The Irish standard., 1914-05-02
SOME TALES TOLD OUT OF
SCHOOL

SOME TALES TOLD OUT OF
SCHOOL
Socialist National Secretary Show,
Inability of Party to Govern
Itself.
I'VE Americans Are Obsessed with 9
Mania for the Referendum"
In a letter to the New York Cal
Of April Z, 1914. Walter Lanfersiek
Executive Secretary of the Socialist
Party. in answering an editorial oil
an earlier issue of that paper. which
had complained as to the manner in
which certain referendum was con.
Quoted and as to the management Of
party affairs in general, makes some
very interesting admissions as to the
way in which the party is run" In
speaking of the referendum in ques.
ton and in answer to the charge that
he did not use common sense'' in
its. regard. he says: 1.-THE common
sense should have been exercised in
the first instance, when the referen.
udm was initiated and seconded. II
is one Of the essentials Of democracy
that the source Of power should be
intelligent. Otherwise" he signifi-
cantly asks, why democracy"
I'VE shuold learn to use the ref
erendum with discretion" he goes on
to warn the Comrades" I'VE
Americans are obsessed with mania
for the referendum. 1t is useful
tool when rightly used but it can
become a nuisance"
"Referendums have cost the Ma
tional Office more than $1,000 SO
far this year and have probably cost
the States half as much in labor and
shipping charges. question wheth-
er the results will be worth $4,000
per year, which will be the cost of
the present rate If initiation con-
tinues."
All of which is most refreshing.
Referendums in regard to affairs of
the party must be seconded by five
per cent of the membership of the
previous year, located in five different
States. before it is put to a vote.
Such referendums on all sorts of
questions, sensible and nonsensical,
are pouring into the National Office
in response to the mania" of the
Comrades" as Mr.. Lanfersiek calls
it. In the case in dispute five per
cent of the party membership, If not
more, acted very foolishly, not even
using common sense'-which, it is
feared. happens quite frequently in
Socialist circles.
But the end of admissions and con-
LESSONS is not yet. The Call, in an
swer to Lanfersiek, among other
things. charges that departments
have been saddled on the party to
such an extent that our regular rev
enue from dues of about $4,000 a
year is needed to pay an ever grow
ing list Of salaries in various depart
ments. rent, postage, etc.. leaving al
most nothing for substantial party
work." ..
The admissions of the National
Secretary and the N. Y. Call clearly
show that the Socialist party with
a membership Of less than 100000
is unable to intelligently and econom-
ically govern itself, as result of its
peculiar ideas as3to what constitutes
democracy" If this party, with a
comparatively small membership,
supposedly united in somewhat SINH
lar aims and with somewhat similar
views, cannot conduct it's own af-
fairs efficiently and sensibly, how can
it expect to govern country of nine
ty millions of people of all kinds and
classes and clashing ideas? The an
ent weakness and impossibility of the
swer is simple: It betrays the inner
ent weakness and impossibility of the
Socialist Philosophy. G. B.
Summing IN the snrinp e1ectiOns