Workmen's advocate., 1889-12-07
THE ART CONGRESS.
Socialists Carry of the Honors at Edin-
 burgh.

I4dSt week NdB all eNcllllul one Nllll us in Edinburgh, Not that we can say that the Art Congress has, from a gen eral point of view, been a success. On the contrary, the members have been few, and the papers seldom brilliant It started badly. The Marquis of Lorne may be an excellent person, but he made poor president. There was select audience of about four hundred to hear his opening address, but to three.fOurths of them 1t was mere pantomime of rather awkward kind. l was disposed to consider myself one of the victims, but on talking the mat ter over with one of the apparently privileged order on the platform he assured me my position was the more enviable. A glance at the address III the newspapers went long ways to convince me he was right. The mar ouis, however, is hardly to blame for his mdicrous suggestions or incoherent commonplace. He makes no prctentl0n either to have any knowledge of or any interest in art; and if the Association are such frightful snobs as to be SaliS- fled with an empty title, they must take the consequences. There was want ol sincerity indicated in such q selection, and it was also manifested III many ol the papers. The faddlsts were oi course present in great numbers, with the'r pet schemes for the Encouragement of Home Industries, and such like, Wor- thy people they are, no doubt, ana one would never think of visiting thelr pro- posals with unqualified condemnation some good may result from them. One might tolerate them if they talked With more humility about them. It IS when they pose as the regenerators ol socieiy and submit their little schemes as pan aceas for our social ills we regret their want of insight. They had their ln- nings but we found them tedious, be- cause, with due allowance for good ln' tentions, they promised to heal but very slightly the hurts of the people.
 Needless to say there were also few Philistines, who distinguished them selves by attacking Ruskin and his doc trine of morality in art One might have sympathized with them if con y;nced their hostility had been directed to the morality of Pherasaism. We have too much of this miserable conven- tionality everywhere, but we felt some how the critics had -nore than thelr own share of it; for after all, the morality of Ruskin IS nothing more than fidelity of execution and sincerity of purpose. One has merely to define morality on its practical side as an at tempt to get into right relations with each other and the objects around us to realize the impossibillty of any genu- inc art existing without it. The absence of this very morality not only accounted for much that was irrelevant m this criticism of Ruskin, but might also explain some defects in the productions of many of our artists. It must, how ever, be confessed they are not as class conspicuous for the want of it. Quite the contrary. They are not only much more susceptible to beauty, but also in consequence more capable of generosity. The Socialists, for this req son, carried off the honors of the Con- gress. Their merits no doubt entitled them to do so, but still 1t was to the credit of the members they were so appreciative. The presidential address of our comrade Morris drew the largest gathering of the week. He was in fine form, and delivered his weighty words in splendid style. Nothing Could have been better than the impression pro duced, for the audience not merely ad- mired its ability, but were nOVed by its reasoning.
 The most successful meetings of all, however, were perhaps the lectures given to workingmen. These were led off by Morris and Crane and finished hy Walker and SanderSOn. We were not only much gratltied by the reception given by the artisans to our comrades, but proud also to think they had been found most competent to address them on matters relate to their handiCrafts.
 Crane and Morris also lectured under the auspices of the Socialists to fashion able audiences in West-end hall. The charges were high. and the attendance, considering the time and weather, was good Cranes subject was 1.-The Flu cational Value of Art, and 1t took we'll He was in good form, and his llustra- tions of the Graz Baron, the Bag Baron, and the Capitalist elephant on the tor toise of Labor were most effective and instructive. Morris lectured on "The Origins of Ornamental Art We hope he will soon publish it, for, as one of the audience remarked, It was the best lecture he had heard given by Morris It was too rich fnnd, however, for many