The main debates at New York’s 1913 Young Socialist gathering were over age-limits and constitutional relations with the Socialist Party.

‘New York State Y.P.S.L. Convention’ by Kendrick Shedd from Young Socialist Magazine. Vol. 6 No. 8. September, 1913.

A very significant convention has just closed in the city of Schenectady. To be sure, there were four conventions there this week, and the city was brilliantly lighted and gaily decorated in honor of the same.

The convention particularly referred to is that of the Socialist Young People. The name of the new body is a long one—”The Federation of the Young People’s Socialist Leagues of the State of New York.”

Rochester thought some time ago of federating the various leagues of the state, but it remained for the comrades in Buffalo to bring the convention actually into existence. Charles E. Haines of that city deserves great credit for his enthusiastic and untiring work. He made many new friends in the convention.

The convention lasted from Sunday the 10th through Tuesday the 12th, and there was something doing all the time. The Schenectady young people had laid out an excellent program of entertainment, but they were hindered from carrying it all out by the great press of business brought before the convention. Constitutions are not things that can be put together in an hour–certainly not Socialist constitutions! The Committee on Constitution certainly had troubles of its own, so to speak. Its members–and there were eight of them–didn’t partake of very much of the entertainment proffered. They went to the restaurant at the proper times, a few times to the Post Office, and now and then they slept, but most of the time they were “sawing wood” at the old stand.

On Sunday evening Comrade Mayor Lunn delivered the address of welcome to the twenty delegates and their friends and comrades. It was a good talk, such as Comrade Lunn so well knows how to give. He and his remarks were enthusiastically received.

Comrade Gustave Strebel–the man with a paucity of stature but a great abundance of voice–represented the State Committee of the Socialist Party. He was there to help the young people in their deliberations, as well as to see that nothing was done at the convention which should not be in harmony with the platform and principles and tactics of the Socialist movement and the Socialist Party. A few of the Young People didn’t like to be supervised by the Party, and showed their feeling in various ways, but the majority took kindly to it as the proper and necessary thing. Comrade Strebel spoke for the Party after the speech of Mayor Lunn. Of course his speech was also good. It always is, for “Gus,” as many call him, can deliver the goods with the very best of them.

There were eight associations of Socialist young people represented at the Convention, to wit: the Young People’s Educational Association of the Bronx, the Young People’s Educational Association of Manhattan, the Young People’s Socialist Federation of New York, and Young People’s Socialist Leagues from Watertown, Schenectady, Gloversville, Buffalo and Rochester. Each association was entitled to three delegates. Gloversville came late to the convention, so failed to get into the following little song to the air of “The Dutch Company.” which made a hit at the convention:

They’ve come from Buffalo and New York beside the sea:
From Rochester and Watertown and old Schenectady.
They’re brothers of the Comrades in the whole United States.
And they all love their sister, and her name is Della Gates.

Some people saw the fun in the last two words, and enjoyed it. Others have not yet seen the point; but give them three or four weeks more and they will begin to get a glimmering of it, and will enjoy the feeling of it when it finally does dawn. Jokes are tragic things to some people!

Comrade Bertha Vossler, of Rochester, was made the permanent secretary of the convention. She made friends on every hand. On Monday it leaked out that that day was the twentieth birthday of the young lady, and so a vote of hearty congratulation was extended to her, followed a little later by a presentation speech by Delegate Haines and a neat “Vanity Case”–think of Bertha Vossler needing a vanity case! But she was greatly pleased at the token of appreciation on the part of her comrades in the convention. Some day she will have another birthday, and let us hope she may fare as well.

Several committees were elected and did their work well, but the committee that had the most work to do was that on the new constitution. It was composed of one delegate from each of the bodies represented in the convention. Experience shows that constitutions are not things than can be blown off your fingertips after the manner of magicians. No, surely not among Socialists, for they are people who look into the quality of what is being handed to them, and let the committee beware if it presents an inferior article.

Comrade Strebel attended the meetings of this committee, not as a boss, but rather as a willing helper. He has had a great deal of experience in constitution building, and we found him of real help in the deliberations of our committee.

When the report of the Committee on Constitution was presented it was known, from the things discussed in the committee room, that there would be considerable discussion upon some points, particularly the matters of party control, and the age-limit. True enough. There was talk a-plenty. Sometimes there was fiery talk. Sometimes there were several delegates trying to talk at the same time, so rapidly did the great thoughts surge up for utterance.

A few didn’t look with any favor at all upon the Socialist Party exercising or attempting to exercise any control over the Federation or its constituent leagues. Others, and they constituted the majority, were of the opposite opinion. They felt that as long as the leagues were taking the name Socialist as a part of their title, it was but right and logical that the Socialist Party should guard that name with the greatest care. Those who stood for party control won out, at all events, for the preamble which was adopted said: “The Young People’s Socialist Leagues of the State of New York, in Convention assembled, pledge their allegiance to the principles and aims of International Socialism and the Socialist Party of the United States and of the State of New York.” Further on in the document are these words: “This Federation is a part of the organization of the Socialist Party of the State of New York; and nothing in this constitution shall, in any way, conflict with the platform, constitution and resolutions of said party.” So it is plain enough that the Young People’s movement of this State of New York, at least, is safely under the supervision of the parent body.

