<7^ o I Socialism i Unmasked I, li 11 i i I I “It is rather surprising that the Protestant churchmen of this country have been so slow to see that Socialism is the enemy of Christianity—so slow In de- fense of their faith."—Inter-Ocean (Chicago) August 12, 1912. Nihil Obstat RT. REV. MON. OECHTERING, V. G Censory>^ I Table of Contents. Page False Principles of Economic Socialism Shown 6 Why He Left the Ranks of the Socialist Party 16 The Philosophy of Socialism Is Un- Christian 20 No Christian Could Subscribe to the Creed of Real Socialists 22 Sample of Socialist Blasphemy 30 Bishop von Ketteler Opposed Child- Labor Before Marx 31 INTRODUCTION. So much has been written and said on So eialism in late years that our little brochure would hardly seem to fill a want. Yet, my dear reader, nothing seems to be so little understood, even by Socialists themselves, as true Social- ism. When Socialists ask for a hearing they present only what is known as ‘‘Economic So eialism,” viz. their proposed solution of “the bread and butter problem,” and their plan for the more even distribution of the world’s goods. But they base even this part of their program on wrong principles, on false philosophy. We are not offering in these pages a long, drawn-out dissertation on the subject, but we 1. Examine the props on which Economic Socialism rests; 2. Refer the reader to one who was for years an ardent apostle in Socialism’s behalf, but who openly repudiated it after its false philosophy became apparent to him ; 3. Allow a learned Secular Journalist to deal with its un-Christian philosophy; 4. Show from the foremost Socialist Leaders and Editors that Socialism is not wholly Economic, but proposes a most immoral creed, which no Christian could subscribe to. —THE COMPILER. I. False Principles of Economic Socialism Shown. (By the Rev. M. Phelan, S. J.) *1 shall confine myself to the three main pillars on which Socialism rests. When the props are shattered, time is wasted on details.” The First Pillar. The main article of Karl Marx’s creed, viz , “All wealth comes from labor”—that is, un- skilled labor—is the bedrock of the various systems. It has been styled “the right arm of Socialism.” Let us address ourselves to the theory. The absurdity of a theory that passes for an axiom will appear clearer from illustra- tion than from dry scholastic arguments. Ark- wright, a barber of moderate income, invented the spinning jenny, which was destined to revolutionize the weaving industry. The result of his inventive genius is, after much brain- work, a concrete fact. The framework of his thought has solidified it into bolts and mortices. The child of his brain lies at his feet, yet it is powerless to produce a penny till another power steps in. Two gentlemen of for- sight and moral courage are found to venture their money and float the scheme of Arkwright and make it a palpitating force in the industrial world. A third element is now required, the mus( le-lnbor of, say, ten men. Now the machine begins to throb and bec^ome a wealth-producer. Von have three independent forces combining in that production: 1. The inventive genius of Arkwright—an Mifcllcctual force. 4 Socialism Unmasked.I 2. The courageous enterprise of the capitalists who floated it—a moral force. 3. The muscle exertion of ten laborers — a physical force. It works with marvelous results. By its aid these ten men produce as much as a hun- dred working with their hands only. These men previously produced ten pounds weekly, now they produce a hundred. To whom does the surplus ninety pounds belong? The Socialist answers, since “all wealth comes from labor,” it belongs to the ten men working the machine. If Arkwright, the inventor, or his friends who brought foresight, courage and capital to the venture, claim a penny, it is called robbery. This simple illustration, better than the most subtle arguments, will help you to realize the absurdity of a system that rests on such a foundation. ANOTHER EXAMPLE. Let us take another example. A building contractor, a man quick to discover the drift of his times and take advantage of it, calcu- lates that the city will extend in a certain direction. He sees this before his neighbor. Now he calls in another gift—moral courage. On the strength of his calculation he invests money and buys land in that locality. He casts around, and by the aid of a third gift he discovers w'here materials can be produced cheaply close at hand. A fourth force he now brings into play—the genius of combination. He organizes his band of workers. He dis- covers not only quarries, but more hidden treasures—the varied capabilities of his work- men. He reads their characters, and places each at the precise post for which his individ- ual strength or temperament fits him. You in- Socialism Un masked. 