Socialist Party of Washington facts for kids

The Socialist Party of Washington was a political group in Washington state. It was part of the Socialist Party of America (SPA), which was a national organization made up of smaller state groups.

In the 1910s, the Socialist Party of Washington was one of the biggest Socialist groups in the Western United States. It had over 6,200 members at its peak! This party is remembered for its role in fighting for free speech in the early 1900s. It also had close ties with the Industrial Workers of the World, a big labor union. Many important leaders of the early Communist Party of America were once part of this group.

How the Party Started

Early Socialist Communities

Washington state was home to several "utopian" socialist experiments in the 1800s. These were communities where people tried to live and work together based on socialist ideas.

Puget Sound Cooperative Colony

One of the first was the Puget Sound Cooperative Colony, started near Port Angeles in 1887. People bought shares to raise money for the project. The goal was to give everyone "shelter, food, and occupation." Members worked as loggers, carpenters, farmers, and cooks. They were paid in "colony scrip" (like special money for the community) for their 8-hour workdays.

However, the colony soon faced problems. Not enough money came in, housing was poor, and daily costs were too high. Many members felt it was more about selling land than building a true cooperative community. The colony eventually faced many lawsuits and closed down.

Equality Colony

Another attempt at a socialist community in Washington was the Equality Colony. This one gained national attention. Some socialists believed they could create a socialist society by having many socialist communities in one state. They hoped this would show how well socialist ideas worked and spread across America.

This idea was discussed in radical newspapers. A group called the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (BCC) was formed in 1896 to make this happen. Important leaders like Eugene V. Debs, a famous union organizer, supported the idea. The Equality Colony was set up in Skagit County in 1897. Some members of this colony later became important leaders in the early Socialist Party of Washington.

Burley Colony

Another group, the Social Democracy of America (SDA), also wanted to create a socialist colony. After some debate, they decided to focus on Washington state again. In 1898, they bought 260 acres of land in Kitsap County for $6,000. The first colonists arrived in October 1898.

By 1901, the Burley Colony had 115 people, including men, women, and children. They lived by farming, fishing, and logging. They also made money selling cigars and jam, and renting out rooms in their "Commonwealth Hotel." The colony even had its own newspaper, The Co-operator.

But the colony started to decline in the early 1900s. Some members wanted to change how things were run. By 1908, most members didn't even live in the colony anymore. It was officially closed down in 1913, and its remaining properties were sold by 1924.

Forming the Socialist Party

Social Democratic Party of Washington

By 1900, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was active in Washington. This group supported "international Socialism" and the idea of workers fighting against capitalism. They believed that workers could use their votes to gain freedom.

The Washington Socialists were very radical. Their platform in 1900 didn't ask for small improvements. Instead, it said:

We are fighting for no half-way measures. We will not be content until every workingman understands how he is exploited and robbed by the capitalist and understands also that he has an immediate weapon in the ballot whereby to achieve his own emancipation.

They ran candidates for state and county offices in 1900. The party had 32 local groups in Washington by early 1901.

Birth of the Unified Party

In August 1901, the Socialist Party of America (SPA) was officially formed. This brought together different socialist groups from around the country. The new SPA allowed each state organization to manage its own affairs.

The existing socialist movement in Washington state became the Socialist Party of Washington (SPW). By the end of 1902, the SPW had about 45 local groups and 1,000 members. By 1904, it had 55 local groups.

From the start, the SPW had two main groups:

• Moderates: These members believed in using elections to slowly bring about socialism. They called themselves "constructive socialists."
• Radicals: These members believed that elections were mainly for spreading socialist ideas, leading to a future revolution. They called themselves "Reds."

This division led to many arguments and disagreements within the party for years. One key radical leader was Hermon F. Titus, a former preacher and doctor. He started Seattle's first socialist newspaper, The Socialist, in 1900. He strongly criticized those who he felt were not committed enough to revolutionary socialism.

Despite the arguments, the Socialist Party of Washington also held fun events like dances and organized choirs. They celebrated May Day with big meetings and speeches. These activities helped members feel united.

Internal Party Conflicts

The disagreements between moderates and radicals often turned into big fights. For example, in 1902, two moderate members from Spokane were elected to public office as Democrats. The Socialist Party did not allow members to join other political groups. Local Spokane refused to kick them out, so the state party voted to remove Local Spokane's charter (its official recognition).

Similar actions were taken against other local groups that worked with other parties. These votes usually showed that the radicals, who wanted strict rules, had more power.

Challenges for The Socialist Newspaper

Hermon Titus's newspaper, The Socialist, faced financial problems. It was sold for a very low price (50 cents a year), so it needed many subscribers to survive. Titus asked for help, saying the paper needed to reach 25,000 subscribers.

In 1904, the paper was struggling. It became a smaller, 2-page paper. Eugene V. Debs himself wrote an article urging readers to pay more for the paper to keep it strong. In August 1904, Titus changed the paper's name to Next and aimed it at non-socialists. However, in 1905, he moved the paper to Ohio and changed its name back to The Socialist.

