The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1891-04-11

cAposeo III INV courts ana newspapers, are
largely due to tho pressure under which com.
petition places the higher industrial classes;
and are otherwise due to that lavish cxpendi.
turc Which, as implying success in the CONNER.
cial struggle. brings honor. With these minor
OWLS must be Joined tho major one, that the
distribution achieved by the system gives tc
those who rcgulnte and supcrintend q share of
the total produce which bears too largo u ratio
to the share it gives to the actual workers
Let 1t not be thought, then, that in saying
what have said above underestimate those
vices Of our competitive system which, thirty
years ago, described and denounced. But il
is not question of absolute evils; it is a ouc,.
ton of relative cvils-whcther tho evils at
present suffered are or arc not less than the
evils which would be suffered under another
system, whether efforts for mitigation along
the lines thus far followed arc not moro likely
to succeed than efforts along utterly different
lines.
This is tho question hero to bc considered.
must he excused for first of oil setting forth
sundcy truths which are, to some at any rate
tolerably familiar, before proceeding to draw
infcrcnces which arc not so familiar.
Speaking. broadly, every man works that he
n,ry avoid suffering. Here remembrance of
the pan,ys of hunger prompts him; and here
hc is prompted by tho sight of the slave driv-
er's lash. His immediate dread may be the
punishment which physica. circumstances will
intlict, or may be punishment inflicted by hu.
man agency. He must have q master; hut the
master may be nature or may be a fcllowman
When he is under tho impcrsonal coercion OF
nature we say that he is free; and when ho is
under the personal coercion of some one above
him, we call him, according to the degree OF
his dependence, slave, q scrf or q vassal.
OF course omit the small minority who in
hcrit mcans-an incidental, and not a ncccs
sary, social element. speak only of tho vast
majority, both cultured and unculturctl, who
maintain themselves by labor, bodily OF 1ncn
tal, and must either exert themselves OF their
own unconstrained wills, prompted only by
thoughts of naturally resulting evils or bcnc
fits. or must exert themselves with constrained
wills, prompted by thoughts of evils and bcne
fits artiicially resulting.
Men may work together in n society under
either of these two forms OF control-forms
which, though in many cases mingled, arc
essentially contrastcd Using the word CO..
operation in its wide sense, and not in that
restricted sense now commonly given to it
we may say that social life must be carried
on by either voluntary cooperation or conpul.
sorry corporation; or, to use Sir Henry Mnincs
words, the system must be that of contract OF
that of status-that in which the individual il
left to do the best he can by his spontaneous
efforts, and get success or failure according tc
his efficiency, and that in which no has his an.
pointed place, works under coercive rule, and
has his apportoncd share of food, clothing and
shelter.
Cooperation Now Established.
Tho system Of voluntary cooperation is that
by which, in civilized societies, industry Is
now everywhere carried on. Under q simple
form VIC have 1t on every farm, where the
lihorcrs, paid by tho farmer himself and tax,
ing orders directly from him, are free to stay
or go rs they please. And of its moro complex
form an example is yielded by every manufac.
turing concern, in which, under partners come
clerks and managers, and Under thcso time.
keepers and ovcrlookers, and under these CD
e!ati"cs of different grades.
In each of these cases there is an obvious
working together, or corporation, of employe.
and employed, to obtain in one case q crop aud
in the other case II manufactured stock. And
then, at the same time, there is far moro ex.
| tenslve, though unconscious, cooperation will,
other workers of all grades throughout the SO.
cicty. For while these particular employers
and employed are severally occupied with
their special kinds of work, other employers
and employed are making other things needed
for the carrying on of their lives as we'll as the
lives of all others.
