The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-01-03
COLLINS IS STRONG
FOR W0RilhGMtM
Boston Speaker. Is Harsh In Criticism
OF Socialism At Big Lyric
$50. Meeting. $50
LOCAL SOCIALISTS COMMENT
Il c. Longan. Secretary Richmond
Socialist Party. Issues Tart State
mcnt Concerning Publication An
n0tIncfng Yesterdays Meeting.

\ large audience heard Peter w.
Collins, of Boston, speak at the Lyric
yesterday afternoon on the subject,
';What's Wrong With the World?" He
was introduced by w, t. Dabney. bust
ness manager of the Chamber of Com
merce
Mr.. Collins. address was mainly a
severe pronunciation of Socialism,
which. he said. claimed to be cure
for the many evils of the day
The speaker said that Socialism was
not. as 1t claimed to be, from the
workers. for the workers" but was
propagated by men such as Mark and
E.ngels, who had nothing in common
with the workers.
Going into his objection to Social
ism, the speaker said that tendency.
as evidenced by the writing and teach
ing of it's leaders. to be nothing but a
wave of infideiity. denying God. and
attempting the destruction of religion
and of all private rights as embodied
in the home.
Mr.. Collins said science was not the
leader in progress. as claimed. but
that 1.-THE Gospels and the Ten Com
mandments were the beacon lights Of
society" The speaker stated that his
purpose in showing the evils of So
cfalism was to show that such an in
stftution could not work for the
elimination OF the great evils that ex-
list today.
with facts and figures reminiscent
Of his experience in the ranks of labor.
as leader and a member of the
Illinois Industrial Commission, Mr..
Collins took up the main theme of his
DISCOURSE the evils that cause the
great social unrest. Among these
evils were irreverence. infidelity, d.
vorce graft corruption.
The idea Of Christian social service
was brought out in the Encyelical OF
Leo NIL. from which the lecturer
quoted as follows;
"An agree that there can be no
question whatever that some remedy
must he found and found quickly for
the misery and writchedness pressing
SO early and unjustly at this moment
on the vast majority Of working classes
Each needs the other. Capital can =
not do without labor: nor labor without
capital. Mutual agreement results In
pleasantness of life and the beauty OF
good order. while perpetual conflict
savage harbartty.
tTef II be taken for granted that
worknen and employers should as a
whole, make peace agreements and IN
particular should agree freely as TO
wages.
Nevertheless there underhes die
tate of nature. more irnperlous and
more ancient than any bargain between
man aud man namely. that remunera-
tion must bc sufficient TO support in
reasonable and frugal comfort. II
through necessity or fear of worse
eyff,s 1he wJrkingman accepts harder
conditions because an employer or con
tractor win afford him no better. ne
is made the victim Of force and In
Justtee."
Mr. Collins stated that In these
words was embodied the great ideal
OF Christian social service and this he
said must he the ideal of all, trrespee~
tive of race or creed. who united, must
work out the great problems that CON
front us today"
Improvement Of the working condi-
ttnua. shorter working hours. living
wage wee some OF the ideas brought
ont by the lecturer for the betterment
IL social conditions and the settlement
of unrest that pervades the world at
this time And this must be brought
about hy legislation, education and
evolution by construction and not by
ri.st -aetiesy
Mr.. Collins stated further. that
irt,turine at the Lawrence tMethodistl
College. at the request of the presi-
dent, he had been struck by the re-
mark Of Professor Bushnell, who
gaid. '.Do you know that there are
annually killed and injured in industry
every year I'm America at least SEQ. 900
workers by accidents, three-fourth or
which are proven by European ex-
ysrience to he wholly unnecessary
His strong plea for the abolition OF
child abor. giving each and every
child. rich or poor. the same chance
fnr free. untranmeled education and