LITHUANIAN
FEDERATIONS
The Lithuanian
Emigration to America
Lithuanian emigration
began on a mass scale in 1868, a response to the famine of 1867-68.
The emigration was economic in intention, although a fair percentage
of later emigres were young Lithuanian men attempting to escape
conscription into the Tsarist army. Over the next half century
fully one-quarter of the Lithuanian people emigrated, mainly
to the United States.
[fn: Alfonsas
Eidintas, Lithuanian Emigration to the United States, 1869-1950.
(Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopediju leidybos institutas, 2005),
pg. 10.]
Lithuania was an oppressed
nationality under the Tsarist regime. The Lithuanian-language
press was banned, as were Lithuanian cultural organizations.
The Lithuanian peasanty was extremely impoverished, the gentry
owning land in grossly disproportionate quantities -- 44% in
Vilnius gubernia, 46% in Kaunas gubernia, and nearly 24% in Suwalki
gubernia. The landed estates monopolized the most productive
agricultural land and also most of the forests. As a result,
there was a great agricultural wage-labor surplus in the last
decades of the 19th Century.
Lithuanian towns were
unable to absorb the surplus agricultural labor. From 1882 the
Tsarist regime had prohibited Jews from living in the countryside
and engaging in farming; consequently, over 40% of the jobs of
the Lithuanian towns were filled by Jews, with additional jobs
claimed by Poles (over 15%) and Russians (6%).
[fn: Alfonsas
Eidintas, Lithuanian Emigration to the United States, 1869-1950,
pp. 22-23.]
As a result of rural overpopulation,
chronically concentrated farmlands, and limited urban opportunities,
rural wages in Lithuania were among the lowest in Europe. Between
1883 and 1888, the average daily wage for farm workers, including
meals, in Suwalki gubernia was 42 kopecks for men and 28 kopecks
for women. The average Russian farmworker of the period earned
less than 1/3 of the amount earned by his American compatriot;
and the average Lithuanian farmworker earned significantly less
than those of Russia. America stood as an economic beacon for
the impoverished peasantry of Lithuania.
[fn: Alfonsas
Eidintas, Lithuanian Emigration to the United States, 1869-1950,
pg. 24.]
From the 1880s onward,
the Jewish and ethnic Lithuanian populations of Lithuania began
to emigrate at an increased rate. Great Russian national chauvinism
festered during these years; Jews were expelled from Moscow and
its surrounding districts in 1891-92 and over 76,000 Jews emigrated
from the Russian empire in that later year alone. The mass emigration
of the ethnic LIthuanian peasantry took place slightly later,
with American statistics showing an average of about 11,000 Lithuanian
arrivals during 1899-1904; about 19,500 during 1905-07; about
16,500 during 1908-1912; and about 23,000 per year in 1912-13.
In all over a quarter
million people emigrated to the United States between 1899 and
the coming of the first World War in 1914. Of this number, about
81% were ethnic Lithuanians, 13% were Jews, and the balance were
composed of other ethnicities. Probably 20% of these individuals
later returned home to Lithuania, leaving a population in America
of approximately 200,000 on the eve of the European war.
[fn: Alfonsas
Eidintas, Lithuanian Emigration to the United States, 1869-1950,
pp. 30, 56, 62, 67.]
As the Lithuanian historian
Alfonsas Eidintas notes, "The biggest migration was during
1904-1914. The causes were undoubtedly economic, but now they
were closely intertwined with politics. ...In 1904, on account
of military actions in the Far East, almost all the conscription
stations in the Trakai district failed to provide enough young
men becasue most of them had, with the assistance of local agents,
left for the United States... [In Suwalki gubernia] out of 2,705
young men called up only 720 reported fro duty, because the others
had emigrated.... Emigration was further stimulated by tsarist
suppression of the 1905-1907 revolution and the reprisals of
the rampaging bands."
[fn: Alfonsas
Eidintas, Lithuanian Emigration to the United States, 1869-1950,
pg. 60.]
During the first two decades
of the 20th Century, very few Lithuanian intellectuals emigrated
to America -- the bulk were of peasant origin. Of these about
70% were male and only about 47% over age 14 were literate. While
the gender ratio was broadly comparable with that of other nationalities
emigrating from Tsarist Russia, the literacy figure paled in
comparison to such national groups as the Finns (98% literate)
and the Jews (72.6% literate).
[fn:
Alfonsas Eidintas, Lithuanian Emigration to the United States,
1869-1950, pg. 60.]
Abroad, the emigre Lithuanian
peasants were assimilated as industrial workers, including steel
workers, meat packers, and miners.
Amerikos Lietuviu Socialistu
Sajunga [American Lithuanian Socialist Union]
The Lietuviu Socialistu
Sajunga was organized in 1904 and held its first convention
the following year.
1. First Convention
--- Newark, NJ --- May 21, 1905.
The Lithuanian Socialist
Federation of America held its First Convention in May of 1905
in Newark, NJ. The group grew rapidly, its numbers bolstered
by a massive wave of emigrants from the Russian empire following
the suppressiion of the Revolution of 1905. Early years of the
group were marked by a series of factional struggles, with various
nationalist and anarchist elements leaving the organization.
The 1905 revolution in
Russia proved a powerful impetus for Lithuanians in America to
join the Lithuanian Socialist Federation. Membership grew in
the aftermath.
2. 2nd Convention
--- Waterbury, CT --- April 28, 1907.
The Second Convention
of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation of America was held late
in April of 1907. It was attended by over 30 delegates from New
York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesosta, California,
Connecticut and elsewhere. The Socialist Party sent August Beutter
of Hartford, CT, as its representative to the gathering in an
attempt to win the group's affiliation, but the convention voted
against the proposal 22 to 12. The convention did agree to submit
a referendum on the issue to its member locals, however. In the
words of Beutter, "The increased cost of affiliation with
our party seemed to be the greatest obstacle in their way."
[fn:
August Beutter, "Report of August Beutter, Representing
the Socialist Party at National Convention of the Lithuanian
Socialist Organizations," in Socialist Party Official
Bulletin, v. 3, no. 9 (May 1907).pg. 2.]
3. 3rd Convention
--- city? --- (date?) 1909.
4. 4th Convention
--- New York City --- July 1-?, 1911.
