The advocate., 1894-09-12
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE OMAHA PLATFORM.
NOT PATERNALISM, BUT FRATERNALISM.
BY G. c. Clemens.
Continued from Last Week.


what do these vast accumuations Of wealth consist? Of
government state and municipal bonds of shares in corpor
ate companies of deposits in banks of notes and mortgages
Of patents for Inventions and of titles to Mines quarre
forests and vacant lands and to enements kept be
Not of these things is of any value or use in itself
Bonds notes. mortgages patents and deeds spoiled
pieces of paper What it, then that makes them wealth
Let Repeal the laws which permit the seizure and
sale Of property for delinquent taxes and hat would state
municipal bond be worth? Repeal the laws which enable
creditor to have his debtors property so and how much
would notes and mortgages bank account be WOrthP
What would be the value OF patent the patent laws
should be repealed? The sole value of each of these things
consists in the right Of the to the machinery
government all this wealth consists of nothing but the law
and if it entirely abolished not single real useful
thing would be gone Land itself of value to who
does not use it, 1t title to idle land not the land itself
which constitutes wealth. And what is title to unused land
Simply the right to keep other people from using without
buying the owners pemisson the right to play dog in the
manger with it. This the sacred right of property which
government protects Take away this protection and
could hold land only by using it.
Should all laws be repealed which maintain this artificial
wealth, there could be landlords, more land
specuators Rent would be obsolete as mode of living
the sweat of other peoples brows. All the lands and
lots vacant and unused would be free to any who
might choose to occupy them for homes for FARMS
longer needing the owners the miners could enjoy the en-
tire proceeds Of their labor The actual operators of rail
roads, factories and mills could carry business for their
own profit and dividends stock would cease. All the
bountes Of nature all the great monuments of past labor
all the Of production and all the instrumenates of
distribution would be free for all use and enjoy
Every family could have cOzy furnished home Poverty
would be at an end and monaires would learn that she
that will not work neither shall he ea "Our bestsOcety
would be obliged to reform dsband. There would no
longer be anything which to invest money so as to draw
nd
possible For natural wealth cannot be successfully
boarded and artificial wealth would be extinct If the soil
had to be actually used in order to be of any value there
would be no land monopoly. AS long ago observed by
Locke if there chance to make money by withhold
ing land from use would not take than his share
and should him give up again to the wild common
of Nature whatever more than would supply the
Veniences Of life for him and his family"
Thus when closely examined turns out present
administered and the prevailing theory suppOses ought
always to be administered exists for the pur
pose mainly Of enabling few to monOpoze all the natural
of the country all the products and monuments
of labor all Inventions all the of production and all
the instrumenaites of distribution in order that these
favored monoposs may live in ideness and ostentatous
luxury upon the labor and the misery of the millions The
legal power of the few to disinhert the remainder of the
nation leaving them homes upon their native SOIL eaV
ing them no means whereby to live and thus rendering
them dependent upon the will of those who have stolen
Gods earthths this the property which, according to
the prevailing theory, government exists to protect And
protects nothing ese 1t protects the conditions which
Lowell describes by him while following duty:
Through the streets Of towns where chattering Cold
Hewed wood for fires whose glow owned fenced
Where Nakedness garments Of wool
Not for itself;-or through the fields 1t led
Where Hunger reaped the unattainabe grain,
Where Ideness enforced saw idle lands,
Leagues Of unpeoped SOIL the common earth,
Walled round with paper against God and