Willmar tribune., 1909-05-26
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Observations by Clarence

i /
Observations by Clarence 81
J. Laurence Laughlin, the politi-
cal economist who devotes his efforts
to bolster up plutocracy and special
privileges. has attacked socialism
because it would give the common
people more money to spend, and
that, according to Laughlin's
theory, weakens the moral fiber Of
the people. Among other things,
he says: Clearly an increase Of
material rewards would give only
wider play to the existing defects
Of human nature. !"
The objection holds not only
against socialism. but against all
efforts to better. the material condi-
tion of the common people If it
holds at all. The republican party
has always advocated high tariff on
the ground that it made higher
wages for American laborers. If
that explanation of the desire for
high tariff be true, then the repub-
lican party has been guilty Of the
heinous crime of helping to break
down the moral fibre of the Ameri-
can laborers. But undoubtedly the
professor would excuse the republi-
can party on this count, because the
price of products has risen in pro-
portion, so that the protected Ia
borer could buy no more with his
higher wages than before, while
those not protected have had to pay
the increased cost without the bene-
fit of increased wages, and have
therefore been made poorer and
have had their moral fibre streng-
thened in a corresponding degree.
But there are other counts on
which the republican party will
have to plead guilty-mostly from
its earliest years. Just think Of
the millions who in those early
years, before the party had awak-
ened to the danger of enriching
men, were given free homesteads
and thereby were enabled to greatly
increase their income and conse-
quently damage their moral fibre to
an incalculable extent. But worse
still is the damage done to the me-
groes of the south. The republican
party found them in a condition
where. they could not earn any
money at all, and consequently were
in an ideal condition for developing
moral fibre that would stick out
all over them. The party set them
free and made it possible for them
to earn some money and ruin their
morals.
Yet on the whole, when one con.
siders that it is under the republi.
can party and it's legislation that
all the trusts have developed, with
their splendidly organized system
for absorbing the wealth of the
people. it must be said that that
party has manfully and rather sue
cessfully worked towards undoine
the evil it caused in it's earlier
years; and if it is left to do it:
work under the leadership of AID
rich, Cannon& Co. it will probably
in a few years have brought about
a condition where the masses have
a superabundance of moral fibre
and the trusts have everything elst
worth mentioning.
The professors theory explains
something that has puzzled me yer!
much, namely why man past mid
die life hwo has amassed mor'
money than he can possibly spend i
so anxious to add more and more t,
that pile that he will violate mora
and social laws to obtain it. It il
plain now that those men realizs
that their moral fibre is ruined be-
yond repair anyway, but they still
have enough of the better elemen
left in them to wish to save tn,
people from moral ruin, so they g.
on gathering in the "root of evil 81
as not to leave even the smalles
tendrils of said root within tn,
grasp of the people. What we hav'
hitherto considered ingrained ant
over-developed avarice thus turns
out to be pure philanthropy. Ihi
certainly places John D. in th'
front rank of philanthropists. Car
negie, however, has him beaten il
practical sense in handling hi
share Of the "root." -" While Joh,
D. gives away a moiety Of his gain
to colleges, Carnegie gives in large
quantities, so as to actually reduce
his stock of moral destroyers. ant
at the same time he gives it in sucl
a way as to add to the burden O.
taxation of the people and thus h
reduces the danger to both the peo
pie and himself. It took q cam,
Scotchman to figure out a schem'
like that.
Mr.. Laughlin neglects to stat
just where the danger line lies, bu
it is fair to presume that he i
ready to concede that a man cal
get enough food to enable him t.
work and clothing enough to satisf!
the n0lice and Anth0nv C0mst0ck