The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, May 28, 1909, Image 2

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    NO ORGANIZATION
AMONG ANARCHISTS
The Very Nature of Their Principles
Makes Such a Thing Impossible.
OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY INDIVIDUAL
Too Many Types and Nationalities Are Involved
to Permit of Anything Like Cohesion Baby
Consecrated to the "Cause" of Anarchy.
WHENEVER out of tho coun
try's masses of Ignorant
nlloria sumo desperado or
fanatic rises up In stnglo
importance to hurl a bomb
or ahoot down Bomo leader
of tho pooplo, tlioro goos
forth a hue and a cry that organized
nnarchy Is rlfo.
Uut after tho first panic foar of op
gnnlzcd rcHlBtanco to authority, the
public, investigating, Undo that In
each cuso tho outrngo was tho net of
nn Individual, or, nt most, of a mnall
group. Czolgosz was alono In lila plot
ting, Impelled by the hot arguments of
demagogues. Subsequent happenings
havo Bhown that our crop of dos
pcrndooR 1b Hcatterod, and made up of
many types nnd nationalities of men.
AnarchlHrn wo hnvo nlwnys with uh.
Llko atheism, "or hobblcH, or faith In.
porpctual motion, or any other pocul
lar tendency of tho human mind, It In
coincident with history ltaolf, nnd
Hlnco tho days of tho I'haraohs thcro
has been murdorotis nssnult upon au
thority and portions In authority.
Tho Most Likely Places.
Realizing tho permanence of tho In
fitltutlon, one might easily work out n
Bchemo of organization. Tho national
headquarters would bo at Pntorson,
K. J., or at Chicago; tho Now England
hohdquartors would bo at Unrro, Vt.,
tho Massachusetts rendezvous, Lynn
or Fltchburg. In each of theso cltlcB
anarchism Ib familiar nnd has been
nt ono tlmo or another dangerous.
Ona could then concolvo theso central
ntntlons sending out their ngonts,
forming clubs in every Industrial city
nnd town in Now England, or, for that
matter, In tho wholo country.
Hut what havo you7 ' In l'atorson
tho lendorn are Uobrows; in 13ar.ro
thoy nro Itallansj In Fltchburg they
nro Finns; in Lynn thoy nro Greeks
and Sicilians, with somo Italians nnd
Jowb. Almost' without excoptlon, thoy
nro ignorant pcoplo, not speaking
. many tongues. What havo theso pco
plo in common?
A thorough canvass of those cities
nnd towns in tho Btato, whore anarch
Ism is known to hnvo n foothold, shown
that thoro are no evidences of other
than temporary or racial organiza
tions. Mnny causos contribute to this
result.
Organized Anarchism n Paradox.
In tho first plnco, tho vory namu of
organlzod nnnrchlsm Is n paradox.
Houry II. Hyndmnu, tho English So
cialist, has said thnt anarchism Ib
"Individualism gone mad." Tho An
nrchlst is un Individualist, coming to
that point through working out tho
extreme altruistic teachings of social
ism. Tho Annruhist Is by nature a
man Jealous of his. freedom, ho will
bo bound by no convention, creed or
oath. ,
Thoso clubs which meet rogulnrly
together in Haverhill, Lynn, Qulncy,
Mnynard nnd other Massachusetts
cities, nro scrupulous not to elect of
ficers, because that would mean the
Imposition of authority, Each tlmo
thoy meet thoy choose a chairman, nnd
nt adjournment ho goos out of power.
In tho second place, tho Anarchist,
ns has been said, has no vernacular,
no means of Intercommunication. A
convention of till tho Anarchists in
tho United Stntos nnd thoro nre many
thousands of thoin would bo a vor
ltablo ltabol, a confusion of tongues
unsurpassed. Furthorinoro, theso peo
ple coming from nil parts of Europo,
haw been imbued with different
Ideals. Thoro aro ns mnny kinds of
nnnrchlsm as thcro nro of socialism.
