The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-06-26
SOCIAL MORALITY.
Its Natural Level Discussed by
An Old Canton Cit
iZen.

Editors News-Democrat: AS social
morality simply follows economic con-
ditions, 1t must remain below its nat
ural level until economic conditions rise
to their natural level, where all men can
have the same opportunities to enjoy
the fruits Of their toll and the benefits
of the creators gifts. The natural level
of social morality must be in line with
the commandments Of God. Now, one
of the commandments OF God is Thou
shalt not kill" yet we find today Chris
tian nations killing people by the thou
sands with with all the modern weapons
of destruction. And what are Christian
ministers, Christian statesmen and
Christian peoples doing to stop the
carnage? Simply nothing. Rather en-
couraging it as morally right. Another
of the commandments Is, "Thou shalt
not covet thy neighbor's" goods; yet
nearly everybody is coveting the wealth
that others have, trying by every means
to get possession of it for themselves.
Figures will show that the interest on
one single dollar at per cent, COM
pounded as per our law Of interest,
would in time absorb all the wealth
there Is in the world. Then the heirs Of
the original one dollar would have it
all, and all the rest would have nothing;
and yet everybody wants it, and this is
the kind Of an inheritance that people
are building up for the benefit Of their
children and their children's children.
might 60 over all the other command
ments with the same result, but suffi-
cient FOR the day is the evil thereof. The
late Rev. Chas. Nash, Of Tokyo, Japan,
once said, Amy one but a thief or
beggar would scorn to take anything
from anybody without returning an
equivalent for 1t. All honest exchange
is an exchange of service, and the
value of all service, when rightly meas
ured, Is measured by labor" And l
gather from his writings that his idea
was that the service Of the average la
borer, in any class of service, is worth
as much to community as the service of
the average laborer in any other class
of service, from the man with the hoe
to the lawyer, the banker the manager
of some large mercantile business or
corporation, to the president or the king,
and that 1t Is the business Of community
to see that he gets 1t, or at least Is not
prevented from getting 1t by partial
legislation or governmental favoritism.
Rev. Charles H. Veil says: why is it
that men willing to work are unable to
find employment? The cause is not
other than the private or corporate
ownership Of the means Of production
and distribution. Enforced idleness is
a permanent feature Of the capitalist
system. True, in times Of prosperity
wage slave can more easily find mas
ter; but 1t will be impossible for all to
find employment for any length of time,
for the reason that IL the means of pro-
duction were fully utilized the supply of
products would exceed the commercial
demand, and production being carried
on for private profit, ceases as soon as
profits are threatened. Machinery is
constantly displacing labor and render
ing 1t superfuous, and while machinery
takes the place of labor in production,
1t cannot take the place Of labor in con-
sumption, consequently markets are
glutted and business stagnation ensues.
IT 10 useless for men to talk about the
right to life. and the fright to labor"
unless they point out the way by which
this can be realized. The socialist points
out the fact that this right can only be
realized when society owns the means
Of production. So long as there is pri-
vate ownership Of the sources Of life
men will be excluded from their birth
right. and social morality will remain
below Its natural level. The natural