A full-blown attack on the formation of the Workers (Communist) party from its left critics. Referred to as the Central Caucus of the Communist Party, or the United Toilers, a section of the early Communist movement rejected any move to a legal, above-ground party and the elections it would run in, viewing the majority of the movement that had coalesced into the legal Workers Party as ‘centrists’ or worse. Its constituents were mostly, though not exclusively, the Language Federations and included the Alliance of Polish Workers of America, the Ukrainian Association, the Lettish Publishing Association, and the Lithuanian Workers’ Association. Their paper was ‘Workers Challenge’. The Comintern ordered the group dissolved and to rejoin Workers Party of America, which the group rejected until its position could be heard at the full Comintern Congress. However, by the time of the Second Bridgman Convention later of August, 1922 most had. Leading figures included John J. Ballam, Harry Wicks, Charles Dirba, and George Ashkenudzie. A rump organization resisted merger and continued as a tiny sect into the 1940s as the United Toilers of America.

‘The “Workers” Party’ from The Communist (Central Caucus). Vol. 1 No. 7. February, 1922.

During the Christmas holidays, the working class of America was presented with a new toy, a new political party “with a set of lighting leaders.” All shades of political opinion from centrists to Paole-Zionists met under the slogan, “Go to the Masses!”

It was a representative gathering of petty bourgeois intellectuals. A dentist from the A.L.A. (whose hobby until recently used to be “We are opposed to all legal organizations”; “The Comintern wants us to establish unions in China and Africa but not in America”) — shook hands with the former C.L.P. doctor of the “Smash the A.F. of L.” fame. They smiled at the politicians of the Workers’ Council, (who want to join the Comintern in order to work from within against the 21 points) and winked coquettishly at the representative of the Paole Zionists, who was humming his hymn, “Come back, come back, to Palestine!”

This exclusive “set of fighting leaders” united for the time being under the slogan, “Go to the Masses.” The backward masses, however, were conspicuous by their absence.

The Convention is a result of many months of secret scheming and negotiations between the elements above mentioned. The initiators have announced long beforehand that the convention will represent 50,000 of the masses; that the new party will grow by leaps and bounds (presumably absorbing the phantom 250,000 revolutionaries in the A.F. of L., not counting the independent unions, etc.). Now, however, the “Iskra” announces a total membership of about 25,000; and that seems to be an exaggerated figure.

We doubt that the Workers’ Party has a “set of fighting leaders” intending to go to the masses. On the contrary, they want masses to come to them.

Let us now consider what prospect the Workers’ Party has of organizing a mass movement in this country. To give an intelligent answer to this question, let us look back over the recent history of the American movement, and analyze the various elements composing the Workers’ Party and their methods of reaching the masses.

There is a certain Communist element in the Workers’ Party, mainly misled Russians and Lithuanians. They were dragged in against their best convictions, mostly by a sense of discipline, due to the deliberate misinformation as to the Theses and Resolutions from the Communist International, spread by the seven seceding members of the C.E.C. (liquidators). Their role in the new party will be chiefly the paying of dues and attending meetings. Lack of knowledge of the English language prevents their voicing their opposition and makes them an easy prey to the opportunist leaders. The C.P. of A. must strive not to lose contact with this Communist element, which sooner or later will return to our party.

The second group consists of former C.P. and C.L.P. leaders, calling themselves Communists. This group, together with the Workers’ Council, provides nearly all the leaders and it dominates the Workers’ Party. Each member of this small but noisy group considers himself a self-chosen leader of the workers, although most of them have never seen the inside of a workshop or ever belonged to a union. Failing in the attainment of leadership in the S.P. and S.L.P. they felt impelled to follow the masses into the Communist Parties. Some of these admitted acting as intellectual prostitutes for the sake of a job, others, with more self-esteem, organized a party of their own (C.L.P.).

Practically all this element consists of former Mensheviks, who in 1919 “repented,” became “Bolsheviks,” and joined the Left-wing of the S.P. Over night, Bolsheviks ceased to be “Anarcho-syndicalists,” Lenin was no more a “disrupter” and “Oprichnik (hangman) of Ivan the Terrible,” and instead of “resurrecting the Second International” they began to shout Hosanna for the Third. Some skeptics said that this change of front was accomplished chiefly for financial considerations.

There is no room in this article to describe the antics of these “editors” and “leaders,” when they began to interpret bolshevism. Opposition to S.P. legalism was interpreted as opposition to all legal work; work in the unions as pure Communist propaganda only, or for smashing the A.F. of L.; democratic centralization as a mechanical, artificial machine; popularization of the idea of armed insurrection as anarchism; and the general strike and parliamentarism as means of overthrowing capitalism (without armed insurrection).

