with a lecture on 
"One Year of Hitler Germany" 
by Jay Lovestone. 

Exposition and lecture will be 
,held at 51 West 14 Street. 

New Workei-s School In 
New Term 

New York City^ 

The New Workers School is be- 
ginning its new term, the week of 
January 22, with eight classes. 

Monday January 22. 7 P. M.: 
Theoretical System of Leninism. 
Tuesday Jan. 23, 7 P. M.: Funda- 
mentals of Communism. At 8:30 
P. M.iProsposed Roads to Free- 
dom (Which Program for the 
Workmg Class?) Thursday Janu- 
ary 25, 7 P. M.: Strategy and Tac- 
tics. At 8:30 P. M.: Lenin and the 
Russian Revolution. On Friday 
January 26, 7 P. M.: two classes 
get under way — Hi.story of Amer- 
ican Communism and Lenin and 
Philosophy. 

Jay Lovestone begins his course 
on Current Events, on Friday Jan- 
uary 26, at 8:30 P. M. The sub- 
ject for the first session is "One 
Year of Hitler Germany." 

Register now. $1.25 for a course 
of six sessions. Single admissions, 
for the current events sessions, are 
25c. 



Seven 



Slavery Under Ford 



such actions as are fitting for a 
rebel element in a slave class to 
take. 



The Impotence Of The C. P. 

The official Communist Party, 
outside oi a few bitter .speeches, 
does nothing to rally the workers 
some common ground and mo- 
bilize against this terror. The In- 
ternational Labor Defense, which 
interests itself in many caso^, hav- 
little or no class significance, 
claimed to be able to do nothing 
in the case of the school outrage 
"because the workers delegates 
were not in prison". On this mat- 
ter the official Communist Party 
had evidence collected, promised 
the w^orkers that action would be 
taken, then declared, suddenly, 
that nothing was to be done. 

So we wonder why the message 
of hope which we might bring to 
the workers is kept away from 
them. When we allow one over- 
grown industrial baron to use mur- 
derers and the dregs of civiliza- 
tion, to beat up, intimidate and 
murder active members of the 
working class, we wonder just 
where all our vaunted solidarity 
comes in. We see a whole metro- 
politan area under a state of ter- 
ror caused by sadistic murder 
bands controlled by one of our so 
! called enlightened .industrialists. 
I We see the fundamentals of our 
boasted constitution of the United 
State, outraged by the very men 
paid to, and sworn to protect them. 
Freedom of speech, of the presS; 
of assembly, are words only in 
Henry Ford's empire. 



A Challenge To The Working 
Class 

Here is a fine place to see just 
what fighting spirit can be mobil- 
ized to do battle with that arch 
enemy Henry Ford. Now is the 
time 'for intelligent workers to ex- 
pose and defeat the local Hitler. 
He still has billions. There still 
are thousands of lower-strata 
workers for him to appeal to with 
promises of pay in exchange for 
butchered and murdered workers. 

These things are happening right 
now, under our eyes, in one of our 
own American industrial centers. 
Here is a challenge to the workers 
of America, a challenge flung at 
us in the shape of our murdered, 
mutilated fellow workers. 

Shall we prove ourselves worthy 
of the w^orking class to which we 
belong, and to the glorious revo- 
lutionary age in which we live? It 
is up to workers everywhere to 
think over these things and to take 



LOCAL 22 HITS G.E-B. 
OUSTER OF LOCAL 9 

{Co-ntinued from Page :J) 
and in forbidding all members of 
the present administration of Lo- 
cal 9 from running for office for 
two years, and urgently requests 
President Dubinsky to call a meet- 
ing of the New York G.E.B. to re- 
consider this action. We make this 
request for the following reasons: 

1. The decision of the special 
committee of the G.E.B. appears 
to us to be a dangerous step along 
the road of a general expulsions 
policy, which once did such great 
harm to our Union. 

2. We are not ready now to pass 
judgment on the acts with which 
the Local 9 administration is 
charged. But the way and the time 
these charges were raised and the 
conclusions arrived at by the spe- 
cial committee make the whole case 
look like an election manouver. 

3. The decision of the special 
committee will not help the' unity 
of the Union membership, so bad- 
ly needed to day, but will weaken 
it. 

