St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-22
ANARCHISTS.
@. j.. James Gives q Receipt For
Making Them.

@. j.. James Gives q Receipt For
Making Them.
Tothe Editor Of the GLOBE.
EAU CLAIRE, Feb. l6.-I have read
your article on anarchy in today's pa
per. | perceive you recon- mend, as
remedies for the increase of anarchy,
concerted action among European gov
ernments. and killing anarchists; not in
the words of Lord MacaulaY, because
they have committed crimes, but
because you infer from the nature of
their opinions, or from the conduct of
others holding similar opinions, that
they are likely to commit crimes. Allow
me to suggest reasons why these
remedies are not likely to be
cf1icaciOus, and why methods Of
a somewhat di fferent nature may work
better. AS to concerted action, it is
impracticable. The British govern
ment. without which no such thing can
be done, has. true to its traditions of
free speech and commOn law justice,
twice, with much emphasis, declared
that 1t will take no action. concerted or
otherwise, against any class OF social
theorists. but only proceed against
individuals who may commit
crime, in the usual manner, without
any reference to their opinions. AS to
the other remedy killing anarchists.
mot because they have committed
crimes, but because it is inferred from
the nature of opinions which they hoid.
or from the conduct of others who hold
similar opinions that they are likely to
commit crimeS"-It has had its trial,
n its failure. In Russia, In France,
III Germany, in Austria, in Spain, in
A TnarlR0 fSan (Nnu AItrnfd1o rrn,
Swered and unanSwerable argumeut),
everywhere, except in England, the
only country which has had no san
archist outrages," anarchists, during
twenty years, have been killed, mot
for committing crimes, but for being
supposed likely to commit them"
What the result is. your Article sets
forth. They continue to increase, both
in number and in venom, to die trI-
umphantly, and, what is a new phe-
nomenon, to find defenders above, imi-
tatOrs below, sym%pathizers in all ranks.
The method of determination becomes
self-cOndemned when it IS found only
to disseminate. All this is nothing new.
The abolitionistS, in this land, within
living persons memory; the papists in
England, during Oates time; the Jews,
earlier; even the mild Quakers. were all
in their day pronounced ''Of the same
nature as the tiger" deserving no
more mercy" "a peculiar psychological
phenomenon" mot amenable to rea-
SON" ''too perverse for that,'' 'merci-
less foes eonspiring in secret to over
throw all law and order" ~sdestroyers,"
''blots upon humanity, Criminals by
nature" Migrants by education" ETC.,
etc. Now, it is very remarkable that as
long as they were SO treated, all these
Sects, not excepting the Gu akers. often
did things which seemed to Justify
these charges. But what is still more
strange, they stopped doing so
as soon as they were treated
like other people. And vet the expla-
nation is very simple. 1t is merely that
they all were like other people. Hath
not all anarchist eyes? Hath not an
anarchist ears? II you tickle US, do we
not laugh? If you prick US, do we not
bleed? If you hang us, do we not die?
And II you wrong us. shall we not re-
venge? LII we are like you in every
thing else, why not in that, too?" See,
then, my receipt for making anarchists
harmless. 1t is the same which made
Jews, papists and Abolitlonists harm
less. Treat them like any one else, and
you will find. as the English govern
ment does, that they act liRe any one
else. Treat them unlike any one else
and you will find they act differently
from what any n else does, but not
differently from the way any one else
would act under similar encouragement.
c.. L.. JAMES