THE PROGRESSIVES IN REPERTOIRE
Lewis, Marz
The Progressives in Repertoire By Marz Lewis (The Washington Correspondent of the The New Leader) N o y that the preliminary trtklrmieh between the Progressive group In the House of...
...They lead the millions of farmers and industrial workers who are now venturing to hope for a better day into the trap from which it should bo their first duty to free them...
...Tour by Merrill Herbert •• M.'Merrill, state secretary of the Socialist Party of New York, has just completed a tour of the locals in the western part of the State...
...The progrsm of the Progressives, so far as it relates to the liberalization of the rules, is pre"mined on that assumption...
...In Dayton we openly and positively declared ourselves against the Ku Klux, with the result that we gained the support of elements we had heretofore been unable to penetrate...
...The majority are responsible for its crimes, whether: they be of omission or of commission...
...For two days and two nights they fought the reactionaries and Cannonism,vand when it was over,- on March V\ 1910, t h e House was free...
...And t he assumption is without warrant...
...it would, perhaps, develop an understanding of the fundamental social, political and industrial problems affecting and afflicting the nation...
...8. It would make possible a more effective office organisation...
...124 Meeting., Sell...
...All locals and branches have been asked to send as many representatives as they desire at their own e x pense...
...A large and representative gathering is expected...
...OPPOSE AMALGAMATION The 6th A. I)., Local Kings County has sent in a resolution earnestly opposing the merger proposition...
...Merrill reports satisfactory activity all along the line...
...rules, hut because the members of Congress— the overwhelming number of them, as may be seen from the way they lined up on the Speakership fight—desire that sort of a "system, and by their v o l e s sustain it...
...and the Progressives were overjoyed in that they had gotten an opportunity to liberalize the rules...
...Tim means by which the leaders of the House are able to run things their own sweet way would require a discussion of Congressional procedure altogether too long for the limitation of this article...
...He has his place as a pioneer educator and agitator, however, and the entire movement regrets hia passing...
...But those dominant elements cannot do more and still remain republicans...
...Now, there is "no question but that the rules governing the House prevent and are designed to prevent the individual member from exercising any influence on the course of legislation...
...As previously stated, underlying the fight of the progressives is the assumption Hint the majority of the members desire to vote for progressive or meritorious legislation, but that tho rules prevent them from doing so...
...The organisers of the new branch hope to build up an active lecture center for the rapidly growing Kings Highl y section, which is without any intellectual activities of any kind...
...The Ku Klux Klan are hopelessly splitting the Republicsn and Democratic parties in Ohio as well as elsewhere...
...The nomination of Cooper deadlocked the House, neither one of the candidates being able to receive a majority of the votea cast...
...Tbe Problem"" The problem of House procedure, and the contests that have been conducted to make it more workable and adaptable to the needs of the time, will remain as long as the old political parties continue to manage and direct the destinies of the nation...
...Thousands of Book*, and Gets Many New Member* —An Off Year, Too...
...BALANCE IN BANK Hold...
...LABOR PARTY IS PLANNED ( S p e c i a l to T h e N e w L e a d e r ) Reading, Pa., Jan...
...Students of parliamentary government agree that Congressional government in the United States is only committee government...
...Should the referendum receive a favorable vote one central office will be opened for the greater city, one Central Committee, and> one Executive Committor would govern the •ctivltlaa of the Socialists of the e n tire .city, and one Executive Sec r e tsry will be elected...
...that a minority of 100 members may be able to bring out a bill consigned to eternal rest in the committee to which it has been referred...
...For all of these reasons the membership of our organisation voted practically unanimously against the proposition, and we urge upon and appeal to the Comrades of Kings County aa Well as of the city, in the interests of preserving our party as best as it can under the present trying and difficult circumstances be preserved, to ret' ject the amalgamation by decisive and overwhelming votes and instead of that to go to work earnestly to built and strengthen the party, to increase its power, influence and prestige frpm below, stsrting with the Assembly District organizations, instead of from above, from some central office, and h i doing thin we feel confident and certain that our movement and party will in the near future gain-instead of standing to lose as it will and must by amalgamation...
