BolshevismCominternCommunismSocialismSocialist Party

Saturday, June 7, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE The Counter revolution in the Party to and a general everythigerber be and the astonishment of the vanistic His worth acme of for a and none. of a here, two, Wagenity votes on HE counter revolution within the American SoT By Ferguson Berger, Stedman and Work. He indignantly charged cialist Party has begun. It is comic in its exthat the Foreign Federations have banded together to plosiveness and impotence. It makes piercingly Report of the sessions at Chicago capture the party. He failed to add for what purpose.
clear the tragedies averted by the quick success of the must be driven into action with a whip.
Julius Gerber was given the floor to report for the New York State Executive Committee as the New may ewenty fourth at Chicago, and before two hours series on the heard higan position is that the subject of a contro ilie National Executive Committee came together stand of the Michigan Convention on the subject of York situation. The report was a speech, made up had gone by, without charges, hearing, or intelligent of religion should not be under party taboo, but should specications of Sainst the Left Wing, with stieral unconstitutionality; justification of done the New York thousand Socialists of the State of Michigan from the Executive Committeeman Krafft American Socialist Party. And that was only the be Jersey was especially sarcastic on this point as a terpretation of history.
answered Committee.
ginning. ll hen the true logic of this action reveals tion from party regularity, arguing that it was memas a devia eration protest against expulsions in New York or.
branches. protest came before the itself as the business u advances the compulsi 6000 bers of the Knights of Columbus who secured shiseren Gerber directly. was that Local New York inof Michigan to the more than 60, 000 already clearly sts upon its its right to compel all branches to adhere must be pluie to Wing within the insurgency which under the Espionage a here he me ane serving a term to the regular party platforms, and that the Left Wing cussion, this elderly gentleman from New Jersey platform was adopted by the rebel branches wilfully Hillquit is not here. He is sick. His intellectual raised both hands in derision. Perhaps he missed the in violation of the party law. The petty sarcasms of Gerber, whistling presence, is evidenced by a communication outlining whole records of world events during the past two the stand of the on the issues before us, nayears. Krafft is unquestionably a fine, worthy, ideal rable delegate from New Jersey, and the equally protional and found comments of the other elder statesmen, are not international.
gentleman, The proposed statement is presence on this Committee, and of a sick mind. It faces no issue squarely, it is sheer its accord with his political outlook, tells in a word stoling upon, though it is of this stuff that the present status of the official control of the Amer party is being made. Gerber sarcasm about One example will suffice. On the issue of the two ican Sociawist ik toebel hailed in this religious clause ing no interest in Work against the capitalist system Internationals, Hillquit is critical of the Berne Con the cloven hoof the basis of organizing to fight is indicative of the grasp of issues here paraded as the ference and opposed to the Communist International.
ty. The weightiness of Goebel He wants reunion with Luxemburg and Lieb the Socialist Parlism does not keep him anchored learning about knecht dead, murdered under the auspices nat opport very long at a time. He is constantly jumping po Refehainen tein are applicatiow hicho a Rusiame darbech ber explained that Russian branches were enough for New York. The writer is informed that there Otherwise, aside from unprincipled statement of squeakish whine about one triviality after anothe.
are 60, 000 Russians in New York. Even Chicago principles which can be considered after revision by the Committee, Hillquit is advertised as being in favor old men taking upon themselves the stemming of the It is a curious spectacle, this group of half dozen has 7, Russian branches, of which some are already a party split berger, too, is absent. But he has several mouth oncoming waves of a re vitalized American Socialism. the it was made evident that the Executive Without an item outside of the Gerber speech to It answers itself without a word from the outside.
pie The So much for the first session. There will be several Committee of Local New York and of New York complaisione pof Michigan was voted by ShipGoebel, Krafft, Stedman, Work, Ho days of lifeless life to this conference, though the State had substituted their control for that of the gan and Holt. The contrary votes were party membership. This seems to be the precedent first act leaves no question of what is to follow.
upon which the is proceeding.
kneclit and Katterfeld. The other absentees are Clark and Ilerman, in jail, and Niells of California. week ago a history making convention closed in One gem of the discussion was that the New York The motion was made by Stedman, after recomcom: Chicago with such a singing of the Internationale as Local does not expell anybody. It simply reorg was never heard in that city before. The words of a anizes. according to Shiplacoft. a mere formalmgolphi ermer. acticedman moves to destroy the votes ozen languages merged in robust melody.
