Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-02-16
LETTERS GALORE |
SIGNS OF THE AGITATION FOR
SOCIALISM.
Letters Critical and Letters Hopeful.
Letters From Boston, San Fran.
cisco and Between-COm.
radeS and Friends
Communicate.
TO the WOrkmen'S .AdrOcute.

TO the WOrknlen'S Adrocate
Considering that it is essentially ne
cessary that we should have perfect can
dor in our dealings with one another, |
send the following not altogether agree
able news.
But as it news, and as it may serve to
warn comrades with like weakness the
danger and folly of acting in similar
manner, it will therefore be perhaps
more usesul than if it was less disa-
greeable.
The movement here as elsewhere, no
doubt, has in it individuals who, not
content with the results Of their own
abilities, however great they may be, in
their weakness and vanity make habit
of claiming as the result of their efforts
things with which they have had no
connection.
Thus, upon the advent of Ambrose
Bierce into the socialistic arena, these
unfortunate individuals laid claim as to
have been factors in the securing of this
most desirable recruit, and basked right
royalty in the sunshine of our admira-
tion for the time. as the source and cause
of this most happy event
Yielding, however, to the request of a
comrade of a more skeptical turn of
mind, to put their pretensions to the
test in this case, did so, with the result
shown in the following from the Eram-
iler:
Following is one of number of let
ters called out by some recent remarks
of mine on socialism. My correspon.
dents upon this and other subjects will
please understand that as | do not en-
ploy a private secretary, it is impossible
for me to reply to all their letters. This
one is from Mr.. VIM. NJ. Wiley, of this
city:
"'I have the honor to request that you have
the kindness to inform me as to the fact
whether you have or have not been presented,
through the mails, from time to time, with
works upon the philosophy of socialism by par
ties in this city, This request is made for the
purpose Of settling dispute viz: one one hand
it is claimed that no person who had not given
long aud careful study to the subject could so
clearly and tersely set forth the principles of
socialism as you did in your admirable article
in the "hxaminer;" while on the other hand it is
claimed that your present views are of very re
cent date, and solely attributable to the sys-
TEN of propaganda above mentioned
81 have not been presented with So
cialist literature either through the mails
or otherwise. Socialist literature, as
have the happiness to know it, is not
likely to make socialists of men with
brains in their heads. Like most other
utterances having the detinitive purpose
of conversion it converts nobody
worth converting. My present views
on socialism are probably coeval with
the dawn of such intelligence as ! have;
at any rate, do not remember the time
when thought otherwise. But must
beg Mr.. Wiley and the gentlemen who
profess socialism as political faith
who 'embody' their notions of it in plat
FORMS, who publish newspapers in the
interest of the movement, who distrib-
ute socialist literature, who vote and
work for it must beg them not to in
clude me in their party There is little
in common between them and me.
With me socialism is a philosophy, with
them, a policy. To me it is the imme-
mortal energizing principle of civiliza-
ton in all its forms and activities; to
them, a modern invention from which
each hopes to derive some advantage to
his particular trade or occupation by
coupling the two together and making
them IAN issue at the polls My kind
of socialism is getting on very well with
out votes.
"Mr, Wiley is the San Franciscan cor
respondent of New York paper called
the WoRKMEN'S ADVOCATE, a copy OF
which he sends me. In it find the
platform of the Socialist Labor Party
The language of the platform is temper
ate and moderately clear; many of its
principles are socialist in the best and
highest sense, but the party has mixed
with holy flame a flame profane. Go
ing along with the wisdom-as bodies OF
dead dogs ride the current of streams
are numbers of unheavenly fads that
have no more to do with socialism than
they have with astronomy. This plat
form, in short, like the outcome of d
modus uirendi by one philosopher and
seven kinds of lunatics. If the Socialist
Labor Party is the custodian and expon.
ent of the principle in this country
will wait outside the temple. do not
care for a political creed that every
crank is trying to sop his head in"
The criticism of Mr.. Bierce is not az
complimentary TO the S. L. P and plat
form as one could desire it to be, never
theless it is worthy of the most careful
consideration.
1st, because of its source; ID, because