, 1906-05-15
SOCIALISM


ticle upon Socialism" talks of almost
everything but the subject. 1t viii not
be necessary for The Republican to
point out that municipal ownership is
not socialism: that under the system
as now practiced constant incentive Is
given employees to bring out the best
there Is in them. If they are efficient,
honest and frugal, they not only attain
to better positions and higher wages,
but may have a good home n save a
competence they can call all their own,
not something to go into the general
fund for the benefit of the vicious, the
n~e'er-do-well and the indolent; for the
benefit, perhaps, of the Chinese, the
Malay and the African, for the great
revolution" is to be worldwide and
will know no distinction of race or
creed.
But the proof of the pudding Is in
the eating. Those systems of govern
ment or rules of action which do not
work out in practice must be rejected
as of no value. Has socialism been
tried? Perhaps a thousand times, and
has always proved a failure. Our
learned legal friend has on various oc-
casions referred to Christ and His
disciples as socialists, but is careful
not to show what al abject failure
those honest saints made of their
financial affairs. They were soon re-
duced to such a condition that they
were compelled TO accept charity.
The same thing has been true Of every
-..-al. .--g,1saNt, Ia AgfoIItghA1
since the world began. The first Eng
lish colony established on the Amer
lean continent, at jamestown, was a
miserable failure under common own
ership and I'VE did rise to any dis
~tinction until lands and goods were
held in severalty-until individuality
was given an opportunity to assert it.
self. The American Indians have been
notable examples of the impossibility
of n people accomplishing anything
through common ownership. 1t has
been necessary to break up their tribal
relations and give them property as in
dividua)s in order to prevent them from
fading entirely from the earth. But it
is not necessary to point to an inferior
rance to prove the fallacies of this per
nicious and impossible theory of gov
eminent. About twenty years ago al
organization known as the Credit
Fancier attempted to establish a so
cialistic colony at T~opolobampo Bay,
state of Simaloa, Mexico. All the argu-
ments advanced by Judge Groesbeck
and many more were brought forth to
prove what n glorious blessing this col
ony would be to mankind. Some Lara
ME people were caught in the drag
net, among them George A. Garrett
and William Mckenzie. What was the
result? Just like all the rest. What
was everybody's business vas n~obody's
business n the people there were
oon reduced to extreme want. Fish
and mush finally became their chief
diet and the colony was deserted.
When a rule of life has beer proved
a failure it should be abandoned.
Judge Grosebeck has directed atten-
tion to the railroads of Europe, saying
that England is the only country
wherein private ownership obtains.
While not certain about the matter,
We have the word of a socialist writer,
Mr.. Russell, that the roads of France
are also in private ownership. Those
two nations have the best railroad sys-
tens of Europe, with Germany next,
and the rates are as low under private
ownership as under public. But, as
stated already, public ownership of
such utilities as railroads, street car
lines. lighting systems and water
works is not socialism. Socialism, as
defined by the Judge himself, is public
ownership of all means of production
n distribution and equality of work
and wages. To reach such a state it
would be necessary to equalize the
brain and the Drawn of humanity, an
absolute impossibility. All things are
unequal. No two animals are alike;
all trees differ from each other. There
Is intense competition in both the ami.
ma and the vegetable kingdoms for
the mastery. The lion roams the jun.
gle. monarch of beasts, and all lesser
animals tremble at his roar. The giant
oak spreads its branches and all vege-
tation beneath is dwarfed and obliter-
ated. There is no equality anywhere.
The rule Of life is the survival of the
fttest, and the law of nature cannot
be overthrow by the puny laws of
man, ever were it desirable. Who
would care to have everything just like
that of his neighbor? The spice and
the pleasure would be taken from life
With nothing of a personal nature to
struggle for nine-tenths of human en-
ergy would be eliminated and mankind
would rapidly enter upon the descend
ing scale.
In Judge Groesbeck's first article he
said the world was now in the stage of
capitalism, probably the worst. In his
second article he says: with enlarge
ment of the head and heart in the
grand evolution of the human race
have come the care of the deserving
poor, of the insane, the blind, the
mutes, the schools, the universities, the
army and the navy, the highways and
the grandest fruitage of our citizen
ship is plucked where the government
expenditures have been the most Law
ish.'
ina is a very nice endorsement OF
the present system and does not at all
accord with the statement that capital.