This element even now, is Communist in words, Menshevik in deeds. They swear to accept the Theses and 21 points and constantly violate these provisions. During the last few months this element (in control of the C. E. C.) carried on secret negotiations and open propaganda for the GRADUAL liquidation of the illegal party (the Workers’ Council demanded IMMEDIATE liquidation) and circulated lying statements, that this is done under the direct command of the Comintern.

These leaders promised to line up the rank and file of the Workers’ Council and get rid of its leaders, while in reality they gave those leaders a very strong representation on the Executive Committee of the Workers’ Party. These Centrists will continue to be two-faced in order to bamboozle the Communist elements.

Our duty is to fight and expose this brand of “leaders”. Lenin says (on the party cleaning in Russia) that 99% of the Mensheviks who joined the Russian Communist Party since the beginning of 1918 must be expelled immediately and the remaining one percent carefully scrutinized, three or four times, before being allowed to remain. That applies equally well to our own Mensheviks.

The Workers’ Council has openly stated its policy; to join the Third International in order to bore from within against the 21 points.

This group demands the immediate liquidation of the underground organization in America. It takes a middle position between the Socialist Party and the renegades of the C.P. Some of these leaders have repented and returned to the S.P. denouncing the Workers’ Council group as disrupters of the S.P.

“Arbeiter Bildungs Verein” is but a German edition of the Workers’ Council, although part of the membership has been active in the former legal C.L.P. Their lamentations, on being kicked out of the S.P- too soon, and their publication of Mr. Nuorteva’s “Open Letter to American Liberals” taking a stand for Allied “democracy” as against German “barbarism,” shows the brand of their Communism.

On the question of the “Left-wing” of the Paole Zionists — the less said the better.

Beside these organizations, the Socialist Labor Party and the Proletarian Party were invited. The Marx-Engels Institute of New York sent its delegate without any invitation.

The S.L.P. sectarians have learned nothing from the war and the Russian Revolution and still retain the ideology of the Second International. Like the Utopian Socialists of old, they have prepared long ago, a blue-print of the ideal society (W.I.L.U.) and are waiting for the rush of the workers to this only “scientific” “Marxian” “revolutionary,” ideal, union. They are still waiting. The S.L.P., naturally, considered it below its dignity to accept the invitation. “When the mountain did not go to Mohammed the latter went to the mountain.” In this case the mountain is the masses, the S.L.P. laconically replies to the Workers’ Party: “Mohammed was a fakir and so are you.” The S.L.P. is willing to wait

The Proletarian Party is largely made up of former Socialist Party members of the State of Michigan. They were the first expelled from the S.P. They represent a relatively small but active group of valuable American revolutionists.

The Proletarian Party had no illusions regarding the organizers of the Workers’ Party, but sent some fraternal delegates for information. These delegates proposed to include in the program a declaration for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat and Soviet Power. Failing in this, they fittingly characterized the Workers’ Party as a mess but not a mass party, branded them as mensheviks — and left.

The Marx-Engels Institute was not invited to participate. It seems that their delegate was not too enthusiastic about the coming unity and had an intention of putting some gall in the cup of happiness. Judging by his speech, the delegate must have been a plain trapper by occupation. He shouted in a vulgar manner, “Go to hell, you damned skunks!” This greeting seemed to come from the bottom of his heart. “Nuff said.”

The S.P. sits alone sulkily in a corner, half-heartedly tried to call back its prodigal sons and chastises them for “stealing” the thunder of the S.P. We thought that the Bull-Moose Party got away with all the S.P. thunder long ago. The New York Call very truly points out, that the Workers’ Party has abandoned those principles that the Left Wing has fought for in the S.P. By doing so, the Workers’ Party compliments the S.P. in its deeds, while illogically denouncing it. The following are characteristics of the Workers’ Party:

(1) Dictatorship of the Proletariat is not recognized by the Workers’ Party.

(2) Soviet Form of Government is not accepted.

(3) Twenty-one points are not approved.

(4) Joining the Third International is not mentioned. Truly, imitation is the best form of flattery. But in justice to the S.P. we have to remark, that the S.P: did apply for a place in the Third International but was refused admittance.

We do not understand the oversight on the part of the joint convention committee, but an invitation to the S.P. may yet be forth coming to close the gap in the united front.

Knowing the elements comprising the Workers’ Party, it does not take a prophet to foresee its future. Even now signs of disintegration and disruption are apparent. The Communist element will sooner or later leave. Others will spend their time in internal squabbles and mutual intrigues, although held together by the bonds of opportunism. The work will not progress. As the load in the famous fable stood still:— one faction will pull towards Moscow, another towards the White House, and some even towards Jerusalem.

