Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1909-01-30

ne inciNlOlal, lNOh tfe oJSNEH', 10
Wrong-PersonaI Character and Sin
cere Intelligent Public Opinion Form
the One Effectual Remedy.
In considering the evils, unquestion-
ably many and serious, of our present
economic system there IS apt to be Il
lack Of discrimination between the
evils that inhcrc in that system and
those which, while existing under It,,
are not necessarily the product of It..
The Socialist thus attributes to capt
taliSm all the evils Of civilization from
poverty to prostitution. He ignores
the individual characteristics which put
the satisfaction Of present desires be
fore future welfare and which are in
many cases responsible alike for the
paupcr and the prostitute. On the
other hand, the economic stand pattcr
refuses to acknowledge that part of
the poverty and degradation Is due to
an unfair division of the product of
the combination of labor and capital
Yet this unfairneSS IS not an inherent
factor of our capitalistic system any
more than are unbridled appctites. So
cialism will eradicate neither selfish
ness nor self indulgence from human
nature In fact, by prescribing rem
edy which does not reach the root Of
the disease 1t lessons the likelihood OF
remcdying the real wrong.
Similarly In considering the evils,
unquestion&bly many and serious,
which have existed under corporate
operation of public utilities there is
apt to be Il lack Of discrimination be-
tween the evils which inhCrc in that
system and those which are not ncces-
sarily the product of it. The municipal
Socialist attributes to private owner
ship all the evils of public utilities,
from the impertincncc of the "hellO
girl to a typhoid epidemic, with high
prices and poor service ever in the
foreground. He utterly ignores the
facts which prove that these evils have
no necessary relation to private owner
ship because they are equally in evil
dCnCc under municipal ownership. The
notorious impudcnCe of the govern
ment telephone girls of Paris contrasts
most unfavorably with the courtesy
generally accorded to telephone users
in New York. In the cities of more
than 100000 population in the United
States the average typhoid death rate
Is slightly lower In the cities where
there are water companies than in
those in which the supply is under
public management. And so every
cause of complaint under private own
crShip can be parallclcd by similar or
worse conditions under public owner
ship The latter will eradicate neither
Incompetence nor Indifference to the
general welfare. In fact by prescribe
ing a remedy which does not reach the
root Of the disease 1t poStponcS indeti-
nitcly the real cure.
What Is the real cure? The bringing
home to public utility companies of
their responsibility to the public for
good service at reasonable rates and,
on the other hand, the convincing of
the public that such companies are en-
titled to a fair return upon their in
CRATER in city council or state legisla-
turc who tries to levy tribute on these
companies is Il public enemy. How is
this to be accomplished? BY state
boards of control, removed from local
antagOniSmS and clothed with powers
adequate to the protection of the pub
lie ON the ore hand and of the C0mpa-
MES on the other. It is only about n
year since the public utilities of New
York and Wisconsin were placed UNI
der such control yet already some cor
poratiOnS have been disciplined.
No permanent cure for economic
evils can, however, come from such
boards of control unless there is a
general awakening to higher type of
civic consciousness and of Individual
integrity. In Il large sense we are
personally responsible for the econom-
ic conditions under which we live. So
long as we worship wealth without re-
gard to the methods Of its requirement
we are silent partners of the men who
get it dishonesty or by oppression.
SO long as we are negligent of the
character of the men we choose to
represent us politically we are parties
to every graft game of our representa-
tiveS. We don't need new political
system, but we do need new sense
of aggressive Righteousness in politics
and business alike. With the coming
Of that will come the rcmCdying of the
economic wrongs which give the So
cialiStS their most effective arguments,
cialistic or capitaliStic, will be satisfy
ing or stable.
Public opinion of the right sort is a
tremendous power for good in both
business and politics. 1t encourages
and sustains the man who is honest,
and defeats the man who seeks I'M
worthy ends by unworthy means. But
public opinion of the right sort is rare.
1t must be not only Intelligent, but
sincere, and its sincerity depends alb
sOlutely upon the character of the
masses. Men who In small ways OPP
press or take advantage of others can
utter no effective protest against the
oppressive or unfair methods of great
corporations. Men who willingly evadc
laws which inconvenience them in lit
tie ways form a poor support to public
officials who are trying to enforce laws
which affect the people in larger ways.
The labor and political problems Of
this nation are dependent for their