How many of the younger men and women of today read Plato, I wonder? Of course, it's terribly old-fashioned to read The Republic in this age when a new genius is discovered each twentyfour hours, if we may believe the publishers of books and the professional reviewers. When there are so many voices assuring one in strident tones that he is hopelessly behind the times unless he is one of the seven-hundredand-sixty-three-thousand or so readers of the latest sensation, "The Lady with the Cinnamon Hair," it is difficult to muster courage enough to be content with the great masterpieces which have come to us mellowed by years. more's the pity! Why should one have to gorge one's self out of the muddy torrent of the hour, rather than drink quietly and peacefully out of the great deep, crystal lake, stored by the centuries?

And

These reflections come from a reading of the latest installment of Alexander Kerr's translation of the immortal work of Plato, just published by Charles H. Kerr & Company. From time to time, as the separate books have appeared, I have read them with great joy and the clear, satisfaction, glorying in

strong, beautiful English of the translation and its faithful preservation of Familiar Plato's spirit and thought.

with the renditions of Spens and Jowett, and consequently always judging Professor Kerr's work by high standards, the sense of freshness and strength and beauty of diction derived from reading Beit was all the more remarkable. cause of the name of the translator, I

Fight for your Life! Is the somewhat sensational title of a volume by our brave and beloved comrade, Benjamin Hanford, recently published by the Wilshire Book Company, New York. The volume consists of a number of propaganda articles which have already attained some popularity through publications in the Socialist press, together with some new matter. The articles are all brightly written and each is calculated to make an impression upon the mind of the average workingman. Mr. Hanford has a style admirably adapted to this kind of literature. The eloquence, the facile expression, the knack of putting his thoughts in simple, homely English, which for so many years characterized his work as a public speaker appear at their best in this well printed little volume. The book deserves wide circulation for propaganda purposes.

My friend, Dr. William H. Allen, renders the nation valuable service by the publication of his book, Civics and Health, which bears the imprint of Ginn and Company, Boston, the well-known educational publishers. This volume of four hundred pages is a text-book, de

signed to teach the principles of hygiene in their large, social aspects, and the prevention of human incapacity and waste.

Dr. Allen here sets forth in plain, layman's terminology, the standards of pub

lic health which ought to be aimed at by all good citizens, describes the prevailing conditions, so far from ideal, and sets forth what is being done to meet such conditions in the United States and various European countries. He describes with some detail and much valuable suggestion the existing agencies for dealing with the problems of public health and aims to awaken in the minds of his readers a determination to make good use of them. The book is one of great practical value, especially to teachers and parents and others responsible for the oversight of children.

The Physical Basis of Mind and Morals

A new edition of this valuable book by M. H. FITCH, entirely rewritten and greatly enlarged, has just been published. It contains 414 large pages, including a full alphabetical index. The subjects treated in this work are:

I. A Short Outline of the Principle of
Evolution.
II.

Charles R. Darwin, the Exponent of
Evolution.
III. An Interpretation of Herbert Spencer's

Philosophy.

IV. The Rhythm of Motion.

V. Human Knowledge and Its Limitations. VI. The Phenomenal Ego.

VII. The Materialistic Basis of All Things.
VIII. Natural Morality.

IX. Limitations and Impediments.
X. Summary.

Mr. Fitch wrote the first edition of this book without previous knowledge of our socialist literature, and as the result of a thorough study of the generally recognized writers on physical science, he arrived at practically the position held by Marxian socialists. In revising the book he has referred to the works of Engels, Dietzgen, Labriola and other socialist writers, and in its new form his own work will help many Socialists to a better understanding of the scientific foundations of socialism.

POCKET LIBRARY

OF SOCIALISM

Sixty of the Best Short Books on Modern International Socialism. Five Cents Each Postpaid.

1. Woman and the Social Problem, May Wood Simons. 2. The Evolution of the Class Struggle, W. H. Noyes 3. Imprudent Marriages, Robert Blatchford. 4. Packingtown, A. M. Simons.

