"State Constitution of the Socialist Party of the State of New York." [1918] Perhaps the most bitter war zone during the 1919 factional struggle between the Regular and Left Wing factions of the Socialist Party of America was the state of New York, where Left Wing branches and locals were "reorganized" wholesale by the Regular-dominated State Executive Committee. Without access to the state constitution, the basic document of party law of the Socialist Party of the State of New York, it is impossible to appraise the legality (or lack thereof) of the various actions of the SEC and to weigh the merits (or lack thereof) of the Left Wing's criticism. This document is believed to be the variant of the New York constitution in effect during the turbulent year of 1919 and should be of great use to scholars of the factional war which gave rise to the American Communist movement.

 

"A Pledge of Americanism." (Constitutional Government League -- Spokane Centre) [1919] Given the exhaustive examination given to 20th Century Socialism in its various ideological permutations, it seems remarkable that so little scholarly attention has been paid to the primary concrete conservative ideology that was launched in direct opposition -- so-called "Americanism." This little leaflet from the Constitutional Government League, Spokane Center -- forerunner of the Constitutional Government League of America -- reduces "Americanism" to 9 affirmations: (1) "I am proud that the United States of America is my country, the Stars and Stripes my flag" (as opposed to the internationalism and red flag of the Left); (2) " I will uphold our officials in the administration of the law" (as opposed to those seeking an overturn of the bourgeoisie and its bureaucratic servitors); (3) "I will cherish and uphold the divine principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity, for which American patriots sacrificed their fortunes and their lives; and I pray God to bless my country and her people" (positing natural law and a theist worldview against the godless materialism of the Left); (4) "I believe my country's protection, her rights and privileges, her burdens and duties, should be justly distributed to all -- to the poor, the rich, the laborer, the capitalist" (as opposed to the Left's desire for working class domination and staunch taxation or expropriation of big capitalists); (5) " I will do my best to keep physically strong, morally clean, and mentally active; to know my country's history and the laws of my city, state, and nation, so that with the voice and vote of a citizen I may take an intelligent part in our government" (in contrast to the sometimes unhygienic non-voting aliens who comprised a significant percentage of the Left); (6) " I believe in the vital importance of education, the sacredness of the home and the marriage tie" (in contrast to the "free love" and libertine ways of the bohemian Left); (7) "Since our Constitution guarantees that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification for public office, and since Congress can make no law to establish a religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof, I will never discriminate against any citizen because of his religion" (attempting here to place distance between wholesome "Americanism" and the reactionary and divisive religious chauvinism of the extreme Right); (8) " I hold in grateful memory the gallant service of our army and navy in defense of our liberty and our rights" (as opposed to the anti-nationalist and anti-militarist "anti-patriotism" of the Left); and (9) "Therefore, I PLEDGE to my country the love of my heart, a true, constant, and absolute loyalty. I pledge respect and obedience to her laws. I pledge my property, my service, my honor, and, if need be, my life to defend her. I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

 

"Summary Results of Voting for Candidates to Membership in the Executive Committee and for Secretary of the Russian Socialist Federation." [Jan. 15, 1919] Extract of an interesting (albeit highly esoteric) document seized by the Bureau of Investigation during the Palmer Raids of Jan. 1920 -- the tally sheet for the Russian Socialist Federation's election which closed Jan. 15, 1919. Candidates were nominated by the 4th Convention of the RSF (Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 1918) and the EC was elected by referendum vote of the rank and file. The race to replace Detroit resident V. Rich as Secretary of the RSF was not close, with Oscar Tyverovsky netting 627 votes to a combined 624 for his two opponents. The two top vote-getters in the contest for the 14 CEC slots were individuals whose names have not thus far been remembered by history -- Babich and Bogopolsky; Communist Party of America founder, New York DO, and Central Caucus chief George Ashkenuzi finished a respectable 3rd on the 24 name list. Two big names are missing: Russian Socialist Federation Translator-Secretary Alexander Stoklitsky was elected by the 4th Convention itself, as was Nicholas Hourwich (Nikolai Gurvich), elected editor of the Federation's organ, Novyi Mir. [Note finally that ASHKENUZI is the correct Library of Congress transliteration of that particular surname, as opposed to the 6 or so various other ways that the name has been spelled in the literature; ditto TYVEROVSKY, using terminal -Y instead of terminal -II.]

