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II. The Socialist Labor Party Press,

(Statement by Arnold Petersen, National Secretary.)

"The Party owns an up-to-date printing and publishing plant located at 45 Rose Street, New York City. It publishes the following papers:

Weekly People (English Weekly).
Arbetaren (Swedish weekly).

Volksfreund und Arbeiter-Zeitung (German weekly).
Proletareets (Lettish weekly).

A Munkas (Hungarian semi-weekly).

Radnicka Borba (South Slavonian semi-monthly).

"In addition to these a Jewish magazine, Neue Zeit, is published irregularly, usually about five or six issues being printed a year."

9. SOCIALISM AND EDUCATION.

The Rand School of Social Science.

The educational work of the Socialist Party has been conducted for the most part in a haphazard way. Definite and systematic courses of study have rarely been persisted in, until the Rand School of Social Science of New York City, answered the demand for training and formulated an educational program. The school, while not strictly a party institution, is owned and controlled by the American Socialist Society, an incorporated body, which has always followed the policy of taking in only Party members. The detailed administration is in the hands of an Educational Director and Executive Secretary, chosen by and responsible to a Board of Directors, elected annually by the Society.

The establishment of the Rand School in 1906 was made possible by an endowment provided, at the suggestion of Prof. George D. Herron, by the late Mrs. Carrie D. Rand, with a contributory fund added by her daughter, Mrs. Carrie Rand Herron, who showed a keen interest in its work till her untimely death early in 1914. The income from this fund is supplemented by tuition fees and by donations from individuals and organizations in sympathy with the purpose of the school.

The school had a very definite object-that of providing an auxiliary or specialized agency to serve the Socialist and Trade Union Movement of the United States in an educational capacity-to offer to the outside public an opportunity for studying the principles, purposes, and methods of this movement; and to offer to the adherents of the movement instruction and training along lines calculated to make them more efficient workers for the Cause.

That object it has pursued with ever increasing success. In spite of many handicaps, it has grown year by year. It began as a purely local institution, with a library and reading room and with evening and Sunday classes and lecture courses for residents of New York City who wished to spend in study such time as they could spare from their daily labor. This, which was at first the whole school, now continues as its Local Department.

A Book Store was soon added, which besides selling every year many thousands of books and pamphlets on social science and related subjects, has more recently published five valuable brochures and has others in contemplation.

In 1911 the Rand School inaugurated its Full-Time Course, for persons who could arrange to devote themselves wholly to intensive study for a term of six months. In the four years that have since gone by, sixty-one persons have entered this course. Thirty-eight men and eight women have completed it, while fifteen have withdrawn in mid-term on account of ill health, lack of funds, or for other reasons. The list of graduates includes residents of nineteen states and one Canadian province. About half were born in the United States, but there were also natives of Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Russia, Wales and China. Several are now holding positions of responsibility in the Party and trade-union organizations and the labor press, while others are doing good service in the rank and file of the movement.

In 1913, after some experimental attempts, the Rand School definitely launched its Correspondence Department, which met with a warm welcome. Up to the present time correspondence courses have been taken up by about 5,000 persons. The National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party has formally endorsed this work and advised locals to form study classes, and almost all of the State Secretaries have spoken in warm terms of the service rendered by such classes in strengthening the party organization.

In 1913 a permanent East Side Branch was established, with rooms in the building of the Jewish Daily Forward. This has been attended by about one thousand students yearly.

Not to mention many smaller, incidental, or occasional activities, the year 1915 added two important new features to the School's work.

One of these is the Department of Labor Research, whose function is, by original investigation and by collation of the work of other agencies, to bring together, verify, and arrange information useful to the working-class movement, to make it accessible to students, and especially to put it at the service of the Socialist Party, of the Trade Unions, and of Socialist lawmakers and public officials.

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The other new departure is the collaboration of the Rand School in the work of the Interlocal Education Committee, charged by the six party locals in Greater New York with the duty of conducting study classes in all parts of the city. Thirty-five such classes were formed in 1915.

The Courses pursued at the School during the term 1915-16 covered a wide range. Beside the fundamental courses in Economics, Socialism, History, Science, Public Speaking, Methods of Socialist Party and Labor Union Organization, series of lectures and lessons were given on special industrial, social and political problems by many leading specialists. Special courses have at various times been given under the auspices of different labor unions for the benefit of their members.

Among the many teachers and lecturers connected with the school, have been Morris Hillquit, Algernon Lee, Charles A. Beard, Franklin H. Giddings, James H. Maurer, George R. Kirkpatrick, Allan L. Benson, Scott Nearing, John Spargo, Florence Kelley, Lucien Sanial, Anna A. Maley, Lester F. Ward, Helen L. Sumner, S. E. Beardsley, Max Schonberg, Charles F. Zueblin, Louis B. Boudin, Duncan MacDonald, Benjamin C. Gruenberg and August Claessens.

By the variety, the extent, and the quality of its activities the Rand School has earned the title of the Workers' University of America, and has taken its place beside Ruskin College in England, the Socialist Party School in Berlin, the new University of Brussels, and other great educational institutions of the international working-class movement.

10. SOCIALISM AND THE YOUTH.

I. The Socialist Sunday Schools.

The system of public instruction prevalent in this country glorifies the competitive idea as applied to industry, and all other walks of life. To prevent their children from being prejudiced against Socialism, to make their children realize the class struggle and their own part in that struggle, Socialists are beginning to supplement the work of the public schools.

In various locals, and branches of the Socialist Party, Sunday Schools for the instruction of children are maintained. Efforts in this direction have been spasmodic, and no accurate statistics of the number of schools, the number of teachers, etc., are available.

In New York State, Prof. Kendrick B. Shedd of Rochester had considerable success in conducting Sunday Schools.

The problems confronting the successful building up of an efficient Sunday School system are many, involving

primarily the formulation of a course of study that shall at once be adapted to very young children, and at the same time aim at a thorough understanding of the underlying principles of Socialism.

The Socialist Party of New York State has appointed a committee to make a study of Sunday Schools and to recommend improvements if any are needed.

II. The Young People's Socialist League, 1915-1916.
(Report by Wm. Kruse, National Secretary.)

The Young People's Socialist League began its career as a National organization as a result of the action taken at the Socialist Party National Committee meeting of May, 1913. Previous to this there were a number of local organizations bearing the same name in various parts of the country. The step to formulate the national movement was taken at the request of the Chicago League. This branch claims, with some considerable validity, to be the first of its kind. It was organized in May, 1907, and though other organizations with similar aims and purposes may have existed at the earlier time, all evidence tends to give priority to the mid-western city.

The National Executive Committee of the Party in creating the Young People's Department at its meeting of October, 1913, instructed the head of this department to get in touch with all young socialist organizations in the country and to take steps to federate them into a national organization. This was done, prospective constitutions and plans for work were drawn up and submitted to the various organizations for their approval, various changes and amendments were made, and finally, in April, 1915, the present national constitution of the Y. P. S. L. 'was adopted by referendum vote.

The organization now embraces over one hundred and fifty circles with more than four thousand members. In five States, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, there are state organizations in the field, and these greatly increase the value and stability of the leagues within their respective territories. Each organized State is represented on the National Committee of the Y. P. S. L. and the best of relations prevail between all the various divisions of the movement.

Close connection is maintained between the Y. P. S. L. and the Socialist Party Organization. The National Secretary of the League also serves as Director of the Young People's Department of the Party's National Office, for which position he is nominated by the Socialist Party N. E. C., and to which he is elected by the Y. P. S. L. membership. In all cases where the Y. P. S. L. owes its original existence to the aid and co-operation of the Party organization the best of

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