Oneal: Report of the NEC to the Emergency National Convention [Sept. 1, 1919] 1

Report of the National Executive Committee to the Emergency National Convention of the Socialist Party of America: Chicago, IL — Sept. 1, 1919. by

Published in the New York Call, v. 12, no. 246 (Sept. 3, 1919), pg. 2.

The period in which this National Executive ism at Versailles. It was a working class settlement that Committee has served the party has been one of per- no imperialist could accept. secution from without and dissensions within. It has tried to serve the party at a time when normal judg- St. Louis Convention Faced Its Task ments had been difficult owing to the hatreds, suspi- When US Plunged Into War. cions, and hysterical bred by a world in arms. The ma- terial basis of capitalist society has been shaken all over The St. Louis Convention faced its task and, even the world, and this has found expression in the whole while in session, the plunged into the superstructure of society. All movements have been bloody world struggle. Knowing the dangers they affected by it, the Socialist movement included. faced, the party delegates adopted a program that reaf- The fact that the intellectual life of the nations firmed its international position. This was approved has been affected is evidence of the historical principle by a general vote of the party members. that any disturbance or change in the material basis of Within a year after adopting the St. Louis pro- society must make its impress upon the politics, opin- gram, hundreds of comrades were arrested and an era ions, and general intellectual life of the nation. of persecution set in. “Patriotic” societies organized The Socialist Party of the United States faced white terror in many parts of the country. Locals and the crisis in April 1917, in a special Emergency Con- branches were destroyed, party members were boy- vention held in St. Louis. The nation was on the verge cotted, and in some states they were the victims of of war. Previous to this convention the party had is- mobs. sued a number of important manifestos regarding the Our press was largely destroyed and the few pub- war and its causes, these statements in each case hold- lications that survived were deprived of their mailing ing aloft the banner of internationalism. privileges. Government spies dogged the heels of party In 1915 the Socialist Party issued a peace pro- members and in some of the larger cities our head- gram that became the program of the whole interna- quarters were raided by government officials. Some tional Socialist movement. It was taken up by the were sacked by mobs. Russian revolutionists and was the basis of the Rus- A small group left the party after the adoption sian Soviet program for peace at Brest-Litovsk. It be- of the St. Louis program. The conduct of this group came the program of all the other international So- has been, on the whole, with exceptions, consistent cialist groups. The formula of self-determination, no and uniform. They have attacked the party and its punitive indemnities, and no annexations, first pro- members and acquiesced in the policy of the imperial- claimed by the party in this country, was rejected by ists, even to accepting the imperialist peace of Ver- German junkerdom at Brest and by Allied imperial- sailles and intervention in Russia. They constituted a 1 2 Oneal: Report of the NEC to the Emergency National Convention [Sept. 1, 1919]

small Right Wing, and their desertion and betrayal the Espionage Act free discussion was an impossibil- rather strengthened than weakened the party. ity. Only one view could be heard regarding the war. Organization work and public propaganda be- To have held the convention would have sub- came impossible in many parts of the country. In some jected many comrades to persecution and imprison- states branches were unable to meet to transact ordi- ment. So the party continued its main work of de- nary business. The branches were isolated, deprived fending its political and class war prisoners and, out- of contact with each other, and thus subject to rumors side of some of the larger cities, all propaganda work and suspicions. In many parts of the country the only was practically suspended. Our funds were also being source of information the party members had was the drained and we were often faced with the need of ur- capitalist press. All the resources of the party had to be gent financial aid for some comrades. mobilized for the defense of our victimized members. In spite of the tremendous obstacles we faced, the party New Period in Party Follows managed to secure funds to defend our comrades in Collapse of Central Alliance. court. The collapse of the Central Alliance in Europe Active Socialists Imprisoned was followed by a new period in the party. While no In Effort to Terrorize Party. definite date may be set for the beginning of the present party dissensions, it is certain that they began to be As though to terrorize the party into a surrender generally noticeable in January of this year, when the to the dark forces of reaction, some of the best-known National Executive Committee elected delegates to the comrades were indicted and some sentenced to long Berne Conference, owing to the fact that the delegates terms of imprisonment. Among them is one of the elected by referendum could not serve, and the assem- best-loved Socialists in the world, Eugene V. Debs, who bling of the Berne Conference in March [1919] made is serving a 10-year sentence; National Executive Sec- necessary the election of delegates by the National retary [Adolph] Germer; Louis Engdahl, editor of The Executive Committee. American Socialist; William Kruse, Secretary of the The so-called Left Wing members of the Na- Young People’s Socialist League; victor L. Berger; A.I. tional Executive Committee [Ludwig Katterfeld and Shiplacoff; Stanley J. Clark; Emil Herman of the Na- ] participated in the election, tional Executive Committee; and Irwin St. John nominating and voting for candidates. None of their Tucker. nominees were elected and shortly after the election Frederick Krafft and Alfred Wagenknecht of the an organized attack was made against the international National Executive Committee served terms in prison, delegates by the Left Wing. and Victor L. Berger, in addition to a sentence of 20 It was uncertain whether passports could be se- years, has 4 more indictments pending against him, cured in time to attend the Berne Conference. The besides being refused his seat in Congress. National Executive Committee in session decided that All the Socialist candidates for Congress in Wis- if our delegates arrived at Berne in time and the con- consin and the State Secretary also are under indict- ference failed to take the position of the party on war ment. No mail whatever is permitted to be delivered and imperialism, we were to withdraw with any ele- to the Leader, the party daily in Milwaukee. Some ments favoring a genuine working class international. 2,000 Socialists in all have been arrested because of It was agreed that we would not affiliate with any in- their opinions and the era of persecution is by no means ternational that excluded the Russian comrades, who ended. were fighting world imperialism, or the comrades op- In March 1918, Local St. Louis initiated a move- posed to the Ebert-Scheidemann regime in Germany. ment for a special convention, which the National Before our delegates could leave the country, the Executive Committee considered the following May. National Executive Committee learned that the Berne In a proclamation to the membership the impossibil- conference had failed to respond to its opportunity. It ity of holding the convention was pointed out. Under devoted its proceedings to useless bickerings regard- Oneal: Report of the NEC to the Emergency National Convention [Sept. 1, 1919] 3