 

"First Convention of the Communist Party of America: Day 2," by James O. Peyronnin [Sept. 2, 1919] The Department of Justice's Bureau of Investigation had no fewer than 8, and perhaps a dozen or more, of its agents, operatives, and confidential informers in Chicago in Aug.-Sept. 1919 for the conventions of the Socialist Party, Communist Labor Party, and Communist Party of America. One of the most important was James O. Peyronnin, who apparently sat undercover as a "journalist" at the press table of the CPA Convention, and who wrote lengthy reports of each day's sessions and gathered relevant documents for BoI Headquarters in Washington, DC. These and other reports have been preserved on freely available and unexpurgated microfilm by the National Archives and Records Administration and are an exciting new historical source. The 2nd day of the CPA convention sees the acrimonious departure for the CLP convention of delegate Henry Tichenor of St. Louis, who likens the Russian Federations' machine control of the CPA gathering to the domination of the SPA conclave by the Regulars' machine: ""I have certainly had the steamroller run over me recently -- once by the Berger regime in Milwaukee, and once right at this convention. It will be utterly useless for me to work with the element that is in control and therefore I ask the Credentials Committee to kindly return me my credentials." Chairman of the Credentials Committee Joseph Stilson announces that 128 delegates are seated (so far), representing a membership of 58,000 (the latter number certainly inflated). A surprising mass resignation takes place by the Left Wing National Caucus Faction, with a dozen or more delegates and two convention technical secretaries resigning their posts over a failure to negotiate with the Communist Labor Party's unity committee. Michigander Dennis Batt defiantly declares "I think myself the Convention will progress better without them." Following a 3 hour recess to resolve the crisis, the convention reconvenes and reconsiders its previous action, appointing its own 5 member unity committee, which included Federation chiefs Stoklitsky, Hourwich, and Elbaum in addition to Ruthenberg and Ferguson of the Left Wing National Caucus faction. Chicago police arrest Dennis Batt from the floor of the convention on an outstanding warrant for alleged violation of the Illinois State Sedition Act. A Manifesto and Program Committee is elected by the convention with Nicholas Hourwich the top vote-getter and other committees of the convention are elected as well.

 

"Report on CLP Mass Meeting, West Side Auditorium, Chicago," by P.P. Mindak [Sept. 2, 1919] On the evening of Sept. 2, 1919, the fledgling Communist Labor Party held its first public meeting in Chicago. Undercover Bureau of Investigation Agent Peter P. Mindak was in attendance to make a report on the proceedings. The session was addressed by three CLP leaders -- Ella Reeve Bloor, Jack Carney, and Jack Reed. Mindak is most enthusiastic about the ability of Irish emigré and CLP NEC member Carney, calling him "a very eloquent speaker" who made use of "a very poetic and dramatic style" to review the history of the contemporary radical movement. "He spoke of the proposed formation of the Communist Labor Party, which he stated was in wholehearted sympathy with the Russian Soviet, and urged agitation amongst the workers and the formation of shop committees throughout all the shops and factories. He urged the workers to prepare themselves for the opportunity when a proletarian dictatorship could be established in this country," Mindak states. "There appeared to be a lack of enthusiasm which is usually seen at gatherings of this kind," according to Mindak, who adds that "many of those present came for the purpose of hearing Jack Carney, who is a very eloquent orator." Literature for the IWW and Soviet buttons were available for sale at the meeting, Mindak adds.

 

