The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1910-02-17


The whole trouble, Bro. Scott, arises
from the private ownership of public
utilities. Cease talking about cells
adm stripes. Shall we never get
above and beyond such barbarous
things Let us i'm wisdom simply de-
clare that the private title to the
means of production shall henceforth
be public title; that oppression
of some men by others shall forever
cease by abolishing all opportunity
for oppression. That is the social
| list way, Bro. Scott. Don't you think
it squares up with Christianity better
than your Way?"
And another wonderful thing, Mr..
Editor. was a wonderful, enormous
Cat that one paper says the mea.
retailers "let out Of the bag" the
other day. Here it is: "The retail
ers say there are so many retail mar
kets that each Of them has to make
a high rate of profit in order to Sc
cure a scant living" Now, the re-
taller in all other lines can say the
same thing, and it is true, too. And
what is the remedy? Fewer retail
ers. But under the private profit
system, or rather no system, the few.
or retailers there are, the greater
their power to combine and raise the
prices, even higher than the many re-
quire, and as Dooley says so there
you are" But there Is a new and
a better way, and it is Socalism's
plan-one retailer for as many peo-
pie as he can serve, working in the
department of distribution as a pub
lie distributor, instead of private
profit seeker, his compensation be-
ing his full share of the national an
nual product or, in other words, the
full social value of his service. And
not only in the meat line, but in all
others as we'll, the Socialist way is
the only solution.
But once in a great while, Mr..
Editor, some one remembers that
some one told him something once,
and he says, "Oh, but that would put
US all on a dead level, and it would
destroy incentive. Profit keeps the
world moving; no man moves or will
move except for profit" We will ad-
nit that under the profit no-system
no business man moves in q bust
ness way, except for profit. but We re-
fuse to believe that no one would
move under a system with all oppor.
tunities to make profit everlastingiy.
cut cut "
This reminds us of a big concern
in the United States with 325, 900 en-
ployes, ,dispatching business through
,6o,144 Offices, its total receipts last
year amounting to $203, 562,383. 07.
1t takes the fire and energy and con-
centration, the hope and prospect Of
large private profit, to engineer and
manage the business of such q con.
Germ, doesn't it? No, it does not.
Most emphatically it does not. The
concern we have reference to Is the
United States Postal System. ..-
But some say, oh, WELL. It would
never do to Just have one great big
store in town, and every thing sold
for what it was worth, and com
petition is the life of trade" Yes,
and ne might just as reasonably rec
ommend seventeen postomcee for
Minot, where postage stamps would
be sold for profit and let everybody
produce postage stamps that wanted
to, and sell them for all no could got,
the curtail production TO produce .
scarcity and boost the prize On what
he had bought up cheap, etc :, but he
never thought of recommending such
q condition. He is suited with tho
public mail service when the inter-
ests Of the express companies. and
railroads don't require the rate On III
second class mail 10 be Increased
about I'VE hundred to eight hundred
per cent. and he wouldn't relish the
idss Of . lot Of postal preAt monsers
raising the price Of fstter postage to
nvs, cents, because there were -
many Of them that they had to9havs
, wider margin On the stamps an e.
der 10 i've, -, 35 '2i
There seems to be deep laid plan
! to both dfscredit the peoples psstaf
system, and deprive the people Of
their newspapers by raising the post!
age on them to = prohibitivs figure
on the plea that the postal depart
.nelt ID not , paying proposition Ut
the rate charged at preseu- and there
is a deficit. Pres. Taft might have
suggested one-half cent pound (as
the United States express compa-
MES and the government OF Canada
pay), to the railroads for carrying
that class Of mail instead ~ The aisS
eeHts eur railroads and express COM