m to death with cudgels. In the light of day it may assail the
very strongholds of law in the heart of a populous city, and assassinate
prisoners of whose guilt it knows nothing. And these things--observe, O
victims of kings--are habitually done. One would as well be at the mercy
of one's sovereign as of one's neighbor.

For generations we have been charming ourselves with the magic of words.
When menaced by some exceptionally monstrous form of the tyranny of
numbers we have closed our eyes and murmured, "Liberty." When armed
Anarchists threaten to quench the fires of civilization in a sea of
blood we prate of the protective power of "free speech." If,

"Girt about by friends or foes,
A man may speak the thing he will,"

we fondly fancy that the thing he will speak is harmless--that immunity
disarms his tongue of its poison, his thought of its infection. With a
fatuity that would be incredible without the testimony of observation,
we hold that an Anarchist free to go about making proselytes, free to
purchase arms, free to drill and parade and encourage his dupes with a
demonstration of their numbers and power, is less mischievous than an
Anarchist with a shut mouth, a weaponless hand and under surveillance of
the police. The Anarchist himself is persuaded of the superiority of
our plan of dealing with him; he likes it and comes over in quantity,
inpesting the political atmosphere with the "sweltered venom" engendered
by centuries of oppression--comes over here, where he is not oppressed,
and sets up as oppressor. His preferred field of malefaction is the
country that is most nearly anarchical. He comes here, partly to better
himself under our milder institutions, partly to secure immunity while
conspiring to destroy them. There is thunder in Europe, but if the storm
ever break it is in America that the lightning will fall, for here is
a great vortex into which the decivilizing agencies are pouring without
obstruction. Here gather the eagles to the feast, for the quarry is
defenceless. Here is no power in government, no government. Here an
enemy of order is thought to be least dangerous when suffered to preach
and arm in peace. And here is nothing between him and his task of
supervision--no pampered soldiery to repress his rising, no iron
authority to lay him by the heels. The militia is fraternal, the
magistracy elective. Europe may hold out a little longer. The Great
Powers may make what stage-play they wil