Any unanimity among theso mon and
women, whoso very beliefs stamp
them to bo of disordered and pervorso
montnlltlen, would bo Impossible nt
least for generations.
Young People Quick to Take Hold.
Finally, tho avorago Annrchlst Isn't
an Anarchist long enough to mako
even tho small clubs which aro formed
In nny way pcrmanont. When to lg
nornnco and poverty Is added youth,
tho agitators find their audiences
easily converted to unarchlstle doc
trine. It In among tho young men, nnd
particularly among highly strung girls
of tho foreign clnsses, thnt tho nihi
listic Ideas tako hold. Tho wild Im
possibilities of tho teachings, howovor,
begin to pall upon tho convorts within
i'a few years, and education, bettor pay,
or n disinclination to go out to meet
ings of n Sundny afternoon, speedily
stamp out what all tho king's horses
nnd all the king's mon could not ex
terminate. Anarchistic doctrine Is spread in
two wnyh by such speakers ns Emma
Goldman, Alexander Horkmun nnd
their lessor satellites; nnd by the pro
paganda of tho doctrlno through ex
tremo socialistic publications. In overy
city wiioro thcro Is nny danger It Ib
cliargonblo to ono or tho other of theso
cannon.
Uut thoro has recently been a falling
off in tho spirit with which tho "work
bus boon carried on, directly duo to
the notion of tho government last
spring, following tho assassination of
Father Holnrlchn at tho altar in a Don
vor church, and tho attempt on tho
liro of Chief of Pollco Shlppy In Chi
ougo. Tho postal department put a
ban on anarchistic publications, and
tho proaldont and Secrotnry Straus
pointed stern llngors at tho doportn
tlon law of 1907,
Under section two of Hint law It is
mndo possible for tho immigration au
thorltlos to duport "Annrchlsts, who
bollovo In or advocate tho overthrow
by violence of tho government of tho
United (Stoles, or of nil government or
of all forms of law, or the assassina
tion of public officials."
Rootfon 28 of tho aamo laws reads:
"Noiporaon who disbelieves In or is
opposed to organized government, or
who is a member of or la affiliated
with nny organization entertaining and
teaching such disbelief or opposition
to all organized government . . ,
shall bo permitted to enter tho United
States ..."
At that tlmo tho anarchistic publi
cation of l'atorson, N. J., La Qucstiono
Socinle, suspended, and such papers
as Tyomols, published In Hancock,
Mich., or Hnlvaajaa, published in
Fltchburg, Mass., In tho Finnish
tongue, beenmo notably milder In tone.
Tho public nnd private meetings of tho
local anarchistic organizations have
since been almost lukewarm and
speakers havo boon cnutious in tho
extreme.
Stars and Stripes First.
In Mnynard, Mass., a Finnish society
within n month carried the red flag in
tho streets, but took good care that
tho stars and stripes should bo borno
ahead of it. In tho procession; In Quln
cy a similar attempt was excused on
tho ground that tho red Hag was tho
"poor man's banner, nothing more,"
and tho IiCttlsh Workingmen's associa
tion of Uoston, nftor holding n rcbtl
Uoub meeting on the Common, actual
ly flont n letter to Gov. Oulld protesting
against being cnlled "Anarchists" in
tho public press. It was notablo that
oach ono of theso affairs happoned on
tho second of August, which was tho
"", ,)HH'l,lr M 13WpB5RSS i IHii. niwiJM..,.nlli'- ..
On the Side of This House, In Lynn, Mass., Just to the Right of the Door, Is
Written In Bold Letters, "Viva I'Anarchla." The Father and Mother Who
Live There Are Teaching Anarchism to Their Child, a Qlrl.
Sunday following tho great success of
tho Socialist party in tho elections In
Finland.
TAUGHT HIS CHILD ANARCHY.
