Evening star., 1934-10-07
SOCIALIST Faction
LAUNCHES DRIVE.
Norman Thomas Leads Ad-
vocates of New "Com-
monWeaIth Plan"
BY PAUL TOBENKIN.

NEW YORK, october 6.-With Or
ganized Socialism in the United States
facing the loss of some of its potential
support to the New Deal on the one
hand and to Upton Stnclair's "epic"
plan on the other, and torn by intra-
party strife over its stand on war, one
section of the Socialist party, led by
Norman Thomas, is advocating the
new commonwealth plan" which, ac-
cording to its proponents. embodies a
! definite platform for bringing about
Socialism. The plan is intended
ultimately to provide a. $1,000 annual
income to every family.
Mr.. Thomas and Paul Porter, field
secretary of the League for Industrial
Democracy, who drew up the plan,
admit that its ultimate objectiveS do
not differ from the traditional party
platform. They claim, however, that
the commonwealth plan escapes the
faults which have kept the original
platform from capturing the votes of
the working population of America.
Aims Restated.
The four major provisions of the
plan, which is as yet unreviSed, are
merely a restatement of the funda-
mental aims of Socialism, namely, in
dustrial democracy and social owner
ship of all industry, the farmers right
to his land, peace and domestic tran
guilty and worker farmer control Of
government.
THE traditional Socialist platform
is a rather verbose document, consist
ing of, first, an indictment of the
| present order, then a list of the i'm
mediate reforms which we propose, and
| finally a statement favoring socializa-
ton in some vague and indefinite fu-
ture," the introduction to the COM
monwealth plan reads.
The split in Socialist ranks which
has been brought to a climax by the
stand on war adopted recently at the
Detroit convention is manifest in a
paragraph in the introduction in
| which Mr.. Porter says that If the
popular style of the plan has shocked
some Of the "Talmudic defenders of
the literal word" he considers that
style doubly justified.
The plan assumes that Socialism
will come about in the United States
by 1897, and in answer to critics who
| may say on this score that it is Wis
ionary and Utopian, Mr.. Porter an
swers that the United States is ripe
for Socialism.
THE exceptional support Upton
Sinclair has been obtaining for his
'epic'-naive though both he and the
YllaV 1o cd ka
of stating a genuine Socialist pro-
gram as a unity which can be widely
comprehended," he said.
Decries One Man Drive.
Mr.. Thomas, in an interview, said
that Sinclair was unconsciously a
| possible forerunner Of Fascism, al
though he himself was far from being
Fascist. Even If the fundamental
aims of Sinclair and the Socialists
are the same, Mr.. Thomas holds the
latter must oppose the Democratic
nominee for Governor Of California
because one man back of him can't
hope to bring about new order.
"The Sinclair victory and a num-
! Der Of related events" Mr.. Thomas
said, rs at once encouraging and
| discouraging. 1t is enormously en-
couraging because people in Cali
fornia have walked up to the fact that
they must have certain changes. But
! they are trying to accomplish them
| with one man rather than with a
revolutionary party. That is a blow
to Socialism and it is brought about
by the desire Of American people for
shortcuts. A similar situation exists
in Wisconsin with the La Follettes
If you are the friends of all the peo-
pie YOU are the friend of none"