Pages from My Life · Abraham Cahan · Volume Three (New York, 1926)
Seven Years of Communal Activity
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Front Matter
Title Page, Table of Contents & List of Illustrations
About this translation: an English rendering of printed pages 3–8 of Volume Three, translated from the Yiddish transcription. The chips such as 3 mark where each printed page begins. Russian, English, and other foreign words are kept as in the original; Hebrew/Yiddish terms are glossed in parentheses on first use.
Pages from My Life
by Ab. Cahan
VOLUME THREE
Seven Years of Communal Activity
(with illustrations)
Published by the "Forverts" Association · New York, 1926
Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library · No. 00128
Illustrations in Volume Three
19Morris Hillkowitz (Hillquit)
162Some delegates at the Brussels Congress (first group)
169A second group of delegates at the Brussels Congress
269Isidor Cahan (my brother)
419Alexander Jonas and Lucien Sanial
Contents
Chapter One — How the "Arbeiter Zeitung" Was Founded
9The first radical Jewish convention. — Anarchists and Social Democrats. — Louis Miller. — R. Lewis. — Frenner.
15Social Democratic conferences. — Morris Hillkowitz. — I become greatly interested.
19Philip Krantz. — The London "Arbeiter Fraynd" and the future "Arbeiter Zeitung" of New York.
22"Arbeiter Zeitung Publishing Association." — Debates. — Curse-words. — A committee "from the people." — Kaffenheim. — Joseph Barondess. — Philip Krantz.
28Preparations. — "Di Sedre" (The Weekly Portion). — An article about the savages of Africa.
Chapter Two — The "Arbeiter Zeitung"
39The success of the first issue. — The effect it had on my life.
43Articles by Krantz, Miller, Hillkowitz, and me in the "Arbeiter Zeitung." — The art of popularizing.
48The "Arbeiter Zeitung" and the labor movement. — The Socialist Labor Party.
51The struggle with the anarchists. — The "Freie Arbeiter Stimme."
55In the cloakmakers' union. — Joseph Barondess. — Socialists and anarchists. — The first May Day parade.
65The first great fight in the cloak trade. — Professor Garside again. — An unforgettable gathering.
76A mass meeting at Cooper Union. — Garside for the last time. — R. Lewis. — My debate with Lewis. — Johann Most and Emma Goldman.
81Yom Kippur balls. — A joke of Jacob Milch's. — Michael Schwab.
Chapter Three — To Chicago and Back in New York
84The journey. — My travel companion.
86How Chicago looked then. — My first dispatch.
89Peter Sissman and Abraham Bisno and their group. — Cloakmakers, tailors, socialists. — Mass meetings, lectures.
92Intelligent Russian-Jewish families. — An interesting coalman. — A New Year's ball. —
95First anniversary celebration of the "Arbeiter Zeitung."
97The Jamaica story. — Frank Reingold. — Barondess's trial. — My visit to Sing-Sing.
Chapter Four — My First Journey to Europe
106As a delegate to the International Socialist Congress. — On the ship.
108The London comrades. — Gold. — Shayer. — Rosebery. — Morris Winchevsky.
110First speeches in London. — A debate with S. Yanovsky.
115Stepniak. — Madame Stepniak. — Serebryakov.
118Socialism in England. — Hyndman. — Karl Marx's daughter and her husband.
121Impressions of London. — Neither America nor Europe. — At an English meeting. — Hyndman's. — Lesner.
126I travel to Paris. — First impression. — David Gordon.
129The Gordons. — Gordon's sister. — Koshintsev. — Paris. — Anton Gnatovsky. — Charles Rappoport. — My lecture.
138The Louvre. — The Venus de Milo. — In the cafés of the Latin Quarter. — An interesting Russian doctor.
144I write home. — The Grigorievs.
Chapter Five — The Brussels International Congress
149From Paris to Brussels. — Rubanovich. — A Dutch teacher. — Domela Nieuwenhuis. — Scenes and personalities at the Brussels House of the People.
156Socialist factions. — Anarchists. — Merlino.
158I place the Jewish question on the agenda. The Brussels rabbi. Paul Singer. Victor Adler.
166The resolution of Jean Volders. — Wilhelm Liebknecht. — Achiriademe. — Dr. Ranier. — "Philosemitism." — Plekhanov's journal "Sotsial-Demokrat."
174Women students from Vilna. — Iglesias. — In Ghent. — The Carmagnole. — Isaac Hurwitz. — Like ships that meet on the sea.
179The English make a proposal and the French do not accept
182The voyage back. — My two cabin-neighbors on the ship. — Other passengers. — Back in America
Chapter Six — At the Writing-Desk and on the Platform
186Jacob Gordin comes to America. — His first play and my first theater criticism.
194How I used to write. — Written Yiddish and the Yiddish literature of those times. — The "going to the people" language.
200An agitation song. — A few sedres.
206Feuilletons. — The first bakers' strike. — A Thanksgiving feuilleton. — Patti and propaganda. — Circulation. — Themes.
210First interests as a belletrist. — A new interest in people. — A scientific matter. — My ambition.
215Orators. — The power of imagination. — A virtue and a fault. — Portrayals. — Answering questions from anarchists.
228Philip Krantz. — "Di Tsukunft." — Morris Hillkowitz. — Louis Miller. — Zametkin. — B. Feigenbaum. — Morris Rosenfeld. — G. Selikovitch.
Chapter Seven — An Eventful Summer
231In Boston. — Mrs. Merrifield. — Spiritualism. — A few lodgers.
237Simon Wing. — Mrs. Avery. — On the Common. — Putnam. — Casson. — A disappointment. — Rhode. — J. Finn.
