The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1920-08-12

these men leave the door Of the school
different men In aspirations and am
billions. Take them back to the rae
tories and In nine cases out of ten you
will find that you have made mana
gers, foremen, experts out or them'
and that they are conscious OF II.
There will be some few whose great
idealism will inspire them 10 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 or their
greater skill and demand compensa-
ton for It. Their thoughts would be
"Now that / am skilled and educated
now that I take on my shoulders
larger and more important Responsible
ity, am entitled to increased consid-
Grafton and larger reward. why
should I be put on the level with the
men who haven't the capacity ] have
and who do not shoulder the same re-
sponsibility I do7" 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 De-
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 q
worm banquet. When she reached the
water edge she was startled at 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 to practice
II increases production. The theory
of the communist Is that 1t VIII IN
crease production by inducing men 10
work because they are their own
bosses and are guaranteed an equal
share in the production. the prac-
teal fact which upsets the theory IL
that human beings are moved TO WORK
by their desire for gain. Human De
ings have this strain in their blood.
| II is organic; 1t is part or them. l
| do not refer to greed. I mean that all
experience proves that human beings
are individualists. The average man
thinks of himself and his interests
dozen times to the one time he thinks
of the general interest Of society. Ihls
Is true even Of the man who gives
much thought and has much concern
for the common good. He may De
generous to q fault, but he wants 10
acquire the thing and then give IL
Competition, Notwithstanding all the
theories of the idealists to the con-
trary. uuickens life, stimulates men
| TO work. makes for progress. Every
where about us we see In our daily
| experiences evidence Of this fact. Lire
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, not a
fatalist, I can see from my own life
and from the lives of others, that many
things come to pass over which we
have no control. 1t is the effort OF
man to provide against unfavorable
contingencies, to compete with chance.
| IudkeS DdSiNohJ - NOAAPNS
tor with every other man.
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 Il 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. It stimulates men to work.
1t is the will TO work.
Two years. experience with COM
munisn 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 cam
cer-Poverty-from the body of civ
ilization, communism is causing de-
creased production, is making the en-
tire social body a cancer.
eoopyright, 1920, Western Newspaper Union,
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