‘Anti-Fascist Alliance First National Meet Opens Tomorrow’ from the Daily Worker. Vol. 3 No. 201. September 5, 1926.

NEW YORK, Sept. 3. The first national convention of the Anti-Fascist Alliance will be held here Sept. 8th. Delegates from all parts of the United States, representing thousands of Italian organized workers will be present at the convention. Industrial, political and fraternal working class organizations will be represented and also Italian refugees driven from their home-land by the fascist regime. Masonic organizations will be represented. Mussolini has outlawed the Masonic organizations in Italy. The present status of fascism in Italy will be discussed and consideration will be given to the problem of fighting fascism and Italy and preventing the spread of its influence in the United States.

Tried To Make Split.

A trivial incident in the Anti-Fascist Alliance due to the resignation of a socialist branch from the anti-black shirt organization was magnified by the socialist party organs into a serious crisis. Due to some criticisms made by the Communists of certain socialist members in the alliance the socialists demanded that the alliance take measures that would mean the elimination of Communists. This demand was turned down by the membership and the west side branch of the socialist party resigned. The only sufferers from this attempt at creating a split were the socialists. The Anti-Fascist alliance was organized in April 1923 and has done splendid work since its organization. It has conducted several campaigns against fascism and has rallied the great majority of the Italian workers in America to its side.

Organized Big Protest.

When Matteotti was murdered on the order of Mussolini the alliance organized great demonstrations in every large city in the United States against the murderers. Mussolini sent emissaries to America to counteract this propaganda but his speakers were never able to hold one successful mass meeting. Italian workers met his agents on the pier and the police had to protect them from the wrath of their anti-fascist fellow countrymen. When Valentino’s body was on exhibition in New York City, the fasclsti tried to make political capital out of the situation. Black shirts were sent to stand guard over his body but the anti-fascisti alliance protested and the guards were compelled to withdraw to prevent a riot.

The Daily Worker began in 1924 and was published in New York City by the Communist Party US and its predecessor organizations. Among the most long-lasting and important left publications in US history, it had a circulation of 35,000 at its peak. The Daily Worker came from The Ohio Socialist, published by the Left Wing-dominated Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919, when it became became The Toiler, paper of the Communist Labor Party. In December 1921 the above-ground Workers Party of America merged the Toiler with the paper Workers Council to found The Worker, which became The Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1926/1926-ny/v03-n201-Chi-sep-05-1926-DW-LOC.pdf