REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS ION - BANNEDTHOUGHT.NET

REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS

ION

of the

COMMUNIST PARTY(New York City, August Z.B, tgi4>

SPDCTAL ENLARGEII ESSUD

7- ho C omntrtnist Prtt graru-

TH E AlvtER, ICAN WAYTO JOBS, PEACE, E9UAL RIGHTS

AND DEMOCRACY

Program of the Communisl PartY

Utranimortsll, ratifiecl by the recent Nationel Election Crlnferctrcc

,r{ the Cornmunist Parti' zrfter five months of study and disctlssion,

this is the fir.raiizetl text of the Party's Pr.grzrtn. Herc the re:rder

will lind for himself what the Comrnrrnist Partv actuall)i stands for,

:utd may exzrmine its prop,rsals for advancing the intcrests of the v:ist

rnajrrritv of the An-rcrican people.

READ, S-TUDY, SPREAI) 'I'HIS Vi'I'AI, I)OCLTX'IEN'f.

LE'I T'T REACH '[HE MILL,/ONS1

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PRTNTED IN U.S.A

Vol. XXXlll, No. 9 seprember, e54 politieal affairs

Answer the Attack on theCommunist Party and theLabor Movement!

Message to the Conference ofthe CPUSA

NATIONAL COMMITTEE, [21CPUSA

wrLLrAM Z. FOSTER [ 7 ]

PETTTS PERRY [13]

BETTY GANNETT [47]

LEON WOFSY [66]

[I2] Greetings of the Conference

The November Elections and theStruggle for Jobs, peace, EqualRights and Democracy

B

The Communist Program-A Vital Document

For Democratic Youth Unity

t75l International Fraternal Greetingsto the Conference

1

Edilor: Y. J. Jerome

Answer the Attack on the Communist Party

and the labor Movement!

National Committee Statemeni on the Communist Control Act

Trm eNacrrrENT rNTo r,ew of the

Communist Control Act of 1954,

which outlaws the Communist Partyas a political party and furthershackles the American trade unions,is a major triumph for McCarthy-ism, that arch-enemy of our demo-cratic freedoms.

The law represents the most ex-

treme step ever taken against politi-cal and democratic liberties in thehistory of our country. It is a sharpbreak with the Constitution and thetheory of government on which itis based. It is a long step toward a

police state.By depriving the Communist Party

of its political rights, this law is

clearly a bill of attainder-that is, a

legislative decree making a "finding"of "guilt" without evidence or dueprocess. It is a thought-control de-

vice aimed to persecute a group ofAmericans against whom there is notthe slightest proof of any of the overtacts slanderously decreed by hysteri-cal legislators doing the bidding ofMcCarthyism.

A malignant feature of the law-carefully combined with the anti-Communist clauses to conceal itstrue purpose-is that it contains theButler Bill, which, under pretext of"Communist infiltration" or "domi-

nation," undertakes to establish a sys-

tem of Government licensing ofAmerican trade unions in accord withtheir opinions and programs. It sets

up what the entire labor movementhad been opposing in this 83rd Con-gress-a system of "trials" and"tests" for unions on which dependstheir right to collective bargainingbefore the National Labor RelationsBoard. This move is a stab at thevitals of the trade unions under coverof the McCarthyite witchhunt for"subversives."* ,k ,r

The law's entire basis rests on arbi-trary definitions of a set of politicalopinions as constituting a crime pun-ishable by heavy jail terms. The lawdemands that Americans shall "reg-ister" themselves as guilty of thesethought-control crimes-or face !ailand fines. The entire legal systemcontains built-in guilty verdicts bythe law's own definitions. The guiltis assumed in advance.

The law's notorious "r4 points"-concerning talking, wriring, or asso-

ciation, are taken from the New Deal-hater Representative Martin Dieswho got it from the Mussolini-ad-mirer, Judge Musmanno of Pennsyl-vania. These "r4 points" are a po-litical dragnet capable of enmeshing

any American or group on the basisof dissent from any prevailing dogmaor orthodoxy. No American can feelsafe in his opinions as long as thislaw stays on the statute books.

Not only is this anti-Communist,anti-union legislation in itself fascistin character, but so also was thefrenzied haste with which it was rail-roaded through Congress. Withouthearings, reports or adequate debate,this barbaric measure was dynamitedthrough in an atmosphere of ideo-logical terrorism, as Hitler was wontto do. In the words of the RepublicanHerald Tribune:, "If the Senate andthe House had gone collectively madin these last days of the session theycould hardly have acted more wildlythan they have in regard to the Com-munist issue." The New York Timessimilarly condemned the panic ac-tion as a "stampede" which is "con-trary to the spirit of orderly govern-ment."

How did this law ariselIt is impossible for the Congress or

the White House to claim that thereis a popular clamor in the countryfor a march down the path taken bythe Nazis in their "anti-Communist"destruction of democracy and theirdrive to aggressive "anti-Communist"war.

This fascist-modelled legislation isthe fruit of the Eisenhower-Brownellpolicies, based on the appeasementof McCarthyism and collusion withit. These Eisenhower-Brownell pol-icies to curb democratic liberties havealready seriously undermined theConstitution and its democratic pro-

STATEMENT OF THE CPUSA

tectrons.For the Eisenhower-Brownell doc-

trines are based on a decree of "guilt"and jailing of Americans who cannotbe proved guilty of anything but theholding of social views not to theliking of the government.

The adoption of the Big Lie ofMcCarthyism opens the door to thesystematic destruction of the Con-stitution, due process and the liber-ties inherent in the r7o-year heritageof the Bill of Rights.

Most disgraceful of all was the partplayed by the so-called "liberal"Democrats in the Senate who sparkedthe outlaw-the-Communists amend-ment. They engaged in a vain effortto prove to the McCarthyite fasciststhat they too are "loyal" and thus donot deserve the brutal attacks of theMcCarthyites. Senators like HubertHumphrey (D-Minn) played fastand loose with the fate of the na-tion's democratic liberties. They havein fact fastened a noose with whichthe McCarthyites will surely try tostrangle them along with the Bill ofRights.

Leaders of the trade unions whomay have figured in this crude ma-neuver must realize that the ultra-reactionary legislation of the 83rdCongress is especially aimed to weak-en the trade-union moyement, evenmore dangerously than the notoriousTaft-Hartley law has done. It is theheight of folly for labor leaders tobelieve that such vicious legislationdoes not concern organized labor.This was the fatal illusion of theSocial-Democratic trade-union lead-

4 POLITICAL

ers of Germany in the face of risingHitlerism. They thought that onlythe Communists were being attackedand that they and their unions weresafe. But when Hitler came topower, his Nazis, with one sudden

blow, completely demolished the en-

tire Social-Democratic organization.,k if

It was not by accident that theCongress which stampeded throughthe passage of the outlaw-the-Com-munists law is the same Congress

which gave more to the giant WallStreet trusts and less to the people

than almost any Congress of the past

fifty years.This Congress and the White

House shocked the country with their"give-a'way" policies favoring- thecorporations and the looters of thenational wealth. "saving the coun-try fromgress turworth ofto the oil trust; struck a blow atcheap power through ordering TVAto buy private power; oPened thedoor to the plundering of the gov-ernment's atomic Power develoP-ments.

"saving the country from Com-munism," the Congress spurned Taft-Hartley revision, smashed down theFederal aid to the American farmer,wrecked even the meagre Federallow-cost housing program, refused to

grant the country the Federal healthsystem it needs.

"saving the country from Com-munism," it gave a bonanza in tax"give-away" to owners of Wall Street

AFFAIRS

stocks, while refusing to give anygenuine tax relief to the masses ofwage earners, farmers and small busi-ness men.

"saving the country from Com-munism," the B3rd Congress showeda greater contempt for civil rights is-

sues than any Congress in the past.The GOP promise to-eliminate thepoll tax, lynching, and jim crow dis-crimination in industry, was dis-

carded amid the noisy racism of theMcCarthyite attacks.

All that the people got from thissuper-reactionary "anti-Communist"Congress was an extension of the in-adequate social security system, and

a 5 per cent pay rise for postal work-ers-which President Eiser-rhower

ing in the "defense" program forguns'

J( *( ,*

This anti-Communist law is a

heavy blow to the honor and prestigeof our nation in the eyes of the world.

Nations everywhere are marchingto peaceful negotiations and co-exis-

tence with the Socialist countries, inexact contrast to the McCarthYitehysteria in the United States.

While the Big Lie about the "Com-munist menace" is being dicarded,along with the cold war, in WestEurope and Asia, the political lead-ers here are intensifying the Big Lieand the cold war as far as theY can.

They are taking 4o billion dollarsevery year from the country's pockets

to finance this cold war with its pol-

STATEMENT

icies of provocation and military"aid," which contain the danger ofan H-bomb world war.

The people of the world see inthis anti-Communist law a copy ofthe laws of Hitler and Mussolini,and wonder where the USA is going,and where it wants to take the restof mankind.

*r i* ,t

The law is based on the HitleriteBig Lie that the Communist Partyteaches and advocates the violentoverthrow of the United States gov-ernment. This is completely false.The Communist Party in its j5 yearsof existence has never advocated, nordoes it advocate today, the overthrowof our government by force and vio-lence. The official Program of theCommunist Party states unequiv-ocally:

"The Communist Party advocatesa peaceful path to Socialism in theUnited States. It brands as a lie thecharge that it advocates the use offorce and violence in the pursuit ofits immediate or long-range goals.It declares that Socialism will comeinto existence in the United Statesonly when the majority of the Amer-ican people decide to establish it."

This is the position of the Com-munist Party. All the lying testimonyof the army of stoolpigeons and in-formers in the numerous Smith Acttrials has been unable to provide evi-dence of a single act of violence orof any plan on the part of Commu-nists for the violent overthrow of ourgovernment.

The slander of "conspiracy" aimed

against the Communi$t Party ig-nores the clear truth that the Partybases its opinions and acts on realsocial conditions, on the real needsof the people and the nation as theydevelop objectively in the real world.

Thus, it is impossible for any hys-terical group of imitation-fascists tooutlaw the ideas or the influence ofthe Communist Party. CommunistParties have been outlawed by anti-democratic dictatorships in manylands; today Communist Partiesstand at the head of the peoples'movements of many nations becausethey represent the needs of their na-

the American people of the right tomake their own political and socialdecisions in the market-place ofideas. It will carry this fight to thecourts, and to the people.

The widespread condemnation ofthe measure by newspapers, lawyers,historians, trade unionists and per-sons from all walks of life gives usconfidence that this fascist law willbe nullified, even as were the Alienand Sedition

*Acts of

,8155 years ago.

Is the battle lost to the McCarthy-ites I

Is America doomed to take thefatal path to fascism and warl

Emphatically no, despite the disas-ter of the present anti-Communistand anti-labor monstrosity !

The needs of the people can breakthrough the hysteria. The honor of

OF THE CPUSA

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

America and its devotion to its demo-

thyism.If the Humphreys in Congress-

with their frantic aPPeasement ofMcCarthyism and their cry for moreguns and more war Provocations-ihi.rk to "play ball" with reaction,this is not the feeling of the millionsof workers, small farmers and Ne-gro masses who follow the lead ofih. D.-o..atic Party because theY

still believe in it. The line of theHumphreys would sPell big gains

for tlie Republicans and McCarthy-ites in the coming elections-this linenermits the worst reactionaries to

por. ,, anti-war and "middle-of-the-roaders" !

The will of these millions of Amer-ican voters-who kePt the New Dealin office, who won trade-union rights,arrd who now went an America free

of war and repression-is Yet to be

heard from. They must and will be

heard from now and in November.The Communist PartY Program

on this point is in agreement withthe thoughts of millions:

"The immecliate obiective in 1954

mLrst be to prevent the EisenhowerAdministration and Congress fromtaking the country further down theroad of McCarthyism. Defeating Mc-

then by electing a new Adn-rinistra-

tion in 1956."

We are lonfident that if labor, the

electing men and women who willhave the courage to defend the Con-stitution and the Bill of Rights.

peal this monstrosity.We Communists wiil continue our

fight Peopl-.'r s oflabor sPite

this new attack, our Parry stands un-

terrified. It walks in the great tradi-tion of American movements like the

abolitionists and the pioneer trade

unionists who survived organiz.edortsnistand

its

legal existence. In so doing it is fight-ing not for its own rights alone, butfoi the Bill of Rights for all Ameri-cans.

For the National Committee,C.P.U.S.A.William Z. FosterElizabeth GurleY FlYnnPettis PerrY

Message to the Conference of the

c. P. ll. s. A.

By William Z. Fosier

Greetings to the National ElectionConference. I am very sorry that Icannot be with you to participate inyour deliberations. May I, neverthe-less, make a few remarks on thegeneral question of the fight forpeace I

Our Conference is meeting inwhat is indeed a crucial point of his-tory. As the world democratic mass-es fight for peaceful co-existence be-tween the capitalist and socialiststates, which means for world peace,the American forces of reaction pushon with their program for imperial-ist aggression and war. This situa-tion presents grave responsibilitiesfor the American working class, theNegro people, the working farmers,and the other democratic strata ofthis country. The Draft Programclearly presents these basic tasks,chief among which is the fightagainst the war danger, against Mc-Carthyite fascism, against the devel-oping economic crisis, and for therights of the Negro people. Of theseelementary tasks in this period Ishall deal only with the central one,that of the fight for peace, for thepeaceful co-existence o[ all nations.

This r,vill be a central and decisiveissue in the November elections.

As our Party has repeatedly point-ed out, ever since the end of WoddWar II, Wall Street monopoly capi-tal, by means of its control of theUnited States government, has beencarrying on a reckless and reaction-ary drive to master the worldthrough another great world war.We were among the very first tosignalize this terrible reality, andthereby we did a vital service to thecause of world peace. World con-quest has throughout been the cen-tral goal of the Truman and Eisen-hower Administrations, both ofwhich have thus faithfully done thebidding of big capital in its drive fordomination of the world. This hasbeen the purpose of the whole bodyof foreign policies of these two Ad-ministrations, as well as of the gi-gantic armaments-militarization pro-gram carried out in this country. Tofurther this huge program of im-perialist conquest and war some $z5obillion of the American people'smoney has been squandered hereand abroad.

It is a tragedy for the American

7

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

peoptre that the top trade-union lead-ers and the heads of Negro, farmer,and other people's organizations,grossly betraying the most vital in-terests not only of their own rankand file, but of the entire Americannation, have shamelessly supportedthe Wall Street program of imperial-ist conquest. By the same token,it is to the great honor of the Com-munist Party that, notwithstandingviolent government persecution, ithas steadfastly dared to expose andto combat the attempt of Wall Streetto plunge the world into an atomicwar in order further to swell its al-ready stupendous profits.

It is to the profound benefit of allhumanity in general, and of theAmerican people in particular, thatAmerican imperialism and its alliesare being defeated in their deadlyprogram of aggression. This is be-cause the peace-loving peoples of theworld, including those of the UnitedStates, are resisting this program andare thus making it bankrupt! Thisbasic fact should cause the wholedemocratic world to rejoice. Hereare some of the elements of thisbankruptcy:

The world capitalist anti-sovietwar alliance, upon which the Ameri-can government has squanderedscores of billions of dollars, is beingundermined by the refusal of thepeoples of the various countries tobe cannon fodder for Wall Street.

The A- and H-bomb monopoly,upon which Wall Street based itswar program, has long since been

broken by the USSR. It is a greatvictory for peace thus to take thesole control of such frightful weap-ons away from the reckless reaction-aries now dominating the UnitedStates government.

The huge propaganda of WallStreet to convince the world of theBig Lie that the Soviet Union is a

menace to world peace has also back-fired, to such an extent that theUnited States, controlled as it is byreactionaries and warmongers, hasbecome the most hated and fearedcountry in the world, the mainsource of the danger of war andfascism in the world.

These victories for peace havebeen matched also by the peoples'defeat of Wall Street's attempts toexpand the Korean and Indo-Chinesewars into great Asian atomic con-flicts, as well as their defeat of the

lune rJ, 1953 insurrection in EastGermany, which was initiated byagents of the State Department forthe purpose of launching a broadcivil war in Germany. Their latestattempt, to develop the Hainanisland plane incident into an Asianwar, has also been frustrated by thepeace resistance of the peoples.

All these victories of the peace-loving masses, in which the Ameri-can people have played a role, havesubstantially eased international ten-sion and the fear of war. They havechecked the warmongers on manyfronts. But the peace of the worldcannot be safe so long as the WallStreet monopolists controlling this

MESSAGE TO THE CONFERENCE

vast country and its tremendous in-dustries, natural resources, and work-ing forces, remain uncurbed by thepeople.

The greatest mistake that could bemade now would be to concludefrom the many recent peace victoriesof the world's peoples that the dan-ger of war is now past. Especiallyour Party, living in the United States,must be keen to alert the world tothe danger of American imperial-ism. We must step up our effortsand utilize the victories won in or-der to inspire the people to win newand still greater successes for peace,so that the peoples may finally as-sure the peaceful co-existence in theworld of all capitalist and socialiststates. The Draft Prograz outlinesthe next steps in this basic fight, andso also will the Reports to the Con-ference. Therefore there is no needfor me to stress all these practicalprograms in these remarks.

Let me cite, however, that the fulyzd issue of For a l-asting Peace; Fora People's Democracy, contains amost timely warning against anytendency to slacken the fight forpeace because of recent victories wonin this fight. It says: "The signifi-cance of the relaxation in the inter-national tension must not, however,be overestimated, since the enemiesof the strengthening of peace, in thefirst place the ruling circles of theUnited States, have not abandonedtheir aggre-"sive designs and are con-tinuing the arms drive, provokingwar conflicts in various parts of the

world and serring up new militaryblocs and war bases. . . . ett this ui-gently demands that all those who

says:

mains in cthe shadowaction byhangs over

The second quotatior is fromPrauda of July 3, 1954.This greatSoviet .Communisr journal, deilingwith American maneuvers to diJ

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

countries, drawing them into a newworld war."

These are some of the major con-

siderations that we have to bear inmind in handling the question ofpeace in the coming elections. These

clections will be a strong test of ourParty's ability to mobilize the mass-

es for struggle, above all, the work-ers; for without the support of theworking class, the fight for peace

and the other great issues confront-ing the American people cannot be

successful' * * is

The Communist Party of theUnited States is now under heavY

attack from the government. Thispersecution requires of us real cour-age and a resolute fight to preserve

the life and legal status of our Party.It also necessitates the strongest pos-

sible fight to defend those comradesnow under indictments and to freethe many who are now in jail. Ithas been one of our greatest weak-nesses that we have not made a moredetermined and effective struggle tofree Gene Dennis, Ben Davis, andthe many other splendid fighterswho are now languishing in capital-ist jails.

A solid fight to defend our PartYand to protect its members and lead-

crs whether in the capitalist courts,in the forum of public oPinion, oron the floor of union halls, can be

made only upon the basis of an all-out participation in the class strug-gle along the lines outlined in the

Draft Program-for peace, for de-mocracy, and for mass protectionfrom the ravages of the developingeconomic crisis.

Conditions are propitious atthe present juncture for lead-ing such a struggle of the masses.

The people of this country, despitethe rankest betrayal by liberals andtrade-union leaders, are definitely ina mood to fight against the war-mongers, fascists and profiteers. IfAmerican imperialism is finding itsforeign policy of aggression increas-ingly bankrupt, this is largely be-cause of the mass resistance to it bythe working class, Negro people,working farmers, etc., in this coun-try. Although large sections of theseAmerican masses are considerab,lyconfused by imperialist war propa-ganda, nevertheless, they emphatical-ly do not want war. This they haveshown repeatedly, by their active re-sistance to the proposals of MacAr-thur, Dulles, Truman, Eisenhower,and others, for the A-bombing ofChinese cities, by their successful in-sistence upon a cease-fire in Koreaand Indo-China, by their flat rejec-tion of the Government's scheme tosend American soldiers into Indo-China, and by many other actions.

The United States will soon bethe scene of broad and vital classstruggles. For the democratic mass-

es here are in political harmony withthe great world peace movement. Allthe political misleaders now doingthe bidding of American imperial-ism cannot indefinitely prevent their

MESSAGE TO THE CONFERENCE rI

rising mass spirit of dissent and re-sentment from finding expression.It is the supreme task of the Com-munist Party, notwithstanding everypersecution, to give the maximumpossible leadership to these awaken-ing masses. Especially must we makeour efforts count in the fight forpeace. The Draft Prograrz points theway to accomplish this.