The A.L.A. and the Workers’ Council already are debating among themselves which side has won the honor of organizing the new party. The Russian organ (Iskra) assures its readers that it has no use for Salutsky and knows how to get rid of him. At the same time Iskra begs its readers not to criticize the mistakes of the Workers’ Party in order not to help the “sectarians” (meaning the C.P. of A.).

Salutsky, on the other hand, is strongly intrenched in the C.E.C. and the new Jewish Federation.

The Constitution shows all the ear-marks of Iskra’ s defeat and a violation of the Theses. The Theses of the Third World Congress for instance, demands that D. 0. be elected by district conventions. This is ignored and the officials are APPOINTED instead. The C.E.C. itself is completely dependent on the autonomous language federations for the collection of dues and these Federations may give thirty cents to the C.E.C. when they feel like doing so. The former denouncers of independent and autonomous language federations have lost out and dare not protest. The whole party is nothing more than a loose federation of foreign language federations.

For all this the leaders of the Workers’ Party have a ready answer; we MUST make mistakes, in order to be active. We will get more experience out of mistakes. Thus, making mistakes, for them becomes a virtue.

This is indeed a poor excuse. If the Workers’ Party has not learned from the previous experiences of the labor movement; if the ignorant set of “fighting leaders” wants to learn by making experiments on labor’s organizations, they must be rejected. If not, it would be a case of “blind leading the blind.”

Why not learn from past experiences in the labor movement especially from the history of Menshevik liquidators in Russia! This would show that the “new” American “set of fighting leaders” is aping the old Menshevik elements in attempting, under the slogan, “Go to the Masses,” to create a respectable, legal “Workers’ Party” and to liquidate the unnecessary underground organization as — “the rotten corpse” (Historical Menshevik term).

The program adopted seems to be one of the deliberate mistakes made for the purpose-of experimenting. For the present we will quote some of the gems: “The capitalists, dismayed at the chaos, and yet UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND it or even to contemplate its economic causes, are BLINDLY steering the world toward new wars.” The little innocents! Blind, unable to understand! Then why not appeal to Lloyd George, Poincare, Morgan, Stinnes and Co., and open their eyes, make them able to understand. Perhaps they will come to their senses, understand the “economic causes” and end class struggle, war and imperialism forever (by “emergency legislation” of course); to the glory of the Workers’ Party of America.

Further reading of the “program” proves that it could be done easily. Read and wonder: “Because of the catastrophic depreciation of European currency, it (America) can find no outlet for the products of its industry.”

We would advise the Workers’ Party to send its delegate to the coming Genoa conference, where on the agenda appears among others the question of regulating European currency.

If this question be settled properly, according to the advice of our “fighting leaders,” the “acute suffering” in America will cease, and prosperity will reign again. We would suggest as possible remedies, increase in the price of waste paper (by “emergency legislation”) or increased buying of German Marks.

Under “Congressional Campaign for 1922” the Workers’ Party formulates “its demands upon the capitalist government.” Among other demands we find the following:

“The cessation of preparations for new wars.”

“The protection of the lives and rights of the negroes.”

“An obedience upon the part of capitalists and the governing bodies to their own laws regarding the rights of the individual, and the laws won from them by organized labor before the war.”

And we are tempted to suggest the demand that capitalists cease to be capitalists.

We doubt whether these demands upon the capitalist government will expose the fraud of capitalist democracy.

Our readers must keep in mind that this is the complete program of an independent political party, whose publications, organizers, speakers, and members of the C.E.C. have OPENLY REPUDIATED THE NECESSITY OF AN UNDERGROUND COMMUNIST PARTY AND DONE THEIR BEST TO LIQUIDATE THE EXISTING ONE. This fact makes the program of the Workers’ Party an admission of moral and intellectual bankruptcy.

The Communist Party may have a legal organization of its own even with less inclusive demands for its legal propaganda and agitation. Such organization would, however, be simply the legal apparatus of the C.P. of A. controlled by the C.P. of A.

The “Go to the Masses” slogan is repeated with many variations practically in every line of the Workers’ Party publication. This slogan is used to justify any and all mistakes and foolish experiments, and on this basis such foolish experiments are carried out.

How do they “Go to the’ Masses”? By using practically the same methods as the Socialist Party. They write what they consider a good program, create a political party and wait for the masses to come.

It is significant that ALL WORK ON CREATING COMMUNIST NUCLEI IN SHOPS AND UNIONS WAS SUSPENDED FOR WEEKS BY THE ORDER OF THE FORMER C.E.C. so as to have time for propagating the necessity of a legal political party and liquidation of the Communist Party of America.

Real Communists would rather postpone their legal party and election campaigns in order to organize shop and union Communist nuclei first. Only cheap peanut politicians could claim (as the Workers’ Party does) that an underground organization cannot reach the masses.