5. Realism in Literature and Art, Clarence S. Darrow. 6. Single Tax vs. Socialism, A. M. Simons. 7. Wage Labor and Capital, Karl Marx.

8. The Man Under the Machine, A. M. Simons. 9. The Mission of the Working Class, Charles H. Vail 10. Morals and Socialism, Charles H. Kerr. 11. Socialist Songs, Compiled by Charles H. Kerr. 12. After Capitalism, What? Wm. Thurston Brown, 13. Rational Prohibition, Walter L. Young.

14. Socialism and Farmers, A. M. Simons. 15. How I Acquired My Millions, W. A. Corey. [ports. 16. Socialists in French Municipalities, [from official re 17. Socialism and Trade Unionism, Max S. Hayes. 18. Parable of the Water Tank, Edward Bellamy. 19. The Real Religion of Today, Wm. Thurston Brown. 20. Why I Am a Socialist, George D. Herron. 21. The Trust Question, Charles H. Vail. 22. Science and Socialism, Robert Rives LaMonte. 23. The Axe at the Root, William Thurston Brown. 24. What the Socialists Would Do, A. M. Simons. 25. The Folly of Being "Good," Charles H. Kerr. 26. Intemperance and Poverty, T. Twining. 27. The Relation of Religion to Social Ethics, Brown, 28. Socialism and the Home, May Walden. 29. Trusts and Imperialism, Gaylord Wilshire. 30. A Sketch of Social Evolution, H. W. Boyd Mackay. 31. Socialism vs. Anarchy, A. M. Simons. 32. You and Your Job, Charles Sandburg. 33. The Socialist Party of America, Platform, etc. 34. The Pride of Intellect, Franklin H. Wentworth. 35. The Philosophy of Socialism, A. M. Simons. 36. An Appeal to the Young, Peter Kropotkin. 37. The Kingdom of God and Socialism, R. M. Webster 38. Easy Lessons in Socialism, W. H. Leffingwell. 39. Socialism and Organized Labor, May Wood Simons. 40. Industrial Unionism, William E. Trautmann. 41. A Socialist Catechism, Charles E. Cline. 42. Civic Evils, or Money and Social Ethics, C. H. Reed 43. Our Bourgeois Literature, Upton Sinclair. 44. The Scab, Jack London.

45. Confessions of a Drone, Joseph Medill Patterson. 46. Woman and Socialism, May Walden.

47. The Economic Foundations of Art, A. M. Simons. 48. Useful Work vs. Useless Toil, William Morris. 49. A Socialist View of Mr. Rockefeller, John Spargo. 50. Marx on Cheapness, translated by R. R. LaMonte. 61. From Revolution to Revolution, George D. Herron. 52. Where We Stand, John Spargo.

53. History and Economics. J. E. Sinclair. 54. Industry and Democracy, Lewis J. Duncan. 55. Socialism and Slavery, H. M. Hyndman. 56. Economic Evolution, Paul Lafargue. 57. What Socialists Think, Charles H. Kerr. 58. Shoes, Pigs and Problems, Evelyn Gladys. 59. Why a Workingman Should be a Socialist, Wilshire. 60. Forces that Make for Socialism in America, Spargo,

These books contain 32 pages each, and are exactly the right size and weight to mail in an ordinary envelope along with a letter without making extra postage. A full set of the sixty books in a strong box will be mailed to any address for One Dollar. No reduction from the regular price of five cents each in smaller lots.

CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY, 153 Kinzie Street, Chicago.

