The Labor enquirer., 1884-02-16

COMMITS. aProIetairep especially for the San
Francisco Truth; republished In THE En-
aUtRER by special permission. 4
1t took three long chapters to demon
strate to the young people of the well-off
class that in tae presence of the dilemma
which life presents to them, they will be
forced--if they are courageous and sincere
to come and Join the Socialists, and
work with them for the cause of the So
cial Revolution. This Truth is ali the
while so simple! But in speaking to
people who have been influenced by
bourgeoise environments, who have So
phisms to combat, who have prejudices
to conquer, who have interests to lose
- 1t is easy to be short in speaking to
you, young people of the working class.
The force of things push you to become
Socialists, however little you may reason,
or have the courage to act according to
your reason. In fact modern Socialism
has sprung from the very depth of the
working people itself. If some thinkers
from the bourgeoise class come to it, af-
fording it the sanction of science and
the support of philosophy, the base OF
the ideas they declared has been, never
theless, the result of the collective mind
of the working people. The rational
Socialism of the International, which is
to-day our best force, has been elaborated
into the workingmen's organizations,
under the direct influence of the masses,
and the few writers who have lent their
aid to the work of elaboration have only
promulgated the aspirations which they
found already rife among the workers.
For one sprung from the ranks Of the
working people not to devote himself to
the triumph of Socialism is to ignore his
own interest, is to deny his own cause,
and to betray his historic mission.
You remember still, when you were
mere child, going to play on the streets
of winters day, the cold biting through
your thin clothing, and the slush filling
your worp-out shoes. You see children
plump and richly dressed. who look at
you with an air of disdain. You know
perfectly that those stuck-up brats are
not equal to you or to your companions
for intelligence, good sense or energy.
But later, when you had to be, from five
to six o'clock in the morning, shut up
twelve hours day in dirty workshop,
beside noisy machinery, and-machine
yourself day by day, year after
year. its merciless movement, while the
others went quietly to study in colleges
in fine schools, in universities And
now these same children, less intelligent
but better instructed than you, have be-
come your masters, and enjoy all the
pleasures of life and the advantages of
civilization and you-what is for you ?
You 90 to your little apartment, dark and
damp, where five or six human beings
grovel in the space of few yards square
where your mother-tired of life, more
aged by cares than by years-gives you,
for every meal, bread, potatoes, and
black liquid ironically called coffee and
for seasoning you have always the same
question-how to pay the baker and how
to pay the landlord?
And what would you drag out the
same miserable existence that your
father and mother have done for the last
thirty yearsP To work for lifetime to
procure for some all the enjoyments Of
well-being, of knowledge, of art, and
keep for yourself continual anxiety about
the morsel of bread? Would you re-
move forever all that makes life beauti-
full, and devote yourself to procuring all
these advantages for handful of idlers ?
Would you use up your forces in labor,
and have only misery when the stop
page-the frightful stoppage work
arrives Is it thus you would have
your life?
Not seeing the end of the situation,
you may resign yourself; you may say
Entire generations have submitted to
the same fate, aud l who cannot change
it must submit to it also. Then let us
work and get along as best we can"
Well, then, Life itself will undertake
to enlighten you.
Some day will come the crisis, Not
transient crisis. as formerly, but one kill
ing an entire industry, reducing to mis-
cry many thousands of workers, and de-
stroying whole families. You will strug-
gle like the others in the face of this
calamity, but by and by you will see
that YOUR wife, your child, your friend,
have suecumbed gradually to privatons,
and are sinking before your eyes fol,
want of food, for want of comfort, and
that they will finish by lying down to
die. Meanwhile life is rolling its bright
wheels in the streets of the great city,
without caring for those who are perish
ing. You will know then how revolving
is this society. You will think over the
cause of the crisis and will 60 to the bot
tom of this iniquitous system which ex-
poses thousands of lives to the cupidity
of handful of idlers, you will know