Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-07-01
LOOKING BACKWARD.
Mrs. Florence Williams Talks
About Bellamy's Work.
THE VISION OF THE FUTURE.
The Strong and the Weak Points of
the BOok-Its Timely Appear
ance-NatiOnalist Clubs.


listen to a lecture on the subject oi
Looking Backward" by Mrs. Flora
Williams. The meeting was held under
the auspices of the Nationalist Club,
which comes together every Sunday
afte rnoon in the Upper Turn Verein
Hall. This organization, which has been
only recently formed, now has large
and rapidly increasing membership. 1t
is branch club of a general organiza-
ton which is springing into existence in
all sections of the United States-a society
which proposes to exert itself to carry
out the reforms and social changes which
are 30 happily delineated in Edward
Looking Backward"
Mrs. Florence Williams is a Berkeley
lady, the daughter of G.. P. r. James,
the novelist. She is lecturer of re-
markable power. She speaks sitting, in
q low but penetrating tone of voice. She
uses no notes, but speaks extemporane-
ously. Her style is very plain, but is
forcible in her logical method
of putting facts. The audience, which
almost completely filed the hall, listened
with rapt attention, and frequently res
ponded to some especially striking point
by hearty applause.
Mrs. Anna f. Smith, of San Diego, in
troduced Mrs. Williams, who spoke about
as follows:
"The subject on which 1 propose to
speak to you this afternoon ia Edward
Bellamy's remarkable book, "Looki 2
Backward" a volume which, l suppose
has been read by most of you. All of
you, at least, are aware of the extraordi.
book created; how the bookstores are
unable to supply the demand for it; how
it has attracted the attention and
aroused the discussion of all classes
from the poorest to the richest, from the
most ignorant to the most learned, end
how it has caused the organization of
Nationalist clubs throughout the Union.
And yet it must be admitted upon exam
lining the work, that it is in some respects
a poor book Its style is dull and unin-
teresting; its incidents are common.
place. AS a story, it is merely that a
man wakes up in the year 1000, A. D.,
in new condition of things. 1t is that
new condition of things that has for the
people of today such an extraordinary
interest. 1t may be said that the
real interest does not lie in the
book itself, but springs out OF
our thoughts about it, Yet the ideas
in the book are not new. The Utopia OF
Thomas Moore undertook to describe an
ideal state of life, and the adjective which
we now derive from it-Utopan-has
come to mean something that is too good
to be true. 1t is said of Looking Back
ward' that it is nearly another Utopia.
There is this difference-thet was a
scholarly, elegant book, written for the
of the learned, to whom
alone it appealed; this is a work without
literary merit, which sets forth in a
practical way grand idea suited to
the present epoch, and adapted to the
of all.
"The book will appeal especially to
Americans, for the reason that they of
all peoples are the most skillful in find
ing out how to do things in the best,
quickest and most sensible way. If a
thing strikes us as reasonable and right,
we Immediately grasp the idea of doing
it in the most convenient way. Not only
as to place but also as to time does
the book appear opportunely. Had it
come thirty or forty years ago l doubt
whether it could have created more than
q mere ripple. Within that space of
time, although we have become the most
people on the earth, there
has come a change in the condition of
things. With the increase of wealth has
come the beginning of great poverty.
Those who are familiar with the popula-
tion of great cities like New York,
Chicago and Boston know that the bigger
and grander the city the more hopeless
and desperate is the poverty.
"These three things-the force of the
main idea of the book, the natural
of the American people,
and the appreciation of the change that
is gradually coming in industrial affairs
ARE the causes which have aroused
such interest in the book.
'The book is not without its weak
points. The author seems unable to
express to the fullest extent
his own thoughts. The very strongest
points are often set forth in the
very fewest words, which do not convey
to any but the most discerning reader
the full purport OF the ideas they con-
tain. For example. he speaks of all
these changes having been brought about
by National party, but he gives us no
details of the method or plan OF this Or
ganization. 1t is for us to supply what
he leaves undeveloped. This National
party is not political organization it is
not party at all, for it is q national
affair. Its members have no end to gain
for themselves alone, for they wish to
make every one sharer in the general
The word is all that the
writer supplies to us, but it contains
thousands of ideas.
"The writer glances but moment at
the immense difficulties of the change to
the new system. 1t is done 30 swiftly
that it looks like the veriest conjuring
trick. But he gives us the keynote when
he speaks of the change as the result of
evolution, not revolution. He does not
make you feel, however, that there need
be no conflict between the things that
are and those that are to be. Another
idea which is not sufficiently elaborated
to avoid Misunderstanding is that there
ehall be no pay for services.
This does not merely mean the
getting rid of money. Every being
that comes into existence ia cred
tied with living. There is no waiting
to learn whether he is strong enough to
make his way against the obstacles
among which his lot may be cast. He
need not starve to death in learning to
earn a living. 1t is objected that the
credit card system is nothing but form
of the greenback idea. AS they are not
transferable they can not be compared to
greenbacks. They are a recognition on
the part of the Government of the exist