Marxist Bulletin No. 4
Expulsion from the Socialist Workers Party
Document 3
Political Committee Motion on the Robertson-Ireland-Harper Case,
2 August 1963 (plus Control Commission cover letter)
August 16, 1963 James Robertson New York City
Dear Comrade Robertson:
Enclosed is a copy of the Political Committee motion of August 2,
1963, requesting an investigation by the Control Commission of charges publicly
made against you.
In conformity with this motion we request that you appear at a
hearing to be held at 116 University Place. Please telephone SU 7-4259 on
Monday, August 19, between 6 pm and 10 pm, to arrange date and time suitable to
you and to the Control Commission.
The party constitution makes the following provisions concerning
the Control Commission:
The Control Commission, on completion of its investigation
in each case, shall present its findings and recommendations to the
Political Committee for action. Action shall be taken by the Political
Committee, or by the National Committee, in those cases referred to it by the
Political Committee
It shall be obligatory on every member of the Party to
furnish the Control Commission or its authorized representatives with any
information they may require.
Please bring with you to the hearing the material pertinent to
this investigation.
Fraternally yours, for the Control Commission: Anne
Chester John Tabor
Attachment to P.C. Minutes No. 1, August 2, 1963.
Motion by Cannon-Dobbs-Hansen-Kerry and Warde:
On Robertson-Ireland-Harper Case
During the pre-convention discussion, the Wohlforth-Philips
tendency made certain accusations of a most serious character, involving the
party loyalty of the Robertson-Mage-White tendency. In a statement published in
Discussion Bulletin Vol. 24, No. 27, they wrote:
It became clear to us that a section of our tendency had
simply written off the party as a whole without a serious struggle to
reorient over a period of time the best working class cadres of the party. In
addition they displayed no serious interest in the work of our party in the
mass movement and instead sought to retreat into a comfortable study
circle. And finally their evolution seemed at that time to be propelling
them rapidly in the direction of a split from the party. (page 4.)
As evidence that the Robertson-Mage-White tendency were moving
toward a split, the Wohlforth-Philips tendency attached three documents as
appendixes to this bulletin. In these, they cite the following to substantiate
their charges:
(1) Hostile attitude toward the Party
Referring to a Robertson-Ireland document, the
following is stated in Appendix II:
These comrades, as they have no class analysis of the
party, begin with a feeling of deep alienation from the party
as a whole. This is expressed in a thousand little ways throughout the
document. We have no intention of building centrism.
Robertson-Ireland state, and they caution us on having any mistaken
concepts of loyalty to a diseased shell. Along the same lines is their
distinction between the discipline of the party and the discipline of the
tendency. They claim to reject the former and adhere to the latter. (page
20)
(2) Double recruiting
On this violation of party discipline and elementary loyalty, it
is asserted:
Their activity, to the extent that it occurs at all, takes
on a circle building character. This is expressed in their concept
of double recruitment. They urge our tendency to
take your fresh elements, indoctrinate them with our views (in a careful manner
of course so as not to get caught) and then sneak them into the
party and into the tendency. (page 21.)
While the comrades recognize that we cannot operate
independently of the party they urge us to operate through the form of the
party as if we were in fact a separate organization. This is the meaning of
their urgings that we act as united blocs within the Party when
approaching some outside activity as a strike, campus activity or the
like. Comrade Harper similarly urges us to function where the majority
isn't. (pages 21-22.)
For us to consider opening up our tendency to non-party
members is simply to invite disciplinary action from the majority. This is
clearly an action in violation of the statutes in our party. (page 22.)
(3) Split perspective
Referring again to the Robertson-Ireland document, the
following is stated:
The Robertson-Ireland orientation, taken as a whole, has
an internal logic to it that the authors may only be partially aware of, or not
aware at all. To state it openly and plainly theirs is a split
perspective. A tendency which rejects party discipline (even if only
partially) and party building, which seeks to sneak people into the party,
which functions in part as an independent entity, which carries on an
organizational faction war within the party, which, in violation of party
statutes includes non-party members, which is so deeply alienated and isolated
from the party ranks that it has in fact already split in content if not
yet in form--such a tendency is going down a road which must inevitably lead to
a split from the party. (pages 22-23.)
In connection with this, Albert Philips offered the following in a
letter attached as Appendix III:
The history of the revolutionary movement is replete with
individuals and little groups of frustrated and rootless petty-bourgeois, who
under cover of revolutionary phraseology prepare a desertion of the
revolutionary movement.
I hope I am wrong, but the Robertson-Ireland
document, taken together with the Harper statement on the
YSA to which he refers, appears to be heading in just that direction, and at
top speed. (page 25.)
Making a comparison with the minority of 1939-40, Philips states
that the Petty-Bourgeois Opposition of that time did not start off with a
split perspective anywhere near as clearly enunciated as that of
Robertson
(page 26.)
In view of the grave charges contained in this material, Comrade
Dobbs, acting in his capacity as National Secretary, wrote to James Robertson
under date of July 5, formally requesting copies of the Robertson-Ireland
document and the Harper statement.
Robertson rejected this request, declaring in a
letter dated July 9 that if you still entertain any substantive doubt as
to the self-serving falseness of Wohlforths charges, the proper way to
proceed is, of course, to cause a trial body or control commission inquiry to
be convened.
From the floor of the July convention, Robertson made similar
remarks concerning his rejection of any form of cooperation with the party
leadership in ascertaining the facts unless a control commission were convened.
In face of Robertsons refusal to cooperate with the efforts
of the National Secretary to clear up this question, Comrade Dobbs sent a
formal request dated July 10 to Tim Wohlforth, requesting copies of the
Robertson-Ireland document and the Harper statement.
Apparently solidarizing himself with Robertson in this matter,
Wohlforth rejected the request, alleging that the documents that had been cited
and quoted from in Discussion Bulletin Vol. 24, No. 27, were private
political material.
In view of this obstructionist course being followed by both
Robertson and Wohlforth in a matter of vital concern to the welfare and
discipline of the party, the Political Committee now refers this question to
the Control Commission, requesting that it conduct an investigation into
possible violations of the statutes of the party, especially involving
Robertson, Ireland and Harper.
Adopted by P.C., August 2, 1963.
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