The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-03-12
The Black Sheep:
chapt. XXI.
Philosophy (eontinuedl


life seems to be the object of all orr
striving. and what is more natural TO
strive along the lines of least resis.
ance. The property owning class ex-
ploits us in order that they may live
MS it seems best to them; they do
not hate us any more than a hunter
hstes a duck; we are their legitimate
prey. When we rebel against direct ex-
ploitation they kill us; history is full
of such examples as you yourself have
told me. This class struggle of which
vou speak is not a matter of morals;
II is Il matter of position. And position
depends OF two things, first one must
hs at the place of opportunity before
the crowd arrives and second he must
have the brain to recognize an ad-
vantage when it presents itself and the
courage to make it his own.
"I belong to the working class and
as long as 1 do, it is to my interest
that they should be organized to pro-
tect themselves from the aggressions
of the boss; but believe me the first
chance I have to get out of it and
live fat in the halls of the mighty -
I go. The fat pastures look good to
Jack ThurstoD -
"Fat chance you have Of getting
out of the working class, remarked
Collins" now that capitalism is de-
veloping by leaps and bounds. In a
few years there will not be an op.
portunity to get hold of any pro-
perty worth speaking Of, if you had
a head as big as bushel basket, and
a wad as big as blanket.
~ know it, ''Jack answered. but
knowing what the working class is up
against from within and without 7 can
see for them only hopeless and
endless struggle; ceaseless warfare
between the House of Have and the
House of Want, with the advantage
always on the side of the possessing
class. There is an old saying that
possession is nine points of the law"
"But how are you going to get pos
session except by organized effort, y
Rudolph asked.
"Who ever said that yau were 90.
ing to get possession as class? Slav-
cs are not bred to possess. I will grant
you that the present masters may be
overthrown by political or even Vi
olent revolution: that's only natu-
raj. Death comes to all things includ-
ing the ruling groups of finance. They
cannot last forever. But because your
ruling groups must pass away that
does not mean that your irresponsible,
mutually antagonistic, hopelessly help
less and abjectly servile mass will pos.
sess themselves of the reins of power.
No, your revolutions have always
meant, and will always mean simply n
change of masters. One group of dom
inants falling and another group of
dominants rising. might paraphrase
Tennyson. "Masters come and masters
| go. But the slave tolls on forever"
sour class is determined by our meth
cd of getting a living. Our method
of getting living is determined by
our mental inelinations. Our mental
inelinations are determined by our
brain type. Our brain types are de.
tcrmined by biological variations, due
to certain flukes of nature as yet not
fully understood by science. This also
holds true for masters. Masters rise
from dominant types but are, inter.
married with inferior types from time
to time. This destroys their dominance
and another group Of masters arises in
their stead. Then there is an another
factor. Masters are simply human.
They are adapted to the environment
with which they find themselves. But
the evolution of the machinery Of
production, the extension Of commerce
and trade continually changes that en-.
vironment and is great factor IN
the rise and fall Of master groups. If
my logic is not at fault then the new
masters do not rise from the working
class, nor from the master class out
from that biological third estate that
belongs to neither; from it arises your
leaders in the financial, the political,
and the industrial world. Genius is
what controls human affairs; economic
evolution is what forces the world S
great Transformation. Genius rises from
humanity both master and slave. It
knows no class; IL knows no heridity,
| 1t is a spontaneous variation that
meets certain requirement at GER.
tain time. That and that alone is gen.
ius. AS for the classes they change
; from kings to patricians, from patric'
ians to priests and mobiles, from no.
bles to bourgeois, from bourgeois to
merchant princes They change to
meet the requirements of industrial de.
velopment and will continue SO to
change as long as evolution exists. The
blonde beast always on top.
HOn the other hand we we had Tho