J. Louis Engdahl gives a valuable history of the substantial activities of Finnish Socialists in the U.S. Growing to become well over 10% of the Socialist Party’s membership, the Finns were also responsible for providing the party with a majority of its women membership, the Finnish Federation being, by far, the section of the movement with the largest women’s participation. Finns would also become a leading force in U.S. Communism a decade following.

‘Finnish Socialists Lead in Party Organization’ by J. Louis Engdahl from the New York Call. Vol. 5 No. 2. January 2, 1912.

Nearly One-Tenth of the Working Class Political Movement in the United States Made Up of These Sturdy Fighters Against Tyranny.

CHICAGO, Dec. 31. Here are some of the facts about the national Finnish section of the United States Socialist party:

For the last two years it has numbered one-tenth of the entire membership of the Socialist party.

The property that it controls is estimated as being worth close to half a million dollars,

Its press consists of two dailies. a tri-weekly, a woman’s weekly and a monthly magazine.

It has established the Working People’s College at Smithville, Minn., Fifty out of its 221 local branches have built Labor Temples in their respective localities.

During the campaign in the old country in December and January 1910 and 1911, the Finns of the United States came to the support of the Socialist movement in the mother country with $3,600.

Its members have been the pioneers of the labor movement in the mines of Michigan and Minnesota and in the textile mills of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

It started the movement for the organization of foreign speaking peoples as sections of the National Socialist party.

This is a brief and to some extent an incomplete summary of what the Finns have really done. But it gives a birdseye view of what their organization has already achieved. And the promises for the future are greater than ever.

Czar’s Oppression Helps Here.

It seems that the thumb of the Czar of Russia had pressed heavily upon Old Finland only to give new life and spirit to the Finnish Socialist movement of the United States.

The population of Old Finland is 3,000,000. Fighting the Czar in the mother country are 1,500 Socialist branches with 60,000 members, the basis of a movement that secured 330,000 votes at the last election.

There are 250,000 Finns in the United States. The movement in this country boasts 221 branches with 9,200 members.

The first Finnish Socialist local was organized in this country at Hibbing, Minn., in the heart of the rich iron mining territory of Northern Minnesota, in 1902. Its members were the workers from the mines of which the Steel Trust was rapidly gaining control.

During 1902 and 1903. Martin Hendrickson, a carpenter from California, toured the country for the Finns, and many Finnish Socialist locals were organized.

About this time the power of the Imatra (Workers’) League, with headquarters at New York, was at its zenith. Its object was to organize all the Finns in the United States into one organization. There was a growing Socialist sentiment among the members of the league, the only question being as to whether they should join the Socialist party or the S.L.P.

This sentiment found an expression in the first convention of the Finnish Socialists of the United States, held in October, 1904, at Cleveland, Ohio. The delegates to this convention and the organizations that they represented were as follows:

J. G. Lehtinen, Imatra, Nos. 1 and 33, of Brooklyn; Victor Hall, Imatra Central Body and Imatra No. 15, of New York City: Hanna Lehtinen, New York City Woman’s Branch: A. Savolan, Maynard. Mass.: Taavi Taino, Workers’ Society Salma, Fitch- burg, Mass.: Arvo Naihi. Finnish Workers’ Society, Minneapolis, Minn.; Victor Kosonen, American Finnish Workers’ League, the Workers’ So- ciety, of Hibbing Minn., and Imatra No. 32, of Boston, Mass.: Alex Nie- minen, American Finnish Workers’ League, of Hancock, Mich.; Erland Heino, Imatra No. 25, of Chicago: Axel Pekkola, Imatra No. 12, of Glassport, Pa.; Anton Ihaki, Imatra No. 30, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Wilho Roman, Imatra No. 19, of Milwaukee, Wis. Robert Bandlow attended the convention as the official representative of the Socialist party.

Convention Declares for the S.P.

The convention passed a resolution going on record as subscribing to the principles laid down in the Socialist party program and recommended it as the program for all of the Finnish Workers societies in the United States.

As a result of this action the various Finnish branches, during the following year, began coming into the Socialist party as individual branches. Not one branch went into the S.L.P. which has never been able to organize a single Finnish local. Twenty-eight Finnish branches were represented at the next National Finnish Convention held in August, 1906, at Hibbing. Minn. Alex Halonen, at that time a national Finnish Socialist organizer, was the official representative of the Socialist party. Widely separated sections of the country were represented at this convention, the delegates coming from Michigan. South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Washington, Illinois. Wyoming and California, Martin Hendrickson, the first Finnish organizer being the delegate of the last named State.

