From a special Minneapolis-focused issue of the Daily Worker, a look at the city-wide primary election campaign of the Communist Party in a city with a strong Farmer-Labor and Socialist Party (who won the mayors in 1917) just after the debacle of the 1924 inability between those forces to unite in a Labor Party. The Republican mayor, General Leach, would win reelection handily. The Farmer-Labor Party would win in 1931 and dominate the city for much of that decade. Below are notices on the elections, the candidates, the Party’s program, and local events.

‘Minneapolis Labor Rallies to Communists’ from The Daily Worker. Vol. 2 No. 100. May 9, 1925.

REDS CAMPAIGN UNITES WORKERS IN MINNEAPOLIS

Challenge Labor Fakers in Election Fight

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 7—The workers of Minneapolis are being aroused to a realization of their class interests in the city election campaign now going on. It is the first campaign that a frontal attack on the citizens’ alliance has been made and the class issues emphasized.

Dan W. Stevens, the Communist candidate for mayor is speaking to the workers every night, he being the only candidate that ever shows himself before the workers. The others are trying to buy the election with high priced campaign posters.

Unions Grow Smaller.

Since 1920 the labor movement has all but been destroyed in this city. From a membership of 25,000 the unions are now down to about 5,000. The campaign of the Communist candidates is clarifying the workers as to the cause of this weakness.

The workers show great eagerness in learning the facts as put forth by our party. Our advocacy of industrial unionism to be brought about thru our amalgamation, our campaign in behalf of a class labor party, our demand for higher wages and improved working conditions and the defeat of the “open shop” are reaching the ears of the workers such as they never did before.

Unity of Labor Against Capitalists.

The reactionary labor officials such as Cramer, Van Lear, and others of the same type are being called upon by the Communist speakers to explain their efforts to deliver labor hog-tied to the present republican mayor—Leach, and also to explain their refusal to fight in the interests of the workers on the industrial field.

The Workers (Communist) Party is setting forth its demand for unity of all the forces of labor in the struggle against capitalism, the speakers are explaining the efforts that were made to place a labor candidate in the field in this election and calls upon the labor fakirs and the socialist-labor aldermen to explain why that offer of unity was sabotaged. In each ward our speakers are calling upon this gang to take a stand on the mayoralty Issue. In each case they are found to be either directly or indirectly supporting the reactionary candidate of the citizens’ alliance, the present republican Mayor Leach for re-election. The working class resents this betrayal and are rallying behind Stevens.

Read DAILY WORKER.

The campaign is on full blast. Thousands of copies of the DAILY WORKER are being distributed daily to the workers in all parts of the city. They read the DAILY WORKER with great interest and ask for more.

The platform of the party which calls for day labor, maintenance of workers’ children in schools, the socialization of all public service corporations with their control vested in the unions is eliciting applause from the working class because It’s the only one that deals with their interests in a direct way.

Leading Party of Workers.

The labor fakirs themselves concede that Dan W. Stevens may win the nomination. They are in a flurry about it. Moreover their sabotage of Dan W. Stevens applies only to themselves.

There Is absolutely no doubt that the Workers (Communist) Party is going to emerge out of this campaign as the leading party of the working class of Minneapolis. Not withstanding the fact that the weather has been cold, our meetings have been well attended.

THE PLATFORM OF THE COMMUNIST CANDIDATES PARTY PLATFORM.

THE Workers (Communist) Party, of which the above candidates are members, has persistently fought to unite all the forces of labor in the struggle to prevent the capitalist class from reducing the wages and living standards of the workers. In Minneapolis the bosses organized in the citizens’ alliance have waged a ruthless war against the workers in an effort to destroy their organizations thus rendering them helpless in the struggle. In this attack they have been to a very great extent successful due in part to the inactivity of the trade union officialdom and to the capitalist control of the present city and state governments. The socialist labor group in the council, instead of fighting to protect the interests of the workers, have used their offices to serve only their own political interests. The Workers (Communist) Party knows that the working class is capable of successfully defending itself against the capitalist attack and calls upon the workers to organize their forces under the leadership of the Communists on the basis of the following program:

(a) The immediate launching of a campaign to organize the unorganized workers.
(b) Day labor on all city work, with union wages and working conditions, instead of the present practice of “selling” contracts for city jobs to the contractor who is willing to pay the most graft to city officials.
(c) Capitalism is always able to use the unemployed workers to lower wages and to force unbearable working conditions upon the workers in the shops, therefore we demand either work or fix union wages for the unemployed.
(d) A campaign try wipe out child labor in all department stores and factories. In order that workers may send their children to school instead of into industry, we demand that the city give full maintenance to all workers’ children attending school.
(e) The socialization of all public service corporations with their control and administration vested in the unions.
(f) The use of the police and military forces as instruments in the hands of the workers to be used by them in their struggle against capitalism instead of vice versa as is the case at present.
(g) The abolition of the injunction in labor disputes.
(h) The release of all workers imprisoned because of their activity in behalf of their class.
(i) The recognition of the first workers’ and peasants’ government—Soviet Russia.
(j) The formation of a labor party to include all working class groups both economic and political.
(k) The amalgamation of the craft unions into industrial unions.
(l) The establishment of unity in the international trade union movement.

The Workers (Communist) Party knows that these demands cannot be secured by the workers under capitalism. We set forth the above demands because we know they represent the needs of the workers and we therefore pledge the entire power of the Communist movement to bring about the overthrow of the present capitalist government and the establishment of a government of workers and poor farmers in its place.

