The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-28
Is the Bane OF
Progress.
Discusses the Problems Of
Socialism.

Municipal ownership Of street car
lines, gas plants and water works was
warmly advocated last evening by
Prof. $. A. Reeve in a paper read be-
fore the current history class OF the So
ciety of Antiquity. The speaker ad-
vanced the view that so long as big
corporations profited on monopolies in
the gift of city governments, so long
will human avarice and frailty triumph.
1t is useless, he said to attempt to
reform human nature, TO try to insti-
tute reforms or make dishonest alder
men honest. The proper course, he
thought, was to remove temptation by
taking away all iniquitous profit, after
doing which, conditions would right
themselves ana good or at least better
government than that of today would
be established.
Socialism" was the topic of Prof.
Reeves address. 1t had been his in
tentlon to take all the events of the
year just past, important from a social
list standpoint, and discuss them, show
ing the gains made and the trend of
events. The subject was so vast. how
ever, that the speaker had to confne
himself to only very few of the topics
selected. The big franchise questions
arising in Philadelphia, Chicago. New
York and all of the greater cities of
the country, furnished Prof Reeve the
text for the greater part of his re-
marks.
In his introduction the speaker said
the confounding of cause with effect
was the principal reason for disagree
ment between socialists and conserva-
tlVes. For instance, the conservative
IN considering the rapid transit system.
says That the lack of an adequate num-
Der OF cars is the cause Of the frequent
oVercroWding. But the socialist knows
by experience that the more transport
alton facilities afforded, the denser will
be the population that can live to-
Sether in cities, and that if facilities
are doubled by putting on a. double
number OF cars, the result will be such
an increased population that the cars
VIII be as overcrowded as ever.
Prot. Reeve took as his first main
topic an account of Philadelphia' s
trouble with the United Gas Company.
"hlch, under a system of municipal
ownership, brought an income Of $50 :
oOU,OOO year to the Philadelphia lax
payers. Its apparent failure this year.
ne said, was due to political machina-
lions.
New York. he affirmed. was in the
grip Of nightly corporations. like the
Third avenue cable and the Manhattan
elevated, which We're sure to be we'll
springs of infinite corruption until the
city should finally arise and assume
ownership.
Turning to Chicago, he outlined May
or Harrison's recent fight against
Yerkes and the street railway robbers.
NFrD sDfI
pend $6,000000 in brides to insure the
passage of the fifty-year franchise or
dinance. He quoted Jane Adams as
saying that mere RoOseveltism or poll
tical energy and uprightness could new
er right the evil condition Of things
in en- 400. Experience has proven its
inefFiciency.
"reOun.ery profit" said Prof. Reeve,
commenting on the quotation, lis the
melodramatic villain, the Mephsto-
pheles who stalks through the politics
If city, state and nation. 1t is the real
invisible despot over the affairs of men.
Throttle this monster before you OK
pect to secure either liberty or politi-
cal honesty"
The adoption of the initiative and ref
arendum scheme as q safeguard against
he granting Of franchises in San Fran
cisco, was touched upon, as was also
Waukee, and other smaller cities in the
line Of municipal ownership
In conclusion, the speaker spoke
feelingly Of the death of his friend, Ed
ward Belamy, during the current
year. Death, in his case, said Prof.
Reeve, was the result of his efforts in
editing the New Nation. It was for
this periodical that he sacrificed all his
health and private fortune. Financial
ly the paper was a failure, but it did
not suspend publication until it's work
had been accomplished. The ideas pro-
mulgated by the paper were taken up
by the populists, but because the popu-
lists have only an imperfect realiza-
ton of the truths of socialism, the
writer of Looking Backward" foretold
that they in turn would pass away. AS
to the ultimate fate of the ideas he was
working for, Bellamy never feared.
Two of his most cherished schemes
he lived to see partially realized. His
plan of having the state care for little
children was partly adopted by the
New York Legislature, when it passed
law to pension and care. for children
that could not otherwise go to school.
His plan of pensioning all needy old
men over So was adopted by the New
Zealand government.
At the conclusion of the lecture, a
general discussion Of the question of
socialism was entered upon. FIR. Nc
Gillicuddy and Gen A. b. r. Sprague
We're the principal debaters, the latter
differing widely from the speaker and
frequently opposing facts gained in eX-
perience to the professors theory.