This convention was instrumental in organizing the National Finnish Socialist Organization of the United States as the Finnish section of the Socialist party of America.

The Finnish section started the year 1907 with fifty-three local branches having a membership 2,450, while a national translator- secretary was chosen and established at the national office of the Socialist party in Chicago. By the end of this same year the organization had more than 100 branches with a membership of 3,465.

Hot Campaign in 1908.

During the Presidential campaign of 1908 the Finnish section of the Socialist party had five organizers in the field carrying on the propaganda and teaching the Finns how to do their part in the campaign for Socialism. The Finns were also among the most enthusiastic contributors to the fund for financing the “Red Special.”

The third convention was held at Hancock, Mich., in August, 1909. This meeting saw the country divided into three districts, the Eastern, Western and Middle districts. This was done in order to better carry on the agitation of the organization, each district having a secretary, one of whose duties was to rout speakers and organizers.

The headquarters of each district is as follows: Eastern, New York City: Middle. Duluth, Minn., and Western. Seattle, Wash.

This convention also adopted tactics relating to the trade unions similar to those approved by the national conventions of the Socialist party. It also decided to appeal to the National Socialist party to remember May Day. May 1, with a general celebration similar to those held in Europe.

It was also decided that the Finnish organization should call upon all the other foreign-speaking language organizations to elect delegates to the next congress of the Socialist party, to be held in 1910, and that at the same time a conference of all the foreign speaking organizations should be held: all decisions reached to be submitted to the National Socialist Congress.

Much credit for the carrying out of the acts of this congress is due to Herman Laukki, at that time national translator-secretary for the Finnish section. When the National Socialist Congress met in 1910, the Finnish organization had 162 locals. with 5.183 members. The next Finnish National Socialist Convention will be held in 1912, the time and place of meeting not yet having been decided upon.

Don’t Worry Over Dues.

“The question of dues is not troubling us very much at the present time,” says J.W. Sarlund, national Finnish translator-secretary at the present time. “The only trouble seems to be in New York, where the State organization does not seem inclined to recognize the foreign language organizations.

“Nearly all of the State organizations give a 50 per cent rebate in the dues, allowing the local Finnish organizations to buy their dues from the national translator-secretary. As far as I am concerned it doesn’t make any difference whether the Finnish locals get their dues stamps from me or from the English speaking county or State organizations.

“The duties of the translator-secretary should be to translate party news for the benefit of the foreign speaking organizations, and he should not be troubled with the handling of dues stamps. I hope that this matter will be settled by the National Socialist Convention in May.”

This is the way the National Finnish Socialist movement in the United States has grown until it is organized at the present time into 221 local branches, having a membership of 9,200, about one-tenth the membership of the entire Socialist party.

The two daily publications of this movement are the Tyomies (Worker), published at Hancock, Mich., and the Raivaja (Pioneer), issued at Fitchburg, Mass. Both of these papers are controlled by stock companies, about 80 per cent of the stock being owned by Finnish Socialist locals.

There is a tri-weekly, Toveri (Comrade), issued at Astoria, Ore., the same place being the home of the women’s weekly, Toveritar (Woman Comrade). This weekly was started last July. There is a monthly magazine published at Fitchburg, Mass., called Sakenia (Sparks).

Women Finns Active Members.

In the American Finnish Socialist movement the women all belong to the regular party branches, carrying on their work side by side with the men. It is estimated that about one-fourth of the Finnish party membership is made up of women.

“Several years ago many of the Finns coming to the United States look forward to the day when they could return to the mother country,” says Translator-Secretary Sarlund. “They have given this up now, however, to a very great extent. It is rare that one meets a Finnish Socialist now who is planning to return to Europe.

“During the past year greater interest is being taken than ever before by the Finns in taking out their naturalization papers. We are carrying on a campaign to encourage our members in this direction, not only through our press, but the national organizers are instructed to give special attention to this matter. The Tyovaen Opisto (Working People’s College) was started at Smith- ville, Minn. in 1906. Previous to that it had been conducted as a Lutheran Seminary, but it had been conducted as a financial failure, and the Socialists got control of it as a result. Like the Finnish press, it is owned by a stock company, the shares of which are held by party locals and the national organization. The school buildings and the grounds represent an investment close to $50.000. At the present time there are eighty-one students and five teachers, but the school is rapidly expanding and room is being made for more.

