Your search within this document for 'move' resulted in 34 matching pages.
 
1

“...Forerunner of Industrial Unionism. My earliest recollection of De Deon dates back to the year 1886, the days of the Henry George campaign and of the Na- tionalist movement, a collectivist movement that had sprung up after the publication of Edward Bellamys Looking Back- ward, a book that stirred up not a little interest in those days and that was industriously spread by all who took a more than passing interest in Socialism. De Leon delivered a lecture on some subject connected with that Nationalist move- ment and I had gone over to New York to hear him. Of the lecture itself I have today no recollection whatever, but the lecturer, how he spoke and how he looked, all that I can con- jure up before my minds eye as distinctly as though it hap- pened yesterday. A portrait of De Leon, published in the 2Sth anniversary souvenir of the Weekly People, depicting him as he looked at the time of his entrance into the Socialist movement, corresponds precisely with the mental picture I have of him when he...”
2

“...bust as he often used to say, Daniel De Leon, the man, certainly was a being far dif- ferent from the horned and hoofed fiend his enemies used to depict him when, in their incessant assaults, they could find ao vulnerable spot in his armor and were compelled to resort to that style of warfare. The maxim, If you cant beat your foe, call him names, is as old as the human race rand is always new; perhaps it always will be. Still Boring From Within* But, even to an Intellect like De Leons, the Labor move- ment was a new problem wherein he had to get his bearings, more especially as to its economic phase. Thus, during the aejst few years, 1891-1894, we see that strenuous efforts were...”
3

“...if he knows them to be worthless as vote producers, while on the industrial field strikes may be threatened, may be called and may be settled; labels and union stamps may be granted and may be with- held, all of which furnishes endless opportunities for the labor crook to feather his own nest at the expense and over the hack of his rank and file. All of this is rather self-evident and would scarcely deserve mention were it not for the bane- ful effect that condition has upon the general Labor move- ment and, necessarily, upon its revolutionary wing as well. New York City has, during the last thirty years or so, furnished another striking example of the indigenous growth of the American labor faker. At the time when, due to the industrial expansion of Germany the immigration of work- ers from that country began to slow up, a heavy Jewish im- migration began to set in, tending to transform or at least to affect, vitally, the character of the citys population. Jewish onions were formed in...”
4

“...14 REMINISCENCES OF DANIEL DE LEON. lectures delivered by him in New York, one that no serious student of the American Labor movement should be with- out and, indeed, should know by heart. S. L. P. Endorses S. T. & L. A. Under such conditions did the S. L. P. enter upon its ninth national convention of 1896. That convention marked another milestone in the Partys development towards an ever clearer perception of its true mission in the Labor move- ment of this country. Having grown to a state of maturity, it took a step which, in 1893, would have been impossible. The newly-founded Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance was en- dorsed with the clear understanding of what this step im- plied; that it meant a declaration of war against the "pure and simple trades unions of the land, typified by the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, the erstwhile powerful Knights of Labor having in the meantime almost vanished from the field. At the convention, the subject was introduced by Vogt, leading off, on Monday...”
5

“...he was rather too light in the head. The con- spirators had a narrow margin of votes in their favor, yet were powerless to do much with it. A running fight ensued, but before the convention adjourned De Le*n was compelled, for some imperative reason, to return to New York. Before he left we held a council of war at which it was agreed that, whenever the majority tried to put through some crooked motion bearing upon the fight, which naturally meant at- tempted exoneration of the fakers, I was to move to refer such matter to a general vote of the membership. That was done. I made the necessary motions; Comrade Jacob Alex- ander, of Albany, N. Y., seconded them. The situation was such that the majority could not hold its vote together to op- pose such motions, some of their adherents not daring to vote against, the result being that every such motion was car- ried to so refer. After that convention the S. T. & L. A. and the C. L. F. parted company. Prior to that convention, the Volkszeitung...”
6

