Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-04-06
TWO SYSTEMS.
A Lecture on Socialism by a Well
Known Socialist.

audience in Elks' hall last Tuesday
evening, Walter T. Mills described
what he termed two systems of govern
ment in force in this country. These
systems, he says. are wrong and he
prescribed remedy for them social
ism. The topic of his lectu' was "Dem-
ocracy, or Despotism?"
The headquarters of one of these
systems of government is located in
Washington, D. c. The other has its
headquarters in Wall street, New York
City. The first mentioned touches the
people "nce in four years, when OH
cials are elected The other touches"
the people all of the time. One directs
the army and navy, the postal and
other systems of government, but
whether it gets orders from the other
government IN doing this, Mr. Mills
said it was not his purpose to say. The
government located in Wall street
directs all the great commercial inter
asts of this nation. The first is a dem
ocracy, the latter despotism This
government cannot exist under the
two forms. One must be swallowed by
the other.
If own a machine which no one
but myself can operate, ! have right
to work it when and as please. But
if / have a machine which / cannot
operate without the aid of my neighbor,
and our combined work is essential to
both of us, then it is my province to
equitably divide the profits made off
that machine. ! have no right to allow
it 10 remain idle at my whim and fancy,
and cause my neighbor to go hungry"
Mr.. Mills explained the tenets of social
ism as regards the public ownership of
factories, railroads, etc. One argu-
ment, he said, against public owner
ship is that the cost to the people in
taking over the management would be
enormous. In his way he explained
how this ownership would in a short
time result in no cost. In the event of
public ownership shorter hours in the
shop would result. Wouldn't this tend
to lessen production, has been asked.
As an evidence that it would not he
cited the works of the National Cash
Register Co. in Dayton, o, where
notices have been posted on the walls
for years, offering bonuses to employees
who make any suggestions for the bet
terment of conditions or any improve
ment which will tend to cheaper or in
crease the product. The result has
been that nine-tenths of the improve
ments which have been made in that
factory in ten years have been sug-
gested by employees. Such would be
the case if every working man had an
interest in the institution where he
earns his daily bread. Anything which
would tend to lessen danger and fatigue
woulds receive the workingman's at
tention. Statistics prove that four
fifths of the accidents resulting in
factories occur during the last hour of
work, when mans brain and muscles
are tired out
Wouldn't public ownership result in
a cheaper quality of goods? No, he
said The man who puts shoddy in
cloth does not expect to wear the clothes
made from it. The man who adulter-
ates foodstuffs will not eat such pro-
ducts himself Scores of soldiers in the
Spanish American war were shot in
precisely the same portion of the body
as was President Mckinley and they
recovered, because the army is supplied
with pure drugs from its own laborator-
les. The drugs applied to the presi
dents wounds, bought at the nearest
drag store, were afterwards found to
contain impurities which made them an
irritant, when it was thought they were
an antiseptic. This adulteration, more
than the assassn's bullet, killed the
president.
Would not the shorter hours give the
laborer more time to drink and become
dissipatedg Again he answered, no.
Statistics prove that in labor unions
which have won the eight hour day,
their members own more homes per
capita, more books, better clothes, the
education of their children is further
advanced and the number of teetotal-
ers is greater than among members of
other unions still working on longer
schedules.
Would not the public ownership of
great systems, like the railroads of this
country for instance, tend to perpetu-
ate one party in power, because every
man on them would be voting for the
party in power, to retain his job. That
might be, he said But there is solu-
ton of this problem. In New Zealand
and Australia miners controlled the
elections. A proposition was made to
them to elect their own representatives,
in proportion TO their number, the bal
ance of the people having no voice in
such election, and the miners having no
voice in the election of the other people
The proposition was Immediately ac-
eepted, and the result is a better gov
ernment. The socialists have secured
the passage of a desirable law in Oregon,
and the speaker predicted that within
five years every trade in that state will
be electing its own representatives. TO
the legislature. Such representatives
cannot be bought, for they have moth
ing to sell. They are answerable for
their acts to the people who elect them
The speaker said there is trinity in
this country-the man with the barrel,
the professional politician and the
purehasable voter. The second is the
connecting link between the other two.
He fixes up the deal Mr. Mills said
he made an investigation in Ohio He
found that in % counties which had not
changed from republican or democratic
maiorities in yeSrs, there was not one