Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1912-02-22

1879
Los Angeles Times: Socialism is
composed of different elements.
Dreamers, devils and dolts are three
OF those elements. The adreamers
are unselfish souls who live in q
cIoudhouse OF fancy. They are hon
est altruists; they really believe In
the intrinsic unselflshness and kind
" and benevolent impulses of our
poor humanity. They would place
all mankind on a level by pulling
down the rich just little and rails
ing up the poor a good deal. Every
man should have chicken In the
pot every Sunday and, II there we're
not chickens enough to go around,
they would be apportioned for al
ternate Sundays. Every mans slice
of pudding should be as large as
every other mans slice. No man
should be permitted to trade his
neighbor out OF chicken or pudding.
The laborer who welded pick and
spade for eight hours in ditch-dig-
ging should receive the same guam
tity and quality of food, shelter,
clothing, reading, music and dra>
matte performance as the chemist
who bent for eight hours over the
alembic and produced a fluid that
quieted the pulses OF fever and ban
ished the throbbings of pain, or as
the electrician who day and night
experiments with a voltaic battery
and produces heat, light and con-
cussion by which furnaces are made
to glow, and lamps to CLEAN, and
great wheels to revolve.
The dreamers of the socialistic
cult keep 1t out of the mire and I'M
part to 1t a gloss of respectability to
which It Is not entitled. Socialism is
really controlled by the devils OF
anarchy, the thugs and dynamiters
and grafters; the carrion birds who
hang around a horses feet in sum
mer to feed upon the insects that
his tread disturbs; the Wont
Workers and tramps and thieves;
the Gomperses and Harrimans and
Darrows; the orators who prate OF
altruism and practice selfishness,
who talk about serving the greatest
good OF the greatest number, but
with whom the greatest number Is
always Number One.
Lastly, there are the dolts who
make up the rank and file of the
army. The men and Wo-
men who do not accept the everlast-
ing truth that twice two make four
and not five, because they do not
understand, and never will under
stand what they regard as the mere
dictum Of the multiplication table.
These men cannot be reasoned
with, for their thinkers are out OF
order. They accept the teachings
of the dreamers and wink at the
doings OF the devils. II one loses
his lob he attributes his discharge
to the malice of Big Business. II
he abandons his employment and 10
refused credit for meat he charges
the butcher with being under the
influence Of Predatory Wealth. Sick
ness and poverty and all the evils
that come to him he charges to
Loathsome Capitalism, and the
Dreamers and the Devils combine to
make the Dolt believe that socialism
will assuage his sorrows and relieve
his wants and give him for mini
mum Of work a maximum Of the
luxuries Of life.
Happily for the peace and order
and prosperity of the land, the
dreamers and devils and dolts OF So
cialism combined are in minority
and. although they may here and
there, as in Milwaukee and Butte
and Berkeley, achieve temporary tri-
umph. yet in any fairly contested bat
tie in any intelligent American COM
munity they always have been voted
down.