for the party which is so fond of accusing its opponents of lies and
falsehoods!

When speeches against religion, such as the ones quoted, can be
delivered at the national convention of a political party, without
arousing anything like serious opposition among the delegates present,
or among the rank and file of the party who afterwards read them, the
only reasonable conclusion to be drawn is that the vast majority of the
members of the party either advocate atheism or else are in sympathy
with those who do.

For four long years the Socialists all over the country appealed to the
religious plank of their 1908 platform to prove that their party was not
opposed to religion; and although they were aware that the plank was a
lie, they were not sufficiently honest to have it removed by referendum,
as could have been done at any time. The plank was finally dropped by
the National Convention of 1912 and has not since then been readopted.
This, however, was not because the Socialists as a body had become more
upright through their adherence to atheism, but because their lies
concerning religion had become pretty well known all over the United
States.

No doubt the reader will be interested in the following quotation taken
from "The Communist," the Left Wing Socialist paper of Chicago. In the
April, 1919, edition there is an article by John R. Ball, entitled,
"Challenge of the S. P. [i.e., the Socialist Party] of Michigan":

"When the delegates to a State Socialist Convention gathered in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, February 24, 1919, to nominate candidates
for the coming State Elections, they were determined to do much
more than to go through the mere formalities of complying with
State Election Laws....

"There were many striking features about the personnel of the
delegates: not only were the preachers entirely absent, but their
following also. A Christian Socialist would have felt lonesome
indeed, with no one to act as a listener for him....

"Fearless and unashamed, in true Bolshevik fashion, the delegation
paid no heed to the prejudice of some, but adopted, with one
opposing vote, an additional constitutional amendment, guided
solely by historic facts and scientific data. A Socialist who
understands the Materialistic Conception of History cannot have
faith in superstitions of any kind. In other words, a 'religious'
or 'Christian' Socialist i