Arthur E. Reimer
Encyclopedia
Arthur Elmer Reimer was an American socialist political activist and politician. He is best remembered as a two-time Presidential
candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America
.
Reimer worked as a ladies' tailor in his younger years.
(SLP) in 1898.
In 1905, he was among those SLP members who joined the new Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW). Reimer exited that organization along with his party comrades in 1908 to establish a rival organization, the Workers International Industrial Union (WIIU) as a result of disagreement between the IWW majority and the SLP group over matters of strategy and tactics.
As a member of WIIU, Reimers was a participant in the landmark 1912 Paterson Silk Strike.
He was the Socialist Labor Party Presidential candidate for the 1912 election. His running mate was August Gillhaus
of New York
, the SLP's candidate for President in the previous election, that of 1908.
Afforded access to one of the country's leading weekly news magazines of the day in the days before the election, Riemer criticized the attempt of the rival Socialist Party of America
to win piecemeal ameliorative reform and declared a need for revolutionary change:
Reimer and Gillhaus received 33,070 votes in the 1912 campaign.
In 1913 and again in 1914, Reimer ran for Governor of Massachusetts
on the SLP ticket.
In the summer of 1914, Reimer was named the representative of the Socialist Labor Party to the International Socialist Bureau at the meeting of the Second International
in Vienna, Austria.
Reimer was again named the SLP's Presidential candidate in the 1916 election, this time with Caleb Harrison.
During the 1916 campaign, Reimer and Harrison toured the country steadily in support of their party, with Reimer thrown in jail for a time by the authorities of the mining town of Butte, Montana
for pushing his radical message, while his running mate Harrison suffered a similar fate in the steel city of Homestead, Pennsylvania
. During the course of the 1916 campaign, the SLP produced and distributed 1.5 million leaflets in support of the socialist cause, en route to garnering 14,398 votes.
exerted an enormous impact upon the membership of the Socialist Labor Party, as with all on the political left wing in America. A significant section of the SLP exited the party in the 1917-1919 period to join forces with the communist movement in the United States. According to one history, Arthur Reimer was among this group, joining his 1916 Vice Presidential running mate, Caleb Harrison, Buffalo, New York
druggist and party veteran Boris Reinstein, the late Daniel DeLeon's son, Solon DeLeon, and Dr. Julius Hammer of New York City. Another source, published in 1925 and edited by Solon DeLeon himself, contends that Reimer had not left the embrace of the SLP up to that date.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
.
Early years
Arthur Reimer was born January 15, 1882 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of a machinist. Reimer attended public school in Boston before going on to Northeastern University, also in Boston, where he earned a law degree in 1912.Reimer worked as a ladies' tailor in his younger years.
Political career
Reimer joined the Socialist Labor Party of AmericaSocialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
(SLP) in 1898.
In 1905, he was among those SLP members who joined the new Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
(IWW). Reimer exited that organization along with his party comrades in 1908 to establish a rival organization, the Workers International Industrial Union (WIIU) as a result of disagreement between the IWW majority and the SLP group over matters of strategy and tactics.
As a member of WIIU, Reimers was a participant in the landmark 1912 Paterson Silk Strike.
He was the Socialist Labor Party Presidential candidate for the 1912 election. His running mate was August Gillhaus
August Gillhaus
August Gillhaus was the Socialist Labor candidate for U.S. President in 1908 and for U.S. Vice President in 1912 and 1920.-Life:In 1908, Gillhaus was substituted for the original nominee, “Morrie” Preston, a miner who was arrested on murder charges during a citywide strike in Goldfield, Nevada, in...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the SLP's candidate for President in the previous election, that of 1908.
Afforded access to one of the country's leading weekly news magazines of the day in the days before the election, Riemer criticized the attempt of the rival Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
to win piecemeal ameliorative reform and declared a need for revolutionary change:
"Where the social system starts with the private ownership of the necessaries for production, the bolt that, at first, slightly impedes fatedly becomes in the end a total bar to 'opportunity' — so far as the masses are concerned. The chains of wage slaveryWage slaveryWage slavery refers to a situation where a person's livelihood depends on wages, especially when the dependence is total and immediate. It is a negatively connoted term used to draw an analogy between slavery and wage labor, and to highlight similarities between owning and employing a person...
become more galling... At such a stage of capitalist rotten-ripeness, to look for reformatory redress in the governmental and economic maxims that rocked the cradle of the green infancy of capitalism is to be blind to economic evolution. It is to seek to hold back a runaway horse by the tail....
"Capitalism has organized the forces for and firmly sunk the piers on which to rear the structure of the industrial republic — the social system under which the plants of production are owned collectively and democratically administered. * * *
"Socialism may be summed up in the motto, 'Down with the political state, up with the industrial administration!' ...Afraid, on the one hand, to alienate the vote of the 'furtive Socialists' by a propaganda which these may mistake for anarchismAnarchismAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, the Socialist Party suppresses this vital revolutionary feature of socialism; on the other hand, afraid to forfeit the vote of floating, hence anarchistically tainted discontent, the Socialist Party has elected a notorious anarchist [ William D. Haywood ] to its National Executive Committee."
Reimer and Gillhaus received 33,070 votes in the 1912 campaign.
In 1913 and again in 1914, Reimer ran for Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
on the SLP ticket.
In the summer of 1914, Reimer was named the representative of the Socialist Labor Party to the International Socialist Bureau at the meeting of the Second International
Second International
The Second International , the original Socialist International, was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. At the Paris meeting delegations from 20 countries participated...
in Vienna, Austria.
Reimer was again named the SLP's Presidential candidate in the 1916 election, this time with Caleb Harrison.
During the 1916 campaign, Reimer and Harrison toured the country steadily in support of their party, with Reimer thrown in jail for a time by the authorities of the mining town of Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
for pushing his radical message, while his running mate Harrison suffered a similar fate in the steel city of Homestead, Pennsylvania
Homestead, Pennsylvania
Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the "Mon Valley," southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relations in the United...
. During the course of the 1916 campaign, the SLP produced and distributed 1.5 million leaflets in support of the socialist cause, en route to garnering 14,398 votes.
Later years
The Russian Revolution of 1917Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
exerted an enormous impact upon the membership of the Socialist Labor Party, as with all on the political left wing in America. A significant section of the SLP exited the party in the 1917-1919 period to join forces with the communist movement in the United States. According to one history, Arthur Reimer was among this group, joining his 1916 Vice Presidential running mate, Caleb Harrison, Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
druggist and party veteran Boris Reinstein, the late Daniel DeLeon's son, Solon DeLeon, and Dr. Julius Hammer of New York City. Another source, published in 1925 and edited by Solon DeLeon himself, contends that Reimer had not left the embrace of the SLP up to that date.
Works
- "The Socialist Labor Party's Appeal," The Independent, vol. 73, whole no. 3334 (October 24, 1912), pp. 954–958.
- "Report of the Socialist Labor Party to the International Socialist Congress at Vienna," August 23–29, 1914.