“...REMINISCENCES OF DANIEL DE LEON. 33 member can hold office in the Party. The next move was to have the State Committee "give Hickey a trial, which meant that he was to carry his case on appeal before the State Committee although he had refused to stand trial in the Section, A ruling to the effect that a member who refuses to stand trial in his Section thereby forfeits his right of ap- peal disposed of that move. In the meantime, one of the Hickey supporters on the State Committee, Forker, had be- come so utterly discredited that he had to disappearfrom the scene; another one. Wherry, had eliminated himself before that; the majority the intriguers had on the committee was vanishing; indeed, the election of a new member to succeed Hickey, which had meantime been ordered and was being voted upon, would turn that majority into a minority. De- termined to prevent this, Vogt, the secretary of the State Committee, held up the counting of the vote and the seating of the new member as long as he...”
7

“...REMINISCENCES OF DANIEL DE LEON. 77 o/ Yesterdays People came in 6 pages. I imagined it \va^ to so continue, and thought the move premature. Todays came in 4 pages. Was yesterdays a trial trip? At the beach yesterday afternoon I met Langner. The moment he saw me, he said smiling: Did you know there is a new S. L. P.? No. Where? Pierce started one in Philadelphia. And he went on to tell me that he had received a voluminous statement from Pierce, in an envelope marked with the S. L. P. Arm and Hammer. He had not yet read the thing all through, but he thought the affair smelled of Hanna. I told him what I thought of the wooden-nutmegger; that he was more ass than knave. When I got home I found one of these statements in my mail. Pierce sent me one himself. Having other matter (tinkering on the boat) in hand, I laid it'away; today I read it through. Surely, the lies in it are thick enough to cut with a knife. Yet the thing gave me a certain enjoyment. It forcibly re- minded me, at every turn...”
8

“...field mouse. Rhode Islandiana In all these attempts to capture a Party that did not want to be captured, as soon as the conspirators found that they had lost, they concentrated the batteries of their abuse upon De Leon. It is true, other Party officers came in for their , share, but he was by far the chief beneficiary, which goes to show that they reasoned not so incorrectly after all, clearly discerning that he was their chief obstacle. When the first information about the Curran-Reid-Keiser move had reached me, though I had not yet seen the lampoon itself, I had writ- ten to De Leon, then at Milford, Conn., so as to keep him posted. He replied as follows: Milford, Ct, July 5, 1902. Dear Kuhn:Necessarily incomplete as must be the in- formation contained in yours of yesterday on the R. I. call for a national convention, I can form no opinion. It may simply be a circular calling for a vote to secure the necessary five sections endorsement to serve as a basis for a real call for a general...”
9

“...yesterday a telegram to the Picnic grounds cheering the Daily. Did not get todays People, and cant tell whether it reached you. We had a lovely July 4th. Fraternally, D. De Leon. day or so later, having meantime eome into possession cf the Rhode Island lampoon, I wrote to De Leon again, giv- ing him more precise information, but, not having more than one copy and that one needed in New York, I did not send the document. He replied, still not fully believing in the full crookedness of the Rhode Island move, as is attested by his answer to my letter. Milford, Ct., July 7, 1902. Dear Kuhn;Back this evening from a clam-digging ex- pedition to the Long Island shore, I received your two letters of the 5th and the 6th. So, then, the R. I. Call is as idiotic, malapert and vicious as all that? I have seen none. Would like to see one, so as to see by my own eyes such an exhibi- tion. A. M. Simons had at least the fact before or behind him of two N. E. C.s in New York. But the only ehaos that prevails in...”
10

“...that I did not say anything about the Answer of the N. E. C. and the Statement on Condition of People. The latter is magnificent and timely. I also enjoyed the in- formation that the former gave me. Of course, we knew Pierce to be a liar. I also received this morning yesterdays and todays People together. The action of the N. Y. State Committee I find good. Such action, even perhaps more emphatic, should come from Sections, State Committees and individuals. They must repudiate the Curran Jesuit move, both as to its meth- ods and its contents, and I shall certainly watch with inter- est the conduct of such bodies. They are brought squarely to the touch, and can now show what there is in them. But for the same reason I regret to see your Warning* in yesterdays People. In the first place you ought to be cautious. It may be said your office does not authorize you to address the Party members except as the mouthpiece of the N. E. C. A color is given to the claim that you pre- judged. In the second...”
11

