The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-12-04
THE SOCIALISTS AND SINGLE
TAKERS.


Tom Watson says:
The Socialists in Baltimore and
dOuS racket during the recent cam
paign and polled three hundred and
odd votes.
This, for the Socialists, was doing
remarkably we'll. Generally the So
cialist is person who makes so much
noise about platforms" and "Prin-
cipleS" and does but little in the way
of voting.
In Chicago, the hot-bed Of Social
ism, Democrats and Republicans got
all the votes. The Populists are no.
where. And yet Chicago will send O.
red-hOt delegation to our National
convention, "demanding'' that our
platform be still further twisted to
suit their radical ideas.
If the Socialist votes bore any pro-
portion to the racket they kick up in
the conventions they would have the
universe by the tail in less than six
months.
In the great city of New York where
Henry George and his Socialistic dis
ciples rage and rave, we polled 626
vOues
AS noise-maker and platform
twister the Socialist is daisy. He
can make more fuss in convention
and create bigger vacuum in the
election ret urnS than any mortal that
ever kicked.
We do not want to taunt our honest
brethren, when we are all down in
the mud and the minority together,
but would it not be we'll to drop all
side -iss ues, that cannot carry single
county, or SINGLE city, or a single
ward in the United States, and all 60
in together to elect Reform presi-
dent, on a few plain and generally &C
ceptable propositions, that will COM
mend themselves to the approval of a
majority of the people of the United
States? What is the use of the three
tailors of Tooley street getting to-
gether and issuing bull against the
comet? 1t does no good to the tailors
and it does not disturb the comet
Let practical good sense rule the hour.
In saying this we do not desire to be
Ii.
Every man who uses the postoffice, or
sends his children to a public school,
or walks on pavement or drives on a
highway, is, in certain sense, $50
cialist;" because all these things rep
resent society uniting to benefit the
individual, by doing for him that
which he can not do for himself. So
cialism, in this sense. is civilization;
and every step forward, in the future,
must be step towards that kind of
Socialism. But some of the more
radical brethren talk about govern
ment owning all "the means of pro-
duction," and our opponents argue
that this means owning all steam en-
gines, electric plants. water-powers,
and every tool and implement which
labor uses to create wealth. Now all
this may be the accepted gospel of
some future generation, but it is very
evident that public opinion is not
ready to entertain it now; and if you
pin it to the Peoples Party's coat
tail we might just as we'll sit down in
the dirt Of oblivion and give up all ef-
forts to improve the condition Of man
kind.
Plutocracy will encourage all i'm
practicable schemes to divide up the
Reform forces.
But if the Socialists are determined
to have an organization of their own
let them meet on the same day and in
4 l,r vrx.t l. -
ments Of Reform, and see il they can
not support the same candidates, even
If they do no agree on the same plat
form or meet in the same convention.