"Letter to Winfield R. Gaylord in Milwaukee from Adolph Germer, Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party of America in Chicago, April 27, 1917." The Socialist Party's April 1917 resolution on war and militarism drew the self-righteous wrath of a social-patriotic minority in the party, typified by Wisconsin state organizer (and delegate on the losing side of the question at the 1917 convention) Winfield Gaylord. This document is a responds to a letter written by Gaylord to the National Executive Committee of the SPA, which took the party majority to task for their "treasonable" action. In his reply, Executive Secretary Germer asks of Gaylord: "Treasonable to whom? Surely it cannot be treasonable to the people of America to keep them from being shot by others with whom they have no difference.... If the Socialists of every nation would take the same view that you do, there would be no rumbling in the respective governments. The ruling class would have the full support of the Socialists." Germer points out that the nationalist perspective of Gaylord is "not in harmony with the international Socialist movement." He indicates that Gaylord is both misguided in support of American intervention in the war and hypocritical in his assertion that the Socialist Party is lending de facto support to autocratic regimes. "You speak of the autocratic government of Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Turkey. How about the autocratic government of Serbia, Romania, Italy, Japan, and Belgium, and until very recently the despotism of Russia? Do you know of any degree of democracy existing in any of these countries? Do you know of the ruling class of those countries fighting for democracy and civilization? Why single out a few of the autocratic countries who happen to be allied on one side of this war?" Germer asks.

 

"Speech Delivered at Blackhawk Park, Rockford, Illinois -- June 17, 1917," by Adolph Germer Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party Adolph Germer played a pivotal role in the Socialist Party split of 1919, for which he was attacked as a "Noske," a "Scheidemann," and a Right Winger by the adherents of the Left Wing Section. Such a characterization was not fair, however -- whatever his failings in the realm of party democracy and adherence to the rule of law, Germer was solidly part of the anti-militarist Marxist Center of the SPA, rather than of the social-patriotic Right. This lengthy speech, delivered to a public picnic and rally on a Sunday afternoon in Rockford, Illinois and saved for posterity courtesy of the United States Department of Justice, emphasizes Germer's fearless opposition to the imperialist war. "Since Congress declared that a state of war exists and since the mobilization of troops has increased from day to day, we are beginning to ask: 'What are we fighting for?' and the reply has been given us that we are fighting to make the world safe for democracy. But if we are to make the world safe for democracy, then why is it that we have singled out one country...when there are other countries in this world that we are trying to make safe for democracy that are just as undemocratic and just as autocratic as the government against which we have declared war. Is it that we are going to make the world safe for democracy only for Germany or are we going to make the world safe for democracy so far as Ireland is concerned, so far as India is concerned, so far as Austria is concerned, so far as Turkey and Belgium and Italy and Serbia and Romania? Are we going to make the entire world safe for democracy and if so, then why not declare war on every country in which democracy does not exist?" In reality the war was beneficial to big business, Germer states. He encourages mass enrollment by the working class in the ranks of the Socialist Party as the only possible way to end militarism and war and advance the cause of liberty and democracy. Includes a photo of Adolph Germer.

 

"Red Raid Scribe in Nonunion Clan: Connections is Shown Between Michigan Cases and the Labor Movement," by Robert M. Buck [Jan. 6, 1923] The grandfather of Right Wing ultra-politicized "history" of American radicalism was journalist R.M. Whitney, who was granted special access to documents seized at the August 1922 raid of the Communist Party's convention at Bridgman, Michigan by the Department of Justice and then used this material as background for a sensational and sensationalized series of articles in the Boston Transcript and a 1924 book called Reds in America. In this article Robert Buck of the Farmer-Labor Party reveals the linkage between the organized anti-labor movement in America and the "red raids" of the early 1920s. Historian Whitney is revealed as the Washington, DC director of the "American Defense Society," a nationalistic pro-business organization which sought to establish "Home Defense Committees" around America to stand ready to break the strikes of " irresponsible agitators" and to work for the elimination of "labor reds and outlaw strikes." The ADS also provided printed propaganda to employers for insertion into pay envelopes urging increased productivity as a means of reducing the cost of living. The American Defense Society "folds itself in the American flag and makes itself out a kind of an industrial Ku Klux Klan," Buck asserts.

