Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1920-04-24
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction
in Europe Follow the Great
World War?
RUSSIKS TRIAL OF SOCIALISM
Ultimate Good to the World Looked
for From the Practical Test
Now Being Made in That
Country.
Article XIV.
BY FRANK coMERF ORD.

Inc tch nag IeiBeuk GaS DeeD De
handing a trial, a test The demand
has been growing. Before its advo-
cafes can be silenced they must be
shown. Out of the test of socialism
In Russia is bound to come good.
Whether the theory is a practical one
or not, putting it to the test viii an
swer a question, satisfy a demand,
and tend to quiet unrest.
The fair-minded investigator cannot
deny that there was justification and
reason back Of the effort 10 try the
remedy. That the world has been suf-
fering from poverty cannot be denied.
have found few men, even among the
conservative, responsible leaders Of
business and governments in Europe,
WHO did not admit that conditions in
the world before the VAT were not
right; tina, ONE change IN the order
of things was inevitable; tnat the dis
satisfied elements in society were com
ing together and that unless men were
given better lives. they were deter
mined to fight The working man was
deteriorating physically under the
strain Of brutal working conditions
which eXacted too many units Of phys
ical energy for the number of calor-
les Of food he was getting. The haemo-
globin count. the red corpusc'es, were
disappearing from the blood of the
working people. 1t was not a theory
one could see It in the faces and move
ments of the people. Medical men
recognized the fact 4 walk through
the poorer district of any Industrial
city in Europe furnished plenty of
evidence Of this alarming condition.
Men. women and children we're resort
ing IT, false >timulants to keep I'D.
Tea, coffee and alcohol were being
used In increasing amounts
Always on Verge of Want.
Men We're stretching their arms and
yawning. Squalor and filth furnished
the homes. Many lived in abiect pow
erty many more lived on the border
line Of the garbage alley. Few were
able 20 accumulate even the smallest
surplus. They could not by scrapng
and denial get week ahead of the
game. It had become a hand-to-mouth
existence, weekly. monthly fight to
meet the grocery bills. buy stockings.
shoes, and the Scant amount of clothes
to cover their bodies 1t was bread
and coffee for breakfast, bread with
jam and tea for dinner tea and cheese
for supper. Sausage sometimes took
turns with cheese. Once a week. the
Sunday repast, a great stew. a few
vegetables aud bone Ii the Latin
countries it was the same. except that
diluted cheap wine was substituted for
tea. The great majority If men found
themselves poorer and older at the
end of the week than they were Mt its
beginning. over The workngman's
head was suspended night and day bv
thin. weak thread the dreaded sword
Of poverty Men feared that the thread
might break any minute 1t was the
thread by which they held the thing
called q Job" What did thew care
about the rights of private property?
They didn't have any private prop
erty. The socialists had willing list
enerS, when they ranted about com.
muuiSm. II promised o give these
people property, TO give them a com
mon ownership of everything. It
wasn't hard to convince them that this
was better than ownership Of nothing.
The bolsheviks If Russia are en-
titled to the presumption of good
faith In selecting the MARKHAM formula.
II Is only fair To them aud To the rem
edy. to examine the experiment with
mind free from prejudice. In admit
ting the good intentions Of tae bot
shevikS ] am not conceding that boz
sheviSm is practicable. workable: that
Il has succeeded or can succeed. For
the present ! am trying 70 fairly give
the whole story Of the effort. 1t is
rs foolish 10 try to answer the boil
shevik propaganda by calling the boil
shevikS ugly names, as it would he
stupid 10 accept holshevlSm because
It's advocates are sincere
Need for Calm Consideration.
Russia is the patient. If We are 10
intelligenuy judge the treatment
called bolshevism. it is necessary to
ger a complete history If the patient
and examine the conditions under
which the experiment was tried. Any
I doctor who is a scientist would follow
such a procedure in handling med
Teal case. II a doctor announced to
the scientific world that he had a rem
edy for cancer. which at the present
time is an incurahle physical disease.
| Just as poverty is a social one. the
/ SCI 2tists would give a hearing to his
/ theory, seek q fair test for il, keen
/ their minds open. and judge the eff
/ cacy OF the remedy by the results it
/ produced. Communism. as a treat
menr, a cure 'or poverty. has never
/ been put 10 the test on scale and in
/ circumstances which Justify any posi-
i tive judgment as 10 whether or not
+ the plan Is practical one As ] have
written. the Russian holsbevikS Insist
/ that II every one Owls everything in