Montana news., 1908-07-23

II keeps man from doing what he
ought TO do at the moment. such as
going 20 bed at the hour baptized
Christian ought TO go instead OF burn
ing the gas like that II ought to
interfere with business. in other
give Mr.. Robert Hunters book so
cialists at Work" that tribute OF high
4 encomium. 1t can readily be seen
that interrupting important conversa-
tions as to whether a yard and a half
will be enough, and whether the pc
tunia bed should be this side or "yan"
side the pear tree, with Here
Listen to this" and. when the book
is done. turning from the back page
OF all to the front page OF all to read
IL all over again, and other similar
symptoms of eager interest, are all in
cluded in the statement that reading
Socialists at Work" unfits a man for
business. And, since that is what a
book is meant to do. the cake is Mr..
Hunters. Take 1t. "Palmam ferat
qul meruit'', as it says in the back
part of the dictionary.
IL met a long-felt want with me.
! suppose ] am not the only one in
these United States who has been
drawn two ways at once to the great
peril Of his intellectual buttons; %
by the pipe-dreams of how things will
be under Socialism, when we shall
have become really sensible and civ
ilizcd. planning out society as a whole
as we plan out a garden, that is, to
get the greatest all-round good out of
the whole patch: and CD the realiza-
tion when the pipe is cold and all
gone out. that beginning has to be
made now. when we are very far from
having good sense or being civilized,
and run our garden on the principle
that the bold. brave burdock has the
inherent right to struggle for su-
premacy with the bashful butter bean.
and may the best one win To hold
an ideal of a useful. happy world is
visionary: to let things slide is
practical.
our own Columbia. however, has
suddenly discovered within the last
half-hour or decade or some such
matter, that whereas she has been
thinking that she was a great deal
hsff. sha oh 10 ha
at all. Up to- a few minutes ago.
why. no kings. no lords, everybody just
as everybody else, money in the bank.
organ in the parlor. meat in the
"kittle". IL you don't like it here. what
did you come for, and why don't you
go back? And now. look Mere ba-
bies working nights. predatory wealth.
all kinds of sculduggery in high places
and low places. automobiles and starv-
ing men, strikes, lock-outs. Moyer-
Haywood. and Hartman Ryan. just
the same as IL we weren't a republic
and had our choice between Pat Nc
Carren and Charley Murphy. The
poor lady wrings her hands and
moans, Behold and see II there be
any sorrow like unto my sorrow -
And this book comes up and says,
Sure thing. It's just the same in
the same sorrow. And mud-headed-
ness like unto your mud-headedness.
Only. on the other side they have out
grown some foolishness that you still
hold to, They do not expect to gather
grapes of thorns and figs Of thistles
as you still think you can IL you're
right smart. They have found out
that reduction of hours and increase
of pay is not to be expected OF men
who thrive by increase of hours and
reduction of pay. They don't expect
their old parties to make life toll
erable for people who are so foolish
as to work for living. SO they have
organized a new party"
And" Mr.. Hunter goes on to say,
when he observes the poor lady shake
her head dolefully believing that IL
Is OF no use to think of such a thing
1T works out, when you are lost In
the woods, you certainly do have to
get out OF there step-by-step but IL
you look ahead only that one step you
just wander round and round and
never get anywhere. But II you fix
your eye on some distant object
maybe an unattainable star, you take
one step after another just the same,
but you finally do get out of the
woods. IL sounds reasonable. Better
still. 1t is practicable"
This book has put my feet on the
solid ground IL has shown me what
I ought to have seen. and did in n
way see. that II is not so much the
program that counts as the movement.
Very interesting To discuss what we
shall do under Socialism; very inter-