BourgeoisieCapitalismCommunismSocialismSocialist PartyWorkers PartyWorking Class

Saturday, June 7, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Chicago Running True to Form TH when the Socia could not muster HE expected happened.
adopted by the convention. The rank and file of the Once again moderate Socialists have been By Barnet Braverman membership knew what they wanted, and so there tried and have met all expectations of those mass action, with its insistence upon All power to wasn opportunity for the old guard to use its parliawho know them. This on May 18th and 19th, 1919, the workers, the moderates began and are using de mentary trickery and bullying. Everything in the Socialist Party of Cook County, Illinois, convention was done openly, in clear cut fashion; and held its convention and a Left Wing platform. ceitful sophistry and evasiveness as their only weapons this only served to infuriate the old The guard. anger I. repeat, the moderate of the moderates four en Socialists in incertisanominent expression in childish derision tion ran true to forme guns, poison gas, and bay being in Germany they actionary minority to bolt the convention. Socialist Party platforms. proceeding on the basis of pred from the decision of the chair, for dictatorship and an approximate one mac hundred of the class struggle, and recognizing that the Socialist onets the against revolutionary Left Wing that domin movement has come into the historical period of revated the Cook County convention. The moderates the sole purpose of delaying the business of the conolution, can only contain an explanation of the class vention. may add that have seen chairmen heckled answered the organized decisions and ideas of the struggle and the demand for all power to the workers, but never did think it possible for individuals supLeft with venomous vituperation, dilatory tactics: and for a dictatorship of the proletariat.
failing in these, tried the wiles and blandishments municipal platform of Socialism cannot proceed posed to bear some prestige to be as petty in the on a separate basis, but must conform to the general of sentimental appeal about comradeship and party grounds for attack as the moderates leaders vere.
platform, simply relating the attainment of local power would be an an appropriate, truth: ective umet us keep party unity, pleaded the exponents to the immediate goal of gaining national power. There to to their antics.
are no city problems within the terms of the class strug The Amnesty convention, heine prometent nonof the moderates, only to follow this plea by bolting gle, only one problem of capitalist vs. proletarian domination. The particular the convention.
national, state and city class interests, was repudiated by the left widelSome of the bolters threatened to government are merely illustrative of the central prob egates by more than two thirds vote. It wai maintorganize another party; others considered the feas lem and should be so presented they should not be ained by the Left Wing that it is futile to appeal to ibility of purchasing space in the capitalist dailies to listed as the thing to be remedied. item hy item, as the tell the hasis of Socialist political activity. The municipal plata government that incarcerated the politicai in class public just why they, the moderates, bolted the form of Socialism, like all other platforms can contain ar prisoners, and equally as useless to work with convention, breindeed!
only one demand: all power to the workers. local bourgeois organizations inherently reactionare in spirAs a quiet of the convention, had ample power as the basis of further gains.
it.
opportunity and provocation to reflect upon the con The above section was adopted by a vote of 389 to But the action of the moderate Socialists at this duct of the reactionary minority with their mental 83. After the vote was taken the Right Wing meta convention was not surprising in the least, not more incapacity to adjust themselves to a new historical morphosed itself into a shrieking bediam, determined so than the performances of the moderate Socialists If the reactionary moderates deemed party unity their fear by refusing to oppose their real reformist actionary minority ran true to form in their opposiof tion to Couldn they tolerate the proposal, All power to the itical action until All nower to the workers becomes All power to the workers has a wider appeal to an established fact. The action, the bedlam, of the the needs of the proletariat than such insipid Bergertain a philosophicat, unperturbed attitude when they Right Wing Socialists revealed the bankruptcy of their policy as fundamentally counter revolutionary, esque. reactionary middle class reforms as cheaper gas, milk, car fare. The Left Wing demand, A11 by the convention. Middle class rule in the Socialist a policy adapted to the needs of state Capitalism versus power to the workers is a demand for action, now Party was very pleasant for a few while it lasted. Socialism.
and all the tinre, for the proletariat to seize Power, From the moment the rank and file awoke to endorse The moderates were chagrined at the manner in and consciously to determine the establishment of a the revolutionary Left Wing, with its demand for which one revolutionary plank after another was republic for workers.
The Counter revolution in the Party (Continued from page six)
Hungarian Federation, the signature on the protest, report of the Investigating Conmittee is received.
several of the Federations during the past two years and not one other word in any other connection. Elected to this Committee: Arnold (Milwaukee. insisting that the recent progress was artificially stim Comrade Wagenknecht pointed out that the coniBrandt (St. Louis. Branstetter (Chicago. all of ulated. He read translations from the Lithuanian rades in New York have been up against a well organ the Righ Wing.
per to instance attacks on the and support ized official machine for a long time, and that this the Left Wing. These articles, by the way, as well situation should have been taken care of long ago. This Thursday, May 29th.
as all the statements of the Translator Secretaries in is the sort of thing which brings about factional exvolved, were of such clear, consistent, and aggressive tremes. But we must keep the big issues in mind. Comrade Wagenknecht has been in charge of this DeThe Organization Departinent was abolished.
character as to give the highest possible encouragement The Left Wing expressions are membership expresfor the future of the Socialist movement in America. partinent for several months, and this was the method sions. They show that the party is in good health. of getting rid of him, though Wagenknecht explained It appeared then that Neal and Shiplacoff had.