"Communist Party of America Convention: Day 3," by Jacob Spolansky [Sept. 3, 1919] While he is the best-known of the Bureau of Investigation's undercover operatives by virtue of his melodramatic 1951 memoir, The Communist Trail in America, Jacob Spolansky was by no means the most important (or the most accurate) of the bevy of agents put into the field at the 1919 Chicago radical conventions. Spolansky provided to BoI headquarters in Washington this detailed account of Day 3 of the Founding Convention of the CPA. Spolansky notes the report of Press Committee chairman C.E. Ruthenberg, which called for the establishment of a party owned English language daily called The Daily Communist, a monthly theoretical journal called The Communist Review, and the establishment of a $100,00 fund for the publication of free leaflets and other literature. The name of the theoretical journal was changed to The Communist International and the (wildly optimistic) dollar "limit" on the literature fund were removed by vote of the convention. The convention spent a good deal of time and energy arguing the question of whether non-proletarian elements should be allowed in the party, ultimately approving the essence of Nick Hourwich's motion " that no man who earns a living through rent, interest, or exploiting his brother worker can be admitted into the ranks of the Communist Party. That no Federal, County, City, or Civil Service employee can be admitted into the ranks of the Communist Party" (as Spolansky summarized the motion). Another small bolt was made by Morris Zucker and Edward Lindgren of Local Kings Co., Left Wing, who purportedly received instructions by telegram from their local instructing them to leave the CPA Convention. Zucker stated he and Lindgren were leaving "because the convention was controlled by Russian elements and that other representatives have no show whatever; that caucus is being held every half an hour and the Russians have a well organized machine which has full control of this convention" and because Zucker "did not see any difference between this convention and the Emergency Socialist Convention and he was afraid that a few leaders were trying to dominate the Communist Party of America for their own selfish purposes." The departure was met in silence, Spolansky indicates. Negotiations between the 5 member unity committees of the CPA and CLP continued without any show of progress, Spolansky states, and documents exchanged between the committees were reviewed by the convention.

 

"First Convention of the Communist Party of America: Day 4," by James O. Peyronnin [Sept. 4, 1919] Undercover Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Peyronnin recounts the affairs of the 4th day of the 7 day Founding Convention of the CPA. Extensive and heated debate took place over a constitutional provision to require the splitting of locals over 500 members into smaller branches (ultimately stricken) and requiring all language branches to join their appropriate Federation (ultimately approved). The report of the Education Committee, calling for a 3 member National Educational Committee, the establishment of "Schools of Communism" for general theoretical education and the training of party members as speakers and organizers, and the establishment of a National Lecture Bureau for the routing of speakers. The entire content and tone of this report is very much in the vein of the old Socialist Party of America, it should be noted. The inability of the Manifesto and Program Committee to report to the convention drew the pique of convention chairman Al Renner (Michigan faction), who pointed out that there were delegates needing to depart shortly. The convention shut down for the day shortly after noon due to the inability of any committees to submit their reports to the body. Presumably committee work was conducted in the afternoon hours.

 

"Polish Communist Meeting, Walsh's Hall, Chicago," by P.P. Mindak [Sept. 4, 1919] In contrast to the tepid mass meeting of the CLP held the evening of Sept. 2, Bureau of Investigation undercover agent Peter Mindak indicates that the mass meeting of Polish CPA members and supporters held 2 nights later was a rousing and enthusiastic affair, attended by 700 or 800. The keynote speaker was Daniel Elbaum, editor of Glos Robotniczy [The Voice of the Workers] of Detroit, with Translator-Secretary of the Polish Federation Joseph Kowalski chairman of the meeting. Elbaum "explained to the gathering the purpose and program of the Communist Party and that this party represented the revolutionary element of the Socialist Party. His speech had a very powerful effect on the audience, as at the conclusion the applause lasted for several minutes," Mindak reports. In his remarks, Kowalski is said to have taken aim at the American Federation of Labor, ridiculed as an organization which had outlived its usefulness. "The meeting was one of the most enthusiastic Polish Communist gatherings which Employee has so far attended and shows that the leaders of the Polish Communist movement have been and still are very active in spreading the Communist Party and organizing," Mindak notes.

 

"First Convention of the Communist Party of America: Day 6," by James O. Peyronnin [Sept. 6, 1919] In this Bureau of Investigation report, Special Agent James Peyronnin notes that the morning of the 6th day of the Founding Convention of the CPA was occupied with paragraph-by-paragraph consideration of the proposed program of the organization -- based upon the draft prepared by Louis Fraina and the Left Wing National Council faction rather than the alternative prepared by the Socialist Party of Michigan. While 2 days earlier chairman of the convention Al Renner (Michigan) had been eager to push the pace of the gathering, now he strongly objected to a proposal to move to electing of officers of the CPA. Peyronnin notes that Renner "stated that there are certain delegates who are struggling for time in which to put something over; that the reports of the committees should by all means be acted upon before the election of officers." Peyronnin adds that the proposal to move to elections by Left Wing National Council faction member Isaac Ferguson, "who seemed now to be in unity with the Russian Revolutionary Organization to control the convention", was carried, and the process of nominations and elections moved forward. Four International Delegates (and 4 alternates) were elected, as was a 15 member CEC (with 5 alternates). Michigan faction members declined all nominations, notably Renner for Executive Secretary (Ruthenberg elected) and Batt for National Editor (Fraina elected). In the night session of the convention, Dennis Batt took the floor and excoriated the "100% Bolsheviks" of the Russian Federations for the "junk which you threw on the table for the delegates to pass on" (i.e. the Fraina version of the party program). "Batt in his discourse was very incitive and expressed himself with much force," Peyronnin notes. The complete Michigan program was read into the record. Batt was forcefully answered by Alex Bittelman on behalf of the majority, comparing the two programs "practically paragraph for paragraph." "In course of his inflammatory remarks, Batt vacated the hall for the balance of the night," Peyronnin reports.