The Mills Affair of 1907

The arrival of Walter Thomas Mills, a speaker from Kansas, in 1906 further fueled the conflict. Mills was a moderate and was seen by radicals as someone who promoted middle-class reforms. He tried to unite the moderate faction in Seattle.

In March 1907, Mills was accused by the Socialist Party of Canada of supporting another political party. This led to charges against him within the SPW. The radicals, led by people like Alfred Wagenknecht, wanted to punish Mills. The moderates tried to gain control of the state convention to protect him.

At the May 1907 State Convention, the "No Compromise Slate" (radicals and the Finnish Branch) narrowly defeated Mills's group in the delegate election. Mills was put on trial by Local Seattle, but he managed to adjourn the meeting before evidence was presented.

Despite the radicals' efforts, the moderates regained influence in Local Seattle. The state leadership, still controlled by the left wing, continued to push for action against Mills. In July 1907, the State Executive Committee voted to revoke Local Seattle's charter again because it failed to act against Mills. This caused a deep split, and many members left the party.

The 1909 Washington State Convention

The biggest showdown happened at the 1909 State Convention in Everett. Both sides fought hard to get their supporters elected as delegates. For the first time, the moderate group controlled the convention.

The radical group, led by Hermon Titus, refused to participate. They left the convention, held their own meeting, and elected their own State Secretary. This meant there were now two Socialist Parties in Washington!

However, the national Socialist Party stepped in and recognized the moderate-led State Committee. This forced the radical members to rejoin the party individually under the moderates' control. Many, including Hermon Titus, chose not to. Titus changed his newspaper's name to The Workingman's Paper, but it soon closed down.

The Wage Workers Party

After leaving the SPW, some radicals formed a new group called the Wage Workers Party (WWP). This party aimed to include only wage workers and excluded "capitalists, lawyers, preachers, doctors, dentists," and others. It focused on industrial unionism and revolutionary ideas. However, the WWP was very short-lived, lasting only a few months.

Continued Factionalism in the 1910s

Even after Titus left, the arguments between radicals and moderates continued. In 1912, a new state law required parties to elect "Precinct Committeemen." The SPW refused to follow this, saying they were a voluntary group. But a moderate group, led by E.J. Brown, used this law to try and take control of the party. This led to more expulsions.

In 1914, a "Unity Conference" was held to try and bring the groups together. L.E. Katterfeld, a new leader, was elected State Secretary.

The SPW During World War I

During World War I, some Socialist Party members in Washington faced legal trouble for speaking out against the war. For example, Nils Osterberg, a local party secretary, was arrested in 1918. He was accused of spreading "false reports" to interfere with the war effort. He was held on a very high bail of $20,000 but was later released when there wasn't enough evidence to try him.

The End of the SPW

In 1920, the Farmer-Labor Party was formed nationally and became very strong in Washington state. Many members of the Socialist Party of Washington joined it. However, this new party's energy didn't last long, and it faded by the end of 1923.

The Socialist Party of Washington became so weak that it didn't even run candidates for Congress or state offices in 1920 and 1922. By 1923, it was combined with groups from Oregon, Idaho, and Montana into a "Northwest Regional" group.

Party Performance in Elections

Despite all the internal fighting, the Socialist Party of Washington was quite successful in getting votes in the early 1900s. In the 1900 presidential election, Washington state gave 1.9% of its votes to the Socialist candidate, Eugene V. Debs. This was the second-highest percentage of any state.

In 1908, when the national Socialist Party's vote percentage dropped, Washington was the only state where Debs's share of the vote actually grew, from 6.9% in 1904 to 7.7%.

The Free Speech Fights

The Socialist Party of Washington became involved in "free speech fights" in the 1900s. This started when they began holding outdoor meetings on street corners to spread their ideas.

In July 1905, two Socialist speakers, Arthur Morrow Lewis and his wife Lena Morrow Lewis, were arrested in Seattle for "obstructing the streets" while speaking. The Socialists planned to make a public issue of it, and eventually, everyone was released without trial. The mayor tried to limit public speaking to just two places, but the Socialists refused, saying streets were for communication too. The authorities seemed to back down.

The fight got more serious in 1907. On September 3, a blind socialist named J.B. Osborne was arrested for speaking on Pike Street. The police chief told Socialists to "hire a hall" instead of speaking in public. Osborne was arrested again and held overnight without bail, which angered the Socialists even more.

Walter Thomas Mills, the moderate leader, criticized these street meetings, saying they didn't help Socialism. But the Socialists saw it as a fight for a basic right.

At the same time, in Spokane, national speaker Ida Crouch-Hazlett was arrested for "obstructing the streets." A large crowd gathered to demand her release. She was held for 10 days on a charge of blocking the sidewalk.