INDIANA STATE CONVENTION. Mr. L. H. Marcy, who represented the publishing house at the Indiana State Convention held last month at Indianapolis, returned with a most glowing report of the growth of the revolutionary spirit in that state as reflected at the Convention. Over two hundred delegates attended besides a large number of visitors. Local Kokomo, which is largely composed of steel workers, chartered a special interurban car, went early and made a strong showing. Local South Bend was entitled to nine delegates and they were all there and unanimously supported their candidate for State Secretary, Comrade James W. Palmitier. Among the Ft. Wayne delegation were Comrades Drake and Johnson. Other active workers in the state whom we recall were McDaniels of Crawfordsville, Noftsker of Delphi, Habig of Kokomo, Reynolds and Oneal of Terre Haute and many others. The Indianapolis com

rades entertained the Convention in a fine hall, which was greatly appreciated by all the delegates. Indianapolis is one of our best cities. Big things may be expected from her this coming year. The Young People's Socialist League is already a healthy and precocious infant. The League has new headquarters; is starting a library and sent in a big bundle order for the Review. One of our Standard Socialist Libraries is going to Local Delphi and one to Local Kokomo, besides bundles of the Review every month. The March number of the Review was enthusiastically received everywhere and made many new friends throughout the state.

WORKINGMEN STAY FROM THE TREADWELL MINES, Douglas Island, Alaska, is the headline of a notice we have today received from the President and Secretary of the Douglas Island Miners' Union, W. F. M. The notice reads: The strike is still in progress and hundreds of sturdy, honest and true miners are still struggling for an 8-hour day and living conditions. Workingmen don't listen to a slicktongued liar or employment shark who will tell you there is work on Douglas Island for you... Stay away from the Treadwell Mines where human life is valueless and men are maimed and crippled for life. . . . The strike is still on. Anything to the contrary brand as a falsehood. Douglas Island Miners' Union, No. 109."

MRS. GEORGIA KOTSCH, Secretary of the Women's Socialist Union in Oakland, Calif., writes an interesting article entitled Socialism and the Child, in the Mirror of the World. Mrs. Kotsch says in part:

"In our horror and indignation at the spectacle of tender little children working their lives into profits for the master class we, as socialists, almost ignore the fact that there are other children and that they also have claims to attention.

"A great socialist literature, the product of the greatest, the most advanced brains of our time, has been pennedfor those who can assimilate it. Lengthy, learned, logical articles on surplus value and unearned increment have been launched at the unlettered heads of the proletariat-those who have to spend so much time making a living that they have no time to ilve'-or think. Im

passioned soap-box orators strive and strain at the task of 'educating' men whose stunted mental attitudes are well nigh fixed through years and cramped conditions.

"We in America have plunged with such confident optimism into the socialist idea and work. We have buoyantly proclaimed 'we will win in 1908,' and now 'we will win in 1912.' We are scientific -we shout it from the housetops, so there can be no doubt of it, and to prove it we are going to have the revolution before we have the evolution.

"And while we push and pull, persuade and perspire at the practically impossible task of straightening trees, wily capitalism is quietly and easily bending twigs."

It behooves sccialists to organize children's classes, and, we suggest that those in charge hunt up some of the excellent works of Dr. John Dewey, the foremost writer on modern pedagogy, at the public libraries, and try to follow his ideas. His theory is directly in line with the socialist idea that we learn by DOING instead of by CRAMMING. The stories of the Cave People, started in this issue of the Review by Mary E. Marcy, are good suggestions to begin on. Every child is interested in anthropology. Those starting children's classes can get suggestions by addressing the International Socialist Review.

THE PLEBS MAGAZINE. We are in receipt of the first number of the Plebs Magazine. The avowed object of this journal is to "bring about a definite and satisfactory connection between Ruskin College and the Labor Movement." The little magazine is brought out in very attractive style and promises to prove of great value to the students at Ruskin College, who are among the best book buyers of scientific socialist literature in England.

A MODERN WAR CHARIOT. The Paris City Government has profited by the past and has anticipated any future working-class uprisings, by assembling several modern inventions into a new

device to be used for the immediate and efficient extinction of any demonstration that may be made by labor organi zations in the streets of that city.

The device is a steel protected auto⚫ mobile. Steel guards the wheels and tires and also protects a compartment enclosing a rapid fire machine gun and the men who operate it.

