Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-08-22

22, 1oo3.--EIGHT. PAGES.
only true remedy, the only merciful
hand. And he who advocates a rem
edy that will not heal holds out false
hopes, betrays himself and humanity
besides.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
And finally Mr.. FoRsBERG asks a
number OF presumably hard questions
in regard to the detailed application
of the principles of Socialism.
Before attempting to answer these
it should be said that Socialists can
not be reasonably expected to answer
all possible questions of this nature.
It would be impossible. The very
fact that under Socialism every policy
is to be decided by vote of the people
makes 1t impossible to say just how
each detail will be worked out. If
when the revolutionary fathers were
signing the declaration of independ.
ence ono had asked them how thew
proposed to adjust the question of
states rights or of slavery, they
doubtless would have replied, let US
get our independence first. We will
settle those questions afterwards.
So with Socialism. We do not offer
cut and dried program with all the
details worked out. We offer a set
OF principles which we show in their
application to social and civic affairs
will emancipate humanity from the
wrongs of private capitalism. The
detailed application of these principles
must be left to the future and many
questions cannot be answered.
With these remarks it is perhaps
permissible for me to offer the ans
wers which suggest themselves to my
mind to the questions asked.
~ I should say that the labor
check, or some form of money based
upon labor values would be inter-
changeable and pass as current money.
However I can conceive that even
under Socialism there may be, and
for some time probably will be some
form of money issued by the govern
ment. Possibly such as Mr.. FoRs.
BERG advocates.
~ There would be nothing to pre-.
vent from saving up his checks and
getting capital to start a bank and
loaning money, except this, that nc
one would want to borrow. For
under Socialism by working one
could get the full products of his tot
while il he should borrow he would
have to work and get only q part o
the products, the balance going tt
pay interest on his loan.
| (3) Under Socialism the value O
the service of physician, musician
actor, sculptor, painter, inventor, ct,
will have to be determined by the con
sensus of opinion of the communit,
employing them. [For interesting
and careful discussion of this poin
see Vandervelde, "Collectivism", p,
l37-l50I.
| [4] It will be just as easy to deter
mine the value OF each workers ser
vice in large establishment unde
Socialism as it is now. And under =,
cooperative aud centralized system
should estimate that not more thai
one third as many book keeper
would be required as now. Unde
/ competitive regime every unneces
sary store or factory requires at leas
from two to a dozen bookkeeper
which can be dispensed with as 500,
as consolidation is made.
j (5) AS to the return to farmers
if the farmer had chosen to put BIZ
farm into the hands of the govern
ment and thus completely socialize hi
farming then that farmer would receive
as his return an income equal to tn
average income of the workers il
average years whether crops failed o.
not. This could be done for in larg'
undertakings the risk from loss dis
appears. It is thus that Socialism
becomes the best possible kind of in
surance. If on the other hand tn
farmer chose to retain his farm ant
run it independently, then he wou1'
get the value Of what he produces
And If he is allowed the. full value o
his products he will. get an averag
of say about six times. what he get
now. Under such conditions he woul'
be quite able to bear the occasiona
loss that results from" crop failures
! (6) Those who could not wor]
would have to be taken care Of unde
i Socialism by the conectivity. How
ever 1.-THE relatives cared to @provid'
for them, they would be much bette
prepared to do 80 under Socialism
than now. And again, all who vii
have been able to work during thei