"Minutes of the Meeting of the New York State Executive Committee, Socialist Party of America, Sunday, July 13, 1919." In the summer of 1919, the State Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of New York conducted a series of charter revocations of many of the state's local and county organizations which supported the program of the Left Wing Section or refused to terminate participation of members of locals affiliated with suspended language federations. These revocations were followed by immediate "reorganizations" of locals hostile to the Left Wing Section and loyal to the SPA's Old Guard. These minutes of the July 13 meeting of the SEC in Albany detail the repressive measures taken against to following groups: Local Kings County, Local Queens County, Local Utica, Local Syracuse, Local Rochester. In a related matter, tension ran hot over an editorial run by Ludwig Lore in the New Yorker Volkszeitung represented as urging Socialists in Kings and Queens Counties not to recognize the actions of the State Executive Committee in reorganizing those organizations, but rather to remain loyal to the deposed organizations. An interest esoteric tidbit: a proposal to hold an emergency New York State Convention -- presumably a tactic that would have benefited the Left Wing Section -- failed on a tie 12 to 12 vote of the State Executive Committee, with future member of the Communist Party Alexander Trachtenberg voting in the negative. In his vote, which effectively defeated the proposal, Trachtenberg joined such Old Guard stalwarts as Julius Gerber, Bertha Mailly, Benjamin Orr, Barney Berlin, Morris Hillquit, and Louis Waldman. Had Trachtenberg voted the other way, the crushing polices of the New York SEC would have been fought out and decided on the convention floor.

 

"Letter to Alfred Wagenknecht in Cleveland from John Reed in New York, Sept. 7, 1919." Brief note from John Reed in New York to the Executive Secretary of the Communist Labor Party in New York, Due to Reed's high profile and sexy personality, the secondary literature often indicates that he was the founder and head of the Communist Labor Party. This is quite incorrect as illustrated by this letter; Executive Secretary Wagenknecht was the outstanding political leader of the CLP and it is from him that Reed inquires for authoritative documents and pleads for financial support for the labor publication which he edited, The Voice of Labor. Reed relates that fact that "We held a meeting tonight, a hastily-assembled but enthusiastic crowd from different branches. About three hundred. They are very much interested, especially in the report on our efforts to reconcile the two conventions.... There is going to be a terrible fight in New York, but everybody so far seems to think that the CP has acted wrongly - everybody, that is, except the Michigan shouters and the Federation fanatics. We've got three branches, anyway, already."

 

"Communist Labor Party Mail Referendum for NEC Motions 3 and 4." [Oct. 11, 1919] Historians of the Socialist Party of America will immediately recognize this document. The SP was a decentralized organization based around state party organizations -- its governing NEC met only infrequently, approximately once a quarter. In the interim, it transacted its business by mail. So too the early Communist Labor Party (which in the eyes of many sprang from the actually elected Socialist Party, illegitimately overthrown by an illegal coup by the outgoing 1918-19 NEC). In addition to being an interesting illustration of pre-Palmer Raid organizational form, this document set in motion the post-September wrangling of the two Communist Parties over unity, featuring a resolution by Edward Lindgren to have Executive Secretary Wagenknecht write a letter to the CPA offering to hold a joint meeting of the two Executive Committees on Nov. 1 in Chicago "for an informal discussion of a basis for a formal Unity Conference."

 

