Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-08-25
History in the Making

pOil VI tue secretary Oh ln0 OulIeu
States League of Local Building and
Loan Associations. Some of the
figures are striking proof of the dis
tribution of wealth and that desire
TO own their homes which goes so
far to explain why socialism has not
taken firm root in this country. The
assets are 136,949,4 ,465, showing
an increase of $1O6,262,4S4, or a
I little more than 10 per cent for the
year, and the membership increased
1S5. .613, or a little less than per
cent; the average amount due each
member is $451.45, an increase of
$9.64 per member for the year.
GeImany's Bonds Show Big Decline.
While still in Germany and on
finance it is interesting to note an
explanation furnished by the Berlin
Tageblatt on the remarkable depre-
citation of German government bonds.
Ten years ago an excellent market
existed for these securities, when y
per cent state and municipal loans
were able to rise from SO per cent
to above par, and per cent stocks
were bought up to 105 and 106 per
cent. In 1906 a heavy fall set in,
due to a decline in interest on the
part of the general public, and since
then rates have tended steadily
downward. The buying interest fell
off and the number of sellers in
creased, till finally the fixing of the
price had to be arranged by the in
tervention of the banks. In the last
quarter, prices of inland stocks fell
on an average 3 per cent, and in
some cases as much as per cent;
the total decline in price of the 4
per cent since 1906 is 10 to II per
cent. and of the 81 per cent as
much as 10 to II per cent. This
recalls the argument of Norman
Angel that, as Germany makes her
self the more secure by reason of
her increased armaments, the less
the sense of security in her govern
ment bonds; but, of course, Angel
failed to understand the fact that
the money market in times of peace
has changes almost as great as those
caused by war
Socialist Bebel Was Rich Man.
The death of Herr Bebel marks
an important movement in German
history. Though not the founder
and by no means the thinker of the
socialist party, he was one of its
foremost figures by reason of his
willingness to go to prison when
ever martyr was wanted. I.deed
it was chiefly to his martyrdom that
he owed his prestige in the party.
! Curiously enough, though the cham
pion of the so-called rights of pow
erty, and one who began life as a
carpenter, Bebel was not a poor man.
| On the contrary, he amassed quite
| respectable fortune during the
course of his advocacy of socialism.
| In this he resembles the socialist
/ leaders in various other countries.
/ Many of the English Fabians are
! rich men, while in Australia, where
/ socialism has made the most rapid
| strides, many OF the leaders, who
1 began as laborers, are almost as rich
as the bloated capitalists" the de-
nunciation of whom has proved SO
/ profitable an industry. The most
/ peculiar feature of Bebels career
was seen in 1907, when he stood up
/ in the Reichstag and demanded Mill
/ tary drill for youths, a form of mill
/ tarism wholly at variance with the
| professions of his party and one that
throws much light on socialism in
Germany. The rank and file are not
and never were economic theorists.
but men with made up minds on the
evils of army tyranny. On the other
hand, the leaders rannot get away
from the fact that socialism is a
form of industrial miitarism.
First Eugenic Marriage is Failure.
We have had some experiments of
a socialistic character in the United
States, among the more recent be-
ing attempts to regulate the insti-
tuition of marriage. That al the
experiments have failed is a matter
of common knowledge, and admitted
by all save the party advocates, hut
it is amusing to record that the first
eugenic marriage recorded in Massa-
chusetts has resulted in a disastrous
failure within one month of the nup-
tials. When Edwin Perron and his
fiancee were united the union was
heralded as the first along the lines
of eugenics that had followed the
agitation of leading scientists, ply
sicians and clergymen. Both de-
clared that their mating was III strict
accord with scientific principles. and
that the customry sentiment and
sentimentality were not the deter