1934 Declaration of Principles

"I warn against these dangerous, provocative proposals, which will lead the party to ruin. They are anarchistic, illegal, Communist doctrine. This is a wild, irresponsible declaration."

"When Thomas rose, he received a great ovation from the Militants, but he was pale and nervous. He had been maneuvered into a position inconsistent with his long time stance as a social reformer. He was ill-suited to be a leader of a revolutionary movement committed to violence and dictatorship. I considered him more a captive than a leader. While I felt that the leadership and encouragement he had given the Militants had helped bring the party to the brink of disaster, if not past it, I was nevertheless sympathetic to a man who had been cast in a role so alien to his past. "But he had passed the point of no return. He rejoiced in the declaration, he said. He praised Allen. As a pacifist, he had little difficulty in making a general and eloquent statement about the horror of war, which he condemned. When he got to the question of seizure of power and the imposition of a dictatorship, he seemed lost. He declared that Fascism, which he said the declaration clearly implied was now at hand, 'left the Socialist Party no alternative but to seize power whether or not it had a majority."