Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-01-26
SOCIALISM.
First of Series of Lectures is Given
on That Subject.

laysning, when Winfield r. Gaylord OF
of Milwaukee, a social democratic state
senator, spoke on socialism. He was
introduced by Rev. I. B. I. Fisher
who said that while he himself is not a
socialist, he has cor some time been q
student of socialism. He characterized
it as the greatest idea evolved by man
MIR. Gaylord's topic was Tools and
the Man" A we'll known breakfast
food manufacturer uses in his advertis
ing this sentence: Tell me what you
eat and will tell you what you are. >
That will pass for the purpose intended
sBut," the speaker added, when | say
Tell me the tools you use and | will
tell you what you eat, what clothes
you wear and also the forms of your
family, religious and political life,' the
key to. history isgiyen and none otneI
will unlock the doors of the past Mr
Gaylord went away back to primitive
man and then led up to the present day
showing how tools and the man have
developed. The first tools of men were
fists, fingers, fingernails, arms and
teeth In this uncultured state man
fed on what he could gather from the
earth with the least effort. Fruits,
roots, etc, were eaten raw. Man was
not satisfied with his condition. He be-
gan to experiment He found that a
stone was harder than his fist. Flint
and bone were more durable than fin
ger nails and teeth. A stone fastened
to the end of club would reach farther
and strike harder blow than the arm
and fist. we believe it must have been
from the weapon of that age that
Roosevelt got his big stick idea By
improving his tools man found that he
could secure more necessaries. BY i'm
proving his tools his condition was inn
proved. More clothing and more to
eat was the result.
Then came the metal age and with it
still better tools By slow development
there came the wondrous machinery
and tools of today. 1t has been demon
strated that hans must fit the tool and
instead of man developing the tool,
tools have developed the man. All of
the mechanical appliances of the pres
ent day, steam hammer. railroad, saw
mill, etc., are simply the harder fist
longer arm and sharper nail and tooth
They bring to man things necessary to
his existence. One tool and one man
play but very small part in bringing
forth product, but each are necessary
and essential The surveyorNwho goes
into forest and locates the timber be-
fore it is cut, hauled, sawed, planed,
matched and perhaps shipped thousands
of miles, plays his part in the making
of a hardwood floor in some mar's
home.
Better tools have brought better
brains. The man of today, skilled in
the use of appliances, is better indi-
vidual than the man of simple tools of
primitive days. In social way, too,
he has improved. Instead of each man
being an individualst and antagonistic
to one another as they were in early
days, they now work together and
trust one another. That all men may
trust each other is one of the aims of
socialism. The social conditions aris-
ing from the metal tool age have
brought social labor and new and
better civilization. But at the same
time social condition has been nur-
tured and brought forth which works
contrary to the laws of human morals.
The speaker put another twist in the
tail of the breakfast food sentence:
Tell me who controls the tools and
will tell you who are the governors of
the people, The mechanic without
tools is helpless nothing. Take his
tools from him or stop the machinery
on which he is working, and he is like
child, dependent on the mercy of
otheie. His hands fit his tools Just as
the tools fit his hands. AS result of
present day conditions, l. e., one man
owning the tools of perhaps thousands
of his fellow men, there are millions of
people in actual want in this country
all the time. Not long ago penny
lunches were established in Milwaukee
for school children and it was estimated
that $4,000 innocent children of that
city alone went to school each morning
without having any breakfast. This,
also, was a result of the conditions
mentioned.
The civilization of the world no
longer depends on tools with one-man
handles, but the tools have been de-
handled. The tools are driven by shaft
ing pulleys and belts. This social tool
is complex and manifold. Operated by
a social process it requires an army to
handle it. The product turned out by
it is the life blood of nation and the
heart beat of humanity is connected
with it.
''For man to control this rachine of
society," said the speaker, "for one
uldu lD SlOB u Ut Ills wv Will, " stiAOH
one man to-say to a nation at work,
Hands off that tool is like giving
power to parasite to stop the heart
beat of the man on whom it crawls
Socialism aims to let the people con-
troll the machinery and tools of societyl
They belong to the people and should
be controlled by the people.
AT the conclusion of his address Mr.
Gaylord said he would be pleased to
answer any questions, but none were
asked Though no doubt many who
listened to him disagreed with him in
their views on the subject matter, yet
they gave him credit for being very
pleasing speaker, earnest and of studi
Gus thought This was the first of
series of lectures on the subject OF
socialism which will be given in this
city this winter and no doubt the bal