Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-12-28
GAYLORD TALKS.
Says Few Things About People Who
Are Opposed to Socialism.

o.dte senator Wlnheld X. GaylOrd
OF Milwaukee, made an address in
Elks' hall, Wednesday evening. The
TACT that he had been advertised to
reply TO statements made in opposi-
ton to socialism by Frank Dixon and
Prof. j. {. Monaghan, who recently
lectured here, resulted in bringing
out a large audience. After being in
lroduced by Alex. Archie, he began
Dy paying his respects to Prof. Monag-
nan, whom he had been informed said
that socialism is atheistic andopposed
to religion. This idea, he said, was a
result OF the fact that the organizers
OF The socialist movement Tere, for
the most part atheists, but that the
socialist platform today holds that
the matter of religion is anyone's own
business, is also true. Further, he
said, there are several socialist chris
t1an papers published. The party to-
day contains men of all religious be-
| liefs and there are atheists in every
other party as well as in the socialist
he gave what he termed u history of
the causes which led to atheism and
socialism. Away back, he did not say
when, there was arrayed on one side
fthe church, the king, the judiciary
anu the army; on the other side the
people. The people were taught the
precept, Love God and obey the
king" The divine right of kings was
another teaching. The government
of church and state was tyrannical.
Men Of thought saw the iniquities
being practiced, and when they
pressed the representatives of the
| church for an explanation were told
to ."Hush That is not for you to
anow." These men then said, "DoeS
God give kings the right to enjoy GER
tain practices, and made it sin for
us to do the same thing?" and were
answered "Y es.' Then they said,
"If that be the teaching of your God,
we don't accept it," Thus they
drifted away from the church and
socialism sprang up.
The church to which Mr.. Monaghan
belongs is strongly represented in
Austria, country which has large
representation of socialists in its
|reichstag. The same church has more
adherents in the Nineteenth than in
any other ward in Milwaukee, and
that ward, he said, gave him a major
ity at his election.
The statement that socialism de-
stroys the home and will degrade
women, he said, hardly needed any
answer. Socialists, said Mr.. Gaylord,
believe in having more comforts in a
home, and more education; that a
woman who works should be paid for
her labor in the same proportion as a
man receives, and not less, as she is
today; that she should have voice in
choosing representatives in govern
ment.
Misdeeds in the home life of two
prominent socialists had been men
toned by one of the speakersfa few
weeks ago. The senator said he did
not defend their conduct. "But,"
said he, ''do you want tojudge a party
by the record of some of the people in
it? If so, let me mention from a
long list of such cases in each party
just two-Tom Platt's suit with the
mulatto woman, Mae Wood, and Tom
Taggart's French Lick Springs re-
sort" No socialist, he said, had ever
been accused of being a trafficker in
women, but such an accusation has
been brought against man in public
life in one of the old parties, and the
supreme court has said that under
the present laws it cannot stop the
importation of white slaves" There
are divorces in the families of repub-
licans, democrats, prohibitiomsts, in
fact every party, as well as in those
of the socialist. Socialism, he said,
does not aim to destroy the home or
degrade women.
The statement of Frank Dixon
that one of the principles of socialism
is to ''diyide up'' everything, he said,
is so old and threadbare that it should
be given no consideration. He said
there is not a word in the whole
socialist platform about dividing
up" He then told what in his
opinion, would be the direful results
If all the money, land and machinery
CT this country were divided up"
Socialists are accused of not practic-
ing what they preach. He said they
could not under present conditions
live apart by themselves and carry
out their program. Such PROPOSE
tion would be as foolish as TO call
bass drum player out of a band of
forty musicians and ask him to play
the ''Star Spangled Banner" on his
drum.
Socialism is not thing which is to
come at some set time. 1t Is already
here 1t is the strongest political
party i'm the world, numbering 10000
900 voters, and has over 800 represent
atives in the parliaments of the differ
ent governments of the world, the
only civilized countries of any import
ance not having socialists in their
law-making branches of government
being Spain, Mexico and the United
States. 1t is gaining rapidly and
numbers among its adherents men of
science, men of letters, philosophers,
clergymen, in fact men in nearly
every walk In life.
Mr.. Gaylord said that at religious
congress held in Chicago ten years
ago, the only thing which all the
churches could agree upon was, Love
thy neighbor as thyself,n yet it is not
being practiced. The motto of today
is Every man for himself and the
devil take the hind one" The bibli-
cal injunction has been transposed 10
read. "Do your neighbor-do him