Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-01-17
A LECTURE ON SOCIALISM.
Large Audience Listens to Harry Caress
in Horticultural Hall.

VI HORTICULTURAL nan.
One of the most interesting lectures
upon socialism given in this city for
some time, was delivered in Horticultu-
raj Hall Sunday evening, before large
audience, by Harry Carless, whose re-
marks were illustrated by stereopti-
con.
Mr.. Carless gave a review of the con-
ditions of the industrial world Of the
last century, and compared them with
those OF the present time. Among
other things, he said the curse OF the
modern workingman is competition, and
1T has its logical result in the formation
OF trusts. In line with the advance in
machinery is the development Of mo-
nopoly.
The gigantic evolution in machinery
and the gigantic methods of production
necessitate gigantic capitalistic combi-
nations, and, with the inventions, goes
the displacement Of labor An example
Of this is the Mergenthaler linotype ma
chine. On a recent visit to newspa-
per in Burlington, Iowa, the speaker
found that the proprietor had put in OPP
Grafton five machines which were equal
in their results to the work Of 26 type
settlers by the old case system. Five
of the rs were employed on the new ma
chimes, and the remaining q were dis
placed. When asked what they were
doing, the proprietor said that one had
secured employment and the other 20
were walking the streets, as far as he
knew. This displacement Of labor in
the newspaper service is equalled in the
agricultural and mechanical arts, as was
shown by pictures of the plow Of 90
years ago, and then one Of the giant
reapers now in operation in the west
What the workingmen Of this country
want is an ample sufficiency Of food,
clothing and shelter, with an opportuni-
ty to amuse themselves healthily and
educate their children. The opportunity
Is denied them today, for how is the
wealth divided. The workingmen form
81 per cent Of the population, and of the
wealth of this country they own AZ per
cent. The capitalistic class form per
cent of the population and they possess
II per cent Of the wealth which the 81
per cent produce. The middle class, So
called, form SO per cent Of the popula-
ton, and they own 241a per cent Of the
wealth. They come in for proprietor
ship Of this fraction of the country's
wealth because they have real estate
and personal effects as tin cans, second
hand boilers and old stoves. But elm
mating real estate and capital, 65 per
cent own nothing. The 50 per cent live
IN tenements and the 8 per cent in pal
aces
According to Mr. Carless, the proleta-
riat is asleep to its danger. The YAM
pire, capitalism, is sucking blood from
its emaciated body, and the only saliva
ton Of the workingmen is in giving
heed to the warning of industrial equal
ity. The workingmen must strike by the
ballot. They are 65 per cent of the pop
ulation, and with an awakening that
will astonish the world they win secure
industrial equality.
The socialists did not wish to destroy
the capitalists, but to legislate their sys-
tenn out Of existence and to establish in
its place the cooperative common
wealth
In closing the speaker threw picture
Of the official motto of the socialist labor
party on the screen, and appealed to the
working people to recognize their inter
est and vote for it.