The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-04-04
THOUSANDS LISTEN TO
 DEBATE ON SOCIALISM
4 NEW SUNDAY DIVERSION FOR
 BRIDGEPoRTERS.

Attorney DanieI Davenport, Head of
 the American Anti-Boycoft League,
 and solomon Fieidman,a a Prominent
 New York Working gmap, the Speakers
 Socialism Described as the Product
 of HaIf-Crazed Brain.
 Bridgeport, April 3.-Talking on the subject: Resolved, That Socialism is Just. Necessary and Desirable" Solomon Fieldman of New York, a prominent workingman of the metropolis, and At torney Daniel Davenport of this city entertained over 2.50O people this after noon in Poli's theater. The debate be- gan at 2.30 and continued almost unin- terruptedly for three hours, during which time there was plenty of excite ment and applause, the cosmopolitan audience taking turns in applauding Attorney Davenport and MT. Fieldman, the former speaking on the negative and the latter on the affirmative. Some of the statements made by both men .occasioned wild applause, and at first several of those in the audience went so far as to hiss MT. Davenport, be- lieving him to be representative of capitalism, but after telling them that he came to the theater believing that he would receive all the courtesy of the other speaker, he was no luther molest- ed.
 Attorney Davenport is chairman of the American Anti-Boycott league, and has come into some prominence lately in his opposition to the eight-hour law which has been up before the congress sional committee on labor. The debat- CTS were introduced by Courtney Lem mon, the associate editor of the New Tor Weekly Worker, MT. Fieldman talk ing the floor first. He also closed the debate
 Mir FieIdman said, in opening, that the present system of capitalization was in two classes, the masters and the servants, the result being the wage sys- tenn. The workingman," he said, twas in slavery, and by the present system he is robbed of the fair profits of his toil.."
 He gets merely enough to keep body and soul together, the same as a dog or horse does, asserted the speaker and continuing said: ''The present sys- tenn of capitalizing makes it impossible for a man of marriageable age to fulfil the natural obligations to society In the bringing forth of new population. It breaks up the family, makes men dis honorable and causes child labor" He defined the capitalist as man who fought for the profits of few to the general detriment of many and said that socialism would bring about ss div ision of wealth. He said that socialism would make the world better and bring about an equality of opportunity. He tackled MT. Davenport on certain state- ments made by him before the congress sional committee on labor, and said in cidentally that the committee was against the laboring man. One of the statements that he made and which caused considerable comment was the following: T advise the working man to fight with physical force for the great change of the present system to a socialistic system, which I say is in- CNltdbiSs III d ohOAt tltllC we VIII OS under the government of socialism, He was heartily applauded when he sat down.
 Taking up Mir. Fieldman's thread of argument MT. Davenport said that so- cialism was based on misconception and was promoted by misguided dreamers He also said at the start that it was the production of half crazed brain. Tt is Utopian idea" he said, land I don't see how anybody with common sense can say that it is anything but impracticable. The time has gone by, if there ever was one, for the extension of socialism by which he said was speci- fically contrary to the constitution of the United States and of Connecticut. In supplying the needs of socialism he said, the merits of the working men are lost. There would be no incentive to show ones profess or individuality or enterprise of any kind and would mean ultimate ruin. All socialistic experi- ments in the past he said, proved it's entire undesirability.
 Mr. Davenport said that he would tell the working man in Bridgeport in com
 
 a law that would stop the man from working over eight hours if he wanted to and could get pay for it. He ex- plained his talks before the Washington committee and emphatically denied the insinuation of MT. Gompers the head of the American Federation of Labor, to the effect that he had said the proposed eight hour law was socialistic.
 In conclusion he said that it was the duty of every working citizen to dis courage by reason and argument the promulgation of socialistic ideas and that if the socialistic government should ever come it would show the so- cialists to be the greatest architects of ruin that the world ever saw.
 The people in the theater were SUD- posed to decide the debate but the ap- plause for both men was about evenly divided.
 Slaeuera neralieN.