4. The decision of the special 
committee is just what the dual 
unionist enemies of the Interna- 
tional, outside and inside our 
Union, desire most, since it gives 
them an issue thru w-hich they can 
utilize feelings of dissatisfaction 
and discontent for dual unionist de- 
moralization and disruption. We 
oppose the Local 9 decision not be- 
cause it hurts the dual unionist 
and the Industrial Union but be- 
cause it greatly helps them. 

In taking this position, the Ex- 
cutive Board of Dressmakers 
Union Local 22 w^ants to make 
perfectly clear that it dissociates 
itself completely from the dual 
unionist aims, policies, methods 
and tactics of the Local 9 admin- 
istration. In the interests of the 
Union, however, the offenses of 
any member or official against 
the Union should be dealt with as 
they occur on their merits instead 
of *being made the ground for 
wholesale removal action against 
any political group or tendency on 
the eve of elections. 



: 



READ 

SPREAD 

SUBSCRIBE 
IVORKERS A GE 



HOW TO REACH THE FARMERS? 



(Continue'} frmn Pacje 41 
west farmer today is one of the 
most important elements in the 
revolution? As for leadership, it 
must develop from the ranks of the 
farmers. It is doing this. Only 
those who thoroughly understand 
the farmers can successfully lead 
the farmers. Events of the past 
certainly demonstrate th-'s. The 
basic of the basic industries can 
no longer be ignored! 



COMMUNIST PARTY 

AND THE FARMERS 

by J. D. 

In the December 15th issue of 
the "Age" there appeared a letter 
from a Nebraska farmer on the 
farm movement and the work of 
Communists in the rural regions. 
This letter is of considerable im- 
portance because it shows the point 
of view of a radicalized, revolu- 
tionary American fanner who has 
refilled against the exploitation 
and oppression of his class, by the 
American bankers and bosses, and 
has determined to join the forces 
01 the revolutionary proletariat to 
crverthrow the oppressors. The 
letter is also important because of 
the problems it raises as to the 
niethods of Communist work 
£>mong the farmers, and the rela- 
'JJ"lv^ f^ workers to the farmers 
m the class struggle. 

A thorough discussion of these 
proDJems is neces.sary, because up- 
on their successful solution de- 
pends the winning of the farmers 



to the side of the revolutionary 
proletariat. 

* * * 
The first point of imnortance is 
the criticism which the comrade 
makes of the work of the Commu- 
nist Party. A great deal of criti- 
cism is certainlv in order. The 
line of the Party in farm work 
has been becoming more and more 
sectarian. The recent "Extraor- 
dinary Conference" of the Party, 
which also gave birth to the in- 
famous "Open letter" denounced 
any good work previously done as 
"opportunist", rejected any sensi- 
ble approach to the farmers, and 
set a new record for political Inn- 
acv in the resolution adonted. The 
National Farmers I'^elief Confer- 
ence, which had been organized and 
led by the Partv, and which real- 
ly had united thousands of farm- 
ers in one common fight, was de- 
nounced because it had not issued 
an "indictment of the whole capi- 
talist system", had not attacked 
*>verybodv but the Communist 
Party, did not Drnnose "the revolu- 
jtionarj' wav out of the crisis" (pro- 
letarian diftatorshio). did not 
come out for complete cancella- 
tion nf all (l"bts nnH taxes, said 
nothing about ''.elf-determinatron 
for the Negroes and. worst of all, 
did not nprnlv show that it was or- 
snmz'j] and U-d by the Communist 
Partv. Airain, the "danger" of a 
Farmer-Labor Party w^as vigor- 
ously denounced, because the need 
for such a party is especially ob- 
vious at the present time in the 



farm movement. 

In order to remedy these terri- 
ble mistakes the Party held anoth- 
er Farmers' Conference recently 
in Chicago. There, all these op- 
portunist errors were omitted. Not 
the slightest trace of "rotten liber- 
alism" (Stalin) was permitted to 
enter. The meeting was held in a 
Party hall which was placarded 
with slogans having nothing to do 
with farmers' problems, general 
communist slogans which would 
be appropriate only at a Party 
convention. Every important Par- 
ty official, who was available was 
brought down to address the farm- 
ers. Clarence Hathaway, whose in- 
timate connection with farms is 
perhaps to be doubted, was placed 
in charge of the conference, and 
everything went on in the best 
manner. 

It is obvious that the Party is 
determined to cut its own throat 
in the farm movement as much as 
it has done in the labor movement, 
and the need for a sensible, clear- 
cut communist program for the 
farmers as well as the workers be- 
comes more evident every day. 

