The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1912-01-25

slrous armament burdens that re-
uli from this system.
They cite the diseases thai ailici
mankind abd how many of them
nave their sole origin in the coadi-
lions produced by this systcra. they
ooint to The crime, insanity AM
)auparism it breeds.
They cite the horrors Of pruati-
ution, 50 far beyond ADEQUATE
words. and insist that eghIy pe'
cent Of it results solely frem th'.
system
They cite The blood stained rec
ord of industrial disasters; so many
men annually killed IN mines, So
many IN factories, SO many ~ rail-
Dad work, IN structural iroE work
Ia The dangerous trades: and they
declare that most Of these lives are
1eedlcssly sacrificed
Their cause Is TO abolish from The
earth a curse so great and in their
thinking no other cause in The his
tory Of the world was ever so inn
porlanl 10 contribute TO il any
service. great or little, they hold TO
be a privilege.
This is the substance Of the So
cialst religion and the explanation
|of the restless Socialist activities
an about the world. The Socialists
have something to gain beyond po-
litical success. They believe that
Socialism bears the remedy for
most Of the physical misery Of the
world, and when it arrives the race
Will begin to live in the true sense
Of living
TO a Socialist His Ideals Are the
Greatest in the World.
Without any pretense of possess
ng unselfshness more than other
men, it must he admitted that then
party has a far higher and broader
aim than any other, and a mar
could hardly follow it consistently
without getting at least a little oul
| OF himself.
II must be so, because most of thu
present day advocates of Socialism
nave little chance of personal gain
from their efforts in agitation
rhey can win no eminence, ever
within the circles of their own par.
lty; most of them cannot hope tG
live to see the fruition of their la.
oors, and they know it. As there i
for them no reward, such as meg
usually strive for, they must either
| be unreasonable fanatics or hav,
some inspiration for the genera
welfare: and the judgment Of fair
minded investigators has absolvet
Them from fanaticism.
How the Socialists Propose TO Cor
rect Things.
But how. then, 80 the Socialist
propose TO change the conditions
they denounce?
In this way:
They propose, first, that the pro
duction and distribution of tn
things needful for mans life, com
fort and material welfare shall b.
owned by the community and car
ried on for the community's benefit
Instead of being owned by a few
individuals and carried on for tn
lbcneflt of these individuals.
They propose that these enter
lprises shall be not only publicl,
Iowned, but democratieally manages
for the Common Good.
| They propose that as all wealtI
is created by labor, labor shall n
longer be flim-flammed with tn
lpittance called wages and salaries
but snail receive the full value 0
the wealth that it creates.
I'm other words, common need
lshould be supplied through com
Imon ownership and common effort
The private ownership Of com
mon need is, in the Socialist eye,
monstrous anomaly.
At present Socialism is denounc
ed as a chimera and an impossible
ldream alluring, of course, but ad
lapted for the millennium, not fo
1.-The world as il is and men as the
Iare. Some of its advocates are real
ly quite honest fellows. you know
well meaning and all that but the
are deceived because Socialism !
Ian impossible dream.
| Yet the most practical men in tn
world, hard-headed captains of iii
ldustry, conspicuous millionaire,
the most admired leaders of tn
business world. are not only work
ing daily for the Socialistic state
they are aetua ly establishing it.
| il be nothing but a dream the
lmust be marVelously simple fole.
| That they do know their work n
Socialism makes no differenc,