San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-10-25
Daughter of British Lord Tells Why She Has Turned Socialist

school or college sense of the word,
There is 10 more wonderful thing
than the way in which these men have
acquired knowledge and training in
the face Of seemingly insupe-able dit.
ficultics. Money that could i'll b.
spared from the purchase Of the very
necessities OF life has been spent upon
books: time for study has been
snntched in the intervals of hard
physical toll. Such hard-won knowI
| edge must mean more to man than
the easy acquisitions Of the class
room.
Again. I was asked the other dav
whether ! thought Socialism would
/ ~2in for other families and other chill
drcn the obvious advantages which my
! family-my two small children enjoy.
| That. indeed. is one way of stating
the object We are striving so hard to
achieve. We know that modern meth.
DDS could produce all the things which
are giving my children Cor MI chill.
dren whose parents have sufficirncy)
that fair start in life which we desire
for I'll, and which should be a right
for all.
PRESENT SYSTEM UNJUST.
We know that modern science has
made it perfectly possible for the
clothes. food. h6use-room. educational
facilities and personal attention which
children need Ia b. produced in suffi-
cient Quantities to make them the heri.
tagc Of all. instead Of the privilege of
the few. We know that It is only the
breakdown Of tho organization If our
economic life which prevents such all.
sufficient production. That there is
breakdown and that the present sys.
tenn is not fnnctioning efficiently,
wisely or justly is only too apparent.
We have universal shortage Of
the necessities Of lifc--houses, food.
clothing. etc.--and yet We have nil
lion and half men unemployed who
could be producing all those things but
who are kept idle. MS the EMPLOYERS
say there is no demand for them.
| There is no demand because people
are too poor to buy. There is no way
cut of this vicious circle Of dcstituticn
md misery under the present system.
WHAT WILL 1T GAIN?
We believe, rightly or wrongly. that
the form OF economic organization
which we call Socialism is the one
method by which sufficient production
and just distribution can be achieved.
But it is not enough To say that So
cialism could bring to all children the
same advantages that mine enjoy. My
children will have to grow up into this
capitalist world unless we have al
tered il in the mcsavhile). They will
find there bitter contrast of wealth
and poverty; in society Haunting OF
the insane and the worthless; in the
slums Of our great cities brutal
waste of precious hunF~ lives: phil.
osophy ot matcrialism according TO
| which the ability H. make money is
tho only valuable quality.
They will find such world hardly
| worth living in K they do not devote
themselves to the effort to change and
improve it. Such is the world into
which every mother has to send her
children.
TASK FOR MOTHERS.
However great the advantages which
she has been able TO give them IN her
home, they must sooner or later 60
out into q world where they will find
that the best in them is the least
valued-that Success" Is the reward
of their worst qualities.
Surely it must be the ambition OF
every mother not only to provid.
decent, healthy nursery for her chill
dren. but also to help on the enormous
work Of providing healthy. decent
world for them when they leave their
nursery.
Finally ] am told that I must not
end an article like this without an
attempt to define the word socialism. "
At one time defining socialism be-
came almost a parlor game in our
movement, and one well-known men,
Der of the Labor party has collected
40 definitions, from all the most prom.
inent labor leaders and has published
them in the form of book. But ]
have not this book with me, so shall
have 10 think of new one.
SOCIALISTS MEANING.
Socialism" strictly and narrowly
means 1.-THE social ownership of the
means of production. distribution and
exchange" This is the stock textbook
definition. 1t also means the sclen..
tific organization Of the industries and
wealth Of the country SO that the
maximum amount Of good for the ma.
ton as a whole can be achieved.
Our object is TO abolish the glaring
irregularities in wealth now prevalent
so that there should be at any rate
some approach toward equality of op.
portunity for everybody in the com.
munity. But, OF course, we realize,
| lust as we'll as anyone else, that we