Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-06-27
SOCIALISTS IN
WRANGLE OVER
DICTATORSHIP

DICTATORSHIP
Detroit, Mich, June 26-Seized
with what Morris Hillquit described
as "homicidal mania the Social
list National convention today killed
three resolutions which sought in
varying terms to define dictator
ship by the proletariat' as a part of
Socialist policy and then overwhelm-
ed two others which asserted the
dictatorship is not at this time an
issue. A session which lasted for
three and half hours in a swelter-
ing hallended with all reference to
working clas solicitation barred from
the party policy.
The fight against inclusion Of the
dictatorship was waged by Norris
Hillquit, Victor Berger, Algernon
Lee and Cameron King of Califor-
MIA. They branded it as INSOFAR
ably linked in American minds with
the Red terror in Russia and declar-
ed ii was useless to fix a policy
which never would be called into
play unless, in some distant future,
a Socialist revolution takes place.
why dictate in 1921 what our
grandchildren shall do in 1880" Ber-
ger asked, while King declared the
terror is inseparable from dictator
ship Of the proletariat. You have
got to have the terror to put it over"
j. Louis Engdahl and William F.
kruise, Left Wing Communists from
Chicago, offered two resolutions as
sorting that the rights of the work
ing classes to set up u dictatorship
to insure the success of a Socialist
revolution and the duty not to per
nit anything to stand in the way OF
their being the ruling class" One
resolution received only four votes
and the second eight.
Hillquit offered substitute which
defined the dictatorship as 1.-The po-
litical rule of the working class in
the period of transition from the
capitalist system to the Socialist Or
der" and added: 1T is not necessar-
lily associated with restraint of the
political rights of opponents or vio-
lence or terror"
The New York delegation split
and delegates Orr and Solomon both
urged the death of all the proposals.
I'VE have tried to pour holy water
over the term dictatorship of the
proletariat,' Orr said. THE Soviets
will laugh at US if we adopt this
resolution. The Communists will
laugh. We will be the laughing
stock of the world" The Hillquit
plan was defeated eighteen to
twenty.
]. W. Richmar1 of Washington, D.
c., said the spectacle Of an insight
ficant bunch of ten thousand Social
lists talking about the dictatorship OF
the proletariat is silly" and offered
counter resolution which declared
that, I'VE do not consider the question
of sufficient Importance at this time
to go on record for or against it,"
Both sides attacked his plan and his
was the only vote cast for it.
Camerson King offered motion
declaring the movement in the Unit
ed States is not sufficient advanced
at this time to make a decision" He
got two votes for it.
The fight was enlivened when Vic
tor Berger attacked the Communists
within he parry and both Kruse and
Engdahl replied.
THE Communists issued circulars
in Milwaukee last April advising the
workers not to vote because the revo-
luton was coming May l." Berger
said. They were going to rise in all
their grandeur and overthrow the ex-
listing order And on May 1, it rained.
So they postponed their revolution
and set the date for May 6. On May 6,
q policeman arrested two of them
for throwing hand bills on the street
in violation of city ordinance and
the revolution never has taken place.
"Engdahl and Kruse, the opponents
of Communism, do not belong to the
rroletariat. They are in the 'salariat
living off the money received from
the Socialist party. Engdahl has fas.
tened himself on our party where he
doesn't belong. I am willing for him
to have a Communist party and write
all the nice Rcd articles he wants to.
but ! do not want him to Sabotage
our party from within, and that Is
what he is trying to do
In an impassioned reply, Engdahl
said:
LAS for the Communists we will
flsi,t for our rights, we will fight for
working class rule; we will fight for
the freedom of our prisoners. but we
will not fight for them as 100 per cent.
Americans. We will fight for them
only under the Red flag of Interna-
tional Socialism
Tomorrow the convention will take
up the question of political and gen.
eral strikes and the attitude of ne
Earty toward organized labor.
I