The age-herald., 1900-05-20

From the New York Journal.
 The radical error of socialism is the as sumption that there is some power Tn society above and beyond that or inolfiu- uals of which society is composed.
 Government and the state are described as independent political beings, entirely apart from the people.
 Government ownership of railroads na- tionalization of the means of production and industry colectvlsm are phrases at once shallow. dishonest and misleading. A nation is a voluntary association of indi- viduals, and government Is the agency py which the affairs are conducted.
 The United States is a nation, and it's government consists of president and the congress chosen by mapority of the voters and the judiciary, nominated py the executive and confirmed by the senate.
 Even the wayfaring man, though fool must know that it is impossible TOT the government of the United States to own railroads, or the means of production, or to carry on the industries of the country. It has no power except that which is con ferred by the people. The money in It's treasury is contributed by the people. For its acts it is responsible to the people as servant to his master. The power of state is the aggregate strength of its in- habitants, its wealth is the sum total of their possessions.
 All the work of the human race since cre- ation has been done by individuals, and progress has been greatest where man has been most free. The inventions and im- provements which have dignified humanity the intellectual triumphs which have ele vated and ennobled it; the heroism, virtue and self-sacrifice which have consecrated if a a ha Of ind
 Destiny condemns the vast majority of men in every community to mediocrity The glittering rewards emoluments and prizes of life do not appear to be equitably distributed.
 The race is to the swift; the battle to the strong Fame, wealth, power. luxury, ease and happiness are to the multitude a mocking dream. Ninety-seven out of every hundred American citizens die pen niless
 These are the advocates and propagan- dists of socialism, Their programme is the forcible redistribution of the assets of society. It proposes to substitute the tyranny of the mob for the tyranny of the monarch, and to take by force from those who have and give to those who have not; to obliterate all organic distinc- tions among men, and to confound the moral and intellectual limitations of the race. It is an attempt by human enact ment to abrogate and repeal the laws of God
 The public ownership of railroads mere ly means that the majority of the people, who do not own them, shall take them from the possession of the minority, who do, by purchase, or theft, or confscation and have them operated by the govern ment" for the benefit of the "state" The railroads of the United States have cost, perhaps, ten thousand million dollars amount more than five times greater than the entire money circulation of the coun- try. How the government" being a paul per, is to pay this sum, except by com polling its citizens to surrender their &C., cumu1ations also or how the govern ment' Is to maintain and operate them, except by precisely the same agencies through which they are now carried on, does not appear. Government is worse served than any other employer of labor on earth. It pays higher wages for less service. and the waste and idleness are incredible. The sense of personal respon- sibility in the employe Is entirely lost and eltho"oh the Inajoritq receive more money than ever in their lives before, they con tinually complain of the stinginess of con- gress, and intrigue for higher compensa- ton, longer vacations and unearned pro- motion.
 It is not exaggeration to say that any one of half dozen great railroad managers in the country, were he allowed to carry on the government as a private business is conducted could pay the pensions, the in- terest on the public debt, support the army and navy, construct the public buildings pay all salaries, maintain the diplomatic service and carry the mails for 75 per cent of what it now costs the taxpayers, and make a great fortune for himself besides every year. If government can hardly con- duct the limited functions it now performs, what would be the result of an attempt to