New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-03
THE RED SPECTRE.
ANARCHY IN EUROPE.
NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE WAR
AGAINST SOCIETY-METHODS AND
AIMS.
LOCATION AND NUMBER OF THE REVOLT iloN-
AIRY PI.oTTERs-LoNDON AND NEWBORN
THE CHIEF CENTRES OF THEIR
PERNIClOUS ACTIVITY.
Paris, November IS.

THE CHIEF CENTRES or 4i'Nii'
PERNICIoUs ACTIVITY
Paris November IS.
Only this week, after the numerous poii'o-
throwing by Anarchists in the barcelona the-
atre has the police court OF laon passed. sen
tence on the manager Of the "Pere 1eihaiu'
the leading French journal OF the Aharchls's'
His offence was committed as long aS" as idSt
Nav If consisted in systematic nstigation OF
the poverty-strcken to the murder ana p'''"ee 20
the vell-to-do. in constant insults against the
civil magistrates, in the preaching OF lhSupo'-
d,nation and desertion to the soldiers OF 'he
army When asked IL he had anything to say,
ne answered rather too proudly for the SIX
roontbs' imprisonment which has been inflicted
on him.
81 am one that wages war against society.
do not expect society to show me any more
mercy than would show to society,".
Meanwhile the French lack Of law had AL
,owe1 his paper to defend ignobly the crime OF
barcelona; and Lcauthier. another gentle
Rayachol. has ASA ssinatcd the Servian Minis
ter in full Paris for being chic bourgeois we
are living indeed upon an underworld that
only waits the occasion TO upset all sociai
order When some great disaster occurs, the
police authorities awaken to the danger, ana an
excited press and people demand exemplary
danger does not cease with the excitement.
1t Is important that the public should be sup
n,ted with some definite information concerning
the nature Of the Anarchist agitation. its theory
and its practice its rise and spread I'm the world,
IFS connection with revolutionary Socialism, the
character of those who take part in U-whether
fanatics or simple criminals-and what society
has to expect from it in the future. Before we
are blown to atoms let at least have the
satisfaction OF knowing how and why we are TO
be subjected to the operation
ANARCHY AS A THEORY
The central idea Of anarchy" taken as
theory is that present society is mistake, that
men may work together II they choose but they
ought never to have organized themselves IN
such a way as to give authority over mdivid-
uals to the community at large. Government
by the people is distasteful to the Anar-
chist as a government by one absolute despo'
He processes to be willing to receive influence
from man to man. from relatives. friends nelgh-
bors. but he will have nothing to do with So
ciety wherein some kind of submission Is que
from the individual to public authority.
Rather he will make war on 1T as best he can
even to the throwing Of bombs to hasten its
destruction. This is essentially the turning
pont of the anarchist theory that ii has seri-
ously cramped and limited the growth OF the
revolutionary party of anarchy. Bakunin, the
Russian Nihilist, man of education ana apli-
ity was the real prophet of the Idea lie I'M
pressed on his followers opposition to puphc
authority Of any kind, even TO that of a con-
gress or secret society among themselves From
Switzerland. where he had taken refuge. he
directed their reunions. The first was al SON
villier in November, 1871. and resulted in the
founding of the Federation Jurassienne. In
II lypd
an international congress at Saint-Imer for
the express purpose of combating the lnterna-
tionale Of Karl Marx. which met at The Hague
Declaration was then made that the majority
Of d congress cannot impose its will on the
minority and political power is 10 be de-
stroyed even though it be Evolutionary"
In these congresses. which were rather mega
lively against authority than positively for
Anarchy there were already represented Italian
and Spanish federatons-a favorte name with
the par,y-and French and American sections
of the Internationale. All these united in diff
fering from other revolutionary Socialists I'm
ternationalists) this one point-the social
revolution is not to come through political ac-
ton; IL is TO be the result of economic action
that is, by the exertion of individuals upsettng
present society from within.
TIE SCHOOLS OF BAKUNIN AND MARX
against Karl Marx were ready to adopt his full
blown gospel. The French and Americans.
when the Internationale finally dissolved for the
most part fell back into the old Collectvism, in
which the State-that is. the people as organ
ized-is TO own everything and rule every one
Anarchy, on the contrary. would have no State
at all: but every one should own the world
and rule himself. in as much good fellowship
as might be with all others Of his race. This
idea, which now took its proper name Of
Anarchy. rapidly developed itself. This again
was chiefly due to the influence Of Russian
Nihists aided by men like the Italian Mala-
tesla, whom race and circumstance made fit
workers Of an underground revolution.
double tendency soon declared itself in the
movement
First the Russian "mir'-the primitive VII
lage community lost amid boundless steppes and
sufficient to itself-was made a kind OF model
Of what human society under Anarchy was to
be like 1t was necessary to give some such
show of reasonable TO the proposed revo-
luton 1t had to have some practicable end in
view; the means for attaining it would come
after.
This was taking up the cry Of Fourier-"Civ-
ilization--that is the enemy" Pierre Leroux
had also attributed TO the present organization
Of civilized society all the inequality Of life and
class divisions which weigh so heavily on the
disconnected poor. BY itself the idea is not
dangerous TO life or limb. 1t has always beer
a commonplace among social reformers In
America men like Horace Greeley and Orestes
Brownson tasted Fourerism without finding it
poison: and brilliant array of talent tried for
several years TO realize some Of its principles
under the direction of George Ripley, at Brook
Farm. Hawthorne was one Of the tand, and
he has partly told the story in his "Bthedale
Romance" Father Hecker and George William
Curtis were others; perhaps Mr. Charles A.
Dana, the Editor of The New-York SUM-"
whom his worst political enemy would never
have accused of Anarchy. is the only male
member of the community now alive These all
hed sop,a idea of repeneratinp society," nv