The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-03-03

csAlssic party In Italy b one ct ehe
most remarkable features OF the modern
nfe not oniy In Italy but In All the mod
ern srsrsa- The middle class IN entirely
socEeEssse-
Tie iahorers move slowly. but sh.v
TOO are beginning 20 understand the
gospel preached by Marx Tia bos.--
Eeokse OF North Italy furnished many
agstaso~s. Journalists aad speakers OF
TIE sociaiistsc ranks The ycungzE lzw-
yers. physicians. professors. srtssss and
authors are largely socialists and form
30 % say, . 3eunexse dores sgisaed
YOUTH inside the ranks of international
socialism. This stare OF things began IN
1851 when Fliippc Turasi. q prominent
poet scctoHox;st and journalist, started
the sctentinc-socssi,ssic review. La
Critica Sccsaie. The youths are all
swearing by him. ana many of the
highest civil authorities Of the state
are now socisiistscaTiy inclined and sup
port the party. The period % lSss-ss
saw an epsdemic OF sociaIfstsc conveu-
sfons- Prominent men who were be-
fore counted 40 conservatives now pub
hcsy declared themselves socialists.
Most conspicuous was the conversion
OF Edmcndo de An,icis Shortly after
Anicis. Graf. the rector OF the Turin
university. wrote 70 TuraU That he ac-
cepted all the theories OF socialism.
Last year Henri Ferl. Lornbroso.s
famous disciple. and the mos, prominent
speaker IN the Italian parliament. de-
clas'ed himself socialist The social
isfic ideas are gaining more ground
among the upper classes than among
the laborers. The Vita Moderua, q
newspaper In Milan !. recently inter
viewed most OF Ita.y's artists ana
scientific men on the subject OF So
ciaiiszn They ell declared In favor Of
1t and many OF them declared them
selves socialists
ITALY presents the peculiar pheno-
menon OF having q socialism which Is
represented by the people from the
higher middle class. by lawyers. physi-
clans authors and artists even by
bankers.
The reasons for this are several.
italy Is passing through or rather Is In
an economic and moral crisis and the
authorities are unable to cure the pres
ent evils. The late scandals have given
the people the nausea, and they turn
away from existing forms The gen.
eral European drift toward socialism ia
behind these reasons and. gives them a
very solid ground to grow in.
Crispi has the power: Crispi, the
most ignorant. dishonorable and stiff
necked o. the old. But Cr.spi's DER
solutions OF the avowed socialists can
not succeed In the long run. lie may
haunt them and punish them with ban
ishment to Africa's deserts but his own
wretched life must soon destroy him.
The most popular poet of today is a
woman. Ada Negri. Her theme il the
misery OF the people the insolence and
eSottstic stupidity Of the rich. A num-
Der of other poets initiate the French
Decadents DIabolists. Parnassiefs. etc.
But most characteristic
OF Young ITALY Is the extent 70 which
science Is studied. The Italian spirit
IL not predisposed to distractions or
metaphysics. Their great thinkers ara
not named Hegel and Kant. but Ma
chiaveili. Spallanzani and Volta. II Is.
therefore. natural that Darwin. Spen-
Ger. Wallace, Weissmann, and Haeckel
should be favorite reading. Taine and
Renan have also exerted a powerful In
duence.'s