At this meeting one could not escape consGermer added the item of the mysterious disappear which will put him off the and which will ance of 15, 000 ballots. It was all very, very mysterihelp defeat him for International Delegate. Work Cipherald time religion; the good old time religion, the ous, untij Wagenknecht did a little questioning and Berger likewise need to escape the Michigan old time religion is good enough for us.
baseil de queighing ballots, making no allowances for differAlso Neal, Shiplacoff tion to international representat and Hillquit, in relaOnly John Work squirmed a bit under WagenSession of May 26th ences in weight of different kinds of paper.
challenged the make answer to ives of this method of winning an All on a Monday morning the half dozen elder which Katterfeld responded. If there was any bala election. Work would have given Michigan a hear statesmen of the Sociahist Party are going to dispose lot box stuffing, it ought to be investigatech Part the but the amendment of the Left Wing movement. That is the special order voting of slal in the party. That was precisely the he accepted Stedfailing, which Tias of business.
was so much protestert, It is like the Senate Judiciary ComHolt of Oklahoma thought the Committee might mittee getting rid of Bolshevism by orders of excom been usual within Germer became National Secretary, hy organized with a few days. The action of the Committee as munication via imprisonmentations lucky for many Federation slating. After reviewing the details of the explained by Stedman, was based on the adoption of us that the Socialist Party National executive Como discussion. Katterfeld went on to say that he took all to the State Constitution prohibiting advocacy of re deportation.
the act forms ill the propaganda of Socialism. This resoluThe boast of these elder statesmen is the ancient and expressed his assurance that they could not do for revoluenough to prevent victory within the party Convention, everything else vintage of their statemanship. Constantly they reHe concluded that it was up 10 the aside, had not yet been finally, acted upon by the pear the number of years which separates the present majority of the Committee to prove their loyalty to the Michigan referendum would be available within ness. They do not seem remotely to suspect that there the Socialist movement by handing over the power to three or four daye re Hole was willing to wait until the might be need for a few kind of Socialist conscious stead of purecking the party red gave their mengbership of Michigan had gone contrary to of history.
with the elections and referendums temporarily in national platform, but Stedman had a hunch that validated, the Special Convention was the vote would be overwhelmingly in favor of the The Committee proceeds with its task.
Convention resolution, and this settled the matter. The method, the method, the method that Work and unanimously carried, though Goebel protested the expense.
is the constant complaint, supported by sweeping gengan stand against advocacy of reforms. Wagenknecht eralities and accusations based on most petty items of tions and the motion prevailed that the committee shall platforms. We might have added that it is only buy this food no lo righteous indignationis other than the ac The party does not recognize the Left ling seen fit to omit our ultimate demands from their would never suspect that there is anything involved in be appointed outside the Vagenkuvelit sides will be discrevement from a chance phrase or two that cumulation that details of tuinconstitutionality.
carp for yes the mathematical prob Left Wing candidacies for International Delegates.
wholesale represented. Amendment defeated, to tional platform of 1918. Wagenknecht impressed the order for this The Federations will be on Next: Constitution interpreted to invalile some vote stealing aspect of Stedman motion, and added good naturedly that it would only be a short time un igation for lem is how to wate on til we (Reed and Ferguson. we changed the national platform to conform to clude those not members three years. The logic for that of Because of this cancellation of elections until the the year rule is excellent. The fact is that the remTo which Hogan retorted that it would be just as well 10 dishand the party and this was the sum cial Convention. Goebel, Work. Hogan, go on record has insisted that there is no personal element in the Constitution which Convention meets, the Committee itself calls a Spes hers haye already acted under does not prohibit these candidacies. Cirebell And Goebel played the clown to perfection. Once facroft realized that there is an emergency aside from elections. that this is for once. a vote on issues. This before the writer saw the excitable, peevish Goebel the elections, Wagenknecht and Katterfeld agree to in action, and that was at the meeting of the the Special Convention except as to the election in Chicago when Goebel went into wild raving against matter.
Wagenknecht anvended that this ruling be 101 apthe party anti war stand. Now he is the most vociferous exponent of real Socialism!
The discussion opened with a statement by Goebel plied to an election afready completed, when it was that the initiation of the referendums now before the apparent that there was knowledge or fear of leit Shiplacoli and Neal indulged in evasive refine party were deliberately fraudulent. because they Wing success. Amendment defeated.
nients and sophistries which simply revealed that they came from delegate bodies, instead of from member Shiplacoff made the complacent assumption that were acting somewhat under the whip and there was a fellow present by name of Gerber, from New York, the elections was the open shameless method of anything about Socialism. He was just as charitable those not in the party three years coull not know ship bodies. He said that the method of carrying on a sort of Mephisto of small politics, presumably one slates. accompanied with misleading comment. to the membership which supported these candidates.
of the coterie who planned this performance. Not He complained that the official side was without He is a personal gainer by this elimination of conthat Shiplacoff and Neal were not against the Mich papers. though the Milwaukee Leader, so far as this testants.
igan position: only they are the kind of men who district is concerned, pleaded for the re election of (Continued on page six)
print opposition ing.
man motion dh of moved by the It must have meant 10 Michigan.
insure a safe issues.