Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-09-15

The first question raised by the writer of Pertinent Inquiries uhows very plainly that he still tolds Q complete misconception of the fact that In reconstructed state Of society such as a socialistic society would bo. there would be no private property in factory, mine or rail- road, that there would be no one man more than another financially Inter eated in a printing shop, not only would Mir Maloney and other printers and pressmen be equal own orr of the printing plant, they would also be equal owners in all the fac tories owned and controlled by the eociety or community. of which they made up a part. Socialistic control md ownership of factories and other Industries implies exactly what ownership and control of socialistical- iy owned and managed public roads, postoffices and schools means to-day. We, as members of the society which owns and controls schools, for in- stance, believe that we have the right to use those schools for the education of our children because we are part owners of that school system but we are content to let the com Mittees elected by the community collectively manage those schools. trusting that the representatives of our society will put qualified teach CTS in the schools and not black smiths or printers. Our government to-day is taking over our larger in- dustries more and more under legis- lative control, laws are made regu- lating hours of labor, age of workers, air, light, heat, lavatory arrange ments, how machinery, quarries and mines shall be fenced and guarded, etc. No one for moment questions that, as the socialistic activities of our government increase that these activities are not for the larger bene- fit of society. No one denies that these collectively managed enter prises are more profitable to the gov ernment than the same enterprises privately owned and managed would be.
 President Roosevelt denounces so- %AoAioAi HI ohC Pdi as dph VI ulo ulCo~ sage to congress and in another rec ommends extension of socialfstic ac- tivit!es such as reclamation of arid lands and national ownership and op- eration of forest reserves.
 Mir Taft denounces socialism in a speech one night and the next rec onimends that congress shall build smother line of steamers owned and operated on socialistic principles, and no wonder, as the line of steamers now operated and owned by our fed eral government between Panama and New York are so successful. In 1906 the total earnings were $1,- S47,000 and these have steadily in creased. Our socialistic activities in the colonies are we'll known, and never condemned. Every postoffice in the Philippines Is savings bank There are thirteen we'll ordered sani- tary slaughter houses: cold storage plants making and selling ice, saw mills, libraries, trading stores, etc. The government owned telegraph and cable system is extensive, also mak- ing of streets. We have well man. aged and they are collectively man. aged" too, streets, public baths, park systems involving the expenditure of millions of dollars and the employ ment of thousands of men both in brain work and manual labor. We have tremendous national depart ment of agriculture, national depart ments of forestry and irrigation, and the whole world is looking at our so- cialistic management of the Panama canals industrial enterprise.
 One writer in The Worlds Work for September says: "On every side the individual capitalist and the cor poration are being registered and controlled preparatory to being su- perceded by the community" And why not? Is it not more important that humanity should be developed, protected, allowed full power to grow and sunshine and air and heat and light. as that the trees, the anil mals, the fishes and the government roads should be so excellently taken care of. AS long as the present cap italist system exists, every man who works either by brain power or mus Gle must sell his labor power to some master who needs that labor power just as he needs any other commo- dity, and to-day on account of the great development of labor saving machinery, and the tremendous con- centratiQn of wealth which enables great trusts to eliminate many men In their economical management of business enterprises condition at once arises, where the labor market is flooded with that commodity called labor (brain or muscle) and the result is an immediate and con- stant fall in the standard of wages or price of that commodity called Tabor power" To such a condition intem- perance or shiftlessness, adds or takes away but little, neither does skilled labor contribute any change in the Situation. It is we'll known that in the development of all trades com plete revolution has taken place In the machinist trade to-day, a man works away at one little part of a machine where he used to be com pelled to know how to make a com plete machine. Where the skilled machinists used to look down upon a "monkey wrench machinist, to-day they are all monkey wrench" ma chinists. In the shoe trade, the carpenters twhere they buy sash, doors, windows and even portable houses of the factories)-thep print. ing trades. glass blowing industries