The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-10-10
An Exception; Not the Rule.
Editor of The Journal:

TO the Editor of The Journal:
In your issue of Oct. 5, in speaking
about the failure of the conference be-
tween President Roosevelt and the coal
miners and companies, you say: I'm this
case the wrong is appalling, but the rem
edy is not in sight" I appreciate your
usual fair treatment of these questions,
but is not your statement a declaration
in fact that the principle of competition
is a failure and that cooperation or So
cialism is the only possible remedy? Has
the time come which socialists have pre-
dicted, when capital must fail and social
ism become the inevitable? Please dis
cuss this question. 1t is next" j.,
"A Subscriber.
With the Detroit conference calling
upon the Pennsylvania authorities to take
possession of the coal mines, both tenn
porarily and permanently; with the New
York democratic convention declaring in
favor of national ownership of the coal
mines, and with people everywhere talk
ing it, "Subscriber' is justified in saying
that the question of whether the capital
istic system has broken down, is next"
for discussion.
Even If in the case of the anthracite
coal fields "capitalistic' production has
broken down, the case is not proved
against competition or for socialism or
opera ton. We shall soon know whether
the conditions in the anthracite fields are
such that the mines cannot longer be
left to private operation. Whether public
ownership be in itself good or bad, we
are certain to have it in this case before
long, unless the miners finally triumph
over the operators. If this be the out
come, and the system of joint wage agree
ments between the capitalistic combina-
ton on the one hand and the labor COM
bination on the other is instituted; we
may look for peace in this industry, as
we have it in the bituminous industry in
Ohio and. in the Illinois coal mines: If
the operators win this time, It Is only
question Of few years before the bat
tie will be fought over. The divine
right" stand of the operators is thus
tending to bring state; ownership into this
industry. Their position is so econom-
ically false that they cannot permanently
triumph Being a combination equiva-
lent to a trust themselves, they undertake
to deny the right of combination to their
men. Administering the whole anthra-
cite region in unison, they decline to ne
gotiate with a union of their men. BY
sacrificing competitor Of mines in the an
thracite region, they have compelled the
workman to sacrifice his individuality. 1t
is absurd to think of the individual work
man bargaining with the united owners
| nj ol Ia
vice versa; and when such unions are
formed, the system of joint wage bar
gaining logically follows If it is pre-.
vented, industrial anarchy will reign i1
the anthracite fields, and as a heroic and
| inevitable remedy the government, In
some form, must intervene. But, those
who regard government production as in
ferior to private production, will main
tain that the final preservation of private
production in the anthracite fields i:
worth no little present sacrifice. The
choice between government ownership
and industrial anarchy they regard a:
only choice between evils. introduced
in one place and in one industry,it woul6
be made the precedent for a run: 20
state ownership, which. carried fa1
enough, would become socialism pure ant
simple.
AS against this one stoppage Of private
industry in Pennsylvania and other iso.
lated breakdowns elsewhere, there are the
thousands of industries in which capita
and labor get along without serious dis
. putes and with an efficiency of produc-
ton which can hardly be looked for under
government ownership. Such revelations
of official jobbery as we have been hav-
ing in st. Louis do not indicate that we
have yet reached the stage when either
honest or good business management car
be expected from government. = It will
take more than one strike to get the
American people to give up their indi-
vidualism. 'Initiative'' is the great Amer.
lean characteristic, because we are PEG.
pie who have done more for ourselves and
have had less done for us than any other
great modern people.
| Good Rusiness