Reprinted from "George Engell [sic] on Anarchism:' in
A. R. Parsons, Anarchism: Its Philosophy and Scientific Basis (Chicago:
Mrs. A. R. Parsons, Publisher, 1887), pp. 86-7.
This is the first occasion of my standing before an American
court, and on this occasion it is murder of which I am accused. And for what
reasons do I stand here? For what reasons am I accused of murder? Thee same
that caused me to leave Germany - the poverty - the misery of the working
classes.
And here,
too, in this "free republic," in the richest country of the world,
there are numerous proletarians for whom no table is set; who, as for the
whole Wage class, outcasts of society, stray joylessly through life. I have
seen human beings he struggle for existence
among capitalist. Of gather
their daily food from the garbage heaps of the streets, to quiet therewith their knawing hunger....
When in 1878,
1 came here from Philadelphia, I strove to better my condition, believing it
would be less difficult to establish a means of livelihood here than in
Philadelphia, where I had tried in vain to make a living. But here, too, I found myself disappointed. I began to
understand
that it made no difference to the proletarian, whether he
lived in New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago. In the factory in which I worked
I became acquainted with a man who
pointed out to me the causes that
brought about the difficult and fruitless battles of the workingmen for
the means of existence. He explained to me, by the logic of scientific socialism, how mistaken I was in believing
that I could make an independent living by the toil of my hands, so long as
machinery, raw material, etc., were guaranteed to the capitalists as private
property by the State. That I might further enlighten my mind in regard to
these facts, I purchased with money earned by myself and family, sociological
works, among them those of LaSalle, Marx, and Henry George. After the study of
these books, it became clear to me why a workingman could not decently exist in
this rich country. I now began to think of ways and means to remedy this. I hit
upon the ballot box; for it had been told me so often that this was the means
by which workingmen could better their condition.
I took part in
politics with the earnestness of a good citizen; but I was soon to find that
the teachings of a "free ballot box" are a myth, and that I had again
been duped. I came to the opinion that as long as working- men are economically
enslaved they cannot be politically free. It became clear to me that the
working classes would never bring about a form of society guaranteeing work,
bread, and a happy life by means of the ballot....
Soon enough
I found that political corruption had burrowed through the ranks of the
social-democrats. I left this party and joined the Inter- national Working
People's Association, that was just being organized. The members of that body
have the firm conviction that the workingman can free himself from the tyranny
of capitalism only through force; just as all advances of which history speaks,
have been brought about through force alone. We see from the history of this
country that the first colonists won their liberty only through force; that
through force slavery was abolished, and just as the man who agitated against
slavery in this country, had to ascend the gallows, so also must we. He who
speaks for the workingman to-day must hang. And why? Because this republic is
not governed by people who have obtained their office honestly.
Who are the leaders at Washington that are
to guard the interests of this nation? Have they been elected by the people, or
by the aid of their money? They have no right to make laws for us, because they
were not elected by the people. 7lese are the reasons why I have lost all
respect for American laws.
The fact that through the improvement of machinery so many men
are thrown out of employment, or at best, working but half the time, brings
them to reflection. They have leisure, and they consider how their conditions
can be changed. Reading matter that has been written in their interest gets
into their hands, and faulty though their education may be, they can
nevertheless cull the truths contained in those writings. This, of course, is
not pleasant for the capitalistic class, but they cannot prevent it. And it is
my f= conviction that in a comparatively short time the great mass of
proletarians will understand that they can be freed from their bonds only
through socialism.