Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-10-27

Iunt, You're a Socialist, Eth? A So
Icialist. Oh, no, you want to divide up.
Ian wealth
Protest as you will against that
statement the enemy keeps repeating
lit.
Two ends are achieved by this
clever statement, first. it alarms
great many thrifty working men and
small property owners; second, the
absurdity of any attempt to divide
up is self evident.
Besides this statement saves our
statesmen, our editors, our finanicers
1.-THE trouble Of finding out what So
cialism is and of honestly combating
| it.
And so they say: divide up
wealth and within generation there
will exist the same inequality of pos
session that now exists" And as
that is evidently true it proves the
absurdity of dividing up wealth.
We shall not attempt to answer
this attack by. saying that we are
Socialists because we are against di-
viding up wealth and giving the CAPT.
talist most of it.
Nor shall we answer this attack
by asking for the name OF ONE So
cialist who has ever advocated d.
viding up wealth.
There is no such Socialist; but
curiously enough. there are capitalists
who advocate dividing up. That is
astonishing, but it. is true. The re-
cent policy of England in trying TO-
solve the Irish land question is an ex-
ample in point.
The land of Ireland has been TOT
many centuries owned by great Land
lords, most of whom prefer to live
anyher, except in Ireland.
Gross evils have arisen as result
of this private monopoly in land.
After century of royal commls-
sions sent out to study the ruin OF
the Irish people through Land mo-
nopoly the English government was
forced to act.
The people Of Ireland are trouble
some, and the English government
spends millions a year to maintain
enough police to keep the irish
down. 4
The warehouses; are full, the peo-
nle unproductive and Ireland Is IN
a state of chronic bankruptcy.
It is not therefore as profitable a
dependency as country OF its size
and productivity should be.
The English government at last
realized that if it were to deal sue
cessfully with Ireland it must cut out
the cancer of land monopoly.
It made several feeble attempts 10
that end and at last it estaDllsneo
tThe Estates Commissions for the pur-
nose of buying up the entire lano OF
ireland and dividing it among the
Peasants.
ltricts Board to which it gave greae
II established a Congested DIS
compulsory powers.
This board buys great estates anu
| by use of agricultural experts, puts
ltbem in first rate condition. It tnen
divides the estates into small parcels
and allots them to Irish peasants.
The cost of buying all the land OF
ireland and of dividing IT IN TINS
manner among the tenants WIN
amount in the end Of about one Dill
lion dollars.
Tbe scheme is to buy the land ana
nav the landlords cash for 1t. Inc
peasants then pay back in small pay
ments over a period Of from forty
| five to sixty years, the money 70 tne
government.
At the end of that period it is ex-
nected that each peasant will have
small farm entirely his own.
Now that is one way to divide up
wealth.
az course no Socialist ever 'sug-
Ieested that. The Capitalists thought
that out and put 1t into practice.
n is the exclusive product OF the
brain Of the foremost English states
men. -
These English statesmen are fight
ING socialism because htey say II m