Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1913-09-09
SOCIALISM VERSUS
MODERN CAPITALISM
William Francis Barnard Give.
Lucid Talk on Economic
Determinism
RECITES IMPRESSIVE VERSES,
President Wilson Quoted Repeatedly
to Show The Evils Of Plulocracy.

A representative audience OF cit
liens. ladies and gentlemen. assem-
bied at the hall Of the Chamber Of
Commerce last night aud heard most
Interesting and Instructive talk upon
the subject of Socialism, given
by Mr.. William Francis Barnard. Of
Chicago.
The speaker delivered his MESA ge
in a quiet, conversational style. which
was very effective. At the conclu-
sion. several OF the hearers responded
20 his invitation to ask questions,
which ELECTED further light upon the
different phases Of his subject. Mr..
Barnard brought the evening 20 an
impressive climax By rPciting from
his own book Of poems tTae Chill
dren Of the Looms verses inspired
hy what he saw at the cotton mills
in Lawrence, Mass.
One verse appeals pathetically to
twentieth century material progress
20 man, who boast your lands sub
dued,
Your conquered air, your oceans
tanned,
Who mold all nature to your mood,
Look on these babes and be
ashamed
Dull looks from out each weary face,
Cold words upon each little tongue
Dead lives that know not childhood's
grace.
Grown old before they can be
young"
Quite a number Of his books, 1.-THE
Tongues Of Toll were PURCHASED by
his hearers and other literature was
eagerly received by them. In the
course OF his address, the speake r
spoke substantially as follows
1--WE will consider the main tenets
Of Socialism and then endeavor to
show what Socialism will be in actual
operation. In all the efforts to i'm
prove the moral character of human
ity, many good people overlook the
chief determining factor the aver.
age OF wealth. If every worker re-
ceived the full value of his work, he
could live, with his family, life of
decency and refinement. He could
develop bis higher nature and fulfill
his best aspirations.
ION the contrary, wher thousands
are robbed Of large proportion If
| their earnings, they are doomed to
surroundings which actually dwarf
| body, mind and soul. Moral charac-
ter is therefore largely determined
by social conditions, or the way la
which men earn thsir daily bread.
This is known as Economic Determi-
nism' Persons who imagine that in
toxicating liquor is the chief cause
OF poverty, shodld consult statistics
such as a recent Chicago social SER
vice report, which showed that in
/ 700 cases of poverty investigated,
only one in seventeen was the result
of intemperance,
when we reflect that the average
product of the working man is So, goo
per year. and the average wage is
$500, we can readily see that large
proportion Of his wage ia kept back
by fraud. This Surplus Value goes
into the pockets of designing capi-
talists. Human history shows that
there has awlays been a master-class
and a serving class. Today the mas
ter class is a small minority OF the
people who own most of the country's
wealth. In order TO maintain their
rule, they shrewdly bpy the govern
ment. This is easily done by pur-
chasing a sufficient number of cor :
gressmtn to do their bidding.
President Wilson has recently
pointed this out by his memorable
exposure of the iniquities of the
lobby. Not only is Congress thus
corrupted, but even the Supreme
Court Of the United States, has over
stepped its authority, and nullified laws
intended to benefit the people at
large. Thus, while we have been
glorying in the belief that we live
in democracy. we are actually
the subjects of a designing plu-
tocracy.
"To quote President Woodrow
Wilson again, we find ia his book
Division and Rsulion, such start
ling statements as this: The Fed
eral Government was not by inten-
tion a democratic government, In
plan and structure 1t had been
meant to check the sweep and power
popular majorities -. The gov
eminent had, in fact, been origi-
mated and organized upon the initia-
tive, and primarily in the interest Of,
the mercantile and wealthy class.
The result of his reign of plut lcracy
has been to set up false standards of
ethics, such as children should care
for their aged parents. II justice
had been melted out to those parents
in wage. their old age would not be
humiliated by dependency.
''Let us row consider the question
of Woman Suffrage. The Socialist
Party was the first to make il plank
in their platform. And why? Be
cause motherhood is a m1st sacred
calling, nourishing the offspring Of
her own flesh and blood through the
Il nder years of infancy and early
childhood until alas she must open
the door aud send this object of her
love into a world of greed, enmity
and vice. She has trained her little
one in the heaven Of her home, only
to be turned loose into veritable
hell.
THE demand for the vote is the
protest OF divine motherhood, that
she may follow her chill into the So
cial worll, to assist in making laws
in harmony with home. Under So
,s.1;.~, a. ,hsfdroo upffl he r1rnfect-