The San Francisco call., 1895-12-21
SOME VERY FIERY WORDS,
The First Meeting of the Society
of American So.
cialiStS.
Morrison ]. Swift's Opinion of the
Trend of Existing Conditions in
This Country.

The first of series of Friday night
meetings. which will continue throughout
the winter, was held last evening at
Mozart Hall by the Society of American
Socialists, the most recently organized
branch of the socialist party in San Fran
cisco.
The meeting was presided over by
Eugene Hough of Oakland. and the speak
ers of the evening were Morrison J. Swift,
Rev. Joseph E. Scott, John Monteith and
Anna F. Smith. At the conclusion of the
regular progra mme number or five
minute speeches were made by members
of the audience.
The first speaker was Morrison J. Swift,
who spoke generally on tlse socialistic SUBJ
iect. In part he said:
The acceptance of socialism the world over
is going on at rapid pace. What is socialism
that it should find adoption in the brains OF
social consciousness tits the transformation
of society according to the law of common
sense. Socialism is the natural evolution OF or
ganiZed industry and self-government.
There are one or two things that are driving
people to socialism. Among the well-to-do
classes one of these things is common-sense
and another is fear Thoughtful common
sense i. the main thing and it actuates the ma
jority, but fear unquestonably brings great
many into the socialist ranks A Boston capi-
talist when asked once why he became So
cialist replied that he did not relish the idea
of decorating a lamp post. / don't wish TO be
understood as wishing to arouse passion, but
believe that if present conditions go on much
longer there will be great many people who
will decorate lamp-posts.
A prominent gentleman of Utah said not
long ago that he expected to see the day when
men would go out with revolvers TO kill CAPT
talists. hope that day will never come, but
there is bound to be a revolution. The social
ist hopes it will be peaceful one. Socialism
is not intended as class movement further
than 1t is calculated to bring the laborer to the
banquet of life from which he has been so long
shut out, but it is for ali classes and when it is
embraced by all classes the highest realization
of the true meaning of socialism will be OBJ
tanned.
The next speaker was John Monteith,
who compared the socialist movement at
present with the beginning of the agitation
of abolition. He repeated the remarks of
Wendell Phillips, when at the time Garri-
son was led out with q rope around his
neck he asked what the tamult in the
streets meant. The speaker said:
tits the power OF ideals" was Phillips
reply, and it is the power of ideals. the
speaker said, that is forcing socialism to
the front.
Anna F. Smith spoke briefly, explaining
that wrong impression had gone abroad
concerning the organization of the Society
of American Socialists. 1t has been stated,
she said, that it was the outgrowth of
split or misunderstanding in the Socialist
Labor party. She wished it understood
that such was not the case, but that the
two organizations were in perfect har-
mony. The Society of American Socialists
was simply a new branch of the socialist
party to serve the purpose of primary
school to teach the fundamental ideas of
socialism,
Rev. Joseph E. Scott spoke feelingly for
fifteen minutes, arguing that there should
be no classes in socialism and that to at
tain their highest object socialists should
have socialism in the spirit.