Page:Carl Sandburg - You and Your Job (1910).pdf/21

Rh thought much; he has let the alarm clock in his brain go off; he is awake to the great, throbbing human drama staged around him. And he knows the class-struggle is no bookish bubble-thing, but a reality of blood, sweat and tears, of desires and passions.

You must remember, Bill, that in this letter I am giving you only a few fragments, stray links and signs of the great world movement of Socialism. Read "The Common Sense of Socialism," by Spargo, and see how practical and sensible Socialism is. Read a little book by Engels, "Socialism Utopian and Scientific"; and you will see that the Socialism of to-day is not a picture, but a battle! We have passed on from dreams to facts. Even so.

Get the Socialist Party Platform and Declaration of Principles. Read it carefully through and through, Then fold it, put it in your vest pocket, carry it around with you, and whenever you have five minutes to spare, go over it again. Keep this up until you understand it from beginning to end as well as you think you understand the American Declaration of Independence. You may have the Socialist idea without knowing it. You may find just what you've been looking for.

I was told a few days ago that there are two words which practically all immigrants to this country learn first of all. The new-come foreigners pronounce and remember those two words as they would speak of things that are sacred and powerful. Those words are "job" and "boss.” "Without a job you can’t live.