Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-10-30
Charles A. Lloyd and Frank l.. Rice
at Taylor Hall.
BIG FACTOR IN OTTUMWA
Advocate Ideal Conditions to be
Brought About by Cooperation In
stead of Competition-Society Di-
vided Into TWO Glasses.

cessful in point of attendance and in
terest taken by the audience In the
speeches made. Ottumwa has large
number of socialists, more, in fact,
| than many suppose, and that they are
sincere in their ideas was shown by
! the way in which they concurred with
all the statements made by the speak
ers Saturday evening.
An idea which is entertained by
. many, that the object of the socialists
, is to overthrow the government OF the
country by force of arms, was con.
| tradicted. Charles A. Lloyd, of Mus
catine, candidate for elector-at-large,
J was the speaker of the evening, and
among other things he said that the
object of the socialist democrats is to
change the manner of government by
their votes, and not by warfare.
j. NJ. VIM, of this city, candidate
for Judge of the supreme court on the
] socialist democrat ticket, was chair
! man of the meeting. The first speak
: er was Frank L.Rice,of Monroe, candi-
] date on the same ticket for congress
/ man from the Sixth district. He made
short but stirring speech on the OBJ
] jects of the socialist democratic party,
1 comparing the governmental affairs in
this country at present to tree which
J has been grated until little of the
4 original plant remains. He spoke OF
the older parties as being like garden
] ers who want to experiment in graft
ing new species with the original one
and said that the socialist democratic
party was organized for the purpose
4 of tearing out this old grated tree by
( the roots and substituting in it's place
j !
conditions where the few would not
, have all the money, but all would be
in equal circumstances, or as nearly
! SO as possible.
\ Mr.. Lloyd was introduced to the
! audience and spoke in part as follows:
] 1T gives me pleasure to come to
4 this city and look into so many inter-
ested faces, and to speak to you in be.
half of cause as holy and sacred as
4 ever engaged the efforts of mortal
4 man.
} From the first inception of man
. there has been an evolutionary process
4 in operation. AS we look back we see
that each stagesoccupied long period.
4 We now wonder why the people who
s dwelt in caves held with such tenacity
y to their habits, and fought with such
3 fervor any change that was proposed
: IN their manner OF living. We wor1er
too, that feudalism held the old coun-
tries so strongly in it's grasp, and for
4 so long time. We are now in new
z age, a commercial age and the age cf
y invention. This, however, is not TIE
a elimination, but like the others, ~h
evolutionary period.
Object of Socialism.
q "The socialists are trying to bring
about another state, to hasten the evo-
: luton, but now. as ever, there is much
f. opposition to their efforts to bring
about reform. Are you foolish enough
to want people imprisoned or killed
5 for wanting to bring about an improve
ment? Do you not see what the world
J. is coming to if the present conditions
# are allowed to work out? Europe is
one mass of armed men, the peaceful
vessels of commerce on the sea are
= nearly equalled by war vessels. All
!. over the world the object seems to be
=. Capitalization.
y Formerly, the individual was the
: consumer of his own productions.
were about equal. Then came the age
If of improved machinery. The produc-
4, ton exceeded the consumption by
d large odds. Prices were charged for
T. articles and profit was made by the
y. manufacturer. The profit led to capi-
~ tallzation. Formerly things were made
If to use. Now profit became the god of
mans thought The machines made
articles for capitalists to pile up profit.
Of Hence the conditions of today Why
t, is Europe armed? There is one inter-
70 national and national struggle for
ct gain.
lie Need of Change.
t. People are beginning to recognize
ct the need of change. Chauncey De-
lie pew said: We are producing a surplus
Is and must find market Everywhere
h there is great increase in the wealth
re OF few In New York, our greatest
sy city, 80 per cent of the people are
re homeless, and in Chicago the same
III conditions exist in slightly reduced
form. There has been disinhertance
of the individual producer, and the
ID capitalist has been made the power
that governs the world.
statistics show that in this country
III in 1910 the share of the weallh of the
v world which was held by the capital
,r lists was but % per cent while labor's
r. share was 72 per cent. Then there
Re We're no tramps, and no millionaires.
lie AS Lincoln said; Labor creates all
Of wealth. without labor, capital could
N not exist. Capital is stored up labor.
All the capital in the world never pro.
duced anything. 1t is inert. But cap
70 ital has the power to say to labor
.f whether or not it shall produce. Dur.
A ing the onward march of civilization
= the share of the wealth held by cap,
ital increased to over so per cent while
:. that of labor dropped to less than that
AZ amount MillionaireS began to spring
up by the hundred. Now, capital owns
j, 70 per cent of the wealth of the world
= while labor has but % per cent, yet la,
Dor has created the entire lJ0 per
:, cent Now the laborer can buy back
q, q, but one-fourth of what he produces
~ When capital has enough wealth to
y satisfy it for a while, the mills and fac
o. tories are closed; then after capital
has used its three-fourths, it reluc,
~ family re-opens the mills and let's labor
y produce again. Thus it will be seen