The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-26
WHAT Ord PARTY
is ALL ABB 0 UT
DISCUSSED IN NY.
Single Taxer Was Good
He Made Them Laugh

NEW YORK, Feb. 25.--The sub
lect, What Should a Third Party
Stand For?" was discussed at the
Civic Club On Feb. 21.-Interest in
the subject brought out a large audi
ence despite the heavy slush that
made the streets almost impossible.
Inc speakers were Rose Pastor
Stokes, member Of the Workers Par
ty; j. A. H. Hopkins, Of the Com
mittee Of 48, and of the National
Farmer-Labor Progressive Party;
Algernon Lee, member Of the Social
list Party; w. J.. Wallace, Single
Taxer; Oswald Garrison Willard, edi-
tor Of the Nation" presided.
Mr.. Hopkins spoke for the pro-
gram of his party, which included
abolition Of special privileges thru
public ownership Of the railroads,
control of money and credit by the
people thru government and cooper
alive banks, public control of natu-
raj resources, preservation of civil
rights guaranteed by the constitution
and, prevention Of judicial abuses"
Lee Waved the Flag.
Mrs. Stokes outlined the series of
conferences that had taken place to
organize a real Farmer-Labor Party
and the sabotaging position in these
Of the Socialist Party against the
formation of a united front to the
enemy, capitalism. Lees speech was
largely an apology for the Socialist
Party's attitude. Algernon Lee, who
assumed such gallant leadership af-
ter the armistice in the famous Lib
erty Arch affair which glorified the
killing of workers in Russia by
American troops, decried the pro-
clivities for leadership among mem
bers in the Workers Party and con-
fessed to retiring modesry on the
part of socialists.
This he gave as a reason for the
Socialists refusing to Join with the
Communists in the effort to create
a class party Of workers and farm
YerS. Another reason was that "the
farmers are sellers of goods, we'll
off, and not ready" Here he gave
the history of "the forty years strug-
gle Of the British Labor Party
which twas justified by its present
strength" and tho it may not take
us, in America, nearly so many
years" he gave the impression that
it would certainly be quite a few!
He complained against the radical
left wing in the labor movement and
gave this as another reason for So
cialist opposition to a common effort
with the communists toward thN~
alton of great class party of the
workers and farmers.
Socialists Not Ready.
He said the socialists had learned
how not to win the labor unions and
had stopped doing it, while the com
munists went out to capture" every
body and the socialists for one didn't
want to get captured. No, they
preferred to efface themselves and
let the workers, the rank and file, go
toward class party" slowly, slow
ly, slowly they will go toward it,
and they, the socialists will follow
meekly and uncomplainingly and oh,
ever so slowly! in the rear.
He didn't explain why it was then,
that they preferred to go, past the
two old capitalist party conventions,
to a conference dominated by reac-
tionary officials and why they re-
fused to join the May 80 Conference
where the rank and file are repre-
scented. It was noticeable that Lee
talked of the "public interest" and
made a special bid for what he
thought were bourgeois elements in
this meeting.
The last speaker was Mr.. Wallace,
who is a candidate for president on
the Single Tax ticket. He went into
the principles Of the single tax and
created, apparently for no reason at
all, great deal Of merriment in
the audience.