In criticising the lack of correcl; 
Communist work among the Amer- 
ican farmers we must not make the 
mistake, however, of saying that 
the farmers are the really revolu- 
tionary class in America, and that 
the trouble with the Communist 
Party is that it concentrates its 
energy in organizing workers in 
the middle west instead of farm- 
ers. 

It must be realized that the 
enemy of both the working class 
and the great musaca of farmers is 



trust capital, and that the great 
need of the day is an alliance of 
the workers and farmers against 
their common foe. In this alliance 
the proletariat will undoubtedly 
take the lead because of the deci- 
sive importance of industry in a 
capitalist country like America, 
and because the proletariat is the 
only class which is completely di- 
vorced from capitalism. Yet the 
role of the farmers must not be 
minimized in the struggle. The 
fai*mers in the United States are 
a factor which cannot be ignored. 
There can be no proletarian revo- 
lution in America as long as the 
capitalist class has the millions of 
American farmers under its ideo- 
logical influence. And not only 
cannot the revolution be carried 
out successfully, but the day to 
day struggle of the farmers and 
w^orkers cannot be properly con- 
ducted w^ithout an alliance of the 
two classes. 

A farm -strike has a far greater 
chance of success if railwaymen re- 
fuse to carry produce from the 
strike region, and conversely, work- 
ers on strike have much to gain 
from the organized help of the 
farmers of the region, both in sup- 
plying food and otherwise. The 
highest expression of this farm- 
er-labor alliance under the capital- 
ist system is the formation of a 
Farmer-Labor Party, a party unit- 
ing all the toilers on a common 
political front and definitely de- 
claring its political independence of 
ail those who work for the parties 
of the bosses. 

The fault with the Communist 
Party lies not in that it neglects 
the farmera for the workers, but 



rather that it makes itself incap- 
able of leading either, by its un- 
realistic line and spurious analysis 
cf the existing political situation. 
The duty of a Communist organi- 
zation in the midwest is not "to 
stop dabbling with city-worker or- 
ganization" but rather to give 
leadership to both the workers and 
farmers. On the one hand it must 
build the trade unions, organize 
the workers, spread the message 
of Communism in the cities, and 
on tile other, provide the farmers 
with a correct program of action, 
fight side by side with them in 
their struggles, inspire them with 
a spirit of farmer-labor anti-capi- 
talist solidarity. 

In all its activities a Communist 
organization must work for the 
unification of the forces of the 
workers and the farmers, for the 
formation of a Farmer-Labor Par- 
ty wwhich will cement the alliance •; 
of those who work in the cities and i 
on the farms. This, more than any 
other single task, is the central 
problem of communists in the rural 
regions today. 

* * * 

The lack of communist organiza- 
tion capable of carrying out these 
tasks is painfully evident today. i 
The Communist Party, turning itsi 
face from the burning needs of the 
moment, has chosen tactics which 
can bring only harm to the work- 
ers and farmers of the mid-west. 
The only hope in sight lies in those 
revolutionists, who, like this farm- 
er from Nebraska, have determined 
to find the root of the trouble and 
to build the foundation for real 
communist work among the toilers 
of the midwest. ' 



WORKERS AGE 



Workers f)ge 

Published TuHce Monthly by the 

Workers Age Pub. Assn.. 51 West 14 Street, New York, N. Y. 

Phone: GRamercy 5-S903 

Organ of the National Councii of (he 

COMMUNIST PARTY OF the U. S. A. (UprosmuN)^ 

Subscription rate^: Foreign Sl.50 a year. ?l,qO six month.-, fv cL^nts 

s copy- Domestic $1.25 a year. ,s0..o six months. 



Vol, 3, Ncs. 2 and 3. 



