The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-06-19
The nren.e.r of soe,.l,.u.

The Monster Of Socialism.
New York Sun: The encyclical lie,
ter of the pope on the relations of th
church to labor is striking indication
: of the tendency OF modern Christianit
to expeud its energies for the practice
amelioration of social conditions. Tn
theory OF the pope is that the improve
ment cannot come from merely secula
agencies, but must be brought about b
applying the spirit and principles @
Christianity under the inspiration @
the church.
He considers the methods of cure pro
posed by the socialists as utterly fulfill
or as infinitely worse than the presen
evils of competition. BY abolishln!
private property and transferring indi
vidual possessions to the community
the socialists would create the mos
cruel tyranny ever established in civil
iZation and strike at the interests O
every wage Garner" for they would
deprive him of the liberty of dispos
ing of his wages, and thus OF all hop,
, and possibility of increasing his stocl
and lettering his condition in life.
The individual would have no rights
the community all rights and all power
That would be frightful despotism
under which society would shrink int
apathy and eventually into barbarism
The individual would be a slave. ant
the freedom with which he had parted
would never come back to MIN. unless
after conflict longer and fiercer thar
any mankind has entered upon in the
whole course of its fights to throw of
the shackles OF TYRANNY. Society, too
would be untitled for such contest be.
ccuse OF the supineness produced by its
complete enslavement: and therefore
the battles would be long and savage,
marked by the terrible atrocities in.
separable from an insurrection OF
slaves, and involving the utter destruc.
tiOh of the fabric of civilization and all
the material and spiritual treasures
contained within it.
The conflict would be between a mass
of hopeless and desperate slaves,
stripped OF every material possession.
imbruted and ferocious. and few mas.
ters having in their hands every re-
source of the community. Theoretical
ly, the property would be held in COM
mon: practically, its power would be
welded by small number of individu-
ais, making of them tyrants comparable
IN their capacity for oppression to the
tabled giants, resistless by the usual hui
man energy.
The history of the knights of Labor,
for instance. shows what the result
would be. That organization started
on the socialistic principle of taking
away the freedom of the individual la
bOrer for the benefit of the whole mass
OF labOrers. The individual thus put
himself under subsection to master:
for OF necessity the despOtic power was
exercised by a few men. and at
the last by one man. since
the order could not get
along without head. So it would
be in any socialist organization of So
clety in general. The affairs of the
community wOulG have 10 be admins
tered by individuals, who would prac-
tically possess the whole wealth and
power, aud in the end they would be
the men most capable of such master
ship.
II abilities like those of Jay Gould OF
Commodore Vanderbilt command the
control Of vast private enterprises under
the present organization of society, they
would have a greater opportunity I'M
der socialism. They cannot be de-
stroyed BY any method Of social trans.
formation. They would remain to as
sert themselves Still, and in socialism
they would find field infinitely more
inviting to ambition. The state would
be everything. and a few individuals
would run the state They would have
all the property, and they could buy
and retain all the power in their in
alienable possession, They would be
the masters and the people their sub
missive slaves.
II, therefore. the community yields
up its Individual possessions. it will
yield them up to individuals. 1t will
give away its strength and get nothing
in return. 1t will disarm itself to be-
come the easy prey of tyrants, beside
whom the shah of Persia is clement
and powerless monarch shackled by OBJ
legations TO his people. That the out
come of which the result of every So
cialistic experiment in modern times
affords a certain Indication. The far
mers are now repeating the process.
but before they have gone far with it.
they will discover that they are forg-
ing chains for their slavery instead OF
removing letters to their ad vancement
They are now in the hands of the vul.
gar and cracked Drained masters. whose
tyranny they can easily throw off, but
they are inviting sagaciOus tyrants &c
bind them in a slavery from which
there is no escape.
The pope. therefore, has performed o
great service for mankind in picturing
for them the horrible monster, the
frightful ogre, which socialism will
really become.