The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1912-05-23
Socialists Designs

ize the machinery of production
and distribution. This includes
railroads, telegraphs, mills, fac
tories, mines and enough lane
to break the force of unemploy.
ment and landlordism.
What do we mean by social.
izing these things? Making them
public or collective property.
You can understand the rela.
tionship Of socialized property
by thinking of schools, public
roads. court houses. parks, post
Offices and other things that al
ready have been socialized.
Socialized property is not di-
vided and cannot be divided
therefore, the talk of socialism
wanting to divide things up is
nonsense.
When things are socialize5
they are conducted for service
rather than for profit; it is SC
with schools, roads and mails.
it will be so with manufactures
and transportation when they
are socialized; therefore, Social.
ism will destroy profit, interest
and rent.
But Socialism does not propose
to socialize all things, only the
tools that are socially used;
therefore, the claim that it is
against property is false; indeed
it's chief aim is to N axe it possi:
BILE for all people TO have private
property, the private property
thev need for their comfort, wei
fare and happiness.
Socialism proposes to give wo-
man the ballot and absolute
equality with man before the
law. therefore. it would not
make woman property and
could not promote community
of women" such as exists to-
day in bawdy houses, or free
love, as it is falsely charged
with doing,
But Socialism does mean
something more than the social
ization of the means of produc-
ton and distribution. It propos-
es also the democratic control of
them. This means an extension
of popular rule both in politics
and industry. It includes the
initiative, referendum and recall
It includes the power of the
worker to employ himself, fix
the hours and conditions of la
Dor, and select his own foreman
Under such conditions there
could not be the lossism or bu-
reaucracY that exists today, and
the claim that Socialism favors
these things falls to the ground.
It means also that Socialism
is not a cut and dried thing that
we are trying to force down
your throat. but is rather mere,
ly a proposition to put all the
power in the hands of the geo,
pie and trust them to do what
they may think is right.
It means that the talk of So.
cialism destroying the home OF
religion is necessarily nonsense,
seeing that it cannot override
the will and wishes of the whole
people.
But certain things will follow
the socialization of the big tools
of production and distribution,
The people will be able to EN-,
ploy themselves, and retain
their full social product. Land.
lordism and proht-taking will
pass. AS all will always have
Jobs and get all they produce
poverty will end. AS poverty
ends ignorance will go and nine
tenths of the crimes, nine-tenths
of the prostitution, and practi-
cally all the wars that disgrace
modern civilization will disap-
pear.
Remember, however, that so
cialism is not a scheme that a
few have devised; it is not al
due to agitation. It has evolved
out Of conditions growing out
from the development of machi-
nerv, and follows in logic that
which has gone before; there,
fore, it is not going to be ended
by either schemes or abuse OF
trickery.
1t is simply a new awakening
of the workers Of the world
looking toward a higher ano
juster civilization and an end OF
mastery and exploitation. .-Ap.