The Labor enquirer., 1886-03-06
The COAST CRISIS.
An Argument Justifying So
cialists' Anti Chinese
Agitation.
A People Who Endure Every
Yoke Must Get Rebellion
Into Their Blood.
Cause Of the Repugnance for the Chi-
nese; which is Similar to the
Hatred for Q aScab.'

Hatred for Q ssScab."
For The Enquirer.
Everywhere was felt authority, un-
Ity, impenetrability, absoluteness, Greg
ory VII; everywhere the priest, never.
the man; caste, not the people. But
the Crusades arose. IL toas a mighty
popular movement, and all such, be the
cause and design sohat they may, eUer
s1nchain the spirit of freedom. It
opened the strong period of the LACQUER
les. Praqueries and Leagues" Victor
Hugo The Hunchbabk of Notre Dame.
Such crisis is now upon US Of the Pa
ci6c coast in the shape of the anti-Chi-
nese crusade; such movement Social
lists everywhere are standing in thes
presence of in the shape of the contin-
nous battles between union-men and
scabs. From this anti. Chinese crusade
some of our best and purest-minded
comrades stand aloof because 1t does not
square with their preconceived theory
of fraternity; and for similar reasons So
cialists all over the world are looking
shyly upon the trades-union movement.
1 think they are mistaken, and that the
origin of their mistake is to be found in
the fact that they have studied every
other system but the human system.
"Zeno" remarks that 'as an evolutionist,
Mr.. Owen cannot uphold methods in
yolying force. Evolution is growth"
What. as an Evolutionists, I do uphold
is the power Of the environments, the
enormous strength of the conservative
envelope, which can only be thrown off
by desperate struggle. What number
of Socialists seem to imagine is that the
struggle is merely an intellectual one,
and that when once our ideas have been
clearly grasped the goal is attained. 1t
is, to my mind, one of the gravest of fall
lacies that progress is purely intellec-
tual question. The brain is certainly
the noblest member, but it Is not all the
man; it prompts the action. it does not
perform it; man may grasp an ides
very clearly, and yet be perfectly incap-
able of carrying it into execution, con-
tinual practice being requisite to ade-
quate performance. And every man
must himself do his own practicing.
Thereby he grows; slowly at first, but
more and more rapidly with effort until
he is nerved to the final struggle that
breaks the shell of his old environ
ment. sF .
Theoretically I am an anti-tobaccc-
mist; practically I smoke assiduously,
because the nicotine having gotten into
my blood, my system Graves it. Simi-
larly with the nation of which l am
part. If cowardice, the fear and rever-
ence OF masters, selfish isolation, money
greed, and the like, have become part Of
the national system, nothing but COM
bined effort on the part of the whole ma
ton will drive them out, and supply a
purer circulation. A people that have
for years endured, for the sake of peace
every species of robbery and oppression,
will never throw off the yoke until re-
bellion has got into its blood. Struggle
must have becomes habit acquired by
repeated practice, and, since an enor-
nous struggle is inevitable. let us on
every occasion help them to acquire this
habit-a conanlenddbLe because nec-
essary one. That there are thousands
who grasp our ideas to-day, and show
their intellectual appreciation of them
by applauding at our meetings, is no
more pruof that they are ready for the
struggle, than my appreciation of the
evil of nicotine is evidence that shall
smoke no more. I'll
Ny utter disbelief in the doctrine of
vicarious atonement, which supposes
thatA can work out BIS salvation for
him, has made me deeply grateful for
the good work that the Anarchists have
done in their condemnation of leader
ship, and hero. worship. Our mission is
to help men to grow to thu. height of do
ing things for themselves; our mission
most emphatically is not to do their
business for them. We do not, or at
least I for one do not, want men to be
governed justly; we want them to goy-
ern themselves, and then we. being our
selves among the self-governed, will see
to it that we govern ourselves justly.
These principles the Anarchists appear
to have thoroughly, grasped, but, the
more I think of it, the more difficulty do
| / find in reconciling their principles
with their practice. | can understand a
dynamite explosion being tremendous
advertisement Of the existing misery
and discomfort. but apart from this it
appears to me to have no merit as an
educator. think. RIGHTLY examined,
that the late London riots are worth
dozen executed czars, simply because
10000 men did, during those few hours,
i their own work, instead of q handful OF
! devoted patriots doing 1t for them. Fol-
flowing the same line of thought con-
slider such an organization as the
i Knights Of Labor worth good manv
London riots, simply because It repre-
sents far greater amount of labor and
/ self-sacrifce on the part Of the men
themselves. know ye not who would
/ be free himself must strike the blow r"
lis not 20 much poetry as the statement
of physiological fact.
/ TContinued on fourth paeel