Life of Albert Parsons

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the undeveloped minds of youth against everything which is disagreeable to despots through the medium of the school teachers. For instance, before the outbreak and during the Franco-German war we were made to believe by our teachers that every Frenchman was at least a scoundrel if not a criminal. On the other hand, kings were praised as the representatives of God, and obedience and loyalty to them was described as the highest virtues. Thus the minds of the children are systematically poisoned, and the fruits of this practice are made use of when the little ones become men and women. On the occasion mentioned our teacher told us that Socialists were a lot of drunkards, swindlers and idlers, who were opposed to work. "The time draws near," that worthy said, "when you young men will have to earn your daily bread in the sweat of your brow. Some of you will acquire wealth while others will be less fortunate. Now these Socialists, mark you, who are a lazy set of people, intend forcibly to make you divide with them everything you possess at the termination of each year. For instance, if you should call two pairs of boots your own, one of these Socialistic scoundrels would kindly relieve you of one pair. How would you like that '" Certainly we thought we should not like it at all. Nor would I consent to anything of that sort now. Most decidedly not-such an arrangement would be absurd. Now I knew it to be a fact that my father took part in Socialist meetings very frequently, and I wondered that day why he, whom I thought to be so good, should have intercourse with such a bad class of men whose object it was to lead a lazy life and to make sober, industrious workingmen, at the end of each year, divide their earnings with them. When I reached home I intimated to my father (according to what my teacher had told us) what bad people the Socialists must be. Much to my surprise my dear father laughed aloud and embraced me affectionately.

"Dear Adolph," he said, "if Socialism is what your teacher explained it to be why the very institutions which prevail now would be Socialistic." And my father went on to show me how, in fact, there are so many idlers and indolent people under the existing form of society who were residing in palatial houses and living luxuriously at the expense of sober and industrious working people, and that Socialism had a mission to abolish such unjust division. After this day I accompanied my father to Socialist gatherings, and soon became convinced of the truth of what he had said. I began to study. Wandering about the streets, I often saw groups of hard fisted men working in quarries and other places of toil and handling heavy picks and clumsy shovels from early morning until late at night. I would notice standing a little aside an elegantly dressed individual smoking a Havana, and seemingly interested in the work of the toilers. The hands of the idler were covered with kid gloves; in the bosom of his snow-white shirt glittered a diamond, and from his vest dangled a valuable gold watch chain. You can guess who this gentleman was-the "employer." The busy toilers, notwithstanding