 Between 1897 and 1901 he headed up the party's "Agitation Commission" for the .Next, till 1905, he led the city's newly created .He was then appointed Regional Party Secretary (""Bezirksparteisekretär"") for the entire region surrounding which at that time was frequently identified as the upper Rhine Province (roughly corresponding to the western half of the modern state of North Rhine-Westphalia).