Workmen's advocate., 1890-11-29
ELIMINATE THE CRANK.

meet together annually for the purpose of discussing the issues of the day We quote;
 "Why cannot the prominent men in tprested in the elevator of humanity. that portion of humanity that has to soil it's hands to eat bread, come toge- ther for three or four days in mldsum- mer and. without committing any or Ranization or shcoOl to anything that may be said or done, discuss the best means, from all standpoin:s, to restore tO man his birthright. l favor the Idea of calling such meeting. Let us invite land retormers, tariff reformers, cur rcncy refOrmers, transportation reform CTS. trade unlOnists, social anarchists, socialists, and, together with Knights of Labor, let them discuss the issue of the day from their own standpOlnts. Such gathering would have this effect: The speeches delivered would be educational,
 would go far and Wide and would be read everywhere. The men who would
 meet for the first time in such gather ! iugs would get acquainted, the rough l edges would be rubbed of, and d far i better feeling would prevail after each
 session. Many errors would be combat. ! ted, many mistakes would be reCtitied,
 and the men from all parts of the nation or the world would know the ills that ! each and the other had to bear. The
 industrialist from the farm, the shop,
 the factory, the mine, would meet with 1 the political economist and the social
 reformer. 1t should be understood that i this gathering would commit no assOCla
 ton tO anything that would be said or
 done There would be no laws passed,
 no rules adopted to be binding on con
 etltuencies, nnd only such regulations
 as would govern debate while in session
 would be required It seems to me that
 such meeting would do vast amount
 of good.'
 The Sections of the Socialist Labor
 party have for long time carried out in
 their respective localities similar plan
 of agitation. Not only were individual
 ists, anarchists, greenbackers, trade
 unionists, knights of labor, antl-monO-
 polss, and even capitalists, welcome at
 their meetings, but they were freely
 granted the hoor-nay, urged to take
 it-and in many instances the 'lecturer
 of the evening" was decided opponent
 of socialism, We remember notable
 occasion, when the eminent Christian
 orator, newspaper editor, stage driver,
 and millionaire brother, in law, Col FL
 liott F. Shepard, delivered q sermon at the Labor Lyceum in this city, but frankly admitted that a greater man than himself was required to meet the } Socialists in debate and promised to , produce at some future time the greater ] man in question (meanlng, probably, ,, Chauncey NJ, Depew) That was some
 eighteen months ago. Nothing was heard since of the gallant Colonel or his greater ) man; but We judge from his recent speech at the eight hour meeting of the } POst-olice clerks that the Socialists 3 criticisms of his sermon had a greater D effect upon him than his sermon had t, upon the Socialists. This may be, how } ever, one of those mere surface appear ances which are apt tO deceive the pub
 lie in electoneering times.
 :, Again, in the early part of this year, ) the American Section of New York un- , dertook to hold monthly meetings at Cooper Union (Room 24, where the , leading events of the month. economic, ; political and social, would be reviewed
 and discussed. Much care was bestowed
 upon those reviews. Prominent labor
 men-so called leaders-were invited regardless of the organization to which they belonged. CandOr compels us to say that on this occasion very few re
 sponded, although important issues (the school question among others) were then pending.
 Our Boston Section has likewise been very active in the same direction Re.
 sides its open air meetings on the his torlc Common during the summer. which thousands of people have attend
 ed, it has regularly held during the less element part of the year public meet