The Daily Worker

The Struggle
in
Great
Britain
By EARL R. BROWDER.
(Part v.)
The Cleavage Within the Labor Party,
the Unions, and the General Council.

FOR a week after the betrayal of the
British general strike, Mr. Thomas
and his friends had their way
with the General Council. The so-
called left wing appeared to be para-
lyzed, without intelligence, energy, or
initiative.

The resulting catastrophic
situation has shocked the entire
labor movement.

A terrific reaction has set in, at first
among the rank and file, and quickly
reflecting itself among the leaders. It
is yet too soon to prophesy exactly the
lines along which this will develop.
Important facts may, however, already
be registered.

First, beginning with the extreme
left, the Communist Party has been
incalculably strengthened. The most
vicious government persecution has
been directed against it and its mem-
bers. At such a moment as this, in-
evitable, this creates a bond of sym-
pathy between the Communist Party
and the masses. This has been inten-
sified by the very active part played
by the Communists in every strike
district; they have been present on
almost every local strike committee
performing the most thankless tasks,
and inspiring and leading the less ac-
tive members.

FURTHER, the Communist Party is
now recognized to have been the
first to give practical leadership in the
organization of the working class forces
for battle. In dozens of places, after
rejecting the Communist plans, the lo-
cal committees found themselves
forced to reconsider, and call back the
Communists, because their proposals
were the most practical. Finally, the
Communist criticism of the misleader-
ship and program for the struggle are
being taken up in circles far wider
than the Party, and the masses see
clearly that the Communist Party, far
from being a disruptive factor, as
charged by the right wing, contains
the most reliable leadership and most
loyal fighting element in the labor
movement.

SECOND, the minority movement has
been the very heart and soul of the
strike, and the greatest factor in creat-
ing that magnificent solidarity which
has won the admiration of the workers
of the world. From the great Confer-
ence of Action held by the minority
movement in March went forth the slo-
gans and plans of the organization,
which put power into the great strike.
The Councils of Action, the depart-
mentalization of the strike work, the
control of food supplies, the organiza-
tion of defense corps, the organization
of couriers and information machinery
-all of these were inspired and car-
ried through by the energy of the minority
movement. The Sunday Worker, or-
gan of the minority movement, has be-
come the most influential labor paper
in the country, its circulation growing
by leaps and bounds.

THIRD, within the Labor Party and
the General Council the surge of
sentiment among the rank and file to-
wards the left is exerting pressure
upon the leaders. The shock of the
surrender of the general strike is crys-
tallizing a more definite alignment.
The logical result must come of a
strong, fighting left wing which will
finally break with MacDonald, Thomas,
Henderson, Clynes and Company, and
definitely set its face towards revolu-
tionary struggle.

As yet this crystallization is far
from definite: it is still obstructed by
all sorts of relics of reformism, pacif-
ism and timidity. But in spite of all
this even its first manifestations are
of great importance.

(To be continued.)