The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-09-04
SOCIALISM
THE CURE-ALL,
50 Says a New Socialist Ora
tor who has Been IN Town
for a few Days.
----------------
TO GIVE FULLER FREEDOM

TO GIVE FULLER FREEDOM
Hasa scheme by Which the Working
Hours Will be Cut Down One Half,
and Wages will be Doubled. A Fine
Proposition--on Paper. His Argu-
ment Punctured.s Small crowds
Hear Him.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
evenings of this week crowd has
gathered in front of the Becker Build
ing to hear the oratory Of John b.
Leeds, a Socialist agitator, who halls
from Moorestown, N. J.. The crowd
has been confined mostly to laboring
men, and this class of citizens Mr..
Leeds is most anxious to have hear
him. He has endeavored to explain
the term Socialism, the essence Of
which is said to be State-help as OPP
posed to self-help. That is, if man
can not get on by himself, the State
must do something for him by legisla-
tion.
"The foundation principle Of the
Socialist philosophy says Mr.. Leeds,
lis the public ownership and opera
tion of the railroads, telegraph, mines
and all other public utilities and of all
industries which are controlled by
trusts. ,
This would seem to convey the idea
that if the State was to take charge
and employ all the laborers, that the
iron law of wages would be broken
down and labor 'emancipated.
"Trusts p cries Mr.. Leeds. "Let
us not have trusts managed to make
millions for a few, but operated by and
for the people at cost. In the days of
our grandfathers the cobblers old the
shoes he made directly to the wearer,
and after paying for the cost OF the
raw material (leather) all the remain
ing money represented the full value
of his labor which he alone received.
All this is changed to-day in indus
tries which the trusts control. They
divide the profits in half, give one dol
lar to the working man and take one
dollar in return for giving the worker
the chance to work. .
1t is such teachings that lead men to
believe that they can have commodi-
ties which they have not helped to
produce. Upon such a principle Will
lam J. Bryan got the delusion that by
printing unlimited paper money, or by
coming millions of cheap silver dol
lars, everybody would get rich.
1.-THE Socialist proposes" says Mr..
Leeds, "that the people shall take
possession of factories and operate
them at cost. Then every operator s
wages would be doubled" The Social
ist proposes to organize the industries
of this country comparatively and in
stead of taking profits out Of the busi-
ness to double the wages. Moreover" I"
declares Mr. Leeds, this party prom
ises that if placed in power it will
guarantee to every man in the country
an opportunity to earn a living. The
Socialist party stands for the reduc-
tion Of the hours of labor until every
person is employed, and further that
thereafter whenever any labor-saving
machinery is introduced, instead Of
any worker being discharged the
hours of labor shall be still further re-
duced. There seems to be not the
shadow of a doubt that when a Coz
operative commonwealth is established
the hours of toll for the workingman
will be reduced one half while his
wages will be doubled" +"
Mr.. Leeds is very plausible talker
and there is no objection to his be-
lieving in the schemes of Socialism,
because an American citizen is never
denied the freedom of thought or
speech.
But, it must be acknowledged, 2
says Mr.. Mills, a well-known political
economist and friend of the working
man, that those who play the game
Of Socialism on the strength Of their
own private opinion, unconfrmed as
yet by any experimental verification,
must have a serene confidence in their
own wisdom on the one hand, and a
recklessness of the peoples sufferings
on the other, which Robespierre and
St.Just, hitherto the typical instances
of those united attributes, scarcely
came up to-"