Workers Press no. 27

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • PUBLISHED FROM TUESDAY TO SATURDAY • NUMBER 27 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1969

A PLAN FOR NEW

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • PU

BY DAVID MAUDE

FULL DETAILS of how London's port employers propose to imple- ment the second phase of Lord Devlin's docks re-organization scheme have just been received by the Workers Press. The Socialist Labour League has always cam- Manchester paigned for principled op- position to the recommen- dustmen dations of the Devlin Re- port. return In our view, 'moderniza- tion' plans which do not include socialist nationaliz-

THERE

again were angry clashes between dustmen and of the entire dock ation union officials after mass industry under the control Manches- meeting of striking of those who work in it can ter dustmen narrowly voted only be a blueprint for far- end their three-week-old to strike last Saturday morning.

reaching attacks on jobs and Union officials told the conditions. council strikers that the This is completely view management was not prepared borne out by. the proposed to grant any concessions above London agreement. the national Edinburgh agree- As one docker commented ment, however long the men at the weekend: remained strike. on *It's almost a carbon-copy They then called for a vote of the Measured-Day Work for work and return to deals the car bosses want to asked the not to be men push through. If this is ac- pressurized, but to vote cepted they'll have every- according to their conscience.

thing they want - even a A show of hands was inde- strike-breaking clause!' cisive, so the men were split Although a postal ballot on return androups those for a into two the proposals is due to take those against. place within the few The vote was then declared weeks, few of London's 12,500 in favour of a return. dockers have yet had the As the men dispersed sharp them opportunity to study arguments broke out between and union officials seem to be of the dustmen and particularly anxious that they their officials. should not be 'leaked'. Nottingham dustmen also voted at the weekend to re- turn to work. Object Australian We reproduce key sections below which show why. is the Its stated object Tories achievement Force of •a balanced labour which will eventually become 'an eco- split nomic and viable labour force'. Just so that there can be no confusion on this point, the FOLLOWING its very nar- dockers employers want to row victory over Labour in 'recognize that the objective the recent Australian of all agreements on manning General Election, the rul- arrangements must be to establish optimum efficiency ing Liberal Party has split in the manpower required for over the question of its each particular operation.

future leadership. *Manning arrangements with- in companies will therefore be Several leading members of decided in the light of the Prime Minister Gorton's out of the and nature Cabinet have going now work to be done and the num- either hinted or declared they ber of men available. "The observance of the fol- will not serve under him again. lowing work practices is Fairbairn, a senior David condition of this agreement: Liberal Minister, sent a tele- gram to Gorton on Thursday.

of 6] Complete acceptance overnight instructions and election During the cam- orders. paign, Gorton was criticised by the right wing of his party for lack of vigour and of and de- 62 Complete mobility from traditional Tory flexibility of labour as parting

• PAGE 4 COL. 4 -

principles. Young Socialists

GRAND XMAS

BAZAAR

Saturday, Nov. 29 Canning Town Public Hall doors open 12 noon Can you sew? knit? paint?

make something for our Bazaar?

give something towards our bazaar ?

Have you a tin of grocery? jumble?

Help us make this the best bazaar ever held !

Help us raise the money for our daily paper—

THE WORKERS' PRESS

ER • PUBLISHED FROM TUESDAY TO SATURDA)

2,000 march against By Robert Black

THE SOVIET

government Friday said that it on favoured the resumption of four-power talks the on Middle East and blamed the Israeli government for its blocking of any settlement there. A spokesman for the Soviet Foreign Ministry claimed : "The of the intentions Israeli leaders lie not in the

WORKERS IN

direction of but of peace, further complications in the area. statement invited The of the

USA.

resentatives France and Britain to join with the Soviet government in making new moves to 'speedily contribute to the elimination of the conse- aggression'. quences of Israeli This extremely mild tone is hardly likely to intimidate the Zionists, who, if Israeli any- thing, thinking are in terms of new acts of aggression.

B.P. site Farmworkers men demand march for union chiefs fight £16 basic SUPPORT is building up for the 500 boilermakers sacked By John Spencer from the £65 million B-P re- finery site at Grangemouth on

MORE THAN 2,000

farm- the Clyde. workers - the largest demon- The boilermakers have been of farmworkers seen stration promised backing by their marched to Trafalgar Square in London Clyde union's district com- (above) on Saturday in support which decided at last mittee, Saturday's meeting to meet all of their claim for a £16 mini- shop boilermen's stewards on 40-hour mum wage and a Thursday. week. in the Grange- Members The mouth area—at Simon Carves; present minimum is

EIS,

Boness: Motherwell £12 8s. for a working week of Bridge and Tarmac, 44 hours. Alloa- have already begun sup- to Contingents from all port the strike. over the brought their Last Thursday 200 of the country picketed the site elaborate and brightly painted sacked men

• PAGE 4 COL. 4 -

• PAGE 4 COL. 9 -›

SATURDAY •

NUMBER 27

The so olege are contingen hy a larde contingen

TEACHERS

Holloway any in Decent laim for a £I35-a-yea tactians хосте, вы Ere Recher, MP tol Eric Fletcher, the The daily organ of the Central Committee of the Socialist Labour League

BER 27 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1969

PRICE 6d. From the Editor WE ARE now entering the sixth week of Workers Press. All the main problems, normal to the production of a newspaper such as ours, have been overcome. The time has come By Michael Banda

STEEL-

TOWArOS DanS more improve-

MEN FIGHT

tot even local correspondent think on ments in the paper.

"GREEN

we are discussing improve steadil arrangements our news coverage with the

BOOK '

possibility of a late edition for the London wards ill end of

THE 'GREEN BOOK'

and move south- been deal warde plan two weeks of fac- blow major giant Port Toker teelworks. will be facilities for more stan Union will be shown. *Green Boo Productivity Plan Enthusiasm for study a lie and lead have por They be able matained with sent working practices Network stil a tone day at side we are respondeng to the was the is caper al met on Friday BreasT what is gong or is he umediate 6 per cent incrot be ruled trik appear in a profes Want more will be ailable for the ya recognize eers that tr unions to be was The management now wants tory ons at honest t agree and trade unions 1969, not i Maker Std. Along their money were bich and othe In return they want: canned foods, small come of Zions work-study Green Wigan, and 2 place as the and seat bia officials claim taken stewards from wage rises in future will

A.T.U.A.

by the proposed meetings Want action District

NORIH KENI

reported to have said: "Labour government and moder alone lines most the trade unions' agreements,

AEF

Thursday, November 6 the 8 p.m. Duchess of roll Place General oolwich green Booke es out.

WILLESDEN

"The Common Market' Thursday, November 6 onths and spe dup redund.

8 p.m. Willesden Trades and Labour High Road, N.W.10

LEYLAND

strike in embe the sie-were 'Crisis in Motors' sold out Friday, November 7 8 p.m. vland La By an educatlon reporter the and dusten, who hav workers employers su gainst All car, car delivery and components W that the Tories workers are invited to a motor workers' conference proposed Digbeth Civic Hall, Digbeth

BIRMINGHAM

Saturday, November 8 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

wnte tor credenuas to a. rarsons pose order or 21 Strawberry Path, Blackbird Levs. Oxford Conference fee 5s. a person

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • PUBLISHED FROM TUESDAY TO SATURDAY • NUMBER 27 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1969

A PLAN FOR NEW

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • PU

BY DAVID MAUDE

FULL DETAILS of how London's port employers propose to imple ment the second phase of Lord Devlin's docks re-organization scheme have just been received by the Workers Press. The Socialist Labour League has always cam- Manchester paigned for principled op- position to the recommen- dustmen dations of the Devlin Re- port. return 'moderniza- In our view, tion' which do plans not include

THERE

socialist nationaliz- were again angry clashes between dustmen and of the ation entire dock officials union after mass industry under the control meeting of striking Manches- of those who work in it can voted ter dustmen narrowly only be a blueprint for far- to end their three-week-old strike last Saturday morning. reaching attacks on jobs and offictats told the *Union strikers that the council This view is completely management was not prepared borne by. the proposed out to grant any concessions above London agreement. the national Edinburgh agree- As docker commented however long the ment, men at the weekend: strike. remained on 'It's almost a carbon-copy They then called for a vote of the Measured-Day Work and for work deals the car bosses want to the asked men not to be push through. If this is ac- pressurized, but to vote cepted they'll have every- according to their conscience.

thing they want - even a A show of hands was inde- strike-breaking clause!' cisive, so the men were split Although a postal ballot on into two groups- -those for a the proposals is due to take those against. return and few place within the next was then declared The vote weeks, few of London's 12,500 in favour of a return. dockers have had the yet As the men dispersed sharp opportunity study them out between and union officials seem to be arguments broke of the dustmen and many particularly anxious that they their officials. should not be 'leaked'. Nottingham dustmen also voted at the weekend to re- turn to work. Object Australian We reproduce key sections below which show why. Its stated object the balanced achievement fort of which will labour eventually become 'an eco- and viable labour nomic force'. Just so that there can be no confusion on this the FOLLOWING its very nar- point, dockers employers want to row victory over Labour in 'recognize that the objective the Australian recent of all agreements on manning General Election, the rul- arrangements must be to establish optimum efficiency ing Liberal Party has split in the manpower required for over the question of its each • varucuar operadon future leadership. 'Manning arrangements with- will therefore be in companies See Minister Cantons o members of the light decided in of the Prime Minister and of the amount nature Cabinet have now going work to be done and the num- ber of men available "The observance of the fol- will not serve under again. Condition of his aires a David Fairbairn, a senior agreement: Liberal Minister, sent a tele- gram to Gorton on Thursday.