Since
direct affiliation with the Socialist Party of America was on the
agenda, the Lithuanian Socialist Federation made a request of the
National Office of the SPA that it send representatives to the 4th
Convention of the organization, suggesting Morris HIllquit and Charles
Solomon for the role. At the time of the gathering the federation
claimed 157 branches with about 3,000 members.
[fn. "News from National Socialist Headquarters," The Socialist (Columbus, OH), vol. 1, no. 27 (June 24, 1911), pg. 3.]
Lithuanian
Socialist Federation of America Affiliates with the Socialist
Party of America
1. Convention
--- Philadelphia, PA --- Dec. 26-30, 1914.
At its December1914 convention
the Lithuanian Socialist Federation voted by a very small majority
to join the Socialist Party, becoming the Lietuviu Socialistu
Federacija. Its membership plummeted in the aftermath of
this decision, dropping from 3,500 before affiliation to a little
over 2,000 afterwards. The Lithuanian Federation was actually
admitted effective June 1, 1915 and accounted for only an average
of 403 paid members in that year.
The Lithuanian Socialist
Federation published a weekly newspaper called Kova (The
Struggle) as its official journal as well as a monthly theoretical
magazine called Naujoji Gadyne (The New Age). Both of
these publications were based in Philiadelphia, Pennsylvania,
the headquarters of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation. In addition
to these papers, there was a Lithuanian daily newspaper published
in Chicago, a semi-weekly, in Brooklyn, two weeklies (Boston
and Pittsburgh), and a monthly in Worchester, Massachusetts.
A fairly vast socialist literature was also published in the
Lithuanian language by cooperative publishing associations associated
with the Lithuanian Federation.
The Lithuanian Federation
was governed by Conventions held every other year, attended by
delegates elected by the membership. A five member Executive
Committee and a three member Committee on LIterature was chosen;
the Executive Committee selecting a Business Manager to handle
the daily operations of the organization. The membership elected
the group's Translator-Secretary (primarily an employee of the
SPA National Office) as well as the Editor of the party press.
Joseph V. Stilson was elected the first Translator-Secretary
of the organization.
The Lithuanian Socialist
Federation was to move to new headquarters located at 229 N 6th
Street, Philadelphia, from about Feb. 20, 1915.
[fn:
C.A. Herman ," The Lithuanian Socialist Federation"
in The American Labor Year-Book, 1916. (NY: Rand School
Press, 1916), pp. 140-141; "The Lithuanian Social Democratic
Federation," circa 1918, Socialist Party of America Papers,
microfilm reel 94; "Membership Report by States," The
American Socialist, Jan. 22, 1916, pg. 3.; "Join Party
in Body," Wisconsin Comrade, March 1915, pg. 1.]
On Sept. 20, 1915, a semi-autonomous
publishing arm of the LSF of A was established, the Lithuanian
Workers Literature Society (LWLS). This organization was based
upon a local structure of "groups" of at least 5 members,
who paid $1 annual dues and met monthly. The purpose of the organization
was "the publishing of such writings which would raise throughout
the masses of workers class consciousness, socialistic intellect,
and solidarity, and otherwise broaden the boundaries of their
knowledge." The organization had central officers and met
in convention at the same time and place as the LSF of A.
The LWLS Constitution was published bilingually in Lithuanian and English
in 1919 and may be downloaded here.
The LWLS published a sizeable
number of socialist titles, both translations of English language
works and original work in English, continuing its work into
the 1930s.
[fn:
Lietuviu Darbininku Literaturos Dr-gijos Konstitucija: Suorganizuota
20 d. Rugsejo, 1915 m. (Brooklyn: "Laisves" Spaustuve,
1919), pp. 25-51.]
2. Convention
--- Chicago, IL --- Sept. 1-5, 1916.
There were 69 delegates
to the September 1916 Convention of the Lithuanian Socialist
Federation, representing 2,151 members in 129 branches. The gathering
saw heated factional debate between "internationalists,"
headed by V. Kapsukas and J. Shukys and "centrists,"
headed by P. Grigaitis and S. Michelsonas. The Convention came
down decidedly in the anti-militarist "Internationalist"
camp.
During 1917, the following
were the officers of the Lithuanian Federation:
Business Manager: Joseph
Shukys [Juozas Sukys].
Translator-Secretary:
Joseph B. Stilson [Juozas Stilsonas].
Editor: Kazimieras Vidikas.
Executive Committee: Joseph
Jukelis, Adoph Solynas, Joseph Ramannauskas, John P. Raulinaitis,
Anthorny Kairys.
Committee on Literature:
J. Baltrusaitis, C.A. Herman, A. Montvid.
On December 7 and 14,
1917, and September 1, 1918, search warrants were served on the
National Headquarters of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation
in Philadelphia, and evidence taken. Shukys and Stilson were
subsequently prosecuted under the so-called Espionage Act for
allegedly inhibiting military conscription.
[fn:
C.A. Herman ," The Lithuanian Socialist Federation"
in The American Labor Year-Book, 1916. (NY: Rand School
Press, 1916), pp. 140-141; "The Lithuanian Social Democratic
Federation," circa 1918, Socialist Party of America Papers,
microfilm reel 94.]
The Lithuanian Socialist
Federation was suspended by the NEC of the Socialist Party at
the beginning of June 1919, ostensibly for endorsing the Manifesto
of the Left Wing Section.
In January of 1920 a reorganized
Lithuanian Socialist Federation came before the meeting of the
NEC of the SPA in New York City with a resolution repudiating
and withdrawing their officials. On the motion of Committeeman
George Roewer, they were reinstated as the Lithuanian Socialiist
Federation and Executive Secretary Otto Branstetter was instructed
to recognize D. Matuz as the new Translator-Secretary of the
Federation.
[fn:
The World [Oakland, CA], whole no. 716 (Jan. 9, 1920),
pg. 4.]
X. Convention
of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation --- South Boston, MA ---
June 20, 1920.
On June 20, 1920, approximately
20 delegates assembled in Dahlgren Hall, South Boston, the meeting
place of Lithuanian Local 60, which had recently left the Communist
Party of America to renew its affiliation with the SPA. Included
among the delegates were Comrades Naichunas (Chicago), Sliupas
(Scranton, PA), Ostrimskis (New York), K. Jurgeliunas (South
Boston), Geguzis (Pennsylvania), Klimas (West Lynn, MA), Buolis
(West Lynn, MA), Bagdonas (Norwood), and Paukstys (Brooklyn).
