Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-03-30

The spirit of transport peryading your
last weeks issue has infected me, and |
write to further encourage the true de-
mocracy in their till now gloomy task
| say gloomy, for the seed SO very gem
orally sown seemed to have fallen on APP
parcntly sterile soil. The soil was poor,
but by such steady and persistent appli-
cation of socialistic nutriment, coupled
with advanced machinery in the shape
of rapid economical development, happy
promises of bountiful and early crop
can be prophesied.
The progress of socialism has been
marked in this city, although we have
here no open Section. Yet the small So
cialistic club in this city has done ag-
gressive and gratifying work. 1t has
succeeded in bringing into our ranks at
least six women whose enthusiasm for
the cause and knowledge of the science
is equal to that of a ike number of ag-
gressive male Captives--wOmen of hui
name and advanced thought, investing
all their leisure time snatChed from the
many cares of household drudgery, to the
study and attainment of the only last
ing satislaCtlOn-the cause of down
trodden humanity. These ladies are all
unyieldng sOcialists-sOme of them
quite young-and mere suggestion by
them to a man is always patiently lis
tened to Armed with "Lo0king Back
ward" as their first weapon of attack,
they generally succeed III creating inter
est and finally Ill winning converts who
would have been difficult of subiuga-
ton by the other sex. They have been
successful in ex ,ting the interest of
few school teachers who, if they can
only absorb sufficient of the philosophy
to practically apply the federal provi-
sion that ''all men are born equal
might uncOnsciously assist in the evolu-
ton of some embryo Lassalle. How re-
freshing and yet how rare to meet an
uncompromising female socialist so
different from the female enthusiasts
with their patent rights scheme for the
elevation of humanity by female suf-
| frage, prohibition, dress reform and the
| like, and totally imperviOus to any the0-
ries attacking the root of the evil-a
| stamp Of woman often attendant at our
local Nationalist Club. Judging from
! the success of our local feminine CO.
| terie, the writer is encouraged to vigOr
ously strive for the production of further
devotees of the science from, the fair
sex. Another inspiring symptom Of our
steady and irresistible advance is the
number of Government clerks and pub
Ia ln
come swayed by the liberal philosophy.
The Patent Office, through the efforts of
one of our comrades, now contains a
number of sympathetic and generous
minded men, who continually show
their love for the movement by sup
porting the sOcialistlc press and gener-
ousIy donating for the purpose of prop
uganda. The Treasury Department has
also its full quota. The reason lies prob
ably in the fact that the Government
departments are peculiarly socialistic in
their tendencies. A mass of people in
close proximity, pursuing and perform
ing the various and manifold details
of executive work, a hive of sta
tistics that only have to encompass
few of the principal industries
of the nation, and the statistical feature
of the co operative commonwealth
would seem easily realized At least 50
it appears to the soCialistic dreamer as
he wanders through the corridors of the
various Government buildings. To a
casual observer himself a novice, it
would seem but trivial step to modern
ize the bookkeeping of the Treasury De-
partment so as to accurately and con-
cisely discover the fullest needs of the
body polite, and then to scientifically
direct the distribution of the national
produce. To me the concrete satisfaC
ton of humanity would .then be far
more complete than that of any one I'M
der the system of brutal warfare of to-
day. The iron and murderOus will Of
our railroad barons Il cite them as to
me they seem the most unsCrupulOus),
would obtain an entirely different source
of action than that of sordid selhshness
and vain ambition, so that even the
wonderfully organized executive ability
of Gould could be turned to the COM
mon veal. and with his atfeCtiOnal nat
ure intensified, he might even become
beloved.
To reCur to earthly matters, as further
pursuit of the Gould episode might be
deemed a peculiarly psychological ques-
ton by your subscribers, | will speak
of the growth of our local Nationalist
Club. 1t is now fifty or more strong,
having a good sprinkling of women.
There are two shades of opinion in our
club. The one, generally composed Of
old men, who seem TO be admirers of
Emerson and Hawthorne and Thoreau,
representing the metaphysical, poetical
and hazy type of socialism, men who
have all their lives been avaricious
readers and thoughtful students, and
who, until the appearance of Bellamy's