BourgeoisieSocialismSocialist Party

THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Saturday, April 26, 1919 truth.
a sense of holding in print LO Criticism of The Revolutionary Age the issue of The Revolutionary Age of March 8, you published and are not read the mouse the By Adolph Germer Again you charge that when advised the locals, National Executive Secretary, Socialist Party.
branches and individual comrades that the Boston resa National Emergency Convention. That article olution could not be accepted as a motion for refercontains several unfounded charges against the Nationendum, informed such locals, branches and indivial Executive Committee and me in particular. shall isoners. Of course, it is the privilege of The Revolu med duals, that the only motion properly initiated was from not assume to say that it was your wilful intention to tionary Age to pride itself on boycotting such a conference and urge others to do the same. It is the been informed that at this late dáte made an objection convey false information. will be tolerant enough bark at the to believe that you did it innocently, not thinking it privilege of The Revolutionary Age moon while our comrades are languishing necessary to go to the trouble of learning the actual filthy to the Queens County resolution. To me at least it prisons. To some of our experienced comrades at will be interesting to learn who is peddling these false It has been well said that lie will travel around least, it is agreeable that we should combine every elehoods. What is the source of your information. Please reveal it. The fact that the ballots for a conventhe world while the truth is pulling on its boots. There ment that can bring pressure to bear upon the Demotion will be shipped out in the next few days, will is more truth than poetry in this, and when a person serve, hope, as an emphatic denial of your claim. or group of persons set out to accomplish a purpose, This is Germer!
challenge you or anyone else to tell your readers where it will help them materially to twist, garble and distort National Executive Committee motion by and when and to whom made objection to the conmember Katterfeld: the facts. Somehow a falsehood sounds more romant That we reprimand the Executive Secretary, Adolph stitutionality of the Queens County motion.
ic than the truth. But even so, a Socialist who has Germer, and instruct him under penalty of immediate frankly confess guilt to doubting the wisdom of responsibility, in in dealing with party affairs, recall from office, to cease interfering with the penda National Party Convention this year, but at should at least satisfy himself of the accuracy of a ing membership referendum regarding the National no time and no place and to no one have said that umor before it is is given out in Convention. am not given to making charges against members Comment: Our Party, Constitution provides that an the Queens County motion was not submitted in strict official, who interferes with the processes of the memaccord with the provisions of the National Constituin the Party, but the entire article breathes the desire bership shall be recalled from office.
tion: to create suspicion and distrust rather than to solidify As an individual party member, Germer has the question the wisdom of a National Convention for our forces at a time when hundreds of our comrades right to take part in debates on referendums. But he several reasons. First on account of the expense inare either in prison or facing prisons, and when the has no right to use the machinery of the National Office for that purpose.
volved. We are just emerging from the indebtedness existence of our whole movement is challenged by the He is sending two page official communications to that has served as a brake the party for several plutocrats.
Locals that endorsed the Boston resolutions, seeking years. convention will cost between 15, 000 and is a thousand times easier to circulate a falsehood, to defeat the Convention referendum. He used the official Party Bulletin for the same purpose. 20, 000 if all the States send delegates. All the states no matter how innocently done, and create distrust, He left out of the Bulletin the report on are not in a financial condition to pay the expense of than it is to instil confidence in the honesty and int motions No. 32 and No. 33 that made regarding delegates. The Queens County motion makes no proegrity of those who have been selected, wisely of unJapanese organizer and International Delegate, but vision for financing the convention. In fact, no men printed his anti Convention argument instead.
wisely, to administer the affairs of the Socialist Party. Such reprehensible practices cannot be tolerated.
tion is made of it. Al convention cannot finance itself in This official chicanery must be rebuked.
and unless provision is made, there is a grave probofficial positions always have ulterior motives, than Letter of member Katerfeld, to Adolph ability of having representation only from the States that they are actuated by sincere desires. There are Germer, Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party: more favorably situated financially, leaving the weaker also persons who regard it as a greater duty to carry You ask for a statement from members re states without delegates. The amount necessary to on an internal quarrel, regardless of the consequences garding the proposed Party Convention. You are entirely out of order. Are you not aware that Party pay the expenses of a convention cannot be raised to the organized movement, than to consume their officials are prohibited from interfering with the proover night. It requires time and persistent effort. But time, their capacity and energy, to enlist new converts cesses of the membership?
thąt objection would not be sufficient were it not that to our cause. have never had time for internal bick You claim to oppose the Party Convention on the we are to have a National Party Convention next erings and would pay no attention to the effusions ground of expense, but you favor an Amnesty Confrom The Revolutionary Age were it not that the proference which in order to amount to anything would cost April or May for the purpose of nominating presidenis the Socialist Movement far more than a Party Concarried on so persistently.
paganda tial candidates and formulating our platform and provention.
