J. Mahlon Barnes

[1] In 1891, Barnes joined the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP), remaining an active member of that organization until the 1899 split headed by Henry Slobodin, Morris Hillquit, and individuals close to the New Yorker Volkszeitung newspaper.

[3] Barnes was subsequently re-elected every year until a combination of opposition by the SPA's left wing with charges of immorality resulted in his removal in 1911.

[6] The left long sought his removal but were unable to muster sufficient strength on the National Committee to vote the clerically-proficient and ideologically discreet Barnes out of office.

Morgan's assistance had been sought by labor organizer Mary "Mother" Jones to force Barnes to repay a loan made by her to him previously.

[6] This drumbeat of criticism forced the NEC to capitulate and in December 1910 a special investigating committee was named to explore the veracity of the charges against Barnes.

[9] The debate raged for another six months, forcing the National Executive Committee to revisit the matter at its session in August 1911, at which it heard the direct testimony of some of the witnesses against Barnes.

[9] At the conclusion of these hearings, the NEC revealed that Barnes had placed the mother of his child—to whom he was not married—on the party payroll while at the same time deducting $2 a week from her paycheck as repayment of a $30 loan he made to her.

[9] The NEC declared Barnes guilty of a "grave indiscretion" and accepted his resignation, naming John M. Work, a member of the Right faction, as the new Executive Secretary of the organization.

[1] In 1919, Barnes served as head of the National League for the Release of Political Prisoners and the American Freedom Foundation, organizations launched by the Socialist Party and civil libertarians in an effort to build public pressure for political pardons of conscientious objectors languishing in prison following the conclusion of World War I. Barnes continued to work for the Socialist Party as the business manager of the organization's propaganda weekly, The New Day, from 1920 to 1921.