"Statement to the National Executive Committee of the Communist Labor Party in Cleveland from the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of America in Chicago, October 23, 1919." This is a very early formal reply from the governing CEC of the Communist Party of America to the NEC of the Communist Labor Party in reply to the latter's request for a joint meeting of Executive Committees to attempt to broker organizational unity. The CPA is dismissive of such a task, rhetorically asking whether "a conference between the two Executive Committees be of any use for this purpose? We think not..." Instead, an appeal is made over the head of the NEC of the CLP, directly to the rank and file membership of the organization. The delegates to the Sept. 1 founding convention of the CPA acted decisively, the statement contends, forming a new Communist Party only after having made appeals "individually and collectively" to the Left Wing delegates to the SPA Convention. It was only "the eagerness of the National Secretary of the Communist Labor Party [Alfred Wagenknecht] to run socialist candidates and garner socialist votes" and the selfish desires of other "conscious manipulators" that led to the "deliberate act against Communist Unity" that was the establishment of the CLP. The CPA had stood ready to welcome dedicated Communists to its founding convention as delegates but was unwilling to negotiate with a new "third party" as a party. The door remained open for branches of the CLP willing to accept the program and constitution of the CPA to join that organization as branches and participate in the affairs of the organization leading up to the 2nd Convention, slated for June 1920. The CPA stood ready to assume all work and liabilities of the CLP as a condition of liquidating the CLP organization. "We appeal to the Communist Labor Party membership which is truly Communist to take this situation in their own hands and to compel unity on a fundamental basis," the statement declared.

 

"Letter to Alfred Wagenknecht in New York from Walter F. Bronstrup in Cleveland, February 9, 1920." This is a delightful personal letter with political content written by the Secretary of Local Cleveland, Communist Labor Party to Executive Secretary Alfred Wagenknecht in the aftermath of the Palmer raids. The letter begins with an account of a trip by the handful of remaining members of the local to Wagenknecht's farm, where his wife Hortense served them a pork roast with all the fixings, with lemon pie for dessert. Bronstrup then moves into political matters: "Local Cleveland is dead, just like all other locals that I hear about and am unable to get any activity. If I call a meeting only a few show up and all they want to know is how are things going in the National Office, when is that unity going to arrive, why do we not receive the CLP News, and a lot of questions that I nor anyone else here can answer." Bronstrup urges an end to secrecy, observing that "A plant can not thrive and grow upon the want of food, neither can an organization grow that is starving for information."

 

"Minutes of the Central Executive Committee of the United Communist Party of America, July 1-2, 1920." Minutes of the July gathering of the CEC of the United Communist Party. Chief in importance is the ongoing allegations against National Organizer Leonid Belsky ("Fisher"); allegations against him were related and the CEC moved into Executive Session (not reported in these minutes) to attempt to resolve the matter. A number of routine organizational matters, including the moving of the UCP's Russian organ to New York and the dispatch of the yet-unidentified CEC member "Simon" into the field to conduct German and Hungarian organizing activities. The CEC resolves to "press the work of organizing party Finnish groups aggressively" and to name a Finnish "Editor-Organizer" -- a position for which the names "Tiala" and "Ranta" are put forward. Alexander Bittelman wrote the CEC on behalf of the former Jewish Federation and was to address this meeting -- probably held in Chicago -- on July 3 (no record of this event extant).

 

"Appeal to the Executive Committee of the Communist International in Moscow from the UCP Delegation to the 2nd World Congress of the Comintern, August 6th, 1920." The first thing UCP delegate to the 2nd World Congress of the Comintern Edward Lindgren did upon arriving in Moscow was to attempt to have the delegates of the Communist Party of America unseated. Unfortunately for him, his arrival was in the waning days of the 3 week gathering and the Mandate Commission refused to act upon his request. This resulted in a de jure recognition of both the UCP and the CPA -- rendering the practical effect of the merger between the CLP and the Ruthenberg faction of the old CPA into the UCP to naught. This final appeal was written to ECCI by the American CLP/UCP delegation (Bilan, Lindgren, MacAlpine, and Reed) attempting to obtain the CI's mantle of authenticity, thus effectively forcing the irreconcilable wing of the old CPA to join the United Communist Party to stay within the Comintern's orbit. The case of John Anderson is provided as an example of the old CPA's two-faced nature and dishonesty -- with Anderson's repudiation of the Jan. 1920 unity document he signed with Reed and his perceived absconding with CI funds to the irreconcilable old CPA held up as examples of the rival party's bad faith.

