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From Socialist Appeal, Vol. IV No. 29, 20 July 1940, p. 2.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’ Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL).
Editor:
It is with deep sorrow that we report the news of the death of Frank Halstead, of Los Angeles.
Comrade Halstead was one of the founders of the Left Opposition movement in Los Angeles. Previous to that, he had been a member of the Young People’s Socialist League in the days before the War, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, and an active member of the progressive group in the Machinists Union.
When the writer of these lines arrived in Los Angeles, comrade Halstead was receiving and distributing a bundle of Militants, and speaking wherever he could for the Left Opposition, doing pioneer work in the then “white spot” of reaction. This period marked the beginning of the unemployed movement into which the small nucleus of the Left Opposition threw itself; beginning a left wing in the large unemployed co-operative movement. In this movement comrade Halstead was a leading figure, organizing the unemployed. Working side by side with comrade Halstead, I was able to see a real rebel in action; a rebel who combined a deep loyalty to and faith in the working class, with a clear forceful mind.
After starting the Left Opposition movement on its way, comrade Halstead withdrew from the movement into the role of a sympathizer. He later joined one of the splinter movements.
In spite of the differences between himself and our organization, the Los Angeles section of the Socialist Workers Party salutes a rebel. We are sure his work will be remembered by the working class.
We offer our condolences to his wife and sons.
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