I Complete overnight instructions and But othe the election cam criticised orders. by the right wing of his pared was 62 Complete mobility and for lack of vigour and of parting from traditional Tor flexibility of labour as principles.

• PAGE 4 CÓL. 4 →

Young Socialists

BAZAAR

Canning Town Public Hall doors open 12 noon an you sew? knit? paint nake something for our Bazaar give something towards our bazaar ?

Have you a tin of grocery? jumble?

Holp us make this the best bazaar ever held !

Help us raise the money for our daily paper-

THE WORKERS' PRESS

ER • PUBLISHED FROM TUESDAY TO SATURDA'

THE SOVIET

By Robert Black government said on Friday that it favoured the resumption of the four-power talks on Middle East and blamed the Israeli government for its blocking of any settlement there. A spokesman for the Soviet Foreign Ministry claimed : "The the intentions of Israeli leaders lie not in the direction of but of peace, further complications in the area.' The statement invited rep- USÀ, of the resentatives France and Britain to join the Soviet government with in making new moves to the 'speedily contribute to elimination of the conse- quences of Israeli aggression'.

This extremely mild tone is hardly likely to intimidate the Zionists, Israeli who, any- thing, thinking are in terms of new acts of aggression.

Farmworkers men demand march for union chiefs fight £16 basic SUPPORT is building up for the 500 boilermakers sacked By John Spencer from the £65 million B-P re- finery site at Grangemouth on

MORE THAN 2,000

farm- Clyde. workers- the largest demon- The boilermakers have been stration of farmworkers seen promised their backing by in London since the war— union's Clyde district com- marched to Trafalgar Square which decided at last mittee, (above) on Saturday in support Saturday's meeting to meet all of their claim for a £16 mini- boilermen's shop stewards on mum wage and a 40-hour Thursday. week. Members in the Grange- mouth area-at Simon Carves; The minimum is present £12 8s. for a working week of Boness; Motherwell Tarmac, 44 hours. Bridge and Alloa— begun to sup- have already Contingents from all over port the strike. the brought country their Last Thursday 200 of the elaborate and brightly painted sacked men picketed the site

• PAGE 4 COL. 4 →

• PAGE 4 COL. 9 →

SATURDAY • NUMBER 27

live ears October 27 demonste Embassy in Kensingto more The daily organ of the Central Committee of the Socialist Labour League PRICE 6d. From the Editor A word with our readers ARE now entering the sixth week of Workers Press. All the main problems, normal to the production of a newspaper such as ours, have been overcome. By Michael Banda

STEEL-

ne time as come look ahead towards plans

MEN FIGHT

improve- _even more ments in the paper. local corr they think ba

'GREEN

Firstly, we are discussing arrangements improve beforeadil. our news coverage with the

BOOK'

launch our campaign for new e campaign will benid of 101 LIC LondO arca In view

THE 'GREEN BOOK'

been cucuivity deal nas major blow «eat anomier workers the giant Port Talbot steelworks. • man. sound dien e or Workers Prese

ADARTTY

Network reflect what is going on in the nd striker are will shortly be making cannot be ruled out direct contact with Want more prove should considers Peered er * Heinz the terms marations, he managed recognize nanagers that unions Pon wants offer Cent dined so may 1959, The firm is H. J. Heinz Ltd.

includine holdar i lotuan Lucy want supportent vin ish, mploying around 4,00 dish Sculles took place as the workers. the trement els and the or vee demon. Between Hon

A.T.U.A.

bed Vocal Fede union emen meetings Wigan and Want action

NORTH KENT

he past an a a you have " weeks the shin to Labour government and disappointed never dis condent it will be the trade unions' Thursday, November 6 8 p.m. Generatoes i Gordo

ALL TRADES UNIONS ALLIANCE

WILLESDEN

"The Common Market' months and speed up redund.

Thursday. November 6 8 p.m. and Labour Willesden Trades High Road, N.W.10 contractors

LEYLAND

'Crisis in Motors' Friday, November 7 Bee what it has lead to: Broadfield Arm weylana Lant Holloway teachers for

MOTOR WORKERS'

national strike

CONFERENCE

By an education reporter term and for a national con- ear to decide on sainst employers say that if All car, car delivery and components the here that the Tories workers are invited to a motor workers Concret ther Black Paper Digbeth Civic Hall, Digbeth

BIRMINGHAM

why more and more Saturday, November 8 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

teachen pao- Write for credentials to R. P Coaterace le sa perce orton, replaced 21 Strawberry Path, the clat those lower-paid sections

PAGE TWO

IN AUGUST 1969, the British Communist Party published a 60-page booklet by Betty Reid entitled 'Ultra-Leftism in Britain'.

Though she touches on the activities of anarchist and 'Maoist' groups, Reid's main concern is to discredit Trotskyism in general and the Socialist Labour League in particular.

Starting today, the Workers Press will publish five extracts from a larger work dealing with all the main principled differences between Trotskyism and Stalinism.

The extracts we are publishing here will deal with five specific issues raised by Reid's attack on the Fourth International : 1. The Popular Front and the Transitional Pro- gramme of the Fourth International.

2. The Second World War: The Stalin-Hitler Pact.

3. The Second World War: 'The Big Three'.

4. British Trotskyism today: Stalinism and the Re- visionists. The fight for alternative leadership: The Stalin- 5. ist record-and ours. 'Can there be democratic

THE OPPORTUNISM

youth participation of in of the 'Popular Front, "Keep Fit" schemes? . • In like the ultra-leftism of Sheffield a youth keep fit con- the 'Third Period', can- ference has already been held, attended by the Boy's Brigade, not be understood except Ramblers Scouts, Association, as a product of the crisis Girl Guides, Bible class, Trade Union Youth Advisory of the Soviet bureau- Young Committee, Commu- cracy. League and many other nist youth organizations.' (October presents the twists Reid 1938, p. 12.) and turns of Stalinist policy Unity with the Bible class as a series of 'mistakes' and Girl and Guides-but not corrections. A policy which Trotskyists. condemned the largest sec- would Stalinists like Reid argue that unlike the bulk of tion of the International out- the organizations we have just side the Soviet Union to the quoted, the Trotskyists repre- horrors of the Nazi terror sented an alien influence in cannot simply be explained workers' movement. The article makes the fol- away as a 'far-reaching sec- lowing revealing admission: tarian error' (p. 9). 'A group of League mem- On whose authority does bers visited the Rover Scouts.

Reid judge the theory of They were very well received, spent • an enjoyable evening 'social fascism' to be an error?

discussing matters with them, Like the earlier and later being agreeably surprised to find we had so much in com- phases of right-wing oppor- .. one of the mon with them. tunism, ultra-left 'social fas- League members declared that cism' was a product of the had learned more she about the YCL and its policy from overall Stalinist policy of the discussion with the scouts 'socialism in one country'. In than she had learned during one situation, it could take a the whole time she had been of the League.' right-wing form, in member another, (p. 13.) that of extreme adventurism This is the real essence of and ultra-leftism. The Com- the Popular Front. Stalin's into munist Party concentrated entry the on League of Nations 1934 Tories in winning progressive heralded the front' and leading churchmen, while popular

YCL

of Mrs Reid and rounded so beloved up the Scouts, the Guides and Bible- her Stalinist friends. study groups. But what did the Leninist Reid No wonder finds Communist International have Trotsky's call for transitional to say about the body which demands 'ultra left' - with Stalin considered a 'factor in Lord Baden-Powell as your outbreak of retarding the ally, even modest wage hostilities'? becomes claim adventurist. Its founding. conference of If Communist Barty mem- March 1919 apoke of 'those bers want to know where bourgeois elements who want their Party's present opportu- the deceptive illusion use nist policy 'broad unity of the so-called League of comes from, they must go Nations to conjure away the proletarian revolution'. "Theses on In its the Inter- national Situation' the same spelled out its hos- congress tility to the League in a pro- grammatic form : the League of Nations will only play the part of a Holy alliance of the capitalists to the workers' re- THE TITLE of Chris volution. Propaganda for the League of Nations is the best Menges' film shown on way of introducing confusion into the revolutionary con- commercial television sciousness of the working last week, 'Wild and class. . The revolutionary pro- Free-Twice Daily', ex- letariat of all countries of all actly expressed his un- the world ir- must wage reconcilable struggle • derstanding of the life of against entry into this League of robbery, of exploitation, the circus workers por- and of imperialist counter- trayed. revolution.' It was a compassionate and Condemn of poetic account of some These statements are quite the realities which lie behind adequate condemn to the tinsel and sawdust. diplom- counter-revolutionary acy of Stalin. Where Hollywood has shown But the 1920 Congress re- the sad man behind the turned to this theme clown's grease paint, this film once and we unsentimentally revealed the again, must quote Lenin's own estimation of the punishing dedication, skill and League in Theses on hard work which is the truth.

