J. T. Murphy
Source: Workers’ Weekly, September 25, 1925
Publisher: Communist Party of Great Britain
Transcription/Markup: Brian Reid
Proofreader: David Tate
Public Domain: Marxists Internet Archive (2009). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source.
There appears to be no lengths to which the reactionary forces of the Labour Movement will not go in their anxiety to preserve capitalism!
The latest manœvre to isolate Soviet Russia, so insidiously pursued by the Allied Imperialists with the support of the continental Social Democrats, is now being reinforced by the German Social Democrats in the International Co-operative Alliance.
The I.C.A. was the first international organisation to breakdown the isolation of Soviet Russia and admit the Russian co-operators as affiliated bodies. The Ghent Conferences of 1924 confirmed this on the basis of each country pursuing its own line of development without interference from any other.
Yet at the meeting of the I.C.A. Central Committee in Stockholm a few months ago, practically the whole time was spent in discussing and manœvring to make the Russian co-operatives responsible for the propaganda of the Communist International!
The Committee went to the extent of proposing that the Russian co-operators must not only prove they are not responsible for the Comintern but must attack the Comintern. Exactly what the Tories demand of the Soviet government.
Will the British co-operative movement be a party to this damnable game in the face of the great mass feeling in the ranks of the workers for the closest union between the workers of this country and of Russia?
It seems incredible, but it would appear that they are joining in the attack, for how else can we regard the proposal of Mr. May to cut down the number of representatives of the Russian co-operatives on the I.C.A. from fourteen to seven on the grounds that because the Soviet Republics are Federated in the Soviet Union they are not independent, and there should only be one delegation from the Union?
Perhaps Mr. May, and his colleagues do not understand the political significance of this, but it is clearly an action to weaken the Soviet co-operatives.
The next meeting of the I.C.A. is in Paris on October 5th, 1925. There is no time to lose if the five delegates from the British co-operatives are to feel the influence of any protest. We hope it is not necessary to bring pressure to bear upon them to resist the attacks of the German reactionaries, but will ask every co-operator and trade unionist who reads this article to take no chances.
We ask them to immediately raise the questions on their committees, in the co-operative guilds, and in the trades unions and trades councils, and send resolutions protesting against the attacks upon the Russian co-operatives and demanding the withdrawal, of the British resolution sabotaging the representation of the Russian co-operatives on the I.C.A.
The British co-operative leaders have committed a few stupidities in their actions against we Communists. They have proved themselves to be afraid of discussion and guilty of placing embargos upon Communist co-operators when nominated for leading positions. They have not hesitated to lie and misrepresent us in their newspaper, whilst closing its columns against us. Very well! We are not worried. The Labour Party reactionaries tried the same game, and we are not fighting a losing battle with them. Nor shall we with the co-operative reactionaries.
What the British trade unions have done towards Anglo-Russian workers’ unity must not be undone by stupid co-operative directors.
J. T. Murphy