Give the magpie some vegetables, please

Arnold Petersen was the National Secretary of the super-sectarian and zany Socialist Labor Party from 1914 to 1969, an absurdly long period. He is also the author of virtually all SLP pamphlets from the period in question. "Karl Marx and Marxian Science. A Universal Genius: His Discoveries, His Traducers" is another Arnold Petersen extravaganza, of little interest except for the vituperative writer himself. Indeed, Petersen seems to enjoy verbal jousting to such a degree, that he even writes, apropos Marx' detractors: "Having gulped down our `Corey' soup, we will serve up Max Eastman as the entrée, Mr. Wilson as the fish, with perhaps a bit of Hook at vegetable, and possibly a tiny morsel of Laski dessert! Let us be seated at the festive boards!" Well, at least it's good to know that Citizen Petersen had a nourishing dinner.

The rest of the book is devoted to the promised verbal attacks on various opponents of Marx and Marxism, politically worthless but verbose, and filled with countless invectives. Petersen (who died in 1976) would have loved the World Wide Web! Another curious trait of the National Secretary's writings is his habit of quoting poetry, usually Goethe and Shakespeare. This time, Chaucer is dragged into the fray, as well. The poor anti-Marxists Mr Laski and "Corey" (Petersen's quotation marks) are disposed of with the words: "He was al coltish, ful of ragerye / And ful of jargon as a flekked pye". Since SLP's members apparently weren't into Middle English, the editor helpfully informs us that "ragerye" means "excited", while a "flekked pye" is a spotted magpie.

Thank you.