The Monte Vista journal., 1899-01-28
Hold Assertions,

WORSE than all else the ecOnOm-
ic system corrupts the sources of
public opinion and battles the free
expression of such opinion as re-
mains. The money that owns the
public press, that inspires its dis
patches and writes It's editorials,
also dictates what shall be taught
in our colleges and qualities the
utterances of the pulpit to All i'm
messurably larger degree than we
are willing to admit, and it is
gradually adopting legal, Journal
istic and religious means to sup
press freedom of speech. II l
were to stand before any repre-
sentative religious gathering in
the land, and there preach actual
obedience to the sermon on the
mount, declaring that W" must do
what Jesus said, l woull commit
a religious scandal; would hence
forth he held in disrepu,e by the
official religion that bears Jesus
name. If the head of some gr.at
oil combination, though it l,nd vic
lated every law OF God or man, be-
sides the so-called economic laws
which neither God nor man ever
had anything to 90 with, and al
though it had debauched our ma
ton infinitely beyond the moral
shock Of the Civil War, were to
stand before any representative re-
ligious gathering with an endow-
ment check in his hand. he would
be greeted with an applause so vo-
ciferous rs to partake of the NOR
ally idiotic. And, mind you, the
condemnation of the miserable
spectacle rests not upon the mo-
nopolist, but upon ourselves; upon
those Of US who worship at his
shrine, and teach and preach by
the grace Of his endowments.
Let the intent Of the wage-mas-
ter be as benevolent as it may, the
wage system is through aud
through aud through a slave sys-
tenn in its essence. They who
possess the worlds resources have
mankind at their mercy, its very
freedom to think aud breathe, with
a certainty that no Caesar ever
dreamed OF. II a few men own the
earth, We can live on the earth only
on their terms. The armies of
emperors and conquerors are ns
mushrooms AZ compared with the
armies OF dollars which human be-
irgs must have or starve. 1t is
this economic throne, already cast
ing its dread shadow of universal
empire over . fearful and anxious
world, that wage earners are build
ing for their masters, good aud
bad alike.
1t follows, then, that the public
ownership Of the sources and
means Of production is the sole
answer TO the social question nnd
the sole basis Of spiritual liberty.
Private ownership of public re-
sources il private ownership OF hui
man beings. The common owner-
ship OF the earth is the only ground
upon which true property aud
liberty can be built the only
soil in which individuality can
take root. Liberty, ~ a hu-
man fact, means communism in
natural resources. democracy In
production, equality in use. pri-
vats property in consumption, aud
the responsibility Of each for all
aud all for each.
Tho economic liberty which se-
cures equality OF opportunity, 10
tho only ground on which man can
achieve his destiny Of organized
love. The production and distr,-
button Of wealth for the common
good will prove to be the highest
form Of spiritual liberty yet At
tanned. The quest Tor this spirit
ual liberty is the motive by which
the social drama must be inter.
preted, and tho spirit OF private
ownership IL the william IN the
drama-Extracts from Rev. Geo.
ID. Heron.