The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-05-08
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAMME.
Mr.. Charles L. Fox Explains 1t to
Labor UniOnistS.

The brotherhood of Man the Foundation
Mr., Fox Gives Some Interesting Per-
sona1 "reminiscences.
Last evening, Mr.. Charles L. Fox ad-
dressed a good-sized and attentive audi
ence at Central Labor Union Hall on
Socialism,"
President Lyseth, of the Union, called
the meeting to order and introduced the
speaker.
Mr.. Fox said that he started about ten
years ago to become Socialist. 1t was
about the time that he went to Paris to
study art, both the technique and the
manhood side of it. So he endeavored
to find thoroughly low down man, and
to do this he went to live among the
WORST PEOPLE OF PARIS,
| the Anarchists and others. People said
"You will not have much trouble in find
| ing your low down man there" But, al
| though he lived two or three years
| among them he never found among
them all man SO low but what he could
be approached, and would respond to
| the idea of brotherhood and to human
| kindness.
Mr.. Fox, continuing, said: II then
| tried to find an honest man (sensation)
and I went first to the ministers. eek
pressions of Obi OhD And that was
right, too. spent long time among
| them. And finally l went to good DR..
Bill, after had sat under his preaching
| for about two years, and I asked him ::
Can you tell the whole truth to your
congregation
| ..He at once replied No. and then I
Then said: 4 will try to make my
self an honest man. Then they said that
I was crazy" (Laaghter.)
Mr.. Fox said he knew how much ig-
nominy has been heaped upon the name
of socialist, and that mistaken zealots
have shed blood in it's name; but the
| true socialist is not a destroyer. A So
cialist is lover of humanity. Gap
| plause.) Many men who have assumed
that name have been unworthy of it;
and, from selishness, brought on blood
| shed and death. But
TRUE SOCIALISM
is not new thing or startling thing.
Here Mr.. Fox read Burns's poem on the
French revolution, "The Tree Of Liber-
ty," and poem by SidneyaLanier,w which
ILLUSTRATED the terrible mistake of those
men who use. forcible means as short
cuts to the truth" True Christianity
and true socialism never believed in such
methods. At the International Con-
gress of Socialists at Zurich last sum
mer, one of the golden resolutions of po-
litical humanity was written. This res
olution declared that every socialist en-
gagged in work on ammunitions of wal
should strike; and that every socialist
enrolled in the armies of Europe should
refuse to serve. cloud applause.)s.
True socialism believes in the spon
taneous generation of thought. 1t be-
lieyes that every man, no matter what
his condition, is filed with great posi-
biIities that cannot be destroyed by any
of the powers of culture or conventional
ism. The royalty of the past and the
culture of the present claim the exclu
siveness of their divine right. Against
this narrow and selfish claim the social
ist rebels.
Mr.. Fox said that the principles of SO
cialism often found SO much favor witt
the controlling classes as to deceive the
socialist, but when an attempt was
made to put those principles into prac
tice, it was found to be different mat
ter. "Claim the divine right to make
your own laws and to vote upon them
claim your own right to own railroads
gas works, water companies, manufac-
tories, and you will suddenly find youl
claims disallowed, and the old divine
right of unlimited and all-absorbiue
power in the hands of few, the ole
mediatorial right of one over many will
DROP IT'S MASK
and stand before you clothed in it's ter
rible power.
The American socialist platform
drawn up in 1892. demands: Universe
suffrage, regardless of color or sex: the
referendum and secret ballot; reduction
of hours of labor; equal wages to womer
for equal work; abolition of the presi
dency of the United States, and the Sen
ate, the House of Representatives to b.
the only legislative body; compulsory
education; free Judiciary; progressive
income tax, etc.
In speaking of the desirability of giving
women the ballot, he said their infu
ence counted for much in the socialis
movement.
This last sumner he was among the
| ANARCHISTS OF CHICAGO
and attended the unwilling of the An
archist statue. He found the women ther'
with their children. Even the wive
of the violent Anarchists were there
and he felt more respect for those mel
when he found this SO.
Mr.. Fox then went on to show the ex
tent to which socialist ideas had per
meated mems minds in this country
Men like W. D. Howells and Bishop
Brooks had foreseen the great influence
of such ideas. In Europe many socialis
ideas weres incorporated in municipal
government, to manifest advantage, a