7 spect the works. Some men are dressing stones, some polishing marble, and some laying bricks —all engaged in separate employments. Yet the man with his hands in his pockets is the frame that holds together, combines and harmo- nizes these various labors, pointing all in- dividual efforts to one definite end. His brains are to their toil what the cement is to the house; it combines and holds together the varied elements into one structure. He touches neither trowel nor plane, yet see what he con- tributes to the building. His foresight enabled him to lay his finger on the pulse of the times and read its current. His courage then backed his judgment. Finally, he discovered the abilities of the men, assorted and marshalled them. Dead capital lay at the bank; it is in- capable of making a blade of grass grow till he (omes and touches it with the genius of enterprise, and lo! it is vitalized and becomes the source of wealth to scores. See what an array of forces this ,man contributes to the building. It is finished. Time has justified his judgment. Prices in that quarter of the city rush up. He sells the houses and makes a thousand pounds. Every penny of it, the Socialist says, should be divided among the workmen, for their creed is ^‘All wealth comes from labor’’—muscle-labor, of course. The varied forces he threw into the task are ignor- ed. ACTIONS VERSUS THEORIES. Let us pursue this reasoning one step step further. Let us suppose that all his work- men are Socialists. They hold an indignation meeting. The speakers enlarge on the employ- er’s villa and parlor comforts, on the rugs and phaeton of his wife, and assure their hearers I Socialism Unmasked. that all these are i)urchased hy the sweat of their labor. We have seen that there were other and higher elements also contributing towards the production of wealth. Now. let us see how do the actions of these workers square with their own theories. Ask the carver and bricklayer why do they claim higher wages than the hod-carrier. If all wealth comes from labor, his hours are longer and his work more laborious than theirs. They quickly answer that, besides muscle-strength, they bring minds and skilled judgment to their task. True, but that answer cuts the ground from under their feet as Socialists. The mo- ment they admit that there is any source of wealth other than labor the whole case for Socialism topples. There is no argument for the claim of skilled labor to surplus wage above unskilled that does not equally hold for the surplus profits of the employer. So much for the ^‘right arm” of Socialism. The Second Pillar. The second pillar of the Socialist system is—the rate of wage. It is called the left arm of Socialism. They assume that all wealth comes from labor. They are confronted with a serious difficulty. In the republic they would establish, they can not do without people who work, not with their hands, but their heads mainly. How, then, will they reward the sur- geon, the general, and discoverers of new ma- chines? Their answer is, since all wealth comes from labor, a labor-day wage is the unit of measurement. If, let ns say, five shillings a day is the fair wage settled on. then the author, general, and doctor will be paid five schillings for every day they work. Now T think, if Socialism Un masked. they wf-ie strictly logical, they would pay them nothing, for by doing so they acknowledge there is another source of wealth that is not manual, and therefore the whole Socialistic scheme tui d)les like a house of cards. Let us pass, and see how the wage law wouid work out in practice. Some of the great est events in the world^s history were accom plished in comparatively short periods of time It is said Napoleon planned the battle, con- verged his forces, and won the victory of Austerlitz in a fortnight. While musing on the swaying sanctuary lamp in the Cathedral of Pisa, during the brief time of Benediction, Galileo discovered the laws of the pendulum. Probably in half that time Newton, observing the fall of an apple, discovered the law of gravitation. While watching the steam lifting the lid of the boiling kettle, the idea of the engine grew on the mind of Watt. His inven tion has revolutionized the world. Let us sup pose these men looking for their rewards from a Socialistic State. Napoleon goes to Paris. He sayn* “I have laid two Empires at your feet. I have covered your army with deathless glory- 1 have given a name that will thrill the blood of unborn millions. Austerlitz will be a magic sound of Frenchmen for all time. What is my reward?’^ He is asked: “How long did it all take you?” “A fortnight,” he replies. “Then you are entitled to fourceen five schilling pieces, for, according to our law, the makers of em- pires and makers of wheelbarrows stand on the same level—‘One man is as good as another.^ ‘All men are equal.’ ” By the same wage-rate Galileo would be rewarded with sixpence, and a three penny-bit is all that would come to poor would scarcely get 10 Socialism Unmasked. sufficient to buy water to fill his own kettle. The system that would pay a surgeon, who ex tracts a tumor and saves a life, a couple of pence, that would rate the labors of a field- marshal and a hod-carrier of equal importance, that would measure the work of Shakespeare and the work of a scavenger by the same stand- ard, is too absurd to be argued with. So much for the left arm of Socialism. The Third Pillar. We now come to the last pillar that sup- ports Socialism. “All misery,’’ they cry, “comes from the possession of private prop- erty.” All private possessions shx;uld become the common property of all, to be administered by the State or municipal bodies.” Before addressing myself to this contention, a word of explanation. A Catholic is as free as any- one to advocate co-operation of industries, al- so to insist on the State assuming control over this or that department, if the public good demands it. Men sav, since the State controls the police, the postal department, etc., why not control the railways, too? There is no moral reason why it should not. It may take up this and that and the other department. It is impossible to draw an abstract line to limit it. But that there is a line across which no State must pass is beyond all question. The State must never thrust its hand into your pocket and claim the purse you have filled from the sweat of YOur brow. Secondlv, the State must never invade the sanctuary of your home, to wrench from you the authority with which God and Nature invested you over your child and house. These are the two tyrant powers So- cialism would arm its republic with. They cry: Socialism Unmasked. 