What was incompatible before the war, becomes impossible during it. The Left and Right of the Socialist Party head toward their irrevocable split as the party’s lone congressperson, Meyer London, becomes a symbol for the Left of all that is wrong with the opportunist leadership. In this unsigned editorial from the Socialist Propaganda League, likely from the pen of Louis C. Fraina, the Party’s standard-bearer is called a traitor. Within months the formal Left Wing was formed, and within a year the Party, as it was, ceased to exist.

‘Meyer London–A Socialist Disgrace’ from New International (S.P.L.A.). Vol. 1 No. 12. September-October, 1918.

THE circle of Socialist reaction, of the betrayal of fundamental principles by representatives of Socialism, is completed. Germany produced its Scheidemann, Parvus, Sudekum and Wolfgang Heine; France its Albert Thomas and Marcel Cachin; Austria its Dr. Renner and Victor Adler; England its Hyndman and Henderson; and the United States its Russell, Spargo, Walling and Meyer London.

There are members of the Socialist Party who are fond of the sport of denouncing Spargo, Walling & Co. It is a comfortable and safe procedure to kick the dead. But these very same comrades are utterly silent about the infamous attitude of Meyer London, his flouting of the declarations and instructions of the party, his betrayal of fundamental Socialism. Even prior to America’s entry into the war, London acted against international Socialism; and since, his conduct has been completely reactionary and demoralizing. Socialism should have its own independent class policy on war and peace; but Meyer London has accepted the policy of the government; American Socialism is compelled, by the declaration it adopted a year ago, to co-operate with the minority Socialists of Europe and support the Bolsheviki; yet Meyer London accepts the policy of the majority Socialists and denounces the Bolsheviki.

Eugene V. Debs publicly declares his adherence to fundamental facts and principles, and is indicted. His courageous action was an inspiration to the party, a rebuke to the wavering. And then Local New York nullifies Debs’ action by renominating Meyer London for Congress.

The recent state convention of the Socialist Party of New York adopted a resolution calling upon Meyer London to introduce a bill in Congress for the recognition of the Russian Soviet Republic. This “Socialist” representative in Congress did nothing of the sort; and shortly after appeared in print criticizing the Bolsheviki and coquetting with the counter-revolutionary forces.

As if the nomination of Meyer London were not sufficiently demoralizing, Local New York nominates Edward F. Cassidy and Algernon Lee, both of whom repudiate the accepted attitude of the party on the war.

There is danger ahead, comrades! There is an active movement in the party to castrate its international Socialist attitude. The openly pro-war group, which is small, is exploiting the fears, prejudices and opportunism of the moderates to put over reactionary candidates and policy. Not all who voted to re-nominate Meyer London want his policy; many, if not the majority, voted affirmatively on the plea that to repudiate London would mean losing the district-the plea made by Alderman Beckerman. But what kind of a victory is it to elect a man to Congress who betrays Socialism and brazenly flouts the party? Rather no representatives in Congress than a man who repudiates the attitude of the party.

When Meyer London speaks in Congress, he speaks not as the representative of the Twelfth Congressional District, but as the representative of the Socialist Party. To have Meyer Lon- don represent the Socialist Party is to link the party with the European social-patriots and betrayers of Socialism, when it should be linked with the intrepid Italian Socialist Party, the French minority Socialists, the Independent Socialist Party of Germany, and the Bolsheviki.

The movement in Local New York to demoralize the party’s attitude on the war started with the Socialist Aldermen voting for the Liberty Loan. At a general party meeting to discuss this action, Algernon Lee frankly justified the vote on pro-war grounds. The action was repudiated, but the work went on, and has culminated in the re-nomination of Meyer London for Congress.

The nomination of London met with a storm of protest. At a general party meeting to conclude nominations, the radicals were in the majority, and tried to force a reconsideration. The attempt was balked by the stupidity, or duplicity of the chairman, and by the mean parliamentary tricks of the moderates, who prevented a vote by wasting time and blocking a motion to extend the time. The matter came up at a meeting of the Central Committee, and by a vote of 31 to 28, the Executive Committee was instructed to nominate a candidate other than Meyer London in the Twelfth Congressional District. The Executive Committee refused to act, and at a special Central Committee meeting, Meyer London’s nomination was confirmed by a vote of 42 to 38.

The New York Call did not print a single word about this opposition to Meyer London; neither did it state that the Central Committee had repudiated Meyer London, nor by what vote the Committee subsequently confirmed the nomination.

The most discouraging feature of the whole affair is not the votes cast for Meyer London by those who agree with him, but the votes cast for him by comrades who disagree with his policy. These latter votes were cast because of opportunism and motives of expediency. And opportunism and expediency are the worst foes of revolutionary Socialism.

A Socialist party is a social-revolutionary party, and not a party for the acquisition of office; it is an instrument of the proletarian revolution, and not an instrument of petty bourgeois politics. To nominate a man for office simply because he may be elected, and in spite of his misrepresenting our Socialist principles, is a petty act of petty bourgeois politicians, and not a gesture worthy of revolutionary Socialism. A Socialist party that does not at all times adhere to fundamental principles is a party that builds upon sand; it is, moreover, a party that, when the test comes, will act precisely as did the opportunistic, petty bourgeois Social Democratic Party of Germany.

The Socialist Party of the United States is now being put to the test, and the test must be met in spite of the policy of evasion adopted by the opportunists. It is the test of principles and the test of the class struggle. We have hopes that the party will on the whole meet this test adequately, in spite of all and everything.

Shall our party be a party of Leibknecht, Lazzari, Lenin and Trotzky, or shall it be a party of Scheidemann, Thomas, Hyndman and Meyer London? This is the great issue in our party, in every party affiliated with the Socialist International. Comrades, upon you rests the responsibility. Repudiate Meyer London! Repudiate the policy of confusion and compromise!

New International was the paper of the Socialist Propaganda League of America begun in Boston as ‘The Internationalist’ at the start of January 1917 and first edited by John D. Williams. The SPLA was founded by Left Wing SPer C.W. Fitzgerald , who had contacted Lenin in the fall of 1915 over their shared opposition to the war and positions around the Zimmerwald Conference. Lenin and continued their correspondence. With publisher and editor John D Williams and Dutch revolutionary SJ Rutgers, Fitzgerald officially began the SPLA in November, 1916, the first po-Bolshevik organization in the US. In early 1917 Williams went to New York to tour for the SPLA. On January 16, 1917 a meeting in Brooklyn attended by Leon Trotsky, Nikolai Bukharin, Alexandra Kollontay, V. Volodarsky, and Grigory Chudnovsky representing the Russian revolutionary movement with Louis B. Boudin, Ludwig Lore, Louis Fraina, and John D Williams of the SPLA. Both the New International(ist) and Class Struggle journals were born at this meeting. In the spring of 1917 SPLA headquarters moved to New York where Louis Fraina took over as editor. The paper lasted only about a year before Fraina began publishing Revolutionary Age.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/new-international/v1n12-sep-oct-1918-ni.pdf