 

"Communist Party Mass Meeting: Douglas Park Auditorium, Chicago," by Louis Loebl [Sept. 6, 1919] Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Louis Loebl briefly reports to his superiors in Washington on the mass meeting of the CPA held in Chicago the evening of September 6. "From all appearances, it was a Russian Affair pure and simple, the English speakers, Ferguson and Ruthenberg addressing the audience for conventionality's sake, rather than with a view to convey their messages to the English speaking audience. It is a fair estimate to state that 99% of the crowd were Russian, Lithuanian, and Polish," Loebl states. In addition to the two English speakers, Alexander Stoklitsky addressed the gathering in Russian, A. Forsinger in Latvian, and Boleslaw Gebert in Polish.

 

"First Convention of the Communist Party of America: Day 7," by James O. Peyronnin [Sept. 7, 1919] Bureau of Investigation Special Agent James Peyronnin reports on the 7th and final day of the Founding Convention of the CPA. The report of the Resolutions Committee was presented by S.A. Kopnagel and was approved by the convention without discussion. P. Sparer reported for the Committee on the Young Peoples Communist League, the proposed youth organization of the CPA (never launched). George Ashkenuzi and Bert Wolfe resigned from the Central Executive Committee to make way for Harry Wicks (breaking factional discipline with his Michigan comrades) and Charles Dirba. The finance committee reported that a total of 137 delegates had been seated at the convention, with nearly $5900 collected thus far on registration fees and all but $100 of the amount spent on delegate train fares and building rent. Translator-Secretary of the Lithuanian Federation Joseph Stilson indicated that the new organization would be receiving approximately $10,000 from the various Federations as the portion of dues withheld from the Socialist Party's National Office during the faction fight of 1919. At the conclusion, C.E. Ruthenberg seems to have addressed the convention at length as the new Executive Secretary of the CPA, deprecating the efforts of the rival Communist Labor Party, whose list of 90 delegates was seriously padded, including 7 who "did not represent anyone to speak of"; 10 from New York, a state in which Ruthenberg states that he did not think there were more than "a couple of hundred" in support of the CLP; and 11 from Illinois, were "not more than a few hundred at the very best represent them." Ruthenberg declares "The only sound organizations they have behind the delegates who were in that convention were Washington, California, and Oregon. And we have delegates here on the floor representing those states." Special Agent Peyronnin states in conclusion that "on account of the antagonism and friction existing between certain groups of the Convention, the ultra-radicals, who are the real 'Bolshevists' in the United States, did not deviate to any extent from the actual business of the convention, but these radicals, with especial reference to the group representing the Russian Revolutionary Organization from New York, should be kept under surveillance in their activities in behalf of the Communist Party, and which organization with the other foreign element of the Convention practically controlled the Convention from its inception to end."

 