11 (1) Private possession is public robbery. (2) The State, and not the father, rules the home. Let us address ourselves to these two. 1. ‘‘Every man has by nature the right to possess private property as his own,"’ says the Pope, “and man is older than the State, and he holds the right of providing for the life of his body prior to the formation of the State. * * God has granted the earth to mankind in gener- al, not in the sense that all, without distinc- tion, can do with it as they please, but rather that no part of it has been assigned to anyone in particular, and that the limits of private possession have been left to be fixed by man’s own industry and the laws of individual peoples.” CLEAR STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE. Here is the clear statement of principle bearing not only the stamp of the Church’s teaching, but the approval of common sense. If the possession of private property is a nat- ural law, you might as well legislate against the laws of maternity, or the circulation of the blood, as to uproot by a civil enactment what is based on the laws of nature. That private possession is so founded becomes very clear when we go back to the infancy of the human family. The home existed before the State. It had its laws and rights before States were heard of. The first pair founded a perfect commonwealth. Nature commanded the head of the home—the father—to provide for its members. Did he allow his children to starve till a State sprang into existence to feed, them? No; by his labor as a hun^^^man ard a tiller of the land he supported them. He g:ave fhein clothing, bu^t their homes^ and made, provision for the future. Wlieh he pl^d meat’ and* U Socialism Unmasebd. I clothes before his child, to whom did they be long? Was his private property his own or the State’s? Not the State’s, for no State was in existence. Therefore by natural right it belongs to himself. Is he robbing a Republic that does not exist when he appropriates and assumes absolute control over animals he has killed, or the fruit he sowed and reaped? These are questions Socialists are called on to answer when they say private property is robbery. Men multiply, civil communities, cities and States are formed. They make laws. What are the nature and extent of these laws? Do these laws extinguish the natural rights man previously had? If so, when and how? IS THE HOME ABSORBED BY THE STATE. Certainly not. The civil laws control one only in those things where the good of the com- munity is concerned. There they begin and end, and the natural rights and duties of the individual remain as strong, and the home as absolute and as sacred a commonwealth, as when Jacob sat under his own fig-tree, and Lot and Abraham parcelled out the plains by the Jordan. There is no condition of greater self- eflfacement than in the life of a soldier, yet even stern military law halts at the sacred boundary marked out by Nature’s hand. It respects the private right of the soldier to his purse and the control of his home. What mad- ness on the part of anyone to impose on private civilians a strain that even military discipline will not bear? If private property is robbery, it was so when God gave the Ten Command- ments on Sinai. Yet He says : “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife ; nor his house, nor his field, * * * nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his” (Duet. v. 21). Here the Divine Socialism Un mask bd. 13 law not only recognizes the rights of private ownership, but hedges it around as a sacr^ed thing. When Christ came, wherever His eyes turned they rested on private property—the treasured home, the walled garden, etc. Does He denounce them as robbery? He tells the young man to sell his possessions. How could he sell them except he, and not the State, owned them? The first step towards abolishing pri- vate ownership should be the striking of the Seventh Commandment from the Decalogue— “Thou shalt not steal.” INEVITABLE RESULT. If such teaching were carried into private practice, see the consequences to follow. If you search down amongst the fibres of the hu- man heart you will find the mainspring of most of our actions is labelled “self.” A man toils for fame. Whose fame? His own. A man wears out his life in building a home and for- tune for a wife and child. Why? Because they are his bone and blood, and bear his name —his other self. Now, before making the first step into the Socialistic-Republic, you are called on to place the forceps deep into the inmost chamber of the heart, and tear out its strongest fibre—self. Here you destroy the most powerful force that ever nerved men to deeds of daring. Will the author slave in a garret under the midnight lamp, if he is assured, when his work ccmes out, it is not his own, but the “result of his social environments”—the, products of the State? Will the patriot tramp through winter snows, and bear the rough privations of war, for a State that watches his heroic achieye- ments not with a pencil of light to inscribe liis name on a Scroll of Fame, but wi^h a s{>6hge 14 Socialism Unmasked. to blot out, and tell him he is but a cog in the wheels of the great machine, the State, and mere cogs must be content in their legitimate obscurity? Will the business man toil and rack his brains if you destroy the hope of the subur- ban villa where the autumn of life may pass in ease and comfort, with a family established in affluence? Will the farmer face the darkness and sleet of the winter^s morning, or toil in all weathers, if he may not claim the yield of autumn? Will he sow if he knows another will reap? Will men of exceptional ability make great exertions except tempted by exceptional reward ? * But this in a Social State would be treason, for the Chief Justice and the street-sweep are to stand on a common level. Destroy private possessions, and you paralyze exertion. All will struggle in the race when the prize is a substantial plum cake, but take away the cake and substitute a sunflower, and few will sweat for the prize. 