You sneer at my strict parliamentary procedure hold that we need a Party Convention not merely gram for the presidential campaign. You many ansand adherence to constitutional law. And you give to show where our party stands in the present world wer that we can formulate our this that we crisis, but also to solve this very problem of financing we are. cunningly thwarting our movement and building our organization.
year convention of by referendum. hope it will You and the rest of the compromisers seem to be The National Constitution afraid to have the Party membership meet in Conbe sufficient to remind the comrades, contention, of our experience with both the the will of the membership. It was adopted by refervention. You seem to know that they will surely repand the nomination of the the platform udiate all dickerings with bourgeois organizations and endum and laid down the law to govern those whom they have elected to executive positions. You retreat efforts to line up our party with pro war patriots of 1916. The convention enthusiasts insist that the new other lands. In spite of your theatrical performance in world conditions demand a new party declaration. behind the National Executive Committee election denouncing the Appeal, when it comes to the real test of revolutionary Socialism you stand right with that gang that our present declarations and program are out of of delegates to the International Conference, not statagainst the uncompromising radicals within our own date. It will require no extended argument to con: ing to your readers that there was no time to elect by party. can never forget your efforts at the St. Louis vince persons who think, that we are in a stage of referendum vote. Besides, you fail to call to the at Convention to change our Party laws so that we could constant transition and that any statement adopted tention of your readers the fact that the Constitution endorse and vote for all party politicians.
at a convention this year may be entirely out of date has the following two authorizing clauses. We do not need a mere Conference for you and reactionaries of our Party to confab with congenial for our presidential campaign, so tht we cannot argue Socialist Art. III, Sec. The affairs of the spirits from liberal organizations. We need a membthat a convention this year will be all sufficient.
Party shall be administered by the National Executive ership Convention with power to act. Your hysterical Committee, its sub committee and officials, the Nation efforts to prevent this convince me of its necessity In addition, the party must carry on a nation wide campaign for the release of war time prisoners. This al Convention and the general vote of the party. And, right now. hope that the membership will resent your Art. IV, Sec. The duties and powers of the official meddling and vote overwhelmingly for the Party cannot be done on good intentions. Even our good Convention.
comrades of The Revolutionary Age are not publishCommittee shall be: ing their paper and traveling about on good will. As (a) To represent the party in all National and cratic Administration and force open the prison doors well meaning as they are, they have found it necessary International affairs.
and regain freedom for the war time victims.
This too is the will of the membership, expressed to make charges to cover at least their railroad fare You say, The decision to hold an Amnesty Conby referendum when the Constitution was adopted.
and living expenses and, in most cases, a vention is an attempt to use the comrades whose adherThe spirit of The Revolutionary Age is clearly reWhy did you not call this to the attention of your ence to party principles has landed them in jail as a vealed in the appeal to the members to protest against readers?
means of defeating the wishes of the revolutionary Of course, the failure to state the extenuating cirthe explanation respecting the Boston resolution. You section of the movement.
cumstances and constitutional provisions is a minor How do you know that? What proof have you to are not satisfied with the National Office accepting the National Constitution as a guide for the Socialist matter; the all important thing is to give your readers substantiate any such statement? As one who is on the impression that the National Executive Committee his way to prison and who approves of calling the The members must be aroused to a protest, right and the National Secretary are an aggregation of Amnesty Convention, brand such a charge as a pure or wrong. This is not the first time have known official autocrats.
and simple fabrication conceived by fertile imagin people to subscribe to the doctrine, United we stand, If the membership in its National Constitution, ation and totally without warrant.
which is the fundamental law of the Socialist Party, but divided we stand it better. And am not sailing Here let me say that am not in the least worrying into the field of speculation when say that it is the says that a referendum must be initiated in a certain about going to jail. Others have gone before me, deliberate purpose to foist that doctrine on the Soway. presume that it is expected of us to have it so others will go after me, and it is no worse for me to cialist Party.
initiated and in no other manner, especially when the go than for the thousands of others who have gone In all that have read in The Revolutionary Age Constitution strictly provides that delegate bodies cannot initiate a national referendum. But what is a the National Executive Committee will not go unchalor may still go. But such an absurd charge against and in most of the resolutions and communications sent to this office in favor of a convention, have trifle like the Constitution (a mere scrap of paper) lenged.
seen nothing to indicate that it is intended as a gatherwhen the minds of the members are to be inflained You further say, if the party convention so decides. against party officials. ing to work out ways and means of combining the ways and means can be found of co operating with masses in a coherent movement to hasten the day of It is both interesting and amusing to see how the other organizations interested in amnesty. the social revolution. One of the champions of the writer of the article, We Must Have a National Em be fair enough to believe that it was not trickery on convention idea put it very bluntly the other ergency Convention, twists and places words to suit your part to dish this out to your readers. that you he said, We want to see who is boss in the his am not in the least drawing on my imagаination decided upon calling an Amnesty Conference, it was agitation for the release of political prisoners?
Is it when say that he is not alone in haboring that with no thought whatever of heading off a National because propagandists are more interested in carry thought. Others have expressed it more tactfully.
Party Conention. The thought the committee had in ing on a discussion of purely party matters than they It up to the members to decide whether or not a mind was to arouse and combine every element in the convention shall be held. If they decide in the affirmcountry, that was interested in the subject of amnesty, jail? If they are, again say, it is their privilege. ative, like a good soldier, yield to their desire and and bring all possible pressure to bear upon the ad But never felt justified in subscribing to such a will leave nothing undone to help make it a success.
ministration to compel the release of all war time pri doctrine.
March 28, 1919 impression the will of the membership of the Socialist Party is that yleis year and nominate our candidiorm and program who raise presidential per diem.
Party: shall day when party.