The gathering condemned affiliation with the CPA and urged all
memberrs of the federation to adhere to the principles of the
Socialist Party.
[fn:
Report of Special Agent William J. West, week ending June 26,
1920, DoJ/BoI Investigative Files, NARA M-1085, reel 922.]
The Lithuanian Socialist
Federation produced a monthly called Banga [The Wave],
editor of which was M. Grigatis. Grigatis resigned in the middle
of March 1921 and was replaced by A. Lali of Chicago.
As of the middle of 1921,
the Executive Committee of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation
consisted of: May Jurgelionis (Sec./Treas); M. Baltruskiene,
H. Herman, K. Liutkus, Thomas Matas, J. Pruselaties, M. Rasiuti,
and T. Raskevicius.
[fn.
Jacob Spolansky, Report on Banga, DoJ/BoI Investigative Files,
NARA M-1085, reel 941, file 202600-2226.]
The Lithuanian Socialist
Federation was very small, dissipating by the end of the 1920s.
It counted an average paid membership of 87 for the first 10
months of 1927, but fell precipitously to an average of just
33 for the comparable period of 1928. This seems to have marked
an end to the SP's Lithuanian organization.
[fn:
Letter of National Executive Secretary Willam H. Henry to the
NEC of the SPA, Nov. 24, 1928. Original in Bob Miller collection.]
Lietuviu Komunistu
Federacija [Lithuanian Communist Federation]
1. First Convention
--- Brooklyn, NY --- Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 1919.
The Lithuanian Federation
formally left the Socialist Party at its 1919 convention, held
in Brooklyn, NY. There were a total of 112 delegates to this
gathering, representing a cliamed membership of about 9,000 in
266 branches. It was attended by Jay Lovestone and Alex Bittelman
on behalf of the Communist Party of America.The convention voted
to affiliate with the newly founded CPA, renaming itself the
Lietuviu Komunistu Federacija. This Lithuanian Federation
was one of the primary participants in organization of the Communist
Party of America. The Lithuanian Federation was numerically the
largest language group of that organization throughout its existence.
Translator-Secretary for the Lithuanian Federation both before
and after the SPA split of 1919 was Joseph Stilson.
The Lithuanian Federation
of the old CPA was governed by an Executive Committee which included
the following:
Secretary of the EC: Kalnas; Members: Leon,
Osinskis, Paseiminis, Penktas, Septintas, Zagvietis
The Lithuanian Federation
divided the country into districts and made use of paid District
Organizers.
[fn:
Comintern Archive: f. 515, op. 1, d. 75, l. 60.]
According to an April
22, 1921 Bureau of Investigation report by Jacob Spolansky, the
official organ Lithuanian Communist Federation was knows as Zarija
until the mass raid of Jan. 2/3, 1920. After that date, the publication
changed its name to Vilnis. The manager of Vilnis in 1921
was Joseph A. Demintis, a naturalized citizen who was a delegate
to the founding convention of the CPA from Local Milwaukee, according
to Spolansky.
[fn:
Jacob Spolansky, "Vilnis -- Alleged Communist Publication
in the Lithuanian Language," April 22, 1921. NARA M-1085,
reel 925, file 202600-51.]
2. 2nd Convention
--- [city?] --- [date?] 1920?
Lithuanian
Groups of the United Communist Party of America
There were very few primary
party units of the UCP which spoke LIthuanian -- only 7 out of
673 in December of 1920, according to party statistics. Four
of these groups were located in the Detroit district, with one
of the others in Seattle.
[fn:
DoJ/BoI Investigative Files, NARA M-1085, reel 940, doc. 501
-- downloadable below.]
A Bureau of Investigation
report of dubious reliability reported that a "secret conference"
of the "Lithuanian Socialist Party" had been held in
Detroit on Sept. 21, 1920, and that 462 members of the organization
had been affiliated with the United Communist Party. The undercover
informant passing along this information claims to have received
it in an official party communication. Given the paucity of Lithuanian-language
groups in December of that year, this claim seems highly unlikely.
[fn:
Report of H.W. Hess, March 4, 1921. DoJ/BoI Investigative Files,
NARA M-1085, reel 922.]
Lithuanian
Federation of the (unified) Communist Party of America
In late 1921, during the
5 months between formation of the unified CPA and the split of
the Central Caucus faction, the Communist Party's Lithuanian
Federation had an average monthly paid membership of 1,166, making
it the 2nd largest Language group in the party.
[fn:
Comintern Archive: f. 515, op. 1, d. 75, l. 12.]
3. 3rd Convention
--- [city?] --- [Sept.?] 1921?
During the period between
the 3rd and 4th Conventions of the Lithuanian Federation, the
Bureau of that organization included (probably pseudonyms): V.
Grazys (Secretary); Baron, Johnson, Pakalniskis, Phillips, Ross,
and Willis. Other high-ranking members of the Federation who
sometimes sat in on meetings of the Bureau were Barbos, J. Davis,
Leonidas, Roe, Sarkaite, Slanniskis, Traveler, and Zubrys.
[fn: Comintern
Archive: f. 515, op. 1, d. 139, ll. 14-
The legal Lithuanian daily,
Laisves, was published by the Lithuanian Cooperative Publishing
Society, which as of the summer of 1921 maintained its offices
at 455 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY.
Lithuanian
Bureau of the Central Caucus faction's "Communist Party
of America"
The leader of the Lithuanian
section of the Central Caucus faction was "Leon," a
former member of the Central Executive Committee of the old CPA.
On June 21, 1922, faced
with the ultimatum of the Executive Committee of the Communist
International to rejoin the official Communist Party of America,
the Central Bureau of the Lithuanian Federation of the Central
Caucus faction voted unanimously to rejoin the majority organization,
issued
an appeal to their members
to do likewise, and turned over all records to the majority group.
"B. Karpus" signed as secretary of the Central Caucus
faction group.
[fn: Comintern
Archive: f. 515, op. 1, d. 116, l. 14.]
4. 4th Convention
-- [city?] --- December 1922
The 4th Convention of
the Lithuanian Federation was held under conditions of secrecy.
