and we
must begin early to train the latter for its part. The Socialists
of Europe have long appreciated the importance of the task, and in
almost every country they have built up a strong organization of
young people. The Socialists of America are just beginning to turn
their attention to the problem....

"The teaching of infants is a task which requires a good deal of
professional training, and no Socialist 'Sunday schools' for very
young children should be established where we do not have
experienced and reliable teachers to conduct them....

"It is quite otherwise with children of the maturer age of, say,
fourteen years and upward. Young people of that age normally
possess sufficient strength of mind to grasp the main philosophy
and aims of our movement intelligently, and their training into the
Socialist mode of thought and action cannot be conducted with too
much zeal and energy. Young people's clubs, societies for the
study of Socialism should be formed all over the country as regular
adjuncts to our party organization, and very serious consideration
should be given to them by the adult Socialists. But they should
remain primarily study clubs, and should not be encouraged to
engage in practical political activity, which can do but little
good to our movement, and may tend to arrest the intelligent growth
of the youthful enthusiasts. When they will reach a maturer age
they will be better and more efficient workers in the movement for
having made a more thorough study of its theory and methods."

"The Call," New York, March 30, 1913, commenting on teaching Socialism
to the young, adds: "Up to the present time only men vote in most of the
states, and they do not use the ballot until they are 21 years of age.
It stands to reason that for the intelligent use of the ballot there
must be proper preparation and education. We cannot expect people to
vote right unless they are trained right....

"If you want or expect men and women to be good and intelligent
voters at the age of 21, then something most vital must be done
with them before they reach that age. From 5 to 21, that's a long
road. That's the impressionable period. That's the time at which
the people are prepared to become good Socialists or good opponents
of Socialism. And the latter quite as readily as the for