Daily Republican., 1890-05-29
Is Socialism Slavery?
tCoMMUNICATED. !

Socialism 10 an industrial system that
10 now agitating the civilized world, and
its defenders are among the rIpest
scholars OF this age. and It seems as IT,
as they predict, that the struggle OF eivi.
iization OF the near future is to be be-
tween socialism and monopoly. Let us
understand ss near as we may in a few
sentences what the proposed socialistic
induatrial system is for the purpose of
imagining whether there there is any
| real ground fer the common objection
against 1t, that 1t would bs tyrsnicsl aud
would tend to reduce men to dead
level mediucrity by destroyipg personal
ambition, through the removal OF in.
spring motives to excellence. One of the
poorest, II not the very poorest, OF the
novels, In my opinion, that clever and
atle Walter Beeant ever wrote Is that
called "The Inner House." IN which he
describes what he considers q socialistic
world would be. He says it Is a world
populated with animated corpses, un-
buried dead men aud women.
All joy is gons; ambition is dead. It
is world OF spirit'ess drudges, all OF
whom dress alike and In the homeliest
manner. Life has become load OF IN I'D
which each person carries with weariness.
Aud Bcsant Is only enc of multitudes
who think that Socialism is bad becaus.
1t would take out OF lite all its dolic ious
selfshness, charming vanites and glori.
ous quarrels aud fights, and thus render
1t very uninteresting. Is he aud those
who think with him right Let US look
at the question ~ well as we can In such
limited space and try TO decide for our
selves. Socialism proposes the orgapiza-
tiou OF each separate industry under one
management, and tile distribution OF the
products OF that industry among all Its
workers, either equally, according to
Be!lamy, or proportlonately TO the skill
OF the 6orNers, rs most socisllsts teach,
For example, take tEe kerosene oil in
duslry of this country. that is now prac-
ticall co-ordinated under one mansce-
mcnt. Socialism proposes to carry on
this Industry substantially as 1t Is now
going on.
Tue difference would be that those
who are at the head OF 1t, who manage
1t, instead OF being able to appropriate
millions OF dollars that their subo rdi-
mates earn through our unjust property
laws, would be paid exactly the same az
the other workers Or some wage propor-
toned TO their labor, as our present
heads OF department at Washington arc
now paid, ss.000 or $40, 900 a year. The
millions that are now absorbed by few
persons connected with our oil industry
would be distributed among ali the
workers, none Of whom would, there
fore, be either very wealthy or very
poor. Socialism proposes that oil prop
erty shall belong to all the people In
coinmmon except such things as attach
to the persoI-clo;hipg, ornaments,
horses ana carriages for pei soual use
and the like; the land shall be common
property used for public buildings and
for all sorts OF agriculture and similar
purposes unter the management of the
whole people aud for the b,neit OF all
through properly constituted captains OF
industry chosen from among the ableat
OF the numbers oil the superiniendents
OF labor.
All dwelling houses would be built
Gnd owned by tho State. that is, by the
people In common, though the individual
who occupies the house, renting 1t from
the State, would be allowed to decide
what kind OF a house he wished-whether
large or small, plain or ornamental, low
priced or expensive. All factories and
machinery, means Of transportation,
stores and goods would DO common
property, owned AMI operated, produced
and exchanged by the whole people for
the benefit OF all, through wisely chosen
corporal., sergeants, lieuteLsnts, cap
tain-, colonies and generals OF industry.
In short. the State would be the sole
landlord aud the sole employer, but 1t 10
necessary to remember that I'm Ter Social
Ism the State nieaus the whole people,
all the woskers In any given indu try
deciding who shall be their superin-
tendcnts. and by what rules aud regula-
ticns they shall be controlled.
JAMES u. WEIGH.