The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1913-05-02
DEBS ON THE I. w. w.

Eugene " Debs, four times the So
cialist candidate for president, has
come out squarely for international
socialism and against /. w. W.-ism
lam English Walling, published in last
Sundays New York Call, Debs tells
plainly and frankly his position on the
question confronting the socialist
party. Here is his letter:
"Terre Haute, Ind, March 5, 1918.
Dear Comrade Walling:
ut does not matter to me what the
capitalist papers think is going on in
the socialist party so long as we can
keep the party as it ought to be-
Il regret to see Haywood's recall
but it was inevitable. He brought it
on himself. I should not have put sec
ton in the constitution, but it is
there, and put there by the party, and
Haywood deliberately violated it. Is
this not fact?
"The question of what sabotage
means has nothing to do with the mat
ter. It's advocates have shown that
it means anything, everything or moth
ing at all If had been in Haywood's
place and had felt bound to advocate
sabotage as he did, | would have with
drawn from the party to do it. If
had deliberately violated the constitu-
ton l would have expected to be called
stitution at all?
THE constitution also prohibits
fusion with other parties. Suppose
certain members fuse with other
parties, would they have any fault to-
find if they were expelled from the
party?
81 am not now judging Haywood,
am answering your questions. l am
free to confes, however, judging from
some of the reports I have seen, that
Haywood has been talking a good deal
more like an anarchist than socialist
"The l. w. W., for which Haywood
stands and speaks, is an anarchist or
ganization in all except name, and
this is the cause of all the trouble.
Anarchism and socialism never mixed
and never will The I. w. w. has
treated the socialist party most in
decently, to put it very mildly. When
it gets into trouble it frantically APP
peals to the socialist party for aid,
which has been always freely rem
dered, and after it is all over the
l. W. w kicks the socialist party in
the face. That is the case in plain
words, and the socialist party has had
enough of that sort of business, and I
don't blame them a bit. There are
/. w. w. anarchists who are in the So
cialist party for no other purpose than
to disrupt it, and the socialist party
is right in taking a decided stand
against them
Answering your questions specific
ally, % The statement on the recall
ballot you refer to should, in my opin
ion, have been omitted; (2) l have
seen Montana's demand, but so far as
the right of it is concerned whatever
it may be, that is for the party to de-
eide; 90 Certainly l approve of some
of the practices that now go under
the name of sabotage, for nearly every
thing goes under that name; (4 The
same answer to law-breaking. There
are certainly circumstances under
which | advocate it, but I must know
what the circumstances are; 90 /
think you know that there is very
wide difference between the kind of
political action Haywood advocates
and the kind I advocate even if we
did happen to use the identical words.
q received the copy of your book,
and sent you quitet an extended
acknowledgment of it from Girard,
where it reached me. Sorry this letter
did not get to you. Allow me to thank
you for it now.
Pardon these hurried words, as