THE LATEST PHASE OF SOCIALISM.

SHORTLY after the last Presidential election there appeared in a St. Louis Socialist paper this striking paragraph: "Six hundred thousand Socialist votes will be recorded in the annals of American history. In 1900, Debs received 90,000 votes; in four years our vote has increased sevenfold; suppose we increase in the same ratio in the next four years, that would mean 4,200,000 Socialist votes in 1908."

This note of exultation was echoed by the entire Socialist press of the country, and candidate Debs, commenting on the results of the election, pointed to an early fulfilment of the late Senator Hanna's prediction, that "the next great political struggle in the United States would be between the Republicans and the Socialists." In view of the 600,000 votes claimed for the Socialist party, and the somewhat supposititious inference drawn therefrom, this enthusiasm was quite excusable. However, it so happened (as it so commonly does in the case of Socialists' calculations) that the wish had been father to the thought. Official election returns reduced the supposed 600,000 votes by fully one-third, leaving for Debs a little less than 400,000, as opposed to the five millions for Parker and the seven millions and a half for Roosevelt. This showed a fourfold instead of a sevenfold increase in four years, and at the same rate of increase the Socialist vote for 1908 would be 1,600,000, a number just a little in excess of the Populist vote for Weaver in 1892. Hence Mr. Debs' statement that the beginning of the end had been passed, and that in four years the Socialists might sweep the country, appears a trifle exaggerated.

Nevertheless, if it be considered that the total vote cast in the last election was only thirteen millions and a half, therefore fully half a million less than in 1900; and also that the vast gains of the Socialists were made during a period of comparative prosperity, matters look sufficiently serious to warrant a thorough inquiry into the present state of Socialism. If it were a question of introducing a new fashion in our wearing apparel, or of revising our present code of social etiquette, we might treat the whole matter as a fad, the ultimate success or speedy failure of which would be of little conse

quence. But when we are told that our "present social and industrial order is founded in fundamental injustice," and must therefore be radically changed; when we are bid to set aside the very constitution of the land, which has been the nation's pride from its first inception, and when these demands are urged with an energy and persistence that brings their realization within the range of possible future events, our sense of justice and love of country alike demand that we take an active part in the struggle. This, however, we cannot do unless we make ourselves thoroughly acquainted with the spirit that has set this movement on foot. To decry the Socialist system as visionary and impracticable, without being able to give a reason for our decision, is as unjust as it is useless.

Hence the primary object of this article is not to refute Socialism, but rather to discuss its present state and spirit. Its purpose is to furnish the reader with a fair estimate of the present strength of Socialism, its present message and its present dangers.

Touching the first point, namely, the present strength of Socialism, it will be well to bear in mind that Socialism is truly what its advocates claim it to be, a world movement. It is not confined to this country or that, but permeates the whole industrial world; and it is in this universality that we must, in the last instance, look for its real strength. The 400,000 votes cast for Mr. Debs in the last election look insignificant enough when considered in themselves; but when they are viewed as the advance ripples of a mighty tidal wave that is rolling in upon us from distant shores, they receive a terrible significance, they mean nothing less than that the Socialistic deluge, which is inundating Europe to-day, will be upon us to-morrow, unless timely measures be taken to divert it from its course. It is but little more than half a century since Karl Marx, "the pathfinder of modern Socialism," as his disciples love to call him, closed his London Manifesto with the battle cry: "Proletarians of all countries. unite," and to-day that battle-cry has done its work. International Socialist conventions are held at short intervals; a permanent bureau of international Socialism has been established, and though the different Socialist bodies have their own private quarrels, still these are subordinated to the one common purpose, which finds expression in their stubborn opposition to the prevailing order.

Taking Socialism, then, as a world movement, we may gauge its present strength by considering the two elements of which that strength is composed, namely, the number of actual adherents of

the Socialist system and its vitality or power of growth. With regard to the first element, the different countries, that come in question, vary to a considerable extent The actual number of Socialists is greatest in Germany, the cradle of modern Socialism. In the general election of 1903, the total vote cast was nine millions and a half, and of this one-third, or over three million votes, were polled by the Socialists, giving them eighty-one seats in the Reichstag. This does not necessarily mean that one-third of the people are Socialists, but it undoubtedly does mean that the Socialists may form the most numerous party in the Empire, and it also means that, if Germany had a popular form of government, like the United States, we might look for an early attempt at the realization of the Socialists' dream-an attempt to establish a co-operative industrial commonwealth.

Next to Germany stands Austria, where in the last elections the Socialists polled nearly a million votes, resulting, however, in the return of only about a dozen representatives to Parliament.

Belgium, though mainly Catholic, contains a strong Socialist element. The latest data available are those furnished by the elections of 1902, in which half a million votes were cast for Socialist candidates, giving the party thirty-four seats in the Legislature.

