El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-04
ALMOST JUSTIFIES
NJ NAMARB'5 ACT
John Spargo Lectures Be
fore FL PasO Audience
on Socialism.

when a poor wretch like Mona
mara sneaks up and plants a dynamite
bomb to punish an individual, he does
it because he believes an individual
or group of individuals has caused
the suffering Of himself and others"
said John Spargo. Socialist lecturer, at
the FL PasO theatre last night
Socialism" he continued meets
such a man on plane Of ideas. The
Socialist tells him i have not got
musket or a cannon ball for you, but
ideas The Socialist is the only man
who is logically fighting anarchy, be-
cause he offers a logical solution Of
the cause that breeds the anarchist.
'TheO Roosevelt the most eminent,
distinguished and cOurageOus of the
great men who have taken the anti
view Of Socialism. is typical of what
the opposition breaches. He says that
our ills are due to the wickedness of
a few malefactors Of great wealth
who have violated the laws made for
the regulation of great industries. No
more reVOltingly immoral doctrine has
ever been preached to any people, nor
have we ever been given any doctrine
more submersiVe of Democracy or Of
constitutional government
Mr.. Roosevelt believes with others
Of his thought that when man
stands out broken and ruined. it is due
TO his own shortcomings and moral
failures. I say there are social forces
at work infinitely greater than the in
dividual. forces which take the indi-
vidual up as if a straw-fOrces over
which he has no cOntrOl-and hurl
him on You help to make him dan
gerOus member of society by preaching
to him that his failure is his own
fault; you help to inspire him to take
the law into his own hands"
BY way of illustrating his point,
the speaker cited the case of the work
er who falls i'll of consumption and
drops from the place of comfort, over
the prec1pice of poverty; of the man
who sees his daily earnings cut off
by a strike, or by the closing down
of a mill because of OverprOductiOn;
of the man who loses an arm or leg
in the machinery he is operating.
These things cause a mans ruin more
often. he declares. than any moral
falling of the individual.
Explaining Socialism, the speaked
declared:
Socialism is a criticism Of society. a
protest on the part of the makers Of
the worlds bread against a condition
that denies them the right to eat that
bread; a protest on the part of the
builders of the worlds palaces against
the right TO inhabit the palaces they
build
He said he knew a farmer up on
a hilltop who had pump down in
the valley. where the public was free
to use II. but every time Wayfarer
pumped two pintS of water for him
through q secret pipe, up into tank
for the farmer on top of the hill.
When one Wayfarer reported to the
farmer that the pump was not work 4
ing right that it was not diSCharging
enough water. the farmer declared it
the most perfect pump he had ever
seen 1T all depends on whether YOU
are working the pump or live on thee
hill" declared the speaker. whether
YOU ike the pump or not The great
bulk of the stream of wealth which
the lab0rer pumps yearly, finds II way
into the tanks of the capitalists on top
OF the hill Those who live on the
top Of the hill in close proximity 70
the tank are the people who decry
the Socialist as an agitator and dan
gerOus man
Socialism is the protest OF a class
and all progress has been through sthe
struggle Of the desperate, dOwntrOdden
class. Socialism is lmpersOnal- No mat
ter how many names a Socialist may
call. his attacks are always on the
system rather than against the indi-
vidual"
The audience when Spargo finished
was only about half as large Is
when he commenced In appearance /
SparEO is n typical SOcialist-lOng
hair. earnest. thin face. sharp. pierre |
ing eyes and he appears thoroughly |
imbued with his subject. but as an
orator he is not captivating nor mag
netic- Shortly after he began talking,
the people began leaving-a few at a I
time-and this continued throughout 4
the evening. His lecture was the 4
tainments offered by the WOman's /
club. and apparently the least enjoyed /
by ticSethOlders Of any that has Yet /
appeared