rimmers had their way we should degenerate into bourgeois
reformers.... But they will not have their way." (Italics mine.)

No American Socialist has more ably summarized the dangers opportunism
brings to the movement than Professor George D. Herron in his pamphlet,
"From Revolution to Revolution," taken from a speech made as early as
1903. Later events, it will be noted, have strikingly verified his
predictions as to the growing popularity of the word "Socialism" with
nearly all political elements in this country.

"Great initiatives and revolutions," Herron says, "have always been
robbed of definition and issue when adopted by the class against
which the revolt was directed....

"Let Socialists take knowledge and warning. The possessing class is
getting ready to give the people a few more crumbs of what is
theirs.... If it comes to that, they are ready to give some things
_in the name of Socialism_.... The old political parties will be
adopting what they are pleased to call Socialistic planks in their
platforms; and the churches will be coming with the insipid
'Christian Socialism,' and their hypocrisy and brotherly love. We
shall soon see Mr. Hanna and Bishop Potter, Mr. Hearst and Dr.
Lyman Abbott, even Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Bryan, posing as
reasonable kinds of Socialists. You will find the name of Socialism
repeatedly taken in vain, and perhaps successfully. You will see
the Socialist movement bridled and saddled by capitalism, in the
hope of riding it to a new lease of capitalistic power....

"But Socialism, like liberty or truth, is something you cannot have
a part of; you must have the whole or you will have nothing; you
can only gain or lose the whole, you cannot gain or lose a part.
You may have municipal ownerships, nationalized transportation,
initiative and referendum, civil service reforms and many other
capitalist concessions, and be all the farther away from Social
Democracy.... You may have any kind and number of reforms you
please, any kind and number of revolutions or revivals you please,
any kind and number of new ways of doing good you please, it will
not matter to capitalism, so long as it remains at the root of
things, the result of all your plans and pains will be gathered
into the Capitalist granary." (The italics are mine.)

Yet no Socialist dreams