W. is related to the
Socialist Party quite as closely as a child is to its mother, for not
only does the I. W. W. owe its origin to the followers of Karl Marx,
but they are its directors and leaders, and have assisted and encouraged
it in not a few of its principal strikes, notably at Lawrence, Mass.,
and Paterson, N. J.

Though we readily concede that quite a number of Socialists are
individually antagonistic to the I. W. W., still they are opposed to it
not because the I. W. W. differs in essential principles from the
Socialist Party or even because this unfriendly minority of Socialists
would oppose violent methods, if such were considered expedient, but
because the "Yellow" Socialists prefer political action which is made
light of by the I. W. W. direct actionists who are looked upon as
enemies, for they seem to be doing harm to the Socialist political
propaganda. In verification of this, an excellent proof is furnished by
no less an authority than John Spargo, then a Socialist, and a most
prolific writer, whose opposition to the Syndicalists and to the direct
actionists of the Socialist Party was a well established fact even
before the publication of his book, "Syndicalism, Industrial Unionism
and Socialism." On page 172 of this work he writes:

"If the class to which I belong could be set free from exploitation
by violation of laws made by the master class, by open rebellion,
by seizing the property of the rich, by setting the torch to a few
buildings, or by the summary execution of a few members of the
possessing class, I hope that the courage to share in the work
would be mine."

Spargo, in "Syndicalism, Industrial Unionism and Socialism," admits that
the Socialists have continually and consistently given aid to the
Industrial Workers of the World in their strikes. Yet notwithstanding
this active support, many persons have been led to believe that the
Socialists have repudiated the I. W. W. This incorrect opinion may be
due to the fact that the Socialist Party did not endorse the I. W. W. at
its 1912 National Convention, or else to the fact that William D.
Haywood was subsequently removed by a referendum from the National
Executive Committee of the Socialist Party. But the 1912 Indianapolis
Convention of the Socialist Party did not repudiate the Industrial
Workers of the World. The representatives of the party only declared for
a neutrality between this organization and the Ameri