This is a time that truly inspiresall fighters for freedom and democ-racy, especially Communists. Thereis no place in our Party's ranks forfaint hearts and pessimists. Such peo-ple are blind to the tremendous ad-vances that are being made duringthese years by the world forces ofpeace and freedom, of which theAmerican people are most definite-ly an important section. They can-not see beyond their noses. Now,more than ever, our Party needs an

indomitable fighting spirit.The world is moving rapidly to-

rvards peace, democracy and Social-ism, and our Party, situated in thismain stronghold of world capitalism,must do its full part. For over a cen-tury, the workers and their alliesbave battled, often in the face ofhuge odds, against the forces of en-trenched capitalist greed and power.But now the ramparts of world cap-italism are rapidly falling, and So-cialism is being constructed through-out vast sections of the world. Cap-italism is being pushed ofi the stageof history. Let this tremendous real-ity inspire us to meet the great tasksof education, organization, and strug-gle now confronting the Americanpeople; concretely, in the importantstruggles now shaping up for theAmerican people in the coming elec-tlons"

Greetings of the Conference

To Eugene Dennis:

We delegates to the National Elec- years to our Party and the American

tion Confe"rence of the Communist working class. We need you in the

Party, USA, meeting in New York crucial struggles -of today; and we

City on August 7th and Bth, send pledge to intensify ou-r- campaign to

you our warmest greetings, ,dear win your freedom. With love and

tlo-.rd. 'Gene, ori yor." fiftieth comradeship, we wi-sh you- good

birthday. We express io yor, o.r.. health and many_ long years of active

again, our profound appreciation of leadership in the great .cause of

tf,. ,rrp..-ily able ,rrd .o.r.rg.orrt peace, democracy and socialism'

leadership you have given over the

To the lmprisoned and Refugee Membersof the National Commitfee:

The National Election Conferenceof the Communist Party, U.S.A.,meeting in New York City on Au-gust 7th and Bth, 1954, salutes andsends warmest comradely greetingsto Eugene Dennis, Ben Davis, GusHall, Henry Winston, lohn William-son, |ohn Gates, Gil Green, IrvingPotash, Jack Stachel, Bob Thompson,Carl Winter, beloved national lead-ers of our Party who have been im-prisoned or forced to become refu-gees by the growing fascist tyrannyand oppression in our country.

This Conference is dedicated tothe task of guaranteeing that the1954 elections will bring about thedefeat of McCarthyite, McCarraniteand Dixiecrat candidates of both ma-jor political parties-of all who sup-

port the war and fascism Programof U.S. imperialism; and that these

elections will register great advancesby the working class and its allies-the overwhelming mass of the Amer-ican people-in defending and ex-

tending democracy and peace. We

are guided in our deliberations bY

the ilear and sound political lead-

ership you have given our move-r.r".i ou.. the years; and we Pledgeto fulfill our responsibility to ourParty, our class and our nation withthat Communist courage and selfless

devotion which your example in-spires in all true fighters for the peo-

ple.The McCarthyite frame-up which

led to your imprisonment is bccom-ing clear to more and more PeoPlcin our country and throughout theworld. We plcdge to continue to ex-

pose the colossal injustice of yourconviction, and to develop a power-ful people's movement which willachieve your freedom and restoreyou to active leadership in the mo-mentous struggles of our time. Thiswe regard as an indispensable taskin the defense of peace and freedomfor the whole American peoPle.

Each and all, we clasp your handin comradeship!

The l{ovember Elections and the Struggle for

.fobs, Peace, Equal Rights, and Democracy

By Pettis Perry

(Main Report)

I. INTRODUCTION

Tnr punposr of our National Elec-tion Conference is to equip ourParty to make its most effective con-tribution to the fight {or jobs, peace,equal rights and democracy in thecrucial November Congressional andState elections.

These elections are taking place ina period of growing opposition tothe Eisenhower-Big Business Ad-ministration and its policies of war,depression and the embracing ofMcCarthyism. It is a period charac-terized by ever greater opportunitiesto win victories for peace and democ-cracy. It is a period which fully con-firms the forecast made by the Na-tional Party Conference (summer,1953) and the Party's Program.

Think of what has happenedwithin just the past few months!

The fight for peace has won a

great historic victory with the Ge-neva cease-fire and settlement inIndo-China. Today, for the firsttime since World War II, there isno large-scale shooting war. Worldtensions have been further eased.The power of peaceful negotiationsas a means of settling disputes has

been brilliantly demonstrated. And,what is morg new millions of peace-loving people are coming to insistupon peaceful co-existence as theonly possible alrernative to H-bombdestruction.

The anti-McCarthy upsurge hasreached a new peak in thi co"u.se ofthe Army-McCarthy hearings, witha majority of the American peopledeclaring themselves against thervould-be American Hitler. Theanti-depression programs and actionsof labor, the farmers and the Negropeople have become key nationalquestions. The Negro liberationmovement and its white allies havewon a signal legal victory againstsegregation in education.

These victories, in turn, open upfurther new possibilities, which mustbe grasped with boldness and vigor.For victories cannot be won withoutstruggle-a struggle that becomessharper as the camp of war and reac-tion becomes more desperate.

Can one doubt that with everypeople's victory, American imperial-ism and its spokesrnen seek moredesperately than ever to furthertheir policies of world dominationand war against the Soviet Union ?

t3

POLITICAL AFFAIRSr4

That they intensify their efiorts toimpose fascism at home and to de-

stroy the living standards and rightsof the American people ? This isshown by the monstrous act ofEisenhower and Dulles in over-throwing the democratic govern-ment of Guatemala. It is shown bY

the Eisenhower-Brownell drive tojam through Congress their Plo-gram of new Mccarthyite legisla-tion.*

The vital significance of the No-vember elections is that they bringall these struggles to a focus; thatthey pose the basic issue: Will theAdministration and the McCarthY-

course of the new mass strugglesthat lie ahead in all fields-includ-ing the next Congress, the '55 elec-

tions and the decisive Presidentialelections of ry56?

This is the issue and this deter-mines the electoral objectives of la-bor and the people. As the Programstates:

"Tire imrnediate obiective in r954

must be to prevent the Eisenhower Ad-ministration from taking the countryfurther down the road of McCarthyism.

-l rrri. Report was delivered prior to the enao-

-.o,- -of

tlie Communist Control Act' That,i,io" f"ttt ". sttbstaotiares the aoalysis made inthis Report

-ed.

a new Administration in '56. . . .

"The 1954 elections are crucial in dc-termining the path America will take.. . . What is needed is unity of everY

decent, honest force of our people, ofall independent-minded voters, whetherDemocrats, Republicans or Progres-sives. Such unity must set itself theobjective of electing an anti-McCarthyCongress by defeating every McCarthy-Uongress Dy oereatlng ev€ry lYrc\.ar,Lrry-

McCarran-Dixiecrat tvpe of candidate,McUarran-Ijlxlecrat type oI canoloate,every pro-fascist and rabid war-monger.It is also necessary to bring into thehalls of Congress a bloc of articulateand uncompromising opPonents of Mc-Carthyism, of courageous spokesmenfor a further relaxation of world ten-sion, and for the defense of the people

from the ravages of economic depres-

sion. Labor and Negro rePresentatronin Congress must be strengthened byelecting a large number of trade unionand N.g.o - candidates. This willfacilitate the election of a new Ad-ministration in 1956. . . .

"The key to both the crucial ry54 ar,d1956 elections lies in the ability,of or-ganized labor to come forward as a

Eistinct political force even within theframe-work of the Present two-Partysystem. Labor must come forward withits own clearcut Progresslve Programfor the nation, its own ties and al-

liances with other independent elec-

toral forces and its own highly organ-ized and efficient election machinery.The objective must be to helP bringabout a re-grouping and realignmentwithin the Democratic Party nationally,and within the Republican Party in Io-

cal areas."

These objectives can and will se-

cure broad support, for theY reflectthe basic interests o[ iabor, the farm-

THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS 15

er, the Negro people, the small busi-ness man and professional, the wom-

thyite chargesto "infiltrate,"

JBHT3ff:Party.

Why are rhese lying charges madelThey are made first in order to ob-scure the main objective of our partyProgram, which is to further thlunity of every decent, honest forceoJ the American people against Mc-Carthyism and war. Selond, theGOP makes these charges to furtherits McCarthyite "twenty years oftreason" campaign to weaken anddestroy the Democratic Party. TheMcCarthyites in the DemocraricParty make them in order to further

of death" and with pleas for ',anti-

who make them well know! WeCommunists have our own Party and

Secondly, we maintain that the two_

party.We recognize as a fact that labor's

rection oF labor's political action asrts srruggles within the two-partysystem unfold.

II. THE FIRST ROUND OFPRIMARIES

As the first round of primariesdraws to a close, it is necessary to

6 POLITICAL AFFAIRS

appraise the results and chart thecourse ahead for November. Prima-ries have been held in such key states

as Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Cal-ifornia, Michigan, New ]erseY, Ala-bama and North Carolina. A numberstill lie ahead, including New York,Massachusetts,'Wisconsin, Minneso-

to strengthen the prospects for laborand people's victories in November.

In chirting the course ahead, weneed to examine the issues and the

way in which they are reflected andfought out in the electoral field; the

developments within the maior par-ties; the role of labor, the Negro peo-

ple and other allies of labor; thepolicies and activity of the advanced

ilectoral movements and of ourPartli and the main tasks betweennow and November.

a few remarks onon. First, the Pres-nd the Eisenhowerat its lowest Poirt

since the fall elections of 1953. Thisis borne out by the unexpectedly low

ture both maior PartY nominationsfor its leading candidates and mustnow campaign for its ticket inNovember.

Why is thisl Clearly it is due to

deepgoing dissatisfaction with theAdministration on the main issues.

The r95z illusions in Eisenhower'speace demagogy have been weakenedby such events as the mass uPsurgeagainst intervention in Indo-Chinaand the H-bomb menace, the defeatof Dulles' attempt to Prevent the Ge-

neva settlement, and the failure ofthe "massive retaliation" policy. Theillusion among independent and lib-eral voters that Eisenhower is a bar-rier to McCarthyism has been dissi-

pated by the revelation of Adminis-tration appeasement of McCarthy as

shown in the Army-McCarthy hear-ings, by the Oppenheimer case, byEisenhower's endorsement of theMcCarthyite Meek, and by the em-

bracing of McCarthyism typified inthe Brownell program. The refusalof the Administration to take reme-dial action in the face of growingunemployment and declining farmincomes has further alienated labor,farm and Negro voters. And thefailure of the Administration andCongress to carry out even the fee-ble gestures towards social legislationcontained in Eisenhower's State ofthe Union and accompanying mes-sages has largely defeated the dema-gogic purpose of the messages-thatis, to check the decline of GOP pop.ularity and offset the "postpone andstudy" record of the "give-away, take-away" 83rd Congress.

The result is a situation whichcontains potentially the elements fora large-scale Democratic victory inNovember. But this potential victory

THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS r7

is in question for a number of rea-sons. It is in question first and fore-most because the Democratic lead-ership supports rhe war policies ofthe Administration----ever criticizesmany of these policies from the Right.It has not learned the lesson of'52. It aljenates the peaceJovingmasses and opens the door for Mc-Carthyite and Administration peacedemagogy. The GOP high commandintends to n fully.As has be it wiilbase its fa on thetheme of "

Democratic Party and connives withit in the GOP. Thus, National Chair-man Mitchell launches a McCarthy-ite attack on Congressman Condonof California; and Senate MinorityLeader Lyndon Johnson of Texas-home state of McCarthy's big oilmen supporters-sabotages the Sen-ate fight for the Flanders resolutionto censure McCarthy. And in theclosing days of Congress, SenateDemocrats undertook to go Brown-ell one better by introducing theirown McCarthyite legislation to out-law the Communist Party.

Finally, it is in question becauseof Stevenson's abandonment of civilrights legislation, his wooing of theDixiecrats, and the refusal of theDemocratic Party to name Negrocandidates in the primaries in any

appreciable number. This is takingplace in the face of extensive GOFmaneuvers to attract Negro votersthrough the appointment of Negroleaders to governm.r,t offi..r, ih.naming of some additional Negrocandidates, and a large scale cin-paign to exploit the Supreme Courtdecision on segregation in education.

Moreover, even should a Demo-cratic victory take place despite allthis, a change in party control ofCongress-while having important

particular the independent interven-tion of labor as regards issues, can-didates

-and campaigns. The prima-ries held thus far show that thii mustbe greatly strengrhened if the laborand people's electoral objectives areto be attained.

Let us turn now to the main is-sues and movements as they refectthemselves in the primaries, to rhemain tactical problems to be solvedand the tasks to be achieved.

III. THE STRUGGLE FORPEACE

The struggle for peace is of deci_sive importance for the 1954 elec-tions. What are the chief new fea-tures -in this struggle today as re_vealed by the evenrs leading to rhe

I8 POLITICAL AFFAIRS

winning of the cease-fire in Indo-

Chinal

senhower Administration can be

forced to assent to the results of ne-

eotiations once its plans to block a

iettlement are frustrated'The Indo-China settlement is a

and the world Peace camP; to the

Dower oI the colonial-liberation move-'rn.n,, ,nd especially the valiant figtrt

for freedom-of the PeoPle of Indo-

months in resPonse to the threat ofH-bomb war and militarY interven-tion. It was this, together with the

world factors, which stayed thchands of Eisenhower and Dulles on

the very brink of large-scale armedintervention in Indo-China.

This neru scoPe and Power ofAmericsn peace action is the second

neu feature in the fight for peace. lteat expansionctivity of alllation to then the unions

and people's organizations, in theconseivative peace centers and on thepart of the advanced peace centers.

This is very much needed. Com-rade Foster, who first called our at-

tention to the new possibilities in thehis mes-he great-e would

be to conclude from the present eas-

ing of world tensions that the wardanger has disappeared. IJnder no

circumstances can we permlt any re-

laxation of the struggle for Peacesuch as occurred after the Koreancease-fire.

For events show that the Adminis-tration has by no means adoPted a

policy of negotiations. Quite the con-

trary, unable to stop the Geneva set-

tlement, it is now pressing Germanrearmament and opposing the ban-ning of the A- and H-bombs, andpreparing a vast new plan to militar-ize the youth.

The crisis in the war policies ofthe Administration, however, can-

THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS r9

not be cured by intensifying the wardrive. The Indo-China srruggle hasstimulated growing popular opposi-tion to specific aspects of the Eisen-hower war program and a growingmood of questioning and reassess-ment. Even among those who do notas yet recognize the war role of theAdministration, there is widespreadfear of the Knowland-Radford cliqueand its advocacy of the McCarrhy-ite policy of "preventive" atomic war.As a result, the Administration iscompelled to resort to new peacedemagogy.

The third new feature uhich thusemerges is tlte GOP-Eisenhower planto erplo:it American peace sentimentby posing as champions of pea'ce,particula:rly in the period betweennow and the Nouember elections.They will seek to deceive publicopinion as in the'52 campaign. Whilethey will not be able to succeed asreadily as then, the danger nonerhe-less is very great.

The danger is so great primarilybecause the Democratic top leader-ship continues to support the warprogram. This is true of all mainnational groupings-the McCarran-Dixiecrat, the Symington-type "mod-erates," the official Stevenson-Tru-man - lohnson - Rayburn leadershipand the Right-wing ADA forces.Stevenson, for example, continues tourge a policy of "Eisenhower-must-succeed," while Lyndon ]ohnson evenendorses Knowland's war-rnongeringdemand that the USA quit the UNif People's China is admitted. The

main overall theme is support to thcwar Program.

What is new, however, is that thepopular upsurge against the H-bomb

June). And this, in rurn, has begunto have an impact on certain Demo-cratic Party circles.

The fourth neru feature whichemerges in the fght for peace, therc-fore, is the beginning of a certaindifferentiation on the peace issue inthe Democratic Party. This processof differentiation, however, is com-plicated. It is necessary to distinguishseveral different ways in whicli thepopular upsurge is reflected in theDemocratic Party.

Democratic Conference in May criti-cized Dulles' "blundering" in Indo-China-it did not criticize the driveto intervene, but the inability to carrythe "allies" along. The restoration oibi-partisanship in foreign policy wasden-randed, coupled wirh the ihreatto r,vithhold such support unless theGOP ceased its "party of treason,'campaign against the Democrats.Stevenson criticized the "new look,,policy because of "cuts" in war ex-penditures. His attack on "massiveretaliation," while directed againstthe criminal "preventive" war idea,

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

was ded to a defense of Korean-tYPe

"little wars."This criticism is within the frame-

work o[ general agreement with the

war drivi. The main DemocraticIeaders give no signs as Yet of re-

sponding to the peace desires of the

piopl. and making a fight for Peace

in the elections.

in Indo-China-without, however,

taking a fully forthright positionaeainst it'"The third, found among Demo-crats closer to labor circles, exPress-

es the beginnings of a more gennjne

difierentiation. Thus, Senator John-

tor Morse (I.Ore.), frequent speak-

er at labor conventions and confer-

ences, in which he condemned the

GOP as a "war PartY." Likewise,Senator Kefauver (D.-Tenn'), who

the growing peace demands of the

people.^ fh^t impact have these new fea-

tures in thi strugJle for Peace had

on the elections thus far ? There isno doubt that election-year Pressureshave to some degree acted as a gen-

eral deterrent to the war drive. Thisshould not, of course, be distorted tomean that simPlY because this is an

election year, the Administrationwon't dare make war-like moves.

Had it not been for mass Pressure,intervention in Indo-China mightwell have taken Place.

But it must be said that, while the

recent mass upsurge is changing the

situation, the peace issue entered the

early primaries onlY to a small de-

g..., "td in most cases ncgatively.in the Senatorial contests, Douglas

(D.-Iil.), running unoPPosed in the

primary, took a Position even to the

ifieht of the Administration, favored

iniirvention and called for breakingrelations with Poland. The IllinoisRepublicans offered a choice between

Eisenhower supporters and Chicago

Tribune McCarthyites; in Ohio be-

tween two Taftites. In California the

Democratic Party endorsed a rabidwarmonger, YortY, for the U.S. Sen-

ate. The Democratic nominee in New

|ersey proposed to his RePubljcanopporr.t,t that foreign policy be keptout of the camPaign bY "adheringto a bi-partisan aPProach"!

Whatls true of the Senatorial races

is trtte pretty generally' Up to nowpeace his not b€en the central issue'

Th. p.".. forces have not succeeded


in making it so. Why is thislFirst, there is the pro-war policy

of labor's top leadership. Meany'sdisgraceful speech at the N. Y. StateA.F. of L. Convention in July wentso far as to oppose the cease-fire andreject peaceful co-existence. Further-more, while growing sectors of laborare speaking for peace, they do notas yet put pressure on the candidates(generally Democrats) whom theysupport. On this, as on other matters,they tend to tail behind the Demo-cratic Party.

Secondly, progressives are heldback in their efforts to change thissituation by two wrong tendencies.These tendencies are based on a me-chanical counterposing of the fightfor peace and the fight against Mc-Carthyism. The first calls for the"defeat of the McCarthyites, period"and thus makes the peace questionsecondary. This t..rd"n.y argueswrongly that to make the peace is-sue primary will exclude support forcertain antiMcCarthy candidateswhose stand on peace is not satisfac-tory. This position obviously ignoresthe main point-that is, the need tostruggle to influence the candidateand his campaign through the pres-sure of his mass base.

The other tendency holds thar thedefeat of McCarthyites is not enough,that candidates must be judged onthe peace issue alone. Since very fewcandidates indeed now take a forth-right peace stand, this precludes acoalition tactic noru. This approachlikewise ignores the fight to changethe position of candidates on the

peace issue, through the development of peace activities among thcforces who constitute their mass base.

Such tendencies must be rejectedif the difficult tactical siruations pre-sented by the November electionsare to be solved. For example, thekey contesr in Illinois is the Meek-Douglas Senatorial race. The Mc-Carthyite Meek campaigned as a"p.lge candidate, opposing thesending of troops to Indo-China. The"liberal" Douglas favored interven-tion, although he has since admittedthat his mail opposed intervention.Meek is thoroughly antilabor andanti-Negro, opposes FEPC and allsocl has thefull abor andthe no rhirdcandidate; the election lews preventthat.

conservative-led unions and organi_zations. At all times there exisri thedanger of a sectarian policy of sit_ting out the campaign, or-makingDouglas rhe main trig.t, and of ailopportunist policy of going along

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

with the pro-Douglas forces withoutmaking a real fight to influence thecharacter of his campaign.

The weak role of the Peace issue

in the fi.rst round of primaries shouldnot, however, blind us to the tre-mendous new possibilities that are

beginning to appear. The events inand around the Indo-China cease-

fire will have a profound effect. TheKnowland-McCarthyite camP are

threatening to make the UN and theadmission of People's China an elec-

tion issue. Their drive to upset thecease-fire and their frank advocacy

of preventive war are stimulatinggreat mass alarm.

