"History Repeats Itself," by Sam J. French [June 16, 1918] As was the case with the Socialist Party, the Russian Revolution exerted a strong influence upon the thinking of a certain section of the membership of the Socialist Labor Party, which sought to take a more assertive line in advancing the revolutionary Socialist cause with a view to great gains in the immediate future -- a rebellion against the perceived dogmatic conservatism of Secretary Arnold Petersen, Henry Kuhn, and others on the SLP's National Executive Committee. This article from the official organ of the SLP by a loyalist to Petersen and the NEC, casts the new inner-party opposition in the role of repeaters of the history of the 1898-99 split of the so-called "Kangaroos" from the SLP over tactical differences. French, a long-time member of Section Cook County, SLP, cites the recent battle between (NEC loyalist) Adolph S. Carm and (insurgent) Caleb Harrison as indicative of the mood. Although Carm won the balloting for Section Organizer, he was disqualified on a technicality. In the discussion around this election, Harrison is said to have sounded off against various members of the SLP's governing NEC, remarks quoted in detail in this article. French foresees the development of a situation in the SLP closely paralleled by the revolt of the so-called "Kangaroos." French says of the proto-insurgency: "They see the world in the turmoil of a great crisis; they vaguely realize the possibilities of the future; their sentimental desire to see the workers develop into a determining factor in the affairs of the immediate future prompts them to see people 'coming our way' in every group of discontented SP-ites, repentant 'wobblies,' or 'progressive radicals,' thus conjuring to their unstable minds the wonderful things that could be done if only our policy were less rigid, and we had more tolerance of variegated opinions. Hence their immature display of impatience with anything that smacks of the 'orthodoxy' of deliberate reasoning which calmly looks ahead and figures out the possible outcome of any particular line of tactics rather than impatiently rushing into what seems to be good at the moment." These tactics French likens to "piling sails on an unballasted ship" -- speedy in fair weather, but destined for disaster come the first storm.

 

"Raids and Riot," by Olive M. Johnson [Nov. 15, 1919] In November 1919, a major offensive was launched by the Department of Justice and various law enforcement agencies against the Russian radical movement in America centered in the Union of Russian Workers, an anarchist organization. This is a Socialist Labor Party perspective on the wave of persecution, characterized as a struggle between the "'upper' and 'lower' strata of anarchy." Editor Johnson notes that "But the crazed manifestations of anarchy, cries for 'mass action,' 'mass strike,' 'red guard armies,' 'dictatorship of the proletariat,' and the like in the 'lower' stratum are no more ominous than the purely anarchic manifestations, the utter disregard for decency, law, and order from the powers that be in government or industry and their official, semi-official, or self-appointed henchmen.... Armed with clubs, the police raiders broke into peaceful meetings.... Men and women were clubbed and their shrieks resounded through the neighborhood. Celebrations, concerts, jollifications, even a little package party, given to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the Russian Revolution, were invaded and broken up. More than a thousand people in New York City alone were dragged into the police stations only to find that there were no charges whatsoever upon which they could be held." Johnson observes that the intent of the raid did not seem to be to actually apprehend criminal anarchists but rather to deliberately "provoke anarchy than to stem the tide." Anticipating the Palmer Raids that were to take place 6 weeks later, she concludes " what the powers that rule are after is less to apprehend, punish, or deport a few really criminal anarchists, than to cause a sensation and a scare which will prepare "public opinion" for some greater move in the future."

 

"The Labor Party Convention," by A.S. Carm [events of Nov. 22-24, 1919] In November of 1919, approximately 1,000 delegates representing trade unions from around the country gathered in Chicago to form the Labor Party of the United States. This is the account of the gathering from the pages of the official organ of the Socialist Labor Party. Max Hayes, former member of both the SLP and the Socialist Party, was elected permanent chairman of the gathering and delivered the keynote address. Carm indicates that many of the the delegates were members of the AF of L officialdom or past or present members of the Socialist Party of America. Outstanding figure in the organization is said to be Chicago Federation of Labor leader John Fitzpatrick, also a key figure in the effort to organize American steelworkers into an industrial union. Carm provides no evidence that anything of import was accomplished by the gathering, which from his account seems to have been dedicated largely to speeches from fraternal delegates and socializing amongst the delegates.

