The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-08-10
What Socialists Want.

excludes all property or wealth that is
not needed. But socialism does not even
contemplate the ownership of all instru-
ments of production. If any private per
son should want to own privately machit-
cry of production, there should surely be
no objection,-so long as corresponding
machinery of production is also held
publicly In that case the private owner
of such machinery could not use it as a
means of oppression, no one would care
to work for him at less than he can work
for himself at the public factory.-zhe
People.
And now will The People tell us how
the proportion each worker owned of the
wealth produced at the public factory
could be ascertained?
At all events the first things for the
government to own is the railroads. the
the telegraphs, telephones, and all electric
appliances or machinery, street railways,
gas and water works, and all of what is
Familiarity termed natural monopolies !;
things which are in direct and constant
use by the whole public. The Populist
party is driving for this, and when that
is accomplished it will be time to consider
the socialist proposal of government
ownership of manufacturing machinery
for making personal goods.
Society has become so complex by the
division and subdivision of labor brought
to pass by the wonderful change wrought
by machinery and the motive power of
steam and electricity, that every person is
in large degree dependent on every
advanced civilized communities has al
ready neared unconsciously the border
land of socialism.
Every large monopoly is a socialistic
concern, but it is a body with two antag-
onistic elements which constantly tend to
each others destruction. One element is
the capitalistic, the other the labor or
producing power. The nature of the
capitalistic element is to absorb all that
labor produces above bare subsistence
for the latter The labor elements instinct
is to retain and enjoy more and more of
its product even appropriating all if it
were possible.
These two interests are intensely social
in their separate sphere. Each strives in
common to secure all for its class, and an
irrepressible coflict goes on between them,
manifesting itself by constant outbreaks
like the eruptions of a volcano.
The socialists dream is to unite these
warning elements by making them CO.
operative, in which the injury of one will
be felt by all and the good of one the
welfare of all and they propose to do it
by the strong arm of government.
Henry George and the believers in the
system of political economy laid down by
him, that, if not the same results, results
equally beneficial could be secured to the
masses of the people, by the appropria-
ton of the rent of land to public use, viz,
to defray all the expenses of government
"a fund known under one general term
as taxes.
"Rent' is very little word but it re-
quires far reach of the mind to trace
and note its bearing and significance.
Perhaps the best popular definition for
the term would be the amount any and
every person could afford to pay for the
privilege of using the piece of land, large
or small, which he or she occupied.
Tho Coc;o1;e+e ora JaoJ ,,,.o 41,o:- 49,.
tenn could be made to work. If it could
there is no doubt of its equalizing wealth
by awarding to every one the exact por-
ton his mental and physical powers
earned after all necessary public expense
were taken out of the general fund.
The trent" economists contend that
their system would produce equally bene-
fetal results. That the common fund
created by the gathering of all rent into
the treasury would be sufficient to defray
all necessary expense drumming national,
state and municipal government school
ing all the children, including a square
meal day and suit of good school
clothes while engaged in class study and
recitation.
There is a great deal more in the line of
good things the disciples of the rent
system claim it would do, such as break
ing up all monopolies, give every one an
equal chance in the struggle of compe-
tition, which brings us back to our
present system of every one for himself
and the devil take the hindmost, and by
his still picking up the hindmost he is
sure i'll the end to get all. We may read
lily see by looking round us how success.
full has been the competitive chase, by the
numbers of the devils poor and poor
devils who are filling the land with
mourning. All beyond the bare fact of
releasing all personal property from tax
alton and taking the annual rent value of
land for public use, which all can see
would be the lifting of great load from
the shoulders of labor, is speculative and
exists i'll the mind of the rent reformer,
and can never be settled except by actual
trial. These are wide and fruitful fields
for economic study, full of interest to the
future of the entire human race, and
loudly demanding its attention
There is but one narrow, straight way
to approach them, which way is through
the ballot box. This approach is at pres