Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-04-03
THE PROFESSIONAL CLUB.
ANARCHtsM, NATIoNAL1sM AND
PROFIT-sHARINu

EhOE AI@btAhGNAN
Three Types of Poverty Panaceas---Mr.
Geo. Riggs Excellent Paper Read be-
fore the Club at its March Meeting on
Monday Evening.
The March meeting Of the Professional
club was held at the Brooks House on Mon
day evening, when Mr. Geo Rugg, nov
the principal Of the Ipswich. Mass. High
school, was the essayist. reading a remark
ably strong able, and carefully studied
paper on the topic above indicated The
attendance was larger than at any previous
meeting Of the club this season. proving the
cordial esteem ia which Mr. Rugg is held
in Brattleboro The meeting was one Of
unusual interest aud animation
As his subject arranged itself ia Mr..
Riggs mind the three types Of poverty
panaceas were discussed under the several
heads Of auarchism, nationalism, and pro
fit sharing
Anarchism he defined ~ the type Of
laissez taire, let alone, go as YOU please
taken literally, signifying no rule and
referring TO a state Of society where there
is no positive authority Of any kind, the
individual being left TO work out his own
salvation utterly unaided or controlled by
society at large The number subscribing
TO this ideal in all its purity the essayist
believed small. but It's strongest centre is
the Anarchists club Of Boston. whose mem
bers style themselves individualstic or
philosophical Anarchists and maintain an
official organ, Liberty whose editor is
Benz - Tucker They believe in the alb
solute sovereignty Of the individual, they
are egoists, lovers Of the big l. They re
lect the state in toto and repudiate private
property. the forcible marriage tie. every
thing which the present organization of
society makes compulsory upon the indi-
vidual According to their theory volun-
tary association, with the power Of uncon
ditional withdrawal, would be all sufficient
for industrial and social progress Level
down the millionaire and level up the pau
per is their fundamental idea The essen
tlal weakness Of this panacea, said the
essayist, lies IN the fact that YOU cannot
make golden conduct out OF leaden in
stincts. The world is not yet ft for an
archy. The foreign element is the active
one in this direction ia this country The
anarchist dreams Of equality. with his dizzy
head among the stars while his feet wsllow
IN the social mud The dawn Of anarchism
is the uight of harbarism
Nstionalism Is the antithess Of laissez
faire. II is the type Of paterualism of
state communism The machine il the
master and every man the slave Anar.
chism SAYS Let every man he free L.
chonse whether he work. starve. or steal. Oh
Nauonalism saws AN must work on equal
shares, a. per order, for the common EN-.
ployer, the state The one exalts the in.
dividual, the other the mass The one
advocates every man for himself and the
devil take the hindmost the other insists
on every man for all the rest, whether he
will or no One Is individualsm run mad
the other Is communism gone crazy
The gospel of nationalism s Bellamy .
Looking Back ward Goodwin smith saws
he monutony, the constraint. the procrus
teanism, the dullness. the despotism OF
the system. would give birth to genera
revolt, dashing the whole structure e
pieces. Nauonalism goes too far for the
nature Of man To- follow 1t would make a
whole people homogeneous bv trimming OF
stretching them 20 the same length Ii
would achieve uniformity bv uutilatiou
Ii would eXalt the social side Of life by max
ing all alike, forgetting the simple maxim
that likes repel and unlikes attract Life
would bee a stagnant fermenting pool, ant
not an active river flowing between well
ordered banks
The first Nationalist club Of Boston anc
the world was founded IN 1888 Their,
are 100000 Anarchists. and 10 900 Nation
ali,ts organized IN this country today Tn,
latter well a. the former have an officia
organ in Boston, and some of the most az
knowledged leaders IN the reforms Of oui
day are advocates Of Nationalism
Il am one, said the essayist. with To,
Nationalist IN their war against unbridleC
monopolies, but the swallowing Of all in
dustry by the one huge monopolist tn,
state, Is like man irving to swallow him
self Hes got ton big a mouthful"
Among the reforms proposed by Ma
tionalsts worthy Of serious consideration
are the national control Of the telegraphs
telephones. and interstate railway service
the state regulation Of mines and oil wells
and the municipal control of local water
supply, public lighting street car service
etc. Glasgow furnishes gas to her inhabi
tants at 66c per thousand feet. and tn,
city Of Philadelphia at 31c. per thousand
but it was stated in the discussion hy on,
member that its quality was such that evel
this figure Is too much
A'AAA sum IL - AAAt ~ ~ ~ AnluHNl IA
partnership between employer and EN-
pioye said the essayist and this panacel
was hy him most strongly believed in an,
ably urged Ii seeks not the revolution
but the evolution of labor The father o
this happy idea was ~ LeClalre. a Parisiai
houss-painter and decorator He WAS
self-made man and IN 1884 mad built up
large and fourishing business In 1912 b
T formed a Of his best and most experience,
wOrkmeu into a noveAu or nucleus Of pro
/ tit-sharers In spite of OPPOSITE on and in
/ credullty from public, police and press, h
early next year was able TO throw on tn
table before the astounded a IA bag O
+ y 600 francs as their share Of profits
/ This theatrical coup defdt instantly Re
/ solved all doubts For the first six year
the dividends were over 900, 900 francs
and the number of participants was grAdu
ally raised. Philanthropy was joined witt
business and mutual aid societies resulted
also system Of retiring pensions lie lef
at his decease fortune of POO. 400 franc.
and always declared he could not himsel
have made so much without profit sharing
while those associated with him we're vast
/ ly improved in both fortune and morale
England and Germany are not yet yer
forward IN cases Of profit-shAring.
America, permanent and far reaching
success IN this line has been made by tn
/ \. o. Nelson manufacturing company a
/ 81. Louis 800 men are employed an
profit sharing began four years ago 20 O
the workmen have also become stockhold
ers. Mr.. Nelson thinks he has found III
true solution Of the labor problem Ii
looks upon proiit-shRring as both bushes
and duty. He saws that the additional car
and effort have paid for the extra dividend
| Our men, he declares, could not be in
huenced TO strike by any inducemeDt whic
could be held To them"
The Bourne cotton mills, Fall River
Mass, employing 1900 hands, afford an
other illustration of the successful workin
OF this principle The Century company
the Pillsbury Flour mills, the Samut
| Crump Label company Of New Jersey
John WanamRker's store Proctor x Gam
ble's soap factory, Rand, Mentally q Co.
. Publishing company, the Rumford Chem
cal works, The Public Ledger, Zinn's stor
m Boston, Tufts Soda Water apparatu
factory, attest the growing tendency G
this panacea, but failures are not denied
Il do not look upon profit-shAring as
complete cnre for poverty, said Mr.. Rug
IN concluding, but ! do think its remark
able success in various directions warrant
its adoption by every successful bushes
man who loves his fellows 1t increase
the quality and quantity of product, pre-
notes care Of tools and economy of mate
rial, diminishes the cost of supervision, put
new hope into the breast of the workman
and skill and readiness into his hands, an
provides for the dull days of old age
The paDeT WAS euthusiagticailV receiVe