SERIES IV: NEW YORK CITY CORRESPONDENCE, 1908-1946, inclusive

Series IV: The New York City Correspondence (frames IX:53 98), which follow the New York State files in the filming order, constitute the largest group of records in this collection. Most of these files pertain to events of the 1930s, but there are important items for the 1910s, 1920s, and 1940s as well. of major importance in these files are papers relating to the Socialist Party split and the fur workers dispute. Regarding the party split, there are items pertaining to communist infiltration of the Socialist Party, the suspense of the New York State branch, the militancy of the Young People's Socialist League, and the 1934 Declaration of Principles. The furriers' union papers (IX:69 IX:73) include correspondence from Norman Thomas, minutes of Socialist Party meetings on the "communist" International Fur Workers Union, and the investigative report written by Norman Thomas on the fur workers dispute.

Another interesting aspect of these files are the papers relating to the Women's Committee of the New York City local (IX:74, IX:76, IX:81, IX:88, IX:91). Beginning in 1935, the Women's Committee sponsored a series of meetings known as the "Women's Conference Against the High Cost of Living." These meetings featured speeches by prominent socialists and discussion sessions on such topics as the standard of living, unemployment insurance, social security, socialized medicine, municipal waste, sales taxes, and the Child Labor Amendment. The Women's Committee papers include speeches, outlines, correspondence, and reports regarding these consumer oriented meetings.

Other papers contained in the New York City files relate to such issues and events as the Socialist Party's relationship with organized labor, the 1937 Appeal Clarity group conflict, the differences between communists and socialists concerning the "Popular Front" question, and Socialist Party electoral activities. In the pre 1930 files, there are papers pertaining to the Bronx Agitation Committee, Kings County local, and the East Side Agitation Committee. The major correspondents in these files are Julius Gerber (IX:78, IX:84) and August Claessens (IX:77, IX:83), but there are also numerous letters from William Mailly, W. J. Ghent, Charles Edward Russell, Adolph Germer, Norman Thomas, Alfred Baker Lewis, Jack Altman, Clarence Senior, Esther Friedman, Darlington Hoopes, Mark Starr, Paul Porter, Louis Waldman, Charles Solomon, Daniel W. Hoan, James Oneal, Theodore Schapiro, Dorothy Kenyon, Bertha H. Mailly, and Gerhart Seger.