The task of a C.P. in this country is to organize our nuclei; teach and instruct them how to participate in every day struggles of the workers; how to issue leaflets and conduct campaigns in the shops for higher wages, against reduction of wages, against longer hours, brutal foremen and unsanitary conditions. This is the way to teach the workers the ABC of the class struggle, to get their confidence in communists as the leaders of that struggle, to induce them to join our legal and illegal organizations. This work must come in the first place and as the most important work. After that we may think about legal parties and congressional campaigns.

The Workers’ Party laid great stress on the capturing of American elements. This resulted in complete failure. The Proletarian Party denounced them as Menshevik; so did the I.W.W.

The New York Call is chanting: The Third International has changed its front. After arch-pope Zinoviev has succeeded in splitting the Socialist movement and even boasted of accomplishing two and three splits in one party, the Comintern has realized the results of these criminal tactics and is now calling the workers to unity. The Workers’ Party “Communists” have fallen for this S.P. trash.

The Workers’ Party cannot show us one single instance, not a line of reports on the Comintern, where even the suggestion is made that the Communists liquidate their party and UNITE with the Centrists. All they can do is to repeat “parrot-like”: the Comintern demands a united front. If the Germans, WHY NOT WE? And by these methods they try to justify their selfcastration.

What is really going on in Germany? The Socialist-Patriots comprise the ruling Party of Germany. The Independent Socialist is one of the strongest political parties with a considerable following. Germany must pay large war indemnities to the Allies. The Social-Patriotic government has two alternatives: to levy the burden of excessive taxation on the industrial and banking magnates on the one hand or on the workers and lower middle class on the other.

On this question the Communists make the following offer to the Social-Patriots: Our Reichstag deputies are willing to stand behind the government on the condition that the government adopts a working class policy. Put all the taxes on the capitalists. On this question we are willing to have a united front.

What would be the probable result of this policy? No doubt the Social-Patriot LEADERS will adopt the “two steps ahead and one step backward” attitude. They do not like to offend their real master Stinnes, and are afraid to lose the support of the workers. The Social-Patriot workers will see ever more clearly that the C. P. alone is willing to defend them, and will leave the patriots. In other words the Communists aim to DISCREDIT THE SOCIAL-PATRIOT LEADERS and gain the confidence of the masses, by participating in their struggles. They are going to the masses in the right way.

We have not heard yet of a single lunatic among our German Comrades proposing to liquidate the C.P.; to create a UNITED FRONT by having a unity convention with centrists, social-patriots or Zionists; and to elect centrists on the Executive Committee of such “united mass party”. This is what our American renegades have done.

Has the Comintern changed its tactics on the German situation?

MOST EMPHATICALLY NO!

It is but a repetition of the tactics of the Russian Communists, when they proposed to the ruling Mensheviks and Kerensky to create an all-socialist government, and expel the NON-socialists. The slogan then was: “All power to the workers”; the purpose and result was to unmask the Mensheviks and Kerensky as servants of the bourgeoisie by proposing to them a united proletarian front.

“If the Germans, why not we?”

Dear Simple Simons: Is the Workers’ Council the ruling party in America? As strong as the German Independents? Is Mr. Salutsky the President of the United States (like Mr. Ebert in Germany)? Has Mr. Lore the power to levy taxes on Morgan or Rockefeller? How many millions of workers have voted for the Jewish Socialist Federation? Have the German Communists liquidated the C.P. of Germany? Have they elected as an Executive Committee of their party known centrists, who state their intention to bore from within the Communist International in order to defeat the twenty-one points? Have they united in one party with such elements? Is YOUR intention to discredit Salutsky, Lore and Co.?

The Communist faction in the Workers’ Party that was forced to join against their better judgment by the deliberate lies about alleged orders from headquarters is becoming restless. As soon as they find out the truth they will return to the C.P. of A. and leave you, “leaders” the naked frauds that you are.

And we will do all we can to speed the day.

This ‘The Communist’ was a short-lived paper Led by Charles Dirba, George Ashkenudzie, and John Ballam. The so-called Central Caucus faction split from recently The Communist Party of America in late 1921over resistance to Ruthenberg’s leadership, the need for continued clandestine work, the unity with the Communist Labor Party among other issues. Numbering around 4000 comrades and centered on the Language Federations, they wished to retain the Party’s clandestine work. The Communist International ordered the group dissolved and to rejoin Workers Party of America. which most did at the disastrous Bridgman, Michigan ‘secret’ convention in September, 1922. A rump organization resisted merger and continued through the 1920s as the United Toilers of America. The above-ground paper of this group was ‘Workers’ Challenge’.

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