The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-14

the part of men, to pursue happiness ire
spective of the happiness of others. Liberty is
not the pursuit OF individual happiness. All
over the world there is manufacturing itself a
new idea, and that is that liberty is not the end
OF individual happiness, but that 1t is the hap
piness of the masses
Liberty means, not for one man to work for
selt1nterest, but TO be the servant of his fellow
man; another kind of liberty is anarchy. Man
should not be independent of his fellow man,
but all should be fitted and joined in perfect
and redeemed humanity, creating the cathe-
dral in which God worships with man.
We have a theory that self-interestis the law
OF life. Individuality has invented the law of
self-interest which is the continuity of the
Greek philosophy. Political economy is based
on selfinterest, and that has also gone into
the religious doctrines.
The speaker said that the men who de-
clared that they could love God but could
not love their fellow men, were liars, for
he believed that the best that had been
given to this world had been borne along
on the tide of the lives of those who loved
others better than they loved themselves.
He said that John Stuart Mill had de-
clared that history would show that men
would be actuated by motives that would
accrue, not to themselves as individuals,
but to all men collectively.
He spoke at length upon what men call
self-interest; and denounced it as the power
of the devil over man, and argued that
that power should be destroyed. He said
that great deal had been said of anarchy,
but that we are in anarchy now, yet are
trying to get out of it. The teaching that
self-interest is the law of life is heathenish,
and just so long as that idea is kept up so
long will men be at war with each other
and be at the mercy of the greed of each
other.
eve lie about each other even for re-
Hgion's sake" was the next epigram. A
woman's voice in the audience shouted
amen" heartily, and laugh followed.
The only way in which we can come together
is by an absorption of all in common life, to
which all must contribute and from which all
may partake
Another theory is that the end of govern
ment is to secure individual rights, but the
more we get of our rights the less OF them we
seem to have. This idea of individual rights
has eliminated in property rights. Property
should always be considered as subordinate to
human life, but rights must stand on some
thing, ana instead of standing on righteous
more property man has the larger is the
scope of his rights.
The alchemy of indiyidualism has brought
IL about that in recent years all legislation
has been made in the interests of property and
not TO benefit human life. l am not against
property, but wish to save it. Property was
made for man and not man for property. But
laws have been twisted TO suit property-owners.
Take, for example, the recent decision of the SUI
preme Court of Illinois on law prohibiting the
employment of women and children for more
than eight hours day. The decision has been
ridiculed all over England and tn the United
States, and rightly, too. It declared the law
unconstitutional, because it interfered with the
liberty OF the women and children. The grade
crossings in Chicago in the last twenty years
have killed more individuals than died in some
of the great wars.
This is because property is more highly
valued than human life. Our halls OF legisla-
ton are filed with the paid lobbyists of the
great corporations, sent there presumably by
the people, and our Legislatures have become,
TO the shame of ali of us be it said, political
stock exchanges, where the well-being of the
bidders for private profit.
He who controls property already holds the
life OF the people in his grasp far more effectu-
ally than any man in political Office. If the
GENERALIZATION OF wealth goes on in the same
ratio for the next ten years that it has for the
last decade we shall have no more retail deal
ers and no more independent wage-earners.
Property already controls the judiciary. / do
not mean by that that the judges are bribed,
markets where men are bought and sold And
do not think that your California Legislature
is altogether exempt.
Property then controls the people and not
the people property. And even surprising that
those who control property we're good men we
should nave built up the most colossal and
most dangerous absolutism the world has ever
known.
Competition has been put forth as the law of
human progress. But competition is not law
II is lawlessness. Carried out TO its LOGICAL end
1t is the absolute absence of law. The great
revolution which is now taking place in ali ma
uons-I mean the social change and not the