 

"Whippersnapper or Agent-Provocateur?" by Arnold Petersen [Dec. 6, 1919] Socialist Labor Party Executive Secretary Arnold Petersen unleashes a torrent of nasty ad hominem invective against Louis C. Fraina in reply to a recent article in The Communist (CPA) which had "the temerity to point the finger of reproof at the SLP." The 34 year old Petersen shamelessly plays the age card against the 27 year old "Master Fraina" calling him a "precocious lad," "little boy wonder of The Communist," a "flippant whippersnapper," "the male edition of Daisy Ashford (the girl wonder who wrote a book at 9 years of age)," the "boy wonder and Protean model," and a "silly youngster." Aside from Petersen's insipid name calling, a case is made against the Communist ideological concept of "mass action," which is characterized as an idea which "can result in nothing else than anarchy and is indeed the very essence of anarchy." The mob in the street -- at any moment but the final overthrow of capitalism -- contains within it not only unthinking workers, but also a certain percentage of agent-provocateurs, Petersen argues, the ill-conceived or insidious action of whom would provoke the crushing of the workers' movement with state violence. "The Constitution of the United States, defective as it is in other respects, possesses this redeeming feature, a feature that distinguishes it from other documents of class society: it provides for its own amendment even to the point of complete rejection," Petersen states. Noting that only the SLP "represents true revolutionary Socialism in America," Petersen cautions rank and file Communists: "Beware of the fellow who talks or suggests by innuendo force and violence. He is either an ignorant dangerous fool, or he is a scheming, and still more dangerous, agent of capitalism.... Repent in time. Repudiate your "mass action" and veiled advocacy of violence, cast out the ignorant whippersnapper and the agent-provocateur, and join the only organization that holds high the beacon light, and whose sturdy hammering of the capitalist armor has never for an instant ceased."

 

"Government Spies Wrote Planks in Communist Platform, also Laid Bombs, is Charge: Washington Stirred to Depths by Sensational Accusations Against Government Spies -- Russian Republic Representative Demands Full Hearing Before Senate." [Jan. 14, 1920] Article from the pages of the CLP's legal organ, The Toiler, detailing the charges made by Santeri Nuorteva of the Russian Soviet Government Bureau that "We have conclusive evidence that agents of the Department of Justice have actively participated in the organization of the Communist Party of America, and that those very planks in the program of the party which now form the basis of the persecution of thousands of people have been drafted and inserted into that platform by such government agents." No commentary on this matter is offered from a Communist Labor Party perspective; instead, an unnamed US Senator is quoted as saying, "If America has emerged from the world war a nest of spies and official plotters against exploited classes at home and against new experiments in government abroad, the American people ought to be informed of it immediately." Nuorteva's full statement to the press of Jan. 6, 1920, is appended to the news article.

 

"Who is the Destroyer of Liberty?" by Elmer T. Allison [Jan. 14, 1920] This front page statement by Elmer T. Allison, editor of The Toiler, proclaims the death of "Liberty" and "Freedom" in the United States. Allison cites political raids and arrests which rendered the constitutional right of assembly a hollow mockery, the crushing of the steel strike by the organized forces of capital which belied any supposed right to organization of labor, and the denial of Victor Berger his Congressional seat and 5 New York Socialists their Assembly seats which abrogated the right of voters to elect representatives of their choice. Allison declares: "Capitalism knows no law but the law of its own will. It will without a quiver wreck its own laws when they stand in its way. It acknowledges but one law - the law of force. The workers must forge new weapons if they would win against entrenched and powerful capital. We know now that we can never win by merely 'gaining 51% of the ballots.' We now that capitalism has no more respect for majorities than it has for minorities.... To live, Labor must rule. And to rule, it must cease depending upon the 'rights' given by dead constitutions. It must by force of its invincible numbers write a Constitution in which only they who labor shall share."

 

"The Lesson of Albany," by Walter B. Dillon [April 16, 1920] This not an analysis of the Albany trial of the 5 Socialist Assemblymen but rather a discussion piece on how the Communist Labor Party should respond if special elections are held in the 5 New York legislative districts in question and when they are again held elsewhere in the future. Assuming the CLP is prohibited from fielding candidates, Dillon asks "should we vote for the Socialists, whom we know will be about as valuable to the working class as Ebert in Germany or Kerensky in Russia?" On this question he is not sure; while "for myself, I most respectfully decline to waste my time voting for puppets of the bourgeoisie," Dillon states that he is not sure that leaving the field to the Socialists would be "conducive to the best interests of the workers." Nor would the party sitting on its hands and allowing the Socialists to be wiped out by the reaction be in the Communist movement's best interests, as such a policy would mean "there will then be no liberal element capable of stemming the sweep of Capitalism gone mad with its own excesses." A "long siege of White Terrorism" would follow, marked by sporadic and disjointed revolts by small groups of workers, which would be instantly crushed by the iron heel of state power. Dillon feels that a possible alternative might be running Communist candidates against the Socialists in the electoral primaries. Then "If Hillquit, Stedman & Co. do not like the candidate we place on their tickets let them take the fight to the courts or nominate independent candidates of their own" -- an action which would "proclaim their colors to the workers."

