144 Second Ave.
New York 3, N.Y.
Dear Comrade O'Daniel,
Forgive my delay in answering your last letter but the pressure of work brought on by the continuing youth work plus the additional burden of working full time on the National Guardian (it is a rather new period when a Trotskyist can work on that particular paper) has made it impossible to find time for correspondence. Now I am back on full time for the youth.
Thank you for sending us the copies of both issues of the 4th International. They created a good deal of interest here. In fact I am all out of the first issue and only have a couple of copies of the second issue left.
I sent out the first issue to our leading youth comrades throughout the country as I have suggested the Germain report on Stalinism as discussion material for a Russian question discussion that we will probably start at our coming youth conference Labor Day. In fact I could use a few more copies of this as I did not have enough to send a copy to some areas.
I found the second issue of the magazine of yours to be very interesting. I feel it plays a very important function as a theoretical organ aimed at the Marxist cadre itself on an international level. The comparable organs in English—Labour Review and the International Socialist Review—play a more propagandistic role which, of course, is extremely important.
I would be interested in your view on the French crisis—more particularly the role played by the various left and Marxist groups—information which it is difficult to get from this distance. I would like to know if there is any difference between the line of your group and Lambert on the developments; whether your group is in the Committee for Revolutionary Action; what exactly is this committee; and whether there have been any repercussions in the CP ranks over the role of its leadership in the events. Also, has the Nagy-Maleter murders had any effect? It sure has shook up things here again.
Things are moving along well here in both the youth and adult areas. The youth are heading for a national conference at which we will set up an organization with a pretty definite revolutionary-socialist program—at least in general outline. I suggest you look at the "Call" in the July YS for an idea of this. The United Socialist Ticket is of course the big thing in adult circles. We have succeeded in bringing back to life the old ALP [American Labor Party] with a few but rather basic changes. Corliss Lamont, McManus of the Guardian, Annette Rubinstein, etc., will run in the fall New York State elections. The difference is that where the CP was in relation to this organization and political group the SWP now stands. In addition the nature of the grouping has veered leftward. For the first time in their lives these "progressive" characters are running openly as socialists against the capitalists. Some of them are even all shook up on the Russian question, with the National Guardian strongly protesting the murder of Nagy-Maleter. All this bodes well for the growth of the revolutionary tendency in this country.
[p. 101]
I am glad that things are looking up in the moves towards reunification of the international Trotskyist movement. This is, of course, of extreme importance with all the possibilities opening up to all of us on an international scale. If organic unity is not forthcoming immediately, maybe it would be possible to work out a level of international collaboration between the different groups. It seems to me that the SWP leadership is very much interested in reunification as they sent Dobbs to Europe—a rather expensive move for a small party. So I am sure something can be worked out.
I have not heard from the Belgium youth though I look forward to hearing from them. At least we should be able to work in a reasonably fraternal manner on the youth level which should be beneficial to all.
I hope that governmental harassment is not getting too great for you in Paris these days and that you can continue your operation there. I am looking forward to seeing the next issue of the 4th International. I have put the various publications named on our exchange list and will drop them notes asking for the same courtesy when we can get to it.
Revolutionary Greetings,
Tim Wohlforth
Editor, Young Socialist
P.S. Your fifth world congress documents on Stalinism seem to have won over one comrade to a defensist line who had been a leading Shachtmanite since 1949. He spent most of that time fighting Shachtman. What time he had left he spent keeping the SWP off the Berkeley campus (he was rather effective, I might add). Presently he is fighting to get it back on! [The reference is to James Robertson.]