New-York tribune., 1906-12-15
PLAY WITH SOCIALISM
Il Dangerous Game for Both Parties
in England.

London, December 1.
The Huddersfeld election. while not a signal
for revolution. is warning that the old political
order is passing away. The Liberals have saved
the seat by nominating an active temperance
agitator and social reformer and bringne the
polling with rush; but an aggressive socialist
with the trade unions and the "Sufrragettes' be-
hind him. has polled nearly as many votes. with
popular Conservative at the bottom of the list
The successful candidate has drawn the con-
Venient moral that the country favors orderly
progress along the lines of Liberal principles
rather than along the revolutionary lines OF
socialism; but his plurality is too narrow to en-
phasize II. The really significant fact is thai
over one-third of the voters Of a well educated
and highly prosperous constituency supported
an extremist who boldly proclaimed warfare on
existing institutions. There could hardly be
more striking proof that the forces of organized
labor are upsetting English politics.
What are the principles for which Mr.. Russell
Williams. a sturdy workingman. has twice con-
tested Huddersfeld within a year, polling on
each occasion moro than one-third of the vote In
triangular fight? One is the abolition OF the
House OF Lords as the most effective method OF
removing obstruction to the popular will. An
other is the discontinuance Of private ownership
In land as reform essential to the rehousing Of
the masses and the redressing of wrongs caused
added the reduction Of armaments until there
shall be no breath left in miitarism. Mr.. Will
Jams is also a socialist in the that land
and capital TO be used collectively for the
common good rather than for the profit of indi-
viduals. He advocates state maintenance OF
children when their parents or relatives are too
poor TO provide for them. He holdA that every
child born into the world has claim upon So
clety and should not only be educated in the
schools. but fed and supplied with the ordinary
comforts of life at public expense. He considers
the government under obligation to find employ
ment for all in need of it and to pay them
adequate living wage. There should be work for
the workless in q properly governed community.
and retiring pensions at f1fty-f1ve for men and
women-with ten sh.llings week as the mini
mum. Mr.. Williams has recommended these
pensions without explaining how the money is to
be raised for paying them; but 1t is evident that
he depends upon the gradual abolition of private
ownership and the conversion Of rent, interest
and profit into common stock for mutual
benefit. With a programme barely outside the
open ground of confscation. he has nearly suc-
ceeded IN beating the government candidate and
winning the seat.
Ruddersfeld with this aggressive socialist
canvass among the working classes, shows
where the struggle is coming IN England. Mr..
Harde and his associates are converting the
Labor section. with the trades unions behind It.
into socialist party definitely committed to
revolutionary ideas If the old unionism has
been content with creating antagonism between
capital and labor and with forcing employers
into conferences before or after strikes the goal
OF the new unionism is to be socialism, with an
equalization Of classes, conditions and resources
| The socialist groups must first absorb the trade
| unions and then make over and reconstitute
7 Mr Pam
| donald's dogma runs: Labor has but one in
teIgent road of advance-that Of economic and
| Industrial reconstruction: socialism" TO-mor
row he may be proclaiming that liberalism as
| progressive force can have no future outside
socialism. The veterans of the trade unions
movement are to be turned out of Parliament
and socialists are to take their places: and
| whenever there is a chance for displacing Lib
eral a strenuous fight is to he made for the
| seat. The process Of political evolution becomes
| plain when the Countess of Warwick takes her
| stand under a red flag. and Mr.. Hyndman. with
| outstretched hands, denounces Liberal ministers
| as the bondmen Of rapacous capitalists. The
survival of the fittest will be witnessed, these
| dreamers say, when socialism has harnessed the
| trade unions and driven roughshod over lib
| eralism; for it will then be triumphant polih-
| cal organization. with all the strongholds Of
| power within its grasp and all the exhausted
| forces Of the old order pitted against Il!
| How are the two main parties defending the
| old order against what threatens to be revo-
| Iutionary movement? They are not combining
their forces against socialism, but playing with
| il for partisan advantage. The Conservatives
| nut I'D a candidate at Huddersfeld when there
was not the slightest chance of electing him. and
| this was done deliberately because they hoped
| that the socialist would beat the Liberal This
| is one of many signs that they are striving to
| return TO power through dssensons OF liberal
| ism and labor and the multiplication of trangu-
| lar contests The Liberals on the other hand,
| ara making stealthy approaches to the Labor
| proun in their legislation and their policies.
| Wings have become Radicals since the general
| election and Liberals holding seats for working
| constituencies have become more advanced in
| their opinions on social questions. The trend
| within the Liberal party toward the Labor sec
| ton IS unmistakable. The winning candidate
| a+ TTuddersfeId was carefully chosen an ad-
| ,ar'ced Radical thoroughly in sympathy with
| workingmen in various social reforms. mod
| ara to Ujberal would have been beaten there; and
| the marty tacticians are already announcing that
| advanced men will be the safest candidates for
| q majority of seats in the next general election.
| The party In power appears to be gravitatinS
| toward trade unionism at a critical time when
| the socialists are making arduous efforts to
| in,press upon it their own revolutionary pur-
| noses The Conservatives meanwhile, are look
| ing on with cynical amusement and wondering
| how long 1t will be before liberalism Is thor
| oughlv tarred with socialism.
| roth narties moreover, playing with So
cialisrn In their thoughtess treatment OF various
questions which ought either to he taken up IN