Channels, Spring 2017

P age 52 Schwartz • Inspiration or Distraction? Seymour Stedman, Jesse Cox, and most prominently, Victor Berger, the Milwaukee Socialist who had first given Debs Das Kapital in Woodstock Prison. These key leaders, who would later hold important posts such as Socialist Party Chairman and Socialist Party Vice- Presidential Candidate, saw Debs’ colonization scheme as impractical. They instead devoted their efforts to building up a political machine on the local, county, and state levels, with Berger’s Wisconsin machine becoming particularly successful in several elections. 8 While Debs was ignited with a passion for ameliorating the suffering of the poor workers, these men were more concerned with the Party organization, political success, and power. This led to an inherent conflict. While Debs attracted much popular attention and acclaim because of his fiery oratory, passion for the worker, and demonstrable, beloved character, he was never at the center of the Socialist Party bureaucracy. As will become evident, the fault for this division lay at the feet of both sides, and it would continue to undermine the Socialist Party and Debs’ efforts throughout his time as its figurehead. A second problem with the development of Debs’ colonization scheme was his own personal desire to be on the frontlines, speaking and writing to advance the Socialist cause. When a major strike broke out among the miners of West Virginia, he quickly left his preparations and other engagements and headed directly to the site, attempting to convince operators to back down and non-striking workers to leave their posts. As the strike spread to Ohio, Illinois, and other states, Debs cancelled the articles he was writing for the Party newspaper called The Social Democrat and continued to work personally to inspire and organize miners. Nevertheless, the breakneck pace eventually took its toll, and he suffered a sunstroke that curtailed his activities. 9 The strike never became general and ultimately failed, although Debs gained more personal and popular notoriety after receiving injunctions against appearing in multiple states because of his activities. More importantly though, his inability to stay out of labor conflicts to create a comprehensive, coherent plan for American socialism undermined his goals. After the strike, he proposed colonization in Sparta, Tennessee and chose a piece of land with a price of $1,300,000, well beyond the Party’s ability to raise funds and in a well-populated state, factors that would inhibit the original goal of political domination. 10 This poor attempt doomed the colonization scheme, but the resulting fiasco reveals both Debs’ strengths and weaknesses as a leader of the Socialist Party. The Social Democracy of America met on June 10, 1898 to determine their party platform for the upcoming set of elections with an eye towards the presidential election of 1900 as well. 11 The delegates quickly divided over whether they should focus on colonization or direct political action. Nevertheless, instead of working to resolve the conflict, Debs resigned from his party position and left, taking his supporters with him and joining Victor Berger and others in abandoning the convention. They started a rival party, the Social 8 Ibid, p. 563. 9 Ibid, p. 564. 10 Ibid, p. 566. 11 Ibid, p. 567.