Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-09-07
JOHN BURNS
Defines Socialism From the Prison.
ers' Dock at Old Bailey Court.

The man whom the European dis
patches designate as the leader of the
great London strike, john Burns, is not
a tyro in the labor movement, but has
had some practical experience. In jan
uary, 1880, he was tried for "Rot, I'M
lawful assembly" etc, just subsequent
to the Trafalgar Square police attack.
In his speech to the jury he made an
excellent defense of his action as well
as of Socialism, for which he really was
being prosecuted. During that speech
he made the following remarks:
Now what is this Socialism, of which
SO much is heard and feared2 Socialism
is theory of society which advocates
more just, orderly and harmonious ar
rangement of the social relations of
mankind than that which now PREVAILS
substituting the principle of association
for that of competition in every branch
Of production and distribution. Social
ism proposes to abolish the system of
wage slavery, and establish instead gov
ernmental municipal cooperation, Sc
curing to every honest worker the full
value of his labor, partly in personal
remuneration and partly in social and
public benefits, such rs education and
recreation, sustenance and care in old
age, not as charity, but as debt that
society owes to every useful citizen.
Socialism proposes that labor shall be
noble, elevating duty, not an unhealthy,
slavish drudgery. Socialism proposes
none of its members uselessly employed
or idle, turning the army of non-pro-
ducers into brotherhood of useful
workers. 1t proposes more workers and
less work for each. Socialism proposes
that machinery shall do the worlds
work, and that the whole people shall
own such machinery and reap the bene-
fits individually and collectively, not as
at present, when machinery is used by
its owners to degrade the human ma
chimes who work them and throw them
selves out of work. Socialism proposes
that the principles embodied in munich
palities, owning for the people, the
vramways, gas and water-works, and
the State owning the post.otfice, tele-
graphs, parcels post, savings and deposit
banks, insurance departments, etc,
should be extended to all monopolies
that in the hand of individuals are a
curse, but owned collectively blessing.
The State" whose duty it is to carry
on this development, is a unity of citi-
zens cooperating, and by such co-opera-
ton increasing Thousand times the
strength of all individuals comprised in
it, and giving them power that would
not be at their disposal as individuals
when competing against each other.
Its political expression would be con-
vention of labor delegates elected by one
universal adult suffrage. Its growth can
not be denied 1t is being accepted as a
religion by the workers, and its accept
ance by all is only mere matter of
time and education. In fact, Liberal,
Tory and Radical are only successful in
their appeals to the people in SO far as
their programs are socialistic in fact
and tendency. And the suppression of
Socialist meetings by arbitrary power
but intensifes the desire for the doc
trines thereby aimed at slowly, insidi-
ously, but none the less surely"
At that time Burns was member of
the Social-Democratic Federation, by
whom he was nominated for the London
County Council, and his election fol-
lowed. He is now a member of that
municipal body.