The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-12-08

cause ! hope that our !, ople VIII more
and more keep them in mind. A blind
and ignorant resistance resistance to
every effort for the reform Of abuses
and for the reimbursement Of society
10 modern Industrial conditions repre-:
sents not true conservatism, but u1l
Indictment to the widest radicalism:
for wise radlcalism anr wise conser.
vatism go hand in 1and, one bent on
progress, the other bent on seeing that
no change Is made unless ID the right
direction. believe iii steady effort,
or perhaps It would ~ more accurate.
to say in steady efforts in many direc.
tons, to bring about a condition of af.
fairs under which the men who work
with hand or with brain, the laborers,
the superintendents. the men WHO pro-
duce for the mark ct and the men who
find amarket for the articles produc.
ed, shall own far greater share than
at present Of the wealth they produce,
and be enabled to invest 1t in the tools
and instruments by which all work is
carried on. AS far as possible hope
to see a frank recognition of the ad.
vantages conferred By machinery, or.
ganization, and division OF labor, ac.
companled by an effort to bring about
a larger share in the ownership by
wage-worher OF railway, mill and fac.
tory. In farming, this simply means
that We wish to see the farmer own
his own land; we do not wish to see
the farms so large that become the,
property OF absentee landlords who
farm themby tenants. nor yet so small
that the farmer becomes ikea Euro
pean peasant Again. the depositors III
our savings banks now number over
one-tenth Of our entire population.
These are all capitalists, who through
the savings banks loan their money tc
the workers-that Is, in many cases
to tnemselves-to carry on their vari.
Gus industries. The more we increase
their number, the more we Introduce
the principals OF cooperauon in oul
industry. Every increase In the mum
Der of small stockholders in corpora.
tions is good thing. for the same
reasons; and where the employees are
the stockholders the results particu
larly good. Very much Of this move.
ment must be outside Of anything that
can be accomplished by legislation;
but Legislation can do good deal.
Postal savings banks will make It easy
for the poorest to keep their savings
in absolute safety. The regulation of
the national highways must be such
that they shall serve all people with
equal Justice. Corporate finances
must be supervised SO asSto make it
far safer than at pre-. cut for the man
OF small means to invest his money
In stocks. There must be prohibition
of child labor, diminution OF woman
labor, shortening of hours OF all me-
chanical labor; stock watering should
be prohibited, and stock gambling 80
far as possible discouraged. There
should be a progressive inheritance
tax on large fortunes. industrial ed
ucation should be encouraged. AS far
as possible we should tighten the bur-
den OF taxation on the small man. We
should put a premium upon thrift, hard
work. and business energy; but these
qualities cease to be the main factors
in accumulating fortune long before
that fortune reaches a point where It'll
would be seriously affected by any in.
nerltance tax such as propose. It is
eminently right that the Nation should
fix the terms upon which the great
fortunes are inherited, They rarely
do good and they often do harm to
those who inherit them in their en-.
tirety.
Protection for wuse~srsers,
The above is the merest sketch,
hardly even u sketch in outline, OF re.
forms for which we should WORK. But
there is one matter with which the
Congress should deal at this session
There should no longer be any palter
ing with the question OF taking care
of the wageworkers wao under our
-