While the true mission of the machine is, of course, concealed by the government, to those who know the significance of all such devices, it can have but one use. It is an instrument in the hands of the capitalist class to quell uprisings of their wage-slaves.

It will in many ways resemble the fire department, except that it deals with men instead of fire.

The machine will be placed where it can be called at a moment's notice, to localities where it is needed, there to occupy a position of vantage at cross streets where its deadly guns can be trained in any direction.

Its designs admits of no other use than that of street fighting and it is expected to fulfill the purpose for which it was created, with neatness and dispatch.-R. B. Tobias.

WAR-A PROPHECY. The average wage of a worker will buy back but a fraction of the equivalent of his product and the portion of society's product unconsumed at home must be sold in a foreign market or overproduction results. I am uncertain if the panic of '93 was caused by this underconsumption or by misguided people like myself saving money to go to the Fair, thereby nearly swamping it, but in the next fourteen years millions of workers will find jobs shooting their fellow workers and destroying property, thus restoring confidence and enabling their masters to obtain greater profits. Prosperity was maintained by the China-Japanese, the Boer-British, the Spanish-American, the Philippine and Russo-Japanese wars,

for the nations engaged transferred their and our surplus of goods into interest-bearing debt for us and our descendants to pay.

The "late panic" that is still with us and dominates the economic situation like storm clouds above a hayfield, is threatening to plunge this nation into greater depths of poverty, despair and degradation than ever. If we guide our feet by the lamp of experience, if we judge the future by the past, we can come to but one conclusion. There is too much food and too much hunger, too much clothing and nakedness, too many goods and too many unemployed, and these must be disposed of to the extent of allowing business to proceed; other means exhausted, the next move is to sell these goods to the future by means of war-and bonds.

The question of an opponent is easily settled. Japan has taken into government control salt, tobacco, matches, silk, railroads, etc., it is aiding all kinds of factories, colonizing Manchuria, putting in flour mills; in short, it is capturing "our" Oriental markets, besides directly injuring some of our trusts. The latter naturally feel hurt at such inhumanity, ingratitude and independence, and have flooded our subservient newspapers with adverse criticism upon Japan and the Japanese until "we" are ready to believe the next chapter-Japan has forced us to arm our working class to shoot down our yellow comrades that are criminally engaged in earning a living the best they may, forced us to shoot humanity, etc., into these oppressors of the American trusts.

Then we put our unemployed at work, we destroy millions worth of property, make countless widows and orphans, get the bloody wheels of industry to humming, get more bonds to earn interest for, fund our panic for the next generation, so our masters can amass wealth and repeat the cry, "Apres nous le deluge!"

Don't you like the picture? A majority voted for the party that had its contributions furnished by the master class (whether they voted R. or D.), and the method is so easy, so bloodless, so logical, so profitable for the masters, who can doubt they will do this awful thing? It would even insure them in power some time yet, put off hard times till they have filled their pockets, and the "victorious" general could succeed Taft!

Let me repeat, though, you workingmen have nothing to fight for. Many of us, the Japanese being a cleanly people, could only lose our share of America by a charge with scrub brushes and soap suds! When dogs fight over a bone, the bone is quiet. The right to exploit you, the bone of contention, should not arouse you to take sides; if you must be skinned, the shape of the knife or the color of the skinner matters not at all. Let those who have something to gain or to lose do the fighting. Let us take a determined stand against war; even a working class victory has no lasting foundation.-E. Francis Atwood, Aberdeen, S. D.

PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS

whenever you can. Write and inquire about things advertised and bear in mind that every order is a boost for the Review. More advertising will mean a still better Review with which we shall be able to reach a greater number of people, to bear them the message of Socialism. We think our present advertisers deserve our personal endorsement and we mean to accept only those that we believe have something of value to offer our readers. As soon as our advertisers find the Review pays, they will tell their friends, and by and by our income from advertising will be sufficient to enable us still further to improve the Review.

NEW ZEALAND. The Evening Post of Wellington, said to be the ablest con