Jan. 15-Feb. 1, 1934, 



N 



ANOTHER BUBBLE BURSTS 

O one can challenge the fact that the present admm:eiration in 
ishing£on is much more cleverly managed and much more 
*.ti)fi,irv mismanaged than its predecessor. Roosavelt has finesse 
whfre Hooverwa/clumsy. RoJse.elt is exceedingly bright by cam- 

'^^ An"of ^hich can and does give liberals and superficial ."f strjers 
of all political shades a thrill or a chill, depending on t^^^ ^J'^^^ati^ns 
of the politically purblind. None of which, however, has an> sub 
stantial bearing on the fundamentals of the economic crisis. ^^Ith all 
jr-w tchcraft" and "brain-trusting", Roosevelt the II has not even 
scratched the surface of the basic problems of AnteTicaa t^=o"0";> ^J 
:n"r Fortunately for his Administration the fraud and b^"V"P!^> 
yf his economic schemes and palicies have been hidden by l^e tremend- 
ous resources of U. S. capitalism which enable hxm to make n.an>. 
varied and swiftly-changing maneuvers and expenment£--at the ex 
pense. of course, of some hundred million American guinea pigs (the 
urban and rural toiling population). , ^ ,- f i „♦ f^i- 

However, bubbles, no matter how colorful and big, cannot last for 
long. The biggest achievement of our laughing Executive has been 
he creation of the CW.A. which, momentarily, put on public M;orks 
everal Son men at practically the barest ^Jsistence levels Now 
comes the announcement of the Civil Works Administrator Hopkins 
that beginning February 15th, this Army will ^«<=^™!/^jyry^f„?f" 
occupation. The workers will be fired at the rate of half a million 
a week Indeed, this is marvelous speed and mass production ot 
unemployment at a tempo and volume unheard of before m any 
country. "America First"— always, as the hundred-percenters would 

What is the reason for this collapse of the C.W.A., which at 
best did not deal with the fundamental contradictions of capitalism, 
like the conflict between social production and private appropria- 
tion, or the gap between rising productive capacities and decluiing 
consumption possibilities? "There is no more money", says Hopkins. 
The country cannot afford to be spending $75,000,000 a week on the 
C.W.A^ sav the brain-trusters. Of course, if it were a matter of 
firing torpedoes or bombing enemy cities, it would be different. Then 
there would be money until Hell froze over. Then the safety of the 
nation, civilization, democracy and other such blessings would be at 
stake, and anv price in life, limb or cash would be too small. 

This bursting bubble is a blow in the face of the workers. Pro- 
bably the Administration will pull another rabbit out of its hat. But 
such rabbits do not last long nor taste well. The whole economic pro- 
gram of Roosevelt, aiming to strengthen the capitalist system and 
to secure a stabilization of poverty, is doomed to failure. Roosevelt 
is plaving with the dollar, with the hope of shooting up prices of 
commodities. Still, last summer when the dollar was at about 74 
cents and not about BO cents as it is LEGALLY today, prices were 
higher in this country. 

The tragedy of it all is that the workers are paying dearly for all 
of this blowing and bursting of bubbles. (Roosevelt's C-W.A., R.F.C, 
A-A.A., don't spell jobs, don't feed or clothe us or don't give us a roof 
over our heads.) No real improvement in our condition can come, 
even for a short time^ unless we organize and fight for it. 



MENACE OF COIVIPANY UNIONISM 

THE Blue Eagle still has a strong hold on millions of workers. But 
daily we find fewer and fewer workers continuing to believe 
that the XRA is a friend of Labor. The disastrous experience in the 
auto, steel and textile industries and the coke area of Western Penn- 
sylvania have in this sense proved an expensive but effective teacher. 

We have never had illusions about the Roosevelt "revolution". 
We have foretold its coming, exposed its aims and methods, and 
analyzed its inherent contradictions spelling its doom. However, 
in the very course of this process, the American workers face a 
menace of infinitely more sinister significance than any challenge or 
threat they have faced in years. Under cover of Section 7a of the 
IS'RA, the very section which is supposed to guarantee the right to 
collective bargaining, the open shop, company unionism is marching 
on with seven league boots. 

Since Pux>sevelt began his attempts to reconstruct the decaying 
edifice of American capitalism "employee representation" schemes — 
a soft name for the ugly company unionism — have risen 180%. At 
the same time the workers were able to secure an increase of only 
75 r^ in trade union agreements, in the recognition of genuine unions, 
obviously, the relationship is onesided, with the open shop having 
scored, todate, thanks to the NRA, a smashing victory. 

The tragedy of the situation becomes all the clearer when we find 
that out of every hundred existing company unions only about eleven 
were introduced before 1920. Furthermore, it is in the big plants, 
tboee averaging 1500 workers or more, that company unionism has 
its greatest hold. Thj.« trend in itself should serve as a warning and 
the field of its spread is an alarm to all workingraen. It is far from 
too late to turn the tide. Organized labor -w-ith clean, virile leader- 
ship and militant policies can not only turn the tide in favor of bona 
ftde unionigm but can do much more. Now is the time energetically 
to organize the unorganized. Today company unionism can be de- 
feated by united militant action of the workers. Tomorrow it will 
be much more difficult. The day after tomorrow it may be a hope- 
less fight. .\ further sweep of company unionism would spell disaster 
for the working claiis. 

