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DECEMBER ·:,I LABO.R'S ·. ~ • "" i! I 'I c TASKS. .t • I . EARt BROWDER " . THE WAR CRISIS AND CANADA'S FUTURE·. TIM BUCK .~1 ,I ·-' 1' ·' 'I I ,·, , 'lr I • .',, , WHO . SHOULD BE ACCUSED IN FRANCE? ' ' • I v. J. JEROME • ,. t' ·~ ,' ·' . ' ' She Knew Them All!- V. I. Le nin , Walt Whitman, Eugene De bs , Clarence 'D <;~ rrow, Cha rles Ruth enberg, Will ia m Z. Fo.ster, Earl Browder, Upton Sincl air, Daniel D e le~n , " Big Bil l" Haywood, Charl es Stein ' '· metz, Sacco and Vanzetti, Tom Mann , Nadezlida Kru pskaya, Edwin Ma rkham, Clara Zetkin, and .a host of others. She writes a bout them in WE ARE MANY· . \ By ELLA REEVE BLOOR ' ' 320 pages. Price $2.25 Mother Bloor's long-awaited autobiugraphy r.ep resents ' e An ev~nt of major importance for tens of +housa,nds. e Five decades of struggle rich in experience for the cause of labor and the people. e .The story of the coming of age of the American working class. To read this b~ok i ~ an unforgettable experience ana an education! • Send in your order NOW to: W ORKERS LIBRAR Y P UB LISHERS P. 0 . Box 148, Station D, New York, N.Y. VOL. XIX, No. 12 DECEMBER, 1940 THE COMMUNIST A MAGAZINE OF THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MARXISM-LENINISM PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE U.S.A. EDITOR: EARL BROWDER CONTENTS Review of the Month A. B. 1059 The 1940 Elections and the Next Tasks . Eart Browder 1075 Constitution of the Communist Party, U.S.A. 1086 The Crisis of Imperialism and the Future of Canada Tim Buck 1093 Who Should Be Accused in France? V. J. Jerome 1113 The People Can Save Themselves Only by Central Committee, Their Own Action Communist Party of Great Britain 1125 Book Review-For Whom the Ben Tolls By Ernest Hemingway . Bernard Rand 1131 Index-Volume XIX, 1940 1139 Entered as second class matter November 2, 1927, at the Post Office at New York, N.Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Send checks, money orders and correspondence to THE COMMUNIST, P. 0. Box 148, Sta. D (50 East 13th Street.), New York. Subscription rat.e: $2.00 a year; $1.00 for six months; foreign and Canada $2.50 a year. Single copies 20 cents. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. .....209 An Important Contribution To American Labor History- LABOR IN WAR TIME By JOHN STEUBEN Prie~ $1.00 "In these days, when the Government and Big Capital and the Green-Hillman type of union officials are trying to hogtie organ ized labor and to force this country into the war, it is important that the workers be acquainted thoroughly with the devices that were used to similar ends during the first World War. Such knowledge is basic for a .successful fight against the warmongers of today, who are adapting to the present situation many of their tricks of 1914-1 8. "John Steuben, in his book, Labor in Wartime, gives a thoughtful and documented account of the experiences of the American workers during the last war. He exposes in full the scheme.s used by the Government, the employers and the reac tionary trade union leaders at that time to break up the opposi tion of the workers to the war, to stifle their wage movements and to defeat their strikes and organizing campaigns. Every militant worker and progressive leader of labor should possess a copy of · this valuable book." WILLIAM Z. FOSTER • Order from WORKERS LIBRARY PUBLISHERS P. 0. Box 148, Station D, New York, N.Y. REVIEW OF THE MONTH The Meaning of the Election Results. Quiescent Mass Moods of DisilLusion ment With Roosevelt Becoming Active Again. Imperialist Promises and Maneuvers. The Role and Responsibilities of Reformist Leaders. The New Stage of Struggle for Working Class Independence and the People's Front. The Imperialist Bourgeoisie Seeks Stronger Mass Bases. Roose velt and the Reformists. WilZkie and the Middle C!,asses. The Purposes and Aims of the Willkie Loyal Opposition. Supplement and Alterna tive to Reformism. Can the Masses Be Freed From Roosevelt by · Supporting Willkie? Only a Policy of Consistent Proletarian Class Independend. CAn Do the Job. Contribution and Achievements of the Communist Party in thJe Elections. Browder's Report to th.e National Committee. Communist Emergency Convention Projects Struggle for Repeal of Voorhis Act. Makes Adjust- ment to New Situation and Reajji.rms Loyalty to Working Class Internationalism and Teachings of Marxism-Leninism. LMOST on the morrow after ple's front party able to break away A the elections, the processes of from both capitalist parties large disappointment and disillusionment masses of labor and its allies, con with Roosevelt became active once fronted by the Republican Party more among wide sections of labor with a direct representative of Big and its allies. Set afoot soon after Business, still clinging to the weak the outbreak of the war, in Sep ening belief that the interests of the tember, 