Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-09-20
THE rxHErs OF SOCIALISM.


EDITORS INDEX: If you will yield
space in your paper 1 will try to give
| the people of Barber county brief idea
| of what is meant by Socialism and why
the socialists of this county have con-
ciuded to nominate ticket this fall
AS other people are discussing the
| why's and wherefores of this new move
ment. l feel that 1 have the same
right they have assumed. 1t has been
| said that the nomination of socialist
| ticket is scheme to elect the republic
can ticket this fall, by dividing the
Peoples party. To those who advance
that theory | would say that if the
Populists and democrats want to de-
feat the republican ticket. the way to
do it is to vote the socialist ticket as it
| is already in the field. and they can
vote our ticket with as good grace as
we can vote theirs. Hence 1 say. if
| they nominate tickets we can say the
| same thing of them-that they are try
| ing to elect the republican ticket by di-
vlding the reform forces. l will say
| further that we are not trying 70 elect
or defeat any ticket, nor to take sides
with or against any political party.
We have higher motive and have Civ.
en- political parties but little thought.
| We have more sacred object in view
than party supremacy--the cause of
humanity. There is one great failing
among those who have assumed the re-
sponsibility of engineering the politics
OF this country. They begin their SO.
lection of candidates by saying, "can
we elect him" or, Twill the other party
endorse him. or will this class or that
class vote for him. These are the
| qualifications essential to candidates IN
modern politics, and it has been the
potent factor in destroying talent, hon.
or and reform generally by the election
| of men to our legislative bodies, both
state and national, who are absolutely
unqualified. For that reason I, for
one, will say that we need no advice
from those who would dictate a policy
| for US.
| We are not discussing the question of
how many votes we will poll. The
| question with us is. are we right and
| will our cause, if carried to success, be
sufficient to elevate society and better
the condition of the human race? In
a principle of this kind every AmeTi-
can citizen has an interest and if the
people want system of government to
better their condition. it is their right
and duty to secure 1t. Our object,
then, is to hold out the right principle.
1t is within the power of the people to
vote themselves into bondage to the
moneyed class or to overthrow this bad
| system of government. owned and OPP
Grated as it today by private corpora
| tions
AS for socialism, it's principles are
based upon the law of nature. 1t means
that by nature all men are created
equal-not equal in talent or strength,
but equal in the right to live upon
some part of the earth and to share In
Its natural resources that God AL.
mighty in the beginning created for
them. 1t means that the earth Is the
Inheritance of the human race and
that no special class has moral right
to own it. The same principle obtains
as TO air, water and sunshine. 1t means
the government should cwn the natur-
al resources, hold it as common proper
ty and every man who desired to use or
occupy what he needs for his susie
nance should have that hight and should
not be deprived of the opportunity of
making an honest living, and that the
rents and profits of land that are today
paid to landlords should be divided be.
tween the government and the people.
rich man TO employ it, but wants free
access to the earth as the Creator in.
tended so that every man can employ
himself; it means that in this day of
mechanical progress that the letter and
spirit of our political institution is be-
hind every other invention and that our
system of government must be so ad-
justed that the people instead of capt.
tai shall have the benefit of labor saw
ing machinery; that the people should
labor less with their physical strength
and moro with their intellects and have
the same or better result as their re-.
ward. To destroy private ownership
OF public property is the remedy.
While believe the condition l have
GU timed must take place before pros
porous state of society can exist, I also
believe that the initiative and referen-
dun is the first and most essential is
, sue. With it the people could make
and unmake their own laws and de-
stroy class rule and delegated power and
place it where the God of Nature in
. tended-in the hands of the people. or
else make an open confession that the
American people, after more than a
, century of political experience, are not
yet capable of self. government.
II CHARLES JESSE.
: EDITORIAL DISCUSSION.
: There is no room for controversy be-