Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-01-30
ALFRED Russell WALLACE. :

Our friend is dead-not my friend alone,
nor your friend, but the friend of human
ity. We have grown of late years, Henry
George having been SO long dead, to look
successor Of Mr.. George. But not SO.
Were Henry George alive today he would
be only, in his 74th year. while DR.. Wal
lace lately died in his 92d year, and re-
tanning his vigorous mind until the last.
DR.. Wallace was the father, the head
and front Of the Land Nationalization
George was the leader of a similar move
ment In this country.
It may not be out of place here to
invite attention to some of the ~utterances
of Dr.. Wallace in his last book issued
only a few months before his death, as
quoted by the Literary Digest:
we see a continuous advance of mans
power to utilize the forces of nature to an
extent which surpasses everything he had
been able to do during all the preceding
centuries of his recorded history.
I'VE see also that the result of this
vast economic revolution has been almost
wholly evil.
I'VE see tina this hundredfold Increase
of wealth. amply sufficient to provide
refinement and luxuries for our whole
population has been distributed with
such gross injustice that the actual con-
has become worse and worse, no efficient
arrangements having been made that
from the overfiowing abundance produced
IA SAA00AA kSSSAN0 lAIO SoSOAlI4dlS IA
a healthy and happy existence.
we have seen huge cities grow up,
every. one of them with their ov~ercrowded,
insanitary slums, where men. women, and
children die p~rematurely as surely as
though a body of secret prisoners were
constantly at work to destroy them.
by starvation to work in such an empois-
oned environment as to produce horribly
painful and disfiguring disease. which is
onght f ia hay IN b sarly si y9u slh.+ or r,,d IN what
been. the period OF maximum enjoyment
Of their womanhood. And to this very
DAY no efficient steps have been taken to
abolish these conditions.
w see millions still struggling in vain
for q suffiicency of the bare necessaries
Of life (Which in their misery is all they
ton. or In suicide, to.which they are driv-
en- by the dread of starvation. Yet our
governments. selected from among the
wealthiest of the country. with absolute
power to make what avs and regula-
tions they please, and an Overlooking fund
nothing. although more people die an
nually of want than are killed in a great
war, and more children than could be
slaughtered by many Herods.
And while all this goes on in the
depths . q little higher up, among
me m.ddlsmen: distributors OF the neces-
teration, and various iorrns of petty dis
honesty are rampant.
And higher vet. anon the great CAPT
talists. the merchant princes. the captains
Of Industry. we find hard taskmasters who
arive down age below the level of bare
Eunsistence. and who supper q more gi-
Eigantic and widespread system Of gam
bling tina the world has ever seen.
And. finally, our administration of
what we call Justice land Of which we
IRE Sc proud because our judges can not
pc brtbed) ts utterly unjust. because n II
BASED on Q system Of money fees at every
step: because It Is so cumbrous and full
Df tec%hnicalities as to need the employ.
ment OF attorneys and counsel at great
punishable by n or imprisonment. which
makes poverty itself a crime while it al
tree.
Taking account Of these various groups
q u~ndeubted facts, many OF which are
g gross 70 terrible. that they can not
Re overstated. Il IL not too much to !
nat whole system Of society q rotten
rom top to bottc a, md the social en-
slronment assa whole. In relation to our
Z sossibilisies and ourgclaims. q the WORT
hat the world has ever seen,
Vne objection may b. made that III this