... that they have been not unjustly called impossibilists." DeLeon's enemies commonly referred to him as the "Pope of the S.L.P." DeLeon believed that a rise in wages for workers resulted in a rise in price, so that workers obtained no worthwhile gain from seeking higher wages. This argument suggested that one of the most significant immediate goals of unions was not worthwhile. James P. Thompson and James Connolly expressed the opposite viewpoint, grounding their writings in the work of Ricardo and Marx. When DeLeon launched a secret hearing against Connolly for "economic heresy" in 1907, the issue of politics vs. the economic class struggle came to the attention of the entire union, including branches of the organization in Britain and Australia. DeLeon possessed "a supreme confidence in himself and his views," and was "highly impatient" with those who did not agree. A prolific writer, he hammered away at theory in Socialist Labor Party publications, emphasizing the importance of the IWW's participation in the political fight, and "making it unmistakably clear that this meant helping to build" the Socialist Labor Party. The stage was set for a showdown. Overalls brigade Out of the West came the overalls brigade, a group of Wobblies who wore blue denim overalls covering jet black shirts, with red bandannas around their necks. They wore IWW buttons, and they were proud of their organization. They were nineteen men and one woman, and they referred to themselves as "red blooded working stiffs." They rode the rails from Portland to the IWW convention in Chicago, stopping in working class communities along the way. They held propaganda meetings at each stop, singing IWW songs and selling literature to finance their trip. Led by capable Wobbly organizer James H. Walsh, they traveled over 2,500 miles in their "Red Special" cattle car, ate in hobo jungles, and preached revolution in prairie towns. These were itinerant workers from the West — representing farm hands, miners, sailors, dock workers, and "timber beasts" who traveled with the job, and spent much of their time unemployed. They couldn't rely upon the vote, because many of them didn't reside in one location long enough to register. They likewise didn't trust that votes counted by "some Citizens' Alliance disciple or the Mine Owners Association" could ever usher in the revolution. At the convention, DeLeon criticized the newer IWW members "for their crudities, their rawness, and their inability