El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-08-18

l cialist Of Texas, and more or less
famed for being the editor and pub
Usher Of the socialist paper. The
Rebel" which postmaster Burleson
suppressed, is getting along toward
the millionaire class, according to
SflIiman Evans, writing in the Fort
/ Worth Star-Telegram- Evans says
that Hickey should worry" about the
suppression Of The Rebel" which
will always be the sore spot, for
Hickey is now an oil man. Hickey is
the owner Of valuable acreage in the
Desdemona, Texas. field and soon
derrick will be on that land
| Evans seems to think little coterle
If socialists were Gods chosen peO-
] pie" so to speak, Tor quite tot o.
/ them OF that faith, cult or polltlcal
belief were distributed on a strip OF
/ country which is now oil territory.
/ Desdemona, back in the pre-oli GAYS
when it was called HosLoMns We
| a socialist center Back before nc
war" says Evans, "Deslnnlls a. - ~.
manche. the county seat Of Comanche
county. and extending as lar norm as
] Ranger. there was a strip OF lana IN
/ habited by the most Militant soCis.l
| lists in Texas. There was a fraternity
! of good Fellowship among them Lnes
I mad annual meetings and barbeeues
/ in the Desdemona country Inc most
I important encampment was the an
nual Socialistic encampment az ElLL-
! son Springs, right close to Desdernona,
! and declared by geologlsts 10 De over
/ the Desdemona ocean OF OIL
/ These encampments at Ellison
! Springs were events in the lie OF the
] Socialist. They we're great days Tor
/ Tom Hickey. He was always tne ora-
! tor of the encampment and Whem they
met the comrades would invite Hickey
l to come up from HallettsFlue ana
! speak. He would speak against me
| accumulation Of vast Weaith ana tlS
evils Of plutocracy. Hickey used 70
! nour v5trol on the millionaire and all
4 those who got wealth other tnan ~
! the sweat Of their broWs ana Jns
l labor Of their hands. Shame he would
Z heap upon the man who inherited MIL
/ lions from a paternal estate
Millionaire Socialists.
] IF the Socialists OF Desdemona
! were to meet at the old encampmenL
grounds at Ellison Springs now there
would be a convention eXtraorqlnary
z Of millionaires. OF course all OF them
/ have spent their lives earning living
/ from the land, but that isn't where
they got their millions An oil wen
! brought the millions to them ana
MANY wells in the DesdemOna fields
. are 1ourinE wealth into their Golfers.
! The encampment is not going 10 be
1 held this year, however, because most
/ Of the Socialists in the community are
I too busy making $3.50 drilling con-
! tracts and selling fractional parts OF
| royalties for fortunes to worry mucn
about the MARKHAM theory OF wealth.
/ Perhaus so Of the owners OF land IN
/ Desdemona district for years nave
/ carried the red card Of Socialism
"a few years ago the younger So
cialists around DesdemOna organized
| a baseball club. DeLeon and German
! teams were challenged and the old
Z score books show that the SOCIALISTS
were pretty good baseball players
! Some Of the games were played dur
I ing the encampment between speeches
by Tom Hickey and other leading
Buy Baseball Lot.
They needed a baseball diamond,
, however, that was centrally located.
so they went out to the pasture owned
! bv Dr. s E SnOdgrass. It was cleared
I off and staked out for baseDall
! field One OF two games were played
I on Il and the Socialists vanquished
! their rivals One OF the teams was
/ composed OF Democrats and II the
Z Socialists were unable to defeat the
/ Democrats at the polls they were able
/ to vanquish them on the baseball dla-
Vow. DR.. Snodgrass is a Democrat
and has always been one Of the Lead
I ers in politics in Eastand county ne
I has never held office, but any otIlce
/ seeker always Travelled to see Dr.
Suodgrass before throwing his nat
I into the political ring. The Socialists
/ and their encampment were a thorn
/ in the flesh Of the Democratic side IN
/ the Desdemona country. DIR. Snod-
I grass heard about the baseball club
! and sent word to the Socialists that
/ they couldn't play baseball on his land
I any more
Militant Socialism
Socialism became militant Tney
/ had their team and they had already
] laid out the land for a diamond on
! the SuodErass land It was the best
diamond in all Of that country and
[ besides It would make a good loca-
] ton for a Socialist mass meeting.
1 Who knows2 Some day there might
/ be a public granary at Desdemona
when the whole country became so
J cfalized. A subscription list was
started and the bunch threw in at
1 dollar q piece. There were so Of them
in the club that bought the baseball
diamond. The land covered a little
more than an acre and a half and it
was just a little southwest Of the
! store at Desdemona- Fifty dollars
] was considered an extortionate price
/ for the land and DR.. Snodgrass and
/ the Socialists found their only COM
I fort in the fact that they could now
[ play their baseball and hold their
I mass meetings in pleasure without
I fear OF intrusion by the plutocratie
Democrats.
Worth n Million New.
l But as time has proven the base
ball diamond has become valuable and
it is surrounded now by producing
| wells ard as quick as all Of the own
ers Of the baseball grounds-those