"Crimes of Carnegie," by Eugene V. Debs [March 30, 1901] Socialist orator and publicist Gene Debs takes aim at "the alleged philanthropy" of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie and those who accept it in this article from The Missouri Socialist. "The reckless prodigality of Carnegie with the plunder of his victims brings into boldest prominence the crimes he committed when they protested against his monstrous rapacity," Debs declares. The memory of the bloody Homestead strike is recalled, in which "an army of 300 Pinkerton mercenaries were hired by this bloody benefactor to kill the men whose labor had made him a millionaire." Debs continues: "Not only were the Pinkerton murderers hired by Carnegie to kill his employees, but he had his steel works surrounded by wires charged with deadly electric currents and by pipes filled with boiling water so that in the event of a strike or lockout he could shock the life out of their wretched bodies or scald the flesh from their miserable bones. And this is the man who proposes to erect libraries for the benefit of the working class - and incidentally for the glory of Carnegie." Debs remarks that "Some years ago, when Carnegie endowed the first library for the alleged benefit of workingmen, I objected. And I object now with increased emphasis. Such a library is monumental of the degeneracy of the working class. It is a lasting rebuke to their intelligence and their integrity." "Let honest workingmen everywhere protest against the acceptance of a gift which condones crime in the name of philanthropy," Debs insists.

 

"Negro Resolution Adopted by Indianapolis Convention." [adopted August 1, 1901] There were two primary resolutions passed by the Unity Convention which established the Socialist Party of America, both widely reprinted: one on labor and the trade union movement and a second on the so-called negro question. This "Negro Resolution" remarks that "both the old political parties and educational and religious institutions alike betray the negro in his helpless struggle against disfranchisement and violence, in order to receive the economic favors of the capitalist class." The resolution declares the black worker's interests are identical with "the interests and struggles of the workers of all lands, without regard to race, or color, or sectional lines" and that "the causes which have made the victim of social and political inequality are the effects of the long exploitation of his labor-power." Further, it is asserted that "all social and race prejudices spring from the ancient economic causes which still endure, to the misery of the whole human family." The black worker is invited "to membership and fellowship with us in the world movement for economic emancipation by which equal liberty and opportunity shall be secured to every man and fraternity become the order of the world." Evidence that the question of racism was not blindly ignored but was rather given consideration and attention by the Socialist Party of America from the time of its origin.

 

Also note: I am looking for grandchildren or great grandchildren of Communist Party founder Max Bedacht.

 

 

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