“...into capitalist political preferment upon the strength of carrying the scalp of the S. L. P. dangling from his belt. The unconstitutionality of his course, though expected by him to act upon the N. E. C. like a red rag before a bull, is so clever- ly woven that it will fail to strike many, and nothing but a call for a general vote by the N. E. C. itself, with the Curran charges for the subject of the special convention, will save such members. I have said enough. We have knocked him out at each move. We can knock him out for good now, and clear the atmosphere immensely. Frankly, I have a sneaking leaning for a convention. The subjects these people bring up are all worth thorough exposition. "Is anything being done to find out who was at that con- vention, and what it did really do, and who in R. I. approved of this lampoon? Fraternally, D. De Leon. In the foregoing letter De Leon goes into the subject quite closely, considering all possible contingencies. Being away from headquarters, and...”
12

“...Curranites out flat. In gathering my mate- rial for this work, I had to reread it and I enjoyed every word of it. The fact that Curran had been the chairman of the Committee on Constitution and had, in that capacity, reported to the 1900 national convention the very constitution that now he wanted so nonchalantly set aside, was used as the un- derlying text and it was used effectively. The other appre- hension, that part of the membership, or a considerable part, might be shaken by the Curran move, was equally without foundation. The brazen effrontery of Curran, first, in that he set himself up as the N. E. C., demanding from an outraged Party that its vote be returned to "him; second, that in the Opening paragraph of his lampoonist call he openly threatened Section organizers with dire consequences if they failed to circulate his production, saying, literally, that "failure on the part of any such person to communicate this statement to the Section and to furnish it to the members of the...”
13

“...few. De Leon in 1908, with prophetic vision, told them just where they would land, but like so many others before them they would and did not heed. Dc Leon on I. W. W. Convention Returning again to the time prior to that first conven- tion of the I. W. W., I had never seen De Leon so intensely interested as he was in everything pertaining to that im- pending event. So filled up was he with the subject, that we spent many hours going over the ground and casting up the possibilities of the new' move, the persons apt to play a role and the good or evil influence they might exert. What were De Leons views after the convention may be gleaned from h's letter to me written when at St. Paul, Minn., which let- ter I feel happy to have in my possession and be able to add to this volume, as it portrays accurately how De Leon felt at that time and, also, in what position he felt himself to be at Chicago in regard to Debs and in regard to other matters. Globe Hotel, 260 East 6th St., "St. Paul, Minn...”
14

“...in the hope of coming to an understanding. I am about to leave for Europe to the Inter- national Socialist Congress. Things in America remain in a disturbed and disordered condition. Nevertheless, it is a state of disorder and disturbance from which your acquittal IS calculated to bring speedy order and harmony. The cap- italist class has again wrought better for the Social Revolu- tion than that class is awareit has, through your now cele- brated case, built you up for the work of unifying the Move- ment upon sound ground. Those who have been early in the struggle have necessarily drawn upon themselves animosi- ties, However undeserved, these animosities are unavoid- able, and what is worse yet, tend to disqualify such organiza- tions and their spokesmen for the work of themselves speedily effecting unification, however certain the soundness of their work may make ultimate unification. Important as their work was in the past, and will continue to be, not through them could a short cut to...”
15

“...I had worked together caused me to ^*if matter of importance. It was the so- called Unity Resolution introduced by Boris Reinstein on behalf of Section Erie County (Buffalo), N. Y. Reinstein had been at the Stuttgart International Congress and had there received the stimulus that led him to inject that ques- non into the S. L. P. I was present at that N. E. C. session, De Leon having asked me to attend. Called upon to express my views, I took the floor to point out the hopelessness of such a move. The minutes of the session mention the mat- ter in these words: Henry Kuhn was given the floor on the subject and stated his reasons for being skeptical as to the re- sults to be expected from the adoption of such resolutions. \^'^^P.tcal then, I am more than skeptical today, for all that has since come to pass has re-enforced my convic- tion that unity with the S. P. is not possible-and is not de- sirable If It were possible-at least not now nor for probably a long time to come if human foresight...”
16

