The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-17
FARMER-LABOR
 ENVOYS SPLIT
 ON COMMUNISM
One Faction Seeks To In dOrse Candidacy Of
 LaFOllette
(By Associated Press. )

ST. PAUL, Minn., June 16.- Communists and representatives of union labor and farmer organiza- tions sought today for strategic grounds from which to control the national farmer-labor progressive convention which opens here to- morrow. After a hectic debate in the committee on arrangements and organization, the issue was unde- cided.
 The skirmish lines were drawn between two issues. One has to do with the indorsement of Senator LaFollette of Wisconsin, as a candi- date for the presidency. The other relates to the form of organization which the packers of the convention hope will result from the gathering.
 The farm and union labor groups con- stituting majority of the committee will recommend to the convention that no centralized party be formed, but that state organizations be fostered through which the political ideas of the disconsin senator may be forwarded. The idea of no nomination for the Out dAA ihuOI oCiiICAJ OI ECnd tor LaFollette goes with this report.
 Would Nominate Ticket
 The communist minority will ask the convention to make itself the nucleus of q strongly centralized national or ganization. They would nominate a na- tional ticket, adopt a platform and go ahead in the campaign as a full-fledged third party.
 An attempt to have the majority re- port adopted by the committee was blocked by the determined communistic opposition.
 The communists were headed by Will liam z. Foster, chairman, and c. E. Ruthenberg, secretary of the workers party. Despite warnings by William Mahoney of St. Paul, chairman of the arrangements committee and temporary convention chairman, that the farmer labor movement would fail naturally if the majority report were rejected, they held their ground
 T am against the centralized national idea at this stage" said Mir. Mahoney.
 Whether nomina tions are to be made here is another problem for the con vention. If that is decided affirma- lively 1 would oppose the nomination of any one other than Senator LaFol- lette. This would be especially true if close national organization in oppo- sition to LaFollette results from this gathering.
 'The point is that any candidate selected here or indorsed at the July 1 conference in Cleveland will not be elected anyway. LaFollette, however. can do more than any other individual to advance the cause of those opposed to exploiters of the masses"
 Ruthenberg urged the committee to definite action, arguing that the time is asserting that the faction he represented IS anxious to work hand in hand with ripe for a wide-sweeping movement and asserting that the faction he represented is anxious to work hand in hand with the convention. But they wanted recog- milton and Ruthenberg intimated that if his faction were denied that recog- milton they would show dissatisfaction in no uncertain way.
 Thomas l.. Arnold, an attorney of $. D., warned the committee that even a show of recognition would undermine the confidence of the voters back home"
 "The farming folk from South Da- kota," he said, would hesitate to sup port an organization in which too open recognition of the communists was evi- dent. We have been making votes for the farmer-labor movement in South Dakota in straight appeal for right and principles. But if the party be- comes too closely aligned with the com farmers will not come to our 
 About 600 credentials had been re- ceived up to tonight at the convention headquarters. The convention provided for 951 votes on the floor, but did not limit the number of delegates. It was hoped that many of the dele gations would send more persons than their voting strength called for and this probably will be true of Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. On other delegations, however, few persons probably will have plural vote at their 
 The communist strength in the vari- ous delegations could not be accurately learned tonight. Some committeeman acknowledged that there might be enough men and women of that per suasion in the New York and Pennsyl- vania delegations to control the votes from those states and that Illinois might fall into that column.