One March, 1913 week of activity for a very busy Buffalo Local of the Socialist Party with around 1200 dues-paying members, a weekly newspaper, several halls, and dozens of branches and language groups.

‘What the Socialist are Doing in Buffalo’ from Buffalo Socialist. Vol. 1 No. 40. March 8, 1913.

TO CELEBRATE MAY DAY.

As every Socialist knows May first is International Labor Day. In the past owing to the fact that the organization had not sufficient strength it was impossible to celebrate May Day in a befitting manner. For several years the Buffalo May Day celebrations have been on a small scale, but with the growth of Socialist sentiment and the Socialist Party in this city during the past year, it has been decided to celebrate International Labor Day in a manner befitting a city the size of Buffalo. A May Day committee has been formed and it has rented the Elmwood Music Hall for May 3rd. George R. Kirkpatrick of New York, author of “War, What For!” will probably be the chief speaker.

GEORGE WILLIS COOKE GIVES FINE LECTURE.

The people who braved the storm to hear the second lecture of the Lyceum series were well repaid for their effort. George Willis Cooke, the speaker, dealt with that phase of the Socialist movement so delicate to handle, yet so important, the materialist conception of history.

His subject was, “What is Socialism?” and his lecture was one that interested the old Socialist as well as those just coming into the movement. Comrade Cooke never lost sight of his point in proving to his audience how economic determinism was the governing force back of all our social, religious and political activities, driving home to his hearers the necessity for practical education among the workers along the lines of modern science.

Many of the newer comrades in the audience, especially, enjoyed his lecture because of the clearness of his explanation of historical changes in modes of securing food, clothing and shelter and their effects on society. Too many times the audience is expected to know all these things, and while a general idea exists in the minds of the average Socialist, many know very little of value on the subject.

It is the newcomer that must be taught the significance of the materialist conception of history and the philosophy of the Socialist movement, and Comrade Cooke proved capable of the subject.

A Continuous Campaign of Education is Carried on Every Minute by Local Socialist Branches.

The 1913 campaign of the Socialist Party in Buffalo is well under way. Three Lyceum Courses are in full swing and all three are a success in every particular. The lectures are well attended and from a financial standpoint the branches will wind up the series with a good balance in their treasuries.

The Warren meeting will be a hummer.

The mere announcement that Fred D. Warren, the fighting editor of the Appeal to Reason, will speak at the Elmwood Music Hall, Saturday evening, April 5th, is enough to rouse the fighting blood of every Socialist in Western New York.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS OF WOMEN’S CLUB.

At the last meeting of the Women’s Club, the following officers were elected: Organizer, Theresa Coburn; secretary, Vera Simon; press correspondent, Dora Foster. Plans were arranged to make the meetings for the present year more interesting. Several debates will be held, some study classes with a social hour afterward, and a series of short talks on live subjects by different members. Comrade Mrs. Ball will give the first talk Friday evening, March 14. Subject to be announced later. All women members and their friends are invited to attend.

CARD PARTY.

There will be a card party at the home of Comrade Dora Foster, No. 224 Riley Street, Thursday, March 6, at 2:30 p.m., for the benefit of Branch. 3. All Socialist women and their friends are invited.

BRANCH WORK PROGRESSING.

All the branches of Local Buffalo are making good progress. Debates, lectures and discussions are being held by almost all the branches. The branch business is being done in a more systematic manner. One of the methods of creating interest in branch meetings that has been adopted by several branches is debates between teams representing the various branches. If your branch members do not attend meetings try one of these methods.

THE OLDEST BRANCH.

The oldest English speaking branch in the city is Branch One, which meets at Lelands Hall, Walden and Bailey avenues, every Monday evening. This branch has taken. on a lyceum course and is making a grand success of it. Education of the members is not neglected. A study class meets after every business meeting. Fifty thousand leaflets are on hand for distribution during the next four weeks. That’s going some.

A RUBBER SOCIAL.

Some time during the month of April the Women’s Club will hold a rubber social for the benefit of the Buffalo Socialist. Begin saving your old rubbers now.

LYCEUM COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT.

The Lyceum Committee of Branch One wish to announce that they will sell single tickets of admission to the lyceum lectures held in Columbia Turn Hall at 15 cents. This ticket will not entitle the holder to literature however. The regular 25 cent single admission tickets entitling the holder to literature are also on sale.

