Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-17
NEW PARTY SPREADING
Optimistic Claims of the Social
Democratic Leaders.
PROGRESS OF MOVEMENT
Among Earliest in National Campaign
Work.
COMMITTEEMAN BERGERs VIEW
Significant Features of the Organize
tion-Plans for a Systematic
Canvass Of the Union.


Special Correspondence of The Star.
MILWAUKEE,, Wis. June Is, 1907.
Having recently granted state charters to
Louisiana and Maryland, and now Boosting
state organizations of varying degrees of
strength and weakness In every state of
the Union. with the exception Of three in
the south. where the party is least agrees
sive, and an organized work even in these
three, Victor l.. Berger, founder of the
social democratic party, and other of it's
leaders are making the most optimistic
statements regarding the progress of the
movement, especially in the extreme west.
the extreme east and the central states.
The employment by The Finnish branches
of an interpreter. whose sole duties consist
OF translating socialistic propaganda into
the Finnish language and providing the
Finnish branches with it. the removal last
winter of Walter Thomas Mills to Seattle
for the expressed purpose of building up
the socialistic movement in the west, the
establishment of The Evening Tribune. pub
lished by him in Seattle, and the springing
up OF socialistic papers and magazines in
all parts of the country in constantly in
creasing numbers are hailed by the party
leaders as among the most significant of
hopeful signs. Wisconsins present expert
ment in organizing the agricultural COM
munities and interesting the farmers is
another line of work which is being
watched with interest.
The socialists will be among the earliest
to begin active organization for the ma
tional campaign. Preliminary arrange
ments for the national convention, which
will probably be held In Chicago, will be
made at a meeting Of the national commit
tee next month. and it is probable that the
candidates who will head the party ticket
will be tacity decided upon at that time.
Early in the summer the campaign of news
paper plate propaganda, which the national
IN on, in
state In the Union, will be started. BY this
means the party expects to get it's doctrines
before he readers of conservative papers of
the other parties, the scheme to be put in
operation being cleverly devised to use the
country newspapers. Each week plate mat
ter which has been edited by the commit
tee appointed by the national committee
Will be sent to every country newspaper
which will publish it absolutely free of
charge. The men with whom this plan
originated count on the fact that many
country newspapers are glad to secure ma
terial, and they claim that the information
furnished in the plates will be such that 1t
will be of general interest. They frankly
admit that by this use of conservative pa
pers they expect to spread the doctrine of
socialism and to attract the attention and
interest of men and women who would not
read a purely socialist paper.
Some Significant Features.
1.-THE features of the movement which
1 regard as the most significant at the
present time. and which. to my mind, point
the way to the adoption of socialism by the
great majority of the people of the United
States ultimately" said Victor L. Berger
national committeeman, and the founder
of the party in discussing the political stu
alton, "are the organization of social demo-
cratic branches in the agricultural districts
of Wisconsin. the growth of socialism
among the different nationalities repre-
scented in our population. the passing of the
street-speakins methods. and the taking up
of the literary propaganda. and the large
number OF new socialistic papers and maya
zines which are making their appearance
in all parts of the country.
Our present centers of strength from
which we expect to reach out until every
state in the Union is aggressively organ
lied, are in the states the Pacific coast.
the New England and middle Atlantic
states and the central states with Wis
consn. the birthplace of the party, and
Illinois, the home of its headquarters. nat
urally in the lead. While Illinois has the
largest membership numerically Wscon-
sin leads relatively, being a smaller state,
and this Is one reason why our party is
we'll represented in official positions in this
state, while in Illinois We have no men in
office.
I'm this political proof of growing power
Wisconsin easily leads all the states. We
have six members Of the state legislature,
one senator and five assemblypen, twelve
aldermen in the Milwaukee common coun-
Gil. five supervisors in the county board,
and number Of other officials. both in
Milwaukee and scattered through the state.
In other states where we have won cleo
ton victories they have been more or less
sporadic, but Wisconsin, record has shown
a steady annual increase in political spoils
The Finnish Movement.
1.-THE Finnish movement in Wisconsin,
and in all other states where the Finnish
people live in any numbers. is showing
remar kable growth. The Fins are natural
ly inclined to socialism. and readily accept
It's doctrines They have a national trans
lator who translates all our reports and
other propaganda, and sends them to the
various branches. Among the other for
eign-spea king branches the Polish,
Danish and Jewish. There are now l27
bra inches of the party in Wisconsin, and a
number of women's social democratic clubs
as auxliares, one womans branch being
part of the party on the same footing with
tary Miss Elizabeth H. Thomas. who Is
also my private secretary and presid mt
of our publishing company, is the only
woman who has ever held a similar politi-
cal position. and this is indicative of the
party's attitude toward woman and her
right to stand equally with men.
I'VE expect much from the acton OF Wal
ter Thomas Mills in going west to push the
propaganda and to organize our move
ment aggressIveiy on the Pacific coast.
His paper, the Evening Tribune. In Seat
tie has made its appearance. and has re-
ceived a welcome which assures it's sue
cess. We have strong organizations in
San Francisco. Los Angeles. San Diego
and other California cities. New papers
and magazines devoted to socialism are
making their appearance almost daily, and
the sending out of plate matter from the
national headquarters will mean that
wave of socalistic information will sweep
over this entire country with systematic
regularity and in way which we expect
to bring mighty results.
A Campaign Of Education.
holt in he of cd
ton, and wage 1t continually from one
years end to another through the literature
which distribute. We do not confine
our campaign to few weeks each spring
and fall. but keep it up the year round.
II am inclined to think that next to Wis
consin which, by the way. is the first
state to go outside of industrial circles into
the farming districts to spread the doctrines