New Leader: Communists Absorb Selves [May 24, 1924] 1

Communists Absorb Selves: “Lefts” Pick Still Another Alias In Drive to Pack St. Paul Convention.

Unsigned news report in The New Leader [], v. 1, no. 19 (May 24, 1924), pg. 1.

SCHENECTADY— A new “Labor Party” nist Party — as well as local groups, Left wings of consisting of Communists united with Commu- other organizations, and fraternal bodies. Mr. nists and consolidated, federated, amalgamated, J.A.H. Hopkins, of the “Committee of 48,” who and joined with Communists, was launched here is working hard to organize a “Liberal” party op- Sunday [May 18, 1924] when a group of Com- posed to a class party, was also there. munists met, declared themselves the “United The managing committee had sent a speaker Farmer-Labor Party of New York State,” and un- to the Schenectady Trades Assembly to get them dertook to get delegates elected to the St. Paul to send a delegate. After a lengthy debate, the re- convention of June 17, in addition to the delegates quest was turned down, only one delegate voting the Communists have already elected under vari- against a motion to “receive and file” the invita- ous other aliases. tion. The gathering consisted of 92 delegates, The convention, so far as is known, did not mostly well known for their activity in the Com- have a single delegate from a bona fide Labor or- munist movement and known to be actively en- ganization. gaged in the attempt to multiply organizations in The convention elected an executive of 16 order to “capture” and split the St. Paul conven- members, 8 of whom are from . tion under instructions from the Executive of the Among them are such well known American in . “trade unionists” as Ludwig Lore, Harry M. Win- For several weeks a campaign had been go- itsky, Juliet Stuart Poyntz, William Weinstone, ing on under the direction of the so-called “Fed- [Charles] Krumbein, Noah London, [J.] erated Farmer-Labor Party” — a Communist alias Jampolsky, and [Benjamin] Lifshitz. — and the Buffalo “Labor Party” — another Com- The convention having been called to cre- munist alias — to get unions to send delegates. ate a new organization to add additional Com- The result of the intensive campaign was the 92 munist delegates to those being sent to St. Paul in delegates, representing the Federated Farmer-La- accordance with orders, considerable enthusiasm bor Party, the Buffalo Labor Party, the Workers among the delegates was evoked when the con- Party — the original “legal” form of the Commu- vention voted to elect delegates to St. Paul.

Edited by Tim Davenport. Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2006. • Non-commercial reproduction permitted.

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