Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-04-15
SAYINGS OF A SOCIALIST.
Lawrence Greenland Reaches This City on
n Mission to Convert the Natives.
Hicnnn Tinnea

Lawrence Grorlund, of Boston, the best
known Of American authors on socialism,
arrived in the city Thursday an. intends
to remain here a couple of weeks. He will
speak as often as he can to private societies,
such as the Society for Ethical Culture, the
Secular Union, and similar organizations,
and also at two or three mass-meetings. It
is his intention to form the nucleus of a
society of young, educated people, and he
desires especially the attention of native
Americans.
Mr.. Gronlund is a State Socialist Of the
most orthodox school. In conversation he
said:
II want TO bring Socialism to the same
status that it-occupies in England. Thous-
ands upon thousands Of educated people
are Socialists there. In fact, Socialism Is
almost entirely confined to the educated
classes, so much so that when you hear OF
a person holding Socialistic opinions there
you msy be sure it is an educated person.
That is what / hope to bring about here. i
want to call attention in the first place to
the fact that l am the very opposite OF an
HuaICulSI. 4Ic audICuloto OuSoehSy |
all authority; they are absolutely individu-
a~listic. We, on the other hand, want the
authority of the government to be extend
ed over all social activities and yet have
perfect liberty and individuality. In the
next place we are entirely opposed to vio-
lent methods. We want to bring about
our end by political methods. We are
perfectly convinced that oil the affairs OF
this country are ripe for the introduction
of this kind of socialism. All that is neces-
sary is to enlighten and convince the peo-
pie of the truth of our doctrine.
"We maintain that the wages system is
not alone a great wrong to the working
people, but o social evil, because il is evil
IDENTIFY the cause of overproduction. Thet
is why the working class and also many
political economists say now that the wages
system must 90. For instance, 90 says
Prof. eide, in France,
AND PROF. ELY,
of John Hopkins University. Then, again,
we can see now clearly that competition
more aud more destroys itself, as is shown
by the trusts that are growing up every
where. We maintain that these trusts are
mere phases in the evolution of our social
system. 1t is absolutely useless to try to
suppress them. They are perfectly natur-
growths, and all we can do is to let them
90 on, and by and by the government will
have to take charge of them and substitute
public control for private control.
I'VE are perfectly convinced thst within
twenty-five or thirty, or perhaps forty
years, the system for which we contend
will he introduced. That is what we call
revolution. By the term revolution we
do not mean any violence, but simply the
point where the people will determine that
government control shall, for the first time,
be introduced. After that point is once
reached it may take twenty-five years more
before the idea is fully csrried out in all
branches. Then socialism may be realized
from two ends at once-that is to say,
the national government may take
the telegraph under its control
as it has done in England;
afterward the railroads; then the
express business and the large enterprises
after another. And so, from the other
end, municipalities may take all those
things under their control that concern the
municipalities alone, such as the horse
rail ways, elevated railroads, the gas busi-
ness, the ice business, the milk business,
and so on. The last that will be taken
under control will be agriculture and ag-
ricultural lands, as far as this county is
concerned. There is where we are abso-
lately opposed to Henry George, who
maintains that land ought to be the first
and only thing.
"My hobby is to establish an association
of native Americans for the purpose OF
literary and oral discussion Of socialism. l
hope to establish branches all over the
country, and it is for that purpo7e that /
am here to gain recruits. l have societies
of splendid young men at Boston, New
York, Philadelphia and Washington, and
thereby I hope to bring about that state OF
things which they have in England, where
men will follow. / have no faith in the
socialists of France, because there the IN
educated people lead.
Government control would imply CO.
operation.
1T WOULD NOT DESTROY.
freedom, because we would not be govern
ed by a Congress at Washington, but all
| llc u lOu5 VI dlOhC5 vi biShhSoo WYNN ~
divided into corporate bodies or trndes-
unions, and and they would transact their
business in perfect freedom. They would
determine for themselves how many hours
they would work on their earnings, and
the general administration would only
have a statistican and a general manager;
that is to say, they would have to say how
much was consumed the previous year and
how much would have to be produced the
next year, and would divide among the
various unions the share that would fall to
each.
There is no doubt that all labor organ
~izations help us. Socialists do not favor
strikes. We look upon them only as evil
dence that there is a state of warfsre be-
tween capital and labor, and that will last
Just as long as our present industrial rela-
tioDs last. But we are convinced that the
business of the country is more and more
being absorbed by these trusts, and how
ever much the la6oriDg people may organ
ize they will never be able to conquer a
trust; they will be beaten every time.
That is one Of the advantages these trusts
have, that the working people will see
more and more that the only salvation is
that the principles of the private owner
ship of capital must be overthrown, and as
long as that principle is maintained the
trusts have a right to 90 on and labor
organizations can do nothing against them.
The wages system must be abolished. The
working people see this already, for it Is
the principal plank in the platform Of the
Knights of Labor.
Politics, at present, can be nothing
with US but a means Of agitation. And
yet 1 lave no doubt that tiually socialism
will he brought about by a political means.
In thirty years there will he a political
party in this country that will give a
majority to the socialists, sDd then the
party will hold its convention ana change
the constitution 20 "a 10 carry out ITS ideas.
At the present time il make absolutely no
difference whether we elect one or two men
to the legislature or a mayor Of a city"
A SelI-Respeoting Girl.
Puck.
He had made his declaration Of love, and
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