The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-05-15

/ ana on the OJner mana the LeaQe
idea of a loosely joined commit
the Cleveland Conference for Pl
The matter coming before
for decision from the night b
Oklahoma Farmer-Labor Party
"have a flexible policy of endors-
ing other party candidates."
Dan Hogan, who was in the chair,
was forced to recognize motion that
Joseph Marley be made fraternal
delegate to the convention" This
motion was the signal for the fire
works.
Speaker after speaker under the in
fiuence of the Leader crowd tried to
scare the farmer delegates by telling
them Of the dire things that would
happen to them if they should
listen" to this Communist agent of
the Moscow Communist information
al"
ManIey Is Seated
Finally the vote was taken and
Secretary Chamberlain not being able
to steal all the votes said l was seat
ed by the narrow margin of 81 to 80.
Immediately asked for the floor and
after some hopeless opposition it was
overwhelmingly granted. My speech
in favor of the st. Paul Convention
and class Farmer-Labor Party caus-
ed a rising vote of thanks at the
conclusion, much to the discontinue
of the Leader crowd, and especially
of Mr.. Edwin Spur, who was hur-
riedly brought to the rescue as 'the
state secretary of the old Farmer
Labor party that never existed ex-
cept in his own doting imagination.
Mr.. Spur created much confusion
by his claim that he was a member
of the national committee of the
Farmer-Labor party" 1t will be re-
membered that he is member of the
Farmer-Labor party of Oklahoma that
bolted the July convention.
Ernest Chamberlain, editor of the
Leader, launched out in bitter at
tack and malicious attempt to misrep-
resent the policy of the Workers par
/ ty toward LaFollette. He quoted
Comrade Ruthenberg's article in part
from our old friend, the New Major
lityf (whose editor, by the way, does
mot believe in attacking the Commun-
ists).
Chamberlain, Houchin and a person
named Hicks-a political jackal the
like of which Oklahoma is cursed
with-each in their turn sought to
terrorize the delegates. When the
vote was taken, these enemies of the
ST. Paul convention and class Farm
er-Labor party succeeded in getting a
narrow majority for their nonpartisan
indorsing of old party candidates pol
icy.
Delegates Get Disguised.
This so disguised large number
of delegates, who had never heard of
the name of Communism before, that
they left the hall in disgust, several
of them saying to me: "If your farm
er's program is Communism, we're for
/ it."
This exodus took all the punch out
of the gathering, and it was a very
tame affair until the credentials COM
mittee started to explain" almost at
the close of the session, why it had
not seated ]. E. Snyder Their Eek
PLANTATION" was not accepted, and Sny-
der was granted the floor He made
speech, in the course of which he
explained how he and Delegate Cobb,
while both members of the Workers
party, had worked ceaselessly to
build up the convention, going out
thru the state and sending out let
ters to hundreds of farmers. He told
the convention how Chamberlain had
edited the call" so as to make it
possible to shut him out thru not be-
ing a resident of Oklahoma for a year,
tho his people were all farmers in the
state. At the conclusion of Snyder's
speech, Spur tried to make a mo-
ton that "the other Communists be
excluded from the convention" This
was too raw even for the Leader
crowd, and the whole matter was
dropped
Chamberlain, for the policy COM
mittee," tried to ram thru quickly
motion TO send single delegate to
the st. Paul convention. 1t was so
scandalous that was forced to take
the floor and point out the utter UNI
fairness Of tying up the rank and file
in the person of a single delegate.
Chamberlain's motion was defeated,
and delegates are to be elected, one
from each county, 20 in all. Hogan
tried to have the picking of the dele