...We feel that the Socialist movement is on the upgrade...
...Fellowship, is heaven and the lack of fellowship is hell: "Therefore, I bid you not dwell in hell, but in beaven, or while ye njustt upon earth, which is a part of heaven, and forsooth no foul part" —J...
...In fact, the history of the House ia replete with these insurrect i o n s , in most cases staged by wellmeaning Progressives, whose intentions were superior to their vision...
...Party will be held in Harrisburg on March 1. At this conference the future policies of the party will be decided upon and ether business transacted...
...Edward Mead seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously...
...The Second Assembly district is one of the largest districts in the city, and, while there is an excellent branch in Brownsyille with its own headquarters at 420 Hinsdale street, the vast territory south of Brownsville is uncovered by organization...
...I look to see the Socialist movement, true to its fundamental principles, plscing Itself on record as against the principles of the Ku Klux, and thereby winning the support of all those elements who recognize that menace to democracy, equality, and fraternity...
...be liberalized, so liberalized as to afford an opportunity for intelligent study and discussion of legislation—if they could be so modified as t o permit tha individual member who has a suggestion to make or a plan to pro-, pose an opportunity to make himself heard and felt, it would be no mean accomplishment in itself, even though it would not, because in its very nature it could not, have the far-reaching effects on representative government that the advocates of liberalization propose...
...Signed by Joseph A. Whitehorn and Harriet Fineberg, the resolution reads: Considering the proposition of amalgamation of all the locals of the Socialist Party of the Greater City into one local, considering that such amalgamation instead of helping mid unifying the Socialist forces of the city, and making the work more efficient, it is the unanimous opinion of our organization that the amalgamation would work great injury, would cause discouragement in the ranks, would curtail the activity and initiative of tho memL jrs and of the branches,, would cause also a falling off of •••ork and in<the end, will and must prove a disastrous failure...
...At last, on December 3, "Der Tag" arrived...
...The work of the local was not to elect an Assemblyman or to g e t a big Vote, but t o carry on educational work, and t o make socialists...
...But that thoso means exist, that they prevent Congress from being a deliberative body—assuming that, if given an opportunity, it would be—and that while thoy exist the average member may as well go home "and let tho leaders do the legislating—of that', there can be h o question...
...That is the work thst was done in just one county—and each county and town thinks it is alone...
...What is spoken of as t h e "struggle for existence" is not, aa i s assumed by certain loose writers and speakers, a necessary accompaniment of l i f e ; it is, a s a matter of fact, quite indefensible among a people where reason and the moral law are supposed to hold sway.—Keir Hardic...
...Socialists Gain in Dayton <Spe< l a l t o 'I'll** N e w L e a d e r . ) DAYTON, Ohio, January 18.— The .Socialist Party .of this city is rapidly becoming the "official opposition, and it will not be long before Dayton will have a Socialist govern: ment, according to Joseph W. Sharts, editor of the Mismi Valley Socialist...
...Many of them are beneficiaries of special interests...
...Numerous conflicts of Progressives and radicals in both Houses of Congress, occasional statsjments to the press, frequent reports of ultimatums that were being drafted—all served to create and strengthen the hope that the condition of unrest throughout the nation 'and more particularly among the farmers would find expression in a concrete program of legislative action, upon which the Progressives could rally the liberal elements of the nation...
...Just now the Progressives, in their drive for liberalization, are allowing, like the Progressives who every once in a while make a similar fight, that they are good in repertoire...
...John MacLean Dead Glasgow, Scotland...
...Tht * vowed purpose of the ProtTSIiive group in making the fight forliberaf'zatfon is to make the mem...
...Someone has said that Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, while Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work...
...that all of the demands of the Progressives will be granted...
...Three organis*n would be placed.in the field for 'be purpose of aiding tho party orsnches in carrying on their work and they will help organise new1 branches...
...PENNSYLVANIA STATE CONVENTION ( S p e c i a l to T h e N e w L e a d e r ) Reading, Pa., Jan., 17.—A state ITsfirerence of the Socialist...
