Fraina reports the one and only meeting of the leftist National Executive elected in June, 1919–and refused recognition by the out-going N.E.C.–as it prepares for the Socialist Party’s Emergency Convention in September, 1919, and the birth of several rival Communist factions. Includes the official statement to the membership of the party from the meeting drafted by Fraina, Fred Harwood, and C.E. Ruthenberg.

‘The New N.E.C. Meets’ by Louis C. Fraina from Revolutionary Age. Vol. 2 No. 5. August 2, 1919.

Report of the Meeting of the National Executive Committee, Socialist Party-Chicago, July 26-27.

THE newly-elected National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party–meeting in spite of the sabotage of the party bureaucracy–has fulfilled the revolutionary expectations of the members who placed it in power.

The new N.E.C. has declared that the Socialist Party must become the Communist Party of the United States. It re-instates all expelled or suspended comrades.

The new N.E.C. urges the party membership to elect Left Wing delegates to the Emergency Convention at Chicago, August 30.

The new N.E.C. requests the co-operation of the National Council of the Left Wing Section Socialist Party, and its official organ, The Revolutionary Age.

These acts are historic. They assure the formation of the Communist Party of the United States…All decisions were unanimous.

The N.E.C. met Saturday morning at the Bradley Hall, Chicago. Present: from District One–Louis C. Fraina and Edward I. Lindgren; from District Two–Fred Harwood, Marguerite Prevey, C.E. Ruthenberg; from District Three–William Bross, Lloyd; from District Four–none; from District Five–L.E. Katterfeld and H.M. Wicks. Eight members were present, constituting a majority and a quorum of the whole committee.

Comrade Katterfeld called the meeting to order. Chairman: Katterfeld; Secretary, A. Wagenknecht.

Harwood and Katterfeld were elected a committee to tabulate the vote on the elections. They reported that the eight members present were duly elected with a vote so large as to dispose of the lying charge of fraud, as were: District One–Nicholas I. Hourwich; District Three–Dennis E. Batt and John Keracher; District Four–Dan Hogan, Mary R. Millis and Pat Nagel; District Five–Kate Greenhalgh. The committee further reported that Louis C. Fraina, John Reed, C.E. Ruthenberg and A. Wagenknecht were elected overwhelmingly as International Delegates and Kate Richards O’Hare as International Secretary.

A committee was elected to demand of Executive Secretary Adolph Germer to turn over the National Headquarters to the new N.E.C. and appear at its sessions. This demand was presented in writing to Germer, who refused.

At the afternoon session, the following office of National Executive Secretary vacant, motion was adopted: “That we declare the inasmuch as the present incumbent violates his functions by refusing to tabulate the vote on referendums expressing the will of the membership, and refuses to recognize the regularly elected N.E.C.”  A. Wagenknecht was elected to act as temporary secretary until the convention of August 30.

Motion: “that the Massachusetts and Michigan state organizations be re-instated in the Party, and that the suspension of the Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, South Slavic, Hungarian, Lettish and Ukrainian Socialist Federations be revoked.

This means that these expelled Left Wing organizations can elect regular delegates to the Emergency Convention; where this is impossible, suspended and expelled comrades must organize Left Wing organizations independent of the party and elect contesting delegates.

The N.E.C. condemned the expulsions and suspensions perpetrated by state and local organizations, and demanded re-instatement. It calls upon members to purchase convention assessment stamps; money from this source not to be sent to the old N.E.C., but held by the State Secretaries and given to the convention delegates.

Plans were made to raise money to defray extra cost of delegates; all members are urged to contribute, and the Yipsels are asked to co-operate.

The new N. E. C. decided to assume full control of the Emergency Convention. A committee of three consisting of Ruthenberg, Harwood and Fraina, was elected to draft a declaration of the issues before the convention. The declaration, unanimously adopted, declared that the issues were not comprised in party democracy against party autocracy, but of revolutionary proletarian Socialism against moderate petty bourgeois Socialism, and affirmed: “Out of the Emergency Convention must come the Communist Party of the United States.” (This declaration was incorporated in a final declaration–published in full elsewhere in this issue.)

State secretaries on motion, were urged not to purchase dues stamps, unless absolutely necessary, in which event they can purchase regular party stamps from Temporary Secretary Wagenknecht. (This does not include expelled and suspended organizations, which will buy stamps from the National Council of the Left Wing.)

Several motions were passed to prevent the old N.E.C. from retaining control of party property.

Motion: “That we recognize the National Council of the Left Wing Section, Socialist Party, organized at the National Left Wing Conference, June 21-24, and its official organ, The Revolutionary Age, as an organized expression of the revolutionary sentiments of the party, and that we request their co-operation.” Unanimously adopted.