 

"The Class War in Oregon," by K.W. Oster [April 19, 1920] Department of Justice repression in Oregon is chronicled here by the Oregon state Secretary of the Communist Labor Party. Repression began on Nov. 11, 1919, Oster notes, with a raid upon the Portland Workers', Soldiers', and Sailors' Council, which resulted in 58 arrests and the holding of 26 alleged members of the IWW for trial. A second wave of repression took place in conjunction with the nationwide dragnet of January 2/3, an operation which keyed upon CLP headquarters and the homes of CLP members. Some 25 to 30 were arrested, of whom 6 were indicted for "Criminal Syndicalism." On April 16, 1920, Oster received a 5 year sentence in the state penitentiary for violation of the Oregon "Criminal Syndicalism" Law; two other members of the CLP received 2 year terms at the same time -- one of whom was immediately parolled. The Secretary of the "Portland Soviet" received a 2 year prison term three days later, while others remained awaiting trial or deportation, Oster notes. Oster quotes the judge at his sentencing as stating: "The defendant Oster is not entitled to any consideration from this court. From circumstances surrounding his life and education, he apparently went into this organization understanding just exactly what he was doing, knowing that it advocated the destruction of property, the taking of life, and the overthrow of our public institutions. If the opportunity was offered Oster, Russia would have nothing on the United Sates in terrorism and crime. Unfortunately he has brains which are of material assistance in his disloyal work."

 

"Larkin Conducts Own Case." (News report from Voice of Labor) [events of April 5-27, 1920] During April 1920, Irish labor leader and Communist Labor Party adherent "Big Jim" Larkin battled for his freedom in a New York Courtroom. Unlike the previous "Criminal Anarchism" trials in New York state, Larkin chose to represent himself and he put up a feisty defense centered around the class struggle. This report of the early phase of the trial approves of Larkin's vigorous defense, in which he challenged Judge Weeks for judicial prejudice for commending the earlier convictions of Benjamin Gitlow and Harry Witnitsky in his court and asserted that the jury was "not of his class." A new tactic aimed at intimidation of radicals is revealed, the taking of names and addresses of spectators at the trial. The account notes that "We have had the 'no defense' trial and the class trial with lawyers instructed to make a class fight. But the best of them all, after all, is the kind that Larkin is conducting, for he meets his class enemies face on and words are not softened by passage through a representative of the legal profession. There will be more of these trials from now on." Includes a short biography of Big Jim Larkin.

 

"Debs and Socialist Unity." (editorial from Communist Labor) [May 7, 1920] This editorial from the official organ of the Communist Labor Party takes on the question of whether the communists would be able to conduct united front action with the Socialist Party around its Presidential candidate, the imprisoned Eugene V. Debs. The question is answered with a resounding negative. The experience of the German Social Democratic Party is cited, in which a false unity was maintained for years between Right and Left until suddenly on Aug. 4, 1914, "the Left was overwhelmed by the Right and, for a moment at least, acquiesced in the betrayal of the German working class by the Social Democratic Party." Then when it gradually came to an understanding of the necessity for a split, the German Left Wing was unable to successfully achieve this break, due to the extraordinarily limits on the ability to organize brought about by the war. The German Left Wing was then "assassinated by these friends of capitalism in the name of law and order." A direct correlation is drawn between the German wartime experience and the situation in the Socialist party, with Stedman, Hillquit, Waldman, and Berger assuming the place of Scheidemann and Noske as the "rear guard" of capitalism -- as opposed to the communists, who were the "advance guard" of the working class, whose purpose is "to replace the capitalist state by a proletarian dictatorship, exercised through workers' councils. And the purpose of this dictatorship is the creation of a free communist society, thus abolishing the state." Either the communists must abandon the working class or the socialists must abandon the bourgeoisie, the editorialist opines. Thus unity "can only be accomplished if the revolutionary workers gather around the banners of communism. They must leave the Socialist Party and its leaders because those leaders are misleading the working class. For a unity under the banner of communism we are glad to join hands with Eugene V. Debs. But the first provision is that Debs himself leave the Scheidemanns and join the real forces of the proletarian revolution, the communist movement of America."

