A.B.C. OF ANARCHISM William Tell, as folklore tells us, shot to death the tyrant in order to rid his country of oppression. Tell had never heard of Anarchism. I mention these instances to illustrate the fact that from time immemorial despots met their fate at the hands of outraged lovers of liberty. Such. men were rebels against tyranny. They were generally patriots, Democrats or Republicans, occasionally Socialists or Anarchists. Their acts were cases of individual rebellion against wrong and injustice. Anarchism had nothing to do with it. . There was a time in ancient Greece when killing a despot was considered the highest virtue. Modern law condemns such acts, but human ~eeling.seems .to hav~ remained the same in this matter as in the old days. The conscience of the world does not feel outraged by tyrannicide. Even if publicly not approved, the heart of mankind condones and often very secretly rejoices at such acts. Were there not thousands of patriotic youths in America willing to assassinate the German Kaiser whom thev held responsible for starting the World War? Did not a French cou·rt recently acquit the man who killed Petlura to avenge the thousands of men, women and children murdered in the Petlura pogroms against the Jews of South Russia ? In every land, in all ages, there have been tyrannicides ; that is, men and women who loved their country well enough to sacrifice even their own lives for it. Usually they were persons of no political party-or idea, but si~ply haters of tyranny. Occasionally they were religious fanatics, like the devout Catholic Kullman, who tried tci'·assassinate Bismarck,* or the misguided enthusiast Charlott~ Corday who killed·Marat during the French Revolution. In ·the United States three Presidents were killed by individual acts. Lincoln was shot in 1865, by John Wilkes Booth, who was a Soutqerri :Oemocra_t; .Garfield, in i881, by Charles Jules Guiteau, a Republican ; and McKin\ey, in 1901, by Leon Czolgosz. Out of the three only one was an .Anarchist. The country that has the worst oppressors produces also the greatest number of tyrannicides, which is natural. Take Russia, for instance. With complete suppression of.speech and press under the Czars, there was no way of mitigating the despotic regime than by "putting the fear of God" into the tyrant's heart. Those avengers were mostly sons and daughters of the highest nobjlity, idealistic youths who loved liberty and the people. With all other avenues closed, they felt themselves compelled to resort to the pistol and dynamite in the hope of alleviating the miserable * July 13th, 1874. 12 Biblioteca G:no Bianco
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