Reds in America - Richard M. Whitney |
As a result of the Bridgman raid there came to light an interesting document from Moscow, signed by the "Executive Committee of the Communist International," Bukharin, Radek and Kusinen, entitled "Concerning the Next Tasks of the Communist party of America." It was carefully marked "not for publication." In this document the Communists are instructed to stir up racial strife, not only among the negroes, but between nations. It urges the Reds to foment distrust between the American nation and the British, the Japanese, the French, and between any two or all four, in the hope that this will lead to war and thus to destruction of capitalist nations which will open still wider the way for Communism.
They order that the class struggle be continued with increasing intensity in order, among other things, to relieve the pressure upon Soviet Russia. They insist that new and more impossible demands be made upon the Government of the United States, not in the hope of their being granted, but that may furnish additional grounds for propaganda and attacks upon the Government and thus intensify the class struggle. Suggestions are made of subjects upon which the demands may he based and the fight waged.
This document, smuggled by an authorized Soviet courier into this country for the guidance of the Communists here as commanded from Moscow, is cleverly constructed, full of suggestive hints, orders the establishment of what has become the Workers' party, contains reprimands for mistakes made by the Communists in the past, and plans for the future. It was taken to Bridgman by J. Lovestone and reads as follows:
"In the earlier stages, the Communist movement usually lacks the broad, directing viewpoint from which can be found the guide-posts for its various steps. Inexperienced Communists, for example, attack imperialism only in general, in its universal aspect, without exact information and minute attention to the unique manifestations of imperialism within the given country. They do not in any way direct their attacks for the purpose of playing up against each other the antagonistic interests of various imperialistic groups. Also, the representatives of false tendencies in the labor movement they attack in general terms, with indiscriminate battle cries having perhaps the desired application to some, but having in regard to others perhaps the exact opposite of the desired result. In a word, they strike around with their eyes closed, against all opponents of Communism in the same manner as against all opponents of their own narrow Communist groups. They fight as a little sect fights against the entire outer world.
"Such primitive methods of battle, even when combined with the greatest zeal and heroism, are not dangerous to the enemies of Communism.
"The Communists begin to be effective in the political struggle only when they adopt concrete strategic aims for their movement based upon a thorough examination of the facts. With a determination, purposeful drive to these aims, with the subjection of every phase of our movement to this principle, our movement begins to be effective.
"In order to assist the American comrades in working out and formulating their line of action, the Executive Committee of the Communist International proposes for their examination the following main points:
"Only the Communist party can do this. The organization and training of the Communist party as leader of the revolutionary movement is, therefore, the fundamental task of the Communists.
"The Communists, must now take the lead in the struggle against the reduction of wages. This struggle, in its various forms, is especially adapted for uniting the largest masses of workers in one organization for the common struggle. The conservative labor leaders will find themselves placed in a most difficult position through this struggle, where they will soon be forced plainly to unmask their cowardly wobbling and their treacherous role, and where they will bring upon themselves the wrath of the struggling workers. In America almost nothing has been done so far in this direction, but it must he done thoroughly before one can ever think of the victory of the working class in the revolutionary struggle.
"The organization of the unemployed is an equally important and difficult task. In this movement, just as much as in all other minor battles, the Communists must select their slogans, according to the circumstances, and intensify them as much as possible, from the immediate needs of the day to the general worker's control of capital-industry. Right now they must make a special demand for state support of the unemployed out of the military budget.
"The Communist party must remember that it is not its purpose to reform the capitalist state. The purpose of the Communist is, on the contrary, to cure the working masses of their reformistic illusions, through bitter experience. Demands upon the state for immediate concessions to the workers must be made, not after the fashion of the Social-Democratic parties, which try to make those demands within the limits which the state can grant them while retaining its strength intact. Communist demands for immediate concessions to the workers are> formulated, not to be 'reasonable' from the point of view of capitalism, but to be reasonable from the point of view of the struggling workers, regardless of the state's power to grant them without weakening itself. Thus, for instance, a demand for payment out of the Government treasury, of full union standard wages for millions of unemployed workers is highly reasonable from the point of view of the unemployed workers but damaging from the point of view of the capitalistic state and the capitalistic wage competition which the state defends.
"We suggest a few examples of the type of demands that may be made. It must be clearly understood that those are merely examples for illustration, and are not binding, nor are they to be concretely regarded even as advised by the Comintern.
"These and other similar demands must be considered only as starting points for broader, sharper, more universal slogans. In their agitation the Communists must point out that the problems will not be solved through these measures, but that we support these demands of the masses so that the very course of events itself may unmask the capitalist state and the opponents of the working class, and prove to the masses the necessity of the final struggle for power against the capitalist state itself. In this unmasking process, the Communist must make use of every device to discredit the opposition. At times they must develop a direct attack, brand every mistake, every crime, every refusal of the demands of the toiling masses and constantly demonstrate the solidarity and identity of the capitalist class with the capitalist state.
