Another lesson from the 27th of May is the ridiculous number of votes obtained by the Christian democrats, who only succeeded in electing one single man, and, above all, the death of that abortion called the "Liberal Labor Party," which at Brussels obtained 1,000 votes out of 220,000. This party, organized at the instigation of "moderate liberal" employers, was intended to divert workingmen from socialism.
One conclusion remains to be drawn, and that concerns the future of the political movement. The opposition parties, at least the socialists and the progressive liberals, will press on with more ardor than ever to universal suffrage pure and simple at 21 years, and it is probable that with 1901 will begin an obstructionist campaign in parliament.
Will the moderate liberals join this movement? They hardly seem attached to it today, and their inclinations are drawing them closer to the catholic party, toward which their class affinities push them, as do also their economic interests and their fear of socialism.
Even today we have seen a part of their following pass over to the clericals, in order to solidify the government, for they prefer the present ministry to one in which the socialists might have their word to say. It is, therefore, a concentration of capitalist forces which is impending. While it awaits completion we are organizing ourselves not only on the field of political struggles, but our unions, our mutual benefit societies and, above all, our co-operatives, are taking an ever wider flight, and we are becoming more and more a state within a state, in a way to prepare us to take the place of the capitalist world in all the domains where its activity is exercised.
