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P age 50 Schwartz • Inspiration or Distraction? glimpse of the tireless, selfless advocate for change on their behalf. 1 Debs’ imprisonment was due to his leadership of the American Railway Union (ARU) in the recent Great Pullman strike. He had organized such effective resistance to any operation of Pullman car- carrying trains that the federal government was forced to step in to break the strike and maintain the nation’s commerce. The nationwide effects of the strike were so great that Debs’ notoriety spread; one contemporary noted, “The mysterious Mr. Debs, like the Black Death, was spreading over the continent and there was no escape from him.” 2 Furthermore, despite the practical defeat, Debs and the ARU had won a moral victory. The use of federal troops against peacefully assembled strikers seemed an improper application of force, perhaps due to government corruption. Nevertheless, Eugene Debs did not carry this momentum on into further strikes because his time in Woodstock Prison had fundamentally changed his approach to America’s problems. During Debs’ sentence, Milwaukee Socialist Victor Berger brought him a copy of Karl Marx’ masterwork, Das Kapital . The hot-blooded, 40-year-old Debs had seemingly reached the pinnacle of the labor movement. His strike had done more to paralyze commerce than any other and had required an alliance of the federal government, big business, and some of the more conservative unions to bring it to an end. Still, from where Debs sat in Woodstock Prison, this ultimate achievement likely seemed something of a failure, naturally opening his passionate, focused mind to other ideas. As a result, during his stay in Woodstock Prison, Eugene Debs formulated a “more militant type of Socialism” for his program of action, based around political methods, which his inspiring character transformed into a “gospel” for his followers. 3 Debs’ first foray into the political arena came almost immediately after his release from Woodstock in November 1895. In the following year, he campaigned hard in support of William Jennings Bryan’s presidential candidacy. Despite Bryan being a member of the regular Democratic Party, not a socialist, Debs no doubt sensed a kindred spirit in Bryan’s passion, populism, oratory, and strict adherence to principle. There is certainly some parallelism between the two, with a combined eight presidential runs, all unsuccessful, as well as ideological similarities, including the commitment to pacifism which resulted in some ostracism for both during World War I. However, with William McKinley’s victory in 1896, Debs undoubtedly saw that the entrenched system of business and government had won yet again despite the weight of the people and the principles he believed were on his 1 Salpeter, Harry. 1920. "Martyr or Felon?." Nation 110, no. 2859: 520. Points of View Reference Center , EBSCO host (accessed March 15, 2016). 2 Nym Crynkle, in Chicago newspaper clipping, Debs scrapbook, Taminent Library, July 1, 1894, p. 1, quoted in Ganst, Frederick C. 2007. "LABOR HERO EUGENE V. DEBS: "A DEDICATION TO UNPOPULARITY." Journal Of Transportation Law, Logistics & Policy 74, no. 2: 241-269. Business Source Complete , EBSCO host (accessed March 15, 2016). 3 1926. "Eugene V. Debs." Time 8, no. 18: 14. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File, EBSCOhost (accessed March 15, 2016).