The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-19
UNITARIAN CLUB DINNER,
M. F. Swift Of Boston an Earn.
est Advocate of So.
cialiSm.
Colonel John P. Irish Delivers an Flo.
quent Address in Reply-Other
Guests.

The banquet marking the sixth annual
meeting of the Unitarian Club took place
last night IN the Marble room Of the Palace
Hotel. About seventy-fve people were
present, comprising many of the most
noted members of the club. c. A. Muir
dock, the president, sat at the head of the
table and acted as postmaster. Many
speeches were made. Morrison f. Swift
of Boston spoke of the trend of public
thought toward socialism.
"The people who are in the majority and
who have the right if they choose could
put us in poverty. The public schools are
educating them for different sort of life,
are being left out in the cold. They must
be given something openly or they must
be shut off by closing the schools. Trades
unionism is drifting into socialism. The
people outside are also drifting toward it.
This condition we must face. Coils Hunt
ington is producing more socialists than
any other man in the country. He is
doing this because he is a great monop-
olist. We have got to choose between
capitalistic socialism and the socialism of
the people. The trusts are going to cause
something in the nature of a revolution.
"Take it in San Francisco, we find we
had been drinking swill and burnt sugar
and other vile compounds in the milk, and
the children had been poisoned. Along
came a man who discovered this almost
by accident. Then the milkmen formed a
trust and raised the price of milk, when
they had already been charging the price
of pure milk; but this increase In price
the people cannot prevent. What are we
going to do about it? The working man
to-day, under capitalists, has not one iota
of liberty"
The speaker was cheered for his bold ut
terances.
Colonel John P. Irish was the next
speaker. He said socialism would never
advance till it had refounded itself by
taking cognizance of its failures. "The
labor union idea here introduced from
Europe is not advantageous to the working
classes" He told how he had fed two
tramps the day before with quail on toast
and had given each of them a glass of
wine. They said they had been at work at
the Union Iron Works and had struck,
when getting IS day, on the order of Mr..
Gompers. "Mr. Gompers," said Colonel
Irish, land l told these poor tramps that he
was getting $4,000 year as a salary for
| being at the head of great American
labor organization, and the last l heard of
him he was stopping at 1.-THE, the Hotel Richie
He defended the Southern Pacific to a
certain extent and also the Standard Oil
trust, but not trusts In general. Colonel
! Irish spoke at considerable length. "lf
socialism is to succeed" he said, I'VE must
discard evolution and measure society
down to the weakest. Can this be done?
Socialism is harmless" Colonel Irish was
again applauded at the close.
The Rev. r. B. Payne of Berkeley spoke
| upholding Mr.. Swift. He said he thought
it was due all men at the present time to
make slncereA study of the needs of the
people and do everything possible for
them. The Rev. Dr.. Stebbins followed.
The meeting was an earnest and interest
ing one.