The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1903-09-19

Iturnips for sulky pillow, and how.
are the art;chokes and the tufnips
to be distributed SO that every mem Z
Der Of the great community shall
have artichokes and turnips in just
the desired quantities at exaetly the
right time? Who is going to store
up the surplus right after harvest
until the consumer is ready for it?
Another point. How is the matter
Of compensation to be adjusted?
Shall all men for all classes Of work
receive the same pay? Shall the
skilled mechanic who cuts a true
and beautiful stone arch receive the
same wage as the man who carts
away the chips? IF so, how long
will ii be before men quit learning
how to cut stone archesf If not sos
and the stone cutter gets bigger
pay, who is going to haul the chips?
But, our Socialist friend will argue
that things of that kind will go on
just as they do now. We don't
believe it, for if collective owner
ship means anything at all, it means
that every man in the community
is a member of the same firm, stand
ing upon equality with equal voice
and authority, and has a perfect
right to determine what he will do
and what he will not do. And no
man on earth is going to learn how
to be wheelbarrow engineer,
and get one bushel of artichokes a
day when, at community expense,
he can learn how to be a stone cut
ter and get three bushels a day. 1t
may be argued that men will be
obliged to do the thing that the
general good demands. Who is
going to oblige them. For eight
thousand years or Whereabouts, God
Almighty has been trying to COM
pei men to refrain from robbing,
cheating and numbering each other;
for eighteen hundred years, Jesus
Christ has been trying to make men
honest and decent. None realize
more fully than do Socialists how
little the omniscience of God and
the love of Christ have done in all
the ages to improve mankind. They
more than any other class perceive
the corruption, dishonesty, ignor-
ance and selfshness of men. They
see the injustice and crying sin of
the social system, which under the
eye and direction of Heaven has
grown up to crush the weak and
enslave the poor; yet they propose
by some acts of the legislature to
transform all this wickedness into
goodness which shall cause men to
live together in collective ownership
in peace and amity. The objection
to Socialism is not that its teach
ings are vicious, but that it is i'm
practicable, impossible. 1t ignores
all the teachings of history and ex-
perience, and overlooks the incon-
sistency of trying to construct a
perfect whole from VIGOROUSLY i'm
perfect elements, without changing
the nature of the elements. It rec
ognizes state of society in which
there are numerous grades, intel
lectually, morally and financially,
and proposes to wipe out financial
distinction by civil statute. Now,
if law could be enacted and vital
izei which would elevate all men,
bers of the community to the top
grade, that kind of law would be
acceptable. Every last one of us
is willing to divide share and share
with the man above, but we have yet
to find the man who is willing to
share with the fellow below. 1t is
a fine thing to own a riding share
in the rich mans carriage, but who
the devil wants working interest
in the poor mans wheelbarrow?
We would like very much to have
Mr.. Gary outline Socialistic pro-
gram. Telling, not only what it
aims to accomplish in general terms
but, specifically, how the desired