Part 4 (1/2)
”In our estimation, the acceptance of the following principles shall serve as a working program for the International:
”1. The actual period is the period of the dissolution and collapse of the whole capitalist system;
”2. The first task of the proletariat consists to-day of the immediate seizure of government power by the proletariat;
”3. This new governmental apparatus must incorporate the dictators.h.i.+p of the working cla.s.s, and in some places, also, that of the poorer peasantry, together with hired farm labor, this dictators.h.i.+p const.i.tuting the instrument of the systematic overthrow of the exploiting cla.s.ses;
”4. The dictators.h.i.+p of the proletariat shall complete the immediate expropriation of Capitalism and the suppression of private property in the means of production, which includes, under Socialism, the suppression of private property and its transfer to a proletarian state under the Socialist administration of the working cla.s.s, the abolition of capitalist agricultural production, the nationalization of the great business firms and financial trusts;
”5. In order to insure the Social Revolution, the disarming of the bourgeoisie and its agents, and the general arming of the proletariat, is a prime necessity.
”Second Section
”ATt.i.tUDE REGARDING SOCIALIST PARTIES
”7. The fundamental condition of the struggle is the ma.s.s action of the proletariat, developing into open armed attack on the governmental powers of Capitalism;
”8. The old International has broken into three princ.i.p.al groups: the avowed social-patriots, who, during the entire duration of the imperialistic war between the years 1914 and 1918, have supported their own bourgeoisie; the minority Socialists of the 'Center,'
represented by leaders of the type of Karl Kautsky, and who const.i.tute a group composed of ever-hesitating elements, unable to settle on any determined direction and who up to date have always acted as traitors; and the Revolutionary Left Wing.
”9. As far as the social-patriots are concerned, who stood up everywhere in arms, in the most critical moments, against the revolution, a merciless fight is the alternative; in regard to the 'Center,' the tactics consist in separating from it the revolutionary elements, in criticizing pitilessly its leaders and in dividing systematically among them the number of their followers; these tactics are absolutely necessary when we reach a certain degree of development;
”10. On the other hand it is necessary to proceed in a common movement with the revolutionary elements of the working cla.s.s who, though hitherto not belonging to the party, yet adopt to-day in its entirety, the point of view of dictators.h.i.+p of the proletariat, under the form of Soviet government, including the syndicalist elements of the labor movements;
”11. It is also necessary to rally the groups and proletarian organizations, who, though not in the wake as yet of the revolutionary trend of the Left Wing, nevertheless have manifested and developed a tendency leading in that direction;
”12. We propose that the representatives of parties and groups following these tendencies shall take part in the Congress as plenipotentiary members of the Workers' International and should belong to the following parties:
”1. The Spartacus group (Germany); 2. The Bolsheviki or Communist Party (Russia); 3. Other Communist groups of; 3. German-Austria; 4.
Hungary; 5. Finland; 6. Poland; 7. Esthonia; 8. Lettonia; 9.
Lithuania; 10. White Russia; 11. Ukraine; 12. The Revolutionary elements of Czecho-Slovakia; 13. The Bulgarian Social-Democratic Party; 14. The Roumanian Social-Democrats; 15. The Left Wing of the Servian Social-Democracy; 16. The Left Wing of the Swedish Social-Democratic Party; 17. The Norwegian Social-Democratic Party; 18. The Danish groups of the cla.s.s struggle; 19. The Dutch Communist Party; 20. The revolutionary elements of the Belgian Labor Party; 21-22. The groups and organizations in the midst of the French Socialist and syndicalist movements who are in solidarity with our aims; 23. The Left Wing of the Swiss Social-Democratic Party; 24. The Italian Socialist Party; 25. The left elements of the Spanish Socialist Party; 26. The left elements of the Portuguese Socialist Party; 27. The British Socialist Party (those nearer to us are the elements represented by MacLean); 28.
I. S. P. R. (Great Britain); 29. S. L. P. (England); 30. I. W. W.
(Great Britain); 31. The revolutionary elements of Shop-Stewards (Great Britain); 33. The S. L. P. (U. S. A.); 34. The elements of the Left Wings of American Socialist Propaganda (tendency represented by E. V. Debs and the Socialist Propaganda League); 35.
I. W. W. (Industrial Workers of the World), America; 36. The Workers' International Industrial Union (U. S. A.); 37. I. W. W. of Australia; 38. The Socialist groups of Tokio and Samon, represented by Sen Katayama; 39. The Young Peoples' Socialist International Leagues.
”Third Section
”THE ORGANIZATION AND NAME OF THE PARTY
”13. The Congress must be transformed into a common organ of combat in view of the permanent struggle and systematic direction of the movement, into a center of International Communism which will subordinate the Interests of the Revolution from an international point of view.
”The concrete forms of organization, representation, etc., will be elaborated by the Congress.”
The testimony of Morris Hillquit in the Socialist case before the a.s.sembly Judiciary Committee gave the preceding doc.u.ment an added interest which the reader will better appreciate further on. As will appear later in our narrative, on September 4, 1919, the Socialist Party adopted a manifesto strongly favoring the ”industrial” unionizing of American labor for the purpose of reinforcing the political ”demands” of the Socialist Party with ”industrial action.”
On the stand at Albany, on February 19, 1920, Hillquit acknowledged the authors.h.i.+p of at least 90 per cent of the ”industrial action”