“...66 REMINISCENCES OF DANIEL DE LEON. course, be entirely acceptable to them, but hardly to oursel- yes. The move made in 1908 came to naught, the S. P. Na- tional Committee taking it upon itself to decline the invita- tion for a conference, not taking the trouble to refer it to its membership. Since then the S. L. P. has several times over been induced to spend and wa.ste time and effort on the same elusive task, the last time at the invitation of the S. P., a gen- eral vote of that party having decided to invite the S. L. P. toa Unity Conference." There may be such of our members who reason that these unity conferences bring the S. L. P. position to the attention of the S. P. membership and that they have, for that reason, a propagandist value. I doubt whether any considerable por- tion of that membership ever hears about the result of these conferences, and I also doubt that the few who do, ever get more than a very much twisted version thereof. There may also be such of our members who...”
17

“...be frustrated has been amply demonstrated by subsequent events and that, of all men, Daniel De Leon was Tt?gigantic forces that broke loose so shortly after his death, that is one of the tragedies of life. There is perhaps not a single S. L. P. man in the land in whose mind the same idea has not arisen- all felt that now we need De Leon, need his counsel, his jiidgment. his guiding hand. When the storm broke in Europe, we did see some queer and to many unexpected developments in the Socialist move- ments on the other side of the Atlantic; and yet, we need not be overly astonished at what happened there after A- iaPPen was predicated upon what did exist there prior to that fateful day. A man sitting...”
18

“...squarely upon the evolutionary theory would impart to his effort? WHY? Different Tactics I have before me another pamphlet, entitled: The Social- ist Party, issued by the "New York State Headquarters. On pages 10 and 11 thereof, I find an address To Organized Labor, adopted at the National Convention, Chicago, May, 1908. I quote; The Socialist Party does not seek to dictate to organiz- ed labor in matters of internal organization and union policy. It recognizes the necessary autonomy of the union move- ment on the economic field, as it insists on maintaining its own autonomy on the political field. Just soyou maintain your necessary autonomy and we maintain ours, you leave us alone and we leave you alone that is the S. P. position; a position which, were it possible to maintain it, would forever prevent the working class from using all its powers to free itself, from ever coming together and, with common purpose, act as one united force on both the political and the economic field. This S....”
19

“...of organizing the working class so as to make of it the power it could and should be. It may be argued that politically backward conditions would have made it impossible for most of the European countries ta adopt and pursue policies which, barring the present ab- normal and hysteric conditions, we always felt free to pursue in America. Such an argument would explain that these pol- icies could not in their entirety be adopted and applied, but it does not explain how the leaders of the European move- ment could remain so cold and so unsympathetic and so un- interested towards these policies which encompassed the wfiole range of Socialist thought and action. One would rea- son that the principles of industrial unionism, providing that form of organization of the working class which enable it to take and hold and administer the industries of the land when the day is here to expropriate the expropriators" and to sup- plant the political state with the Industrial Socialist Repub- iic, and which...”
20

“...The People is furnishing plenty of ammunition for that. If you are not aware of the conduct of our S. L. P. folks at I. W. W. meet- ings, the information I have may serve you for a tip as to what they are doing. Wisdom is more essential in California than anywhere else. There the Party suffered most and freak- frauddom has held highest carnival.' Nov. 29, 1905.Of course, our troubles are not ended. New occasions bring new troubles. But, as it will be with the issues of future society, which will move upon a higher plane, our new troubles are of a higher order. As to politics. This opens a wide subject. You mention two effects as flowing from the present state of things. The first, that the abstinence of both parties from political talk at the I. W. W. meetings has virtually come down to no politics in the union. I think this is as it should be^FOR THE PRESENT. At least it is unavoidable. In point of fact, seeing that Socialist economics is politics, the politics is right there. What is absent...”