Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1909-12-24

E~3 5Hr;; ~ Is ~ iari ""-ru
throw inpn with faiuii'es to 5ilrN'fi
out Of work. II last Hey SnCrerdru.
Gentle WAS 50 pleased with the prog
ress of things that he could not refrain
from pushing bis advantage. ana one
evening he turned the talk upon SUD-
iect where he felt himself particularly
strong and Haggleton indelehsiOi!
weak-that is. the unfair divlsioh VI
the products of toll. What right had
an employer. lie asked, to keep
woman sewing carpets all day anu
then take half Of what she earneo'
Suppose the woman did the WORK 1T
private house. as often happeie"'
Then her employer charged the own
or of the carpets, say. So DAY LOT WE
woman's services and gave her
dollar and half That was not fair
The employers part in this effort was
too small to justify him in keeping SO
much of her earnings. 1t was the
woman who did the work and breath
ed Garnet dust and took chances OF In
her the Job and furnished needle and
thread.
Gentle contended that this was pre-
cisely the situation between capital
ard labor all over the country. the cap
italist taking about half Of what the
ioi.,rar narrnA rhernas Il fair division
would leave the rich quite rich enough
and practically do away with poverty.
Was it not mOnstrous injustice, he
went on, that a few hundred New
Workers should every year draw from
vast uAearned fortunes an income ag-
gregat.Sg more than the total yearly
earnings of million fellow citizens
born in poverty?
If Gentle had stopped here all might
have been well, for Philip agreed with
him thoroughly 50 far. but in the ella
ton of triumph lie ventured upon So
cialistic ground where, rs Haggleton
OWNED by II fash of intuition. the
young man could not follow him. In
deed, it had long been a source Of re-
gret to TIE cd diver that Philip would
lpot take very seriously his dreams Of a
beautiful Industrial republic, soon to
be realized. according to him.
SO presently the tables were turned,
ard Gentle found himself under fire
of searching questions by Haggleton.
Did he ECl..yc that the present Givi-
sion OF wealth would one day be re-
placed by y falrer division? Yes. By
She will OF he people: Yes. But how?
Take the railroads. Who would own
them? Tho people The people would
take the railroads? Yes. And pay for
| them? They had paid for them al
ready. for they bni,t them, forged the
steel and rcwed the timbers. HIN!
Then the eleven billions or so that the
railroads were valued at would never
he paid to tho present owners? Never!
Philip was frowDing.
evil it lie the same with the lapd?'
| pursued the old man. evil you So
cialists simply take it and make no
compensation to present hOlders?'
"Why discuss this:" objected Gentle.
"Why not discuss ~" replied Hag-
gleton sharply. "Fou'y" had your say
about our scheme Of ro;'hArF. Why
shouldn't have word uh'r. Yours?
Then how about the land? Yoll! take
it, won't you, in your Socialist state,
and pay for it,"
81 tell you we have paid for 1t over
and over again"
81 know it. But will you pay for it
in any other way"
| "NO."
"And the great iudustries?'
'They will I've Of no use to you. Con
ditions will he so bad you will beg
the people to take them"
"For nothing?'
eyes"
"And If by any chance we don't beg
you to take them--.th you'll take
them anyway"
| Yes
"Do you call that fair?" asked the
old man, turning abruptly to Philip.
NO." said the latter. IL don't"
| 4
| Philip said he was going out. He
| had an engagement With Margaret,
| and on his way to the boarding house
| he turned over III his mind what he
should say to her. 1t had suddenly
| become clear to him that he could not
trust Gentle's Judgment beyond a GER
| tain point; also that Margarets posi-
| ton about the bakeshops had been too
| strongly taken for it to have been orig
| inal with her.
| Margaret greeted her lover with
happy animation.
"Tell me, did Gentle talk to you
about those bakeshops" asked Philip.
| "Why-er'-
| did he:"
Eyes" answered Margaret, "but-
how strange you are!'
Philip frightened as his eyes rested
on her. She was deliciously charming.
He led her to the queer old lounge
with its rcd rose pattern, and there
they faced each other half smiling,
half serious.
But the growing difference that had
sprung up between them insisted upon
obtruding itself.
"Why were you so serious when you
| came in" Margaret asked.
eve have made a mistake, dear, in
one thing" he said, "and II know
you'll be sensible about it,
you mean about the plan to take
more bakeShops into the combination"
| "Ycs."
you're not going to do it?'
"I.iSten. Margaret" he reasoned; III
we don't take them in they will form
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