The Owyhee nugget. ([Silver City], Idaho) 1905-1984, 1908-08-21


stitions. The campaign slogan is, edu-
cation, creation of class consciousness
and enlightenment along the lines Of
class-interest.
The socialist holds finally, that the
tools of production which are socially
used, should be socially owned. He who
performs part of the social produc-
tion, or in fact any social service, should
receive reward equivalent with service
rendered Notwithstanding the fact
that our chief executive, Mr. Roosevelt,
in recent speech at the unveiling OF
UnderhilPs monument, hurled his ana
themas against socialism as a doctrine
of equality of reward, he did not in
clude that socialism proposed equality
of reward only when equality of service
is rendered, the half truth, which inn
plies whole lie is the most dangerous
of falsehoods
Socialism does not advocate social
equality, nor intellectual equality; only
equality of access to that which susfains
life, insures liberty. and permits of the
pursuit of happiness. For with un
equal access to the means of life, the
right to live is held in allegiance, liberty
becomes an ironical mockerv, and in the
pursuit of happiness The pursuer is SO
handicapped that happiness is an
elusive "thing" always far in the lead.
Now, as TO who would be injured by
the abolition of private property rights.
The aim or incentive to become pos
sessed of a title to property is only for
the imaginary assurance carried there
by against want, to secure better
the desire of man TO give 20 his progeny
a better education than the one be re-
ceived, to progress, in short, guarantee
to him and his the tight to life, liberty
and pursuit of happiness. If he just
studies the position of the present and
past property holder in this land, he
will be confronted with the appalling
fact that less than ten per cent of the
people hold more than ninety per cent
of the property and wealth, that twenty
five years ago seventy five per ceLt of
the farmers owned unincumbered farms,
at present. less than five per cent of the
farmers own unincumbered farms.
These are statistics of federal investi-
gators. 1t means that the independent
farmer, through competitive industry,
is undergoing process of elimination,
which, in few years, il not checked,
will equal the peasantry of Europe.
The small mine-owner, who must mar
ket his ore in the domain of the smelter
trust, a domain extending completely
over the mining regions of this conti-
nent. finds himself also being eliininat-
ed He will find that competition,
which is a process of elimination, is
centralizing property at rate which
tells him the inexorabe law of elimina-
ton which claims his neighbor victim
of today. threatens him victim of to-
morrow. lie will arrive at the conclu-
sion that the institution of private
property rights does not protect nor in
sure him against poverty.
The average wage today is less than
one dollar and half, while the wealth
produced by the wage-earner is over ten
dollars, creating a vast inequality be-
tween consumptive and productive
powers, causing tremendous surplus
for which there is no market following
industrial activity, meaning that the
wheels of industry must slow down, for
the producer can not buy back but
small portion of what he produced and
he finds himself in the rather unique
predicament of being hungry because
he produced so much food going i'll
clad and freezing because he produced
too much raiment and fuel. Would it
not be better to have no poverty and
crime, and no aristocracy-for one is
the price of the other-than to have
useless aristocracy which leads to de-
generacy, together with a burgeois class,
who, in endeavOring to satisfy the ele-
mentary passions, must become vaga-
bond or criminal, and as society is un-
able to furnish employment, owing to
the profit system, does it not follow that
by the retention of the present system
society defeats the very purpose for
which it is organized? Is not an ari-
stocracy always a menace to human well
fare? Does not the history of govern
ment, ancient and modern, from the
day of the rise and fall of the Roman
Empire, to the present day of our pseudo
republic, concllsively show that when
government was set aside and fallen, it
has always been at the hand of The pa
trician, to be rescued and reconstructed