Maurer, a leader of the International Labor Defense, on the importance of the Communist press, as a target and as a defender, is for political prisoners.

‘Communist Press and Political Prisoners’ by George Maurer from The Daily Worker. Vol. 2 No. 1. January 13, 1925.

THE Communist Party, and therefore the Communist press, has no interests aside from those of the working class as a whole. The interests of the working class, from its most advanced leaders to the most oppressed wage slaves are in constant conflict with the interests of the employing class and its instrument, the capitalist state.

As the class struggle intensifies the capitalist class more openly and ruthlessly, and with ever greater frequency, uses its instruments to suppress working class opposition to its slave driving rule, and to gain more privilege for the employing class. These capitalist instruments are popularly known as the forces of “government,” “law and order” and “Justice!”

Europe’s Open Conflicts.

In Europe we see how far things have developed–fascist dictatorship, Horthy’s murderous iron heel, the white terror, the workers and revolutionary working class leaders, Communists, murdered, jailed by thousands, their organizations attacked by white guards, and we see the workers building their counter-offensive, rallying to the Communist Party and press, aiding and defending the political prisoners–the victims of the class war.

In a full sense, workers and working class leaders, especially those who are most actively, militantly and effectively fighting the battle of the workers against capitalism are made victims of capitalist punishment, the only “political” victims. To a capitalist dictatorship, workers who fight to wipe out that dictatorship are naturally its only true (class) political enemies.

Workers–Not Dilettante, Suffer

During the war, of course, even a few bourgeois supporters of the capitalist order, who happened to be non-resistant pacifists, and a few “philosophical individualists” who opposed capitalism’s war and draft were made political prisoners. But the overwhelming bulk of political prisoners and victims in capitalist states were, are and will be in increasing number, workers, especially radical workers and more particularly revolutionary workers—Communists–who fight the class war.

The big capitalist newspapers know this well and they have tons of lies, vicious attacks calling for merciless suppression of the class enemies of capitalism, appearing in them, day after day. We see in capitalist newspapers incitement to violence (and what not?) against working class opponents.

Lies Furnished Wholesale.

When courts, judges, officers of the law “stool pigeon” detectives, ignore the law (capitalist law, mind you) in their zeal to keep the workers in subjection, the capitalist dailies sing their praises and dish out pages of ridiculous, fabricated stories about “terrible” Communists, I.W.W., or other workers who dare oppose their injunctions, their strike-breakers and gunmen, their would-be complete open shop rule.

Political prisoners, working class victims of capitalism, stand out as one of the most clear revelations of the class war that is waging. The cases of Mooney and Billings, Sacco and Vanzetti, Foster and Ruthenberg in the Michigan Communist cases, the many I.W.W. cases in the west, the deportation cases of alien workers, in all their details expose capitalism and its interests and methods clearly to the light of day.

It Speaks for Whole Class.

It is quite natural then that the Communist press, being what it is, speaking for the Workers (Communist) Party, having no interests aside from those of the working class, should champion the cause of political prisoners. Readers of the Communist papers the world over, in all languages, workers who have been reading the Communist papers of America need not be reminded of the many cases of working class political prisoners of capitalism which have been detailed in them, well know that this is because of the importance and significance of such cases. They know that Communist papers call for action, for all workers and workers’ organizations to rally to the support of political prisoners, to do everything possible in the way of concerted action and mass protest, because Communists and Communist papers know that the cause of political prisoners is the cause of the entire working class.

Readers of the DAILY WORKER know how valuable the DAILY, its predecessor, the weekly WORKER, and other Communist papers were in the Michigan Communist cases, the defense of which, or rather, the working class counter-offense around which, served to considerably strengthen the fighting spirit of the working class and its revolutionary vanguard.

What Are Your Duties?

Do you know what it demanded of you–the workers–in relation to the case of Sacco and Vanzetti Do you know your duties as a worker, as a fighter in the cause of the workers, which includes the cause of Sacco-Vanzetti? Read over again the call issued by the Workers Party for a united front of all organizations of workers in America to save Sacco and Vanzetti from death. It was in the DAILY WORKER, Dec. 27, along with a cartoon by Robert Minor, who is himself to be brought to trial at St. Joseph, Michigan, in February.

This call raises the slogan of full freedom for Sacco and Vanzetti. It calls for mass protest to show American capitalism that millions of workers realize “that their persecution is class persecution, no matter how hard the capitalist executioners try to disguise the baseness of their deeds!” It truly states that legal defense without mass protest will not save their lives. It acclaims “Sacco and Vanzetti must be freed by a jury of millions of their class-the working class for whom they fought and for whom they are sentenced to die!”

Dally Worker to the Fore.

This call appeared in the DAILY WORKER because the DAILY WORKER, official organ of the Workers (Communist) Party, has no interests aside from those of the working class, and knows that Sasso and Vanzetti were tried as enemies of capitalism and that their cause is the cause of the whole working class.

The editors of and the writers for the Communist press, the most active leaders of the Communist movement, all of those who build, maintain and strengthen the Communist Party and press, are most often made political prisoners.

Just see, for instance, who some of the Communists are that are now being defended by the Labor Defense Council and who are editors or writers for the Communist Press–Dunne, Browder, Foster, Ruthenberg, Minor, O’Flaherty, Lovestone, Bedacht among those of the Michigan defendants; John Lassen, editor of the Hungarian paper Elore; Vajtauer, editor of the Czecho-Slavok paper Obrana, etc. To you, who believe in the Communist press, we say, rally to the defense of your working class leaders, the militant fighters for the cause of labor.

Your Cause, Too!

Workers, the cause of C.E. Ruthenberg, executive secretary of the Workers Party, class enemy of capitalism, sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison and whose statement appeared in the DAILY WORKER of Jan. 5, is your cause. The cause of William Z. Foster, William F. Dunne, Robert Minor, Earl R. Browder and the other 27 defendants in the Michigan cases, is your cause.

The cause of Lassen and Vajtauer is your cause. The cause of all the workers who are victims of American capitalist tyranny, persecution and railroading, of political prisoners and class war victims in Europe under the white terror, is your cause. You are told about, and called to action for all these cases by the Communist press. Most recent is the call to action for the Michigan defense sent out by the Workers (Communist) Party and the Labor Defense Council.

Will You Help?

You can help this cause of political prisoners by responding to the calls AND by building a great, strong, Communist press. We are sure that those who are in jail for us–for YOU–want us to help out utmost to build the DAILY WORKER into a great fighting mass Communist daily. You must rally to the cause of the Communist political prisoners–keep them out of prison–if you want the best, most powerful Communist press.

Our cause is one! Free political prisoners. Free Ruthenberg, Tom Mooney and the I.W.W. prisoners, save Sacco and Vanzetti from death! Keep Foster, Ruthenberg, Minor, Dunne, Browder and the others out of prison, free to fight and lead in the class struggle. More power to the Communist press! Down with capitalist dictatorship and oppression! Up and on with the DAILY WORKER to the workers’ rule, the Communist society.

The Daily Worker began in 1924 and was published in New York City by the Communist Party US and its predecessor organizations. Among the most long-lasting and important left publications in US history, it had a circulation of 35,000 at its peak. The Daily Worker came from The Ohio Socialist, published by the Left Wing-dominated Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919, when it became became The Toiler, paper of the Communist Labor Party. In December 1921 the above-ground Workers Party of America merged the Toiler with the paper Workers Council to found The Worker, which became The Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1925/1925-ny/v02b-n001-jan-13-1925-DW-LOC.pdf