The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-03-18
Ruthenberg, the Leader,
Marks New Advance Of the
American Working Class
By ]. LOUIS ENGDAHL.

gle power could produce Ruthenberg the party
Of Ruthenberg, the Workers (Communist Party the
best reply to those pessmiss who refuse to admit the
forward surge of the labor movement in this country
Ruhenberg as the founder and leader of the Workers
(Communist) Party, product of the development
Of the American class war. Thus he belongs to the
whole working class out of which the Communist Party
also springs.
movement be judged by the type of leadership of
labor in the various stages of advance achieved by the
working class in this country.
Twenty years ago the Socialist Party had reached the
age, to which the Communist Party has at
the present time.
In 1904, Eugene V. Debs had polled nearly half mil
lion votes as the socialist candidate for president and
extraordinary prophecies being made for the nau
guration of Socialism at early date in this country
Thus the Socialist Party attracted to itself many
peculiar elements, among them the highly advertised
millionaire socialists" The socialist party developed
the referendum of its chief methods of reaching
decisions, not only in determining policies but in select
ing officials. Thus the selection of such millionaire
socialists" j. G. Phelps Stokes Robert Hunter and
Joseph Medl Patterson for prominent positions in the
Party fairly accurate reflection of the desires of
the Parys membership that time expressed thru the
referendum The common saying was that socialist
party leadership fell the shoulders of the writer and
speaker because of his coming most frequently in
tact with the partys membership, but it declared
with equal truth that the capitalist press often selected
socialist party leaders thru the publicity that gave to
ilonaire socialists" first upon their entrance into
the party.
Certainly J. G. Phelps Stokes who joined the Socialist
Party in 1906 and became a member of its national
ecutve committee years later in 1908, dis
played the least symptom of qualification for leader
ship in what claimed to be revolutionary organization
of the working class He turned 100 per paytriot
with the outbreak Of the world and has since been
lost in oblivion.
Robert Hunter no doubt never millionaire, but given
the title of millionaire socialist" by the capitalist press
graduated social work in Chicago London and New
York. to socialist party leadership a member of its
executive committee 19081912, and then disappeared
He made contribution to the socialist literature of
the time. He showed qualifications for the political
direction of the forces of labor however being content
to fall in line with the Berger-Hllquit-S pargo leader
ship One characteristic anecdote concerning Hunter
told Of his attending campaign meetings on New Yorks
East Side during the heat of electoral struggle Great
throngs were IN the streets, as we'll as at the meetings
held which led Hunter who lived in less populated
Connecticut to declare, with such numbers following
US, the revolution is surely near"
1t was the same outlook that brought Joseph Medill
Patterson of the editors of The Chicago Trib
une and also editor of its weekly magazine, Liberty,
into the Socialist Party. Young Patterson, in 1906,
commissioner of public works in Chicago under the
regime of the liberal democratic mayor, Edward F.
Dunno. But he thought the social revolution
ing on, in hurry He quit his job in the city hall,
joined the socialist party and helped start the Chicago
Daily Socialist in the fall of 1906 He cooperated with
Algernon NJ Smons in its editorship, and for brief
became Of the prominent figures in the
party.
But the social revolution didn't hurry not
eomodate young Patterson Months the length
of his stay in the movement. him in the Calumet
copper country in northern Michigan during the bit
tery fought strike of the copper miners the winter of
1914 At that time he reiterated the views / have
here attributed to him. He confessed he had lost what
faith he had had if he had any, in the working
Glass; pointed out with true capitalist superiority that
the copper strike miserable mistake and drank the
wine of the mine at the exclusive Calumet Club
The world made him captain and his biography
in 'Whos Who in America" omits all mention of his
connection any tine with the Socialist Party and its
press.
1t might be added that none Of these even gave lip |
service to the revolution In this they differed from
Jack London who worked with Stokes in organizing the
intercollegiate Socialist Society; William English Wall
ing and the most recent example of William Bross
Lloyd Instead they belonged peculiarly the reform
list wing of the party They helped make up the leader
kip mat thus constituted with Berger, Hiqut
5pargo Stokes, Hunter, Simons outstanding figures
Berger and Hlqut the lone survivors, not be-
ing able to retain such figures Charles Edward Rus
sell and Allan L. Benson who later joined the party
coming the with the period starting in 1910,
that brought the first socialist electoral victories Of
any magnitude in Milwaukee, Wise, and few other
localities. Both Russell and Benson proved the thin
nest intellectual froth Russell a jngo from the
beginning of the In spite Of this fact he nearly
became the parys candidate for president in 1916. He
was replaced, however, by Benson, who held to pa
cfst antwar stand until 1918, when he quit the party
because of its attitude toward the government during
the war"
That the socialist party has changed is shown by
the fact that many of these renegades being
asked to contribute and actually offering their con-
trbutions to symposium on THE Problems Of Amerl-
Socialism" appearing in The New Leader, the
party organ in New York City, The socialist party
leadership has not changed. The working class has