The Denison review., 1899-07-04

In another column we publish an ar
ticle from the Des Moines Leader
showing what has been accomplished
in far-off Australia in the way of re.
forms many of which are looked upon in
this country as being as far distant as
the millennium. While it is fact that
what is just and suitable for one coun-
try is not always applicable to another,
it is equally true that each nation can
learn many things from another's ex-
perience. Something must be done in
all the socalled civilizations of the
world to check the destructiveness of
modern business methods. The sur
vival of the fittest is a universal law
and that is why we believe that in the
future what is best in our industrial
system will survive and what is evil
will be laid aside. By our Declaration
OF Independence and by the great
movement toward republican forms of
government, the liberty of the individ-
ual was asserted but this liberty did
not mean anarchy and chaos. Our
government is strong, order is pie
served and still the right of each man
to govern himself within reasonable
limits is preserved. What we need now
is industrial freedom, what we have IS
industrial anarchy. We do not allow
man to break into another's house and
steal but we allow him by dishonest
competitive methods to see to it that
there IS nothing in his neighbours house
that would be attractive even to a
thief. We speak of government, we
are anxious to regulate a thousand and
one things of private life but we allow
everything short of open and flagrant
dishonesty in business methods.
Conservatives cry out that we would
destroy all energy and all ambition. 1t
is the competition of merit that we
favor and not the competition of dis
honest methods and starvation
wages.
We have seen merchants scongratulate
themselves that while they were not
making anything their competitors
were in worse plight. At the same
time people were congratulating them
selves that they were getting goods at
less than cost. We fail to see any
cause for graduation in either of these
propositions. We fail to see how the
first merchant benefited because the
other lost money and we fail to see how
the people benefited because by saving
few cents they we're participating in
the ruin of good and Industrious men.
1t has been stated by able statisticians
that if every man between the
ages of 20 and 45, worked hours day
and received the full benefit of the
product of his labor there would be
sufficient wealth produced to afford
good and comfortable living for every
man, woman and child and that no
man need work after his 45th year. At
present we find millions of men work
ing from ten to fourteen hours a day
and earning but scant existence, we
find millions more idle, some through
choice and some through necessity and
we find still other millions working
hard every day and constantly falling
behind, losing money and goods every
day. We do not blame individuals,
the system is at fault.
1t will be a long day before the in
dustrial revolution will get things
started on the right track but we be-
lieve the thinking men of the country
will finally lay hold of the problem and
it will be solved. The republican
party as the great constructive force in
our government is the one which must
undertake the solution Ut this question
and the sooner its leaders begin earn
estly to work with this end in view the
better it will be for the republic.