his the National and Colonial Ques- We watched the clowns tion adopted by the Congress: and then staunchly warm-up 'The reunification of nations The run into the ring. next artificially torn apart is also in shot showed them returning; accordance with the interests tired professional entertainers of the proletariat; but the pro- letariat attain can genuine national freedom and unity seating means of revolution- only by ary struggle and after the drive packed. to downfall of the bourgeoisie. The League of Nations | and Everything has to be the entire post-war policy of rigged again. disclose he imperialist States this truth even more sharply and clearly, everywhere inten- Then the sifying revolutionary the few hours of struggle accelerating the destruction of petty-bourgeois performances. illusions national about the possibility peaceful and the acuality co- of Expected existence within nations under capitalism.' the circus also (Emphasis added.) emerged. That is what Lenin thought is of the Stalinist theory of pletely the 'peaceful co-existence' — a 'petty-bourgeois illusion'. riggers. And this is the theory that They are has guided the activity of the Stalinists call the what 'World Communist movement' be mostly highly-ex- since 1924! The Popular Front, the de- abourers liberate restriction A midget, ( twenties, working class to the level of Reid's demands after leaving minimum Like all was slandered (anything else other wage he had 'ultra-leftism'. as as it is to- day) led the following to his body. statements in the Young Com- In the there were League discussion shortness, so munist buyers for Youth': magazine. 'Our A 'Popular Front' demonstration in France d Both workers and middle-class were behind the tricolour-the symbol of French back to this period. Here they will find all the rotten compromises with the 'left' and not so 'left' trade union bureaucrats, the boost- ing of "progressive' clergymen, the revolting practice of pub- licising jingoist Tories when they make anti-German re- marks that tie in with CP policy-it was all prepared in the populeid claim the period when, Reid claims, sectarian errors were correc- ted'. (p. 9) This was the logic of Stal- inism internationally. The more it purged the It seemed better than being in a factory, he said, because at least he has a unique place in this community. Beautifully photographed, the circus was seen moving through the dismal industrial land- scape. Playgrounds and factor- ies hard next to each other, old men, used up after a life- time's exploitations, hobbling with their grandchildren to the show. Girls dressed in lace and garlands prancing behind the ponies into the lights; and the training of young children into the routines and bodily accom- plishments needed for them to become the next generation of performers. A film of fine sensitivity it touched its subject lightly, but with great insight and warmth.

It was a rare event on tele- vision where the norms are banality and stridency. A POET, a painter, a film- maker and a Marxist who appreciates the full richness of theory, knows that he is not simply faced with the world. He is part of it—all of it.

What distinguishes a work of the creative imagination is not its abstractness, but the very way in which a complex, uneven, difficult and unpredict- able process has taken place in the artist. This is the process by which the artist experiences his sub- ject, allows it to invade him, becomes full of it, is changed and renders it sensible again.

This is not a passive pro- cess; it often involves great struggles between the experi- ence and the artist, between the artist's attempt to under- stand and to make sense of it consciously, and the sense that he is actually making of it un- consciously-often against his

WORKERS' PRES

tion in France during 1936.

mobilized by the Stalinists were mbol of French capitalism.

Leninist opposition in the So- and smashed the viet Union last relics of all working-class • independence from the class bureaucracy, the more it had to lean on forces totally hos- tile to the working class.

The Moscow Trials and the alliance with the Boy Scouts where all of a piece. • They cannot be treated as separate questions, as Reid and Monty Johnstone. would like to do: 4... In the section on the Trials Reid rounds off with the fol- lowing words: *The knowledge of these will or 'better judgement'.

Picasso says that painting is dangerous because the canvas talks back. That means the artist can never be sure what it will say -that he cannot be sure he will want to hear what it is saying about himself or that he will want to be guided by it.

But if he doesn't let it speak he will never hear. The artist chooses his sub- ject to some extent; in another sense he is chosen by it.

The exercise of his conscious understanding, his knowledge of his wishes and desires, fan- tasies and fears, will only take him so far. At some point he will have the experience on to trust which he is embarked, trust his reaction to it, take part in it with the best understanding he has got. Indeed if he does not, the experience will elude him; he will return with a half-formed thing and present us with an incomplete work. Then he will have to recog- nize that fact, recognize what his work or practise reveals about himself as well as about the subject. That is often painful and can be indeed be experienced as dangerous. The struggle between con- sciousness and unconscious- ness is never over. It ebbs and flows for sure, but in order to progress or de- velop one must give full (al- though not necessarily free) rein to all the great forces flowing from areas of oneself that are not readily amenable to reason and caution, recti- tude or reticence.

ORKERS' PRESS

crimes and the fate of many innocent men [all once de- nounced by Reid and com- as guilty] should not pany examining prevent us from soberly Trotskyists' policies'.

(p. I7.) If these innocent Trotsky- ists' were murdered by Stalin, it was surely because of their policies. Reid now says they were innocent. Is Reid arguing that though the Trotskyists were innocent of the charges brought against them, and that Stalin was therefore guilty of the world's greatest ever frame-up, Stalin "Third all the time (bar the Period') fought for the cor- rect political line and the Trotskyists the wrong one?

to this logic, According Marxism leads to the murder of at least three-quarters of the revolutionary leadership of the working class. A wonderful advertisement for Communism, Mrs Reid. The US State Department could not do better! The Popular Front was grounded on the bones of the old Bolsheviks. Stalin courted and embraced the most reac- tionary capitalist politicians at the same time as his courts sentenced and executed Lenin's comrades for the same (fictitious) crime. during Even his flirtation with the Western Democra- cies' (during the pact with Hitler, Stalin was to use the Nazi term 'Western Plutocra- cies'), Stalin never gave up his quest for a deal with the Nazis. The Red Army purges, like the Moscow Trials, had a double edge. Stalin not only feared the Soviet General Stafi as a pos- sible source of opposition to his rule. The army leaders also op- posed his pro-Hitler policies, tavouring instead closer rela- They tions with France. rightly saw the Nazis as the main threat to the Soviet Union. Before the Hitler Pact could be signed, all traces of opposi- Stalin's pro-German tion to policy had to be removed.

Stalin, like Hitler, preferred to deal with regimes that were not subject to the hazards of democratic elections and workers' revolutions. Stalin, by ensuring that Hit-• ler swept away both, believed he had built up a perfect foil to play off against France and Even fascism, Stalin was willing to drop hints through the Inter- national that Italian fascism was really not so bad as the German variety. The August 1936 number of the Italian CP journal, 'Lo Stato Operajo' issued the fol- lowing appeal, made in the month that the first batch of It has been said that a neurotic is someone who has found ways of cutting off from his unconscious; ways that more or less mean severe losses of the person. A psychotic, on the other hand, is someone who feels in constant danger of or is actually experiencing an over- whelming invasion by uncon- scious forces. 'normal' person then should be someone actually en- gaged in the whole self, some- one in whom conscious and unconscious understandings are constantly in motion, inter- penetrating each other, con- flicting as opposites, changing.

In fact, under conditions of capitalist society, the modern 'normal' person is quite the reverse. He or she is someone 'patho- logically normal, ngidly in control of themselves, deter- mined that only what he or she thinks or consciously wants shall be acknowledged; deter- mined above all to impose his view. The very opposite of a fully- developed Marxist in other 'words. One does not become con- scious merely by wishing to be so, or by willing it. These may be beginnings. The full depth and breadth of theory however, can only be appreciated by those who have sufficiently broad • and deep experience in the world of which theory is making sense. A system of self-imposed narrowness of experience and mere intellectual understand- ing separated from existential understanding can never be a substitute. Indeed it can be dangerous.

Works of art cannot be Tueaday, Novamber 4, 1800 old Bolsheviks were being shot as fascist agents: Italian people; Fascists of the old guard [not Bolsheviks of the old guard-they were being shot as • fascists!] • Young fascists! We commun- ists adopt as our own the which programme of peace, of freedom, of defence of the interests of the work- ers. . This incredible document went hand in hand with hys- terical appeals to not only ex- 'social fascists' and liberals, but even Tories, to fight fas- cism. Harry Pollitt, the British CP Secretary, went to ridicu- lous lengths to boost 'progres- sive' Tories as allies of the working class in the fight against fascism. "They [left-wing critics of Stalinist policy] try to frighten us with talk about Winston Churchill, Eden and Duff Cooper. Surely it is a matter of political interest that inside the rank of this great powerful Tory Party cracks are appear- ing; powerful leaders of con- in this servatism country openly declare that Chamber- lain is sacrificing the interests of Britain. This is not something to cry about. It is something for us to welcome, to encourage, to stimulate, whatever their motives may be ... if now a Conservative or a Liberal is to take a stand prepared against Hitler and Mussolini •.. we believe our class is strong enough to handle ('Defence of the them . . People', CP pamphlet, Febru- ary 1939, pp. 11-12.) New allies stages of the In the later Popular Front it was not even of a fight for a question workers' minimum demands.

If Churchill and company were to be the new allies, all working-class struggle rights and conditions had to be sacrificed to these 'power- ful leaders of Conservatism'.

completely Trotsky was he denounced correct when the Popular Front as a joint attempt by Stalinism, social- democracy and capitalism to stifle the working class in the name of 'broad unity' in the fight against fascism. Stalinists themselves The fatuous were to admit the of their 'People's nature Fronts' against fascism when many of their most sought- after capitalist allies became once again politicians on the road to fascism. This was the fate not only but of many of Churchill, other would-be actual Or of the People's members Front'. In its heyday, they were as leading 'anti-fas- billed cists'; during the Nazi-Soviet ordered; proletarian culture cannot be demanded from above. Revolutionary consciousness cannot be prescribed. Nor can the art and culture coming down to us from the past be dismissed as merely 'bourgeois'. In the same way that Marx- ism is the greatest philosophi- cal distillation of human ex- perience, so the best art and culture are the finest distilla- tions of human beings experi- encing that experience called life or history. A narrow, neurotic, 'normal' life is the one prescribed for the working class under capi- talism and by the hideous dis- tortions of the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union. freedom in Winning some both situations is difficult and full of danger. None of us is immune to our crippling system; progress to-.

wards a full revolutionary con- sciousness will proceed in fits and starts, contradictorily.

Often we will have to go backwards to go forwards.

Any certainty we think we have has been wrested from the uncertainties, difficulties and contradictions of the past.

