The record-union., 1892-08-05
THE STRENGTH OF ANARCHISTS.

THE STRENGTH OF ANARCHISTS.
OF course the wretch who attempted to
murder 81. G. Frick was a disciple of the
doctrine of humiliation. He comes of
the order of men who believe that society
is best educated through the blood
agency; that it is necessary to stab the
law, kill human beings, burn houses and
destroy property in order to bring about
that gauzy, idealistic era, in which every
body shall have equal ambition, capacity
and earning, do equal labor and have
equal profit. 1t did not need the declara-
ton of the assassin that he believes in all
this-his action was sufficient.
But the fellow himself is of little mo-
ment; what is Important know is. how
large sentiment does he represent? The
police Of the cities say that it is very
limited, that at the outside there are not
5000 of his kind in the United States.
But the police count noses only in an
archist resorts and by reports of their
stool-pigeons. Aside from the open and
avowed anarchists, there are a great
many more who entertain more or less
well-defned beliefs of quite as silly and
dangerous character.
These are the men who do not openly
consort with the anarchists nor often
meet with them in the air, and never in
their smoky cellars and their villainous
retreats beneath saloons and gin holes.
They are more cautious because more
cowardly than the avowed anarchists,
but are quite as inimical, in their secret
mutterings, to society.
Chicago paper thinks, from observa-
tons taken at cranky meetings and the
assemblages of strange characters where
anarchism is preached behind a mask.
that there are fully 5000 of this order of
beings in that city. Probably New York
has as many more, st. Louis has fair
sprinkling, San Francisco not few, and
Boston large number, and quite num-
Der are scattered over the country GEN
orally. In short, it is safe to say that of this
order of cranks, who esteem themselves
disciples of great and lofty principles,
there are quadruple the number of an
archists the police report. This would give
as about $4,000 of the kind embraced in
both classes. 1t is not small, but GER
tainly not formidable body. In the en-
tire lot there are not 500 who will fight in
the open, and probably about 1000 who
will throw bomb or stab in the back.
We need have no great fear of such a
crew. Here and there they will be able
to shock the country by brutal murder:
but they are not of the organizing order,
and their executive ability is exceedingly
limited. In times of labor strikes and
riots they manifest some activity in efforts
to couple their car to that of labor. But
the wage-earners of the country have
shown a marked dislike for the anarchists.
Only in a very few instances have labor
organizations paraded with them or
Haunted their red banners. The labor
ranks of the United States close up few
gaps made in the anarchist groups. When
1t comes to association with these annihi-
1ators, labor shrinks from the disgrace.
It can see in life and property leveling
only the wreck of its own homes, and the
rule of the lazy, loafng and worthless
over the toiling, and worthy and success
full.
Labor realizes that every approach to
it by anarchistic fanatics Injuries its cause
and visits it with no gain. Hence, while
in Chicago few misguided labor bodies
have paraded with the disciples of assas-
sination, the great mass of workers there
and everywhere decline to recognize the
nihilists and anarchists. Only from
labor ranks can these latter draw recruits.
except the few who fall to them from the
long haired, half-cracked, soured and
misguided chaps who live by their wits.
in the main, with, perhaps, few follow
ing professions and dealing in odd WAYS
with the world for living. So that the
swelling of anarchist ranks in this conn
try is not to be much expected. They
viii gain something by immigration,
perhaps, but the bars are to be put up;
the American people are weary of hav-
ing this anarchical class spewed upon
them, and there is nothing, in our judy
ment, safer to forecast, than the early
dawn of the time when the anarchist will
find the difficulties experienced in enter
ing the country more than doubled.
WE have no sympathy with the main
tenance of large bodies of detectives or
fighters to be hired out as guards, and
transported about the country in armed
organization. It is modern practice