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George Breitman

Candidate Explains Position of SWP
to New Jersey Women Voters League

(17 August 1946)

From The Militant, Vol. X No. 34, 24 August 1946, p. 8.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’ Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL).

NEWARK, N.J., Aug. 17 – George Breitman, Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Senator from New Jersey, today submitted the following answers to questions on foreign and domestic policy asked of Congressional candidates by the Voters’ Service of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey:

Atomic Energy

QUESTION:
1. If an international authority with power to control atomic energy (such as the one outlined in the Baruch report) can be established under the United Nations, would you favor a gradual transfer to it of our technical knowledge about the atomic bomb?

ANSWER:
The Socialist Workers Party’s main concern in atomic energy is seeing that it is used not for war, but for the peaceful development of the productive forces and medical research. Neither U.S. government monopoly nor the Baruch Plan will achieve that; in fact, both will leave control of atomic energy in the hands of the U.S. government, which is producing atomic bombs 24 hours a day. We seek control of atomic energy by the toiling people of the world, who alone can be depended on to prevent atomic warfare and destruction.

Tariff

QUESTION:
2 (a). What should be the position of this country regarding lowered U.S. tariffs as our contribution toward removing restrictions on the flow of international trade?

ANSWER:
We support abolition of all capitalist restrictions on international trade, including the tariff, The tariff is only one of the obstacles to the free exchange of commodities on a world scale. More important are the national boundary lines which stand is walls obstructing international commerce. We advocate the Socialist United States of the World as the only means to achieve international prosperity and the genuine brotherhood of man.

Food

QUESTION:
2 (b). What should be the position of this country regarding shipment of food to famine areas for the duration of the famine emergency?

ANSWER:
We strongly favor shipment of food to famine areas. To insure that distribution of such food is not used as a political weapon by Washington, we favor placing it under the control of committees representing the labor movement both in this country and the famine areas.

Colonies

QUESTION:
2 (c). What should be the position of this country regarding placing mandated territories (including our own Pacific Island bases) under trusteeship of the United Nations?

ANSWER:
We are opposed. “Trusteeship” and “mandates” are just fancy names to cover up foul imperialist policies. We demand immediate independence for all countries and all peoples under the political, economic or military domination of the U.S. or any of the other United Nations.

Production

QUESTION:
3. What measures do you believe will maintain production and employment in this country at their present high levels?

ANSWER:
Nationalization of the basic industries under the control of committees democratically elected by the workers in those industries. This measure will lead to a planned economy, which will not merely maintain production, but raise it to levels never reached in this country and will end unemployment altogether.

Housing

QUESTION:
4. What is your position on (a) Government housing for lowest income groups, including programs for slum clearance? (b) Federal encouragement of housing for middle income groups?

ANSWER:
We vigorously support legislation toward this end. We favor taking the 18 billion dollars a year now being spent for military preparations and using it to finance such a housing program.

Price Rises

QUESTION:
4 (c) What is your position on measures to check inflation?

ANSWER:
To protect the working people against rising prices, we advocate the sliding scale of wages, an escalator wage clause in all union contracts to provide automatic wage increases to meet the rising cost of living. We also favor applying this principle to all fixed incomes – such as unemployed workers and veterans, people living on pensions, students un[text missing]de. the GI Bill of Rights, etc.

To effectively control prices, we advocate consumers committees – composed of housewives, workers, farmers, small businessmen – empowered to fix and police prices.

To combat profiteering, we advocate nationalization of the food industries, which have been extorting price rises, and their operations under workers’ control.

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