The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-01-10

IAN the agitation and forced It's ad-
'ption against very bitter opposition.
lis personal physical force was ex-
pended largely in inflaming the mob,
usually at n distance, in quarrelingl
with every rival and I'm penning vio-
ent articles. At the Chartist confer
ence, at Leeds in August, 1876, when
Thomas Cooper arraigned O'Connor
and his inner circle of friends ON the
charge of malversaton of funds. he
was expelled from the organization
Cooper declined, however, to leave |
the hall and some of the delegates
talked of electing him by force. |
why" exclaimed Cooper, does not
that great laundering coward point.
ing to O'Connor) who has so often
talked to me of physical force in pri-
vate, come and put me out himself?"
The challenge was not accepted and
Feargus O'Connor continued his SUI
preme power. THE decline and ex-
tinction almost of the Chartist move
ment," said Morrison Davidson, has
never been adequately explained. &.
Most of the causes of its decadence
are manifest enought. In the first
place, there was a grevious internal
dissension in the ranks of the reform
ers themselves. There were physical
force Chartists and moral suasioD
~ hat that ,,,og not ~, q,
worst. The painful rivalries and ego
tism of some of the most prominent
leaders of the movement disguised
the honest rank and file and slowly
Slapped the source of popular enthu-
siasm which at one time promised to
carry all before it. The vanity of
Feargus O'Corror, it is deplorable to
relate, finally landed him in a luna
tic asylum" Such was the ending of
movement that at one time had the
active support of no less than two
million men.
| shall not attempt more than to
mention what every socialist should
between Bakounine and Marx over the
same tactics that finally destroyed
the International Workingmen's AS
ISOLATION. The story of that quarrel
has been often written in all our party
journals that little remains to be said.
fear, however, that few of the young
er party members know of the great
fight in the 7O's and SOS between the
socialists and the anarchists.
In the middle of the seventies, the
socialist movement in this country
really seemed to be taking root and
an enormous growth ensued. No less
than twenty-four newspapers, directly
or indirectly, supported the socialist
party in rs and IT. Just at this time,
however, a section of the movement
came under the influence of the anar-
chsits and after Johann Most arriced,
revolutionary clubs were formed in
all parts of the country. Many mem
bers deserted the socialist party and
more revolutionary movement. They
formed educational and defense" So
cieties, bought guns and drilled them
selves for warfare. They declared
against political action and advo-
Gated, the destruction of the existing
governments by ALL means.
rpI1rIJ ono Of tba nawcDaners of
that day, declared, ut is beyond doubt
that if universal suffrage had been
weapon capable of emancipating the
people, our tyrants would have sup
pressed it long ago." This "revolu-
tionary" agitation literally crushed
the socialist party and there were
only sixteen delegates who attended
the convention of the socialists at
Baltimore in 1888. 1t was pathetic
assembly that must have created
some hilarity when it declared, 1--WE
do not share the folly of the men who
consider dynamite bombs as the best
means of agitation" Nothing, how
ever, stayed Herr Most and his fear
full tragedy at the Haymarket in 1886.
Another instance was there recorded
in history of what utter ruin the ad-
vocates of violence can bring upon the
movement. All that the revolution
airy" tactics did was to lead group
of sincere, hot-headed men to make
statements which furnished pretext
for hanging some of them and for i'm
prisoning others. The anarchists We're
hung, not for anything they had done,
but for the views they held. In any
case, the anarchists destroyed move
ment which, had it gone on along the
lines of international socialism would
probably have given us by now
as powerful as that of Ger
many.
The history of these periods de
serves the consideration of our party
members and l hope some of them
at least will not be content with this
rapid sketch, but will up the history