2. Space does not permit more than a word on the proposed absolutism of the State. The sovereignty of the father must be upheld in the home if life is to be worth living. The State and its functionaries must remain out- side. The State exists for the man, and not the man for the State. The servant must not become the master. ‘‘The idea,” says the Pope, “that the Civil Government should, at its own discretion, penetrate and pervade the family (•Note—The author, of course, will admit that there are exceptions to this rule of selfishness, but when not inspired by the religious, supernatural motive, they are so rare that the Socialists’ hope is laughaDie. And under socialism uoo, eiemixy ana supernatural will yield to self, the present lire and uie uaturai.1 Socialism Unmasked. 16 and the household is a great and pernicious mistake.’’ If the State were dragged into the home to meddle, pry and dictate in the most sacred and private details, life would be in- tolerable. We all admire the policeman. He is a picturesque object on the street, but none of us wish to be put to bed by a policeman, and our food prescribed by a policeman. These are the three main pillars on which Socialism rests. To all I have said, I know there is an answer: 1. 1 will be told, in the new Republic man will be a changed being. His Heart will be filled with brotherly love. The author, general surgeon, all will be so enamored of the State that they will toil for the State, and rejoice to share brotherhood and common equality with the scavenger. Here the inherent defect of the whole system crops to the surface—the people of the Republic with man as he is constructed in dreams, instead of poor old selfish humanity as we know it. What is to purge man of cor- ruption and transform him into an angel? Re- ligion, that could muzzle his lowest passions and purify his highest aspirations, is thrust out of the scheme. The poet of Socialism tells us, “Heaven is to be left to the angels and the sparrows.” 2. Again, I will be told machinery will be so perfect that men will need only work two hours a day and five days a month. 3. That the world of chemistry is practi- cally unexplored ; that it may yet be possible to extract bread out of sunshine. You see, it is very convenient to have the bank of futurity to draw checks on. The answer to all this is evident 16 SOCIALISM UNMASKED. II. Why He Left the Ranks of the Socialist Party. (W j present herewith the letter which David Goldstein wrote to the Massachusetts State Socialist Committee, in which he states his reasons for repu diating what he long stood and fought forj “Boston, May 23, 1903. “To the Massachusetts State Committee, Socialist Pariy, Hrn. James F. Carey, Chairman; Mr. Squire E. Putnej, Secretary: ^‘Gentlemen :—After a lapse of eight years of active work upon the soapbox, on the lec- ture platform, in debate and in the press, in behalf of what I had understood to be the principles of Socialism; after eight years >f work as organizer, executive oflScer and candi- date of Socialist parties; after eight years of study of the alleged scientific basis of Social- ism, namely Karl Marx’ ‘Capital,’ now when 1 feel competent to expound its doctrinal points, 1 t||ave come to the point where I desire to termi- nate my connection with the Socialist move- ment. I am convinced that it is not a bona fide political effort, that it would gain political power to the end of dissoWing the social, re- ligious, civic, economic and family relation- ship which now exists—which have cost man countless ages in upbuilding. Careful study of the underlying causes of discord and disrup- tion which are of constant recurrence, not only within the Socialist parties of the United States, but also in every country in which So- cialism has taken up its propaganda, leads me to the conviction that the attitude of negation to all that is fundamental in human affairs- • SociALisM Unmasked. 1< the denial of God—the opposition to the State —the disruption of monogamic marriage—does not, nor can it ever lead to a coherent political party with a constructive program. ‘‘The basic reason for the long sustained and persistent attempt to stifle the voice and pen of Martha Moore Avery is that she may not throw the lime light upon the low browed philosophies cherished as Socialist sentiment. Even though Mrs. Avery devotes her knowledge and her critical ability, not to speak of her life, to the upbuilding of a State wherein workmen may come into a position of industrial equity, the fact is that she is philosophically opposed to those Socialists who control the press and com- manding official positions, prompting dis- honest methods to be employed in their effort to suppress open discussion. How weak must Socialists feel when free speech is denied its membership ! “I had long hoped and often expressed the sentiment that the irrational literature and the economic absurdities spread broadcast amongst the people of our country would change in character with the growing power of the organization. But after close application to the doctrinaires, their