The labor world., 1898-02-12
TALK COOPERATION.
IA, Economic Club Discusses
Voluntary Cooperation in
a General Way.
The RochdaIe System in Par
ticuIar and Other Schemes
Incidentally.

Friday evenings economic discussion
called out fair-sized audience. j. II.
Baker presided. George G. Findley in
troduced the subject, explaining the
presentation of his ideas in the form OF
paper on the plea of lack of opportunity
for preparation. He had announced
that he would discuss the anarchistic
side of the economic question; but not
having had time to consult the authori
ties on that side of tho question he
would be compelled to content himself
with few ideas on fundamental prin'
ciples. His paper in part was as fol-
lows:
Four thousand years of failure is GER
tainly sufficient to establish a presump-
tive impossibility of success. The pur-
pose of government, as lald down in that
ablest of political documents-the
declaration of independence-can be
summed up in one phrase: "the equal
ization of opportunities" I am toler.
ably familiar with history in general;
rot only in its narrow sense of chron.
illogical record of public events; but also
in that wider, though scantily appre.
ciated sense, in which it is the.record OF
the evolution of economic and indus
trial institutions. And while the jg.
norant, the prejudiced and the pedant,
who magnify the letter and makes OF no
account the underlying reality, may dis
pute, yet will not be contradicted by
any we'll informed student when l as
sert that there never has been govern
meut in any country, in any age, that
made more than the hollowest pre-
tense at the equalization of oppor'
tunities. ....4
The declaration of independence for
30 years was pointed at with pride by
the most enlightened nations Of modern
times under a government that still
legalized human slavery. And coin
cident with the end OF chattel slavery
that same government began to foster a
system of wage slavery more cruel,
more debasing, more destructive, more
tyrannical than was ever chattel slavery
under our flag. When we declare,
therefore, the impossibility of just gov
ernment all history is on our side and
the burden of proof falls upon those
who would take issue with our position.
Why? We believe in the prin-
ciple of majority rule. But the
majority has no right to block my will,
or your will, II our wills would injure
no one else. But majority rule does do
that continually. Itdenies our legiti-
mate desires and that, too, when for the
general welfare. The moral Of this is a
restriction of governmental interference
to a minimum, and to that end also the
abolition of all special privileges. A
belief in the maxim Of Thomas .Jefer.
son: "That government is best which
governs least" is not irrational. Nor is
it inconsistent with great extension ct
the governmental function. II. Jeffer-
son were alive today have no doubt he
would add word to his maxim and
make it.: "That government is best
which governs the least possible And
he would not consider it possible, if our
liberties are to be maintained, to toler.
ate our present system of corporation
ownership of public utilities. The in
reference involved in the interstate
commerce law. even from the most con.
! servative Jeffersonian standard, is more
undesirable than could be government
ownership.
/ do not agree with the idea advanced
in this hall at our last discussion that
all corporations should be suppressed.
Associated effort has become an
essential of human development.
Having learned it's power men
will not forego it's use any more than a
child having found his voice will forbear
it's exercise. The processes of nature
may be misdirected; but they cannot be
made to go backward. You can kill or
cripple tho young chick; can you put it
back in it's shell?
| There is power in associated effort
impossible to the individual. And if
we, as workingmen, would defend our
selves against our more powerful op-
pressors, we must learn to use that
power. 1 believe that we will; that the
day will come when every trades union
will be CO. cooperative association; it's Off.
GERS the directors and managers; and the
wages of it's members the profits of the
business.
The foundation stones of such a
movement are already in place. We
know how ready locked-out printers
union is to start an opposition paper
and how potent such factor is in pro
duciog favorable settlement. There il
the disposition. The English co-opera
tive societies have shown US how sue
cessful these cooperative association
con he Once formed thew can unite by