The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-02-13

der.de or condemn. We do not de.
ride the Christian faith because the
Kingdom Of God on Earth seems no
nearer than it was to our fathers.
of course. there are Socialists
and Socialists, just as there are
Christians-and Christians. To Soc
ialism and kindred movements come
men and women who feel the terrible
burdens of life weighing too heavily
upon them. They clamor for "riglts
which have been den.e ed to them and
are often not in the mood TO recog.
nize that rights involve duties. They
sweep aside with Impotence the sug-
gestion that they should stress their
duties But 1t is m stake to think
OF the whole movement OF radicalism
az being composed OF men and wo-
men o this limited vision. II is as
much . mistake as ii would be 10
Judge Christianity by Its poorest ard
Wcakes, adhereuts And this LEADS
me to observe that there arc few
who realize how much the world
owes for leadership through this crit-
cal time to men who derived their
first inspiration rom Socialism and
similar radical movements. II was
his early training as a Socialist that
hammered Clemenceau into the in
yincib figure he became during the
great war. In that same movement
Artistic BRAND was trained, as was
the present President Of France. NJ.
Mil'erand When France needed a
powerful Minister Of Munitions in
the DAYS when the German foe
pressed against Der gates, she turned
to Socialist. Albert Thomas. In
England, when the submarine as
saults seemed to he starving Eng
land. and II became necessary to or
game her food supplies as never be-
fore. il was to the Socialist Clynes
the people turned. Her phenomenal
strong man, Lloyd George, is another
example of flaming radical and lead
err OF reyots who proved a supreme
master of the realities of life. When
the Germans held Belgium and were
face TO face with the problem OF
keeping the people o. the conquered
nation alive, the German military au-
thor.ties could find no man for the
task as well equipped as the Social
list leader, Anseele. Take Branting,
the Swedish Prime Minister, winner
of the Nobel Peace Prize; take Trot'
zky witt his marvellous organizat on
OF Soviet Russia's formidable army;
take the great Socialist leaders who
have made Poland's recovery pos
8 BILE. take Masyrk, the great states
man OF CzeCho Slovakia, another pro-
duct Of the Socialist movement
take all these and many others whose
names | have not time even to men.
ton: do they not prove the stupid
folly of dismiss'ng international so
cialism as the movement OF weak
and Intellectual men merely, or OF meA
who are narrow and selfish and with
out vis!on?' !
In conclusion MIR. Spargo protested
against Misrepresentation of the
aims and purposes of tn numerous
schools Of radicals, as wei as
against the vicious theory that these
can be suppressed by brute force uh'
doubtedly many Of these movements
ere charac err zed by a propaSanoa
that IS subversiye of the things we
have received as our heritage from
the great ones Of the past ana WH /
we would yea ously preserve, but inc
way to deal VITA tleir challenge is I
by earnest understanding and thresh, q
inc ont the problems in the spirit OF
men who want the Truth believing .
fiat the truth alone can make men
re-.