ing “responsibility” for the war, thus echoing the views the absorption of the party in the work of defending of the imperialists of the two alliances. It wasted time our party members in court, these slanders were ac- in discussing clauses of the League of Nations to be cepted in some quarters and the seeds of distrust and formed at Versailles, ignoring the fact that only a holy suspicion were sown in our ranks in the name of the alliance of capital could issue from the deliberations Socialist Party and its officials and members, who have of the imperialist diplomats. been maliciously libeled by the dastardly propaganda. We brand those responsible for it as guilty of atro- Systematic Campaign of Lies cious conduct unbecoming Socialists. The Socialist Waged Against Party by Faction. Party is not and never will be committed to any sup- port of the betrayers of Socialism in Germany or else- Learning this, the National Executive Commit- where. tee decided to send one delegate abroad to impart in- formation to the comrades in Europe, informing them Slanders Accompanied by Like of our attitude on international questions. The del- Propaganda Regarding Russia. egate carried out the instructions of the National Ex- ecutive Committee. These slanders have been accompanied with a Yet, despite all this, a systematic campaign of similar propaganda regarding Russia. The party and falsehood has been waged against the party by a fac- its officials, especially the members of the National tion within the party. This faction has falsely claimed Executive Committee, have been charged with being that the party is allied with the Berne conference. Our “Kolchaks” and “counterrevolutionists,” the implica- delegate abroad could have attended a commission of tion being that the party has been committed to coun- the Berne conference which met in Holland on April terrevolution in Russia, allied intervention, and sup- 24 [1919]. He was invited to attend it. He declined to port of Kolchak in Siberia. attend, and sailed for the United States three days be- As is the case of Germany, so in the case of Rus- fore this commission met. sia, the National Executive Committee and the party Those members of the National Executive com- in general have opposed intervention in Russia or sup- mittee who favored the Left Wing participated in the port of Kolchak and have supported the Russian com- election of delegates to Berne and in all our efforts to rades at the head of the Soviet power against a cam- get in communication with the comrades abroad. Yet paign of international lying. a barrage of falsehoods and slanders has been hurled There has never been a single utterance of the at the party by this faction and the minds of the mem- National Executive Committee quoted by the Left bers have been poisoned with suspicion. They have Wing to support these slanders. The comrades may denounced the party and its officials as an organiza- rest assured that this faction would quote the National tion of “Scheidemanns” and “Noskes,” asserting that Executive Committee if it could. In fact, ever since if the party were entrusted with public power it would the revolution in Russia, the party has hailed it as the murder our own comrades with machine guns and first great gift of the International. At every meeting hand grenades. of the National Executive Committee held since the In no single instance has this faction attempted second revolution in Russia [Nov. 7, 1917], the com- to buttress these attacks with any official declarations mittee has issued some ringing declaration in favor of of the party. Our declarations cannot be reconciled the workers’ and peasants’ government in Russia. with the actions of those in Germany who have be- Our press has been filled with important docu- trayed the working class of Germany and the Social- ments regarding the Russian revolution and its struggle ists of the world. Our party press has never given any with international imperialism. Rarely has a meeting encouragement to the Noskes and the Scheidemanns been held under party auspices that our speakers have and the National Executive Committee has not urged not taken advantage of it to present the claims and any support of renegade Socialists in any country. achievements of the Russian revolution. The party’s Yet because of the isolation of our members and position may easily be ascertained by consulting the 4 Oneal: Report of the NEC to the Emergency National Convention [Sept. 1, 1919] party bulletins and the party press. mit to this dictatorship by joining the dictators were In view of these facts, the National Executive left with 2 “rights.” They were allowed to pay dues Committee believes that it does not exaggerate when and allowed to keep still! it charges that those who have engaged in this gross The conditions in many locals became intoler- distortion of truth are unworthy of the confidence of able. Party constitutions adopted in conventions and Socialists. We do not believe that in the whole inter- approved by the members were repudiated by the Lefts national movement there has ever been such vicious as “bourgeois documents.” A suicidal struggle followed and venomous and uncalled for attacks as these in- for control of party organization. All the epithets used dulged in by the so-called Left Wing. in the Left press were mobilized for use in this struggle. Educational activities of the party came to a standstill Disrupters Dominated by and all energies of the membership were devoted to Motive of Securing Power. the struggle.

