An Appeal to the Young. 23 



Perhaps you will give up. Seeing no way out of 

 your condition whatever, maybe you say to yourself, 

 '* Whole generations have undergone the same lot, 

 and I, who can alter nothing in the matter, I must 

 submit also. Let us work on, then, and endeavor to 

 live as well as we can ! " 



Very well. In that case life itself will take pains 

 to enlighten you. 



One day a crisis comes, one of those crises which 

 are no longer mere passing phenomena, as they were 

 a while ago, but a crisis which destroys a whole in- 

 dustry, which plunges thousands of workers into 

 misery, which crushes whole families. You struggle 

 like the rest against the calamity. But you will soon 

 see how your wife, your child, your friend, little by 

 little, succumb to privations, fade away under your 

 very eyes. For sheer want of food, for lack of care 

 and of medical assistance, they end their days on the 

 pauper's stretcher, while the life of the rich sweeps 

 past in joyous crowds through the streets of the 

 great city gleaming in the sunlight— utterly careless 

 and indifferent to the dying cries of those who perish. 



Then you will understand how utterly revolting 

 this society is; you will reflect upon the causes of 

 this crisis, and your examination will go to the very 

 depths of this abomination which puts millions of 

 human beings at the mercy of the brutal greed of a 

 handful of useless triflers ; then you will understand 

 that socialists are right when they say that our 

 present society can be, tliat it must be, reorganized 

 from top to bottom. 



To pass from general crises to your particular case. 

 One day when 3'our master tries by a new reduction 

 of wages to squeeze out of you a few more cents in 

 order to increase his fortune still further you will pro- 

 test; but he will haughtily answer, "Go and eat grass, 

 if you will not work at the price I offer." Then you 

 will understand that your master not only tries to 

 shear you like a sheep, but that he looks upon you 



