The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1912-06-01
BY FRANCIS Nj. ELLIOTT,

(, Inc QlTIerenCe between the l.. w.
w. on-political actionist. and the
political action socialist, is the fun
damental difference between anarch-
ism and socialism, the difference be-
tween riot and order. The man or
woman who rejects political action
as the method for obtaining owner
ship and possession of the expropri-
ated wealth Of the proletariat now in
the possession and ownership of the
capitalist. rejects the methods of CIV
lllzatlon and harkens back to the
methods of barbarism and savagery.
He voluntarily abandons all that
has been gained through all the ages
OF the upward struggle of the race
and appeals once more to the bullet
and the bayonet-to the tooth and the
claw-as the arbiters of his fate. If
we pause for moment to remember
that these means of warfare are now
in the hands of the master class
through it's control of the army and
the navy, the militia and the police,
the law and the courts, we can at once
realize the fatuous and the impo-
! tent position Of the direct actionist,
: for these brutal agencies of capital
ism. act at its behest through capt.
tal1sm's control of the political insti-
tutlons of the city, state and nation.
The direct actionist seeks to ac-
complish in an illegal way a purpose
which may be accomplished in a per-
fectly legal way. Thereby he places
himself beyond the pale of civiliza-
ton and gives to his adversaries the
yoe$ 1r,n o$or t. "a IL
and military authority, as we'll as the
weight of that public sentiment with
out which it is almost impossible for
any cause to triumph.
Whatever may be our individual
opinions, the vast majority of man
kind is law abiding. When We real
ize that this attitude Of the universal
mind towards lawful and orderly pro-
cedure is the creation of countless
thousands of years of human expert
ence and education, 1t Is then that we
perceive the hopelessness Of the po-
sition of the non-political direct-ac-
zionist proletariat. So all-powerful
is the sway over the human mind Of
this regard for authority and orderly
legal proceduse in all human affairs
that it has robbed every forcible
revolution in human history Of it's
victory. The masters have never
failed to use this power to re-seat
themselves on the backs of the work.
ers, after every cataclysmic epoch in
the history of the race. It remains to
be seen whether. in the present crisis
of the worlds history, the workers
have gained wisdom enough from the
4f
tactics of their masters and avail
themselves of this reverence of the
human mind for orderly legal pro-
cedure or whether they will repeat
the fundamental error of the ages
and appeal to that brute force which
defeats it's own purpose by reason of
it's repugnance to the universal mind
of mankind.
To undo this fundamental work of
the centuries is the task which the
I. w. w. direct actionist essays; to
: take advantage of this fundamental
work of the centuries and direct 1t
to the accomplishment of his own
emancipation is the work and plan of
the political socialist. Which appeals
to you as being the most reasonable,
the most feasible. Which plan at
tacks the capitalist system at the
point of least resistance?
No person of sound sense or expert
ence doubts the courage or the con-
victions Of the direct actionists, but
all may question the wisdom which
would pit pulsing human body
against the shotted rifles of hireling
soldiers, militia and police, when
there is peaceful way open to seiz-
ing those rifles through the political
machinery Of the city, state and ma
ton, and using them to enforce by
civil and legal process the expropriat-
ing powers. The idea has been ad.
vanced and expressed by spokesman
Of direct action non-political I. w.
W. proletariat that they will first
capture economic power after which
we will fall heir to political power
without struggle.
If it were possible to accomplish
and maintain economic emancipation
without reference to political institu.
tons or methods, then it would be
Wholly unnecessary to give the least