In France there were for a long time a number of independent associations, loosely held together by identity of interest in Socialistic ideals; but in 1898 the representatives chosen by them united to form a parliamentary party. Now they command about a million votes and the last election gave them forty-six deputies in the Chamber and one minister in the Cabinet.

Next in order come Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, in all of which countries Socialism is strongly represented.

In Italy and Spain international Socialism is still in its infancy; but in the former country it is gaining ground very fast. Press reports, concerning the last elections, are somewhat at variance, still there seems to be sufficient warrant for the statement that in Italy at least 300,000 votes were cast for Socialistic candidates, resulting in the election of nearly thirty deputies.

A somewhat similar state of things obtains in Russia, where until recently the revolutionary party was almost wholly made up of Anarchists and Nihilists. At present the Social Democrats form a well organized party, though, owing to the peculiar conditions of the country, they are not as yet very numerous.

The only two European countries where, despite favorable conditions, Socialism does not seem to thrive are England and Switzerland. According to Mr. Hindman, a prominent English Socialist, Socialism is as badly off in England to-day as it was fifty years ago, whilst in Switzerland, it is claimed, there has been an actual decrease for some years past. Recent Socialist publications, however, maintain that within the last year there has taken place in both countries. a noticeable change in favor of Socialism.

Taking our own country as a whole, the numerical strength of Socialism is not yet so very formidable, since the 400,000 votes cast for Debs are, after all, but a small fraction of the grand total of nearly fourteen millions. Still in particular States, as New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and California, Socialism is a strong factor. The last four of these States gave Debs one-half of his votes. Illinois alone gave him over sixty thousand. No electoral votes were secured by the Socialist candidate, but two Socialists will sit in the Illinois and six in the Wisconsin Legislatures. Besides, a number of aldermen and minor officials have been elected in various parts of the country.

From this brief survey it appears that, with the exception of a few European countries, the actual number of Socialists, relative to the rest of the population of any given State, is still rather small. It would, however, be a great mistake were we to base our judgment regarding the strength of Socialism upon this alone. A very important factor in this matter is the vitality, or power of growth, which Socialism everywhere manifests. In our own country Socialism dates practically only from the Newark Workingmen's Convention in 1877. The Socialist Labor Party, which then sprang into being, had indeed a rather slow growth, owing partly to the anarchistic elements found in its ranks, and partly to the fact that it was largely composed of foreigners. But when, in 1897, at the Chicago Convention, the present Socialist party was formed, "comrades flocked to it from all sides. In the State elections of 1898, this party polled not quite ten thousand votes. It put up its first Presidential candidate in 1900, and polled 87,753 votes, which number, we have seen, was raised in the last election to 400,000, representing a fourfold increase in four years. Nor can the Socialism represented by this party be regarded as an exotic; it has all the vitality of native growth. At the Chicago convention, last May, there were 183 dele

gates, representing thirty-six States, and of these 120 were nativeborn Americans.

A similar rate of increase is recorded in nearly every country of the world, where industrial competition has found a home. In Germany the Socialist vote reached the million mark in 1890; in 1898 it was two millions and in 1903 over three millions. Other European countries show a proportionate increase, with the exception of England and Switzerland, as already stated.

Much of this rapid spread of Socialism must, no doubt, be attributed to the active propaganda carried on by the Socialist press. Wherever Socialism has obtained a foothold the country is flooded with magazines, journals and newspapers devoted to Socialist interests. These publications are filled with exaggerated accounts of the workingman's misery and the capitalist's greed, interspersed with the most glowing descriptions of the Socialists' paradise, where "the richest will be poor, and the poorest will live in abundance." In this country the Socialist party publishes at present five monthly magazines and twenty-four weekly papers,-all in English. In the German language there are issued in various parts of the United States three daily papers and seven weeklies. There is one weekly paper in French, one in Polish, one in Bohemian, one in Italian, one in Swedish and one in Hungarian. Besides there is a large number of trades journals and union papers that more or less openly defend Socialism.

In Europe the Socialist press is more active still. The German Socialists publish fifty-four daily papers; eleven are issued three times a week, thirty-nine once a week, twenty-one twice a month, and thirteen once a month. In Austria the party has ninety-eight journals and papers, eight of the latter appearing daily. In other countries the Socialist press is similarly active, and as special care is taken to distribute these publications among the working people, even gratis, if need be, it is unavoidable that the laboring classes should, in the course of time, become thoroughly imbued with Socialistic principles, and in the end swell the ranks of Socialism.

However, even this active propaganda of the Socialist press would be comparatively ineffectual were it not for the widespread disorders that disgrace the industrial world to-day. Socialism owes nine-tenths of its strength to the enemy against whom it is waging relentless war. Both the hopeless misery of the laborer and the boundless greed of the capitalist, as