The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-11-01

State would do the work which the
Jewish prophets represented the
Messiah as sure to do when he came;
would break in pieces the enemies of
society, and curb and check the
steady thrush of selfishuess. Then |
would the promise of the Eternal, /
so full of gracious meaning to every
one a stage above the nomad, be full |
filled-"My people shall abide in
peaceful habitation, and sure dwell |
ings and in quiet resting places !
But these dreamers are called SO |
cialists," and all that they say is dis
counted by those to whom Socialism
and Atheism are synonymous terms.
Many know Proudleon only by that
word of his-"Private property is
robbery; Forgetful, or ignorant,
that eminent fathers of the Church !
said the same thing long before him,
and that their Lord uttered the
awful warning allow hardly shall
a rich man enter the kingdom OF
heaven" they toss Proudleon to the
wolves as clamorously as they have
tossed the Christians to the lions
eighteen centuries ago. Yet who
among us could offer more truly
Christian prayer than that in which
he closes his utterance on property,
80 God of Liberty. may my me-
mory perish if humanity be but free,
if | may but see in obscurity the
people finally instructed, if noble
instructors but enlighten it, if dis,
interested hearts but guide it,"
When did Sir Georgias Midas, or
that far nobler Mammon Worship
per, Plugson of understood, offer up
such prayer7 The Church allows
the farmer to sleep in cushioned
pew, and it has actually sung the
praises of the latter while excom-
municating Proudleon, This will
not do. The Church must manage,
somehow, to get better weights and
balances, on penalty of having itself
weighed and found wanting. st.
Simon, too! We may not agree with
all his proposals, but let us acknow-
ledge that his version of our duty to
our neighbor, that "all should labor
for the development, natural, moral
and intellectual, of the classes the
most numerous and poorest" is
simply Christianity adapted to the
needs of our day. But, in saying
that the workingmen have gained
over the economists, | do not refer
to Proudleon and st. Simon, nor to
Shelley whose Revolt of Islam" is a
screen for new social order, be-
cause he felt so keenly the injustice
of the old, nor to other English
poets, like William Blake, whose
words thrill to-day thousands of
workers:
81 will not cease from mental fight
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land"
Nor to the German Jews, Tassalle
and Marx, who, assuming Ricardo's
law of value, 1.-The iron and cruel law
of wages" undertake to prove by
calm logic that the present system
is radically unjust that under it
thrift and industry are petty, I'M
availing moralities, and those who
trust to them are the slaves of capital,
and that the only remedy is state
socialism far more radical because
adapted to modern life than the
socialism of Moses But | refer to
accepted authorities in orthodox
political economy, like Mill, Sidg-
wick and Graham. And as to the
essence of the wage-system being
force contract, Lord Chief Justice
Coleridge tells us that "Contracts
nominally free might be cruel in
struments of tyranny and oppres-
sion, to be denounced by moralists,
and to be summarily set aside by
just and fair laws"
Note. | am not assuming Henry
Georges theory that, because of the
private ownership of land, the rich
are becoming richer and the poor
are becoming poorer; nor Marks
theory that the same result is tax
ing place because of capitalism and
competition. Reliable statistics dis
provo both theories and prove that
the working-classes are steadily get.
ting better share than they once
had of the good things of life. This
is well, but it is not enough. We
are thankful if the wage-earner is
now robbed, say of only one-fourtt
instead of one-half of the legitimate
share of the profits of his labor; but
he has no right to be satisfied as Ions
as he is robbed of the one-hundredtl
part, and we have no right to b,
satisfied as long as there are unem
ployed men on an earth waiting tt
be TILED, and rich men with unem
ployed wealth; or as long as Their,
are starving men, women and chill
, dren in an age in which the grea
complaint is 'over-production."
score of laborers are engaged il
!, fishing, and the average daily catcl
of each is one pound of fish. 4
capitalist has nets with which h,
can catch one hundred pounds day
and offers to hire these to the fisher
men and teach them their use, OF
condition that they give him SO ou
of the 100 lbs. of their daily catch
They accept the offer and are il
consequence better off than the,
were. The capitalist poses as thei
benefactor, but he can hardly b.
called their brother. He is creating
} a condition of things bad for himsel
and for them. When they hay
learned how to use the nets, the
r will be under sore temptation to TAX
4 possession and bid him begone. HOY
= much better had he agreed To ma,