Our task, armed with theory, but not rendered immune by it, is to take on the contem- porary world in all the com- plexity of its horror, exploit- ation, greed and envy and of its delicacy, warmth, bright- ness and possibility. In that sense we are all artists. After all, what do we want to save from barbarism to de- velop under socialism ? It is the very glimpses we have of human possibilities now and the stultifying effects of capitalism upon those pos- sibilities that make us deter- mined to become revolutionary fighters. History does not repeat it- self mechanically; but without understanding repetitions will occur. The first time round, as Marx said, will be tragic and the next time farcical. Equally, a man who does not under- stand his own history is doomed to wander in its re- runs. Pact they were relegated to 'Stalin's opposed new ally, Hitler) and were pro-.

moted just as suddenly to anti-fascist status after the invasion of the Soviet Union The task is indeed not merely to understand history but to change it. Change, however, is as com- plex as history itself. Without making a fetish of complexity, the least we can demand is for that complexity to be present in all our under- standing. 'WORLD IN ACTION' on October 27 contained some excellent reporting on the Green Berets, the group in- volved in so many of the most brutal murders in Viet- nam. Part of the US Army's Special Forces, this body of soldiers is conditioned to be rabid killers and ruthless anti- communists. Their training ground is Fort Bragg, in the _ rugged country of northern California. The men are carefully picked, out during the months of ferocious conditioning which follow, a further one in three are rejected as either physically unsuitable or because they do not have the 'proper mental attitude'. By the time this period is completed the men remaining ready for their special are duties. No one should under-esti- mate their dedication or skill.

Acquainted with the works of Mao, Tito, books on the Cuban Revolution and prob- ably more fundamental studies too, they have been used in 112 imperialist operations around the world since their forma- tion. • In 1961, after the events in Cuba, President Kennedy saw the possibilities of such force. counter - insur- Although gency' is seen as a mission of the whole US Army, according to the commander at Fort Bragg, Colonel Edward Flana- gan, it is most especially the task of the Green Berets.

The recent scandal surround- ing the assassination of a South Vietnamese double- agent, where charges against Robert Rheault, the officer commanding the Green Berets in Vietnam, and seven of his dropped, is ob- men, were by Hitler. Like Churchill's, Roosevelt's political relations with the Stalinists went through the cycle not once, but twice.

In the "Third Period', the US Communist des- Party viously only the tip of a very dirty heap of carnage. Lyman Kirkpatrick, a for- mer executive director of the American Central Intelligence - Agency (CIA), explained on the programme that the Green Berets are under the control of the CIA. Although technically this is so only in 'non-combat areas, admissions that both torces are involved out of unitorm as spies and soldiers in Laos and that there is constant lending of men between them made it that US imperialism is clear not inhibited in its actions by any constitutional restraints.

An ex-sergeant in the Green Berets who had seen active service with them in Vietnam gave a picture of their opera- tions. 'We took suspects. The number of suspects seemed to increase as the troops got more tired. The 'suspects' were regularly tortured, sometimes murdered.

These troops thought nothing of cutting off their victims' ears and hanging them on their belts. The suspects, of course, were usually peasants; old and young, women or children.

This same witness reminded special forces us that these were the first US forces into Vietnam. In 1965 they were employed in the Dominican Republic where they posed as Spanish revolutionaries to take over the national radio station.

In the late 1950s they were used to overthrow the reform- ist government in Guatemala.

In 1967 the 8th Special Forces Group, normally based in Panama, sent 12 men to Bolivia. They trained a force of 600 hand-picked peasants in three months; three weeks after this detachment took to the hills it had captured and killed Che Guevara and his companions.

Taught foreign languages they are already in Ethiopia and Pakistan. In January they go to help the Shah in Persia.

Although they are not supermen, we would do well to take serious note of the extent, viciousness and deter- mination of these killers for capitalism.

RKERS' PRESS

crimes and the fate of many old innocent men [all once de- nounced by Reid and com- pany as guilty] should not prevent us from policies'. (р. 17.) If these 'innocent Trotsky- ists' were murdered by Stalin, it was surely because of their policies. Reid now says they were innocent. Is Reid arguing that though the Trotskyists were innocent of the charges brought against them, and that Stalin was therefore guilty of the world's greatest ever frame-up, Stalin time (bar the 'Third all the Period') fought for the cor- line and the rect political Trotskyists the wrong one?

According to this logic, Marxism leads to the murder of at least three-quarters of the revolutionary leadership of the working class. A wonderful advertisement for Communism, Mrs Reid. The US State Department could not do better! The Popular Front was grounded on the bones of the old Bolsheviks. Stalin courted and embraced the most reac- tionary capitalist politicians at the same time as his courts sentenced and executed Lenin's comrades for the same (fictitious) crime. Even during his flirtation with the Western Democra- cies' (during the pact with Hitler, Stalin was to use the Nazi term 'Western Plutocra- cies'), Stalin never gave up his quest for a deal with the Nazis. The Red Army purges, like the Moscow Trials, had a double edge. Stalin not only feared the Soviet General Staff as a pos- sible source of opposition to his rule. The army leaders also op- posed his pro-Hitler policies, favouring instead closer rela- They tions with France. rightly saw the Nazis as the main threat to the Soviet Union. Before the Hitler Pact could be signed, all traces of opposi- Stalin's pro-German tion to policy had to be removed.

Stalin, like Hitler, preferred to deal with regimes that were not subject to the hazards of o- democratic elections and he workers' revolutions.

ISS

Stalin, by ensuring that Hit-" he ler swept away both, believed ad he had built up a perfect foil OS- to play off against France and Britain. he Even during the height of after Its fascism, Stalin was willing to drop hints through the Inter- as national that Italiian fascism eid was really not so bad as the German variety. ild The August 1936 number als of the Italian CP journal, 'Lo Fron Stato Operajo' issued the fol- ol- lowing appeal, made in the billed month that the first batch of cists' ese It has been said that a neurotic is someone who has found ways of cutting off from /as his unconscious; ways that less severe an mean more or losses of the person. ay A psychotic, on the other he is hand, is someone who feels in he constant danger or actually experiencing an over- it. whelming invasion by uncon- ak scious forces. 'normal' person then ıb- should be someone actually en- ler gaged in the whole self, some- one in whom conscious and unconscious understandings are constantly in motion, inter- penetrating each other, con- US flicting as opposites, changing.

ge In fact, under conditions of In- • capitalist society, the ke modern 'normal' person is quite the ve reverse. He or she is someone 'patho- on logically normal', 1st rıgıdly in in control of themselves, deter- mined that only what he or ng she thinks or consciously wants he shall be acknowledged; deter- he mined above all to impose his ed view. The very opposite of a fully- an developed Marxist in other words. g- One does not become con- lat als scious merely by wishing to be so, or by willing it. ut These may be beginnings. nd The full depth and breadth of theory however, can only ed be appreciated by those who have sufficiently broad and n- deep experience in the world 1S- theory is making of which re, sense. A system of self-imposed le- narrowness of experience and al- mere intellectual understand- ing separated from existential es elf understanding can never be a ble substitute. ti- Indeed it can be dangerous.

Works of art cannot be runs.

Tuesday, November 4, 1900 old Bolsheviks were being shot as fascist agents: Italian people; Fascists of the old guard [not Bolsheviks of the old guard-they were being shot as • fascists!] • Young fascists! We commun- ists adopt as our own the • fascist programme of 1919, which is a programme of peace, of freedom, of defence of the interests of the work- ers. This incredible document went hand in hand with hys- terical appeals to not only ex- 'social fascists' and liberals, but even Tories, to fight fas- cism. Harry Pollitt, the British CP Secretary, went to ridicu- lous lengths to boost 'progres- sive' Tories as allies of the working class in the fight against fascism. "They [left-wing critics of Stalinist policy] try to frighten us with talk about Winston Churchill, Eden and Duff Cooper. Surely it is a matter of political interest that inside the rank of this great powerful Tory Party cracks are appear- ing; powerful leaders of con- in this servatism country openly declare that Chamber- lain is sacrificing the interests of Britain. "This is not something to cry about. It is something for us to welcome, to encourage, to stimulate, whatever their motives may be ... if now a Conservative or a Liberal is prepared to take a stand against Hitler and Mussolini ... we believe our class is enough handle strong to them ..? ('Defence of the People', CP pamphlet, febru- ary 1939, pp. 11-12.) New allies stages of the In the later Popular Front it was not even a question of a fight for workers' minimum demands.

If Churchill and company were to be the new allies, all struggle for working-class rights and conditions had to be sacrificed to these 'power- ful leaders of Conservatism'.

Trotsky completely was he denounced correct when the Popular Front as a joint attempt by Stalinism, social- democracy and capitalism to stifle the working class in the name of 'broad unity' in the fight against fascism. The Stalinists themselves were to admit the fatuous their of 'People's nature Fronts' against fascism when many of their most sought- after capitalist allies became once again politicians on the road to fascism. This was the fate not only of Churchill, but of many other would-be or actual 'People's members of the Front'. In its heyday, they were 'anti-fas- leading cists'; during the Nazi-Soviet ordered; proletarian culture cannot demanded be from above. Revolutionary consciousness cannot be prescribed. Nor can 'the art and culture coming down to us from the past be dismissed as merely 'bourgeois'. In the same way that Marx- ism is the greatest philosophi- distillation of human ex- cal perience, so the best art and culture are the finest distilla- tions of human beings experi- encing that experience called life or history. A narrow, neurotic, 'normal' life is the one prescribed for the working class under capi- talism and by the hideous dis- tortions of the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union. Winning freedom in some both situations is difficult and full of danger. None of us is immune to our crippling system; progress to- wards a full revolutionary con- sciousness will proceed in fits and starts, contradictorily.