The Seattle Mass Arrest

Back in Seattle, the fight continued. J.B. Osborne was arrested two more times, and the party paid $270 in fines. The party then asked for "Volunteers for Jail," showing they were ready for civil disobedience.

On October 28, 1907, a group of Seattle Socialists went to the Pike Street Market. One by one, they stood on a box and spoke a few words, only to be immediately arrested. This included important figures like Hulet M. Wells and Harry Ault. This was a major act of protest against the limits on free speech.

State Conventions

The Socialist Party of Washington held annual State Conventions to govern the party. These meetings were where delegates from local groups made decisions and elected leaders.

In 1902, the first convention under the new national SPA was held. It was a heated debate between the radical and moderate groups, with the radicals winning the majority. The convention used a "proxy voting" system, where delegates could vote for members who weren't there. This system was changed the next year to one vote per delegate.

The 1903 convention, held in Tacoma, had 56 delegates. It set limits on how much party organizers and speakers could be paid. It also proposed new rules, like requiring members to have been in the party for a year before running for office and expelling anyone who supported working with other political parties.

The 1905 convention in Seattle was controlled by the left wing. They removed some moderate leaders and declared an election of a moderate to the National Committee invalid.

The 1907 convention in Seattle was another big test of strength. The radicals narrowly won the election for temporary chairman. They also voted that Walter Thomas Mills was under charges, leading to an alternate delegate taking his seat. The convention strongly supported the party's strict rules against working with other parties.

The 1909 convention in Everett was a turning point. The moderate group gained control, leading to the radical faction, including Hermon Titus, leaving the party and forming their own group. This split caused the party to lose many members in Seattle.

The 1912 convention in Seattle had about 200 delegates. They discussed a new state platform and a new constitution. One big debate was whether only wage workers should be allowed to hold party leadership positions; this idea was defeated. The new constitution also changed how the State Executive Committee and State Secretary-Treasurer were elected, requiring a vote by all members instead of just the convention.

Language Groups

The Socialist Party of Washington was mostly English-speaking, but it had one important "foreign language federation": the Finnish. Local Seattle had a strong Finnish branch starting in 1904. There were also Finnish Socialist Federation branches in other towns like Aberdeen and Hoquiam.

By June 1907, there were 8 Finnish branches in Washington. These branches were known for always paying their dues and filing their reports on time. By 1923, the Finnish Socialist Federation had a dozen branches across the state, in both rural areas and larger towns.

Social Democratic Federation

After a split in the national Socialist Party in 1936, the party in Washington became very small. In 1938, a new group called the Social Democratic Federation formed a Washington state branch in Everett.

SPW Average Paid Memberships

State Secretaries of the Socialist Party of Washington

• J.D. Curtis, Seattle (1900–1901)
• Joseph Gilbert, Seattle (1901–1902)
• William McDevitt, Seattle (1902)
• U.G. Moore, Seattle (1902–1903)
• E.E. Martin, Olympia (1903–1906)
• David Burgess, Tacoma (1906)
• Richard Kruger, Tacoma (1906–1909)
• Frans Bostrom (Sept. 1909–1914)
• L.E. Katterfeld, Everett (1914–1915)
• Emil Herman, Everett (1916–1918)

Prominent Members

Socialist Newspapers

• The Co-operator (Burley Colony: 1898–1906)
• Industrial Freedom (Equality Colony: 1898–1901)
• The Socialist (Seattle: 1900–1910)
• The Commonwealth (Everett: 1911–1914)
• The Washington Socialist (Everett: 1914–1915)
• The Northwest Worker (Everett: 1915–1917)
• Co-operative News (Everett: 1917–1918)
• Party Builder (Everett: 1914–1919)
• Saturday Evening Tribune (Seattle: 1907–1908)
• Socialist Voice (Seattle: 1911–1912)
• Socialist Herald (Seattle: 1913–1916)
• Socialist World (Seattle: 1916–1917)
• Seattle Daily Call (Seattle: 1917–1918)
• The New Time (Spokane: 1902–1906)

Images for kids

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  George Boomer, an early leader of the Socialist Party of Washington.

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  An ad from 1897 by Eugene Debs' Social Democracy of America, talking about setting up cooperative communities.

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  Dr. Hermon Titus was a radical newspaper publisher and a key leader in the SPW.

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  Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist Party's presidential candidate in 1904, supported The Socialist newspaper.

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  Walter Thomas Mills, a speaker who supported the "constructive socialist" moderates.

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  The main cities for the SPW were in Western Washington along Puget Sound.

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  Alfred Wagenknecht was a key figure in the early SPW's internal conflicts.

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  Harry Ault worked closely with radical publisher Hermon Titus.

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  L.E. Katterfeld was State Secretary of the Socialist Party of Washington in 1914 and 1915.

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  Hulet M. Wells was an activist in the Washington free speech fights.

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  David Burgess was State Secretary and a national committee member in 1908.

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  Irene Smith's election was challenged by the left wing at the 1905 state convention.

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  Frans Bostrom was State Secretary in 1912.