Page The Road to Hell-Poem, by Clement Richardson Wood 401 Mother Earth Tenth Anniversary, by Emma Goldman.. 402 Anniversary Musings, by Alexander Berkman.... Mother Earth, 1905-1915, by Harry Kelly... What Mother Earth Means to Me, by David Rudin...... 412 Mother Earth and Labor's Revolt, by Tom Mann.. An Appreciation by an Artist, by Robert Henri.. Congratulations-Plus, by Adeline Champney.. The Two Extremes, by Theodore Schroeder.. My Debt to Anarchism, by Sara Bard Field... Anarchism-Limited, by William Marion Reedy. Impressions of Mother Earth, by Bertha Fiske. A Tribute, by Gilbert E. Roe........... The Great Debacle, by E. Armand... An Inspiration, by Margaret C. Anderson. An Appeal for Financial Help, Francisco Ferrer Assn... 450 ALEXANDER BERKMAN, Editor MOTHER EARTH Monthly Magazine Devoted to Social Science and Literature Published Every 15th of the Month EMMA GOLDMAN, Proprietor, 20 East 125th Street, New York, N. Y. ALEXANDER BERKMAN, Editor. Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1906, at the post office at New York, N. I., under the Act of Congress of March 8, 1879. THE ROAD TO HELL BY CLEMENT RICHARDSON WOOD No. I AND RSTY MOTHER EARTH TENTH ANNIVERSARY N INE years ago, with no experience, but with abundant enthusiasm and the great capital of $250, MOTHER EARTH was thrown upon the world in quest of intellectual and spiritual adventures. As at the birth of every first born, the friends and foes of MOTHER EARTH predicted all sorts of mishaps for the child. Some said, in a Puritan world, there is no place for the illegitimate; others would have it that though bastards have often gained recognition, it was only by denying their origin. Still others insisted that while the right of the mother to her child can not be questioned, yet the commuity or the group ought to have some say in the how and whither MOTHER EARTH should go. Finally there were those who prophesied the inevitability of compromise as the only guarantee of survival, since no one can defy all accepted values and remain alive. That was nine years ago. To-day MOTHER EArth begins her tenth journey through life. She has not denied her illegitimacy, nor has she submitted to group control. She has not relaxed her defiance, yet she is able to begin her tenth year with deeper faith and greater determination than she had at her birth. MOTHER Earth has survived because she hitched her wagon to a star and with its light to guide her difficult journey the pitfalls, though numerous, were safely steered past. The twofold aim of MOTHER EARTH, since her incepton was first; always to voice untrammeled and unafraid every unpopular cause; second, to establish a unity between revolutionary thought and artistic expression. To accomplish this MOTHER EARTH had to keep aloof from party policies, even Anarchist policies, from sectarian favoritism, indeed from every influence, while well-intentioned, would yet have obscured her goal. For this, she was often repudiated by some Anarchists, as merely fostering private ends, by Socialists as being in the employ of capitalism, the old political parties, aye even the Catholic Church, while the moralists decried her as an utterly vicious and brazen creature, not to be tolerated in a decent home. All of which is inevitable in the day's work of an undaunted spirit. It is therefore not with lamentations or complaints that MOTHER Earth begins her tenth year. Rather is it with appreciation for the criticism of her friends and the condemnation of her enemies. But for them, MOTHER EARTH may not have had the necessary strength to persevere in the face of difficulties. The main concern on this anniversary of her tenth year is whether or not MOTHER EARTH has accomplished the task she set before herself. Realizing that the only way to be honest to one's purpose one must first be honest with oneself-MOTHER EARTH frankly admits she has not. She has not always spoken as ably and as determinedly in behalf of every just struggle, not because of lack of interest or daring, but because of limitation of space, and still greater limitation of contributors, who could not or would not expound the particular issue involved. Neither has MOTHER EARTH always succeeded in bringing together the revolutionary spirit with that of the creative. That is because the creative artist himself in America has barely discovered his relation to the great social struggle about him. Elsewhere in this issue, our friend, Harry Kelly, has enumerated the various movements and events sponsored, defended and succored by MOTHER EARTH. His list is far from exhausted;-the Mexican Revolution, the Lawrence, West Virginia and Paterson strikes, the RangelCline, Suhr-Ford and Hill cases, the Ludlow horrors have all received consideration from MOTHER EARTH. Neither has she failed those who have risen individually against the conditions which mar and maim life. Along literary and artistic lines, I have but to mention such names as Frederich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoievsky, Gerhart Hauptman, August Strindberg, and Meunier, whose works have been interpreted in Mother Earth, as they certainly have not been in any other publication. Last but not least are Voltarine de Cleyre's Collected Works, though made possible largely through the generous contributions of our comrades, have been given to the world in a manner befitting the spirit of Voltarine de Cleyre. Perhaps MOTHER EARTH might have been bigger, finer and above all more versatile, but to be all that means to |