Here I paused.  Although the vast audience had listened patiently to my address, and had, occasionally, even applauded some of its utterances, yet it was evident that what I said did not touch their hearts.  In fact, a stout man, with a dark, stubbly beard, dressed like a workingman, rose on one of the side benches and said: 

“Fellow-toilers, we have listened with great respect to what our friend Gabriel Weltstein has said to us, for we know he would help us if he could—­that his heart is with us.  And much that he has said is true.  But the time has gone by to start such a society as be speaks of.  Why, if we formed it, the distresses of the people are so great that our very members would sell us out on election day.” [Applause.] “The community is rotten to the core; and so rotten that it is not conscious that it is rotten.” [Applause.] “There is no sound place to build on.  There is no remedy but the utter destruction of the existing order of things.” [Great applause.] “It cannot be worse for us than it is; it may be better.” [Cheers.]

“But,” I cried out, “do you want to destroy civilization??”

“Civilization,” he replied solemnly; “what interest have we in the preservation of civilization?  Look around and behold its fruits!  Here are probably ten thousand industrious, sober, intelligent workingmen; I doubt if there is one in all this multitude that can honestly say he has had, during the past week, enough to eat.” [Cries of “That’s so.”] “I doubt if there is one here who believes that the present condition of things can give him, or his children, anything better for the future.” [Applause.] “Our masters have educated us to understand that we have no interest in civilization or society.  We are its victims, not its members.  They depend on repression, on force alone; on cruelty, starvation, to hold us down until we work our lives away.  Our lives are all we have;—­it may be all we will ever have!  They are as dear to us as existence is to the millionaire.

“What is civilization worth which means happiness for a few thousand men and inexpressible misery for hundreds of millions?  No, down with it!” [Immense cheering.  Men rising and waving their hats.] “If they have set love and justice adrift and depend only on force, why should we not have recourse to force also?” [Cheers and applause, mingled with cries of “Take care!” “Look out!” “Spies!” etc.] “Yes,” continued the speaker, “I mean, of course, the force of argument and reason.” [Great laughter and applause.] “Of course none of us would advocate a violation of the law—­that blessed law which it has cost our masters so much hard-earned money to purchase;” [renewed laughter and applause,] “and which restrains us and not them; for under it no injustice is forbidden to them, and no justice is permitted to us, Our labor creates everything; we possess nothing.  Yes, we have the scant supply of food necessary to enable us to create more.” [Applause.] “We have ceased to be men—­we are machines.  Did God die for a machine?  Certainly not.