Representing 25,000 members, delegates to the Third Convention of the Workers (Communist) Party in early January, 1924 voted to change leaderships as the factional debate centered on the Farmer-Labor Party saw the majority of the Central Executive Committee pass from the ‘politicals’ in the Pepper-Ruthenberg (New York) faction to the ‘industrials’ of the Foster-Cannon (Chicago) faction. The new majority were William Z. Foster, Alexander Bittelman, Earl Browder, Fahle Burman, James P. Cannon, William F. Dunne, and Martin Abern for the Young Workers League; while the new minority were J. Louis Engdahl, Benjamin Gitlow, Jay Lovestone, John Pepper, and C.E. Ruthenberg. Ludwig Lore was also elected and often sided Foster, though would soon be on his way out of the Party. Denver-born child of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants, Israel Amter was a founding member of the Socialist Party in 1901 and of the Communist Party in 1919. Amter was also a member of the German Social Democrats for over a decade. living there between 1903 and 1917. On the central leadership of the C.P. during the 1920s, with his European experience, he was made the Party’s Comintern Representative, serving on the ECCI in the period before 1924’s Fifth World Congress, to which he was a U.S. delegate. This report is in his role as Comintern correspondent, though his partisanship in the Ruthenberg-Lovestone-Pepper faction is evident. Amter, however, did not cast his lot with Lovestone in 1929, and would remain in the Party highly active throughout the 1930s, often running as Communist candidate in New York. Developing Parkinson’s his activity lessened in the 1940s. Indicted under the Smith Act during McCarthyism, his case was dropped due to his illness. Israel Amter died on November 24, 1954 at age 73.

‘Third Convention of the Workers Party of America’ by I. Amter from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 4 No. 15. February 28, 1924.

The third convention of the Workers Party (Communist) took place on December 29, 1923, and was one of the most important in the history of the Communist movement of the United States. The general policies carried out by the Central Executive Committee of the Party were approved, nevertheless the former minority of the Committee, led by Foster and Cannon, representing the “industrials” in the Party, carried the convention against the “politicals”, led by Pepper and Ruthenberg, and now direct the Party.

Comrade Ruthenberg, executive secretary of the Party, reported that the Party now contains 25,000 members, divided into sixteen Language Federations, in addition to seven language groups not large enough to constitute Federations. The Finnish Federation is the largest, having 7,000 members; then follows the English section with about 2,000 members. Nevertheless, about 50 per cent of the Party membership speaks English, although enrolled in Language branches. The multiplicity of languages is one of the difficult problems that the Party has to deal with and acts as an obstacle to uniform action on the part of the membership as a whole.

There are several issues before the Party at the present time. The attacks on the Communists in the trade unions and on members of the Trade Union Educational League; the expulsions that have taken place; the vicious campaign against the Communists and “reds” in the organizations, particularly by the reactionary leaders of the United Mine Workers and the International Ladies Garment Workers, demand the intensification of Communist work in the unions and better organization of the Left Wing, in order to strengthen the offensive of the progressives and radicals against the reactionaries in the unions. The amalgamation campaign for transforming the craft unions into industrial unions must be continued with energy, until by pressure from below amalgamation really is brought about. This may be a process of years, but it must be pressed.

American imperialism is on a rampage. Mexico, Central and South America, the West Indies, the Philippines, China and even Europe are feeling the heavy golden hand of American capital. The expansion of expansion of American militarism is concomitant with the expansion of imperialism. War is bound to come, and the American workers must be put on the alert. The convention decided to widen the campaign against American imperialism and militarism.

In order to get a firm footing in the work shops and to prepare for the coming struggles in the United States, when the capitalist government will make new assaults on the revolutionary movement, the convention decided to form shop nuclei and gradually to put the whole Party on this basis. The difficulty of language and the spy system in the shops are two serious impediments to the transformation. Hence the change will be carried out very slowly and carefully.

The vital questions confronting the convention were the Farmer-Labour Party, more especially the Federated Farmer-Labour Party, which was formed on July 3 last, and within which the Communists play a leading role; and the question of a “third” bourgeois party. Some comrades had contended that the formation of the Federated Farmer-Labour Party acted as an obstacle to the growth of the farmer-labour movement since the whole movement was stamped as Communist. The Federated Party did not receive all the affiliations that had been hoped, the membership of the organizations actually affiliated to the Federated Party amounting to only 155,000, although several other local parties have endorsed it and are ready to cooperate with it. The Minnesota Farmer Labour Party which sent two United States Senators to Washington, has called a convention to take place in St. Paul on May 30, the Federated Party signing the call for the convention. This convention will probably be attended by delegates representing two or three million organized workers and farmers. In the Minnesota Party are a number of petty-bourgeois elements such as tradesmen, small country bankers, lawyers etc. This convention will be a sign of the revolt of the workers, farmers and some sections of the petty-bourgeoisie against the domination of the capitalist political parties. It will be the first call to action on a maas scale that the Communists have been able to issue, for the Workers Party will be present at the convention, possibly by direct representation, or through the Federated Party of which it is an integral part. Gompers is opposed to this convention, since he recognizes that this is a real revolt, reaching a climax through the militant activity of the Communists. The tactics of the Central Executive Committee of the Workers Party in regard to the Federated Farmer Labour Party were generally approved by the convention.

