Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-06-19
The Native Brand Of Socialists.

There is widely prevalent idea
that the main strength of the vari-
Gus Socialist groups In the United
States comes from the foreign born.
The notion is an error, and the
readiness of many intelligent per-
sons to accept it as a matter of
course shows how little they under
stand the value of our immigration.
Charles Levine; in a letter TO the
ITimes, comments on the use of THE
Marseillaise" and of banners bar
ing non-English inscriptions for So
clalIst parades In New York. Many
Socialist leaders are aliens. The
only considerable philosophers of the
propaganda are Europeans, and
when one OF their disciples has been
able to talk himself across the acean
nothing is likely to render him in
articulate after he gets here. The
foreign accent. so to speak, of the
American Socialist movement is given
to II by the loudest voices; and to
the Socialistic barometer Euro
pean wind forecasts the severest
The Socialist party
here sounds foreign, but is it?
In the presidential contest OF 1904
New York state cast per cent of It's
total vote for Debs. In the country
as a whole Debs got per cent. Yet
New York state had in 1900 only
73 per cent of It's inhabitants native
born. whereas the United States had
SO per cent native born. New York's
Immigrants seem not TO have drag
ged her into Socialism, but on the
contrary. to have defended her
against II. West Virginia with 81
per cent native. gave the Socialists
G per cent of her vote; Florida. with
95 per cent native, per cent. IL
ilnois. where Debs polled 6 per cent.
OF twice the rate the nation threw
TO him, had precisely the national
proportion OF native born--S6. Ida
no, with SO per cent native, rolled
up Q per cent for him. while Oregon,
also with the national percentage OF
natives, Sc, even made Il per cent
for Debs.
The truth is that. the rank and
file. the "speechless" immigrants,
have escaped from Europe. not be-
cause they don't want 10 work, but
because they did. and hoped In this
country TO lay by something 10 show
for their toll. They are the most
enterprising members OF the COM
munity from which they hail. or thoy
would not have pulled up stakes.
They have TO become acquainted
with our institutions by studying
them. as many OF them must with
our language. and, like a foreigner
learning English, they often discov-
or In things American excellences
and shades OF meaning which natives
are too familiar with TO appreciate.
Americans by adoption. they have
something OF the zeal OF the convert.
They love this country because they
have tried others. With them pa
triotism means something more than
sentiment. To charge such an ele-
ment with chief share In the So
called Socialist" attack on mar
riage. religion and the responsible
ity and right OF the individual to earn
his bread in the sweat of his face
for a proportionate reward is to
withhold appreciation from men who
have dono as much as any others to
safeguard liberty and preserve the
Republic.
No country, not even America.
ls without It's indigenous vic
tins OF chronic fatigue. The
most interesting things about Social
ism In this country are that there
are plenty OF native born among it's
followers. and that there are plenty
of immigrants who know II is all
stun and nonsense.-New York