The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-10
SOCIALIST LEADER
 SPEAKS ON ISSUES
Charles c. Chase of Mass. Ad-
 dresses Small Audience.
SOME SOCIALIST PRINCIPLES
Chairman Waldhorst Announces Mu- nIcipal Ticket, But Does Not Ex- poet Many Votes This Year.
 A Start Is Made.

A public meeting of the members of the socialist party in Birmingham was held last night in Tomlinson hall on First avenue, the principal feature of the oc- easion being a lecture on socialism by ex-Mayor Charles c. Chase, of Haverhill, Mass. who was the first socialist to be elected to the office of mayor of any city in the United States, He was elected for two terms
 F. H. Waldhorst presided as chair man of the party. He said the socialists of Birmingham had nominated a ticket for the first time and the nominees would go before the general election in May. The ticket as read by him to those present follows
 For Mayor-C. ". Love-
 For Aldermen-First ward, to be filled; Second ward, to be filled; Third ward. B. Andrus; Fourth ward, E. E. Eriselle; Fifth ward. T. l.. Medders; Sixth ward. W. c. Strickland; Seventh ward. Joe Pruitt; Eighth ward. s. A. Lee; Ninth ward, Mir Marrier.
 Police Commissioners-G. L. Cox and J. L. Whitson.
  Chase, said he did not expect that the ticket put out by the socialists here would receive a large number of votes, but that q start would be made and he hoped to see the membership in the party steadily grow. He said the party stood for the betterment of the working classes of men, and that under its platform the nominees had to sign blank resignations, so in case they were elected and did not conform to the rules laid down in the platform they could be turned out of of flee.
 Some of the Planks.
 Mentioning some of the blanks in the platform. the chairman said that among them were free school books to all the children in the city, eight hours a day for all municipal employees, taxation that would be just, more schools. and schools less crowded, free kindergarten for the children of the city and a gymnasium in every school.
 MT. Chase started in with a review of economic conditions, past and present. He said that the present system had wrought a condition where a few individuals had formed gigantic corporations, and the corporations gigantic trusts His idea was that there was such an unequal distribu- tion of wealth that the time has come for another great party 10 spring np and assert the rights of the masses, and this party was sure to be what is known as the socialists. He discussed the proauc- ton of wealth and it's distribution
 
 Political End of Labor Unions.
 "The socialist party" said MT. Chase ''is the political end of labor unions. It Is impossible for a man to be true to a trade union and not be a socialist. So- clalism is not a scheme, it is simply the science of government polit' cally and in- dustrially and but expresses an evolu- tion In industries. Many people have a conception of socialism entirely foreign to what it really is"
 The speaker then referred to the repub- lican and democratic parties, saying that one or the other would sooner or later have to go as the socialist party grew and increased in power. He said the aim of the party was to secure and control gov ernmental use of industrial systems and the great trusts that now nave the peo- pie in their power.
 At the conclusion of his speech many questions were asked by some of those present, About sixty people were in the hall.
 Grooms T. Bready made short talk on child labor and C. w. Love made a few remarks.
 In the course of MT. Chase's speech he said that w. R. Hearst had made state- ments in his New York paper which were untrue and that he had mailed a letter yesterday denying them.