The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-08-15

rebellion against uniformity in social
life. Nan cries out for variety with 3
,enenenes that never will be smoth-
cred: and Mr. Brooks says Up. 300: II
there fs.a single lesson to be read From
the long list of insolvent Utopias it Is
that the thing we call human nature
win not submit to have thrust upon II
t7e ,externals of d literal equality.
certainly the chief sources of our So
cial troubles are oldfashioned ignor-
ance and selfshness. If one choose to
conceive a race that is without ignor-
ance and without Selfishness, the new
societv is at hand" True enough; but
that race never did and never viii exist,
and the socialists arc planning a coun-
f,.v for angels while half the inhabit-
ants do not belong in that company.
The most important chapter in the
hook is the one on Socialism at work
Here we have the real thing: what they
have done. what they are doing. Poiit-
icauy, Mr. Brooks does not see much
proft in the socialist experiments, es-
Decially in France (p. 29D: In most
towns ] asked the mayor, or his secre-
tarv. what had been done to realize the
socialist ideal. Many communities have
had from eight to-. ten years experience
with coIlectivist administrators. The
first. and often the paramount occupa-
tion. has been to vote larger budgets in
favor of the poor. Also voting higher
pensions to Socialist soldiers. and free
medical attendance TO the poor 1T is
for the most part" he says, "an eX-
frenelv loose and pTomiscuous form of
outdoor relief" He is impressed that
such work is a raw atetmpt to catch
the working class vote by giving away
public money. But in the work of CO.
operation, Mr.. Brooks finds much to
1raise in the Belgian experiments; and
here and no one can object to Social
list ideas if they remain in these chan
nels Hundreds of cooperative Soclet-
les have been formed for the manufac-
ture and sale of every kind of article.
The result has been satisfactory in re-
ducing the cost of the necessaries of life
TO the poor. although it has destroyed
many small tPadesmen. The Saddest
outcome of these cooperative societies,
from the standpoint of the workingman,
has been the adoption of methods in
their mana cement which labor has al
ways rallied at as the tyranny of pri-
vate capital.
Socialists, as their own managers,
worked some of their men ten hours, |
and argued the justice of it. Piece |
work. the bane Of the operative. had to |
be adopted, because even the Socialist |
would loaf and shirk on his co-operat- |
i've employer. Days wages were aban- |
doned for some reason. And they even /
found that the days wage man, who /
did not earn his pay, brisked up and
earned twice as much on piece work.
When they needed money they bor-
Towed from their employees, who 1
charged them interest. Think of it!
The Socialist who looks on the coupon
monger as a child of Satan, becomes
a coupon-monger against his own
brother Socialist. 1t reminds one of the
famous remark of an Irishman when
the cry of 'The Chinese must go'' was
so prevalent among the laboring men.
The Chinese must go-all but one Chi
nee who lives in Mulberry street; he'll
not go till I get my shirt" Socialism is
Rll right for the man who has nothing,
but for him who has and wants more.
II is a dream of the idler or the raid of
the pirate. Mr.. Brooks final word is to
give the Socialist chance: he predicts
that he will soon be in evidence in the
of cities as mayors and
and he says: "Once in Of
ice he should have safe tether for prac-
teal experiment" Conjectures about
the future of Socialism in the United
States are futile. There will, no doubt,
De experiments made more or less revo-
lutionary, but we may be sure of one
hing: while human nature lasts there
viii always be private property, pri-
-ste capital, which all in their various
pheres will demonstrate the love which
human nature has for individual effort
md personal ambition for the glory 20
De gained; and all Socialist efforts TO
queeze the human race into one mould
VIII only result in the bursting of the | ,
llnnld q -, I