Often we will have to go backwards to go forwards.

Any certainty we think we wrested from have has been the uncertainties, difficulties and contradictions of the past.

Our task, armed with theory, but not rendered immune by it, is to take on the contem- porary world in all the com- plexity of its horror, exploit- ation, greed and envy and of its delicacy, warmth, bright- ness and possibility. In' that sense we are all artists. After all, what do we want to save from barbarism to de- velop under socialism? It is the very glimpses we have of human possibilities now and the stultifying effects of capitalism upon those pos- sibilities that make us deter- mined to become revolutionary fighters. History does not repeat it- self mechanically; but without understanding repetitions will occur. The first time round, as Marx said, will be tragic and the next time farcical. Equally, a man who does not under- stand his own history is doomed to wander in its re- runs. Pact they were relegated to the depths of reaction • (they Stalin's now opposed new ally, Hitler) and were pro- suddenly moted just as anti-fascist status after the invasion of the Soviet Union The task is indeed not nerely to understand history but to change it Change, however, is as com- plex as history itself. Without making a fetish of complexity, the least we can demand is for that complexity to be present in all our under- standing. 'WORLD IN ACTION' on October 27 contained some excellent reporting on the Green Berets, the group in- volved in so many of the most brutal murders in Viet- nam. Part of the US Army's Special Forces, this body of soldiers is conditioned to be rabid killers and ruthless anti- communists. Their training ground is Fort Bragg, in the rugged country of northern California. The men are carefully picked, out during the months of ferocious conditioning which follow, a further one in three are rejected as either physically unsuitable or because they do not have the 'proper mental attitude'. time this period is By the completed the men remaining ready for their special are duties. No one should under-esti- mate their dedication or skill.

Acquainted with the works of Mao, Tito, books on the Cuban Revolution and prob- ably more fundamental studies too, they have been used in 112 imperialist operations around the world since their forma- tion. In 1961, after the events in Cuba, President Kennedy saw possibilities of the such a force. • counter - insur- Although gency' is seen as a mission of the whole US Army, according to the commander at Fort Bragg, Colonel Edward Flana- gan, it is most especially the task of the Green Berets.

The recent scandal surround- ing the assassination of South Vietnamese double- agent, where charges against Robert Rheault, the officer commanding the Green Berets in Vietnam, and seven of his men, were dropped, is ob- Lavali marry ed to by Hitler. Like Churchill's, Roosevelt's political relations with Stalinists went through the cycle not once, but twice.

In the 'Third Period', the US Communist Party des- viously only the tip of a very dirty heap of carnage. Lyman Kirkpatrick, a for- mer executive director of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), explained on the programme that the Green Berets are under the control of the CIA Although technically this is so only in 'non-combat areas, admissions that both forces are involved of uniform out as Laos and spies and soldiers in that there is constant lending of men between them made it clear that US imperialism is not inhibited in its actions by any constitutional restraints.

An ex-sergeant in the Green Berets who had seen active service with them in Vietnam gave a picture of their opera- tions. 'We took The suspects. number of suspects seemed to increase as the troops got more tired. The 'suspects' were regularly tortured, sometimes murdered.

These troops thought nothing of cutting off their victims ears and hanging them on their belts. The suspects, of course, were usually peasants; old and young, women or children.

This same witness reminded us that these special forces were the first US forces into Vietnam. In 1965 they were employed in the Dominican Republic where they posed as Spanish revolutionaries to take over the national radio station.

In the late 1950s they were used to overthrow the reform- ist government in Guatemala.

In 1967 the 8th Special Forces Group, normally based in Panama, sent 12 men to Bolivia. They trained a force of 600 hand-picked peasants in three months; three weeks after this detachment took to the hills it had captured and killed Che Guevara and his companions.

Taught foreign languages and Pakistan. in anuary open are already in Ethiopia go to help the Shah in Persia.

Although they are not so take serious wide do tell serious note of the extent, viciousness and deter- mination of these killers for capitalism. Backdrop to British Stalinisma From thi (Stalm Franco Soviet Paci May 193-1 Augus: 1939'51 Nazi Sor. Lavall ing harror • nterence ef Febr Gompral See. Pollitt future Jan! Golian. cribed his 'New Deal' as 'the fascist direction in which the Roosevelt policies are carry- (Earl Browder, ing the US.' speech printed in 'Communist International', January 15, 1934.) With the advent of the Pop- ular Front, Roosevelt, from being a fascist, became a lead- ing anti-fascist: "These pronouncements of Roosevelt, when taken toget- her with the more concrete proposals of the CIO ... pro- a rounded-out People's vide Front programme of an ad- vanced type.' ('The Commun- ist', December, 1937.) But the Stalinists had not finished with Roosevelt yet.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact found the US ranged against Stalin's new friends. Once again, a revaluation' was called for: 'In the face of a popular • to of the will keep out . the Roosevelt ad- war, ministration, backed by the economic royalists and their agents, is taking the country step by step into the war with a speed unexampled in all history and with bold- a ness and cynicism that are quite breathtaking, worthy of Hitler himself.' (Browder, speech, June 1940.) Somersaults The cycle completed was for the second time after Hit- ler's invasion of the Soviet Union. The main point that arises from this catalogue of Stalinist somersaults is the total lack of principle in all the politics of the bureau- cracy. 'Marxist' phrases are at one moment used to present a re- politi- formist or capitalist cian as an enemy of the work- ing class, as a fascist. The next day, purely in the interests of the Soviet bur- eaucracy as it shifts its inter- national stance away from one ' of imperialist powers group and towards another, the same people become leading 'anti-fascists'-and then back to fascist again if the Kremlin once more veers in its course.

This subordination of the working class to the manoeu- vres of the bureaucracy is well illustrated by Stalin's policy towards the Italian war against Abyssinia. Reid makes the following allegation: some Trotskyists of previous generation at- tacked the attempts to im- Mussolini pose sanctions on when he invaded Abyssinia, because the latter was a feudal and reactionary regime.' (p.

Who are these 'some Trot- skyists'? In the whole of this eries, we have named names laces, dates and publications Tuesday, November 4, 1960 It is significant that Reid can- not! Let Trotsky answer this slander: 'Maxton and others opine that the Italo-Ethiopian war is a "conflict between two rival dictators" ... They thus define the character of the war by the political form of the state. • • • If Mussolini triumphs, it means the rein- fascism, forcement of the strengthening of imperialism and the discouragement of the colonial peoples in Africa and elsewhere. "The victory of the Negus, however, would mean mighty blow not only at Italian imperialism but imper- ialism as a whole, and would lend a impulse to powerful the rebellious forces of the oppressed peoples. One must be really blind not to see this' (On Dictators and the Heights of Oslo', April 22, 1935.) But Stalin at this time did not want the defeat of Italian imperialism! That is why he supplied oil to the fascist war machine, hoping break Mussolini to from his alliance with Hitler by taking advantage of Italy's and Germany's lack of oil.

The Soviet Comintern lead- er Manuilsky justified this policy in his report to the Leningrad and Moscow Party Organizations following the Seventh Congress of the Inter- national in 1935: 'Who would gain from this?

Soviet sanctions against Italy.] "The capitalist states. Who would lose from this? Not Italy, but the USSR. In actual fact, the boycott would be turned not against Italy, but the USSR' Reid charges 'some Trot- skyists' with opposing sanc- tions against Mussolini. This Trotsky's was not policy. It was Stalin's, Pollitt's and Gollan's. It is not just a question of Mrs Reid being profoundly ignorant of the writings Trotsky. This she undoubtedly is. Reid charges the Fourth In- ternational with the very crime of which Stalinism is guilty. It was the Soviet bureau- cracy, supported by all the world's Stalinists, which sub- ordinated the struggle of the colonial people for freedom to the big power and secret diplomacy of the Kremlin.

Stalin's ever-changing diplo- matic tactics influenced even the script prepared for the Moscow Trials. Stalin's special regard for Mussolini was reflected in the failure of any one of the 'de- fendants' to confess to being agent of Italian fascism.

an The Trotskyists al- were with Hitler, ways in league but never Mussolini. As Reid admits, all these charges were concocted by Stalin; can she explain the favours shown to Italy in any way other than being due to the secret diplomatic links be- tween the Kremlin and the fascist regime in Italy, which even throughout its operated intervention on the side of Franco in the Spanish Civil War? Abyssinia was not the only country sacrificed on the altar of Stalinist diplomacy. During the Popular Front period, the Soviet bureaucracy allied itself with the rulers of two vast empires, the British and the French. The end of the Third Period faced the Stalinists with a new problem; what was to be the line of the In- ternational on the struggle of the colonial people oppressed by governments now officially 'anti-fascist' sta- elevated to tus, such as the Blum Popular Front government in France from 1936, or the similar gov- ernment in Spain throughout the civil war? Again Manuilsky, speaking at the 18th Congress of the Bolshevik Party in 1939, gives us the answer : 'The Communists concen-- trate their main fire in the specific historical situation on the fraudulent fascist "self- determination of nations". [Within six months British and French colonies were to be the only target.] ... Commu- ' Octol nists lay prime emphasis on the struggle for self-determi- nation by the nations enslaved by the fascist states. ('The Land of Socialism To- day and Tomorrow', p. 82.)

The millions of colonial slaves in Africa and Asia had to wait on Stalin's diplomacy for their freedom. When Stalin turned back to Hitler in August 1939, they were given permission to struggle again-until June 22, 1941.