"The Communists must participate as revolutionists in all general election campaigns, municipal, state and congressional, as well as presidential. Not in the same manner as the social-traitors and centrists, not in order to avoid violent revolution and substitute parliamentary activity for revolution, but, on the other hand, in order to use even the election campaigns to revolutionize the workers and lead them forward, to sharpen their class consciousness and to bring them together and unite them under Communist leadership. Class conscious, courageous and wise Communists, as elected representatives of the worker, can always find the possibility in the various institutions of the bourgeois state, in one way or another, to give effective object lessons to revolutionize the working class. Besides the Communist party can conceal its underground apparatus and develop it very effectively within the outer framework of the legal campaign organization and the election activities.
"In all these minor struggles, as well as in the final revolutionary battle of the proletariat, the party organization must be the leader of the struggling workers.
"Its weapons are manifold and vary, according to the situation, from entirely legal propaganda, from election campaigns, from modest movements for increase of wages and from peaceful demonstrations to the revolutionary strike and to the various forms of revolutionary class struggle.
"In agitation and propaganda Communists cannot be satisfied with mere dogmatic presentation of Communist principles of the propagandizing of the armed struggle under all circumstances. They must not permit themselves to appear to the masses as fanatic bomb enthusiasts who know nothing about the realities of life. They must understand how to lead the working masses from the struggle for the satisfaction of their first concrete needs on to such a battle that the struggling masses themselves will begin to believe in success and victory.
"The legal party press is under all circumstances a most important weapon to the Communist party. Just as the political movement of the workers of America has remained very backward in regard to matters of organization, so the revolutionary labor press is also as yet very weak. Its development is at the present moment the most urgent task of the party. As long as the party does not possess at least one or two legal dailies in the English language it is still crawling around on all fours- The party must do everything in its power in order to secure decided influence and direct or indirect control over as many existing papers of various labor organizations as possible. Especially it must try to win control over the labor union press. In addition, the party must publish an illegal official organ.
"All good possibilities of both the legal and illegal activities must be utilized by the party energetically. He who wants to liquidate the illegal activities is no Communist at all, and neither is that type of conspirator who does not want to know anything about legal activities.
"Under existing circumstances it is impossible for the Communist party in the United States to be a legal party. Of course the party can develop open labor organizations- It can even build a legal revolutionary workers' organization. It can even also launch a legal revolutionary Labor party. It must launch also such legal party, with the purpose that the Communists can openly enter its ranks without permitting the police to know which of the members are Communists and which are not. But the underground organization whose membership consists entirely of Communists must not be liquidated. On the contrary, it must be built ever firmer and stronger. It must guide and control the legal revolutionary party through its members. Every Communist, that is, every member of the underground party, must submit to an iron discipline and must act in accordance with the directions of the leading organs of the underground party in all legal as well as illegal activities.
"As a matter of course, all real Communists in the United States will subscribe to this. The Executive of the Communist International knows that the Minority of the Party Executive does not deny the advisability of taking advantage of legal opportunities, although this Minority opposes the rapid and energetic procedure of the Majority in founding the legal revolutionary party. The distinction is, in the judgment of the Executive Committee of the Comintern, without good ground. The fact that the Party Executive is proceeding rapidly and energetically with the formation of the legal party organization is not a fault. It would have been a fault to wait with the launching of the legal party until the underground organization had developed 'sufficient strength,' The development of the underground organization can best be furthered through these very activities of its members in the ranks of the legal party. Historic progress is not such a simple matter as to leave us the liberty first to complete the development of the underground party apparatus, and only then to begin the building of the legal party organization. In this manner the very best opportunities for the launching of the legal party would be lost.
"The centrists would have a free field for their efforts at founding an independent opportunist party. This opportunity must not be left to them. The Communist party must take the initiative in the formation of the new legal party and must take the control firmly into its own hands. It must be careful to assure itself the actual control over all the leading organs of the legal party. For this reason the legal organization must take the permanent form of a party organization. Some other loose organization form would be very much more difficult to control and to guide. Furthermore, the development of a solidly organized legal party, in which members of the Communist party have at least the majority on all important committees, will make possible the control of still other anti-capitalistic organizations through this legal party.
"For the foregoing reasons we draw your attention to the following for your guidance:
"Dear Comrades: It would be entirely useless to quarrel over the question whether extensive or intensive methods are preferable in your Communist work. You must learn how to make a practical combination of both of these methods under all circumstances. Unite for your common work, not for the liquidation of either the legal or illegal revolutionary activity but for the liquidation of the really damaging liquidation tendencies of the labor movement.
"It is, as a matter of course, very necessary that you make alt preparation in your underground party convention for the public convention at which the legal Revolutionary Party is to be launched- But before as well as after the party convention the minority members of the party executive must submit to the decision of the majority loyally and without question. Without this party discipline. Communist party activities are impossible. The Party Central Committee must, of course, understand how to train the party membership sensibly and practically for the observance of the party discipline and, generally, for the centralization of party activities. It must understand and it must constantly learn still better how to lead the entire organization. On the other hand, it is the duty of every member to support the authority of the party executive. It is foolish and harmful, for instance if factional opposition accuses the party executive of oppressing the foreign language organizations. You must make an end of such accusations, comrades.
"We hope that in your coming party convention, all of you will give evidence, in your resolutions and actions, of firm, organic unity, and that your party will prove its ability to measure up to the great responsibilities that stand before it.
"With Communist greetings,
"Executive Committee of the Communist International
"(Signed) N. BUKHARIN, K. RADEK, O. W.
KUSINEN,
Secretary."