The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-24
MCGUIRE AND ANARCHY.

Editor Call: In your issue Of the 18th
| inst. in an editorial headed Mcguire
and Anarchy" Sou do me the honor Of
characterizing me as Maguire's de
| fender and supporter ''friend and
spokesman. am proud to be regarded
as his friend and supporter. but as to
| being his defender and spokesman 1
must disclaim any right to such dis
tinction until his course needs defend
ers and his matchless ability to act as
his own spokesman has waned.
1 wish, however, that you would
grant me space to make one or two OBJ
servations which your editorials fol-
lowing my letter of October have
called forth and to correct some mis-
statements you have made concerning
things 1 said, misstatements made,
am charitable enough to believe, not
deliberately or maliciously, but care
lessly and due perhaps to faulty
memory and a failure to read beyond
the type and accurately interpret my
meaning, though l tried to be plain
First, in speaking of such reVolu-
tionary anarchists as the slayers OF
Carnot and the Empress or Austria, L
said ''poverty-crazed, not munger
crazed." There is a difference. There
are good many in this land OF plenty
who are we'll nigh poVerty-crazeo, yet
who have never known the loss OF
meal or felt the pangs or munger.
The knowledge of monopollzed nat
ural sources of wealth held out OF use,
or used to enrich the captains or priVi-
lege at the expense of the masses, is a
far greater menace to the staDlllty OF
this or any other Government at the
hands of the masses before they nave
got to the hunger-crazed stage than II
can be after the life and spirit nave Deen
starved out of them. I used the term
''poverty-erazed" advisedly and in its
fullest sense. The poverty of Intellect
which permits a human being to be-
lieve that any wrong can be righted by
murder is the child of a material pow
erty caused by the denial by a class of
the right of the mass to the use of the
earth on terms Of equality and justice.
You are doubtless correct In your as
sertion that Herr Most is not a hunger
crazed wretch. He was one of the
strongest supporters of Mr.. Mckinley
Of Canton in the campaign of 1896, If I
am not mistaken. l do not imply by
this, however, that Mr.. Mckinley is the
associate, apologist or defender Of an
archists.
In my letter I took special pains to
say that / was not defending anar-
chism or pleading its cause, nor am 1
now attempting an apology for any
thing I wrote. You wrong me in saying
that I avow myself in sympathy with
anarchy. l am in sympathy with moth
ing but absolute justice and freedom Of
thought and speech. Your suggestion
that my letters be used as a campaign
document by the Republican State Cen
trail Committee is a good one. I hope it
will be done. I am egotist enough to
believe that 1t would, in conjunction
with the small pamphlet issued by
them, entitled Mcguire, the Farmer,
the Single Tax" do much to advance
the cause of truth
You said in your article of the 18th
inst, in speaking Of anarchists and
their doctrines, These are the princi-
pies which Mr. Preble says were the
same as Paine and Jefferson, Lincoln
and Henry George stood for in the on
ward march of human progress"
Now, Mr.. Editor, If in your wisdom
you see fit to leave out any or all of the
preceding portion of this letter I hope
you will at least set me right before
your readers in this regard. What 1
said was: Judge Mcguire stands for
broad-minded liberalism, freedom of
thought and action, the reward of SER
vice and abolition of privilege-the
highest ideals of the most exalted hu-
man prerogatives-all that Paines JEFF
ferson, Franklin, Lincoln and Henry
between that and DO as you WISH
Everything is everybody's,' Down
with government in all it's authority
and all its FORMS"
1 do not object to criticism or even
ridicule for my opinions, but it is not
fair to misquote and misrepresent. OF
the single tax, have but to say that
who attacks it attacks my religion-not
only mine, but that of some millions Of
others numbering among them many
of the brightest intellects and natural
MISUNDERSTANDING people in the An
glo-Saxon race throughout the civilized
world, who regard it in principle and
theory as being right, just and holy-in
consonance with the laws of God and in
line with the evolutionary spirit and
progress of modern fiscal policy. Re-
spectfully submitted,
P. B. PREBLE.
Oakland, Cal, Oct, II, 1898.