It was attended by 16 regular delegates from 6 of the CPA's 9
regional districts and included 9 fraternal delegates: a CEC
representative, Joseph Stilson ["Sprague"}, a representative
of the WPA's Lithuanian Language Section, two members of the
Lithuanian Federation's governing Central Bureau who were not
otherwise elected delegates, two representatives of "legal
institutions" (the newspapers Laisve ["Liberty":
Brooklyn] and Vilnis ["The Surge": Chicago]),
and a security committee of two. Only one of those present was
a former loyalist of the Central Caucus faction, the rest had
retained their affiliation to the unified CPA over the 1922 troubles.
The minutes
of the 4th Convention and theses approved by that body are
available as a downloadable pdf.
The gathering discussed
the party press and other Lithuanian "legal" institutions
at length, voted not to allow former Central Caucus opposition
leader "Comrade Leon" to take over the editorial role
of the Chicago Vilnis, and came out strongly for a reduction
of dues rates (which were 50 cents per month both for the CPA
and the WPA) and for a capping of the wages paid to Party workers
as a means of cost containment. Elections were held for a new
Central Bureau of the Lithuanian Federation and the following
were elected (probably pseudonyms):
K. Povas (receiving 16
votes); Peters (15 votes); Burke (14 votes); Kalnas (14 votes);
Garsas (13 votes); Camden (11 votes). Alternates (in sequence
were to be: Sarkaite (14 votes); Buceraitis (12 votes); Zubrys
(11 votes); Raiston (10 votes).
[fn: Comintern
Archive: f. 515, op. 1, d. 139, ll. 40-104.]
Lithuanian
Federation of the Workers Party of America
With the move to the so-called
"Legal Political Party," the Workers Party of America,
those Lithuanians remaining loyal to the CPA became Lithuanian
language branches of the new organization.
1. 1st Convention
--- [city?] --- [date? 1922?]
2. 2nd Convention
--- Chicago, IL --- Jan. 5-6, 1924.
The 2nd Convention of
the Lithuanian Federation of the WPA was held in Chicago and
was attended by 22 delegates representing 81 branches of the
Federation, claiming a membership of "about 1,200."
Ten fraternal delegates were also seated with voice but not vote.
The convention heard the
report of the Central Executive Committee delivered by Abram
Jakira and a report on the situation in the United Mine Workers
of America delivered by Thomas Myerscought. Both reports were
accepted unanimously.
New officers elected for
the Lithuanian Federation consisting of the following:
Secretary:
Rojus "Roy"
Mizara (May 15, 1895-Sept. 23, 1967)
editor of
Vilnius:
V. Andrulis,
Bureau (5):
Frank Buck,
Jonas Gasiunas
(b. June 10, 1893),
Stasys Veshys
(née Vladas Dubendris, b. Feb. 13, 1887),
J.P. Zaldokas,
F. Zalpis.
[fn.
"Lithuanians Hold Successful Meet," Daily Worker, Jan.
14, 1923, pg. 4.]
"Membership Series by Language
Federation for the Socialist Party of America: Dues Stamps Sold
by Month -- January 1917 to March 1919." [compiled with
footnotes by Tim Davenport] This document compiles and tallies complete dues
information for 10 of the Socialist Party's 15 foreign language
Federations as well as making use of incomplete statistics for
the 5 others, drawing inferences from known statistics to fill
in the blanks. It shows that far and away the largest Socialist
Party Federation in the period was the Finnish, with a 1918 average
membership in excess of 10,000; followed by the German (6150),
Lithuanian (3,800), Jewish (nearly 3,800), and South Slavic (estimated
at 2,300 in 1918 despite the disruption of having withdrawn from
the party briefly in October over the question of the war). The
figures show that in the 1st Quarter of 1919, the 15 language
federations combined sold approximately 19,000 more dues stamps
each month than they averaged during the previous year. This
gain was not limited to the 7 federations summarily suspended
by the National Executive Committee in May 1919, however, with
the unsuspended Finnish Federation (+2,275), Jewish Federation
(+2,450), German Federation (+1,800), Scandinavian Federation
(+600), and Czech Federation (+450) accounting for nearly 40%
of the total increase in the membership of the language groups
in the period. The data shows a single gross dues anomaly among
the suspended federations (March 1919 -- Ukrainian Federation)
and potentially suspicious rates of growth in the 1st Quarter
of 1919 in 2 others (Russian and Lithuanian). Dividing the sums
of the Federation membership totals in the table into the known
official paid memberships of the Socialist Party as a whole (1917
- 80,379; 1918 - 82,344; 1919-QI - 104,882) provides the information
that an estimated 44.2% of SPA duespayers were members of foreign
language federations in 1917, 45.8% in 1918, and 54.1% in the
1st Quarter of 1919.
FEBRUARY 1919
"Report of the Delegate of
the Lithuanian Socialist Federation to the Conference of the
Russian Immigrant Revolutionary Socialist Federations,"
by I.J. Kravcevic [held Feb. 9, 1919] Due to the high survival rate of periodicals and
documents of the Anglophonic Left Wing movement of 1919 (and
the ability of scholars to make use of them), we know a great
deal more about the ideas and actions of the small band of English-speakers
in New York than we do about a larger parallel movement in the
ranks of the Socialist Party among those who spoke Russian, Lithuanian,
Yiddish, Latvian, Croatian, Ukrainian, Finnish, Polish, or any
other of about a half dozen languages. This translated document
from the Lithuanian press helps enrich our understanding. On
Feb. 9, 1919, a conference was held in New York City by delegates
of the "Revolutionary Socialist Federations of the Socialist
Party of America." It is not at this time known who planned
this gathering or when the call for it went out -- planning certainly
predated the first session of the Left Wing Section of Greater
New York, which held its organizational meeting on Feb. 2, 1919.
The Conference of "Russian Immigrant Revolutionary Socialist
Federations" included delegates from the Russian, Latvian,
Ukrainian, and Estonian language sections of the Socialist Party,
this report by Lithuanian delegate I.J. Kravcevic notes. Radical
discontent with "opportunist" policies of the Socialist
Party leadership had been brewing, and the decision was made
"there is need for organized and disciplined revolutionary
action within the party now" -- a formal organization of
revolutionary socialists within the SPA. "We have to combine
all of these federations and separate groups within the party
into a Left Wing of the SP, to start and organize a bitter fight
with the opportunists within the party in order to establish
a program of the principles that would fit the present revolutionary
movement of the working class," Kravcevic noted, adding
that "in order to discourage the opportunists from distorting
these principles, there should be a party discipline and those
not complying with it should be ejected from the party without
further ado." Additional goals of the gathering were to
make contact with the Russian Soviet government and to establish
an information bureau on its behalf to make the real situation
in Russia known to Americans.
