News from a busy chapter of the Socialist Party’s youth group in Rochester, New York during the summer of 1913 including the passing of a valued comrade, preparing for Helen Keller’s lecture visit, planning summer socials, crafting conference positions, and news about the Young People’s Socialist League fife and drum corp.

‘Doings at Rochester with the Y.P.S.L.’ by Kendrick P. Shedd from Buffalo Socialist. Vol. 2 No. 62. August 9, 1913.

We have not been heard from for a few weeks, but we’re still doing business at the old stand. We are looking back and looking ahead, both, but mostly ahead, as young folks should.

Comrade Ney’s Death.

First we must record something sad. Comrade Gustav W. Ney, who was the efficient manager of the Progressive working People’s Lyceum, and one of the German comrades who started something here in the Flower City, is dead. He was killed last Friday by being thrown from an automobile, as it swung around a corner here in town. His funeral services were held yesterday morning, July 29th, at headquarters.

Comrade Ney’s body was cremated at Mount Hope. Many of us paraded from headquarters part way to the cemetery, and then took cars to the spot where his body was to be consigned to the furnace. It was the first cremation that the most of us had attended, yet we are practically all for it, as the only proper method of disposing of the dead.

Comrade Ney was a real friend of our league and showed us a multitude of favors. He was in sympathy with the young, being still a young man himself, in spite of his many gray hairs. His age at death was 42. We shall greatly miss his genial presence.

Helen Keller Coming.

Comrade Helen Keller is coming to us after a little. She and Mrs. Macy are to deliver a lecture under the auspices of our league in Convention Hall on the evening of November 20. It is to be an educational lecture, entitled “The Heart and the Hand, or the Right Use of the Senses.” We expect to fill the hall and thus to earn some much needed funds for the use of the league.

Helen Keller has, I believe, never given a public lecture in our city, strange as it may seem. And yet it is not strange, considering the short space of time during which she has actually been on the lecture platform.

Her coming to us will be a good thing for us. It is a large undertaking in view of the amount of money it costs to have her and Mrs. Macy appear here, but it is a great thing for a body of young people to dare to do some “large things.” When they have successfully accomplished one they then know that they can do another. It puts confidence into their souls, and of all the great and necessary qualities that one might name as being good for young and old to possess that of self-confidence is doubtless one of the greatest and most essential.

Summer Doings.

During the hot days of summer we do not go out of business, so to speak, but we do vary our program from the ordinary routine. We get out into the open. In place of meeting as usual in the home building on St. Paul street, we meet elsewhere. Last week, for example, we actually held our meeting on the edge of Highland Park. We were not in the park, but alongside of it. There were some sixty or so of us and it was an inspiring sight to see so many young people sitting on the concrete wall and the ground by it and actually transacting important business there in the open air.

We talked of various things: of the moonlight excursion, which had been so successfully carried out on the 18th; of the week or two which some of the members had just enjoyed at Nine-Mile Point on the lake; of the coming convention at Schenectady, and of other things. We decided on a trip to Watkins Glen on the coming Sunday and at bathing party at Sea Breeze during the following week, also a visit to the big lawn fete to be held this week by Branch 4, Socialist Party.

The Y.P.S.L. Convention.

Of course we are deeply interested in the coming convention to be held at Schenectady on the 10th, 11th and 12th of August. The young people of the State are at last to be federated. It should have been done before, no doubt, but nobody got at it. When our debating team was at Schenectady months ago there was a good deal of talk of a state federation of the leagues, and the young people of the two cities actually sat down together at that time and started a sort of federation, which was followed by some correspondence. But after a nothing very definite was done, and it remained for Buffalo to push the thing ahead,

The State Committee had a meeting recently and among the things considered was the coming Y.P.S.L. convention. They decided that inasmuch as the Young people who were to be federated were to be leagued under the name of Socialism, it, was but proper that the State Committee should exercise some supervision over the convention. And they were undoubtedly in the right. It was a wise move. The idea of the State Committee is not to interfere to any great extent in the deliberations and plans. of the young people, but to see to it that any constitution that may be adopted shall be in harmony with the principles and aims of the Socialist Party..

Of course this should be. Why not? Why, the State Committee would be a lot of sleepy children if they didn’t keep their eye on our doings at Schenectady. We are willing, I take it, to submit our proposed constitution to the State Committee for approval. If we are not willing, then we should drop the word “Socialist” from our title and substitute some other word.

But there will be little or no trouble, I am sure. The young people can see the logic of the situation. They are heartily for the best interests of the working class. We are in existence for the purpose of attracting the young in to Socialism, and eventually into the Socialist Party. Whatever we can do to further that fundamental idea and purpose we shall doubtless cheerfully do. Leave it to us!

Other Things Ahead.

Our Fife and Drum Corps (do not pronounce it corpse, if you please!) is at work practising. Its members are most enthusiastic. They expect in time to be able to make such sweet music that all the people in the land, both old and young, will fall in behind them as they play and march to the polls in November to vote for Karl Marx and the Co-operative Commonwealth. Here’s hoping!

On Thursday evening of this week there is to be a meeting of our combined committees and officers to discuss future programs of the league. Doubtless we shall be able to evolve a most attractive program. Time will tell.

The Buffalo Socialist was a weekly published in Buffalo New York by the Buffalo Socialist Publishing Company from 1911-1915 and aligned with the Socialist Party of America. Edited by Max Sherover, the company also produced a weekly women’s newspaper, New Age, from 1915.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/buffalo-socialist/v2n62-aug-09-1913-Buf-Soc.pdf