The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1904-10-18

belong to one individual for the fol-
lowing reasons:l-It cannot be built
by one man. 2-It can not be sup
| ported by one man. If it was not for
the patronage of outsiders no coTpo-
ration could ever declare a dividend.
\ trust would be useless to an indi-
Vidual, because he would go bankrupt
il nobody patronized the trust except
himself.
At present, whoever has the con-
trolling interest in a corporation has
power to regulate the price that you
must pay if you van to buy any of
the things hat the corporation pro-
duces. That is the reason we call
Rockefeller the "Oil kink." He con-
trolls the oil industry and can there
fore regulate both the production and
distribution OF oil.
If he does not think his wealth is
increasing fast enough to make him
feel rich enough to contribute a mil
lion now and then to charity, all he
has to do is raise the price of oil, and
if you buy oil, yo uc%ontribute to the
Nldllis u INpNhtiNiASi et'S thN
credit for it.
Is it right to make it lawful for
enc man to take money out of the
| pockets of others? If you have mo-
nopolized an industry, you can safely
do that without fear of serious con-
sequences.
When the majority vote to over
throw a system which permits rob-
berry on a large scale, then the sys-
TEN ceases to exist.
But in the ultimate analysis this,
or any other system of economics
which is intrinsically wrong, must in
time destroy itself.
l claim. that private ownership of
the means of production and distribu-
ton of the means of life is the direct
cause of which nearly all crime is the
effect. This cause engenders wide
spread panics and poverty, and pow
erty breeds theories, burglars, drunk
ards and prostitutes galore.
Christ said, the poor you shall al
ways have with you" l do not be-
lieve hat this saying has been cor
rectly defined. AS Christ was mainly
concerned with spiritual things, /
think he meant to apply he saying on
the spiritual things. l think that he
meant to apply the saying on the spir-
itual plane. Mental e~ndowments are
| possessed in larger measures by some
than by others. And / think that in
CAPABILITIES will always continue to ex-
list among men in that way; but not
on the physical plane.
/ can conceive of q condition by
virtue of which everybody will have
a suficiency for today and a security
for tomorrow.
Never be satisfied with things that
are not in harmony with your highest
ideSls.
l know that you can picture to your
self a puster administration of affairs
thar we now have.
The law that legalizes private own
ership of land is neither a divine law
nor a natural law; neither is it a copy
of a divine law, nor a copy of natural
low. 1t permits one man to own all
the land that his wealth can buy, he
is not required to put it under culti-
walton unless he so wishes. The law
only requires him to pay taxes. If
one man should become wealthy
enough, and should purchase all the
fertile land there is in this country,
he could then, by virtue of ownership,
COMPEL all the other inhabitants to
enther emigrate. or to retire to the
deserts and starve: or otherwise he
could compel them to work for him
on whatever terms he chose. This is
carrying this system of capitalist
production pretty well towards the
ultimate. Things have a tendency in
that direction. The proprietor would
simply become an absolute despot.
I will now try to show Why this
land law is wrong.
I'VE hold these truths to be self
evident. that all men are created
equals and are by nature endowed
with certain i~nalienable rights, that
among these is the right to live
but in order to maintain life man
must comply with certain conditions.
1t is compulsory or his part OCCASION
ally to partake of food. In the course
of time however. this law of private
ownership in land, ONE in and for
bids men to cultivate for their own
use that part of the soil which is pri-
vate property. AS all the fertile land
would be forced in one or the other of
the channels before mentioned. One
man would have power TO compel all
others to become his slaves, as he
would also have power to annul the
purpose for which his fellow-men
were created; because the purpose of
life is to live.
Now, as the maintenance of life
depends as much on air and heat as it
does on food, and as Zoe has permit
ted no individual to get a monopoly of