Out of Their Own Mouths

by Samuel Gompers and William English Walling

OUT OF
THEIR OWN MOUTHS

A Revelation and an Indictment
of Sovietism

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SAMUEL GOMPERS &
WILLIAM ENGLISH WALLING

OUT OF THEIR OWN MOUTHS

OUT OF THEIR OWN MOUTHS

A Revelation and an Indictment
of Sovietism

 

BY
SAMUEL GOMPERS

President of The American Federation of Labor
Author of "Labor and the Common Welfare,"
"Labor and the Employer," etc.

 

With the Collaboration of
WILLIAM ENGLISH WALLING

Author of "Sovietism: The A B C of Russian
Bolshevism—According to the Bolshevists".

 

 

New York
E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY
681 FIFTH AVENUE

Copyright 1921
By E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY

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All Rights Reserved

 

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
America and the Soviets
PAGE
The Position of American Labor—Secretary Colby's Note of August 10, 1921—The Bolshevist Answer—Secretary Hughes' Note of March 25, 1921—Revolutionary Propaganda by Soviet Trade Commissioners—Test of Hughes' Note—Secretary Hughes' Reply to President Gompers—Secretary W. B. Wilson's Decision Re the Deportation of "Ambassador" Martens—Secretary Hoover's Views—The Hearst Newspapers' Interpretation—Other Newspapers—Lenin as a "Conservative"—The Official Soviet Reply to the Hughes Note—Lenin's Supposed "Compromises" and "Reforms"—"State Capitalism" Adopted—The Avalanche of Adverse Evidence—The Pro-Bolshevist Propaganda Continues Unabated—Socialist, Labor and "Liberal" Pro-Bolshevists		1–19
CHAPTER II
The Practical Foundation—Mendacious Propaganda
The Function of Propaganda According to the Ninth Communist Congress—Lenin Publicly Advocates Mendacity—Lenin Viewed as a "Mad Demagogue"—Lenin Publicly Plans to stroy the British Labor Party—His Crude Falsehoods about America, England, France and Japan—He Claims Communism as the Central Question of Continental European Politics—Fantastic Pictures of Foreign Conditions Presented to Soviet Russia—The Bolshevist Monopoly of Paper and Printed Matter—Controlling the Transport of 100,000,000 People		20–27
CHAPTER III
The Political Foundation—War against Democracy
The Origin of the Soviet Government as a Revolt against Democracy—Attempts to Interpret the Word "Democracy" for Bolshevist Purposes—These Attempts Openly Abandoned—The Soviets also Become Obsolete—Lenin Shows It is not a Labor State—The Dictatorship of the Communist Party Officially Proclaimed—Composition of Communist Party—The Soviet Constitution Laid aside—Who Controls the Communist Party?—Communist Dictatorship to Last Twenty-five to Fifty Years—The Communist Party a Sect Waging War on the Unconquered and Unconverted		28–48
CHAPTER IV
The Reign of Terror
President Wilson's Successful Appeal to the Civilized Nations to Outlaw the Soviets—Terrorism Grown Worse—Exterminating the Middle Classes—Trotzky on Breaking the Will of the Intellectuals—Red Terror Urged by Lenin against Recalcitrant Socialists—Wholesale Execution of Hostages Officially Admitted—Membership of all Non-Bolshevist Parties a Crime against the Soviet State—The All-Embracing Activities of the Extraordinary Commission for Administering the Red Terror—Terrorism against Agricultural Rebels—Terror against the Red Army?—Terrorism against Labor and Trades Unions—The Extraordinary Commission in Action against the Leaders of the Agrarian Party—The Red Terror the Measure of Desperation of a Dwindling Minority		49–71
CHAPTER V
Slavery and Compulsory Labor
Syndicalism Abandoned—The Code for Slave Labor—Militarization of Labor—Factory Dictators—Lenin Defends Industrial Autocracy—Compulsory Labor the Foundation of the Soviet Structure (Trotzky)—Labor Armies—Compulsory Labor to Last a Generation—Compulsory Over-time—Communist Labor According to Lenin—An American Witness—Difficulties of Labor Revolt		72–87
CHAPTER VI
Persecution of Organized Labor—Trade Unions
Free Trade Unions Abolished—Compulsory or Governmental Trade Unions—Fictitious Membership—The Trades Unions Subordi- nated to the Communist Party—Collapse of the Unions admitted by Trotzky—The Printers' Union Describes Bolshevist Labor Union Practices—Trotzky's Plan of Appointing Trade Union Officials—Lenin vs. Trotzky—The Revolt Within the Unions—The Chief Terrorist Takes Trotzky's Place as Commissary of Transport—Appeal of the Printers' Union against the Communist Party		88–103
CHAPTER VII
Oppression of the Agricultural Population
The Agricultural Population Conquered and Subjected—The "Class War" Continued against the Agriculturists (Peasants)—The "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" as the Rule of an Industrial Minority over an Agricultural Majority—Vilification of the Agricultural Population by Russian Bolshevists and Foreign "Liberals"—The Agriculturists as the Internal Enemy—Looting the Countryside—The War against the Villages—Lenin's Covering Phrases—The Great "Reform" in Bolshevist Agrarian Policy—Compulsory Co-operation—The "Return to Capitalism" in Agrarian Policy—Foundations of Lenin's Agrarian Policy		104–124
CHAPTER VIII
The Economic Collapse—Fictitious Reforms
