The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-06-28
By Alexander BitteImGn


elected by bona fide labor and farmer
organizations. All in all the Workers
Party commanded in st. Paul an indie
vidual voting strength Of not more
than 200 And yet the policies cham
pioned by the Workers Party received
the support of at least three-fourths
of the delegates, which is about SIS
individual votes, the total delegation
numbering about 700.
The strategy and tactics of the op-
posing groups were not unified. The
clear following of William Mahoney,
which was strongly pro-LaFollette but
with a manifest inclination to coop
crate with the real farmer-laborites
and the Workers Party, numbered
about 100-125 delegates. 1t was made
| up Of about one-half of the delega-
ton from Minnesota (65-70), the South
Dakota delegation, and stray delegates
from California, Iowa, and other north
western and western states.
William Mahoney's strategy pursued
the following purpose: He wanted the
convention to form a coalition cam
paign committee which would be held
in readiness to endorse uncondition-
ally the candidacy of Senator LaFol-
lette if the latter decides to take the
field as an independent
AS to tactics, William Mahoney pur-
sued simple method. He continually
held over the head of the convention
the threat of split in case his propo-
sitions are defeated.
There was yet third group made
up of the extreme right wing of the
Minnesota delegation led by Mr..
Starkey, chairman of the st. Paul
Labor Assembly, the majority of the
Nebraska delegation lead by Mr.. Tay-
lor of Nebraska (Not to be confused
with Senator Taylor of Montana) and
a few single delegates from other
states.
This third group was strongly for
LaFollette under all conditions, it was
really not farmer-laborite in the true
sense Of the word, and it was unalter-
ably opposed to any cooperation with
the Workers Party. The tactics of
this group. as soon as the makeup of
the convention became apparent, were
to manoeuvre for split, irrespective
of the final results of the convention.
The two outstanding split figures at
the convention were Mr.. Starkey of
st. Paul, reactionary labor bureaucrat,
and Mr. Taylor of Nebraska, a rich
farmer.
Under these conditions the tactics
of the Workers Party had to be of a
two-fold nature. First, to secure the
support Of the majority of the conven-
ton for our main ideas Of a party, a
class platform and class candidates
and against the political hegemony of
LaFollette. Second, by granting slight
concessions to William Mahoney, e. e.,
the center groups, to prevent, if pos
sible, an alliance between the latter
and the extreme right wing led by
Taylor Of Nebraska and Starkey of
st. Paul.
Actual Achievements Of Convention.
We can now safely say that, as far
as the convention was concerned, we
were completely successful in both.
We have laid the foundation for a
party The convention declared itself
in favor Of Farmer-Labor party and
elected a national campaign and or
ganization committee which is charged
with the double task of, one, imme-
diately proceeding to the building up
of state and local organizations of the
Farmer-Labor party, and, two, organ
izing and directing the election cam
paign of the presidential candidates
of the party.
Furthermore, the convention def
nitely went on record, by accepting
the report Of the organization commit
tee, in favor Of our position that the
Farmer-Labor party will support only
such candidates as subscribe to the
Continued on page 81