Ignorant Italian Resident of Lynn,
Mass., Has Consecrated Oaby
to the Cause.
"Viva I'Anarchla!"
Scrawled In blnck carbon, Bhouldor
high on tho clapboardlng of a tiny
house, Just off busy Mnrkot street, In
Lynn, Mass., this bold confession of
faith in nnnrchlsm brings tho passer
up with a start.
Thoro Is a llttlo girl, dirty, but pret
ty, sitting on tho rickety stops be
neath tho staring legond. Whon tho
pnsBer-by pausos to speak to hor, out
of tho window is thrust tho dark head
of tho father.
"Good bambino?" ho queries, eng
orly. "Yes, a pretty baby."
"Sho Anarchist," ho says with a cor
tain wild glee.
"Tho baby Is an Anarchist?"
"Yes. Mo teach hor. Mo Anarchist,
wlfo Annrchlst, bambino nil Anar
chist." Tho man cannot explain his nnnrch
lsm. Ills creed Is declared in tho let
ter beside tho door, and In tho educa
tion of his child. Tho philosophy of
It, the fallacies of It, hnvo never
reached him.
How Ho Got His Ideas.
Ho only knowa thnt some Sundny
afternoon, two months' ngo, In n
crowded hall whoro .lows and Greeks,
Itnllann and Poles, crowded side by
side on hard benches, ho listened to
Bomo tnlk by a brilliant woman, who
told him his rights woro being
snatched from htm, that no man should
bo allowed to dictate to him, that
churches nnd pollco and governors
nnd presidents woro but instruments
of tho oppressor. Out of that hall ho
thronged with scores of follow-work-mon,
and tho rudo touch of Bhouldor
to shoulder eoomod to oloctrlfy him
Into thinking nioro than was his wont.
Perhaps n while lator n tall, litho
young man with curling lmlr and a
quick, bright smllo began to meet him
and toll him tho sumo story over and
over. Ho went to meetings of ton or
n dozon in tho bnck rooms of tene
ments, and oven held a meeting in his
own kitchen. Then ho subscribed to
a papor porhnps Cronaca Sovvoralva
or La Quofitlouo Socinle and rend
over and ovor tho mnd teachings and,
applying thorn without ronsou to his
own case, becamo oven more rabid
than tho lecturers nnd tho writers. So
now ho calls hlmBolf Anarchist nnd
teaches his baby nnnrchy.
Began In Lynn Ten Years Ago.
This welding of convorts began in
Lynn somo ten yenrs ago, and was
continued by various lenders until tho
death a year ago last spring of Valcn-
Uno do PJetro, a clever young Italian
who boro a reputation In sovcral cities
and had pollco records in Uoston, Lynn
nnd Haverhill. Ho was murdered In
a family row and his murderer is now
awaiting trial.
Tho activity of tho Anarchists la
attested In a circular which they dis
tributed In tho North end of Boston In
1905.
It sots forth their beliefs somewhat
extravagantly as follows:
"FELLOW" WORKERS.
"We Anarchists want tho comploto
abolition of all classes, ono with tho
exploitation nnd tho dominion of the
man on the man.
"Wo aro against patriotism, private
property, authority nnd churches.
"To the miserable prlnclplo of patri
otism wo llko to substitute tho great
and noble prlnclplo of tho love for hu
manity, not divided by artificial and
barbarous frontiers; wo want tho world
to he tho great fatherland of the
worker.
"Wo aro against nuthorlty, under
whatever form It may be, bocauso It
Is, and always has been, used by a
small number of privileged to submit
nnd oppress the vast mass of the peo
ple, and because nuthorlty is the great
est obstacle to freedom.
"Wo fight tho churches because they
restrain tho Intelligence of man, kill
In him tho power of initiative, and be
causo tho church Is the grcatost man
ufacturing shop of lgnornnce.
