The industrial republic: a study of the America of ten years henceSinclair, Upton
History
The industrial republic: a study of the America of ten years hence
Sinclair, Upton
Socialism -- United States; United States -- Economic conditions -- 1865-1918; United States -- Social conditions -- 1865-1918
The party has a press supporting it that extends from sea to
sea, and is as vigilant and tireless in its labours as it is steadfast
and true to the party principles.
“Viewed to-day from any intelligent standpoint, the outlook of the
Socialist movement is full of promise—to the capitalist, of struggle and
conquest; to the worker, of coming freedom. It is the break of dawn upon
the horizon of human destiny, and it has no limitation but the walls of
the universe.”
Whatever the reader may think about the foregoing narrative, there is
one part of it which he cannot dismiss; the statements concerning the
growth of the American Socialist Party. In 1888 the Socialist vote was
two thousand. In 1892, it was twenty-one thousand. In 1896, it was
thirty-six thousand. In 1900, it was one hundred and thirty-one
thousand. In 1904, it was four hundred and forty-two thousand.
The Socialist Party has some twenty-seven thousand subscribing members,
who pay monthly dues. It has over eighteen hundred “locals,” or centres
of agitation; the members of these “locals” are for the most part
workingmen, who give their spare hours to the cause, holding meetings
and debates, and circulating the literature of Socialism. In the larger
cities, there are generally several lectures each week, and there are a
score of “national organisers,” who travel about, speaking night after
night in various towns, forming new “locals,” and taking subscriptions
to the Socialist publications. Of these there are four monthlies and
about thirty-five weeklies. Since 1892, Wayland’s paper, _The Appeal to
Reason_ (Girard, Kansas), has increased its paid circulation from one
hundred and twenty-six thousand to over two hundred and seventy-five
thousand, and last year it printed one edition of two millions and a
half, and another of over three millions. Another Socialist paper,
_Wilshire’s Magazine_ (New York), has increased its circulation from
fifty-five thousand to two hundred and seventy thousand in a single
year. In addition to this, there are many publishing companies, which
distribute books, leaflets and pamphlets, at little more than cost. I
have before me a treatise, the price of which is one cent, of which over
five million copies have been sold since its publication some years ago.
Its title is “Why Workingmen Should Be Socialists,” by Gaylord Wilshire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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