 

"Police Spies and Agents Provocateurs," by William M. Feigenbaum [June 17, 1920] Leading Socialist Party journalist William Feigenbaum offers commentary upon Santeri Nuorteva's charge that Louis C. Fraina of the Communist Party of America was actually an employee of the Department of Justice, calling it "sensational, but hardly unexpected." Feigenbaum notes that from the time of Fraina's joining the SP in 1913, "I do not believe that he ever wrote an article or made a speech that was designed to convert a non-Socialist to the Socialist position. All his work was to convince the party members that the party position was incorrect, or that it should have taken some other stand," adding that "the dominant note in all of Fraina's work was intolerance, bigotry, and heresy hunting." Suspicion about Fraina's true allegiance had been growing over the course of the last year, Feigenbaum states, drawing a parallel between Fraina's behavior with spies in the Russian revolutionary movement: "That is the kind of man that the Russian revolutionary movement was accustomed to beware of. When one protested his revolutionary devotion a little too vehemently, the Russian comrades were in the habit of looking up his antecedents." The Communist split of 1919 had the effect of "sowing of a spirit of distrust among tens of thousands of comrades" and "dispersing of hundreds of party sub-divisions by the splitting of its members into quarreling camps, and the consequent loss of hundreds of party headquarters all over the country." He offers the specter of a vast conspiracy, noting the recently completed 1920 SP Convention, despite "numerous differences of opinion in principles and tactics" was able to "honestly and decently" debate the issues within the party organization, thereby illustrating "the deep cunning of those who launched the movement of a year ago, and gives us a hint of the motives of those who launched that movement."

 

"The 'Spy' Story" (news article on the Fraina Affair from The Toiler) [July 2, 1920] The accusation by Santeri Nuorteva of the Russian Soviet Government Bureau that Louis C. Fraina was an agent provocateur of the Department of Justice resulted in a party trial. Representatives of the Soviet Bureau and the Central Executive Committee of the CPA conducted a careful questioning of the man purporting to be a tipster, a Department of Justice agent named Peterson. Peterson claimed to have seen Fraina at the Department of Justice offices on three separate occasions, two of which were exactly named -- Sept. 7 and Nov. 15, 1919. Fraina then cross-examined his accuser and fairly demolished his charges, pointing out that the first named date was the last day of the founding convention of the CPA and first meeting of the CEC and the second of which was a date of a CEC meeting -- both of which Fraina attended along with many others to corroborate. Fraina was acquitted of Peterson's charges against him in this party trial, a decision unanimously confirmed by the CPA's Executive Council and Federation Secretaries, who read the transcript -- although two of those sitting in judgment were not completely assuaged. After this acquittal, Santeri Nuorteva issued another statement to the Socialist Party daily, the New York Call, which the Call exploited for political motives, editorializing against the Communist Party as being infiltrated by provocateurs and spies. It was Nuorteva's refusal to back down from his charges which once again thrust this topic into the news, resulting in the news article published here.

 

"Letter of Denunciation of Profintern Delegate Adolph S. Carm Sent to the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission by William D. Haywood, June 17, 1921." This unsigned letter to the Soviet Secret Police charges the Socialist Labor Party's Profintern delegate, Adolph S. Carm, with having engaged in actions which indicate that "he was acting as a government informer and a traitor to the working class" while working as a journalist at the "Mass Trial of the IWW" before Judge Landis in Chicago in the summer of 1918. Carm, who submitted weekly reports to the official organ of the SLP, The Weekly People, was seen by the denouncer (an IWW partisan on the American delegation to the 1st Congress of the Profintern -- which included Bill Haywood, who was convicted at the 1918 trial in question) whispering to and consorting with the prosecutor in the case. In addition, the SLP paper took a consistently hostile line to the IWW, to the effect that in its post-DeLeon years "it became an organization of criminals, who are conspiring and scheming to destroy the United States government and all governments by violence, bloodshed, destruction and arson." The charge is made that "The bourgeois press was clamoring for the crucifixion of the membership of the IWW. None were more virulent or venomous than the papers represented by the said Carm." Carm was subsequently investigated by the Cheka. He returned to the United States in November 1921.

 

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