The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-04-19

our planet may thus lapse altogether into
private hands. Observe now the dilemma
10 Wnlcn inns leads. Surprising the entire
habltable globe to be so enclosed, it fol-
lows that If the landowners have valid
right to its surface, all who are not land
owners nave no right at all to its surface.
flence sucn can exist on the earth by suf-
trance only. They are all trespassers.
save oy the permission of the lords of
tne SOIL they have no room for the
sores OF their feet. Nay, should the others
IhinK Mt to deny them a resting place, these
iandless men might equitably be expelled
from the earth altogether If then, the
assumption that land can be held as prop
erty Involves that the whole globe may be-
come the private domain of part of its in
nanltants; and if by consequence the rest
y! us inhabitants can exercise their facul-
tes, can then exist even only by consent of
1ue lana owners; it is manifest that an eX-
elusive possession of the soil necessitates
an lnfrlngement of the law of equal free
dom. For men who cannot live and move
ana nave their being without the leave of
otners, cannot be equally free with those
| others.''
| Society bands itself together and lnsti-
tutes laws for the purpose of protecting
each member in the enjoyment of his nat
ural rights. AS society advances towards
civilization or barbarism, conditions so
alter that rules that tremendously guide its
lie In one century create discord in the
next And so it is, that although private
property in land has been tolerated for CEN
tufles, always with greater or less destruc-
tive consequence to society, the organism
OF society has at last become so compli-
Gated, that the system practically denies to
millions the right to life and liberty. Soci-
| ETY., therefore, whose laws are theoreti-
cally made aud sustained by. the majority
has the unquestioned right to abolish pri-
yate property in land, because it denies
to the majority the right to life, liberty and
the pursuit OF happiness.
Assuming the abolition of private prop
erty in land as the primary feature of the
Bellamy idea, the secondary feature, and
| tne Ole necessary In order to make full
and complete remedy for existing social
| lis, is Tor the government to take control
OF hrst one enterprise and then another
until it has gradually been reorganized on
the basis of cooperative commonwealth.
Inc question as to whether or not society
has the right to enlarge its functions be-
yono those of protecting its members is
simple to decide. The following illustra-
ton involves the principle: The street car
corporation, numbering perhaps fifty mem
bers, the business of which is managed by
board OF five directors, are engaged in an
enterprise that yields profit. This profit
is return to the members of The corpora
ton over and above the entire cost of run
ming the enterprise The municipality,
which Is also corporation, consisting of
perhaps hundred thousand members, the
affairs OF which are managed by a city
council Of perhaps twenty-five members,
concludes to construct street-car railway
and return the profits to its members in
cheapened street-car transportation. What
is the essential difference between the two
cases cited! None Whatever-a hundred
thousand members instead of fifty, man
aged by twenty-five directors instead of
five, the profits returned to a hundred
thousand members instead Of fifty.
1t may be practical to suggest to those
who doubt the right of the government to
engage IN such business as 1t sees fit and
thus possibly cause a few to suffer, that
when man enters into any business to-
day he takes into consideration the facts
that tomorrow new invention may de-
stroy his business, or the formation of a
trust or COM bination may cause his failure.
The right of the government to act for the
benefit of the majority cannot be ques-
toned SO long as it does not infringe a
natural right.
The discussion then SINNERS down to one
of eXpediency. Can the government man
age enterprises successfully? Judging
T from the experience of this country and
others the answer would seem to be yes.
F The public schools and state universities
VI luis ny VI Ill
rectors and regents; the postoffice depart
ment, managed by the central government
the water and lighting plants of various
, cities, owned and controlled by the NUM-
cipality, are practical examples of nation
alism.
European countries are fertile with ex--
amples of successful state management.
4 Aud while the opponents of state control
/ endeavor to create a prejudice against
. | N a hot hltr ora
L from monarcnial governments while we
are republican, 1t loses force unless it can
q also be demonstrated that this management
o does not react for the benefit of the people.
8 To say that state management of various
enterprises benefits the masses in monar-
e chial countries but cannot be a success
= here, is to say that monarchial governments
!. are better for the people than republican.
: This is of course ridiculous.
Belgium commenced to develop asystem
of state railroads in 1892, and now owns
e and controls about so per cent. of the roads
r of the country. The railro ads are paying
3 dividends that go into the public treasury
/ to decrease taxation. Rates on tonnage
d have decreased 20 per cent, and
3 France has almost absolute supervision
J. of her railroads and can purchase the lines
= at any time on the payment of an annuity
= calculated on the profit of the seven pre-
3 ceding years.
/ Germany has from the first refused tt
4 grant charters to unnecessary competing
e lines. The government always becomes
Z heavy stakeholder in each new line ant
Y regulates everything, from the rates OF
: merchandise to safeguards against acci
dents.
In Prussia the system is practically CO.
r operative. Austria has complete super
vision of freight and passenger traffic. Italy
= owns her lines of railroads and the Meth
5 erlands controls about 60 per cent, of he
= railroad mileage. Immediately upon thu
y expiration of railroad charters in Russi
) the government assumes control and oper
t ates at lower rates than the private com
panies did.
g A few years since a railroad was con
9 structed in India, the government borrow
n ing the money at per cent; the road pail
5 per cent, enabling the govern
r ment to reduce the tariff. Englan,
S purchasing her telegraph lines, reduced th
: tariff 40 per cent, and still derives reve
4 nue. Of of per cent, from operation of tn
It lines. But it is useless to multiply ex
r amples.
b Probably the next enterprise this gov
@ eminent concludes to control will be tn
/. telegraph. In such a case the present EN-
: ployees would continue in their presen
y positions, the general manager reporting {
j. cabinet secretary at Washington instea
n of to the president of the telegraph syster
s at New York There would be a revisio
: of the tariff, and instead of seventy-fiv
o cents for message to Chicago twenty-fiv
cents would probsbly be the rate TIL
/ government would not try to pay 40 pc
n cent, dividends on stock watered 500 De
J. cent.
o II has certainly been demonstrated tina
7. evils exist in our economical system, an
= that NationaliSm. as above presented 10