The Camouflagists at the Convention politely declared that the Socialist Party did not seek to interfere with the institution of the family. But Hilkovitz whitewash is not white enough to obscure the lurid red of the free-love and race-suicide propaganda carried on in the Socialist press, Hillquit's favorite sheet, "The New York Call," being one of the chief offenders. A visit to the Rand School in New York City and examination of the books for sale on its book-store shelves and the periodicals and pamphlets there for sale will present appalling and convincing evidence of the Socialist efforts to destroy elementary decency as well as the institutions of marriage and the family.
Another declaration of the Camouflagists at the Socialist Convention of May, 1920, stated that the Socialist Party "recognizes the right of voluntary communities of citizens to maintain religious institutions and to worship freely according to the dictates of their conscience." As August Claessens warned the Convention: "Cry out against that which men cherish as holy, and you rouse an antagonism which no argument can defeat." This counsel of discretion is interesting side by side with another Convention statement, made by William Karlin of New York: "If the churches do stand for the old order, it will be a bad day for them when the new order comes, because the churches will go down with the old order." Mr. Karlin, however, accepting discretion as valor's better part, admitted that "There are many people to whom we can appeal if we don't arouse their religious prejudice;" while Delegate McIntyre, of the District of Columbia, prudently advised the members of the Convention to "get the voters first and talk religion out of them afterward." Again, a visit to the book-shop of the Rand School is suggested if proof is desired of the Socialist propaganda of atheism, sacrilege, and, specifically, hatred of Christianity. The reader of "The Red Conspiracy" will have noted enough of the Socialists' blasphemies to prevent the Convention Camouflagists' hedging on this subject from having any effect but added disgust at hypocrisy.
The Convention declared in favor of political action for the attainment of the Socialists' ends. Exactly! Chapter XVI of this book, "The Conspiracy Against Our Country," has shown for what purposes political action and political power are to be used. Get traitors in office and when the Revolution comes the forces to coerce the American people and destroy the American Government will be in the traitors' control.
Camouflagists[25] and their opponents of the Convention united in the nomination of Eugene V. Debs, convicted criminal, for President of the United States. Let us hear the words of this man whom Morris Hillquit stated resembles "the Nazarene," and who styles himself "a flaming revolutionist." A press report, from Atlanta, Georgia, dated May 14, 1920, quotes him as saying:
"Personally I am a radical. I have always been one. My only fear has always been that I might not be radical enough. In my own party I always led the minority, but I hope to lead a united Socialist Party to the polls this Fall. They are fighting within my own party today. It is a good healthy sign. The radicals keep the conservatives from giving away too much to popularize the movement. That is what killed the Populist Party. The leaders sought to popularize its political propaganda by pandering to more conservative elements. They lost the radical support of their party, which became the Socialist Party, and naturally the conservatives had no further use for them. To begin to placate your enemies is to invite decay."
The radical minority in the Socialist Party formerly comprised the Left Wing members who later on became Communists and Communist Laborites. J. Louis Engdahl of Chicago at present leads a new Left Wing radical minority within the Party.
The American public may at times be gullible, but hardly sufficiently so as to believe in the sincerity of Hillquit and Victor L. Berger, who filled the air at the Convention with phrases of moderation and disclaim of treason and revolution, following their gentle verbiage by nominating Debs who scores those who "sought to popularize" "political propaganda by pandering to more conservative elements." "Panderer" is not a pretty thing to be called, but the pleasant Messrs. Hilkovitz and Berger swallow it. That their conservative phraseology would fool no one was recognized at the Convention by Irwin St. John Tucker, who said: "You can disguise yourself by sprouting pink whiskers." Mr. Tucker, however, would not join the Camouflagists, remarking: "It may be that the American people are not yet ready to accept Socialist principles, but I would rather lose an election than lose those principles."
Hillquit himself said in the Convention, on May 13, 1920, that the nomination of Debs "proves that we have not receded from our position of revolutionary Socialism and that we will be more effective and still more revolutionary than ever before."
J. Louis Engdahl may be an enemy to the United States and to society in general, but he is man enough to say boldly what he really thinks. At the Convention he declared: "I say that it is time to inaugurate the revolution immediately. The time to prepare for victory is now.... We can't fool anybody here by decorating the walls with the flag of Wall St."
Delegate Oneal, one of Hillquit's own faction of political actionists, volunteered to furnish a reason why camouflage was a useful policy for the Socialists to adopt until "The Day" arrived,--the black day when the United States of America should be gasping in the throes of death-agony, like wretched Russia. Oneal sapiently remarked at the Convention: "The time and conditions which favored the Russian revolution must be studied before we attempt to adopt them here."