El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-01-27

I cipIes in the future development of the
/ Chinese republic as the creature and
/ not the master of the people. The re-
! cent revolution was a startling surprise
! to the world. Even those who thought
! they knew China best were carried off
{ their feet. The establishment of a re-
! public, though naturally a weak one
( at present, in view of unsettled con-
1 dIuOnS, caused even greater aStOniSh-
ment. But the mere mention of China
and socialism IN the same breath might
well cause wave of incredulty to go
/ bilolwing all over the world.
One wonders what possible chance
, there can be for this new, custom-de-
strOying political faith In this most
, ancient of countries, hypnOtized by
reverence of the past and chained for
centuries to ingrown precedent As
matter of fact China today offers
splendid opportunity for the working
out of sOcialistic principles.
Tried in Twelfth Century.
Before examing DR.. Suns plan It is
interesting to recall that form Of
socialism was tried in China hundreds
Of years before the western world ever
heard of it. Like many other things
in China, the good scheme failed at
first and was consigned to oblivion.
This particular project for the relief
of the poor was thought out by one
Wang Ngan-che, a philosopher of the
twelfth century He was friend Of
Emperor Clients who gave his en-
dOrSement to the experiment Aid to
the poor, gOuging of the rich, elimina-
ton of waste and standardizing Of
crops were its cardinal features
All land was to be owned by the
government, with a board of agricul-
ture in every prescribed district. These
boards were to allOt the land. This
was to be done every year, as required
by the weather, arableness of the sew
eral patches, etc Even the seed vas
to be given to the farmers. But in
order that the farmers might appre-
ciate what was being done for them
and by deeds justify the confidence
Of the government, 1t was stipulated
that after the harvesting the same
amount of seed advanced or produce
of equal value be turned over to the
government The boards of agriculture
were to see that only crops suitable to
the soil and the climate were to be
attempted. Crop failure in any one
section was to be eQualized by the ship
ment thereto Of grain and vegetables
ana fruits from such other parts OF the
empire as had been blessed with bum
per crops. Wang Ngan-che, the the
OrlSt, and the emperor both felt that
this system would bring uniform pros
perlty and deep cOntentment to all Of
China'S sweating millions. They
thought the poor would become richer
and the rich poorer until all stood upon
an equal plane.
Farmers Sold Seed Grain.
Unfortunately, the plan failed It
was tried over large areas, but did
not live long enough to be applied in
all parts of the empire. Instead Of
planting the free grain dOled out to
them so generously by a paternal gov
eminent the farmers ate a good deal
of it off hand. What they didn't eat
was bartered for other kinds OF food
or wearing apparel. As the humble and
peculiar Chinese never has any too
much either to eat or wear, the tempta-
ton to exchange the seed grain for
something which was needed instanter
was too great to resist Then, again,
those farmers who did plant the seed
and raise crops WeaTied of well doing
when they knew that the imprOVident
mes would be cared for by the state
anyhow. In addition to all this there
was the tremendous cost of maintain
ing the boards of agriculture and buy
ing large lots of seed The bitter dis
pute over who should bear this bur-
den, the government or the rural pOpu-
lation, broke Up the Wang Ngan-che
system When emperor Chen-tsung died
this minister was cashiered- A decade
or two later the plan was started again,
but failed more miserably than before
and those back of it were eXiled to I
Mongolia. The motive was all right,
but the method was wrong.
DR.. Sun Has New Plan.
After a lapse of eight centuries DR..
Sun Vat Sen advocates another attempt
to apply socialism in China He is con-
udent of success, for there is to be
no giving of something for nothing,
no bureaucratic meddling in the per-
SOnal affairs Of the people and abSO-
1Utely no redistribution of wealth. In
answer to criticism he has repeatedly
stated publicly that he considers the
last-named feature absurd and that II
will not be attempted.
Cooperative sharing of profits with
the wage earners, who are the real
producers, and government ownership
of public utilities are what DR.. sun is
after. He believes the government
should own and buy up as rapidly as
possible, railways, tramWays, electric
light power, gas works, water works
and canals, besides keeping control Of
the forests. In this connection refOr-
estatiOn of the country would prove
very beneficial, for woOdless China is
sadly in need of trees. Even DR.. Suns
tremendous railway plans, contemplate
ing the building of $4,000 miles Of
track by the aid of foreign capital,
provides for government ownership 40
years after completion, and he hopes
to arrange for all Of this great con-
struction work within 10 years.
Development in Infancy.
Certainly there will never be bet
ter time than now or the immediate
future to give socialism a fair trial
in China for better or for worse. In
dustrial development being in its in
fancy there, it can be applied as COM
merce grows and manufacturing con-
Germs spring up China'S tOilerS are
situated differently than their broth
ers of the Wetsern world, where COM
bniations of capital and unearned in
crement have builded high and heavy
an Industrial structure of which the
1abOrerS themselves are the corner
stones. The western system is heav-
ing ar may fall with damage at first
to all, workers and capitalists alike.
China, it seems, would profit by this
spectacle and build in a different way.
It might be worth while to operate
practical socialism at the very outset
of China's industrial advance If for no
other reason than the avoidance of the
terrible strikes which now rend the
countries of the occident. Blood has
been shed, families disrupted, business
held up and there have been displays
of great violence which have done good
to no one All this is due to the fight
of the working classes for a bigger
share of the profits on the things they
can produce
Three Sources of Revenue.
By the operation of his system, DR..
Sun looks for three main sources of
revenue for the support Of the gov
eminent: Land tax. mining ROYALTIES
and railway revenues. First, the land
would be valued, the owner himself es-
timating its value. The state would
tax accordingly and would have the
privilege of buying the land at any
time at the figure given by the owner
himself. Railway returns are expected
to be large in due time, and there is