The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1903-11-12
Thursday, the TWenty-sixth Day of
November, Instant,
The Decline of Socialism.

One of the instructive experiences of
Tuesdays election in this state was the
sudden and, to it's leaders, unexpected
dsintegration of the Socialist party.
We have not yet at hand the total vote
cast for it's gubernatorial candidate, but
il can be safely asserted that it fell far
below the total of last year, and per
haps approximated nearer to the vote
thrown for MI. Wrenn in 1901. This
decline in voting strength was some
thing that disnterested political judges
predicted long before the dawn of
election day. The conditions that
presented themselves last year were
entirely abnormal. The coal famine
led to belief ON the part of great
many persons of the immediate neces-
sity of government ownership and con
troll of one of the prime necessaries of
life-the supply of fuel-and this feel
ing emphaszes itself in thousands of
votes that were thrown for the Socialist
ticket in massachusetts,, this being as
sumed to represent a needed, if revo-
lutionary, change in the ordinary bust
ness affairs of our republic
This sudden increase in political
strength by a party which had been
hitherto carrying on an apparently
hopeless contest bore ii resemblance, in
a way, to the experiences of about half
century ago, when the so called
Know-nOthing party sprung up almost
in day, but carried this state in spite
of the Old regular political organlza-
tions. But of the Know nothing move
ment it could be said: because it had
no root it faded away" 1t is impossible
to carry on great and permanent po-
ltical agitation on one phase of our
economic condition, and this year, as
there is no coal famine, large number
of thuse who were Socialist voters
twelve months ago have drifted back
into their former political associations,
and now class themselves as Democrats
or Republicans, as the case may be-
Indeed, it is worthy of note that the
Republicans appear to have gained more
by the subsistence of the socialistic
agitation than has been secured by the
Democrats; at least this seems to have
been the experience in those local
elections " here the extent and charac
ter of the Socialist vote can be def.
nitely gagged.
American citizens. 1t may be used as a
club, as it was last year, to meet some
immediate issue, but it is not theory
of public control that the average Ameri-
can citizen can summer and winter with.
The honesty of many of those enlisted
in this movement may be admitted; but
the panacea for the evils of society
which they hold out is not one that is
attractive to men who feel themselves
capable under ordinary circumstances of
earning enough to provide for self.sup-
port. The socialist agitation will, of
course, go on, because it is promoted by
those who have that enthusiastic belief
in the righteousness of their cause which
makes defeat an unimportant considera-
ton. But, unless some great crisis
arises, such as that which forced itself
to the front last fall, neither the Re
publican nor the Democratic party lead
ers need to be seriously apprehensive
that any considerable part of their
voting strength will be thus drawn
away from them-BOston Herald.