The moot point was in regard to the “third” bourgeois party. This is a new question of tactics for the American Party and in some respects for the Communist International. The capitalist political parties of the United States are dominated by two groups: Rockefeller, representing primarily the industrial group, and Morgan, the financial group. In the past few years, the possibility of a clean definition of these two groups has grown smaller. Wall Street dominates big industry and in Wall Street are Rockefeller and Morgan. Morgan is heavily interested in several of the same industries in which the Rockefeller interests have huge investments, such as steel, railways, traction, shipping. Both groups control the raw material of he country. Ford’s abortive rebellion against Wall Street was based on his being a manufacturer of finished products therefore he is dependent on Rockefeller and Morgan. Ford has sold out to Coolidge, hence he cannot be regarded as a leader of any rebellious group.

The farmers of the middle west and large sections of the working class still believe that they can secure help from some form of a bourgeois party, not built up on class lines. They are in open rebellion against the big trusts and trust to a good leader to conduct them out of the desert. This leader is La Follette. The oil scandal, which has involved both the Democratic and the Republican party, has led to the demand of the Senate that Secretary of War Denby resign. It also eliminates McAdoo as presidential candidate. By giving a “black eye” to both parties, it increases the hatred of both parties among the workers and farmers, and enhances the prestige of La Follette.

The backbone of this revolt, which is assuming the form of a third party, consists of the farmers and workers. The petty merchant class is also interested, but it forms the minority. In other words, the third party movement is composed relatively of the same elements as the class farmer-labour party. The question is: what kind of a program would they tight for?

The farmers and workers have serious grievances against the trusts and the capitalist government. They are expressing them in the demand for the nationalization of the mines and railways, protection of the foreign-born workers, protection of child labor, cheap industrial products for the farmers. More radical groups are demanding a moratorium for the farmers, in view of the fearful plight of the farming class. During the past year, the farmers have formed about 15 per cent of the bankruptcies; there were 300,000 foreclosures; although the planted acreage was reduced 12 per cent, there is a huge surplus of grain, and further reduction is contemplated. Recognition of Soviet Russia is being demanded for ideological and material reasons. How many of these demands will the third party fight for?

La Follette is committed to a large number of them. He represents elements, which, in large part, would accept them. If a program approaching the above one in content is put forward, what shall be the attitude of the Communists? Shall they fight side by side with the third party against the trust-dominated and controlled capitalist parties, or shall they split the ranks of the workers, small and medium farmers and the petty bourgeoisie?

When the thesis was discussed in the former Central Executive Committee last November, the overwhelming majority voted in favor of the former strategy, the vote standing 21 to 3. During the month of November and December, a change of view took place. Some of the CEC members who voted for the proposition, discovered that it is a fallacious policy. They contend that to entertain such a policy denotes merely to strengthen the faith of the masses in petty-bourgeois reformism; that such strategy may be engaged in only in revolutionary situations; and that, as such a situation does not exist in the United States, it would be a serious blunder to advocate it. They declare that the formation of a class farmer-labour party is the only warrant of a safe revolutionary course, not subject to misinterpretation or misdirection.

The majority of the Central Executive Committee maintained that the policy is correct, but for different reasons. The “industrials” see in it a powerful weapon with which to oust Gompers from control of the unions and from continuing his propagation of the idea of “rewarding the friends and punishing the enemies of labour” through the medium of the capitalist parties. The “politicals” declare that rejection of an election campaign in coalition with the third party despite its petty bourgeois ideology and control, means to evade the whole issue. The petty bourgeois party will be formed with us or without us. To support it might result in its victory. Then alone would the workers and farmers realize that petty bourgeois reformism is fruitless. Ail preaching and education has no effect: the workers, and especially the farmers, must see it in action. The campaign will allow us to enter the third party wherever opportunity presents itself, to form a left wing within it, and split it away from the third party. By ruthless, merciless criticism of the third party, the Communists will unmask its character. Thus, whether the third party is victorious or defeated, out of this campaign will ultimately come greater class- consciousness of the workers and the farmers.

The minority has not learned the lesson of the Bulgarian election defeat, when the Communists did not understand the policy of a coalition with the small peasants who were dominated by the big peasants; nor of the British Communists in endeavoring to get into the Labour Party, which is made up primarily of workers with a minority of petty bourgeois liberals. It would evade the struggle, which is along a very thorny path.

Unquestionably, there are serious dangers involved in this policy. To carry it out successfully, the Party members must observe strict discipline. Above all, they must understand the policy and be able to carry in out like Communists. They must understand that it is a strategy and not an end in itself. They must recognize that it is an unmasking policy and a mobilization. of the workers and farmers for action. Though supporting the third party, they must be able to criticize it pitilessly. This is a strategy that the Parties of Europe and America are just learning to apply. It is a hard course, it will involve many blunders but that is the path of the Revolution.

Tactics within the convention led to a coalition of the industrials and the opponents of the third party policy. The new Central Executive Committee is led by the industrials. There is no question, however, that cooperation of the industrials and the politicals, which led to the elaboration of the successful trade union and political policies during the past year, will bring about a realignment in the new CEC, under the leadership, however, of the industrials.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecorr” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecorr’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecorr, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1924/v04n15-feb-28-1924-inprecor.pdf