The 1907 convention was a gathering of the DeLeon-Trautmann-St. John faction. At the fourth convention the first hyphen was to be smashed, but in 1907 both links held firmly. The general tone was one of harmony. An attempt was made, however, to reëstablish the office of President. After a long debate on a resolution to this effect the proposition was defeated. It was decided, however, to establish the office of General Organizer, the incumbent of which was expected also to act as Assistant General Secretary.
The original preamble of 1905 had weathered the second convention without being modified. The first lines of the second paragraph read: "Between these two classes a struggle must go on until all the toilers come together _on the political_ as well as on the industrial field...." A motion was made at the third convention to strike out the words italicized. It was defeated by vote of 113 to 15.[336]
The "political clause" of the preamble was the subject of extended discussion.[337] At this time all efforts to alter the preamble were unsuccessful. The debate was significant, however, in foreshadowing the much more serious struggle which was to take place a year later when the I. W. W. was literally split in two over the question of the retention or the elimination of the "political clause." Daniel DeLeon was a member of the Committee on Constitution and made a long speech in opposition to the motion to eliminate from the preamble all reference to the "political field," declaring that "the position of the I. W. W. is that when the day [_der Tag_ of the socialists, the day of the Revolution] shall come it shall itself project its own political party."[338] DeLeon was supported in his position by George Speed, who later became a member of the General Executive Board of the so-called anti-political--or Chicago--faction and who has been prominent in the activities of the I. W. W. on the Pacific Coast.[339] Delegate E. J. Foote took the same stand and made a cogent argument for retaining the political clause.
[The word] "political" [he said] does have a meaning.... The point is raised that the working class will not have a "government." With that I might agree, but they will have an industrial administration ... and that administration must be political in the sense that it is controlled by the ballot on the inside of your own organization.[340]