There is bat one road for us to take: Into the unions and there 
nght for clean militant unionism as the only answer to the General 
Johnsons ajtid the open shop army. 



rOMMUNIST PARTY (OPPOSITION) 
51 West 14th Street 
Sew York. N. Y. 

PIeas« bcimI me information in reference to the policies and 
KtiTTty of the C. P. O. 



THE RIVERA MURAL OF ITALIAN FASCISM 





Groucho - Marxism 



The following is an analysis by 
an aroused Socialist Party mem- 
ber on the "education" offered by 
the* membership card of those who 
join the S. P. in Illinois.— Editor. 
♦ * "f 

In the Socialist Party member- 
ship book we find appeals for So- 
cialism by Abe Lincoln, John Stu- 
art Mill, Victor Hugo, Hiawatha. 

Then v^e find the highest author- 
ity for a definition of Socialism — 
the Webster dictionary and the 
Standard dictionary. Then follows 
a list of "reliable books on Social- 
ism". Here we find Socialism and 
Character by Vida Scudder, So- 
cialism and Modern Science by E. 
Ferri, Elements of Socialism by 
Spargo and Amer, Karl Marx, His 
Life and Work by John Spargo 
and finally The Tuth About So- 
cialism by, none other than, Allen 
Benson. 

What is interesting is that the 
Communist Manifesto is not refer- 
red to or mentioned in the en- 
tire li.'Jt of "reliable" books, or any- 
where within the membership book. 

On the last page, we find the 
final appeal by Tolstoi, Hugo and 
Demosthenes. Demosthenes tells 
"The key to all success is ac- 
tion, action, action!" Hugo goes us 
one better by getting down to prac- 
tical reasons why everyone should 
join the S. P. He says, "When 
times get hard a man can beg but 
a woman must sell." 

In any organization where it is 
such "thoughts that count" we can 
get as far towards Socialism as 
the S. P. has been getting. 



fective policing of the shops. 

Asked, v/hat was the basis for 
the favorable discussion, Mr. Sin- 
clair stated that there were two 
reasons. First, the determination 
of the workers to resist what 
amounts to a 13% cut, and second, 
the united front of the Upholster- 
ers and the Furniture Finishers, an 
independent union. "Of course," he 
added, "the frankness of the manu- 
facturers helped us a lot. They ad- 
mitted raising a §50,000 fund to 
fight all unions." 

The Furniture Finishers are now 
negotiating with the Brotherhood 
of Painters for affiliation^ 



WHY COMMUNISM? |>i ,viv 
TALKS ON VITAL PRon 
LEMS. By M. J. Onin. (ini^,. 
natiimal Publiahcrf^ lOc>. 

Any crit'cal review of a popular 
pamphlet always carriea the sy* 
Koation thnt the reviewer aims Ui 
do a little hair-splitting ronvini. 
scent of the okl-time economics nr 
political science class. But Oltf m 
commits so many errors in his ef- 
forts to become popular that we 
are justified in being spacific and 
justified in using the term "aloo 
py" in respect to this pamphlet. 

For instance. "The longer the 
working day, the more surplus 
value you produce." "He (the 
capitalist) will sell it (the com- 
modity) at the price fixed, not by 
himself individually, but by the 
corporation of which he ia a part" 
"The wages of the workers are 
boing cut in order that the employ- 
ers may get bigger profits, . . " 
Any studen t will recognise * the 
shortcomings of these statements. 
(All on p, 14) Apropos of Wall 
Street, is it correct to say: "The 
price of stocks is based upon the 
e^.timated earning capacity of the 
unit that issues the stccka"? (p. 
15) Of course it is incorrect. 

On p. 16, when listing the 1932 
factors of decreasing production, 
ro mention is made of wage-cuts. 
These were too important an item 
to the workers to be slurred over. 
Again, on the same page, the 
workers are told that with 17 mil- 
'ion unemployed "the big heads of 
corporations were still reaping 
profits," The jobless should be told 
that such profits, when production 
had been cut in half, were made 
possible by drawing on the reser- 
which had been piled up out 
of the surplus values created dur- 
ing "normal" times. 



