Hellraisers Journal: Unity Achieved with Socialist Labor Party at Social Democratic Party Convention, Fourth Day

19th March 202026th March 2020 Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs

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Hellraisers Journal – Monday March 19, 1900
Indianapolis, Indiana – S. D. P. “Unity” Convention Nominates Debs

From San Francisco’s Class Struggle of March 17, 1900:

[Part II of II.]

FOURTH DAY [March 9th].

J.C. Chase, who served as chairman on the third day, was again elected to preside.

A motion to elect two delegates to the International Congress at Paris in 1900 was carried. Eugene Dietzgen was elected as one delegate, and on motion the election of the second delegate was referred to the joint committee of 18, the delegate to be elected by referendum.

MacCartney took the floor and stated that Debs had reconsidered his declination. Great applause. Debs was declared the nominee.

G.B. Benham was called upon for a speech, and congratulated the convention upon the nomination of Debs.

A man recognized from the Atlantic to the Pacific as one of the bravest advocates of the rights of the workers that the world has ever seen. His example has inspired the best efforts of the exponents of socialism, and his candidacy cements the union of socialist forces and assures us a grand result for the coming Presidential campaign.

Victor Berger nominated Job Harriman for Vice President. The nomination was received with applause as hearty as that which greeted the nomination of Debs. His nomination was declared unanimous, and all rose and gave three cheers for the candidates. Great enthusiasm. Handshaking was in order.

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Hellraisers Journal: Unity Achieved with Socialist Labor Party at Social Democratic Party Convention in Indianapolis

18th March 2020 Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs

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Hellraisers Journal – Sunday March 18, 1900
San Francisco’s Class Struggle of March 17th Claims “Unity Achieved”

The first national convention of the Social Democratic Party of America was called to order Tuesday morning, March 6, 1900 by Chairman Jesse Cox, at Reichwein’s hall, Indianapolis, Ind. The Class Struggle of March 17th, official organ of the Socialist Labor Party of California, described the convention in detail in an article written by Editor G. B. Benham.

[Part I of II.]

At 10 o’clock am Tuesday, March 6th, the convention was called to order and William Mailly, editor of the Haverhill Social Democrat, was elected chairman. Strickland was made secretary and Johnson of Chicago and Val Putnam of St. Louis assistant secretaries.

The usual committees were appointed, and an order of business was adopted. The credentials committee had an amount of work that does not usually fall to such committees, for the arrangement and basis of representation is not of the character generally used in representative bodies. Any number of members may sign the credentials of a delegate and his vote in the convention is the vote of the number who signed the credentials. Any local organization can thus send as many delegates as they desire. In fact a member can send himself, sign his own credentials, and his voice is recorded as one vote on the floor of the convention, but the vote depends entirely upon the number of signers of the credentials. Thus Margaret Haile has 196 votes, and Martin of Ohio has 1 vote.

The total number of delegates present was 67, representing 17 states, showing total membership represented 2,043.

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Hellraisers Journal: Convention of Social Democracy of America Ends in Fracture; Debs, Keliher, Mailly, and Others Bolt

13th June 2018 Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs

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Hellraisers Journal, Monday June 13, 1898
Chicago, Illinois – Debs Rejects Utopian Colonization Scheme

The Social Democracy of America was founded just one year ago in the same city where now that party is torn asunder as the result of a bitter disagreement between those who prefer to purchase themselves a refuge from the oppression of Capitalism and those who are willing to remain in thick of the fight against the forces of Capitalism.The latter group of Socialists includes Eugene Debs who has always and ever stood shoulder to shoulder with working class men, women and children,-injunctions, gunthugs, and prison bars be damned.

EVD, SDA Fdg Conv, Chg 6-15-97, wiki, Chg Chc, June 16, 1897 — *Debs Addressing Founding Convention of Social Democracy of America,*
*Chicago, June 15, 1897*

From The Chicago Chronicle of June 12, 1898:

Debs Goes Out:
Social Democracy is Split into Two Factions

Eugene V. Debs left the Social Democracy of America, which he founded and of which he was President, at 2:30 o’clock yesterday morning [June 11th] and the men who seceded under his leadership formed the Social Democratic Party of America. In one year’s experience he had determined that the colonization scheme which he had fathered was chimerical and that political action should be the purpose of the organization. When the convention in Ulhich’s Hall, after a night of bitter debate, upheld colonization by a vote of 52 to 36, Debs and his followers walked out and in the Revere House organized a new society and adopted a new platform.

While the old Social Democracy will embark at once on the establishment of its first cooperative community in the mining industry at Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, the Social Democratic Party will confine its work to propagating the principles of socialism by the use of the ballot. The division extends to the old leaders. Of the men who were imprisoned in Woodstock Jail in consequence of the great railroad strike of 1894 E.V. Debs and Sylvester Keliher are in the seceding faction, while W.E. Burns, James Hogan, Roy Goodwin, and J.F. Lloyd adhere to the old party. In both organizations the officers are new, but the former leaders are the ruling spirits.

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FOURTH DAY [March 9th].

Debs Goes Out: Social Democracy is Split into Two Factions

Debs Goes Out:
Social Democracy is Split into Two Factions