The Proletarian Party of America

(1919-1930)

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1919

“Confidential Circular Letter of the CPA’s “Proletarian Club” Minority to its Supporters.” [circa Oct. 15, 1919] A split of the Communist Party of America between its rather incongruous “Federationist” and “Marxian Educationalist” factions seems to have been in the cards from the date of the organization’s establishment, owing in large measure to the latter group’s certainty of its ideological correctness and revulsion for the idea of compromise. This document, preserved by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation, moves back the origins of the split which lead to the formation of the Proletarian Party of America back into early October 1919 — mere weeks after the formation of the CPA in Chicago. On October 5, 1919, a joint session of the (interlocking) Board of Control of the Proletarian University and Board of Directors of The Proletarian was held to determine the future course of the Keracher/Socialist Party of Michigan/Educationalist faction. A split was clearly in the offing: “It was the consensus of opinion at our meeting that the time is not ripe for the lunching of a new party embodying our views; it appears to be advisable to defer action until such time as the issues was forced upon us, or until we had developed sufficiently in strength to make the venture a success. In the meantime, the intention is to proceed with the work of strengthening and unifying the groups now in existence, and organizing and assisting groups.” The time of the forthcoming split was carefully planned: “The question then arises: When will be the most fitting time to launch a party such as we favor? Should it happen that the issues is not forced upon us prematurely, it appears that the ideal moment would be immediately preceding the national convention of the present parties. This would mean that we should be prepared to act in May 1920. This allows ample time for preliminary organization; so that we may have the framework of the new organization prepared, and have on hand funds necessary for carrying on propaganda and organization work on a national scale.”

1920

“Minutes of the Founding Convention of the Proletarian Party of America: Detroit, MI — June 27-29, 1920." After six months of uneasy alliance followed by six months of factional squabbling, the Michigan-based “Proletarian University” faction headed by Scottish-born radical John Keracher formally established itself as a rival political party at a three day convention in Detroit late in June 1920. This file publishes the minutes of that gathering for the first time. The convention was attended by 11 voting delegates from 10 towns and cities (only two locations from outside of Michigan), as well as by three non-voting fraternal delegates. Interestingly it appears that this organization was established as a political adjunct of a parallel Proletarian University organization. “Temporary organizer" Keracher did not run for and was not elected to either a place on the group’s governing National Executive Committee of 7 members or as National Secretary, with Dennis Batt elected to that latter post following Keracher’s withdrawal. Nor does Keracher seem to have initially cast himself in the Daniel DeLeonesque role of Party-Editor-Without-Portfolio, with Batt at least formally assuming that position as well. Details about the relationship between the new PPA and the Proletarian University organization (presumably headed by Keracher) were left to be negotiated between the executives of these two institutions. The Proletarian was named the official organ of the new party, pending establishment of a weekly newspaper. A constitution, program, and organizational manifesto were hammered out and approved by the convention, with these documents to be sent out to the membership of the new group for formal ratification via a referendum vote. Initial membership, based upon generally optimistic delegate reports, appears to have been just under 100, with Detroit, Chicago, and Rochester, New York the primary centers of organizational activity.

“ Organization Proclamation of the Proletarian Party of America." [circa March 15, 1920] One of the earliest official documents of the Proletarian Party of America. This typewritten document, dated from internal content, declared the intention to form a new political party based upon “the principles of revolutionary socialism which have been propagated in the state of Michigan for the past number of years.” The constitution of the Socialist Party of Michigan is to remain loosely in operation and acting State Secretary of Michigan Dennis Batt to serve in a similar capacity until such time as a convention can be called. An ideological requirement that individuals and local groups joining must maintain “a complete recognition of the Class Struggle, the Materialistic Conception of History, and the Labor Theory of Value and Surplus Value” is specified. John Keracher's monthly magazine, The Proletarian, is specified as a tentative official organ, the office of that publication in Detroit is named as national headquarters, and “Proletarian Party of America” is submitted as the working name for the new group, until such time that a convention can make a formal decision.

1921

“Letter to the Comintern by the Representative of the Proletarian Party of America," by Dennis E. Batt”. [First half of 1921] Dennis Batt, former member of the National Left Wing Council, was the Executive Secretary of the PPA at the time this letter to the CI was written. In it he asks for a ruling on the PPA’s application for affiliation. Batt offers an analysis of the American situation startlingly close to the actual course of events: an explicit statement that "America has not been, is not, and will not be for a considerable time on the verge of revolution" and a strong recommendation that revolutionary rhetoric be terminated. He also advocated the immediate formation of "an organization that functions openly and propagates Communism as far as that is possible... This open organization should be controlled by the underground movement and would function as a recruiting ground for same." The letter was fully translated into Russian and may well have played some role in decision to move forward with the parallel legal-WPA/underground-CPA structure that emerged in the winter of 1921.