\ddres^ 
City .. 



State. 



FURNITURE UNION 
KEEPS CONDITIONS 

The combined efforts of 52 fur- 
niture manufacturers to return to 
the 40 hour week, after having 
signed agreements on the 35 hour 
basis, ha-s failed. The regional La- 
bor Board ruled against the manu- 
facturers. 

Rf^nresenting the workers were 
E, W. Sinclair, Business Agent of 
Furniture Finisher's Union, Local 
1; Bu.sinpRS Agent Thies of Uphol- 
terers' Lscal 76 and President 
Hatch of the Upholterers' Interna- 
tional Union. 

Mr. Sinclair stated that it was 
not certain whether the manufac- 
turers would comply with this rul- 
ing. He was certain, however, that 
the membership of bin union which 
twice ^ej*^ct€d the 40 hour propog- 
ial, could be depended on for an ei- 



BILK WORKERS HOLD 
UNION ELECTIONS 

New York City 

The New York local of the 
American Federation of Silk Work- 
ers, held elections, at its meeting 
on Saturday January 13. Delegates 
were also elected to the national 
convention of the A.F.S.W. 

The following are the officers 
elected: Chairman Hyman Landy, 
Vice Chairman Yamnik, Financial 
Secretary Kenneth Melhado, Re- 
cording Secretary Sarah Berlin- 
sky. 

B. Herman and S. Berlinsky 
were elected delegates to the con- 
vention. 

The Executive Committee elected 
consists of eleven. Besides the four 
officers the following were elected; 
George Oukil, Tom Battah, B. Her- 
man, Joe Yanovsky, Joe Cori, Al 
Bos.san and Julius Rubano. 



INTERNATIONAL 
SOJUDARJITY^NITE 

"SUNDAY" FESrU —8 P.'M.' 

at 

IRVING PLAZA 

— Speakers — 

JAY LOVESTONE 

L. NELSON 

BERT WOLFE 
EVELYN LAWRENCE 

Entertainment 

Dancing — Refreshments 

ADMISSION-:- 25c 



New 



Auspices: 
York District C.P.O. 



When it is said that "wealth ia 
owned .... by those .... who 
have amassed it out of others 
under the protection of the law" 
isn't there a danger that the 
humble worker, pumped full of the 
democratic theories of his masters, 
may draw the conclusions that a 
change in LAW is all that is neces- 
sary to put things to rights? (p. 
18). Isn't it rank humanitarlanism 
to describe the capitalist system in 
the following words? (p. 19): "a 
system where the primary purpose 
of labor — to satisfy the basic needs 
of humanity — is completely lost 
sight of in the scramble for bigger 
fortunes." And I'll swear Olgin 
was dreaming when he wrote: "all 
the goods accumulated in this 
country are the fruits of their (the 
unemployed) labor. They are 
entitled to all the wealth." (Our 
emphasis) So we are entitled to 
all the wealth, are we? May we 
quote a little Marx here? In the 
Gotha Program, the father of 
scientific socialism declared, (and 
emphasised), that "Labor is not 
the source of all wealth .... A 
Socialist platform should not let 
such middle class phrases pass, and 
permit by silence, the conditioM 
that alone give sense thereto to be 
suppressed." We beg to draw 01- 
gin's attention to this. 

But let's wind up this wearisome 
panning. One more and we're thru. 
"The government .seems to oe 
entirely inept to cope witn the 
political and .social difficulties. 
Lenin once said that for the rulm 
class there was never 'no other 
way out." Olgin's statements com- 
pletely understates the ca^ie. ihe 
capitalist state is on the )ob. It i» 
maintaining order, i.e., ko^ping th« 
unemployed quiet ^"^^.^f.^^tSm 
And any time the capitalist Hystern 
shows signs of coUap^^e, and je 
workers indicate, thru organizatJon 
and otherwise, that they contem 
plate social change, then tM 
government will resort to Fascwm^ 
The gun has been fired. The race 
is on between the force* of pro 
gre.ss and the forces of reaction- 
If the former are to wm they mu^J 
bo led by the Communists, who, Ji 
all people, should be theoretically 
sound and clear-vi.sioned m f\l^^J 
say and write. The pamphlet under 
review is muddy, .sloppy, and con- 

'"^'^^- W,M.