The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-15
on the
Recent Contention OF
the Socialist Party

I these revolutionary leaders
mouthed pretsntious phrases about
! prolstsrisn dictatorship and Work
ers' Councils" they failed to present
an independent program on any Of
the questions that confronted tas
convention. They became simply
the tame and submissive appendags
to the Mihtants the group that won
| control Of the convention and
charted the new course Of the So
! cialist Party, the course Of radical
| phrase mongering, left maneuvers,
| designed TO achieve the same old
goal; defense Of capitalism against
the proletaran revolution.
THE prize for the best Jockey az
4 the convention was won By
Norman Thomas; he rode nors
horses at the same time than any
other three delegates put together.
He was both for and against the
dictatorship Of the proletsriat, for
and against violent revolution, for
and against bourgeois democracy.
Thomas richly deserved the tribute
paid him by Matthew Levy, law
partner OF the resctionary Judge
Jacob Panken, who, in nominating
Thomas for the Office Of national
chairman Cit was a dummy nori-
nation as 1t had already been are
ranged for Thomas to decline), gave
as one Of his outstanding qualifca-
lions his ability to "pacify al
groups'-in other words. be with
all sides at the same time. Which
only goes TO show that when man
makes up his mind TO it, be can
defy not only the laws Of logic and
physics. but those Of plain old
fashioned honesty az well.
THE most stirring moment Of tha
convention was when the talk
les were made. It was arranged
that Thomas was to make a set
speech for a couple Of minutes and
the delegates we're to applaud and
sing the International. And did
they applaud They nearly tore the
roof OF while the camera ground
away, they sang themselves hosrss
and INDUCED in such a display Of
enthusiasm az was conspicuoiIsfY
absent at the convention itself.
Undoubtedly the film has been
shown all over the country and
palmed of as living proof Of the
wonderful spirit that prevailed at
the Socialist Party convention.
In the tempestuous discussion On
the Declaration OF Principles, as
at other times in the convention.
both the reactionary Old Guard
and the pseudo-radical Militants
repeatedly quoted the late leader
Of the Old Guard, Morris Hu-
quit, to prove their points. II seems
that Morris wasn't such q bad
jockey himself
~ EFT US be as militant as necessity
~ demands"
This, the theme-song Of the So
cialist Party convention, came from
the lips Of that practical" Social
list, Dan Hoan, whom 1s years Of
loyal service as mayor Of Milwau-
kee have made eminently fitted to
know what the necessities Of the
capitalist class are.
This theme-song was echoed in
one form or another by delegate
after delegate. It Is embodied in the
final Declaration Of Principles,
which talks as militant as the So
cialist Party thinks ID necessary
to snare the workers and farmers
and prevent them from fighting for
their demands.
But there was a speech Of a diff
ferent character at the Socialist
Party convention, in fact, two of
them. Both were made BY a man
dead these eight years, by the man
who represents the best revolu-
tionary traditions of the pre-war
Socialist Party, Eugene Victor
Debs. The first time at the open-
ing mass meeting in Ca.ss Tech
nical High School. when q film
Of Debs was shown with quotations
from his speeches. The second time
when one of the delegates, in op-
posing the abandonment Of any
criticism Of the corrupt A. F. of L.
of1cialdom, quoted something Debs
had written, f1aying with that exc
allied fervor Of his the reactionary
union leaders
Both speeches fell on deaf ears.
But the workers, both inside and
| outside the Socialist Party, win
hear and learn and act.