New-York tribune., 1908-06-01
SOCIALISM AND IT'S CRITICS.

These are lively days fOr the socialists. A
LARGO hody of Protestant clergy and laymen,
gathering in this city under the title or the
National Christian Socialist Fellowship. Is
b,lsilv engaged in drawing up resolutions urging
the religions to ioiR the army Of Marx. Slmui-
taneously some more practically minded gentle
men are launching a socialistic daily newspaper
1non fhe rfffied sea of New York Journalism.
And scarcely an evening passes without its So
ciaEistic debate or lecture in some hall or
church on Manhattan Island. To the enthu-
siasts' greater delight. considerable number OF
journalists and newspaper readers is taking all
these activities as portents Of catastrophe. ana
accordingly penning bitter attacks upon social
istic doctrines and their champions. An i'm
pnrtance is thus added 10 the cause and cam
naign of the radicals which the latter could
scarcely have created by dint of their own ar
g11ments alone AT the present moment the foes
of socialism hereabouts are earning Tld ap-
plause from the benches Of the revolutionaries
hv meeting socialistic theories with still looser.
wagner ones Why shouldn't the enemies Of in
dfviduaIism and property be busy, then: Inc
more they do and say. the more their enemies
play into their hands by display of righteous
wrath which. urson inspection, proves TO be froth
and nothing more.
For tr,l< his sake as we'll as for the strength
ening of the case against socialism, protest
| must be raised against the methods adopted ny
some ardent critics of the socaled Christian
Socialists From pulpit and press comes the
| assurance that the name these partisans have
adonted is a gross self-contradction. Socialism.
we hear is fundamentally at variance with
4 rooralitv being only the gospel of greed. One
| authority even assures us that the doctrine is
| incompatifIe with all religious beliefs. Now,
| this is plain simple bosh. of course. 1t is true
| that the founders and later leaders Of socialism
/ opposed the Church. II is true that many per
| sons who believe that Marx said the last word
| in economics also believe. and even practise,
| pernicious ethica! doctrines. But there is no
| more logical connection between true socialstic
principles and these religious and moral ones
| than there is between the abolition OF private
property and most of the other demands OF
| American socialists. The socialists are con-
| stantly going far afield advocating every man
ner of reform which strikes their fancy as being
| aItruistic or otherwise lovely. Now they cry
| for prohibition. now for the election OF all
| Judges by the people and for short terms, again
| for safety devices in factories. If il is absurd
| 10 embrace Marxism because its worshlppers
| ask for the restriction of child labor. it is silly
| To condemn Marxism on the ground that some
/ socialists are atheists and others out for loot
/ The opponents of socialism earn no credit by
| ignoring or confusing the real issue; on the
contrary they invite defeat Socialism can best
be met by fair discussion Of each principle for
which il stands Its economic theory can be
| proved nonsensical. Many of the doctrines ac
quired since the days of Marx can be shown to
be wholly irrelevant TO orthodox socialism
| Some of these doctrines anaiyZed i'll all So
| briefly, are nonsense: some are good ideas badly
damaged by incompetent handling; and some
others are thoroughly commendable. Many So
| cialists object 10 this dull, piecemeal consdera
ton of their faith. They prefer to shout for
the rights Of man in the broad language used by
professional platform drafters- For this very
reason. If for 10 other. the critics Of socialism
ought to ahiure vagares in their retorts.