...SOCIALIST NEWS HUDSON COUNTY ENDS BIG YEAR...
...not to mention the pulpit, Chamber of Commerce, and other such expressions of capitalist interests, obtained 22,000 and 23,000 votes respectively, our candidate for City Commissioner got * ' . - 000...
...Robert Leemans is secretary of the Socialist Party campaign committee in Hudson County, New Jer•ey, and he has just completed -his report for the activities of 14 branches, June 1 to November 15, 1928...
...But if they are meritorious, and therefore, injurious to t h e industrial monarchs of the country, the Pro" gressiv.es will find that they stand no more chance""if getting them enacted into law than the proverbial snowball in the hot regions stands of- keeping cool...
...Moreover, we belie've that the obliteration of the County Locals and their merging into one Greater City local is contrary to the letter anA»l«»t<*6f t h e State"-Constitution' of the party...
...Socialists who are or have been members of the party, and those who are willing to join the party, are requested to send their names and addresses to William M. Feigenbaum, 1745 East 8th street, Brooklyn...
...In the Jjuhi that ensued, members dodgefQunder their seats, others hid behind screen doors, and a number were injured while trying to get by the bolted doors...
...Assuming, conceding, and granting all of this,'' what effect will it have on the course of legislation...
...That means, a vast amount of propaganda was carried on, speakers were brought from distances and paid, tens of thousands of people heard about Socialism for the first time—and a profit made on the transaction...
...New Branch in Brooklyn A new branch of the Socialist Party is being organized in the Kings Highway and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn, which are in the Second Assembly district, 'Kings County...
...the Only effect that a liberalization of tho rulea can have, as has been shown by experience and history, is to enable a minority to prevent the majority from transacting business, and this must lead to new changes and rebellions...
...Literature was sold to the extent of 11,094.54, and expenses (including the cost of quantities of free leaflets) were SI ,061.64...
...MacLean was not a member of any Socialist group and was considered a thorn in the sides of the Party here, because of his frequent attacks upon it, but no one doubted* his sincerity and his ability as a Socialist teacher...
...And by the way, a t the last meeting of the Hudson County Committee, Val Bausch moved that every local and branch secretary in the county be placed on the list for The New Leader for a year—at the County's expense...
...The Progressives in Repertoire By Marz Lewis (The Washington Correspondent of the The New Leader) N o y that the preliminary trtklrmieh between the Progressive group In the House of Representatives and the organization with which they are still affiliated baa been fought and, by their own admission, won, it would be both interesting and instructive to examine tha nature of the contest, the objects it w a s intended to accomplish, and the extent to which it is likely to achieve its proclaimed purposes...
...Speaker Reed, who was then the Czar of the House, ordered the doors bolted...
...A referendum on the subject is now being voted on...
...5. It would result in active organisation work in outlying* sections* of the city, such as Richmond end Queens...
...Tha joint merger committee elected by the various locale i n the city t o consider the possibilities for a merger, urged favorable action on the referendum for the following reaaona: 1. That it would unify the work of the party branches throughout the city...
...umy bjyi t j r m m t j'Uu utormiriK of t i e parnamentary Bastile," on January 29, 1890...
...17*—A conference will be held In this city next Friday (January 25) by a group of working people and representatives ef working class representatives interested in the organization of a genuine labor party...
...It is planned to hold brief business meetings in connection with informal talks on Socialism and o n , r e l a t e d subjects...
...Now and then the rules would be liberalised somewhat, only to lead to new evils Requiring further modification of the rules...
...When the scene was over, a move was inaugurated to prevent a repetition of it, and the rules were modified...
...pebates are cut short, opportunities for examination of legislation are limited, bills are not given sufficient study, not because the rules, but because those who make the rules, and all the .members of Congress are responsible for the rules, f o r they adopt them at at the outset of each session...
...For, in the last ana.vl.--i...
...This is a report of the activities of just one Socialist local during an "off year" campaign...
...When all Is said and done, legislation in the House is passed by a majority vote...
...What effect can it have on the problems with which the people are concerned, or on the ills which afflict them...
