The Masses (periodical)/Volume 1/Number 1/Editorial

by Thomas Seltzer

EDITORIAL

 

A NEW Socialist magazine requires no apology for its appearance. The hollow pretense of fulfilling a much-felt want with which every capitalist periodical enters the field is in the case of Socialist publications a genuine reality. The Socialist movement is a growing movement and naturally creates a growing literature. As the sphere of its activity extends and its means of propaganda increase and diverge, it automatically evolves new organs of expression.

The Masses is an outgrowth of the co-operative side of Socialist activity. Its publishers bclicve strongly in co-operation and will teach it and preach it vigorously through the columns of this magazine. A co-operative movement already exists. Infant though it is, it has quile outgrown the experimental stage and proved its vitality. The significance of a powerful co-operative organization for the Socialist movement in this country cannot be questioned. The history of co-operation in European countries has demonstrated its value, and there is no reason why a great co-operative cannot be built up here, too, in as short a time as it was built up in Germany. It can become a mighty weapon in the hands of the American party. It can help vastly to accelerate Socialist propaganda. Where other Socialist appeals fail to obtain a hearing, the appeal to the revolt against high prices and the increased cost of living will be heard.

The Masses will watch closely the development of the American co-operative organization, and will keep its readers informed of its work and progress. But while the co-operative feature constitutes its distinctive feature—distinctive merely because other Socialist publications have so far almost entirely neglected this field—its aim is a broad one. It will be a general ILLUSTRATED magazine of art, literature, politics and science.

We use the word illustrated in the best meaning of the term. The Masses will print cartoons and illustrations of the text by the best artists of the country, on a quality of paper that will really reproduce them. This is a luxury which the Socialist press hitherto has been unable to afford, but it is a necessary luxury. Poor illustrations poorly reproduced are worse than worthless. They merely cause an unpleasant irritation in the optic nerves, which by sympathetic action is communicated to the entire nervous system.

The first issue contains two cartoons by Arthur Young. The reader needs no introduction to Arthur Young. He knows him by his works on Life and Puck. He knows his works by the clearness and originality of his themes, and the skill of his execution. Young belongs to the class of artists—there are many such nowadays—who stifle in the air of the capitalist editorial office. He wants his artistic lungs to expand, and he will take bracing constitutionals once month in the Masses. The cartoons in this issue are the first of a series. The series will be continued in the succeeding numbers.

Charles Winter drew the temporary cover design for us. He will make a more elaborate one for the next month. The metropolitan magazines cannot spare Winter for very long. He must be notified far in advance for work that takes considerable time. This is the reason our permanent cover had to be delayed until the second issue.

The illustrators of the fiction appearing in the present number are equally representative of the best art in the country. Their names are all familiar. This does not mean that the editor will not admit to the columns of the Masses new, unknown geniuses as soon as he discovers them.

In fiction the Masses intends to maintain an equally high standard of excellence. It will publish the best that can be had, not only in the United States, but in the world. It will not publish a story merely because it is original, that is, because written first in the English language. A good story from a foreign tongue, we believe, is preferable to a bad American story.

This is partly the program of the Masses. What do you think of it?