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第31章

war of the classes(阶级斗争)-第31章

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Winchester       riflesall   for   adventuring      in   BLOND…BEASTLY              fashion。 

Concerning further details deponent sayeth not;  though he   may hint that 

some of his plethoric national patriotism simmered down and leaked out 

of   the   bottom   of   his   soul   somewhereat   least;   since   that   experience   he 

finds that he cares more for men and women and little children than for 

imaginary geographical lines。 

       To   return   to   my   conversion。   I   think   it   is   apparent   that   my   rampant 

individualism was pretty effectively hammered out of me; and something 

else as   effectively  hammered   in。 But;  just   as  I had been   an individualist 

without knowing it; I was now a Socialist without knowing it; withal; an 

unscientific one。 I had been reborn; but not renamed; and I was running 

around to find out what manner of thing I was。 I ran back to California and 

opened the books。 I do not remember which ones I opened first。 It is an 

unimportant detail anyway。 I was already It; whatever It was; and by aid of 

the books I discovered that It was a Socialist。 Since that day I have opened 

many   books;   but   no   economic   argument;   no   lucid   demonstration   of   the 

logic    and    inevitableness      of   Socialism     affects    me   as   profoundly      and 

convincingly as I was affected on the day when I first saw the walls of the 

Social Pit   rise around   me and   felt myself   slipping down; down; into   the 

shambles at the bottom。 



     Footnotes: 

     {1} 〃From 43 to 52 per cent of all   applicants need work rather   than 

relief。〃Report of the Charity Organization Society of New York City。 

     {2} Mr。 Leiter; who owns a coal mine at the town of Zeigler; Illinois; 

in   an   interview   printed   in   the   Chicago   Record…Herald   of   December   6; 

1904;   said:   〃When   I   go   into   the   market   to   purchase   labor;   I   propose   to 

retain   just   as   much   freedom   as   does   a   purchaser   in   any   other   kind   of   a 

market。 。 。 。 There is no difficulty whatever in obtaining labor; FOR THE 



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COUNTRY IS FULL OF UNEMPLOYED MEN。〃 

     {3} 〃Despondent and weary with vain attempts to struggle against an 

unsympathetic        world;   two   old   men    were   brought     before   Police   Judge 

McHugh this afternoon to see whether some means could not be provided 

for their support; at least until springtime。 

     〃George Westlake was the first one to receive the consideration of the 

court。 Westlake is seventy…two years old。 A charge of habitual drunkenness 

was placed against him; and he was sentenced to a term in the county jail; 

though it is more than probable that he was never under the influence of 

intoxicating liquor in his life。 The act on the part of the authorities was one 

of kindness for him; as in the county jail he will be provided with a good 

place to sleep and plenty to eat。 

     〃Joe Coat; aged sixty…nine years; will serve ninety days in the county 

jail for much the same reason as Westlake。 He states that; if given a chance 

to do so; he will go out to a wood…camp and cut timber during the winter; 

but   the   police   authorities   realize   that   he   could   not   long   survive   such   a 

task。〃From the Butte (Montana) Miner; December 7th; 1904。 

     〃'I end my life because I have reached the age limit; and there is no 

place   for   me   in   this   world。   Please   notify   my   wife;   No。   222   West   129th 

Street;   New York。'   Having   summed   up   the   cause   of   his   despondency   in 

this   final   message;     James    Hollander;    fifty…six   years   old;   shot  himself 

through   the   left   temple;   in   his   room   at   the   Stafford   Hotel   today。〃New 

York Herald。 

     {4} In the San Francisco Examiner of November 16; 1904; there is an 

account   of   the   use   of   fire…hose   to   drive   away   three   hundred   men   who 

wanted work at unloading a vessel in the harbor。 So anxious were the men 

to get the two or three hours' job that they made a veritable mob and had 

to be driven off。 

     {5}   〃It   was   no   uncommon   thing   in   these   sweatshops   for   men   to   sit 

bent over a sewing…machine continuously  from eleven to fifteen hours   a 

day in July weather; operating a sewing…machine by foot…power; and often 

so driven that they could not stop for lunch。 The seasonal character of the 

work meant demoralizing toil for a few months in the year; and a not less 

demoralizing   idleness   for   the   remainder   of   the   time。   Consumption;   the 



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plague of the tenements and the especial plague of the garment industry; 

carried   off   many   of   these   workers;   poor   nutrition   and   exhaustion;   many 

more。〃From McClure's Magazine。 

     {6} The Social Unrest。 Macmillan Company。 

     {7}   〃Our   Benevolent   Feudalism。〃   By   W。   J。   Ghent。   The   Macmillan 

Company。 

     {8}   〃The   Social   Unrest。〃   By   John   Graham   Brooks。   The   Macmillan 

Company。 

     {9}    From    figures   presented    by   Miss    Nellie  Mason     Auten    in  the 

American Journal of Sociology; and copied extensively by the trade… union 

and Socialist press。 

     {10} 〃The Bitter Cry of Outcast London。〃 

     {11} An item from the Social Democratic Herald。 Hundreds of these 

items; culled from current happenings; are published weekly in the papers 

of the workers。 

     {12} Karl Marx; the great Socialist; worked out the trust development 

forty years ago; for which he was laughed at by the orthodox economists。 



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