The common school subjects are taught, special stress being put upon the study of the English language. There are lectures on Socialism and economic subjects. Every effort is made to put the tuition as low as possible: while a move is now on foot to have different locals endow scholarships for deserving students unable to pay their own expenses.

Finns Own Fifty Labor Temples.

Statistics are now being gathered by National Translator-Secretary Sarlund on the stock held by the various locals in different party locals. It is believed that these figures will show that the Finnish locals hold property valued at about half a million dollars, most of these being invested in the fifty Finnish Labor temples in different parts of the country. At the present time Fitchburg. Mass, has the biggest local, with 300 members, In the East, in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the Finnish Socialists work in the textile mills, where they are doing good work, not only on the political field, but also in organizing the workers into labor unions,

In Michigan they are the backbone- of the Western Federation of Miners, while a plucky fight is being made against the Steel Trust in an attempt to organize the workers on the vast iron ranges in Northern Minnesota.

In the big cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco the Finnish Socialists for the most part are carpenters, tailors and painters, but everywhere they are workers.

Finnish locals are to be found today in twenty-nine States as follows: Middle District: Illinois, 5; Indiana, 1 at Clinton: Michigan. 22; Minnesota, 46: North Dakota, 2: South Dakota. 1 at Lead: Wisconsin, 16. Eastern District: Connecticut, 1 at Hartford; Florida, 1 at Jacksonville: Maine, 4: Massachusetts. 18: New Hampshire, 7: New Jersey, 2; New York, 6; Ohio, 10: Pennsylvania, 11; Rhode Island, 1 at Pawtucket: Vermont, 3, and West Virginia. 2. Western District: Arizona, 1 at Lowell; California, 6: Colorado, 2; Idaho, 3; Montana, 11: No- vada, 3; Oregon 3: Utah, 4: Washington, 14, and Wyoming, 10.

Generous Aid for Native Land.

The Finns are always lavish in their support of the movement in the old country. When the campaign of 1910-11 was on the enthusiasm among the Finns of this country was great, and $3,200 was raised here and sent across the sea in the fight on the Czar. They are now aiding in the fight against the Russian autocracy which is desirous of separating Finland from two of its provinces, Kivennapa and Usekirkko.

These two provinces are the darkest in all Finland, the people being ignorant, thereby making it difficult to carry on the Socialist agitation. Every effort is being made to educate the people.

The Finns are strong prohibitionists. In the old country the Socialists are continually fighting alcoholism, while in this country the Finnish organization proposed a prohibition plank for the Socialist party platform at the Socialist Congress of 1908. It was not accepted. Many Finnish Socialists, however, are carrying on the agitation in this direction and may bring it up again next May at Oklahoma City.

The last convention of the Finnish organization went on record as declaring that the Finnish organization will in every way promote temperance among its members and generally among the working people. The convention ordered that all party papers, organizers and locals shall explain the prohibition question as it appeals to the working class and to the capitalist class.

The Finnish Diet, in the old country, declared in favor of nation-wide prohibition, but the measure was vetoed by the Czar, who has the last word in all Finnish legislation.

As was the case in the National Socialist Congress of 1910, it is expected that many Finnish Socialists will be at Oklahoma City as delegates of all the Socialists in the various States from which they come, As such delegates they are always listened to with interest whenever they have anything to say on the questions that come up for discussion, because they have an organization that shows they have put their plans into real practice, and they have shown themselves to be successful.

The New York Call was the first English-language Socialist daily paper in New York City and the second in the US after the Chicago Daily Socialist. The paper was the center of the Socialist Party and under the influence of Morris Hillquit, Charles Ervin, Julius Gerber, and William Butscher. The paper was opposed to World War One, and, unsurprising given the era’s fluidity, ambivalent on the Russian Revolution even after the expulsion of the SP’s Left Wing. The paper is an invaluable resource for information on the city’s workers movement and history and one of the most important papers in the history of US socialism. The paper ran from 1908 until 1923.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/the-new-york-call/1912/120102-newyorkcall-v05n002.pdf