The Irish standard., 1905-07-01
Communism, Now Defunct. Had in View the
Adjustment of All Private Owner
ship Of Property.
To Overturn Order of Things Socialists Have
Devised Less Schocking, Though
Equally Unjust Scheme.

here and in all th,>~countries Of
Europe. They forget that an unjust
law is real tyranny.
International, as we'll as American
Socialism, is now openly laboring at
obtaining control of government for
the purpose of imposing it's theory
upon the people. The Chicago plat
form says: Cali our present demands
are but preparation of the workers
to seize the whole power of govern
ment, in order that they may thereby
lay hold of the whole system of indus
try and thus come into their rightful
inheritance" That is plain talk.
There is no fear yet that this party
is going soon to obtain control of the
United States government, but in a
few states their action is becoming
efficient, and is rapidly gaining
strength; in particular in New York,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois,
Wisconsin, Ohio and California. 1lli-
nois gave Mr.. Debs in the last presi-
Dental election over 10000 votes; two
Socialists sit in it's legislature, and
six in that of Wisconsin,; and num-
ber of aldermen and other minor Off
cials exercise their party influence in
various parts of this country.
The movement is making very rapid
progress here owing to it's very active
press, which is filled with exagger-
ations and misrepresentation, owing
not so much to evil minds and wicked
hearts, but often to earnest zeal for
what the writer's consider as the
rights of the laboring class. The So
cialists publish in the United States
five monthly magazines and "a week
,, ly papers in English; in German,
daily papers and weeklies. They
have weekly papers here in French,
Polish, Bohemian, Italian, Swedish
and Hungarian, besides large num-
f; ber' of trades journals and union pa
pers that defend Socialism more OF
! less openly.
| The Messenger Magazine for this
/ month gives copious amount Of re,
liable information concerning the ac-
tivity of the Socialists in all the coun.
tries Of the world where they have
got a foot-hold; it shows their pres.
ent strength, their latest aims and the
j danger they are threatening in the
, near future to human kind.
One great advantage has lately
been secured for the cause of truth
; and justice, namely, that the agitators
have at least been forced to declare
their purposes openly. For, as has
F, been shown above, they admit, and
!, men like Mr.. Collins go about through
F, the land proclaiming aloud, that they
aim at the control af government in
/, order to impose their novel system
, forcibly by the mere right of a ma
jority legislation, upon the entire peo.
pie. A majority in republic can be
fully as unjust and tyrannical as a
czar of Russia. Just see what the
party in power, though representing
! a real minority, is doing in France
this very year. They were elected un-
der false pretenses and hypocritical
promises and pledges; and now they
are rushing on their tyrannical meas
ures so as to complete their work of
| vandal devastation before the next
election can arrest their wanton
cruelty and impiety.
The Socialists in the United States
are not yet strong enough to effect
the great changes they contemplate;
but they have now adopted a plan
of campaign, which, If successful
would increase their strength i'm
mensely. That plan is the gaining
over the laboring men, and in par
ticular the labor unions. At first they
opposed the unions, because these i'm
proved the conditions of the workmen,
and thus kept down that discomfort
which might lead the masses to rise
in desperate frenzy against the
classes. Such revolution the original
founders of Socialism strove to bring
about. But now new departure has