philosophy and their so-called science, I must conclude that the So- cialism I was preaching had no basis, in fact — it was not the kind which the political Socialist movement stands for. It is my conviction that were the philosophical doctrines applied to a given country, or to the civilized world in gen- eral, as promulgated by the founders of ‘Mod- ern Scientific Kevolutionary Internationai So- cialism,’ namely by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, by Kautsky and Bebel of Germany; Guedse and De Ville of France ; Hyndman and Bax of England; Vandervelde of Belgium; 18 80C1ALISM UN MASKED. Ferri of Italy, and many others upon the continent of Europe; by Simons, Herron, Lee, Unterman and others in the United States, that economic justice, even in the degree which exists today, would be unknown. That is to say, I am convinced that Socialism as organized internationally stands for the entire breaking down of the individual standards of Moral re- sponsibility; that the Socialist philosophy of ‘Economic Determinism’ stands for the substi- tution of religious principles by social stand- ards of ethics set up on the basis of mere physical satisfactions. “The State,— no; did I say the State? “Socialism, according to the authorities which I have cited, stands for the dissolution of political action—in short, for the abolition of the State. These Socialist authorities de- clare they ‘have no respect for the present mar- riage system,’ they stand for the abolition of marriage. The children? Yes, there will be children under Socialism—but they will not belong to the mothers. The community will be the father and the mother of them all—the guardians of all children, ‘legitimate and illegitimate.’ “Are these doctrines new in the Socialist field? No! You know full well my opposition to them is not new—I would recall the resolu- tion which T presented to the last convention which declares that speakers who attack the theological doctrines or dogmas, who advocate violence, ‘free love,’ or other doctrines of So- cialism shall be by the Executive Committee deemed disqualified for the Socialist platform. Your hostility to my attitude towards these questions caused you to make strenuous efforts to block my progress on the Socialist platform and in the press. T do not forget the deceitful challenge from the floor at the last state con- Socialism Unmasked. Id vention to produce evidence of my assertions. Many were prejudiced by your clamor into thinking it did not exist. “I may tell you that I have taken up your gage of battle. I will bring forward my proofs —overwhelming you shall find them. I have for months been engaged in collecting the ma- terial for a book; which, with the help of Al- mighty God, I will in the near future give to the public, which will prove to the candid mind (if facts count for anything) that a vote cast for Socialism is a vote cast for the destruction of those institutions which promote and sus- tain civilization, namely, the Church, the State and the Monogamic family. ‘^Citizens will ponder this question; can society be saved from the present economic in- justice, which is a stench in a true man’s nos- trils, by the general destruction courted by the Socialist philosophy in control of the political power? For myself, I answer emphatically NO. ^^Therefore, I take leave of Socialist organi- zations. I have this day tendered my resigna- tion as member of the Highland District So- cialist Party, and of the Boston Socialist Party Ward and City Committee. I have, too, ten- dered my resignation as representative of the General Committee of Massachusetts Socialist Clubs. I beg leave herewith to resign my mem- bership in the State Committee of the Socialist Party of Massachusetts. ^^Eespectfully, ^‘DAVTD GOLDSTEIN.” 20 SOCIALISM UNMASKBD. III. The Philosophy of Socialism Is Un-Christian. (Chicago “Inter-Ocean/' Editorial, Aug. 12, 1912.) is rather surprising that the Prot estant churchmen of this country have been so slow to see that socialism is the enemy of Christianity—so slow in defense of their faith. ^‘The hostility of Socialism to Christianity is inevitable because of the fact that socialism is not merely a political method, but also a philosophy of life whose assumptions and aims are purely materialistic—are directed solely to the attainment of ideals of ^comfort^ as life’s greatest good. ^^Marxian Socialism, the only kind that is militant and seeks political revolutions and so counts in effect, refuses to concern itself with anything beyond the present life and this world. It has no answer—it even denies the need of any answer—to the perpetual question of the soul: ^If a man die, shall he live again?’ ^^Socialism professes to leave every man free to think as he pleases on that subject. In reality it discourages thought on it as unim- portant. Most of the foremost exponents of socialism have been and are avowed atheists, denying both the existence of God and the im- mortality of the soul. At best the attitude of socialism toward religion is agnostic. It says to the eternal question: ^We don’t know: we can’t find out; it isn't worm while to try.’ “Denying the need of any religious sanction for morals, socialism decades those human relations which Christianity, because of their fundamental character in distinguishing men Socialism Unmasked. 21 from brutes, has clothed with an especial sacred ness. ‘‘Marriage, for example, is regarded by So- cialism as purely a civil contract and as less binding upon the parties than a contract for the purchase and sale of commodities. If a farmer has agreed to sell so many bushels of potatoes in the ground at the market price, and then should refuse to deliver them when dug because the price had meanwhile risen, socialists would call that farmer ^dishonest.’ “But if a man and a woman had sworn to live together until death should part them, and then should change their minds about it, be- cause the man had found some other woman he liked better, or the woman some other man she liked better, socialism would denounce as op- pressive any exertion of the power of the state which prevented either or both of them from following their personal desires. “To say this is not to say that all Socialists are unfaithful to their marriage vows. Many of them are just as strict in personal practices as the most devout Christians. But it is merely a personal practice. “Wherever Socialism has obtained power in government, as in France today, that power is exerted to eliminate the Christian religion as an influence and factor in the conduct of hu- man life. The public schools of France, under Socialistic control, teach ‘morality’ indeed, but it is a morality without God and repudiating the need of any sort of sanction for its teach- ings beyond the finite reason and will. “No real Christian can be a Socialist—if he understands socialism. The two systems are wholly antagonistic and mutually destructive. Socialism recognizes no higher power in tb^ universe than man himself. 22 Socialism Unmasked. IV. No Christian Could Subscribe to the Creed of Real Socialists. Now let us see what is the attitude of Socialist Leaders aud Editors toward religion and morality, Socialism as they would have it: 1. Proposes to reject God and religion. 2. Proposes to abolish monogamic mar- riage. I. Leaders in Socialism everywhere,—in Ger- many, France, Spain, England and the United States, say that under Socialism God and Christianity must be repudiated: MARX. (In his “Secret Society in Switzerland.”) “We shall do well if we stir hatred and contempt against all existing institutions; we make war against all prevailing ideas of religion, of the state, of country and of patriotism. The idea of God is the keystone of perverted civilization. The true root of civilization, the true root of liberty, of equality and of culture, is ATHEISM.” BEBEL. (In an essay, republished in the Vorwaerts in 1901.) “Christianity Is the enemy of liberty and of civilization. It has kept mankind in slavery and op- pression. The Church and the State have always, fraternally united to exploit the people. Christianit> and Socialism are like fire and water.” LIEBKNECHT. (In his “Materialist Basis of History.”) “I am an Atheist, I do not believe in God. It is our duty as socialists to root out the' faith in God with all our might, nor is any one worthy the name, who does not consecrate himself tb the spread of Atheism," (Socialism Unmasked. LAFARGUE. vA noted French Socialist and son-in-law of Marx.) “The victory of the proletariat will deliver hu- manity from the nightmare of religion.” HERVE. (Another noted French Socialist leader, quoted by Harold Begbie— Interview Nov. 10, 1906.) “It is absolutely necessary to destroy all vestige of religious idea, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish, in order to carry out the entire program of advancea Socialism, which depends upon the disappearance of 3very form of theological influence.” SPANISH SOCIALISTS. At a convention of Spanish Socialists held at Madrid, Sept. 21, 1899, it was resolved to expel any comrade who supported positive religion. VORWAERTS. (Leading Socialist paper in Germany.) “We know that Christianity has not brought redemption. We believe in no Redeemer. No man, Qo Goa in human form, no Savior can redeem hu- manity. Only humanity itself, only laboring human- ity, can save humanity.” ROBERT BLATCHFORD. (“Leading Socialist of England, in “The Clarion.”) “1 do not believe that Christianity or Buddism or Judaism or Mohammedanism is true. I do not be- iieve that any one of these religions is necessary. I do not believe that any one of them afford? a per- fect rule of life. “1 deny the existence of a Heavenly Father. I deny the eflicacy of prayer. 1 deny the L^rovidence of God. I deny the truth of the old Testament and the New Testament. I deny the truth of the Gospels. I do not believe any miracle ever was performed. I do not believe that Christ was divine. I do not be- lieve that Christ died for man. I do not believe that he ever rose from the dead. I am strongly inclined to believe that he never existed at all. “1 deny that Christ in any way or in any sense ever interceded for man or s*ived man or reconciled God to man or man to God. I deny that the love or 24 Socialism Un xMasked. the help or the intercession of Christ or Buddha, or Mohammed, or the Virgin Mary is of any use to any man. “I do not believe there is any heaven, and I scorn the idea of hell.’* JOSEPH LEATHAM. (In “Socialism and Character.”) “At the present moment I cannot remember a single instance of a person who is at one and the same time a really earnest and intelligent Socialist and an orthodox Christian. Those who do not openly attack the CJhurch and the fabric of Christianity show but scant respect to either the one or the other in private. While all of us are indifferent to the Church, many of us are frankly hostile to her.” JOHN SPARGO. (In The Comrade, May, 1903.) “How often do we see quoted in our own press, from the Encyclopedia Britannica, that familiar fal- lacy that ‘the ethics of Christianity and Socialism are identical.’ It is not true; we do not ourselves, in most cases, believe it. We repeat it because it ap- peals to the slave-mind of the world. It is easier so to act, than to affirm, what in our very souls we feel to be true, that Socialism, as an ethical interpreta- tion of life, is far removed from Christianity and of infinitely greater beauty and worth. Social- ism Christianized would be Socialism emasculated and destroyed.” GEORGE D. HERRON. “Christianity stands for what is lowest and basest in life. The Church is the most degrading of all our Institutions, and the most brutalizing in its effects on the common life. For Socialism to make terms with the Church is to take Judas to its bosom.” THE NEW YORKER VOLKSZEITUNG. (The principal organ of Socialism in America.) “Socialism and belief in God, as is taught by Christianity and its adherents; are incompatible Socialism has no meaning unless it is atheistic.” SociALisM Unmasked. 25 THE NEW YORK CALL. (March 2, 1912.) “There is nothing to be gained by holding out any false hopes that a study of Socialism does not tend to undermine religious beliefs. The theory of economic determinism alone, if thoroughly grasped, leaves no room for a belief in the supernatural.” THE WORKER. (November 10, 1901.) “Christianity is a huge and ghastly parasite, consuming billions of treasure out of the labor and patience of the people, and is supremely interested in keeping the people in economic and spiritual sub- jection to capitalism. The spiritual deliverance of the race depend on its escape from this parasite. The world must be saved from its salvations.” THE REVOLT. (May 6, 1911.) “Socialism and ethics are two separate things. This fact must be kept in mind.” II. Socialist leaders explicitly declare that, under Socialism, marriage will terminate at the will of either party; therefore, at the end of a month, or a week, or earlier: FREDERICK ENGELS. (“The Origin of the Family,” p. 99.) “If marriage founded on love alone is moral, then it follows that ‘marriage is moral only as long as love lasts.’ The duration of an attack of indi- vidual sex love varies considerable according to in- dividual disposition, especially in men. A positive cessation of fondness or its replacement by a new passionate love makes a separation a blessing for both parties and for society. But humanity will be spared the useless wading through the mire of a divorce case.” MARX AND ENGELS. (In the Communist Manifesto.) “It is self-evident that the abolition of the present system of production must bring with it the 26 Socialism Unmasked. abolition of the community of women—present mar- riage—springing from that system of prostitution, both public and private.” ^ BEBEL. .Woman, pp. 334, 335.) “In the choice of love, she is, like man, free and unhampered. She wooes and is wooed, and closes the bond from no considerations other than her own inclinations. This bond is a private contract, cele- brated without the intervention of any functionary. If incompatibility, disenchantment or repulsion set in between the two persons that have come together, morality commands that the unnatural and, there- fore, immoral, bond be dissolved.” LIEBKNECHT. “Socialism will destroy prostitution, whether it walk ashamed under the mantle of marriage for wealth or convenience, or whether it run shameless, painted and naked upon the streets.” EDWARD CARPENTER. (Praised by such leading Socialists as Leonard D. Abbott and Marion C. Wentworth.) “Let women insist on the right to speak, dress think, act, and, above all, to USE HER SEX AS SHE DEEMS BESTf let her face the scorn and the ridicule; let her lose her own life if she likes.” BAX. (In “Outlook from the New Standpoint,—p. 160.) “Meanwhile we ought to combat by every means within our power the metaphysical dogma of the inherent sanctity of the monogamic principle.” SHAW. (“Quintessence of Ibsenism.”) “Unless woman repudiates her womanliness, her duty to her husband, to her children, to society, to the law, and to everyone but self, she cannot amancipate herself.” Socialism Unmasked. 27 THE UNINITIATED DO NOT BELIEVE THESE THINGS. But, lest Christians might not give Social- ism a hearing, its moral program is purposely covered up by its apostles. At the National Socialist Convention held in Chicago, May 1908, the subject of “Religion under Socialism’’ came up, and many delegates expressed their regret, inasmuch as their cause would be hurt by it. We quote herein a few of the displeased ones: MR. LEWIS. “I am among those who sincerely hoped the question of religion would not be raised at this con- vention. I am willing to concede that we should let sleeping dogs lie. I know that the Socialist position in philosophy on the question of religion does not make a good campaign subject. It is not useful propaganda in a political campaign. I DO NOT PRO- POSE TO STATE IN THIS PLATFORM THE TRUTH ABOUT RELIGION FROM THE POINT OP VIEW OP THE SOCIALIST PHILOSOPHY."- Chicago Daily Socialist, May 16, 1908. A little farther on in his impassioned ad- dress, the same speaker added these significant words : “Kautsky says: So long as Christianity ruled the minds of men, the idea of revolution was re- jected as a sinful revolt against divinely constitued authority. “But we,” contined the speaker, “must not go before the people of this country telling them that so long as Christianity rules their minds, they will reject the idea of the Socialist revolution.” MR. HILQUIT. (Another Delegate.) “We should not go out in our propaganda among the people who are still groping in obscurity (re- ligion) and tell them that they must first become materialists before they can become members of the Socialist party. After we have disposed of the things 2* Socialism Unmasked. oO- which touch their material welfare it will be time to approach them with the full consequences of the socialist philosophy.” MR. DEVINE. (Delegate.) “I find myself in a different position from the other speakers. I am of the few here, who are actively engaged in the factories. I want to say here, that we must be careful on this question. 