"In Re: Communist Party Convention," by N. Nagorowe [events of Sept. 1-7, 1919] In its first great anti-Communist intelligence coup, the Department of Justice successfully placed one of its "Confidential Employees" on the floor as a delegate at the Founding Convention of the Communist Party of America. This is individual was neither Louis C. Fraina nor Harry M. Wicks (about whom there have been hushed whispers and furtive glances over the years; neither of whom were on the BoI payroll by any indication), but was rather the Russian delegate elected by Branch 2, Gary, Indiana, N. Nagorowe. This extensive report by Bureau of Investigation employee Nagorowe is an extraordinarily important historical document, containing a first person account of the closed door caucus activities of the Russian Federations faction. According to Nagorowe, the various language federations were driven by the action of the Russian Federation, disciplined and united fresh from their Federation Convention in Detroit held just the previous week. The chief of the faction is said to have been Translator-Secretary Alexander Stoklitsky, a man of few words at the caucus meetings. Stoklitsky's verbose and doggedly persistent front men are said to have been Novyi Mir editor Nick Hourwich and top Jewish Federationist Harry Hiltzik. Also playing a key roll was CEC member and Latvian Federation chief John Schwartz, characterized as "a resolute rough leader of the mob." The Left Wing National Council faction is interestingly characterized as the "Fraina group" by Nagorowe. Nagorowe is particularly important for his description of the 3 way dance between the Federations with the "Fraina group" and the "Michigans" -- in which the Michigan draft program seems to have been abruptly and faithlessly dropped in favor of the Fraina-drafted program as the working basis for the CPA program by the top leadership of the Federation. Stoklitsky and Hourwich failed "even to give any intimation of it to their own caucus members" this drastic change had been made, Nagorowe notes. The entire situation was masterfully handled Stoklitsky & Co., Nagorowe indicates, with open split with either the Left Wing National Caucus or the Michigan faction avoided and merger with the Anglophonic "Centrists" of the Communist Labor Party skillfully managed and ultimately avoided.

"Circular Letter to All Russian Branches of the Communist Party of America from Alexander Stoklitsky in Chicago, Sept. 8, 1919." Immediately after the conclusion of the Founding Convention of the CPA, Translator-Secretary of the Russian Federation Alexander Stoklitsky dispatched the following circular letter to the various branches of the Russian Communist Federation detailing the activities of the convention. Stoklitsky uses a low count for the number of delegates credentialed (128; actual number seems to have been 137, according to the Finance Committee's report late in the convention). He announces the publications launched by the convention -- the weekly organ (The Communist) and the monthly theoretical magazine (The Communist International) and details the names of those elected as International Delegates and members of the organization's CEC. Stoklitsky declares that "the work of the construction of the Communist Party of America has been crowned with success. The old, rotten Socialist Party has cracked at all its seams. All thinking elements have joined the fighting Communist Party of America." He adds that "a difficult task lies before our party. Surrounded on all sides by enemies, it will be obliged to fight on many fronts simultaneously" -- including particularly "the Germers and the Bergers," brothers of the German Social Democratic "traitors" and "social-patriots," who "are ready to do all in their power in order to crush the real Revolutionary movement."

 

"In Re: Communist Meeting at West Side Auditorium, Chicago," Reports by Peter P. Mindak and Jacob Spolansky [Sept. 21, 1919] Two Bureau of Investigation reports on the mass meeting held in Chicago in the afternoon of September 21, 1919, by the Communist Party of America. According to Special Agent Mindak, about 800 or 900 persons were in attendance, "most of whom appeared to be Russians," to hear speeches by Harry Wicks and C.E. Ruthenberg (in English), J. Kaminski (in Polish), and Alexander Stoklitsky (in Russian). Mindak singles out Wicks for special mention: "This speaker assailed the President in most violent terms, and his entire speech, it can be safely said, was the most revolutionary and fiery talk that employee has yet heard. He called all the police and other peace officers as being all thugs cutthroats, and pimps. He could not find words powerful enough to portray his contempt and animosity. He advocated the organization of the workers in the various shops, to prepare themselves for the time, which he stated was at hand, when the workers will take the plants in their own hands as they did in Russia." Ruthenberg is said to have delivered "more of the old time Socialistic anti-Capitalistic talk and was tame in comparison with the talk of Wicks." Mindak states that Stoklitsky was the most effective speaker, resoundingly greeted by the assembly. The Russian-speaking Spolansky adds a note on the content of Stoklitsky's speech, noting that he "worded his speech to the coming strike" on Sept. 22. As is his wont, Spolansky luridly adds that Stoklitsky "stated that the steel strike, which is going to start on September 22nd [1919] will become a general revolution, and that the Communist Party, whose aim is to bring about this revolution in this country should make every possible effort to explain to the steel strikers that proclaiming getting more wages for shorter hours is not the thing to fight for. He stated that they must fight for the establishment of communism through the proletarian dictatorship."