"Yes, wo Anarchists want to destroy
all tho actual Institutions from thoir
fundaments, because wo seo they aro
wrong; and to that work wo conse
crate tho best part of our energy.
"Of course, in tho fight somo individ
uals are lost, but wo can't help It.
Though cruel, tho oxperlonco Bhows
that tho tree of liberty growa in tho
sollwet of blood.
"And wo would gladly see the num
ber of theso victims centuplicated nnd
our Uvea lost with them If we could
stop forever tho dally mnssacro of our
fellow-workers.
"For tho redemption of humanity
from moral and material slavery wo
march, and nothing will stop us.
"ANARCHISTS OF LYNN."
Riot Follows Speeches.
On tho snmo day that this manifesto
went abroad Valentino do Pletro and
four companions invaded tho North
end of Uoston, nnd in North squnro
spoko in Ilery voin to sovoral hunidred
of thoir countrymen. Thoy wcro 'urg
ing tho ovorthrow of tho state gov
ernment when two policemen pounced
upon thenrand enptured Do Plotro'and
a companion. The crowd Bhowed Sight
and stones woro thrown, but tho 'men
woro takon to tho station house. For
hours that night tho streets woro
tilled with forelgnora swenrlng ven
geauco upon tho officers.
Do Plotro was arraigned In couct on
tho charge of occupying a public res
ervation without a pormit. Ho was
liberated on a technicality, but took
occasion to mako a 20-mlnuto spcoch
to the court In defense of his princi
ples and his right to oxpross his views.
Tho only real disturbance duringjtho
lifetime of Do Pletro occurred at St.
Josoph's church. Tho pastor invflted
tho Anarchists to come and hear him
preach, and In tho course of his ser
mon said things which drow down
thoir wrath. Half a dozon Jumped up
in tho pows nnd retorted, a hot argu
ment resulting, Tho pollco arrived
nnd drove them all forth in time to
provont bloodshed.
Uut tho lender Is dead. Ho lived
with two nleceB, ono of whom was mar
ried, In a llttlo tenement on Elwood
Btreot, Uoston. Ono morning ho got
In a dispute with his nophew about
family matters, nnd was shot dead.
Tho nophow's dofonso, when tho caso
comes to trial, is to bo that ho acted
In solf-dofonso.
Slnco then ovor n year ago an
archism in Lynn has weakened.
Irony of Fate.
Somo mouths before his death, Vic
torlen Sardou, passing with u friend
tho Placo do la Mndololno, pointing to
tho statue of Jules Simon, said:
"Thoro is nothing uglier than this
good man in his frock coat. To orcct
this hideous monument n charming
llttlo fountain similar to tho ono wo
'soo on the other side of tho placo has
boon suppressed." And now It hna
boon decided to orect tho statue of
Sardou on the spot occuplod by tho
other fountain! Lo Crl do Paris.
1 The Algerian Swordsman. I
I By Fred Gilbert Blakeslee I
(Copyright, ltx, by J.
"Foll-plny Is pretty, but It is not
sword-play. A man docs mnny things
with n buttoned foil thnt ho would
scarce dare attempt with an uncov
ered point."
M. Ueaupro, cx-olllcer of chasseurs,
sat In the salle d'armcs of his friend
Rogct Rouleau watching nn assault
with foils between two pupils of that
celebrated master.
"Who, for Instance," continued M.
Deaupre, "would risk making such
complicated movements ns counter
pnrrles, doubles and ripostes with tho
disengagement, in an actual duel?
Elaborate combinations nro well
enough in tho snllo d'armcs where ono
risks nothing but a touch on n pad
ded Jacket, but they havo no placo in
tho piny of a man who Is fighting for
his Hfo."
"Thcro Is truth In what you say,
Pierre," responded M. Rouleau; "but
do you not think that n knowledge of
this nature serves to develop to tho
highest degree thnt fencer's Judgment
which Is of tho greatest Importance to
n man who engnges in actual, Instead
of mimic, combat?"
