New Britain herald., 1918-04-24

and that is the heaviest ordnance we
can make In this country and can fire.
1t takes the shock OF the gun between
the eyes to argue with men with faces
of that type: that is the only way that
civilized society can protect itself and
that government Of the people can
endure.
II have no doubt that Mr. Baker
has come back with much information
and, I hope, with a change of heart.
But object to our having to educate
the men assembled about the execu-
tive with such long lapse Of precious
time and at such an infinite cost to the
country. The educational process
ought to have begun before such men
assumed the robes of office.
Wilson Former Jail Inmate.
Then there is the secretary of
labor, w. B. Wilson, another member
of the cabinet. He made his debut in
public notice by being in Jail in Cum
berland, Md. for violating the laws Of
the country. He is to be the gentleman
in charge Of the expenditure of $780,
600, 900 for housing and humanitarian
purposes, with power even to condemn
private residences. He could turn any
member of the senate out Of his home
by merely applying to a district Judge
Of the United States court and obtain
ing the approval Of the Judge before
filing a petition for condemnation or
issuing any order by which the prop
erty is to be taken, and you and your
family put upon the curbstone.
"W. B. Wilson himself is a state
socialist. In many addresses he has
shown himself as unauthorized a So
cialist in all our domestic affairs as
can be found in the purely socialist
organization in the United States
Senator Fall interrupted to say: II
agree with the senator about Secretary
Wilson being state socialist, but !
would go little further. Mr.. Wilson
has advanced a theory of state social.
ist never before advanced by Marx
or any other state Socialist-that
property shall not only be conf1scated
for the welfare Of the nation or the
community, but that the measure of
the right to confiscate property shall
be it's profit-bearing character. He
maintains the full right of the state
to take private property away from
the individual"
YES that is correct" said Senator
Sherman. when I speak Of state So
cialtsts, T do not mean state in the
narrow sense Of our forty eight states;
I mean authority to take over any
enterprise whatever in any state.
Mr.. Burleson, the postmaster
general in the same sense, is also
a state socialist. Mr.. Burleson has
frequently, by messages, report and
otherwise, whenever he has had oc-
casion to express himself, favored the
taking of telegrap1ls and telephones
udI ~
department. He, in substance, says
that it is an anomaly for the COM
munication of int lligence to be in
private hands. There is an almost
laughable statement in his report of
1917, in view Of all that preceded it,
about government ownership of tele-
graph and telephones. In it MI
Burleson exhibits a strange lapse of
III emory or understanding. He rec
ommends in that report that all of
the rural free delivery of the United
states be taken out of the govern
ment's hands and farmed out to pri-
Vate contractors under various routes
and he sustains 1t by the argument
that the contractors can do the work
cheaper than the rural carriers are
now doing it for the government.
II agree with him as to the prin-
ciple of it, but it Is contradictory to
all of his arguments and to every
utterance on the question he has
made since I have known him In
public office. I do not think he is a
fit person to decide it. He is carry
ing about today in his private fortune
the proceeds of the labor of Texas
ccnvicts in connection with cotton
farming on his land in that state. An
investigation by the Texas Legislature
showed that his farm was let out
run by convict labor, and that he re-
ceived a share of the proceeds of the
farm. Now he is the last person in
the world to be talking about gov
eminent ownership and issuing orders
and edicts from his department to
the postal employees of this country,
denying them in substance the right
to organize themselves TO respectfully
present their claims to congress OF
the departm Mr.. Burleson rep
resents in concrete form labor that
has no right to speak.
This is another one of the pres-
dents advisers with whom he will
consult on this bill after the power
is dele gated to him to consolidate the
depart ments."