Page:American Syndicalism (Brooks 1913).djvu/117

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
105

so organized as to prevent strikes, the I. W. W. would disappear.

In 1909, came the outbreak at McKees Rocks, with dictatorial mismanagement at the top which brought from some of our most capitalistic papers the most caustic censure. This high and mighty tone was the very breath of life to the I. W. W. Flocking from every quarter, it brought sympathizers ready to fight in their cause. It is this fighting feature which attracts so many journalists and those of artistic and literary temperament. It is an impulse so rich in dramatic satisfactions as to be the happiest windfall for their mood.

All the drudgeries and enduring strain demanded by reforms like civil service, good housing, social hygiene, insurance, and the like, are wan and colorless compared to the inscrutable pageantry—all the unexpectedness and mystery of an I. W. W. attack.

In its whole popular theory, as well as in the fieldwork of its practice, it has the same revolutionary emphasis which must be considered under successive heads.