Page:The Autobiography of a Catholic Anarchist.djvu/20

CHAPTER 1. CHILDHOOD – YOUTH 7 and birth control, when these words were only whispered by "decent" people, came to Madison. The one anarchist I knew was working towards a degree, and he asked me to introduce her. I cannot remember what she said, except that she was adept at repartee when people tried to tangle her up in conversation. I had taken public speaking in high school and at Hiram college, but I was the very worst in each class. I did get up at a Socialist meeting and give a talk on the I.W.W. An old time Socialist trade unionist who knew much more than I did criticized me until I was in tears, but I needed it. I asked him how I could be a good speaker. He told me to be sure of my facts and not do as I had just done, talk about something that I didn't know anything about. Then he said to go to some town where I knew no one; get up on a soapbox and commence. After the first speech, if I was any good at all, I would be a speaker.

Here in Madison I took military drill, for I was not a pacifist; I wanted to know how to shoot, come the revolution. I met some young Quaker Socialists and attended their meetings; the only one I remember now is Darlington Hoopes, who ran for Vice President and for President on the Socialist ticket years later. That session of the legislature had a conservative setup, so they increased the tuition for outside of the state students from $24 to $148. I did not have that much money, so when my folks wrote that they had moved to Columbus I decided to go to Ohio State that fall.

I spent that summer selling aluminum ware in Wisconsin towns; cooking in churches. The last town I worked in was West Allis. On the day before I planned to go to Ohio, I met a friend from Madison who invited me to a lawn party of young Socialists, the next day. They all knew each other and I was the only stranger. I took a liking to a certain girl and asked for a date but could not get one for four days. Meanwhile I took a friend of hers home. She whispered to this friend, "Better look out for that fellow." Four days later I had a date with my new girl friend, Selma Melms, daughter of the Socialist sheriff of Milwaukee, leader of the Yipsels, as the young Socialists were called, and secretary to the President of the State Federation of Labor. On the excuse that I had to go back to Ohio I had a date every night for ten nights, and we became engaged. Selma was the broad faced peasant type that always appealed to me. Love is blind, and how much the fact that I was a happy Irishman, much more radical than the staid Germans of Milwaukee, and that Selma was the first radical girl I had ever met (other than Miriam whom we fellows accused of thinking so much of her handsome father that she could never appreciate us) had to do with our engagement is difficult to determine. I went back to Ohio very happy.

That term at Ohio State was one of the best years of my life as a student. I was head of the Intercollegiate Socialist Club and secretary of the Socialist local down town. In my classes in philosophy and sociology there was much room for my radical agitation. I had never been sad about my radicalism, and with this love of Selma in my heart I felt that I could conquer the world. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr., was my very good friend at the University. I started the first