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Show SOCIALISTS IN DISGUISE7 Tho .gains madc'br the Socialist party, as shown oy the reiiiiJris from the recont election yhen taken ln conjunction wt;h th.e small progress of tho insurgent. Republican, as reported re-ported by those who accompanied the presidont on his long tour and from other sources, suggest more than a possibility that much of tho energy being expended by certain Insurgents is operating not to augment their own number within tho ranks of the Republican Re-publican party, but to drive men from that party Into the Socialist camp. Nor, on examination, does It seem at all surprising that this should be tho case. Insurgency in the Republican party had its beginning in the house of representatives, rep-resentatives, whero the policy of one-man one-man control had been carried to an cxtremo which naturally, and properly, proper-ly, produced revolt Working for real progross, the lnsugents in tho houso achieved the overthrow of what had come to be known as "Canaonlsm" although al-though the name was misleading because be-cause the system far antedated the Cannon speakership. With proper revision re-vision of the houso rules the Insurgency Insur-gency of a considerable number who had engaged in it ceased. With Bome however, insurrection had become a habit. And in the case of others it had grown intoNa temptation to exploit ex-ploit themselves and furthor their own ambitions. This was notably true of those members of the sonate who havp since assumed the leadership of the insurgent wing of tho party. Many of the, insurgent senators were unwilling to confine their efforts to promoting progressive policies with, in tho Republican parts'. They sought personal aggrandizement first, and in their calculations reform was com pelled to take a secondary place. To achieve their purpose they were compelled com-pelled to go far b'eyond the role of mere reformers. To concentrate attention at-tention on themselves they must excite ex-cite their hearers, and the easiest method of exciting their hearers they found in preaching the gospel of discontent. dis-content. Their speeches rang with denunciation of those in high places and of accepted policies They hesitated hesi-tated to impugn the motives of no man, oven the President of. tho United Unit-ed States According to them, everything every-thing was rotten to tho core, and they, of course, were the only men in public life who could correct thoso evils which robbed the poor and made a travesty of justice and a mockery of government. Their attacks on the existing ex-isting order have obviously failed of their purpose namely the conversion conver-sion of a large number of persons to I the belief that in certain prominent Insurgents rests the salvation of the nation. But may not have achieved another purpose far from contemplated? contemplat-ed? Is It not probable that this gospel of discontent has made converts not to Insurgent Republicanism, but to Socialism? So-cialism? How Ineffective it has been to promote the personal and political popularity of Its apostles the next national na-tional convention will strikingly demonstrate. dem-onstrate. How many credulous hearers hear-ers It has converted to the extreme views of tho Socialists may not be known until the next national election. But the recent local and state elections elec-tions point to tho possibility that insurgents in-surgents for personal aggrandizement only aro actually, albeit unwittingly. Socialistic propagandists is disguise. Now York Tribune |