Kruse as National Secretary of the Young People’s Socialist League reports on their work, and its difficulties, to the 1917 Socialist Party Emergency Convention convened to discuss U.S. entry into World War One.

‘Y.P.S.L. Report to the National Emergency Convention’ by William F. Kruse from Young Socialist. Vol. 11 No. 5. May, 1917.

REPORT OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S DEPARTMENT

To the Delegates of the National Emergency Convention

Dear Comrades:

In the two years that have passed since the last report of this department was given a national socialist gathering, our propaganda among the young has been greatly extended. There are now more “Young People’s Socialist Leagues,” and they are better organized and more fully developed. Two years ago there were about 40 organizations more or less loosely connected with the National Office. There are today 150 bona fide leagues, in good standing. In the month of June, 1915 (just before I took charge of the department), there were 1,456 due stamps sold, the high record up to that time; in the month just passed, March, 1917, there were 5,482 so sold, In addition to this absolute gain in membership we now have six states in which State Federations of the Y.P.S.L. are organized and two more that will probably be so organized before the end of the year.

This gain in Y.P.S.L. organization is not confined to this country, but seems to be world-wide. Our International Secretary, Wilhelm Munzenberg, of Switzerland, reports an increase from 70,000 members at the close of 1915 to 120,000 members in the first quarter of 1917. I do not vouch for these figures, but understand that much of the increase comes through the affiliation of new young people’s bodies with the International. Our International Bureau (Y.P.S.L.) held three meetings in Switzerland during the course of the war, none of which, of course, were attended by an American delegate.

In these past two years the Y.P.S.L. has put out and disclosed of four of its own leaflets, written by myself, with a total issue of 350,000 copies. We have also had a special edition of The American Socialist, which reached a circulation of 90,000, and a self-supporting lecture tour of over 50 dates. The work of the League in helping out the Party in various local centers has been such as to win favorable comment from many comrades who had heretofore been rather lukewarm in their attitude.

THE Y.P.S.L. PROGRAM.

The first effort of the Y.P.S.L. is to reach young people through their own youthful interests. These are quite generally social, and where this is so it is turned to good account to furnish an element of social comradeship so sadly lacking in many local socialist movements. Education is the real field of the league, and on it the young folks have done much to break down the prejudice against our cause, as well as to educate themselves and their young friends in our principles. The average circle of the Y P.S.L. conducts a more intensive and fundamental educational program than does the average socialist local. In the agitation for war and the introduction of military training into the schools our members have shown themselves in unflinching opposition at all costs. In helping out in the political work of many localities our Y.P.S.L. organization has often won the praise of hard-working local comrades.

DIFFICULTIES IN OUR WORK.

In the conduct of our organization we run against all the handicaps that confront the Party today, and a lot of others besides, both natural and unnecessary. We run against the prejudice and ignorance found in all classes of workers, and in addition to this the natural indifference of Youth to anything so serious as Socialism. Then, too, most young people lack the spending money necessary to finance their own movement and capitalist agencies can offer a great deal more than we. Most of our members are inexperienced and “green” when they come to us, so we have to train them in their work–with this task we are never finished, for the natural age barrier makes our membership an ever-fleeting, changing one. People do not stay young very long before they graduate into party and labor union work and then we have to look around for new material to fill in the ranks.

As to cost and similar details, it is sufficient to say that although the work of this department has mounted and increased very greatly, thereby increasing also the expenses of running it, the income from the leagues has so far kept pace that it costs less today to carry on a greater volume of work than it did to maintain a smaller two years ago. Figures showing the relative cost of this department are appended hereto; where the asterisk is shown, it indicates a surplus for that particular month:

To those who may not be quite satisfied with even this showing, and who demand that this work be entirely self-supporting, I can only say that such a condition is desired by none more than by the Yipsels themselves, but that this expenditure of socialist funds for propaganda among the young should be looked upon as the soundest and best kind of an investment that the Party could possibly make. It is an investment that is already bringing in big returns in many forms, and is destined to bring in even more.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

My recommendations are these:

1. That every Party member be urged to do his best to interest young people of his acquaintance in Socialism, and to get them to join the Young People’s Socialist League, bearing in mind that by so doing he is laying sound foundations for the Socialist movement of the future.

2. That anyone having suggestions or ideas for the better application of young socialist organization methods urged to get into co-operation with which he is familiar, or any other suggestions for the improvement of the work of this department, be urged to get into co-operation with the Young People’s Department so that the same may be worked out and applied.

3. That every local of the Socialist Party not yet having a Y.P.S.L. in its locality be urged to take all necessary steps to get one, and, this having been done, to help and support its work in every possible way.

4. That State Secretaries be urged to take this matter up with their locals and field workers so that eventually we may have a young socialist state federation in every state in the union.

5. That all socialist editors, speakers, organizers and writers be urged to use their efforts and influence to interest the comrades, both young and old, in this work, not in any sense to the exclusion or detriment of the regular party activity, but as a most valuable auxiliary thereto.

6. That the same fine support and help given by many comrades, officially and unofficially, in the past may be continued and extended so that our organization may eventually include enough young folks to correct, on behalf of the working class, the effects of false education drilled into them from other sources.

If these recommendations are concurred in by the Convention, and even only partly observed, I am sure that the effect upon the “Young People’s Socialist League” of this country will be such as to warrant the highest hopes of the organized socialist movement.

Fraternally submitted,

William F. Kruse, National Secretary, Y.P.S.L.

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/v11n03-mar-1917_Young%20Socialists.pdf