In November 1916, Simons moved over the river and burned his bridges behind him, resigning from the "Milwaukee Leader" and beginning a series of bitter attacks upon the leadership and policies of the Socialist Party. In the December 2, 1916, issue of the liberal news magazine "The New Republic," Simons declared that "Intellectually and politically, the mind of the party is in Europe. The Socialist Party and press had no criticism of the Invasion of Belgium, the sinking of the "Lusitania," the Zeppelin outrages, the slave drives in Belgium, or the ... Armenian massacres.