The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1911-11-09

they leave it in the banks or pile
it up in safety vaults to draw
nothing? Only the silly would do
that, and if they did there must
of necessity be a continually in
icfeasing amount of fiat money
made to fill the channels of trade,
else they would soon have all The
present supply laid aside. This is
absurd. Now you are still up
against the question, What are
they going to do with their surplus
earnings? There is but one thing
to do, and that would be to buy
something, and that something
would again increase their already
great income and it would be in
levitable that all the industries pass
into the hands of these dividend
receivers just as they now are ac-
Iquiring them. And if they did only
take six per cent increase on their
large and more economic plants of
production, do you not see that the
man of small means who could not
produce as cheaply as the man
with great machines and labor
saving devices, which he could not
afford; could not produce cheap
enough to compete on the market
and would fail faster than he does
today, where the big plants are
making profits of 20 per cent or
more above the production cost OF
things. Under such conditions only
the few with great capital could
produce for the market for their
Iprice at six per cent advance over
actual cost would make Impossible
any small competitors. That is the
meaning of the decline of the small
dealers and factories today. Then
there would be another phase you
could not solve. Suppose two great
corporations were producing the
same thing and one should desire
to put his good on the market at
or closer to cost than the other one
for the purpose of bankrupting the
weaker. Would you make a law
that he should not charge less than
his legal profit2 Would you refuse
to take the same goods at a less
price, Just to force them to accept
the six per cent profit. And then,
what about the wages of all the
Itoilers of the nation? Who would
be employed by these gian' en-
lployers? Is that to be regulated by
law as are also the corporations?
i Unless that were done one could
lcut wages or lengthen hours, and
thus undersell a more humane en-
lployer. and thus run the good man
lout of business and still sell his
goods for less than his competitor,
and also sell for six per cent profit.
Take the farmer. Should he have
six per cent profit ON his invest
ment and his wages equal to the
pay for similar work elsewhere?
Suppose he had bad year in his
section. Would the public be COM
lpelled to pay him more for his
wheat corn or cotton than that
from more favored section, Just
because he must make his six per
cent? You see it would be impos-
sible to solve these problems under
private ownership, even if you
could regulate them which you
cannot. But it is simple under COL
leetive ownership. Then all the
lpeople government would own
the industries. There would be no
: interest, dividends or profits to
) anyone. The workers will be the
government and they will work
with their own plants, elect their
own foremen, managers and super
; lntendents, and they will get their
: wages, reward, or whatever you
may call it from their own govern
ment and the products will belong
to themselves (the government
and the prices of things produced
will be regulated by the time put
: IN and what they get for their SER
: vices to society.
They Will be able to buy back
from that society direct. without
| the intervention of any middlemen.
: who would be living off of them
!. and deeeiving them about the cost
: as now Is the ease. Then every
citizen would have vital interest
! aS a matter of self-proteciion 10
+ arrange that there be a place for
] every citizen and have that citizen
: m That place where he could exer-
{. else his highest ability. for thai
: would give him the highest pleas
ure and give society The best re-
: suits. Today much Of the best
7 abiiity i lost because Il j. not doing
/, he work best suited to it, Much