 

"Bureau of Investigation Outline for the Interrogation of Radical Aliens and Instructions for Its Use," by Frank Burke [circa Jan. 1, 1920] This document was apparently issued in the last days before the Jan. 2/3 coordinated mass arrests of Communists and other radicals, known to history as the Palmer Raids. The form provides a set of queries to be asked of captives by interrogators, focusing upon their citizenship status, party affiliation and activity, and associations. The guidelines state: "Do not follow strictly the wording of this outline as the formality thereof puts the alien on his guard and has a tendency to keep him from talking. Adopt an attitude and form of speech required by the particular examination. The outline is serviceable only to keep the examiner from omitting to cover all points. Use simple language the alien can understand. Keep repeating in different wording until you are sure he does understand. Do not frame the questions in such a way as to suggest untruthful answers. For example, do not say at first 'Are you a member of the Communist Party?, etc.' but rather 'When did you join the Communist Party?' or 'What did you do with your membership card?'"

 

"Letter to William J. Flynn and J. Edgar Hoover in Washington, DC, from Frank R. Stone in Newark, NY." [Jan. 12, 1920] This letter from Bureau Investigation Special Agent Frank Stone to the two top chiefs of the organization in Washington, DC, notes "since the formation of the Communist Party (September 1st, 1919) that many of the members who formerly belonged to the Socialist Party retained their Socialist books [party cards], instead of obtaining Communist books and consequently the spaces in the Socialist books for the dues stamps for the months of September, October, November, and December [1919] have stamps affixed thereon of the Communist Party, instead of the Socialist Party." Stone notes that "unless you closely examine the inside of these books this fact will escape attention and the card probably not used against the holder." Stone urges that a memorandum to this effect be sent out to BoI offices around the country so that the documents may be "gone through again with a view of extracting these cards in addition to the Communist cards."

 

"The Communist Parties of America." (Pravda, Petrograd) [events of Sept. 20, 1920] This Pravda article, the translation of which was made for the US State Department, notes the attendance of Nicholas Hourwich [Nikolai Gurvich], newly arrived representative of the Communist Party of America, at the Sept. 20, 1919 session of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. Hourwich is said to have reported on the party situation in America and to have requested postponement of the deadline for the unification of the CPA and the UCP until Feb. 1, 1921, and temporarily to admit to the a representative of the Communist Party of America (i.e. Hourwich) to ECCI. The Pravda article states that "After short discussions the following resolution, proposed by Comrade Zinoviev, was accepted: (1) To postpone the deadline for the final unification of the two parties in America until January 1, 1921; (2) The Executive Committee demands the union on the basis of the decisions of the 2nd Congress of the Communist International."

 

"Report on the United Communist Party," by BoI Undercover Employee "P-140" [Feb. 15, 1921] This report of a Hungarian employee of the Department of Justice's Bureau of Investigation paints the United Communist Party of America in most alarming tones: "I beg to report that I established the fact that it is the intention of the United Communist Party to try to establish within this year the Dictatorship of the Proletariat." The unidentified "P-140" emphatically declares: "It is namely known that the local factions of the Third International are receiving from Moscow all the directions. It is the intention of the Communists of Europe to celebrate the 1st of May with a general strike and the Communists of America adopted the same program. I was informed by the people who are members of the Communist Party to the effect that the laborers of this province are provided with arms." "P-140" also sensationally adds: "I will also mention a few new points in connection with my investigation of the Wall Street explosion. I was always positive that the outrage was done by the communists, but now I obtained proofs to that effect. The young man who is known only under the name of "Rudy" told me that a great deal of this affair is known to the "comrades" in Detroit, who are the most revolutionary elements." Slightly unhinged and factually erroneous reports like this one stoked the fires of the engine of repression, culminating in the mass arrests in Philadelphia during the night of April 25/26 and the raid of UCP headquarters in New York City on April 29, 1921.

 