The members should not wait for Conventions to ex that he had intended to resign at this session.
Where todo part of the night in revamping the press their opinions for them, but have the right all Katterfeld drily commented that he would vote for of the Krafft motion. Krafft promptly these same Secretaries who came before this Comwithin the this action as consistent with the other actions of the Committee. It is absurd to retain an Organization entered by Shiplacuff. Evidently tlie weakening Centmittee to protest against sending delegates to the Berne Department after the actions already taken.
rists had been stiffened up Conference, which shows that they have been more The Amnesty Convention was postponed to Septemsignificant because it accurate in their understanding of the world situation the was to get rid of certain votes, which were too weli than the Committee itself. Your hurry exposes your organize this affair, made his report.
her 15th, after Barnes, who has been employed to organized for the conquest of the party for revolution motives. Only the two Left Wing members of the ary Socialism and the reasons for the suspension voted for the Convention three months ago.
Stedman appeared again to state that lie was inhad to be discovered after the act.
formed that the Executive Committee of the South Comrade Katterfeld recalled the factional organiz Slavic Ferleration was opposed to the declarations of Comrade Stilson spoke at some length for the Fed ation within the itself to repudiate the St. their Translator Secretary. This was a pretty comerations, without being presented with any definite Louis platform. our members of the Coinmittee mentary on the action of the but the Comcharge except that the Federations were for the Left nearly suceceded in defeating the will of the member mittee decided not to open up its action until supplied Wing and therefore unconstitutional. He read the ship, expressed by a twelve to one vote. Four memwith further information.
party constitution and showed clearly that there was hers who were pro war now constitute a majority of The further business of the Thursday and Friday nothing in the constitution upon which the Committee the minority which is taking the party into its own sessions the issuing of proclamations and a statecould base its power to take this action. He showed hands at this time. These four are Goebel, Hogan, ment of the party stand. The original draft of this that there are many Left Ving locals still in the party, Holt and Krafft, the orlier three, Work, Neal and statement was by Hillquit, and the statement as in relation to which the took no action, leaving Shiplacoff, with Stedman absent at this time. adopted will be taken up in a special article.
the party in a condition of chow chow. The Federations are in in the Left Wing: that is true. They made defeater, to The resolution of suspension was The amendment to lelay the trial two weeks was for the The closing sessions were marked l» a lack of asWhen the was insistently asked for an ei ain: passed. to 2: Later, the suspension was given surance on the part of the majority, with open admispractical interpretation as expulsion by ordering the Convention, gency it declared for an Amnesty Consions that the confidence of the minority for a Left Translator Secretaries to vacate their offices by Jume Wing victory in the Convention, in spite of all expulvention. There was no fight against the Left Wing Ioth.
until the officials realized that the party machinery was sions, was warranted.
about to slip out of their hands.
The record of this meeting of the constiThen, after all this discussion, and after all these Il ednesday morning. May 28th tutes of itself a complete case for the Left Wing expulsions, came the pronouncement of Shiplacoff communication was read urging the Socialist movement within the party and the complete assurThe Left Wing movement doesn exist. To which Party to get together with the Labor Party, since the ance of the winning of the party for the Socialism of Stilson rejoined Then what are you talking about? platforms were so much alike. This unconscious satire, social revolution.
To the complaint that there was no other way out, however, was quite in point. Goebel showed a quick The party revolution is won. The counter revoluStilson answered: You join the Labor Party and let responsiveness to the idca, but no definite action was tion is on. Every Socialist who is conscious of the the Socialist Party take care of itself.
taken.
real issues involved in this party controversy will vote Note, then, that as to the South Slavic Federation Neal moved to request locals not to initiate ref for the delegates to the Emergency Convention pledged there was nothing before the Committee except the erendums until after the Convention. The vote was to join the American party with the Communist Intersignature on the protest against the New York expul to whereupon the majority members changeel national.
sions: that the Secretary inade clear that the member their votes to niake it to There was some sentiParty expulsions can no more kill the Socialism of slip of this Federation had not yet acted on the Left ment for a complete ban against referendumns, but this the social revolution than the imprisonments, deportWing program. As to the Polish Federation, the was rather too strong. so the Committee went no ations and brutalities of our capitalist master class.
entire case was the Translator Secretary had affixed further than this request.
The Left Wing speaks for the Socialism which is his name to the protest after it was completed, not There was some heckling about the right of mem marching along with world history, while the party having taken part in the conference between the Secre bers of to see the referendum votes, which officialdom is still of those who make the proletarian taries. There was no report of action by the Polish were concluded this day, May 28th. It was finally oppression a game of political nothingness. The Left Federation on the Left Wing program. As to the ordered that the vote should be kept secret until the Wing must become the party.
party. It was ar slates