The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-07-08
DEBs CONCENTRATES A SOCIAL
AND POLITICAL REVOLUTION IN
THIS COUNTRY.

| among the masses in his UtOpian scheme,
and that in the long run it will fizzlc out
| Debs has much deeper purpose than is
attributed to him, either in his personal
ambitions or the scope of his scheme.
He has struck a popular fallacy that peo-
pie will never be cured of by the repeated
| failures Of cooperative associations, and
although the men who are flocking TO his
standard may be Of that inconsequcntial
class who never go far enough to do any
harm, nevertheless there is serious dan
ger to be apprehended. Debs is well
acquainted with the pliable nature Of
the men upon whom he intends to rely
in the accomplishment Of his designs, and
| he has a perfectly serene confidence in
his ability to control such men and push
them to any extremes he desires.
He clearly manifested the scope of
these designs when he said in Il speech
at Chicago that he would settle his col
ony in some state where there was the
best prospect of the ability of his colony
or of himself to oyerturn that state
government and hold it as II nucleus for
additions that would finally become so
numerous that he would be able with
! these men TO ovcrturn the general gov
eminent. There is no doubt that DcbS
| betrayed in a weak moment the whole
scope of his designs in these declarations.
At first glance it might appear ridiculous
| for any one man to make such decla-
ration, but there are grounds not only
to dstrust the movement but to crush
| it out in its incipiency.
Those who ridicule the scheme declare
! that the southern cOnfederacy, with all
| its intrcpidity and resources, failed TO do
| this, and that it is foolish for labor agi-
tator TO suppose he could do it, The con
| ditions are essentially different to the
| conditions that brought on II sectional
war. In that war it was made to APP
pear that the southern states We're de-
Tending the unpopular institution of
human slavery. and the whole world was
| combined against the southern confed-
| cracy, while Debs' appeal is TO the pop
, uar prejudice of human rights and the
amcliOration of the condition of the dis
| contented classes which are us numerous
in this country as the locusts Of Egypt,
comparatively. Dcbs has the sngacity
| TO see that he can fan into Il destructive
conflagration the cmbers that only glowcd
| with Il fervent heat in the canvass of
| 1896 Of "the masses against the classes"
and he believes that he will be efficiently
aided i'm this by the campaign of 1900.
Debs is "A sober man, long-hcaded and
shrewd. and he has wonderful political
sagacity, and he is calculating on II
climax for which he expects TO be ready
with an armed sOciaistic colony TO take
advantage of that climax and bring about
II complete socialistic revolution Debs'
ambition is not SO narrow as his critics
attribute to him. His ambition means
to be gratified as the head of such revo-
luton, and for that reason he is the most
dangerous man within the borders of this
country today. Consider what n mighty
influence and power he would have in the
mobilization of the discontinued and the
desperate i'm this country if such Il crisis
should arrive as he has reason to anti
cipatc.
Another presidential canvass with the
slogan of the poor man against the rich
man waged with all the coqucncc of the
last campaign and another defeat of the
masses in their campaign against the
classes, would leave this country in Il
ripe condition for socialistic revolution.
We are not alarmists, but we can not
shut our eyes TO the natural trend of
affairs, and when we see Il cool, calcu-
lating, able man. with already vast in
tluence among the working classes. evil
IDENTITY anticipating the state of affairs
we have pictured and preparing for il
in the most popular way that could pos
| sibly he conceived, our apprchcnsons are
seriously aroused and we would be false
to our country if we did not cry aloud II
warning from the house top. Let any
| thoughtful man of either political party
| consider the condition of affairs and their
natural trend, and then with Il proper
| appreciation of the character and pur-
| poses of Eugene Dcbs listen to his dccla-
| rationS and he must inevitably come To
the same conclusions that we have. We
| sincerely hope that we are mistaken in
the extent contemplated by this willy hyp-
notist of working men and his unpatriotic
ambition and that we have exaggerated
| both the importance of the man and his
| schemes, but we have argued from well
known and admitted premises and we
can not avoid the conclusions that we
have arrived at that Debs contemplatcs
social and political revolution in this
| country that will change the whole char
actcr of our institutions into what he
supposes will be n socialistic cooperative
government, but we think will be moth
ing short of red-handed anarchy
TRAVEL RUBS OFF THE MOSS.
The schools are all closed and the heat