to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without the ownership of the land on, and tools with which to work. Deprived of these, his life, his liberty and his fate fall into the hands of that class which owns these essentials for work and production. "We hold that the existing contradiction between social production and capitalist appropriation - the latter resulting from the private ownership of the natural and social opportunities-divides the people into two classes: the capitalist class and the working class; throws society into the convulsions of the class struggle; and perverts government in the interests of the capitalist class. "Thus labor is robbed of the wealth it alone produces, is denied the means of self-employment, and, by compulsory idleness in wage slavery, is even deprived of the necessaries of life. "Against such a system the Socialist Labor Party raises the banner of revolt, and demands the unconditional surrender of the capitalist class. "In place of such a system the Socialist Labor Party aims to substitute a system of social ownership of the means of production, industrially administered by the working class,— the workers to assume control and direction as well as operation of their industrial affairs. "This solution of necessity requires the organization of the working class as a class upon revolutionary political and industrial lines. "We, therefore, call upon the wage workers to organize themselves into a revolutionary political organization under the banner of the Socialist Labor Party; and to organize themselves likewise upon the industrial field into a revolutionary industrial union in keeping with their political aims. "And we also call upon all other intelligent citizens to place themselves squarely upon the ground of working class interests, and join us in this mighty and noble work of human emancipation, so that we may put summary end to the existing barbarous class conflict by placing the land and all the means of production, transportation, and distribution into the hands of the people, as a collective body, and substituting the Co-operative Commonwealth for the present state of planless production, industrial war and social disorder — a commonwealth in which every worker shall have the free exercise and full benefit of his faculties, multiplied by all the modern factors of civilization." 66 The attitude of the party on war is made clear by a letter addressed to the Copenhagen Conference, in which it is stated: So long as this theory (of national defense) is adhered to, a repetition of the present mass-murder of Europe's proletariat may occur at any time. Nothing can prevent a capitalist class of one country, through its various agencies, from starting a war with another nation, unless the respective Socialist parties are organizing the working class industrially, i. e., for the immediate overthrow of capitalism.' The cause of the collapse of the Second International is attributed by this party to "Lack of proper economic organization is the mediate, and the superstition of nationalism' the immediate cause of the downfall of the International." An attempt was made, at a conference held in New York City on January 6, 1917, to effect a union between the Socialist Party and the Socialist Labor Party. This, however, came to naught. The fundamental principles of the Socialist Labor Party were made clear in a statement of minimum demands presented at that conference, as follows: "(a) As to aim: Abolition of the capitalist system and establishment of collectivism, i. e., Socialism. "(b) As to political action: Declaration in favor of uncompromising revolutionary political action. "(c) As to economic action: Declaration in favor of industrial unionism, and a condemnation, generally, of craft unionism. "(d) As to militarism and war: Declaration to the effect that military establishments are maintained partly for the purpose of crushing working-class rebellion and partly to protect foreign interests of the capitalist class. "Prohibition (on the part of elected officials) to vote for men or money, for war or militarism, under pain of expulsion, to vote for preparedness either on an increased or the present scale. Also a declaration to the effect that the workers have no country to defend but a country and a world to gain from the capitalist class of this country and of the world."'" The party, according to the report of Arnold Peterson, national secretary of the Socialist Labor Party, appearing at page 366 of the American Labor Year Book for 1917-18, had a membership of 3,185 on December 31, 1916, and had at that time five foreign Language Federations affiliated with it. They were: The Scandinavian Socialist Labor Federation. The South Slavonian Socialist Labor Federation. The Jewish Socialist Labor Federation. According to Arnold Petersen's report, appearing in the American Labor Year Book for 1919-20, the membership of the party has increased up to the present year, and he says that they have "succeeded in putting our message across' despite the almost insuperable difficulties which were engendered by the war." The Socialist Labor Party published a number of papers, among them the following: The "Volksfreund und Arbeiter Zeitung." This publication, printed in German, was compelled to suspend by reason of its deprivation of second-class mailing privileges. The "Weekly People," the party's official organ, also deprived of second-class mailing privileges but still continuing to be published. The "Proletareets," the Lettish organ of the party, which discontinued publication in 1917 by reason of the provisions of the Trading With the Enemy Act. "A Munkas," the Hungarian organ of the party, which also lost its second-class mailing privileges but which is still continuing to be published. Arnold Peterson (pages 420 and 421, American Labor Year Book for 1919-20) has this to say about the work and theories of the Socialist Labor Party: "The theories of the Socialist Labor Party have received a startling, and in a certain sense, unexpected vindication in Russia. To be sure, Russia economically was not so situated as to present a most favorable soil for the application of the Socialist Labor Party's principles. But so far advanced, generally, is capitalism now, that Russia, under the leadership of Lenin, soon found it necessary to proceed along the lines laid down by the Socialist Labor Party, namely, to discard the political state machinery and to organize the workers and peasants along occupational lines. This process of organization, and the result the Soviets, corresponds |