Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-05-19
GERMANY FRIGHT
ABOUT FACES
KARL MATHIE TELLS OF
CHANGE TO PRIVATE
OWNERSHIP


In speaking before the Kiwanis club
last Monday on the present situation
in Germany, Karl Mathie made the
startling statement that although the
Socialist parties have been in control
in Germany ever since the armistice,
not single new Socialist measure
has been adopted and what is more,
these Socialists in power have des-
troyed most of the Socialistic program
built up by the Hohenzollerns and
Bismarck as compromise.
Most astounding of ALL" Mr.. Mathie
says, there is not one German Social
list OF any consequence who now ad-
vocates Socialism in any of its forms
This is certainly most profound
change of policy" the speaker con-
timed. ut amounts to right about
face Here is the present German
government, in control of the Socialists
not only refusing to go ahead with
any Socialist program but turning
back and smashing part of the Social
list machine already built up and pre-
pairing to get rid of the rest of it.
How can one account for this re-
versal of policy? 1t is simple enough.
Socialism won't work when put to the
test and Germany today is putting
every man and every measure to the
supreme test.
she has an enormous war loss to
replace and stupendous reparation
must be paid to the allies. 1t never
could be done by Socialistic measures,
for Socialism neither encourages pro-
duction nor permits profit. And Ger
. W IN
duce efficiently at profit or the crush
ing debt left her by the militarists can
never be paid.
Unwilling Reputation
"Of course, Germany did not re-
pudiate Socialism willingly. At first
plans were laid to Socialize or nation
alize everything, the land, farms,
mines, factories, forests, shipping and
transportation of all kinds.
But good, hard, common sense
showed them that they could not ma
tionalize everything without bringing
ruin to the Fatherland. They saw
what happened in Russia from nation
alizing everything. Thus the very
heart of Karl Marks Socialism has
been repudiated
"After the war the enormous army
and navy arsenals were converted into
| factories and machine shops to make
farm machinery and other necessary
articles. The government ran the fac
tories but it lost money so fast, 1859
100000 marks in one year! that it has
to turn them over to private manage
ment to save itself from going bank
rupt.
Then the Socialist government
found that the railroad machine shops
and locomotive works were also losing
money. BY April 1920, there was
deficit of 10000 100000 marks. They
found that one and three-quarters bill
lions of Marks were being paid gov
ernment officials year who were of
no use at all to the railroads. They
found that it cost 72.79o more to build
locomotives in the government shops
than in private shops. They also
found that there were $4,000 more en-
ployees than before the war and in
spite of that three-fourths OF the re-
paid work was being done outside by
private concerns.
Railroads Private
This meant ruin ifc ontinued, so
these Socialist cabinet officers made
up their minds to get rid of Socialism
in these shops and factories. And
they did. The results were so good
that the cabinet then voted to put the
government railroads themselves un-
der private ownership and manage
ment
Read what the first commission had
to say about Socialistic methods of
doing business. There were eight So
cialists on this commission and they
all signed the report in which the fol-
lowing was agreed to:
The characteristics OF state manage
ment are these: expert officials are
overwhelmed with petty detail work.
They are shifted from one port to post
without reason. They are paid sala-
ries ridiculously low. They show
serious lack of responsibility. They
negotiate for years over questions
which private industry would settle in
a few hours. There is no system of
mutual confidnece and encouragement
to independent initiative I
"Thus Germany shows here good
sense. When she finds that her Social
ism won't work when most needed,
she tosses II overheard and adopts the
methods found practicable, the meth
ods that have built up the great ma
tions of the world.
"And the red Socialist leader of Ber-
lin, Herr Legheim, says that not only
has private management paid but 1t
his increased the contentment and
the pleasure of the employees in their
work."