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union once more found British and French im- 'progressive perialism as forces' their colonial slaves yet again were told to wait for their freedom. Stalin never saw the op- pressed masses of the empires as allies of the Soviet Union and their rousing to revolu- tionary struggle as the greatest that blow could be struck against the enemies of the Soviet Union. Stalin subordinated every- thing to the interests of the Kremlin bureaucracy. Millions of workers and peasants all over the world were picked up, bargained with and dropped like so many counters on a gambling table. The greatest crime of all was that this policy was carried through in the name of Com- munism and the Russian Re- volution. The Fourth International, in fighting against the counter- revolutionary policies and ac- tions of Stalinism, was the best, the only genuine defender of the Soviet Union, because it fought to give a revolutionary leadership to the struggle of the working class and peasan- try in the capitalist and colonial countries. Trotsky fought for a Lenin- ist defence of the Soviet Union, against the reactionary policies that flowed from the of "socialism in one theory country' By his military purges, his disruption of the economy, his alienation of the peasantry and crushing of the working class, his decapitation of the Lenin- ist leadership of the Bolshevik party and International, his Soviet discrediting of the Union and Communism by all the cynical manoeuvres which reached their climax in Ger- and Spain, and finally many the Hitler Pact; Stalin more than any other single person weakened the Soviet Union and exposed it to all the horrors of the Nazi invasion.

Reid's attack on Trotskyism begins in earnest when she reaches 1938, the year of the Founding Conference of the Fourth International. Her main target is the Tran- sitional Programme, adopted at that conference and con- as being a demned by Reid weapon of disruption in the struggle against fascism and war. Unable to explain how the 'ultra-left' Trotsky attacked 'from right' Stalinism the during its 'social fascist' phase, on firmer Reid feels she is ground in the period of the Popular Front from 1935 to 1939. Mass working-class demonstrations reached consciously betrayed by the leaders of Frer For while Stalinists such as Reid and Johnstone make ver- bal criticisms of the ultra-left line followed by the Inter- national in the early 1930s, they endorse to the hilt every- thing carried through by Stalinism in the period of the Popular Front. British Stalinists defend the Popular Front with a double tenacity. Apart from a natural desire to uphold the line fol- lowed by their own leadership, the Reids uphold the oppor- tunist policies of that period as the historical forerunner of "The British Road to Socialism' with its pleas for 'left unity' with the trade union and Labour Party bureaucracies.

The Transitional Programme bristles with hatred for such unprincipled alliances: Under the banner of the ' October Revolution, the con- ciliatory politics practised by the People's Front dooms the working class to impotence and clears the road for fascism.'

(Transitional Programme, PP.

9-10.) Within a year, the Popular Fronts of Spain and France had crashed, to be replaced in both cases with fascist regimes under Franco and Petain. Faced with these stark his- torical facts, Reid pathetically claims that 'what the Trotsky- ists were proposing in France mad adventure which was a would have split the Popular Front and led to fascism com- ing early to power, instead of being imposed later by the actions of the invading German armies'. (p. 11.) What were the policies ad- vocated by Trotsky which Reid decries as leading to a 'mad adventure'? 'Instead of a Popular Front which Trotsky said "succeeded in canalising and damming, at least temporarily, the revolu- tionary stream" ... the slogan of the French Trotskyists was "A Workers' Government"? (p. 9.)

TWORKSRCS

Reid seeks 1 Cor ore call French sug leand 36 vas ne level of the struggl Ta son alleed as Ra sysae with . Ped daims) "transitional but a slogar tarleid's att Party Congresses the International, decisions grane of th Trotsky's united Iront she Fours concretizea workers' can br here as slogan it is topica polica geoisie cision question, who shall coverament Incalale entire the tic . ss working class demonstuous reachea * clmax I 1>90 0n Kc It was ext that Trotsk put forward the demand for a workers' and peasants' government in France in the great strikes of 1936.

the state, , of clas po revol opres the united French Stalinists in re- united Leninist the If there is to be no call Io

B.B.C.-1

Mother: 45) Mothe 6.00 London-Nationwide. 6.45 Z Cars. 7.05 Tomorrow's World 7.30 Bobbie Gentry. 8.00 Thaatre Date: 'Dames Al Sio das Docentag fac 10.00 He and She. 10.25 Points Of View. 11.05 The Sky At Night. 11.20 Weatherman. 11.22 Postscript. Pollo eina ns es BBC.l exeept ai the Midlan mitan ds ToAy Lox 6.4

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SED!

cooler at satis Deal as un Roosevelt ing the International', Tanuary but ine finished the out Will Roosevelt ministration, alls story for ler's The Union. point arises stallnist politics the craMarxist moment formist Selet the Soviet its national stanc same ascists of the illustrated the towards •talian Reid the makes allegation: some Lackple ines recime. 4y. Tuesday, November 6, 1969 It is significant that Reid can- not! Let Trotsky answer this slander: 'Maxton and others opine that the Italo-Ethiopian war is a "conflict between two rival dictators" ... They thus define the character of the war by the political form of the state. • • • If Mussolini triumphs, it means the rein- fascism, forcement of the strengthening of imperialism and the discouragement of the colonial peoples in Africa and elsewhere. "The victory of the Negus, would however, mean a mighty blow not only at Italian imperialism but imper- ialism as a whole, and would lend a powerful impulse to the rebellious forces of the oppressed peoples. One must be really blind not to see this' ('On Dictators and the Heights of Oslo', April 22, 1935.) But Stalin at this time did not want the defeat of Italian imperialism! That is why he supplied oil to the fascist war machine, hoping to break Mussolini from his alliance with Hitler by taking advantage of Italy's and Germany's lack of oil.

The Soviet Comintern lead- policy in this repsit do thie Leningrad and Moscow Party Organizations following the Seventh Congress of the Inter- national in 1935: 'Who would gain from this?

[Soviet sanctions against Italy.] 'The capitalist states. Who would lose from this? Not Italy, but the USSR. In actual fact, the boycott would be turned not against Italy, but the USSR.' Reid charges 'some Trot- skyists' with opposing sanc- tions against Mussolini. This Trotsky's was not policy. It was Stalin's, Pollitt's and Gollan's. It is not just a question of Mrs Reid being profoundly ignorant of the writings Trotsky. This she undoubtedly is. Reid charges the Fourth In- ternational with the very crime of which Stalinism is guilty. It was the Soviet bureau- supported by all the cracy, world's Stalinists, which sub- ordinated the struggle of the colonial people for freedom to the big power and secret diplomacy of the Kremlin.

Stalin's ever-changing diplo- matic tactics even influenced the script prepared for the Moscow Trials. Stalin's special regard for s 'the Mussolini was reflected in the h the failure of any one of the de- carry- fendants' to confess to being wder, an agent of Italian fascism.

nunist The Trotskyists were al- 15, ways in league with Hitler, but never Mussolini. : Pop- As Reid admits, all these from charges were concocted by lead- Stalin; can she explain the favours shown to Italy in any ts of way other than being due to toget- the secret diplomatic links be- ncrete tween the Kremlin and the • pro- fascist regime in Italy, which ople's operated even throughout its 1 ad- intervention on the side of 1mun- i Franco in the Spanish Civil War? d not Abyssinia was not the only yet. country sacrificed on the altar found of Stalinist diplomacy. talin's During the Popular Front period, the Soviet bureaucracy ation' allied itself with the rulers of two vast empires, the British pular and the French. the The end of the Third t ad- Period faced the Stalinists • the with a new problem; what their was to be the line of the In- untry ternational on the struggle of war the colonial people oppressed ed in by governments now officially bold- elevated to 'anti-fascist' sta- are tus, such as the Blum Popular hy of Front government in France wder, trom 1936, or the similar gov- ernment in Spain throughout the civil war? Again Manuilsky, speaking at the 18th Congress of the leted Bolshevik Party in 1939, gives : Hit- us the answer: Soviet The Communists concen- that trate their main fire in the ue of specific historical situation on the the fraudulent fascist "self- in all determination of nations". Ireau- [Within six months British and French colonies were to be t one the only target.] ... Commu- • Octob nists lay prime a re- emphasis on politi- the struggle for self-determi- work- nation by the nations enslaved by the fascist states. ('The Land of Socialism To- n the bur- day and Tomorrow', p. 82.)

inter- The millions of colonial n one slaves in Africa and Asia had owers to wait on Stalin's diplomacy the their freedom. When ading Stalin turned back to Hitler back in August 1939, they were emlin given permission to struggle ourse. again-until June 22, 1941.

E the The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union noeu- once more s well found British and French im- policy perialism 'progressive as war forces', their colonial slaves yet again were told to wait for wing their freedom. Stalin never saw the op- ts of pressed masses of the empires at- as allies of the Soviet Union , im- and their rousing to revolu- solini tionary struggle as the greatest Sinia, blow that could be struck eudal against the enemies of the Soviet Union. (p. Stalin subordinated every- Trot- thing to the interests of the f this Kremlin bureaucracy. Millions of workers and peasants all ames, over the world were picked up, tions. bargained with and dropped like so many • counters on a gambling table. The greatest crime of all was that this policy was carried through in the name of Com- munism and the Russian Re- volution. The Fourth International, in fighting against the counter- revolutionary policies and ac- tions of Stalinism, was the best, the only genuine defender of the Soviet Union, because it fought to give a revolutionary leadership to the struggle of the working class and peasan- try in the capitalist and colonial countries. Trotsky fought for a Lenin- ist defence of the Soviet Union, against the reactionary policies that flowed from the theory of 'socialism in one country' By his military purges, his disruption of the economy, his alienation of the peasantry and crushing of the working class, his decapitation of the Lenin- ist leadership of the Bolshevik party and International, his discrediting of the Soviet Union and Communism by all the cynical manoeuvres which reached their climax in Ger- and Spain, and finally many the Hitler Pact; Stalin more than any other single person weakened the Soviet Union and exposed it to all the horrors of the Nazi invasion.