JUNE 1919
"Scuttling the Ship: A Statement
of the Seven Suspended Language Federations, June 2, 1919."
This is the joint
protest statement of the 7 affected Language Federations of the
SPA (Russian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Polish, Hungarian, South
Slavic, and Latvian) in response to the May 27 action of the
party's National Executive Committee to unilaterally suspend
the entire memberships of these organizations. The "autocratic
7" members of the National Executive Committee who approved
this action on "over 30,000 dues payers" are rebuked
for failing to provide notification, time for preparation, or
a trial. In addition, the NEC bloc of 7 suspended the party elections
and expelled the Michigan organization of nearly 6,000 without
trial, locked up the party headquarters in the hands of a private
holding company outside of party control, and arbitrarily threw
the Translator-Secretaries of the affected federations out of
party headquarters without allowing time for them to locate new
quarters. "In short, this group of seven National Committeemen,
drunk with power they assumed, feeling aggrieved because these
federations dared to criticize the National Executive Committee,
made themselves guilty of an act which will discredit them forever
in the International Socialist movement," the joint statement
charged.
DECEMBER 1920
"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.
MAY 1921
"CPA Condensed Cash Statement,
Feb. to May 1921, Including Federations, But Not Including Payments
to and from the National Office and the Federations: Presented
to the Joint Unity Convention, Woodstock, NY - May 15, 1921."
This is a very esoteric budget
document, but specialists in the history of the early American
Communist movement will probably immediately recognize its import.
For me, at least, this document has led to a fundamental rethinking
about the nature of the old CPA, for it shows that the organization
truly was a "federation of federations." Five of the
old CPA's 6 Language Federations possessed assets at least twice
the size of the National Office of the organization. The same
5 possessed printing plant in excess of the National Office.
Three of them retained substantial real estate holdings. Three
of them spent more money than the National Office on literature
production, and a fourth spent approximately the same amount
as the National Office. These were clearly fully functioning
political organizations in their own right, not tiny social groups
of members speaking a common language. It is little wonder that
the "Federation Issue" stood so large on the landscape
as the primary issue impeding merger efforts between the UCP
and the old CPA for so long and fueling the Central Caucus split
that erupted in late November of 1921.
SEPTEMBER 1921
"Resolution on the Removal
of 4 Members of the Lithuanian Bureau." [Adopted circa Sept.
25, 1921.] There
is a tendency to see the split of the so-called Central Caucus
in the fall of 1921 as nothing more than a reaction to the decision
of the majority of the Central Executive Committee of the unified
CPA to move towards the immediate formation of a Legal Political
Party -- with devastating results for the members of the various
language federation groups of the party, who would be quickly
and easily scooped up by law enforcement authorities if secret
procedure within the party were no longer followed. This was
an enormous issue between the two factions, to be sure, but it
was actually but one of a number of closely related issues that
led to the Central Caucus split. One early salvo in the factional
war was fired over the composition of the governing Bureau of
the Lithuanian Communist Federation. On Sept. 15, 1921, the majority
of the CEC of the CPA overturned the decision of the recent Lithuanian
language conference and sacked 4 members elected by that body
to serve on the Lithuanian Bureau, replacing them with handpicked
candidates of their own rather than the official alternates named
by the conference. This decision enraged a section of the Lithuanian
Federation, which passed this condemnatory resolution of this
"outrageous act," calling for its reconsideration and
for the convocation of an emergency convention of the CPA.
FEBRUARY 1922
"The Situation in the Lithuanian
Federation," by Joseph Stilson [Feb. 1922] The split of the Central Caucus faction, centered
in 5 of the 6 Language Federations of the old CPA, dealt a devastating
financial blow to the already precarious budget of the unified
Communist Party of America. Largest of the Communist language
organizations in 1921 was the Lithuanian language group, which
exited at the end of November behind the leadership of the as-yet
unidentified "Leon" and "Zemotis." This account
by the highest-ranking Lithuanian-American on the Central Executive
Committee of the CPA details the struggle to win back the bolting
Lithuanian Federations to the party. Stilson ("Riley")
says that the task began with the meeting of about 14 loyalist
leaders in New York (presumably in December 1921). Utterly without
funds and paying their traveling expenses out of pocket, a group
of Lithuanian organizers from this reorganized "Federation
Bureau" spread across the Eastern US, addressing Lithuanian
branches. The Philadelphia District of the LIthuanian Federation
(home base of the Federation organization) was the first to reaffiliate
with the majority CPA, according to Stilson; thereafter, other
Districts began to fall back into line. At the time of the writing,
the pivotal New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago districts had
all declared themselves behind the CPA majority (as well as 3
smaller districts). In Buffalo the majority CPA had a clear majority,
while the Central Caucus and the CPA majority split the Detroit
district. The Central Caucus' support was based in Boston, Pittsburgh,
and Cleveland, according to Stilson, including "the most
backward localities." Stilson identifies three social groups
behind the Central Caucus: (1) several leaderswho lost their
positions on account of reorganization of the Language Bureau;
(2) a few excitable would-be leaders intent on shouting about
the need for armed insurrection "t every nook and corner";
(3) "working men who have the best of intentions but lack
the understanding of even the primary aspects of the class struggle."
Stilson remarks that "the latter, for obvious reasons, can
very well be led by any phrase revolutionary."
JUNE 1922
"Declaration to the Central
Executive Committee of the Communist Party of America, Section
of the Communist International," by Central Bureau, Lithuanian
Federation of the Central Caucus faction. [June 21, 1922]. Faced with an the ultimatum of the Executive
Committee of the Communist International to rejoin the official
Communist Party of America or face expulsion from the Communist
International, the Central Bureau of the Lithuanian Federatiion
voted unanimously at its June 21, 1922, session to rejoin the
official party, to turn over its records to the majority group,
and to appeal to the members of the Lithuanian Federation to
do likewise. The document was signed by "B. Karpus"
as Secretary of the Central Caucus faction's Lithuanian Federation.
