The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-10-08
". P. DEBATES
WITH S.L.P.IN
KANSAS CITY
S. L. P. Speech Turned
Into Debate
BY GEORGE MCLAUGHLIN
Special to the DAILY WORKER)


L. Reynolds, candidate for vice
president on the socialist labor party
ticket was slated to speak at the
Bookbinders' Hall in Kansas City.
When he arrived he found about thir.
ten people in the hall. He was given
a dodger announcing the Workers
Party Gitlow meeting which is to take
place at the Musicians Hall, 1Ol7
Washington St., Tuesday, Oct. IA, p.
m. He straightway challenged the
Workers Party to debate The
challenge was accepted by Comrade ].
Mihelic.
Reynolds thereupon said he wished
to give his regular talk first and
after he finished the time would be
split up for the debate, each speaker
speaking once. The subject Of the
debate was to be resolved: That the
program of the socialist labor party
is correct and that of the Workers
Party is wrong Altho Reynolds said
he would cut his regular talk short so
as to give more time for the debate,
he spoke exactly one hour and forty
five minutes. About one hour Of It'll
was taken up with the cheapest kind
of Islander on VIM. 2. Foster and the
Workers Party.
MiheIlc Replies in 80 Minutes.
Reynolds seemed to be trying to-
crawl out of the debate and when he
finished his regular talk he said it is
getting late and suggested that Com
rade Mihelic be given 80 minutes and
said he would not take more than Is
minutes to reply, Altho Reynolds or
iginally was supposed to speak first,
Comrade Mihelic accepted this latter
arrangement and proceeded to pepper
the socialist labor program full of
holes, leaving personalities entirely
out of it.
Speaking of the l. w. w. Reynolds
in his regular speech had said it was
wrong because there was capitalist
man-made law in the way that would
first have to be changed by the ballot
box. Previous to that he had accused
the Workers Party and socialist party
Of being alike in trying to use the
capitalist machinery of government.
Comrade Mechlic pointed out this con-
tradiction as well as many others.
Comrade Mihelic spoke only rs min
utes but when he had finished altho
Reynolds said at the start of the de-
bate he only required Is minutes he
proceeded to take 35. The first Is of
it was taken up with the rankest kind
of meaningless SANDER on Foster and
the last ten was a general SANDER on
the Workers Party. The rest con-
sisted of a bunch of meaningless
phrases. Because Reynolds had taken
35 minutes Comrade Mihelic requested
five minutes in which to reply.
What Does S. L. p. Do?
He defended Foster and the Work
ers Party splendidly and pointed out
that when the big steel strike was on,
the socialist labor party stayed in the
background instead of making good
among the masses.
Reynolds had wasted a lot of time
during his regular speech and also in
the debate splitting hairs and drawing
pretty pictures of just how the indus
trial socialism was to be organized
and how it would work He also said
the Workers Party could not explain
this point.
why don't you explain it yourself"
challenged Comrade Mihelic and after
firing a broadside at Reynolds's silly
argument Mihelic pointed out that in
the recent railroad strike Kansas
City socialist labor party man scabbed
on his fellow workers using the same
argument as Reynolds, I'VE have got
to break up the American Federation
of Labor"
This is the type of rats who are
going around the the country SANDER
ing Foster and the Workers Party
and it's strange thing indeed that we
find Sam Gompers, John, L. Lewis, the /
socialist party, LaFollette, the capital
list press and the socialist labor party |
the same arguments against
the Workers Party" concluded Com.
rade Mihelic.
Still Reynolds was not satisfied and
took Is minutes more rehashing the
same line of bunk as before. In the
debate Reynolds took in all so min.
utes as against 80 taken by Comrade
and he made a very sorry
showing turnout even tho he is one of
the standard bearers of his party.
On leaving the hall bot copy of
the socialist party weekly paper and
find that altho 1t is only weekly,
two-thirds Of it is filed up with the
same kind Of cheap SANDER used by
Reynolds and this is how the socialist
labor party proposes to educate the
working class.
COMMUNIST STREET MEETINGS