Third International Events in America, by A.J. McGregor [March 1921] Commentary on the underground Communist Party of America and United Communist Party from the pages of the official organ of the Proletarian Party of America. McGregor states that unity negotiations between the CPA and UCP were said to be moving forward slowly, although other communist groups (such as the PPA) were not invited to participate in the negotiations. Given all the secrecy, McGregor notes that “It is far easier to follow the developments of the movement in far off Russia or Armenia than to know what is going on at home. Of course, if one were a police-spy it might be different.” McGregor cites Lenin in support of the assertion that any sound principle taken too far can be transformed into absurdity, which is exactly how he views the CPA/UCP mania for underground organization. When “the entire work of a party must at all times be conducted in secret; and that in order to be truly revolutionary a communist party must of necessity be an outlaw organization, then the principle is transformed and made absurd,” McGregor states. Anticipating the course of events in the CPA by nearly 2 years, McGregor argues that organization of the communist movement as an underground organization with camouflaged legal work means disaster : “To adopt such a plan of organization means simply that we would sever our connection with the general working class movement and turn the workers over to the gently nursing of the reactionary Socialist Party.” Instead, primary party organization and function should be open, with the secret parallel organization called for by the Comintern to consist of “only the tried and experienced members” functioning alongside the open organization. McGregor additionally observes that “it would be the height of folly to advertise that such an organization existed.”

The Third International Congress, by Dennis Batt [Nov. 1921] Proletarian Party of America representative to the 3rd Congress of the Comintern Dennis Batt (a guest rather than a delegate) outlines a number of policy positions of the CI—each of which is said to support the long-standing position of the PPA—in contrast to the contrary positions of the Communist Party of America. These included the assertion that successful revolution implies the winning of the conscious support of a majority of the working class and other toilers; the necessity of maintaining an open organization; the importance of making use of every means to win support for communism, particularly parliament and parliamentary elections; and the need to enter existing mass unions and thus “by virtue of their activity and devotion to the cause of the workers, to convince the membership that Communism is the only solution for the endless struggle in which they are engaged.” In each of these instances, Batt indicates that the position of the Proletarian Party was closer to the current Comintern line than that of the Communist Party, the membership of which was said to be “ too stupid and ignorant of the proper Communist position” on legalization, adherents of a “silly semi-syndicalist attitude” on participation in elections, and continuers of a 25 year old policy of attempting to organize “pure” unions and then try to smash the AF of L.

“Stedman’s Red Raid,” by Robert Minor. [May 1, 1921] Full text of a pamphlet produced by the UCP’s Toiler Publishing Association detailing a particularly disgusting footnote to the 1919 split of the Socialist Party. Minor indicates that in the immediate aftermath of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s anti-red raid of January 2, 1920, Socialist Party attorneys Seymour Stedman and Lazaras Davidow attempted to expropriate the assets of the Socialist Party of Michigan under the flimsy pretext that as ”Communists” the expelled Michiganites of the party’s holding company were participants in a criminal organization which ”advocated the overthrow of the government by force and violence.” At bottom of this scheme was a Detroit headquarters building owned by the Michigan party, represented by Minor as having approximately $90,000 of equity. Stedman issued a Bill of Complaint paralleling the criminal charges of the state against the unfortunate Michigan party members already jailed for alleged violation of the state’s Criminal Syndicalism law. He then red-baited the members of the legitimate holding company on the stand in an attempt to have the property awarded to a hastily gathered and miniscule Michigan “organization” retaining ties to the national SPA. Minor states that when they were at last confronted about their uncomradely behavior by concerned Socialist Party members, Stedman and Davidow thereafter lied and mislead their inquisitors as to their actions and had a further smoke screen laid by SPA National Executive Secretary Otto Branstetter with a fallacious news release of his own to the socialist press. A sordid tale of greed, deceit, and foul play...

1923

“Letter to C.E. Ruthenberg, Executive Secretary of the Workers Party of America in NY from John Keracher, Executive Secretary of the Proletarian Party of America in Chicago, March 3, 1923." Ultra-esoteric cover letter accompanying correspondence between the National Executive Committee of the Proletarian Party of America and the Central Executive Committee of the Workers Party of America regarding a unity appeal by the former to the latter. Adds minor detail to the chronology of the exchange of communiques.

“Letter to O.W. Kuusinen, Secretary, Executive Committee of the Communist International in Moscow from John Keracher, National Secretary, Proletarian Party of America in Chicago, May 26, 1923.” Formal reply of the Proletarian Party of America to the Feb. 19, 1923, request of Otto Kuusinen on behalf the Communist International that the PPA liquidate its organization and join the ranks of the Workers Party of America. Keracher indicates that the Comintern is seriously misinformed about the situation in America—that neither the Proletarian Party nor the Workers Party itself was in any way a mass political organization of the American proletariat. “Far from having achieved influence in and having gained control of any portion of the labor movement, the WP is following a course which, if unchecked, will add to the discredit of the revolutionists within the organized labor movement of America,” Keracher remarks, adding that “If members of the Proletarian Party have “attacked” some leaders of the Trade Union Educational League, it has been because they disagreed with the tactics of these individuals. If the Proletarian Party has withdrawn its support from the Trade Union Educational League, it has done so after mature consideration.” Keracher emphatically states that “While being desirous of cooperating at all times with the work of the Communist International in the struggle against world capitalism, the steps urged upon the Proletarian Party in the communication [i.e. liquidating itself and joining the CPA/WPA] are so out of harmony with the requirements of the revolutionary movement in America that the Proletarian Party can not bring itself to an acceptance of this unsound proposal.” Keracher closes with a call for “COMMUNIST UNITY,” which he characterizes as an amalgamation based upon “full knowledge of conditions here, and this knowledge can only be obtained by a thorough investigation and study of conditions as they exist in America, as well as the principles of the different revolutionary groups here” rather than through external fiat.