OCTOBER 1922
"Minutes of the Lithuanian
Bureau, CPA: Meeting of October 18, 1922," by "V. Grazys"
This esoteric
document provides important clues about the history of the underground
Communist movement in 1922. 1) Evidence that the Central Caucus
faction's Lithuanian Bureau which dissolved itself on June 21,
1922 to meet a June 25 Comintern deadline was immediately replaced
by a new irreconcilable Central Caucus Lithuanian Bureau, and
that this second Bureau did not return to the fold until after
the little-known 2nd Convention of the Central Caucus' "Communist
Party of America" in September 1922; 2) That strong opposition
to the decision to return remained among the rank and file of
about 240 Lithuanian opposition supporters even after the September
convention that dissolved the Central Caucus faction; 3) That
there was confusion due to structural parallelism between the
underground (#1) and legal (#2) party organizations. Contradictory
instructions were transmitted from the Secretary of each of those
organizations, which forced the Lithuanian Bureau to seek clarification
from the party's CEC; 4) That rather than directing action of
the legal apparatus with regard to the 5th Anniversary of Soviet
Russia celebration, that the underground apparatus merely ratified
decisions made by the legal organization, and thereafter explicitly
allowed further planning for the event to be conducted by the
legal apparatus -- practice at odds with the theoretical model
of "#1 and #2." This session of the Lithuanian Bureau
was attended by a representative of the former Central Caucus
faction opposition, who delivered a report on the status of the
Lithuanian opposition.
DECEMBER 1922
"Minutes and Theses of the
4th Annual Conference, Lithuanian Federation," by "R. Margis." [circa Dec. 1922]." There
is a tendency in the literature to see the world from the "top-down"
-- the Soviet Leader decides, the Comintern complies and issues
orders to the national parties, the Executive of the national
party in turn transmits the order from the center. This is a
false conception of the reality of the early Communist movement,
as this document indicates. As this document demonstrates, far
from demonstrating blind and unthinking obedience to central
authority, the substantially sized and important Lithuanian Federation
of the Communist Party transmitted protests, decisions, and recommendations
of their own to the center: Collection of dual dues (50 cents
per month for both the underground CPA and the legal WPA) were
excessive and stunted growth -- something needed to be done;
an important leader who had strenuously backed the Central Caucus
split was unfit for editorship of the Chicago Lithuanian newspaper
-- a replacement was named instead; a slate of candidates was
named for the Lithuanian Federation's Bureau -- and another slate
put forward by the underground convention for the Bureau of the
Lithuanian Section of the WPA; all Party organizations should
establish special commissions for recruiting new members; Party
wages needed to be capped. All these things were ideas, inputs,
decisions flowing from the "bottom-up" -- to the center
from the Lithuanian Federation's governing annual convention.
While such institutions may well have been ignored and eliminated
in future party practice, their existence and influence in the
early communist movement, dominated as it was by non-english
federations, should never be forgotten.
"Membership Series by Language
Federation for the Workers Party of America. 'Dues Actually Paid'
-- (March to June) vs. (July to Oct.) 1922 and 8 Month Average."
Tim Davenport, ed. [from report of Dec. 24, 1922] This document summarizes federation-by-federation
membership data presented to the 2nd National Convention of the
Workers Party of America, based upon dues statistics generated
through the month of October 1922. The statistics show that nearly
half of the WPA in its first year were members of the organization's
Finnish Federation. English was the 2nd largest of the 14 language
sections (1 out of 8 WPA members hailing from English language
locals), while the Yiddish language locals included 1 member
out of 10.
Unspecified Month
"Membership Series by Language
Federation for the Workers Party of America. 'Dues Actually Paid'
-- January to December 1923." Official 1923 data set of the Workers Party of
America, compiled from a document in the Comintern Archive. This
series shows a great numerical dominance of the WPA by its Finnish
Federation, accounting for a massive 42.8% of the average monthly
paid membership of the organization (6,583 of 15,395). The total
of the English language branches is the 2nd strongest amongst
the federations (7.6%) followed by the South Slavic (7.5%), Jewish
[Yiddish language] (6.9%), and Lithuanian (6.0%) Federations.
In all, there were statistics kept for 18 different language
groups of the WPA in 1923, including the English and the barely
organized Armenian sections.
"Initiation Stamps Sold by
Federation for the Workers Party of America. January to December
1923." Official
1923 data set of the Workers Party of America, compiled from
a document in the Comintern Archive. This series once again (repeating
the previous published 1924 series) shows a schizophrenic pattern
of stamp sales among language groups . Some federations clearly
did not collect the initiation fees called for in the WPA constitution
at all (Jewish, German, Latvian) while at the same time the quantities
sold via the English branches are ridiculously high. Over 53%
of the initiation stamps sold for the entire WPA were credited
to the English branches -- nearly three times as many initiations
than there were average duespayers in those English branches!
Even assuming a significantly higher than average "membership
churn" rate for English branches, there is clearly some
other unexplained phenomenon at play in these English branch
initiation stamp sale figures...
MARCH 1923
"Statement to the Central
Executive Committee of the Communist Party of America from the
Lithuanian Bureau on the Proposed Reorganization of the Party,"
by K. Povas [circa March 1923] Communique of the Secretary of the Lithuanian
Bureau of the unified CPA to the governing Central Executive
Committee taking issue with the decision to amalgamate the underground
and legal wings of the organization. "The latest reorganization
of the proposed CEC is contrary to the decisions and spirit of
the 2nd Convention [Bridgman, MI: Aug. 17-22, 1922]; it actually
forces upon the Party such a basic reform for which the CEC has
no mandate," Povas notes. Povas adds: "The attempt
to force the Party into open existence is in full swing at a
time when the CEC itself admits that the underground organization
is still very weak. Such an experiment may result in a great
chaos among the membership and may entirely cast aside the most
important task of the hour -- the reorganization of the underground
Party and the strengthening of its forces... If in view of the
proposed reorganization we will start a discussion on the advisability
of coming into the open, then the most important campaign, the
slogan to build up the Party will be in vain; it will disappear
in the midst of a pro and con talk about liquidation." Povas
declares that "in its attempt to artificially raise the
Party to open existence, the CEC should have had at least the
majority of the Party membership solidly behind the proposed
plan. Is this so? The overwhelming rejection of the CEC's plan
by the membership almost everywhere in the presence of the representatives
of the CEC does not indicate such a condition."
