Report of the Young People’s Socialist League on activity in the U.S. to the Youth International in early 1914.

‘The Future Belongs to the Youth’ from Party Builder. No. 82. May 30, 1914.

The Young Socialist movement of the United States is still in its infancy. It is only within the past five months that any active help has been given it by the Socialist party.

The first young Socialist organization was formed in Chicago on May 16, 1907, with 30 members. It was organized in opposition to the wishes of local Socialists who could see no need or use for it. The young Socialists, under the leadership of Charles Schuler, rapidly increased their number and at the end of the first year had more than 200 members. They held a series of entertainments and dances which brought in considerable money. This was placed in a special fund for the purpose of opening permanent headquarters. A place was secured in the Chicago Daily Socialist Building, in which the State and National Headquarters of the party were also located.

For several years the Chicago Young People’s Socialist League, as it was called, was the only organization of its kind in the country. About 1910 several other organizations sprang into existence. They were all formed independent of the party, generally forming in opposition to the wishes of older Socialists.

The party was now forced to take cognizance of the young Socialist organizations and at the National Convention held in Indianapolis in May, 1912, the following resolution was adopted:

“Whereas, A fertile and promising field for Socialist education is found among the young people, both because it reaches persons with unprejudiced and unbiased minds, and because it yields the most valuable recruits for the Socialist movement; and “Whereas, If we can gain the ear of the majority of the youth of our country, the future will be ours with the passing of the present generation; therefore be it

“Resolved, That we recommend and urge our locals to form, encourage and assist Young People’s Socialist Leagues and Young People’s Clubs for the purpose of educating our youth in the principles of Socialism, and that this education be combined with social pleasures and athletic exercises; and, be it further

“Resolved, That we recommend to the National Executive Committee to give such aid and encouragement to this work as may seem to it best calculated to further the spread of Socialism among the youth of the United States…”

Gradually the movement began to spread and in May, 1913, the Chicago Young People’s Socialist League presented a plan to the National Committee of the Socialist party, at its annual meeting, for the formation of a National Young Socialist organization. As a result of this request the National Committee ordered the establishment of a Young People’s Department in the National Office of the party for the purpose of carrying on the work of agitation and organization among the young folk. The director of the department was selected by the National Executive Committee of the party, and on October 13, 1913, this department was opened.

At the time this department started work there were forty-two Young People’s Socialist Leagues in the country. The work of organization was started immediately. During the past five months the number of organizations has increased to 112 with an estimated membership of about 4,200. There is no formal national organization, the leagues being independent bodies working through the Young People’s Department. It is probable that they will be organized nationally during the coming year. At present there is no way of telling the exact membership, as there is no national dues system.

The National Socialist party furnishes an office for the Young People’s Department and pays all the expenses in connection with the work including the wages of the director. In two states where the young people’s movement is sufficiently strong there are state directors who carry on the work among the youth in their states.

The unions and co-operatives of this country have no connection with the Socialist party, and, in fact, are often antagonistic to it. Therefore the young Socialists receive no assistance from this source. However, a more harmonious relation is being established between the party and the unions and it is probable that they will be a great help in the future.

The growth of the young Socialist movement is not due to any specific causes. The Socialist movement of this country gets its main support from the young, who seem to the more radically inclined than the older people.

The work of the young people covers a broad field, appealing to the youth of both sexes regardless of what may interest them. There are probably as many girls as boys belonging to the leagues. In some of the local bodies the girls outnumber the boys.

Leagues are divided into departments, each of which covers a specific field of work and is under the direction of a manager. These departments are Educational, Entertainment, Music, Athletic, Publicity and Headquarters.

All organizations carry on an energetic campaign of education. Practically all leagues hold at least two lectures a month and some of them hold two a week. Many radical professors from the high schools, colleges and universities are willing to deliver lectures for the young Socialists on all sorts of scientific subjects. Classes of various kinds are conducted. These generally cover the field of Sociology, Public Speaking, History, Literature, State and Municipal Problems, the Natural Sciences and Foreign Languages. The Chicago league conducts a training school at night under the direction of competent instructors. The Los Angeles, Cal., league, which is the largest in the country, having over 400 members, has established a business college at which Stenography, Typewriting, Bookkeeping, Commercial Law, Accounting, and Mathematics are taught. The Finnish section of the party owns a college at Smithville, Minn., at which the young Finns are given a college education. The Rand School of Social Science in New York furnishes courses of study for many of the league. As a means of interesting the non-Socialists in a study of the Socialist philosophy the Young People’s Department inaugurated a National Essay Contest, giving prizes for the best essays on Socialism. Debates between the different leagues, which are situated close to one another, are common. One league will challenge an organization in another city and then run an excursion there the day of the debate. Debates are also held between the leagues and non-Socialist organizations such as church, school and literary societies. These contests have stirred up a vast amount of enthusiasm among the young Socialists belonging to the organizations participating in the work. They have also been of great propaganda value in spreading the message of Socialism among the young people.

