The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-11
PUBLIC OPINION
A REPLY

Editor of the Farmer:
 Sir-Kindly allow me a word with
 your correspondent. John Cornelius
 Jr.. who took me to task last Friday
 evening in your valuable columns.
 Your correspondent insists that Social
 ism is a dream. He is good enough
 to describe it as a pleasant one Ac-
 cordfng to our friend. in treating So-
 cial:sm. we deal with a problem In
 psychology rather than politicai
 movement. a theory os. economies ana
 Anyone who has ever read a stand iard work on Socialism immediateiy Nahandons the dream objection Any one who has ever watched Sociallst parliamentarians making and break ing ministries: winning effective lapor' legislation from the unwilling Plutus' fighting to maintain and extend demo
 cracy. grappling with imperiaisnl' child slavery and political corrupt on; preventing wars: teaching the working claeS self-reliAnce and selr-respect-
 anyone I repeat. who has noted these varied activities must conclude that Socialism as a political movement IS very practical. very much alive anu very much on earth
 Socialism as an economic theory in
 wolves tCo much argument to be dis cussed here. If your correspondent cares to accep. my invitation, l snali be glad to discuss this phase of the question in private with him. Socialism -es a philosophy Is punt upon our modern theory of evolution It considers the human race as an or Santsm and regards as the only statlc
 law-the law of change Its philoso- phical maxim might be Hesefs Ia
 nous postulate: Nothing is-eVery-
 thing is becoming" There are many ] Socialists, however. who do not ac- cept the philosophy of Socialism, but agree with it's economic claims ana | support it's political expression-tne Socialist party
 Notwithstanding the alleged '57 va | rieties of Socialism, Socialists agree | on certain important premises. Among
 others are these:
 | 1. The economic interests of capital ist and laborer are opposed. however | identical their interests may De Tn | other directions. Their relation Is that of the buyer and the seller. g. This conflict of interests resolves itself essentially into a class struggle
 as witness the labor unions on one sioe | and the manufacturers associations on the other The struggle between the two is real. always intense and some times bitter.
 | a This class struggle in turn re- solves itself into a struggle for polit- { teal supremacy. consciously. at least on the part of capital The fact that ] capital is in control Of government IS perfectly obvious
 The conclusion is therefore irresis- | tibly forced on Socialists that If labor Is to conserve its interests and ex- tend its influence it must go into poh- | Your correSpondent's assertion that
 France is suffering from what he terms tine cancer Of Socialism ls far-fetched. It is difficult to judge conditions in France correctly The
 French government. let 1t be remark ed is not a Socialist one We Amer
 icans consider the action of the French
 government in expelling the religious orders somewhat high-handed and ar bitrary. The government justifies Its
 action however. by asserting that the
 French church. as a whole. was mimi
 cal to republican institutions and thai
 the teaching orders were underminine ] French patriotism. How true this is
 I do not know
 am aware that the Socialists in tho Chamber of Deputies voted in favor oi the abrogation of the concordat: Be
 lieving in a complete separation o church and state they could not hav' done otherwise. I am not sure tha ! the present law of associations inter feres with the freedom of the churci ss is frequently asserted That tn | temper of European radicals. includ ! ing Socialists. is anti-clerical Is true It is also true that they are sometime' guilty of excess in their demonstra l tions They are on the spot: an not. What justification they have do not know. Anti-clericalism has n' place in the American Socialist move : ment.
 I was surprised at your correspon dents cynical closing of his letter His mutilation of one of Hamlet's wei ? known soliloQuies to prove his lack O , , interest in progress annoyed me Al his name implies he is Irish and Cath ole Iris better to endure those i'll we have than fly to others that WI
 know not of'' may sound well. but on
 can never conceive of Emmet ant
 Crattsn, Tone and O'Connen pursuini that ideal Nor has your correspon dents church lacked great champion of progress and democracy. What O [ Campanella and Las Casas. ATchbishol . Won Kettler and Cardinal Manning 7 What of Saints Ch-ysestom. Gregory . Ambrose and Augustine?
 , | When churchm. n cease to cry 'An
 arch'st!' at every sincere radical ant lover of humanity and when radical who are no less sincere we may al work together to bring about an idea that ought to be as much Christian a l it is Socialist
 Mar for the first time an human his J tory has harnessed the blind forces O
 nature. Our good friends Rockefeller
 Morgan and the othe-s have harnesses , and organized industry. It remain for us to consciously organize am shape the society in which we live. Il ! the face of past achievements in ever, , department Of life. who will decla-
 will say that the settlement of tn . labor problem is iTnpract'cable or evel
 remote? When we shall have ac cumClated sufficient intelligence ant experience the nation will own tn trusts whether it has to buy them O
 confiscate them fer the greatest goo' of the greatest number.
 H. J. HORSEFIELD.