1 stand here as one actively engaged in the factory, trying to bring the workers into the socialist move- ment. I find they are men of all religions. I am ac- cused by a certain class of people in the factory. I am asked how can I be a Catholic and a socialist? What I am doesn’t matter. They don’t know and you don’t know, and it is nothing to either of us.” It is true that the Socialist platform says ^‘Religion is a private matter/’ but this only means that a person may believe as he pleases in his own home. * » # THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH MUST REPUDIATE IT. SOCIALISM THE SAME EVERYWHERE. 1. The Communist Manifesto, on which Socialism rests, was written by Carl Marx and Frederick Engles, both of whom are AVOWED ATHEISTS. « * * 2. The philosophy of Socialism is based on the materialistic conception of history, which the Christian cannot at all subscribe to. * * * 3. A Christian must believe in God, crea- tion, revelation, eternity, the spirituality, and immortality of the soul. The REAL Socialist denies all these things. » « « 4. A Christian must believe in the sanctity and divine institution of marriage. Under Socialism Unmasked. 29 Socialism there would be no lasting marriage, but one ‘^terminable at the will of either party.'^ * * « 5. A Christian must admit the right of [.rivate property, otherwise there would be no meaning to the commandments “Thou shalt not steal,’’ “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods, nor his wife, nor anything that is his.” * * « You might be told that Socialism in Amer- ica is not the same as in Europe, but. Socialism means the same in every land."’ — (Appeal to Reason, May 16, 1903.) A. M. SIMONS. ‘ It is with the work of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels that modern Socialism began to definitely take on the forms by which it is known today.” HILLQUIT. “The International Socialist movement with its thirty million adherents, at a conservative estimate, and its organized parties in twenty-five civilized countries in both hemispheres, is all based on the same Marxian program, and follows substantially the same methods of propaganda and action. The ‘diverse Socialism* outside the organized movement are represented by small groups of social and politi- cal dilettantes toying with problems of the universe and exercising no infiuence whatsoever on the course of the International Socialist movement.” 30 Socialism Unmasked. Socialism Is Often Blasphemous. (On the editorial page of The Hew York Call, March 28, 1911, under the caption “An Ancient Charity Case,” appeared the following) . “What would have happened if 1,900 years ago organized charity of the modem type had flourished in Palestine and a certain young car penter from Nazareth had applied for relief? “His case would have been duly referred to n trained investigator. And the answer to the schedule of inquiries would have been some- thing like the following: "Name: Jesus, son of Joseph, the mastei !' rpenter. “Bom : At Nazareth, Judea. “Age: Thirty-three years. “Health : Good. Capable of hard work. “Applicant has not worked at his trade for the last three years. Has no tools. Either sold or pawned them, probably. Has no home. Associates with low characters of both sexes, also shiftless and roving. Indulges frequently in disreputable and seditious tSk about the constituted authorities. Is strongly suspected of anarchistic tendencies. Manifestly has been living on handouts, or worse. It is on record that he and his gang plucked ears of com in the fields without permission. Also that he in- structed some of his gang to steal a jackass and •bring it to him for his use. Which they did. “He should be taken into court as a vagrant and committed to the farm colony for tramps.” Comment is unnecessary, save to reiterate Socialism’s anti-Christian character. Socialism Un m asked. 81 Bishop von KettelerOppoesd Child- Labor Before Marx. • Tn 1869 Bishop von Ketteler delivered a sermon before 10,000 workingmen, elaborating a platform of social reform. He denounced the cruelty of child-labor in unequivocal terms. The following was his platform : 1. Increase of wages corresponding to the true value of labor. 2. Shorter hours of labor. 3. Days of rest. 4. Prohibition of child labor in factories. 5. Prohibition of work of women and especially of mothers in factories. 6. Future prohibition of the work of young girls in factories. The following is his arraignment of child labor: regard child-labor in factories as a monstrous cruelty of our time, a cruelty com- mitted against the child by the spirit of the age and the selfishness of parents. I look on it as a slow poisoning of the body and the soul jf the child. With the sacrifice of the joys of childhood, with the sacrifice of health, with the sacrifice of innocence the child is condemned to increase the profits of the entrepreneur and oftentimes to earn bread for parents whose dis- solute life has made them incapable of doing so themselves. ^‘Hence I rejoice at every word spoken in favor of the workingman’s child. Eeligion in ‘ its great love for children cannot but support the demand for the prohibition of child-labor in factories. You, my dear workmen, can second this demand most eflBcaciously by never permitting your own children under fourteen years of age to work in a factory.”—The Live Issue, September, 1912.