The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-07-04
THE L. |. d. MEETS AMONG
POLITICAL COBWEBS
By MARIA LETRO.

By MARIA LETRO.
THE League for Industrial Democracy in it's an
nual conference at Camp Tamiment July % to
26, took into consideration the subject of prosper
ity" and all those phases of existence that af-
fected by the presence absence of prosperity All
of the speakers depored the myth of prosperity,
particularly among the unorganized and unskilled
workers, and the farmers There was a good deal
of talk about business cycles recurrent periods of
prosperity and depression, index numbers, real
wages and standards of living. Certain sessions of
the conference were reminiscent of the academic,
musty flavor of the economies classroom. When
speakers chosen who have direct contact
with the soaring struggle to obtain bread and but
ter on the farms and in the mines, and who so
used to the classroom that they lose the pro-
fessoral attitude, it is to be expected that their
tale of prosperity lack of prosperity will not ring
with conviction the sincerity of first hand knowl-
edge
There was one honorable exception in this group,
and that was Benjamin Marsh of the Farmers Ma
tional Council and the Peoples Reconstruction
League. Although he does not believe in the efficacy
of revolutionary methods direct action, he spoke
from twenty-five years experience fighter for
farmers rights and the naturalization of public
utilities, with practical knowledge and keen in
sight into the present agricultural condition of this
country: "The American farmer is the strongest in
dividualist in the United States.
"Cooperatives alone won't solve the farm question.
Let the farmer go SO low, let him get so miserable
that finally the only way out for him is organiza-
ton, and then unionze him." Dean Cary Taylor
of North Carolina College read paper on the
agricultural situation which sounded someone said
"as though it had been written for the American
Philosophical Society,"" In one part of the paper he
stated that the majority of the farm mortgages
held by city enterprises, large body of them being
life insurance companies and in another section of
the paper he said that "the tariff not Inaugural
ted for the benefit of agriculture and the way for
the farmers to get their share is either to get up
on the tariff table, or to pull out the legs from
under the tariff table and bring down the bankers
top with crash"
Scott Nearing, taking Bertram Wolfes place in
offering the Communist political program as opposed
to the socialist political program offered by Morris
Hillqut stirred up hornets nest in the midst of
those comfortable inteectuals liberals and intense
radicals who for the most part thought with Com
rade Hllqut that the efforts of the socialist party
should be centered on the attainment Of social in
surance and old age pensions for workers. the
attack against the power of the courts and the
building up of strong opposition party in this
country, as in England until the time is ripe for
socialist state to step up and offer itself silver
platter. The buzzing of the hornets began when
Scott Nearing said that there must be organized
and built up in the United States professional
dictionary class which will prepare for the revolu-
ton. Charney Vladeck, representing socialist pa
per with quarter Of a million dollars profit an
nually, amused this that when Nearing
hammered back "Vladeck, if you and your like in
the socialist party had remained as lean and Wig
orous as you were twenty-five years ago. and if
you were drawing down salary of forty fifty
dollars week the socialist party would not be
where it is today the business manager of the For-
ward's and the rest of the audience were forced to
be quiet, temporarily only, however
Sitting directly in back of the writer was an
economics professor from of the New York col
leges. Once when Nearing had jolted her academic
sensibities too harshly she whispered to her COM
panion ooh well, he's Russian Communist" An
all-damnng statement presumably. 1t was a good
thing for the health of the conference that Com
munst present. At least then there was spirited
at times, from the audience, not very intelligent
discussion.