Anarchism and Other Essays | Page 9

from one's own ranks were far more painful
and unbearable. The act of Berkman was severely criticized by Most
and some of his followers among the German and Jewish Anarchists.
Bitter accusations and recriminations at public meetings and private
gatherings followed. Persecuted on all sides, both because she
championed Berkman and his act, and on account of her revolutionary
activity, Emma Goldman was harassed even to the extent of inability to
secure shelter. Too proud to seek safety in the denial of her identity, she
chose to pass the nights in the public parks rather than expose her
friends to danger or vexation by her visits. The already bitter cup was
filled to overflowing by the attempted suicide of a young comrade who
had shared living quarters with Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman,
and a mutual artist friend.
Many changes have since taken place. Alexander Berkman has
survived the Pennsylvania Inferno, and is back again in the ranks of the
militant Anarchists, his spirit unbroken, his soul full of enthusiasm for
the ideals of his youth. The artist comrade is now among the
well-known illustrators of New York. The suicide candidate left
America shortly after his unfortunate attempt to die, and was
subsequently arrested and condemned to eight years of hard labor for
smuggling Anarchist literature into Germany. He, too, has withstood
the terrors of prison life, and has returned to the revolutionary

movement, since earning the well deserved reputation of a talented
writer in Germany.
To avoid indefinite camping in the parks Emma Goldman finally was
forced to move into a house on Third Street, occupied exclusively by
prostitutes. There, among the outcasts of our good Christian society,
she could at least rent a bit of a room, and find rest and work at her
sewing machine. The women of the street showed more refinement of
feeling and sincere sympathy than the priests of the Church. But human
endurance had been exhausted by overmuch suffering and privation.
There was a complete physical breakdown, and the renowned agitator
was removed to the "Bohemian Republic"--a large tenement house
which derived its euphonious appellation from the fact that its
occupants were mostly Bohemian Anarchists. Here Emma Goldman
found friends ready to aid her. Justus Schwab, one of the finest
representatives of the German revolutionary period of that time, and Dr.
Solotaroff were indefatigable in the care of the patient. Here, too, she
met Edward Brady, the new friendship subsequently ripening into close
intimacy. Brady had been an active participant in the revolutionary
movement of Austria and had, at the time of his acquaintance with
Emma Goldman, lately been released from an Austrian prison after an
incarceration of ten years.
Physicians diagnosed the illness as consumption, and the patient was
advised to leave New York. She went to Rochester, in the hope that the
home circle would help restore her to health. Her parents had several
years previously emigrated to America, settling in that city. Among the
leading traits of the Jewish race is the strong attachment between the
members of the family, and, especially, between parents and children.
Though her conservative parents could not sympathize with the idealist
aspirations of Emma Goldman and did not approve of her mode of life,
they now received their sick daughter with open arms. The rest and care
enjoyed in the parental home, and the cheering presence of the beloved
sister Helene, proved so beneficial that within a short time she was
sufficiently restored to resume her energetic activity.
There is no rest in the life of Emma Goldman. Ceaseless effort and

continuous striving toward the conceived goal are the essentials of her
nature. Too much precious time had already been wasted. It was
imperative to resume her labors immediately. The country was in the
throes of a crisis, and thousands of unemployed crowded the streets of
the large industrial centers. Cold and hungry they tramped through the
land in the vain search for work and bread. The Anarchists developed a
strenuous propaganda among the unemployed and the strikers. A
monster demonstration of striking cloakmakers and of the unemployed
took place at Union Square, New York. Emma Goldman was one of the
invited speakers. She delivered an impassioned speech, picturing in
fiery words the misery of the wage slave's life, and quoted the famous
maxim of Cardinal Manning: "Necessity knows no law, and the
starving man has a natural right to a share of his neighbor's bread." She
concluded her exhortation with the words: "Ask for work. If they do
not give you work, ask for bread. If they do not give you work or bread,
then take bread."
The following day she left for Philadelphia, where she was to address a
public meeting. The capitalist press again raised the alarm. If Socialists
and Anarchists were to be permitted