What has been the purpose of these attacks on Left Wingers Wreck Attempt the party at the very time when its spokesmen were To Hold Unity Convention. being arrested, some going to jail for long terms of imprisonment? The party endeavored to arrange an amnesty The press of this faction gives the answer. convention and this also was wrecked by the Lefts. Throughout the entire period of foul criticism it struck Representatives of the language federations demanded one not. This note was: “Capture the party.” In the that it be abandoned and stated they would fight it if press, in the party meetings, in the branches, and in arranged. The National Executive Committee desired the National Conference of the Left Wing, this one to secure the cooperation of all organizations opposed note of “capturing the party” is sounded over and over to the imprisonment of Socialists and others for their again. The Lefts were not interested in winning the opinions. The Lefts fought this openly inside while members to any changes in policy or principle. They the government fought it from the outside by holding were dominated by the one persistent motive of as- up our mail. suming power. The press of a number of the language federa- By persistent circulation of falsehoods regarding tions became enlisted in this struggle and the foulest the party’s attitude toward the Russian and German campaign of malignant falsehoods was indulged in. questions, the Lefts succeeded in sowing suspicion Various states became involved and the “Lefts” finally among the members. They organized within the party completed the ruin by meeting in national conference deal branches, locals, central committees, and finally a and adopting a program in opposition to the party. national organization. They arbitrarily substituted their Within a few weeks after this conference, their own own constitutions, bylaws, rules, and program for the capacity for uniting the working class became appar- party constitutions; they disfranchised party members, ent by a nationwide split in their own ranks and 3 Left deprived them of the right of serving the party branches Wing “National Secretaries” contesting for the alle- as officers or as delegates to central committees and giance of the Left Wing members. conventions. For a time both wings of the Left Wing denied An astounding state of affairs resulted. Veterans they desired to disrupt the Socialist Party. During the and pioneers of the movement, who had served the past few weeks both candidly admit it. party in may ways for 10, 20, and 30 years, suddenly In The Communist, of Chicago, issue of July 19, found they had no rights within the party but to pay 1919, Alexander Stoklitsky [Translator-]Secretary of dues. Members of the Left Wing, some of them never the Russian Federation, and one of the most active of having joined the Socialist Party, some of them having the wrecking officials of the federation. Writing of the only a card of the Left Wing, some of them being purposes of the Left propaganda within the party, Stok- members only a few weeks, usurped all rights within litsky says: the party organization. Veterans who refused to sub- For what, then shall we capture the old party? For revolutionary Socialism? But this slogan was good only Oneal: Report of the NEC to the Emergency National Convention [Sept. 1, 1919] 5

