So far, no particular effort has been made to carry the message of
Socialism to these people. All the rest of the poor have had the
gospel preached to them, for the party has carried on special
propaganda work among the Poles, Slovaks, Finns, Hungarians and
Lithuanians. Here are ten million Americans, all proletarians, hanging
on the ragged edge of the impending class conflict. Left to themselves
they may become as great a menace to our advancing army as is the army
of the unemployed, and for precisely the same reason: they can be used
against us, as the craft unions have begun to find out. Surely we
should make some effort to enlist them under our banner that they may
swell our ranks and help to make us invincible. And we must do this
for the same reason that is impelling organized labor to adopt an
all-inclusive policy; because the other policy results in the
artificial breeding of scabs. On grounds of common sense and
enlightened self-interest it would be well for the Socialist party to
begin to organize the Negroes of America in reference to the class
struggle. The capitalists of America are not waiting. Already they
have subsidized Negro leaders, Negro editors, preachers and
politicians to build up in the breasts of the black people those
sentiments which will make them subservient to their will. For they
recognize the value (to them) of cheap labor power and they know that
if they can succeed in keeping one section of the working class down
they can use that section to keep other sections down too.