New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1912-08-07

tion whether Of not Socialism Will do
|@way with poverty evolved the follow
ing expression Of the Views Of ono
man on the subject. Herman Kuehn.
the Hebrew philosopher Of Chicago,
advances the idea that In an ideal
state poverty viii be the chosen con-
dition Of nearly all and tells why this
will be.
Among other things, he says:
"That abject and degrading poverty
about which Debs gets 80 wrought up
is by no means the only kind Of pow
ery there is. Poverty, in all con-
science, is sufficiently degrading in
the circumstances Overwhelming the
actual sufferers from actual want. But
how much of all this deplorable pow
erty, due to actual want, exists as
compared to the pangs engendered by
Fear of Poverty! l suppose I'd be
charged with exaggeration to guess"
that a fraction over 80 per cent (could
the intensity Of the "pangs" be mathe-
matically gauged) would be found due
to Fear and NOT to Want.
Suppose now that this Fear could
be eliminated (as indeed 1t CAM
where, then, would be the sting OF
poverty? And how readily it could
(and by our universal brotherhood,
how effectively it would be assuaged!
"The Fear of Want eliminated, how
many of us, think you, would dellb-
erately seek to acquire and accumu-
late goods? To what extent could the
mania of owning things obsess US
we're we emancipated from that Fear?
when mankind attains normality
we shall have the poor always with |
us, because they will elect to be in
poverty stricken but IN
poverty because they will be the hap
pier for not being burdened with the
care of much possessions. And such
among them as are stricken will be
succored, and will not be or feel de-
graded by accepting brotherly help
nor will the helpers plume themselves
because of their generosity but will
be eager to shield the really needy.
It looks far-fetched, indeed, immersed
as we are in our current worship OF
to conceive Of state OF
social relationships in which there
will be an active, II friendly, compe.
,ition to be early each with his meas
ire of meal for the hungry, and his
,ervice for those that in anywise re-
luire it. Yet that, and that alone, Is
what is in the nature of things We
lave become so accustomed to re-
,arding the artificial as superior to
he natural that we seldom look for
he operation of the natural law Of
'rotherness.
I'm normal conditions the poor will
re always with us, and in the vast ma
GRITTY, because they will prefer to be
,oor. In our present state of perver-
lion (due entirely to the prevailing
aith in the coercive powers to which
We all lend our aid) the poor are al
Ways with us because they uphold the
that make their poverty
earsome and degrading This is not
o say that they knowingly contribute
o their own misery. Certainly not!
they don't know! There's the rub!
There's nothing to be afraid of ex-
.ept of being afraid. Had we faith
n the natural brotherness OF man to
,ne-tenth the extent that we have
aith in the institutions that engender
ear of one another, the sting of pow
erty would be dispelled instantly.
ITO those who voluntarily choose
poverty (and the reasons why sane
people should and will so choose are
20 numerous and obvious that only the
vilfully blind cannot see them) we
must look at length for "the truth that
shall make us Free" For these, max
ing no claims upon Nature, Society, or
their brothers, will be first to see the
absurdty of all such claims-and will
good naturally laugh at them. And
hey will teach the somber Performer"
how to indulge his first laugh, and af-
ter that it will become easy, even for
him, to join in the merriment.
ut is not to political Socialism we
must look for this deliverance, else we
shall always look in vain. The So
cialism that has power to save is that
implanted in US by Nature itself. Po-
|itical socialism does not encourage
this faith. It carries on its shoulder
the chip of the rights Of the working
class as opposed to the chip on the
shoulder of the owning class. A
plague on both their houses. II /
must choose between the Empire of
the Rich and the Empire Of the Poor,
I'll choose precisely as the political
socialist now does. But have
wider scope of choice. I don't need
an Empire really. I am innocent of
chip on my shoulder. We have all of
us-or the intelligent among u.s.
merely to chuck the chip!"