The Economic Collapse Due Partly to Bolshevism—Disorganization Admitted—Agriicultur- ists in revolt—Bureaucracy Absorbing Town Population—Persecution of Brains—Government by Paper Decrees—Unexampled Inefficiency—Accelerated Degeneration of Industry—Impossibility of Social and Industrial Reform Undder Existing Conditions—Mythical Reforms an Example, the Supposed Regard for Children and Education—Dreadful Condition of So-called "Childrens's Homes" Attempted Communist Monopoly of Schools—The War of the Communists Against the School Teachers—Less than One-Fourth of the Children in School—Literacy Desired by Bolshevists in Order to Spread Effect of Printed Propoganda—Education a Branch of Propoganda—Separating Children from Home and Family Culture and Social Reconstruction to Wait until Destruction of Existing Society is Completed		125-141
CHAPTER IX
World Revolution The Attempt to Overthrow Democratic Governments
World Revoloution Remains the Chief aim—Wars and Revolutions Regarded as Interdependent—Civil War Held as the Normal Aftermath of Revolution—Military Aid for Foreign Revolutions—Revolutionary Movements Useful to the World Revolutionary Cause Even When There are no Revolutions— Denial of World Revolutionary Plans by Bolshevist Representatives Abroad—Bad Faith a Fundamental Principle of Bolshevism—World Revolution in Soviet and Communist Party Constitutions—Revolution the aim of the Communist Internationale—Successes of Movement in Continental Europe—World Revolutionary Aim not Abandoned—Utility of Foreign Revolutionary Movements to Soviet Government—Success of Bolshevist Propaganda among Foreign Middle-Classes—Lenin's Present Theory on World Revolution—Bolshevist Hopes for World Wars—The Hoped-for war between Europe and Asia—Pro-German Tendencies—Plan to Attack the Entente		142-158
CHAPTER X
The Communist Internationale
Russian Soviet Control of the Communist (or Third) Internationale—Russian Orders to British Communists—Split between Russian Communists and other Extreme Revolutionists—Russian Revolutionary Chauvinism—War on American Trade Unions—Communist Subsides for Foreign Labor Publications—How Soviet Propaganda Forced the British Trade Treaty		159-168
CHAPTER XI
The Red Labor Union Internationale
Lenin Recognizes the Trade Unions as the Main Enemy —Bolshevist Attack on the Revolutionary and Pro-Soviet International Federation of Trade Unions—Organization of the Red Labor Union Internationale—Membership of the New Body—Strength of Red Union Movement in Continental Europe—State Socialist Tendency of Russian Extremists vs. Syndicalist Tendency of Non-Russians Economic Organization (the Unions) Subordinated to Political (The Communist Party) Losovsky, Soviet Labor Union Authority, Acknowledges Split with Revolutionary Syndicalists—Activities in America—Counter-Attack by the Socialist (or Second) Internationale		169-187
CHAPTER XII
European Labor Disillusioned
Revolutionary European Labor Delegations to Soviet Russia Report Against Bolshevism— The Ultimatum of Twenty-one Points Sent to the Socialist and Labor Parties of the World— European Socialists Favor Entente Military Action in Georgia Against the Soviets—The French Labor Unions Repudiate Moscow—Adverse Report of Spanish Socialist Delegate—Counter-Attack of the International Federation of Trade Unions—Soviet Reply to the British Labor Party—The Voice of the Russian People—The Indictment by the Russian Agrarians (the Socialist Revolutionary Party)—The Socialist Revolutionary Party Protests against Pro-Soviet Attitude of the World's Socialists		188-202
CHAPTER XIII
The Camouflaged Trade Agitation
De Facto Recognition of the Soviet Government the Prime Object of the Agitation for Trade Treaties—The Claim That These Treaties Mean the Abandonment of Communism—The Soviets Regard the Treaties as a Victory for International Communism—Continued Communist Propaganda in Great Britain in Spite of Treaty—Trade Treaties a Part of the Bolshevists' Revolutionary Tactics—The Bolshevists Avow thier Purposes in Granting Commercial Concessions—Communists not Abandoning Communism—The Treaties Regarded as Mere Armed Truces—Preisdent Gompers' Letter on the Soviet Trade Agitation—Secretary Hughes' Reply—The Soviets Twice Refuse International Aid for the Suffering Russian People—The Objects of the British Treaty—America Free from These Objectives—The Pro-Soviet Agitation of Pseudo Liberals—Sufficient Information Now at Hand		203-227
APPENDIX I
American Labor and Russia
Cablegrams—President Gompers to the President of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Council, April 2, 1917		228-229
Cablegrams—Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor to the President of the Workmen's and Soldier' Council, April 23, 1917		229-230
Cablegrams—President Gompers to the Council of Workmen and Soldiers, May 6, 1917		230-232
Cablegrams—President Gompers to Kerensky, September 17, 1917		233-234
Cablegrams—President Gompers, for the Alliance for Labor and Democracy, to the All-Russian Soviet, March 12, 1918		234
APPENDIX II
The Soviet Administration of Justice		235-236
APPENDIX III
The Turko-Bolshevist Attack on the Labor Government of Georgia		237-239
APPENDIX IV
Lenin's "Conversion"
The World Revolution Still the Main Consideration Lenin Says That Private Property in Land and Free Trade in Agricultural Products are not to be Restored—Governing of the Peasants Without their Consent—To Continue for Generations Locals and Narrowly Restricted Private Trading Established the Aim Remains to Maintain the Power of the Communist Party		240-244
APPENDIX V
Can the Soviets be Saved by Capital?
The British White Paper Summarized—No Possibility that Russia Will be Able to Relive Europe for a Considerable Period—Russia Dependent on Foreign Capital (or Credit)—Can Foreign Capital Save Russia if the Soviet Power Remains?—The Economic Failure of Bolshevism—Inverted Interpretations of the White Paper		245-253