 

"World War Veterans in Fight on Fascism: Seek to Organize Ex-Soldiers to Prevent Use Against Workers," by Herbert A. Suman [Feb. 24, 1923] One organization which has been largely forgotten by history was the World War Veterans, a Minneapolis-based society of men who served in the American armed forces in the European War. The World War Veterans was organized to advance the special interests of ex-soldiers while standing in opposition to the rampant jingoism and quasi-fascist mob activities of the Right Wing American Legion. This article from the pages of the official organ of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States announces a new campaign to stop the efforts of the American Legion leadership to transform that organization into a full-blown fascist paramilitary. The article quotes the Commander of the American Legion, Col. Alvin Owsley, as ominously stating: "the Legion would not hesitate to take things into its own hands -- fight the reds as the Fascisti of Italy fought them. Do not forget that the Fascisti of Italy are to Italy what the American Legion is to the United States, and that Mussolini, the new premier, was commander of the Legion -- the ex-servicemen of Italy." In parallel, the "perhaps more notorious" Ku Klux Klan was gaining a strong foothold in the country. The press release of the World War Veterans declares that "There are 3 million unorganized ex-servicemen in America. Reactionary organizations, subsidized by bankers and Chambers of Commerce, are trying to inveigle them under their control. With strong financial backing they are enabled to spread their lying propaganda through numerous publications. Whoever practices free speech or questions the divine right of present industrial and political dictatorship is denounced as a 'red,' 'radical,' and 'un-American,' held up to an unthinking public as an immoral degenerate, and mobs of ex-servicemen are incited to believe that such a beast richly deserves tar and feathers or Judge Lynch's noose." Membership in the World War Veterans is depicted as a means for ex-servicemen to organize in opposition to this emerging menace to freedom and democracy.

 

"FLP in Move to Unite Forces: Fitzpatrick Proposes July Convention in Chicago; Invite Other Parties," by Robert M. Buck [March 17, 1923] In March of 1923, member of the National Committee of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States and head of the Chicago Federation of Labor John Fitzpatrick made a motion, later approved, to hold a special convention of the FLPUS beginning July 3, 1923 in an attempt to bring together the disparate working class political organizations of the United States in common effort under the Farmer-Labor Party's banner. The National Secretary of the organization was specifically authorized "to invite all labor, farm, and political groups to send representatives to the said National Convention of the Farmer-Labor Party" in the effort to forge a common program of action. While negotiation with the powerful Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota for a joint convention with the FLPUS was ongoing, according to National Secretary J.G. Brown, nevertheless the call for the July 3 gathering was issued.

 

"Assembling With is Foster's Crime: Steel Strike Secretary First Person Ever Tried on Such Trashy Accusation," by Robert M. Buck [March 24, 1923] Staunch defense of William Z. Fosters and the Communists denied their constitutional freedom of assembly by state and federal authorities in the August 1922 raid of the CPA's convention at Bridgman, Michigan. "William Z. Foster is on trial in this city on a charge that has never before been preferred against an individual in a criminal tribunal in this or any other country, so far as legal records show. He is charged with the 'crime' of 'assembling with,'" Buck declares. Even the West coast workers railroaded and imprisoned for membership in the Industrial Workers of the World were at least accused of organizational membership -- Foster faced prison merely for his association, Buck indicates. Adding to the unscrupulousness of the "trashy" indictment was the sordid fact that it was the vote of a government agent that tipped the CPA convention to retain the party's "underground" status; thus government action directly perpetrated the continued organizational illegality that the government was prosecuting, a perspective emphasized by Foster's chief counsel, prominent liberal attorney Frank P. Walsh.

 

"Foster's Fate is in Balance: US Agents Keep Reporters Hootched Up and Have Free Access to Jury," by Robert M. Buck [March 31, 1923] A new accusation is made against the behavior of the Department of Justice and its lackeys in this article from the pages of the offical organ of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States: that reporters had been plied with booze and entertained by prosecuting authorities seeking favorable coverage in the press. "Dicks of the United States Department of Justice and others associated with the prosecution keep the newspaper reporters liberally liquored up with hootch and wine and nightly parties are held to insure that the reporters will be as enthusiastic in their thirst for the blood of the defendants as are the Department of Justice spies themselves," Buck declares. "The attentions of the stool pigeons, showered upon reporters, show results in the sending out of stories of things that did not happen in court, and otherwise unfair to the defense," Buck adds, singling out in particular the Chicago Tribune for its slanted coverage.

 

"Foster Case in Hands of Jury: Verdict is Momentarily Expected; Only Defendant and Ruthenberg Testify," by Robert M. Buck [April 7, 1923] On April 4, 1923, the case of William Z. Foster for alleged violation of the Michigan state criminal syndicalism law went to the jury in St. Joseph, Michigan. Buck contrasts the "childish brain" and "juvenile bunk" spouted by one of the prosecuting attorneys in his closing arguments and the far-fetched accusation by another that Foster had been fomenting armed insurrection at Bridgman with the "quiet, logical defense" made by Humphrey Gray and the "impassioned plea" of lead attorney Frank P. Walsh, which "held the crowded courtroom spellbound, interesting even the newspaper reporters." Buck quotes a couple choice epigrams from Walsh, including, "There is more menace to you and to me in the mahogany desks in one building in Wall Street than there is in the 45 men who voted at the Bridgman convention" and "It is a very poor American indeed, one without faith in the institutions of his country or in the quality of his countrymen, who sees a menace in communism."

