The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-10-28
TUESDAY. OCTOBER IS, 1902.
The GRowTH OF SOCIALISM.


made poll OF forty-five States. which
will elect $50 members to the House OF
Representatives OF the Forty-eighth
Congress. indicating that the Republic
ans viii nave a small majority. In.
order to control the Republicans must
elect 1as members. and the Hcra1d's re-
turn gives them zoo.
IN commenting on political conditions
as Indicated by this poll. the Herald says
That perhaps The most significant sign.
OF the times is the growth Of Socialistic
sentiment in this country. which is ap-s
pearing very much as the Popultshc#
sentiment appeared Just PRIOR to 1892,
only this time the sentiment is in the
Eastern States and the Middle West,
wncrnas the I'onulisiic sentiment re-.
,erlcd TO was largely IN the South and
the FAR West. This Socalistic senti-E
1nent. according to the Herald. made Its
appearance a year or two ago and grew
10 such strength in New England that
the workingmcn-s candidates We're taken
mp by tho Democratic party and labor
MAYORS were elected in a chain of Con-
1lecticut cities The sentiment has now.
spread all through New England, New
YORK and New jersey. is rampant IN
PENNSYLVANIA and Ohio, and exists far
Their West in Indiana and illinois In
conclusion tho Herald says:
..Ali ~ovcr tho East combinations have
been made between tiie Democrats and
labor unions In Now A.ork State. III the
counties of Schenectady. Saratoga
Washington and Warren. where = street
car. strike hal. lasted for several months.
the woi'kinEillen have been arra4-ef
against the Republican party. and the
Democrats Have eagerly nominated ac-s
tive labor agitators for the Senate, for
the a Assembly. tor congress and Tor Va
nous local onlecs II was IN order 10
take advantage Of this growing sent;-
1nent ~ unrest among the laborinS
CLASSES that Senator JIil!. at the Demo-
cratic. state Convention III Saratoga in
serted an The platform his crotcsauea
plank for, tho government ownership of
the a1lftira cite coal fields. For the same
reason Democratic orators on Necnes-
day night cndeavored To make John
Mitchell the great popular hero of Tie
age. and put all The barre for the coal
ana tiliits- pun
lie complains OF Oh J. Plerpont Morgan
Once more the. masses are being ar
layed against the classes.
This is one OF the pregnant signs Of
the times. 1T would seem 70 foreshadcw
a great coalition iii 1901 lot Rnen the
Democratic party and the Socia!istic and
tabor element. 1t wolild be a coalition
i,s some respects similar 10 that in
which the Democratic National Com
1nittce entered in 1902. when the Fopr-
lists and Democrats combined in half
"a. dozen States in n, fusion on Tresi-
dental electors. the result being that
The Popalistic element Of The party ran
away with the organization four years
later at Cnlcago and nominated William
}. BRYAN on a platform more Fopulistic
than Democratic.
This is enough to give every Demo
blues The situation may not be as
had as the Herald has pictured it, but
st is bad enough, as we haze time and
again pointed out in these columns.
Sncalistic sentiment is indeed growing
and growing rapidly. and the worst part
OF 1t is that some men who have been
prominent In the Democratic party arc
catering to it. This is one of the sad
dest facts in the history of the Demo-
cratic party and in the history of the
country. There has always been PARTY
representing the laarniltonian view OF
government. and there has always been
a SSocialisticf element in our population
The Democratic party has stood between
the two and has stood alone for those
pure and true principles of Democracy
upon which our government was found
ed. There never was a time in our his
tory when there was so great a need
and virile and courageous Democratic
party as exists to-day. The Very hope
OF the republic depends upon the ex-
fetence of such a party. for it would
be a disaster FOR the government to run
into extreme lsepuplicanism or into ex-
IRENE Socialism. Either would mean
destruction OF the republic. But if the
Democratic leaders are now going TO
rally the Socianstic element and ioin
hands with them. if they are going to
80 1870 ~ ttiSslihGoa dllu tuEk 10
Socialism. heaven save the party and
the republic.
The Times mas no ambition TO figure
as a prophet of evil. but it does seen,
that predictions which we made sever:v
years ago are coming to pass When
the party flrst made an alliance With
thc Populsts and planted itself upon
. Populstic platform The Times then
save warning that the party would
have either TO repudiate that platform
and cut loose from its Popuis,ic asso-
Citations, or else SO on To extreme Social
Ism, Tor Socialism Is nothing hut Popu-
iism carried to ats logical end
But all is not vet lost. There are
many true Democrats In this country,
and We hope and pray that they will
be able to preserve the true principles
OF Democracy and by and by to reunte
the Democrats upon Democratic plat
form.