The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-16
IAFOLLETTE AND SOCIALISTS

pO1tTc5l OFg1m1Zaf1On the Socialist party of America has no candidate for the preSid gncy- By a vote of 106 to IT the delegates to the Socialist national con- vemtlOn decided to support the nomina- tiOn of Senator LaFOIlette. Debs sent word from his Sanitarium for his follow CTS to cast their lot with LaFollette's or gamizatiOn. and Victor Berger is reported to hzxe heen heartily in favor of the move De5s served term in the peni- ltentiary fer his Obstructionist tactics during ke.WOrId War. Berger was sen itenced to the penitentiary for sedition during that >conf1ict. When the Social ists were considering LaFollette's candi- dacy, Berger reminded them that they should remember that he was with them during the WEI Apparently this indi- eates that the Socialists, in accepting LaFOIlette and zefraining from putting candidate in the, field. consider the Wis conxin asFirant as good friend to them as they do DebS- Doubtless they expect to accomplish as much for their cause as they Giid when they had a candidate of their Own-
 It seems unusual that a party which has always boasted of its devotion to an economic prophet and it's adherence to am economic gospel should go over bag and baggage to one who has never open lily espO@sed Marxism and the theory of getting: something for nothing; for that IS what 1t amounts to- Yet the down ward course of the Socialist party in this country since the World War may have reminded it's leaders that the or ganization as a political force was get ting nowhere. and it were better to give mOre consideration to expediency. The leaders may have realized that absorp- tiOn of its fOres by another organiza- tiOn founded Om at least some of the principles of the exotic doctrine which languixhes i'm tEris country might save the day It is evident that Socialism IS turning to Opportunism, which in wolves compromise, which means a reces- sIOn from Socialism
 The Socialist party's appeal in Amer ie7 has been restricted largely to a'cer- tain foreign element with a sprinkIing of sapardor'F Marxians of American origin. In 1912 Debs received S97, ,011 votes for president I'm 1916s' Benson received 5S5, 5,11S- I'm 1920, after the electorate was nearly doubled in size under equal suffrage, Debs received 919,799 votes. Thus the Socialist vote showed a steady decline during and after the World War. The war almost killed the Socialist party, whose amti-war record condemned it in the public esteem
 After running a destructive campaign i'm Russia. the Socialist party reasserted itself i'm this country more or less under Soviet influence which black-listed the Debs-H -Hillquit organization and set up a rival Communist outfit LaFollette would have nome of this extreme type of Socialism Russianized and transplanted. Yet it appears that the Debs organization will be absorbed in the Third Party, both as a concession to the Socialists and as something of a vote-getter for Mr. LaFOTIette- It seems to be case of political necessity all around.
 Mr Berger and Mir Hil1quit are ex- peeted to help MT. LaFOIlette in Wiscon- Sin and . few other. states. There is considerable Socialist vote in those in 6ustrial communities where LaFollette's following IS especially weak. Hence the alliance IS expected to help LaFollette. While 1t is too early to predict with aceu- raey the practical political results of the coalition. there seems no doubt that, aside from its appeal to that Farmer-Labor ele- ment which has not fallen under Com munist control. the solid support of Wis cOnsim, a considerable number of trade umiOnists and agricultural discontents, mo little Republican support will be ob- tained from >a number of states, es- pecially nm the West. MT. LaFollette again demonstrates that he is a shrewd and resOurceful politician with unusual talent for occupying a strategic position. -
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