Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-02-02

Ol SECRETARY eNOlullOu VIVA nave
brought the people to the acce ptance
and practice Of socialist principles.
In view of their utteranccs one may
well be justified in the doubt that
some Of the Most type Of blood and
bomb anarchists would not really be
Sadly disappointed and disgruntled
were socialism to be established by
Il gradual peaceful acceptance, with
out a revolution wrought in blood
and violence.
without the people socialism can
never be established; with the peo-
pie for it force becomes unnecessary
-sare possibly to queH revolutionary
force against it,, and such applica-
tion of force to quell rebellion would
not be anarchistlc but the contrary,
lawful, orderly and in defence of
government and society.
Altogether, then, there appears
to be no use for anaIchism, and no
excuse for violent methods under q
system of popular government,
where the proper rights Of free
speech and peaceful az ltation on the
line of peaceful social methods are
guaranteed and permitted. The ad-
yocacy Of violence to effect social re-
forms is and should be a deadly
curse to any party or cause. In
stinctlvely and rightly the public
mind, the concensus of public
opinion, the weight of the general
moral Judgment, sets inexorably
against violence when peaceful me-
thods are open. Woe betide the in
dividual and the cause that thus
otfends. When the worst comes
upon them, they will only have
fallen into the pit which their hands
have digged.
Practically the worst enemies
socialism has to contend against are
those who, processing to be socialists,
covertly or openly practice or sane
ton the use of "any and every
means" TO accomplish their object.
The term covers every way or me-
thod that inhuman hate or internal
malignity can invent. What folly
to expect to usher in the benign
reign Of socialism by such means,
What absurd Inconsistency to sane
tion such methods while claiming to
be a SOciaNsN
The true socialist can sanction
only such means as hormonize with
social life and well-being, and this
implies peaceful relations and me-
thods, as education and the ballot
these are the only SOcialjStjc means
under popular government, and
any other means are inexcusable and
morally criminal, against which
society has the right to protect it.
self by any necessary effectual me-
thods.
1t is of vital Importance that So
ciaIism should be cleared in the
public mind of all taint of anar-
chlsm, and especially of any leaning
toward the use of unsocialistic-that
is violent, illegitimate-methods of
action. 1t should be clearly under
stood by the public that we, as con-
sistent socialists, hold ourselves truly,
both as to aims and methods, within
the clean ethical boundaries and i'm
port of the word social; that as So
ciallsts, in consistency with the
name, both in theory and methods,
we favor only a social socialism, and
We have no affinity with any pseudo
socialism that counsels, incites to or
sanctions aggressive, lawless vio-
lence as a means to its spread or es-
tablishment.
Well instructed socialists know, of
course, that anarchism and violence,
as well as some of the peculiar no.
tions held and advocated by individ-
ual socialists, are no part Of social
ism, the latter being merely a mat
ter of individual opinion, and the
former anti-socialistc. But, let a
stranger, an enquirer, an investiga-
tor, and more especially one who has
long cultivated his ignorance of So
ciallsm by perusing such exposi-
tions Of it as appear in the editorial
columns Of the Chicago Tribune and
many other great lights Of the
world, let such a man attend a So
cialist meeting, and hear blatant an
archism advocated or defended, or