The herald., 1898-02-01
What Is Paternalismp

To the Editor of the Los Angeles Herald
There seems to be a growing sentiment II
favor of the government ownership o
railroads, waterworks, telegraphs. ga
plants and other public utilities. Thes
views are entertained, not by Socialist.
alone, but by others, whether known as
| Silver Republicans, Populists or Silver
Democrats and have found quite mum
Der of straight Republicans" who ex
pressed the belief that the time is near a
hand when the government should owi
and operate all public industries in the
interest of the whole people at cost OF
operation. Some of my Republican friends
however, who probably have not found
time to study the question deeply. are
opposed to such contemplated action on
the ground that it would be "paternalistic,
and paternalism, they seem to think. Is
closely allied to anarchy or something bad.
Now Webster defines ''paternalism' as
having fatherly regard for dependent
ones"
In view of the fact that labor saving
machinery has thrown out of employment
hundreds of thousands of workingmen
would it be a dangerous thing to do for
Uncle Sam" to follow the precedent set
by Germany, New Zealand and some other
countries and buy or build n few trunk
lines of railroads and put unemployed men
at work on them? Too paternalistc, did
you say? Well do you not know that the
government is now doing the postal busi-
ness of the country, exercising "a fatherly
care over the national banks, building
soldiers homes, etc., and that states and
cities are building asylums, orphans
homes. reform schools, prisons. and own
waterworks. gas plants and street cars?
All that work is paternalistic. Everything
in the universe moves. We must go for
ward or we must go backward. Why should
not the government adjust itself to the
new order of things brought about by the
marvellous inventions of labor saving ma
chinery of the last twenty years? What is
government for except it be for the ben
eft and happiness of the people? The
glory of good government consists in the
fact that ii protects its weakest subjects
as zealously as it does its most powerful
l suggest that "Uncle Sam" go a little
further towards paternalism than he has
yet gone and provide employment for the
unemployed on railroads, forts. harbors
public highways and other public works
instead of letting out all that work to be
done on contract to the lowest bidder.
That the labor of the thousands out of
employment might be properly directed.
and that order might be brought out of
chaos, and that the unemployed might
be under proper authority. | further sug
gest that the secretary of war be author
the ranks of the unemployed, who shall
make oath that they are in immediate
need of food and lodging and that they will.
If permitted to join such industrial army.
be loyal to the government. The duties of
this army to be-not to fight-but to labor
for the government the wages to be rea
sonable and the discipline to be as nearly
like that in force in the regular army
as practicable. On application being made
of of hn Of.
to be authorized to detail detachments
of said army to perform labor on the state
and county highways and other state
works
The adoption by the government of this
plan, briefly outlined herein, would put
into the treasury of the whole people in
a few years millions of dollars now going
into the pockets of the few; it would pre-
vent all future monopolies of public util-
ities;" 1t would give to the country better
transportation services; it would solve the
tramp problem by furnishing every unem-
ployed man with work: it would make our
public roads the best in the world: it would
greatly diminish crime and would avert
threatened revolution and anarchy.
A bill embodying these features, drawn
by your correspondent, has been intro
request. and is numbered House roll No
mttee on ways and means.
This is not partisan question. Mr.. Edi-
tor. Labor saving machinery has thrown
out of employment its hundreds of thou
sands. The law of evolution is rapidly
forcing civilized man into new Industrial
conditions. A girl or boy can now attend
machines that will do the work of ten,
twenty or fifty men of the last generation.
The problem is to know what to do with
the idle and hungry laborers displaced by
the machine. The new century will open
up with appalling destitution and trouble
or with radical departures from the old
industrial methods Happily,
the trend of things is toward combination
and cooperation. "Individualsm' must
soon surrender some Of her hitherto oc-
cuped territory of 'collectivism. There
are labor strikes and rumors of strikes.
but the trouble will increase till we have
more paternaism.
Instead of relying upon injunctions and
deputy sheriffs, and shooting strikers, to
solve the problem, our statesmen would
better be seeking ways and means to give
the unemployed some useful employment.
r. A. DAGUE.
Ventura, Cal, Jan. 80, 1885,