2 SOCIALIST APPEAL September 11, 1937 Left Wing Carries YPSL Convention Huge Majority Prevails com As Gerrymander Flops By Hal Draper trists had gone too far to draw walls again resounded to the Inback now. By the same mechan ternational, louder than before.
National Secretary ical vote of 2, they ruled The convention got down to Young Peoples Socialist League that Barshop inflated delaga business immediately with the tion of 58 (the total number al election of Erber and Blackie lotted to New York) would vote Palla, West Coast seaman, bo ing, Friday.
on whether or not to seat them the chair, and the election of conThe Young People Socialist Thursday, they postponed the. They met again in the morn selves! And since Hamilton revention committees. The first League of America becomes the opening while their majority on ing for a short session, at the fused to present a full creden sessions took up the political front arrantzation of the Second the committee, elected over two headquarters, taking up the tials report, we did not know in problems around which the preInternational to go over to the years ago, attempted to fix the case of the suspension without a how many other cases this pro convention fight had revolved.
Betiner the Fourth Interna composition of the convention hearing of the California Party. cedure would be repeated.
tionalist movement by action of But the Committee had to work Erber motion to condemn Ward The NEC had exceeded the Convention Decisions its Ninth National Convention in the face of a large audience Rodgers and demand the rein limit of its powers. The convenlast week end.
The main resolutions on Spain of over a hundred left wing dele statement of California, backed tion was waiting eagerly to and on the International question By an overwhelming majority, gates. That already showed who up by photostatic evidence of swing into action.
with a discredited handful of had the majority of the conven Rodgers criminal charges against The National Chairman of the were passed unanimously right wingers and centrists walk tion.
the California comrades, was League, and by his office chairThe Spanish resolution, declar: ing out after the failure of their The first question the com met by a motion to investi man of the NEC meeting, Ernesting for the struggle of Socialisin vicious campaign to disrupt the mittee took up was for the re gate! This debate took till Brber, thereupon declared the against Capitalism, set forth the organization, the convention en cord a motion against the en 12:30.
At that late hour, with meeting adjourned and called the left wing in the Socialist Party dorsed the Marxist principles for dorsement of La Guardia. But the convention already more than convention to order with the sing and League had been fighting the revolutionary overthrow of when National Chairman Ernest a day over due and with all the ing of the International. The old The International resolution capitalism, and enthusiastically Erber amended it to call also for delegates tense for the opening headquarters rang with the deleof the laid plans for rooting the YPSL condemnation of all deals with of their convention, the centrists gates response, everyone (in noted the bankruptcy among young workers and all the for reorganization made a motion to adjourn till the cluding the Clarityites) standing two existing International and of the so called London the organizations of youth. of Local for violation of afternoon to take up still more up and joining in. When the The convention met in Phila discipline, and for a democratic credentials!
clenched fists were down, Hamil Bureau. and declared for the delphia from Sept. 5. Up to City Convention of the Party, the They backed down on this on ton jumped up and called upon building of a new, Fourth Interthe last day, the Clarity man centrists sidestepped by tabling our vigorous protest. We de his loyal cohorts to walk out ted to carry this out organizar national; the NEC was instruceuverers tried every trick to ger tt.
manded that Hamilton present with him and go to the Young tionally in collaboration with our rymander the convention. Falsifihis whole report on credentials Women Christian Association.
cation of dues records, fantastic The Key Questions so that the situation would be Gathering up his papers, he led party comrades. On the separapportionment of delegates, inHamilton refused to the retreat of about a dozen dele. ated question of material aid to validation of legitimate elections, The second point was the cruc make this elementary report, ob gates out of the hall, followed the Spanish Government a min.
Sale of dues stamps to Clarity cial issue the expulsion of the viously following the tactic of by two individuals named Laz ority of seven was recorded. N.
our student tasks came up as lopping off one section after an arus Becker and Mendel Mender resolution circles on credit every shady device long known to every labor a choice between recognizing the other piece meali was passed almost unanimously, Thereupon son.
left wing District Committee rep. Comrade faker was part of the administra resented by Hal Draper or the know whether the Barshop delecalling for a left wing movement Gould demanded to in the American Student nion to tion repertory.
splitters District Comittee led by gation from New York, which Splitters Exposed fight against the Stalinist leaderFrantic Centrists Barshop, author of the notorious was contested, would have the ship Peoples Front program: dues falsification letters. Here In this way, the splitters made collective security, abandonment But even with all this they the pretext for the expulsion right to vote on its own contest. clear to the whole world who are of militant strike action and could not make a majority out of the sale of the Socialist Appeal Only Convention Can the YPSL. They walked out. keeping away from labor struga small minority, and were com was ripped to pieces and the They walked out of the and gles.
pelled in a last frantic measure political and organizational bankDecide YPSL headquarters where the The resolution on the labor to start expelling the majority ruptcy of the Clarity group conconvention was being held, to party led to a vigorous discustwo weeks before the Convention. cretely demonstrated, It is a longstanding rule that foregather in the more genteel sion after which a pro labor parIn New York mass expulsions of lengthy discussion. But by the the NEC can seat only uncon halls of the girls. They ty resolution received four votes; the left wing Yipsels began for machine vote of 2 (in the very tested delegations, the conven walked out, after the National the minority comrades expressed the sole purpose of lopping oft face of the great left wing ma tion itself voting on the contests. Chairman had opened the con themselves as gratified hy the a large section of the left wing jority of the convention. the obviously any other procedure vention, accordance with his quality and tone of the debate.
