Published Weekly as the Organ of the Socialist Party of New York, Left Wing Branches.
Vol. II. No.
Saturday, January 8, 1938 401 Cents per Copy SOCIALIST APPEAL NewPartyformed; ToFight War Plans Convention Resolutions Stress Left Wing Delegates Found Fight on War, Mass Work, Defense Socialist Workers Party of Soviet Union by New Party at Convention in Chicago Appeal View Confirmed in Convention Robinson GPU Mystery Sidelights The Convention of the revolutionary socialists It is entirely inconceivable that American inmeeting in Chicago over the New Year Day perialism can succeed in resisting the inexorable week end devoted most of its sessions to a serious tendencies that are pulling it into the vortex of CHICAGO, III. The most impressive convention consideration of the problems facing the Ameri the coming World War. The United States is to of the revolutionary movement in America during the can and the international working class. The day the strongest world power. The bases of its past decade was being held here this week by the rank of its deliberations, embodied in the resolutions adopted, will be published in full in subcontinent, and the shocks and convulsions of ca and file of the Socialist party left wing branches who had Peuwduent issues of the Socialist Appeal. In the pitalism anywhere in the world have their im been expelled by Norman Thamas and his executive comcurrent issue we will confine ourselves only to mediate, direct or indirect, effects upon this, mittee for the advocacy of their revolutionary Marxist the most striking passages in the main resolutions country. This is expressed in military terms by views.
that were passed, in order to give a general im the fact that, despite the virtually invulnerable Over 100 regular and fraternal towards a raging crisis is already pression of the spirit and policies of the convention. geographic position of the United States, its ar delegates representing in the Stressing the democratic naPolitical Resolution Points to War time history, adjusted to the objectives of world were registered and meeting in maments program today is the largest in its peace, majority trade union workers ture of the inner life of the revolutionary party. Shachtman Danger conquest rather than to the myth of self contained sessions that began promptly on said, Democratic centralism, isolation. Politically, it was expressed in the clear Friday morning, December 31.
The Political Resolution analyzes the role of est terms in the aggressive, interventionist speech After a brief speech of wel nization, is based in the tirst which is our p:inciple of orgaAmerican imperialism and the task of the social of Roosevelt in Chicago, announcing the determi come by Albert Goldman, Chica place upon a common adherence ists in the coming war as follows. Continued on page 2)
go labor attorney, the convention to the fundamental program of plunged into the intensive and the party. It implies the free extensive work before it.
exchange of opinion, the right of discussion, presentation of and War Crisis Looms defense of views within the The first major report was de framework of the principles of ivered by Max Shachtman, revolutionary Marxism, the un.
editor of the New International, impaired right of the memberon the political perspectives of ship to decide freely the policy of the United States and the tasks the organization and to select of the revolutionary movement. its leadership.
Riding the rails, thumbing their It is entirely inconceivable way, traveling by train and car, that American imperialism can Stalinist Democracy By Junius Delegates coming to the conven. succeed in resisting the inexorabit The democracy of the StaWhile the powers that be in Washington and Moscow. tion represented all sections of le tendencies that are pulling continued all last week trying to make up their minds of backgrounds, and experiences. world war, Shachtman declared right of the party membership the country and a wide variety into the vortex of the coming hinist parties is confined to the what to do about the Robinson Rubens case, which now Here are a few, picked at random. If the working class is unable to carry out unquestioningly all the decisions arbitrarily arrived bids fair to be a Frankenstein monster capable of devourCalifornia: The honor of trato prevent the outbreak of war.
ed leadership over which the for the first time, penetrating the wall of silence which Convention goes to two young rectly into it, our party stands ranks of that party have absoing its creators, a few facts leaked into the capitalist press veling the longest distance to the and the United States enters di at by a bureaucratically appointhad previously prevailed.
comrades from Fresno, who made pledged to the traditional posi: lutely no control.
tion of revolutionary marxism.
upon foreign Trotskyist move the trip the hard way, by hitchThe resolution on poktical perA significant dispatch from ments and a spy scare against iking and riding the rods. They re Washington, published Defeatism Reaffirmed spectives was adopted following the Japan. It was reported that the concentrating at the present time a lengthy discussion.
New York World Telegram of American publicity given the Roon setting up party locals the It will utilize the crisis of ca full day was devoted to the January 4th, confirms the ana binson case lysis of the affair made by James had been received agricultural villages in the sur pitalist rule engendered by the problems of the labor movement with Cannon on December 17th authorities as a fine build up. ing locality.
great satisfaction Soviet rounding territory, a grape grow. war to prosecute the class strug. and the role of revolutionary soby.
gle with the utmost intransigen cialists in the unions. It began and repeated in these columns last week series of coincidences, de ce, to strengthen the independent with a report on the trade union Minnesota. leader in the labor and revolutionary move resolution by James Cannon.
The World Telegram dispatch veloped by the investigations follows in here, have drawn Washington Minnesota Farmers Union, John ments, and to bring the war to national secretary of the Convenpart: attention to the secret agent Enestvedt, Olivia, Minn, is a ja close by the revolutionary over tion Arrangements Committee. Informed Washington circles theory, originally put forward by living refutation of the Manhattan throw of capitalism and the Unity of the labor movanent said today it is now believed that Max Shachtman and other Ame notion that Scandinavians make establishment of proletarian rule is a vital necessity and our party phlegmatic revolutionists. lies in the form of the workers state, must be in the forefront of the sons, Soviet prisoners in Moscow. rican Trotskyist leaders.
busy trying to convert what he Shacht man said.
struggle to achieve that unity, were former Soviet secret agents. Ravitch Linked to Foster terms the petty bourgeois slogan Speaking of the present eco. Cannon emphasized. He warned The Washington theory, it Land to the peasants into nomic situation, the reporter that unity which did not include was learned, is that the Robin It was learned that new study Land to the Teamsters Joint pointed out that, it possible a class struggle program against som arrests were to be follower has been given to the part play. Council and the Farmhands. that the full development of the the bosses, a recognition of the by a new series of confession ed in the case by Helen Ravitch, The Twin Cities sent a delega present recession into a deep crisis rights of industrial unionism.
trials in Russia.
director of the Drama Tration of about 15 delegates and se may be temporarily arrested hy and democracy for the rank and Major objects of the new League Bureau, who receipoed veral alternates and visitors. It a certain period of economic up: fle pould become meaningless.
trials would have been an attack (Continued on page Continued on page 2) turn, but the line of development (Continued on page 2)
in