The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-12-21
DETROIT AND CINCINNATI,
REMOVAL
RADICALISM WHAT Is 1T ?

RADICALISM- WHAT is IT?
" Th.,r', noi,nq ~ ori,',d dS right.
such j. the expression attributed I" Wen
dell Phillips, when defining what true
Radicahsm meant. all ,ertainly there can
~ 40 better guiding star We hear a
great deal about the nDi,od tendencies of
labor reform and the ultra demands Of
Nukinglneu. but We question if one IN a
hundred who use these expresslh appre-
GATES their significance or have ever gwen
them All hours serious consideration.
There is probably no word in the English
language more abused or less understood
than the expression, Rddicdiism. With
many, II 10 held up as a bugbear, as
synonymous with violence, outrage, and
hioodshed. though frequently the wish Is
but father 10 the thought. Properly de-
nued and legitimately construed, It means
,,'.t ,ooh, As opposed To superficial means.
ia its connection with the labor move
Iurnt 1t implies undyIng, unyleldmg
opposition to every species ~ wrong and
oppression t. halfway measures, OF com
promise Of principle and certainly here,
Al least. in the language above quoted,
there can be nothing So radical as right
But il is noticeable fact that those who
dtuOunce the radical tendencies Of labor
reform are those most deeply Interested IN
the continuance Of the present unhealthy
social, monetary and political systems
though the views Of the oppressed and the
opprrssors may slightly differ AS to its con
structiun The widowed mother who sits
III her lonely garnet, nursing her dying
babe while the winds Of heaven sing its
lullaby through the chinks Of her lonely
.arrvt, has been told that her demands for
nifty cents per day more for her needle
work upon which three hundred per cent.
profits are made. a., too radicdI; the laborer
y no lives in the alleys dark and damp, where
the pestllence makes its home and where the
sunlight Of heaven seldom if ever comes,
l. told his aspirations for freer, purer at
musphere, which can only be obtained
through increased compensation, are too
,udtcuI i'll fact the line Of demarcatiOn
With a certain class in the country seems to
TIE between m,ttm It tunm, and radlcalism
is their prophet or profit, as the case may
WI
A. a matter Of course, the principles Of
the Labor Reform Party are regarded as
the essence Of radicalism by the leeches Of
RSika.- an the same principle that the muir
derer who fails to escape the hAngman's
moose thinks the gallows little too radical
instrument. The gold gambler shouts rad
,cai,sm because they are opposed to their
neiarious system the National Bank
: windlers echo the cry because they advo-
cate cutting them of root and branch the
party trickster JOINS IN the chorus because
after betrayal has followed betrayal, the
working classes demand that the interests
IF labor shall be advocated IN our legisla
tive halls by their chosen representatives,
aud 50 on to the end Of the chapter.
A few years ago business of Importance
eailed us to Cincinnati some what unexpect-
g. and upon the appeal Of a sanctnnOnlous
rld sinner. who assured us he had been
ot religious periodical in
that city for number Of years, who
q banned that his sympathies were and had
been with the producing classes, and was
quahfed for the position -wesur
rendered the charge Of the Anvo, ATE to
h, control during our absence. Tn our
return he pointed with undIsgulsed pride
w the favorable comments If two of our
city papers upon the imPf"red to"c IF the
A pvo,ATE, which lie had taken the special
pains to deliver At their sanctums. What
are the special articles referred to T. we
asked. sob, my editorials" he prompt
" responded, haven't you seen them :
Here they are + and suiting the
action to the word and his glasses
at the same time, he proceeded to
read them off at length. You see, he
co ntinued, ''the truth Of the matter is,
and have been aware of it for some time,
the ADVOCATE could become great power
II Il wasn't so radical, but you know people
associate demagoguism with radicalism,
I'd then it looses all influence well,
4 MS ask you, who are the people you re-
Ter TO, and what are the special points you
have made, worthy Of commentator II we
further inquired. "Let US look at them
for minute. The people are the OPpres-
so,s of labor-nOt the oppressed themselves;
has been secured by the sur
render Of the very principles we have been
contending for you have undone, or rather
tried to undo, all the good which has been
accomplished, and your conservatism has
landedyou in the ruts made by the very men
We have been fighting. In fact you have
Acceded to every demand made,-and as
Tar as you could fortified their position"
The moral therefrom our readers can draw
~ well a. ourselves.