New-York tribune., 1919-12-24
The 1920 Issue


At the New England dinner, to the
seeming satisfaction of all present,
The speakers assailed communism.
Early Plymouth, as Governor Low
den remarked, tried communism for
four years, but found it did not work
found the system of private prop
erty better. The old Americans, to
a man, believed that when a person
is allowed to call something his own,
to use and to perfect, he served his
fellows and himself better than when
all things were in common.
Now arise folks who say it is time
70 abolish private property, and they
appeal to the unpropertied or the
little propertied, who happen to be IN
majority and possessed of the su-
oerior power lodged with majority
a democracy. SO communism has
A lure The -propertied hang
oack when summoned to worship
property.
1t is necessary to convince the
House of Have Not that it is bene-
tied by capitalism. This was done
n 1896 in regard to q cognate mat
rer when a people of debtors were
persuaded by a prolonged and
searching debate not only that debt
liquidation was wrong, but not to an
..verage mans advantage. The
920 political campaign promises to
demand an equally thorough popular
education
Private property must face the
ssue-must prove it is a good thing
or all or else perish. The man is
above the dollar as in Lincoln's day;
personal ownership is not an end
out means to an end-the supreme
end Of increasing the sum of human
happiness.
Can private property justify
tself? Is it wise not to ask for an
equal division, even though such a
division is righteous and power to eff
aect it exists?
The challenge can be confidently
net. The main interest of the
masses is not in who, at a given time,
own things, but in achieving the
maximum of production. The hu-
nan family lives not on things
handed down from the past, but on
fruit currently created.
Should division be decreed, the
dividend would be- Most things
are not portable or divisble. A food
supply for six months, a clothing
supply for twelve months, fuel
supply OF about six Weeks-these are
The ordinary balances. Most of
wealth is in the form of capital, fixed
or liquid, and destroy capital and
there is little to distribute. Gu,
communist friends ignore this simple
act When the Bolsheviki admin
stored the estate of the bourgeoisie
they found an empty box. owe
never thought of that" they sale
when their fingers grasped nothing.
With capital and capitalism gone
and little to divide, what would con.
currently happen to the production
which is the real meal ticket? L
would shrivel, as Russia attests
The shriveling would mean de
cline in the standard of living
There would be less to divide than
when capital took profits as th
wages of management.
Without capital, or stored up labo7
as it is called, whence would com,
The fund for improvements? A
soon as the great works reared unde7
The capitalistc regime were worl
out further decline in production
would occur, with consequent tight
ening of all belts.
First, production; second, produc
ton; third, production-these ar
the three great arguments capital
ism can present. Hammer them
hammer them, hammer theml Ameri
cans are intelligent enough and thei
perceptions of self-interests kee
enough to see and act on the truth.