“Minutes of the National Convention of the Proletarian Party of America: Held in Chicago, Illinois — Sept. 2-4, 1923." These are minutes to the 3rd convention of the Proletarian Party of America, an organization by this date headquartered in Chicago. A total of 17 voting delegates from 12 locals were in attendance, joined by 5 non-voting fraternal delegates and 2 ex-officio officers of the party. The gathering re-elected John Keracher as National Secretary and elected a 15 member National Executive Committee. Minutes are terse and do not shed light on the group’s organizational situation. The newly launched weekly newspaper The Labor Digest, while lauded by Keracher for expanding the party’s influence among the working class seems to have been an enormous financial drain from the start, with barely 1/3 of the paper’s targeted financial nest egg successfully raised and the organization’s cash flow pushed into negatives by the paper’s ongoing expense. The convention affirmed the NEC’s rejection of unity proposals from the Workers Party and passed a resolution prohibiting party members from membership in or adherence to the discipline of the Trade Union Educational League. The Dennis Batt case was considered and it was resolved that any PPA member endorsing an electoral candidate not approved by the organization (as apparently had Batt) would be expelled. The group’s independent existence was carried forward by a resolution which declared the PPA would “maintain its separate existence from other working class parties...except at such time that a crisis may arise in the working class movement which necessitates the combined unity of the working class. At such time it will be the duty of the Proletarian Party to cooperate with other working class parties.”

1929

Full text of a pamphlet produced by the UCP’s Toiler Publishing Association detailing a particularly disgusting footnote to the 1919 split of the Socialist Party. Minor indicates that in the immediate aftermath of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s anti-red raid of January 2, 1920, Socialist Party attorneys Seymour Stedman and Lazaras Davidow attempted to expropriate the assets of the Socialist Party of Michigan under the flimsy pretext that as "Communists" the expelled Michiganites of the party’s holding company were participants in a criminal organization which "advocated the overthrow of the government by force and violence." At bottom of this scheme was a Detroit headquarters building owned by the Michigan party, represented by Minor as having approximately $90,000 of equity. Stedman issued a Bill of Complaint paralleling the criminal charges of the state against the unfortunate Michigan party members already jailed for alleged violation of the state’s Criminal Syndicalism law. He then red-baited the members of the legitimate holding company on the stand in an attempt to have the property awarded to a hastily gathered and miniscule Michigan "organization" retaining ties to the national SPA. Minor states that when they were at last confronted about their uncomradely behavior by concerned Socialist Party members, Stedman and Davidow thereafter lied and mislead their inquisitors as to their actions and had a further smoke screen laid by SPA National Executive Secretary Otto Branstetter with a fallacious news release of his own to the socialist press. A sordid tale of greed, deceit, and foul play...

“Letter to O.W. Kuusinen, Secretary, Executive Committee of the Communist International in Moscow from John Keracher, National Secretary, Proletarian Party of America in Chicago, May 26, 1923.” Formal reply of the Proletarian Party of America to the Feb. 19, 1923, request of Otto Kuusinen on behalf the Communist International that the PPA liquidate its organization and join the ranks of the Workers Party of America. Keracher indicates that the Comintern is seriously misinformed about the situation in America—that neither the Proletarian Party nor the Workers Party itself was in any way a mass political organization of the American proletariat. “Far from having achieved influence in and having gained control of any portion of the labor movement, the WP is following a course which, if unchecked, will add to the discredit of the revolutionists within the organized labor movement of America,” Keracher remarks, adding that “If members of the Proletarian Party have “attacked” some leaders of the Trade Union Educational League, it has been because they disagreed with the tactics of these individuals. If the Proletarian Party has withdrawn its support from the Trade Union Educational League, it has done so after mature consideration.” Keracher emphatically states that “While being desirous of cooperating at all times with the work of the Communist International in the struggle against world capitalism, the steps urged upon the Proletarian Party in the communication [i.e. liquidating itself and joining the CPA/WPA] are so out of harmony with the requirements of the revolutionary movement in America that the Proletarian Party can not bring itself to an acceptance of this unsound proposal.” Keracher closes with a call for “COMMUNIST UNITY,” which he characterizes as an amalgamation based upon “full knowledge of conditions here, and this knowledge can only be obtained by a thorough investigation and study of conditions as they exist in America, as well as the principles of the different revolutionary groups here” rather than through external fiat.

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