y Palace. Two years later the
Fighting Organization condemned to death and executed another Minister of
Interior, Von Plehve. Having done so, it issued a document, dated July
29, 1904, setting forth the counts of its indictment of Von Plehve and
its responsibility for the assassination. Now, and to the point, this
document was sent out to the socialists of the world, and by them was
published everywhere in the magazines and newspapers. The point is, not
that the socialists of the world were unafraid to do it, not that they
dared to do it, but that they did it as a matter of routine, giving
publication to what may be called an official document of the
international revolutionary movement.

These are high lights upon the revolution--granted, but they are also
facts. And they are given to the rulers and the ruling classes, not in
bravado, not to frighten them, but for them to consider more deeply the
spirit and nature of this world-revolution. The time has come for the
revolution to demand consideration. It has fastened upon every civilized
country in the world. As fast as a country becomes civilized, the
revolution fastens upon it. With the introduction of the machine into
Japan, socialism was introduced. Socialism marched into the Philippines
shoulder to shoulder with the American soldiers. The echoes of the last
gun had scarcely died away when socialist locals were forming in Cuba and
Porto Rico. Vastly more significant is the fact that of all the
countries the revolution has fastened upon, on not one has it relaxed its
grip. On the contrary, on every country its grip closes tighter year by
year. As an active movement it began obscurely over a generation ago.
In 1867, its voting strength in the world was 30,000. By 1871 its vote
had increased to 1,000,000. Not till 1884 did it pass the half-million
point. By 1889 it had passed the million point, it had then gained
momentum. In 1892 the socialist vote of the world was 1,798,391; in
1893, 2,585,898; in 1895, 3,033,718; in 1898, 4,515,591; in 1902,
5,253,054; in 1903, 6,285,374; and in the year of our Lord 1905 it passed
the seven-million mark.

Nor has this flame of revolution left the United States untouched. In
1888 there were only 2,068 socialist votes. In 1902 there were 127,713
socialist votes. And in 1904 435,040 socialist votes were cast. What
fanned this flame? Not hard times. The first four years of the
twentieth century were considered p