The representative., 1900-05-31
SOCIALISM.


s@ SOCIALISM,.
Our readers may think we are devot-
ing too much time to Socialism; they
may say to us that the doctrine Of tho
Socialist received the Endorsement Of
but three delegates in the Cincinnati
convention of May 3. and that one wing
Of the party. by . referendum vote,
has since taken down their ticket for
president and vice. president, and thus
left themselves practically without an
organization; and that there Is therefore
nothing to feared from them.
We look upon the matter from diff
ferent point of view. The efforts OF the
organization may have come tenn
porarily to naught, and left the Peoples
party in sole possession of the field Of
reform. But we know that there a
great many good, honest men, of first
rate intelligence, and are sincere believ-
ers in the doctrine of Socialism, and
they will not abate their efforts in its
behalf because of any temporary dis
appointment. We respect these men
we respect their motives and their hon
esty; we do not want to see them
take an erroneous course, and we want
them to come in and help us to Duild
up the Peoples party and make it
triumphant.
There are two elements that have been
turning of late towards Socialism: The
first consists of the hopeless mass of
men who live upon small wages and by
almost endless toll. No one can blame
these men for desiring to tear down the
whole structure of society-it gives
them nothing but misery. A revolution
that would overturn all existing gov
ernments and institutions would, they
think, be better for them than existing
conditions. Many of them are ready to
bring universal revolution upon the
world, II they did not fear the strength
| OF standing armies.
1t Is the duty of the government to
abolish the evils from which these peo-
pie suffer, or some day they may find the
world drowned in blood of struggling in
chaos.
But, of course, outside of this suffer-
ing population the common mass of
mankind have no desire to plow up the
face of society with revolution and SOW
it's soil with fire. They want peace and
progress through the gentle administra-
tion of the ballot box
They say one to another: "All gov.
ernment is made up in part of socialistic
forms-that is to say the multitude
move together in concert for the benefit
of each and all-the result is common
highways, the public school, postal
facilities, courts and constables, etc.
Now, they say to one another, II the
spirit of Socialism, or philanthropic as
sOciation, has produced all these noble
results, why not go ahead upon the same
lines? If it is right for the government
to hire the postmaster and the school
teacher, why not hire the blacksmith
and the shoemaker, and all the rest?
Above Niagara Falls there is stream
of water flowing peacefully and gently
along, fit to be traversed by. men in
boats for certain reasonable distances;
but if the adventurous vOyager persists
in going too far, he will find himself
in the midst of terrible current, and
be crushed at last at the falls under mill
lions of tons of water. So humanity
can progress a certain distance upon
Socialistic theories, but at the end of the
voyage is Niagara.
II the reader will turn to the article
which we print in another column, he
will see that the national secretary of
the Social Democratic party says that
party proposes the most sweeping and
tremendous changes. There is to be no
more money, gold, silver or paper; but,
instead, a certificate of labor performed;
and in exchange for this the individual
worker is not to own anything of "all
the multifarious conveniences and utili-
ties required by each individual to sus-
tain life and happiness" So that the
worker cannot lay his hands upon even
loaf of bread, or tool or implement
of any kind, and say This is mine.''
Socialism," he tells us, means the
abolition Of private ownership to social
property" and he further tells us that
social property" includes "all means
of production and distribution" and as
land is a means of production, of course
Socialism would not permit the private
ownership of land of any kind. This
means the taking away from all men
of those things which they own, and the
reduction of owners to tenants. A ma
tion of tenants must eventually be a
nation of slaves; man without home
Is in terrible condition Of dependence
he cannot rest his foot upon anything
he can call his own-he is liable to be
ordered of the earth.
To saddle all this doctrine upon the
back of the Peoples party would be to
crush the life out of it instantly.
And, hence, we protest against it. Il
Ia proposition to reform temporary
abuses by universal ruin. The Popu-
list party has not been organized to
preach any such doctrines; and even