The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-11-08
WANTED, RADICALS.

and Held in Contempt by Men.
You say am radical Well, what Of
It? Are you afraid of a word? A rad
ical may be right or wrong. Are you
not as radical in your efforts to main
tain the present acknowledgements
system as am to change it for better
conditions? Never mind about radical
ism. If the reformers are wrong, show
wherein. A man cannot be too rad
ical in advocating right Then the
question is. are we right or wrong?
Would a system that abolishes poverty
and crime be more desirable than the
present? Would it be right? Would
it not be right if every man or woman
who desires labor that they may create
wealth equal to what they consume
were given the opportunity, and on
whom no non-producers should lay
tribute? Is it right that men
who produce nothing shall live
on those who produce? And if
SO, to what extent? Where is the
exact limit that divides right from
wrong If a man produces bushel of
potatoes why is he not entitled to all
the consumer pays for them, with the
least expense that they can be de-
livered to consumer under the most
economic conditions? If workmen
create a wagon for $40, why should the
farmer pay from $40 to SIS? If men
build sewing machines for SIS or Sc
(which they do) why should other men
have to pay $50 to $50? If organs can
be built for $40, which they can, why
should others have to pay $50 to $1,000
] claim that this is wrong. That taxes,
rent, interest or profits, or any other
to live off the wealth created by
others, is wrong. 1t don't matter wheth-
er people believe a thing or not,
a fact is fact, and their opinion upon
it does not change that fact. To assume
that one set of men have right to
profit off of others, is to assume the
right of a slave-owner to profit off
his slaves. When men are used by
others for profit, whether under the
are to the profit receiver just the same
as the slaves were to the master. The
masses have been taught these things
are right, just as their forefathers were
taught in the divine right of kings, but
their believing it does not make it
right. The masses have never studied
these problems and they do not know
SO well as those who have. They do
not know the wrongs that injure them,
and if they did they do not know that
a system can be created that will bring
about remedy. Jesus taught
that system and he lived that
system. Not in reference to
world to come, but in this material
world. Pure souls cannot exist in
wretched, poverty-eaten bodies, and
before purity can be enthroned and in
telligence developed to receive the
teachings of the Saviour, the condi-
tions here must be changed so human
ity may live pure. This can never be
done under system of competition
of rents interest and profits. Jesus
and his disciples lived the lives of COM
munists. Would that there were more
radicals in the pulpit radical Chris
tians, instead of the time-serving, easy
going, namby-pamby, prayer-meeting,
white-shirted-and-d iamond-pinned kind
who love to say wishy-washy plati-
tudes to userers who pay big pew-rent.
Jesus was radical, and all the great
minds before and since Him have been
radicals.-J. A. Wayland, in Coming
Nation.