Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-06-26

g. Masaryk Of the new Czecho-slO-
vaklan republic. he is a slav. He
knows Russia. He was in Russia dur
ing the revolution and at the begin
ming Of the counter-revolution which
put bolshevism ID the saddle. He has
written Of Russia and Is accepted as
an authority on the subject. I asked
him, what is bolshevism?" His an
swer was; "BOlshevism is consistent
socialism,"
Bolshevism is an old, untried
theory Of government Its object is to
secure greater production and a
more Just distribution. Socialism saws
that men are without motive for eff
Gent work today because they do not
get a fair share Of the things they
produce; that the way to stimulate
production is to adopt common owner
ship. Under such a plan, they say,
every man would be working for him
self, in the sense that all would be
working for the state, and that as all
are an equal part of the state their
interests would be common and
mutual. The socialist says that by
working and doing as much as he
could he would be helping to shorten
the workday. because If all the people
Of the world were at work they could
produce an abundance of everything
necessary for the worlds happiness
and comfort, every one would have
all he needed, no one would have
more than another and 1t would be to
the interests Of each individual to
work to shorten his own workday.
The program of socialism promises
to destroy all private ownership.
There will be no such thing as private
property. No one viii own land The
land, the factories, the railroads, the
mines, everything, will be owned in
common. The state win hold the title
to everything, manage everything and
distribute the product. This plan
abolishes profits, rent and private cap
italism.
Money and Capital.
To understand this doctrine It is
necessary to clearly know the mean
ing Of the word Capital" Many peO-
pie confuse the word capital with
the word money" These words have
totally different meanings. Money is
the metal or paper used by govern
ment to make easy the exchange Of
products. Without money the world
would 60 back to the barter system,
in which the man who had corn
t,,,Jod a. Aov v,no& o1nAhac ond %ho
others things he needed. Capital is
the unconsumed product Of labor. In
other words, all of the food, cloth,
clothing, machinery, ETC., in the world
is its capital, just as a mans capital
is the food he has in the cupboard
the clothes he hasn't worn out, the
money In the bank which represents
a power to buy. 1t is the surplus. 1t
is the reserve.
Plato, the great Greek philosopher,
was one Of the first of the socialists.
In the republic of Plato we find a
defense OF state socialism. From
Plato to Lenine men have been urging
communism as cure for the ills Of
the world, as remedy for wrong, as
a means Of realizing exact justice.
Modern socialism dates from the
Communist Manifesto" published In
1e48, by Karl Marx and Frederick
Engels. Their outline of the socialist
plan seized upon the thought Of the
world. Since that day it has been
gathering the dissatisfied of the world
and grouping them in class, develop
ing what they term "class con-
sciousness." Back Of it has been an
lnsistent, uninterrupted propaganda
which has reached every corner Of the
globe. Billions Of leaflets, pamphlets,
tracts and books have been circulated.
Millions of speeches have been made.
Drawing rooms have been thrown
open to it, highbrows have professed
the faith, lowbrows have Numbered
the creed from soapbOxes on the
street corners. It has fourished best
in Europe. 1t has furnished prime
ministers. IT'S voice today in the par
liaments of Europe is not a whisper
1T is a shout. In the new govern
ments which have come out of the
war 1t Is a militant, dominant factor.
The bolshevism of Russia is pure
sociaIism-literal communism. At this
moment / am not writing Of the meth
DDS of the bolsheviks. First, want
to make clear and simple their plan.
Bolshevism is an effort to put into
practice the doctrine preached by
Plato. programmed by Marx
Copyright. 1880, western Newspaper UniOnl