The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1920-07-15

these men leave the door uf the school
different men in aspirations and am
billions. Take them back TO the fac.
tories and in nine cases out of ten you
Will lind that you have made mana
gers, foremen, experts out of them,
and that they are conscious of il.
There will be some few whose great
idealism will inspire them TO go back
into the shop and work for the com
mon good. Such men are the excep-
lions to the rule. The great majority
will insist upon recognition of their
greater skill and demand compensa.
ton for It. Their thoughts would he
Nov that ! am skilled and educated,
now that ! take on my shoulders a
iarger and more important responsible.
ity, | nm entitled to increased consid.
Grafton and a larger reward. Why
should | be put on the level with the
men who haven't the capacity | have
and who do not shoulder the same re-
sponsibility dO?" Trotzky's plan re-
minds me of the intensely maternal
hen, that after practicing on white
door knobs. discovered some eggs in
a barn, and with great enthusiasm be-
gan TO set. In the course of time her
patience and motherhood were reward
ed. AS soon as her brood was able
to walk she took them on an eXcur-
sion to the river bank to give them a
worm banquet. When she reached the
water edge she was startled az seeing
her young ones paddle into the water
and without even so much as a good
by, swim off.
The test of the communist theory is
whether or not, when put 10 practice,
it increases production. The theory
of the communist is that 1t will in
crease production by inducing men TO
work because they are their own
bosses and are guaranteed an equal
share in the production. The prac-
teal fact which upsets the theory is
that human beings are moved to work
by their desire for gain. Human be-
ings have this strain in their blood.
1t is organic; ii is a part of them. |
do not refer to greed. ! mean that all
experience proves that human beings
are in%dividualiStS. The average man
thinks of himself and his interests a
dozen times to the one time he thinks
of the general interest of society. ms
is true even of the man who gives
much thought and has much concern
for the common good. He may be
generous TO a fault. hut he wants to
acquire the thing and then give II.
Competition, Notwithstanding all the
theories of the idealists to the con-
trary, quickens life, stimulates men
to work, makes for progress. Every
where about us we see in u daily
experiences evidence of this fact. Life
is a gamble in the sense that every
thing Is uncertain life itself is uncer-
tain. No man can plan or program
his tomorrow. While / am no a
fataIist. | can see from my w life
and from the lives of others, that many
things come TO pass over which we
have no control. IT is the effort OF
man to provide against unfavorab'e
contingencies, TO compete with chance,
which makes him basically a competl-
tor with every other
Element of Human Nature.
Take the poker game. Men who
play the national game" will tell you
that they play for the fun Of the game,
not for the money. and they are speak
ing the truth. Try an experiment,
play a game for matches instead OF
for money, and observe the effect upon
the ambition and skill of the players.
Maybe 1t should not be so, but we
are not dealing with SHOULD not be's."
The life problem must be handled
from the point of view Of things as
they are.
While the theory of communism Is
beautifully ideal, human beings are
not. The ugly fact is that selfishneSs
is at the bottom Of nearly all personal
endeavor. 1t stimulates men to work.
1t is the will to work.
Two years experience with COM
munism in Russia proves that the ex-
pertinent is a failure. 1t disorganized
life, demoralized people and dimin-
ished production. Instead of curing
poverty, 1T made poverty universal.
Instead of removing the spots of can
cer-poverty-from the body of civ
ilization, communism is causing de-
creased production. is making the en-
tire social body a ANGER.