The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-02-27
THE LOG or AN AGT7ATOR
BRUCE ROGERS


hand in hand they are going down the
western slope OF their pilgrimage,
stil loving and still serving each
other not gladdened or solaced by
the bubblng laughter of children, but
encouraged and strengthened in the
hope that socialism will come.
The meeting was poor from every
standpoint except the unfailing kind
ly and student like attention that is
being given the lectures at every
point. When the meeting was over
a comrade informed me that he had
received word I was to speak at SUI
mas at p. m. on Sunday, February
g. This made it necessary for me to
tramp across country to Everson in
order to take an early train. | knew
that there ought to be a local organic
ed at Everson and although it was
nearly midnight | looked around to
see If | could find some rebel. There
was wake in town-some pioneer
had expired-and a dance. These two
functions were absorbing the social
strength and aside from the village
dog there was no one to talk to ex-
cept a sleepy lad in front of whose
place there hung unevenly dingy
sign board bearing the disconsolate
legend pool room" There was moth
ing for me to do but hunt up the hotel
which in country towns always bears
the ambitious name of palace" or
"Royal." Such are the lights and
shadows in the life of flying agta-
tor.
At Sumas.
The comrades at Sumas have the
.neatset and best equipped hall and
library I have ever visited. Besides
a circulating library and a bountiful
store of the best socialist books the
spacious room is most tastefully
adorned with neatly framed portraits,
prints of revolutionary paintings, mot
toes, etc, such as "A people fit for
liberty cannot be enslaved." In the
center of one of the side walls ! was
amazed to observe in two gilded
frames life-sized bust portraits of j. 2.
Morgan and John d. Rockefeller, side
bv side, in a setting of American
flags and bunting and over them the
quotation, Render unto Caesar the
things that are Caesars" was IN
clined to scold about this until | saw
the biting satire of it. And immedi-
ately across the room was framed IN
dull wood Art Young's masterpiece,
Labor Crucified," in setting OF
crimson flags and pennants. The
meeting, which was successful in every
particular, yielded the maximum col
lection and we sold entirely out OF 1T
erature. After visiting a bit with
Comrades Mosely and Brockway l
went with Comrade L. G. Atkins to his
bachelor shack-a mere shanty con-
tanning a small old fashioned cook
stove, a rough lumber bunk, not
sign of a chair, and bare floor At
kins' one handleless tin water cup had
to serve us, first coffee for me, then
tea for him, and his one tine pie plate
had to be a dish from which we each
ate sausages and bakers bread. On
rough pine box shelves were as care
fully selected lot of books as l have
ever seen, books rare and valuable,
new and old, the best in English and
French. On the oil cloth table lay
open a much thumbed volume in
French, but description would too
greatly lengthen the days LOG"
At Lynden, February 10.
On this ODYSSEY I sometimes meet
men and women who were refugees
from the Rocky Mountain war in the
DAYS of Peabody and Sherman Bill,
the "Weyler of the Rockies" Such
refugees are Dan and Nellie Farrell
of Arletta and invariably they are
comrades of whom experience has
shorn all fool Illusions Such man
was the town marshal of Lynden'
The meeting at which many were
turned away was in the town hall and
he acted as janitor, literature agent
usher and all. Comrade Ed. Edison
was chairman. He's a socialist and 1t
was due to his efforts that the meet
ing was held. He knows socialism Is
coming but wants it to come easy"
for he is well fixed. At first survey
one would think that the socialists
of LINDEN labor under the most fay-
orable circumstances, but the CON
trary obtains for what is thought to
be a genuine socialist sentiment is in
reality but sort of crazy horse bull
moose-itis.
After the lecture I asked the social
lists present to remain few minutes
and made brief organization talk
whereupon we organized with ten
charter signatures While we were
signing up a rat colored old fossil
"butted i'm with the objection that the
.4 ,,,ar,barebfn ruu the affairs of