The Dominion WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 1929. NEW LIGHT ON A COMMUNIST DEFEAT

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 261, 31 July 1929, Page 10

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 1929. NEW LIGHT ON A COMMUNIST DEFEAT

Out of twenty-five candidates representing the Communist Party at the British elections, twenty-one lost their deposits, not one gained a seat in Parliament, while the only Communist member of the last Parliament, Comrade Saklatvala, lost his seat. On the face of it, this looks like extremely bad business for the Communist cause in Britain. One reads with considerable surprise, therefore, a statement by Mr. J. Baker White in the July National Review that exactly the reverse is the case.

Mr. White estimates that the election cost the Communists £5650, made tip of £2500 in general campaign expenses and £3150 in forfeited deposits. Towards this, Moscow paid over £3OOO in cash. The return in votes was slightly over 50,000. Yet Moscow, declares Mr. White, "is delighted with the result,” and he proceeds to explain why. The explanation is interesting and highly illuminating. In the first place, he says, the candidates were run under direct orders from Moscow, not on the initiative of the British Communist Party. As individuals, they were insignificant nonentities, and Moscow had no interest in securing their election. “The Bolshevik leaders were sufficiently wide awake to see, eighteen months ago, he says, “that the only Socialist Party that had a chance of being returned to power was a strictly moderate party, and that the party could be made to appear , even more moderate if it were opposed in the election by Communists.” The fact that the British Labour-Socialist Party had publicly repudiated the Communists apparently made no difference, political strategy in this connection following closely a principle of action laid down by the late Lenin himself:

“Shouid "the Hendersons and the Snowdens refuse to form a bloc with the Communists,” he wrote, “. . . we would put forward our.candidates ; only in very insignificant numbers, and o ly in safe districts - that is, where our candidates would not help to elect a Liberal against Labourite.” t ' The Central Committee of the British Communist Party last year reaffirmed the Lenin edict in an instruction which ran: “Party candidates will only oppose Labour candidates where Communis, opposition to a Labour candidate would not result in a Capitalist victory.” In other words, as Mr. White sees it, what Moscow wanted was the return of a Labour-Socialist Government that would renew trade and diplomatic relations with the Soviets, and so facilitate the return to the greatest propagandist clearing-house in the world. London.

On the surface, the Communist cause in, Britain is moribund, which is precisely the impression the Communist leaders desire the constitutional section of the public to have in their minds. Since 1927, declares Mr. White, the Communist policy has been to get underground.” Open activities have decreased, . but intensive propaganda has actually increased. Last year, it is stated, plans were perfected to: (a) Organise on the basis that an ultimate conflict between Great Britain and the Soviets was inevitable. (b) Build up cells in the factories and trade unions, concentrating primarily on the industries which servh the mobilisation for and conduct of war. (c) Perfect secret illegal organisations, and consider methods of improving systems of espi iage and counter-espl nage. (d> Increase revolutionary activity In the Army, Navy, and Air Force, not only by the distribution of literature, but by putting Commun’ -s secretly into the forces.

To-morrow, August 1, was appointed‘as “an international fighting day against imperialist war.” Hence, no doubt, the police activities recorded during the past few days. . Mr. White describes at length the various organisations already at work in the directions above enumerated. These include the National Minority Movement, the International Class War Prisoners Aid, the Workers’, International Relief, the Workers’ Legion (which confines its activities to the Forces), the British Workers Sport« Federation, the’ League Against Imperialism, the Workers Welfare League of India, the Friends of Soviet Russia, the National Unemployed Workers’ Committee, the Young Communist League, and so on. , . The writer may be unduly alarmist. At .the same time, his evident knowledge of the Communist movement and its present-day activities suggests that he is in close touch with the trend of events. However that may be, the fact remains that the greatest obstacle the Communists have hitherto had to. contend with in Britain has been the national common sense. It is not likely to be less so in the future.