The Iron Heel

y town, found myself and my personal affairs drawn into the vortex of the great world-affairs. Whether it was my love for Ernest, or the clear sight he had given me of the society in whic

ion was demanded, that was all. This, in itself, did not amount to much. Father, in fact, was delighted. He was especially delighted because his discharge had been precipitated by the publ

ment, coupled with the reason for his enforced resignation, would have created somewhat of a furor all over the world. The newspapers showered him w

at a scientist should leave his field and invade the realm of sociology, about which he knew nothing and wherein he had promptly become lost. This lasted for a week, while father chuckled and said the book had touched a sore spot on capitalism. And then, abruptly, the newspapers and the critical magazines ceased saying anything about the book at all. Also, and with equal suddenness, the book disapp

to touch it," Ernest said. "And if I were you, I'd hunt cove

eriment was no experiment if it were not carried through in all its details. So he patiently went the ro

ry to a degree that eliminated all tonic qualities. The papers made no mention of the book, but they misreported him beautifully. They twisted his words and phrases away from the context, and turned his subdued and controlled remarks into a howling anarchistic speech. It was done artfully. One instance, in particular, I remember. He had used the phrase "social revolution." The reporter m

alist press, was nothing new, Ernest told us. It was the custom, he said, to send reporters to all the socialist meetings for the express purpose of misreporting and distorting wha

as known that the book had been suppressed. But this knowledge stopped with the working class. Next, the "Appeal to Reason,

with them. Don't ask me. I don't know myself. But out of this flux of society something is about to crystallize. It is crystallizing now. The suppression of the book is a precipitation. How many books have been suppressed

red and fifty thousand. Also, it very frequently got out special editions of from two to five millions. These great editions were paid for and distributed by the small army of voluntary workers who had marshalled around the Appeal. The first

its subscribers through the express companies, but they declined to handle it. This was the end of the Appeal. But not quite. It prepared to go on with its book publishing. Twenty thousand copies of father's book were in the

one of the town, giving employment to hundreds of men and women. It was not the citizens of Girard that composed the mob. This mob had risen up out of t

ted States," he said. "This is the beginning. There

s were reactionary

cy in the Russian

attacked the revolu

nts, rioted and dest

cracy the pretext

sac

troyed the socialist presses. Of course, the newspapers of the land lived up to the reactionary policy of the ruling class, and the destroyed socialist press was misrepresented and vilified, while the Black Hundreds

on it the teamsters' strike had been broken. These two defeats had been very disastrous to organized labor. The whole Water Front Federation, along with its allies in the structural trades, had backed up the teamsters, and all had been smashed down

rnest's chance for election grew stronger and stronger. Day by day unions and more unions voted their support to the socialists, until even Ernest laughed when the Undertakers' Assistants and the Chicken Pickers fell into line. Labor became mulish. While it packed the socialist meetings wit

of prosperous years wherein the difficulty of disposing abroad of the unconsumed surplus had become increasingly difficult. Industries were work

ist regime these pe

as they were absurd

his, of course, was

rofits that

h the small armies of armed strike-breakers* put in the field by the employers' associations; the Black Hundreds, appearing in scores of wide-scattered places, had destroyed property; and, in consequence, a hundred thousand regular soldiers of the United States has been

hese were, in purpo

name, the privat

ere thoroughly orga

in readiness to b

f the country where

by the employers.

en rise to the amazi

commander of strik

the United States i

rancisco with an

armed and equipped,

treet-car men. Such

ws of the land. The

ilar acts, went unpu

e judiciary was t

toc

iners' strike in I

th century, it happe

ined in a bull-pen

me continued in the

and blood. And through it all the Black Hundreds played their part. Riot, arson, and wanton destruction of property was their function, and well they performed it. The whole regular army was in the field, called there by the actions of the Black Hundreds.* All cities and towns were like armed camps, and laborers were shot down like dogs. Out of the vast army of the unemployed the strike-breakers were r

not the idea, was i

were a developmen

alists, and their u

neteenth century. T

authority of the t

es Commissioner of

From his book, enti

e declaration that "

e employers themsel

that manufacturer

order to get rid o

have been burned b

ikes in order to in

ecret agents of th

e; and it was they,

e weapon of the Oli

ocat

loyers' associations had made. These associations were practically middle-class affairs, and now, compelled by hard times and crashing markets, and aided by the great captains of ind

its. The Wall Street* group turned the stock market into a maelstrom where the values of all the land crumbled away almost to nothingness. And out of all the rack and ruin rose the form of the nascent Oliga

med from a street i

d the stock excha

ation of society p

all the industri

ts stood firm. Nay, the trusts did more than stand firm. They were active. They sowed wind, and wind, and ever more wind; for they alone knew how to reap the whirlwind and make a profit out of it. And such profits! Colossal profits! Strong enough themselves to weather the storm that was la

. Even Ernest was astounded at the quickness with which it had been done. He s

I was wrong. Wickson was right. We shall be robbed of our few remaining liberties; the Iron Heel will walk upon our fa

the elections. It was not that they were stunned. They were too cool-headed and courageous for that. They were merely incredulous, that was all. Ernest could not get them seriously to fear the coming

t will be all right," they told h

rnest replied coldly, "and put me against

ur might," a dozen vo

etort. "I've heard that song sung by the mid