‘Twelfth Ward Socialist Branch One of City’s Oldest’ from The Chicago Daily Socialist. Vol. 3 No. 159. May 3, 1905.

Well Organized Socialist Branch Will Adopt Daily Socialist’s New Plan

The Twelfth ward branch of the Socialist party, like the thirty-four others which compose the Chicago organization, is a political division composed of workingmen, bent on educating their fellow wage slave by means of argument and literature. All political divisions of the Socialist party of Cook county are under one constitution and are governed by it. Every person, before being accepted as a dues paying member of a Socialist branch, is forced to sever all of his former political affiliations and pay 15 cents per month This same money is used to finance the organization.

Branch’s Longevity Unknown

Of the locals in Chicago, the Twelfth ward branch is one of the oldest and best organized. It is so old that even the veterans fail to recollect in what year the first charter was secured, but all say it was way back in the 90s, when the territory now embracing the Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirty four wards was known as the Tenth ward only. In those times, according to the veterans, the ward consisted of but a few members, but the few were determined class conscious workingmen who realized that industrial freedom could be attained only by unstinted, united effort. These few determined Socialists worked night and day, agitating with literature and speech month after month and year after year until now the branch has a membership of over 120 members. In the Twelfth ward as in many of the others, the members are not alone forced to fight capitalism and corrupt polities but clanishness as well for the population of the ward is one that requires such a fight. Of the 14,000 voters registered on the books 8000 are Bohemian, 1000 Poles, 1000 Germans, 1000 Jews and about 1000 Italian, Scandinavian, Irish and Hungarians.

Distributed 39,000 Posters

Today the Twelfth ward Socialist branch has about fifty active members who can be depended upon to respond to any sudden call for volunteers and work all night if necessary. It was these fifty who rallied around the organization previous to the last aldermanic election and distributed 29,000 serial posters for three consecutive weeks placing one in the hands of every voter in the ward each week. This was the greatest campaign ever carried on in the ward and if it had not have been for the rousing of nationalist prejudices, the Socialist vote would have been the largest ever cast.

There are five foreign speaking organizations within the Twelfth ward at the present time. They were organized for the benefit of those who cannot speak the English language. These organizations each have a separate charter and conduct their meetings in their native tongue. Of these, the Bohemian branch is the largest, having a membership of over fifty. The Italian comes next with twenty-five members, the Polish with twenty, the Scandinavian with fifteen and the German with ten. Each of these branches maintain their own organization, the same as do the English branches. In political matters they combine their strength with that of the regular organization. Each of the foreign branches hold periodical meetings and give entertainments, the Scandinavian Socialists make a specialty of the latter.

Meetings of Twelfth Ward

The Twelfth ward English branch every second and fourth Tuesday in the month at Hlavas hall, Troy and Twenty-second streets for regular business meetings and every Tuesday devoted to the entertainment committee. Peter Bulthouse, 172 West Twenty-third street, is the recording and corresponding secretary. J.P. Ries is the chairman, a position he has held for several years, and Van Vesely, 1211 West Twenty-first street, is the financial secretary. Bulthouse will furnish all information, as to thembership and literature upon request, both for the foreign and English organizations.

In view of the fact that the population of the Twelfth and Thirty-fourth wards is almost identical as to nationality and that the campaign carried on in these two wards must be of a similar nature, the campaign committees of the two organizations will hereafter meet together. The first joint meeting will take place Monday evening, May 3 at the home of chairman Reis, 1147 West Twenty-first Place. Arrangements will be made at this meeting to carry on a continuous campaign with literature in all languages.

The Chicago Socialist, sometimes daily sometimes weekly, was published from 1902 until 1912 as the paper of the Chicago Socialist Party. The roots of the paper lie with Workers Call, published from 1899 as a Socialist Labor Party publication, becoming a voice of the Springfield Social Democratic Party after splitting with De Leon in July, 1901. It became the Chicago Socialist Party paper with the SDP’s adherence and changed its name to the Chicago Socialist in March, 1902. In 1906 it became a daily and published until 1912 by Local Cook County of the Socialist Party and was edited by A.M. Simons if the International Socialist Review. A cornucopia of historical information on the Chicago workers movements lies within its pages.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/chicago-daily-socialist/1909/090503-chicagodailysocialist-v03n159.pdf