Mason Declares Communist Movement Outside of Russia Is Weakened by Organized Labor--Political Propaganda Poor

"Communism has made little progress outside Russia during the depression," declared A. S. Mason, associate professor of Economics, in a CRIMSON interview yesterday. Mr. Mason has just returned from Europe after a year's study of the history of the Socialist movement.

"I was particularly surprised," continued the economics professor, "to find in Germany, which has gone through fourteen years of continual misery since the war, and is the country perhaps the most severely hit by the present depression, that the Communist revolt in 1932 is very little larger than in 1924.

Organized Labor Socialist

"There are two chief reasons to be assigned for the failure of the Communists to achieve popularity and power. The first is that organized labor has a very considerable stake in the existing order, and as long as they have that stake in it they will not be easily won over to Communism. While the Communist party has made some inroads on the unemployed and more poorly paid labor, the great body of organized labor remains Socialist--in other words, on the side of capital. Unless Communism succeeds in winning over this labor vote, which it hasn't much chance of doing, it has very little opportunity to achieve power. The Socialist parties of Central Europe constitute one of the strongest bulwarks of capitalism and of capitalistic institutions.

Communist Propaganda Poor

"The second reason for the failure of the Communist party is that its political propaganda is little adapted to the development of strong and indigenous parties in the countries of Central and Western Europe. The chief thesis of its propaganda is the defense of Russia against capitalism. This is bound to have small appeal in Western Europe, for the laboring classes there, as in the United States, are primarily interested in more immediate gains, such as higher wages, better working conditions, and unemployment insurance. Until the Communist party shows more skill in and plays more attention to devising a German program for German consumption, a French program for the French, an Italian program for the Italians, there are distinct limits to the growth of the movement.

"The Communist parties have vital organizations, outside of Russia, only in Germany, France, and Czechoslovakia, and those organizations are to be explained by particular conditions. In Switzerland, Austria, and the democratic countries of Northern Europe with strong Socialist parties, Communism has never gained a significant foothold.