1939, by the sharp swing common people and of true national of the Roosevelt Administration to- defense are safer in the hands of ward activized imperialist interven- Roosevelt than in those of Willkie, tion abroad and internal reaction at divided and confused by the re home, these processes among the formist and Social-Democratic lead masses never really ceased to oper- ers, labor and large sections of its ate. They were there all the time, allies were manifestly unready and in a quiescent state, even when the unprepared for a decisive break bulk of labor and large sections of with Roosevelt and for independent the common people generally went class political action in the elections. to the polls on November 5 and cast They voted for Roosevelt but not their votes for Roosevelt. But in the without misgivings. Deep in their absence of an anti-imperialist peo- hearts and minds they continued 1059 1060 REVIEW OF THE MONTH uneasy and anxious, even though do it under camouflage and with partly reassured by Roosevelt's fine maneuverings, because this flows promises (for peace, democracy and from the objective logic of the en social reforms) and by the persua tire present course of the American sions of his reformist agents in the imperialist bourgeoisie, the course labor movement. But the inevitable for imperialist aggrandizement had to come and is coming. The abroad and reactionary dictatorship count of the election votes was at home. hardly over but sufficiently ad It will be recalled that there were· vanced to indicate his re-election, two main phases to Roosevelt's when the President immediately election campaign. In the first sounded the note of "hard times" phase he sought to rest his case ahead. Hard times for the masses mainly on his "record," to capitalize of the people, not for their exploit his New Deal past, without engag ers and oppressors. And in the sub ing in too many specific promises sequent days, the movement to for the future. He seemed to be wards further involvement in war particularly anxious not to make and for sharper attacks upon the such promises on the question of rights and economic standards of war and peace. And in this he was the masses was so openly and braz helped considerably by the Willkie enly accelerated that no one could tactic o~ not making the peace ques mistake its meaning. And so, the tion "an issue" at the outset of the old processes of disappointment and campaign. Then came the second disillusionment with Roosevelt are phase, the shorter one, that led di becoming active once more, instead rectly to election day. Here Roose of being quiescent as they have velt began not only to speak up been for a while. Only now the against the monopolies and the ex mass disillusionment is bound to ploiters of the people, which he develop more rapidly and deeply studiously avoided doing in the first and among wider masses. To guide phase. He also began making spe thili development and to raise it to cific promises for the future, espe higher levels of political conscious cially to keep America out of war, ness is the major task of the ad to keep this country at peace. vanced detachment of the working Why this change? Because he class. had discovered that the masses were Why is this the perspective? It is particularly distrustful of him on so for the following reasons: First, the question of peace, having mis because the solemn promises made givings also on the questions of to the masses by Roosevelt for democracy and social reforms. Be peace, democracy and social reform cause he had discovered that pro are bound to be violated; they are gressive labor, and the Communist already being violated. Not only Party as part of it, has success that. They will be violated rapidly fully struggled for the past year for and outrageously despite the efforts the anti-imperialist people's front of the Roosevelt Administration to under labor's leadership to be built REVIEW OF THE MONTH 1061 without Roosevelt and against him. along the lines of the anti-imperial Because he had discovered that ist people's front. But the course of Willkie's demagogic efforts in the the election campaign in this par latter phase of the campaign to ex ticular respect proved stronger than ploit the peace question as well as the wishes of the imperialist bour Roosevelt's failures in domestic geoisie. The anti-imperialist and affairs were meeting with favorable anti-war moods of the masses raised response from large sections of the and developed in struggle by pro petty bourgeoisie of the small towns gressive labor and by the Com and Middle Western farms; that munist Party, together with the these demagogic efforts of Willkie rivalries and contradictions within were meeting with favorable re the camp of American imperialism sponse even among certain groups itself, and the leading role of the of organized as well as unorganized Communist Party headed by Brow workers.