This voluntary cooperation, from it's sim
plest to Its most complex forms, has tho con-.
mon trait that those concerned work together
Dy consent There is no one to force terms or t6
force acceptance. 1t is perfectly true that in
many cases an employer may give, or an en-
| ployc may accept, with rcluctance-circunl.
stances he says compel him. But what are the
circumstances? In tho one case there arc goods
ordered doracontract entered into which he can
not supply or execute without yielding, and in
the other case he submits to a wage less than
he likes because otherwise he will have nc
money whercwith to procure food and warmth
| The general formula Is not, "Do this or will
make you," but it is, "Do this or leave yuut
place and take the consequences"
What Ii C"mr"lscry Cooperation?
o. ..ner hand compulsory cooperation
'r.,olnplilic'l by an army-not so much by our
own army, the service in which is under agree.
ment for II specified period, but in q conti-
mental army, raised by conscription. Here In
time of peace the daily duties-clcanins, ia.
rndc, drill, sentry work and the rest and In
time of war the various actions of the c:.1nr
and the battlefield, arc done under commend
without room for any exercise of choice. ::
Up from the private soldier through the non.
commissioned officers and the half dozen OF
more grades of commissioned officers, the uni.
Hctsal law is absolute obedience from the grade
below to the grade above. Tho sphere of indi,
| Nidual will is such only as Is allowed by will OF
the superior. Breaches of subordination arc.
according to their gravity, dealt with by dep
rivation of leave, extra drill, imprisonment.
fiogging, and in the last resort shooting Instead
| OF the understanding that there must he obodi-
encc in respect of specified duties under pain OF
dismissal, the understanding now is, "Obey in
everything ordered under penalty of inflicted
ShiAciAIis ttII1 pcA udllS uciiiu
| This form of cooperation, still excmplificd
| In an army, has in days gone by been the form
| of cooperation Throughout the civil ponula
tion. Every y;shcro and at all times chronic
war generates n militant type of structure, not
in the body of soldiers only, but Throughout
the community at large. Practically, while
the conflict between societies is actively going
on, and fighting is regarded Us tho only manly
occupation. .ho scclety is tho q,liesccnt army
and the army the mobilizcd society, that part
which does not take part in battle, composed
| OF slaves, serfs, women, ETC., constituting the
commissariat. Naturally, therefore, through
| out tho mass OF inferior individuals cOnsti-
tuting the comnissariat, there is maintained
| system of discipline identical in nature if less
| elaborate.
| .iln fighting body being under such condi-
tions, the ruling body, and the rest of the COM
| inunity being incapable of resistance those
| who control the fighting body will of course
| impose their control upon the non-fghting
body, and the regime Of coercion will be ap-
| piled to it with sUch notifications only as the
| different circumstances involve Prisoners of
| war become slaTes. Those who were free cul-
| ttyators before the conquest of their country
become serfs attached to the SELL Petty chiefs
become subject to superior chiefs; these smaller
lords betome vassals to overlords. and 30 on up
| to the highest, the social ranks and powers
| being CT like essential nature with the ranks
and powers throughout tho military organs
tzation. And while for the slaves compulsory
corporation Is the unqualified system, COOP
Grafton which is in part compulsory is the sys-
ten that pervadcs all grades above. Each
mans oath Of fcalty to his suzcrain takes the
| form, II am your man " .-
Throughout EUROPE and especially in our
own country, this system of compulsory coop
Grafton gradually relaxed in rigor, while tho
system OF voluntary cooperation step hy step
replaced it. As fast ceased to be the
business of life, the social structure produced
by war and appropriate to it slowly became
| qualified by the social structure produced by
industrial l;fs and appropriate to it. In pro-
portion as decreasing part of the community
was devoted TO offensive and defensive activi-
ties, an increasing part became devoted TO pro.
| duction and distribution
| Growing murt nun4eroue, more powerful, and
taking refuge in towns whcro it was less under
the power of the militant class, this industrial
| population carried nh It's life under the system
Of voluntary cooperation. Though municipal
| governments and guild regulations, partially
pc.vaded by ideas and us;.gcs derived from
the militant type of society. wcra ia somc dc
I