"What Shall We Do in the Unions?" by Joseph Zack Kornfeder [circa Sept. 1, 1921] Lengthy statement of proposed policy for the unified Communist Party of America by Joseph Zack, active in the industrial organizing arm of the party. [Note: Zack wrote here under the pseudonym "J.P. Collins" -- a pseudonym incorrectly attached to J.P. Cannon in 1957 by Theodore Draper and as recently as 2007 in a book on Cannon by Bryan Palmer.] Zack blames that backwards level of the American trade union movement not on its multinational nature, but rather on the conscious failure of the AFL to organize unskilled and black workers, and its concentration on the antiquated craft union system. Zack calls for the Communist Party to work at raising the class consciousness of the American working class and to help batter down barriers to participation in the unions such as racial barriers, high initiation fees, and undemocratic forms of union organization. The Communist Party must get serious about this, Zack declares: "The days when mere attendance at group meetings and occasional leaflet distribution was considered sufficient are over. Every member who is eligible must join a labor union. Those that cannot join a labor union must join the workers' organization in their territory. Every member must serve as a link between the Party and the masses." Zack calls for the establishment of foreign language speaking nuclei in each industrial unit: "Russian miners should be place in Russian miners' nuclei, Polish workers into Polish nuclei, etc. They shall be connected with all the other language or English nuclei in their trade union or industries. Each of the language nuclei should organize the sympathizers in its language." Zack declares there to be 4 principal sorts of party sympathizers: "(1) the communist sympathizer, those workers who agree with the main points of our program; (2) the revolutionary syndicalists; (3) the Left Socialist element; (4) the anarchists. In this country, due to the backwardness of many sections of the labor movement, even less conscious elements than the above mentioned could be used to great advantage on many occasions." Of these, he asserts the revolutionary syndicalists of the IWW to be the most important, and the winning of the IWW activists to the Communist banner thus the most critical. "The only way for the IWW's functioning effectively is to work as a minority within the organized labor movement, not by worshipping three letters but by doing everything to put across their program," Zack declares.

 

"Circular Letter to All District Organizers of the Workers Party of America from James P. Cannon, Chairman. [March 4, 1922] Short snippet illustrating the organizational incompetence of the Workers Party of America first few months of existence, under the organizational administration of James P. Cannon and Caleb Harrison. On March 4, after more than two months of nominal existence, charter certificates were almost ready to be sent to District Organizers, Cannon notes here. An engravers' strike was blamed. Upon assuming the reins of the organization in May 1921, after his release from Sing Sing Penitentiary on bail, pending appeal, C.E. Ruthenberg was rather aghast at the slap dash dues collections and haphazard record keeping of the WPA during its first 4 months of existence. This perspective may well have been factual rather than factional, documents such as this one illustrate.

 

"Report of the International Delegate to the Conference of the CP of A," by John J. Ballam [delivered circa May 8, 1922] This is the text of an extensive and quite detailed report by the International Delegate of the Central Caucus-CPA Opposition, John Ballam, on his efforts to advance the faction's agenda in Moscow. Ballam states that he arrived in Moscow on March 12, 1922, and was met immediately by the Moscow representative of the regular CPA, Ludwig Katterfeld. Katterfeld informed Ballam that ECCI had appointed a 3 member American Commission, consisting of Heinrich Brandler, Mátyás Rákosi, and Otto Kuusinen, to finally resolve the American party situation. This American Commission met on March 15, Ballam states, with Ballam forced to participate despite the lack of substantiating documents, which had been entrusted to a courier for transit to Moscow and which were still not received by him. The American Commission asked Ballam whether he had a concrete proposal to make to end the American stalemate, to which Ballam responded that "if any proposals were made to settle it, they should come from Carr [Katterfeld]." Katterfeld submitted such a document at that time, Ballam notes, adding that he believed the American Commission would act no further until Ballam's documentary materials were received. Instead, the very next day he was called before a full meeting of ECCI, where the body was prepared to decide upon the American question based upon the document drawn up by Katterfeld. Ballam submitted a 9 point counterproposal (full text included here) which would have established a 3 member committee, consisting of Ballam for the Opposition, Bedacht for the Regulars, and a third non-factional member appointed by the Comintern, to call a unity convention. However, "Zinoviev declared that since the question of the organization of the legal party was eliminated, the theoretical differences between the two factions were wiped out and that therefore the EC should adopt the report of the American Commission." This caused Ballam to issue a lengthy formal protest (text included here) charging the American Commission with a lack of due diligence in investigating the American situation and asserting "no adequate solution of the difficulty can be achieved in this haphazard manner." ECCI then referred the matter back to an expanded 5 member American Commission, with Boris Souvarine (supporter of the Opposition) and Boris Reinstein added to the mix. The expanded American Commission waited "4 or 5 days" for Ballam's documents to surface in Moscow, and when they did not decided to proceed. Ballam then proposed the appointment of a 3 member ECCI Investigating Committee with plenipotentiary powers, headed by Mikhail Borodin, to be dispatched to America to resolve the situation. Katterfeld objected that this commission would supercede the CEC. It was ultimately determined by the American Commission that the real agenda of Ballam and the CPA Opposition was to sink the already constituted legal political party, the Workers Party of America, and the tide turned decisively. The Opposition was defeated on this main issue, in Ballam's estimation: "In the meantime I talked with Zinoviev and others about the American question. There is not a person in Moscow who formerly belonged to our faction that supports our position. Not one of the representatives of the Communist parties of other countries in Moscow that supports our position. Our only friend was the old man Yavki [Sen Katayama] and even he was opposed to our position on the LPP [WPA]." Ballam concludes: "They are sending their representative to this country [Genrik Valetski]. He carries a mandate directly from the EC and has plenipotentiary powers. I advise you to give him all the facts."

