|
6. The E.C. of the C.I. instructs all members of the faction led by Moore, Dow, and Henry, who desire to remain members of the Communist International, to put themselves in good standing in the regular C.P. of A. organization, at once. This means, that every member must pay dues through the regular Party channels, and must comply with the decisions of the C.E.C. of the C.P. of A., and the Theses of the C.I. in regard to joining also the Legal Party.
7. All members that comply with this instruction within thirty days from the time that this is sent out by the C.E.C. of the C.P. of A. are to be accepted as members with full membership rights immediately, including the right to participate in the election of delegates to the C.P. of A. Convention this spring.
8. The C.P. of A. Convention must be held on such a date, that the members and branches, which comply with the above, can participate within their Sections in the choice of electors for picking the Convention delegates.
9. Any members of this "minority" that do not place themselves in good standing in the regular C.P. of A. within the time specified, are expelled from the Communist International, and cannot be readmitted to any section of the Third International, except as new members.
10. Moore is instructed to return to A. at once and do his best to help carry out these decisions.
******************************************************************
The Comintern Sets American Party Policy
American Communists not only accepted Comintern intervention, they sought it, as document 3 shows. In this 1924 letter Charles Ruthenberg, executive secretary of the Workers Party of America, informs Israel Amter, the party's representative to the Comintern, that the party will be sending a delegation to Moscow to ask the Comintern to decide "our Labor Party policy."
Ruthenberg also refers to divisions within the American Communist movement concerning the 1924 third-party presidential candidacy of U.S. Senator Robert La Follette (Republican, Wisconsin). The broad liberal and leftist backing for La Follette, particularly that of major unions in the American Federation of Labor (AFL), suggested that he might have a chance to change America's reliance on a two-party system. This center-left coalition, organized as the Conference for Progressive Political Action (CPPA), planned to hold a national convention at which they would nominate La Follette for president.
Communist leaders thought that the La Follette campaign offered a way for them to gain entry into organizations with large constituencies. How they approached the La Follette candidacy, however, was bound up with the party's still severe internal factionalism. At this point the Workers Party of America was divided into three groups, two large and one small. Ruthenberg and John Pepper led one of the major factions. Ruthenberg, of course, had been a leading figure in the
|
|
