The important part played by Socialism in European politics and by Jaurès, as one of the most prominent European Socialists, seems a sufiScient excuse for the translation of these studies into English. They represent the man and the movement in the vivid and intimate setting of the daily newspaper, and their very incompleteness and informality give them a certain value as first- hand historical documents. They do not try to explain modern French Socialism to outsiders; they are a little piece of modern French Socialism, and as such I hope that Americans, whether or no they have Socialistic sympathies, will find them not without interest.
I have omitted from the original volume two short articles on French politics and rural conditions, parts of the essay the "Question of Method," and a number of essays dealing with the French law regulating property and inheritance, extremely interesting in themselves, but not applicable to countries where the Napoleonic Code is not in force. In their place I have added, as examples of quite another style, an article taken from L'Action Socialiste, and the speech delivered on the occasion of the visit of the Eng- lish parliamentary delegates to Paris; also an article published in La Petite République, but not, so far as I know, reprinted elsewhere. The order in which the essays appear has also been slightly altered. For all these changes I have M. Jaurès's personal authorisation.
Paris, December, 1905