Among the Democrats the Processof difierentiation on the peace issue

-reflecting labor and popular opin-

ion-is continuing. The reception ofthe Mazey speech among the work-ers will not be lost. Senator Morsecenters his fire upon the Knowlandcamp, as incampaign fobecause "theCongress would be looked uPon bY

the war crowd in the Administra-tion as a mandate to go to war inAsia." Others, like FDR, lr., andHarriman, with all tieir anti-Sovietbeliefs, begin to speak of reassessing

our foreign policy and argue againstH-bomb war as a means of resolvingconflicts between East and West.

In this situation, the keY tasks ofthe peace forces are:

r. To grasp the new oPPortuni-ties to make peace the central issue

in the elections, and to make the

elections a struggle to advance thecause of peace.

z. To develop mass activitiesaround the main peace issues' Toenter the debate on the question ofpeaceful co-existence, and fight for aieal change in America's foreign pol-icy. To defend peaceful negotiationsand the UN against the Knowland-McCarthy crowd, while exposing themaneuvers of the Eisenhower Ad-ministration. To defend the cease-

fire; support the admission of Peo-ple's China to the UN; oppose Ger-man and Japanese rearmament; banthe H-bomb; oppose UMT and thenew plan to militarize the youth;cut war budgets; support the colo-nial-liberation struggles; expandEast-West and world trade.

3. To help make the pro-peaceposition of the working class a realinfluence in the campaign of the la-bor-endorsed candidates. Likewise,the peace demands of the Negro peo-ple, the farmers, the women, theyouth.

4. On this basis to help defeat themost rabid warmongers and elect a

number of peace spokesmen toCongress.

IV. FOR AN ANTI-MCCARTHYCONGRE,SS

The anti-McCarthy struggle has

already become a central issue in theelections. This is due to the powerfulanti-McCarthy upsurge of Marchand April which was further stimu-lated by the Army-McCarthy hear-ings. lust as the antiMcCarthy up-


surge has given new range to theexpression of peace sentiment, so therising opposition to the war policiesof the Administration-to the warhysteria which is the breeding groundof McCarrhyism-has givin newmomentum ro the anti-McCarthystruggle.

This upsurge has had importantconsequences. A majority of anti_McCarthy sentiment has come into

moment. It has finally forced the is-sue of McCarthy onto the floor of theSenate in the form of the Flandersresolution.

Most significant is that mass anti-McCarthy activity has begun. Theoutstanding example is the Wiscon-sin "Joe-Must-Go" recall movement.This spontaneous, grass-roots move-ment took on real mass proportions.Despite the initial lack of organiza-tion and the failure of state and na-tional labor, farm and Democratic

stage for a new recall campaign afterNovember.

Other movements heve arisen.Thus, the "I Believe Benton" Com-mittee placed ads in z5 dally papersthroughout the countiy, cailing^forSenate investigation and actionagainst McCarthy. Additional ads

in July urged support of the FIan-ders resolution.

Amactivitas thedemiclike. Grass-roots petirions have been

professional circles have taken onnew vigor and depth. The UAWEducational Conference gave BishopSheil a forum from which to addressa very imporrant anti-McCarthy

"p.peal to Catholic workers. And thisweek saw the passage of al anti-Mc-Carthy resolution in the Massachu-setts State A.F. of L. Convention, in_troduced by A.F. of L. leaders fromMcCarthy's reputed stronghold, Bos-ton.

. Especially important is the grow-ing tendency in labor and othel cir-cles to brand McCarthyism as Hit-lerism, that is, fascism. A number ofunions have spoken in this vein(Transport, Amalgamated) as didthe Dallas Convention resolution ofthe NAACP.

laws of this type have been enacted,as in Texas. In Flint, Michigan, Con-gressman Clardy and General Mo-tors are promoting a rcign of terror

24 POLITICAL AFFAIRS

against militant trade unionists in a

disperate efiort to ensure Clardy's re-

eleciion. The indictment of ClaudeLightfoot, under the membershiPprovisions of. the.Smith Act, is a

new senous tnvasron of democratic

rights. There are increased deporta-

tions, denaturalizations and other at-

tacks on the foreign-born.How is this possible? How can we

explain this contradiction between

thi powerful anti-McCarthy upsurge

o. th" one hand, and the continued

advances of McCarthYism on the

other ?

surge that McCarthY-much less Mc-

Carthvism-is a dead duck.Second, the anti-McCarthY forces,

other Big Business forces simply wantto cut MccarthY down to size. TheWorld-Telegrdm terrns him "a ma-

number who see the fascist charac-

ter of and some whobegin he Big Lie of"Sovie and "Commu-nist c on which the

McCarthyite, fascist drive is prem-ised.

Third, while labor and other PoPular forces have spoken out withgreater vigor, they have not takenthe leadership in organizing action.This is shown by the shocking fail-ure of the state and- national CIOand A.F. of L. to take the lead inthe Wisconsin recall drive. Likewise,labor failed to intervene in the Army-McCarthy hearings, with demands

for serious action against McCarthyand his committee. Nor can it bc

said that labor played a leading rolein the struggle around the Flandcrsresolution. It was an important stepforward when the A.F. of L. andthe C.I.O. opposed some of the keyfeatures of the Brownell Program,though this came late and was notbacked up with mass action.

Labor's failure in this respect isdue to the treacherous role of theRight-wing Social-Democratic andreformist trade-union leadership.Tied to the war program, they sharcMcCarthy's own premises, the BigLie of "soviet aggression" and"Communist conspiracy." Alwaysfearful of mass action, they seek torestrain labor's participation in or-ganized mass anti-McCarthy activity.

The immediate key to breakingthrough, as is shown by the A. F. ofL. Massachusetts State conventionresolution, is the mass exposure ofMcCarthy's anti-labor record, lt ison this basis that an aroused rankand file recognizing the anti-laboressence of McCarthyism, will insistthat the unions take an active lead


in this struggle.The most urgent need today is to

clarify and strengthen the massmovement against McCarthy, Mc-Carthyism, and fascism. Amongother things, this requires that pro-gressives distinguish three difierentbut related and overlapping levelson which the mass movement isnow simultaneously developing.This requires further that progres-sives taken an active part in all threelevels.

First, there is the anti-McCarthymovement. This is the b,roadest andcontains even some Big Businesselements. Its limited aim is to curbMcCarthy. Its demands vary fromrecall to removal from the Senate,or some form of censure, as in theFlanders and Lehman resolutions.

Labor and people's activity at pre-sent is developing primarily on thisfirst level. The activity tends to belimited to this level because rheseforces by and large do not yet see

that McCarthyism is fascism, be-cause they do not yet challenge theBig Lie.

Holvever, it must be strongly em-phasized that the further development of this first level of struggle(simultaneously with the other two)

-and above all labor's growing lead-ership in the fight for the mainaction demands-is vital to the wholemass movement.

Second, therc is the level of anti-McCarthyism, the lcvcl of struggle,for example, against the Eisenhower-Brownell program. Thc movement

on this level, while growing, is muchmore limited. It is confined as yetto certain sectors of labor, somcliberal forces and the progressives.The strengthening of this level willbe facilitated by the expansion of thestruggle on the first Ievel. But thatis not enough. The events in the lastdays of Congress show how neces-sary it is to concentrate special ef-forts upon strengthening the fightof labor and the people against Mc-Carthyite legislation and repression.

Third, there is the conscious anti-fascist struggle which is beginningto challenge the "Big Lie"-the pre-mise of McCarthyism and the breed-ing-ground of fascism. Here, too,new opportunities are arising. Asthe other levels of struggle developand as the peace movement growsin scope, more and more the oeoplcwill come to reject the Big Lie.

What is most essential for progres-sives to grasp here is that the generalanti-McCarthy and pro-peace up.surge makes possible new, broaderapproaches to the struggle againstthe Smith Act prosecutions, againstfurther indictments, for amnesty forEugene Dennis, the General Sec-retary of the Communist Party, andfor all political prisoners and polit-ical refugees. It makes possiblesimilar approaches to the Right forrepeal of the Smith Act, McCarraaAct, the McCarran-Walter Act, andthe fight to win back full legalityfor our Party.

As has becn pointed out, Mc-Carthy and McCarthyism have al-


ready become a central issue in theelections. As to the GOP, somemonths back their National Com-mittee announced plans to use Mc-Carthy as the star campaigner, un-der the slogan "The GOP needsboth Ike and Joe." But McCarthy'sposition and influence have been soweakened that these plans have un-dergone considerable change.

A Looll magazine survey pub-lished in May gave this result: z6of roo voters polled in March saidthey would be less inclined ro vorefor a candidate backed by McCarthy,2r more inclined; in April the scorewas 46.qo 17 against McCarthy. Soit is that Ferguson now doei notwant McCarthy to come into Michi-gan; Case, the Republican Senatorialcandidate of New ]ersey, has takena public stand against him.

The GOP primaries bear this out,especially in Illinois, where Mc-Carthyism was a dominant issue.Thus the primary campaign againstVelde cut his vote from 43,ooo in the

feat Velde in the finals. It is un-fortunate, however, that the anti-McCarthy forces in Chicago did notget into the primary against Vailand failed to develop primary op-position to Busbey.

In other areas, several rabid Mc-Carthyites were roured, includingcx-Congressman Parnell Thomas in

New ]ersey and Jones in Maine.Particularly important was thesmashing defeat of the openly anti-Semitic Mc-Carthyite State Senator

Jack Tenney of Los Angeles. Butopportunities to develop struggles inRepublican primaries against Clardyof Michigan, Scherer of Ohio, andothers, were missed.

As to the Democratic Party, thenational leaders do make McCarthy-ism-in-the-GOP a talking issue.However, the role of the SenateDemocrats on the Brownell programand Lyndon ]ohnson's role on theFlanders resolution (and Steven-son's silence!) show that in actualitythey sabotage the fight and at timesopenly join forces with McCarthy-ism. At the same time they appeaseit in the Democratic Party, as il-lustrated by Chairman Mitchell'scall for the primary defeat of Cali-fornia Democratic CongressmanCondon, target of McCarthyite at-tacks.

This helps explain why an out-standing weakness in the electoralstruggle against McCarthyism, upto now, is tlte lailure to fight the Mc-Carthyites in tlte Democratic pri-maries. The most shocking examplewas the absence of primary opposi-tion to Walter in Pennsylvania. Butothers can be cited in Ohio and inNew Jersey.

The South stands out as the greatexception, for there the Dixiecratallies of the McCarthyites have takensome severe defeats. The victories ofSparkman and Folsom in Alabama,


and Kerr Scott in North Carolina-all supported by labor and the Ne-gro people-staad out in sharp con-trast with r95o, when the Dixiecratoffensive defeated Pepper and FrankGraham. And this is further con-firmed by Kefauver's victory in Ten-nessee and by the July Texas pri-mary in which Dixiecrat GovernorShivers was forced into a run-of[.Clearly a new and growing anti-Dixiecrat movement is taking shapein the South.

It is likewise significant that laborand the Democrats in Californiarenominated Condon despite Mit-chell. Nor should it be ignored that

-however inconsistently - certainADA forces, the Neu Yorft Post,Justice Douglas, Senator Lehman,Governor Meyner, press for more ofa fight against the McCarthyites.

The primary results raise somenew tactical problems for the anti-McCarthy forces. How, for example,to cope with a situation like that inPennsylvania, where a large sectionof labor supported t}re Musmanno-picked candidate, McClelland, in theDemocratic gubernatorial primary?McClelland, because of his anti-ma-chine and pro-labor demagogy, rana close race with the liberal StateSenator, Leader. Clearly, McClel-land's large vote, despite Musmanno'ssupport, must not be taken as a pro-Musmanno and pro-McCarthy vote.Rather, all labor, especially ttre steelworkers and the coal miners, shouldunite to defeat GOP reaction inNovember.

A difierent problem has arisen inNew Jersey. There the RepublicanSenatorial candidate, Case, has comeout against McCarthy, and the labor-endorsed Democrat, Howell, haskept silent because of McCarthyiteDemocratic pressure. This has be-come a big national issue and posesa first rate crisis for New Jersey la-bor. The problem certainly cannotbe resolved by embracing Case,whose opposition to McCarthy iscoupled with support for Eisen-hower's embracing of McCarthyism.The announcement that Dirksen,McCarthy's chief apologist in theSenate, will campaign for Caseshould make this clear. The needhere is for mass pressure on Howellfor a forthright fight against Mc-Carthyism.

There is no doubt that as the fallprimaries and November electionsdraw near the growing anti-Mc-Carthy consciousness of the voterswill create new opportunities to fightfor an anti-McCarthy Congress, andto sharpen the struggle on this issuewithin both parties.

In this connecrion the New Yorkprimary (September r4) and finalelections shape up as leading battle-grounds. Always of key national im-portance, these elections take orrspecial meaning this year because ofthe powerful role played nationallyby the pro-McCarthy Farley forcesin the Democraric Party and theDewey-Brownell group in the GOP.The labor and people's forces, hav-ing achieved some important vic-


tories against Dewey and Farley in'53, ^r. pointing toward the biggerbattle of '54.

What are the main electoral objec-tives of labor and the people in NewYork this year? They are: (r) todefeat Deweyism and the Dewey-Farley alliance by building a broadlabor, farm and people's anti-Deweycoalition movement; (z) to changethe composition of the New YorkCongressional delegation in a direc-tion favorable to the struggle againstMcCarthyism and for peace, jobs

and equal rights; (3) to expand theindependent political action-andrepresentation----of labor, the Negropeople and the Puerto Rican Peo-ple; and, progressives add, (4) toitrengthen the ALP, as an essential

factor in building the anti-DeweYcoalition, through support of itsactivities on peace and other issues

and of its campaign for its state

ticket and other candidates'The central objective is the defeat

of Brownell's boss, Dewey. Is thispossible I

The answer is yes. The growingopposition to the Eisenhower Ad-ministration is more than paralleledby the growing popular hostility tothe Dewey State Administration.Dewey fathered the rent and faresteals. The state GOP scandals thisyear have further exposed the mYthof honest, efficient administration.And Dewey's Hartford sPeech inDccember even went Brownell one

better in the vulgarity of its embrac-ing of McCarthyism.

It should bc added that the firststage of the fight to defeat DewcYneJessarily t"q.ri..t that labor andthe people go into action to defeat

the maneuvers of the FarleY-Mc-Carthyites in the Democratic Partyand compel the Democratic Party toname a state ticket of a liberal, anti-McCarthy character. Such a ticket,as the State A. F. of L. has justproposed, would be very muchstrengthened by the inclusion of a

trade unionist. It would likewise be

strengthened by the inclusion of a

Negro candidate.The struggle against McCarthYism

in the Democratic PartY thus comes

to the fore in a number of ways in theSeptember primarY and state con-

veltion. The persistent campaign toblock the candidacy of FDR, |r. is

obviously of Farley-McCarthyite in-spiration. The revolt within the Dem-oiratic Party against the Roe-Farleymachine in Queens is precipitatinga series o[ Congressional Democraticprimary fights in which McCarthY-ism is the key issue. These battles,

as well as a number of leadershiPfights in Brooklyn, Point to increas-

ing possibilities for labor and theanii-McCarthy Democrats to makefurther gains against the Farleyites.

In the nation as a whole, whatthen are the main tasks for the anti-McCarthy forces ? First, to utilizethe new opportunities to strengthenthe anti-McCarthy mass movementin the coursc of the elcctions, takinginto account the difierent levcls ofstruggle.


Second, to press the struggle foran anti-McCarthy Congress aroundthe issues of curbing and expellingMcCarthy; rejecting t}le Brownellprogram; repealing the McCarran-Walter, Smith and McCarran Acts

-as rvell as ending Smith Act prose-cutions and securing amnesty forthe victims of McCarthyism.

Third, to prepare to defeat ,inNovember the outstanding Mc-Carthyites, Velde, Clardy, Kerstenand others and to elect active anti-McCarthy fighters to Congress.

V. THE, ANTI.DEPRE.SSIONSTRUGGLE

The anti-depression struggle is afundamental mass issue in the '54elections. Already in '53 economicquestions-job and farm income-played a primary role in the strikingGOP setbacks in the Wisconsinspecial election in October and theNew Jersey, New York and Ohioelections in November. Today, aftera full year of economic decline, thesequestions have become far moreacute.

This is why the Eisenhower Ad-ministration is now bending everyeffort to convince labor and the peo-ple that the depression is over. Theaim obviously is to eliminate or atleast limit the impact of the eco-nomic issues on the elections.

But what is the real picture?A general decline in industrial

production, presaging the approacho{ an economic crisis, set in in thesummer of ry53. Production currently

is some rc/6 below last year's peak,with the drop concentrated in suchbasic mass production industries as

steel-now operating at Q/o of cap-acity-and auto. The situation in thechronically depressed industries liketextile and coal has been further ag-

gravated. The jobless total some

5,ooo,ooo (the faked official figuresadmit 3,4oo,ooo), with large num-bers having already exhausted themeager unemployment benefits.Hundreds of thousands of auto, steeland other workers face the prospectof being permanently eliminatedfrom industry.

The situation in industry coin-cides with the further developmentof the crisis in agriculture. Despitesteadily increasing retail food prices,the prices received by farmers con-tinue to decline and are now t8/6below the level of r95r, as reportedby the House Agricultural Commit-tee, August z. As a consequence, thepoor and middle farmers generallyface ruination.

It is true that the spring monthssaw a slowing of the decline in pro-duction-a development which theAdministration is utilizing as themain basis for its depression-is-overpropaganda. But this is a temporarysituation and is due primarily toseasonal and other short-range fac-tors. Every indication points to a

renewal of the decline in the latesummer and fall. Thus, the auto in-dustry has just announced new pro-tracted shut-downs under the pre-text of model changc-ovcrs.

3o POLITICAL AFFAIRS

Even with the slowing of thedecline, unemployment steadilyworsens as speed-up increases andtechnical changes, like automation,are accelerated under the pressureof monopoly capital's drive for max-imum profits. The big trusts, o{course, are faring very well. In theface of a rc/e drop in production,the big manufacturing corporationswith assets of over $roo,ooo,ooo showa 7/6 increase in profits for the firstquarter of '54, as compared with a

ye^r ago.It is the workers who carry the

burden of the depression-loss of

iobs, short weeks, speed-up, wage-cutting drives and new attacks onthe basic rights to organize andstrike. Negro workers feel the specialeffects of being the last to be hiredand first to be fired. Women work-ers carry a heavy burden and theyouth, lacking skill and seniority,face a critical situation.

The economic position of the peo-ple is further aggravated by the re-fusal of Eisenhower and the BigBusiness Congress to take any re-medial steps. No positive action wastaken on labor, welfare, housing,health, and similar legislation. Whatis more, the new "flexible" paritylaw will mean further cuts in the in-oome of poor and middle farmers,thus intensifying the development ofthe farm crisis.

On the other hand, the new tax-steal passed this session providesfurther "relief" for the greedy in-stead of the needy. This comes on

top of last year's elimination of the.i..r, profits tax, which enabled

Generaf Motors, DuPont, GE andthe other big trusts to show such bigincreases in profits alongside of sharpcuts in payrolls and sales.

Underlying the record of Con-gress are the economic Policies ofthe two old parties. The Administra-tion and the GOP deny the existence

of any real economic problem forthe masses. They revive the Hoover"trickle-down" theory and seek toindict their Democratic critics as

prophets of "gloom and doom."The Democrals feature economic

issues in their speeches and intro-duce numerous bills. But theY donot make a serious fight in Congressfor an anti-depression Program.Tied as they are to the war Policies,they do not oppose the huge war-budgets. On the contrary, they evencall for increases, thus aggravatingthe whole economic problem. Hence,they too bear heavy responsibilityfor the deteriorating conditions ofthe great masses of the people.

Faced with the urgent problemsof unemployment and the depres-sion, labor and the farmers are ex-panding their economic and politicalaction. Over the past period, themain labor centers have adoptedanti-depression programs and organ-ized a number of unemploymentconferences and other actions, Anew militancy is evident in theranks of the workers. This is seen

in the Dodge strike against speed-

up, the lumber strike in the North-

THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS 3r

west, the rubber strike and otherstruggles.

Labor and its allies are becomingmore and more confirmed in theiropposition to the economic policiesof Eisenhower and the GOP, of thebillionaire Cabinet, of the give-away, take-away Congress and Ad-ministration. As a result, the anti-depression struggle has been andwill continue to be a key factor in the'54 elections. It is this which largelyaccollnts for the low GOP primaryvote and contributes to the defeatssuffered by the Dixiecrats in theSouthern primaries.

However, there are certain im-portant weaknesses in the way inwhich labor and its allies are ap-proaching the economic issues in theelections. First, not enough is beingdone to combat the Eisenhower-BigBusiness propaganda that the "reces-sion" is over. This propaganda isbeginning to have some effect inretarding the development of labor'santi-depression activities. It must berefuted (as the national CIO andother unions are beginning to do)by making known the real facts ongrowing unemployment, on thechronically depressed industries, andon the new lay-offs in auto and steel,which have followed the brief springpick-up.