The Fight in Minneapolis

Dan W. Stevens, militant trade unionist, who was expelled from the central labor body in Minneapolis on instructions from headquarters of the American Federation of Labor in Washington, is running for mayor in Minneapolis on the Communist ticket as the candidate of the Workers Party. Stevens is running on a platform that puts forward the interests of the workers and none else, he is the only candidate in the field who cares a tinker’s damn about the working class. The workers realize this and the most politically conscious of them are rallying to his support despite the opposition of the fakers, old and new, who are lined up behind the republican party hack, the present Mayor Leach.

One of the most valuable weapons in the arsenal of our comrades in Minneapolis is the DAILY WORKER. Thousands of copies with the message of Communism are being distributed on the streets. The workers are opening their eyes. The fact that 26,000 votes were counted for the Communist candidate in the recent election in Los Angeles show that the American workers are not afraid to turn to Communism when the economic pressure becomes sufficiently strong and the party is in a position to reach the masses with its propaganda.

CARPENTERS’ UNION IS UNANIMOUS FOR ROSELAND, COMMUNIST

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 7. Carpenters’ Local Union No. 7, at its last regular meeting endorsed L.A. Roseland, Communist candidate for alderman in the 10th ward, by unanimous vote. Comrade Roseland has been a member of this local for the past twelve years and is now serving as president of the Twin City Carpenters’ District Council. He was one of the carpenters’ delegates that was the center of the fight launched by the reactionary labor officials in their efforts to disrupt the local labor movement by expelling the Communist and left wing elements. The reactionary officials of the carpenters have also attempted to destroy the confidence held by the rank and file in Roseland, tout the vote of the local at its last meeting is conclusive proof that this comrade has won the support of the rank and file because of his sincerity and because of the program that he has consistently supported

COMMUNISTS GET ENDORSEMENT OF MACHINISTS’ LODGE

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 7. Lodge No. 91, International Association of Machinists at its last regular meeting gave Its endorsement to Dan W. Stevens, the Communist candidate for mayor and also to C.A. Hathaway and L.A. Roseland the Communist candidates for alderman in the first and tenth wards respectively. This meeting was attended by Harley P. Nickerson of Milwaukee, international vice president of the machinists’ union, who tried to swing the local behind ‘‘Bill” Johnston and his infamous B. & O. plan. The Communist members of the local explained that to adopt the B. & O. plan meant the destruction of the union as a weapon in the hands of workers with which to carry on the struggle against the capitalists for Improved working conditions and appealed to the members to support the program of the left wing lead by the T.U.E.L. They called upon those present to vote for the Anderson ticket for the sole purpose of busting the Johnston machine, but to organize the left wing with the idea of placing the control of the union in their hands at the earliest possible time. The vote of the local at this meeting was 25 for the Anderson slate and three for the Johnston machine. Nickerson left the meeting feeling rather blue after the left wing had challenged him to debate the class collaboration policy of the present leadership as opposed to the program of the class struggle advanced by the left wing.

UKRAINIANS MOURN REVOLUTIONARY POET AT SATURDAY CONCERT

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 7. On Saturday, May 9, at Columbia Hall, 1007 Main St., the Minneapolis Ukrainian Dramatic Society is going to hold a memorial celebration on the occasion of the 64th year of the death of T. Scheweczenko, who was a great revolutionary poet of the Ukrainian people and whose work on behalf of the abolition of serfdom has endeared him to the hearts of the Ukrainian proletariat forever. All Russian, Ukrainian and other Slovanic workers are cordially invited to attend this celebration. The program will consist of 22 classical numbers.

Junior Group of Minneapolis Holds Picnic on Sunday

MINNEAPOLIS. Minn., May 7. The Junior group of the Y.W.L. will hold a picnic on Sunday, June 7, at Parker’s Lake, fifteen miles north of Minneapolis. Cars will leave the Finnish Hall, 1317 Western Ave. No., at 9 a.m. in the morning to transport the crowd. Refreshments will be furnished free to all children. A program of games has been arranged to provide entertainment for those present. In the evening the crowd will return to the Finnish Hall where the Finnish women will put on an affair to raise funds to aid the Young Workers’ school which is to open in Superior, Wisconsin, this summer. The Finnish Young Workers are starting a study class to be held every Monday evening at the Finnish Hall with Comrade Margerlte Hslander as instructor.

MINNEAPOLIS LABOR IN SACCO-VANZETTI PROTEST ON SUNDAY

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 7. Workers of Minneapolis will join the swelling ranks of labor over the nation demanding the release of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzettl, now starting their sixth year of imprisonment in Massachusetts. They are under sentence to die as the result of the frameup of the New England shoe manufacturers seeking to rid themselves of these militant labor agitators. The Minneapolis meeting will be held Sunday night, May 10, at 8:00 o’clock, in the Court House Auditorium, with J. Louis Engdahl, editor of the DAILY WORKER as the principal speaker. There will also be addresses by local speakers.

The Daily Worker began in 1924 and was published in New York City by the Communist Party US and its predecessor organizations. Among the most long-lasting and important left publications in US history, it had a circulation of 35,000 at its peak. The Daily Worker came from The Ohio Socialist, published by the Left Wing-dominated Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919, when it became became The Toiler, paper of the Communist Labor Party. In December 1921 the above-ground Workers Party of America merged the Toiler with the paper Workers Council to found The Worker, which became The Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1925/1925-ny/v02b-n100-NYE-may-09-1925-DW-LOC.pdf