The Labor enquirer., 1886-02-06
PRACTICAL MEN.
A Call for Such is Simply an
Inquiry as to What is
Practicable.
A Criticism Of Views by one Who
Believes in Magnanimity
in All Discussions.
Three Questions Based Upon the Opin-
ion That no Single Agency can Ac
complish the Revolution.
For the Enquirer.

For the ENQUIRER.
Practical men wanted" is, observe.
the head line of 'tSarassa's" open letter
and sufficiently attractive title it is
until one reflects that the object of every
earnest worker in the labor movement
Is neither more or less than to find out
what is really practical. The issue that
contains this open letter Tin the. course
of which the writer brands the fearless,
outspoken John Swinton" as an utterer
of fallacies; speaks of peaceful, indus
trial Revolution, and remarks that the
Anarchists alone have seen the folly of
aiming at political infiuence) also con-
tains summary by "Zeno" of the An
archists' Revolutionary creed, in which
all who contribute TO THE ENQUIRER, or
for that matter the Alarm, are classed
among the weak spirits "who prattle in
meetings or as writers )" a powerful plea
by the same writer in favor of the bal
lot, and an article on proportional rep
resentation by Mr.8Alfred Cridge who
considers all other subjects as "compar-
atively superficial issues" Inasmuch as
the practical men are they who adopt
only practical course, it is at once ap-
parent that call for practical men is but
another way of inquiring what is prac-
tical. . -.
If the ballot in the hands of the wage
slave is delusion, and if it is true that
those who are econo mically slaves can
not be politically free, Messrs. Cridge
and "Zeno" are not practical men; if on
the other hand force is distinctly reac-
tionary, and will but involve us in q
greater tyranny, the best use force can
be put to Is to apply it to, the authors
and advocates of the groundwork of
the Social Revolution;" as being not
merely useless, but most dangerously
impractical. "Sarassa" himself, calling
aloud for practical men," would have
the workers of the world learn the art
of aggregating wealth IN their own
hands, and considers that in our land q
peaceful, industrious Revolution has
been rendered possible by the existing
laws for corporations .
For my part during two years resi-
dence in California have been assidu-
ously gazing at the spectacle of state,
which may be regarded as unit in its
hatred of certain railroad corporation,
endeavoring 20 force that corporation,
by virtue of these much-vaunted cor
poration laws, to pay its taxes. AS I
find that the more sanguine among US
are about beginning to regard such pay
ment as now coming within the range
of practical politics." 1 am by no means
violently enthused with a conviction Of
the practicabilitY of the "Sarassan" !"
method.
Let US now turn to consideration of
the position taken up by Messrs. Cridge
and "Zeno," as also by the Socialistic
Labor Party, which holds that the work
ers must get hold of the political, as
preliminary to securing the economical
powers of the state. The question here
again is not whether YOU prefer politi-
cal to an economical Revolution, but
whether you can get one without the
other; point sbout which many of US
have serious doubts, but which these
gentlemen take for granted.
Ihave been talking and writing good
deal lately on Wendell Phillips and the
anti-slavery agitation, believing that the
history of that movement is full of les
sons which are emlnently applicable to
the e'situation of to-day. thought. that
had discovered that 50 long as the slave
owners held supreme control of the poll
tics of this country they remained quies-
cent, but that the moment this slipped
from their grasp they. few to arms. Mr..
Cridge and 1 have both read of war as
LQ6 laSb aISuHioub vi hibsoy a Q hObOy
kings exempted from this ruler Will
the political stable be easier so clean out
than the economical2 That is what we
want to know; and when you have
thoroughly secured it, will everything
else necessarily right-itself? 1t is very
easy to shout Proportional Represents,
tion," but, if it is clearly understood that
this will carry with it possession of both
land and tools, there may be opposition.
What then? -.
Nothing is further from my intention
than to deride the efforts of single re
former; indeed, if this article has an
object, it is to plead for tolerance, for the
exercise of that virtue, so pre-emiuentlv
the characteristic of cultured mind,
known as "magnanimity. As one who
has reached Socialism through the study
of evolution I necessarily believe in
growth. Our business is to make men
grow, and the first step is to get man
interested in his growing. If / can
rouse man to study of social ques-
tions by giving him Simeon Stetson on
''The Peoples Power"-the ballot, I give
it to him. So it is with Henry Georges
works, and thousand others. There is
no universal panacea but the Truth,
whenever the human mind shall take
the trouble to evolve it.
Force! As q mode of argument it