The San Francisco call., 1897-08-01
IT'S A NEW
POLITICAL.
MOVEMENT | ! I !
Debs Explains the Objects cts
Of the Social De-. . ].
mocracy. /. Il. &. .
A LOCAL BRANCH ORGANIZED.
Application Has Been Made to
Secretary Keliher for
"a Charter. .... 4
PROMINENT REF1RMfRS INTERESTED.
James Taylor Rogers Elected Presi-
dent of the San Francisco
Branch. @ s.
PROMINENT REF1RMERS INTERESTED.

Social Democracy, Debs' new reform
| movement, has taken a firm hold ON San
Francisco. A local branch has been or
ganized here with the following officers:
J. Taylor Rogers, president; j. NJ. Rey
nolds, yice-president; J. D. Spencer, Sec
retary; r. l.. Ryfkoge, treasurer; j. K.
| Phillips, organizer. .. -
| Temporary organization was effected
| some weeks ago, and a charter was ap-
piled for. An answer came back from
National Secretary Sylvester Keliher. VINO
has his headquarters at Chicago, that it
would be necessary for a permanent or
ganization TO be formed before a charter
could be granted. Permanent organiza.
ton was effected last Thursday and new
application for charter at once for
warded. ~.
/ Meanwhile, executive meetings OF the
local body will be held weekly and plans
discussed for extending The membership.
Among other things it is proposed to send
| the organizer to the meetings of the
various labor and ffaternal organizations
to expound the principles and the benefits
to be derived from Social Democracy.
| 1t has been the popularimpression that
the primary object of the Social Democ-
racy is the colonization OF the unem-
| ployed. The idea is dissipated by Presi-
dent Debs, who in a recent interview out
| lined the policy of the new m oven ent and
claimed that it was in reality new pollt-:
! ical party. ~
"The colonization scheme, 2 he said. sis
very much misunderstood, even by my
| best friends. As matter of fact, this is
but one feature of the Social Democracy.
! But it can be made an importantone in
| Wiz
movement 1....'> n: x Z
| 1.-THE Social Democracy is not coloni-
zation scheme. 1t is a political move:
ment. Were the colonization to prove
| failure it would not stop the Social De-
| mocracy movement. Z; :
"As l conceive 1t the colonization
scheme is an incidental plan to relieve the
present distress all about US as much as
possible. 1t is not a vital portion of the
movement, though it may prove great
helm. -. !. :.-..:= +:>:
'The Social Democracy is party, q
| political party as muca as the Republican
and Populist parties. It is a reform party
and has a most radical reform programme.
1t aims TO do away. with. the present:
economic system and substitute collective
ownership and cooperative opera ton OF
all means of production and distri but ton.
AS he Republican party was organized to
bolish chattel slavery, so the Social.
l. DtmOCrdLlC party Is OTSaHlZGu| 10 no away
with industrial slavery. One%is no more
revolutionary than the other. The only
way to abolish industrial slavery is to.
abolish the competitive system. -..i.=5s = - i:
IA strike settles nothing permanentlv.
1t does not go to the root of the evil 1t
ooes not remove the cause OF the trouble.
The two parties to the dispute are certain
to renew it sooner or later, an d if labor
wins one time capital will win another
time. -. :. y:
THE strike of tile miners now on is:
somewhat different. In tni, case the
| miners are not getting work because they
cannot live on the wages now paid. They
are striking against staryation. Nor are
the operators better off. They are making
nothing. Profits have ceased. - $ "
- In the district. where / live there is an
operator who formerly was a miner him
self. He has struggled for years against
the reduction. OF wages, but the #pltlless.
law of competition has forced him 10 cut
his own men down to starvation rates
/ in order: to operate his property at ALL.
For some time he haszoperated, ct no
profit. ana has given the men the benefit
in wages. A few days ago his. men de-
cided 10 go out with the others, and this.
EN- ployer said to them: Boys, i don't
blame you. II advise you to.quit.: i would
pay you. more if / could but / cant. II
have sympathy for You, but i cant t: help:
you. lam powerless.' = .-..
..In the coal mining business rock bot
| tom has been reached, and there is, in my
opinion, but one escape from the heart
rending conditions which now prevail in.
the business. That's collective ownership
of the coal mines and cooperative opera
tion. =
.As to the Social Democracy I have
boundless faith in the future. Every Gay
hundreds of letters from the very best
people of the country come to us. The
organization will expand with magical.
spontaneltv. 1t will be revelation even
to the most sanguine. Mark it,. 1t is not
an experiment., but an actually. My:
whole soul throbs and surges with 1t, and
1 feel that Icannot be mistaken.
"In twelve months it will be the most
i'm portant factor in our social and econ
omic affairs, and in two years it will lead
, the world. To those who lack faith in
the intelligence of the people to carry out
the plans of the Social Democracy, /
would earnestly point out the fact that the
people are being educated on these ques-
lions more ra pidiv than ever before. Tney
/ have learned more in the past year along
these lines than they learned in ten years
previous
".Sweet are the uses OF adversely, and
the hard times have brought along with
suffering and misery, thought of knowl-
edge. The people are waking up.
"Why, II you give workmen Sl 70 day,
TO- m orrow they would as Ia whole settle
down. under the present conditions, sat
lsfied. AT least, they would have done SO
year ago. But there Is a constantly in
creasing number now who see that the
present system is wrong and who would
never be satisfied under it again under
any circumstances.
IL have firm, unwavering faith that
right is eternal, that truth must triumph. 4
and | believe that no man who has self
respect should ever despair. He is bound
by every atom of nobility in his nature to
fight to the death for the truth and to
never, never surrender.
"Men may betray. l have been be.
trayed by my supposed friends. perse.
cuted, blacklisted, maligned, misrepre-
sented and abandoned. But the knowl-
cd ne Of my own unri qhIness of nIlrnnse