The Common Sense of Socialism - A Series of Letters Addressed to Jonathan Edwards, of Pittsburg (Paperback)

John Spargo (1876-1966) was born in Stithians, England. Spargo trained as a stonecutter but became a lay Methodist minister. Spargo became a leader in the English labor movement - on the executive council of Social Democratic Federation. Mr. Spargo moved to New York City in 1901 and became the editor of the socialist periodical, The Comrade. He later became involved in child labor issues and helped promote laws on child and women labor. In 1909 he moved to Vermont and became active in socialist circles but moved to the right after World War I. With friends Samuel Gompers and George Creel they founded American Alliance for Labor and Democracy, in favor of American involvement in the war. Spargo gradually became an outspoken advocate of free-market capitalism. His major contributions to literature were The Bitter Cry of Children (1906) and Karl Marx: His Life and Work (1909). In 1913 John Spargo and George Louis Arner penned Elements of Socialism -- A Text-Book.