Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-01-12
A soclALIsTIc EXPERIMENT.

A Uuique OfEer Of an RAgiish M&nufao-
turer and Why 10 Was Declined.
A wealthy manufacture Of Bradford,
England, recently made q proposition to
the officers Of the tradeS union controlling
the workers IN tho worsted and woolen
,aills Of that place which has attrnoted
wide attention and considerable comment
In England. His proposal was based on
statements made at the meetings Of the
trades union that, if the business OF manu-
fActuRe was carried on upon what would be
termed socialiEtie principles, ID would DO
greatly for the benefit Of the working
classes. The manufacturer In eResbien
made the proposition that ho would ailsw,
for a years. time, the trades unieA to have
the use of ono of his mills, thoroughly
equipped for the business, without rent Of
any kind; that he would, furthermore, fur
nish them, under sufficient guarantees Of
repayment, &9S, coo a1 a working capital,
and If after year Of trial ID was proved
that the men employed in this establish
Msnt earned by means Of this cooperative
employment larEer returns than were paid
to ether operatives In Bradford mills am
plsyed in manufacturing similsF goods, he
wsuld at the end Of the twelve 'moRths
asree to let the trades uaicn have his mill
at reasonable valuation and on terms
that would admit Of their easy and ready
payment, and would besides arrange to
supply under favorable conditiens the
funds needed for permanent working
capital In making this offer he stated that
he was as desireus as any one OF demon
strating whether Or not the soeialistic plan
Of production was or was not feasible, and
that he Thought the best neds Of demon.
stratieA would bs by practical trial
After considering the matter fer some
weeks the trades union Of Bradford decided
that it was expedient to decline 1t, and a
number of the English newspapers Of con
servative tendencies, in commenting upon
this declaration, made the point that the
English werlSiagman has certainly great
deal of discretion, and that when put to tho
test he has very little faith in the meris OF
these advanced theories Of social and indus
trial reform. Now, while we believe that
the socia]istic reforms that have been advo-
eated as means Of healing the ills Of soci
ETY. are much more attractive in theory
than they would prove in practice, it is only
fair to point cut that the conditions under
which it was proposed to give them a test
were not in this case the ones calculated to
demonstrate the value of the method.
If society were to be recognized on the so
cialistic plan the reorganization would need
to be made from the top to the bottom. 1t
would not apply alone to those who are now
wage earners, but also to those who are now
employers-that is, the captains of industry
would need to be counted in as essential
factors in the social reorganization. If the
Bradford manufacturer had proposed to
give his mill for one year to an honest dem
onstration of the value or defects of the So
cialistic plan of work and had said, II will
myself take charge of the administration Of
work under conditions as to share in tho
profits that would be considered equitable
under q socialistic dispensation," an oppor-
tunity would have been afforded of having
at least an interesting test made But for
men who had spent their lives sorting wool
or tending spindles and looms, and who had
no practical knowledge Of the wool markets
or the demands Of consumers, to undertake
for twelve months to run large mill would
have been to invite failure, as the odds un.
der such conditions would have been alto
gether against successful outcome Of the
undertaking. Herald.