The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-11
SOCIALISM ON VAST SCALE.
(Kansas City starr

In the tremendous efforts now being put forth by
the nations in the European conflict America must
be blind indeed If it fails to the lesson that
longer can be made the business Of single
class of the population. Never again, in any coun-
try, will call to battle only the young adj
venturous manhood merely the professional SOL
der The nations of Europe fighting
masse That is true whether military service is
being given in the trenches at the front in the
industries back of the lines. where men and women
are keeping the armies supplied. or whether 1t is
being given in person by financial other
rifce. Everybody must do something if it is only
to eat less food.
War may now be said without exaggeration to be
the business of Europe 1t is the industry of millions
of people--of whole popuations-and everything
else is incidental to it. Being the business Of the
nations engaged in the great struggle. they natur-
ally have put their best talents into it, have figured
out the best systems to make their efforts effective
and have made output" their object as truly as
that standard is aimed at in any highly organized
and efficient industrial plant.
The effect of this after two and,a half years Of
organization has beef to make England, France and
Germany great workshops in which all the depart
ments 90 dinated to a degree probably never
before attained in human industry, and certainly
so far beyond anything dreamed of in America
where not even the machinery for such organza-
ton exists-that the task of bringing this country
to such pitch of teamwork may well seem colossal
And yet such organization would be essential to
America to England if this country should ever
grapple with great military power and would be
harder to achieve because the fear of a strong
tralzed government is more general in America
than it has ever been in England
There is hardly any word with which Americans
are familiar that describes the process of
tralzation going in England. Collective
ism might describe it if Americans knew what that
meant. Here we have seen something OF govern
ment regulation, but only little We have
the railroads taken in hand to extent. we
have seen that the government can in limited
way. regulate child labor, ana have national
food laws and few things like that. But what
would We say to proposal that the government
should prescribe what crops the farmers should
plant, what prices they should receive for them
what wages they should pay for cultvating and
harvesting them?
Government ownership of railroads and a few
great public utilities has been discussed too much
to be greatly startling. but what if in addition
taking OYER the railroads and the telegraph and
telephone companies. the government should also
commander all the factories. machine shops. tex
tile mills and industries of all descriptions and turn
them into plants? These. indeed would be
but half measures if the government did not follow
them up by communicating labor and should
have the whole population enrolled and told off in
groups, some munitions makers farm
aborers. some armor and gunmakers some as
woavers. hoemakers--everybody to his
task and everybody food ration suitable to the
nature of his labor.
This enormous organization controlled by the
government is exactly what have been warned
| against by all the reputable economists. For gen.
| erations they have assured that any such or
ganizaon would be hopelessly inefficient and that
| the gentlemen who urged it Missionaries Now
| state socialism colossal scale has made good,
| so that every nation competing on n war basis has
had to come to it.
The question is how much of it the United States
| can get along without when it comes to competing
with these highly efficient nations after the war