delegation NEC voted to recognize the Bar means the hand picking of the duties, long after the time get the resolution on trade unions The centrist administration shop committee, thereby expelling delegates by the outgoing NEC. by the organization. After they puts this work in the forefront made its last desperate stand at some 250 Yipsels. This job fin At this moment the question walked out, the hall, crowded be of our activities for the coming the meeting of the outgoing Na ished, they then adjourned, set was clearly posed: Was tthe old fore, still was crowded to the period, calling for concentration tional Committee. Although the ting the opening of the conven NEC going to substitute itself doorway and the window sills. of Yipsels in the basic indus.
convention had been called for tion for 10 the next morn for the Convention? The cen And as they walked out, the (Continued on page 5)
in Leaders Elected by In Five Years of Development Young in Years, Old in Work a ganization was seen in the delegates who attended the convention and the high political level upon which discussion took place.
Those who had attended several conventions and national conferences of the could not help commenting again and again, as they scanned the assembled delegates, that this easily marked ERNEST ERBER, was e, inception in 1935. He was the By Ernest Erber (1932 remain at the head of the the most competent and best elected National Chairman, hav editor of Out of Their Mouths. left wing today. People like Alt trained group of young Socialists ing served in that capacity for a complilation of quotations from National Chairman mar, Larks, Smerken, Leven who had ever gathered in a na the last two years. At the age Stalinist sources upon their Young Peoples Socialist League stein, and Gomberg have long tional meeting. This not only of 24 Comrade Erber has six changed line on the war question, since passed over to Stalinism, speaks well of work done to dev years of full time work in the which had an international girOur Ninth National Conven either during its third period elop the membership but, of much Socialist movement to his credit. culation. The Old Guard leadertion brought us victory in our insanity or its fourth period greater importance, it indicates He stood at the extreme left of ship of local New York attemptlong battle to convert our organ degeneration, or have found their the work which such a member the Militant caucus during the ed to keep him out of the soberth in the American Labor ship can accomplish in the com fight against the Old Guard. In cialist Party for adherence to ization into revolutionary Party or the job of a trade union ing period of mass work. 1934 he was one of the leading the program of the Revolutionary youth movement. The decisive bureaucrat. Others like Fischer, As one of the group whose remembers of the Revolutionary Policy Committee which called Ress of the victory is attested to Fish, Friedman, and thers have cord includes participation in Policy Committee. He has served for a dictatorship of the preleby the pitifully small number of ended up in the camp of Clarity every national convention since as Editor of the Challenge of tariat.
right wing and centrist delegates Altman.
1932 and service in various ca Youth and the Young Sccialist who walked out of the conven left wing became stultified in cannot help repeating to the to Europe last year to attend the Organizer, at the age of 24 has But as some members of the pacities and upon various bodies, Review. The sent him NATHAN GOULD. Xational tion.
their development and dropped membership of the League what World Youth Congress at been in the revolutionary moveThe loft wing began the strug into the various opportunist and said to the convention upon ac neva, and to confer with the lead ment for 11 year, having joined gle in 1932. The Socialist Youth centrist channels, new blood was cepting re nomination for Na ers of the Socialist youth move the Young Pioneers in 1922. He learned much under the terrific being added from several sources. tional Chairman. have never yetments in Spain, France and Bel was a member of the Young impact of the events in Germany. In 1936, several hundred young accepted a post in the movement gium.
Communist League from 1928 to revolutionists of the Spartacus with such confidence in those who 1931, at which time he was exAustria, and Spain, as well as Youth League joined the ranks go to make up the leading cadres HAROLD DRAPER is the new pelled for Trotskyism. He orthe growing class struggles in of the left wing. To them goes and membership of the organiza National Secretary of the ganized the Spartacus Youth which they themselves partici a great deal of credit for the tion. We have come together At the age of 23, Draper is League in Chicago the following pated on the industrial front in final stages in the training and through a severe struggle that know throughout the Socialist year, and served upon its Na America. The program of the left ists fighting for a revolutionary work together. We now face con of the younger writers and speak the He served the wing continually moved in the program. Other hundreds came fidently the task of building anders on questions of Marxist as National Secretary direction of greater clarity and to the left wing directly from the guiding a movement that must theory. He has served the in 1935 and in 1936 he became became ever more firmly based struggles led by left wing mem establish its place the head of in various capacities since district secretary of the Chicago upon the principles of Marx and bers of the YPSL, on the indus the working and student youth of joining in 1933; among his of. The Chicago organLenin.
Itrial and student fields. this country, to rally them around fices was that of Student Direc ization has more than doubled The personnel of the group The thereotical clarity and or the banner of the revolutionary tor in New York City. He has its membership under his leadchanged in conformity with poli ganizational experience achieved movement we are building, to been a member of the National ership. He has been a member tical development. Only a small by the membership during this struggle for workers power and Executive Committee of the Am of the National Organization core of the leading comrades of struggle for a revolutionary or Socialism.
Ierican Student Union since its Committee since last May,