The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-09-15
Howe About:
The Arctic Circle
Communism
Farmers in Russia
a. 1919. Bell syndicate. wNU Service.
By ED HOWE

moral man because Vi my NoilS COu-
tact with reformers- In 1890 man
named Robert Marshall went TO the
town of Wiseman. north of the Arctic
circle, and remained more than year.
Recently he has written book about
his experiences while there. The in
habitants number 127; rs whites. A
Eskimos. 6 Indians. and l lighr mulat-
TO. Forty-five of the whites are IA
tive born, and 80 foreign born; Ger
mans. English, Scandinavians. ETC.:
fair cross section of the people of the
United States. Living so far from
what is commonly called civilization.
and being showed in six months of
the year, one would think they lived
like savages
On the contrary, their average in all
respects is higher than ours.
One white and two native women
profess to be religious, but the rest of
the inhabitants pay less than usual at
tention TO the subject, and there Is no
disturbance about it When there is
an occasional case of poverty or dis
uess (both very rare) it is promptly
and generously relieved. although
there are no welfare workers in the
town. Nor is there any stealing, and
violence is unknown, except tradition
that crazy man once killed a native;
sentiment is strongly opposed to quar-
reIing. There are no newspapers, pol
iticians, pastors, policemen. Judges.
lawyers, doctors. teachers, movie
plays, or welfare workers Of any kind.
Mr.. Marshall gave forty-fiye of the
adults, and most of the children. the
commonly accepted intelligence test,
and found that 46 per cent ranked
above our average. Times are always
hard and nature harsh, but the peO-
pie manage to get along comfortably
and decently. Some are welltO-do,
some middle class and some poor, but
there is no rioting about it. all being
given the same opportunity.
This history seems to indicate that
the troubles of the average civilized
community are largely artificial and
introduced by the reformers; also, that
those of US In civilization. in trying
to get rid of our troubles. become less
intelligent, less effective, and less
moral
l believe one bugaboo with which
men have long frightened themselves
may be safely given up. | refer to
Communism Men will continue TO be
mean. idle, foolish. but the worst Of
them have lost respect for the conten-
ton of Karl Marx that the best solu-
ton of the human problem is for all
men to pool their work and earnings,
and, at the end of the week, divide
equally.
Everybody knows and admits now
that capitalism (eyery
man handling his home, his job, his
family, TO his own taste) is the best
way because it is the human way; we
have at last admitted some men will
not work, and that the industrious will
not divide with them.
/ think we may also dismiss the old
fear Of general rioting. burning and
murder. Men are still mean enough
to do these things, but are discovering
there is no common sense in burning
such houses and food supplies as we
have; that it is easier to possess them
through election booths or judges;
that instead Of killing industrious
men. it is better and easier to let
them accumulate more that may be
stolen.
The friendliest critic of the Rus
SLAMS, Walter Duranty, says the Rus
sian town people and soldiers have
plenty of food, but that millions Of
farmers are dying because of malnu-
triton: which means disease caused
by lack of food. In the United States
town people have never been that
rough with farmers; we have made
fools of them, but always allowed them
enough TO eat.
had occasion to remark many cases
of extreme shiftlessness, but believe
men are more shiftless now than ever
before. A man of forty-five (and who
confesses he is healthy. in writing to
me for help, says: II have no one TO
appeal to now except my sister Ruth,
but she has been sick three years, and
unable 70 do anything for me-" have
observed also that more men than u.s.
ual are lately working" the women.
Note any woman who has achieved
considerable prosperity as a result of
the new freedom, and you will find
a lot of men hanging TO her skirts:
one successful actress confesses she
l. supporting seven families.
A tramp said the other day he Is
nearly always roughly rebuffed or in
suited If he asks for work, but that
anyone will give him a dime or a
quarter. with a kind word, when be
says he is hungry.
So far as | know no one has ever
seriously proposed that the sexual re-
iatiOn might be exercised with less
friction and punishment. Long expe-
rience seems to have convinced US thar
the only way is the one we have adopt
ed. II is hard way but no one
seems to have found better, and ]
have nothing to offer. | have long be
lieyed that our plan OF exploiting sex
until it becomes a worse burden than
it is naturally, is a mistake. The 9TH
er animals have not done this and
proceeded with their family affairs as
naturally as any other. Probably we
might have done better, but we have
SO long continued the present plan
DO not expect Improvement Some
times | think that in every commu-
nifty there should be a committee of