New-York tribune., 1903-01-07
TIE SOCIALIST VOTE.

One of the subjects worthy or STUDY i'll 'ue
turns of the last election is the extent anu ui'
trihution of the socialist vote. In twenty -niie
of the forty-fve States candidates represent
ing one body or another of the SOCIALISTS "ele ~
before the people and received ABOUT -yooo'
votes. They won three members ol the iesi"
Iature in Massachusetts and five in Montana.
In several cities in the last few years the! nave
also had considerable success on local issues.
Their parties are variously called Socialist, so
cialist Labor Social Democrat. Some are more
extreme i'm their views than Others but all
are agreed upon change in the political ana
industrial organization of society along the
lines of the philosophy Of Marx and Liebknecht
As might be expected, the socialists are al
most entirely confined to the North, though they
are not confined to the great centres OF popuia-
tion A handful of them are found in Texas. ana
some six thousand in Missouri, which is doubt
less to be accounted for by the large foreign
population of st. Louis. From no other South
ern State is any return made of socialist votes
In Massachusetts the socialist organizations
cast $4,000, in Illinois $4,000, in Pennsylvania
$1,000, In Ohio 1900. in Wisconsin 10000. in
California $500, in Indiana S,7O0, in New-Jer-
sey 5000 and in Michigan 5000. All these
States have great industrial centres and large
foreign born populations. New-York, likewise
gave about 10000 votes to socialist candidates
except candidates for Governor, who suffered
to the extent of $1,000 votes from Mr.. Coler's
popularity with socialists and from the Demo
cratic declaration for government ownership Of
the coal mines. We find socialism manifesting
itself also in the wholly agricultural States
Its vote in Kansas was 1000. in Iowa 5000
in Nebraska 5000. in North Dakota 1O00 in
South Dakota 2,7OO, in Utah 5000. in Washing
tOn = nd i'm n
suggest that with the decadence of PopuIism
some of its more radical elements, instead of
drifting back into the old parties have gone
on in the way they had started, and ended up
as socialists. Certainly in these prosperous
rural States there is none of that pressure of
factory life, with its close labor organizations,
which in the cities offer such opportunities for
the socialist propaganda. Socialism there must
be founded on pure theory or on a different
sort of discomfort from that of the town wage
Garner. 1t reflects the granger side of the
antitrust feeling.
1t is evident that socialism is gradually gain
ing strength in this country both as a distinct
party cry and a principle of action operat-
ing on those still adhering to old political all-
ances. Possibly the is to be sought in
world movement which has reached the United
States after having spread over Germany
the inevitable results of the pressure of the
highly developed social organization, and
springs up here only as our concentrated in
dustries are built up tending to reproduce Old
World conditions. There is reason, however
to believe that this is not the whole story
Local causes probably play part i'm making
socialists, especially in the rural West where
European industrial conditions are not even
suggested by experience or preached by foreign
agitators. 1t must be that large numbers of
people are led by study of our own laws and
business operations to feel that injustice is
done, and it behooves those who believe in re-
publican government and ndvdualstic organ
zation of society to remove occasion for such
beliefs
The chief teachers of socialism in this coun-
try are those who have ostentatiously paraded
their power under present conditions to con-
jure enormous wealth from combinations. from
trusts, from water from railroad discrimina-
tion from legislative favor When people see
vast corporations built up by secret contracts
with common carriers in violation of law when
they see other corporations permitted by i'll ad-
justed tariff duties to sell their goods here for
so much that 1t is profitable to purchase abroad
those same goods manufactured here and
freight them back, it is wonder that they
grow dscontented. We firmly believe that a
plunge into socialism would be the ruin of this
country It's salvation must he found in free
initiative and enterprise as of old Whatever
seems to large bodies of the people TO trench
upon that freedom by granting special priyi-
1ege tends to pro-oke demands for such repuIa
tion of equality viii kill indvdualism and
enterprise. Those who stand as leaders of the
recent great developments of private enterprise
should be the first TO use their power with mod
Grafton. and. above all things, should remove
every ground of complaint against them as bene-
ficiares of government. if they wish to see long
continued the industrial liberty which has made
! possible this country's phenomenal growth in
wealth