 

"Minutes of the Central Executive Committee of the United Communist Party of America, November 2-5, 9-16 - 1920." Marathon plenary session of the Central Executive Committee of the United Communist Party. As with most CLP and UCP internal documents, the actual content is rather terse. A three member Unity Committee consisting of Max Bedacht, Edward Lindgren, and unidentified "McGee" was elected [Session of Nov. 2]. A convention set for the UCP to be held "not later than December 24th [1920], for the purpose of ratifying the thesis and statutes of the CI" was passed [Nov. 4]. Executive Secretary Wagenknecht was named editor of the Official Organ (Editor Ruthenberg being tried in New York) and a new Executive Secretary was to be named to replace him [Nov. 4] -- but this decision was rescinded and a 3 man committee consisting of Wagenknecht, Israel Amter, and the unidentified "Simon" elected instead [Nov. 5]. Lindgren and Bilan were sent to tour the various district organizations to relate the decisions of the 2nd World Congress of the Comintern [Nov. 5]. Louis Hendin resigned as CEC member and editor of the Jewish legal organ [Nov. 10], which was tabled; the resignation was later withdrawn [Nov. 13]. Executive Session was held with the Secretary of the CI's Pan-American Bureau [Nov. 12], the working expenses of whom were covered by the UCP treasury. Official organs were standardized at 8 pages with a 5 cent price [Nov. 14], to be issued twice a month in English, German, Russian, South Slavic, and Hungarian; once a month in Yiddish, Polish, Estonian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Italian, and Latvian. First issues were also called for in Spanish, Bulgarian, Armenian, and Czech. [Nov. 12]. Various leaflets and pamphlets were approved [Nov. 14] but action on shop committees [Nov. 14] and "Young People's Leagues" [Nov. 16] were deferred. The Chicago committee investigating rumors about Leonid Belsky ("Fisher") was instructed to return a report within a week [Nov. 16]. The unidentified CEC member "Simon" was elected party Treasurer, who along with the auditor and Executive Secretary Wagenknecht were to be a subcommittee of 3 to provide for safekeeping of party funds [Nov. 16].

 

"United Communist Party -- 'Groups' According to Language: As of December 1920." This is based upon an internal document of the United Communist Party captured by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Investigation in the April 1921 raid on UCP National Headquarters in New York. The UCP prided itself on having largely eliminated the federation-based form of organization which typified its rival, the Communist Party of America. Groups (Primary Party Units of between 5 and 10 members) were nevertheless based around language as well as geography and statistics tabulated by the organization. This snapshot from the midpoint of the UCP's one year of existence surprisingly shows more South Slavic (Croatian and Slovenian) language groups than any other (144), followed by the Russian (136), English (121), German (61), Latvian (49), Yiddish (37), Lithuanian (34), and Finnish (31) language groups.

 

"Letter to the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of America in New York from the Central Executive Committee of the United Communist Party in New York, December 12, 1920." Facing a future joint unity convention with delegates apportioned between the UCP and the CPA on the basis of actually paid membership for July-October 1920 and seeing that they were substantially outnumbered by their rivals, the United Communist Party lost little time in ditching its chant for unification and moving straight into advanced level obfuscation. This is the reply of the CEC of the UCP to the set of figures and supplemental documentation provided by the CPA in November to document its membership for unity convention delegate apportionment. Executive Secretary Wagenknecht and the UCP swirl mud into the water, making specious arguments about CPA dues dollar amounts and citing irrelevant membership statistics for the Lithuanian Federation rather than attempting to verify the claimed number for CPA actually paid members for July-Oct. 1920, that being 7,552. After hemming and hawing and hoisting needless numbers, Wagenknecht declares, "The statements from our district and group organizers who are in closest touch with your membership are unanimous to the effect that you have only a fraction of the membership that you claim in the respective localities." He adds that "We already have on hand sufficient evidence to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that your membership claims are not in accordance with the facts, and that the bona fide underground membership of the United Communist Party far outnumbers that of the CP." None too honestly he concludes that the UCP has "accepted the mandate of the Executive Committee of the Communist International to enter into a unity convention with representation proportioned upon 'an honest count of bona fide underground membership,' and stand ready now to act upon that mandate. But your statement provides absolutely no basis for ascertaining the actual membership of the CP organized and functioning in underground groups. Therefore we have unanimously decided that it can not be accepted."

