Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1912-06-27
SOCIALISM IN THE UNITED
STATES


cialism last week we saw that kar
Marx had been a leader among the
early socialists and that his ideas and
teachings have dominated German So
cialism ever since.
!; Socialism soon spread out from Ger
many into the neighboriug countries
of continental Europe and was carried
across the ocean by German emigrantS
TO the United States. Here We come
to the history of socialism in this coun-
try. Before passing from German So
cialism, however, it will be pertinent
to remark here that while socialists
have always been very loud in protes-
tations of love for the wOrkingman 1t
is fact that the various measures and
laws for the immediate benefit and re-
lief of the conditions of the working
men which have been enacted in Ger
many, were passed not by the help OF
the socialist members of the German
Parliament, but in spite of their Wig
orous opposition. And this notwlth-
standing that the socialist Programmes
of both GOtha and Erfurt had demand
ed these remedial measures. This &C
tion on the part of the German Social
lists shows about how much they care
for platform pledges and how deep
their love is for the workingman,
Coming now to American Socialism
we find the first organized effort in a
socialist direction in the General La
Dor Union founded in April, 1853, by
Joseph Weydemeyer, a German imml-
grant and disciple of Marx. This un-
ion consisted exclusively of Germans.
In September of this same year, 1853,
however, number of English speak
ing workingmen Joined their German
comrades to form the Amalgamated
American Society of Workingmen.
These organizations. however, were
short lived. In 1867 a number of Las
sallians-follower of the great agita-
tor, Ferdinand Lassalle, called into ex-
istance a political party the so-called
Social Party, which likewise speedily
disrupted.
At the same time the constant influx
of immigrants belonging to the Inter
national Workingmen s Association, the
Karl Marx Organization, gradually
changed the character of the German
labor unions in this country until in
1859 there was founded in New York
the German section of the Information
al Workingmen' Association, which
was based entirely on MARKHAM princi-
pies and zealously propagated MARKHAM
IDEAS. Other sections of the Interna-
tional, composed of different nationali-
ties soon followed and TINS MARKHAM
principles became firmly rooted in
American Socialism.
Out of these International sections
together with various socialistic trade
unions arose in 1874 the Social Demo-
! n, @;1 rY,,o 20 rtv of North
America. About this time also the
socialist elements of the Middle West
developed into the Labor Patty of IL
linois, having its Executive Committee
in Chicago. At convention in Phila-
delphia in 1875 the American Fedora
tion of the International Workingmen' S
Association, the Labor Party of Him
ois, and the Social Democratic Work
into the Workingmen' Party of the
United States, which was changed in
to the Socialist Labor Party of North
America at Newark in 1877. For
twenty years thereafter, this party ad
vocated MARKHAM principles and plos-
pered. Its prosperity was somewhat
checked by the appearance of Anarch-
lists in its ranks. who in 1880 captured
the leading socialist paper, the Ar
better Zeitung" and also voiced their
anarchist'c ideas in an English publi-
cation, the alarm" The "Hay-
market" tragedy of May 4th, 1886,
brought about by the anarchists re-
tarded the socialist movement in the
West for number of years. The So
cialist Labor Patty next came into
trouble with the Knights of Labor-a
purely labor organization and later
with the American Federation of La
Dor, both of which organizations the
political party sought to dominate but
failed. The fight over these organiza
tions led to a split in the Socialist La
Dor Party which resulted in faction
leaving the Party and uniting with
the Social Democratic Party, which
had come into existence in 1897 at Chi
cago mainly through the efforts of Eu
gene V. Debs of American Railway
Union fame. This combination was
finally cemented in a convention at In
dianapols July. 1901. At this con-
ventiou this party took the name it
has since etained-Socialist Party. |
Its platform drawn up at this conven-
tion, 1901, pledges the party to the
principles of International Socialism
in these words: 1.-THE Socialist Party |
in national convention assembled re-
affirms its adherence to the principles
of International Socialism.
Thus we see that from the
beginning of its existence the Social
ist Party has professed the principles
of MARKHAM Socialism. From this time
on the Socialist Party has been increas-
ing in strength, it has made inroads
into the various labor unions and has
been trying it's best though as yet un
successfully to capture the American |
Federation of Labor.
What the more intelligent and |
thoughtful leaders of organized labor
think of socialism is best expressed in |
the words of the head of the American
Federation of Labor, Mr.. Samuel |
Gompers: 81 have studied your (so- i
cialist) philosophy; read your econom-
les, and not the meanest of them stud
led your standard works both in En-
glish and German; have not only read |
them but studied them; have heard J
your orators and watched the work of |
vour movement the world over. |
have kept close watch on your doc
trines for thirty years: have been
closely associated with many of you |
and know how you think and what |
you propose. | know what you have
npd I fo 70 |