Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-10-30
now oOMMuNlsrs ARE MADE.

HOW COMMUNISTS ARE MADE.
Henry George is a candidate for Mayor
Of New York. Mr.. George entertains pc
culiar views on the subject of land-hold-
ing and the distribution of wealth gener-
ally, these views have distinguished him
among men, and have resulted in his pres
ent candidacy. He supported by the class
of people who are presumed to be inter
ested in the establishment Of Mr.. Georges
views in government. His followers, no
doubt. think that his election to the office
of Mayor will be a long stride in the di-
rection Of establishing Mr.. Georges eco
nomic views as the basis of the social and
governmental system of this country. He
said TO his followers, in accepting the
nomination, chat he would listen to the
complaint Of the rich man as patiently as
to that of the poor man, but that the rich
man would have more reason to complain
under his administration than the poor
man.
Mr.. George has for many years advo-
Gated the abolition Of all private ownership
in land, and the establishment in its stead
OF a universal tenantry under the control
of the Government. The latest accounts
from the campaign in New York inform us
that Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll has en-
tered the lists on the side of Henry
George, and that among the most signif-
cant Of his utterances is the statement that
there should be no ownership of land, be-
yond the actual use which the cultivators
make of the soil. A contest arising out of
the conflicting theories relating to the best
system of land ownership, is as old as civ
ilization itself. From the very dawn Of
this contest there has been a small party
in favor Of eliminating the entire idea of
property land and it is peculiar to note
that the same plausible, taking phraseol-
ogy mas been used i,y these theorists in all
time, to wit: "There are some things
which should be the common heritage of
mankind, such as air, water and land"
Colonel Ingersoll uses this trite phraseolo-
ogy in his letter to Henry George The
reading of his letter to an assemblage of
laboringmen in New York created the
widest enthusiasm.
From all this it becomes apparent that
Henry Georges theories concerning the
ownership Of land-or, to he more accu-
rate, the non-ownership of land-are in
nomination for Mayor of New York.
ShouId Mr.. George be successful, the non
lan&-holding classes Of .NeM 1ark- will
naturally expect to see an era of free land
inaugurated. They viii see nothing of
the kind They will see IN impractical
theorist indicted into the Office OF Mayor,
10 enter upon the administration of that
Office with less experience, less admins
tratlye ability, and less practical common
sense than any man who has held the
Office for at least century He will do
nothing unusual for his followers. After
his election they win discover that it Is
just as necessary to earn living as before.
They viii fnd all the relations between
labor and capital which have existed, still
existing. They viii find the established
institutions of the civilization in which
they live still keeping the even tenor of
their way, and that they are more fixed
and obdurate than is dreamed of in the
philosophy of Henry George, or any of his
.hool. They win find the attempt on the
part of a single class of citizens to take
possession of the Government, and run it
IN the interest of that class, failure, as it
should be- They could not be more dis
appointed if they had elected Mr.. George
upon the promise that the law of gravity
should be repealed, and that under his
administration water should run mp hill
Herr Most, from his Jail on Blackwell's
Island, discusses the situation most philo-
sophically In an interview published in
the New York World, October 18th, Herr
Most said: "If George is elected, the
laboring men viii expect more than he
can give them, and when they find how
little changed their condition is, they viii
be as dissatisfied as evern The only error
to be noted in this is that instead of being
as dissatisfied as ever, they win be far
more dissatisfied than ever before Herr
Most continues: "When once they know
their strength, and feel their power, disap-
pointment will rankle in them, and they
will become arrogant. Then arouse them,
and it remains to preach to them two
things, that their condition is the result
of injustice and oppression, and that il
is in their power to overthrow the
cppressor" The foreign Nihilist is right
Nothing but disappointment is in store for
the people who support the candidacy Of
Mr.. George The one lesson his success
viii teach viii be the consciousness OF
numerical strength on the part of the labor
ing masses, when acting together. They
will at least know their power. Failing to