Wage Workers Party
Encyclopedia
The Wage Workers Party was a short lived split from the Socialist Party of Washington
from 1909-1910.
Division had been mounting between the regular organization, controlled by Edwin J. Brown, and the left opposition centered around Herman Titus' Seattle Socialist. The "rights" were more electorally oriented while the "lefts" wanted to make the party a "fighting organization", and tried to give aid to the IWW
. The faction fight became more acrimonious as the two groups began expelling each other from local branches. The issue was framed in terms of what social group would control the party: the rights were pictured as "petty-bourgeois" and supported by intellectuals, skilled workers and better off farmers while the left was supposedly more "proletarian" and supported by lumber workers, city laborers and poor farmers. Titus also had supporters in California, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
The divisions within the group came to a head at the Socialist state convention in Everett
in early 1909. The lefts claimed that they had won a majority of delegates but that the rights had manipulated control of the party apparatus to give them a majority at the convention. Titus and his forces led a walk out and held their own convention, declaring themselves the true representatives of the Socialist Party of Washington. When the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party came down in favor of the regular group, the Titus forces were in an anomalous situation. After flirting with the idea of going into the Socialist Labor Party, the Titus- led Socialist Party of Washington became the Wage Workers Party on February 25, 1910.
When the party was formed they made a constitutional provision banning petty-bourgeois elements from the organization, including "lawyers, preachers, doctors, dentists, detective, soldiers, factory owners and shop keepers" from membership. Titus, who had been a doctor, gave up his profession and became an elevator operator. Joseph Biscay was elected secretary. Henry Ault, later to become a leader in the Seattle General Strike of 1919 was a member, as was William Z. Foster
and his future son-in-law Joseph Manley.
The organization lasted a matter of months. It produced one issue of a newspaper, The Wage Worker. Titus' supporters in Oregon and California were confused about the situation and apparently never rallied to the new group. Most of the groups members drifted into the Industrial Workers of the World, while the core around Titus split between factions advocating a four and a three hour day.
Socialist Party of Washington
The Socialist Party of Washington was the Washington state section of the Socialist Party of America , an organization originally established as a federation of semi-autonomous state organizations...
from 1909-1910.
Division had been mounting between the regular organization, controlled by Edwin J. Brown, and the left opposition centered around Herman Titus' Seattle Socialist. The "rights" were more electorally oriented while the "lefts" wanted to make the party a "fighting organization", and tried to give aid to the IWW
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...
. The faction fight became more acrimonious as the two groups began expelling each other from local branches. The issue was framed in terms of what social group would control the party: the rights were pictured as "petty-bourgeois" and supported by intellectuals, skilled workers and better off farmers while the left was supposedly more "proletarian" and supported by lumber workers, city laborers and poor farmers. Titus also had supporters in California, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
The divisions within the group came to a head at the Socialist state convention in Everett
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
in early 1909. The lefts claimed that they had won a majority of delegates but that the rights had manipulated control of the party apparatus to give them a majority at the convention. Titus and his forces led a walk out and held their own convention, declaring themselves the true representatives of the Socialist Party of Washington. When the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party came down in favor of the regular group, the Titus forces were in an anomalous situation. After flirting with the idea of going into the Socialist Labor Party, the Titus- led Socialist Party of Washington became the Wage Workers Party on February 25, 1910.
When the party was formed they made a constitutional provision banning petty-bourgeois elements from the organization, including "lawyers, preachers, doctors, dentists, detective, soldiers, factory owners and shop keepers" from membership. Titus, who had been a doctor, gave up his profession and became an elevator operator. Joseph Biscay was elected secretary. Henry Ault, later to become a leader in the Seattle General Strike of 1919 was a member, as was William Z. Foster
William Z. Foster
William Foster was a radical American labor organizer and Marxist politician, whose career included a lengthy stint as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA...
and his future son-in-law Joseph Manley.
The organization lasted a matter of months. It produced one issue of a newspaper, The Wage Worker. Titus' supporters in Oregon and California were confused about the situation and apparently never rallied to the new group. Most of the groups members drifted into the Industrial Workers of the World, while the core around Titus split between factions advocating a four and a three hour day.