on.

The Marxians, who are fond of being called "scientific" Socialists, may
very aptly be compared to little boys who might try to prove to their
teacher that the solution of a certain problem in mathematics was
correct, because that of another problem of an entirely different nature
was wrong. Or, better still, they may be likened to an egg dealer who
would attempt to prove to a customer that every egg in one crate was
good, because a few in another were unfit for use. The appropriateness
of comparing the "scientific" Socialists to the amusing youngsters, or
to the illogical egg dealer, will be evident to the reader when he
reflects that the revolutionists, north, south, east and west, from the
first day of January till the last of December, condemn the present
system of government and industry, endeavoring thereby to persuade the
people that Socialism is the only remedy for the evils from which they
are suffering.

Most of the speeches and writings of the "Knights of the Red Flag"
consist in severely criticising prevalent evils. By attacking the
present system of government and industry they hope to have the
workingmen conclude that the Socialist Party alone can save mankind from
complete ruin. This, then, is the way in which "scientific" Socialism
leads unreflecting laborers to believe that the contemplated state would
be the most perfect institution under heaven, replete with countless
blessings and free from every evil.

It often happens that the revolutionists dazzle the eyes of the weary
with the vivid pictures that they draw of intolerable civil and economic
conditions, whether these be true, false or imaginary. The result is
that the poor people frequently brood over the wrongs from which they
happen to be suffering. They become so thoroughly discontented and
blinded with class hatred that they are no longer able to see the
advantage of reforming the present system by constitutional and lawful
methods. Finally, when they have almost lost their reason and can no
longer realize that the drug offered them has never been proven capable
of remedying the evils that weigh heavily upon them, they accept and
swallow the poisonous dose of Socialism and become a thousand times more
wretched than they were before. The very potion they drink, with a view
to being cured, makes them most unhappy for the rest of their lives, and
in many cases for all eternity. If there is anything that non-Socialists
should be on their gua