Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-05-04

OId-Fogyism vs.. Oommu nism,
Prof Alexander WinchelIs article on
Communism in America, in the North
American Review for May, attracts consider
able attention in certain quarters. In the
opinion Of the writer. communistic notions
have obtained so formidable q footing in this
country that revolution is to be feared at
any moment lie says Of the dangers
They will not disappear nor grow less.
They cannot be remedied by a simple repres-
sive action at the surface. Nolegisation can
reach the source Of these evils. There must
be constitutional reconstruction. The crisis
may be postponed, but it cannot be averted.
This is positively alarming But when
writer. in attempting to explain the origin
Of this communistic danger, shows so small
a share of philosophic acumen and historic
knowledge as to trace it to the Declaration Of
Independence be might be dismissed without
further notice. OF the malign influence OF
that declaration Of political rights, Of which
all Americans have hitherto been proud. the
learned professor says "Ine anarchy of tine
French revolution Of 1890 and the contem-
porarv disturbances now felt all over Europe
in French communism, German socialism.
Irish agrarianism and Russian nihiiism, a.
well as the more peaceful phenomena Of St.
simonisr, Fourierism Robert Ovenisrn au5
the lika--au tbasa r,pst he reyarda5 MS t,.
r,action NJ the New World unou the Ola -
1t has hitherto been generally believed by in-
teIhpeut neopIe that tine French rov,lutior
was tine uprisinr of "A Great peopie against
eocal and nolitieai dasnotisrr and that H..
seeds were sowu many generations before
the Declaration of Indepep5epcs wa. pro.
claimed. Could moi the professor have fopDa
sufficient capse for the desnair nj nibiIisr, IN
the on,,rese,,,, of is,,ssio ,-,tt1,,+ goot,,. ;.
origin m the ber,cp nripcirlas of ti,a Amer
can revolution.
His uroof- of the 5opgs, of communism,
are as week as his tbeor, of its or,gin il sr-
psrfcial The first of these is in the ..destrpc.
tive hostility toward tho national banes
though our bsnkipc svstor, has sscrre5 ms
a currency uusurpasse5 in convenience STA
biIitv and safety. " Tine o,positiop n TN. ua.
tionaI banz svstop Wa. marty, ,nere,,.s-
and had hardly trace of tine corrnrrist,c
soirit in IL Most of tbe leaders of the
preenbact noversr. or5 rnsr,. NJ its Col
iov,ers believad that an inBstsd ,,s,,.- ,,--
reucv would assist their lamentations or sua-
bile them IN nav debts IN cpaan nancy Itrt
the former hostility to the national HANKS has
greatly spbsidsd and if IT.. avis,o,os afford
ed any proof of tbs inroa5- of cornrnr,izr-
it's abatement must also be accented as e,i.
dence that the snirit of the gornrrrna has
been checked the most influential adyo-
Gates NJ the ..bastsri silver 5olisrs r ,rt.i.t
Professor WinebelI depounees are tps hon.
ana mine owners VINO eau hardly ne sus-
peeted nj any. fond,,ass tor ,o,,,,,,,,,;st,, tr.
orie.
Other proofs nj the advance nj co,rrr,,,,
ism Professor yincbei finds in the ,,rai,,i,ce
against raiiroad cornorat;ons in trades nm
ions. in praupsrism and in the hostility N
convict labor The professor talks of trades
unions as if they were phepomenai and as If
he had never heard of the formidable orpani-
cations of workinpmeu the craft guilds of
the Middle Ages These guilds certainly did
partake III a large degree of the shirt of
communism. which Is wanting in the trades
unions Of this country. and. as one of bis
critics has pointed out. the utter disappear-
ance of their methods of organization of la
Dor affords evidence of lust the opposite Of
what the professor tries 10 prove. As TO the
ureiudice of q gond many neoria agairs,
convict labor that NAV be set down 10 the TO.
norauce of political economy rather than 10
nnv tendency toward communists yybe,,
the masses OF WOTElnUmgQ understand that