The matter that aroused the most discussion was the question of the age limits of League members. The truth is that there has always been quite a difference among the various leagues in reference to the age of the members. At Rochester, for example, we have had an under age limit of sixteen years, but no upper age limit at all. This has been the case with all of the up-state leagues, I think. Those in the city of New York have had a younger membership. There was therefore bound to be a long discussion on this point, and it was accentuated because Comrade Strebel, representing the State Committee, had some very strongly set views on this matter.

Well, it turned out that there were two reports on the section having to do with age limits, and both the majority and the minority report will be submitted, along with the rest of the constitution adopted, to a referendum vote of the League members of the state. The two reports differ as I shall explain. In the majority report young people may become and remain members of a League between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two. At the latter age they become passive members without a vote, and ineligible to hold office, and remain so up to the age of twenty-five, at which time they drop out of the League.

In the minority report, young people may become and remain active members between the ages of fifteen and thirty inclusive, and at thirty they automatically become passive members, paying dues as before, if they desire to retain their membership, but having no vote, and being ineligible to hold office.

Now, as between these two reports, which are to be settled by referendum, we young people of the up-state are strongly of the opinion that the majority report, if adopted, will turn the Federation into a Young People’s Socialist Kindergarten Association, and it would most certainly squeeze the very life out of the Rochester League, as well as several of the others. We fondly hope that the comrades of the state will think twice and several times more before sticking the knife into the vitals of the Young People’s movement of the State of New York.

The executive power of the Federation is vested in a State Board of Control of five persons, which shall also supervise the work of the General Secretary,

who is ex-officio a member of the Board. It was decided by the convention to locate the Headquarters for the present at Rochester, and to select the members of the Board of Control from among the contiguous Leagues. This may look undemocratic, but it is in the interests of economy and convenience. The Socialist Party of the State does the same thing in the matter of its Executive Committee.

The present Board of Control will consist of the following young comrades: McNally, of Schenectady: Bertha Vossler, of Rochester; and Comrades Wark, Haines and Alexanderson, of Buffalo. Comrade John Hughes, of Rochester, was elected General Secretary of the Federation. At present he is the efficient Assistant Organizer of Local Rochester, Socialist Party. It seems to be the unanimous opinion that he will make a very successful General Secretary.

The next convention which will occur in the month of August of next year, will be held in the Big Town on the Hudson. They are a good bunch of young comrades from down that way, and if the spirit and intelligence of the New York delegates to the Schenectady convention is any criterion, the young comrades of the big city will know how to hold a most successful second meeting of the Federation.

Editor, Young Socialists’ Magazine. Dear Comrade:

The first convention of Young People’s Socialist Leagues of the State of New York, held at Schenectady, the 10th, 11th and 12th of August, was certainly a success. It marked, the beginning of the organization of the Young People by the Socialist Party in the Empire State. Let us hope that the strength and enthusiasm shown at this convention will also bring about the creation of a “Young People’s Department” in the Socialist Party of this State, which would be a great asset in furthering the work of that same Department already created at the National Office. The organization of the various Young People’s Socialist Leagues into one Federation, the adoption of a constitution and the election of State officers is the result of the work carried on by the first convention.

However, harmony in all matters cannot be expected at any convention, because if we all agreed on everything before we met—why a convention? Rather surprising, but the Schenectady delegates could not seem to agree with the majority at the convention on one particular point. Whether it is due to the fact that there is a Socialist administration in Schenectady and all the Young Socialists of that burgh have already become geniuses in citing Karl Marx, or whether the Young Socialists are under the impression that the Socialist victory in their home town was a victory to be credited to their League and its members, at any rate, when that part of the constitution was read, which makes the Young People’s Socialist Leagues a part of the organization of the Socialist Party and therefore under the control of the constitution, platform and resolutions of the Socialist Party–the delegates from Schenectady were all on their feet at the same time and almost calling the chairman names! Oh no! They did not want to be part of and under the control and supervision of the Socialist Party. It reminded me of a class of school children who are under the impression that they know more than the teacher.

The sooner that our young comrades in Schenectady and elsewhere realize that it is our place to learn and not to teach, the quicker our organizations will grow and the stronger they will become. If they would only realize the importance attached to being a part of the Socialist Party and the Socialist movement. The thought alone of having a Young People’s Department created in the Socialist Party and thus becoming a significant part of the greatest educational institution the world has ever known, the Socialist Party, should be sufficient cause for every member of a Y.P.S.L. to keep on agitating until a real Socialist educational institution is created by the Socialist Party for the purpose of giving the American youth a Socialist education. The capitalist institutions are doing their best to capture the minds of the newer generations–and we can now be certain with an organization of young people that will soon be national–the Socialist movement can also do its share in training Socialists from their cradles.

Let us hope that the next convention in New York City in 1914, will find the Y.P.S.L. of New York State a much greater organization and a distinctive institution under the control and supervision of the “Young People’s Department” of the Socialist Party of the State of New York.

I certainly left the convention a happy Socialist.

Very fraternally yours,

JEFF. W. OBRIST, Delegate from Bronx County, New York City.

Young Socialist’s Magazine was the journal of the original Young People’s Socialist League and grew of of the Socialist Sunday School Movement, with its audience being children rather than the ‘young adults’ of later Socialist youth groups. Beginning in 1908 as The Little Socialist Magazine. In 1911 it changed to The Young Socialists’ Magazine and its audience skewed older. By the time of the entry into World War One, the Y.P.S.L.’s, then led by future Communists like Oliver Carlson and Martin Abern, had a strong Left Wing, creating a fractious internal life and infrequent publication, ceasing entirely in 1920.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/youngsocialist/v06n08-sep-1913_Young%20Socialists.pdf