"Undoubtedly, my friend, tho train
ing of which you speak is excellent
so fnr ns it goes, but it is not varied
cnotigh. Tho fbneer Is usually taught
to defend himself with but ono typo
of weapon nnd In n certain rigidly pro
scribed manner; a thoroughly com
petent swordsman, howovor, should bo
able to fight with nil woapons and to
withstand attacks, no matter how Ir
regular they may bo. What chnnco,
for Itistnhco, do you think ono of your
pupils would hnvo if called upon to
defend himself n half-savage Algerian,
whoso method of fighting violntcs
every principle of the fencer's codo,
My Savage Adversary Awaited Me.
but whose utter unconventlonnllty
mnkes him all tho more dangerous an
opponent? Uut you shall hear, and
draw your own conclusions.
"While I was serving with my regi
ment In Algorln. we were stationed at
Wnrgln, a dreary post lying on tho
outskirts of tho great desert, whero
there w.ib llttlo to do except eat and
sjeep. Wo had been thero for some
months without nnythlng occurring to
break tho monotony of our oxlstonco.
whon to our great delight, wo wero
ono day ordered upon active service
"Reports had reached headquarters
thnt n cortnln Mohammed el Undid
had declared himself to bo a prophet
and wns inciting tho desert tribes to
join him In a holy war. Wo woro or
dered to tako tho field at onco, find
tho reputed prophet, nnd stamp out
the rebellion hoforo It hnd a chance
to spread further orders which you
may well bellovo afforded us tho
keopest pleasure.
"After a five days' march through
tho desert wo discovered Mohnmmed
onenmped nt Ilnssa Insokkl, on the
Moussa river. Wo found, howovor,
that tho prophet, with n military skill
for which wo hnd not given him credit,
wns strongly entrenched among tho
foothills with which tho country, nt
that point abounded, nnd it was at
onco evident that dislodging him
would bo n task of considerable dltll
culty. "Wo accordingly onenmped In front
of his lines, and, having thrown up
hnsty ontronchments and established
sultablo outposts to guard against sur
prise, wo settled down to study tho
hard problem hoforo us.
"It was evident thnt Mohammed
was tho mainstay of tho rovolt, and
that If ho could bo either killed or
enptured tho tribes that had Joined
him could, lacking a lendor, bo easily
crushed, nut it did not scorn possiblo
to got nt tho prophet In nny way ex
cept by a general nssault, and our
colonol hnd about decided upon that
course, whon qulto unexpectedly n
way out of our dllllcultles was opened
for us, and nn opportunity presented
to show tho fanntlcal Mohammedans
thnt their belief in tho roputod pow
ors of thoir prophet) wns In vnln.
"Mohammed was noted for his great
skill in swordsmanship nnd possessed
a blndo which was said to bo nblo to
cut through tho sword of any Infidel.
II. Llpplncott Co.)
Judging thnt a single-handed victory
over a Frenchman would enormously
Increase his reputation, as well as his
influence over his followers, ho sent
n message into our camp saying thnt
ho defied and cursed us, and daring
un to send n chief to tight him with -the
sword between tho two nrmlos.
"Our commnnder received tho mes
senger, told him that wc would accept
tho challenge nnd send an officer to
meet the prophet, nnd that wo would
show his followers how little thoy
could rely upon their leader's prom
ises, "After tho messenger had gone, tho
colonel called tho officers together to
select a champion for our cause. All
of us woro arixloua to volunteer, hut,
as our chief pointed out, it was abso
lutely necoBsary for us to send our
best man, for a defeat at the hands of
tho fanntlcal prophet would Immense
ly lower tho prestlgo of our arms,
while victory might break tho back
bone of tho rebellion nt once. As I
wns even then universally acknowl
edged to ho tho best swordsman in
tho regiment, the selection naturally
fell upon me, and I was formally as
signed to uphold tho honor of tho
French arms a decision, my donr
lloget, which you mny well believe af
forded mo the greatest pleasure.