Second, there is too little linkingup of the strike struggles with le-gislative and political action. Wherethe tie-up is made both fronts ofstruggle are strengthened, as in thecase of the police artack on the picket

line in the Park Drop Forge strikein. Cleveland just before the Mayprlmanes.

Third, it is urgendy necessary toovercome the serious weakness inthe legislative activity of the laborand farm movements. The recordshows that the Administration's taxsteal and "flexible" parity bills couldhave been defeated---or at leastamended----even in this Congress,had labor and the farmers intervenedin a more energetic, mass way. Thebiggest obstacles have been the"wait-torj54" theory-that is, thatnothing can be done with this Con-gress-and the opposition to masslegislative action on the part of thereformist labor and farm leadership.This must now be corrected by mak-ing the record of Congress and theindividual Congressmen on the anti-depression questions a major issuein November.

Finally, there is the continuingfailure to relate the economic issuesto the struggle for peace and againstMcCarthyism, to refute McCarthy'sdemagogy on the farm question, toexpose the McCarthyites and theiranti-labor record, to advance thefight for peaceful negotiarions andtrade as an integral part of the anti-depression struggle.

As the Administration's promisedfall pick-up fails to materialize, andthe new damage done by Congressin its closing weeks becomes appa-rent, the resentment of labor, theNegro people and the farmers willgrow. The whole fight on the eco-

32 POLITICAL

nomic issues in the electoral fieldwill sharpen.

What are the main tasks ?

r. lb make the economic recordof Eisenhower and Congress a lead-ing issue in the elections (as laboris already doing) and on this basisto involve the broadest masses in theelection campaign.

z. To project as an immediateprogram of struggle, labor's anti-depression proposals. These include(a) the raising of purchasing powerthrough wage increases, shorterwork week with no reduction inpay; new tax legislation providingfor $rooo exemption instead of thepresent measly $6oo; higher mini-mum wages; increased unemploy-ment insurance benefits and Federal,State and Local FEPC; (b) a pro-gram of welfare-not warfare; Fed-eral housing, health, education pro-gram; a broad network of publicworks; an end to the give-aways;(c) a farm program based on fullparity with production payments topoor and middle farmers as a meansof lowering consumer prices; (d)expanded world trade (includingEast-West trade) in a world at peace;(e) an end to McCarthyite Big Busi-ness attacks on the rights of laborand the people; repeal of Taft-Hart-l.y.

3. To press all labor-endorsed can-didates to champion such measuresand make them leading features intheir campaign. To guarantee thatthe electoral struggle will stimulatemass activities of all kinds around

AFFAIRS

the defense of the living standardsof the people against Big Business.

VI. FOR NEGRO RIGHTSAND REPRESENTATION

The Supreme Court decision onsegregation in education reflects thetremendous new growth in the Ne-gro liberation movement. This vic-tory likewise is due to the increasedsupport of a broad section of thervhite population, particularly thelabor movement. It is due {urtherto the new growth of the colonial-Iiberation movements and theirpowerful impact upon the events inour country. It is due in no smallpart to the pioneering role of thcCommunists and the Left in thestruggle for Negro rights.

The decision can give newstrength to the Negro people andtheir main organizations, such as theNAACP. It opens up broad newpossibilities in every phase of thestruggle for Negro equality, forFEPC, and an end to segregarion inhousing transportation and the like.It serves as a powerful stimulus tothe fight for increased Negro repre-sentation in all levels of govern-ment.

What is necessary first and fore-most is a struggle to implement thedecision in the South, as well as inthe North. The fruits of vicrory willnot come without the most active,militant fight by the Negro peopleand their white allies.

At the same time, it is clear that


thc GOP will try to exploit this de-cision as part of the Administra-tion's demagogic campaign to makeinroads among the Negro voters.This makes it all the more necessaryto review the real position of theAdministration and the GOP on thequestion of Negro cquality. Whatare the factsl

To begin with, as the Afro-Ameri-can pointed out editorially (I"ly3r), the GOP controllcd B3rd Con-gress scored zero on FEPC andother civil rights legislation, andthis after their pledge of many years'standing, that once they took controlfrom the Democrats they wouldenact a full civil rights program.Moreover, Eisenhower personallyhas come out againsr FEPC. He hashobnobbed with the mosr viciousanti-Negro Dixiecrat politicians likeShivers, made States Rights his of-ficial policy, and appointed Dix-iecrat Byrnes as representative to theUN. Firially, as the NAACP andthe American ]ewish Congress haverepeatedly pointed out, the growthof McCarthyism and attacks oncivil liberties have seriously ham-pered the suuggle for civil rights.Thus the policies of the Administra-tion and the GOP are a most deadlymenace to civil rights.

Meanwhile, Stevenson and theDemocratic leadership have also be-trayed the civil rights struggle inappeasement of the Dixiecrats. Ob-viously this plays into the hands ofthc Administration demagogy. Thercsult is to create the danger that a

wedge may be driven between theNegro people and the labor andliberal forces who are more andmore uniting in opposition to theGOP.

Thc problby the resultThe centraltion between the great increase inNegro candidacies and representa-tion movements, and the absence-prior to the Michigan primary ofAugust 3-of any real break-throughin the Democratic primaries.

This increase in candidacies fol-lows the big gains made in the NewYork elections of 1953. It comesafter many years of -Communist

initiativc in boldly projccting Negrocandidates and raising the need forNegro rcpresentation as a mass issue.Many other forces have taken upthc fight. The ALP and PP arimaking signal contributions. Thevarious non-partisan representationcommittees in Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant and other Negro com-munities are making this demanda major issue in the two old parties.

What do the 1954 primaries show?In Ohio there was a record num-

lcr ^of Negro candidates, including

the first Negro candidate for a Dem--ocratic nomination to Congress,]ohn Holly. After an active iam-paign he failed of nomination by2,ooo votes. All other Negro candi-dates in Cleveland in the Demo.cratic primary also lost, includingthe lone legislative candidate en--dorsed by thc machine. On the other


hand, the GOP named Negroes forCongress, for ]udge and the StateSenate.

Chicago, too, saw a number ofnew Negro candidacies for the Le-gislature, with a gain of one assured.

Most, however, lost in the primaries'In Philadelphia, the Democratsagain refused to name a Negro forCongress in the Fourth District, andthe Negroes suffered a loss of twoin the State Legislature as a resultof re-districting. Meanwhile, theGOP named an active Negro candi-date for Congress in the PhiladelphiaFourth.

In California, some gains are likelyin the State Legislaturel but again,no Negro candidate for Congress

was named from Los Angeles. VerYsignificant, however, was the unPre-cedented naming, by the DemocraticParty, of a candidate of Mexicanorigin, for Lieutenant-Governor.This shows what new possibilitiesexist.

The first major exception wasMichigan, where State Senator Dig-ges won a sweePmg two-to-one vlc-iory in the Democratic Congressionalprimary. This opens up the fightingprospect for the election in Novem-ber of the first additional NegroCongressman sinceened political conNegro people wasthat more than 5ofiled in the primaries, as against 14

it 1952.

In Newark, too, an imPortant vic-tory was scored in the spring citY

elections, with the election of theCouncil, a

he unity ofsupport ofMaryland,

a Negro won the Democratic nomi-nation to the State Legislature'

Some very striking victories were

recorded in the South-with a num-ber of new "firsts," for CitY Councilposts (North Carolina and Loui-siana), also Democratic Committeepositions (Alabama).^ The overall picture is one ofmany new Negro candidacies. Thereis, however, no general breakthroughin the Democratic Primaries-as con-ffasted with the GOP gestures of

bor alliance.Why no breakthrough in the Dcm-

ocratic Party Primaries ? The basic

answer is not only that the Demo-crats do not slate Negro candidates.In Cleveland, Holly could have wonwithout machine suPPort if laboras a whole had taken uP his cam-

paign. The point is that labor andihe-liberal forces are tailing behindthe Democratic Party, instead ofbringing independent pressure uPonit. Therefore, the central Problem

THE, NOVEMBER ELECTIONS 35

Such support is in the best interestsof the white workers.

. In fighting to achieve this support,rt rs necess:lry to solve some imme_diate tactical problems. These arisemost sharply where the Democratshave named white labor-supportedcandidates, and the GOp has namedNegro candidares (as in Clevelandand Philadelphia).

Two tendencies must be combat-ted here. The first is simply to ac-cept the Democratic candidate onthe partisan and Right-opportunistconcepts that any Democai is pre-fe rable to any Republican. tt i,stre.ngthens the Democratic partypolicy- o[ ignoring the Negro peoplland plays into the hands o[ the GOpdemagogy, designed to split the Ne-gro people from labor. The secondis simply to accept Negro candidatesirrespective of the character andprogram of the candidate, thus con-tributing to a conflict between thelaborliberal forces and the Negromovement. This, too, plays into ihehands of thc GOP.

What is essenrial here is that thelaborliberal forces be convinced todemand noa., that the DemocraticParty (and the GOP) champion theissues of Negro rights in the cam-paign; make substitute nominationso-f J\egro candidates, where still pos-sible; make specific commitmintsfor future elections and appoint-ments; and accord the Negro peoplea major role in campaign commit-tees and organizations.

Final electoral decisions can be

based on this type of struggle, aswell as on an examination of thecharacter of the candidates and therelation of the individual campaignto the whole state picture. In the ic-maining primaries (especially NewYork) represenration movements willdo well to concentrate-in additionto the fight for unity in the Negrocommunity-on getting labor to de-mand Democratic Party support forincreased Negro candidates, and toenter into primary fights wherenecessary.

The Supreme Courr decision hasopened up new possibilities in thefight for representation. It is morethan ever possible to win broad support of white voters and to developrepresentation movements beyondthe present tendency to confine themto Negro majority areas. The elec-tion of Dr. Clement in Atlanta, Ga.,in ry53 to the School Board, alreadyproved this.

In particular, it is possible todayto make an effective fight to win la-bor support. Thus, the Detroit PAC,while it did not endorse Digges, theNegro Congressional candidate, didwithhold supporr from the incum-bent O'Brien for the first time. Thiswas a key factor in the Digges vic-tory.

Further, the pivotal role of theNegro vote in the key Negro popula-tion centers-New York, California,Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michi-gan and New ]ersey-should makethe Democratic Party more amen-able to pressure.

3736 POLITICAL AFFAIRS THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS

The main tasks, therefore, are:

whole struggle against McCarthY-ism-Dixiecratism and for peace; (z)to build non-partisan Negro unitYfor increased rePresentation and

registration, combatting sectarian re-

ieJtion o[ thc all-class character ofih.r. *or..nents and of the role o[the maintions; (3)unity bytive on ipecially in relation to the labor-

influenced sectors of thc DemocraticParty; (4) to win new victories forNegro representation in the fall pri-m^ii.r and the November elections

-and thus lay the basis for new ad-

vances in '55 and '56.

VII. THE INDE.PENDENTPOLITICAL ACTION OF LA-

BOR AND ITS ALLIE,S

The American labor movement inthis election year is experiencing a

rebirth of activitY' Not since the

davs of the New Deal has so muchstress been placed uPon Politicalactron.

The initial illusions in Eisenhower,which some sections of labor enter-

tained, have been PrettY much de-

stroyed by the anti-labor record ofthe Administration. This was sYm-

bolized by thc Durkin resignation

last fall. It is expresscd in the Ad-

ministration's attemPt further toworsen the Taft-Hartley Act, as wellas in Brownell's demand that the

McCarran Internal SecuritY Act be

extended to cover trade unions.Faced with unemployment, wage-

cutting drives and an openly hostileAdministration, labor is expandingits activities. Unemp;loyment con-

ferences have been held bY UAW,by CIO, by main state and citYbodies, anti-depression programs ad-

vanced, and demands placed beforecity, state and federal governments.The Lewis-Beck-McDonald meetinglikewise featured the job issue.

While some wage-cuts have been

imposed, is

engaged i tomaintain m-ber, rubber). The steel workers wonwage increases and todaY the autorvoriiers are already preparing forthe expiration of the five-year GX4

contract it 1955.

Labor succeeded in fighting ofithe Administration's plan to toughenthe Taft-Hartley Act. A sharp standagainst McCarthyism was taken bY

the UAW, Amalgamated Clothing'Workers, Packing, Railroad andother unions,

Particularly noteworthy is thenew activity in the field of inde-pendent organization for politicalaction. The LLPE has held regionalconferences and local meetings, set

up stalTs and local committees. ThePAC is conducting similar activities.Everyrvhere reports indicate the best

response in years to the dollar drives.

The labor press and conventions are

full of political action material.Active preparations are under wayfor November.

The political action arms of theCIO and A. F. of L., however, are,

for the most part, acting only alongparallel lines. What is needed is

united political action. This is stillthe exception, as in some'Wisconsincities and a few states. Conditionsfor achieving this are becomingmore favorable, as is shown by thesigning of the A. F. of L.-C.I.O.no-raiding pact. Is this not the timefor labor to carry this unity into thepolitical field? The Lewis-McDo-nald-Beck agreement holds forthsuch possibilities for these three bigunions in such states as Pennsyl-vania, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Labor is beginning to give moreattention to its allies. First, the C.I.O.and A. F. of L., as well as the inde-pendent unions, have given increasedsupport to the farmers in the fighton farm legislation. This resulted inthe pro-parity vote in Congress lastmonth of a bloc of big city Demo-crats, led try FDR, Jr. The UAW isdeveloping an extensive program offarmerlabor cooperation in Michi-gan. Joint farmer-labor politicalaction, which featured the Wiscon-sin special election last October, isbeing developed in a number ofareas. But much more initiative onthe part of labor is necessary.

As indicated above, labor's ap-

proach to the political struggles ofthe Negro people is still very inade-

quate. Trade unions, especially insteel and auto, are increasingly tak-ing part in fights for local and statcFEPCs-as well as for FEPC con-trac[ clauses and against discrimina-tion on the job. But for the mostpart this has not yet carried over intothe fight against discrimination inthe holding of public office.

There has been a notable emphasisby the LLPE on political activityamong women voters in and out ofthe unions. Both rhe LLPE and thePAC have set up special women'sdivisions with National Women'sDirectors. Such special programsstressing the issues of jobs, UMTand the r8-year vote are very muchneeded, as well, among young voters.

With all this expansion in laborpolitical action, the early primariesnevertheless indicate a very unevensituation as to the quality and con-tent of this activity. This becomesclear when we ask the fundamentalquestion: to what extent is laboremerging as a distinct politicalforce I To what extent is labor ad-vancing its independent position-and this is the key to political inde-pendence----on the vital issues ofpeace, McCarthyism and the like?To what extent is labor carrying outthe fine political action resolu-tion of the '53 UAV/ convention,which outlined many steps to greaterpolitical independence ?

The answer is: very little indeed.And it is this failure which posesthe most serious challenge to pro-gressive tradc-unionists in this year's

3938T}IE NOVEMBER ELECTIONSPOLITICAL AFFAIRS

clections. In Chicago, for example,labor sat out the primaries. Becauselabor exerted no independent pres-sure there were no Democratic pri-mary contests. A political hack likeBowler was again permitted to oc-cupy the seat once held by the well-known liberal, the late Congress-man Sabath. The role of labor wasgeared simply to the endorsemenrof the Democratic ticket and, there-fore, to the November elections.One of the consequences was theabsence of any labor candidate.Prospects, however, do point toan active campaign against the reac-tionary GOP Congressmen in thefinals.

New Jersey labor, especially thePAC, exerted some influence uponDemocratic slate-making for theSenate and many Congressionalraces. This involved a struggleagainst pro-McCarthy forces in theDemocratic Party. And Newark thisspring provided an outstanding ex-ample of labor participation with itsallies in city elections.

In Ohio, as in Illinois, Iabor hadin the past played primarily an en-dorsing role. This time, under thepressure of local union activities, thecity PAC broke precedent by en-dorsing only part of the DemocraticParty's slate (with its one C.LO.member in a list of zr). This madeit possible for a number of localunions and individual trade union-ists, representing important autoand other shops, to form a coalitionfor the support, in the Democratic

primary, of a bloc of labor candi-dates-including two Negro tradeunionists and an independent anti-machine A. F. of L. member, run-ning for State Senate. This activityensured the nomination of the A. F.of L. candidate and the slate C.I.O.member, and stimulated a more in-dependent labor outlook in politicalaction. This was further strength-ened by a conference of Negro tradeunionists.

In Pennsylvania labor was activein the Democratic gubernatorial pri-mary, but it was divided. In theEast labor tended to go along withthe successful Democratic StateCommittee-endorsed candidate, Lead-er. The Steel Union leadership inWestern Pennsylvania, however, re-fused to accept Leader, arguing thatthe Democratic machine had notconsulted labor. This by itself is a

very correct position-but wheredid it leadl Labor in WesternPennsylvania wound up supportingMcClelland, the Musmanno candi-date! Since the steel leadershipadopts this position of independence,would it not be correct to ask thatthey show this independence on is-sues, by rejecting Musmanno, Mc-Carthyism and uniting to defeatGOP reaction?

In California, the top levelL.L.P.E. deal to endorse the reaction-ary incumbent, Governor Knight,set ofl a mass revolt. Large numbersof locals and State bodies of theA. F. of L. united to support theDemocratic Party Graves-Roybal

ticket. This movement is continuingto grow after the primaries.

The primaries in general showeda serious lag in labor representationat the Congressional level. At the lo-cal level, however, there was someincrease in trade-union candidates.This is true of Ohio, downstate Il-linois, Indiana, New Jersey, amongothers. The request made last weekby New York labor that the Demo-crats name an A. F. of L. man forLieutenant-Governor is a new de-velopment which shows the potentialpower and scope of the fight for in-creased labor representation.

In regard to labor representation,it should be added that as trade-unionists are elected to office, newproblems of course arise. Some suc-cessful labor candidates seem tothink that once elected they shoulddissociate themselves from labor,as if there could be a conflict betweenthe interests of labor and the inte-rests of the people generally. This,of course, is false. On the contrary,labor should strengthen its ties withunionists elected to office and helpthem develop programs in the inte-rests of labor and the people.

To sum up, while labor is greatlyexpanding its political action, itsintervention in the primaries remainslimited. First, it tends to acceptwhatever Dernocratic candidates areput forward by the machine. Sec-ondly, it ignores the Republican pri-maries, because of its ties with theDemocrats. This is a very shortsighr-ed policy indeed. The Velde primary,

for example, shows that if labor hadreally moved into the GOP primary,this outstanding McCarthyite couldhave been defeated.

However, there are increasing in-stances where labor is beginning tointervene. Some rich experience isaccumulating as to various partialsteps toward greater independence(Ohio). There is growing resistanceto top deals with reactionary politi-cians (California).

Another major weakness is thevirtual absence (except for the workof some of the independent unions)of consistent year-round mass legis-Iative struggles on Congressionalissues. Without this, electoral workIacks a firm foundation and tendsto lose real content. The absence ofmass labor )egislative action wasparticularly felt in the closing weeksof Congress.

Likewise, unity of labor in thepolitical field still remains to beachieved nationally and in mostareas. More, too, is needed with re-gard to labor's approach to its allies.In particular, there is a need for abasic strengthening of labor's rela-tion to the struggle for Negro repre-sentation. It is necessary to extendthe important beginnings of supportto the farmers and farmer-laborjoint political action. The importantL.L.P.E. women's program shouldbe aided, and similar activities pro-jected for the young voters.

Further, much of labor's politicalwork is based on a plan of concen-trating on the margin or 5/e dis-

4t10 POLITICAL AFFAIRS THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS

tricts. While concentration is a goodthing, it is obvious that the me-chanical 5/e rule leaves out of ac-

count the key questions of policyand a program of defeating outstand-ing McCarthyites, warmongers, andlabor-haters.

Finally, with labor increasinglyin opposition to the Administrationand the GOP, the outlook forNovember (and the remaining pri-maries) is for a big increase in la-bor's political action. In this contextthe opportunities to help give an in-creasingly independent quality tothis action will multiply.

The situation requires that everyprogressive trade unionist, as a

good unionist, make a maximumcontribution to political action in theC.I.O. and A. F. of L., as well as

in the independent unions, whoseexample exerts considerable in-fluence. The main tasks are:

First, to help build and strengthenthe political arms of labor, the L.L.P.E., P.A.C., and the political andlegislative committees of independentunions of all types. True, there aremany obstacles. Some unions do nothave political action committees orare not affiliated to the politicalaction centers. Often officials dis-courage committee activity. But pro-gressive unionists will find ways toovercome these obstacles and takean active part in all the immediateactivities, such as the dollar drive,registration campaigns, and otherpreparations for November.

Second, labor's political action

should be given real content, placingheavy stress on the record of Con-gress and the candidates on the mainrssues.

