The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-03-15
Ruthenberg Was an Able
Organizer Of Labor for
the Social Revolution
BY ]. LOUIS ENGDAHL.

-. ing class for the social revolution It &C
cden therefore that he held for ten years the posi-
ton Of secretary Of the socialist party in Cleveland
Ohio, then became the secretary of the Communist
Party and afterwards the secretary Of the Workers
(Communst Party, the position that ne held at ms
death.
Ruthenberg, however, did not confine himself at any
time to the office duties Of his position as secre
tary
In the socialist party there many trained
tves who merely acted the office boys of the poll
teal leaders of the party. Such a secretary was j.
Mahon Barnes and later Adoph Germer who, as ma
tona secretaries of the socialist party were merely
the obedient instruments Of Victor L. Berger and Nor
ris Hqut This situation duplicated in the New
York socialist party where julius Gerber was the local
secretary Of Hilquit, Lee and others who dominated
the party This the socialist party conception gen.
orally Of the role Of the executives.
Even in the socialist party Ruthenberg different
kind of secretary In Cleveland he not only gave organ
national direction this section Of the party but he also
gave it political leadership. This lifted him head and
shoulders above Max S. Hayes for instance, also Of
Cleveland, prominent in the American Federation Of
Labor whom the Berger Hiqut forces tried to
foil against Ruthenberg and the revolutionary position
he championed within the socialist party.
Ruthenbergs position in the socialist party, in the
Communist Party and in the Workers Communist
Party was difficult one IT is not easy to attend to
all the details Of organization carefully watch over
its finances give toward the development OF Its
campaigns, and at the same time keep informed as to
the political developments locally, in the state, nationally
and internationally to be able to formulate correct
policies Ruthenberg performed this task successfully
Just how successfully we all know.
Workers generally think Of Ruthenberg as giving poll
teal direction to movement remember especially
the day that copy of his proposed program for the
Workers (Communist) Party be submitted to its first
convention arrived in New York from behind the prison
walls at Sing Sing The open party of Communism was
being organized in the United States, following period
Of illegal existence. Ruthenberg in prison Never
theess he had his ideas how the movement should be
developed And his capitalist alers could not stop him
from giving expression to those ideas, putting them
paper so his comrades would know his stand.
Few workers. however think of Ruthenberg study
ing account books, balancing figures that usually showed
the party with deficit that must be met quickly,
fully planning to meet that deficit with some new cam
paign and giving his attention to the working out
of the smallest details of such campaign
If these routine duties had been lifted off Ruhenberg
shoulders, giving him time to study and follow
events greater leisure to write about them party
would certainly have had greater literature from the
pen of fallen leader 1t he however, who wrote
most of the party's procamations, who planned anC
worked many of the declarations multitudes Of
subjects offered the various party conventions, who
put paper the concensus of opinion expressed in
the meetings of the political committee of the
tive committee.
1t was this Ruthenberg the organizer, who under
stood well the meaning of each new reader won fol
the party press, the value of every new member wor
for the party.
Recently the writer of 1.-THE Topics of the Times
a column that appears daily the editorial page OF
The New York Times, delivered himself of a few
thoughts under title, "A Contrast in Funerals" He
wrote as follows:
'The highly emotional interest shown by Communist
sympathzers in the ceremony before the ashes of the
late Communist leader Ruthenberg, being trans
ported Moscow nterment the body of Lenin
is brought into high relief by the fact that the
day crowd of mourners smaller in number and moved
more by grief than by belief in a social SYSTEM at
tended the funeral services for the late State Senator
Daniel j. Carroll. Senator Carroll, beloved by
hundreds Of thousands throughout the state hon
ored by representatives Of many organizations Ruth
enberg, whose following in this country small in
comparison received tribute from several thousand loyal
followers.
"such dsproportions as these have tended to give
certain people and exaggerated notion of
the strength Of the Communists in this country ~
These utterances merely display the ignorance of
their author The appearance of this mention of State
Senator Daniel j. Carroll in The Times probably
the first time that of the readers of that publca-
ton had heard of him. When mans funeral
is merely attended by the leaders of organizations
with the membership of those organizations, if they
have any, absent then be truly said that he has
popular following The parasites that feed off the
organization to which he belongs, whether it is Tam
many Hail. other corrupt expression of capt.
talism, will turn out automatically. But it requires
real appeal to win support of the workers gen.
orally.
The great numbers of workers who are eagerly at
tending the Ruthenberg Memorial Meetings is tribute
only TO Ruthenberg, but TO his party the Workers
(Communis) Party, and it is an indication Of SYM
pathy with, if complete understanding Of the Com
munist principles for which Ruthenberg fought and
died.
Every Of the men, women and children Of labor
who has attended and is planning to attend the Ruthen
berg memorials, represents not only himself alone He
may not be official in organization. But it may
truly be said that every Of them is active some
where in his shop, factory, mill mine, in his own
Immediate neghborhood spreading the propaganda of
the ideas in which he believes, with which he sym
pathizes That the story Of the development of the