until the rupture in the party, and for the purpose of an investigation being made and reported to this con- rupturing the party. vention. They sought a referendum on the corrupt practices, well knowing that the members of the party, Organized and Systematic without the evidence before them, could no more pass Treachery Openly Admitted. judgment on the alleged corrupt practices than they could audit the books by a referendum. There is no mistaking the meaning of this lan- They then sought to make the convention itself guage. It is a voluntary admission of organized and a failure. They sent circulars broadcast to the mem- systematic treachery “for the purpose of capturing the bers, warning them that the National Executive Com- party.” No agent provocateur of the government or mittee would probably postpone the convention. Then, tool of the capitalist class could be more candid than in order to deprive the party of the finances that would Stoklitsky in this statement. It concedes everything enable it to hold a convention, they urged the party which he and his colleagues in the work formerly de- members not to send funds from the sale of conven- nied. tion stamps to the national headquarters. Thus they The other wing of the Left Wing makes the same tried to force the National Executive Committee to admission in The Revolutionary Age, issue of August do the thing they warned the members we might do. 23, 1919, though in more guarded language. An edi- All of this was a part of the well planned “purpose of torial in that issue reads in part as follows: rupturing the party.” The procedure adopted by the majority of the (Left But, fearing that the National Executive Com- Wing) conference was to wage the fight within the mittee would hold this convention in spite of all ef- Socialist Party until the emergency convention, in order to rally the revolutionary masses for a Communist Party. forts to wreck it, as well as the party, A. Wagenknecht The struggle was to come to a climax at the emergency of Ohio, one of the 3 Left Wing “National Secretar- convention. ies” at the time, heading a group calling itself a Na- tional Executive Committee, issued a statement that By comparing this statement with the statement this group would take charge of the convention. To of Stoklitsky of the other wing, it will be seen that it Further the plans for wrecking the party, space was differs only in the phraseology and not the meaning. hired in this building, with what results we know. It is one thing to charge the Lefts with treachery. It is In conclusion, your National Executive Com- another thing to prove it. When evidence is gathered mittee affirms that it has done the best it could against by the party against them to prove it, the evidence is the White Terrorism without and the emotional ter- worth consideration. rorism within. We hold that there is one principle that But when the factions of the accused voluntarily genuine Socialists have subscribed to in all countries admit what is charged, there is no room for doubt. where they do not control and where they are the vic- Confession of guilt is final in any court sitting in judg- tims of capitalist reaction and persecution. ment on one accused of an offense. Both wings of the Left Wing stand convicted of treachery to those mem- Solidarity of All Groups bers of the party who were induced to believe that the Before Reaction Urged. Lefts only desired certain changes in the party, not to wreck it. That principle is solidarity of all groups in the face of the reaction. To raise factional questions within Evidence of Corrupt Practice the party, no matter how important they may seem to in Recent Referendum Shown. some, at a time when the party has its back to the wall, at a time when foul blows are being showered on it by Aside from these confessions of the two wings the capitalist reaction, is to play into the hands of the of the Left Wing, evidence of their vicious and cor- enemies of the working class. rupt practices in the recent referendum elections is Yet the desperate factions of the Left Wing have before you. Everything possible was done to prevent been so indecent, so lost to all sense of solidarity in 6 Oneal: Report of the NEC to the Emergency National Convention [Sept. 1, 1919]

the face of the terrorism invoked against us, that not But for those who have wrought ruin in their even comrades with long prison sentences before them confessed attempts to “rupture the party,” it voices the were immune from the foul abuse and slanders of the opinion of the honest members in saying that such Lefts. conduct is a gross violation of Socialist ethics, Social- This conduct is infamous. No language is too ist solidarity, and Socialist principles. strong to condemn such atrocious proceedings. If such The National Executive Committee wishes to actions are to be accepted as the conduct of friends emphasize the recommendation it made at its last and comrades, how is it to be differentiated from the meeting in May. At that meeting we recommended conduct of our open and avowed enemies. that this convention should elect another National For the devoted and class conscious members of Executive Committee to serve in the interim until the party, we have only praise for their work during another committee can be elected under the new con- the most trying period of the past few years. Neither stitution. We renew this recommendation, as we be- desertions from our ranks, neither betrayal from lieve that, owing to the confusion and suspicions fos- within, nor terrorism without, made them acquiesce tered by party quarrels, the convention should take in the infamies of world imperialism. over all power of the party. Some have suffered martyrdom for their con- The new committee can arrange for the election victions. Some have been ostracized in their commu- of a permanent executive under safeguards that will nities and some have been the victims of violence. avoid a repetition of the practices reported by the com- Many are serving long sentences for their devotion to mittee which investigated the recent referendum elec- the world’s proletariat. Others may yet go to prison tions. cells. Our hearty congratulations are extended to these thousands of comrades who have been tested in this Fraternally submitted, most trying period of the class struggle and the world war. James Oneal, A. Shiplacoff, National Executive Committee Dan Hogan, Welcomes Honest Criticism. Victor L. Berger, Seymour Stedman, We have no apologies to make to the Left Wing John M. Work, or any of its wings. The National Executive Commit- Frederick Krafft, tee has tried to make the best of the most trying situ- George H. Goebel. ation the party has ever faced. It welcomes honest criti- cism and differences of opinion.

†- These 8 names represent a bare majority of the 15 member NEC of the Socialist Party, the term of which was scheduled by the party constitution to end July 1, 1919. Not signing the report for reasons of absence or ideological opposition were: Clark, Herman, Hillquit, Holt, Katterfeld, Niells, and Wagenknecht. Edited with a footnote by Tim Davenport. Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2007. • Non-commercial reproduction permitted.

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