Third, labor needs to takc a morcindependent position in relation tothe Democratic Party and to developcloser relationships with its alliesthrough Congressional district ac-tivities, conferences, etc. It shouldexert more influence upon the i$sues and candidates in the remain-ing primaries and in November.

Despite the uneven situation, la-bor is making major strides forwardin its political action. To achievethe labor and people's objective inNovember as regards changing thecomposition of Congress, it is nec-essary that all progressive-mindedtrade unionists make labor's politi-cal action their number one concerrr,,It is through these legislative andelectoral activities in close relationwith labor's struggles on the eco-nomic front that labor will increas-ingly emerge as a distinct politicalforce even r,",ithin the two-party sys-tem, and prepare itself for the greaterbattles of ry55 and 1956.

VIII. THE ADVANCEDELECTORAL MOVEME,NTS

The record to date in r95,i indi-cates a most serious underestimationof the role of the advanced electoralmovements, tending in fact towardstheir liquidation. The fact is thatoutside of New York and California,where the ALP and IPP carry con-

siderable weight, there are practical-ly no independent or ProgressiveParty candidates.'

An cxception is Pennsylvania,where some r3,ooo signatures werecollected in zo days to qualify a PPstate ticket-a really outstandingachievement. But in New ]ersey, de"-

spite the nominal requirements, nostate candidate was filed, and simi-larly in states where requirementsare difficult. The result is that inmany instances the voter in Novem-ber will have only a choice betweenoutright reactionaries-that ir, nochoice.

The '54 elections continue a tend-cncy already evident in r9r53. It istherefore necessary to examine thereasons. There can be no doubt thatthe Left forces have yet to overcomecertain distortions of the NationalCommittee Resolution on the 1952elections. The absolutely correct andnecessary call to direct main atten-tion to the mainstream was takenby some to mean dropping supportto the advanced electoral and otherorganizations; the call to avoid rigidthird party attitudes to mean iheabandonment of third party forcesand independent candidacies.

It is necessary to establish clariryas to our attitude to these organiza-trons.

_r.j" bcgin with it is rccognizcd1. A most grievous blow to the quse of ad-

in words-if not always in deeds-that the existing P.P. organizationscan play an important role in pro-jecting issues, especially the peaceissue, in the political arena. Likewisethey can be of great service in ad-vancing the concept of a politicalrealignment, led by labor, based onthe f urther unfolding of labor'sstruggle within and without thctwo-party system.

z. What is obviously not recog-nized is that the electoral role ofthese bodies can and must bcstrengthened. This means fightingfor and achieving certain coalitionrelationships; and this, in turn, meansamong other things advancing theirown or independent candidates,where this is in the interests of theoverall struggle tor peace anddemocracy. It is only through estrengthened independent existencethat such movements can exert in-fluence upon the mainstream of pol-I tlcs.

3. What is needed today, therefore,is a clear affirmation of the proposi-tion that electoral victories for laborand the people require three essen-tial interdependent elements: r)unity for the defcat of the main war-mongering candidates of McCarthy-ism and reaction; z) the expansionof the independenr political acrion oflabor and its allies; 3) thc growingindependent electoral influence ofthe advanced forces, the ALP, IPPand the P.P.

The ALP and IPP are the twomain advanccd third party state or-

I

I


ganizations, and their role is par-ticularly important. For some time,two wrong tendencies have existedin and around these parties.

The first is the "go-it-alone" posi-tion. The "new" argument ofieredthis year is specifically directedagainst the whole idea of anti-Mc-Carthy coalition. It says that peaceis the only issue, that both majorparties are war parties-and thatboth are equally parties of McCarthy-ism-that therefore the only correctpolicy is to call down a plague onboth parties and their candidates andrun a full ALP slate for all offices.

Leaving aside the mechanical coun-terposing of the peace and anti-Mc-Carthy struggles (which was dealtwith above) this argument totallyignores the present level of labor'spolitical action, its ties with the two-party system, especially the Demo-cratic Party, and the role of the GOPas the preferred party of Big Busi-ness. It thus cuts off the advancedelectoral movements from any con-tact with labor and its allies and anyopportunity to influence their polit-ical action in the direction of greaterindependence. This is a sectarianpetty-bourgeois position which fromthe "Left" abandons the decisivestruggle to unite labor and its alliesto bar the road to war and Mc-Carthyism.

The second is the position of liqui-dation. The "new" argument heresays correctly that it is necessary towork with labor at its present levelof political action and to take into

account its present ties to the two-party system. But from this it drawsa wrong conclusion, that the ad-vanced or independent electoralmovement should be given up. Thiswrong conclusion is based on themistaken idea that the advancedmovement necessarily collides with,and is an obstacle to the developmentof labor's political action at its pres-ent level. This is an opportunist po-sition which from the Right surret-ders the struggle for labor's greaterpolitical independence. An ad-vanced electoral movement, providedit bases itself on a proper coalitionapproach, is an indispensable factorin the fight to advance labor's politi-cal action.

What do these two apparently opposite viewpoints have in common ?

Both agree in leaving labor and itsallies to the mercies of the two-partysystem. Further, one tendency feedsthe other. The go-iralone positioncollides with the obvious need forcoalition and thus feeds the liquida-tionist attitude. The latter plays intothe hands of the former. In particu-lar, the liquidationist attitude playsinto the hands of Trotskyites andnear-Trotskyite agents who, undercover of "Left" phrases, seek to pre-vent any united struggle against warand fascism.

As a consequence, there is a veryreal danger today that if more ade-quate support is not given to thestate ticket and main campaigns ofthe ALP, it will become simply a

battleground between these two


tendencies. The result would be toweaken this organization to the pointwhere it could no longer play a sig-nificant role. In such an eventuality,independent political action in NewYork and the nation would sufier avery grave setback.

It is well that the ALP, in itselectoral policy, has rejected any go-it-alone full-ticket-for-all-offices ap-proach. At the same time it has cor-rectly decided to enter a guberna-torial ticket. And in this the ALPshould receive full support.

Is this support based primarily onthe need to run a gubernatorial can-didate to maintain the ALP's positionas a legally recognized party I Therecan be no doubt that this is a veryimportant consideration.

But the key reason is the greatcontribution which the ALP guber-natorial campaign will make to thefight for peace and against Mc-Carthyism; for jobs and for Negrorights and representation. It is thenew srrengrh which it will bring tothe labor, farm and people's coali-tion by registering publicly the grow-ing independent power and influ-t nce of the advanced forces.

There are some who oppose theALP decision to run a gubernatorialticl<et on the ground that this mightt'ndanger the defeat of Dewey. They:u'gue that the race will be close,tlrat the ALP vote may be the mar-gin, and that the ALP may be heldrcsponsible for the failure to defeatl)cwey. But isn't it clear thar thelrrrd-hitting ALP gubernatorial cam-

paign, centering its main fire onDewey and his embracing of Mc-Carthyism, will make a contributionwhich no other anti-Dewey forcewill make? Will it not, while rally-ing the maximum vote for the ALP,at the same time set masses in mo-tion against Dewey far beyond thosewho are now prepared to vote ALP?The ALP gubernatorial campaignis therefore needed for a victory overDewey, and its independent vote isnecessary to help assure ttrat the vic-tory will have positive results in thenew Administration.

From all this it is clear that whatis essential is immediate moblliza-tion of support to the ALP guber-natorial campaign as a vital fact inthe whole struggle against theDewey-Farley camp.

To sum up; it should be re-empha-sized that the new opportunities nowarising in euery field of strugglealso include new opportunities tostrengthen the role of the advancedelectoral bodies in the Novemberelections. It would be most strangeif this were not the case. For thereis taking place today a cerrain un-freezing of political relationships.This process should not be overesri-mated and sectarian errors should beavoided. But the main point is thatmore and more trade-union and po-litical forces are beginning to speakto and, to some degree, cooperatewith, the advanced forces. Experi-ence in the states and nationallyshow this. All the more therefore isit necessary for the Left as part of


its overall contribution to the elec-tions to take immediate steps-aith-out falling bacfr into the sectarianerrors o.f the past-to mobilize ener-getic support for the candidates andcampaigns of the ALP in New York,the IPP in California, the PP inPennsylvania and other states.

IX. THE PARTY AND THE,ELE.CTIONS

The central aim of this conferenceis to strengthen our Communist con-tribution to the struggle against war,depression and McCarthyism in theNovember elections.

This requires our mosl active suP-

port to the mounting struggles andelection activities of the broad mass-

es of labor, the Negro people, thefarmers, the women and the youth'

This conference should record thatmany of our state organizations are

making real progress towards over-coming their isolation from the mainpolitical currents. They are becomingmore acquainted with the mass de-

velopments and are beginning to in-fluence the course of events. Thismust be continued and accelerated,for too often we still lag behind thepace of events.

Here, howevcr, I want to confinemy remarks to the question ofstrcngthenin g our independcnt Com-mlmist contribution to the elections.How is this to be done I

First, by the distribution and utili-zation of the Party program. Theappearancc of this program, its dis-

tribution already in over 65o,ooo copies, is an outstanding achievement.It is the best expression in years of

to the clarification of election issues

and tactics. This conference shouldpledge to increase the distribution toa total of one million copies.

We note, too, the excellent elec-

toral program and materials pub'lished by many of the state Party or-ganizations such as Illinois, Connec-ticut and Massachusetts.

Second, this conference welcomesand greets the candidacy of ElizabethGurley Flynn, a member of the Na-tional Committee of our Party, forCongress in New York. We likewisegreet the candidacy of Charles Nus-ser a.d Bert Salwen in Ney,, Jcrsey.We call upon all districts to exrminethe possibility of other Con'rmunislcandidates. Severely limited as we rreby attacks on our electoral rights,these candidatse take on enormousimportance in bringing our Commu-nist thinking and program to themasses in the November elections.

Now I want to deal with what ourNational Committee considers thecentral task today in projecting theindependent role of the Left in theelections. That is, the question ofbuilding the circulation of the Marx-ist press. We must state quite frank-ly thct the press Iaces a most criti-cal situation. The circulation of TheWorftcr and Daily Wor\er is at an


all time low.Why is this? Is it simply objective

difficultiesl True, there are objectivedifficulties. But these exist as muchin California, Illinois, Brooklyn andConnecticut as elsewhere-and yetthese areas have done outstandingwork in press circulation in the re-cent period.

Is it a general underestimation ofthe role of the pressi This, tod, istrue and is of long standing. Butthere is something more than that tobe said-and said bluntly.

The key reason for the presentcritical situation is capitulation tothe attack of the enemy. We mustunderstand that liquidationism ex-presses itself not only in the form ofBrowderism. It also expresses itselfin the form of capitulation.

A year ago the National PartyConference called this situation sharp-ly to the attention of the Party. To-day we must insist that the Partyleadership organize a veritable cru-sade throughout the Party for year-round building of press circulationin connection with every aspect ofmass struggle.

The time to begin is notu with theelection campaign. As a minimumevery District should place orders forspecial bundles and provide localelection material to appear in the

Pfess.The responsibility for circulation

must be taken by the entire PartYorgantzation The Freedom of thePress Association has played, andcontinues to play, an important role.

However, an unfortunate by-producthas been the giving up of the conceptthat the Party as a whole must as-

sume responsibility. This conceptmust be re-established, beginningwith the National and District Com-mittees, and on through every PartyRegion, Section and Club.

We must emerge from this elec-tion campaign with circulation in-creases that will remain as perma-nent gains for the Marxist press.

We are not today opening up a

special discussion on Party organiza-tion. II we were to do so we wouldhave to state that the number onetask is helping to extend the influ-ence and build the circulation of theMarxist press. This is the means ofensuring that not only active andleading individuals are able to con-tribute to the electoral fight, but thatthe whole Party organization ishelped to find its role.

Finally, the period of the electionsis particularly suitable to expandingthe struggle for the full legality ofour Party. New opportunities arearising to bring to the masses themeaning of the struggle against Mc-Carthyism and the Brownell pro-gram; to repeal the Smith Act andMcCarran Act; to end the Smith Actprosecutions and win amnesty forGene Dennis and all those convictedwith him, Gus Hall, Ben Davis,

Johnny Gates, Johnny Williamson,Bob Thompson, ]ack Stachel, CarlWinter, Irving Potash, Sid Stein,as well as for the political refugees,Henry Winston, Gil Green, Fred


Fine, James Jackson and Bill Nor-man.

We must say self-critically that wehave not undertaken a really seri-ous fight for amnesty. There will bea special report on this question, andthe report and discussion must es-tablish guarantees for a drasticchange in our approach to this vitalstruggle.

A few words in conclusion. OurParty in this period has been undersevere attack. It has withstood theseattacks, and stands today united inpolitical action and organization.

As we now enter the final phase of

the crucial '54 elections, we must see

to it that every Party member andevery Party club makes a maximumcontribution to the central task inthe 'J{ elections, to change the com-position of the present Congress, thuspreparing the way for a new Admin-istration in 1956.

For the masses are moving for-ward. And our Party, with full con-fidence, and in the spirit of ourProgram, must move forward withthem and help give them unity andleadership in the struggle to bar theroad to war and McCarthyism.

The 0ommunlst Program -a llita! ilocument*

By Betty Gannett

INTRODUCTORY

The Program of our Party wasuniversally acclaimed by our mem-bership and leading committees.,Ourmembership recognized the profoundsignificance and vital timeliness ofthe program. It welcomed its pene-trating analysis of the course ofevents in our country, the correctpath it charted to bloik the road tofascism and war, and its inspiringcall for unity in action, as the pathof salvation for our class and ourpeople.

The fact that our Party, under con-ditions of increasing persecution andharassment by pro-fascist reaction,was able to issue this program, is initself evidence that the ruling classhas not succeeded in its objective ofdestroying our Party, of rendering itprostrate before the blows of theenemy.

The reactionary ruling circles,which today are in direct commandof our government, hoped to beheadour Party by jailing the NationalCommittee, by arresting over a hun-dred other Communist leaders andworking-class fighters. But our pro-gram is testimony to our Party'svirility, to the vitality of the prin-ciple of collective leadership, to the

' Re1rcrt oo ttre Disossioa of the Drafr Progrrrn-partial tert.

strength of inner-Party democracy,which has made it possible to regis-ter the collective will and opinionsof our membership in a programwhich expresses the most cherishedaspirations of the people.

The reactionary ruling circleshoped by their network of FBI po-lice agents and paid informers to un-dermine the inner unity of ourParty, to shake confidence in theleadership, to create dissention andcause disruption. But our programproves they have not succeeded.What is emerging instead is thegrowing ideological, political and or-ganizational unity of our Parrymarked by renewed confidence andenthusiasm in the correctness of itsline and policies. It is this unity ofthe Party which we must, at alltimes, guard and cherish.

It is a tribute to our Party, to everyclub and member, that despitc theanti-Communist hysteria, 65o,ooocopies of the Draft Program weredistributed throughout the lengthand breadth of the land.

The distribution of our Draft Pro-gram was not "limited to commu-nist Party members and trusted sym-pathizers," as the Chicago Tribunesaid. On the contrary, it was mailedto scores of thousands-to public fig-ures, trade unionists, leaders of farm-ers' organizations and of the Negro

47

48 POLITICAI AFFAIRS

people's movement; to professors,Iawyers, and social workers; to col-umnists, radio and TV commenta-tors; to student and youth leaders-to_ as broad a public list as possible.The Draft Program was distributedat autq steel, electrical and other fac-tories; at union halls and union con-ventions; in working-class commu-nities, and in housing projecrs. Wereached a cross section of the Ameri-can people, in order that they mightlearn for themselves how we Com-munists view the issues and tasksconfronting our people today.

We heartily congratulate our mem-bership on the achievement of thismajor, yes, magnificent rask. Thiswas an undertaking which but ayear or two ago would have beendeemed impossible by all of us. Andif Mr. Mark Starr, the EducationalDirector of the ILGWI in his let-ter to the Netu Yorft Posl, says thatthe distribution of our program"proves that the C.P. may be downbut not out," let me add that itproves we are neitlter dotun nor out,

The discussion around the Pro-gram, in our own ranks, was slowin getting under way. This was duelargely to the very unsatisfactorymanner in which the Program wasannounced and pub,lished, and to thefact that our leading comrades, na-tionally first of all, but also in thestates, did not immediately set an ex-ample by writing and speaking onthe central ideas set forth in theProgram.

However, there has been in most

states a very rich discussion. This dis-cussion revealed the unanimity ofthe Party around the main tacticaland strategic objectives of the Pro-gram. Many ideas for improvementand changes were proposed. TheProgram Committee studied all theserecommendations most carefully andincorporated many of them in the6nal text. The Program as now for-mulated has been approved by allmembers of the National Committeeand is now before you for ratifica-tron.

In this report we want to deal witha number of questions which arosein the discussion around which someunclarity was revealed. We also wantto explain why certain changes weremade, as well as to emphasize somequestions which did no[ receive suf-ficient consideration in our discussion.

ON MEETING THE MENACEOF FASCISM

What is the purpose of our Pro-gram? It is a Program which outlinesthe hecessary steps that must be un-dertaken today and in the periodahead to forge maximum unity forthe defeat of the threat of war andfascism. It is a limited program fora given historical period.

Our Program is not an electoralprogram for '54 and'56, although itmust and will play an important rolein infuencing the outcome of the'54 and '56 elections. To see it simplyas an electoral program is to miss itsessential significance. For what theProgram presents is a tactical and

REPORT ON PROGRAM DISCUSSION 49

strategic line for an entire historicperiod-a line which has for its ob-jective to bar and defeat the threatof fascism and war and thus clearthe path for the advance to socialism.

There are some comrades who saythat what we need today is not aprogram for jobs, peace, equal rightsand democracy, but a program forpe ace and socialism. They argue:When we speak about peace andjobs, or when we urge unity of thepeople against McCarthy, we sayonly what the workers hear fromevery party. We are forgetting, theyrnsrst, our greatest asset, our mainaim: "to win the American workingclass for the idea of discarding cap-italism and inaugurating a socialistsystem in the United States. That isour aim today, now and at all times,'not ultimately.'"

Needless to say, Communists donot just repeat what every otherparty is saying on the immediate po-Iidcal and economic issues of theday. The distinguishing feature ofthe Communist Party is not only thepropagation of socialist ideas, a taskwhich our Party certainly must carryout in the course of all of its activ-ities. However, because it is the Partyof socialism, seeing the full hisroriccourse of the workers' struggles, itis able to provide the most effectivelcadership on the day-to-day issues,cnhancing the unity, militancy andconsciousness of the working class intheir struggles.

But more significant, those com-mdes see as the immediatc task to-

day the struggle for socialism andnot the struggle against fascism.Thus, these comrades minimize theconcrete fascist danger. They fail tounderstand that the victory of fas-cism is the victory of counter-revolu-tion and spells defeat (although onlytemporarily) for the working-classaim of socialism.

Sixteen years ago Comrades Eu-gene Dennis and Gil Green wrote"Notes on Defense of Democracy."This article stands up today, all themore because the peril of fascism isso much greater. After showing whymonopoly capitalism discards democ-racy and substitutes for it the open,violent form of rule-fascism-Com-rades Dennis and Green asked thequestion: Can the working class dis-regard the struggle to preserve de-mocracy and prevent the rise of fas-cismi

"To ignore this struggle," they said,"to permit reaction to accomplish itscounter-revolutionary objective is to en-sure the victory of fascism and thedestruction of the whole labor andprogressive movement. In short, it is tobetray not only democracy, but thestruggle lor socialism as ucll."

Their warning to the workingclass then is a thousand times morctimely today. The task of defeatingfascism, defending and extendingbourgeois democracy is not a "tactic"or a "maneuver" in order to win newsupporters among the workers andthe people generally. It is a crucialstruggle which must be waged wher-ever the fascist danger rears its head.


It is a prerequisite, under the condi-tions of our times, to the advance tosocialism-a stage of struggle thatcannot be skipped over.

With the rise of imperialism theruling class increasingly discards thebourgeois democracy of its ascendantstage and resorts to openly violentforms of rule. Today finance capitalis through and through anti-demo-cratic and reactionary, in the politicalas well as in the economic sphere.This course of reaction all along theline becomes intensified in the periodof the general crisis of capiralisminto the drive to fascism.

We Communists have alwayspointed out that bourgeois democ-racy, even in the most democraticcapitalist countries, cannot but belimited, restricted, one-sided. Butbourgeois democracy, precarious andlimited as it may be, enables theworking class to orgaoize its ranks,mobilize its forces, become consciousof its own class interests.