 

"Letter to the Unity Committee of the UCP in New York from Charles Dirba, Executive Secretary of the CPA in New York, Dec. 30, 1920." In November of 1920, the United Communist Party and the Communist Party of America exchanged their books and membership documents so that each might verify the claims of the other in conjunction with a forthcoming Joint Unity Convention -- delegates to which were to be apportioned on the basis of dues actually paid for the months of July, August, September, and October 1920. This is the letter from CPA Executive Secretary Charles Dirba accepting the claims made by the UCP. What is most interesting about the document is the revelation it makes that the UCP did not track its members in terms of dues stamps sold, but rather that it tracked the cash value of dues collected -- $12,004.70 for the period in question, which when divided by the monthly dues rate of 75 cents per member yields an average paid membership of 4,001. This number was inflated by the UCP -- the inflation accepted by the CPA, albeit declared "a little too high" -- by 150 for membership in two districts without paid DOs, the funds of which stayed in the district for organizational purposes; 150 to account for "dual" husband/wife memberships, for which only one stamp was sold; and 260 to compensate for dues collected at a lower rate in the merger month of July 1920. The UCP membership figure accepted for merger was thus 4,561 -- as compared to the claim of 7,552 made by the CPA. It was now the UCP that was stonewalling in the face of these figures. "It is up to you now to act on our statement," declared Dirba, "The time for the joint convention is very short. Every day must be counted and used in the preliminary arrangements.... We insist that your committee come to meet with our committee again in the next few days."

 

"Letter to the American Agency of the Comintern from the Central Executive Committee of the United Communist Party in New York, January 17, 1921." Facing a Joint Unity Convention for which delegates were to be apportioned by actually paid membership for July-October 1920 -- a period in which the UCP averaged a somewhat inflated 4,561 and the CPA averaged 7,552 -- the UCP suddenly turned about face, terminating their shrill "Unity Now" line and becoming unmistakably obstructionist. This letter from UCP Executive Secretary Alfred Wagenknecht on behalf of the CEC to the American Agency declares that unity under the proportional representation terms set by the Comintern is "impossible," since it was found to be "impossible to get correct membership figures from the Communist Party." Instead, "the United Communist Party proposed a unity convention on the basis of equal representation. This alone can break the deadlock," Wagenknecht declared. He dishonestly added that "we denounce the insistence of the leaders of the Communist Party on the execution of the letter [calling for proportional representation] as a subterfuge behind which they want to hide their determination to prevent unity." In reality, the archival evidence indicates that the CPA provided the UCP with a "clean" membership count, which the UCP summarily rejected when they realized that they would enter the forthcoming convention controlling just 38% of the delegates.

 

"Statement to the Members of the Communist Party of America and United Communist Party from the American Agency of ECCI, Feb. 17, 1921." Unable to bring the two parties to an immediate unity convention, the designated "American Agency" of the Executive Committee of the Communist International proposed the formation of a six member "National Council," formed on an equal basis. The parties were to terminate their dueling official organs and the National Council was to issue a joint official organ on behalf of "The Communist Party of America (Unified)" -- a publication which would be produced under the authority of two editors, one hailing from the UCP and the other from the CPA. This proposal for unity put forward by the American Agency (Janson, Fraina, and Katayama) was accepted with revisions by the CEC of the United Communist Party, but rejected by the Communist Party of America, probably because it merged the two groups on a basis of organizational equality rather than according to organizational size. "We shall accordingly report to the Executive Committee that we cannot break the deadlock, and we shall make definite concrete suggestions to the Communist International on how to break the deadlock and how to realize actual unity -- unity of a character which shall give factional control to neither party," the statement declared. Members were urged not to make factional hay from the impasse, to stay in their current organizations, and to be patient and allow the CI "time to act, finally and authoritatively."

