The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-01-31
"THE WAR OF THE CLASSES"
Was Subject of Third Socialist Lecture
Last Evening.

Ben Wilson of Girard, Hans. the third
! speaker in the lecture course held this
winter under the auspices of local So
cialists, talked to large audience in
the Hedding Methodist church lasteeven-
ing on the subject, "The War of the
| Classes" Mr.. Wilson is a speaker OF
unusual forcefulness and of the 300 or
more people who gathered to hear him
last night few, if any, failed to give
him their undivided attention. Miss
Isabel Gauld opened the program with
| piano solo and the speaker was in
trodueed by James Gauld who took oc-
casion to thank the patrons of the
course, who have SO generously given
their moral and financial support.
According to Mr.. Wilson, every politi-
cal propaganda has started on d small
scale in the face of seemingly impas-
sable barriers. Every movement has had
to fight its way through prejudice, per-
secution and prosecution and Socialism
has been no exception to this rule He
told of the rapid realignment of the
popular conception of Socialism during
the past few years and said that no
longer ago than two years the major
ity of his hearers wenld not have yen-
tured TO attend Socialist meeting. He
spoke OF other changes in the conditions
and said that the present system is a
mighty propaganda force in itself He
reiterated the statement of other So
cialists that the old-line parties, So
called, had outliyed their usefulness, say
ing that the present system would soon
chuck their ragged remnants into the
rag bag of history.
There il nothing wrong with the earth,
said Mr. Wilson. The earth is the dyna-
mo of human happiness and under tile
present conditions. the operators OF the
dynamo are All fanf Man now real
izes that he must fight battle with
capital and in the realization OF victory
is to be found his salvation.
Man is commencing to use his brains,
said Mr. Wilson, and all men will come
to realize that their share OF human
happiness viii be secured only through
the judicious use Of the ballot Ignor-
ance and bondage have always gone to.
gether and that now day of enlight.
enment has dawned, man is coming into
his own.
The speaker showed how mans in.
geHuity has harnessed such great nat
ural forces as electricity and steam
He said that the production of the world
has thereby so accelerated progress that
scientists declared that more wealth has
been created in the past century than
in all the other centuries known to
history. And vet, under the present
system, the trust, wage or eaptalistic |
system, the poor are poorer than ever
before. There are some things, he said |
which we must haye-f0od. shelter and |
clothing, In former times we could pro-
vide these things ourselves. But in the /
past twenty-five years every branch Of |
has been revolutionzed until |
to. day there is the great social produe
ton by machinery, instead of the in !
lividual production of the hand The |
machine owners seek to secure operators /
It the lowest wage and by this means
hey can withhold all Of these necess-
ties, food, shelter = clcfhing. -
In closing, the speaker drew a glow
ng picture of the day when these con-
litions shall be ended day when
he workingman will reap the fruits of
MS own toll, Formerly, said he, the
lave was Knocked down to the high
bidder Now the job is sold to the
nan who makes the lowest price This
entury, however. win witness the pass
ng of a spectacle where the mass of
nen must beg from the few the right
o work. In our own day. woman will
. delivered from her bondage and little
hildren will not have to work in the
pil and factory for their bread. This
ay will come when the robbery Of the
working classes will forever cease and
he means of production will be collee-
ivelv owned.
Mr.. Wilson is Canadian by birth
mt has lived the greater part Of his
fe in this country. He is graduate
{ Northwestern university and for some
cars thereafter he served as Meth ]
dist minister in Illinois. His home is
a Girard, kans.. and when he is not
,cturine he acts as one of the contribut
lg editors Of the Appeal to Reason" |
he next lecture Of the course will he .
iven by Frank Slayton in the Univer-
alist church next Tuesday evening.