Fascism, it must be remembered,means not only the curbing of dem-ocratic rights, but their destruction.Fasc,ism means not only attacks onthe working class, their right to or-ganize and strike, but the destruc-tion of the working-class organiza-tions and the elimination of allrights won in decades of struggle.Fascism means, not only restrictingthe activity of the Communist Party,but its violent outlawry, the impris-onment and murder of all vanguardfighters. Fascism means not only theold divide-and-conquer policy of set-

ting white against Negro, but anintensified racist attack of genocidalp,roportions against colored peoplesabroad and at home; it meani rabidanti-Semitism and violence againstall minorities. Fascism means notonly regimentation of science, artand culture to serve the interests ofthe ruling class, bur annihilation ofculture, of art, of scientific achieve-ment.

To bar the road to fascism, to de-feat fascism, is a struggle for thevery survival of the working classand its organizations. That is whythe working class, the most de-cisive class in present-day society,must become the unifying and lead-ing force of the whole pEople to re-sist the fascist offensive. There is noother road to socialism exceptthrough the struggle for democrary.

Clearly, we have still to master rhefull significance of the memorablewords of Joseph Stalin at the rgthCongress of the Communist Partyof the Soviet lJnion, when he said:

"Formerly the bourgcoisie permitteditself to be liberal, championed bour-

in doing

',,XL:?Iiberalism remains. . . . The banner ofthe bourgeois-democratic freedoms hasbeen thrown overboard. I think thatyou, representatives of the Communistand Democratic Parties, will have topick up this banner and carry it for-ward if you wish to rally around your-selves the majority of the people. Thereis no one else to pick it up."

REPORT ON PROGRAM DISCUSSION 5r

If it is true, as we Communistsrveli know, that American imperial-ism has today become the center ofworld reaction, that it is the menof Wall Street who have revivedand encouraged the fascist scumin others parts of the world andnow strive to impose fascism on ourown land, then we must understandthat the msk of checking and de-feating this new threat of fascism isa prime task of great national andinternational significance. For thevictory of fascism at home wouldenormously intensify the danger ofWorld War III, and would thus havegrave international repercussions.

Therefore, to underestimate themenace of fascism and its chance forvictory in our country would be amost serious error. It is indisputablethat fascism has made dangerousheadway in our country. The Eisen-hower Administration as the govern-ment in power (and the TrumanAdministration before it) has beenresponsible for the adoption of onepro-fascist measure after another.This has already drastically under-mined the democratic processes, ac-celerated the whole rempo of thefascization of the state apparatus, andhas led to the menacing growth ofMcCarthyism, the American brando[ fascism. In the words of our Pro-gram:

"The gradual whitding away of ourl,rsic democratic liberties is not some

lx)st-war madness which will pass ofitsclf. It represents an ominous and

McCarthyism is the ugly face of Amer-ican Hiderism, American fascism."

At the same time, our Programvigorously combats the fatalist anddefeatest concept that all is lost, that,in fact, fascism has already engulfedour land. For fascism is not inevit-able. The people of our country canavoid the disaster of fascism, as thelessons of the rise of Hitlerism havetaught, if they fight every inch ofthe way against any and every fas-cist encroachment on our democraticrights and democratic institutions.That is why every defeat adminis-tered to McCarrhy today objectivelyhelps the fight againsr fascism, al-though McCarthy's loss of prestigeis by no means synonymous with thedefeat of McCarthyism. The power-ful upsurge against McCarthyism,marking a great advance in thestruggle to check the fascist menace,has tremendous vitality. But if Mc-Carthyism is to be defeated, the re-sistance movement has to becomeunited and organized, and labor inthe first place must come forwradas the decisive driving force, assum-ing more and more a leading role.The disaster of fascism can beavoided if the people reject the BigLie, McCarthy's weapon of divideand conqucr, which causes the


disunity and division on which Mc-Carthyism feeds.

It is necessary to understand thatif we work tirelessly, energeticallyand above all correctly, organizingthe working class on their presentlevel of consciousness and militancy,there is a way out, and McCarthyism

-fascism-can receive its deathblow. In the words of the program,"The rising tide of struggle againstMcCarthyism is evidence that thepeople can defeat this evil threatand maintain our cherished demo-cratic liberties."

THE PEOPLE CAN IMPOSETI_IEIR WILL TO PEACE

Considerable discussion took placein our ranks on the section dealingwith The Crisis in U.S. ForeignPolicy. The rapidity with whichevents followed one another, sincethe draft of the program was pub-lished, itsell made necessary certainadditions in this section. New de-velopments had to be evaluated: in-creased awareness of the horror ofH-bomb warfare; the opposition tothe Eisenhower-Dulles-Nixon plot tosend troops to Indo-China; the U.S.-instigated overthrow of the demo-cratic government of Guatemala, andthe ending of the colonial war inIndo-China, which further easedworld tensions and opened up in-creasing possibilities for imposinghumanity's will for pcace upon thewar-makers.

As a result of the significant vic-

tories scored by the world peace

camp, and the devastating defeatssufiered by U.S. imperialism, somecomrades concluded that the easingof world tension already denotes aturning point in world relations.They maintain that the people's willto peace has already been imposedon the U.S. imperialists, and that as

a result the Eisenhower Administra-tion has accepted the inevitable andembarked on the path of peacefulnegotlatlons.

One comrade in the discussion saidthat while Wall Street needs the warhysteria to maintain its production,it is in fact fearful of and really doesnot seek "ultimate war." "IJltimatewar," this comrade argued, is"against the fundamental interestsof all sections of our society." "Whatwe must do, thereforer" the comradeproposed, "is to organize a broadunited front to expose the 'falsethreat of war."'

Does our program speak of a "falsethreat of warr" or at actual, specificthreat to the peace of the world,stemming from the warmakers ofWall Street? Are the U.S. imperial-ists brandishing the H-bomb merelyas a blufil Are U.S. military bases

being built in the far corners of theearth as delensive measures againstany real threat of aggression? Arethe military alliances, the revival ofGerman and ]apanese militarism,the arrogant intervention in the in-ternal affairs of other countries-arethese a "false threat of war" ? If U.S.imperialism is not oriented on ul-


timate war, on world domination-then why the fear of war amongmillions all over the world and theiractive struggle against itl

It is, of course, vitally importantthat the American Communists beclear on the question, for we bearno small responsibility in providingthe answers. Clearly this comrade isconfusing two very different things

-the false threat of "Soviet aggres-sion" which the warmakers use as apretext; and the real threat of warsof aggression instigated by U.S. im-perialism.

Andrew Stevens, reporting to theParty's national conference last year,stated:

"It would be the most criminal op,portunist crror to cultivate any illusionthat the leopard has changed its spots,that Amcrican imperialism has aban-doned its central goal of world domi-nation and the perspective of an anti-Soviet u,ar, that it has reconciled itselfto living at peace with the Socialistworld, that it is prepared to negotiatepeacefully its diflerences with the So-viet Union."

The major advances for peaceachieved in the last year have con-siderably eased world tensions andmake possible further victories forpeace-loving humanity. But it isnecessary to understand that thesesuccesses were wrested in struggle,in struggle primarily against U.S.imperialism which conspired tonegate the people's victories. U.S.imperialism cannot establish worldckrmination by pcaccful mcans. It

must plot war, strive to extend thearena of every local war, and preparcfor the launching of an eventual newworld conflagration. That is whythe National Chairman of our Party,Comrade Foster, has warned timeand time again not to overestimatethe significance of the lessening ofworld tension in the face of theEisenhower- Dulles - McCarthy for-eign policy which persists in or-ganizing provocations to heat upworld tension, to frustrate all efiortsat peaceful negotiations, to violatethe people's aspirations for peace.

Our Program in unequivocalterms states:

"But the Eisenhower-Dulles-McCar-thy forces are striving desperatcly to foment war hysteria and aggravate worldtensions. They are determined to blockpeaceful negotiations. Thus the presentdanger of war rvill continue to exist aslong as the present insane war policyprevails. Only by their resolute strug-gle for a change in our country's for-eign policy will the American peoplehelp achieve a further easing of worldtensions. Only a policy of peaceful co-existence will cnsure a lasting peace."

Any assumption that U.S. imper-ialist war provocations are auto-matically doomed to failure wouldparalyze the very peace acLionwhich alone can hold in check thedesperation of the belligerent Amer-ican imperialists. If today theEisenhower Administration is com-pelled to enter into negotiations, itdoes so only to impede and obstructnegotiations. If it is compcllcd to

54 POLITICAL

speak of its "peaceful" intentions, itdoes so only to disguise its real waraims before a people who so recentlydemonstrated their desire for peacein their overwhelming opposition toany intervention in Indo-China.Only a vigilant struggle againstevery war move, only a concretestruggle for peace directed againstconcrete war acts, can safeguardpeace today.

Above all, it is necessary to bringabout a fundamental change in U.S.foreign policy, to reverse the courseof U.S. imperialism. That changecan be realized, not through com-placency that "peace is in the bag,"but through a resolute struggle tobring into being "a new politicalmajority" that will have the unity,the political fighting capacity to "im-pose on a new Congress and a newAdministration, a new course indomestic and foreign affairs." Thatis the emphasis given by our Pro-gram.

The program committee elimi-nated reference to the "falling apart"of the world-wide coalition organ-ized by U.S. imperialists against theSoviet Union, since this statementmight be mechanically interpreted.Instead the Program now reads:"But this coalition now faces in-creased opposition from the peace-loving peoples and internal divisionfrom sharpening capitalist rivalries.It is now in a crisis."

The process of breaking WallStreet's grip on the economic andpolitical life of the war-camp allies

AFFAIRS

has begun. They are stepping out onan independent course. The relent-less struggle of the people for nation-al independence, free of U.S. domina-tion, will determine whether thesegrowing imperialist conflicts will bereconciled at the expense of the peo-ple----or will result in the eventualbreakup of the imperialist front. Thestruggles against NATO and theEuropean Defense Community,against the remilitarization of Ger-many and ]apan, for real pacts ofEuropean and Asian collective secur-ity, for the seating of China in theU.N., for the outlawing of the A-and H-bomb, are the battles aheadwhich will not mitigate but furthersharpen the imperialist anragonisms.

No less false and harmful than the"peace is in the bag" attitude is theposition of those who consider warinevitable and see no possibility ofwinning the fight for peace. Thesecomrades see chiefly the aggressivemight of U.S. imperialism. They seeonly the confusion created by theBig Lie among millions in our coun-try. They see the working class stilltied in the main to the reformisttrade-union leadership's support ofthe war program. They see that theorganized peace movement in ourcountry has not yet reached the massproportions of those in other capi-talist nations. Therefore, they con-clude that while the world peaceforces may be able to secure certainvictories, in the long run WorldWar III is inevitable because of theweakness of the peace camp in our


own country and the strength ofU.S. imperialism.

The whole spirit and essence ofour program rejects this defeatistoudook. LifeThe events oshowed thatdespite their c

China war, in speaking out force-fully for negotiations and against theuse of the H-bomb. It was these ex-

1>ressions of the American people,joined with the activities of the worldpeace camp, headed by the SocialistSoviet Union, People's China, theIluropean People's Democracies andthe peoples of the colonial and cap-italist world, which scored importantpcace victories, and curbed the warmoves of U.S. imperialism.

A particular form of defeatism inthe struggle for peace, expressed int he discussion, is the concept that thestruggle for peace today must be astruggle for socialism. This conceptrivcs a sectarian interpretation torhc struggle for peace. For the objec-tive of the peace movement today isnot socialism-its aim is to easervorld tensions, to compel the peace-frrl settlement of all disputed ques-lions, to outlaw the H-bomb andA-lromb, to realize peaceful co-ex-rsl ('nce.

Stalin in his masterful work, Eco-rt,trnic Problems o'f Socialistn in the

U.S.S.R. clearly stated:

"The object of the present-day peacemovement is to rouse the masses of thepeople to fight for the preservation ofpeace and for the prevention of an-other world war. Consequently, theaim of this movemenl is not to over-throw capitalism and establish social-ism-it confines itself to the democraticaim of preserving peace. . . ."

To maintain that the struggle forpeace must be a struggle for social-ism would confine the struggle forpeace to those who are prepared tostruggle for socialism. It would placeas a condition for unity in the strug-gle for peace the advanced under-standing that so long as the capitalistsystem is not replaced with socialismwars are inevitable. It is, of course,true that only socialism will finallyand irrevocably abolish the threat ofwar. But the sign of the times isprecisely that people from difierentgroups, of different political opin-ions and of varied religions havejoined in the fight to maintainpeace. This is true in our country aswell, even if as yet the hoax of the"Soviet menace" holds back the fullpotential and organized strength ofthe struggle. What is important tounderscore is that today the worldcamp of peace is powerful enough topreaent the outbreak of a particularIvar, to imPose peace, to ma:intainpeace.

The easing of world tensionsachieved in the past year opens upnew opportunities for greater vic-


tories. Moreover, as Comrade Fostershows in his article in PoliticalAflairs, August 1954, "the questionof peaceful co-existence is taking onan ever-increasing importance andurgency. This is because objectiveconditions are ripening so that theconcrete development of such co-existence is becoming more andmore a practical possibility. ."

TIIE MOVEMENT FORNEGRO EQUALITY

You will note in the final text ofthe Program a new section titled:The Crime cf Negrct Oppression-Threat to the Rights of All. This sec-tion is reflected also in the revisedtitle of the Program as a wholervhich now reads: The AmericanWay to lobs, Peace, Equal Rightsand Democracy.

Why this special section ?

While it is true that the strugglefor equal rights for the Negro peo-ple is part of the general fight fordemocracy-this struggle, however,is so distinctive a part of this fight,so special in character, playing so

paramount a role in our nationallife, that it demands specific devel-opment.

The struggle for Negro freedomplays a major political role in ourcountry. It is not merely one amongmany struggles, but influences everysingle development and is relatedto the whole course of march of theworking class and the people gen-erally.

The movement for Negro equal-

ity and for national liberation has al-ways occupied a central place in thepolicies and activities of the Com-munist Party over the years. ThcCommunist Party, as the Party ofthe working class, the fighter for themost oppressed, has conducted a re-lentless struggle against the wholesystem of national oppression whichenslaves the Negro people and placesthem in the category of second<lasscitizenship.

Guided by its Marxist-Leninisttheory, the Communist Party, de-cades ago, recognized the nationalcharacter of the Negro people's op-pression. This national character isdetermined by the status of nation-hood of the Negro people in the con-tiguous area of the Black Belt in theSouth-in the area of the formerslave plantation system-where theycomprise today the majority of thepopulation.

It is here in the heartland of theSouth that the Negro nation is heldin subjection to the Bourbon-WallStreet white ruling class. It is herethat the Negro people are held insemi-feudal bondage, robbed of land,super-exploited, disfranchised, a preyto lynch law, white supremacist in-dignities, and tyrannous oppression.

It is this condition of nationaloppression which directly afiects theposition of the Negro people in theother areas of the United Statcs-where the Negro national minorityis subjectcd to the whole white su-premacist pattern of special exploita-tion, Jim Crow segrcgation, violencc


lnd all forms of discrimination.The struggle of the oppressed Ne-

gro nation for freedom, for nationalliberation, lies at the very center ofthe struggle for the economic, Polit-ical and social equality of the Negropeople, North and South. And thisstruggle can be brought to its frui-tion only when the Negro people inthe Black Belt, where they constitutea majority, have the right of self-

determination, the right to determinetheir own destiny.

The Negro people are the first tofeel the brunt of economic crisis, ofwar, of fascism. Fascism and warwould block the road of the Negropeople to national freedom. Thus,in the special section of the Program,the struggle for the rights of the Ne-gro is correctly placed as a specialand major component of the generalstruggle for economic security, forpeace and for democracy.

fust as a successful fight againstMcCarthyism is inconceivable with-out the full participation of the Ne-gro people, so a successful strugglefor Negro liberation is inconceivablewithout the defeat of McCarthyism.As our Program shows: "McCarthY-ism finds ready allies among the Dix-iecrats and white supremacists. Itbuilds upon and merges with an evilo[ long standing in our national life

the oppression of sixteen millionNcgro people."

There are some in our midst, how-cver, who tend to minimizc or eventk rry that McCarthyism represents

:rny special danger to the Negro peo-

ple. It is argued that the Negro peo-ple could be no worse ofl underfascism than they are today. In es-

sence, this view means that insofaras the Negro people are concernedthey are already experiencing, Iifeunder fascism.

The oppression of the Negro peo.ple has always been accompaniedwith special violence, both legal andextra-legal, taking a heavy toll inmurders and maimings of Negroes.But this systematic government-in-spired violence would becomeenormously intensified under theterrorist and racist dictatorship offascism. McCarthyism for the Negropeople would mean Ku Kluxism onthe rampage.

Anyone, therefore, who minimizesthe peril of McCarthyism, not onlyweakens the general movement ofresistance against it, but renders adisservice to the whole freedomstruggle of the Negro people.

The Program effectively answersall such dangerous contentions whenrt says:

"The growing menace of McCarthy-ism confronts the Negro people with ancw and grave danger. The drive to-ward fascism and war threatens toblock further progress toward econom-ic, political and social equality, andimperils the very existence of the lim-ited righrs thus far attained."

The Negro people and their or-ganizations understand this fullwell. And the Negro people havcemerged as a major force in the anti-


McCarthy mass upsurge in the coun-tfy.

It also becomes increasingly clearthat the sruggle for Negro fieedomand the struggle for peaie are inter-connected. It was the Communist,P,enjamin J. Davis, widely belovedNegro people's leader, who stressed

e r95o Conventionof the struggle

struggle for free-d that the libera-

people,

ff'f,f:Africa

and with the strivings for true sov-ereignty of the dependent Latin-American peoples.

The warmakers of Wall Street arer attemptsn way ofthe shameand Jim

Crow; while the world-wide campof democracyr peace and socialismconstantly manifests its solidaritywith the freedom struggles of theNegro people in our land.

Our program shows the indivisibil-ity of this struggle when it stressesthat the elimination of national op-pression in the Soviet [Jnion, the riseof People s China, and the spreadingcolonial-liberation struggles "arepowerful new factors in favor of thecause of Negro freedom." Andfurther that the exposure of thewhite supremacist U.S. imperialistshas "given added international sig-nificance to the Negro-liberation

struggles and embraces the possibil-ity of winning further victori-es."

The May rTth ruling of the Su-

hassec_

suPthe

national oppression of the Negropeople at home reveals the true

"es-

sence of the Dulles-Eisenhowerpolicy of "liberation."

The perspectives outlined in theProgram for a new Administrationin'56 n-ment, tocheck arand fascism cannot be realized with-out the maximum participation ofthe Negro people. ana f.i the Ne-gro people it is the necessary parh ofstruggle toward the achievement ofnational liberation.

The December ry46 Resolution inwhich our Party reafErmed its basicanalysis that the Negro people con-strtuted an oppressed nation in thearea o_f N_eSro majority in the South,said the following:


"Today, the struggle for Negro lib-crltion is concerned with gaining equalrights throughout the country, whichincludes in the South, the struggle forilttarnrng representatlve governmentand land reform. As our own historyshows (Reconstruction) the develop-rnent towards full and equal Negroparticipation in State and Federal gov-er-nments also moves in the directionof various forms of self-government bythe Negro people, together with theirwhite allies, in the Black Belt areaswhere they are in the majority.

"This movement provides the basisfor the full realization of Negro na-tionhood, whether it be achieved undercapitalism or socialism."

In keeping with this perspectiveour Program makes an importantrund new contribution by settingl'orth the concrete form which thestruggle for equal rights and self-rletermination will assume with thesctting up of a farmer-labor govern-Inent.

"Such a governmentr" the Pro-gram says, "will act to secure to theNegro people full and equal repre-scntation on all levels of government,:rnd majority rule in those sizeable,'reas of the South where they are,,rud have been for generations, thernajority sector of the population."

The achievement of this objectivelry the oppressed Negro nation in theSouth is the indispensable and neces-s;rry condition for winning the fullr isht of self-determination. It ad-v:rnces the struggle for self-govern-rrrent-for the right of the Negro

people to determine and realize theirfull dignity as a people.

The struggle today for representa-tion in all levels of governmentpoints to the rising unity and ad-vancing national consciousness ofthe Negro people. The achievementof full and equal representation andmajority rule in Ge contiguous areaof the Black Belt will advance thestruggle for the realization of fullnationhood.

FOR DE.MOCRATIC T]NiTYTO ACHIEVE A NEW'ADMINISTRATION

As in the public discussion, so alsoin our own ranks, considerable at-tention was given to the perspectiveof electing a new Administration in1955, as the first important phasein the struggle to bar the road tofascism and bring about a change inthe present bellicose foreign policy.T-tris is quite understandable. Forthis perspective "goes to the heart ofthe tactical line proposed by the Pro-gram," as the letter of the Commit-tee on Drafting the Program indi-cated last March.

There is general agreement withthis perspective within our ranks.However, some unclarities were ex-pressed on the character of this newAdministration and particularly onthe coalition of forces necessary toachieve the election of such a newAdministration.

