SOCIALISM INEVITABLE—PLAY THE GAME.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 61, 10 May 1912, Page 4

SOCIALISM INEVITABLE—PLAY THE GAME.

I wonder sometimes when the time, will com© that Socialists, fully assured

in their own minds that Socialism, bding grounder on scientific facts and backed by all the teachings and leasons of history, is < 10 of the certaintes of tlie future and maybe of the near, future, will become tolei "lit of all our opponents, if Socialism i& siuv, why need sve worry? li the economic resolution; is inevitably the next step in the evolution of the -sorld, Socialists get excited over any opposition or about! any person sviio appears to bo sidetracking or hind.iiiig our progress? "Tho' t!.e causi/ of evil prosper, Yet 'tis Truth alone is strong" has been the age-lung message of th«j seers. None can pres-cnt tho coming of Socialism 1 No one can keep it back I Tha utmost which can be done is to maka the road by which it comes a little mora rugged and difficult. Most of these difficulties svill bo tho rocks of intolerance. I read in a leader the other day that tho "Reds, boing short of arguments, shouted and boohed at an old man." This is rot quite the truth, and tho Teiinyscian saying that ''a lie which is half a truth is ever tho blackest of lies," still holds good. But tha general public, not knowing the facts, are apt to believe Lhis half-truth lie, and even this commercial age believes in some kind of free speech and soma pretence of reverencing grey hairs, especially if the elderly man is speaking on your side, for our side is always right, of course. The foregoing reflections were caused by reading in the evening paper that a meeting in Auckland had been disturbed by Socialists. Tho speaker was Professor Mills, and I suppose we shall again be treated to paragraphs about a poor old grey-healed man, etc., ad nausourn. I svant to ask all comrades if they think such interruptions aro useful? Speaking to one ho had been to such a meeting, he said: "But, Hartley. Wd want Socialism." Exactly so. What I want to knosv is, do such exhibitions help for Socialism? I think not, and aa the, only thing in lifo worth real consideration is Socialism, I want the comrades in all these cases to ask themselves, hosv far is this going to help the cause of Socialism ? Oh, yes! I know it is very aggravating, but that seems part of their game, and we must play our game and not theirs. I belies-e tha,t interrupting and getting angry play the game of tha other side, and not being on that sida I don't svant us to helr>. If it pleases Walter Thomas to bios* about 10,000 working-men who stand for Lahor, comfort yourself by remembering that more than twice 10,000 .working-men stand for the Federation and Socialism. It may bo lack of capacitjj svhich has got a following of 20,000 &a against 10,000, but then .again ft may not be, so much depends upon tha point of viesv. In any case, the cause of the workers is not helped by our men maki lg disturbances, any more than the workers' cause is furthered by clever platform men utterinc? bitter jibes delight the capitalist newspapers, Mid 1 are read and repeated with joy by ,h<< enemies of the workers. One thing must bo made clear: 'h«i right of free speech must not be imperilled, and Socialism means perf«l) freedom, even for its opponents, liemember, hoys, we've our game to pi •■?., Don't play their game. Play out OTijs.. We're bound to win.