Reds Page #12

"The government of the most

powerful country in the world

"is afraid of this woman."

We're going to get you back, E.G.

The revolution needs you.

We're gonna get you back.

Comrade, I'm not leaving

the revolution.

In Russia, I'll be joining it.

I urged the deportation of all

alien Communists.

All alien Communists.

It's bad enough having

a Communist with us,

but to have alien Communists

who are not citizens,

denouncing our form

of government and our republic

and everything else,

they should be deported.

And I led a big fight on that

for a long while.

It wasn't a very healthy atmosphere.

So when John Reed came along,

well, he was a voice of what I love.

He was able to go into the most

controversial subject of all,

Communism, Bolshevism.

He was considered one of the rare

persons who could do a thing like that.

He knew he was

on the threshold of history,

and he wrote it that way.

- A touch of this...

- Jack, I'm back!

I'm in here, honey.

I talked to Edmund and Alfred today

at Liveright's.

- What a day it's turned out to be.

- Stay out, honey! Stay out, stay out.

What are you doing in there?

Is everything okay?

- Can't I help?

- No, no, no, no!

Sure smells good. What is it?

Stay out, honey.

What did Edmund have to say?

Stay out, honey.

What did Edmund have to say?

He said in a few weeks

the steelworkers will strike.

He thinks at least 200,000 of them,

and maybe as many as 300,000.

But he doesn't think there's

any stopping them this time.

Yeah? That's good.

You still thinking

about doing a piece on it? I am.

Well, I can't really talk now,

but what does he say the next step is?

Evidently the federal government's

saying the steel organizers are Reds.

So what they're doing is

forming a bureau of investigation

just to look into subversive activity.

And you know, with all this talk

about the leadership of the AF of L

being in cahoots with the Steel Trust,

Alfred asked me if I was still gonna do

the piece on the IWW.

So I said, "Alfred, for the moment

I don't want to go any further away

- "than New Jersey."

- Really?

Oh, that's good. That's good.

- Just...

- Yeah, it is good.

Sit down. I'll just be a minute.

Jack, what are you doing?

- How did you leave it with Edmund?

- He's gonna read the piece on Debs.

Okay, the first course.

- Yeah?

- Sit down.

Sit down and close your eyes. Sit down.

Okay.

Oh, my.

My...

- Go ahead.

- Oh.

What do you think?

Really? You serious?

Really? Thank God.

I was gonna flamb them out here,

but the goddamn things flambed

themselves in the pan.

He was certainly the main inspiration

in the development

of a revolutionary movement

through his history

of Ten Days That Shook The World.

Ten Days That Shook The World

was, of course, his masterpiece.

He was there when

the Bolshevik Revolution took place.

And his was the best report of it.

Max Eastman had this story

that John Reed came down,

tousled hair all, you know...

And said he was writing a book

and not to disturb him for ten days.

And that became

Ten Days That Shook The World.

Supposedly.

He was an enormous,

enormous success,

and this success

largely changed his whole life, I think,

'cause he found out there was

something that he could do well,

do practically better than anyone else.

"Comrades, we have made

a great stride forward in our program

"to capture

the Socialist Party for Revolution.

"The time of right-wing domination

of the party has ended.

"They have fallen before the shining

example of revolutionary Russia

"like so many bowling pins!

"Comrades, we have done better

than we could have dreamed.

"The left wing has won 12

of the 15 seats

"on the Socialist Party Executive,

"including myself,

Edmund MacAlpine and Jack Reed."

He took a tremendous jump forward

from there on.

He became a revolutionist

on the workers' side,

and he had no more illusions

about people like Wilson.

We all have problems.

You can't escape having problems,

don't you know?

But to take on the problem

of all humanity,

to save all humanity,

my God, that was too big

even for Jesus Christ.

Don't you know

he got himself crucified?

How the hell do we expect

to do those things?

Oh.

Louise. Is that you?

Hello, Harry.

Well, where have you been lately?

I haven't seen you in a long time.

That's right.

Is this thing gonna last all day?

It might. We've been kicked out.

- Kicked out of what?

- The Socialist Party.

- Wait, wait. Who got kicked out?

- Everybody in that room.

The Executive Committee

kicked us all out.

- The whole left wing?

- That's right. They nullified the election.

- Can they do that?

- They've done it.

We're the majority. We have the votes.

We weren't expelled

by the membership.

We were expelled by the executives.

And you're talking about doing exactly

what the Executive Committee

wants us to do.

Give the party back to them

without a fight!

Yes! And organize our own party!

Goddamn it, Louis,

the Socialist Party is our own party!

We were voted into power

by its membership

and we can't be expelled

by the executives.

It's an illegal act, and if we fight it

at the convention, we'll win.

Why do we have to fight?

What do you mean,

"Why do we have to fight?"

For what do we stay in a party

in which we must win control

from the minority, not once, but twice?

Well, what is it, Louis? You mean,

if we must fight for what we deserve,

then to hell with it?

Is that your idea of revolution?

I'd like to hear more about

your revolutionary concept, Louis.

My idea of revolution

is not a revolution in my own party!

And my idea of a socialist party

is not a debating society!

It is a party of action!

Fine! Fine.

The best example we can give them

is go to that convention

and take control of the party!

No! We form our own party!

And I hope that everybody here

who believe in Bolshevism

will be there that night

to help found that party!

All right, but I say you're wrong,

and I say that I'm gonna be there

at that Socialist Party convention

to take the seat that belongs to me,

and I urge everyone here today

to be there to take the seats

that belong to you!

It's almost like they want to be

separated from the masses.

They do want to be separated

from the masses. That's the point.

Let's go.

I've been in a minority before.

Hello.

While he liked the draft manifesto,

he's a bit nervous

about the social-patriot clause.

- Excuse me.

- Tactically, he's gonna be trouble.

Is he gonna bring his people

to the convention or not?

The man will talk theory

with you all year.

Well, I don't think so.

He'll go with Fraina.

Isn't that nice? He likes the manifesto.

How about Carnofsky?

I don't think we're gonna have

as much support as we thought, Jack.

We're gonna get in.

What did Carnofsky say?

- Carnofsky said no.

- I'm telling you, Jack...

- Just knowing on our own...

- Half of Fraina's people would come...

Come in!

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