Reid's attack on Trotskyism begins in earnest when she reaches 1938, the year of the Founding Conference of the Fourth International. Her main target is the Tran- sitional Programme, adopted at that conference and con- demned by Reid as being a weapon of disruption in the struggle against fascism and war. Unable to explain how the 'ultra-left' attacked Trotsky Stalinism 'from the right' during its 'social fascist' phase, Reid feels she is on firmer ground in the period of the Popular Front from 1935 to 1939. Mass working-class demonstrations reached consciously betrayed by the leaders of Fren For while Stalinists such as Reid and Johnstone make ver- bal criticisms of the ultra-left line followed by the Inter- national in the early 1930s, they endorse to the hilt every- thing carried through by Stalinism in the period of the Popular Front. British Stalinists defend the Popular Front with a double tenacity. Apart from a natural desire to uphold the line fol- lowed by their own leadership, the Reids uphold the oppor- tunist policies of that period as the historical forerunner of "The British Road to Socialism' with its pleas for 'left unity' with the trade union and Labour Party bureaucracies.

The Transitional Programme bristles with hatred for such unprincipled alliances: 'Under the banner of the ' October Revolution, the con- ciliatory politics practised by the People's Front dooms the working class to impotence and clears the road for fascism.'

(Transitional Programme, PP.

9-10.) Within a year, the Popular Fronts of Spain and France had crashed, to be replaced in both cases with fascist regimes under Franco and Petain. Faced with these stark his- torical facts, Reid pathetically claims that 'what the Trotsky- ists were proposing in France was a mad adventure which would have split the Popular Front and led to fascism com- ing early to power, instead of being imposed later by the actions of the invading German armies'. (p. 11.) What were the policies ad- vocated by Trotsky which Reid decries as leading to a 'mad adventure'? 'Instead of a Popular Front which Trotsky said "succeeded in canalising and damming, at least temporarily, the revolu- tionary stream" ... the slogan of the French Trotskyists was "A Workers' Government"' (p. 9)

WORKERS' PRESS

Reid also that Trotsky's United struggles of 1936 demand out the level of the struggle irotsky called as held savs or a rront based on a svsten which Sovern measures with workers' and peasants' ment can ensure the socialism'.

HUL

•transitional dll. but siusal. Dasta tne mosu davanced programme une alclatorship or the prole- tamat (p.g.) Reid's attacks Trotsky- direct work Leninist-Bolshevik and four first he International, Communist wnose aecisions and the ›oncies are generalized 1n Transitional Programme of the Fourth International. Precedent There is a very good com- for Muscallal's troope lad with Stalia's oil. Trotskv's munist precedent prepare the road for a workers Wintred ront and peasants' government.

The sloan was was first concretized Congress power, expressed at certain which were only a majo Communist International, the distorted reflection Socia preparalory slagt or une real •on then Bo exisung workers Dar wes, Class lorces in conniet in the slogan of workers' SR tnere can de only unity aralnst lactories. Yes. Ot coveramell for a workers and a struggle tor bower the workers voted tor Like all reformists, Reid parties standing on a Popular beasants government. cal used practically everywhere as If attempts to justify the political Front programme, a general propaganda slogan.

Stalinism But term. WaS their choice. more figures. But as a lopical Donacal Even reproduces the leader the the slogan It Is of tne greatest 1m- revol of the French general election French Stalinists at that time, portance those countries of 1936 where bourgeois society is par- crusting prol tal 1 nored, a amittea unat (nines only inere had deer revorunon• were over anal of betw the intervention of ary situation and thererore, no checked ov geois workers betrayal. his party: bour- pal tits Th Stalinists do the the midst of the shaken with suck thing when covering-up for the fever and who aole

CISION

cuestion, the creat the cole of LI.e. Sall covernmenl. Stalinists Party Party sit-in strike the great preparing becomes one hammerlate for revolution] May-June 1968. practical necessity. Steeped methods of 'In countries the Ine Instruc une slogan the 'British Road to Socialism'.

communists une raris O1S• from metal with Its programme or barua- Amond the St front transition the first entire united social- workers who had been to fill the breach and had Reid completely been will tIc .. for not arden sary of Party nour Kren we who lead the 1934 Party are general Slall or lne working-class army, not to ponucal adventurers The Popular Front stands tor order Th steady organized pro- tor gress peasa Straightforwardly. signe tion weighing my words, clared the "Though Central importalit Dress clalms noroueniy. is ecual important to know When stop. there lutiol At the moment. No question of taking Many not but € Parts the and actories

WASHOPS

was Dezull oratriy and cneerru SDIrit. ‹ i norez. Son 1938 ed., itself the People', PP lans oosed Betrayal 15m It is clear from this extract that the Stalinists' the Was decisive ending the class great are oke une 1936. Four aware of the great be arried through WIld the argument by co to But question work even here, eninism has alone TI a soullu does WIll 1clu Dallamentary trations reached a cretinism. The Russian workers gram climax in 1936 on 'Red Thursday', but the movement was leaders of French Stalinism.

took Dower. as is well known.

dema in a country numerically dom- these inated by peasants. the class context of the situa- It was precisely in tnis con Darl The voting figures for Trotsky put forward tion text that arance in elections *min the demand for a workers' and can see only the ballot box and reflect the numerical parlia- mass workers 1936. ment: tive lali peasalls the of Russia at unle in the hrst ballot scale, the Communist and official this slogan of class power, in a pre- Dul bellIn combined had lookea at une quesuon cuall- 3,341, 132 revolutional y revolal y socialist Tauvey. not in terms or num- out of siluation, nows inevitably Irom

YULES

bers alone. a total of 9.838.943. and these manc Ine Derio• ol oreparanon Had he not done the the nent tor the united tron were votes cast not on a oro- Bolshevik Party would have The French Stalinists in re grame of immediate seizure of ever followed Reid's advice jecting the Leninist united power but on the basis cisive enounced when front the opular front government? power they again outvoted lound bour; ernment the elections to the Assembly.

perio come to the aid it tise period of profound Not a word from Reid about the mass strikes and While voted Sit-Ins solidly for Bolsheviks, weeks before trans lulls class peasants in the 11 lnere is to be no call lor une eleculons. une resuls Lash

B.B.C.-1

B.B.C.-2

11.00 Sch P.m. Mother Pressures. 8:30 Noodliom, sy tearue.

2.05-2.31 weatner. 3.45 8.45 Jazz Scene. 9.10 is the Premiere : 10.45 at TSS Babar. uropa Weather. 11.29 Nee-Up. News summary. weather. 6.00 London-Nationwide. 6.45 Z Cars.

I.T.V.

7.05 Tomorrow's World. 7.30 Bobbie Gentry. 8.00 Theatre Date: Dames At 3.55 Face Paulus Enter 5:50 Tues From ITN 6.03 Today. 10.00 He and She. 6.30 The Rifleman. 10.25 Points Of View. 7.00 Film: Watcl Sailos! st Wales: 515-5.44 11.05 The Sky At Night. 45, 0s Head Denni 11.20 Weatherman. 11.22 Postscript. Allowing rimes BBC.1 except at the 00. Sis right The Im West, South Toda A bour You? Midland Mata stAy. Look 645, * Do Mai 11.45 Miscellany. for (SRs) : anything, measured tes, favou tion in france than her en in Russia after it. Thorez admits, France ir was no normal bour st soviet the them. 1Y neces determiner red rene government was for precisely the situa developed in France dio beer years, the French •oclaimed revo from stated them when it stared Transitiohal Programme with empnasis ona demands, counter sectarian- ultrae ots the worring ruggle munimal rerorm. enemy clash with the destruc tained in the that more openn will airecte bases of the orkshire ringta and ske Cal wart Cooks. 4.5 Weather Anglia estward

PAGE THREE

11-12.) In the name of a struggle against ultra-leftism, Reid up- holds the old 'minimum pro- gramme' of social democracy Again, Trotsky drew on the rich store of experience of the its 'Theses on. Tactics' which contains all the basic policies outlined by Trotsky 17 years later : "The Communist parties do not put forward any minimum programme to strengthen and improve the tottering structure of capitalism. ... In the place of the minimum programme of the reformists and the centrists land by 1935 the Stalinists] the Communist International puts the struggle for the con- crete needs of the proletriat, for a system of demands which in their totality disintegrate the power of the bourgeoisie, organize the proletariat, repre- sent stages in the struggle for the proletarian dictatorship, and each of which expresses in itself the need of the broadest masses, even if the masses themselves are not yet cons- ciously in favour of the prole- tarian dictatorship! • • • The revolutionary character of the present epoch consists prec- isely in this, that the most modest conditions of life for the working masses are incom- patible with the existence of capitalist society, and that therefore the fight for even the modest demands most grows into the fight for com- munism' This is just the strategy condemned by Reid in her attack on Trotsky for his ad- vocacy of the workers' gov- ernment during the French sit-in strike of 1936: 'Only a minority of French workers understood this how- and therefore the im- ever, mediate aim of the fight against fascism could not be working-class power.' (p. 10.)

Reformism Would Reid claim, against Lenin and all leading Marxists, that the working class takes power as a class with full con- sciousness of what it is doing?

