Democratic Socialism Upheld By Panken in Buffalo Speech
Democratic Socialism Upheld By Panken in Buffalo Speech Special U> Th* Sew Leader BUFFALO.—A capacity crowd i of Socialist voters packed Local Buffalo's splendid headquarters last Sunday to...
...If the seceders had spent as much as the Socialist Party to collect signatures they would have less signatures than they actually have...
...forest the employers by means of a steppage to grant them a new agreement, jj&f The terms of the new agreement include a minimum wage raugkm from $15 to $37.50 for differs* classes of workers, for a 37%-fcsnB week, time and a third for eJPjK time, a limitation on the number of apprentices that may be em* ployed and a fixed period of apipVenticeship, equal distribution of work, abolition of homework, sfidf a uniform method of fixing piece rates...
...That's exactfc w&at it means...
...I don't want any united front with half-baked liberals...
...If there is to be a united fsnnt, I want a united front with labor...
...But even more absurd is the charge that our signature collect tors "claimed they represented Thomas...
...Only a little more than a year ago, in January, 1935, 70 artificial flower workers applied to the International for affiliation and were finally placed under the wing of Local 142...
...The struggle is between those who have faith in the ¦asses and those who no longer have faith in them, between those who believe that the masses are capable of emancipating themselves and those who are somewhere up on Meant Olympus ami condescend to hand down a new decalogue to the poor benighted Insulting th* Voters Judge Panken then turned his attention to the attack Thomas had made on Hoffman, executive secretary of the Socialist Party in Erie County...
...They threatened to take us to the Supreme Court in the case of the nomination of the candidate for the special election in the 5th Assembly District, Bronx, last January but got cold feet when they found that the law is against them...
...I dent want any united front with ministers...
...Thomas sank to his lowest' level m this speech...
...How could our canvassers claim they represented the Thomas' faction when their collectors carried an "Ikon" of the "Leader" and displayed it to the enrolled voters...
...If Bet Hoffman can sell the Socialists of Buffalo, if he can sell the enrolled voters, it moans that the enrolled voters of Buffalo are a bunch of stupid cattle that can he sold eat...
...N They further claim that we threatened a fight in the courts to determine who is the legal party in New York...
...tOlttnaVifff -Twfl»WMlr snpswrt of he Communist elements in the party, Panken declared: "Anyone rho urges insurrection, one...
...Socialist Party Petitions Filed for April Primary By Julius Gerber WITHOUT bombast or noise an army of devoted Socialists went about the job of collecting signatures for the primary election to be held on April 2. In New York City candidates were designated in all 24 Congressional Districts for Delegates and Alternates to the National Convention, members of the State Committee in all 62 Assembly Districts, and members of the County Committee in 2003 Election Districts, 4006 Candidates...
...Herman Hahn, who had been expelled from the party fox Judge Panken accepted the challenge of the Thomas speech in a vigorous address showing the tworaced role Thomps is playing in ' :he Socialist Party...
...Upstate candidates for members of the State Committee and County Committees were filed in most counties...
...In asserting that the American i ¦ 1...
...The fact is that, with few exceptions, the enrolled voters .insisted that our collectors show credentiols showing that thev DO NOT REPRESENT THE THOMAS' faction...
...For the consumption of those who do not know them, they charge us with what they threatened to do...
...in Reading, Pa., the spokesman for the "militant," Thomasite seceders, when asked what they would do should the regular party win in the primary, said, "then we will fight it out in the Supreme Court...
...We are .opposed to a united front with those who have no faith hi...
...In all, a total of 5,845 individual petitions containing 15,195 signatures were filed with the New York City Board of Elections...
...the Socialist Party there it a struggle between those who believe that Socialism can be achieved by peaceful means and those who believe that it can be brought about only by insurrection,'' said Panken...
...The enrolled Socialist voters will have a chance to vote for loyal Socialists at the Primary Election on April 2. The list of New York City candidates will be found on page 7. A curious thing is the antics of the Thomasites, "militants," and neo-Cemmunist secessionists, who in spite of .the fact that they secided from the party were trying to collect signatures in order to contest the regular party designees in the primary election...
...He concluded by urging support of the Rev...
...I don't' want any united front with seminary students...
...I don't want any united front with any dasappointed bourgeois who lost their money in the erash...
...Dubious Assertions While we do not know whether they paid for the collection of signatures, we do know of several instances in the Bronx where their collectors approached good party members begging them to sign their petitions as a personal favor, stating that they were getting paid for each signature they collected...
...The fact is that at the last meeting of the N.E.C...
...The New York Socialists will not capitulate "v these pseudo* Socialism and Den^^rne^^^^^^ ———mmM Flower Workers Win Victory More than 500 artificial flower workers organised by Local li?sf the Ladies' Neckwear Union mm' ated with the I.L.G.W.U...
...James J. Battistoni, Robert Hoffman and Charles H. Rath also delivered spirited addresses...
...The workers were driven into the hands of Mussolini...
...In their own factional publication and in their official organ, the Communist Daily Worker, they made an attack on the Socialist Party, Local New York, using the old method of "stop thief," charging that we hired professionals to col-" lect signatures...
...After a month of organization, the membership rose to 250 and a number of shops were unionized and agreements obtained for a 37*4 -hour week and a 19% increase in wages...
...That's whet happened ia Italy...
...When Thomas attached Bob Hoffman, he attacked yon—not-only that, but he attacked the enrolled SotfatSt voters of this city," the judge said, "t understand that Thomas said Hoffman sold out for...
...they count upon a violent upheaval to usher in Socialism...
...They no longer have faith in the peaceful method...
...the, organized labor movement Slid stand in the way of the American working class...
...The Panken address was well received and' was extensively reported in the Buffalo newspapers...
...At the expiration of these agreements on March 1st of this year the stoppage was called which put another notch en the growing number of gains this union is making...
...Democratic Socialism Upheld By Panken in Buffalo Speech Special U> Th* Sew Leader BUFFALO.—A capacity crowd i of Socialist voters packed Local Buffalo's splendid headquarters last Sunday to hear Judge Jacob Panken answer the ial-e accusations made by Norman Thomas the previous Thursday before bis Communist followers organized as a dual party local Thomas charged that Robert Hoffman hod "sold" the Socialist voters in Bunalo elections to hold Jus city job (a civil service position), and that in New York City the Socialists want to be a "km wing" of the Democratic Party...
...man wj>6 condones violence, any man woo chinks that revolutionary methods are the mesne to improve our society—that man is driving us to fascism...
...But should they choose to use their Communist tactics of lying and double-dealing,, of falsehood and innuendo, the New York Party organization will, know how to defend itsfelf, whe6pW it is'befcre the public or' before the courts...
...Maybe that accounts for their failure to get signatures...
...They will again get cold feet after the Socialists of New York have_ spoken at the primary...
...a couple of pork chops...
...1 m *. m i labor movement had "ftrfcoVJ wwrmef r*roejT w its lubot tMhoft do nothing that will put a stone in the way of a united front with the American labor movement," he declared...
...The insult is not so much against Hoffman as It is against you...
Vol. 19 • March 1936 • No. 10