MAY 1923
"Problems of the Party (IV):
Be American!" by John Pepper [May 26, 1923] In the 4th installment of his
"Problems of the Party" series, party leader John Pepper
analyzes the continued division of the Workers Party of America
into a multiplicity of Language Federations, noting that not
only the spoken language varies from group to group, "but
often the ideology." He notes that "Our Russian comrades
have a different historical tradition from the Italians, the
Germans from the Poles. The workers belonging to various nationalities
are still very deeply rooted in the social and political conditions
of their old countries." Main issues of concern differed
from group to group, as did their practical activity: "Our
Italian comrades arrange a collection for the persecuted Communists
of Italy, our German comrades send relief for the hungry children
of German Communists. Our Hungarian comrades put forth great
efforts to collect money for political prisoners suffering in
Horthy's prisons. Our Polish comrades have made a collection
for the support of the Communist election campaign in Poland.
Our Ukrainian comrades collect money for the support of the Ukrainian
publishing activities in Europe. Our Russian comrades are of
course with heart and soul interested in relief of Soviet Russia.
Our Jewish comrades collect money for needy Jewish workers in
the Ukraine." Very often non-citizens and alienated from
American political life, the Federations tended to retreat into
their own "Ghettos," Pepper states. Political education
and political activity had to be directed towards bringing the
foreign-born majority of the WPA membership into the real American
political struggle. To this end, Pepper puts forward the slogan
"Be American!" -- a slogan which he says "means
to struggle against the whole capitalist class of America; it
means the hardest struggle against 100 percent nationalism of
the jingoes. Be American means for the militant Communist to
present the claim for the workers' rule of America.
"Membership Series by Language
Federation for the Workers Party of America. 'Dues Actually Paid'
-- January to December 1924." Official 1924 data set of the Workers Party of
America, compiled from a document in the Comintern Archive. This
shows a continued numerical dominance of the Workers Party of
America by its Finnish-language federation, averaging a paid
membership of 7100 (41% of the entire organization) for the year
1924. Impressive growth is shown by the Yiddish-language ("Jewish")
federation, which moved to the third largest language group in
the WPA in 1924. The English branches comprised the second largest
language group in the WPA, but still remained just 11% of the
overall organization. The South Slavic federation (predominately
Slovenian and Croation) was the 4th largest language group in
the WPA, topping the Russian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian federations.
"Initiation Stamps Sold by
Federation for the Workers Party of America. January to December
1924." Official
1924 data set of the Workers Party of America, compiled from
a document in the Comintern Archive. An extremely interesting
monthly series in which two unexplained anomalies are apparent:
(1) The failure of at least 8 of the WPA's 18 language sections
to make more than a token effort to collect the $1 initiation
fee and obvious similar behavior (to lesser degree) among branches
of other language groups; (2) A preposterously large sale of
5,264 initiation stamps to "English" branches, which
averaged a paid membership of just 1909 over the course of the
year. Either there was a revolving door in the English branches
that was entirely dissimilar to the situation in any other language
group of the WPA; or there was some sort of effort to collect
initiation fees among "English" workers without organizational
follow up; or there was some sort of strange accounting practice
used by the WPA in which miscellaneous sales of initiation stamps
were lumped into the "English" category (or some combination
of these explanations). A perplexing question in raised, with
further archival research clearly necessary.
OCTOBER 1924
"Letter to C.E. Ruthenberg,
Executive Secretary, Workers Party of America in Chicago from
Antonas Bimba, Staff Member of Laisve, Brooklyn, NY. Oct.
8, 1924." This
unpublished letter to Executive Secretary Ruthenberg from Lithuanian-American
Communist journalist Bimba is extremely interesting on two levels.
First, Bimba is critical of the tendency to issue frequent monetary
appeals, in this case for the Daily Worker, and he claims
that the constant pleading for funds is disorganizing the party:
"...The membership of the party, and especially the members
of various language sections, who have to support the language
press, are being bled white with financial appeals. Hundreds
of members stay away from the meetings just because they know
that as soon as they step into the hall they will be asked to
give a dollar or half a dollar for this or that purpose. Branch
meetings are almost entirely taken up by discussions, fights,
and arguments on the constantly flowing appeals for financial
help. Our party is fast becoming only a money-getting agency."
Second, Bimba reveals how it was that the Communist language
press was able to sustain itself, boatloads of Comintern
cash not in evidence: "I made a suggestion that
the comrades should establish an efficient machinery for doing
outside jobs, such as printing of tickets, show cards, throwaways,
leaflets, programs, etc. Then an appeal should be made to the
party units and organizations under our influence that they should
send their jobs to be done by the Daily Worker's printing
establishment.... We find from experience that this is a permanent
and most important financial resource of the paper. The Lithuanian
daily, as such, brings a deficit of thousands of dollars every
year, but most of this deficit is being covered from the source
mentioned above." Bimba states that he believes the Daily
Worker can be made a self-sustaining publication given the
size of the party organization if its job printing function is
expanded. The document here includes a short biographical footnote
of Antonas Bimba.
FEBRUARY 1926
"God, the Supreme Shoe Manufacturer," by Robert Minor [Feb. 27, 1926]
This article by cartoonist and Workers (Communist) Party functionary
Robert Minor was written in
conjunction with the ongoing Brockton, MA blasphemy trial of Lithuanian
Communist
newspaper editor Anthony Bimba minces no words in its defense of "the
revolutionary materialist philosophy." The archaic law under which
Bimba was charged was a relic of the age "when Massachusetts was a
colony and was steadily burning witches, and which in its first form
imposed the death penalty for atheists," Minor indicates. Minor
observes the relationship of the clergy to the ruling class and asserts
that "it is necessary, from the point of view of the manufacturing
interests, to make the “people” (that is, the working people) believe
in some variation of the god myth." In opposition to this, the
Communist "helps to free the working class of the superstitious
conception of the universe, thereby helping the workers to direct their
energies toward the liberation from the rule of the capitalist class,"
Minor declares. Minor likens the proceedings against Bimba to the
recently completed "Scopes Monkey Trial" and asserts that "Bimba denied
the Supreme manufacturer, and all of the little shoe manufacturers of
Massachusetts, and their priests and preachers and ethical culturists
strike at Bimba in vengeance."