...Bruce Glasicr...
...2. That it would centralise control of the work of propaganda and education...
...4. It would place at the disposal of the party branches three full-time organisers...
...REFERENDUM ON AMALGAMAT I O N . ^ . (• The l o c a l s in Greater New York •re now debating the advisability "of merging the locals of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Richmond and the Bronx into one Greater New York Local...
...The Progressives, have, it is true, a program of their own, dealing with tax legislation, railroad legislation...
...here more responsible far their activities by 'having then* placed on record, but t h e mere fact that tha members vote to adopt such rules which prevent them from having.a voice in the (affairs of government is, or should be, sufficient to convince any thinking worker that the difficulty is not with the rules of she House, but with its personnel end the political parties/which line up the personnel .whenever it is necessary...
...In the nine months that intervened from the date the present Congress came into being until it actually began, or rather made an attempt to function, the great political rebellion in the Northweat, of which the insurrectionary movement of the Progressive group in the House was supposed to be a direct result, constituted the^principle topic of" conversation in discussions in Washington on the work of the 68th Congress...
...On that day, t he minority, in an effort to prevent the enactment of legislation to which they were opposed, indulged in the favorite trick of absenting themselves to prevent the presence of a quorum and the transaction of business...
...It would at lea«t promote a livelier interest in governmental problems, and...
...Each town thinks itself a lonely outpost, but they are going to find out all about each other in The New Leader...
...And, in the first instance, what relationship do the rules of the House bear to the problems which the Progressives declare they are out to solve...
...No,w ami then—mainly then— the dominant elements of the Republican Party, yielding to the demand of political expediency, may throw a bone to the Progressives in the form of a piece of legislation...
...Liberalization of House Rules" has been' a ' favorite pastime for Progressives ever since Congress was conceived...
...and when the rules were modified to eliminate this possibility, it was found that the majority were in a position to deprive the minority of an opportunity to make itself felt...
...Whether they are good for anything else will depend on what they do to convince the people that the salvation of the nation lies fh cleaning out the two old political parties...
...Here in Dayton," said Sharts, "the little Miami Valley Socialist keeps plugging away...
...During the last few decades there have been any number of insurrections and rebellions in the House...
...He visited Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Niagara Kail.--, and other cities...
...they are committed to the perpetuation of the system which considers the interests of the plunderbund first, last and all the time...
...Others are, capitalists who have become rich as a result of the protection which they received from government before the government became paternalistic"— that is, before it began to consider legislation to help the unemployed, the sick, the aged...
...Each placed ita candidate for Speaker In the field—Speaker Gillette was the Republican nominee...
...And the Progressives, honest and well-intentioned as they undoubtedly are—some of them, anyway—cannot escape their share of the responsibility for the continuation of things as they arc...
...He suffered a number of imprisonments during the war and In' saw with horror the practise of poisoning the food of C. (Vs...
...No change of rules can affect them...
...And incidentally, they got a food vote, too...
...They are elected by the political machines ,whl«h receive their campaign contributions and their support from corporations—the Republicans from big corporal ions,,«iid the Democrats from little corporations...
...D . f « U of Lib.r«liE«tion It may also be conceded that if the rules of the House codld...
...Finis Garrett, the Democratic nominee, and Henry Allen Cooper, of Wisconsin, the nominee of the Progressives...
...The results of the numorous campaigns made by Progressives for the liberalization of House Rules have been to carry the House from one extreme danger to another...
...At the last election, where tho successful capitalist candidates, with the aid of all of the daily newspapers, four in number, and the active organized efforts of both the Republican and Democratic gangs...
...It was an "off year^' f o r politicians, you understand, but not for Socialist workers...
...From the time a new member Jakes his seat until he completes his legislative career, unless he becomes a leader, his experiences consist of a series of disillusion incuts...
...After the adoption o f ' t h e rules, one of the members rose to ask Speaker Reed what rights, if any, were retained by the minority, to which Reed replied: "The right of the minority is to'draw its s a l a r i e s, and its function is to make a quorum...