BRANCH TWO.

Branch Two has lately moved into new quarters at 2079 Niagara street, corner Hertel, where it meets every Monday evening. With branch four they have taken up a lyceum course, which, needless to say, is a success. A lecture on the History of Socialism in the United Sates has been arranged by the branch for Monday evening, March 17th.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF BRANCH THREE.

Branch Three has changed its meeting place. Hereafter meetings will be held at La Touraine Hall, East Utica and Verplanck streets, instead of Kingston Hall. Every member of the branch is urged to attend the next meeting of the branch at La Touraine Hall next Sunday afternoon at 3 o’clock.

BRANCH THREE MOVES TO NEW HALL.

La Touraine Hall, Utica and Verplanck streets, is the new meeting place of Branch Three. Meetings are held every Sunday afternoon. A lecture, debate or discussion is on the program for every meeting. A card party will be held by the branch in the near future.

BRANCH FOUR.

Colonial Hall, 288 West Ferry street, is the home of Branch Four. Branch meetings are held every Sunday afternoon. For the next three Sunday afternoons, however, because of the lyceum lectures, no business meetings will be held, the business of the branch being transacted by its executive committee. Their lyceum course is very successful.

ACTIVITIES OF BRANCH FIVE.

Branch Five, composed of the 25th, 26th and 27th wards, is on the job every minute for the Buffalo Socialist. Whenever the branch has any money in the treasury the business manager, of the Buffalo Socialist, who is a member of the branch, makes a motion that the branch buy Buffalo Socialists for whatever money there happens to be in the branch treasury and they do. The branch meets every Sunday afternoon at Franklin Hall, 52 West Eagle Street. All members are urged to attend.

BRANCH SIX.

“Always on the Job” is the motto of Branch Six located in the Lovejoy district. The branch meets every Friday evening at their headquarters, 1244 Lovejoy street. The branch is conducting a lyceum course. The educational side is taken care of by lectures Sunday evenings at their headquarters, while pedro parties run by the women’s club of the branch furnish the enjoyment.

BRANCH SEVEN CHANGES ITS QUARTERS.

Branch Seven has moved from Star Hall. Hereafter the branch will meet at Atlantic Hall, 360 Broadway, corner Lutheran, on the first and third Friday evenings of each month. The next meeting of the branch and the first at the new hall will be Friday evening, March 7th. Every member of the branch is urged to be present. An interesting debate will take place between teams representing Branches One and Seven. Great preparations have been made for this debate and each team declares it will mop the floor with the other. Don’t miss it.

BRANCH EIGHT.

Branch Eight meets at Eyring’s Hall, Triangle and Abbott Road, every Friday evening. Very enjoyable and successful card parties are being held by the branch twice a month. The members are a live bunch and they keep the red flag flying in the South Buffalo District.

BRANCH EIGHT.

The next regular business meeting of Branch Eight will be held Friday evening, March 7th, at Eyring’s Hall, Triangle and Abbott Road. Delegates to the Central Committee will report and local conditions will be discussed. The referendum for the election of three members to the National Committee from the State of New York will also be voted on. The pedro party held last Friday evening was enjoyed by all who attended. If you were not present be with us at the next. Every Branch member is urged to attend the next business meeting.

LANGUAGE BRANCHES ACTIVE.

The language branches of Local Buffalo are doing great work. Lectures are being held, literature distributed and the good work goes steadily on. The Jewish Branch holds a dance for the benefit of the striking garment workers next Saturday evening at Mystic Star Hall, Broadway and Pratt streets. The two Italian branches report good progress. The Finnish branch is holding successful social affairs and taking in new members. Branch La Salle is still doing the solid constructive work they have done for years. The Bohemian and Hungarian branches are always on the job. The Polish branches never rest. They are always at it, and are making great progress. Taken all in all, Socialism is booming in Buffalo.

ELLA REEVE BLOOR IN THE “CLASS CONFLICT”

Ella Reeve Bloor, the third speaker on the lyceum course has spent sixteen years in the Socialist movement as an organizer and lecturer. This fact is evidence that she has kept in close enough touch with the working people to know that a class. struggle exists. It would also be positive assurance that she is a speaker of ability. The National Socialist Lyceum Course in Buffalo has been a great sucess, and if you attended the first two lectures you will not miss the rest. But if you haven’t, don’t miss Ella Reeve Bloor.

