The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1915-05-27
MEANING OF 1915
NAT. COM. MEETING
l.. e. KATTERFELD.

garding the national committee meet
ing held In Chicago May Ola, is being
published in the current issue of the
Party Builder. The minutes of the
meetings can be found in detail in the
June Ii to 30 numbers of the Ameri
can Socialist. urge every party
member to read this report and these
minutes carefully In order to pass an
intelligent judgment upon the actions
taken.
MY article next week will contain a
more detailed study of the meeting,
the meaning of the committees ac-
lions and the underlying reasons
therefore. This week | shall content
myself with statement of what ap-
pears to me to be the one great, pre-
eminent fact regarding this conven-
ton.
This convention means a COM
PLETE REVERSAL of the policies
that have dominated the party for the
past three years. All the important
actions taken are Numerically op-
posed to the actions of the last ma
tlonal convention and the national
committee meetings of 1913 and 1914.
Those who were in the majority in
the convention of 1912 inaugurated a
policy of Capitalization. They took
the election of party officials out of
the hands of the membership and
placed it in the hands of the national
committee. They deprived the mem
bership of the power to initiate
|referendums and placed that power
with state executive committees and
national committee. Last year when
referendum of the membership had
again restored this power to the rank
and file, the national committee vio-
lated the spirit, if not the letter, of the
national constitution and passed an
amendment putting the percentage re-
quired to initiate referendums so
high as to make it practically impos-
sible for the membership to function
that way. In the meantime also the
national committee had been deprived
of the power to take affirmative action
between sessions, so that the only
body in our entire organization with
power to function was the national
executive committee, of FIVE men,
Decentralization run riot.
The national committee at its meet
ing this year adopted constitutional
changes, which, if approved by the
membership, mean an absolute rever-
sal of this autocratic policy and re-
turn to democracy in the party's con-
troll Provision was made for the cleo
ton of national officials by referen-
dunn. The clause prohibiting affirma-
tive actions on the part of the national
committee was stricken out, so that
the membership in the states may
have voice through it's committee
men in directing the national affairs
and the executive committee may no
longer reign supreme" Another
clause was inserted specifically pro-
hibiting national officials from inter-
fering in any state controversies. The
power to initiate referendums was re-
stored to the party membership.
SO strong was the tendency against
the old policy that even some of it's
leading opponents, some of those pri-
marily responsible for it-changed
front completely and fastened to
climb upon the band wagon with an
alacrity that was amusing even if not
edifying.
The sentiment of the committee be-
came apparent on the very first day,
when those who have heretofore al
ways been the minority in our ma
tional conventions elected majority
of the different subcommittee. 1t be-
came SO plain that even the blind
could see it when the position of the
national officials and of the national
executive committee in regard to the
controversies in Texas and Michigan
was reversed and the radical delegates
who had been opposed by the national
administration were seated by vote
of over two to one.
The climax came during the report
of the committee on constitution,
which recommended that Sec 3, Art.
X, dealing with FUSION and party
treason be made stronger and more
binding. This recommendation was
made as a "backfire' against the
propaganda which has been conducted
from Milwaukee for some time in ia
vor of striking out the party treason
clause and authorizing the party to en-
dorse and vote for non-Socialist can
didates. In spite of very eloquent
appeals from ex-Mayor Lunn of
Schenectady, eXMayor Wilson of
Berkeley, exMayor Duncan of Butte
and ex-Congressman Berger himself,
the constitution committee won the
day and its recommendations were en-
dorsed on roll call by an overwhelm-
ing vote of AZ to 9.