Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1909-02-04
A SOCIALIST
MACHINE

OHe ~ uulte prone TO COnueInu
machine politics" or machine poll
tieians." but the Socialists would do
well to examine their methods. II a
bad" ntlchine can carry a city its
own way is it because 1t is bad"
or because ii is a machine-a perfect
organization? Most assuredly be-
cause IL is a machine.
Machines are necessary to accom-
| plish great tasks, and as we Socialists
have the greatest kind of a task to
/ perform, We should have a perfect
machine.
Tammany, that greatest of all polit-
cal organizations, contains at least
one element that we should emulate.
Long before election II knows how the
voters intend to vote. It's workers
personally know every voter, republi-
can. democratic or Socialist. The or
ganizers Of the Socialist party do not
have personal acquaintance with a
tenth of our own voters.
/ 1t is known now that nearly half
a million men have withstood all
temptations and voted the straight
Socialist ticket. Who are they? Who
knows? Is there a town in the Unit
ed States that has tabulated list of
these voters?
The membership OF the Socialist
party is growing by leaps and bounds
In these columns last month / gave
the membership at 10000. Comrade
Barnes writes me since that the num-
ber has increased to $4,000. and per-
haps the type gets cold on this ar
ticle the number will be $4,000. Good!
1t ought to be 100, 900, and 1 am sure
1t will be before the end of 1909.
But, there is a difference between
| 10000 members and an organization
of 100000 members. What are these
! $4,000 members doing now? What
are YOU doing? Are you working for
Socialism? Are you agitating? Are
you try ing to increase the member
ship? Are you circulating literature?
Are you paying your dues promptly
and chipping in for the campaign
fund? DO you attend the meetings?
After all. it is upon your shoulders
that the burden falls. Do you carry
your share?
Speakers, writers. organizers, all
are of no avail unless you provide the
material for them to work upon.
Let me ask you a few questions.
Are you in the party? II not, get
in at once, and work with the ma
chine.
II you are in the party. do vou at
| tend the local meetings?
If you attend, do you take part in
them?
If you take part, what do you do?
Do you spend most all your time
purifying the party" quarreling. or
even just plain chewing the rag"7
If so, forget il. Get to doing some
thing that counts. Talk over with the
boys plans for work. and be sure TO
work your plans.
Here are a few initial things that
are necessary to build an effective So
cialist-making machine.
First of all, get the name of every
Socialist voter in your locality. There
are various ways of doing this, but
! they all resolve themselves down TO
making inquiries. You should by all
| a1Ir
papers, which you have reason to
think are circulated in your vicinity.
to send you list of their subscribers.
They will gladly do this. Then di-
vide among your best members the
task of visiting those subscribers per-
sonally. II you find they are So
cialists. grab them quickly! Get them
into the party. If only interested. pur-
sue them relentlessly. Supply them
lavishly with Socialist literature. And
in time you will get them into the
party. too.
II you have women in your organ
ization get them to call on the wives
OF the men you are visiting.
Thus gradually you will not only
Increase your membership, but will
widen your circle of acquaintances.
The trouble with most Socialists is
that they limit their acquantances to
ostracise themselves and render in
the Socialists alone. and consequently
effective all of their work
Remember. you have to climb but
one step at a time. But be sure to
climb. Make your first goal the find
ing of those Socialist voters. Your
second the getting OF them into the
party. Your fourth goal, the educa-
tion of every last one of them in the
same tasks. Thus you will be perfect
ing your machine always.
T0mmany is powerful because Il is
well organized. when the Socialist