plank of their party platform as proof sufficient that their
organization favors or opposes a certain policy. An argument of this
sort should have very little weight with careful thinking men, once
their attention has been called to the fact that the Socialists have
been proven guilty of a base lie by stating in their 1908 platform that
the party is not concerned with matters of religious belief. But even if
the revolutionists had never inserted in their platform a statement that
was untrue, nevertheless the following facts show that their platform
planks are very far from being reliable.

The delegates of the party assembled in national convention on May 15,
1908, by a vote of 102 to 33 passed a plank declaring for the
_collective ownership of all the land_. ("Proceedings of 1908 National
Convention of the Socialist Party," page 186.)

It was on September 7, 1909, less than a year and four months after the
adjournment of the convention of 1908, that the words declaring for the
_collective ownership of all the land_ were, by a referendum, _stricken
from the party platform_, while by another referendum it was decided to
insert among the principles of the platform that the party was _not
opposed to the occupation and possession of land by those using it in a
useful and bona fide manner without exploitation_. ("Proceedings of the
1910 National Congress of the Socialist Party," page 25.)

About eight months after the adoption of this substitute plank, a bitter
contest concerning the ownership of "all" the land took place in the
National Congress of the party, which was held in Chicago from May 15,
1910, till May 21, 1910. ("Proceedings of the 1910 National Congress of
the Socialist Party," pages 220 to 235.) Thus, during the 1910 Congress,
notwithstanding the fact that there existed at that time a plank in the
party platform guaranteeing the possession of land to persons who would
use it in a bona fide manner, _the representatives of the party in
national congress assembled, being unable to decide whether or not it
was to the best interests of the party to abide by this plank, referred
the matter to the next convention_. ("Proceedings of 1908 National
Convention of the Socialist Party," page 235.)

Then, when the 1912 Convention met, it made another change, and declared
for _the collective ownership of land wherever practicable_. ("The 1912
Platform of the Socialist Party"--Cf. "The Call," May 19, 1912.) In
addition to t