 

"The UCP and the CP United: An Account of the Joint Unity Convention." [Woodstock, NY - May 15-28, 1921] This is an official account of the Joint Unity Convention which brought together the United Communist Party and the old Communist Party of America to form the "Communist Party of America (Section of the Communist International)," first published on the front page of the official organ of that organization. Although it is difficult to determine, probable author was a member of the old CPA. The most interesting tidbits include the fact that it was Ludwig Katterfeld rather than Executive Secretary Alfred Wagenknecht who delivered the report of the CEC of the UCP; that some sessions were held outdoors in a "natural amphitheatre with a boulder for the chairman's desk," indicating the premise that this was structured as a working retreat in the Catskills is sound; and stellar first-hand description of the impasse which the convention faced over matters of constitutional organization structure and the solution at which the gathering eventually arrived.

 

"The Need for Open Work," by C.E. Ruthenberg [Aug. 1921] This is a very interesting article from the official organ of the unified Communist Party of America -- not just for its fascinating content, but also for the fact that it was written by Ruthenberg from behind New York prison bars. Ruthenberg (writing under his 1920-21 party name, "David Damon") relates the fact that the United Communist Party during 1920-21 had "created an open organization which was known as an auxiliary of the party. In some cities the authorities and the White Guard organizations of the capitalist class charged that this organization was but the camouflaged UCP, but no attack was made upon it and its work was not interfered with." This bode well for a similar organization to be created in conjunction with the newly unified party. Ruthenberg indicates that given the openly stated party belief that "the use of armed force in the struggle to overthrow the capitalist state is an inevitable phase of the Proletarian Revolution," there would always remain a place for the underground organization. This form was inadequate to the task of building class-conscious, mass support for the cause of revolution among the working class. "Prestige, confidence, leadership can only be established by winning it upon the field of action, in such a way that the workers recognize and see the men and the organization which are seeking to become their leaders in the class struggle. To accomplish this would be indeed a difficult task for a secret, remote, unseen organization such as an underground organization must be of necessity," Ruthenberg writes. He also notes that "the greater part of petty, soul-destroying bickering which has helped so much to keep the Communist Movement in this country sterile, has been due to the fact that the conditions of underground work threw the membership inward upon itself, in place of outward in an attack upon the capitalist class."

 

"Letter to James P. Cannon in New York from Ludwig Katterfeld in Moscow, Dec. 10, 1921." This letter from the American Representative on the Executive Committee of the Communist International Ludwig Katterfeld to James Cannon in America has an intimate and personal tone, rather unlike most of the surviving correspondence between Moscow and New York. "Everything is all hunky dory, as far as our business [the CPA "majority"] is concerned," Katterfeld writes, adding that funding prospects from the Comintern for the American party in the coming year were promising. He indicates that the American party's decision to move forward with a parallel Legal Political Party has been warmly received by ECCI but he cautions that "you MUST heed the advice to hold a private conference of your own sales force [convention of the underground CPA] before entering into the public competition with others [the WPA]. There'll be some heads chopped off if you don't." This message was not received in time to postpone the founding convention of the WPA until February, as the Comintern had insisted -- but no heads rolled for the failure. Katterfeld indicates that CPA Executive Secretary Will Weinstone "seems to be asleep at the switch there. Please feed him a little cayenne pepper to wake him up." He also obliquely alludes to the demise of Nicholas Hourwich [Nikolai Gurvich] as a factor in American politics in the Comintern, stating that " The old geyser that used to befoul the landscape here has stopped spouting, or rather has been stopped."

 

CLICK THE LOGO AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE TO GO TO THE EARLY AMERICAN MARXISM WEBSITE.