A committee of three, consisting of Katterfeld, Fraina and Wicks, was elected to draft a final declaration to the party. The declaration after slight amendments, was unanimously adopted. (Printed below.)

After discussion of organization problems, a committee of three, consisting of Katterfeld, Wagenknecht and Harwood, was elected to bring in an organization report to the next session of the N.E.C., August 28, in Chicago.

The final act of the N.E.C. was to express its confidence in the revolutionary spirit of the membership, which would align the party with the new International.

***

N.E.C. Declaration to the Party

Issued by the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party–An American Communist Party Urged.

THIS meeting of the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party occur under extraordinary circumstances. Elected by the votes of the membership–overwhelmingly–it is compelled to meet without the co-operation of the old party administration.

The old N.E.C., overwhelmingly repudiated on referendum, usurped power and attempted to prevent the new N.E.C. from functioning. This usurpatory action, together with the expulsion and suspension of more than 35,000 revolutionary comrades from the party, is a desperate move to retain control of the party for moderate, counter-revolutionary Socialism. The old N.E.C. is dead; it throttled the will of the revolutionary masses in the party; you comrades, must act; we meet simply to provide you the opportunity to act and assert your supremacy.

At this moment of crisis–of crisis in the world of Capitalism and of Socialism–action is imperative. Action is imperative against Capitalism and against moderate Socialism in the party.

Your N.E.C., accordingly, acting under mandate of the party membership, convened in session at Chicago, July 26-27.

It met to rally our revolutionary forces for the struggle against Capitalism.

It met to rally the party members for the definite assertion of Communist Socialism in the American movement.

It met as a revolutionary N.E.C. expressing the revolutionary sentiments in the party. Your N.E.C., by unanimous decision of the members in session decided:

1. To oust National Executive Secretary Germer, who refuses to recognize your N.E.C. as the organ of the party.

2. To re-instate the expelled State organizations of Michigan and Massachusetts, and the suspended Language Federation restoring to the party, with all rights, more than 35,000 comrades.

3. To re-organize the Socialist Party as a Communist Party, in harmony with our affiliation with the Communist International.

4. To call upon the members, regardless of the party-wrecking old N.E.C., to rally to the support of the class war prisoners.

5. To consider seriously and comprehensively problems of organization shamefully neglected by the old party administrations.

6. To request the co-operation of the National Council of the Left Wing Section, Socialist Party (and its official organ, “The Revolutionary Age“) as an organized expression of the revolutionary sentiments of the party.

7. To assume full control of the Emergency National Convention on August 30, the old N.E.C. and its executive secretaries leaving no authority to organize or postpone this Convention. We will shortly inform you of the place where the Convention will meet, together with the roster of delegates. Our temporary executive secretary will call the convention to order.

The purpose of the old N.E.C. is to retain control for moderate petty bourgeois Socialism as against the proletarian Socialism of the Left Wing. It sabotaged the election; it expelled and suspended more than 35,000 members (and threatens to expel more) in order to control the Convention. This must be prevented; and your N.E.C., accordingly, assumes full control of this Convention–the most important in the party’s history–in order that it shall actually become an expression of the revolutionary Socialism in the party. No postponement of the Convention by the old N.E.C. must be recognized by the party; no pleas of lack of money must be accepted; your N.E.C. assumes full financial responsibility. At this moment of crisis in the world of Capitalism and of Socialism, to abandon the Convention is treason to the revolutionary proletariat.

On the issues of the Convention, your N.E.C. adopts the following declaration:

The movement which culminated in the calling of the Emergency National Convention of August 30, did not have its origin in a contest over ad ministrative actions of the party executive committee; its origin was a demand by large sections of the party membership for a re-formulation of the party tactics and a restatement of its principles in harmony with the revolutionary Socialist practice of the Bolsheviki of Russia.

Local after local, in resolutions and demonstrations urged the National Executive Committee to call a convention, great masses of the membership declared their adherence to the new revolutionary principles, but the National Executive Committee, the representative of moderate Socialism–the Socialism of Scheidemann and Kerensky–acting as self-appointed guardians of the party, refused to accede to the demand of the membership for a convention.

It was only after the membership itself had taken the matter out of the hands of the National Executive Committee and had endorsed the convention by an overwhelming vote, that the convention was finally called.