Our Party, since the end of WorldWar II, especially since r9r48, stressed


the need for a new political align-ment in our country. It called forthe building of an antimonopoly,anti-fascist, anti-war people's coali-tion, expressing the unity of theworking class and its main allies,the working farmers and the Negropeople. Such a coalition would haveas its aim the establishment of apeople's government dedicated tothe people's welfare, underminingthe base of fascism, and to a policyof peaceful co-existence.

As our Program indicates, thisremains a central oblective. Onlysuch a new type of government-afarmerlabor government-could notonly check but defeat the threat offascism, protect and expand thedemocratic rights of the people bycurbing and controlling monopolycapitalism, and create more favor-able conditions for the advance tosocialism.

But this is not yet the path whichthe vast majority of the workingclass, of our people generally, are to-day prepared to take. The majorityof the working people are as yet notseeking a solution to the approach-ing crisis, outside of the two-partysystem, outside of the ranks of theDemocratic Party. Yet the massesdo want an alternative to the Eisen-hower-Dulles-Brownell Administra-tion; they do want an alternative tothe danger that McCarthyism maywin complete domination of thegovernment in '56-they want apractical alternative moving in aprogressive direction. Large num-

bers, who remember the crisis yearso[ the 'thirties, want to see a NewDeal type of Administrarion underwhich they were able to achieve im-portant democratic gains and re-forms.

of the Program isaluates the presentciousness and pro-which the masses

won in united struggle.What is the concept of this new

Administrationl As your programstates, it cannot be "a switch bafk toanother Truman-type Administra-tion." The Truman Administration,even_ though this is not yet under-stood by organized laboi and thepopular_ forces generally, not onlybetrayed the progressive features ofthe New Deal but advanced thereactionary bi-partisan foreign policy,and initiated the attack on d.-o-cratic liberties, paving the way forthe growth oI reaction, of McCarthy-ism.

The new Administrarion must bcone that will check the imminentthreat of McCarthyism and reversethe bellicose course o[ our foreignpolicy-an Administration that lfilmaintain democratic rights anddemocratic institutions r.rd prr.rr.a policy of peaceful settlement ofinternational disputes.

Such an Administration will not,of course, be anti-imperialist and

REPORT ON PROGRAM DISCUSSION 6r

rurri-monopoly and therefore it willnot be able to defeat and underminethe source of fascism, the source ofthe present war danger, and thesource of society's economic ills. Itwill be a bourgeois government, butbecause of its mass suPPort wouldmore readily respond to the Pres-sure of the masses, and be morereadily influenced in its course bY

the broad popular majoritY whichalone can bring it into being. Thus,it would be a vacillating, hesitating

nevertheless preserve the conditionsfor expanding the unity of actionof the working people against fas-

ctsm.As the Program states, "it would

be a New Administration whichstarts to build again where the NewDeal left ofi." Such an outlook does

not mean a return to the New-Dealregime of the past; for the new situ-ation and the new Problems con-

fronting the people demand a move-ment forward from the New Deal,reflecting a more advanced stage of

majority. Such a majoritY must in-clude the main democratic forces

in our country-the working class,

the working farmers and the Negro

people. It must also draw upon theranks of the professionals and intel-lectuals, the women, the youth, thenational groups, and small and mid-dle-sized business. It should includealso those representatives of capitalwho for whatever reason, are opposedto McCarthyism, fear the conse-

quences of the aggressive course ofU.S. foreign policy, and are turningtoward negotiations and mutualtrade in international afiairs.

Thus, what is envisaged is thebroadest type of democratic unity.This, of course, is not yet the anti-monopoly, anti-fascist peace coalition

-in which the working class playsthe leading and decisive role. It is acoalescing of forces to fulfill imme-diate objectives in the struggle tocheck the fascisr menace at a timewhen the working class has not yctbecome conscious of its position as

the leading and unifying forceagainst monopoly capitalism.

There are some comrades, how-ever, who maintain that there arcno capitalist circles which can playa role in a democratic movement tobring about such a new Administra-tion. Those who say this fail to un-derstand that fascism means a shiftin power from the bourgeoisie as awhole to the most reactionary, mostchauvinist and most imperialist cir-cles of finance capital. The bour-geoisie moves toward fascism not as

a united whole, but with growinginternal difierences and struggles.Certain elements within the bour-geoisie still prefer to rule by bour-

6z POLITICAL AFFAIRS

geois-democratic means, even if fur-ther rreadyfascistWar Io_f the bourgeoisie facilitates the pos-sibility of eiecting a new Administra-

such a per-today onlysome cap-

On the other hand, some comradesexaggerate the role which certaincircles of capital are playing or canplay in relation to coalition activitieson specific issues, struggles, or elec-tions. They, in efiect, consider these

lacious thinking. For such elementsare not consistent fighters againstfascism and war, and hence .* rrotbe relied upon.

The Program rejects both theseerrolreous contentions when it savs:

"In addition to the populr. fo.c.,certain _groups of capital reflectingrifts and differences within the ranli

creasing role in the period ahead.,,Such conficts of interest in the

camp of capital can be utilized onlyto the extent that the popular forcespursue an independent course. Le-

ninism makes it incumbenr thatCommunists, in the interest of ad-vancing the cause of the workingclass, learn how to utilize the conflic*tof interests within the camp of theenemy, and to work with even themost unstable and vacillating ele-ments in order to direct the blowagainst the main enemy-today thefascist threat.

Some comrades ask, how does thistype of democratic unitv difier fromwhat Browder advocated? Is therenot a danger of once again becom-ing entrapped in revisionism?

One comrade insists that when theprogram states that "No one groupin America can achieve these things;,it obscures and minimizes the rlleof the working class; while anorhercomrade fearfully warns that thepro.gram, in emphasizing the peo-ple's common interests

"rrd p"opl.',

lrnity against war and i"r.irm,lapses into a Browderite classlessapproach.

First clear, toComm at as theParty ass, ourParty i interestsof all oppressed and exploited, ofthe ruhole people. Browdir had no


lris view that in the post-war worldclass conficts would disappear andIre replaced by a long-term period ofclass peace.

Our Program contradicts this wholeIlrowderite approach. It spells outthe reactionary course of Americanmonopoly capitalism, calls for in-creased battle against it and foresees,

not a mitigation, but a sharPeningof class conflicts.

The Program's appeal for demo-cratic unity is obviously opposed tothe whole Browderite concept.Browder of course spoke of demo-cratic unityl but he envisaged suchunity under the leadership of thedecisive sections of monopoly capitalwith the working class following attheir tail. Such "democratic unity"is revisionist and anti-working-class.The concept of democratic unitYcontained in the program unequivo-cally states that the organized labormovement "must become the Pro-pelling force of a broad popularmovementr" and assume on an everincreasing scale the leading role.

The program committee correctlyrejected all such "Left" sectarian

and Right-opportunist concepts. Itcharacterized them as harmful to an

understanding of the tactical lineadvanced in the program. It reiectedthese erroneous concepts as an ide-ological obstacle to the full unfoldingof a bold united front po icy in theshops, communities, and people's or-ganizations in the fight for Peace,against McCarthyism, for Negrorights, in defense of the people's liv-

ing standards.As the program emphasizes, the

struggle to realize the perspective ofa new Administration and a newCongress in '56 demands unitedaction on a day-to-day basis aroundthe immediate economic and politi-cal issues. It demands the develop-ment of broad electoral movementsin every area, city and state in everykey election struggle of '54 and inpreparation for'56.

The political majority required tochange the character of Congress andturn the Eisenhower Administrationout of power, will in the main ex-press itself through the DemocraticParty, and in some areas throughthe Republican Party as well. Butthis majority cannot accomplish itsvital objective, unless it moves in anindependent direction around a pro-gram of struggle that represents theinterests of the working class, theNegro people and the farmingmasses.

In this connection, the organizedlabor movement must speedily over-come its lagging behind the Demo-cratic Party machine. It muststrengthen and perfect its own politi-cal instruments and organizations,and intervene actively in the selec-tion, supp,ort or defeat of individualcandidates. In this way labor canleave its independent imprint on theelection results, even though it ex-presses itself as yet through themedium of the two-party system. Itcan do this most eflectively if it ex-pands its independent ties with the


Negro people and the farmers. TheNegro-labor alliance and farmer-labor unity must be extended intothe electoral field, as the drivingforce in developing democratic unityfor the '54 elections and for '56.

THE NATURE AND ROLE OF APEOPLE'S GOVERNMENT

The experience in these decisiveunited struggles will facilitate theprocess of the mass breakaway fromthe Big Business-dominated two-party system. It will open up, as ourprogram indicates, a new stage ofstruggle to crystallize an independentpolitical party of the workers, farm-ers and the Negro people-a farmer-labor party. Such a party will setfor itself new sights-the election ofa new type of government-a peo-ple's government.

A people's government will reston the more advanced class allianceof the workers and the farmers, to-gether with the Negro people-on apopular coalition, in which the work-ing class plays the leading and de-cisive role, and in which the Com-munist Party has growing influence.Such a government would notmerely check, but take measures toundermine, the very basis o[ thefascist danger, by curbing rhe pow-ers of the monopoly capitalist class,and breaking its stranglehold overthe economic and political life ofour country. Such a governmentwoyl! pursue a policy of friendlyand fraternal relations with all peo-

ples and nations-a policy of peace-ful co-existence. Such

" popl.,, gou-

ernment would enact measures tosecure to_ the

. Negro people equal

rights, full and equal reprisentationon all levels of government, andmajority rule in the sizeable areasof the South where the Negro peo-ple constitute a majority. Such a gov-ernment would protect the welfareand living standards of the workingclass and the farmers from the ef]fects of the capitalist economic crisis,and would remove all obstacles tothe active and direct participation ofthe common people on all levels ofgovernment. It would be a govern_ment resting on the will of the peo-ple, expanding all democratic iisti-tutions and democratic processes,abolishing the reactionary reit.ictioniwhich have been imposed on thecountry by the men of the trusts.

able conditions for the inevitable

hated capitalist system with the so-cialist reorganization of societv.where class and national oppression,where fascism and war, would bewiped off the face of the land.

The program projects and shows


t he inter-relation of the three stagesrfi development-the struggle tochecft the course to war and fascismrurd to help elect an Administrationand Congress pledged to maintain1rcace and preserve democracy; thestruggle to deleat the fascist and warthreats through the election of a newtype of government-a farmer-labor,anti-monopoly government dedicatedto the people's welfare, to a policyof peaceful co-existence, to the ex-pansion of democracy; and the strug-gle toward socialism, the establish-ment of a socialist state where theworking class in unison with its al-

lies will create a society of abundancefor all.

We know that today the majoritydo not yet see to eye with us on thefuture course for our country. Theyhave different ideas of how to assuresocial well-being, peace and progress.But these differences should not andmust not stand in the way of unitynotu-unity urgently needed to real-ize the desire of the overwhelmingmajority of our people for an alter-native to the Eisenhower-McCarthy-Dulles course of crisis, fascism andwar. This unity is the need of thehour!

By Leon Wofsy

It has been some time since ourParty has had sharply placed beforeit its great responsibility in the fightto win the youth for peace and de-mocracy.

One of the inspiring features ofthe Communist Party Program is itsstrong democratic appeal to theyouth, its clear defense of the needsand interests of Young America.

The task that the Program sets

forth in the crisis of our time de-mands an urgent reappraisal of ourParty's outlook toward the youthmovement. It demands an altogethernew emphasis on youth.

At our r4th National Conventionin 1948, Comrade Bob Thompsonsaid:

'Work among the youth is not justanother important field of work for ourParty and for the progressive forces, itis a decisiae field of work. . . . Unlessthe working class can enlist in its sup-port decisive sections of the youth, itcannot, regardless of what is does inother fields, win the struggle to checkfascism and block war.

The great significance of our PartyProgram is that it clearly illuminates

' Speech at the Confermce.

For Demouratic Youth Unity.

the historic line of march that cansave America in the present crisis,and can put our people on the high-road toward social emancipation.Much of its strength is in the con-creteness with which it approachesthe present stage of the democraticstruggle. It points to a very definiteand immediare objective: the bring-ing about of a new political major-ity that will smash the hold ofMcCarthyism in Congress, thatwill oust the Eisenhower Adminis-tration, that will impose "on a newCongress and a new Administrationa new course in domestic and for-eign affairs."

The objective that we point to andhelp to realize among the youth canbe no less concrete-and no lessbold! For there can be no new demo-cratic political majority that does notembrace broad masses of youth. Apolitical majority that can bringabout "a new Administration whiclstarts to build again where the NewDeal left o1T" requires nothing shortof a majority against McCarthyismand against war among the youth ofAmerica.

One of the hallmarks of the pop.

66

FOR DEMOCRATIC YOUTH UMTY 67

rular movement of the New Dealperiod was, as everyone knows, thatttre youth in their overwhelmingrrurnlxrs were won aqairtst pro-fascist reaction. Labor could not haveplayed the decisive role it did if thervorking-class yoLrth did not raliysolidly to the fight, and if there didnot arise the inspiring democraticmovement for unity of the younggeneration.

FOR YOUTH UNITY

What, then, should be the objec-tive for the youth today ? The ob-jective that corresponds to the taskof this historic period is the unity ofthe young generation in defenseof its needs and interests, in defenseof jobs, peace, equal rights, and de-

mocracy. Concretely, it is to bringnot just a part of the youth, but thevast majority of the youth into unitedstruggle for a change in national pol-icy-domestic and foreign policy,and, above all, policy as it directlyaffects the welfare of youth. It is tobring not just a part of the youthmovement, but the decisiue majorityof the organized youth movementinto active collision with McCarthy-ism and the policies of the Eisen-horver Administration.

In other words, the ob.jective is,

under new conditions and in newways, to help achieve a powerfulunity of youth that will in time be-

come as vital a democratic force as

the American Youth Congress wasin the strr-rggles of the 'thirties.

Is this a pipe dream? Or is it re-

alizable I Is there, in truth, a fightingchance for such a developmentl

We often point to the fact, and itis necessary that we do, that today'syoung generation is the victim of themost poisonous campaign of mind-twisting, corruption, militarism,crime and brutality. The priceAmerica is paying for Wall StreeCsprogram of national ruin is heaviestin respect to the youth. Reactionmakes a major bid for the youth.Basing itself on the fact that thisgeneration does not remember wellthe depression, the New Deal, thealliance with the Soviet Union, reac-tion hopes to win a mass b,ase amongthe youth. For the most part, theyouth of today have grown up inan atmosphere heavily drugged withthe Big Lie.

To look soberly at these facts isto see all the more urgently the needto work among the youth if Mc-Carthyism is to be frustrated andforced into retreat.

But the trouble is that often all wesee about the youth is what WallStreet is out to make of them. Thisis especially true of our non-youthcomrades, of the big section of ourParty which by and large does notpay attention to youth work. Thus,these comrades take a defeatist viewof the youth; and despair, as always,results in passivity and inaction.

Yet, if we really look into thematter, we see that the factors mak-ing possible broad democratic youthunity are fully as compelling as thosethat lead us to fight with confidence


for the new political majority de-scribed in the Program.

First, there is the fact that theeconomic crisis threatening the na-tion is already striking hard at theyouth.

Even the doctored government em-ployment statistics for July-whichblithely ignore the entry of almost amillion youth onto the job marketthis summer-admit an alarmingrise in joblessness for young men be-tweel 20-24.

Last week saw the call by the Na-tional Security Council for the draft-ing of all young men, in the wordsof Asst. Secy. of Defense ]ohn A.Hannah, "geared to the day of ac-tive war with the Soviet Union . . .

the only war that counts." This newsuper-UMT plan aims at demolish-ing any hope for a normal life youthmay now entertain as a result of thesuccessive truces in Korea and Indo-China. Permanent conscription andthe goal of H-bomb war is WallStreet's only answer to mass youthunemployment.

The McCarthyite assault on dem-ocratic liberties has bared its teeth tothe youth, not alone in the systematicdrive to obliterate academic freedom.Even more apalling is the sheer ter-ror unleashed against teen-agers as awhole in the guise of police warfareagainst "juvenile delinquency." NewYork is now witnessing-as havePhiladelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago,and other cities-the most vicious,murderous assault by press and po-lice on entire comrnunities of Negro,

Latin-American, and other working-class youth. Instead of curbing theatmosphere of McCarthyism and vi-olence that is mirrored in the riseof youth crime, instead of meetingthe economic and recreational needsof youth, the answer is the night-stick, the jail, and the poison pen ofracist slander.

No one can doubt the deep re-sentment that is rising among theyouth in these circumstances. Justhow bitter youth was during the Ko-rean War is common knowledge. To-day's score is told in bold style in anews item this morning out of De-troit-sportscaster Mel Allen receiveda police guard, because of warningsthat 4oo teen-agers planned to"storm" his booth during t}le Yankee-Tiger game in order to broadcast thetruth about the brutal treatment ofyouth by Detroit's cops.

But, as we know, resentment by it-self does not move youth to thedemocratic side. In fact, in Germany,youth's extreme dissatisfaction andresdessness only became grist to thefascist demagogues' mill.

THE NEW AWAKENING

So there is a second factor to lookat, namely how the young genera-tion has been affected to date bywhat the Party Program calls the"signs of a new awakening in ourland." And here we see dramatic evi-dence of some very important devel-opments. The evidence should notbe exaggerated, but at all costs it

FOR DEMOCRATIC YOUTH LTNITY 69

must not be passed over and missed

-for it gives us a glimpse into thegreat democratic potential of Amer-ican youth.

In those places where labor hasbegun to put its anti-depression pro-gram into action) young workershave been among the first to rally.The most outstanding example wasthe outpouring of young workers inOhio at the UAW unemploymentconference, many of whom exclaimedthat they felt for the first time whata union can really mean.

There is the militant, often lead-ing, participation of Negro youth, es-pecially Southern Negro youth, inthe fight against segregated educa-tion. Moreover, one can note thegreatly increased activity of theNAACP youth councils.

The past year has seen strong,sometimes official, majority anti-Mc-Carthy expression in some of themost important organizations ofAmerican youth. This is all the moresignificant in that for the first sev-eral years of the "cold war" a tightlid was clamped down in the officialyouth movement on any democraticexpression or united action on socialissues. Significant sentiment has alsobeen expressed in these organizationsfor "a more flexible policy" towardnegotiations and for easing interna-tional tensions.

On the campuses, the anti-Mc-Carthy movement has taken on atruly mass, grass roots character. Thebig innovation on the campuses acouple of years ago was the panty

raid craze. But this year the movc-ment that spread to campuses inevery part of the country was thecolorful Green Feather-Robin Hoodcampaign against the book burners.

Furthermore, the idea of studentexchange visits to promote under-standing and ease tension between theUSA and the USSR has caught holdand is becoming a truly mass move-ment. This has culminated now inthe proposed visit of Soviet studenteditors to the USA, something whichis of immense significance for allAmericans who want peace.

AII of which adds up to rhis: tharthe "signs of a new awakening inour land" leave the youth by nomeans untouched. The talk about a"Silent Generation" is nonsense.There is a tremendous reservoir herefor the democratic struggles of theworking class and its allies. What isneeded is for labor to go to bat forthe youth-to become its championagainst those who are kicking theyoung generation in the teeth. Whatis needed is a confident approach byall democratic forces to the youth ofAmerica-active intervention in thecity, state and national political are-nas with a democratic legislative pro-gram on specific youth issues: onjobs, against UMT, on "juvenile de-linquencyr" recreation, etc.

HOW YOUTH CAN BE WON

Through what avenues will deci-sive sections of youth be won for thenew political majority thar must beforged in '54 and '56?

7o POLITICAI AFFAIRS

First, such a development will comeabout only it the major existing or-ganizations of American youth beginmore and more to reflect the desiresand concrete needs of youth; if sev-eral of the most important of theseorganizations move with the anti-McCarthy stream and with those cur-rents that are arising for a new, less

bellicose approach to foreign policy.Why is this the first question? Be-

cause these organizations - despiteproblems and even internal crises,and despite the fact that they aredominated in the main by wealthyadult directors-speak in their com-bined memberships for millions ofyoung men and women.

Many of the most varied youth or-ganizations have already felt the hotbreath of McCarthyism on their ownnecks. The Y's have been labelled as

"subversive." And on Friday, a daybefore /oe McCarthy addressed theConvention of the Illinois AmericanLegion, that Convention blasted theGirl Scouts for "un-American influ-ences" in spreading "IJnited Nationspropaganda."

Of course, the fact that the Mc-Carthyites cannot tolerate even a

bourgeois-dominated youth move-ment which has any kind of link,however feeble, to democratic tradi-tion, will not by itself produce demo-cratic youth unity.

There is a second avenue, the mostdecisive avenue to youth unity. Andthat is the development of strugglesof a mass grass-roots character onthe specific issues that stir the youth.