"It wns Just before sundown when
I stepped out from behind tho shelter
of our gutts and ndvnnced towards tho
onomy's lines to meet their redoubt
able champion. I was clad In tho uni
form of my rank and carried my
drawn sword In my hand, having dis
carded my scabbnrd so as to avoid tho
risk of accldontnlly tripping over it
in tho coming encounter. My wenpon,
tho regulation cavalry snbre, wan a
good ono nnd I knew that it would not
play me false.
"Midway between tho two forces my
savago adversary awaited mo, and aB
I advanced townrds him his tall spare
figure standing outlined against tho
red disk of tho setting sun was truly
an awe-Inspiring spectacle. Ho wns
robed entirely in white, nnd hold in
his right hand his famous scimoter,
while his left gripped n small circular
buckler of hippopotamus hide. A great
sllenco had fallen over both forces,
nnd, ns I walked briskly over tho heat
ed "Bands of the desert, It seemed to
mo that I had never known the air to
bo so still.
"Within a dozen paces of my adver
sary I halted. Then for a fow mo
ments neither of us moved, but each
subjected the other to tho keenest
scrutiny, seeking to discover somo
wenk point of which he might tnko
advantage.
"I saw at onco that tho possession
of tho buckler gave the Algerian nn
enormous advantago over me, since It
enabled him to both cut and parry at
tho same time, while I hnd to rely
upon tho sword itself for both attack
and defense.
"For what seemed minutes wo stood
gazing intently at each other; and
then with n wild cry of 'Allah!' tho
Algerlnn raised his glittering blade
aloft and rushed upon me.
"With my sword In tierce I stood
my ground and let him como.
"Down camo his blado with a
vicious cut for my right shoulder, up
sprnng my sword and mot tho blow,
back went my point for his breast,
only to bo put aside by his buckler
while he cut ngnin. this time for my
head. I successfully parried his head
cut, and, seeing that It had failed, he
sprang quickly back in tlmo to nvold
my riposte. For a fow seconds neither
of us moved, excopt thnt I shlftod my
ground n bit so as to get tho sun on
my left, instead of in front of mo ns
it had been at llrst. Then with nn
other shout he chnrged mo again.
"And bo tho light wont on, until our
breath enmo In honrso quick gasps
and tho perspiration streamed down
our faces, well-nigh blinding us
"Tho red sun hnd by this tlmo sunk
below tho horizon, but still wo con
tinued to struggle, sometimes out of
dlstnnco nnd somotlmes locked so
close together In corps-a-corps that
onch could feel tho other's hot breath
on his cheek.
"However. It is evident that such a
combat could not go on forovor, and
at last. I determined to risk a ruse
a trick which was sometimes em
ployed successfully by tho rnplor
men of tho slxtoonth contury.
"Uelng nt the tlmo somewhat out of
dlBtnnco, with Mohnmmed watching
mo aB a cat does a mouso, I advanced
my right leg more thnn I hnd previous
ly done, protonding at tho samo time
to overbalance myself. Tho prophot
was quick to seo the opening nnd to
tnko ndvnntngo of It. With n tri
umphant cry ho sprnng forward and
dollvored a torrlflc cut ngnlnst tho in
side of my exposed leg,
"It wb a fatal error. As ho cut. I
slipped tho leg back out of dangor
and, nt tho snmo time bonding my
body forward, I ran him through the
heart with a straight thrust over his
arm.
"There Is llttlo more to toll. jUBt
aB tho colonel hnd prophesied, Moham
mod's denth broke tho bnckbono of
tho rebellion, nnd wo had llttlo diffi
culty In dislodging und dispersing his
followors.
"I wns wnnnly congratulated upon
my victory by my brothor officers, and
reoolved from tho government ' thla
cross of tho Legion of Honor."