The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-05-12
ENCOURAGING REVOLUTION.
How Certain Boston Settlement Houses
Are Being Used to Educate in Anarchy.


Are Being Used to Educate in Anarchy.
Many thoughtful people have long been
aware of an undercurrent that is helping
TO promote in New England, as well as
in the rest OF the country, a spirit of>re-
bellion against organized government
Extremes of free speech are sometimes
to be observed at meetings of the for
egn-born For example, at one of the
settlement houses, support of which
comes largely from those who are hon
estly trying to benefit the people who
frequent it, the little theatre of the
building is used every Sunday evening
for a forum. An attendant at these
Sunday meetings, who has been much
affected by these incendiary utterances
and has written down a few of them,
wonders whether the supporters of the
settlement realize that at this forum
constantly speakers advocate the over
throw of our government by force.
"The working class and the employing
class have nothing in common, is fire.
quently repeated sentiment. That is
what one expects to hear at such gather
ings, but the reiterated 1--WE are now on
the eve of revolution" is calculated to
help on the event it prophesies. Boston
is different from London, Paris and other
large cities" said recent speaker, for
there a revolution against the upper
classes is most likely to start in the
east end. But it is my prophecy that
the west end of Boston will soon be
bathed in red" The old west end of
Boston, it should be noted, is now filled
with a foreign population; on the slopes
of Beacon hill, toward Cambridge street,
and beyond into the hospital region, are
the sedate old-time streets where once
abode plain-living, strong, American
families Now it is center of Russian
and Italian immigrants.
"The red dawn is rising, revolution
that | feel in the air cannot be killed"
continues the alien speaker in the little
settlement and the dark-eyed Italian
boys shout in approval, and the little
Jewish girls clap their chubby hands to-
gether. Well-dressed and happylooking
young anarchists are they now, in their
hearts intending no harm to anyone,
least of all to the men and women who
have been teaching them to walk along
the road of true Amerieanism. Your
limousine may be blown up, and you in
it" shouts the speaker, and again APP
plause.
Fed on food like this, may not the
young listeners some time be ready to
inflct bodily injury on members of the
so.called eapitalistic class, unless by
chance their own industry and thrift hap
pen to put them into that class? In
every one of these settlement audiences
there are three classes of listeners-first,
the simple working people, who are not
used to abstract ideas; next number
of agitators, who know how to stir up
the audience, and then a few who are
sincerely disconnected with the present
social state, and hope by listening TO the
forum speakers to get some light into
their darkened minds. Meetings cannot
be wholly harmless where organized gov
eminent is openly fouted, and some of
the simple minded listeners at the set
tlement forums may in time develop into
the more violent agitators of the type
heard at the South End opera house.
where regularly are held meetings that
have attracted the attention Of the au.
thorities Boston correspondence in the
Springfield Republican.