...There are f erty-ei*ht party branches now in Greater New York...
...the Democrats were happy that they had shown to the nation that the Republicans, in spite of their technical majority, were unable to organize the House...
...But the rules of the House have been developed under, and largely because of, the constitutional system in vogue—a system deliberately designed to create so many checks and balances that the demands of the people would not be able to crystalize themselves into concrete Results...
...If they do more they will be classed as deaerters from the camp of special privilege...
...The Socialist Party has elected as its official representatives J. Henry Stump, George W. Snyder and Raymond S. Hofses...
...t e e," Yet it may be better simply to say with William Mprris, that Socialisia is fellowship, and that fellowship is life, and the lack of fellowhip is death...
...At some future time, it may be profitable to discuss the merits ot demerits of the proposals they advance...
...But in the fourteen years that have elapsed since the fight against Cannonism was fought and- wen*, the average member played no larger tart than he did prior to that time, he few leaders of the, House still dominated the situation, dictated the legislation that was ,to be enacted, ahd stifled every attempt on the part of individual members t o make themselves felt...
...The minority continued to exercise its right of drawing Its salaries and continued to* perform its function of constituting a quorum, except when, on rare occasions, the practice of absenting themselves to prevent the i transaction of business was resorted to...
...John MacLean, a pioneer in Socialiat propaganda, has juat died...
...And it was a victory for all concerned—the Republicans declaring that they had all along been prepared and willing to permit such a discussion and amendment of the rules...
...Seme History The greatest fight over House procedure came as a result of what...
...It may be that with the aid o f the Democrats a liberalization along the lines demanded by the Progressive group may be effected...
...Upon receiving a s surances from the Republican leaders Unit an opportunity would be afforded sometime in January to discuss the rules of the House and to offer amendments to them, the Progressives yielded, Speaker Gillette returned to preside over the deliberations of the House, and the deadlock was broken...
...Soma Assumption In a few days the House will proceed to a discussion of its rules...
...When t h e rules were liberalized, it was found that the minority acquired rights by which they could prevent the majority from transacting business...
...The assumption upon which the Progressives proceeded is that the inability to enact remedial legislation ia due to t h e / r u l e s by which the House is governed—rules which restrict the influence of the rsnk and file and enable a few influential chairmen of committees, and more particularly the chairman of the allpowerful Committee on Rules, t o decide what legislation ought to be considered, whether it should be subject t o amendment, and whether the House membership or only the comm i t t e c members shall be able to offer amendments...
...JBills which leave the clerk's desk to cross the parliamentary bridge, of sighs whence they never return die not because of the restrictive...
...And a revision of the rules, if it were to be effective, would involve an overhauling of the entire system— a proceeding with which the Progressives are not concerned, and to which they may even be opposed...
...As a result his later years were clouded by the delusion that an attempt was being made to poison him...
...Tha Capitalist Parties The representatives of both old parties are plodged to the things which are favorable to the vested interests...
...Out o f the wreckage will come new alignments...
...Let it be assumed that such a liberalization will be made...
...Republicans, Democrats, and Progressives caucused...
...The minority enjoyed this right and performed this function until March, 1910, when the Progressives organized their rebellion against Cannonism...
...Instead of the Speaker appointing all the standing committees, a committee was to do the a s signing...
...A majority can at all times prevent the passage of undesirable legislation, and in some instances, where a two-thirds vote is required to adopt special rules of procedure, one-thlril of the membership may make itself, felt...
...It has been called a government by the chairman of the Standing Committees of the House, and the committee which rules all other committees is the Committee on Rules...
...Altogether, 124 meetings were held in Hoboken, *West New York, West Hoboken, Union Hill, Bayonne, Jersey City, and North Bergen...
...By remaining affiliated with the Republican Party they sustain the gneatest delusion of ^ l - , tHat the Republican Party can ever be anything but what it was made and is paid to be—the political expression of the vested interests of this country...
...that it will no longer be possible for the chairman of a committee and for the Rules ommittee to prevent the consideration of measures upon which the House desires to vote...
Vol. 1 • January 1924 • No. 1