245Homestead. — Frick. — Alexander Berkman's shot.
247Edward Bellamy. — His "Nationalist clubs." — The silver question. — People's Party.
255An international conference in Pittsburgh. — In Homestead.
261Again in London. — In Manchester. — At the Wellings'.
263An evening at Friedrich Engels's
Chapter Eight — From October 1892 to July 1893
268My brother. — Our meeting.
271The anarchists lose two of their leaders. — R. Lewis and Girzhdanski declare themselves social democrats.
274I. L. Peretz. — University Settlement. — Seth Low. — Robinson. — 146 Forsyth Street. — Folding, Stover, Edward King. — Goodale.
280Bellamy's club in New York. — Daniel De Leon.
284In many cities. — Hanford. — A Jewish policeman. — A few hours behind bars. — Dr. Krauskopf. — Walter Vrooman. — Goodale's uncle. — Feigenbaum's trial.
289The sweat(shop)-system. — The condition of the Jewish workers. — Dwellings. — Our double work.
Chapter Nine — My Third Journey to Europe
296The travel plan. — Fielding. — In London. — Baranov. — In Brussels. — Walders.
299In Berlin. — At Bebel's. — At Singer's. — In the Reichstag. — Vollmar. — Bebel's speech. — German assemblies. — Clara Zetkin. — Russian students.
303I see my parents. — In Vienna. — Rebecca's husband. — The meeting. — My mother. — My father. — My aunt. — Rebecca. — Khave'le.
308Eleven days together. — Victor Adler. — Among the Austrian comrades. — Dr. Ellenbogen. — I take leave of my parents.
316I travel to Zurich. — In Zurich. — Paul Axelrod. — Morris Winchevsky. — Plekhanov. — Vera Zasulich. — Jewish humor.
323At the congress. — American delegates. — Merlino again. — I get the floor. — De Leon. — Bernard Shaw. — "Di Yunge."
328Sergei Schewitsch. — His complaint. — The settlement.
333A reception for Engels. — The French delegates. — I give a lecture in Zurich. — Zhitlovsky. — "Vorwärts."
338Burtsev. — I travel to "Rigi Kulm." — A wondrous scene of nature. — The journey to Paris. — A chance acquaintance.
342Back in Paris again. — Lavrov. — Gnatovsky. — An automobile. — A trifle. — In London. — A debate. — I travel back to America
Chapter Ten — In the Years of the American Crisis
346Relief. — Attacks from the anarchists. — A brawl. — A committee at the mayor's. — Coxey's "Army."
354The "Tsukunft." — Morris Winchevsky. — A. Liessin. — "Bontshe Shvayg." — A lecture tour. — Frank Gessner. — "Rafael Naaritzokh." — The "Abend Blatt."
359A stormy workers' struggle. — Eugene V. Debs. — Governor Altgeld and President Cleveland. — "Revolution"?
363The Lexow Committee. — "Red Lights." — Goff. — Senator Resch. — Interesting caricatures.
366An anarchist murders the French president. — Jean Jaurès. — Unions and politics. — Pentecost. — Again in Washington. — At Colonel Hinton's.
371At the "Arbeiter Zeitung." — Stereoscopic pictures. — S. Feskin. — D. Magidov. — B. Gorin. — Z. Libin. — A. Kaspe. — A strange Jew. — A socialist alderman.
Chapter Eleven — "De Leonism"
378A clash in the "Association." — Louis Miller. — De Leon. — How the conflict is recounted in Burgin's "History."
385My relations with De Leon. — The Southern history. — My appearances against De Leon. — A youthful fact.
398I bring the De Leon question before the Jewish comrades and fail. — De Leon's character. — His power and his methods.
405Miller's accusation against the board of management. — The "clique." — The "Abend Blatt" appears. — The editor is Krantz.
408"From a Word a Quart." — "Two Matches." — Engels's death. — Baranov comes to America. — An operation. — The 5th "Arbeiter Zeitung" birthday.
413"Der Emes." — Winchevsky's withdrawal. — Milkh's article. — The Webster Hall convention. — Feigenbaum against the "clique." — Allwort. — De Leon's "Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance." — The arbitration court.
421A speech at the "Arbeiter-Ring Society." — Lectures and speeches. — A second visit to Rochester. — In a madhouse.
Chapter Twelve — How the "Forverts" Came to Be Founded
426In Harlem. — New dwellings. — New York grows by machine-growth. — The real-estate "boom."
435"Yekl." — "Deputies" or "Lords"? — Miller. — A peace conference. — About the "Arbeiter Zeitung." — War again.
441The "general battle." — Scenes. — What Max Pine remembers about that evening. — 52 oppositionists leave the meeting
450In the narrow, long hall with the new carpet. — The "press clubs." — Unforgettable scenes.
454The convention of January 30, 1897. — The name "Forverts." — I am elected editor. — A failure in Philadelphia. — A story in "Cosmopolitan."
Chapter Thirteen — The First Months of the "Forverts"
459The editorial office on Duane Street. — Jacob Gordin. — Miller, Winchevsky, Zhemetkin. — Liessin comes to America.
462First issues of the Sunday "Forverts." — Contributors. — Articles. — Advertisements.
475Differences of opinion about the tactics of the "Forverts." — Debates. — A scene in a Boston theater. — "Free Press." — The tailors' strike.
483De Leon wants to expel nine "Forvertsists" from the party. — He fails, and under the name "reorganization" he expels three hundred.
487Eugene V. Debs becomes a socialist. — His "Social Democracy." — Hourwich. — We become members of the "Social Democracy."
491I leave the "Forverts."
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