The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-10-02
Socialists and Many Other Free Speech Fighters COriate Era dg
Party Discipline: By Frans BOstrOm

us differ and debate, argue and quar-
rel as much as we please, it is in
evitable. But after the majority has
spoken, let no one commit sabotage
on it's will and remain in the party.
We want no knockers. Individualism
has no place in the organization. The
majority may be foolish and in fact
generally is, but it is not so foolish
as the wise guy who despises it and
refuses to submit to it because its
action does not correspond with his
notion of what should be done. AS
party we can advance no faster than
the bulk of the membership advances,
just as we as nation cannot get So
cialism before the majority of the
people want it. If the minority is
intelligent, let it educate the majority.
But in order to do so it must be in
the local. There are in this state a
good many persons, who have been
members of the party off and on.
When in the party they have not par
tfcipated in the discussions with an
open mind, ready to learn. They hold
fossilized convictions which they have
attempted to foist upon the majority
with dogmatic assertions or false
proofs. Mistaken in their judgment
of the strength of the sentiment in
the party, or getting impatient be-
cause of their insignificant progress,
they have bolted and dragged some
misguided followers with them and
attempted to go it by themselves. Not
being able to agree with a tolerant and
charitable majority in the party it is
but natural that they cannot agree
with each other. The upshot has been
that they have gradually crept in by
the back door to the party, only to
again begin the same game over
again. They are incurable individual
lists and can never become Socialists,
regardless of how we'll posted they
are in MARKHAM economics. No per-
manent growth can be made with
them il TIE party. slinoritica mturt
exist in the organization, since we can
not all see things alike But the nil
nority in the party must be composed
of Socialists and not of individualists.
The questions at issue must be new
ones and not such as have been set
tied long ago. 1t should not be nec-
essary to have to defend Socialism
in Socialist local against the on
slaught of individualists in Socialist
disguise. We have never found it diff
ficult to convince the average Ameri-
can about the correctness of our
theories, but he says 'it won't work"
And even after he has been made to
believe that it will work, you can only
get about one in twenty of him to
join the organization, for that is about
the PERCENTAGE if you deduct the for
eigners from the roster. Why? Be-
cause the average American is an in.
|veterate individualist to whom the
loose tactics of the anarchist appeals
much stronger than the restraining
discipline of the Socialist. Pandering
to this failing Tom Hickey originated
the so-called Texas program and has
built up an organization under the
name of the Socialist party of Texas"
the principal tenet of which is de
Capitalization" Every local has COM
plete autonomy. Any and all tactics
are permissible or at least uncon-
demned and therefore unpunishable.
This organization CD prospered quite
a bit last year, but has dropped more
than any other state this year. Ii
carries within itself the seed to self
destruction. The boiling faction in
this state has adopted the Texas pro
gram and will break up all the sooner
for it. The Socialist idea Of freedom
is founded upon economic security
and not upon sentimental "do as you
please" notions. As a means to hasten
it's dissolution we should favor decen-
tralization in the capitalist state. For
the same reason we should oppose II
in the party. In the cooperative com
monwealth alone 1t would be possible
to utilize decentralization without
detriment OF efficiency Until then it
is on a par with the cooperative
colony scheme Dreams are at dis
cunt in this century. Common sense
methods only have any chance. And
- CocFaIfern fa uof avnon yrooua With