 

"Decision of the CEC [of the Central Caucus-CPA Opposition]," by "J. Davis" [Mrs. A.S. Edwards] [circa May 12, 1922] This article by the Executive Secretary of the CPA Opposition (former Central Caucus faction) relates the decision of the group's Central Executive Committee to the Report of International Delegate John Ballam. The Opposition chose to repudiate the agreement for unification agreed to in Moscow by their representative John Ballam and the representative of the regular CPA, Ludwig Katterfeld, due to "inadequate and incomplete" investigation of the American situation by the American Commission of ECCI and "short time devoted to the matter" by ECCI itself. Instead, the CEC of the Opposition calls for a thorough investigation of the situation by a committee of investigation of both factions, headed by ECCI Rep Valetski, followed by "immediate expulsion of all those who advocated the liquidation of the CPA" from the ranks of the regular party. Only after these preconditions were met would the Opposition agree to meet in "a convention of the two factions...called for the purpose of solidifying the Communist forces in this country" -- note that this phrasing does not include the words "unity" or "amalgamation." Ballam responded to the repudiation of his agreement with Katterfeld by moving over to the ranks of the regular CPA, where he agitated for unity on behalf of the CEC.

 

"The Task of the Hour," by Alfred S. Edwards [circa June 1, 1922] With ECCI coming down on the side of the regular CPA against the Central Caucus-CPA Opposition, there were some who refused to submit to discipline, as indicated by this hardline call to arms in the factional war by A.S. Edwards ("Sullivan"). "By an accident the control over our party got into the hands of the former gas-socialists and social-patriots, now political prostitutes, who are for the Comintern as long as they can secure jobs for themselves," Edwards rages. "It was only natural to expect that former Bolsheviks, who had fought this gang for 10 and 15 years in the Socialist Party, would not be tolerated in a CP controlled by their old and bitter enemies, consequently 5,000 members were expelled. The 'experiment' of the Comintern in uniting Centrists and Communists that resulted in the 1921 Joint Unity Convention [Woodstock: May 15-28, 1921] was a complete failure." Now that the Opposition had "succeeded in organizing the expelled Communists into a strong party, after we have established our legal and illegal press and organizations and are beginning to 'go to the masses' and gaining their confidence," the regular CPA was using the authority of the Comintern to destroy the fledgling organization, Edwards declares. He adds that "the order to disband our organization and turn all our press, property, and organization over to the Mensheviks is nothing but a defeat. And this is done at a time when the Mensheviks have come to a complete intellectual, moral, and financial bankruptcy." Edwards charges that his foes Katterfeld, Bedacht & Co. had won the day at ECCI by weaving a fabric of lies and grossly exaggerating their organizational strength. "The question to be decided now is whether we continue our Communist work and by doing so disobey the Comintern, or obey the Comintern and disband our organization," Edwards notes, adding: "The only way out is shown by our Party Conference [New York: May 8-12, 1922]: to continue our good Communist work and ask for a complete investigation from the Comintern. We love the Comintern, but we love still more the Communist movement."

 

"Circular Letter to the CEC of the WPA from Otto Kuusinen for the Secretariat of the Communist International, April 30, 1923." Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

"The Second Round at St. Joseph," by C.E. Ruthenberg [June 1923] Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

"Letter to the Workers Party of America from Vasil Kolarov, General Secretary of ECCI, December 7, 1923." Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

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List of Delegates to the 1919 Founding Convention of the Communist Party of America. This list contains the names of 127 regular delegates, 1 alternate, and 5 members of convention committees mentioned in various Bureau of Investigation reports with no state mentioned out of the 137 delegates to the founding convention. The delegation was heavily skewed to New York state, with no fewer than 31 delegates and 1 alternate hailing from the Empire State. Illinois was second on the list, with no fewer than 16 delegates. Many of the 22 declared supporters of the Michigan Minority Program are also identified here.

 

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