In the matter of social activities the leagues run dances, excursions, entertainments, picnics and similar affairs. This has been a great means of attracting the non-Socialist youth, and in all the leagues a large percentage are non-Socialists, number of the organizations have their own bands, orchestras, choruses, quartets, and mandolin and guitar clubs. They also have dramatic societies and girls’ clubs.

A great deal has not been done in the way of athletics as yet. In this nation baseball is the National Game. A number of the leagues have formed baseball clubs and many are proposing to do so during the coming year. This game always creates a great deal of interest among Americans. A few of the organizations have established gymnasium’s and conduct gymnastic classes, but because of the great expense involved in securing gymnastic apparatus much headway cannot be made in that direction for some time.

The Socialist daily press in this country is not very strong. Therefore we are forced to go to the capitalist press for much of our publicity. They are willing to publish many things, if well-written. Each league has some person who will write up the affairs of the organization so that the news will be accepted and published. In this way many are reached who could not be reached otherwise.

A number of the leagues maintain their own headquarters. Some of them rent out space to the Socialist party branches as well as to unions and fraternal organizations.

The leagues and the local organizations of the party are beginning to co-operate in every possible way. The young people prove very valuable during election campaigns by distributing literature, caring for meetings and advertising the party gatherings.

The Young People’s Socialist Leagues are for those over 16 years of age. In some cities there has been Juvenile Socialist Clubs formed for those between 10 and 16 years. There are a number of Socialist Sunday Schools in existence which are supposed to teach Socialism to the children. However, they have been condemned by the National Socialist party. Instead it recommends that “the membership should guard against the teaching of stilted economics and dogmatic exercises to children, that all features which would convey the impression of competition with the public school system and religious institutions should be eliminated. That these schools should rather assume the nature of social centers, and that greater energy should be expended toward capturing the public school system and using it for the benefit of the working class.

The greatest young people’s organization in the United States is the Young Men’s Christian Association. This organization has never openly fought the Socialist movement but with the young Socialist organizations springing into existence it will undoubtedly do so. The Young Men’s Christian Association is supported by donations and endowments of capitalists. It has 2,421 local organizations with a membership of 597,857. It owns 770 buildings valued together with furnishings at $81,367,744. It has 628 gymnasiums with 187,539 athletic members. It also has 73,388 members in its night educational classes. It has 3,853 paid secretaries and during the year 1912 expended $13,196,809. The teachers of their classes are all of the old school of thought, and as they draw their salaries from the capitalist class, they are not likely to instill any progressive idlers into the minds of the young. This organization will undoubtedly be the bulwark of the capitalist class in fighting the spread of Socialism among the youth.

The future of the young Socialist movement in the United States is exceedingly bright. The local organizations of the Socialist party are beginning to realize the necessity of special propaganda among the youth. In some places our Young People’s Socialist Leagues are the backbone of the movement. The older Socialists have therefore come to a realization of the fact that the young Socialists, in order to prove a valuable asset to the Socialist movement, must be organized. New organizations are springing into existence in all the larger towns of the nation and by the time the next International Congress of Young Socialists convenes, we hope to be able to report that a REAL young Socialist movement exists in the United States.

Feb. 15, 1914.

For a variety of reasons, the national Socialist Party of America did not have an official publication until May 1904 when the national convention mandated the monthly Socialist Party Official Bulletin as a way for the Party to communicate to its members. The name was changed to Socialist Party Monthly Bulletin in October 1911. The Party Builder became the name in 1913 and also became a subscription paper and a weekly. In 1914 the Socialist Party replaced The Party Builder with a regular propaganda newspaper, The American Socialist. These Party paper contain National Committee and National Executive Committee minutes, National Secretary reports, membership figures, financial statements, letters from party members, articles by prominent party leaders, and the figures for election of party officers and internal questions.

PDF of issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/spa-bulletins/140530-partybuilder-w82-reportstonc.pdf