In their effort to maintain their rule of the party the moderate Socialists of the National Executive Committee did not hesitate to disrupt the organization. Members have been expelled and suspended wholesale in order to influence the vote of the referendum election, and to give the old National Executive Committee and moderate Socialism control of the convention and the party. These reactionary and treacherous acts have injected into the present party situation a bitter struggle for control of the party organization and the danger exists that this factional struggle over democracy against autocracy within the organization may overshadow the original purpose of the call for a national convention–to reorganize the Socialist Party of the U.S. on the basis of the Communist Socialism which is sweeping through the ranks of the Proletarian movement of the world and everywhere bringing new inspiration and courage to the workers in their struggle for emancipation. The old National Executive Committee consciously inspired this process by attempting to refer to the convention the controversial questions over administrative actions, which its disruptive.

Recognizing this danger we call upon the membership to elect representatives to the Emergency National Convention, not merely on the basis of settling questions arisen out of the reactionary administrative action of the old National Executive Committee– the issue is not party democracy as against party autocracy, but Revolutionary Socialism against Moderate Socialism–but on the basis of reorganising the party for the achievement of Communist Socialism.

The action of the membership in this question has already been indicated in the overhelming and all but unanimous endorsement by referendum vote of affiliation with the Communist International, side by side with the Communist Party (Bolsheviki) of Russia and the Communist Labor Party (Spartacans) of Germany and other Communist parties of Europe, The work of the Emergency National Convention of August 30, will be to re-organize the Socialist Party on the basis of the Communist Socialist principles and tactics outlined in the declaration of the Communist International. Out of the Emergency National Convention came the Communist Party of the United States.

“To carry out this purpose we adopt the following program:

I. We re-affirm the call for the Emergency National Convention to be held on August 30, in Chicago, and call upon all party units to send delegates irrespective of any action which the usurping members of the former National Executive Committee may take.

II. The convention will be held under the direction of this committee and the Executive Secretary elected by it will make up the roster of delegates and will call the convention to order.

III. We call upon all sections of the party expelled or suspended by the reactionary Executive Committee and re-instated by this committee, to send delegates as provided in the rules of party procedure.

IV. We call upon all party units expelled by state or local organizations to take such actions, in accordance with their local rules, as will insure them representation.

The Left Wing is simply the assertion of revolutionary Socialism in our party. It is a legitimate movement expressing the mass revolutionary sentiment of the party–legitimately organized to awaken the members to the necessity of Communist Socialism.

The party has, in referendum, (also suppressed by the old N.E.C.) overwhelmingly accepted affiliation with the Communist International.

This acceptance of the Bolshevik-Spartacan Communist International imposes the obligation for transforming the principles and tactics of the Socialist Party in accord with the Communist International–to build the Communist Party of the United States, the constituent elements of which are the revolutionary masses in our party.

You cannot, comrades, brook any compromise on this issue. You must act, and act uncompromisingly as an integral part of the Communist International.

The Communist Party in every nation is rallying the revolutionary proletariat against Capitalism and Imperialism. Hearkening to the inspiration of the Communists of the First International and of the Paris Commune, and answering the call of the Communists of Russia, Hungary and Germany, the Communist Party calls the proletariat to the final struggle.

Comrades, history calls to you! We must challenge Capitalism; we must rally the proletariat for the Communist struggle, in accord with our own conditions.

The Socialist Party is hampered in its activity. But August 30, in the Chicago Convention, will mark the end of the Left Wing controversy. Revolutionary Socialism will control. You will crush the moderates. You will act! You will transform our party into a Communist Party, to express the mass struggle of the proletariat.

Then–action! Then–the revolutionary struggle!

We must go to the proletariat. We must build our movement anew. We must get the masses in our party–and answer the Communist call for action.

There are 30,000,000 American wage-workers–the force of potential revolution. Our chief task is to awaken and organize these proletarian masses, wage the working class struggle.

It is our determination–as it is yours, comrades–to act on problems of organization. We shall, as conditions allow, develop and unify our means of action; we shall systematically develop our press under party ownership, establish a party-owned publishing house, a party school for agitators, and a comprehensive lecture bureau. We shall develop the necessary technique to get your call for revolutionary action to the masses of the American proletariat.

The final struggle is coming. Our deeds in the days to come shall make proletarian history. Comrades–prepare!

Now–do not relax your agitation. Do not allow the old N.E.C. to hamper your struggle for our class war prisoners-concentrate on this issue locally. Integrate your organization. Elect Left Wing delegates to the Emergency convention to express your revolutionary ideals.

You shall conquer!

Act, comrades–against Capitalism and reactionary Socialism.

Greetings to the revolutionary masses in our party! Long live the Communist International!

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/revolutionaryage/v2n05-aug-02-1919.pdf