Could the organized youth move-ment of the 3o's have played so vitala role in the struggle for democracy,without the struggles for youth'selementary needs which spread fromone end of the country to the otherlCould an American Youth Act havecome forward without hundreds oflocal united struggles for jobs, foreducation, for recreation, and againstconscription I

Struggles that arise on a particularissue can involve the entire youthmovement. In one area, for example,a few unemployed young trade un-ionists got the idea that job seek-ers should get a quota of free orreduced-rate tokens for their iobhunting. The union local, somewhatunenthusiastically, agreed to let themdraw up a petition to be circulatedon the unemployed lines. The re-sponse was so big that the union wasimpressed, and moved to set up anunemployed council to further activ-ities. In fact, it decided to call a jobsconference in the fall to which itwill invite the NAACP youth coun-cils and other youth organizationsin the area.

An even more graphic exampleis found in the campus GreenFeather development. This move-ment began independent of any ex-isting organization. Nor was it aLeft movement-in fact, while di-recting fire at McCarthyism, itavowed opposition to Communism.As the movement rapidly spread, it,however, included students fromLeft, Right and Center against Mc-

FOR DEMOCRATIC YOTJTH UNITY 7r

Oarthy. It exercised a powerful im-llact o1r the official student organiza-lions, was embraced by various stu-dent councils, and was made thetheme of several official AcademicFreedom Week Observances.

A third avenue is moving thetrade unions into the field of youthactivity, advancing the whole spiritand idea of labor-youth alliance. Wedo not have in our country the tradi-tion of a trade-union youth move-ment. Nor is there now the possi-bility of a mass farmerJabor youthorganization and movement, whichwill eventually come into being.

FIowever, millions of young Amer-icans are in unions-in fact, thereare more young people organized inunions than in any other single formof organization. There is no limit towhat the unions can do, once thereis an awakening to the Battle forYouth.

There are a few signs recently thatcan mark the beginnings of such anawakening. In any case, there areexamples of the kind of trade-unionyouth policy that should be foughtfor. In a few localities, trade unionshave recently assigned representa-tives to work with local youth coun-cils or conferences, In three areas,

unions have thrown open their hallsfor a regula. t.en-rg. program; inone case, r,5oo teen-agers came to aunion-sponsored picnic. In only onearea have the beginnings of a trade-union young voters' committee ap-peared.

The further building of athletic

programs, opening the union hallsfor organized activity of unemployedyouth, the appearance of unionspokesmen at legislative hearings on"juvenile delinquency" and other is-sues-these are all forms throughwhich the labor-youth alliance canbe advanced.

A fourth avenlle, is the develop-ment of varied, colorful forms fordirect youth participation in politics.The past year or two has seen a bigpick-up in movements for the eight-een-year-old vote, and more youthcandidates have come forward inelections than in a long while.Youth committees in support ofvarious candidates have also morefrequently appeared. Especially since1952, the Young Democrats have be-come more active, as have the Stu-dents for Democratic Action. TheNAACP Youth Councils have de-veloped a legislative and political ac-tion program, highlighted at theyouth legislative conference in Wash-ington last February.

Direct political action is a veryimportant avenue toward democrat-ic youth expression and unity. Infact, at times and for a given period,it can become the main link in thewhole chain. Such is certainly thecase in the next few months of the'54 Congressional elections. Gener-ally, the political party machines donot encourage the growth of youthpolitical forms-and small wonder,for organizations such as the YoungDemocrats have often been associ-ated with the more liberal, rather

na POLITICAL AFFAIRS

than the more reactionary, forces ingiven localities.

No doubt in the Congressionalelections, with a more fuid politicalsituation, youth can and will cut outfor itself more of a place in the po-litics of our country.

THE NEGRO YOUTH

Taking stock of all avenues to-u'ard democratic youth unity,something special -rrri b. said aboutthe development of the Negro youthmovement. In the past four or fiveyears, we have spoken of the per-spective of an "independent Negroyouth movement," or on occasion,of an "independent, anti-imperialistNegro youth movement."

But perhaps it would be better tospeak of the goal, today, of a unitedNegro youth mouement.

The original slogans advancedwere often interpreted in sectarianfashion by the Marxist youth lead-ership. "Independent" was taken tomean "exclusive" of the NAACPand existing organizations of Negroyouth. "Anti-imperialist" was takento mean "more advanced" than theexisting organizations and move-ments. Because the emphasis was notplaced on unity, on a united Negroyouth mouement, there was, untilthe last year or two, preoccupationwith schemes for creating fromscratch some kind of new and ad-vanced Negro youth center.

These initial sectarian errors haveby now mainly been discarded. And

well they might be. For a significanttrend toward united actions and con-ferences in major communities ofNegro youth is beginning to assertitself both North and South. Whatthe times call for is the organizedunity of the broadest sections of theNegro youth and their organizations,all of whom are deeply stirred bythe recent victory registered in theSupreme Court decision, all of whomare most sharply afiected by the crit-ical issues of joblessness, the draft,and all forms of Jim Crow.

THE LABOR YOUTH LEAGUE

With such a bold perspective, withsuch important new opportunitiesfor democratic youth unity, the im-portance of the Marxist youth move-

nist and non-Communist youth, thisorganization with a Marxist outlookand educational program, is indis-pensible as the main center of work-ing-class leadership to the youthmovement on every front. Withoutyouth learning Marxism in a livingway, in their own independentyouthful organization, there would

FOR DEMOCRATIC YOUTH UNITY 73

ly involved in every struggle andrnovement of the youth. Certainly,:rll of this was more then amplyproved in the r93o's. How muchrnore is this true today, when in ad-tlition to everything else, a bold, ac-

tive, and expanding challenge to thellig Lie is more than ever neededwithin the ranks of the youth them-scl ves ?

While the League remains a smallorgantzation, and is affected by anumber of serious weaknesses,its firm establishment under increas-ing McCarthy-McCarranite fire is a

signal advance for the entire work-ing-class movement. Already theLYL has become vitally concernedin many places with some of the im-portant developments beginning totake place among the youth-and isseriously beginning to tackle prob-lems o[ youth unity, trade-unionyouth activity, and labor-youth:rlliance. It is beginning to fight, as

shown at the znd National Conven-tion of LYL in February, some ofthe sectarianism within the Leagueorganization itself - sectarianismr,vhose main expression has been thefailure to develop a popular, mass

l)rogram of education as the corner-srone of all its activities.

.I'HE PARTY'S RESPONSIBILITY

But, Comrades, the purpose ofthcse remarks is to help advance lorotr entire Party clarity and activeconcern with the meaning of ourrrew Program to the fight to unite

the young generation. No part ofthe Party can be removed from this"decisive field of work."

There has been a certain type ofexperience recently in a few placesthat is worth dealing with. In a

couple of Districts, after a long pe-riod of neglect of youth work, theParty has sharply placed the needfor a change. This is very good. Butwhat happens I The effort is notmade to sit down to examine theyouth situation, to think through andcollectively apply national Partyyouth policy in the District. Instead,a so-called simple approach is taken.That is to create youth clubs of theParty, and, in one case, even a youthsection of the Party-for the statedpurpose of developing cadre trainingand Marxist-Leninist education foryoung Communists. And what fol-lows is even more confusion in youthwork than before. On the one hand,the Party as a whole is left unaffectedand does not have its attention turnedto youth; on the other, an internaldiscussion develops on forms ofyouth organization, to the detrimentof the whole Leninist approach to-ward the organizational independ-ence of the youth movement.

Is it wrong for the Party to payspecial attention to Communist edu-cation of youthl On the contrary,this should be a cardinal objectiveof Party work. But this is not accom-plished by substituting specific formsof Party youth organization for a

rounded policy of youth work.Can the Party substitute for inde-


pendent youth organizationl Can thepresent rich perspectives for mass

alized without, in fac, the floweringof the independent organization thateducates youth in a working-classspirit and Marxist outlook I

Rather we should look at someDistricts that are beginning to takea somewhat different approach. Herethere is no effort to substitute foryouth organizatiom, but rather a newlook at what the whole Partv cando in the labor movement an'd thepeople's organizations to help devel-op the democratic fight for the mass-es of youth. A new look at what theParty can do to encourage and giveguidance to the new developmentsamong youth and students. A newlook at what the Party can do toencourage and assist the Marxist ed-ucation of the advanced youth.

Comrades, our Party is proceedingto reestablish a National Youth Com-mission. District Youth Commissionsare needed urgently. Such Commis-sions should call in and review areaby area the Party's responsibility,

plans, and attention to youth work.These Commissions should helpmuster the forces of our Party inmass work and the trade unions tohelp score a real breakthrough in theyouth field. They should bring theeducational workers and leaders ofour Party into a major efiort toassist Marxist education amongyouth.

Comrades, all of this, I think, isimplicit in the tasks set by our PartyProgram. The job is to make it ex-plicit in the near future.

One of the most serious weakness-es of our Communist leaders inyouth work is that we have not ful-filled our responsibilities in helpingto make youth work the property ofthe entire Party. We have not helpedcreatively to enrich and develop theyollth policy advanced at the last twoNational Conventions of our Party,and spelled out with such clarityby Comrades Betty Gannett, BobThompson, Carl Ross, and others.

Comrades, our Program points thepath to a bright future. Ours is theProgram of the Youth. It is the Pro-gram of hope and faith in the futureof America and its great workingclass.

lnternational Fraternal Greetings to

the Conlerence

In the name of the Labor-Progressive Party of Canada, and all progressiveCanadians, I send you heartfelt fraternal greetings. I am confident that your Na-tional Conference will strengthen the fighting Communist Party of the UnitedStates, indomitable champion of peace and friendship among the nations.

We hail the heroism of the leaders, members and supporters of the CPUSAwho are proving every day in the battle against McCarthyism, that vile poison

-U.S. fascism-the passionate patriotism of the Communist movement of theUnited States. Your greatParty is an example to all Canadians who cherish truth,honor and the solidarity of the working people. You uphold the finest traditionsof the United States in these days of stress and storm.

The LPP salutes the valiant CPUSA!We hail the new Program of your Party; The American Way to lobs, Peace,

Democracy, It truly is the modern Appeal to Reason, a powerful document thatwill contribute immensely to the solution of the national crisis that grips the U.S.In this Program, with its ringing appeal for people's action around the immediatenational-democratic tasks, the CPUSA comes forward as the true defender of thenational interests-peace, democracy and the welfare of the people of the U.S.A.

The LPP heartily greets the policy and work of the CPUSA towards theforthcoming crucial Congressional elections. Your decision to concentrate uponbringing about unity at the polls of all peaceJoving citizens to achieve the electionof a majority pledged to maintain U.S. democracy, to halt the rampage of Mc-Carthyism, to stop the Eisenhower-Dulles drive to an atomic World War, is a vital,timely contribution to the real national interest and to the hope for world peace.

We greet the struggle of your Party and the U.S. working class, Negro peo-ple and the farmers. This struggle undoubtedly played its noble part at Genevain winning cease-fire and peace in Indo-China and administering a heavy blowto Dulles and McCarthy. We are certain that the struggle will go forward tocontribute towards winning an all-inclusive Security Pact for Europe, as proposedby the government of the Soviet Union, the seating of People's China in theUnited Nations, the fr-rrther easing of international tensions.

While fightig against the Wall Street monopolists who have sunk their talonsinto Canada, to cast ofI U.S. imperialist domination of Canada and restore thenational independence of our beloved land, we never forget that the U.S. workingclass and democratic forces and the patriots of Canada are united in the commoncause of peace and democracy. Together, the peaceJoving people of the U.S.A.

75


by U.S. imperialism.ions to national inde-isphere to uphold the

tionat sovereignties. Internationar sorid ;:1llit#."lr"'1,i3;will prevail over rhe U.S. imperialistWe greet Gene Dennis, titan son

day and pledge to strengthen our worthe brave sons and daughters of the U.Spersecuted under the Smith and McCafreedom.

. y. sgqd h_eqty greetings to ]Milliam Z. Foster, the great pioneer builder andleader of the GPUSA and wish him good health and *"".ry, -".ry years of fruit-ful work for our mighty cause.

Yours fraternally,Tirn Bucft

*1,:.ri"!;:!,r;; party ot canada

- _Hearty _Greetings to delegates of National conference of communist partyof united states of America from central committee of communist party oiChina.

The communist Party of united States of America, along with democraticforces in united States, waging relentless struggles for peale and democracyunder the most difficult conditions, have won the d.ep affection and sympathyof peaceJoving people throughout the world.

we believe that the communist Party of the united states of America, whichunites around itself the broad masses of the Americ,an people who desire peaceand cherish demo,cracy, will surely make {urther and greater achievements in itsstruggle to consolidate the Party, strenpthen the uniiy of all forces in unitedStates for peace

. and progress, -improve the livelihood of the working people,

secure democratic Ireedom and defend world peace.The chinese people have always esteemed their friendship with the American

people. we trust that the traditional friendship between the chinese and Ameri-can peoples will develop and strengthen in thiir common endeavor against warand for peace.

Success to the Conference.Central Committee ol theComrnunist Party of China

central committee of communist Party, czechoslovakia, sends to all Nationalconference oj your Party warm brotherly greetings. we are following with greatattention endeavour of your Party, which in front of all progressive forcJs of

FoR DEMOCRATIC YOUTH UNITY 77

U.S.A. is leading courageous struggle against reactionary fascist tendencies ofAmerican imperialist circles in genuine interest of American people, and forrealization of peaceful co-existence with nations of whole world. We believe thatpresent i {or your comrades and decisions of your conferencewill still Party, American working class, and American peopleto active and democratic rights. We wish that your conferencemeet wit

Long live C.P., U.S.A.!Long live cooperation amorg all peaceful nations all over world!

Central Comrnittee,' Communist Party ol Czecho'slouaftia

The Central Committee of theyour national conference. Your workand stimulating the resistance of thefascism, against the war policy ofworld domination, as well as the struggle against the threat of economic crisis.

The end of the war in Korea and the cease-fire in Indo-China, achievedthrough the initiative of the Soviet Union which proposed the Geneva Conference,as well as the result of the world popular movement of struggle against the warcamp, represents a new and important check to the policy of the leading circlesof the United States.

We look forward with the whole of the working class and the people ofFrance to the successful outcome of your conference and for the victory in theUnited States of the fight for peace and the development of peaceful relationsamong all peoples of the world.

Long Live the Communist Party of the United States!Long Live Peace !

For the Central Commitueol the Cornmunist Party ol France,lacques Duclos

The Executive Committee and all the members of the British CommunistParty send you warm fraternal greetings and good wishes on the occasion ofyour National Conference, and wish it every success.

You occupy a most vital sector in the world progressive movement at thepresent time. Your fight against the war policy of American imperialism iswatched with admiration by peaceJoving people throughout the entire world,and is of the greatest importance in humanity's fight for peace.

Here in Britain, opposition to the policy of war and surrender of Britain'snational independence is growing daily. There is a powerful movement of oppo-sition to the rearmament of German militarism, an almost universal demand for


the banning of !y.d-ff3. and aro.m lrcmbs, and a strong conviction amongsr thegreat.majority of.the British people that the chinese peoiple,s Government shouldbe admitted to the united Nations. The hatred of Mciarthyir- i, *iderpr."d,and there is firm resistance ro all attempts ro inrrodu.. ii t 6r.l

-- -

spur us on to win news, but in their despera-cts, the recent events in

s to which they are prepared to go iny of the Soviet Union and.its successessource of encouragement to us and all

peace and for the best interests of the

aims and true interests of the Americaadvance.

'We send throand especially to :",il:H,'ili','i:l't,l:f?:?P:ac:, qemocrl:y encouragement to millionsor p€opre outslcle America.w.Ptween ouracy in tbetweenpeace and national independence, and hasteican peoples will place their two countries in the forefront of the forces of peace.

With warm fraternal greetings,

George Matthews,Assistant Ge neral SecretaryCommunist party of Great Britain

The Central Committee of the Hung sendsmilitant fraternal greetings to the Nationai party,U.S.A. Best wishes for the success of your th the'.tY R'1ty program. are aimed towards peace. the defe nse of democratic:ishts, the unity of the working class, and the strengthe"i"J-"lirr.-raiis of theParty.

Warm Communist greetings.

Central Comntittee,Hungarian Worfting People's party

FOR DEMOCRATIC YOUTH UNITY 79

The Polit Bureau of the C.entral Committee of the Communist Party of Indiagreets the National Conference of the Communist Party of the U.S.A.'We are sure that this Conference will enable the courageous CommunistParty of the United States of America, fighting against heavy odds for peacein the world and against Fascism at home, to further strengthen the struggle for;rcace. We are sure, that with the new program which the Party is adopting,the C.P.U.S.A. will be able to help the process of strengthening the democraticlorces ir the country which are on the eve of an important electoral struggle.

The Communist Party of India, which is itself carrying on a struggle againstthe maneuvres which American imperialism is resorting to in Asia, is watchingrvith eagerness the courageous fight which the American Communist Party iscarrying on, against the same imperialism which is threatening the peace and na-tional sovereignty of our own country.

E. M. S. NancboodiripadAg., General Secretary,Communist Party of India

To the National Conference of your Party, which is being held at a momentin which greater prospects of growth and of Peace are outlined on the interna-tional horizon, we send the fraternal and warm gr€etings and well-wishes of theItalian Communists.

Well do we know from our experiences during the zo-year struggle againstfascism how difficult are your efiorts and sacrifices. But we also know that yourroad, to liberate the United States from the menace of McCarthyism and fromthe incubus of new military ventures, is the high road on which the Americannation must set out if it wishes to equal its traditions of the past and to beworthy of a great future.

Of this future, you, today, are the promise and the guarantee. We wish suc-cess to your conference and to all your work.

With fraternal greetings,Palmiro Togliatti

General SecretaryComncwnist Party of ltaly

MEXICOThe Central Committee of the Communist Party of Mexico sends revolution-

ary greetings to the national conference of the Communist Party of the UnitedStates. At the same time, it expresses its absolute certainty that this conferencewill constitute a very important milestone in the fight for world peace, respectfor the independence of nations and the existence of democratic liberties, againstthe oppressors of the people of North America and the war inciters, the monop-olists of Wall Street.

The defeat of the war policy of North American imperialism at the Geneva


Conference and the growing vigor of the camp of peace, democracy and socialismheaded by the Soviet Union, encourage the Mexican people in their fight forpeace, for national independence, for the creation of a democratic governmentand for the people's welfare.

In its fight against McCarthyism, for the freeing of political prisoners, forpeace, for respect for the sovereignty of nations and for the realization of itspopular program, the Communist Party of the United States can count on thedeep sympathy of the Mexican people.

Long live the Communist Party of the United States!Long live the camp of peace, democracy, and socialism!Long live the Soviet Union!

For the Central CommitteeDionisio EncinaGeneral SecretaryCommunist Party of Mexico

On the occasion of the national conference of your Party we send you heartyfraternal greetings and wish you fruitful discussion. Working masses of ourcountry greet progressive forces of American people which fight despite rePres-

sions, persecutions and terror against fascism and reaction; unmask criminal warplans of American imperialist aggressive circles; defend democratic liberties andpeace. We wish you best results in work for strengthening your Party and unit-ing all sound forces of American people for struggle against the danger of a newworld war, for peace and friendship among peoples.

Cenffal ComrttitteePolish United Worfters Party

Reody -THE ORIGINS OFCFIRISTIA..NITY

By ARCHIBALD ROBERTSOhI

Serious and thoughtful students will hail the publication this monthby International Publishers of Archibald R.obertson's Tbe Origins o!C h ri st iani ty, price $2.)0.

The author, a renowned British Marxist scholar and historian, pro-vides in this volume a comprehensive analysis of the social roots ofearly Christianity, of the forces which contributed to the founding ofthe Christian church, and of the revolutionary and conservative ten-dencies within the first Christian communities. His srudy reveals howthe early Christian writings reflect real controversies berween socialclasses which developed in the sick and dying slave society that wasmrking way for feudalism. His siuCy also tmces the developmenr ofmessianic ideas among the Jews of the Roman Empire, discusses the'myth" theory about jesus, mainraining rhat rhe Christ story originatesin definite historical events.

In demonstrating that Chrisdanity was the product of a long and

complex historical evolution which began cenruries earlier, Dr" Robert-son unravels the tangled problem of Christian origins, throwing a

brilliant light on this focal question, and on the rer.olutionary roie ofthe Prophets and the final crystallization of a nes/, dogmatic andauthoritarian religion.

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MIKE GOLD READERlntroduction by SAMUET SIILEN

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The dean of proletarian writers in the U.S.A., Mike Gold'spoems, plays, literary reportage, sparkling newspaper col-umns, book, drama and movie reviews, personal reminis-cences, letters and polemics, have won him a devoted

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