The National tribune., 1906-07-12
socraLrsrrc ApsuRDrrY.

An illustration of the preposterors
call reasoning, ana which lead them
frequently to the most amazing conclu-
sions. is furnished by NJ. Jules Guesde,
a brilliant labor leader. writer and ora
tor. the head and front of Sociaiistic
party in France. which worships and fol-
lows him blindly His party. which has
to be reckoned with In the French As
sembly. is called ''Guesdists." and in a
recent address to his constituents at
Roubaix he claimed that in properly
organized state of society to which his
doctrines would lead the maximum
hours of labor would be 80 minutes out
of the "a hours. and that man ought to
be able to secure subsistence by IL
minutes work. He based his astonishing
assertion upon a statement in the
Economists Francois by a statistician.
that in the United States mechanical
appliances had been so developed that
the labor of seven men is sufficient to
cultivate wheat. thrash and grind it.
and make bread enough for 1000 con-
sumers. Therefore. NJ. Guesde says, ''if
the labor of seven men Is sufficient to
support 1000. this amounts to saying
/ that seven days of labor yield food for
| 1 1000 days; l. e., less than IL minutes
for a mans support for "a hours. Here
you have IL minutes of work each day,
| according to the most reactionary or
economists, capable of providing the
] nd pngtlV article con-
sumed by an individual of our race.
But this. of course. would only be the
| case when there are no more cannon to
be cast, ironelads constructed and tor
pedo-boats or muskets made" This cap
| tiyates the Socialist, who is wailing over
the fruits of his labor being taken by
capital, and he does not stop to figure
out the absurdity of the proposition.
| The seven men are able to produce
bread enough for 1000 by specializing
their labor. but no account is taken of
the labor that has to be performed by
others before these men can perform
their work. No account is made of the
manufacture of agricultural machinery
or its transportation. the raising OF
horses to draw machinery, the mining
of coal for the ovens, the steam engines
that knead the dough, nor the vast
amount of most necessary preliminary
work. Nor is there any account taken
of the farmers years of labor in bring
ing his farm to condition in which he
can grow wheat, and the maintaining
of the same afterwards, Again. the BIZ
Bile says "man cannot live by bread
alone" and the Socialist gentleman who
would confine his dietary to this article
would speedily die of two sorts Of long
worded Latin diseases which the doc
tors would specify as the result of
steady consumption of an unbalanced
ration. And how about the clothes OF
the men who raise, thrash, grind and
bake the wheat? How about their
homes also, and the demands Of their
women folks for fine raiment? In this
country it has been repeatedly demon
strated that man can live comfortably
on 10 cents day, but exceedingly few
want to do this. It is not what we
actually need that makes the expense
of life; 1t is the things we think we
want. 1t Is also a truth. which the So
cialists entirely ignore. that where there
exists the most of these fancied wants
there is found also incomparably the
most of all that we denominate prog
ress. The man who has few wants, and
can live on little, is a decidedly inert
member of society and contributes moth
ing to 1t, physically, mentally or spir-
itually. The South Sea Islander sup.
ports himself by probably less than 81
minutes of work per day, but what sort
of life does he lead. or what good doe:
he do?