 

"Statement in Reply to the Socialist Party's Decision Not to Participate in the July 1923 Convention of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States, circa June 23, 1923," by Jay G. Brown Disappointment and pique is palpable in this response of the National Secretary of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States to the June 19, 1923 declination of the Socialist Party of America to participate in the forthcoming July 3 convention of the FLPUS -- a special gathering which was intended to attempt to unite the political activities of various working class political parties under a common banner in the 1924 elections. The 1923 SPA convention had appointed a committee to reply to the FLPUS before its adjournment on May 22, but a reply had not been received until fully a month later, and this only after the letter of declination was first published in the pages of the New York Call. "To profess a desire for unity and then refuse to discuss means of achieving it is not a very consistent attitude. To withhold sending a communication for 30 days was discourteous; to publish the letter before mailing it was to capitalize the discourtesy," Brown declares. "The action of the Socialist Party has been a disappointment to the Farmer-Labor Party," Brown states, adding that the Farmer-Labor Party "felt the Socialist Party would be the last group to refuse. No obligation was exacted in advance, no expense was entailed, no pledge to abide by the findings was required." With the Socialist Party opting out, the Farmer-Labor Party was faced with the prospect of conducting a joint convention in just 10 days time with potential allies on the far Left with whom it shared less in common -- the Workers Party of America and the Proletarian Party of America.

 

"Report of the National Secretary to the Convention of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States: Street Car Men's Hall, Chicago -- July 3, 1923," by Jay G. Brown Text of the keynote speech of National Secretary Jay G. Brown to the convention of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States. Brown recounts the FLP's disappointment with the Conference for Progressive Political Action, which it broke with in Dec. 1922 over the CPPA's refusal to endorse independent political action of the working class (i.e. a 3rd Party). Brown indicates that the traditional policy of the AF of L of "rewarding friends and punishing enemies" has been a failure, leading to anti-labor policies and a diminution of civil liberties from Republican and Democratic administrations alike. "it is amazing that the workers of both fields and factories can be induced to support candidates of the Republican and Democrat Parties rather than massing their political strength in a party of their own," Brown declares. A "federated" labor party is called for by Brown, in which affiliated organizations might retain their organizational identity in a broad effort under an umbrella organization. Brown posits the FLPUS as just this umbrella organization: "it is worthwhile calling attention to the structure of the Farmer-Labor Party itself. It is provided therein that political, economic, and cooperative groups may become affiliated without being required to forfeit any of their individual autonomy. If the present Farmer-Labor Party could be constituted as or converted into the central body of a federation it would have the advantage of being already established, and in quite a number of states has the standing of a recognized political party. Moreover, there are several hundred local labor organizations already affiliated with it." An agenda for the convention is proposed, in which the convention of the FLPUS would adjourn, to be replaced by a conference of those gathered attempting to forge a program and structure for join federative action; thereafter the proposals of this non-binding conference would be referred back to the FLPUS and other affiliating organizations for consideration.

 

"FLP Disowns the New Party: Workers Party Takes Advantage of its Position as Guest to Start Dual Movement," by Robert M. Buck [events of July 3-6, 1923] After adjourning as the convention of the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States, delegates in Chicago reformed as a conference to forge a non-binding umbrella organization for joint federative action of various working class political organizations and trade unions. The Workers Party of America, which had organized the election of delegates to the FLP convention and conference, prepared a program, and conducted itself as an organized caucus, found itself in a position of hegemony vis-a-vis the Farmer-Labor Party of the United States in the gathering. Rather than set up and recommend a non-binding federative umbrella, the conference set upon establishing a formal federative party organization, passing a constitution and program and electing officers. Thus was born the Federated Farmer-Labor Party. The FLPUS, intent upon its original vision of a non-binding recommendation subject to approval by each federating organization (and intent as well on retaining hegemony over the new organization) recoiled from the WPA-inspired new party, walked out of its own conference, and launched an acrimonious blast at the communists. "The Farmer-Labor Party was graciously allowed 2 representatives on a committee of 29, some members being added to the committee on the floor of the convention at the last moment," New Majority editor Robert Buck snidely notes. Upon the reporting of a new constitution to the conference, "the Farmer-Labor Party members, reporting as a minority, said that the Farmer-Labor Party could not accept the new plan, which set up a new party dual to the Farmer-Labor Party, in that it was almost a duplication by its form of organization, and further, that the majority of the committee proposed to steal the name of the party that invited them to the conference." The Farmer-Labor Party met again in a snap convention on July 6, 1923, Buck notes, with WPA and other non-FLPUS delegates excluded. After 4 hours of heated debate, a motion to appoint 5 members to the National Executive Committee of the new FFLP was decisively defeated and the breach between the two Farmer-Labor Parties was formalized. "The Farmer-Labor Party remained intact following this severance, except for its Washington state branch, the delegates of which bolted the convention and attached themselves to the new party," Buck notes, additionally slinging the epithet that those delegates seeking to remain in the Federated FLP rather than sticking with the FLPUS after its break with the new organization were "bolters."

 

 

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