JUNE 1931
"The Crisis in the Laisve: From a Declaration of the Lithuanian Opposition Communists." [May 16, 1931]
Although the fact is little realized, the Lithuanian Socialist
Federation -- and the Lithuanian Communist organization which succeeded
it -- was based on "hall socialism" like the Finns. An extensive
network of radical social, political, and educational institutions were
established by Lithuanian-speaking reds. An, much like the Finns, the
semi-autonomous Lithuanian Communist movement was neutered and
shattered by the CPUSA in the first years of the 1930s. This article,
written by ousted Lithuanian radicals close to the Communist daily Laisve
(Freedom) details the takeover of the newspaper and its assets by a
faction headed by Anthony Bimba and backed with the force of the CPUSA
Central Committee. The authors (B. Jokubonis, J. Kuodis, and E. Butkus)
date the start of the assault to the summer of 1930. First demands were
made that the Lithuanian daily -- a self-sustaining entity established
as a cooperative, with editorial content under party control -- launch
and sustain a Spanish language weekly on behalf of the party. When that
was dodged for financial reasons, additional demands were made that Laisve
handle production of the Yiddish language and Italian party papers.
These financial drains were also dodged, and demands for transmission
of large cash sums to CPUSA followed. Stymied by Lithuanian resistance,
by February 1931 it seems the CC determined to take over Laisve
altogether, transferring out press machinery and converting or selling
Lithuanian buildings. This article details the various political
machinations executed by the Bimba faction in this takeover of Laisve and
purge of Lithuanian members -- a process which ended, the authors
indicate, with "only about 150 Lithuanian workers...left in the Party"
in the spring of 1931.
JULY 1931
"Lithuanian Opposition Organized." (Revolutionary Age) [July 4, 1931]
In 1930 and 1931 the new leadership of the Communist Party launched a
campaign to eliminate the last vestiges of autonomous Communist foreign
language federations, moving against cooperatives and independently
owned publications, asserting firm editorial control, consolidating
production, and liquidating assets. This heavy-handed behavior provoked
opposition within some of these federations, including the Finnish,
Lithuanian, and Ukrainian. This news story from the official organ of
the Lovestoneite Communist Party (Majority Group) details a split in
the Lithuanian Federation, in which CEC loyalists captured control of
the Chicago Lithuanian Communist newspaper, Vilnis
[The Surge]. Eastern elements in the Lithuanian Federation established
themselves as a Lithuanian Communist Opposition with a convention
attended by 42 delegates, probably held sometime in June 1931. A new
publication called The Bulletin
was launched, the article notes. Lithuanian Federation leader Leonas
Pruseika seems to have attempted to negotiate a middle course --
ultimately launching a new publication in Brooklyn which made use of an old
name, Naujoji Gadyne [The New Epoch].
DECEMBER 1931
"Lithuanian Opposition Begins the Issuance of Weekly Organ: Review and Criticism of Naujoji Gadyne." [Dec. 19, 1931] With the CPUSA moving by use of centrally-determined decisions and heavy-handed action to
consolidate its dwindling foreign language sections under the banner of
the International Workers Order in 1931, many federationists took
umbrage. Some dissident Communists of the Lithuanian Federation, rather
than accepting the new regime headed by Anthony Bimba, departed the
party to establish a new Brooklyn-based Communist Opposition weekly, Naujoji Gadyne
(The New Era). This article from the press of Jay Lovestone's Communist
Party (Majority Group) takes a look at the first two issues of the new
Lithuanian periodical. While admiring the "well-edited revolutionary
paper," the Lovestoneites are critical of the Lithuanian Opposition for
conceiving of the Lithuanian Federation's struggle as a Lithuanian
struggle, rather than a general problem of the Communist movement as a
whole. Failure by Lithuanian leaders E. Butkus and Leonas Pruseika to
show the connection between the Lithuanian Federation's problems and
those of the Communist Party (Majority Group) "both reflects and breeds
dangerous political confusion," the unsigned new story declares.
JUNE 1937
"The Lithuanian Socialist Federation," by Alex Ambrose [circa June 1937]
Brief account of the LIthuanian Socialist Federation (LSF), probably
written sometime late in the spring of 1937 for the edification of the
Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey. Ambrose notes the roots of the
Lithuanian Socialist movement in the rationalist movement, with their
organization specifically in the Lithuanian Freethinkers Association.
The LIthuanian Federation was founded in 1905, Ambrose notes, with 12
Lithuanian branches ultimately established in Chicago, comprising
District 8 of the LSF. Branches hosted picnics and social events, sold
literature, maintained libraries, and sponsored public speakers and
choral performances, Ambrose notes, adding that sometimes the street
meetings conducted by Socialist speakers were "attacked by the
Socialists’ enemies with rotten eggs and stones." The 8th District LSF
was the organization behind the publication of the Chicago
Lithuanian-language daily newspaper, Naujienos (News), which triumphed over religious (Katalikas -- The Catholic) and nationalist (Lietuva -- Lithuania) Lithuanian dailes. The federation remained strong until 1921, Ambrose notes, but
"with the spread of the Communistic wave, the Lithuanian Socialist
Federation was torn to pieces." Only 10 branches of the LSF nationwide
remained at the time of Ambrose's writing, he indicates.
"The Lithuanian Workers Literature Society of America," by Alex Ambrose [June 2, 1937] Thumbnail history of the main book publishing arm of the LIthuanian radical movement in America, written for
the edification of the
Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey. Ambrose notes the establishment
of the Lithuanian Workers Literature Society under Socialist auspices
in 1915, aimed "to publish books and to spread enlightenment and mutual
understanding among the workers." With the split of the Lithuanian
Socialist Federation into Socialist and Communist wings in 1920, the
Literature Society was also split, with the main (and surviving) wing
held under Communist Party control. The Society published its own
newspaper, Sviesa
(Light), and was responsible for publication of more than 40 books in
the Lithuanian language on Marxist themes, Ambrose notes. The
Lithuanian Workers Literature Society at the time of Ambrose's writing
still held a membership of 6,000, he indicates.
The URL of this page is http://www.marxisthistory.org/subject/usa/eam/lfedlithuanian.html
Content by Tim Davenport. Last updated March 13, 2012.
