For nearly 20 years thereafter Kirkpatrick traveled across America as a lecturer for the party, speaking to general audiences on the topic of militarism and other political and economic questions.

[3] Kirkpatrick's book would be his best known, touted by Socialist journalist William M. Feigenbaum "one of the really great works of the spirit in American history.

It struck with sledgehammer blows, it marshaled facts and figures, seasoned them with irony and fierce earnestness, and flung the challenge of its title into a world that would be infinitely better off today if it had been heeded.

He also edited the party's monthly magazine, The Socialist World, with Executive Secretary Bertha Hale White's name appearing on the masthead of the publication as "Business Manager."

From November 15, 1925, Kirkpatrick served a brief stint as acting Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party, following the resignation of Bertha Hale White, herself a former teacher and journalist.

[8] Kirkpatrick's time at the helm of the declining organization was short, however, as William H. Henry of Indiana was chosen as a permanent Executive Secretary following the party's May 1–3, 1926 National Convention held in Pittsburgh.