New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1846-09-01
The Courier on Social Reform,


strongly stated our CONVICTION that the Editors OF
,ha, Journal do not consider desira5le state OF So
cial Equality among men-that IS, equal and thor
ough Education with the smplest opportunities Tor
sl rewards according to Usefulness, and honors
based alone on qualities and deeds directly cSndo-
GIVE 70 the common veal; no classes OF masters
and servants but all coworkers Tor universal and
general good-says
We shall no, lose our temper even a, such gross
unprovoked and urfounded aspersions these-asper
sons which fertinded who had any confidence
in the justice OF his would allow himself 70 make
Our conviction remains mistaken ina. may hold
different opinions from those Of The Tribune, without
being the cod.hearted villain which that print repre-
sents Us AZ all events the epithe;z which !; applies
have YET failed 10 convert Us 10 IL views and We
shall therefore speak soewha: farther OF The doctrines
we are here denounced tor no. embracing.
Now we certainly have inferred from the uniform
language of the Courier hitherto on Social ques-
tions direct or incidental that it did not consider
Social Equality desirable, and in that conviction
we spoke If it does so much the better, and We
shall have hope of making this discussion subsere
the highest temporal interests OF mankind. In that
hope we shall pursue it. well knowing tina. We
! greatly prejudice our own pecuniary interests and
promote those OF the Courier thereby. The advo
cacy OF the existing order OF things is always the
profitable side OF the question; you have nine
tenths 10 ninety nine hundredths OF the community
on your side including nearly all who are able 10
patronize newspapers literally while in advo
eating any radical change you counter TO the pre-
JUDGES and supposed interests OF all these, while
those whose immediate comfort would apparently
be promoted by the success OF your plans are gene
rally ignorant, Indifferent TO all ideas of Reform
which do not promise them instant advantages.
engrossed in their personal wants and anxieties,
and incredulous that any will unseliishly labor
and suffer reproach for their uprising and
relief The Editor OF the Courier. as does he
Of the Express well knows that our advocacy
Of Association has cost US thousands OF dollars
in patronage every year, yet both OF them have re-
peatedly ascribed to US mercenary and sordid mo
tives in so doing So they have continued, from
dsy to dav 10 accuse us OF advocating Sexual LII
centiousness though they well knew better-knew
that no paper in the country had labored so con.
stan,ly and faithfully to create a public sentiment
which shall steny reprobate and punish all Liber-
tinsm whatever. Yet now, because we stated
what appeared To us the unmistakable impulse Of
the Couriers hostility to Social Reform, and which
we are confident we could fully Justify from the
/ columns OF that paper il it were worth while, we
are accused Of gross, unprovoked and untounded
aspersions,' &c. and advised that harsh epthets
make no converts Very good: vii rcmem-
Der the lesson: Is it too much to ask the Courier
to do Tkewise1 Here it has been for years
accusing rs in the erossest and most peremp-
tory language Of favoring bestiality, deus Of
prostitution, sc &c. and insisting that 1t had
proved its charge by extract from book
we never saw nor the passage itself till we
found it in the Courier and nothing like which
is to be found in any work we ever read. 1t
is IN vain that and all the living Assocatonists
have repeatedly and solelnnly asseverated, we
hold and teach no such doctrine-we never accept
ed any thing of the sortit is utterly abhorrent to
us'-the Courier and Express virtually reply,
This was extracted from work written by Four
Ter therefore you are all responsible for 1t the pre-
iudiced public can be made 10 believe it any how.
and we shall make the most of 1t. And they do.
Even in ,hc article before us the Courier says;
The statement that We have concealed from our
renders Fourier own remarks upon the passage quoted
made as il was by the Editor OF the Tribune with the
Courier Enquirer containing those Identical remarks
before him. be characterized otherwise han
wantouy false We copied them IN tul rs published by
! Mr. Brisbane himself.
no neichbor tins would do Tor the less ra-
,ional Editor of the Courier but you have better
! faculty of putting two ideas together. Our state
ment was that you had concealed from the read
er's OF the Courier Fourier's Reproduction o!
HE ,cork Theory OF the Four Movements which
forms the magazine of his enemies full of
errors and unfit to be printed This is still true,
notwithstanding YOU say 1t Is wantonly false
Fouriers apology for his errors on this particular
subject OF Love and Marriage another affair
that YOU have quoted in part and endeavored 10
show that II did not mean what II did-namely
that it was based upon an immature and partial
consideration of the subject. and therefore was err
roneous But the trhole book was suppressed by
Fourier himself who objected 10 its republication
on the express ground that
The Theory ias no; complete rben published that book
contains many and moreover II IS not otl.prs-
pared wc-d,gcs work is tu II erirGrd9daces sc
sc And whenever his friends spoke 10 HIM OF issuing
second edition he always repeated THAI The book
scoIid hare 10 be almost entirely rsedst
Yet this is the book. Published forty years ago
and condemned by its author almos, soon us is
sued on the strength OF which the Associationists
are accused of advocating Universal Licentious.
ness in spite OF every thing they can do or say.
Did popular prejudice ever before uphold mon
strous wrong Yet the Courier has published. at
least half dozen times, the most Objectionable
passage it could find in this condemned work TO
prove that some thousands of American citizens
hold and teach what they expressly and soemnly
dscaim
Need we say once more that no Associationist
either accepts the name OF Fourierite or considers
hms elf bound TO accept or justify any thing ad-
vanced by Fourier as it, truth and worth shall
, be made eviden, 10 his OWE mind Very few OF US
have read one-third OF Fourers writings none
attribute TO them any authority or binding force.
Nearly al believe that in his and daring range
{ Of speculation on almost every thing earth
or in Heaven he fell into srea, many errors
and extravagances We stand in the same
relation TO these speculations believer IL
Nevtons Theory OF Gravitston or Bacon's
Indactive Philosophy does to the opinions O
Newton or Bacon on the multitude otother subjects
which these great men discussed. What We have
accepted from Fourier is the idea OF forming So
cietv that every child born into the world shall be