The Class Conflict

Her subject will be the “Class Conflict.” In dealing with this subject she will show that it is an idle evasion to say, “There is no class conflict in America,” and thus deny the existence of the continuous war, whose wounded limp about in every village and whose dead are mourned in every working class home. A hundred workers killed in a mine to save the cost of ventilation; a thousand babies starved or stunted by the hunger of a great strike; men and women beaten, tortured, pack- ed in cells and drenched with cold. water and hot steam because they defy the police; strikers and strike-breakers slugging and assassinating each other in blind and brutal fury-these are the dead and wounded in the war of classes.

A Speaker of Ability.

Mrs. Bloor, who hails from Ohio, is a speaker of ability. She was a member of the famous Roosevelt Commission that investigated the beef trust in Chicago in 1906. The report of the indescribable conditions created a stir of condemnation that has not yet subsided. Shortly afterwards she found by a thorough test in Chicago that the Pure Food laws are little more than a farce.

Time, Date and Place.

Ella Reeve Bloor, the third speaker on the lyceum course, will lecture in Buffalo Saturday and Sunday, as follows: Saturday evening March 8th, Klocke’s Hall, Gold and Lovejoy streets, 9 o’clock. Sunday afternoon, March 9th, Colonial Hall, 288 West Ferry Street, 3 o’clock. Sunday evening, March 9th, Columbia Turn Hall, 1261 Genesee Street, 8 o’clock.

Will Show Surprising Facts.

In a recent study of municipal governments in Europe, where the Socialists are in political power, Mrs. Bloor discovered some surprising facts of interest to every citizen, which alone will make her lecture worth hearing. She will show that in every country where the Socialists have developed power, the employers have been forced to grant better living conditions to the working people.
THE LAST WORD IS: DON’T MISS ELLA REEVE BLOOR ON THE “CLASS CONFLICT.”

FOR THE BENEFIT OF STRIKING GARMENT WORKERS.

The Jewish Branch of Local Buffalo will hold a dance at Mystic Star Hall, Broadway and Pratt streets, Saturday evening, March 8th. The dance is being held for the striking garment workers. The committee in charge of the affair is bending every effort to make the event a most enjoyable one. The hall is good and the floor is in fine shape. Good music has been engaged and a good time is assured to all who attend. By going to Mystic Star Hall Saturday evening you will not only enjoy yourself, but you will also be assisting the striking garment workers.

ATTENTION, COMRADES.

The officers of the Y.P.S.L. have arranged a fine program for the next meeting to be held Friday evening, March 7th, 1913, at 8 P.M. sharp. Among the events being a talk which will be given by the Young People’s Friend, Comrade Sam Atkinson. Sam, who just arrived from the cold regions of Canada, will, no doubt, have some very interesting things to tell us regarding his trip. Then there will be dancing, singing and all sorts of enjoyment. Regular meeting starts at 8 o’clock sharp and the above socials will follow. Everybody invited. The dance committee requests that all Comrades having tickets out should return them at the meeting. The instruments for the Fife and Drum Corps will be selected that evening. There will be many samples to pick from which the different musical men will bring with them.

EVERY SOCIALIST SHOULD ATTEND THESE LECTURES

Frederick Haller delivered the third of a series of educational lectures at Franklin Hall last Thursday evening. His subject was “Capital, Its Nature and Claims.” Two more lectures will be delivered at Franklin Hall, 55 West Eagle street, by Comrade Halfer. Thursday evening, March 6th, his subject will be “The Nature and Measure of Wages,” and Thursday evening, March 13th, his subject will be “The Claims of Superior Brains.” Every Party member and sympathizer is urged to attend these lectures. No admission is charged.

Socialist Women’s Club of Local Buffalo.

Meets the second and fourth Friday evening of each month at the headquarters of Local Buffalo, Franklin Hall, 52 West Eagle Street. It is the duty of every party member to join the club in his locality and assist in every way to build up the organization.

he 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.

For PDF of issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/buffalo-socialist/v1n40-mar-08-1913-Buf-Soc.pdf