What were the slogans of the Russian Revolution — 'socialism in one country' or bread, peace and land? What : the Comintern 'Theses' underline is that given revolutionary leader- ship, the logic of the struggle for certain demands of a tran- sitional character drives the working class forward, even its more backward sections, towards the fight for power.

By consciously adapting the vanguard to the rear- guard, and the middle class, as did Thorez in the French general strike, the Stalinists guaranteed the stabilization of the capitalist regime under the guise of a People's Govern- ment. Property relations, the basic Marxist criteria of the class nature of any government, re- mained as before capitalist.

Not a single one of Reid's attacks on the Transitional Programme, and Trotsky's ap- plication of its strategy to the class struggle in France and Spain, stands up to a mom- All her at- ent's analysis. tacks are shot through with the philosophy of reformism, of fighting for what seems possible. By containing the working class to minimum a pro- gramme in the interests of maximum unity, the Stalinists drained the working class of its energies so effectively that even the minimum programme was smashed by fascist coun ter-revolution. That is the ruthless logic of the class struggle: either a struggle for Power or, eventu- ally, the loss of everything the working class has won in its century-long struggle for con- ditions and organization.

Or as Marx himself stated, either socialism or barbarism.

Tyne Tees 11.00 a.m.-12 noon Schools. 1.45-2.55 p.m. Schools. 4.09 North East News- room. 4.55 Junior Showtime. 5.20 Magpie. 5.50 News. 6.00 Today At Six.

5.30 Where The Jobs Are. 6.35 Castle Haven. 7.00 The Tuesday Film "Under- Clements cover' Michael tarinding h and 8.30 In Loving Memory. 9.00 Who-Dun-It? 10.00 News At Ten. 10.30 The Jumpers. 11.15 Late News Extra. 11.32 "Doubting Your Doubts'. Grampian 10.58 a.m.-12 noon Schools. 1.43-2.55 Schools. P.17 Sean The Leprechaun. 4.30 Skippy.

News Headlines. Showtime. 5.20 Magpie. lunior 5.50 News. 6.00 Grampian News and Farming News. 6.15 Out of Town. That Died Of Shame Stars: 6.35 Crossroads. 7.00 The Film "The Ship star- Richard Attenborough. 8.30 n 10.00 News At Ten, Weather: 10.30 The Loving Who-Dun-It? Jumpers. 11.15 Play With A Purpose.

Scottish 11.00 a.m.-12 noon Schools. 1.45-2.35 p.m. Schools. 4.20 Scotland Early. 4.30 Crossroads. 4.55 Junior Showtime, 5.20 Magpie. 5.50 National News. 6.00 Raw Deal? 7.00 Star Western Medicine Bend' starring Randolph cott, James Craig Angie Dickinson, ames Garner. 8.30 n Loving Memory 9.00 Who-Dun-It? 10.00 News At Ten.

10.30 The Jumpers. 11.15 Late Call.

11.20 The Privileged?

PAGE FOUR

WORKERS PRESS

Kenyan oppositio et his home to a detention can, Kenyan polic sive, Protone p able to unite all Kenyar bal cor ins and restedicided in it face of phese neatack THREE questions were left unsettled by last September's Linwood agreement.

Under what was cynicaly in 1963 wipe leor Des By our Industrial reporter described in that deal Gichuru and Tom Mboya, ames the more 'controlled rate Rootes unlimited speed-up possibilities in re for stuck as compan Strikes hit the tworked it detail limited wase improvements.

Once dockers strike grader to discipline the labour Turin and for Union membership will Workers' Press reporter

LIGHTNING

one-day Naples sulke by ›poutnampion workers delaved the dry • cocking or te uner 2' 'Queen Elizabeth on

MILAN.

Thursday. ployees joint management- inside the dock were trapped ing the outcome o Son. thethe mion wii consult with consult with management the National uni the save runs date blanche lo y the berthing o Te le hound the course uthampton's dry dock That this vit ch be son t die dis and s over me rate working will only be ondition at ough the sens agreement an There will be or log.ou cucumistances, agalls ood interfere we beliete Bristol ointment as shop

ATUA MEETING

paper works will be held

BIRMINGHAM

should seldy inese droposal stoppage proposals Enwood's Riving mem is The future for the moto dy our own correspondon Inaustry worker Press corresponden' Tuesday, November 4 THE SPRINGBOKS, the South African rugby touring in the union te he Bristol 8 p.m. and A. series. team, arrived in London on lhursday at the start o.

paper it ore hit today Centr Had Shes on Workers also say that Mora must tee precisely their 25-match tour of Britain.

24-hour strike. factory and allege that sten These sporting emissaries The 300 bial and of Vorster's racialist regime factories deceas Basque workers fight new into meatnrow alport ient. contemotuous y ansmissea unit, is anti-apartheiddemon.

JOINT TRAINING

Franco regime stration, and remarked: to Today to saskelly the seot determined by whether or always bein to brise workers

SHIPYARD

areas affected by crisis On Thursday epening system In will be made oficial topay. wil anagement demotiation had dinesday's But it would be a mistake Posite no or rando , which so subone of many Basick L.T.B. maintenance men

MAJUR-GENERAL PYVIK GK

the leaders of the anti-Stalinist op stay out

DOCKS ATTACK

Union, has lust been contied to r No objection кр. вста. heir London hot rridays news Iolows

• FROM PAGE ONE

Which case men will be Grigorenko's arrest in Mav employer in- case mer hes had not the stares ot deplork-study on charges of anti-soviet and method- activity orained Tashkent, who had been die.

ship to that they are Rugby players and after the Second World MAINTENANCE men at the London Transport Board's Splitting Acton railway workshops have voted to continue their Commencement and con Sovernments of strike into its seventh week.

replayed ules the empayor imberk imes spitting the mer tightened by spist Dismissed While Wilson and commin At ine moment. the strike By David Maude grade se those in the A causing eassure th clash wish oh hoMer bureast cancellation ons unced that its board simply they may be about dozen trains will con craftsmentruit only indenture B.P. men would assure the certain no gic and them de. Employment

• FROM PAGE ONE

Britain overtime add then Yemend Stooges surplus The refused denied employ

NEGOTIATIONS

capilalisi * that bad this frame- 'shat thie management I will develop But the board email heard le or capitar. Feat the al The electrical, plumbing and thee bliss being struck larly been accepted speed bee boiler cons ators to do th streng All of them signed African support i broke the are was peaced in te this eleci Tuldin racialist course Wan decent district comin Brillia Union Victo alternative productivity agreementsurrent within each compan botion C 239 ento mad is has been mee to have the board me s Docks talks on non- wrin of alwaymen. National Heinz maternator alt not sea • non-registered Insisted

FROM PAGE ONE

But the committee labour isted th ostal ball tor nihis board, aid the board dockers' details with. blacked all between General leaflet the Cos beltered Kolainue that "While Welcoming the union's return principles today. åna trun aucuvily. sponse to pree treme dockers against sals or the a proper trainmen at the to do one ear. Londo he September last year, it dotes.

rejected brid of which month. Tuesday, November 4, 1969 IN AN interview with 'Stern, the West German magazine, the new Chancellor Willy Brandt stated that he was ready to discuss directly with East German leaders.

Asked if he would meet Ulbricht, or Willie Stoph, the East German Prime Minister, Brandt replied : 'But why not? Yet it doesn't always have to start with the so-called summit. *They [Ulbricht and Stoph] know that pólitical experience shows that such meeting must be prepared. The former (Kiesinger] government had offered them talks with the senior official in the Federal government, the head of the Chancellory'. Brandt then made an inter- the esting observation on slowness of the Ulbricht gov- ernment's response to these approaches. New Chancellor Willy Brandt

FACTION

He claimed that between Farmworkers 1967 and faction gained the control party which thought 'at this stage

• FROM PAGE ONE

we will get nothing from con- tacts. Under Brandt, who is pre- banners on the march, which pared to make concessions to made colourful display as unfreeze relations, contact the demonstration made its could be established very soon.

way up Whitehall. One such gesture was made But the obvious militancy of on Thursday, when the West the German government agreed to demonstrators in sharp contrast to the platform pay £852,700 to Czechoslovak speeches at the rally which 'experiments' of Nazi victims followed. with human beings. National Union of Agricul- Victims of Nazi rule who East European coun- tural and Allied Workers' live in tries have not been president Bert Hazell, MP, sated previous West laid great stress on the fact by that German governments. the claim was in the 'national interests of the

SCANDAL

economy. Farmworkers, he claimed, That such payment should had much effective have been delayed for at least more 'method of protest' than strike 20 years is only part of the scandal. action--thev were leaving the land in Why should the West Ger- droves go working industry. man class, which forms the bulk of the coun- But he failed to point out try's have that this tax-payers, to pay has gone hand in for the barbarities of the hand with a massive increase Nazis ? in productivity, so that fewer the Krupps It is and the and fewer men were now other big-business backers of required to do the work. Hitler's regime that should be made to foot the bill. Optimism Hazell claimed a feeling of 'qualified optimism' about the outcome of tomorrow's meet- of the ing agricultural wages board which is to consider the claim. But where is the optimism when similar claims have been treated with contempt year after year in the past? After listening Hazell, to and Post Office Workers' to general secretary Tom Jackson, who spoke in support of the claim, the marchers reas- sembled to deliver a petition to the Ministry of Agriculture.

PYOTR GRIGORENKO, one of Petitions will not solve the ti-Stalinist opposition in the Soviet wages question on the farms.

i confined to a Moscow 'psychiatric Farmworkers must unite with all other sections of workers in struggle for higher their claims wages press By a foreign correspondent in the national interest, not but in the interest of a decent living wage.

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